Let's Do it!

Let's be a few hours early in asking the dear, departed cat Munchkin, formerly of Omaha, NE, to arise and help us usher in the 2013 Halloween Season!!

Facing the Sad Music....

(Calm down: it's a book report). I read "Lie Down in Darkness" by William Styron, and I've been dreading telling you about it. The author wrote three major, acclaimed novels: this one in 1951-ish, "Sophie's Choice", which I could not finish, and an opus on the slave revolt of Nat Turner. He also wrote numerous articles and critiques. So I'll start with what I liked: He's an evocative descriptive creator of wonderful scenes and settings. The first few pages puts you aboard a steam-powered train in the American south in the 1940's with every sense you have. What it was like, the look, the smell, the company, the exhaustion. The train, ultimately, is very important to the story. The description of the scenes of tidewater Virginia are wonderful; the author's love for his home country apparent. The pre-Civil Rights Era African-American characters are beautifully drawn. The White People suck. The story is a huge downer. The wealthy white family is degraded with mental illness, alcohol, adultery,and the other "A",(forbidden in print at that time, but hinted at) and about every other problem known to post-WWII except hard drugs. We already know what happened: the family's star-daughter has killed herself after an unsuccessful marriage, and the coffin containing her remains is on its way home: the rest of the story is handled in flash-backs and narratives. Read it for the writing; tho it could have used a bit of editing. It will make you think. I'm not saying you will like what it makes you think about; but you will think. And Styron is correct: Army Brats can be crazy.

Tinkering....

The Blogging equivalent of "re-arranging the furniture". Do people still do that now?

Not Such a Thrilling Thriller....

Tho I'm upgrading the computer, I can still relate my findings about the novel I just finished. I have read no other books by Dan Fesperman, but the relatively recent spy thriller, "The Double Game" was not very good. The premise was, a journalist (currently working unhappily in PR in Washington DC) becomes involved resurrecting clues to a Cold War spy network inwhich his own father (a State Dept. officer) and himself (as a child-pawn) is implicated. Old spy novels' plots are used as clues. It was flat, complicated, lacked compelling characters; I like to finish books I start to read--this was a challenge to wade thru. I love a good LeCarre novel--this was tepid by comparison.

Brief Intermission....

...while I do some overdue maintenance and up-grade on the computer. New photographic themes coming soon.

Many Years Past....

...a family business. A 2G-GP was a stone mason who came to the US around 1850 from Germany. He settled in Louisville KY and eventually established a nice building company. He passed away about 1920; there are still stone buildings and houses in Louisville his company constructed.

More from the Archives

Among the ancient collection of photos that belongs to my Aunt; perhaps it's just a random landscape photo, but I have a feeling it is either "from the old country" (Germany) or a 19th Century farm scene from the area of Rockport, IN. But I guess it will remain a mystery.