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Staff Picks Reviewer: Ben

Sita’s Ramayana [, ]

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Moyna Chitrakar is an artist from the Patua scroll painting tradition. The paintings in this book have been adapted fit the page, but they are rendered in a style that wasn’t meant to be confined to such a small space—Patua scrolls are large and complex. Significantly, the Patua artist traditionally tells the story through song while unrolling the scroll and gesturing to images. Keep this in mind as you read Sita’s Ramayana. The images sometimes feel cramped on the page, and the juxtaposition between text and image is often awkward, but remembering the traditional manner of presenting these paintings will help you see past these small annoyances to appreciate the elgeance of Chitrakar’s art.

Sita’s Ramayana presents the Hindu epic the Ramayana from the perspective of Rama’s wife, Sita. In this version Rama’s noble character is taken as a given—even when Sita suffers as a result of Rama’s actions her love for him does not falter. Samhita Arni’s Sita does not tell us why she loves Rama. Instead she tells what happened, and how she felt about it. She tells us about her doubts and fears, and about the suffering she saw on both sides as Rama’s army made war on Lanka.

Sita’s Ramayana‘s is a quick retelling of the Ramayana, and differs from the classic version in ways that may make you eager to explore this famous story’s many variations. Moyna Chitrakar’s art is beautiful, and while more care might have been taken in the page design, lovers of traditional art and myth will find something to appreciate in this book.

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The Sandman [, ]

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Ten years ago a friend lent me The Sandman: Brief Lives. I had not read many comics, but I was hooked, and I quickly read each of the ten trade paperbacks that make up The Sandman. (Brief Lives is actually the seventh volume in the series, but it was a good place to start, as it better reflects the character of the series as a whole than does the dark and brooding Preludes and Nocturnes. If you know you are going to read the whole series, start at the beginning, but if you are unsure, starting with Brief Lives is not a bad idea.)

Although nominally set in the universe of DC Comics, no past comic reading experience is required. More important is a knowledge of myth and literature, and an appreciation for story and fantasy. The Sandman is a collection of stories which together tell the story of Dream. Dream, in The Sandman, is both a character, and a fundamental, inescapable force of the universe in which he resides. He is one of the Endless, and like Destiny, Death, Destruction, Despair, Desire and Delirium, he has always been, and will always be. Despite this, Dream is moody, stubborn, and often remarkably human.

The Sandman had its roots in horror, a genre I have never had much inclination to explore, but while it has fantastical and grotesque elements, it is too optimistic, too affirming, too delightful to be anything of the kind. The characters of Death and Delirium are particularly delightful—while both have their obvious dark sides they are depicted as being kind and caring; Death in particular is shown to be particularly wise. Most of all we delight in the world of stories and dreams. “The Dreaming”, where Dream makes his home, also provides its own delights, including a cast of often comic characters and a library containing every book and every story.

Many different artists worked with Neil Gaiman on The Sandman, and the art is always competent, and often very good indeed, especially in the later volumes. I’m particularly fond of some of P. Craig Russell and Jill Thompson’s illustrations, and Dave McKean’s covers are fantastic.

The Sandman is a haunting story with great characters set in a complex, detailed world. It is made up of many stories of many different types, and its variety is part of its appeal. This is a great graphic novel, and worth trying even if you aren’t normally a fan of comics.

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Small Gods : a novel of Discworld by Terry Pratchett []

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I’ve read many of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels. They are great fun. The Discworld is an imaginary planet in an imaginary universe and everything, even the Discworld’s fundamental physical laws, is written so as to parody or satire our own world. Pratchett isn’t content to leave it at that however, he also parodies literature of all sorts, but especially fantasy novels; he affectionately sabotages these by taking their best known cliches and stereotypes and acting as if they made sense. The results are hilarious.

Small Gods is probably my favorite of the Discworld novels. I have returned to it again and again, and I enjoy it every time. Perhaps it is because libraries and books play such an important part in the book, but I think it is mostly because of the book’s two unlikely heros: the great god Om, stuck in the form of a tortoise and incapable of performing even the smallest miracles, and a lowly novice monk, Brutha, the only living creature who still believes in the great god Om. Om is arrogant and ill-tempered, but endearing in his impotence and confusion as he struggles with his new fondness for lettuce and fear of eagles. Brutha is slow, illiterate, and quite accustomed to be looked down upon, but he has an amazing memory, faith in his god, and an absolute determination to do the right thing.

Things, of course, get complicated. They always do in the Discworld. There is a war and an inquisition, gods and philosophers, a labyrinth and a steam engine. Brutha plods through it all. Om, on the other hand, is carried most of the way. And they are both changed by their experiences. They have to be, because that’s how these kind of stories work, but that doesn’t stop the transformation from being satisfying, and even a little surprising.

Small Gods stands well on its own. You don’t need to read any other Discworld books to appreciate it, and, indeed, it would be a good choice for your first Discworld book.

Hindugrass by John Heitzenrater, Carolyn Balfe, Yunior Terr, Evan Fraser, and Austin Wrinkle []

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What could you find in common between the classical and folk music of Northern India, and old time and bluegrass music of the Southeastern United States? Quite a lot actually, and Hindugrass does an excellent job exploring and exploiting those similarities. Headed by John Heitzenrater on sarod, Hindugrass is alternatively haunting and driving, lyrical and percussive, familiar and strange. In addition to sarod we hear, fiddle (played in American style), bass, tabla, kanjira, bones, and other percussive instruments. The melodies comfortably shifts back and forth between a more eastern and a more western sound, but the rhythms show a primarily Indian influence, with the melodic and percussive instruments alike taking part in the polyrhythm, tihai, and other rhythmic devices that are responsible for much of the excitement of Indian music. This is an exciting recording for lovers of Appalachian and Indian music alike. You can get a preview of their music at http://www.hindugrass.net/, or borrow the CD from the library to hear the whole thing!

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Krazy Kat: the Comic Art of George Herriman [, ]

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Krazy Kat was a remarkable and hugely influential daily comic. Found in newspapers around the country for over 30 years, from 1913 and 1944, it would influence comics greats such as Charles M. Schulz, Will Eisner, and Bill Watterson. Krazy Kat: The Comic Art of George Herriman provides an overview of the life and works of Krazy Kat creator George Herriman, and includes a large collection of beautifully reproduced daily and Sunday Krazy Kat strips.

Herriman’s astonishing Sunday Krazy Kats are reason to pick up this book alone. Giant, free form, brightly colored affairs, unconstrained by the rigid panels of today’s strips, it is the surreal landscapes and innovative design of the Sunday strips for which Herriman is best know, and with good reason. (Fans of Calvin and Hobbes will immediately recognize the influence of these strips on Bill Waterson’s Spaceman Spiff strips.)

Krazy Kat is not particularly funny, but I love reading it. Krazy Kat is dreamlike and poetic, a little bit difficult, and very much worth your while. Full of characters and images you will not forget, this is a bit of comics history you should definitely check out.

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East, West by Salman Rushdie []

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I love short stories and I’ve made a resolution to read more of them this year. With this in mind, but as I haven’t yet read any new story collections this year, I’ve picked an old favorite for this post. East, West is a collection of stories by British Indian author Salman Rushdie. Rushdie’s writing here is witty and colorful, and these stories, are quick, enjoyable reads. Rushdie draws inspiration from a variety of sources, both classic (Shakespeare, the life of Muhammad) and modern (The Wizard of Oz, Rambo, Star Trek). The plots are not particularly memorable (I’ve read the volume several times but can never quite remember how the stories unfold), but the flavor of the stories, and the voice of the author will stick with you. (I’ve found that to be true of much of Rushdie’s writing—if you are going to enjoy Rushdie you probably won’t mind this in the least.) A good introduction to this important author.

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Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban. Pictures by Lillian Hoban. []

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When I heard that the author of Bread and Jam for Frances had died, however, I wanted to share this book from my childhood. Bread and Jam for Frances tells the story of a young child (who happens to be a badger) who loves bread and jam and doesn’t want to eat anything else. With memorable characters, and great illustrations, I the Frances books will be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

(Interestingly, the Wikipedia page on Russell Hoban reveals that he wrote books for adults as well. I didn’t know that! Forbes Library has one of them, Riddley Walker, and many more are available through interlibrary loan!)

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Talking Tabla by Bikram Ghosh []

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Talking Tabla is an exciting recording showing off the work of a masterful tabla player. The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument, and is ubiquitous in the classical music of Northern India. The tabla consists of two hand drums of contrasting designs: on the left is a kettle drum with a deep sound and variable pitch; on the right is smaller conical drum with a high, fixed pitch. The drums are struck with the fingers and palms of the hands to create the sounds known as bols, these are the syllables of North Indian drumming and can be spoken as well as played; well performed, they sound very much like language, hence the title of this album, Talking Tabla.

On Talking Tabla Bikram Ghosh plays a variety of compositions, fixed and improvised, in a variety of styles, including a piece in the less familiar Carnatic style of South India. Although Bikram Ghosh’s tabla is the focus of these recordings we are not deprived of melody—Ramesh Mishra does a beautiful job playing the sarangi (a kind of elaborate fiddle) on several tracks and on the third track Ghosh accompanies Tarun Bhattacharya’s santoor (hammered dulcimer). In addition, Ghosh’s beautiful baya (left hand drum) application creates a kind of melody of its own. (To fully appreciate this a pair of good speakers or headphones are recommended—don’t listen to this one through your laptop speakers!) Even those who are bored by the idea of an album devoted to the drums should consider listening to Talking Tabla.

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The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern []

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Evocative. Descriptive. Atmospheric. The Night Circus is a good story, but its the atmosphere that will keep you turning the pages. Set in the late Victorian era, The Night Circus tells the story of two students, Celia and Marco, forced by their individual teachers to compete against each other in a game they don’t understand. Their playing field is an unusual circus, which becomes more and more fantastic as the two young magicians populate the circus with their increasingly elaborate creations. A carousel with strikingly realistic animals. A tree without leaves or flowers, but covered with candles which never go out or melt away. A hall in which hundreds of mirrors each show something unexpected. A garden made of perpetually unmelting of ice.

Everything about Le Cirque des Rêves is improbable, and much of the book is devoted to describing the circus and the experience of visiting it. The narrative shifts in time, place, and voice, but always describes the circus or the people connected to it. Some chapters are written in the second person, and while most of the book is written in the third person some chapters are completely without characters (unless you count the circus itself); these chapters especially create a feeling of immersion and they felt to me as if they were in the second person, even if they did not use the word “you”.

The level of detail is appropriately, but sometimes startlingly, varied. Morgenstern often writes at length about minutia such the smell of the popcorn, or the costume of a particular performer, only to gloss over the details of a conversation in the most general language. These glosses may, perhaps, represent some lost opportunities on Morgenstern’s part, where she could have further fleshed out her story, but on the whole I found them unobjectionable and even welcome; not only did they help keep the story focused, but they contributed to the tone of the novel, which I found unusual but very much enjoyed.

The Night Circus is a fantasy, and a romance of sorts, and will be enjoyed by many open-minded readers of both genres.

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Day For Night []

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La Nuit Américaine, or Day for Night, is one of my favorite films. This 1973 film by French director François Truffaut shows the cast and crew of a dramatic film on and off the set. In addition to the obvious work necessarily to make a film—selecting costumes and props, learning lines, building sets, performing for the camera, adjusting lights, etc.—we also see these men and women as they make friends, suffer nervous breakdowns, fall in love, gossip, run away, return, and otherwise live rather complicated lives.

The film stars Jacqueline Bisset and Jean-Pierre Léaud as the film within the film’s young stars, but the film truly has an ensemble cast, with many talented actors portraying a wide array of interesting and memorable characters. Truffaut himself is part of the cast, as he not only directs the film, but also plays the director of film within the film. The music is by Georges Delerue, who also worked with Truffaut on a number of other films.

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Incognito : the secret lives of the brain by David M. Eagleman []

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Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain is a fun and informal look at the subconscious, and often surprising, workings of the human brain. Consciousness, Eagleman says, only sheds light on a tiny portion of the way our minds work. Most of what goes into our decisions, our preferences, our very thoughts, is invisible to us. The inner workings of the brain are revealed not by introspection; instead, we learn the most about our own thoughts by considering behavioral studies, the perceptions of illusions, and the revealing actions of those suffering from brain damage or cognitive disorders. From such observations we learn that the perception of motion does not require movement, that the acquisition of skills does not require conscious memory, and that certain types of logical problems are easy for us only when they are given meaning in a social context.

This book is meant to entertain. It is not the place to go if you are looking for a good understanding of the science of the human mind. But if you want an enjoyable read which provides some surprising insights into human behavior, you may enjoy Ingcognito.

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An American in Paris []

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An American in Paris has long been one of my favorite films. Gene Kelly stars as Jerry, a charming if somewhat overly persistent American artist living in Paris. Oscar Levant plays another American, Jerry’s grouchy but endearing pianist friend Adam, and Georges Guetary plays the part of Henri, a French musical star who is friends with the two Americans. Adam and Jerry are perpetually broke, Jerry because he can’t sell his paintings and Adam because he hasn’t worked in years (he describes himself as the world’s oldest child prodigy). Many of the most charming scenes in the film take place in around the little cafe above which Adam and Jerry both live and which Henri frequently visits.

Early in the film Jerry meets the rich Milo Roberts (Nina Foch), whose professional interest in his work is a thin disguise for her hopes for romance. Jerry reluctantly accepts her patronage, but romantically he is more interested in Lise (Leslie Caron in her first film role), a young woman who, with time, becomes equally drawn to him but who is, though Jerry doesn’t know it, already engaged to Henri.

While the plot of the film is driven by these romances, the spirit of the film is driven by the music of George Gershwin. Gershwin’s music is used throughout the film: all of the songs are by George and Ira, the music for the sixteen minute ballet is an arrangement of Gershwin’s An American in Paris, and the remainder of the score draws heavily on these and other Gershwin compositions. We hear strains of Rhapsody in Blue and during a memorable dream sequence we are treated to a performance of the Concerto in F for Piano and Orchestra in which Adam performs not just on the piano, but on all the other instruments as well.

—And, of course, the dancing. The dancing in this film is incredible. The performances, the choreography, the costumes—there is no aspect of these dances that fails to impress. Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron are a perfect match; it is hard to imagine any other two dancers pulling off the required athletic grace or the perfectly balanced blend of ballet and popular dance styles showcased so well in this film. From the good spirited cheer of I’ve Got Rhythm and By Strauss to the sarcastic mocking of This Time It’s Really Love, and the earnest romance Our Love Is Here to Stay, to the passionate and diverse American in Paris ballet, these are dances you will remember and want to see again.

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