Or, Can books save us from what digital does to our brains?
By Hugh McGuire
Last year, I read four books.
The reasons for that low number are, I guess, the same as your reasons for reading fewer books than you think you should have read last year: I’ve been finding it harder and harder to concentrate on words, sentences, paragraphs. Let alone chapters. Chapters often have page after page of paragraphs. It just seems such an awful lot of words to concentrate on, on their own, without something else happening. And once you’ve finished one chapter, you have to get through another one. And usually a whole bunch more, before you can say finished, and get to the next. The next book. The next thing. The next possibility. Next next next.
The Hobbledehoy love to bring a new book to the beach, and with August vacation plans on Old Cape Cod approaching, we may spend more time on our screened-in porch with a good read than swimming with the sharks, hiking with the ticks, or dining out with the mosquitos. Damn you, Climate Change! And you too, Patti Page!
Two new books we highly recommended for Summer reading!
“The Book of Norman” by Wayne Cresser
As a kid, Norman Winters aspired to be good at something, baseball, canoe-racing, anything at all. As an adult he wants to teach eager minds and keep his house free of smoke and frauds. And in his old age, he just wants to burn the money and hold on to the clams. Does Mr. Winters want all these things too much?
Readers will wonder as they follow him over the course of a life, loosely chronicled in a fresh collection of interconnected short stories by author, broadcaster, and teacher Wayne Cresser.
The Book of Norman deals with such topics as sibling rivalry, bullying, forgiveness, mercy, and love at first sight and promises readers, to paraphrase the great comic, many “a laugh and a tear.”
Mr. Cresser authors the excellent Just Between You and Me blog, and has contributed to The Hobbledehoy. His weekly radio program Picture This is must-listening for fans of great film composers like Bernard Herman, Ennio Morricone, and Elmer Bernstein, as well as classic soundtracks from Breakfast at Tiffany’s to Fantastic Mr. Fox. His recent show on the beloved American lyricist Johnny Mercer was, as the poet wrote, “too marvelous for words.”
“The Book of Norman” is available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle.
“The Last American Road Trip” by Sarah Kendzior
In 2016, Kendzior wrote about similarities between Donald Trump and the authoritarian leaders she had studied given Trump’s admiration for Russian president Vladimir Putin before there was widespread public awareness of Russia’s interference in the US election:
Today is November 18, 2016. I want you to write about who you are, what you have experienced, and what you have endured.
Write down what you value; what standards you hold for yourself and for others. Write about your dreams for the future and your hopes for your children. Write about the struggle of your ancestors and how the hardship they overcame shaped the person you are today.
Write your biography, write down your memories. Because if you do not do it now, you may forget.
Write a list of things you would never do. Because it is possible that in the next year, you will do them.
Write a list of things you would never believe. Because it is possible that in the next year, you will either believe them or be forced to say you believe them.
It is increasingly clear, as Donald Trump appoints his cabinet of white supremacists and war-mongers, as hate crimes rise, as the institutions that are supposed to protect us cower, as international norms are shattered, that his ascendency to power is not normal.”
Kendzior co-hosted the podcast Gaslit Nation, with filmmaker Andrea Chalupa. Psychology Today stated that the podcast “frequently reminds listeners that the Trump administration is part of a ‘transnational crime syndicate masquerading as a government'”, stating that the podcast’s title, Gaslit Nation, refers to their assertion that the Trump administration is “gaslighting” America in precisely the way that Arendt, Orwell, and Pomerantzev have described, by repeatedly contradicting the facts and claiming that black is white.”
It is one thing to study the fall of democracy, another to have it hit your homeland — and yet another to raise children as it happens. The Last American Road Trip is one family’s journey to the most beautiful, fascinating, and bizarre places in the US during one of its most tumultuous eras. As Kendzior works as a journalist chronicling political turmoil, she becomes determined that her young children see America before it’s too late. So Kendzior, her husband, and the kids hit the road — again and again.
Starting from Missouri, the family drives across America in every direction as cataclysmic events – the rise of autocracy, political and technological chaos, and the pandemic – reshape American life. They explore Route 66, national parks, historical sites, and Americana icons as Kendzior contemplates love for country in a broken heartland. Together, the family watches the landscape of the United States – physical, environmental, social, political -transform through the car window.
Part memoir, part political history, The Last American Road Trip is one mother’s promise to her children that their country will be there for them in the future – even though at times she struggles to believe it herself.
Ophelia is one of Shakespeare’s most iconic yet underdeveloped dramatic roles. A sweet and naïve girl, she’s driven mad by Hamlet’s wavering affections and her father’s death. She was often the subject of paintings, yet rarely of novels until the 21st century. Ophelia, starring Daisy Ridley, is an adaptation of Lisa Klein’s 2006 book of the same name, and does a valiant job at not only filling in the blanks but bringing some flair of its own.Ophelia is a precocious child of the Danish court, handpicked by Queen Gertrude (Naomi Watts) to join her ladies-in-waiting. She soon becomes the Queen’s confidant, reading her stories and fulfilling errands. This access lends her privy to the royal family’s failing marriage and the machinations of the King’s brother, Claudius (Clive Owen). When Prince Hamlet (George MacKay) returns from university, she becomes entwined in the rise and fall of a dynasty.
Ophelia has a tough act balancing loyalty to the source material and finding its own rhythm. Key to what works is Daisy Ridley, who brings guile and fidelity to Ophelia without ever betraying the original role. She undoubtably looks the part, immediately bringing to mind John Everett Millais’s masterpiece (which is referenced in the cinematography), but adds an agency that’s sorely lacking in the play.
Semi Chellas’s script does a good job at expanding the women’s roles. Pivotal moments from Hamlet, such as the Queen’s remarriage or Ophelia’s mad singing, are no longer mysteries of the woman’s mind but logical steps to advance in a man’s world. Ophelia sees the folly in the men’s violent distractions, while the Queen numbs herself to them. In the end, they both reap what they sow.
Not everything works so well. It’s rather apt that Ridley stars, as at times it feels like watching one of Disney’s Star Wars films, shoehorning Shakespeare references with knowing winks. Some land neatly, such as Naomi Watts playing siblings like Claudius and the King are traditionally cast, and some come screeching in, such as a potion that mimics death. There’s also an attempt to mirror Shakespeare’s language without committing to new prose, which proves distracting.
Ironically, at times it feels like the Hamlet scenes are getting in the way of Ophelia’s story, bending it out of shape to fit the pre-existing narrative. Scenes such as “The Mousetrap Play” are admirably staged, but Hamlet’s constant disappearances makes his relationship with Ophelia difficult to invest in. You can’t help but wonder why she doesn’t sack the unstable emo off altogether.
Still, it’s easier to forgive such inconsistencies when the film looks this good. Director Claire McCarthy and cinematographer Denson Baker rinse every drop of beauty from each frame. In an interview with theartsdesk earlier this week, McCarthy revealed the look is a tribute to Pre-Raphaelite art. It’s an apt comparison. Scenes feel tangibly historical but sumptuously composed, creating images that bely the likely small budget.
How well Ophelia works depends on what you’re expecting from it. As a partner piece to Hamlet, it’s an interesting twist on the traditional roles. As a standalone film, it somewhat suffers from its parent script. But particularly strong performances and beautiful imagery make it worth catching.
