Book Review: Garlic & Sapphires, et. al.
My memory jogged a bit: I had started Gilead by Marilyn Robinson, but that thread got lost in the grips of moving hell. I haven't gotten through a third of it's pages, and it isn't a long book, so I am unsure as to whether I'll really reopen it. On first impression, I'd say either I'm missing something really subtle, or it's a bit boring. I don't recall Housekeeping being as slow, but I read that for a class @ UW which makes for an altogether different and more challenging context.
I bought Garlic and Sapphires at Borders the other day along with Kitchen Confidential and The Last Days of Dogtown. Having finished Ruth Reichl's most recent memoir in a very short few days I think I might have liked it. Reading about RR's physical and emotional transformations as she takes on disguises is a fascinating journey. This third book is much more polished and has a clearer plot than the first two, and RR's job as a New York Times restaurant critic is surprisingly exciting. The lead-in to the job at Gourmet magazine seemed a little too pat, but then I already knew where she was anyway.
I also polished off the parts of Barrel Fever that I could stand to read. I positively adore David Sedaris and his work - he's felt the pain of exile to Raleigh, how could I not love him. Even his darker work hasn't been bothersome, but this book is different. The short stories that I attempted made me want to gag! The one that really did me in was about a small town housewife freaking out and drowning her own grandson in a washing machine and it was written from the woman's perspective to her friends in a christmas letter. Yikes! The essays were funny, as usual, but then I found that I had heard most of them on the radio. Ho hum.
I bought Garlic and Sapphires at Borders the other day along with Kitchen Confidential and The Last Days of Dogtown. Having finished Ruth Reichl's most recent memoir in a very short few days I think I might have liked it. Reading about RR's physical and emotional transformations as she takes on disguises is a fascinating journey. This third book is much more polished and has a clearer plot than the first two, and RR's job as a New York Times restaurant critic is surprisingly exciting. The lead-in to the job at Gourmet magazine seemed a little too pat, but then I already knew where she was anyway.
I also polished off the parts of Barrel Fever that I could stand to read. I positively adore David Sedaris and his work - he's felt the pain of exile to Raleigh, how could I not love him. Even his darker work hasn't been bothersome, but this book is different. The short stories that I attempted made me want to gag! The one that really did me in was about a small town housewife freaking out and drowning her own grandson in a washing machine and it was written from the woman's perspective to her friends in a christmas letter. Yikes! The essays were funny, as usual, but then I found that I had heard most of them on the radio. Ho hum.
