Ceremony

Ceremony

Ceremony
Leslie Marmon Silko

Ceremony, roughly, is the story of Tayo, a former WWII soldier of mixed white and Laguna ancestry, trying to readjust to civilian life. Like many of the other former soldiers, he turns to alcohol to drown his troubles. Compounding the stresses of returning from war is the fact that he's never fully fit in at home to begin with. His mother is the black sheep of the family, having produced living evidence of sleeping with a white man.

His grandmother feels a native healer may be able to save Tayo, but some in the family think Tayo is unworthy to receive such help because of his mixed bloodlines. Eventually, Tayo does meet up with Betonie, a healer, also of mixed ancestry. Betonie leads Tayo through a series of ceremonies intended to cure his depression and lift the effects of the war.

This is not the easiest book to read. Past and present blend, reality and imaginings blend together in ways that reflect Tayo's fractured thinking. As he pushes forward, attempting to find relief, you begin to see life itself as a ceremony, to be improvised and adapted as needed. Ceremony rewards you with remarkably beautiful, vivid passages such as this:

He found flowers that had no bees, and gathered yellow pollen gently with a small blue feather from Josiah's pouch; he imitated the gentleness of the bees as they brushed their sticky-haired feet and bellies softly against the flowers.

I am so glad that I finally read this book. I've heard about it as one of the classics of Native American writing, and it certainly deserves that recognition.

Want more like this? Try:

• Toni Morrison, Sula. A black soldier returns from World War I to his small hometown in Ohio. His method of coping is alternatively spooky, humorous, and tragic.
• Heinrich Böll, Billiards at Half-Past Nine. A German family deals with their role in World War II.
• Ernest Hemingway, Across the River and into the Trees. Most Hemingway books deal with war or its aftermath in some way, but this one is memorable for Colonel Cantwell's intense struggle to reclaim life and happiness even as he knows he is facing imminent death.

Sunday Salon: 1 Year Blogiversary!

This past week marked the end of my first year of book blogging. It seems a fitting time to reflect back on this year, what I've liked, what I haven't, what I'd do differently, etc, etc.

By TPH Canada

I thought this blog would be strictly book reviews. A more elaborate version of keeping a running list of what I was reading. It is that, to some extent, but it also is a celebration of my love of all things bookish. It's also an opportunity to add my voice to the multitudes encouraging people to read books I have enjoyed, to (at times) critically examine problematic elements of books, to signal boost (in my small way) books that deserve a bit more attention.

I still get excited when someone comments on a post. I get really excited when one of my favorite bloggers mentions something I've said. I'm still having fun.I guess I'll keep posting (in a more or less regular fashion) until something changes :-)

Here are some of the best books I've read and reviewed while blogging:

A Happy Man, Hansjörg Schertenleib
A Mercy, Toni Morrison
Visitation, Jenny Erpenbeck
The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories, Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Christopher Walken's Version of The 3 Little Pigs

On of my friends dug this up and posted it on facebook. I just love it:


What other stories would you like to see narrated by celebrities?

I'm thinking Chris Rock taking on "Little Red Riding Hood," Whoopi Goldberg and "Cinderella" (maybe the non-Disney version where the stepsisters lose chunks of their feet), Steve Buscemi and "The Boy Who Cried Wolf."

Share your choices in the comments!

Two More from Tamora Pierce

Emperor Mage
The Immortals, Book 3

Spoilers for the first books lurk within

From the first pages of Emperor Mage, it's clear that Daine's powers have grown even stronger. The animals of Carthaki gather on the wharf, waiting for her arrival, where she is to play a part in peace talks between the nations. Her role is to make the Emperor Mage, Ozorne, happy by curing his sick birds. Perhaps then he'll be in a better mood and more amenable to a treaty.

Carthaki was once a thriving center of cultural learning, where the best mages in the world were trained to fully develop their magical skills. Now, there's chaos brewing because the Emperor has neglected worshiping the gods. The Graveyard Hag, the main god of Carthaki, is not going to let the city get away with this dereliction any more.

The Graveyard Hag gives Daine a special gift that ends up being very useful in the final showdown. I have to admit, the six year old in me squeed with delight when Daine called on some very old creatures to help her!

While, of course, Daine and her friends prevail in the end, it's not a clear cut victory. Ozorne is off licking his wounds, but regardless of his form, he's sure to regroup and come back to threaten Tortall.

The Realms of the Gods
The Immortals, Book 4

In the final book of the Immortals quartet, Daine and Numair find themselves in the Divine Realms after they're rescued from a near certain death at the hands of Orzone and his minions. There, Daine finally meets her father, and the readers meet her mother.

This is a more mature book - less action packed adventure, more theory and trying to understand the way the world works. Oh, and kissing. I guess Daine is growing up.

While the battle rages on without them, Daine and Numair have to figure a way out of the Diving Realms and back home. Fortunately, there are some dragons that feel indebted to Daine for caring for little Skysong. The prominence of the dragons is reminiscent of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern, of which Pierce is a fan.

Overall, this series was fun. Daine is a great character - a little too perfect towards the end, perhaps, but really, what do you expect? I've read that she makes an appearance in some of Pierce's other books in the Tortall universe. It's fun to see familiar characters popping up every now and then, even when the focus is elsewhere. Again, I express my dismay that I never read Pierce's books when I was younger. I would definitely recommend them to the middle or high school kids in your life. They're the perfect age to fall in love with them, and there are plenty of books to keep them busy!

Sunday Salon: Scenes that Stick with You

Good Sunday morning, everyone! I haven't participated in the Sunday Salon in several weeks, but I've been thinking a bit about this topic lately and was interested in hearing some of your thoughts on it.

Do you have scenes from books that remain in the recesses of your memory, resurfacing whenever someone mentions the source book, or when you see something that triggers a reminder? I do, and I'd guess that most other readers do, too.

For example:

Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery: When Anne is just begging for big puffy sleeves on her dress, and the image of sleeves getting so big that wearers will have to turn sideways to walk through doors.

mitocondria!

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee: This is, I know, book blogger heresy, but I don't actually like TKAM. I know I've read it at least twice, but I really can't remember much of the book. I just remember not liking it. I do remember the one scene with the town drunk, who reveals to Scout that the drink hidden by his brown paper bag isn't alcohol at all. Why is that the scene that stuck with me? I have no idea.

A Wind in the Door, Madeline L'Engle: When the kids go inside Charles Wallace's mitocondria - how fricken' cool would that be? All the noises and time slowing down and such.

A Heart So White, Javier Marias: The woman on the sidewalk in Cuba with the knife-like heels waiting, waiting, for her lover.

Share some the scenes that have stuck with you!

June in Review

It's June!

June: I had my first trial (hung jury). I moved apartments (pain in the behind). I read a few books (five). I thought about books I want  to read in the next couple years (and made a list). I half-wrote several blog posts that I need to finish (I will!).

5 books total
3 fiction                60%
2 nonfiction          40%
4 female authors  80%
0 translated           0% (boo)

Based on my rate of reading this year, it's not looking like I'm going to meet my goal of 100 books.  I guess there's always the chance I read 21 books in one month like I did last December, but work is keeping me so busy that I seriously doubt that's going to happen. I have read some really good books this year, including three in June that were really, really good. I rated both Ceremony and The Hanging of Angelique five stars, and Anthony Bourdain's latest book, Medium Raw, a surprising 4 stars. I definitely recommend all of those. Hey, it's quality, not quantity, that counts, right?

How's your year in books so far?

Oh, Internet, How I've Missed You.

But we're back together now! I'll be catching up, writing posts, reading my favorite blogs. My feed reader is completely overloaded, but I have started going through some posts. And of course, I've missed awesome stuff since I've been internet-less for over a week. Here's a few awesome posts from around the world wide web that you should check out if you haven't already:
Liss at Shakesville introduces a Top Five series, and kicks it off by asking readers to name their top 5 books by female authors. Go! Get book ideas!

A Year of Feminist Classics takes on Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women"

Words Without Borders July issue is focused on new writing from Japan

Awesome People Reading continues posting
awesome pictures of people reading.