For Ann Patchett Fans

The first Ann Patchett novel we read was the best selling BelCanto, which was our book of the month a while away. To join that four week discussion, click
http://thethreetomatoesbookclub.blogspot.com/2008/08/bel-canto-week-two-discussion.html.


Since then, we’ve been hooked on her books, and have now read The Patron Saint of Liars, her first novel, set in a home for unwed mothers in the 1960s. And her newest novel, Run, set over a period of 24 hours. The story takes us from the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard to a home for retired Catholic priests in downtown Boston. It shows us how worlds of privilege and poverty can coexist only blocks apart from one another, and how family can include people you've never even met. As in her best selling novel Bel Canto, Ann Patchett illustrates the humanity that connects disparate lives, weaving several stories into one surprising and endlessly moving narrative. A recurring theme in all her novels.

And now we’ve just finished Truth & Beauty, her frank and startlingly intimate first work of nonfiction. Based on her friendship with Lucy Greeley, who wrote about losing part of her jaw to childhood cancer, the years of chemotherapy and radiation, and then the endless reconstructive surgeries in her critically acclaimed and hugely successful memoir, Autobiography of a Face.
Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy met in college in 1981, and, after enrolling in the Iowas Writers' Workshop, began a friendship that would be as defining to both of their lives as their work was. In Truth & Beauty, the story isn't Lucy's life or Ann's life, but the parts of their lives they shared. This is a portrait of unwavering commitment that spans twenty years, from the long, cold winters of the Midwest, to surgical wards, to book parties in New York. Through love, fame, drugs, and despair, this book shows us what it means to be part of two lives that are intertwined.

Truth & Beauty is one of those books that stays with you for a long time.

If you’re an Ann Patchett fan, what’s your favorite of her books?

Post your comments below.

Tomatoes up for Last Chance Harvey

We had the chance to see Last Chance Harvey, starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson and we give it a definite “tomatoes up”. How refreshing to see a romantic movie featuring a couple who are definitely not kids. While the script is decidedly predictable, and even has “An Affair to Remember” moment, the performances of Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, and the rest of the terrific cast, make this movie a delight and more than just a chic flick, although we’d definitely suggest it as a fun girl’s night-out movie. Our only beef is the movie trailer highlights so much of the film, you feel like you’ve see it. That peeve aside, Hollywood needs to make more movies with actors and actresses tomatoes can relate to, so that’s another reason to go and see it.

A note to tomatoes from Emma Thompson

Dear Fellow Females –

I’ve been asked to offer a blog on my new film, ‘Last Chance Harvey’ – which, as a computer illiterate, I get confused with ‘snog’ (British slang for kissing) and ‘shog’ (Shakespearian word used by Pistol in Henry V meaning ‘leave’) neither of which - I realise - is the correct interpretation.
But it is a comment, or view, I think, that you want, and here it is –
I shall turn 50 this year, which is not without its odd emotions and has got me thinking about being, well, old. I don’t mean decrepit, I mean not infantile, no longer so attached to things, no longer so concerned about what others think, no longer so anxious to prove myself – you may know the sort of thing I mean. It was rather a treat, therefore, to play what is – in a way – my first modern romantic lead in a film that is more romantic than comic (although it has very funny moments and is underscored with irony and subtle humour throughout) where I was not required to be stunningly attractive or in despair or in need of rescue, but simply an ordinary woman in her forties living a rather stale-looking life as best she can.
Along comes this rather brash American (Dustin) and he blows a great hole in her defenses (don’t you think we all build them for various stages in life and then FORGET TO DISMANTLE THEM when the danger is past or the trauma has been lived through?). So what you are watching is a sudden flood of real communication (how rare is that?), the sort of communication that shifts the emotional tectonic plates and provokes seismic movement in the soul.
Again, it’s rare to watch this on the screen because you need to be a little thoughtful and not require explosions of the literal kind to keep you interested. I’d guess that’s a fair description of us.
If you see the picture, and I hope you will because I love it very much and am moved by it every time I see it, you’ll notice I am decidedly unglamorous and at least size 16. I really wanted to look like a “normal” woman, I mean in terms of body size.
Actresses seem to be getting tinier and tinier and I do wonder how we think we can present really powerful women, matriarchs and the like, when we seem to insist upon having such attenuated physiques.
So Kate is solid – probably worries a bit about her muffin-top (mine is more like a desk-top these days if you must know) but can’t find the energy to worry enough to go to the gym and can’t find the time either.
She’s a real sort of person, someone I could relate to entirely and I hope you enjoy her. If you do, tell your friends because the more we can get films like this well distributed the more films we can make about (for want of a better epithet) real women as opposed to (let’s face it) pretend ones.

Warmest wishes to you all for 2009 from Emma Thompson, a first time blogger at fifty

What do you think? Post a comment below.

Great book for the technology challenged

How to Be a Geek Goddess by Christina Tunan-Wood

Do you sigh in frustration when your computer shows a blank screen for no apparent reason? Are you tired of waiting for your husband to install that wireless network? Have you felt belittled by the sales guy at your local tech emporium? Well, you're not alone. In "How to Be a Geek Goddess," author Christina Tynan-Wood shares the expertise she gained while writing for magazines like "PC World" and "PC Magazine" but keeps the book light and conversational. Like advice from the geek girlfriends you always wished you had, the book explains topics in a way you'll understand: No patronizing guy bluster, unnecessary jargon, or information you aren't interested in, just the stuff you need to know to get the job done. You'll learn how to use your computer to get more done in less time, shop for gear, fit an ugly computer into a lovely living room, hang out in online communities, and keep yourself and your family safe online. Tynan-Wood covers basic and not-so-basic topics, like how to use VoIP to make inexpensive telephone calls over the Internet and set up a wireless network in your home.

What we're reading

740 Park - Michael Gross

Synopsis
From a bestselling author and journalist renowned for his access to the rich and famous comes the epic story of the last great apartment building erected on Manhattan's Gold Coast--home to countless 20th Century icons including Bouviers, Rockefellers and Chryslers, as well as modern Midases like Edgar Bronfman, Henry Kravis, Ronald O. Perelman and Saul Steinberg.
Seven-forty Park Avenue is the best known and most lusted-after co-op apartment building in New York—and so, in the world. Built by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s grandfather, James T. Lee, the building has long housed America's oldest, richest, and most powerful families. More than just a sensational read, 740 Park is rich in social history, providing a glimpse into a world that most of us can only dream about.

What we think so far: It's a big book with very tiny print. That said, it is rich in history, and the scenarios of the 1929 crash are scarily familiar. It's definitely a book NYC insiders will like, with lots of the rich and famous through the years. It's a bit slow going though.

What are you reading? Leave a post below.