Did she die yet? A book about Queen Victoria's assassination attempts

New York Times' bestseller list can be a mixed bag, and Shooting Victoria mostly fell into that category. It paints an amazingly detailed picture of the context and circumstances surrounding several assassination "attempts" on Queen Victoria. This was either a carefully researched book or an artistically embellished one. The first shot on the young queen's life was by a disillusioned young man who designed a whole scheme surrounding his assassination attempt. [SPOILER ALERT] He went to some pains to completely fabricate a group that conspired to kill the queen, whereas it was really just he, and he alone, who shot in an overacted dramatic scene with two (likely unloaded) dueling pistols.

Shooting Victoria contained a great deal of interesting historical tidbits, and painted a rather clear picture of life for the royals as well as the paupers during the aptly named era. The story did drag on for quite a bit, considering you know she doesn't die in these attempts.

50 Shades vs. Sookie Stackhouse

Well I sure have been trying my darndest to resist reading 50 Shades of Grey, yet somehow I'm okay with myself for reading the Sookie Stackhouse books, on which the TrueBlood series is based. While it's not like every other page contains a detailed description of yet another raunchy erotic S&M scene (so I've heard, based on reviews), the vampire series does dedicate its fair share to detail how sex/feeding might look like between a vampire and a human.

So, if I've already indulged myself in reading this vacuous stuff, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad to get on the Grey train? No, no, I must resist. I mean, I'll give it to you ladies for being so assertive and outspoken about the fact that you like erotica based on a woman diving right into a man's fantasy of power and submission. But seriously, it might as well be an issue of Playgirl, it's so sex-filled. I find it kind of hysterical that there's a huge uproar about men using library computers to look at porn, yet when you look at libraries' electronic books, ALL of the most popular books are these generic romance novels. Folks, this is like women porn. OK, they might not have pictures of penises as centerfolds, but they do have them dripping from the pages in like every other scene.

MLK Jr.: You don't have to be perfect to effect change, but you do have to be there and see the issues.

My current reading is King: Pilgrimage to the Mountaintop. It is amazing how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. bravely led civil rights actions such as the Montgomery bus boycott. I love the quote (the original quote is from Ghandi): "There go my people. I must follow them, for I am their leader." It's as if he just chanced upon the opportunity to be part of a huge shift in civil rights. The white leaders in Montgomery fiercely clung to the racial status quo, and in retrospect, they look like such asses. I have a couple of thoughts to share, sparked from this read.

We like to think that in today's America, we have basically equal right. How can we even think this when some conservatives and religious factions similarly stand behind their bigoted views about gay rights? OK, gays and lesbians can vote and aren't lynched (there's progress for you), but they are not allowed to marry the person they love! This deprives them of some very basic rights and has legal and financial ramifications.

It's interesting to read about blacks fighting for their civil rights at this time of year when Jews around the world are sitting around their seder tables discussing what current events relate to the Exodus story about freedom and oppression. Were Jews in the 60s relating this story to the black struggle for equal rights? In my mind, it is so clear that Jews around the country should be appalled with gay rights issues.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but wasn't it clear to the white leaders of Montgomery, Alabama, that even if they held their ground firmly, the leadership that would replace them would eventually go the way of equal rights and desegregation? Couldn't they see that's the way the country was moving? Can't today's leaders see that that's the way this country is going now? Even if they try to hold their ground now, we ARE going to get equal rights for gays and lesbians and transgender people. Why can't they see that? Why do they want to stand in the way of progress? The future?

Non-fiction selections

I'm cross-posting this from Sefria Sheli, my other blog for book reviews.

Of late, I have been reading a good deal of non-fiction books. The latest three being The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman; The Lost City of Z by David Gann and Riches Among the Ruins by Robert P. Smith.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures chronicles the story of a Hmong family living in Merced, California, and their experience in the California medical system. The sad story of their little and her battle with severe epilepsy only takes up a small portion of the book, and the rest is filled with historical and cultural context that makes the book all the more meaningful. Although Fadiman, a journalist, is sometimes sporadic in her writing, the book reads well, especially for non-fiction.

I think the best aspect of this book was the way in which Fadiman presents both Western and Eastern medicine as viable treatments. There are times in the book when you want to ring the necks of the noncompliant family, and there are other times when you want to punch the doctors in their faces. There is most definitely miscommunication between the two sides, and fleeting moments of understanding; but by the end, the reader does not finish the book with any feeling of resolution. The child's parents refuse to give correct dosages of medicine, and the doctors do not adjust the medicine so that compliance would be easier to fulfill. And when the government takes the little girl away... chaos ensues. I learned so much from this book about the Hmong, and got a new perspective on Western medicine.

Riches Among the Ruins: Avdentures in the Dark Corners of the Global Economy also taught me a lot--about sovereign debt trading. This business memoir dolls out lessons--on business, psychology and traveling in some of the most scathy places.

The author patiently explains how sovereign debt trade works the world around, and also sheds some light onto how currency flows across borders, trade claims are reclaimed, deficits are created and most importantly, how to make a spread on these inevitable actions. Some of my favorite lessons from Riches Among the Ruins include: 'fake it til you make it,' and 'think Yiddish, dress British.'

Even though this is non-fiction ("every word is true!" insists the author), the book reads much like a spy novel, with almost half the characters under pseudonyms--cambistos, gold-diggers, corrupt businessmen, and the like. The website provides some additional context, including up-to-date commentary on current events, such as Venezuela and Ecuador, and Iraq (vis-a-vis debt obligations).

The Lost City of Z is one I'm still working on, so I'll have to come back to it.

Revisionist Historical Fiction: The Big 'What If'

Two books that struck me were The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon and The Plot Against America by Philip Roth.

Roth's Plot is an eerie picture of anti-Semetism in America, set under an alternate reality. Unlike many 'what-if' scenarios, this picture comes tightly together throughout the foten slow storyline. You get this sense of disbelief as you go along (paralelling the strong characters' own incredulance), and, even though in the back of your mind you suspect you know what is really going on, you say, "no, that can't be right-- they're just being paranoid."
The premise is that Charles Lindbergh, the beloved pilot who awed the world with his 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic (and against all odds) encapsulated the image of a true American hero. After his infant son's kidnapping and eventual murder, he had the full sympathy of the American population, and when he waltzed in on the Republican National Convention at a time when the party had no strong candidate, he easily won the election for presidency.

Soon thereafter, Jewish families across America started to feel the squeeze of anti-Semetism, most profoundly in the form of assimilation. Sons are sent away to host families (always good Christian families) as part of a government program by the Office of American Absorption. Some realize what is going on and immediately move to Canada, while most families are in disbelief or denial. In the end, a viscious anti-Semetic plot is unveiled, and by this time, the reader is so engulfed in this made-up fantasy that you believe every word.

The book is beautifully written-- much like the rest of Roth's novels. But Plot is a bit different in style. It's a lot cleaner and a bit slower. It actually progresses in a forward chronological order, unlike Portnoy's Complaint. Some of the sentence structres are very complex, and may contain two or three independent clauses. You may have to track bacwards to get the full impact of every sentence.

Such a good book.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union is the same type of revisionist historical fiction as Plot. The premise of Union is that the founding of the State of Israel didn't pan out, and Jews were relocated to a peninsula in Alaska. In this setting, there is an outward, accepted an practiced anti-Semitism, unlike in Plot Against America. In this sense, the characters are more involved in revolutionary activities. Chabon paints a creepy image of the Jewish community, and how the divides within it are as pronounced, if not more, even when placed under such unfair, racist conditions. Union contained some great sci-fi-like scenarios and used Esperanzo (always a plus!) to create an image of a crowded, disadvantaged ghetto, reminiscent of Holocaust-era ghettos. There's a good deal of hope and cheering for the good guy in this one.

Also loved it.

Jewish-themed Books: Reviews & Discussions

I am starting this blog as a forum for discussing books with Jewish themes or by Jewish authors. I'll start by sharing some of my favorite Jewish-themed books. Philip Roth's Plot Against America and Micheal Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union will be my first reviews. Please feel free to comment and suggest books. I want this to be a discussion. Some of my best books were purely from friends' recommendations.
Enjoy the blog!