Book 1-3 Agatha and Roz Chast
It's snowing outside again with new clean snow gently covering the old dirty one making it look fresh again.
I don't mind this winter as much as the last one. This year it has been historically cold with temperatures dancing at -12 F (oh, about -1000 C) this last week and my basement door has been frozen shut for a week. The wood expanded and just decided to freeze that way. I kicked the door and pulled it back and forth but it wouldn't budge. The chef kicked it with all his Neapolitan might and it squeaked and that was it. So we decided to leave the door alone and hope the upstairs one doesn't meet the same fate. It even snowed on Valentine's Day which was sort of romantic. We cautiously drove to mass and carefully walked on the ice to avoid falling then carefully drove back home and happy to be home safe each ate two servings of chocolate pudding.
The Organics brand of pudding, by the way, with one extra teaspoon of sugar is the best. It's not too sweet yet is thick and rich. But during winter, any good pudding will hit the spot.
I don't mind the cold because there isn't so much inhibiting snow. My brother, in Poland, told me, "On terribly cold days just tell yourself that winter won't start till March and you will feel better." In some weird way, he is right! I have been plugging along one day at a time in this winter wonderland: singing, baking mysterious things that I hope turn out ok, talking to the cats, daily exercising at the gym (otherwise I can't sleep or my sciatic nerve feels pinched or both), and reading.
The hardest thing about this winter has been the reading, actually. I wish I could read more, but the fact that I am already restless from the inability to go for a walk outside makes me refuse a book like a kid pushing away medicine. I have been trying to stay physically mobile at home as much as possible instead of sitting down. I think it helps me sleep. You would think sleeping in winter is easy but it's not.
However, I have read two Agatha Christie novels, the equivalent of giving a child grape flavored medicine, to get through the gloomy frozen days. I was surprised, I thought I would not like Miss Marple and ended up really liking her. Then the second novel was trying due to it's predictability.
1. Miss Marple is dainty but knows who is wrong by intuition.
2. Miss Marple always spells out the name of the killer with the gentleness of a librarian telling story-time.
3. Miss Marple follows her instinct and suggests that if others did the same lives would be saved.
4. Miss Marple knows that she is smarter than most men, in fact the entire police force, but doesn't rub it in. It would not be polite.
I really liked Miss Marple because she was able to solve different murders and crimes by using intuition and a quick sense of observation. The short stories I read were also perfect in length to read prior to going to bed. If I ever have a female cat I will name her Miss Marple.
This book was corny. I'm sorry Agatha, but you really could have made it better by drawing out each character's murder before bringing them to the island to get predictably killed. So, the premise of the story is that there are 10 people, murderers who got away with the crime, who are invited to an island of a rich American to enjoy a week. Naturally, one, or all in this case, must die. Hence the obvious title. The title was the first flaw of the book. It tells you that no one will survive. The second flaw of this book is that it is written with each chapter narrated by a different character. It get's very annoying if each chapter is written in a different voice but from the same mental format of the author. So these ten people got to the island and one by one they got killed. The ones who were more "innocent" in the murder they committed went first. Which makes zero sense since murder is murder. And every day the remaining people would eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and contemplate who was the killer among them and who was the next to die.
First of all, if one person was killed around me on an island with weirdos I would already be boy-scouting my way down the cliff to escape the possibility of death. How is it possible that no one wanted to escape? Furthermore, how dare they have an appetite to eat?! It's rude! And how could they not only eat three solid meals a day but sleep well? Crazy. Agatha, if you are reading this you must know that characters shouldn't be allowed to have an appetite, sleep or chat when a murder has been committed. And if they are on an island at least 7 of the 10 should have tried to escape. Haven't you seen the show "Naked and Afraid" where 2 naked people are dropped in the jungle for 20 days and have to make it alive? In this case, 10 people had food, water, wood to make a boat for escaping and fire. At least 3 should have made it.
The story annoyed me. And predictably the murderer was the judge who wanted to bring justice while committing a crime.
It is a comic book written by The New Yorker comic strip writer Roz Chast. She entails her experience of caring for her two elderly parents in a way that encompasses the various emotions she experienced and situations she passed through with two very different and stubborn 90 year olds.
I first read Chast's short comic in the New Yorker and loved it so had to buy the book when it came out. I couldn't put it down. It reminded me of my grandma Audrey, of my mother-in-law, of my grandpa. It was funny and endearing, heart-breaking and painful but really good to read. I would love to see more of Chast's work.
The next few days are supposed to be just as cold but I will hang in there like Snoopy.
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| This is what it feels like. |
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| Valentine's snow |
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| The snow crystals fell in the shape of hearts. |
I don't mind the cold because there isn't so much inhibiting snow. My brother, in Poland, told me, "On terribly cold days just tell yourself that winter won't start till March and you will feel better." In some weird way, he is right! I have been plugging along one day at a time in this winter wonderland: singing, baking mysterious things that I hope turn out ok, talking to the cats, daily exercising at the gym (otherwise I can't sleep or my sciatic nerve feels pinched or both), and reading.
The hardest thing about this winter has been the reading, actually. I wish I could read more, but the fact that I am already restless from the inability to go for a walk outside makes me refuse a book like a kid pushing away medicine. I have been trying to stay physically mobile at home as much as possible instead of sitting down. I think it helps me sleep. You would think sleeping in winter is easy but it's not.
However, I have read two Agatha Christie novels, the equivalent of giving a child grape flavored medicine, to get through the gloomy frozen days. I was surprised, I thought I would not like Miss Marple and ended up really liking her. Then the second novel was trying due to it's predictability.
First: Miss Marple!
Miss Marple reminds me of a certain friend I have who was my professor in college for Virginia Woolf and Women's History.....Why?
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| I would buy the entire Miss Marple wardrobe if I could. |
1. Miss Marple is dainty but knows who is wrong by intuition.
2. Miss Marple always spells out the name of the killer with the gentleness of a librarian telling story-time.
3. Miss Marple follows her instinct and suggests that if others did the same lives would be saved.
4. Miss Marple knows that she is smarter than most men, in fact the entire police force, but doesn't rub it in. It would not be polite.
I really liked Miss Marple because she was able to solve different murders and crimes by using intuition and a quick sense of observation. The short stories I read were also perfect in length to read prior to going to bed. If I ever have a female cat I will name her Miss Marple.
Book 2: "And Then There Were None"
This book was corny. I'm sorry Agatha, but you really could have made it better by drawing out each character's murder before bringing them to the island to get predictably killed. So, the premise of the story is that there are 10 people, murderers who got away with the crime, who are invited to an island of a rich American to enjoy a week. Naturally, one, or all in this case, must die. Hence the obvious title. The title was the first flaw of the book. It tells you that no one will survive. The second flaw of this book is that it is written with each chapter narrated by a different character. It get's very annoying if each chapter is written in a different voice but from the same mental format of the author. So these ten people got to the island and one by one they got killed. The ones who were more "innocent" in the murder they committed went first. Which makes zero sense since murder is murder. And every day the remaining people would eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and contemplate who was the killer among them and who was the next to die.
First of all, if one person was killed around me on an island with weirdos I would already be boy-scouting my way down the cliff to escape the possibility of death. How is it possible that no one wanted to escape? Furthermore, how dare they have an appetite to eat?! It's rude! And how could they not only eat three solid meals a day but sleep well? Crazy. Agatha, if you are reading this you must know that characters shouldn't be allowed to have an appetite, sleep or chat when a murder has been committed. And if they are on an island at least 7 of the 10 should have tried to escape. Haven't you seen the show "Naked and Afraid" where 2 naked people are dropped in the jungle for 20 days and have to make it alive? In this case, 10 people had food, water, wood to make a boat for escaping and fire. At least 3 should have made it.
The story annoyed me. And predictably the murderer was the judge who wanted to bring justice while committing a crime.
The third book I read was "Can We Talk About Something More Pleasant?"
I first read Chast's short comic in the New Yorker and loved it so had to buy the book when it came out. I couldn't put it down. It reminded me of my grandma Audrey, of my mother-in-law, of my grandpa. It was funny and endearing, heart-breaking and painful but really good to read. I would love to see more of Chast's work.
The next few days are supposed to be just as cold but I will hang in there like Snoopy.
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