The Merchant of Venice (William Shakespeare, between 1596 and 1598)

Continuing to work my way through Shakespeare's plays.

I read this in short chunks over the course of a few months, so perhaps lost the flow.  But I didn't like this as much as Julius Caesar or Richard III, when I thought I remembered liking it quite a bit.

Shylock - the avaricious Jew - yet given perhaps the best speech in the entire play ("Hath not a Jew eyes?").  Fuel for anti-Semitism; but it seems to me that Shakespeare had a more nuanced view.  (I do like the use of this speech in Ernst Lubitsch's movie "To Be or Not to Be").

Always interesting, but mostly saddening:  the incredible continuing definition of the Jew as the "other", or the "outsider".  And not just in Christian Europe - I suppose one could carry this story back to the book of Exodus, to the Babylonian Captivity, to any long list of occurrences.  Not clear how much this particular viewpoint is shaped by the formation of the State of Israel in 1948 - seems like "not much."  Amazing, frustrating, how little things change.  What's up with this?

Usury as a flash point in those days.

Portia with her famous - and really, quite lovely - speech about mercy.  "The quality of mercy is not strained:  It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath.  It is twice blest:  It blesseth him that gives and him that takes."  [etc.]

Then, in disguise, she switches to some fancy legalese.

Shakespeare = so worth reading.

The Monuments Men - Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History (Robert M. Edsel, 2009)

Book club selection (via POC).

Author recounts the story of folks - generally taken from the art world - who were attached to various army units, mostly starting around D-Day, and charged with helping the army minimize unnecessary destruction of historically significant objects.  And to help track down art objects looted by the Nazis.

It really is quite a story, and an excellent companion piece to this narrative of the war in the west.  Also fits with this really great story on this topic, based on Gustav Klimt's most famous work, in Vienna.

Hitler as the failed artist - but with an eye on building a collection for the ages.  Goering also a collector, but moreso based on greed.  The Nazis were incredibly systematic looters.  Some materials hidden in mines.  Quite a bit of focus on famous works such the Bruges Madonna and the Ghent Altarpiece, among others.

The "book club" folks - per POC's fine arranging - also attended the movie on its opening weekend.  Let's say George Clooney took some massive liberties with the story line in the book, or maybe I just didn't read it carefully enough.  In a story that would have been plenty compelling without being converted into a buddy movie, or whatever Clooney was trying to do here.

"The Rape of Europa" started it all with this author, and remains the most compelling work we've seen in this genre.