The Red and the Black (Stendhal, 1830)

This book was a good fit for some of the French stuff I've been reading in the last couple months (the Verdun book, Remembrance of Things Past (except Proust gave away an important plot element when he mentions this book), the Christmas truce book, etc.)

It filled in some of the gap between the Napoleonic era and the 1830 restoration. This was a time of big change in France to say the least; the Revolution and Napoleon had thrown apart most of the traditions and folks with widely varying agendas were moving to fill the gaps, find a new Napoleon, restore the monarchy and the traditional role of the church, emphasize the secular, revive the revolution, or whatever.

The book is referred to as the first psychological novel, at least in this description. Somebody at Newsweek listed it as one of the five most important novels, I guess because it was considered pretty far ahead of its time. I had never heard of the book or its author, but in poking around you do get the sense that it is widely known and admired.

Anyway, the book focuses on Julian Sorel - an uneducated but bookish boy from the provinces who, through a series of events, becomes a tutor (and falls in love with the youngish mother of his pupils), is educated in a seminary, takes a job with an aristocrat (and falls in love again, sort of).

Sorel's amazing memory (featuring passages in Latin) is a key to his access to various positions.

The book is lamenting the materialism that the author saw taking over France as the older institutions weakened; he also isn't impressed with provincialism, or Paris (and society matters) for that matter.

Very much worth reading. Even if some of the passages about his two romances get a bit repetitive here and there.

[I read this book at the gym about a month ago but didn't get around to posting, plus am still trying to catch up from the "placeholder" entries below.]

The Road to Verdun (Ian Ousby, 2002)

I found this book extremely interesting. But then again, I never get tired of reading World War I items. Thoughts:

1. It's not easy for me to keep halfway straight the changes in the French government from Napoleonic through 1848 through Sedan in 1870 and beyond. While I'm not interested in keeping the details straightened out, this book did give a useful overview. It helps the lead-in to WWI make more sense. Good description of nationalism as it was understood then; conservatives; monarchists (though no real hope of further restoration of the monarchy); Bonapartist thinking; socialist (even Communist) thinkers; Catholics; remnants of Jansenist thinking; etc. Lots of discussions of folks developing theories of the French nation, drawing distinctions from the Germans (with special dislike of the Prussians). Interesting that Alsace-Lorraine (including Verdun) was in Charlemagne's middle kingdom, which was the historical borderground between what became France and the smaller entities that Bismarck put together following 1870.

2. The Sedan disaster of 1870 was probably a bigger deal for the French than I was thinking, leading to the Alsace-Lorraine question and all sorts of consequences. Including fear of combined Germany.

3. Poor preparedness by the French; diversion of attention to the planned Somme offensive; rise of Petain; fall of Joffre; German plans to use Verdun to "bleed France white;" role of Crown Prince in directing German attack (but not quite enough resources to pull it off). Attack starts February 1916; German high-water mark in June 1916; slow pushback, with some of Germany's initial gains not retaken until three days before the armistice.

4. Discussions of the battle and the sacred or mystical aspect it took on. The "voie de sacree" - sacred road linking the Verdun salient to France and the efforts to keep it open. The death-like appearance of the soldiers who were being relieved; the nervousness of the incoming soldiers. The shocking casualties. What the soldiers put up with, partly resulting from the difficulty of properly disposing of the thousands and thousands of corpses.

5. Links to other things recently read: The author mentioned Goethe's visit to Verdun in an earlier war. In "Remembrance of Things Past," Proust speaks fairly often of people having neurasthenic symptoms; this author states that Proust's father was the author of a treatise on the topic (a precursor to analyses of combat fatigue etc. "The Red and the Black" - this picks up with a discussion of governments etc. following 1830. The book also has discussion of the Dreyfus case, which was a major topic in the salons in Proust's book.

Etc. I liked it.

We saw Wall-E

Hadn't been to the theater for awhile but we decided to go see a well-reviewed Pixar movie - Wall-E - back on June 29. It was a well-done, cutesy animated movie, and fun to go (Patricia, Chris, Paul Jr., Nedda, me). It was neat how they used music from "Hello Dolly", etc. The chase scenes were tiresome.

One of the more entertaining aspects was being at a Sunday afternoon showing with a theater full of little kids. We haven't been in that environment for years.

Passport to Europe

We (Patricia, Chris, Paul Jr., Mary Beth and me) toured this exhibit on Father's Day (June 15). An ex-governor of Puerto Rico (Luis Ferre, biography can be found here) put together a collection of European artworks now housed in the Museu de Arte de Ponce (info about the museum can be found here). I believe the works were available for touring due to renovations at the museum in Ponce.

We enjoyed it. Something of an unfocused mix across multiple countries and time periods. But always delightful to wander through. The Louvre picture included here was nice (also an interesting story; the woman in the center of the picture had died before the artist - pretty clearly interested in her - did the painting). Lots of Biblical themes, with great interest among the artists in folks like Delilah, Susannah, Lot and his daughters, etc. We also liked the Temptation of St. Jerome (lots of versions around, this was by somebody named Tenniers) (discussion of Flaubert's book here).

Then we looked over a photo exhibit that was ok. Wandered into some sort of twinkling light display in the modern art display, plus there was a flat rock on which were projected little figures walking. Not quite sure what to make of these things.

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Forgot to mention above: The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse (Gregg Easterbrook, 2004)

Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce (Stanley Weintraub, 2001)

I always liked this story, but didn't know very much about it. We rented a recent movie on the topic (mentioned here) and I thought it was very nice, but suspected it was way too dressed up for film-making purposes compared to what more likely was happening on the ground.

But after reading this book it turns out pretty much all the elements shown in the movie were based upon actual events. (The one exception was the female love interest that the film-maker threw into the story.) There were impromptu soccer games in no man's land. Burial of dead. Singing back and forth between the trenches. And yes, the Crown Prince brought a German opera star out (Kirchoff), and he did perform in the trenches. Etc.

Overall - the bottoms-up truce was not likely to stop the war as some overstate. But it clearly was a widespread phenomenon in some sectors of the line.

What a story. Flooded trenches finally froze right as Christmas arrived. The German soldiers were much more into the Christmas celebration than French or British (which the author says was consistent with how things were celebrated those days). German authorities arranged for thousands of small trees to be sent to the front. The Germans started lighting the trees and singing carols; some called across no mans land. Many Germans apparently knew at least some English, having worked in Britain before the war.

This led to meetings, gift exchanges, shared cigars and meals. The famous German pickle helmet was the most popular souvenir. There were impromptu soccer matches and group photos. Gift boxes had been received from the English royal family or the Kaiser, so there was plenty of material to barter.

This of course made the senior officers very unhappy. Censorship wasn't nearly as effective at this stage, so word quickly got out via letters home.

In some areas, each side would fire shots deliberately overhead - aiming too high - when the officers happened by. Then the fraternizing would resume. This dragged on for several days.

When you think about it - and without looking to make some kind of general antiwar statement - you had a pretty typical scenario where all these suckers were lined up trying to kill one another at the behest of the ruling classes. Some wars are pretty clearly necessary (obvious example = taking out a Hitler). In all wars, to get the suckers fired up to fight, the ruling class has to put out a bunch of propaganda. No doubt there were plenty of incidents, but the main propaganda against the Germans was the stories - often deliberately exaggerated - about abuses in occupied Belgium. The consistent reaction of the French and British participants in the "truce" was surprise that the Germans were actually normal human beings. This of course was considered a dangerous idea by the higher-ups - the suckers in the line might lose the proper zeal for killing.

An interesting observation were the differences within units of the German army - the Saxon units often expressed dislike for the ruling Prussians, as well as affinity for their Anglo-Saxon opponents.

The story just strikes me as very powerful. All the war rhetoric sounded pretty ridiculous to these folks as they stood there sharing cigars, looking at each other's family photos, and inviting each other to visit after the war. The ordinary guys on both sides of the line were farmers, tradesmen, etc. - the usual cannon fodder. Men who had a lot in common.

Anyway, after a few days they had to turn around and start killing each other again. Except for the units who were transfered away from the area due to doubts (stemming from their participation in the Christmas truce) about their reliability as killers.

Danwen Jian (Violin) Walter Cosand (Piano) (Katzen Hall, February 10, 2008)

It was a beautiful Sunday here in Phoenix, sunny and upper 70s. Patricia and I hiked in the Phoenix mountain preserve (40th street trailhead), then went to this faculty recital down at ASU.

We enjoyed it a bunch. There were four works on the program - a sonata by Schubert, two 20th century American works (Lukas Foss and Russell Bennett), and a sonata (No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108) by Brahms. The opening piece (Schubert) was the least interesting (or maybe our performers (or we audience members) were just getting warmed up). The 20th century pieces were delightful; I always have low expectations for these things and should know better by now. There were parts that were very pretty; some elements of swing or jazz; etc. And we always like Brahms it seems; his piece asked a lot of the pianist (not surprisingly).

I like watching the violinist play. It's interesting to see all the ways they can make sound come out of the violin.

Then to Roaring Fork where they feature a ridiculously cheap and good happy hour menu, plus the bartender comp'd a round. Get the green chile pork stew. What a deal.

Love, Life, Goethe (John Armstrong, 2006)

I liked this book on several levels. The author lays out a biography of (Johann Wolfgang von) Goethe; he also purports to discuss Goethe's viewpoints on various (though I wasn't sure sometimes if it was the author's viewpoints or Goethe's). And he even spent a couple pages trying to explain how to pronounce Goethe's name. Claims there is no "r" sound.

I picked this book for several reasons. First, I'm going through some biographies of artists and authors for a different take on history (per recent posts on biographies of Goya, Tolstoy, etc.) . Second, I continually run into English, French, and Russian historical materials . . . not nearly so much German (and I should be interested in that part of the world). Third, I continually run into Goethe references (or his buddy Schiller) in connection with classical music, including things we perform in Choral Union that were set to music by Beethoven or Schubert. Fourth, I occasionally see brief references to Goethe - not flattering - in connection with the Nazis (though not sure the relevance given he was dead 100 years before the party emerged).

Goethe was a contemporary of Goya. Spent time with Beethoven. Was around (though young) at the time of the American Revolution; closely followed events surrounding the French Revolution. He was around for most of the reaction to the French Revolution and Napoleon that in turn led to the revolutions of 1848 (16 years after he died).

This kind of book does help with thinking about German history. Unlike the national governments that had been in place for centuries in France and England (or the good old fashioned autocracy in Russia), this part of the world featured things like the "free city" of Frankfurt (where Goethe grew up), the tiny duchy of Weimar (where he was able to participate in civil administration in addition to providing celebrity and intellectual weight), the militarism and increasing importance of Prussia (where for example the duke of Weimar went to get involved in the military). Many small states during this period of run-up to Bismarck.

Goethe doesn't fit the stereotype of the impractical, unhappy, struggling artist. He comes across as secure, happy, practical, prosperous. He loved the classics and spent lots of time in Italy. He hit the jackpot as a commercial success in his early 20s with "The Sorrows of Young Werther." His most famous work is "The Damnation of Faust," though I understand it is pretty difficult reading. Anyway, "Werther" made him famous throughout Europe and assured his financial and celebrity status for the rest of his life - though it seems he did far, far more than rest on his laurels.

Goethe is thought of as one of the last generalists - he sought to make a contribution in multiple fields, including a treatise on color and optics where he (thoughtfully but unsuccessfully) challenged Newton As this author describes it, the various branches of science were deepening so rapidly that no one even tried to contribute in multiple areas (as had been common earlier, think Descartes).

Goethe met all kinds of interesting folks - partly because he was a heavyweight that had gained celebrity early in life, and then ended up living into his early 80s. Had an interesting encounter with Napoleon. Spent time with Beethoven, including a famous scene, though probably allegorical, where he bowed to royalty but Beethoven didn't remove his cap. Best buddies with Schiller. Etc. (This kind of book helps set different historical events and figures in context, knit them together; useful.)

I keep seeing references to the "Sturm and Drang" movement. Goethe and Schiller were associated with this, though both moved away. Goethe's hit novel (Werther) is considered an early spark for the movement (though this author thinks Goethe's message was that Werther was on the wrong track). Sturm and Drang is described here. I think of it as a stormy, passionate, notion of an individual soul or consciousness that runs deeper than intellect . . . you start to see the action/reaction movements in history, as these folks were reacting to the rationalism - and overbroad claims of what it could achieve - led by folks like Voltaire in the 18th century.

Goethe and Schiller moved away from this, but the trend was building with elements appearing in Romanticism, Neitzsche, Wagner . . . into the nationalism that became so important in 20th century (and was foolishly fed by folks like Woodrow Wilson); and yes, even to Hitler. (None of this of course traveled in a straight line.) Goethe would have run away from anything resembling Nazism; he emphasized looking for practical happiness, never slavish devotion to causes or ideologies.

In fact the basic outlook as described is very close to how I think on any number of topics . . . you could read this and get a pretty good window on my thought process in many areas.

Read at the gym.

Atonement (January 27, 2008)

Patricia and I went to see a movie in the theater for the first time in over six months. We've been enjoying our Netflix rentals; that system really works well for us.

We ended up liking this movie quite a bit. The music was a bonus.

Basic premise: older daughter of upper class British family experiences an incident - pretty much harmless - out near the fountain with the son of one of the kitchen staff (though the son was Cambridge educated and headed to medical school if I remember correctly); the incident was observed from afar by the younger daughter and misinterpreted. This led to pretty much catastrophic consequences. And a need for "atonement" on a couple levels.

The story started during the years leading up to World War II; the male lead ends up going to war; is separated from his unit and becomes part of the evacuation scene at Dunkirk. The director did a 5+ minute tracking shot there which worked well.

The younger sister is played by three different actresses at different stages in her life and becomes quite the interesting character. We liked the finish. The "atonement" concept plays through quite effectively.

Then we had a decent meal at the "Elephant Bar" near the Scottsdale 101 theater, so that was unexpectedly nice.

Doctor Zhivago (Boris Pasternak, 1956)

I recently read quite a bit of praise for this novel in the 50th anniversary of its publication, and had meant to read it ever since. (Publication came after the book was smuggled out of the Soviet Union in 1956; it was not printed there until 1988).

I guess the political problem was that the book elevated concern about individual development over sacrifice to the "state," whatever that meant from time to time. I read that Pasternak declined the Nobel prize for this book after the Soviet government requested that the committee not award it to him (which it did).

There also is a famous movie (and title song). I've not seen it and would like to, though from what I read the book is way better.

I read so much Russian stuff, but very little that explores what things were like in the years during and after the revolution, particularly away from the major cities. This story begins well before the revolution, then follows the major characters through events in Moscow, then to Zhivago's wife's patrimony in Siberia, and then back to Moscow.

One of the things that happens in the book is that the author explores a situation where someone is in love - seemingly genuinely - with two women, for different reasons. (Goethe works this theme a couple times also, as I'm learning.) I don't get this idea. Many of the scenes are in the army camp in Siberia (reds v whites); all the events that occurred in the early years after the fall of the tsar and ascension of the communists.

Zhivago was a doctor but also the author's voice for exploring the meaning of art and beauty. All this is most interesting (and probably way more interesting to me now than it would have been 10 years ago). Zhivago is principled and idealistic in a world that descended ever deeper into violence and opportunism. In addition to medical skill, he did drawings, poetry, stories.

Zhivago was not impressed by the revolutionaries; his attitude here also reminded me of Goethe's attitude toward the zealots that sprung up in the years surrounding the French revolution, and later in opposition to the reactionaries that took over the various German states once Bonaparte had been controlled. Zhivago views the folks that pushed the communist agenda - understood many to be drawn toward unsettled situations, seizers of opportunities, not serious; yet there was an element of legitimate desire for change and improvement. No doubt this attitude toward communist orthodoxy made Pasternak unpopular.

My only criticism, and it is very slight - lots of characters, some seem to just disappear, others pop in all sorts of coincidences. Authors of course do this or interesting stories couldn't develop, but this seemed a bit much at times.

Very much worth reading.

Read in the gym.

A Good Day's Work - an Iowa Farm in the Great Depression (Dwight W. Hoover, 2007)

Another very interesting read centered in rural Iowa in the Depression. Unusual that two books like this (the second being "Little Heathens - summarized here) were published about the same time. Like "Little Heathens," this one had great reviews in the Wall Street Journal and nytimes.com.

I was looking forward to reading this quite a bit, but in the end I must say I liked "Little Heathens" better. This guy was just a bit too clinical. Plus he spent lots of time discussing livestock, 4H and other topics to which I had very limited exposure.

That being said, I much enjoyed the book. The author is writing about a very different time, but much of the talk is familiar and certainly triggers recollections of conversations I heard growing up. As with "Little Heathens," it is striking how rapidly the world of agriculture changed in a very short window of time. This is not a new insight, but the pace of agricultural change for centuries was minimal, then things picked up moving into the 20th century, now an entirely different world . . .

The Overcoat and other short stories (Nikolai Gogol, 1835, 1836, 1842)

Patricia had taken this book out of the library because "The Overcoat" is mentioned in a movie we've rented ("The Namesake"). So I read the four short stories.

I like Gogol's stuff. (And his book "Dead Souls" is the first book listed on this website.) The Overcoat is a sad satire of an anonymous clerk who doesn't have much of a life, lacks cash, and is the butt of jokes at his one social outlet - his job at the ministry. They laugh about his worn-out coat (call it "the mantle"). The thing finally falls apart to where he must buy a new one - but it requires 80 rubles. After scrimping for six months - and anticipating the new coat through consultations with his tailor and window-shopping material - he finally gets the coat. Everyone praises the coat. But things don't turn out so well.

The Thin Red Line (James Jones, 1962)

I really didn't know a thing about this book or the author, but definitely would highly recommend it. Jones also wrote "From Here to Eternity," which now is on my to-read list.

This is a fictionalized account of WWII fighting in Guadalcanal. I'll never know what war is like, and am sure that's a good thing. But one wonders. This kind of book tries to convey the feeling. Reminded me of the feel of The Red Badge of Courage.

Jones takes a large number of characters in "C for Charlie" company as they arrive at the island. Takes us through the process of getting used to the climate and terrain, killing time in camp, the initial battles, the fear and paralysis experienced by many, the unexpected bravery - or just orneriness in many cases - shown by others. The first battle scene is wonderful. Interesting perspectives on leadership.

I haven't seen the movie (filmed in 1998). The cast has a huge number of what are now household names: Sean Penn, Woody Harrelson, Adrien Brody, John Travolta, Nick Nolte, James Caviezel, John Cusack, John C. Reilly, George Clooney. I need to see this.

Little Heathens - Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm during the Great Depression (Mildred Armstrong Kalish, 2007)

This book had very strong reviews in the Wall Street Journal and nytimes.com. So I gave it a try. And liked it quite a bit.

As the title spells out in detail, the author grew up on an Iowa farm in the 1930s. She became an English professor and certainly has both an excellent memory and a good writing style.

Here in 2007, stories of a kid growing up in the Depression seem to describe a long-lost era. My major take-away from the book was the similarities - not the differences - between the author's world and the world in which I grew up in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It actually only was 30 years prior to my own childhood.

I'm guessing the similarities arise because my world was populated by characters who were adults in the 1930s - my grandparents and their peer group - and another set of characters - my parents etc. - who were shaped by preceding generation. So when this author talks about saving everything - down to pieces of string and bits of foil - I can relate. And when she describes the advice from her elders about never wasting time and the folly of idleness - I can relate. And the gardening stories. And the respect for elders. Also little things like the description of the smell of the green walnuts they harvested.

Of course there have been big changes in mechanization - both in the ag operations and in the farm house. And these have drastically altered the daily routine as described by the author. But much of the underlying attitude persisted.

Goya (Robert Hughes, 2003)

I read at this at the gym and much liked it.

Biographies like this are great in part because it's a unique centering for a description of the history around the subject of the biography. I'm starting to pick out more biographies like this (along the lines of the Tolstoy biography discussed here (September 4, 2006 entry); just took out one on Goethe).

Goya lived a long time and saw lots. You read a lot about the high level of repression in Spain over the centuries (including the Inquisition, which was winding down around the time Goya came around). Anyway, this seemed to lead to about the backwardness you'd expect once they'd kicked out the Muslims and Jews - and more progressive Christian folks also just left, especially after the frustration of the reforms hoped for after Napoleon's ejection. Goya himself left Spain in his old age and died in France. What a society.

Anyway, Hughes goes through Goya's early days trying to make his way out of the provinces and into Madrid (which was pretty much backwards also). He thrives, has commissions from royals and other important folk. Had a wife but never wrote about her; rumors of mistresses but nothing very compelling. Liked bullfighting. Painted some unusual subjects.

Then along came Napoleon. Hughes says the native response was the first modern guerrilla war, which may be true, who knows. The activities and tone certainly seemed like a pretty good precursor to the 20th century Spanish civil war. One of the most famous Goya works ("3rd of May") commemorates the Napeolonic struggle. It was interesting to read the Spanish perspective on this, different than the Wellington biography from a few years ago.

Goya became deaf, took on the Inquisition (but subtly). There is a Hollywood biography named "The Naked Maja" which tries to build on the mistress thing.

It was interesting to read in the paper a couple weeks ago about the expansion of the Prado in Madrid (and the extent of its collection); it was built in Goya's time but certainly not for an art museum.