Waking Us Up

Viola Davis deftly portrays the role of Aibileen

Some things snap you awake. They make you feel uneasy. Make you wonder if they are right. If they are good. But in the end, you appreciate them for that glimmer of truth they provide. And just by the fact of being there, of telling a story, they make people aware. They shake us awake to realities that have lain dormant in our minds. They remind them of a history that we sometimes forget. I feel this way about The Help. The book by Kathryn Stockett and the film, which I finally saw last night.

I devoured the book in less than a week. Reading at lunch and in the evenings. The characters became like old friends and I was sad to leave them at the end. I identified most with Skeeter of course - unruly hair, writer aspirations, not following the expectations of her society, sort of a tall, awkward girl who's not afraid to be a bull in the china closet. But my favorite character was Aibileen (Viola Davis nailed this role in the film - flawless - and Cicely Tyson as Constantine was so haunting and lovely that her scenes brought me to tears). Her quiet strength. Her acceptance of everybody. I would consider my feminine power fully developed if I could have her grace. 

This book was written by a white woman. White women telling black women's stories. In the book, it was the only opportunity at that time to get the voice of the black maid heard - someone white had to connect with the all-white publishing industry. In the case of Stockett writing this book, well, she grew up with a black maid and knew it from that perspective. This book and film have generated a lot of discussion about this rarely touched upon aspect of history and that is a good thing. For us to remember and feel uncomfortable about the fact that a group of people were so horrible to another group of people. Any maybe that's what racism is: not white versus black, but a group of people who choose to demean and debase another "group" of people for ludicrous reasons. The truth is so easily distorted, and people take this fact and bend it to their will to gain power over others. 

I have heard people say that we live in a post-racial society. I only wish. But sometimes I can't help but wonder if that we ever be possible. There's just too much pain, too much history. Here in DC, there is a great deal of poverty and most of the people I see living on the streets, that I see in the homeless shelter where I volunteer, are black.  Most of the people on the cleaning staff at my work are black. Are these people here by choice? Or are they here as a residual effect of historical prejudice? Is this the fallout that has been perpetuating for generations? When will the cycle stop? 

We've made such strides. First and foremost, electing a black president (and then demanding he present his birth certificate - an unprecedented act). DC will dedicate the long overdue Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, memorial in the coming weeks.  

I am not even sure if I can justly comment on the topic of racism as a white woman. It makes me feel uncomfortable. But I think that is just about right. I should be uncomfortable because this is not a resolved issue by any means. But this book and film are getting us talking and making us aware, which is the first of many steps.

Image can be found here.

Book Review: Love in a Cold Climate | The Pursuit of Love

If you like Jane Austen and you have even the slightest bit of sauciness in your personality, then you will get a kick out of Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate (you can purchase both in one book). Written in the 1940s, both novels take place between the world wars in England. They tell the story of a well-to-do set of girls who are in their late teens/early twenties and fraught with the decisions of which young man to marry or sometimes divorce (eek!)! Both novels are told from the perspective of Fanny Logan, a meek girl who is in awe of her more frivolous cousin, Linda Alconleigh, and her friend, Polly Hampton. 

I will say that I thought The Pursuit of Love improved as the story developed but ended quite suddenly for my tastes. I prefer Love in a Cold Climate because we hear more about the narrator, Fanny, whose character remains quite in the shadows during The Pursuit of Love (the spotlight there is all about the romantic dealings of Linda Alconleigh). To that end, Fanny reminds me very much of Fanny Pryce in Mansfield Park.

Both novels are quite frothy and good fun to read on a winter's evening when one is looking for diversion to the characters' colorful outings in the English countryside. 

Also, the cover of this edition was styled by the incomparable fashion designer, Cecil Beaton! 

Image found here. 

To Lead an Extraordinary Life

I've written about my family's love of the book and 1994 film Little Women before, but after watching it per holiday tradition last evening, I found renewed inspiration in the lovely words of the screenplay, translated from Louisa May Alcott's sacred text. I think of years more in terms of birthdays than calendar or school years. So as I begin this next year on my birthday today, I seek to keep in mind some of the most sacred sentiments expressed in the film. In the coming year I want to lead an extraordinary life.


The film is a perfect medium to stimulate creativity and passion for one's work.


Marmee always knows what to say:
"Oh, Jo, you have so many extraordinary gifts, how can you expect to lead an ordinary life?
Go, and embrace your liberty. And see what wonderful things come of it."


Every time I watch the film, Gabriel Byrne as Friedrich Bhaer becomes sexier and sexier:
"You must write from life, from the depths of your soul!"


I so admire Jo's passion and longing to live fervently through her art:
"Late at night my mind would come alive with voices and stories and friends
as dear to me as in the real world.
I gave myself up to it, longing for transformation."


Marmee's moralism is quite infectious and aspirational:
"I only care what you think of yourself. If you feel that your value lies in being merely decorative, I fear 
that someday you might find yourself believing that is all you really are.
Time erodes all such beauty, but what it cannot diminish is the wonderful workings of your mind,
your humor, your kindness, and your moral courage.
These are the things I cherish so in you."

Image found here.

A Harry Potter Giggle

I am beyond excited to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 this weekend! I have been a fan of the series, books and movies, since I first picked up the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in the ninth grade. I started reading the books because all the extra credit questions on my physics exams were about the Harry Potter books. And between you and me, I needed all the extra credit I could get! What started as a practical reading activity soon became a delightful journey into J.K. Rowling's ingenious world.

The video above is from BuzzSugar, featuring all the awkward moments in the Harry Potter movies. Hilarious!

Under 40, Already in The New Yorker

The New Yorker is currently featuring profiles/interviews with 20 writers under 40. I am loving the design concept for their portrait as well as seriously crushing on some of their names and back stories like Wells Tower and ZZ Packer. That's the way to really be a rockstar writer: start with a really awesome name.