This and That #1

So, I waited too long to write a post about short stories, and now I can't write about them anymore because it has been too long since I read them. I would reread them but I seriously do not have time with school going on and all the things that I have to read. But let me suggest the following:

The Enormous Radio by John Cheever
Roman Fever by Edith Wharton
How to be an Other Woman by Lorrie Moore

These are fantastic writings. Check them out.

I'm doing an independent study on modern and contemporary American drama. I just finished reading Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive, a superb play about a young girl becoming a woman while having a sexual affair with her uncle in law. It raises questions about the nature of pedophilia and statutory rape, and gives a very interesting take on a character that we might have otherwise condemned.

I also read Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, which is depressing to read, especially during the time where our economy is fucked. But it is a great play. The characters are multi-dimensional and very intriguing to study. What I love about Arthur Miller is that his works (the 4 that I have read) all have timeless qualities. These are the plays that readers and audiences will always be able to relate to. He is very Shakespearean in that way.

The rest of summer reading

When I started this blog, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted it to be. I didn't want to write book reviews, I didn't want to praise or condemn any books, I just want to write about them. I guess what I find most fascinating are the things that I come across and decide to read, whether I enjoy them or not. I just think it's interesting why somebody chooses to read something, and I hope that my choices are interesting to you too.

These are the books that I read this summer which haven't been previously featured:

On Writing - a memoir about writing by Stephen King
Reckless - a play by Craig Lucas
Prelude to a Kiss - another play by Craig Lucas
Our Town - Thornton Wilder

"That's what it was to be alive. To move about in a cloud of ignorance; to go up and down trampling on the feelings of those...of those about you. To spend and waste time as though you had a million years. To be always at the mercy of one self-centered passion, or another. Now you know--that's the happy existence you wanted to go back to. Ignorance and blindness."

- Our Town

Currently I am enjoying short stories by Ray Bradbury, who truly is an amazing writer. I bought one of his collections, The Vintage Bradbury, a while back, and it is now one of the best books I own.

I read a lot of interesting short stories this summer, old and new. I might write about them in the next entry.

Oedipus the King by Sophocles

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What I love about Greek drama is that, even though it predates English literature, it has so much better female representation than in most English works before the Victorian era. Oedipus the King or Oedipus Rex is a fantastic Greek tragedy by Sophocles. It is the first (chronologically) of his three Theban plays.

A painting of Oedipus and the Spinx by Gustave Moreau, not a scene from Oedipus the King.

As Oedipus the King seeks to find the cause of the curse that befalls in his land, he is led to discover the truth about his birth and the horrendous fate that awaits him.

"But I say that you, with both your eyes are blind:
You can not see the wretchedness of your life,
Nor in whose house you live no, nor with whom.
Who are your father and mother? Can you tell me?
You do not even know the blind wrongs
That you have done them, on earth and in the world below."

This is one of the most prominent works in the world of literature. And, lucky for those of us who feel the need to read anything prominent, it is so well written and so much fun to read. However, just like everything translated, choosing the right translation is very important. There are so many out there, and it's hard to trust anybody. I chose the one by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald because I have read and loved Fitzgerald's translation of The Odyssey.

Good ol' Sophocles

The other two plays of the three are Oedipus and Colonus and Antigone. I'll probably get to them pretty soon.

Face - Alice Munro

I read a lot, and I like most of the things I read. Partly because I usually choose to read works by authors that either have been revered for at least fifty years, or works by new authors that are highly acclaimed. I would say there is only about one in ever ten works I read that I don't like.

But once in a while, about one in fifteen or twenty, do I come across a work that reminds me why I read.

I subscribed to The New Yorker a couple of months ago, but I don't really have time to read it. I try to at least catch all the fictions, but usually I wouldn't get to read them until a couple of issues later. Last night I read Alice Munro's Face, which was published in the September 8th issue. (I'm not sure if it has been published before; Munro is a regular contributor to the magazine.) And it was just that kind of work. The story is about a boy with a birthmark on his face and is childhood friend. It is bittersweet and heartbreaking. And it reminds me of the magic of fiction, the magic that makes me love to read and write fiction.

Alice Munro

The only other story by Munro that I have read is How I Met My Husband. I enjoyed that one but don't think is half as impressive as Face. If you like Munro, or are looking for something amazing to read, Face is available to read for free on The New Yorker website.

Angels in America - Tony Kushner

Lately I have been reading plays a lot. They're quick and easy to finish, and they give me the escape I need from this harsh, cruel world. Among those plays, two of the best were two parts of the epic Angels in America a Pulitzer Prize winner by Tony Kushner.

Prior to reading these plays I have seen the HBO adaptation of it three times. I loved it so much despite how long it is (6 hours). I decided that it was time to actually sit down and read the plays. And they are fantastic.

"I usually say, 'Fuck the truth,' but mostly, the truth fucks you" - Millennium Approaches

"The white cracker who wrote the national anthem knew what he was doing. He set the word 'free' to a note so high nobody can reach it. That was deliberate. Nothing on earth sounds less like freedom to me." - Perestroika

There is much wisdom in these plays. All the main characters are some of the most complex, most compelling characters in drama. You read it and you want to know who they are. You feel compassion for them from the moment they appear. Reading these two plays gave me some of the most cathartic experiences.

A stage production of Angels in America.


A scene from the HBO adaptation.

Pretty much I love these plays, and so should you! Read them, and then check out the HBO adaptation.

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

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Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray is about a young man who "sells his soul to the devil" in exchange for eternal youth. It is one of those novels I hear mentioned all the time. I think it is well written as a whole, and even though the supernatural element is not clearly explained, the rest of the novel is so well developed that it makes up for what isn't there. If the novel is categorized as gothic, then it would be the first gothic novel that I like.

The dashing Oscar Wilde was arrested for being gay. The novel has a really overt homosexual theme. Though the male characters have wives and stuff, the way they feel about each other is unmistakably romantic and sexual. In fact I think it would be ignorant to even attempt to read it any other ways.


This is a Rembrandt paiting of Faust, the German legend about a man who sells his soul to the devil. The story of Dorian Gray plays off of the same theme and structure.

It's not that long, and it's a good read, so check it out!

In a few days...

I don't want to update every time I finish reading something. That might be a bit too much. I've been reading several really interesting things. Be expecting these:

-More classics
-Some drama
-Short stories, old and new

Consider this a teaser :)