kindle enthusiasm

 This pandemic has made everything hard, including reading. Something that I love to do, but somehow didn’t want to concentrate that hard to do … until I got a Kindle. This is not an ad. But the times we are living in have encouraged a few bigger-than usual purchases. Since I haven’t been spending my money elsewhere (or anywhere), one of those purchases was a Kindle. It has seemed easier for me to read some titles on this device for a few reasons. First, I am not clogging my already overstuffed bookshelves, or adding to my seemingly endless to-read stack. Only I know how many unread titles I have on the Kindle. Second, I can buy more pulpy, fun reads with zero guilt, as their pop-lit covers won’t mar the afore-mentioned shelves. Third, if I like the title I have just read I can immediately download the next in the series or another book by the author. Instant gratification.

Once Is Not Enough by Jacqueline Susann – A girl’s best friend is her father

A friend was reminiscing on Facebook recently about Jacqueline Susann novels. I remembered seeing two of the so-bad-they’re-good movies on cable years ago, but had I ever read the novels? Well, thanks to Kindle I can. I read her three most famous novels in reverse chronological order, starting with Once Is Not Enough. I vaguely remembered the movie starring Deborah Raffin as the heroine January (!) She was a young woman with daddy issues who has a Freudian affair with an older man, played by David Janssen – with zero chemistry and sex appeal. Maybe he read the book and didn’t like the author’s emasculating take on his character. Susann piles on the drama, with January overcoming a terrible motorcycle accident that takes her years to recover from, drug addiction, and even virginity. The most sympathetic and interesting character in the book is Karla, a lesbian (maybe actually bi) famous movie actress. Susann tells her story in flashbacks, from WW2 atrocities to fame and fortune in Hollywood. Karla is loosely based on Greta Garbo. Part of the charm and fun of Susann’s books are her thinly disguised characters based on larger-than-life celebrities. Once Is Not Enough ends in a strange and perplexing way that I wasn’t prepared for – the movie completely skipped Susann’s crazy plot turns and stayed with the January as triumphant city gal narrative.

From Electra complex to Narcissus. My next read was The Love Machine. Here Susann tries to tell the story (sort of) from a man’s point of view, although a few of his main squeezes get to chime in with chapters of their own. The Love Machine is a mess. The hero, Robin Stone, is a total jerk. Every woman he meets and even every man is overly impressed by him. But the dude has absolutely no personality and is rude and downright mean to all of the above. If there weren’t the chapters featuring the ladies I would have quit on this one. Another implausible and unearned ending here, too. But it was a fast read and I did enjoy the Mad Men-esque depiction of the sixties world of television in Manhattan.

Valley of the Dolls – L-R: Anne, Jennifer and Neely

I saved the most well-known book for last, Valley of the Dolls. The movie with Patty Duke, Sharon Tate and Barbara Parkins is so indelible that it is hard to imagine Susann’s trio as anyone else while reading the book. As much as it was a fast and fun read, it really wasn’t as good as Once Is Not Enough. Susann puts Neely, Jennifer and Anne though all the racy topics of the day – plastic surgery, lesbianism, terminal disease, drug addiction. Again, the male objects of their affection are pretty boring or just unpleasant dudes, but Susann’s heroines are constantly obsessing about getting, keeping, losing their men. In fact, after plowing through these three books I was struck by the schizophrenic nature of Susann’s characters. On the one hand she writes openly about subjects that had to be extremely taboo for their day – homosexuality, drugs, women with careers. She even has a trans character in The Love Machine. But on the other hand Susann seems pretty conservative. Her heroines all pine for their men, putting up with tons of bad behavior. They stay in bad relationships just because the guy is rich or so they can dine at “21” every night. Without a man in their lives their careers go downhill. What started out as escapist fun, reading Susann’s bestsellers, ended as a sad peek into lives that were only glamorous on the surface. The girls ended up being as boring and empty as their men.

Review on Cannonball Read 13

little grey cell comfort food

When I can’t think of anything else to read, or just want something comforting and familiar, there is always Agatha Christie. And although I have read (I think) most of her books by now, I am still drawn most frequently to the ones featuring the inimitable Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot. He of the meticulous ways and fantastic mustaches. With his obsession with detail and as Ben Franklin says, “a place for everything, everything in its place,” he has to be a Virgo, like me. And probably a little bit OCD.

“There was only one thing about his own appearance which really pleased Hercule Poirot, and that was the profusion of his moustaches, and the way they responded to grooming and treatment and trimming. They were magnificent. He knew of nobody else who had any moustache half as good.” ― Agatha Christie, Hallowe’en Party

I downloaded some Poirot-centric titles on Kindle and was not disappointed. The first, Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly, is a shorter, novella-length version of what became her novel Dead Man’s Folly. The plot is similar to the novel, but there are a few changes and twists to the story. Christie was well-known for reusing plots and motifs and then changing around settings and even murderers for a completely different result. It is fun to read Christie’s description of the main house where the murder takes place, as she based it on her own house in Devon.

Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie

The next Christie I read is a longtime favorite, Hallowe’en Party. This is a particularly diabolical mystery, as the victim and even some of the suspects are children. Agatha Christie never shied away from the concept of evil, or its being able to take root at an early age. Poirot has to tread lightly as he tries to solve a brutal drowning – in a tub full of apples – as he questions a seemingly nice community of nice people. The ultimate solution has to feature one of her most interesting motives, too.

The next Christie was a new collection of short stories, featuring Poirot and Christie’s other detectives: Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppence, Parker Pyne, etc. Along with a reminiscence about one of her childhood Christmas holidays, the featured stories include: “Christmas at Abney Hall,” “Three Blind Mice,” “The Chocolate Box,” “A Christmas Tragedy,” “The Coming of Mr. Quin,” “The Clergyman’s Daughter/The Rose House,” “The Plymouth Express,” “Problem at Pollensa Bay,” “Sanctuary,” “The Mystery of Hunters Lodge,” “The World’s End,” “The Manhood of Edward Robinson,” and “Christmas Adventure.” Christie fans will recognize that “Three Blind Mice” is the novella version of her long-running play “The Mousetrap.” These are all good stories and the winter’s theme makes them feel especially cozy.

Poirot and Me, by David Suchet

Not quite ready to quit Christie, but not in the mood for a re-read, I stumbled across Poirot and Me, by David Suchet. This is a charming book by the actor most well-known as the definitive Poirot (sorry Kenneth Branagh). Suchet outlines his entire acting career in this memoir, which includes a lot of award-winning theater and films and television. But a great bulk of his career and life has been spent playing Christie’s most famous detective. He is proud to share that journey and how Poirot has affected his career and life. He may have initially taken the role thinking it would be a short-term thing, as many British series are, but he grew to love the character and become a champion for filming every Christie novel and short story featuring Poirot. This was a monumental project, completed over the course of many years and different production companies. The decision to keep the time frame in the 1930s gave the series an impeccable feel and design. But he was finally able to realize his dream and the Agatha Christie’s Poirot series is one of television’s best classic mystery series.

And this concludes my adventures with Poirot. Until the next re-read.

Reviews on Cannonball Read 13

some great, some not so, some not even suspense

 A Century of Great Suspense Stories

I got this one to listen to on drives more than thirty minutes. You can basically hear one short story each way. It is a mixed bag, both in quality and presentation. It should be noted that the audible version of this book only includes seventeen stories, the first half of the book. The rest of the book’s nineteen tales are missing. Maybe the second half is also available as a book on tape. Maybe I’ll check.

The stories have been gathered by author Jeffrey Deaver (The Bone Collector). Many of the stories were previously published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. A lot of the stories have that twist ending reminiscent of The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and similar anthology shows. Deaver includes one of his own short stories, “The Weekender,” which also happens to be one of the best ones. Other highlights include “Missing: Page Thirteen” by Anna Katharine Green and “The Gentleman in the Lake,” by Robert Barnard. The absolute highlight of the collection is “Quitters Inc.” by Stephen King, which rounds out the collection.

A Century of Great Suspense Stories, edited by Jeffrey Deaver (warning, a lot of the authors listed here aren’t in this truncated collection)

What is especially difficult is the inability to search through the collection as you’re listening to find a story or skip a story. You can fast forward, but it is a very clunky presentation. The readers of each story were mostly good. Some of the more detective noir-ish readings were a bit much, maybe, but that could have been the stories, too. I found the classic American detective stories to be the most dated. The Erle Stanley Gardner was especially tough going.

It took a lot of hunting online, as there is no complete list of authors and stories with the book on tape, but here is the complete list of the contents:

“Gentleman in the Lake” Robert Barnard
“Life in Our Time” Robert Bloch
“Batman’s Helpers” Lawrence Block
“Girl Who Married a Monster” Anthony Boucher
“Wench is Dead” Fredric Brown
“Cigarette Girl” James M. Cain
“Matter of Principal” Max Allan Collins
“The Weekender” Jeffery Deaver
“Reasons Unknown” Stanley Ellin
“Killing Bernstein” Harlan Ellison
“Leg Man” Erle Stanley Gardner
“One of Those Days, One of Those Nights” Ed Gorman
“Missing: Page Thirteen” Anna Katharine Green
“Voir Dire” Jeremaih Healy
“Chee’s Witch” Tony Hillerman
“Interpol: The Case of the Modern Medusa” Edward D. Hoch
“Quitters, Inc.” Stephen King

Review on Cannonball Read 13

strangers on a train - stranger and strangerer

Every once in a while I get a yen to read the source novel for one of my favorite classic movies. My most recent read (actually listen) is Strangers On A Train, by Patricia Highsmith. I have seen the classic Alfred Hitchcock film, featuring Robert Walker and Farley Granger, many times. There are some indelible, memorable scenes in that movie – the two men crossing legs and crossing lives on the train, the gold lighter which incriminates and absolves, the final deadly and hair-raising sequence on the merry-go-round at the amusement park. Apart from their initial meeting on the train, Hitchcock fans should know that none of those set pieces are in the book.

Strangers On A Train, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, with Farley Granger and Robert Walker.

That doesn’t mean that the book isn’t interesting, however. It was Highsmith’s first novel, published five years before her successful The Talented Mr. Ripley. It could be viewed as a precursor of some of the themes that appear in that novel, like the doubling effect of two male protagonists. Charles Bruno is a charming sociopath. He wants to “trade murders” with a random man he meets on a train, Guy Haines, an up-and-coming architect (Hitch made him a tennis pro). Guy doesn’t take Bruno seriously, but he doesn’t condemn him that forcefully, either. Guy’s got his own problems. His estranged wife Miriam is now pregnant by her new boyfriend and he’s hoping she will agree to a divorce so that he can marry his (very rich) sweetheart Anne. But Miriam is not known for being agreeable.

Strangers On A Train is a psychological thriller. Highsmith is most interested in Guy’s mental journey and collapse as Bruno continually pressures him to hold up his end of the bargain. Written in 1950, the undercurrents of homosexuality between the two men must have seemed shocking. Highsmith isn’t exactly sympathetic to the almost perpetually drunken Bruno, but she lets his character grow through his actions and how people react to him, which makes him more interesting than broody Guy. In fact, “hero” Guy becomes more and more unlikable as the story progresses. Highsmith does not do a very good job with her lone female character, Anne, who seems to only exist to be devoted to Guy, but we are never given a reason why she likes the increasingly unpleasant fellow. The story is told at times from both Guy’s and Bruno’s perspectives. The book would have definitely benefited if we had more of Anne’s perspective, too.

Strangers On A Train, written by Patricia Highsmith, read by Bronson Pinchot

Ultimately Strangers On A Train is an interesting read, but I prefer how Alfred Hitchcock streamlined some of the action and themes and certainly brought his visual flair to Highsmith’s clever plot idea. I “read” the audible version of this book, read by Bronson Pinchot.

Featured on Cannonball Read Instagram and on Cannonball Read

Marcel Duchamp: The Art of the Possible.

Available on iTunes and Amazon on March 10, 2020, comes a new documentary film from Electrolift Creative Productions, Marcel Duchamp: The Art of the Possible. Directed by Matthew Taylor and produced by Michelle Taylor, the 90-minute film mixes biography and opinion to create an intriguing portrait of artist Marcel Duchamp.

Marcel Duchamp was born in Normandy, France in 1887. The film begins with family photos and a quick introduction to Duchamp's youth and then, like the artist himself, quickly sets off for Paris and the art world. Duchamp's primary artistic mentors were his older brothers, artists Raymond Villon and Jacques Villon. The brothers studied Impressionism, post-Impressionism and sold cartoons to make money while attending classes at the  Académie Julian. Duchamp made his first big splash at the Salons des Independents exhibition in Paris in 1909 with Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2. The organizers of the show considered the title too provocative and Duchamp, refusing to change the title, even at the advice of his brothers, withdrew the piece from the exhibition.

Fountain 1917, photograph by Alfred Stieglitz

Duchamp never worked well in groups and left Paris for Munich, and then America, where he landed in New York. The famous Armory Show of 1913 accepted Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2. It was the sensation of the show, receiving tons of press coverage, mostly negative, yet propelling Duchamp to art star status. He met art patrons Louise and Walter Arensberg, who agreed to pay his studio rent in return for acquiring his work, especially The Large Glass (The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even), which took him twelve years to complete.

Marcel Duchamp: The Art of the Possible poses the question: what would modern art be like without Duchamp? Duchamp shirked traditional art-making techniques. His way of making art was cerebral. He believed that language could transport you to another world. His artistic output is comprised as much of his notes and ideas for artwork as it is his actual art pieces, many of which currently reside in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Duchamp believed in a new way of making art. He used chance to create pieces, and believed that art should be an open, experimental activity. Creativity itself, his ideas, was the art. He often said that art is made by an artist but doesn't achieve its final purpose until it is seen by the viewer. This idea may have been most clearly embodied in his ready-mades - pieces of sculpture made from common everyday objects such as a shovel (In Advance of the Broken Arm, 1915), bottle rack, (Bottle Rack, 1914), bicycle wheel (Bicycle Wheel, 1913), and urinal (Fountain, 1917). Always a provacateur, Duchamp's sculptures shocked (and sometimes still continue to shock) art audiences. They challenge what we think of art, what art can be.

Duchamp wanted to expand  the definitions of art. It is undeniable the readymades had a huge effect on artists of subsequent generations, most notably Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, and Andy Warhol. Entire modern art movements and genres like Fluxus, happenings, body art, performance art, pop art, conceptual art, and 80s appropriation art all owe a debt to Duchamp. Although he may have had a profound influence on many art movements, Duchamp never wanted to associate his own work with the movents of his day, such as Surrealism or Dada. Marcel Duchamp: The Art of the Possible helps make the case that he helped shift the focus of the art world from Paris to New York.

Marcel Duchamp: The Art of the Possible uses film and stills of Duchamp's artwork as well as his own recorded words.

"Art or anti-art was the question I asked."

Filling in the blanks and helping tell his story are artist interviews and film clips of Joseph Kosuth, Ed Ruscha, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Jeff Koons, Carolee Schneeman, David Bowie, Marina Abramovic, and others. Interviewed art world experts include Michel Gondry, Paul Matisse, Francis M. Naumann, Calvin Tomkins, Carlos Gerard Malanga, and many more.

Marcel Duchamp: The Art of the Possible is a fascinating feature-length documentary film that highlights an innovative and influential artist who can truly be called the father of modern art.