Three short reviews -- a Gourmet; a Children's Book Author; and a Memoir of Australia

In an effort to clean off my books shelves I read all three of these book as part of my 'Try It in July' Challenge.

Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery, translated from the French by Alison Anderson (Europa Editions, 2009)

Back in 2009 I read a book that profoundly touched me at the very core of my existence: The Elegance of the Hedgehog. One of my friends, an artist and teacher, had unexpectedly died. I knew when I read this book that Deb was speaking to me about the importance and beauty of art. Art was so important to her. She oozed enthusiasm on the subject. Therefore, I treasured the book and memory of reading it, hearing my friend's voice in my heart the whole time. Two years later when Borders Books was going out of business (sob*) I was picking through the shelves looking for bargains and I found another book by the same author, Gourmet Rhapsody. Surely if I loved Hedgehog as much as I did, I'd love anything by the same author. I bought it, brought it home, stuck it on the bookshelf, and forgot it. Twelve years later I finally read it.

Pierre Arthens, a famous food critique, is dying. As he lays in his bed with family hovering nearby, he is desperately shuffling though memories in his mind of a singular flavor -- that divine something once sampled, never forgotten, a flavor par excellence. This self-absorbed man wishes for one last thing -- one last taste.

The book begins with an early food memory for Arthens. Alternating chapters are taken up with some asides/thoughts by family, friends, colleagues, even pets when they learn that Arthens is dying. It becomes very clear, very quickly that Arthens was not a nice person, especially to his wife and children. The contrast between his memories of mouth-watering food and their memories of neglect and abuse from him brings up a lot of food for thought. (Pun intended.)

By book's end, I didn't really care what happened to Arthens but I confess to enjoying his almost orgasmic descriptions of eating outstanding foods. Thankfully it was a quick read.

Rating - 3 stars.

In the Great Green Room: The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown by Amy Gary (Flatiron Books, 2017)

We've all read the popular children's books Goodnight Moon and the Runaway Bunny. This is a biography of Margaret Wise Brown, the author of those and many other children's books. "Margaret’s books have sold millions of copies all over the world, but few people know that she was at the center of a children’s book publishing revolution. Her whimsy and imagination fueled a steady stream of stories, book ideas, songs, and poems and she was renowned for her prolific writing and business savvy, as well as her stunning beauty and endless thirst for adventure." She started her career working on projects for the Bank Street School for Children, invested in changing curricula and creating stories which helped girls see themselves as equal to boys. Margaret lived an exuberant and alternative lifestyle, embracing action and whimsy. She often made comments about how she needed to grow up, wanting to write for adults but never succeeded on that desire.

Much of the book focuses on Margaret's love affairs with several men and a woman, Michael Strange, a poet and x-wife to John Barrymore. After Michael's death, Margaret fell in love with a younger man and had made plans to marry him but died due to complications from appendicitis at age 42.

In the Great Green Room was a fascinating book but unfortunately it wasn't very well written. It often felt uneven -- too much attention on the love affairs, not enough on the writing of her famous books. I'm guessing that Amy Gary had so much material to work with she couldn't decide what to include and what to leave out.

When my sister, another teacher, loaned me the book she mentioned that the writing wasn't very good so I should skim it. I did that in places but I did feel sucked into Margaret's story and wanted to linger over details in other spots.

If you are a fan of her work, read it, and you decide for yourself.

Rating - 4 stars.

Island Home: a Landscape Memoir by Tim Winton (Penguin Random House Australia, 2015)

An Australian friend gave me this book, Island Home by Tim Winton. We met when a group of Australian students came on a US Exchange. Clare was one of the chaperones and she and I got on famously. Several years later she and her husband came back for a visit, sans students. When she gave me the book I thought it was intended for my high school library but I wasn't able to find the cataloging details for the book so I decided to take it home and read it myself. That was seven years ago. Sigh*

Tim Winton is an Australian author who grew up and still lives in Western Australia (WA). As a fledgling writer he really struggled with finding his voice until he, out of sheer determination, decided to focus his writing on what he knew. That is what all writing coaches tell their students, right? Well, what Tim knew was Western Australia -- the land, the animals, the people, and the slang. This is where he placed his focus and he became, at a fairly young age, an accomplished Australian writer.

Island Home is more a memoir about place than about the author. Tim obviously loves the land, the sea, and the sky around his beloved home. His descriptions brought Western Australia into focus for me. It also made me realize that language is often very local. Tim used so many words I didn't know and ones I couldn't even understand in context. I often felt like he was speaking another language...I suppose he was. He was speaking Australian English and I speak American English. It is odd and embarrassing to admit. I did look up the geographic references he made, so I could at least picture where on the map he was referring. In fact at one point I was jolted because he said he lived in WA, an abbreviation we use in the US to mean the State of Washington (WA) which is a postal term. I had to look up what WA meant.

I loved the idea of the book more than the actual reading of the book -- it was so much work not to be completely confused the whole time. However, it has accomplished one thing -- I am more determined than ever to make a trip to Australia than ever before. But like the US,  Australia is a huge place so it is doubtful I will have a chance to see it all. Don't believe me? Check out the size of Australia compared to the US on the overlaid map.

Rating - 3 stars

-Anne