This month I am reading for two challenges: Nonfiction November and Novellas in November. I am also trying to finish up all my yearly challenges which includes reading at least two of the National Book Award finalists each year. Each of these books fulfills one or more of those different challenges.
I picked up this short, little nonfiction book at the library last time I was there. I was doing some shelf reading, trying to locate interesting nonfiction books which are also short. This one fit that bill so I checked it out. I thought this book will be perfect for me since I have grandsons and they love gross stuff. In fact I hoped to read a bit with them that very day since I was going to be with them soon. Unfortunately this book is like an adult version -- less funny with not that attractive illustrations -- of the kids' book series "Butt or Face" by Kari Lavelle. I am glad I didn't attempt a read with my grandsons. I did learn a few interesting facts though nothing that memorable since most of the weird animals referenced in the book were ones I've never heard about before.
My rating 3 stars.
Challenge: Nonfiction November and Short-length nonfiction, which counts toward the Novellas in November challenge.
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Tree of Knowledge is a National Book Award finalist in the poetry category this year. Victoria Chang is a fantastic poet and I've enjoyed several of her other collections. In this one Chang is haunted by a eucalyptus tree in her neighborhood which is cut down. This event becomes the locus from which the rest of the poems spiral. In addition the poet refracts works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Joan Mitchell, and Hilma of Klint, whose series of paintings bestow their names for the titles of the poems. The long poem "Eureka" is the core of the collection and it examines the violent 1885 expulsion of Chinese Americans from the California town by the same name.
As with most poetry collections I liked some and didn't care for other poems. Probably I should say I understood some and didn't understand others. I did start to worry about the poet herself (that often happens when I read poetry) as she seemed to be truly depressed about the eucalyptus tree's demise. I also became very curious about the artists whose works she referenced since most I'd never heard from before. The title of the book, for example, came from Hilde af Klint who made eight Tree of Knowledge paintings in 1913.
Each of the poems, with the exception of "Eureka", is composed of a series of couplets. Within each poem Chang includes a quote from the artist which is noted in italics. Here is an example from the poem "My Landscape II, 1967":
... I've been so afraid of missing my life
that I haven't used it at all. Wittgenstein wrote,
In most cases, the meaning of the word is
its use. Maybe the meaning of life is its use...
Victoria Chang is a spectacular poet and so deep. I'm fairly sure I only scratched the surface of understanding what she was trying to accomplish with this collection. But I felt rewarded for trying.
My rating: 4.5 stars
Personal Challenge: National Book Award finalist, Poetry Category
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I was recently in Scotland and visited the Writer's Museum, just off the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. Three famous Scots are presented in that place: Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Of the three I've read the most of Robert Louis Stevenson in my lifetime and I determined to read more. So when I got home from the trip I decided to actually do what I said I would do and chose The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as my starting point. It is short after all and I wanted to find a novella length classic. Perfect.
The story, which is categorized as horror/gothic lit isn't really terribly frightening compared to those genres today. I also knew going into the book that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were one in the same, I just didn't know how the transformation took place and to what end. When I learned it was drugs I wasn't shocked. And the ending was a bit anti-climatic. Let's just say I was glad that the book was short. If you want to read some of Robert Louis Stevenson's work, may I recommend Treasure Island. I actually found that book quite delightful and exciting. Not this one.
My rating: 3 stars.
Challenges: Novellas in November
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