Summer Reading: White Teeth

White Teeth by Zadie Smith was the one book on my summer reading list that I was the least interested in reading (hence the reason I saved it for last).  I really wanted to like this book because it has been lauded by so many critics but I just didn't find it to be very appealing. I get that it is a treatise about the immigrant experience and generational conflict but I thought it was very boring at times and I kept waiting for some sort of climax that would tie all of the disparate narratives together but I was left feeling more confused than ever at the end of the novel. It focuses on the lives of World War II buddies, Samad Iqbal and Archie Jones, and their wives and children in post-colonial Britain.  Iqbal and his wife are originally from Bangladesh and are afraid that their twin sons are straying from their traditional values. They decide to send one of the sons to live with family in Bangladesh (they can only afford to send one). The son in Bangladesh becomes an Anglophile while the one in Britain becomes involved with a terrorist organization. Jones marries an immigrant from Jamaica (after deciding that meeting her is a sign not to kill himself) and their daughter is incredibly smart but lacks self-esteem because of her looks and, like the twins, she struggles with her identity. There are lots of tangential family members, such as a niece who has shamed the family and a grandmother who is a devout Jehovah's Witness, for comic relief. To be sure, all of the characters are quirky and their dialogue is, at times, quite hilarious, but I didn't find them to be sympathetic. I did laugh at many things in this novel but it wasn't funny enough to keep my attention. Also, the leitmotif of teeth as a symbol of success seems really forced to me, almost as if those passages were added to the novel after it was finished so Smith could use it as a title. There is something to be said when a person who usually devours books in one or two days takes about three weeks to plow through it.  This novel just wasn't for me.

Summer Reading: In a Dark, Dark Wood

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware is a psychological thriller that will keep you up late into the night trying to figure out what happened!  Nora hasn't talked to her former best friend Clare for over ten years so she is surprised when she is invited to Clare's hen-do (bachelorette party) over a long weekend at a remote cabin in the woods. She is initially wary about accepting the invitation but, ultimately, her curiosity overtakes her good judgment and she accepts.  She begins to feel uneasy almost immediately upon arrival (no cell service, an atmospheric location, and party guests who are not what they seem) and there is definitely an undercurrent of unfinished business between Nora and Clare. The narrative alternates between the events at the cabin and Nora waking up in the hospital after a terrible accident which she cannot remember (amnesia is such a tiresome plot device but it works here). The suspense builds and builds (I was holding my breath for the last few pages) to a dramatic conclusion back in the woods. I definitely wasn't expecting the outcome (in fact, many of the twists and turns in the novel caught me off guard) which is high praise for a thriller. I could really relate to the characters of Clare, the golden child who seems perfect, and Nora, who was always in Clare's shadow. Trying to figure out what caused the bad blood between them was very compelling and it was interesting to see how easily they fell back into earlier patterns of behavior. The narrative is fast-paced and kept my attention throughout so I highly recommend it.

Note:  I hear there is a movie in the works and I can't wait to see what the glass house in the middle of the woods looks like!

Summer Reading: The Paying Guests

World War I is a particular interest of mine so I was very eager to read The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters which is set just after that tumultuous period in history. The war is over and many in England are trying to adjust to a much different life than before the war. Husbands and sons are dead and servants have found work elsewhere. The aristocratic Mrs. Wray and her spinster daughter Frances are finding it difficult to keep up their rambling mansion and their finances are in disarray because of some bad business decisions made by her husband before his death (from apoplexy when the details of his mismanagement became known). They are obliged to take in lodgers to make ends meet. Lilian and Leonard Barber are less genteel than the Wrays and belong to the rising middle class.  This makes for some awkward encounters between them until Lilian and Frances begin an affair which leads to terrible consequences for both families. This novel is beautifully written and the atmospheric prose perfectly captures that era. However, I didn't entirely like it. The build-up to the affair between Frances and Lilian seems to take forever (a full two-thirds of the novel) with the accretion of tiny detail after tiny detail. I had predicted this relationship early on so I just kept waiting (and waiting) for it to happen and I became increasingly impatient. Then a plot twist happens which disrupts the fragile relationship between them and they both become so overwrought that they cannot come to a decision over what should be done. Frances contrives to visit Lilian, they have an emotional discussion about their situation, and then resolve to wait and see. Repeat, repeat, and repeat again. I feel like the characters had the exact same conversation at least five times! By the time the situation is resolved (which was rather abrupt considering the build-up) I almost didn't care any more. At least 200 pages could have easily been omitted without changing the outcome. Even though I usually love psychological dramas set during interesting historical periods, I was quite disappointed with this novel which had so much potential. I can't really recommend such a boring book.

Leadership Conference 2016

Less than an hour after I got off the plane from Chicago I was on the road to St. George to meet my student body and class officers for a leadership conference at Dixie State University.  I have never been more tired in my life but I had so much fun with this amazing group of students!  I had a great group of kids last year but I was in the middle of selling my house and my head just wasn't there.  This year I soaked it all up!  We had keynote speakers, workshops, activities, and service projects (and one or two midnight runs to McDonalds).  One night we were able to see Peter Pan at the Tuacahn Amphitheatre which was amazing, another night we had a barbecue and pool party at the Washington Rec Center, and on our last night we had a black light dance.  We dominated every roll call with our loud cheers and, by the end of the week, every other school knew who we were!  It was a wonderful opportunity for my new officers to get to bond with each other and plan for the 2016-2017 school year.  I am really looking forward to our year together.

Leadership Conference 2015

Leadership Conference 2014

A Day at the Art Institute of Chicago

Whenever I am in a big city for a few days, I always like to visit a major art museum (like I did in New York City).  Marilyn and I had a morning free in Chicago so we decided to visit the Art Institute of Chicago.

Because we are such tourists we had to find what is arguably the most famous painting in the museum:  A Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat.  This painting is featured in the movie Ferris Beuller's Day Off and because I love that movie it was really fun to see this.

Another really famous painting in the collection is American Gothic by Grant Wood.  It took us quite a while for us to find this painting but it was absolutely spectacular to see it in person.

I am a huge fan of Impressionism and I was thrilled to find a huge collection of paintings by some of my very favorite artists.

Cliff Walk at Pourville by Claude Monet

Houses of Parliament by Claude Monet

Stack of Wheat (Thaw, Sunset) by Claude Monet

Stacks of Wheat (Sunset, Snow Effect) by Claude Monet

Stacks of Wheat (End of Day, Autumn) by Claude Monet

Two Sisters (On the Terrace) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Venice, Palazzo Dario by Claude Monet

Water Lilies by Claude Monet

Water Lily Pond by Claude Monet

Waterloo Bridge, Gray Weather by Claude Monet

Woman at the Piano by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazarre by Claude Monet

Poppy Field (Giverny) by Claude Monet

Drapery, Pitcher, and Fruit Bowl by Paul Cezanne

Self-Portrait by Vincent Van Gogh

It was incredible to see all of these paintings, which I had studied in college, up close and in person.  I highly recommend a visit to the Art Institute of Chicago!