Freedom: Sunday New York Times Book Review

The Sunday New York Times book review sections always energizes me.  It's the first section of the times I read every Sunday.  Today features Jonathan Franzen's new book, Freedom.
I read The Corrections and thought it was up there right along with Beloved and The Poisonwood Bible.  A great novel, in other words. I am in awe of Franzen. I heard him speak a couple years ago at Boston's Grub Street, The Muse and the Marketplace.  He gave a thoughtful, even profound, speech. 
There is a brouhaha (isn't that a wonderful word?) to do with Jennifer Weiner (on the best seller list today) and another woman writer over the fact that women writers do not make the cover of Time Magazine.  Anyone who belongs to Sisters In Crime knows that women's books are reviewed less by major (and probably minor) newspapers and periodicals.  Folks, this is hardly news and it seems a bit mean-spirited to point this out and (maybe) diminish Franzen's place in the sun.

I have no doubt that Franzen would be able to make first rate fiction out of it.  He's no stranger to controversy what with the Oprah hoo-ha (another great word--why do words describing a dust up or tempest in a tea top event have a "ha" in them?) Ha ha! 
Franzen is a brave writer, the kind of literary writer I would give me genre-gnawed eye teeth to be.
From all discussions, Freedom seems to be a significant literary event.

Hmmm.  Maybe his publisher should have been hawking  Freedom out at the Lincoln Memorial yesterday.  Some of the people on the red and blue sides of the fence are portrayed in  the book.  Who of us will recognize our sorry selves?

A new calf

Most unexpectedly (for me) one of the Highland Scottish Cows bore a calf today. This is (I think) Mary Ann, who has a half-grown calf that is ailing. He lies in the pasture all day and flicks his ears. The poor little thing must have ear mites or worse. wish the farmer would take action and do something and am debating stopping by and mentioning same. Nothing like a nosy busybody, is there?

The calf with the ear problem is lying on the right, and the brand new calf is a darker brown and lying with his/her mother licking him. Cow mothers are very attentive, at least for a while. We fed them scraps today, and Maggie's baby will eat out of my hand which is unusual for the calves who tend to be more skittish.

The pair of ducks seems to be nesting close by us in the slough. The big obnoxious black birds appeared a few days ago and ate all the suet, even the suet in the feeder for small birds. Their beaks are so long they can reach in and eat it. Major bummer. Do not like those birds.

I had to refill the thistle seed yesterday, and noticed the trillium is blooming, and about 30 solomon's seals are coming up. Bleeding heart is also abloom, and some of the wildflowers look healthy, but the creeping phlox is a train wreck. Spare and no blooms. My heath really looks good. Maybe photos tomorrow.

I would ordinarily be arriving in Gerlach, Nevada right now, had the fates so decreed. Instead I'm leaving Thursday and coming back on Tuesday for a much shortened trip, and the fun stuff like Soldier Meadow and Squaw Reservoir will be what doesn't get done. So it goes, in the words of the immortal Vonnegut.

The Corrections just blew me away. I finished it last night and haven't read such a tour de force since The Poisonwood Bible. God what a joy a long novel that's really fun to read can be. One of life's great pleasure. Hallie Ephron has a new book out: 1001 Books for Every Mood: A Bibliophile's Guide to Unwinding, Misbehaving, Forgiving, Celebrating, Commiserating (and I'm looking forward to getting some good suggestions from that. There must be delights of good reading I probably overlooked or was never assigned. Just like Sinclair Lewis's Oil, also a great novel. I've had a good reading spring and late winter.

Submitted a short story to Glimmer Train and an agent wanted 3 chapters of Festival Madness. No great hopes, because I don't think FM is going to be her thing, but I'm sending them anyway.

Maybe if she likes it, she'll recommend another agent. I have the feeling it's more of a man's book. Crazy, huh?

Onward,

Grapeshot

Malice Domestic

The Agatha (named after Agatha Christie) Awards for 2008 were handed out a week ago at the Malice Domestic Conference in Washington (Arlington).

Here is a link to the winners.
http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2008/04/and-malice-toward-all.html

Special congratulations to Hank Phillippi Ryan who won for the best first novel. Hank belongs to our local Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America chapters.

Her novel was a delightful read and it's always cool when the home team wins.

The Agatha are awarded for traditional mysteries, that an Agatha Christie born today might write. The Edgars, mentioned earlier tend to have a bleaker outlook about crime and murder.
I like both kinds of stories.

Right now I am liking (and admiring) The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. It is a real tour de force, and one feels so sorry for all the characters as they stumble through their sad imperfect lives. If Franzen wrote crime, he'd be in the noir section of the shelves.

Yesterday I made rhubarb bread and it was good. That sweet-sour combo is a dynamite taste sensation.

This recipe is very similiar to the one I used. Enjoy.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rhubarb-Bread-I/Detail.aspx
Grapeshot