Sunday Salon: April wrap-up and Polysyllabic Spree

I had a rather banner month reading-wise. My kids' spring break fell during the month and with the lack of commitments, I powered through a bunch of books I might not otherwise have gotten to so quickly. May isn't very likely too be as productive. I was significantly less productive on the reviewing front for the month, suffering from an odd attention deficit every time I settled in to write a review. Hopefully that problem will dissipate as this month goes along. And despite reading so much, my unread stacks still expanded rather than shrank. Oh well! I am happy to be surrounded by books. For those who like brief stats, I'll take a short page out of Nick Hornby's book and let you know how my numbers stacked up last month but because of space constraints, I won't bore you with so many titles.

Books read: 24
Books bought: 17
Books otherwise acquired (sources include review copies, books from my mother, and from my local pusher friend Carin): 33

So I'm at a net gain of 26 books for the month. Not likely I'm going to reverse that trend for next month either as I've already been less than virtuous and it's only two days into the new month.

So where have my book adventures been taking me this week? I spent time hearing about a traveling show in Ireland. I eavesdropped on neighbors in a NYC co-op building. I revisited the crazy undead and then took a detour into the land of ghosts and their mediators. Finally, I suffered with a mother who tries to rescue her unique son from a deep psychosis.

Review: Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You

My daughter is a dancer so when I stumbled across this book in the pile of books awaiting parent reviews in the middle school library Book Buzz stack, I snagged it. I personally have two left feet but I have now watched enough dance classes, recitals, and competitions to feel like I know a little something about the whole thing. Cirrone did a nice job using the dance world to highlight teenaged body image issues and societal expectations and pressures surrounding bodies, especially but not limited to girls'.

Sixteen year old Kayla is a ballerina. She works hard and is quite good. But Kayla doesn't look the expected part of a prima ballerina. In short, she is very busty. Her dance instructor at school suggests a breast reduction, even going so far as to give Kayla the name of a surgeon. And Kayla is passed over for a plum role in the production of Cinderella, reduced to the comedic roll of an ugly stepsister because the outside choreographer refuses to look past her shape and recognize her talent. As Kayla agonizes over whether or not to submit to surgery that would allow her to better chase her dream of a career in dance, she is also faced with a typical teen fledgling romance with Gray, the good-looking new boy in school, and the usual girl conflict with a fellow student exacerbated by the competition for parts.

While Kayla battles her own insecurities, her older sister faces the censorship of her senior art project, which is partly inspired by the body issues that Kayla is facing, and red pointe shoes start showing up around school with the message that "dancing in red shoes will kill you" causing a flurry of panic and an investigation of the threats. Of course, when the shoes start appearing, no one knows yet who will be wearing the red shoes in the production but it turns out that it will be Kayla, the other ugly stepsister, and Cinderella's mother.

Cirrone ties together the various plot lines nicely with each adding to the commentary about societal expectations and body image. She manages to do this without coming across as preachy and also without making Kayla seem inauthentic for a sixteen year old. The characters are definitely left-of-center off beat but they are still kids, even with their occasionally over-earnest discussions. Although the secondary characters aren't as fully developed as Kayla and act mainly as foils to her, staying within their prescribed roles: entertaining best friend, serious and advice-laden older sister, etc., they are still enjoyable to read. The pacing of the plot is good and the resolution of the mystery, while somewhat anti-climactic, reinforces the theme of the whole.

The one wrong note that did strike me is when the girls receive their pointe shoes for the production. While renting or borrowing the rest of the costumes for the show, it is pretty inconceivable that the local dance company would send shoes as well. Pointe shoes are very individual (my daughter, admittedly a difficult case, probably tried on 20+ in her size before she was properly fitted) and it would be very unlikely for the girls to dance in borrowed shoes that weren't fitted to their particular feet. But that's a minor quibble and those with an interest in dance or in feminist issues like the body will find much to enjoy in this middle grade novel.

Saturday Shout-Out

On my travels through the blogging world, I find many books that pique my interest. I always add them to my wish list immediately but I tend to forget who deserves the blame credit for inspiring me to add them to my list (and to whom my husband would like to send the bill when I get around to actually buying them). So each Saturday I'm going to try and keep better track, link to my fellow book ferreter-outers (I know, not a word but useful nonetheless), and hopefully add to some of your wish lists too.

Turkish Wedding by Judith Reynolds Brown was mentioned on Book Dilettante.

What goodies have you added to your wish lists recently? Make your own list and leave a comment here so we can all see who has been a terrible influence inspiring you lately.

Review: Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden

When I was small (and angry at my parents) I would fantasize about my "real" parents. They were undoubtedly rich and royal. Well, Wendy Burden never needed to fantasize. Her family may not have been royal, but they were undoubtedly rich. You see, she is a descendant of Cornelius Vanderbilt and she grew up surrounded by rather obscene amounts of money, a child of privilege, apathy, and neglect. Dead End Gene Pool is her memoir of a childhood lived mainly in the company of servants and in the rarified air of the super rich. And having read this book, I am quite certain I'm glad that no royal, rich parents came to claim me from my perfectly happy suburban existence.

Opening with a quick run through of her moneyed family tree, Burden starts with Vanderbilt and hops through the branches down to her own paternal grandparents. Once she settles on the family members she actually knew, she starts in on the crazy, sometimes funny, sometimes terrible life that made up her early life. Her father, suffering from depression, committed suicide when she was just six. Her alcoholic mother, written out of the will for her serial adultery, became a completely absent and neglectful parent. And Burden and her brothers ping-ponged between their mother's empty of supervision home and their wealthy grandparents' servant-filled homes. In neither place did they find the nurturing and love that children need.

Burden chronicles not only the eccentricities of the very rich (when money is no object you can order cars from Europe to be delivered to you that same day or find game that is in season somewhere in the world in order to have it for dinner the following evening or pad your entire bathroom in foam so that when you stumble and fall in your alcoholic and aged haze, you won't bruise yourself), she also lays bare the odd child that she was, obsessed with the Addams family, collecting dead animals to watch the various stages of decomposition, begging for a pony and then creating elaborate and murderous fantasies about Will's demise when it was gifted to her older brother instead of her. She writes about many of her family members as if they were fictional characters, mocking their faults (an overly flatulent grandmother and a misogynistic grandfather), exposing their immorality (Uncle Ham-Uncle Ham's Nazi fetish), and generally skewering all and sundry. In one instance she appears to think that her uncle's obsession with tracts warning against the evils of inherited wealth, which he distributed to the whole family, is laughable but really, it seems that while he may have been a buffoon, at least as Burden represents the family, his tracts weren't off base.

While there were funny anecdotes sprinkled throughout the book, this was ultimately a sad story. The absenteeism, the drug use and abuse, the mental illness, acknowledged or not, and the general lack of love and attention displayed here make it hard to call this a funny book or even one rife with dark humor. I was left with the feeling that the people in Burden's family were unpleasant and distasteful and I wouldn't have wanted to know them myself. She does have a neat turn of phrase here and there and some amount of self-awareness comes through but the narrative itself is often choppy and repetitive. This brief visit into the skeletal closets of the highest of society makes me grateful that I don't live there and it was with an unseemly sense of relief that I closed the book at the last. Although I didn't love the book myself, it is a fascinating peep into a world in which very few people live and those who enjoy the lifestyles of the rich and famous and want to know more about the grit under the facade of the houses and the cars and the possessions will undoubtedly enjoy this book for its insight into the troubled highest echelons of WASP society.

An interesting interview/article about the author in the New York Times can be found here. As a bonus, there's a slide show of rooms in her home, decorated with Vanderbilt and Burden heirlooms.

Also, Ms. Burden will be talking about the book with readers at Books on the Brain, "live" in the comment section for one hour on May 18th, 5 pm PST. Please stop by and say hi if you're able to! More information about this chat session can be found here.

If you'd like more info about Wendy, check out her website.

Thanks to Lisa at TLC Book Tours for sending me a copy of the book to review.

Carpool

I love being in a carpool. For starters, I don't have to drive every week, which is, of course, the major point of it all. But the other benefit to carpooling is that the girls chatter away about all sorts of stuff as if I can't hear a darn thing because there's always a different mother driving them. I learn some fascinating information eavesdropping on their conversations. Last night the dancing girls started off talking about school. R. is in middle school and the others are in 5th grade so moving to middle school next year. They were curious about it. Apparently R. told them to beware of social studies (why? it's actually one of her best subjects). One of the other girls said she hated social studies because it was all history. Then she said she wanted to be a lawyer when she grew up. I interrupted at that point and said that the law required a lot of knowledge of history. So I was duly informed that she likes science and math. Fair enough. This same child then announced that she wanted to be a millionaire when she was grown. R. asked drily from the back seat, "Are you going to marry it or earn it?" I nearly swerved off the road trying to hold back giggles. Never did hear what the choice was nor did I hear my daughter elaborate on which she thought was a better plan.

Review: A Rather Lovely Inheritance by C.A. Belmond

American Penny Nichols works as an historical consultant on low budget movies when she gets a call telling her that her great aunt Penelope has died and left behind an inheritance. Thinking it wouldn't amount to much, Penny leaves her current movie and heads to London for the reading of the will. Her good looking cousin Jeremy meets her there and helps her through the surprise of a rather sizeable inheritance as well as helping her to navigate the tricky waters of the British side of the family. It isn't until Penny and Jeremy find their other cousin Rollo trying to steal the car left to Penny (she was gifted with the garage and its contents at great aunt Penelope's French home) that the madcap adventures of the novel really begin. Racing all over Europe to untangle the family tree and to prevent Rollo and his mother from succeeding in getting Jeremy disinherited, Penny and Jeremy uncover all sorts of mysteries about great aunt Penelope, her life, and the sometimes small ways in which World War II affected even those who didn't fight.

The characters are lovely and the plot clips along at a good rate after the reading of the will is over. Belmond does a nice job setting the scene and describing the family dynamics. While nothing tears families apart faster than money, and Rollo and his mother are actively working to have Jeremy disinherited, there is very little of the nastiness that usually surrounds these sorts of fights. And that is quite refreshing! This is a fun and frothy adventure full of light mystery and romance. There is a whiff of times gone by throughout the narrative and a gentility to the characters, even in the midst of heists and swindles. It is the first in a trilogy (at least so far), an amusing read that is delightful entertainment. I will happily be reading books two and three when I want a charming diversion.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This meme is hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey Through a World of Books.

Books I completed this week are:

The Sweet By and By by Todd Johnson
Nana by Emile Zola
Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden

Bookmarks are still living in the middle of:

The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
Great Lakes Nature by Mary Blocksma (this is going to take me all year as I read her year's entries on the corresponding days of this year)
Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show by Frank Delaney
The Girl Next Door by Elizabeth Noble

Reviews posted this week:

The Sweet By and By by Todd Johnson
How High the Moon by Sandra Kring
Charming the Highlander by Janet Chapman
The Gravedigger's Cottage by Chris Lynch
Nana by Emile Zola

Books still needing to have reviews written (as opposed to the ones that are simply awaiting posting):

A Rather Lovely Inheritance by C.A. Belmond
Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You by Dorrian Cirrone
The Gin Closet by Leslie Jamison
The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden

Giveaway on the blog this week:
The Ocean Between Us by Susan Wiggs ends May 3rd.