10 stars! The title states it all. This is indeed a remarkable story about a twin, Thomas, who was diagnosed as having anencephaly, a terminal conditi10 stars! The title states it all. This is indeed a remarkable story about a twin, Thomas, who was diagnosed as having anencephaly, a terminal condition. He was not expected to live once he was born. His skull stopped near his eyebrows and his brain was exposed at the top. It was a miracle that he survived six days. To read what his mother did to achieve Thomas' place in medical science is remarkable.
I was so impressed with the book that I looked up Sarah Gray on goodreads to ask her a question and found out that she is currently writing another book. I cannot wait to read it.
For science and medical lovers, you will be engrossed plus there are several case studies. I couldn't put the book down once I started reading it.
My thanks to Will for writing such an excellent and compelling review....more
Rebecca Solnit does indeed have a way with words. The prose is exquisite and she has added a new dimension to getting lost, not only when looking for Rebecca Solnit does indeed have a way with words. The prose is exquisite and she has added a new dimension to getting lost, not only when looking for a place, but also within oneself.
I could feel myself accompanying her on her peregrinations and it has indeed taught me a few things about myself that I didn't know.
That's all that needs to be said - buy the book, read it, put your feet up, and lose yourself in this remarkable work. ...more
On 21 February 1971, Barbara told the Sunday News: “I was nothing. I had no friends. No talent. I was like a shadow. I didn’t learn a thing in schoOn 21 February 1971, Barbara told the Sunday News: “I was nothing. I had no friends. No talent. I was like a shadow. I didn’t learn a thing in school. I still can’t count. I hated movies as a child, people on the screen were perfect and it made me feel inferior.’ Later on, in the Post: “I used to hide behind doors. I spent my childhood hiding behind my grandmother’s stove. I was very lonely.’ Later, still in Positive: “I’ve gone through my while life like I was autistic, convinced I was worth nothing. I didn’t know who I was. I was all over the place, I had no pride.”
And yet as Léger stated: I also discover that she liked “Journey to the End of the Night” by Céline, “Nana” by Zola, “Breathless “by Godard, Maupassant’s short stories and Andy Warhol’s films.
The author was completely unknown to me as was Barbara Loden, the subject of this book, and yet as soon as I read the blurb and saw that Loden, apart from being a stage and film actress, was also the second wife of Hollywood giant Elia Kazan, I knew that I would absolutely devour and love this book. That indeed turned out to be the case. I have a weakness for the films of the “Golden Age” of Hollywood and I have this wonderful French book of Hollywood actors and actresses, including Ava Gardener, Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart, etc.
I was, however, confused first of all why Léger had chosen Loden to write about. Léger admitted that for her, “Suite for Barbara Loden” began as a notice: “It seemed simple enough. All I had to do was write a short entry for a film encyclopaedia.” And that did not suffice, as after much research, it ended up like this.
Imagine Loden, born in 1932, a former pin-up girl who had known Mickey Mantle in those days, the fifties in fact, when he was the most famous baseball player in the New York Yankees team after Joe DiMaggio. There’s a very amusing episode when Léger tracks him down in the States and meets him at the Houdini Museum. She was also somewhat bemused to find that he had been reading Proust.
Loden then managed to get small parts in films, nearly making great films with actors like Burt Lancaster but then they always fell by the wayside. When Elia Kazan was faced with her on a set he had only one thing on his mind! He subsequently married Loden.
Loden was a unique individual in that she really didn’t know who she was and finally decided to direct and star in her own independent film “Wanda” in 1970, when she was thirty eight. In reality she was playing herself.
You can imagine how difficult that must have been to find financial backing. She ended up with a rather low budget. This makes me think of Clint Eastwood who was born two years before Loden and who also directed and starred in his own films. At that time it must have been hard for a woman to make an entrance in the film industry as a director and she has to be admired for that.
Loden’s film “Wanda” brought her a certain amount of fame but she was never really accepted in the film world and died of cancer in 1980. She was still married to Kazan when she died. She consulted many doctors prior to her death and one even said that her problem was brought about because she didn’t cry enough! As she lay dying, all she said was Shit, shit, shit, then she spat out some tiny stones – it’s the liver, the nurse said – and died.
What is so perfect about this book is that Léger shines in her efforts and determination to trace the rather "hidden" life of Loden. Nevertheless, there were many papers that she was unable to gain access to and it was through a novel she managed to get closer, but not that much, in the 1967 novel that Kazan published called “The Arrangements”. It proved to be very difficult but she has indeed produced the most remarkable book here, a mere 120 pages but the depth of the book is unquestionable and I won’t go into too much detail about the film “Wanda”. In a way it is based on Loden herself, a very private individual who found that she could relate to the real Alma Malone (on whom the film is based), who ended up in prison for twenty years in Marysville, Ohio. Loden tried to meet her but the governor wouldn’t allow it. There are indeed shades of Marilyn Monroe here. In the film, briefly Wanda meets Mr Dennis and they plan a bank robbery and it all goes horribly wrong.
I was so fascinated by the content of the film that I’ve ordered the DVD of “Wanda” and I cannot wait to see it.
For a definitive review of this book, do read Proustitute’s excellent review on the link below.
So good to read another perfect book. It has made my day here in France where we have a holiday for All Saints’ Day. It couldn’t be more appropriate. I’m sitting here on my terrace overlooking the Pyrenees, it is sunny, there is a clear sky and well, it couldn’t be better....more
I feel more than ever that I live in a cobweb of other people’s lives and do not understand the cobweb’s nature. These are the people I know as chiI feel more than ever that I live in a cobweb of other people’s lives and do not understand the cobweb’s nature. These are the people I know as children; this is the same house; trees and shrubs are as they were. I remind myself of that when everywhere I sense what I can only call distortion; I know no better word. I tell myself that John James suffers from his wounded leg, that it’s his brother’s choice to live a peasant’s life, that other girls have married sticks for husbands.
I have tried but I am unable to write a review on this wonderful book as I love it too much.
All I can say is that the story begins in 1908 and is based on the island of Carriglas, just off County Cork in Ireland. Sarah is a poor relation of the Rolleston family and goes there as a governess. There are three children, Villana and the two brothers, John James and Lionel who are at school in England. When they are both grown up, each demonstrates in their own way their proclivities which are rather intriguing. Sarah’s brother Hugh finally gets engaged to Villana and then everything goes rather wrong and the engagement is suddenly broken off. There are secrets and these will not be discovered until Sarah in 1971 finally realizes that these secrets need to be known by Tom, the illegitimate son of the former butler of the household who will finally inherit Carriglas. Her diaries will reveal all to him.
Tom is indeed the catalyst who holds the threads of this novel together. He notices everything. His attention to detail is rather remarkable. There are some unforgettable sections in the books such as Villiana’s wedding which was remarkable and the book is also rather amusing which certainly appealed to me.
The sensitivity in the writing style of Trevor is unsurpassed and this is a book that I really cherish. Why is it that whenever I really love a book I cannot write about it? It’s rather as if I have a secret myself and I don’t want to share it. Bizarre on reflection.
The descriptions are remarkable and I especially remember the fuchsia hedges, as quoted in the book, from when I was in Ireland last year. The vivid red rather captivated me. All of the local people make up the fabric of this book with the minimum of words which Trevor is so good at. This book has a magical quality that is hard to describe. I’m sitting here looking at my Waterford shamrock sitting on my desk and I know that I have a gem in this book.
All I can say is that I want to read all of William Trevor’s books and he wrote rather a lot. Quite an undertaking.
Well I've tried and tried and I've found it impossible to write a review on these two novellas. Briefly, two middle-aged women, both aged fifty-six whWell I've tried and tried and I've found it impossible to write a review on these two novellas. Briefly, two middle-aged women, both aged fifty-six which I found very odd; one novella set in south-east Ireland and the other in Umbria in Italy.
How Trevor has managed to immerse himself under the skins of two women in such a skilful way I find remarkable and in fact baffling. He shows a sensitivity and a style of writing that is quite mesmerising. I still don't know why I love this book so much. In fact I'm just starting his novel "The Silence in the Garden".
In conclusion, there are so many excellent reviews on this book on Goodreads that I thought it best to leave it at that....more
Loading...
