Friday Flashback: Rec. #39: Paris to the Moon

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: In 1995, Adam Gopnik, a writer for the New Yorker, received a plum assignment: Move to Paris for five years and write about it. For me, at least, Gopnik actually earned that privilege, because he sent back some damn fine writing on everyday life, including strikes, cafes, fax machines, haute couture, Alice Waters, and a baseball bedtime story. This isn't just an American in Paris; this is an American becoming Parisian.

Comparable to: A New Yorker in Paris.

Representative quote: "[It was] symbolic of a common human hope that the world could be something other than it is --- younger and more musical and less exhausting and better lit."

You might not like it if: The privilege of it all really gets in your way.

How to get it: When it's cold out! I always associate this book with winter, mainly because of the memorable "Winter Circus" section. Also, Pro Tip for you: Go ahead and buy a few copies right away. I've owned several different copies of the book because I keep loaning it to people ("You really should read this.") and people keep . . . not always giving it back.

[Originally posted 2/7/11.]

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #2: Seven Up

Stream what: In 1964, this British documentary profiled 14 seven-year-olds from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds. 7 Plus Seven, 21 Up, 28 Up, 35 Up, 42 Up, 49 Up, and 56 Up have followed in due course.

Stream why: The whole concept is fascinating and addictive, and this first part is only about 30 minutes.

Stream where: Netflix, Amazon Instant

Stream whuh?: Is it a movie with sequels? Is it an episode of a miniseries? Is it a season of a series? Does it matter? Sources differ. Decide for yourself.


For more info on the Up Series: Rec. #33

Rec. #360: The Object of My Affection

What: Ominously, the subtitle for one edition of The Object of My Affection is "A novel for the eighties." Gah! It might make you feel better (or worse) that Stephen McCauley's first novel often feels like it could have been written yesterday.

Robert breaks up with George. George moves in with Nina. Nina gets pregnant by Howard. George ends up becoming a surrogate unwed father. The concept sounds slapsticky, but the story is beautiful and honest and sadder than you might think.

(But still happy enough for a reasonably faithful movie adaptation with Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston, so don't fret about that.)

Opening lines: "Nina and I had been living together in Brooklyn for over a year when she came home one afternoon, announced she was pregnant, tossed her briefcase to the floor and flopped down on the green vinyl sofa."

How to get it: Buyable, borrowable, Kindle-able.

Quote from a Fictional Character #52

"I learned one thing very early. Never be the innocent bystander - that's the guy that always gets hurt. If you want to play with matches, that's your business. But not in gas-filled rooms - that's not only dangerous, it's stupid."

--- Frank Jessup,

Angel Face, 1952

(Rec. #284)

Rec. #359: Jitterbug Perfume

What: Things author Tom Robbins loves (a partial list): exotic locales, preferably in the vague past; profane yet mystical characters; macguffins with heavy back stories; genius waitresses. Jitterbug Perfume has them all! Plus beets.

Opening lines: "The citadel was dark, and the heroes were sleeping. When they breathed, it sounded like they were testing the air for dragon smoke. On their sofas of spice and feathers, the concubines also slept fretfully. In those days the Earth was still flat, and people dreamed often of falling over edges."

Representative quote: "The beet was Rasputin's favorite vegetable. You could see it in his eyes."

Connections to previous Wreckage: Tom Robbins is mentioned in Rec. #9 (No Ordinary Matter), Rec. #128 (Day for Night), Rec. #142 (Tex and Molly in the Afterlife), and Rec. #195 (Orion You Came and You Took All My Marbles).

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #1: Charade

Stream what: Charade is a suspense-thriller-romance-farce starring Audrey Hepburn as a menaced widow and Cary Grant as a guy with some murky motives.

Stream why: Audrey Hepburn runs around Paris! Plus several classic suspense set pieces and some groovy music.

Stream where: Netflix, Hulu

Stream whuh?: Netflix hilariously describes Cary Grant's character as "a flimflam man."



For more info: Rec. #97

Quote from a Fictional Character #51

"Jane wondered whether a woman would do it better, and came to the conclusion that she would probably do it far more quickly and efficiently, but would also wreck herself in the process, and this Mr. Pattern was quite obviously, and perhaps rightly, determined not to do."

--- Jane Gresham,

Miss Bunting, Angela Thirkell, 1945

Also:

Cheerfulness Breaks In (Rec. #240)

Summer Half (Rec. #40)

Quote from a Fictional Character #12

Quote from a Fictional Character #31

Quote from a Fictional Character #43

Friday Flashback: Rec. #17: The Palm Beach Story

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: I am a huge fan of screwball comedies from the 1930s and '40s. Quick patter, drunk old men saying funny things, dogs jumping in during inopportune moments --- these are things that do not get old. 

In The Palm Beach Story, Claudette Colbert tries to divorce her inventor husband for his own good. But who cares, really? The movie's got Mary Astor! And Rudy Vallee in tiny glasses! We love Mary Astor! And we love Rudy Vallee in tiny glasses! Plus, there's the Ale and Quail Club, it was directed by Preston Sturges, . . . and did I mention the Wienie King?

Comparable to: Other screwball comedies. Think Some Like It Hot, The Lady Eve, Bringing Up Baby, The Awful Truth. You get the idea.

Representative quote: "That's one of the tragedies of this life --- that the men who are most in need of a beating up are always enormous."

You might not like it if: You are emphatically not a fan of screwball comedies from the 1930s and '40s.

Connection to additional Wreckage: List #42: In Praise of the American Screwball Comedy.

[Originally posted 1/16/11.]

List #43: Happy Birthday, P.G. Wodehouse

P.G. Wodehouse as captured by David Low

Who: Mind-bogglingly prolific writer, humorist, creator of Bertie Wooster and Reginald Jeeves, playwright, lyricist, slangiest slangmeister who ever slanged

Psmith, Journalist, 1915

(Rec. #289)

Jill the Reckless, 1921

(Rec. #136)

Meet Mr. Mulliner, 1927

(QfFC #23)

Joy in the Morning, 1946

(QfFC #35)

Uncle Dynamite, 1948

(Rec. #204)

The Mating Season, 1949

(Rec. #254)

Barmy in Wonderland, 1952

(Rec. #318)

Cocktail Time, 1958

(Rec. #24)

Much Obliged, Jeeves, 1971

(Rec. #153)

As published by Overlook Press

(Gift Idea #7)

Quote from a Fictional Character #50

"Take a step forward. And another one. And another. Right leg up. Higher. What's the matter, don't you trust me?"

--- Marina,

Me Without You, 2001

[first lines]

(Rec. #143)

(List #18)

Rec. #358: In a Dark House

What: Author Deborah Crombie continues to trace the imagined lives of Scotland Yard detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James. This time, a warehouse arson, a missing person case, a child abduction, and a murder end up in the mix, The professional is right alongside the layers of personal that Crombie has built up over nine previous books.

Representative quote: "She had been all right until the light started to fade. The woman who had brought her to the house had come twice during the day, locking the door when she left each time."

How to get it: Buyable, borrowable, Kindle-able.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Excerpted in First Sign of Murder #9. An earlier book in the series was Rec. #55: Dreaming of the Bones.

Quote from a Fictional Character #49

"Very well. I hope you'll never regret what promises to be a disgustingly earthy relationship."

---Waldo Lydecker,

Laura, 1944

(Rec. #193)

Friday Flashback: Rec. #93: Children of God Go Bowling

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: The main character/narrator of Children of God Go Bowling is a woman named Shannon Olson. The author of the novel is also Shannon Olson, but you probably shouldn't read too much into that. The fictional Shannon is stymied by her own life in Minneapolis and half-heartedly looks to a few different sources for direction, including group therapy and her mother (the indomitable Flo). 

Olson's book is an irascible and wry examination of how people in their 30s can still have difficulty crawling completely out of adolescence. I also recommend Olson's debut, Welcome to My Planet (Where English Is Sometimes Spoken), but I think this sequel is funnier. Also, this title is better.

Comparable to: Not a huge leap from this to Julie Hecht. Or vice versa.

Representative quote: "The kindergarten teacher was perhaps my favorite; he was sweet, and perhaps because he was used to dealing with small children, he smiled and nodded encouragingly throughout our conversation." 

[Shannon's verdict after a brief summary of her recent dates.]

You might not like it if: You find the main character too self-absorbed. This is something she struggles with, too.

How to get it: Kindle-able and available from libraries or used booksellers. Probably not going to find a new physical copy of it, though.

Connection to previous Wreckage: Julie Hecht's Happy Trails to You was Rec. #6. Welcome to My Planet (Where English Is Sometimes Spoken) was Rec. #338.

[Originally posted 4/2/11.]

Rec. #357: I Know Where I'm Going!

What: Basically this acclaimed 1945 film is about a woman going, "OK, so I'm going to travel from Manchester to the Hebrides in order to marry this wealthy industrialist." And then the weather laughs mockingly and says, "Nope! You're not! You're sooooo not."

Plus, much atmospheric wind and rain and traditional Scottish music.

Representative dialogue:
"Still got those half starved hounds? How on earth do you manage to feed them?"
"Oh we live off the country. Rabbits, deer, a stray hiker or two."

How to get it: Buy or rent.