Hyperion

Whom Not to Marry: Time-Tested Advice from a Higher Authority

admin — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 16:01:00 +0000

After reading Whom Not to Marry by Father Pat Connor, a Catholic priest, I contemplated the different ways to approach this review. I could discuss the practical aspects of this book, but Maureen Dowd already addressed this in a July 6, 2008 op-ed in the New York Times. I could parody Whom Not to Marry, but Father Connor seems so earnest and well-meaning I couldn’t mock him in good conscience (and I’m not even Catholic). I could take a liberal stance and point out that this book is heteronormative, patriarchal, and antiquated. However, I’m much less offended by this instruction manual than I am by Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider’s The Rules: Time-Tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right. Connor at least encourages women to find someone who treats them with respect and kindness, rather than giving lessons on how to seduce men by playing hard to get.

Whom Not to Marry is based on Connor’s lecture that he shares with audiences of young women. He structures the book around 1 Corinthians 13:4-13, from the Bible: “Love is patient, love is kind...” If you’ve ever attended an American or Christian wedding, you’ve certainly heard this read, usually by a relative. I don’t want to be dismissive and say this is cliched, but Connor is certainly not introducing a new idea. Not to mention the fact that as a Catholic priest Connor has never been married himself, but gleans his experience from premarital counseling and presiding over ceremonies.

Full disclosure: I’m married and believe everyone should have the right to marry. At the same time, I respect that there are many people opposed to the institution of marriage. To enter into marriage should be an individual choice. This is the fundamental weakness of Whom Not to Marry. It assumes every woman wants to marry a man.

Another weakness of the book is that Connor does not criticize the institution of marriage, or at least the wedding industry in the U.S. I would never expect him to violate the tenets of his religion, but the book doesn’t account for social context. In many ways this book is ahistorical, and attributes failed marriages to women’s bad judgment, rather than considering the social pressure to marry quickly, traditionally, and with spectacle.

I don’t think I would actually recommend Father Connor’s Whom Not to Marry to anyone that I know. It’s very reminiscent of Good Housekeeping relationship advice columns that my grandmother may have clipped. Sweet and with the best intentions, but predictable and naïve.

Written by: Claire Burrows, June 27th 2010

Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:59:00 +0000

By Jamie Oliver

Hyperion

In the introduction to Jamie Oliver’s latest cookbook Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals, Oliver lays out his plan to get people cooking again by having them master at least one recipe from each of the fourteen chapters in the book. This is being called the “Pass it on Movement,” and it is the young chef’s hope that it will get Americans back in the kitchen and cooking healthy food. The introduction even ends with a pledge that Oliver encourages his readers to sign; it’s sort of a promissory note intended to guilt budding cooks into actually passing on their new culinary knowledge to the uninitiated.

Jamie's Food Revolution begins with a chapter on “Essentials,” which is basically a list of kitchen equipment and pantry items recommended by Oliver for aspiring cooks. I’m a serious home cook; I cook dinner at least six times a week and make most things from scratch, but Oliver’s lists intimidated the hell out of me. The chef’s intended audience for this book is the culinary challenged, those who’ve been relying on fast and/or convenient foods to get them through their days. Recommending that these people invest in over thirty kitchen tools and gadgets in order to be “well-rounded, efficient cooks” can make them feel overwhelmed. Admittedly, many people have cutting boards, can openers, and box graters, but asking a new cook to invest in a food processor, food scales, chef’s knives, and other tools may be asking too much. The list of pantry items is also large; it features seventy-five items. Though I can attest to the usefulness of having these ingredients on hand for quick and delicious meals, it may alienate his core audience. Trying to convince an inexperienced cook they need five different oils is crazy, but I almost have to commend Oliver for trying.

One of the biggest selling points of Jamie's Food Revolution is its affordable meals, but many of the recipes included feature expensive ingredients. For example, the first recipe calls for two filet mignon steaks, while others require leg of lamb, salmon, fresh tuna, and other meats and seafood. To me, this is just another example of a celebrity chef being out of touch with reality. This is only compounded by the fact that Oliver requests that everything be market fresh, organic, and free-range. The book includes photos and quotes by blue collar folks; all of them attesting to how these recipes changed their way of eating. Truth be told, teachers, single moms, and doormen can’t afford to feast on filet mignon, seafood paella, and roast lamb. I’d love it if everyone could eat organically and purchase produce directly from farmers, but it’s not realistic given the price range and availability of these items in most areas.

One chapter that really fits the bill for affordable cuisine is “Homely Ground Beef.” Here we learn to make meatballs (moist and delicious), Bolognese sauce (rich and comforting), and chili con carne, which wasn’t authentic, but quick, simple, and tasty nonetheless.

Enough with the criticism, let’s get to the good stuff: the food. Oliver, a recent recipient of the 2010 Technology, Entertainment, Design foundation prize, knows his stuff. Indian food has always been a mystery to me; it’s something I’ve always been intimidated by and terrified to cook. Thanks to Oliver, that’s no longer the case. The chef provides recipes for five different curry pastes, revealing the secrets behind korma, jalfrezi, Rogan josh, tikka masala, and vindaloo. The first things I tackled were Oliver’s recipes for chicken tikka masala (spicy, curried chicken), aloo gobhi (curried potato and cauliflower), and light and fluffy cilantro lime rice. Except for a substitution for the chicken tikka (I didn’t have boneless, skinless chicken, so I used chicken legs), everything turned out beautifully and at the end of the meal I truly felt as if I’d conquered a fear.

I owe a lot to Jamie Oliver. When I dropped out of college, I’d spend my days babysitting and watching his BBC show The Naked Chef, which I credit to helping me learn how to cook. Now that he’s revealed the secrets of Indian curry pastes to me, I’m forever grateful. I’m sure other home cooks will be just as thrilled with what the British chef has to offer.

Written by: Tina Vasquez, January 26th 2010

So Happy Together

admin — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:30:00 +0000

By Maryann McFadden

Hyperion

So Happy Together is Maryann McFadden’s second novel in which the themes of love, change, and nature—along with a strong and very human woman protagonist—are at the heart. Claire Noble is a forty-five-year-old woman in the “sandwich” generation; she has to juggle living her own life while caring for her daughter, as well as her aging parents. As the book begins, Claire is planning her new life with her fiancé Rick, who loves golf nearly as much as he loves an easy and uncomplicated life. But Claire’s life is anything but uncomplicated. Her daughter, to whom she hasn’t spoken in months, abruptly returns home and has a baby. Claire’s father is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. An environmental writer moves into the area and asks Claire to take the photos for his upcoming article. The beautifully planned life she and Rick used to have becomes very messy very quickly, and all that Claire thought she wanted, all she thought she was, comes into question.

The book is set in New Jersey and Cape Cod. McFadden writes beautiful descriptions of both areas, and there is a strong emphasis on embracing nature and family. There is also a strong focus on images, which makes sense considering Claire is a photographer, and the culminating scene takes place at her art show.

I wholeheartedly applaud the telling of the story of a woman in Claire’s position, and I also appreciated the story being told, at times, from the perspective of Claire’s mother. The lives and challenges of middle aged and elderly women aren’t often represented in today’s fiction world. The women in _So Happy Together _have a pocket of emptiness in their lives, and we get to see them fill in those pockets as the book goes on.

While the book has a fairly interesting plot and characters that are generally believable, the book tries to do just a bit too much. The layers of stress and trauma from side characters get to be overwhelming, and at times, the writing suffers. The effort to show the real complexities of the world is admirable, but it gets too heavy handed in places.

That being said, I love McFadden's (mostly) subtle agenda of protecting the environment and raising awareness about the beauty and magic in the natural world. Inherently, the book rejects cookie cutter suburbia and development, and this is a lovely addition to the text. So Happy Together is a decent followup to The Richest Season. It is not a step up in quality, but it is certainly not a step down.

Written by: Kristin Conard, October 6th 2009

The Richest Season

admin — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:28:00 +0000

By Maryann McFadden

Hyperion

The Richest Season is a familiar tale to any romance reader, occasional or obsessive: a wife and mother, disillusioned with her compressed, tepid worldview and identity, flees to an exotic locale in order to find herself. In this case, the wife and mother in question is Joanna Harrison. An empty nester with a distant corporate husband, she spontaneously decides to run away to a new life on Pawleys Island. She becomes a caretaker of an ailing older woman, Grace, meets some colorful local characters and begins to get in touch with—well, the story unfolds predictably from there.

McFadden does throw in a few surprising garnishes along the way. Grace, the older woman with a terminal illness, is one; her story has some interesting parallels to Joanna’s as Grace struggles to come to terms with her death and life. Paul, the husband left behind, also plays a surprisingly large role in the book, with his own chapters of narrative that give him some complexity and humanity. There is also a pleasing metaphor centering on the migration habits of mother sea turtles; however, the book doesn’t venture much outside its own comfort zone.

Some books take over your life from the first page. You spend your days either reading them or halfheartedly going through the motions while yearning to be reading them. Then there are books that fit into the cracks of your life, filling it up the days instead of consuming them. These books are read in odd snippets, right before bed or while waiting for toast to pop up or whenever it’s within grabbing distance and the time is right. The Richest Season, is of the second species. It’s entertaining enough to pass the time with while waiting for the sauce to thicken or while brushing your teeth. It won’t keep you breathlessly awake until you read the last word, but you will drift off to sleep with a warm heart and quiet mind, confident in happy endings.

** Sometimes we accidentally duplicate a review. What can we say? Perfection is an illusion. Click here for another Feminist Review writer's vantage point on The Richest Season.**

Written by: Jo Ristow, October 4th 2009

The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey through Madness

admin — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 23:39:00 +0000

By Elyn R. Saks

Hyperion

We rarely have the opportunity to hear from people diagnosed with schizophrenia. As a result, the disease remains misunderstood and maligned, confused with multiple personality disorder, and the butt of several jokes. In writing The Center Cannot Hold, Elyn Saks has, in part, set out to remedy this, and she has acquitted herself most admirably.

Saks’s life is an interesting one. Raised in Miami, Florida, she exhibited, as she can recall, a few early signs of the disorder in high school and in college, but her first serious break arrived while she was getting her Master’s degree at Oxford University. That year, Saks experienced both a stay in a mental hospital and her first relationship with a talk therapist. (The latter is a treatment she strongly advocates, although it is relatively rare to see it used to treat schizophrenia.) The stark detail in which Saks limns her schizophrenic breaks brings the reader immediately into her mind, yet the tone of the writing is so matter-of-fact that Saks’s mind, the mind of a woman both brilliant and deeply mentally ill, does not seem at all unusual. This is her gift as a writer: emotions, mental disorders, therapeutic relationships, and love are all treated as facts, not as things to fight or justify, but simply as the truths of a life. Saks makes schizophrenia real to her readers, as it has always been to her.

The pillars, and the beauty, of Saks’ story are the relationships she has created in her life and shows to her readers: relationships with therapists are portrayed as clearly, and with as much significance, as those with her close friends, her family, and later her husband. Love, Saks demonstrates, is a powerful stabilizing force, even in the face of the inevitable devastation that mental illness brings. In addition, Saks has used her academic work and interests to center herself since her youth, and as readers watch, Saks become what she is today: a professor of legal philosophy tremendously respected in her field, specializing in the legal rights of the mentally ill. We see that her work, the academic niche she has created for herself over time, has come to a graceful symbiosis with her acceptance of her illness. As she advocates, as a passionate writer and thinker, for others like her who have fewer resources, she comes to accept the role that her schizophrenia has played, and will always play, in her life, and also clarifies for herself that it is not the only defining factor.

The Center Cannot Hold is a bold, disturbing, compelling, original book. Elyn Saks is telling a story rarely heard, and she does so with uncommon skill and style.

Written by: Gemma Cooper-Novack, October 17th 2008

The Late Bloomer's Revolution

admin — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:26:00 +0000

By Amy Cohen

Hyperion

Cute chick + NYC + media job + boyfriend troubles + comedically quirky friends and family + insipid metaphors + lightbulb moment resolution = book deal! Next, it will surely be opening at a multiplex near you.

This read was so formulaic I had to remind myself that The Late Bloomer's Revolution is actually a memoir, not fictitious chick lit. We all know too well the irritating law of chick lit bestsellerdom: a free-spirited, but still safely conventional, damsel must learn to balance career, relationship, and self-esteem in the glamorous paradise of the Big Apple while watching out for charming, narcissistic, Prada-clad snakes! To make sure I did not forget this book's classification come review-writing time, I actually stuck a yellow sticky flag under the very, very lightly printed "A Memoir" that appears teeny-tiny over the author's very, very boldfaced name.

Perhaps it's because I truly love a deeply moving memoir that I find a book like this one to be a fluffball wafting around in a genre that once had at least a couple of anti-glib gatekeepers. However snobby and cranky that might sound, let me add that Amy Cohen's sharply observant, empathic, and witty writing style somewhat refreshes this 'single and scared silly' story, which turns out to be a securely strapped-in ride on the bourgeois emotional roller coaster. (Big Daddy always hovers in the background like a safety net).

The story opens with one of the book's best characters: Amy's wonderfully wise, laugh-out-loud funny and intellectually curious mother. Unfortunately, she and her fantastically original dialogue exit the stage all too soon, struck down by cancer. At the same time as her mother's death, Amy suffers through the loss of Josh, the man she thought she was going to marry, who ends up marrying a cartoon femme with the requisite big boobs. As the story continues, regular gal, imperfectly attired, small bosomed Amy's woes are compounded with the loss of her job as a television writer, several terrible dating experiences, and a crummy, dark, claustrophic apartment.

Amy's journey toward adult independence begins in her mid-thirties. She suddenly finds that it's time for her to learn to confront fears and take charge of her life—alone... as a woman... alone... in the lipstick jungle... alone... without a diamond ring on her finger. Did I mention, alone? So what does our heroine do? She learns how to ride a bike. For Amy, bike riding (a pat metaphor for balance) is a major phobia, having never learned as an urban-bred child. The realization here is that Amy is still able to enjoy life without being married because she conquered one big fear.

Less a journey through profound grief (which would have been a richer story), The Late Bloomer's Revolution anchors itself with a fear of spinsterhood, insidiously fostering this fear. Entertaining and well-written, yes. Will you like plucky Amy? Definitely! Will you forget this novel-memoir as soon as you put it down? Unfortunately, I think so.

Written by: Cheryl Reeves, October 15th 2008

O, The Oprah Magazine Cookbook

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:29:00 +0000

By O Magazine, Oprah Winfrey

Hyperion

Cooking with O, The Oprah Magazine Cookbook is an exploration of taste. The cookbook is arranged by the type of food—salads and appetizers, drinks, desserts, meats, vegetables—and the recipes come from a series of chefs who have contributed their favorites. Colorful photos and commentary from the chefs accompany the recipes.

Unlike other cookbooks, there is no clear theme here. The selection includes a wide variety of tastes and geographic influences—from a simple sliced tomato sandwich (do we really need a recipe for that or are we being reminded that a tomato can be sandwich fodder?) to Caribbean Callaloo, Pecan Coated Fried Chicken, and Vermont Maple Sugar Pie. At the back of the book are recommendations of what to serve to children, vegetarians, and dinner guests and what to make when short on time. The book also suggests wine pairings.

At first glance, the recipes don’t seem to be aimed at the average cook. Ingredients such as crème fraîche, ras el hanout, pancetta, and file powder aren’t readily stocked in the common kitchen. Neither is it intended for meals on the run, as some of the recipes are fairly complicated.

What the book does with flair is bring together tastes combinations that sparkle. African Chicken in Peanut Sauce is worth the effort involved, the creamy sauce a perfect compliment to the spiced, succulent poultry. The successful pairing of cherry tomatoes with shallots in Sauteed Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes results in a colorful, easy, and flavorful dish that is appropriate to serve to company for an evening meal. You’ll never make standard potato salad again after trying Sweet Potato Salad by chef Art Smith. Easy to make, colorful, and with a taste that will keep people talking (imagine sweet potatoes, pineapple, green onions, pecans, dijon, mayo, and more—yum!). It’s the perfect side dish to bring to summer barbeques.

I would have preferred to have nutrition information provided instead of the sidebars written by chefs, but perhaps the absence of nutrition information was intentional – allowing readers to indulge in a smorgasbord of flavors without worrying about the long-term effects. When looking for something elegant and unique, to add some pizzazz to your table, O, The Oprah Magazine Cookbook offers excellent ideas.

Written by: Jessica Jacobson, July 10th 2008

When She Was White: The True Story of a Family Divided By Race

admin — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:27:00 +0000

By Judith Stone

Hyperion

It would be hard to find a story more inherently dramatic than that of Sandra Laing, one that can show in a more complete and complex manner the ramifications of South Africa’s apartheid regime. With coloring distinctly different from that of her white family, Sandra Laing was expelled from her white school in 1965 and reclassified as “coloured” (of mixed-race descent), then, after her family engaged in legal battle, was made ‘white” once again; in the throes of this conflict, at the age of fifteen, Laing fell in love and ran away with a black man, with whom she had several children. Finding herself more comfortable with her lover’s family, she applied, once more, for racial reclassification. In the meantime, she lived with the inevitable hardships that came with being classified as “black” in South Africa while remaining the object of international journalism, gained and lost contact with members of her white family, and tried, as best she could, to ignore larger political structures and the pain they had caused her.

In the delicately titled When She Was White, Judith Stone skillfully limns the high drama of Sandra Laing’s story. Stone spent several years working in South Africa, interviewing Laing and many other individuals connected to the story, as well as researching the alarming intricacies of the apartheid government. The result is a thoughtful, moving book. Although Stone occasionally veers into the sanctimonious when describing the plight of black people under apartheid, she portrays the character of Sandra Laing, and the drastic psychological ramifications of her early life, with a delicate, skillful eye. As is often the case in a far-reaching biography, the events of Laing’s later life cannot quite match the drama of her childhood and adolescence, but by including occasional interludes into her own analysis of Laing’s current character Stone successfully keeps the book compelling.

Particularly for readers not well-versed in modern South African history, Judith Stone’s thoughtful biography is valuable. It tells an intense story without overwhelming readers with intensity, delves into interesting aspects of both South African apartheid and racism itself, explores the complex nature of memory, and introduces its audience to a woman, a character, more complex than the news bite drama of her tale appears.

Written by: Gemma Cooper-Novack, June 10th 2008

Lipstick Jungle

admin — Wed, 23 May 2007 14:35:00 +0000

By Candace Bushnell

Hyperion

Lipstick Jungle is the latest installment of literature from Candace Bushnell. Three very powerful women attempt to not only survive, but to succeed in the cut throat business world of New York City. Victory, Nico and Wendy are all at the top of the respective fields (fashion, media and movies). Though they may be at the top of their game, it doesn’t make life easier. Each must make difficult decisions to keep their families together, advance their careers and find their own independence.

The book is filled with Bushnell’s classic feminist perspective; that women can do the same things that men can do in both business and love. The theme throughout the book is that women can do whatever they put their minds to, no matter what they are doing with their life. Even though we are in a modern society, where everything is supposed to be better than how some of our ancestors had it, this is not necessarily the case. In many ways women have to work harder and prove themselves far more then men do. I highly recommend this book; it’s a light-hearted, guilty pleasure that is perfect for summer reading by the pool or the beach.

Written by: Diana Tierney, May 23rd 2007

I Like Food, Food Tastes Good: In the Kitchen with Your Favorite Bands

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 02:00:00 +0000

By Kara Zuaro

Hyperion

What do you call a cookbook that reads like poetry? What do you call a coffee table book that whets your appetite? You would call that book I Like Food, Food Tastes Good. Fully expecting a fun addition to my expansive and eclectic collection of cookbooks, I was delightfully surprised at the fun compiled between the pages of this book!

Food writer Kara Zuaro knows a lot of musicians, and all musicians must eat! Whether they’re on the tour bus in their own kitchens, they’ve all got favorite recipes. Don’t expect the quick and boring Fried Bologna Sandwich here! These delightful concoctions are just as creative as the music these bands perform.

Contributors/contributions include: Strung Out/Rockin’ Ramen, Mobius Band/Tropical Fish Tacos, Irving/Dirty Snowflake, Frog Eyes/Chocolate Worm and many more! Some recipes are inspired by a particular song while others are taken from real-life experiences. All recipes are tried and tested, but the way in which Zuaro has retained the creative license for the musicians wording and instruction keeps me from actually placing this book up on a shelf with Betty Crocker. My family had too much fun reading it aloud to each other, beatnik style, in our front room one night. Practicality and art come together in a surprisingly fun way in this work.

Written by: Gina Hobbs, April 26th 2007