BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN by Annie Proulx
Having read Brokeback Mountain prior to seeing the movie, I found this more of a love story than anything else. The too-short story of two people who meet under certain circumstances, fall in what can only be called love, are torn apart and reconnect time and time again, could fill any gender, race or age into the blanks. Once I saw the movie, my opinion only heightened and filled with a warm, pink glow.
Beautifully-written with each word carefully thought out and positioned, Brokeback Mountain reads like a extended poem. Proulx, a recognized short-story author, moves the story along quickly and efficiently without sacrificing an ounce of eloquence. It is just simply excellent-the type of short story I strived to write in my college years, but could never find within my mind or pen. Deeply-sincere but easily grasped by anyone who has ever experience love of any kind, Brokeback Mountain moves anyone with a heart that will accept it into their reading rapport.
I struggle with saying that it is not for the close-minded, because I feel many people cant get past the fact that it follows a relationship between two stereotypical males, but it is so moving that even the narrowest of minds could be broadened to the overall tone of love and longing.
Just as the book, this review is brief, but there is not much more to say. It truly speaks for itself.
OVERALL: An all-too-brief-love story above all else. Easy read, I completed it in a night. And how do you not read a book with one of the best lines ever, "I wish I knew how to quit you."
Monday, October 16, 2006
WAKE UP CALL: THE POLITICAL EDUCATION OF A 9/11 WIDOW by Kristen Breitweiser
Ironically, I began reading Wake Up Call: the political educaiton of a 9/11 widow, by Kristen Breitweiser, a 9/11 widow and now author, just a few days before the fifth anniversary of the tragic attacks that rocked New York City, the Nation and ultimately the world. As I neared the middle of the book, I found myself with the television on at the close of that infamous day. Reading Breitweiser's story that night, I continually found myself gazing at the tv screen that was displaying the C-SPAN broadcast of the reading of the 2000+ names of those who perished that day. It was only after I gave my full attention back to the book the next night that I could try to comprehend even a fraction of how Breitweiser must feel.
Breitweiser lost her husband who worked for Fidicuary Trust in tower two of the World Trade Center. Ron Breitweiser was killed when the tower finally collapsed just minutes after the planes impact. Unlike others, Breitweiser was able to speak with her husband prior witnessing his death on television. Infuriated at the government, its representatives and its response to the terrorist attacks, Breitweiser explains why she and her fellow 9/11 widows, the Jersey Girls, as they have been dubbed, began what can only be a practically-grassroots campaign to answer the hardest question, "how did this happen to our loved ones?" Their efforts alongside others 9/11 families, directly resulted in the formation of the 9/11 investigative commission as well as continued prodding of the government's response to many of the questions the Jersey Girls, as well as the nation, had following the attacks.
Her dedicated activisim and lobbying as told through her no-nonsense and frill-free method of story-telling combined with the heart-wrenching personal account, gives readers a tug large enough to imagine what it must feel like to be so close to the events of 9/11.
Not a political-minded reader by any means, I surprisingly found Wake Up Call to be less political and more poignant than anything. I found myself pondering the same questions that she and her friends had and really, that we all should have. While Breitweiser has been considered a critic of the Bush Administration, the book is thankfully, not political in nature. Somewhat raw with emotion, and rightfully so, Breitweiser ventures from grief, to anger, to action, to resolution and back again during her time asking the hard questions, demanding answers and finding internal peace for her sake and the sake of her daughter and helping readers began striving towards that peace as well.
Unfortunately, Breitweiser is not yet a true household name unlike that of Ann Coulter, the conservative pundit, who attacked the Jersey Girls and their campaign. Breitweiser's response to Coulter is included at the end of Wake Up Call and should be read by all as well.
For someone who had no personal ties to 9/11, other than what will become the proverbial "where were you" question down the road, I was deeply touched by Wake Up Call. If you are not, perhaps you should read it again.
OVERALL: Moving without being grief-filled; have some tissues handy, her letters to her husband will definitely start the sniffles. P.S. I am poised to read Coulter's latest Godless, where she makes the claim against the Jersey Girls-keep an eye out.
Ironically, I began reading Wake Up Call: the political educaiton of a 9/11 widow, by Kristen Breitweiser, a 9/11 widow and now author, just a few days before the fifth anniversary of the tragic attacks that rocked New York City, the Nation and ultimately the world. As I neared the middle of the book, I found myself with the television on at the close of that infamous day. Reading Breitweiser's story that night, I continually found myself gazing at the tv screen that was displaying the C-SPAN broadcast of the reading of the 2000+ names of those who perished that day. It was only after I gave my full attention back to the book the next night that I could try to comprehend even a fraction of how Breitweiser must feel.
Breitweiser lost her husband who worked for Fidicuary Trust in tower two of the World Trade Center. Ron Breitweiser was killed when the tower finally collapsed just minutes after the planes impact. Unlike others, Breitweiser was able to speak with her husband prior witnessing his death on television. Infuriated at the government, its representatives and its response to the terrorist attacks, Breitweiser explains why she and her fellow 9/11 widows, the Jersey Girls, as they have been dubbed, began what can only be a practically-grassroots campaign to answer the hardest question, "how did this happen to our loved ones?" Their efforts alongside others 9/11 families, directly resulted in the formation of the 9/11 investigative commission as well as continued prodding of the government's response to many of the questions the Jersey Girls, as well as the nation, had following the attacks.
Her dedicated activisim and lobbying as told through her no-nonsense and frill-free method of story-telling combined with the heart-wrenching personal account, gives readers a tug large enough to imagine what it must feel like to be so close to the events of 9/11.
Not a political-minded reader by any means, I surprisingly found Wake Up Call to be less political and more poignant than anything. I found myself pondering the same questions that she and her friends had and really, that we all should have. While Breitweiser has been considered a critic of the Bush Administration, the book is thankfully, not political in nature. Somewhat raw with emotion, and rightfully so, Breitweiser ventures from grief, to anger, to action, to resolution and back again during her time asking the hard questions, demanding answers and finding internal peace for her sake and the sake of her daughter and helping readers began striving towards that peace as well.
Unfortunately, Breitweiser is not yet a true household name unlike that of Ann Coulter, the conservative pundit, who attacked the Jersey Girls and their campaign. Breitweiser's response to Coulter is included at the end of Wake Up Call and should be read by all as well.
For someone who had no personal ties to 9/11, other than what will become the proverbial "where were you" question down the road, I was deeply touched by Wake Up Call. If you are not, perhaps you should read it again.
OVERALL: Moving without being grief-filled; have some tissues handy, her letters to her husband will definitely start the sniffles. P.S. I am poised to read Coulter's latest Godless, where she makes the claim against the Jersey Girls-keep an eye out.
THE LOBOTOMIST: A MAVERICK MEDICAL GENIUS AND HIS TRAGIC QUEST TO RID THE WORLD OF MENTAL ILLNESS by Jack El-Hai
A squeamish subject to say the least, lobotomies and the subject of psycho-surgery and mental illness is not traditional reading material. When I picked up freelancer Jack El-Hai's The Lobotomist..., I thought it would be one person's experience with having a lobotomy as a result of mental illness. While that is tapped within the piece, what I found was an intriguing mix of history and biography in the life's practice of Dr. Walter Freeman.
A pioneer of psycho-surgery but a neurologist and psychiatrist by training, Freeman's specialization led him to St Elizabeth's Hospital and Fort Steilacroom, Pierce County, where he was able to almost-freely practice the underdeveloped sub-specialty psycho-surgery, the unique and highly criticized melding of psychology and surgery. The public's revulsion of such an unknown area followed by their lack of acceptance of the mentally ill led to hospitals overcrowded with patients that could not be reached emotionally much like the nation itself following WWII.
A pioneer of psycho-surgery but a neurologist and psychiatrist by training, Freeman's specialization led him to St Elizabeth's Hospital and Fort Steilacroom, Pierce County, where he was able to almost-freely practice the underdeveloped sub-specialty psycho-surgery, the unique and highly criticized melding of psychology and surgery. The public's revulsion of such an unknown area followed by their lack of acceptance of the mentally ill led to hospitals overcrowded with patients that could not be reached emotionally much like the nation itself following WWII.
While Freeman did began doing lobotomies using an ice pick, hammered into the eye socket and then into the brain, his passion and dedication to the oft-misunderstood field led to the fine-tuning and revision of his practice of psycho-surgery resulting in different types of lobotomies utilizing tools from ice picks to his invention, the leucotome and finally the orbitoclast. The controversial procedures were deemed successful by patients and their families. Patients that were once lethargic, combative, psychotic, schizophrenic, in varied states of catatonia or completely "not like themselves," were found, following their surgeries and extensive therapy, to be reading, writing, speaking, and living their lives as normally as to be expected. Some had negative results - Freeman's ill-fated lobotomy on John F. Kennedy's sister Rosemary-and few resulted in death.
As reported in The Seattle Times, author Jack El-Hai discovers within his research that "aside from Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, Walter Freeman ranks as the most scored physician of the twentieth century." Readers can both understand and wonder why when despite his best intentions, Freeman's procedures were highly controversial and occasionally thought to completely alter, rather than cure, his patients. El-Hai validates the readers emotions, okaying both the morbid curiosity and the sympathy and empathy for both Freeman and his patients. He details the state of the mentally ill in the nation during Freeman's time and why his perspective on their treatment was necessary.
The Lobotomist.., is not light reading, nor for the faint of heart or delicate of moods. It is a very informative and truly interesting read. El-Hai offers both the biographical and historical information needed to enjoy the book as a great non-fiction read. In fact, I found myself Googling "walter freeman" and "lobotomy" to find out more; I wanted to know more about Rosemary Kennedy and her mental illness, and more about mental illness in general.
OVERALL: The Lobotomist is an excellent, deep and strong read, highly recommended if only for the curiosity and interest in knowing something you didnt know before.
As reported in The Seattle Times, author Jack El-Hai discovers within his research that "aside from Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, Walter Freeman ranks as the most scored physician of the twentieth century." Readers can both understand and wonder why when despite his best intentions, Freeman's procedures were highly controversial and occasionally thought to completely alter, rather than cure, his patients. El-Hai validates the readers emotions, okaying both the morbid curiosity and the sympathy and empathy for both Freeman and his patients. He details the state of the mentally ill in the nation during Freeman's time and why his perspective on their treatment was necessary.
The Lobotomist.., is not light reading, nor for the faint of heart or delicate of moods. It is a very informative and truly interesting read. El-Hai offers both the biographical and historical information needed to enjoy the book as a great non-fiction read. In fact, I found myself Googling "walter freeman" and "lobotomy" to find out more; I wanted to know more about Rosemary Kennedy and her mental illness, and more about mental illness in general.
OVERALL: The Lobotomist is an excellent, deep and strong read, highly recommended if only for the curiosity and interest in knowing something you didnt know before.
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