Perfume

Have been completely negligent about posting. Trying to get everything done before I go on holidays next week and just haven’t had a chance to sit down and read.

Hoping to get caught up while we’re in Ottawa for a couple of days … and I have three days on a dock planned for next weekend. If I’m not completely consumed by the pile of trash magazines sure to make an appearance, I’m hoping to really get into The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

I had dinner with a friend this evening who mentioned that’s reading Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, which I’m going to ask to borrow when she’s done.

Lamb finished with more of a whimper than I’d originally hoped for … not enough there for a formal novel and think the author could have pushed the humour by introducing each new character through a series of short stories or “gospels” … I’m all over short stories at the moment … there could still be overlap, but the story needed to be sharper to maintain the momentum generated in the first 100 pages.

Amy

Oh, those funny lambs

Am thoroughly enjoying Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal.   

Since starting the book, I’ve found myself eavesdropping on strangers talking about god in public spaces. The first time it happened I really tried to avoid listening because guys in suits with name tags freak me out, but the conversation had a bizarre guerilla theatre feel to it and I’m still not sure whether it was staged. There’s just something odd about two guys, both in suits … one a Jehovah’s Witness and the other a scientologist, literally rapping back-and-forth about their faith and its strength on a streetcar. What I took away from it was that the scientologist dude doesn’t think L. Ron Hubbard’s “knew god” but apparently he was a really “awesome researcher.” Whatever that means… 

Last night I met friends at a pub for dinner and we couldn’t figure out what was going on at the table next to us. At first, we thought it was some sort of awkward singles event, but attendee ages ranged from 20 to 65 years and no one looked like they’d dressed for a date. About half way through our meal, a gentleman in a rugby shirt stood up and started talking about John the Baptist … and then everyone stood up, said a little prayer, hugged each other, and left.  

The John the Baptist portrayed in Lamb is wholly different from the one buddy talked about in the bar … he seemed less concerned about ridding Jerusalem of “sluts” and more focused on spreading a traditional gospel.  

I am glad that Biff and Joshua (aka Jesus) are finally starting the ministry. Both spend years searching for the three wise men who attended Josh’s birth. It’s interesting as
Moore points out how similar the teachings are to eastern philosophy, but really … it slows the momentum of the book and the humour starts to drag. 

Not sure what’s next on the agenda … been busy and haven’t been reading as much … may spend some time over the long weekend checking out my local bookstore. 

Have a lovely weekend …

Cinematic Cliches

Meant to post this last Friday … Lazy afternoon reading … 25 Cinematic Cliches.

On to Lamb

I’ve been going back and forth with a friend who stopped reading Saturday after 100 pages and was feeling guilty about not liking the story, which I did finish, until I saw this posting on Kate’s Book Blog: 

Saturday may score points for compassion, an element it displays in the extreme, but it IS a lengthy verbiage of a political-social-economic nature … and that’s fine with me as long as I leave with a new appreciation for a point of view … didn’t get that here.

I think it’s time for some humour

Amy