Art of the Day

Cattleya Orchid and Three Brazilian Hummingbirds 

-Martin Johnson Heade

Literary Pick (***)

Hopscotch

-Julio Cortázar

I chose not to read Hopscotch in the traditional linear fashion, which ends in chapter 56 and omits a third of the novel. There are a total of 155 chapters. A table of instructions takes the place of a table of content. There are 3 parts, "From the Other Side," "From This Side," and "From Diverse Sides".
In the second method the novel begins with chapter 73, then hopscotches from chapter 1, then 2, then 116..
Chapter 131 is read twice.

After a bit of head-scratching, I discovered that the sentences on chapter 34 must be skipped in order to make sense. There are two stories in that chapter. One of Oliviera's visit to his Uncle in Madrid, and the other about La Maga.
The first and second lines (sentences) in this chapter both begin with capital letters, which was the first suggestive clue and indication on how it should be read.
The story about the uncle (first story) ends first. 5 lines before the end, to be exact. It was somewhat confusing at first, but then I realized that after the phrase, "were already married." there was no new sentence with a capital letter, thus ending the first story.

I've always been intrigued by novels that center around artists and writers in cafe's and small apartments, especially if they take place in Paris or South America. These seem to me to be more cerebral and authentically Bohemian than the beatnik gatherings in America, which I feel are more self-centered than collaborative.
The story starts with a group of artists "The Serpent Club" who often discuss topics on Art, music, philosophy, and Jazz, mentioning big names such as Picasso, Dizzie Gillespie, Dostoyevsky, and Descartes. You can expect a good deal of -isms thrown in this section as well.
Horacio Oliveira, (the protagonist of the novel) seems to be in pursuit of something in Paris. Often involving himself in lively chatter with the other members of the Serpent Club and taking long solitary walks. He resides with his lover, La Maga, who he often belittles, and who disappears from his life, nowhere to be found, shortly after her son, Rocamadour, passes away. Realizing he (Horacio) misses and appreciates La Maga, now more than ever, he leaves Paris for his home-land Argentina. There his friend "The Traveler" meets him at the boat and takes him under his wing. The Travelers wife (Talita) bears a striking resemblance to "La Maga", causing some tension in the friendship. There The Traveler helps Horacio obtain a job in the circus he works for, and later in a mental hospital where Horacio finally loses what's left of his mind.

It's difficult for me to review this novel because it seems to be cut up into a few categories. I didn't mention the part about Morelliana, the writer, who gets hit by a car, is aided by Horacio, then rushed to the hospital.
The parts with La Maga I drank up. I was intoxicated with the unorthodox method of reading the book. It was like a game. There are many pages I dog-eared in the first half because they were either hilarious or thought provoking. The relationship with his friend, The Traveler, and his wife, were interesting, but I didn't seem to have the same passion for reading it as I did the parts with the Serpent Club and La Maga. I particularly enjoyed the part when Horacio met Madame Berthe Trepat, a famous concert pianist, who he was honored to comfort after concert-goers empty the theater because she kept making mistakes. He offers to walk her home, but he realizes the extent her mental instability, and finds himself wondering how in the hell got into the mess in the first place. I thought it was hysterical how he just wanted to start running and leave her there in the middle of the street. I don't think I've ever had more fun reading a book. The structure is brilliant and innovative, especially for a novel written in the 50's. I highly recommend the experience of reading it, if for nothing else.

Art of the Day

Zhang Daqian
Lotus (1899-1983) 

Photograph

Julio Cortázar

Quote of the Day

"In man's struggle against the world, bet on the world." 

— Franz Kafka

Poetry

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

 

-Maya Angelou

Literary Pick (****)

Their Eyes Were Watching God

-Zora Neale Hurston

Great story. Much better than I expected. I have a history of not being able to particularly appreciate novels written in the vernacular, however, Hurston did a remarkable job in executing it in manner in which I was not only able to follow it, but truly enjoy it as well.

Try as I might, I've had quite the difficulty in trying to discover a piece of African American literature I could  enjoy. None of the AA novels I have read in the past couple years have left much of an impression on me, but this one sure did.  I'm happy about that too, because one of the reasons I chose to read this book in the first place is because of a quote I found by Hurston, and use in my blog profile.

"I have known the joy and pain of friendship. I have served and been served. I have made some good enemies for which I am not a bit sorry. I have loved unselfishly, and I have fondled hatred with the red-hot tongs of Hell. That's living."
-Zora Neale Hurston

Literary Pick (***)

After Dark

-Haruki Murakami

Literary Pick (**)

The Brothers Karamazov

-Fyodor Dostoevsky

There's a quote by Lauren Bacall in a movie called "The Mirror Has Two Faces" which I absolutely love, and it goes like this: "I've buried a husband, I've raised two daughters, I've *made* my coffee." That's pretty much how I feel about Russian Literature after finishing The Brothers Karamazov. I've read War and Peace, I've read Crime and Punishment, I've read Anna Karenina, and I've read The Idiot,.... I've *made* my coffee. Meaning, I'm done, it's over, no more. I'm sorry, but enough is enough.
The Brothers Karamazov is just another novel that served as an excuse for a Russian writer to drown you in their philosophical ideas about politics and religion. It's taken me thousands of pages to finally arrive to this realization. However, knowing me, I'll likely end up reading Notes from the Underground, anyway.
The story about father and son vying for the same woman was a theme I didn't expect from Dostoyevsky, to be honest.. To me there is no comparison between this novel and Crime and Punishment. You cannot even compare it to The Idiot. I will concede that the only merit in this work is how it differed from his other tome's, because typically, writers adhere to one type of theme and don't part far from it.
I'm still not certain what was the purpose of including (insert something I have forgotten in the course of reading and trying to finish this book which took me 2 1/2 months) in the novel, other than to add an additional 300+ pages to the story. Most of which I suppose served as an extenuation for lengthy discourses on religion. Once I was able to wade through 500 pages of development, and to the trial part of the story I had to literally drag my sight from word to painstaking word. This book gets 2 stars by automatic default because it's Dostoyevsky.