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| Tony Blair's amazing insight into twenty-first century shamanism."I totally agree with Tony's opinion that Shamanic ecstasy is the real "Old Time Religion," of which modern churches are but pallid evocations. Shamanic, visionary ecstasy, the mysterium tremendum, the unio mystica, the eternally delightful experience of the universe as energy, is a sine qua non of religion, it is what religion is for! There is no need for faith, it is the ecstatic experience itself that gives one faith in the intrinsic unity and integrity of the universe, in ourselves as integral parts of the whole; that reveals to us the sublime majesty of our universe, and the fluctuant, scintillant, alchemical miracle that is quotidian consciousness. Any religion that requires faith and gives none, that defends against religious experiences, that promulgates the bizarre superstition that humankind is in some way separate, divorced from the rest of creation, that heals not the gaping wound between Body and Soul, but would tear them asunder... is no religion at all! Our shamanistic sessions in Tuscanny won't be the same now that Tony has taken up glue sniffing in Brixton." Mind Bomb
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Decision Points
The Fry Chronicles
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Tiffany Aching comes of ageTerry Pratchett's latest Discworld novel for 'younger readers' lives up to his usual high standards. Tiffany Aching is now 16 and technically a fully qualified witch who has returned to her steading on the chalk. Unfortunately, something much wore than she has dealt with before is chasing her, and she's also lost her boyfriend.
This book serves to round off Tiffany's coming of age. It draws a fair amount on the events of the previous two novels and to a point the plot is fairly similar. Not too similar though, and in fact, what is nominally the main plot is just a vehicle for the rest of the story.
The plot does seem quite slow to get going, but from around halfway it picks up the pace and switches into unputdownable mode. A number of familiar characters make cameo appearances, including one who has not been seen for some time, and there are a few tantalising hints about where the next Discworld novel might be going.
In all, another excellent tale that gives Tiffany a nice send off. I do fear a little though that it means this is the last of the witches stories, as the so-called 'adult' series has recently been a lot more Ankh-Morpork focussed.
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The Japanese Devil Fish Girl and Other Unnatural Attractions
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A bit of a rehashOK, let's start with what I love about this book: It's beautifully written, it has amazing photos of the food, it's presented immaculately and the recipes cater for most tastes.
The biggest plus point for me is the fact that the recipes seems so well tried and tested. I am a big Nigella fan and have all her books and I can honestly say that I have never, ever been let down by one of her recipes. As with all Nigella's books, the recipes in Kitchen are easy to follow, with accurate quantities, extremely helpful hints and encouraging chit-chat along the way.
Since getting the book last week I decided to try some of the recipes from it: Tarragon chicken, smoked haddock my mother's way, speedy scaloppine with rapid roastini, chocolate chip bread pudding, maple pecan bundt cake and blondies. These all turned out well (even if they didn't look as good as the pictures) and I would cook them again.
The book is 500 pages long and has 190 recipes, accompanied by some really beautiful photos. Nigella's writing style (friendly-chit-chat-by-the-stove) is one of the best things about this book, and I read it through once, before I started cooking from it. This was a hopeful start before I went back through it to earmark the recipes I wanted to try. And this is where I started to feel disappointed (and also where I duck for cover).......
I had a touch of deja vu: the layout, the type of recipes included (comfort, quick, children's, baking, cocktails) and also the type of ingredients used (chilli sauce, pasta, spices, rice, mirin). In fact I would say this book has a predominantly south east Asian and Italian bent. There's nothing wrong with this, other than it all seems very over-familiar and done several times before in her previous books. Yes, on one hand this could be a good thing because you know what you're going to get. But I was hoping for something a bit more "Wow". Dare I say it, but to me, Kitchen seems a little bland. Apart from the six recipes that I tried over the past few days (see above) there weren't many more that I really fancied trying. I went through it a few times, hoping for more inspiration and also hoping to add more post-it notes reminding me of the recipes I want to try. I found a handful at best which was very disappointing.
It's almost like some sort of "Best of Nigella". It's got a bit of all her previous books thrown in and packaged very glossily. For this reason alone I would recommend it to anyone who doesn't already own a Nigella cookbook and wants to try her style of cooking. But for me it is just a rehash. A tired format that I suppose I have just become bored with. I don't think it's her best work and I don't think I will be using it as much as her other books.
I say this very reluctantly, but for me, Kitchen is an uninspiring regurgitation that looks very pretty but is mundanely average.
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Black Maids Speak---and it's GOOD!
The Help
by Kathryn Stockett
Book Review by Jay Gilbertson
Though this novel has soared up every chart, what drew me in and kept me reading was author Stockett's risky writing technique. Using first person, (meaning the reader is seeing the world from one perspective) the novel is told through the eyes of three very different women. The tale opens in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi and if you haven't figured it out yet, the main theme concerns the domestic help--the maids.
Two out of the three characters saved this work from completely tanking; Aibileen and Minny. Though heavy on the caricature side, their voices and concerns and harsh realities were the thunder in this perfect storm of racial tension about to rip open. As the maids rub and scrub the homes of the privileged white women, they also care for their children. What's significant is the nature of these exploited maids in that they choose to love and care for them as if they were their own.
The opening:
"Mae Mobley was born on a early Sunday morning in August, 1960. A church baby we like to call it. Taking care a white babies, that's what I do, along with all the cooking and the cleaning. I done raised seventeen kids in my lifetime. I know how to get them babies to sleep, stop crying, and go in the toilet bowl before they mamas even get out a bed in the morning..."
The interaction of the `maid-network' and how they manage to find some crumbs of pride and wring a few drops of happiness out of a really rotten situation should have been the theme. Should have.
Enter Eugenia Phelan or Skeeter as everyone but her mother calls her. A college graduate with all the trimmings of a rich southern girl--minus one--no man in sight. Here is where The Help morphed into cliché-ville . Since Skeeter can't seem to attract the proper blood-line in accordance to her mother's long list of family- tie-must-haves, she realizes her only escape from the plantation is to land a book deal. She sets out to interview (steal) as many of the maid's tales of what really went on during their day. Some of the stories are brutal and filled me with shame, while a few others offered a big helping of my favorite dish; hope. That is the road this book should have taken.
In the end, Skeeter's book is a big success and off to New York, contract in hand, she goes. As for the other two women, it's not so clear. Then I learned exactly why the author was so intent on having Skeeter presented as a sugar-coated-helpful-white-lady. After the novel ends, the author had added: `Kathryn Stockett, in her own words.' Basically, Stockett limply confesses her guilt for never having asked her very own family maid this one question: What did it feel like to be black in Mississippi, working for her white family?
I would imagine she already knew...
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