Opening Sentence of the Day: The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt

"In front of the house, under the big chestnut tree, Mother sat on a wooden bench talking to Uncle."

-- The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt: War Through a Woman's Eyes, 1939 - 1940, "Rulka Langer's extraordinary personal memoir of the opening chapter of World War II, covers the six-month period from August 1938 to February 1940 -- from the end of the last peacetime summer, through the Nazi invasion of Poland, the Siege of Warsaw and the first few months of the Nazi occupation."

This has been on my Guilt List for a long time. But it caught my attention now, because I was fascinated by the women's stories about WWII in London in Small Island by Andrea Levy, which we just read for book club. 

Also, it is a good balance to Valley of the Dolls.

Too Busy to Blog!

But there is always time to HOP!

It has been a while since I participated in the Book Blogger Hop. Jennifer has added a new "question of the week" feature since I last hopped.

This week's question is: "Who is your favorite new-to-you author so far this year?"

My answer is A. J. Cronin.  That's kind of a funny answer, since Cronin published his first novel in 1931 and his last in 1978. So he is definitely not a new author -- just new to me.  I read Three Loves this February and reviewed it here. I enjoyed it so much that I added Cronin to my list of authors whose works I plan to read in their entirety, or as close to it as I can manage.

Happy Hopping!

Teaser Tuesday: The Valley of the Dolls

"Love is companionship, having friends in common, the same interests.  Sex is the connotation you are placing on love, and let me tell you, young lady, that if and when it does exist, it dies very quickly after marriage -- or as soon as the girl learns what it's all about."

-- Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann.

Ha! 

You see the set up -- the stuffy New England mom is teaching her college-aged daughter the ways of the world. Of course, the daughter is going to head off to New York City and see if she can't prove her mom wrong.

 

I am reading this for the Birth Year Reading Challenge hosted by the Hotchpot Cafe. I've always secretly wanted to.

 

 

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

 

Mailbox Monday

I have to cheat a little on Mailbox Monday this week because no books came into my house last week -- at least not to stay. But this is the last week Marcia -- who invented Mailbox Monday and made it so much fun -- is hosting this popular weekly event, so I didn't want to miss out.  I did get three audio books from the library that will have to count. I have started two of them already -- one in the car, the other on my iPod.

Starting in August, Mailbox Monday will rotate hosts. Read the details here. I'll be hosting in January 2011 -- woo hoo!

Down River by John Hart (Edgar winner, so this counts as entertainment and a chance to scratch something off one of my lists --  I'm almost half-way through this one on my iPod.)



The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville (Orange winner -- another list opportunity; I am halfway through this one in the car)



The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson (I want to read these in order, so this one will have to sit in my iTunes library until my hold on the first one comes in)

Review of the Day: Deaf Sentence

David Lodge’s fourteenth novel, Deaf Sentence, takes up similar themes from his earlier campus novels, this time from the perspective of retired professor of linguistics, Desmond Bates, who finds himself at loss now that his job has gone the way of his hearing. The story is told through Desmond’s journal, which he has taken up as a way to sort through his conflicting feelings about his deafness and his retirement.

The academic rivalry, potential for mischief with graduate students, strained marital relations, musings on religion or its alternatives, and bookish references are all there, although mellowed some with Desmond’s years. The kinky – maybe crazy – come-ons of an American Phd. candidate are more panic-inducing than titillating for Desmond. He is filled with “late-flowering lust” for his wife, although sometimes incapable of following through. Caring for his 89-year-old father leads to general deliberations on aging and mortality. And through it all, Desmond fumbles and fiddles with his hearing aids, mis-understands conversations, and ponders the science and art of deafness, all to great comic effect.

After starting off as hearing-impaired slapstick, Deaf Sentence ends on a more somber, contemplative note. But throughout, the book is an enjoyable ramble with one of Britain’s great novelists.

OTHER REVIEWS

(If you would like your review of this or any other David Lodge book listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.)