Not Bad, Just Not Good Enough

Bleeding Edge by Thomas Pynchon
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Along with Pynchon’s reputation and best-seller status, I was attracted to this book because of its New York City setting. That, and returning to a day when technology was important but not yet omnipresent, would make it nostalgic for me. I forgot that this was the time when Jody and I returned to the New York area. I took the job of building the Rahway Public Library in early 2001 and already felt like a tourist when we went into “The City.”
I moved from NYC to Massachusetts in 1974. The next quarter century erased and replaced the sense of life I remembered. A friend who stayed behind told me, back then, to stop making eye contact with everybody before I got us killed. The East Village where I drank wine from a common bottle with street people, in Tompkins Square Park, had been replaced by, in Pynchon’s word, “Yups.” There was no joy in revisiting my old locale. Meanwhile, I found the heroine of the book and other characters interesting, and was curious about where the plot would take them, but was not compelled to get back to the book, not eager to continue. I enjoyed the act of reading the pages, but they didn’t own me. Remembering my age, I decided that I owe it to myself to be very selective because there are SO MANY BOOKS. I wish Pynchon well, but I am returning his book unfinished, today.


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A word FOR our sponsor: Apologies!

Here's a corrected version of my "advertisement" for the Brockton Symphony Orchestra. It's a different audio than posted on Thursday, but only one change was made to the text and vocal: I had forgotten that HarborOne Credit Union was recently reorganized and renamed "HarborOne Bank." You can click on the link to hear the radio commercial, with snippets of all four pieces on the program for October 27th. Maestro James Orent told me the players will need all their strength - those Russians wrote vigorous (my word, not James') music.

"The Brockton Symphony Orchestra kicks off its Sixty-Sixth Season "From Russia With Love” Sunday, October 27th at 3:00 p.m. in the Oliver Ames High School. Rimsky-Korsakov’s Procession of the Nobles leads us – just in time for Halloween – to Night on Bald Mountain by Mussorgsky. See Italy through Russian ears with Tschaikowsky’s Capriccio Italien. Prepare to be swept away when 2012 Feinberg Youth Competition winner Seho Young plays Rachmaninoff’s sumptuous Piano Concerto Number 2. Adult tickets are Twenty dollars, seniors and students fifteen, children 12 and under free when accompanied by an adult. Order at Brockton Symphony dot org, or call the Symphony at 508-588-3841. That’s 3:00 PM, Sunday, October 27th, at the Oliver Ames High School in North Easton. The Brockton Symphony Orchestra – Beautiful Music from the City of Champions! Sponsored by Harbor One Bank."

The Russians Are Coming - With Love!

Here's my latest "advertisement" for the Brockton Symphony Orchestra. You can click on the link to hear the radio commercial, with snippets of all four pieces on the program for October 27th. Maestro James Orent told me the players will need all their strength - those Russians wrote vigorous (my word, not James') music.

"The Brockton Symphony Orchestra kicks off its Sixty-Sixth Season “From Russia With Love” Sunday, October 27th at 3:00 p.m. in the Oliver Ames High School. Rimsky-Korsakov’s Procession of the Nobles leads us – just in time for Halloween – to Night on Bald Mountain by Mussorgsky. See Italy through Russian ears with Tschaikowsky’s Capriccio Italien. Prepare to be swept away when 2012 Feinberg Youth Competition winner Seho Young plays Rachmaninoff’s sumptuous Piano Concerto Number 2. Adult tickets are Twenty dollars, seniors and students fifteen, children 12 and under free when accompanied by an adult. Order at Brockton Symphony dot org, or call the Symphony at 508-588-3841. That’s 3:00 PM, Sunday, October 27th, at the Oliver Ames High School in North Easton. The Brockton Symphony Orchestra – Beautiful Music from the City of Champions! Sponsored by Harbor One Credit Union."

Gritty but Satisfying

Aftershock: A Thriller by Andrew Vachss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Frontier justice, Twenty-First Century style. Dark! You may at times find yourself cheering on a character, but this is not “cheerful” writing. This is amazing – thinking about saying something about Vachss’ style I opened the book again and realized (could it really be for the first time?) that it is narrated in the first person. In less skillful hands that becomes a distraction. In this case I didn’t consciously note why I was seeing the world through the eyes of this angel of justice. It helps to read French, only some of which is translated during memories of Foreign Legion service, but even that doesn’t slow the pace of this wicked and exciting (the “and” necessary so you won’t think I’ve totally assimilated into New England) page turner. I enjoyed it more than a person should with my education and sensibilities.

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