Saturday, December 4, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
The Return
This is a story I wrote for my writing class:
“Why am I here?” Kate thought to herself as she drove the car into the garage. She got out, closed the bay door and retrieved her briefcase. “Honey? I’m home!” she muttered as she walked into the house. It was as empty as it had been the day she left it; the furniture gone, the big bay window sporting only one faded green curtain panel.
Kate dropped her briefcase and looked around. “What a joke,” she sighed. “Why would anyone want this house? We were so miserable here.” She walked into the kitchen to see if any of the appliances remained. Maybe she could sell them for cash. Technically, she still owned the house, even though she didn’t live in it anymore, hadn’t been back, in fact, since that last night. A haze came through her mind as soon as the thought materialized. She often found that this happened to her. In fact, it was happening more and more lately. She just needed more sleep. That was all.
She shook it off, continued forward. And brushed by something. When she turned to see what it was, she realized that she was upstairs in the main bedroom. Confused, she went to the window to look outside. She had stood in this spot often when she still lived in the house. Kate couldn’t remember coming upstairs, but she went to look anyway.
Curiously, outside the window, fog had rolled in. The fog was so thick that she couldn’t see past a foot or two. “That’s odd,” she thought to herself. “It was sunny and warm when I came in.” She stepped back from the window and found herself in the kitchen. She blinked, confused, and walked forward toward the sink to see if the vision outside the downstairs window was any clearer. Again, she saw only fog.
“That’s enough! I’m outta here. This house is giving me the creeps!” Kate went to grab her briefcase so she could get back into her car. But her briefcase wasn’t where she had dropped it just a few minutes ago. “What’s going on?” she sobbed. “I don’t know what’s happening!” She began wailing. He wouldn’t let her go. Again, he wouldn’t let her leave. “Please, I can’t do this anymore, John. I can’t be married to you anymore.”
She ran toward the stairs, intending to go back into her bedroom and lock the door. She saw John, blocking her way up the stairs. He reached for her. Again, he reached out with his fists. And with the knife that he held in his right hand. The fog descended over everything this time.
**********
Sarah Jones was sitting at the table in the kitchen. She turned to her mother. “Didn’t you hear the lady scream that time, Mommy? It was just like the last time I heard it. And the time before,” she commented matter-of-factly. Molly Jones cast a worried glance at her husband. “What lady, Sarah?” she asked her daughter.
“Kate. The lady with the briefcase. Her name is Kate. John won’t let her leave. He says they will be together forever,” Sarah continued coloring in her coloring book. She smiled at her mother and father.
“Sarah,” said Bill Jones, “who are Kate and John?” Sarah looked up at him. “They live here, too, Daddy. Kate tries to leave all the time. But she keeps coming back. Over and over she comes back. And he makes her scream, Daddy. She screams every time.”
“Why am I here?” Kate thought to herself as she drove the car into the garage. She got out, closed the bay door and retrieved her briefcase. “Honey? I’m home!” she muttered as she walked into the house. It was as empty as it had been the day she left it; the furniture gone, the big bay window sporting only one faded green curtain panel.
Kate dropped her briefcase and looked around. “What a joke,” she sighed. “Why would anyone want this house? We were so miserable here.” She walked into the kitchen to see if any of the appliances remained. Maybe she could sell them for cash. Technically, she still owned the house, even though she didn’t live in it anymore, hadn’t been back, in fact, since that last night. A haze came through her mind as soon as the thought materialized. She often found that this happened to her. In fact, it was happening more and more lately. She just needed more sleep. That was all.
She shook it off, continued forward. And brushed by something. When she turned to see what it was, she realized that she was upstairs in the main bedroom. Confused, she went to the window to look outside. She had stood in this spot often when she still lived in the house. Kate couldn’t remember coming upstairs, but she went to look anyway.
Curiously, outside the window, fog had rolled in. The fog was so thick that she couldn’t see past a foot or two. “That’s odd,” she thought to herself. “It was sunny and warm when I came in.” She stepped back from the window and found herself in the kitchen. She blinked, confused, and walked forward toward the sink to see if the vision outside the downstairs window was any clearer. Again, she saw only fog.
“That’s enough! I’m outta here. This house is giving me the creeps!” Kate went to grab her briefcase so she could get back into her car. But her briefcase wasn’t where she had dropped it just a few minutes ago. “What’s going on?” she sobbed. “I don’t know what’s happening!” She began wailing. He wouldn’t let her go. Again, he wouldn’t let her leave. “Please, I can’t do this anymore, John. I can’t be married to you anymore.”
She ran toward the stairs, intending to go back into her bedroom and lock the door. She saw John, blocking her way up the stairs. He reached for her. Again, he reached out with his fists. And with the knife that he held in his right hand. The fog descended over everything this time.
**********
Sarah Jones was sitting at the table in the kitchen. She turned to her mother. “Didn’t you hear the lady scream that time, Mommy? It was just like the last time I heard it. And the time before,” she commented matter-of-factly. Molly Jones cast a worried glance at her husband. “What lady, Sarah?” she asked her daughter.
“Kate. The lady with the briefcase. Her name is Kate. John won’t let her leave. He says they will be together forever,” Sarah continued coloring in her coloring book. She smiled at her mother and father.
“Sarah,” said Bill Jones, “who are Kate and John?” Sarah looked up at him. “They live here, too, Daddy. Kate tries to leave all the time. But she keeps coming back. Over and over she comes back. And he makes her scream, Daddy. She screams every time.”
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
A Review of Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner
This is a "ripped from the headlines" type story about a Senator's wife who finds out her husband has cheated on her by hearing it on the news. Sylvie, a lawyer herself, has given up her entire life, even given up taking much of an interest in her two girls, for her husband and his career.
The story is told from the perspective of these three women, Sylvie and her two daughters. Diana, an emergency room physician who can't stand her own husband, and is having a torrid affair herself with a younger man. Her son, Miles, is really what she cares about, and on whom she would prefer to focus. The third daughter, Lizzie, is the mess-up. Newly out of rehab, she is making the best of her wasted life by caring for Miles and trying to become a "normal" person.
While this story was an interesting one, it was largely forgettable. The characters were well-developed, as was the story, but it didn't hold my interest past the last page. Unlike other books I've read and reviewed here, Fly Away Home, flew right out of my head as soon as I finished it. It was a decent story, but not one I enjoyed all that much. I would still recommend it to others, as it was well-written and the characters were not one-demensional or cliched, which they could have been. But I was not wowed.
The story is told from the perspective of these three women, Sylvie and her two daughters. Diana, an emergency room physician who can't stand her own husband, and is having a torrid affair herself with a younger man. Her son, Miles, is really what she cares about, and on whom she would prefer to focus. The third daughter, Lizzie, is the mess-up. Newly out of rehab, she is making the best of her wasted life by caring for Miles and trying to become a "normal" person.
While this story was an interesting one, it was largely forgettable. The characters were well-developed, as was the story, but it didn't hold my interest past the last page. Unlike other books I've read and reviewed here, Fly Away Home, flew right out of my head as soon as I finished it. It was a decent story, but not one I enjoyed all that much. I would still recommend it to others, as it was well-written and the characters were not one-demensional or cliched, which they could have been. But I was not wowed.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Are Celebrities Entitled to Private Lives?
This is an article for my writing class:
We see the pictures every day: a female celebrity getting out of a chauffeured car flashing a body part best left to the imagination; a male celebrity casually running shirtless on the beach; a celebrity couple leaving the most current trendy L.A. restaurant, not holding hands, protesting the idea that they were on a date, and then driving away together in a large, black sedan.
It begs the question, are celebrities entitled to be left alone when they are not working? But this is not the first question we should ask. Why are we as a culture so obsessed with celebrities? This question is one that has been bounced around by many writers in recent years, its importance rising exponentially in direct proportion to how many tabloid magazines there are in circulation. Celebrities have become the de facto representation of the American dream. So it is only natural that we would want to know what their “real lives” are like outside of movies and television.
But are we entitled to know? Many would argue that when a person chooses to live this sort of life, they should accept giving up their privacy in exchange for money, fame and the perks they receive.
I find this to be a strong case of sour grapes. Just because someone else has money, beauty, fame and ostensibly everything that Americans want in life, does not mean that everyone else is entitled to know their business, or that they are required to “give up” their privacy to have these things.
As a teacher, I could argue that in many ways I am also not afforded a “private life”. If I choose to go to the supermarket in my gym clothes without makeup (something I am sure a celebrity would never do), it is likely I will run into at least one student with his or her family, who will then pin me down for a 20 minute conversation. If I go out to a restaurant or bar and order an alcoholic drink, I am always aware if a student’s parent is around, and limit myself accordingly. There are situations in which I could get into trouble, or even fired, if it is witnessed that I have engaged in a certain behavior publicly. Alas, I am also not compensated monetarily for the loss of this privacy, nor do I get many perks, other than those intrinsic inspiring moments I have from day to day and the fulfillment I get from my career.
So, as for the celebrities private lives? I think they should be left alone. However, it seems that the rest of the country doesn’t necessarily agree. Now, where’s my People Magazine?
We see the pictures every day: a female celebrity getting out of a chauffeured car flashing a body part best left to the imagination; a male celebrity casually running shirtless on the beach; a celebrity couple leaving the most current trendy L.A. restaurant, not holding hands, protesting the idea that they were on a date, and then driving away together in a large, black sedan.
It begs the question, are celebrities entitled to be left alone when they are not working? But this is not the first question we should ask. Why are we as a culture so obsessed with celebrities? This question is one that has been bounced around by many writers in recent years, its importance rising exponentially in direct proportion to how many tabloid magazines there are in circulation. Celebrities have become the de facto representation of the American dream. So it is only natural that we would want to know what their “real lives” are like outside of movies and television.
But are we entitled to know? Many would argue that when a person chooses to live this sort of life, they should accept giving up their privacy in exchange for money, fame and the perks they receive.
I find this to be a strong case of sour grapes. Just because someone else has money, beauty, fame and ostensibly everything that Americans want in life, does not mean that everyone else is entitled to know their business, or that they are required to “give up” their privacy to have these things.
As a teacher, I could argue that in many ways I am also not afforded a “private life”. If I choose to go to the supermarket in my gym clothes without makeup (something I am sure a celebrity would never do), it is likely I will run into at least one student with his or her family, who will then pin me down for a 20 minute conversation. If I go out to a restaurant or bar and order an alcoholic drink, I am always aware if a student’s parent is around, and limit myself accordingly. There are situations in which I could get into trouble, or even fired, if it is witnessed that I have engaged in a certain behavior publicly. Alas, I am also not compensated monetarily for the loss of this privacy, nor do I get many perks, other than those intrinsic inspiring moments I have from day to day and the fulfillment I get from my career.
So, as for the celebrities private lives? I think they should be left alone. However, it seems that the rest of the country doesn’t necessarily agree. Now, where’s my People Magazine?
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
A Review of The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
This is the sequel to Oryx and Crake, reviewed previously on this blog. In this part of the continuing tale in the MaddAddam trilogy, we meet Ren (short for Brenda) and Toby, two of God's Gardners, neither of whom feels worthy of being in the greenie sect, mostly organized by Adam One, but truly and more honestly by Zeb. All of the leaders of GG are named Eves or Adams, and Adam One has missives that begin each chapter, or each change of narration between Toby and Ren. Each of these ladies has survived the Waterless Flood, foretold by Adam One to be forthcoming. Ms. Atwood weaves in Jimmy and Glenn/Crake from the first story, but deepens the story and adds more narration of the time after the virus has wiped most of humanity out. We discover that there are quite a few survivors, other than Jimmy/Snowman, who only emerges at the end of this book.
This tale has a lot less of the originality of the first one, but in many ways is more satisfying, as a story of a terribly fragile, SeksMart worker (Ren) and an extremely resilient Eve Six (Toby). Amanda Payne, Jimmy's girlfriend from the first book, is Ren's best friend, and quite an interesting character in this story. We learn her origins and her survival afterward, mostly from Ren's tale.
While this book was enjoyable, I liked it both more and less than the first book. At the beginning of each section, Ms. Atwood writes Adam One's sermon for each "saint" that the Gardeners worship. Everyone from Dian Fossey to Karen Silkwood is a saint to the Gardeners. These "sermons" followed by a hymn from The God's Gardeners Oral Hymnbook, were abundant, and quite boring. I stopped reading them halfway through, except to skim in case I missed any narrative detail. I didn't enjoy that part of this story. I understand that it was important to understanding the God's Gardeners, but it was uninteresting and irrelevant, except to sermonize.
Overall, I liked this story. It was different and similar to Oryx and Crake, but less depressing with a lot more hope at the end, and truly all the way through. In this tale, we are given more narration and understanding of all that has occurred, and less of the hopelessness of the situation. Not all of humanity is dead; many have survived, and other humans besides the Crakers.
I do intend to read the final tale in the MaddAddam trilogy.
This tale has a lot less of the originality of the first one, but in many ways is more satisfying, as a story of a terribly fragile, SeksMart worker (Ren) and an extremely resilient Eve Six (Toby). Amanda Payne, Jimmy's girlfriend from the first book, is Ren's best friend, and quite an interesting character in this story. We learn her origins and her survival afterward, mostly from Ren's tale.
While this book was enjoyable, I liked it both more and less than the first book. At the beginning of each section, Ms. Atwood writes Adam One's sermon for each "saint" that the Gardeners worship. Everyone from Dian Fossey to Karen Silkwood is a saint to the Gardeners. These "sermons" followed by a hymn from The God's Gardeners Oral Hymnbook, were abundant, and quite boring. I stopped reading them halfway through, except to skim in case I missed any narrative detail. I didn't enjoy that part of this story. I understand that it was important to understanding the God's Gardeners, but it was uninteresting and irrelevant, except to sermonize.
Overall, I liked this story. It was different and similar to Oryx and Crake, but less depressing with a lot more hope at the end, and truly all the way through. In this tale, we are given more narration and understanding of all that has occurred, and less of the hopelessness of the situation. Not all of humanity is dead; many have survived, and other humans besides the Crakers.
I do intend to read the final tale in the MaddAddam trilogy.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Update
Hello all,
I recently began another school year (I am a public school teacher for any of you who don't know me personally). I also switched grade levels. It's been interesting and quite busy. I have not had as much time to read, so it may be a while until I get to something I can review. My writing class begins again on the 30th, so I should definitely have some things to post then. Looking forward to it....
Regards,
GBG
I recently began another school year (I am a public school teacher for any of you who don't know me personally). I also switched grade levels. It's been interesting and quite busy. I have not had as much time to read, so it may be a while until I get to something I can review. My writing class begins again on the 30th, so I should definitely have some things to post then. Looking forward to it....
Regards,
GBG
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