The Buzz...About Books

Who's *That* Woman? Madonna and Mrs. Simpson

   

The Duchess of Windsor, previously Wallis Simpson, is 'that woman,' the American divorcée for whom King Edward VIII abdicated his throne to marry (leaving baby brother Bertie to stutter his way to the top job).  Sex, power, and glamour: Wallis was reviled by a scandalized (yet fascinated) public. No surprise that Wallis' brunette ambition captured the imagination of Madonna.  W.E., her film structured around the Wallis and Edward romance, is now at the TIFF.  For critics, reviewing Madonna's directing (and acting) is a bloodsport. After its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, the Guardian describes W.E. as "a primped and simpering folly, preening and fatally mishandled." 

Upcoming books revisiting Wallis are in the works, including That Woman by Anne Sebba due out next year.

Ms. Ciccone identifies with Ms. Simpson: "I think she felt an existential loneliness."  Read more about her interest in Wallis here.  Read Gus van Sant's piece on Madonna for Interview.

Madonna has another bizarre mission: to prove that the Duchess was not a Nazi sympathizer. In the Globe and Mail, Madonna states ..."after years of research, I could find no empirical evidence proving she was a Nazi or Nazi sympathizer." 

Madonna could have visited her local library to get help with her research.

Interested in Simpson and the royal abdication that rocked a nation?  Further reading:

• The Darkness of Wallis Simpson and other Stories by Rose Tremain
• The War Memoir of (HRH) Wallis, Duchess of Windsor by Katherine Ausptiz
• Duchess: the Story of Wallis Warfield by Steven Birmingham
• The Duchess a.ka. Wallis Simpson by Linda Griffiths
• Wallis: the Novel by Anne Edwards
• The Duchess of Windsor: the Secret Life by Charles Higham
• The Duchess of Windsor by Michael Bloch
• Wallis & Edward, Letters 1931-1937: the Intimate Correspondence of the Duke and the Duchess of Windsor ed. by Michael Bloch
• The Jewels of the Duchess of Windsor by Nicholas Rayner
• Famous Last Words by Timothy Findley

If you happen to get tickets to catch W.E. at the Toronto International Film Festival, let Madge know what you think.

Just don't give her any hydrangeas.

Bono: He Was Born This Way

In Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man, Chaz Bono tells the story of his gender transition from female to male. Born Chastity Sun Bono in 1969, Chaz is the child of Cher and the late Sonny Bono. In 1995, Chaz came out publicly as a lesbian - and in 2008 realized his true dream when he began the process of gender reassignment.

Becoming Chaz, a documentary about his sex change, premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and will be released May 10. Watch the trailer.

Chaz's relationship with his celebrity mom has been stormy.  Cher, an iconic figure to the gay community, has made public her earlier struggles with accepting her child's sexuality. Read Cher's interview in Vanity Fair and watch Letterman's befuddled interview with her (she really, really scares him).

But this isn't all about Cher. 

Visit Chaz's website and learn about his ongoing work as a LGBT activist. Read his earlier book, Family Outing, a guide for young people coming out, and The End of Innocence, which he wrote in 2002 as Chastity.

See his first public interview with Mary Hart after his transition. Watch these clips from Dan Savage's It Gets Better Project: including words of hope from Chaz, Adam Lambert, Woody (from Toy Story 3), and Lady Gaga. And speaking of, put your paws up and dance to Gaga's Born this Way.

Further reading:

What Becomes You by Aaron Raz Link and Hilda Raz	Becoming a Woman by Richard F. Docter	The First Man-Made Man by Pagan Kennedy	The Testosterone Files by Max Valerio

"It's Hammer Time!"

On May 6, Kenneth Branagh's Thor opens in theatres - and the Toronto Public Library doth have mighty reads featuring the Son of Odin.    

Branagh with his Shakespearean gravitas seems an unlikely fit with a superhero film. Watch his interview at the Comics Con in San Diego. It may surprise you.

Oscar-winner Natalie Portman plays Thor's earthly love, Jane Foster. Read how filming Thor kept her sane after The Black Swan. Chris Hemsworth, a relative newcomer, has the role of Thor.

Branagh's casting of British actor, Idris Elba (The Wire, Luther) as Heimdall, the Norse guardian of Asgard, was truly inspired. Read Elba's take in the UK Guardian.

Thor, a prominent figure in Norse mythology and immortalized in the Eddas, reached the height of popularity during the Viking Era. Thor's legacy continues - not only did he inspire "Thursday" - but some wicked cool comic books.

 

One of the most interesting (and weirder) creations of Marvel, Thor first appeared in Journey Into Mystery #83 in 1962, created by the immortal Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby. Thor and the tales of Asgard have endured for over 40 years. Thor's Marvel-ous charm includes his hyperbolic mash-up of pseudo-medieval  diction:

"The power within Mjolnir doth rage like the winter storms bursting upon the shore in furious assault!"

 

 

 

 

 The cast of Thor (from left to right) Natalie Portman, Chris Hemsworth, Idris Elba

And the merchandising: last weekend, I stood puzzling at a display of Easter Thors (because nothing suggests Easter more than Norse gods made of chocolate).

Further reading:

• Norse Mythology: The Myths and Legends of the Nordic Gods by Arthur Cotterell
• Marvel Adventures:  Avengers / Thor by Paul Toibin
• Visionaries: Thor by Walter Simonson
• Avengers Disassembled: The Mighty Thor by Michael Avon Oeming
• Ragnarok: Eve of Apocalypse by Myŏng-lang Yi  (Korean graphic fiction series based on Norse mythology)

  
  

 

 

 

 

Leader of the (Brat) Pack

Rob Lowe's autobiography, Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography, will be released April 28. And I can't wait. The May issue of Vanity Fair has an excerpt  in which Lowe recalls his gruelling audition for Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 The Outsiders where he competes with Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Tom Cruise, C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, and Val Kilmer.

Watch these audition tapes for The Outsiders. Part 1 and Part 2.

Lowe, a member of the so-called Brat Pack, a wild group of young actors in the 80s which included Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Andrew McCarthy, Judd Nelson, Jon Cryer, Robert Downy Jr., and Charlie Sheen, is no stranger to scandal.  However, Lowe stayed ahead of the pack, survived the 80s, and has a fairly solid career in television (The West Wing, Brothers and Sisters, Parks and Recreation). 

Listen to the podcast of Lowe reading from his excerpt in the May issue of Vanity Fair.

Further reading:

• You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation by Susannah Gora (2010)
• "The Birth of Hollywood's Brat Pack" by David Blum, New York Magazine 1985.  These actors loathed the term "Brat Pack" - and some even blame this article for the declines in their careers.

American Idol: Is My Book "Pitchy?"

Steve Tyler, Aerosmith rocker and American Idol celebrity judge, has an autobiography coming out in May.  The 63-year old Demon of Screamin' promises that his book, Does the Noise In My Head Bother You? delivers "all the unexpurgated, brain-jangling tales of debauchery, sex & drugs, transcendence & chemical dependence you will ever want to hear."

The great poet Wordsworth defines poetry as "emotion recollected in tranquility" and, in Tyler's case, both sweet emotion and memory rock on.  Tyler reflects: “Doing a book, you bring up things that you didn’t remember happened,  and as soon as you do, it opens up that place in your mind that you spew out onto the pages." 

It's hard to narrow down the highlights of Steve's current incarnation on Idol. Is it the leers?  the comments? the clever scarves? For many, the supreme Idol / Tyler moment will always be contestant Danny Gokey's gawd-awful closing howl of Aerosmith's classic, Dream On.

Steve is not the first bad boy from Boston to write his life story - Joey Kramer, Aerosmith's drummer, published Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom which chronicled his battle with drugs and depression.

Read On, Read On, Read On.....

• Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith by Aerosmith
• Aerosmith: the Fall and Rise of Rock's Greatest Band by Martin Huxley
• Steven Tyler: The Biography by Laura Jackson

   

 

 

What if Diana Had Lived?

Monica Ali's forthcoming novel, Untold Story, imagines the life of Princess Diana -- had she not died in the Alma tunnel in Paris in 1997.  Scheduled for release on June 28, this novel about one of the world's most famous women by an edgy British novelist is bound to get lots of attention.

Diana would have turned 50 this year. In the New York Times, Ali says “when she [Diana] died, she seemed to be at some kind of crossroads in her life. Over the years since her death, I’ve sometimes found myself wondering how she would have matured into her 40s and beyond.”

The critical reaction to Untold Story will be most interesting - fanatical Diana worshipers intersecting with the politicized fanbase of Monica Ali.  It's not the first time Diana has been fictionalized (there are thrillers based on the conspiracy theories around her death). However, Monica Ali brings literary cred to the table - her debut novel, Brick Lane, was a critical sensation and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

In this case, the butler didn't do it.

New "Diana" books often elicit sniffs from 'serious' readers - perhaps justified considering the sheer volume published on the subject.  Nonetheless, Diana continues to command our attention years after her death.  And with Diana's ring sparkling on Kate Middleton's finger, the promise of more royal scrutiny is sure to follow. Indeed, Ali describes Diana as "a gorgeous bundle of trouble" who figuratively extended a graceful finger to the establishment.

 

 

 

Check the library catalogue nearer to the release date for Untold Story.  In the meantime, you can read Monica Ali's other novels (In the Kitchen, Alentejo Blue) or catch up on some of the books and DVDs about the late princess.        

• Diana: An Intimate Portrait (DVD)
• Diana Style by Colin McDowell
• Diana: Life Through a Lens (DVD)
• Diana: In Search of Herself by Sally Bedell Smith
• Ever After: Diana and the Life She Led by Anne Edwards
• The Day Diana Died by Christopher Anderson
• Diana by Sarah Bradford
• The People's Princess by Larry King
• Diana: The Last Word by Simone Simmons
• Diana: The Story of a Princess by Tim Clayton
• Diana: Death of a Goddess by David Cohen
• A Royal Duty by Paul Burrell (the butler.....) and the sequel, The Way We Were: Remembering Diana

Do these boots match my gun?

Gossip Girl is a wildly popular book series by Cicely von Ziegesar, focusing on the lives, loves, and clothing of privileged teenagers attending an elite private school in Manhattan.  Over the course of thirteen books, central characters Blair Waldorf and Serena van der Woodson navigate the perilous waters of high society in Christian Louboutin ostrich pumps while their every move and accessory is documented by an anonymous blogger.  Often criticised for its superficiality, casual sex and recreational drugs, the series has nevertheless become a favourite among young adult readers, spawning numerous imitations and an equally popular television series. 

The books are an obvious target for parody but in this case the satire is coming from an unexpected source--the author herself.  In October 2011, Cicely von Ziegesar will publish her own send-up,  Gossip Girl, Psycho Killer.  This novel will be based  on the first book in the series but this time Blair and Serena add murder to their already packed social calendar. New characters with tragically short life expectancies have been created as cannon fodder for our sociopathic socialites.  It's unlikely actual cannons will be used, however--they're so last season.

It all makes sense.  The backstabbing in Gossip Girl was bound to turn into actual stabbing at some point.  Besides, you can pack a lot of weapons into one of those outsized Valentino 360 Hobo bags and with servants to take care of the blood stains, there is no good reason Blair and Serena wouldn't start murdering people.  

It sounds like a lot of fun.  If you're unfamiliar with the series, it's best to start with the first book, Gossip Girl.

The Story of O

O.: A Presidential Novel by Anonymous is getting some buzz - and not all of it is necessarily good.  This roman à clef, obviously based on the current Obama administration, has been compared to Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics by Anonymous (later revealed to be journalist, Joe Klein) which based its events on the 1992 Clinton campaign.  Whereas Klein's novel was generally well-reviewed, reviewers seem skeptical about the built-in publicity machine generated by its anonymity.  Nonetheless, others are impressed by the so-called "accuracy" of this insider look. Read reviews in the Toronto Star, The Guardian UK, and The Washington Post.   The Huffington Post speculates somewhat tongue-in-cheek as to the indentity of the author, suggesting Christopher Buckley, Jon Stewart and even Obama himself. According to Quill & Quire, the publisher has asked political commentators to "refrain from commenting" on this Obama novel (a sure-fire publicity gimmick that's not really fooling anyone).  

Read an excerpt published in the New York Times.

I wonder if Canadians will be as interested in this novel as they were in Primary Colors or in Curtis Sittenfeld's American Wife, a novel obviously based on Laura Bush.  This book is released in bookstores next week - and you can reserve your copy from the library.

The Return of Lisbeth Salander?

When I turned the final page of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, the third book in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief.  With the author’s tragic death, this would be the end.  There would be no more Lisbeth, no more Mikael.  I was delighted.  You see, I’ve been harbouring a dark secret.  I hated these books.  It's awkward because almost everyone else loves them.  The series is popular with every type of reader—old, young, male, female.  Just about everyone on the subway seems to be reading of them. 

For me, the books were boring.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was the most interesting but even it had sections (the beginning, the end, parts of the middle) that just dragged.   The plot of The Girl who Played with Fire, is a distant memory.  I do remember being terribly annoyed by the ending.  In addition to all of her other attributes, Lisbeth is apparently indestructible.  The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest was unforgivably dull.  Larsson took a perfectly serviceable plot about a woman accused wrongfully accused of crimes and buried it inside a thesis on Swedish constitutional law.  I just don't understand the popularity.

However, there are millions of readers worldwide who love the books.  They will be pleased to learn that Larsson had apparently plotted 7 additional books at the time of his death and his partner Eva Gabrielsson will continue the series.  Unfortunately the ongoing dispute over his estate may delay the process.

I won't be holding my breath.  Does anyone else share my opinion?

Fall Thrillers

Fall is my favourite season.  Aside from beautiful foliage, it is also the biggest publishing season.  After Labour Day publishers release their biggest, flashiest and most important titles.   There are so many releases, it is impossible to keep up.  This is a small selection of the mystery, crime and suspense novels that are coming out in the next few months.

Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny 
Inspector Armand Ganache haunted by mistakes he has made, is nursing his wounds in the library of the Quebec City Literary and Historical Society.  When a murder occurs at the library exposing a mystery that has been hidden for centuries, he is compelled to investigate.   

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Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

An unlikely friendship between two boys with diverse backgrounds develops in 1970s Mississippi but is later torn apart by suspicion when a local girl disappears. 

Fatal Error by F. Paul Wilson

The Repairman Jack series is a blend of horror and mystery with a dollop of science fiction for good measure.  Jack is a fixer, solving problems others cannot.  He is more concerned with justice than with the law, and often uses creative, though not necessarily legal, methods.  Although he takes normal cases, his work often pits him against supernatural forces, as in this book when he tries to prevent the end of the world.

Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane
Lehane finally returns to his terrific series featuring Boston private eyes, Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro.  I can’t wait for this one.  Although I love all of Lehane’s books, I’ve really missed these plucky detectives.  It will be released on December 6.

• Audiobook
• Large Print Edition

Sleepwalkers by Paul Grossman

German police detective and war hero Willi Krauss is called upon to investigate when a surgically mutilated girl is found floating in the Havel River.  Set in the final weeks of the Weimar Republic, the Jewish Krauss finds his task complicated by the political turmoil around him. 

This debut novel is getting rave reviews.

• Audiobook