:)  So this is what they get up to!


Thanks, Nancy!
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Recently watched When Paris Was a Woman, a documentary of the literary and artistic scene in Paris between the two World Wars:

 "Between the World Wars, Paris was the world's artistic capital, attracting cultural titans like Gertrude Stein and others. Through home movies and intimate storytelling, this documentary re-creates the mood of this unique female artistic community."  


One particularly interesting aspect was the information about Shakespeare & Company (the original bookstore opened by Sylvia Beach in 1919, not the later one opened by George Whitman).  Another thing that was interesting was the flourishing of the lesbian community in Paris in the twenties and thirties.  Who'd a thought.

The behavior of James Joyce surprised and disappointed me, but many of the most influential writers of the time found support at Shakespeare & Company and many supported the book store in return.
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Two more reviews down, but I still have a few more 2011 books to review and hope to finish them by tomorrow.

Monday Musings

I'm almost caught up on reviews. My reading, however, has slowed down. I've begun several fiction books that are not very good, and I'm trying to stay with my resolution to abandon books that invite me to make fun of them sotto voce. They will go back to the library unfinished.

On the other hand, I've got a couple of good nonfiction books in progress and an ever-growing list of "want to reads" garnered from miscellaneous blog reviews.

Two more good documentaries to report:

10 Questions for the Dalai Lama is full of lovely scenes from Tibet, some good background on the Dalai Lama's childhood, terrible scenes of the Chinese occupation and the destruction of 6,000 monasteries. Over a million Tibetans have been killed as a result of Chinese policy...pretty stunning. The documentary presents actual footage of the 1949 occupation. The history is only a part of the documentary, but it is fascinating.


The other excellent documentary is The Cats of Mirikitani. Interesting on many levels, this film captures Mirikitani as a homeless street artist, his friendship with Linda Hattendorf (the filmmaker), the effect the events of 9-11 had on Jimmy and other street people, and the transformative power that results from his friendship with Linda. The film documents his life over a five year period.

It is really a marvelous film about homelessness and the available resources; about frustration and pride and dedication to art; about the camps and the residual effects of the Japanese interned in them (Jimmy was born in the U.S., an American citizen); and about friendship and kindness and reunions.

An excellent synopsis of the film here.