Interpreter of Maladies (1999) by Jhumpa Lahiri2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
A collection of short stories, Maladies would have been perfect for late-night reading were it not for one thing: it was utterly depressing. Still, it was far from a disappointment. Admittedly, I was a little hesitant to buy this book, because of the Indian themes that I worried I might not completely understand, and although that may have been true, I was quickly relieved to find that although references to Indian customs were prevalent, it was not a book ABOUT ethnicity and ethnic pride. "A Temporary Matter," "Interpreter of Maladies," and "The Third and Final Continent" are to be highly praised and recommended, particularly for their timeless, universal appeal (which many of the others lacked). I was also disappointed in a number of the other stories, though, as they seemed to serve no purpose other than to mimic real life, which is, of course, interesting, but their impact was just as fleeting. Some of them, like "The Blessed House," were quite good and I found myself empathizing with one of the characters of that story to the point in which I could not help but be enraged by the actions of another character, but, alas, I could not help but feel as if I bought an album of 16 songs to find that I only like 3. Lahiri is an extremely mature writer, yet her style is simple; neither condescending nor superfluous. I'd be very interested in re-reading these stories in ten years, or twenty, and see how my perspectives change. I'll definitely have to make a point to do that. Highly Recommended. A-/B+
King Kong (2005)Directed by Peter Jackson for Universal Pictures
Crap. C-R-A-P. Couldn't even finish watching this. Special Effects seemed to be all right though. But this is King FRIGGIN' Kong! Why was it paced like a Lord of the Rings movie? I was bored half to death! but I haven't even seen the original, so perhaps I just didn't konw what to expect. I wanted a movie about a huge gorilla destroying stuff and fighting. I DIDN'T want a story about a filmmaker, a struggling actress, a script writer, and 20 friggin sailors. What the HECK?!! C-
Joined a Gold's Gym a few days ago. So far I've been going every day, with the exception of Saturday because I had myteriously hurt my foot running on a treadmill. Still, I've been working out an hour every day, and I would like to promise to myself that I'll be in the best shape of my life by the end of the summer. Maybe I'll start preparing myself now to run a marathon in a couple of years. But who knows what my schedule will be like once I start work. Hopefully I'll still have time (or the desire) to go to the gym regularly.Next Up in Reviews:
State of Fear (2004) by Michael Crichton (I'm halfway through)
Da Vinci Code (2006) directed by Ron Howard
Recent Purchases:
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (Paperback, 2001) by Michael Chabon
Atlas Shrugged (Paperback, 2005 reprint) by Ayn Rand
The Fountainhead (Paperback, 1994 reprint) by Ayn Rand
Underworld (Hardcover, 1997 reprint) by Don Delillo
Lolita (Paperback, 1989 reprint) by Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov
Gilead (Hardcover, 2004) by Marilynne Robinson
