"Sally Mann's" Memoir "Hold Still"-Her Life, Her Art & Family History

Sally Mann's memoir "Hold Still" written with exceptional prose & candor is at its most fascinating when discussing her photographic subjects and her objectives for a shoot.  The things/people Mann  (b. Amer 1951) focuses her lens on range from her children, the rural southern landscape, human form "…and the ineffable beauty of decrepitude, of evanescene, or mortality."  Mann's most enlightening  perspectives were regarding the photos taken of her 3 young children.  I was stunned by the furor & accusations of child abuse levied against Mann.  The photo series of her offsprings are transformative expressions of love, affirmation and hope.   Mann admits there is an exploitive nature of photography at the root of every great portrait.  "Taking the picture is an invasive act, a 1 sided exercise of power."  What is taboo to one generation is often viewed as the norm if not genius in another era.  Mann speaks of arts' capacities & potencies with gravitas.  The fear of the elusiveness of her gifts is a constant worry.  "Each good new picture always holds despair within it, for it raises the ante for the ones that follow."  There's mention of the endearing friendship & admiration between Sally & the artist Cy Twombly.  Sally dismisses the concept of artistic potential limited to the gifted few.  "Art is seldom the result of genius; rather it is the product of hard work and skills learned and tenaciously practiced by regular people."  Sally's memoir drifts from her artistic pursuits to puruse her family history, that of the south and her macabre fascination with death.  Sally's family tree are considered the genetic threads for her factiousness, and unrest.  Sally's misgivings for her blind eye towards the racial divide she grew up in disturb her.  "It's that obliviousness, the unexamined assumption, that so pains me now:  nothing about it seemed strange, nothing seemed wrong."  Perhaps this motivated her  to capture both the southern landscape; its beauty tinged with sadness  & its "abiding human spirt of slavery."  She asks us to "weep for the great heart of the South; the flawed human heart."  Mann proclaims death as "the modern form of prudery."  She explains her preoccupation with death. "For me, living is the same as dying, and loving is the same as losing.  I believe it can make me better at living and better at loving, and just possibly, better at seeing."   This is an engrossing &  splendidly written memoir .  Mann is highly regarded for her skills as a photographer & writer. Her love for photos harbors some disdain.  "They diminish our ability to remember and what memories we have are impoverished."  "Hold Still" made and indelible imprint on me.  

Paulette Jiles' "News of the World" is a Nat'l Book Award Finalist

Paulette Jiles (b. Amer 1943) is a Canadian novelist & poet.  Her new book "News of the World" is a finalist for this year's Nat'l Book Award.  This news is amiss regarding such a high accolade. The adventure & kinship between a retired army captain & 10 year old girl through the unsettled & lawless Texas territories in 1870 is engaging.  Capt. Kidd, an educated & honorable soldier had fought through several wars, including the Civil War.  Kidd now maintains an income by giving public readings of news of distant lands.  His readings provide locals current events & amazing glimpses of information from across the Atlantic.  His services are highly regarded. He's offered payment to accompany the young girl recently "rescued" from the Kiowa Indian Tribe & return her safely to her relatives.  The Capt realizes his young charge, so alone & twice captured, is being coerced through 2 creations.  She's an anomaly; not belonging to any one world.   Considered a "savage" among her own race, she must adapt & transform to norms which she is unaccustomed. Varying cultures contain their own minefields.  Johanna's resilience, resourcefulness and courage are admirable & endear her to the Capt.  He is the only human being she now knows & trust.  Their journey is fraught with harrowing dangers.  They are pursued by both Native tribes, lawless hooligans and must survive nature's unforgiving harshness.  Jile's cunningly conveys the era & lay of the land. The storyline is driven by the Captain's & Johanna's & their billowing bond.  "The baseline of human life is courage." "News of the World" is a worthwhile read but it belongs to the young adult genre. It's too tame & maudlin for mainstream readers.    

Andy Cohen's "Superficial" - The Macher of Bravo Scores a Zero with New Auto-Bio

Andy Cohen, known to millions for his seemingly endless, but entertaining reality shows, including the continuously expanding Housewives genre, generated his 3rd book, "Superficial."  I was at the 92Y where Andy was interviewed by his friend & fellow NYC icon, Sarah Jessica Parker to promote his latest self-indulgent droll diary in the guise of an introspective reflective read.  I enjoyed the vivacious dialogue between Andy & SJP, two inviting & interesting friends with whom I would love to be in  their inner circle.  Perhaps, the next best thing would be to read "Superficial" to garner a titilating tell-all of real celebs & then real reality TV celebs.  (Note:  there is a vast difference.)  There's also a huge chasm between literature and "People" magazine.  There's also an abyss between a fun read & a dull, quotidian diatribe of Andy's activities.  Don't bother with this boring, obsessive Bridget Jones malarky. Don't believe me?  The daily grind apprises you mostly of what he ate, how he slept & pooped on any given day.  We're relentlessly barraged with his beloved dog, Wacha.  Andy notifies us of Wacha's  weight, vet visits and doggy runs.  I'm glad for the faithful companionship between Andy & man's best friend but it's not of interest to this devoted dog lover.  The book should appeal to Andy's people, "older Jewish women"& younger gay men.  No, I did not read past Novemeber 2014, I've got my own life.  I found "Superficial" subpar & a waste of my time.  Darn, I've probably blown my chances of becoming bff's with SJP & AC.  Oh well… Meanwhile, Andy should stick with his day/night job on TV and keep his love for writing for himself.  

Irish Author Paul Murray's "Skippy DIes" A Cerebral, Poetic Coming of Age Novel

Paul Muray (b Ireland 1975) is a very enchanting & clever storyteller.  His 1st novel "An Evening of Young Good Byes" (03) was shortlisted for the Whitbread Award.  "Skippy Dies" (10) was long listed  for the Booker Prize.  In Murray's engaging & beguiling novel "Skippy Dies" we learn Skippy, a teen at Seabrook School for boys, dies at the onset and thrust into a mindset of flashback storytelling leading to this cataclysmic tragedy.  This proves false. Forging this coming of age novel into a finite genre is futile.  Skippy is likable kid with an geeky, genius roommate.  Skippy is love struck by beautiful Lori, out of his league at the nearby girl's school.  Skippy is NOT the sole main character of this craftily constructed story.  Skippy's dismal life & sexual awakening parallel that of Howard, a former alum & Seabrook teacher.  The cast of classmates are all colorful as well as a slew of parents, teachers & priests all contending with their own worldly matters.  Coping skills vary among the crew along with numerous complications ailing across generational divides: self-confidence, peer pressure, abuse, drugs, over-eating, dyslexia and the ubiquitous quest to find love & understanding of one's place in the universe.  The chapters oscillate from one fascinating character to the next.  Murray's drives the multilayered plot with an amalgam of alarming incidents, compelling historic context, ponderings of theoretical & philosophoical ideas and persuasive poetry.  The possibility of multiple universes is a common thread throughout.  The import being everyone too preoccupied trying to find their way somewhere else they miss out on the world they're in.  Murray is a masterful writer of wisdom & wit. "Stories make things make sense, but the way they do that is to leave out aything that doesn't fit."  "Skippy Dies" doesn't skimp on many of the things that matter in life.  "There is another world, and it is in this one." (P Eluard)

Israeli Author Amos Oz's Autobio "Tales of Love & Darkness" His Life and Israel's Birth as a Nation

Amos Oz, (b Jerusalem 1939) is a world renown writer, journalist & lecturer.  Oz has received many literary & humanity awards.  He's extolled by many as Israel's most famous living author.  Oz's autobiography "Tales of Love & Darkness" (now a movie starring & directed by Natalie Portman) is a very dense, verbose, erudite account of his entire life, commencing from age 2.  Oz's memory for detail & literary prowess are incredulous.  Yet, I assume the minutia of material he draws from his life to be factual and contend his literary skill as omnipotent.  Although, the over abundance of flotsam and jetsam makes its reading laborious.  What carries the tenancious reader to enriching & enlightening historical discoveries are his boyhood, 1st hand accounts of the birth and near destruction of Israel.  Just minutes after Israel is voted its sovereignty in 1948, without war being declared, the infantry & artillery of the Arab nations poured into the country intending to raze the entire population.  Four years later, having survived, the State of Israel consisted of more than 1,000,000 citizens.  A 1/3 of the population were penniless refugees.  Oz contends the Israelis were proud of their victories and felt entrenched in the justice of their cause and their feelings of moral superiority.  He also considers the plight of hundreds of thousands of Arabs who lost their homes & became refugees.  Many of whom, and for generations, have remained refugees today.  Oz eloquently recounts his coming of age alongside the multitudes of lifestyles & growing pains in the nation of Israel.  These miraculous & embattled years were also shrouded by his mother's lengthy mental illness & suicide.  Amos shares his bibliophilic zeal, proclivity towards writing & literary epiphanies for contributing to his literary career.  I admired Amos' sagacious & melancholic writing.  "Tales of Love & Darkness" is a treasure trove jewels floating amongst a somber ocean of history.  Within a ubiquitous feeling of oppressiveness there are glimmers of optimism. "People will always go on making plans because otherwise, despair would take over."