Book Reviews: The Cone of Memory

In the Name of Salome by Julia Alvarez

I read Alvarez's other, more famous, book In the Time of the Butterflies a few years ago, and wasn't very impressed. For whatever reason, I just didn't like it very much. I saw this one on the library shelf the other day and grabbed it because it was the only decent-looking choice and I didn't have time to look for a better one. It turns out that I really liked it. Maybe it's because I've learned more about Caribbean history and women's writing; maybe just because it's a good read. I also found the format intriguing: it alternates chapters between the life of a mother and the life of a daughter, with the daughter's chronology running backward and the mother's running forward until they meet up in the end. I liked how anecdotes were alluded to and interwoven throughout the book, creating a full picture of the generations of a family. Sometimes the names and chronology can get a bit confusing, but this seems to reflect the messiness of life and history, as well as the poetry of the novel.

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

I actually saw the film version of this novel before reading it, which in some ways spoiled the experience a little. It's an excellent film, but the novel has such beautiful writing it would have been nice to experience it without the film images already in place in my mind. It also has an intriguing composition: the narrative is centered on a trial in a small town, but keeps flashing back to earlier events in the lives of the participants. The writing is gorgeous and the characters are all well rounded. There is also a fairly strong moral statement that manages to come through subtly. This is the kind of book that you can really get absorbed in and stay up late reading. (It does have bad language and several graphic sex scenes, so if you don't like that, don't read it).

I watched the film as part of a theory class and it was supposed to demonstrate some of the ideas about memory and perception as written by Bergson (memory is like an inverted cone) and Bataille (the trigger effect). Interesting stuff.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Thanks for the book reviews. I like hearing your recommendations.
Lady Steed said…
It looks like you found the female Caribbean literature that Theric was supposed to know about when he took the CSET. A test to determine whether or not you really know enough about a subject to teach it in public high schools. But let me ask you Foxy, did you ever study Carribean female literature in high school?

When he told me about this question I thought he was joking, but no. I am glad to see that you have found it for us. Thank you for proving its existence.
Anonymous said…
The Alvarez book sounds good. I'll have to give it a try. And maybe I'll have to try Snow again.

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