Blackout by Connie Willis

If you don’t read science fiction as a rule, Connie Willis is still a wonderful writer to read. Although travelling in time plays an important part in Blackout, the rest of what happens to her characters is very much what happens to all of us, except for happening to be in London when it was bombed during World War II. So this book reads more as an historical novel than a science fiction work, at least from my viewpoint. Connie Willis believes in the ability to laugh at ourselves. She creates characters whose idiosyncrasies make us want to laugh and cry or tear our hair out, but as they get closer and closer to mortal peril, we find we just can’t disassociate ourselves from their dilemma, knowing them so well.

In Blackout, three historians have gone back from 2060 to World War II, one to observe Londoners during the bombing by the Nazis, one to observe the children evacuated out to the countryside, and one to mingle with the small fisherman who set out to rescue British soldiers from Dunkirk, France. The science of time travel has evolved around set parameters, one being that no one can travel to where they will affect the course of history. But they can get close to the main events, and then have to grapple with wanting to warn people or deflect them from catastrophe.

An earlier story of Willis’ and her book Doomsday incorporated time travel, so readers of those works will be familiar with the problems it presents. But from the start of Blackout, there are intimations that something is wrong. The research center, located in Oxford University in England, is running off-schedule, changing historian’s travel times without warning. The head of the center is off travelling or just unavailable. When the three historians, back in time, try to make contact with the present day, the portal refuses to open. Willis shows us the panic growing in each of them about their predicament, and how they are also subject to the anxiety, fear and terror of living in a time of war.

Note: this is the first part of a two part novel, the second part, All Clear, just now being released.

Chainsaws, Slackers and Spy Kids: 30 Years of Filmmaking in Austin, Texas / by Alison Macon

Culturally, Austin seems to have it all. The Live Music Capital of the World filled to the brim with nightlife, it also boasts a top notch drama and performing arts community, a reputable visual arts sector, numerous literary competitions, annual international festivals, eclectic cuisine and an abundance of regional and independent news sources tapped into all things cultural. So it's no surprise to find that Austin's already thriving independent film scene has, over the last few decades, steadily emerged into a full-fledged motion picture industry. Now more than ever, and in no small part owing to the far-reaching popularity of the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival, the city has become (unofficially) the "third coast" movie capital of the United States.
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When Tobe Hooper's low-budget horror classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre burst through to the mainstream in the 1970's, it was only the beginning as the city's progressive film atmosphere began to attract wannabe filmmakers from all over, soon gaining ground as one of the treasured enclave's of independent film. It didn't hurt that the University of Texas Radio-TV-Film program was already one of the best in the country, only to grow in size and become more diversified in the following years. By the 1990's, Austin achieved legitimate notoriety as an unique landmark independent filmmaking trail. Breakthrough directors Richard Linklater, Robert Rodriguez and Mike Judge proved that local and sub-regionally produced films such as Slacker, Dazed and Confused, El Mariachi and Office Space could make noise at the national level at the same time that homegrown talented actors like Matthew McConaughey and Renee Zellweger made splashes in Hollywood.  
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Lifelong resident and tenured UT film professor Macon chronicles the rise of the Austin's film community through its early days in the 1970's on to its Generation X-charged atmosphere in the late 1980's and early 90's and finally relates how the city has become a major venue for twenty-first century Hollywood blockbusters like Spy Kids. While Austin continues to perpetuate its open-ended, democratic approach to the movie business, Macon hints that their may be a downside to the city's ever-expanding status as a movie and entertainment mecca, namely that rising production costs could mean limited opportunities for local filmmakers as the city opens its arms to industry financiers with bigger pockets. More on the Austin movie scene can be observed at websites like the Austin Film Society's well-informed take on all the cinematic goings-on around the city. (791.4309764 MACOR)

The Aftermath of the Mexican Revolution (Aftermath of History) / by Susan Provost Beller

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Many associate the Mexican Revolution with the 1910 overthrow of President Porfiro Diaz, the rise of Pancho Villa and the ensuing US intervention. Yet even these pertinent facts fail to tell the full story and relate the subsequent events which established the Mexican Constitution, introduced reforms and indelibly determined the future of the country. In addition to creating directives which redistributed land and wealth between the populous, the Revolution instituted new measures for the separation of church and state, ensured voting rights for all citizens and pushed for equal opportunity education. Much of the 1917 constitution established the current system of government that the country of Mexico has grown accustomed to. The establishment of a Congress of the Union coincided with the allocation of legislative and judiciary bodies at the same time that federal and state constituencies were introduced.
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Yet in the years following the revolution, Mexican society was much the same. Despite progressive initiatives toward equanimity and accountability in governmental policies, the balance of power began to shift back to its pre-revolutionary status with wealth and authority disproportionately administered through the upper classes. Many of the same problems of unstable government, political corruption, religious discriminiation and poverty (the most readily apparent by-product of the pre-revolutionary days) continued unabated into the second half of the twentieth century. As the new millenium dawned, much of the ideals fought for in the Revolution as well as the goals allocated by the 1917 constitution remained unfulfilled. Issues of cross-societal inequality and economic disparity are as constant as ever with more recent problems of illegal drug trafficking and border conflicts still unresolved.
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Beller outlines the key components of the Mexican Revolution, its initial causes, principle contentions and eventual resolutions, chiefly highlighting the state of affairs following the fighting in this well-detailed, abundantly illustrated and easy-to-understand non fiction book. This volume is one of several in the "Aftermath of History" series, a set of books chronicling some of history's most high profile events and distinguishing the conflict itself from the residual outcomes through the subsequent years. In what is clearly the unique objective of the series, the book is an especially accessible education resource, well-tailored for use by persons of all ages and instrumental in curtailing the implications of such an important period in history. Along with this volume, the library carries another title, The Aftermath of the Anglo-Zulu War (968.4045 WELTIG) in the collection. (972.0816 BELLER)

Man Booker prize announced

Last night the winner of this year's Man Booker prize was announced -- Howard Jacobson's The Finkler Question. The Man Booker prize is for full-length novels written by citizens of the UK or Ireland. Unlike the most literary prizes in the US, in the UK, the Booker prize is highly scrutinized. Take a look at Salon.com's article on Why the Booker is the best literary award.

The Great Meadow by Elizabeth Madox Roberts

First published in 1930, this was Roberts’ fourth novel. She was a scholar, poet and school teacher, who wrote this book based on her own ancestors’ journey to Kentucky from Virginia in the years of the American Revolution. Roberts’ writing was well received in her time, but the ensuing years saw a steady decline of interest in her works. Which is a pity, as The Great Meadow is a story of pioneer life that feels immediate and firsthand while also keeping the atmosphere of its time. The story is told in the third person about Diony, an 18-year-old girl who gets married and goes with her new husband Berk to Kentucky. Instead of in a wagon train, their journey is over the mountains on packhorses, fraught with danger of fording rivers, horses bolting or becoming injured, and the ever present threat of Indian attack. Diony is the heroine, and it is her thoughts and desires that are the focus of the story. We slowly understand how people lived and their ways of seeing things through the ordinary give and take of conversation, with their ways of teasing each other and the words and accents used at the time. While a lot of historical novels make you feel that if you were dressed right, you could fit right into another time and century, Roberts makes you see that while you might understand each other’s words (most of them), eons of sensibility divide our time from theirs. It is a meditative book, with Diony having been schooled early on, by her father, in the philosophy that things have no existence without a mind to register their presence. There is a wonderful play on this idea, with the wilderness views Diony sees on her journey described as being prepared for her seeing them, by some mind greater and more far reaching than her own. Although the tone and the philosophical quality of the narrative require more effort of the reader than a present day novel, this effort is richly rewarded, with abundant drama and dazzling depictions of the land that was to be Kentucky.

Mario Vargas Llosa wins the Nobel Prize for Literature

Last week, the Nobel Academy announced that it has chosen Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa for its 2010 literature prize. This is the first time a South American writer has been chosen for the prize since 1982, when Gabriel Garcia Marquez won (coincidentally -- and probably completely unrelated -- Llosa once punched Gabriel Garcia Marquez in the nose at a Mexican movie premiere.)

The Nobel Committee stated that it chose Vargas Llosa "for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat." Like many South American authors, Mario Vargas Llosa is well-known for being politically active. He was an early supporter of Castro's Cuban revolution, but eventually came to disagree with Castro and later in life became known for promoting free market and democratic policies. In the 1990's he ran unsuccessfully for the presidency of Peru.

Although Vargas Llosa writes in Spanish, many of his works are available in English translation. We currently have 17 of his books, including novels, essays and literary criticism in Spanish and English. If you're interested, stop by the Reference Desk, and we'll be happy to help you find one. If you'd like to know more about the newest Nobel Prize for Literature winner, check out Early Word's Mario Vargas Llosa cheat sheet here.

Nashville (1975) DVD / a film by Robert Altman; starring Ned Beatty, Karen Black, Shelly Duvall, Lily Tomlin and Keith Carradine

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"Y'all take it easy now. This isn't Dallas, it's Nashville! They can't do this to us here in Nashville! Let's show them what we're made of. Come on everybody, sing! Somebody, sing!"

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Central to the American heartland is Nashville, home to Music Row, the Grand Ole Opry and numerous characters--musicians, event promoters, press agents, studio managers, etc.--involved with country music. In the summer of 1975, replacement party presidential candidate Hal Philip Walker is campaigning in Nashville, intending to hold a public rally at the city's Parthenon monument. The event, highlighted by the charismatic, buzz-worthy Walker, brings people from far and wide who intermingle with Nashville locals, participate in its festive atmosphere and partake of all it has to offer. Celebrities and semi-celebrities conglomerate to entertain the rally-goers just as lesser-known and unknowns try to get in on the action. Country music legends like Haven Hamilton and Timothy Brown, current starlets Connie White and Barbara Jean along with group acts like folk rock trio Bill, Mary and Tom are the scheduled performers though, to be sure, various wannabe acts will attempt to integrate themselves into the scene. Things may seem a little crazy, a little unfamiliar to the outside eye, but it's sure to be a one of a kind spectacle destined to entertain.

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Almost 30 years after its initial release, Nashville, Robert Altman's brilliant slice of Americana, has aged as well as anything. Made during the Vietnam era when Watergate was still fresh in the public's conscious (Nixon's resignation actually spawning the film's concept of a "replacement party" candidate), the film has lost none of its appeal; ironically, it's as relevant today as ever, perhaps more so within the celebrity-obsessed culture we inhabit. A snapshot of a single place and time, Nashville is as much about politics as it is country music, as much focused on families as it is on fame and stardom. It's a black comedy, a musical, a political satire and a documentary all in one, effortlessly and effectively interwoven by Altman into one mesmerizing cinematic production. In another way, Nashville is a character study, a film almost voyeuristically delving into the lives of the individuals within this peculiar cross-section of society. Rather than tell a story in a well-defined, contiguous pattern, scenes jump around from place to place, person to person, loosely interconnecting everything in graduated fashion, a method Altman would similarly adopt in his later films Short Cuts and Gosford Park. This overlapping style (definitely a moldbreaking nuance in those days) fits perfectly with the panoramic view of five days in the city, observing the 20 or so characters--some lifetime locals, some starry-eyed new arrivals and some complete foreigners--who all engross the viewer in clever fashion, capturing the identities of you-know-who-they-really-mean country music stars and other composite figures. Although he tosses aside the conventions of narrative storytelling, Altman allows us to get to know the characters in Nashville better than in many contemporary dramas with fewer characters. By the end the audience thoroughly understands each figure and their place and function within this eccentric though purely American setting--just maybe "the damndest thing you ever saw". (DVD NASHVILL)

4 unconventional novels that you must read (according to Nicole Krauss)

Check out author Nicole Krauss' reading list in the 10-5 edition of The Daily Beast. By the way, if you've never checked out the Beast's book section, it's worth a look, with intelligent but concise recommends and ruminations on books and the book trade from well-known authors and journalists. It's online at www.thedailybeast.com. Click here for the Nicole Krauss post: Nicole Krauss Picks Her Must Reads

Matters of Honor / by Louis Begley

American author Louis Begley is perhaps best known for his 1996 novel About Schmidt, a book later adapted into a same titled, Oscar-nominated film starring Jack Nicholson and Kathy Bates. Born Ludwik Begleiter in Poland in 1933, Begley survived the deadly World War II genocide of all Polish Jews (he's Jewish) with aid from a compassionate Catholic family who helped hide he and his parents from the Gestapo. After the war, the Begleiters immigrated to America where the family Americanized their name and Ludwik Begleiter officially became Louis Begley. Upon graduating from Harvard, he married and had children, served for a time in the US Army and later went to law school. Despite only beginning his career as a novelist in the early 1990's (when he was in his sixties and still practicing law), Begley has carved out quite a career for himself publishing 8 novels, all well-received. Matters of Honor, Begley's latest published in 2007 is also his most autobiographical observing the relationship of three Harvard University friends in the mid-fifties.

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Thrown together as freshman roommates at Harvard in the fall of 1954, Sam Standish, Archibald P. Palmer III ("Archie") and Henry White quickly hit it off, bonding through their mutual affinity for women, alcohol and other 'gentlemanly' pursuits. On their own for what's really the first time, none feel the least bit homesick. Rather each has reason to put some distance between home and school and would rather establish new identities within the collegiate microcosm than dwell on where they came from. Blue-blooded Sam would seem the most prototypical Ivy Leaguer with his New England roots, an established family name, old money wealth and a boarding school upbringing. Yet that's exactly the classification he wants to separate himself as any silver spoon perks he does have are smoke and mirrors. In all honesty, Sam's parents are a public embarassment: his father's a notorious drunk and his slatternly mother's well-known for her parade of casual affairs. If that weren't reason enough to seclude himself from his preppy brethren, there's the fact that he's also adopted--a secret only he, his parents and the family lawyer know about.

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As a lifelong military brat, Archie has no real roots other than wherever his father's been stationed and nothing so exceptional for a surname absent the deceptively prestigious roman numeral at the end giving off the suspicion of elite breeding. His easy manners and worldwise nature never find him without friends and, consequently, never without a free drink in his hand or a fun-loving girl on his arm. Diametrically opposite of Sam and Archie is Henry, a New York City native who got into Harvard on full academic scholarship. Despite attending one of the crummiest public high schools in Brooklyn, he's nevertheless among of the smartest, most well-read and hardest-working freshman students around. Henry's no nerdy outsider though. His booksmarts and unfashionable looks don't offset his equally acute knack for adapting and fitting in. Just like the other two though, Henry has his uncomfortable past issues which he'd prefer not to get into: he's Jewish, a Polish immigrant, he hid in a cellar during the Gestapo raids, all extended family apart from he and his parents were gassed, etc. On the surface, Henry's tragic past doesn't seem too encumbering. He's upbeat and on top of things mostly, into girls and good times and happy to be out of earshot of his squawking mother, until the day everything changes bringing the three friends into contact with a daunting truth and a decision which could haunt their lives forever.
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Begley knows how to tell a story. Even writing about the holocaust, a genre so top heavy with personalized fiction accounts, the author's ability to peak a reader's interest is remarkable. He writes with a sort of casually sedated style, relaying information about each character with practiced nonchalance. Somehow this gives the story an alarming level of assiduity, the reader keen on all of the subtle moods and motives of the trio of friends who seem like your closest kin (imperfections and all) rather than literary characters. Narrated in past tense by Sam recollects everything from first impressions to girlfriends to nights out on the town as the book moves along at a solid pace, never revealing too much too fast yet offering enough crumbs for the reader to keep the pages turning as the accessible prose slyly allows everyone in to the lives of the three protagonists. (FIC BEGLEY)

Newer Fiction on Ancient Rome

Attila: The Gathering of the Storm / by William Napier

By the fifth century AD, the Roman Empire is on the verge of collapse as multiple armies attack its vulnerable borders, pushing for a permanent dissolution of the realm. The greatest threat posed is a conglomeration of raiders from the East led by a notorious warrior named Attila who has
succeeded in uniting the Hunnish clans with the other
Scythian tribes for one seemingly unstoppable force. (FIC NAPIER)

The Silver Eagle / by Ben Kane
In this sequel to Kane’s riveting novel The Forgotten Legion, Fabiola is a prostitute in the burgeoning Roman Republic. As current mistress to the powerful Decimus Brutus, Fabiola seeks to use her elevated status to influence matters around her and ultimately to see her enslaved brother Romulus, a former legionnaire, returned safely back to Rome. (FIC KANE)

Lavinia / by Ursula K. Le Guin

Lavinia is a prominent maiden and daughter of a king in the peaceful pre-Roman land of Latium. A beautiful woman with many suitors, she also has powers to communicate with the spirit realm. When a ship arrives carrying a man wishing to court her, Lavinia uses her gift of intuition to learn of a destiny which sees her becoming one of the primary founders of the Roman Empire. (FIC LEGUIN)

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Conspirata: A Novel Of Ancient Rome / by Robert Harris

In Harris’ riveting sequel to Imperium, things in pre-Imperial Rome are particularly tumultuous. Marcus Cicero is made the pro-consul of the Roman Republic in the year 63 B.C to the anger of several of his rivals. As he maneuvers through the complex political landscape, Cicero must look out for his life as well as his job. (FIC HARRIS)

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The Course of Honour / by Lindsey Davis

During the first century of the Roman empire, a slave girl named Caenis is a server in the household of Antonia, then the sister-in-law to Emperor Tiberius. Sparks fly when Caenis meets Vespasian, then an unknown citizen-soldier from one of the rural provinces, and a love affair begins which will witness Vespasian’s legendary rise to power, culminating with his being crowned emperor in 69 A.D.
(FIC DAVIS)
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Persona Non Grata: A Novel of the Roman Empire / by Ruth Downie

Returning back to Rome after a stint with the military in the region of Brittania, physician and part-time sleuth Gaius Ruso arrives home to find his affairs un-customarily in disarray—he’s bankrupt. When a man who owes Ruso money drops dead of poisoning, the doctor is suddenly suspected of the crime and must use every ounce of his investigative abilities to clear his name. (MYS DOWNIE)

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Give Me Back My Legions! / by Harry Turtledove

During the reign of Caesar Augustus, Publius Varus is a Roman centurion-statesman who leads three legions north of the Rhine to fight the barbarous Germanic tribes who continue to defy ultimate surrender. On the other side of the battle lines, however, is a very determined Prince Arminius, leader of the subjected Teutonic peoples. Arminius feigns cooperation with the Romans only to plot their down

fall and free his people from their grip in this thrilling alternate history novel. (SF TURTLEDOVE)