www.annemoore.net

 

 

 

 

 

Short stories, a memoir and a classic

As you know, I’m not a fan of short stories. I’m hooked and then — it’s over? There are exceptions to this rule (Lauren Groff’s Florida, Alice Adam’s The Stories of Alice Adams, John Cheever’s The Stories of John Cheever, and just about anything by Mary Gaitskill.)

And now I’ve come upon Claire Keegan’s Antartica (published 1999), recommended by a writer friend. I’m sure I’ll never forget its title story, about a married mother who slips away for a weekend in the city during the Christmas shopping season with the intention of sleeping with another man. It goes well, until it doesn’t…

A pastor at my sister’s cathedral church recommended God’s Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine, by Victoria Sweet. This book is the story of Laguna Honda, the last alms hospital in our nation, in San Francisco. It’s not a traditional hospital, it’s not a nursing home, it’s not a treatment center. It’s a place where poor people are cared for as long as necessary. (When it faced closing because of costs, San Franciscans voted to keep it open, via a bond offering.)

Sweet, a physician, joined Laguna Honda because she wanted to work part time while she pursued study of Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th century nun who practiced “pre-modern”medicine. We learn about Hildegard, about Dr. Sweet, about fellow doctors, administrators, patients and their families. This is an important and engrossing read about care — for others and one’s self. I loved it. 

Why is a book a classic? Why do we read classics? Because they’re amazing. Valmiki’s Ramayana, translated by Arshia Sattar, is a Sanskrit text whose message of righteous living is a tenet of Hindu and Buddhist life. 

For a westerner like me, the Ramayana is a rollicking read full of adventure, warfare, betrayal, shape-shifting, kidnapping, jealousy, forgiveness and yes, righteous behavior. 

Rama is banished by his father, the king, who has come under the sway of a wife who wants to install her son as heir. Rama obeys his father; brother Lakshmana insists on going with Rama, as does Rama’s beloved wife, Sita. Along the way, Sita is kidnapped by Ravanna, a demon king. The war to win back Sita is astonishing, with loyal monkeys, golden arrows, a bridged ocean. 

Once returned, Rama’s mind is poisoned against Sita; how could she have remained virtuous? Rama’s treatment of Sita, even after she has borne him sons, is maddening, and heartbreaking. 

Happy spring.

Also in the blog

Expanding on what they do best, the Chicago Humanities Festival will present a themed four-day event this spring, their first ever. (April 28 – May 1.) The subject is style. Headliners include fashion icon Iris Apfel, media entrepreneur Arianna Huffington, Washington Post fashion editor Robin Givhan, Black Lives Matter founder Alicia Garza, photographer Sally Mann,

(...)

The sky is grey, the ground is white, there’s a warming fire in the living room fireplace. Sure, I like a brisk winter walk, to ice skate, to ski. In Chicago, there are many days too cold to go outside for long. So we turn to books. The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace:

(...)

When was the last time you stumbled on, or into, a great restaurant? It’s the foodie’s curse to know about every new place to try, and why. That’s what put four of us in a far north Chicago neighborhood, hoping to score platters of mussels, venison ribs and craft beers at Hop Leaf (5148 N

(...)

Leave a Reply