Oprah & Dickens

14 December 2010
Comments (0)
Oprah has done it again, she has made her book club choices. ‘Tis the season for Dickens. I read an article on this called “Bad Expectations”, where the author criticizes Oprah, her book choices, and what she does to literature. I know we are all rolling our eyes over the fact that if Oprah recommends a book it is an instant best seller, but people let’s get serious here, in our media frenzied existence, how else do you expect to sell books?

So she doesn’t pick winners all the time, who does? You can honestly tell me you have loved every book you picked out for yourself? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Does it bother you that she is “reviving” classics? Really, that’s interesting, do you really think most Americans knew Charles Dickens had written anything besides Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol until her December 2 episode? I promise you, they hadn’t. I would be willing to wager that besides Cliff Notes, most Americans haven’t actually read Charles Dickens. Google “Tale of Two Cities” and you will find the top two sites are Wikipedia and Spark Notes, and don’t try to tell me that’s for research. And this isn’t surprising, his books are difficult to access, even to the most hardened of literary buffs.

Oprah is getting people to read! She is doing for adults what Harry Potter did for children, making people pick up a book and actually try to sit through it. So what if Charles Dickens isn’t really a “hot chocolate” kind of book? In his time, he was considered mass market trash, so please spare me your snobbish view of his place in the cannon. At least people are going to learn that he wrote much more fascinating characters than Ebenezer Scrooge (not a Jew).  I personally dislike most of Dickens, so I would require some kind of sugary treat to help me drag myself through it. Despite that, I think this is fantastic!

In the past few years, I have noticed a decline in Dickens’ popularity. His works are heavy, light on romance, and his world is not entirely relatable, so in typical high school and college syllabi, he has been overshadowed by Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, and “other” (minority, queer, and other ignored demographics) literature. So if Oprah wants to revive him, props to her! Oprah sells books my friends, so let her.  There are so many other classics out there, choosing Dickens was a brave choice, and however she wants to sell him is fine by me, maybe someone out there will actually even like him.

Oprah’s Picks:

Tales of Two Cities and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Share

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos

6 December 2009
Comments (0)

“A kiss on the hand might be quite continental/ But diamonds are a girl’s best friend.”

Remember that famous scene with Marilyn Monroe in her bright pink gown singing about the joys of Cartier and Harry Winston? Well, I have learned that “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, the 1953 classic starring Marilyn and Jane Russell was based on a 1925 best seller by flapper Anita Loos. This was brought to my attention by a young lady at my book club, who recommended it to us as the book we read for December (thanks Ruthie!), and may I say it was quite a delight.

Written by a smart, savvy screenwriter and flapper of the Jazz Age, Anita Loos used the infamous Lorelai to explore the social scene of America during the roaring 20’s. Written in a diary format, complete with misspellings and Lorelai’s own unique parlance, Loos explores the inner workings of a cut throat social climber and gold digger. Lorelai was inspired by several “blondes” Anita Loos met during the Jazz Age who men seemed to fall all over, while Loos would be left shlepping the luggage despite that fact she could carry on a decent conversation.

Lorelai’s adventures take her from New York to London to Paris (all financed by her friend Mr. “Daddy” Eisman, for her education of course). Along the way she meets millionaires, their wives or mothers, and diamonds in all shapes and size. While Lorelai is not exactly a sympathetic character, you have to admit she is a crafty one. The novel is short, and some may say she rambles a bit, but I found the style innovative and refreshing. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a short, delicious glimpse at a society drinking and spending its way to its own demise only a few short years later.

Grade: B+

Share