Dana Vengrow '18
Summer might not be the same without options for pleasure reading and the time to see new movies. Each year, President Doti sends out his recommended reading and viewing list, posted here for your perusing pleasure.
Unusual Uses for Olive Oil by Alexander McCall Smith
President Doti:
A book that I found laugh-out-loud funny is
Unusual Uses for Olive Oil
by Alexander McCall Smith. If you like this book, you will want to read the rest of the series that focuses on the foibles of university professor Dr. von Igelfeld.
Summary from the publisher:
Life is so unfair, and it sends many things to try Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld. There is the undeserved rise of his rival (and owner of a one-legged dachshund), Detlev Amadeus Unterholzer; the interminable ramblings of the librarian, Herr Huber; and the condescension of his colleagues with regard to his unmarried state.
Review Quote:
“Delightfully silly … [von Igelfeld is] a literary Mr. Magoo.” —
The Washington Post
(
Read the full review
)
Skylark by Dezso Kosztolanyi
President Doti:
Another funny but at times sad novel is
Skylark
by Dezso Kosztolanyi. Set in central Europe in the late 19
th
Century,
Skylark
tells the story of parents burdened in life by a stifling and overbearing daughter.
Summary from the publisher:
It is 1900… The Vajkays — call them Mother and Fathe–live in Sárszeg, a dead-end burg in the provincial heart of the Austro-Hungarian Empire … Both are utterly enthralled with their daughter, Skylark, who is unintelligent, unimaginative, unattractive, and unmarried … Drunk, in the light of dawn Father surprises himself and Mother with his true, buried, unspeakable feelings about Skylark.
Review Quote:
“This short, perfect novel seems to encapsulate all the world’s pain in a soap bubble. Its surface is as smooth as a fable, its setting and characters are unremarkable, its tone is blithe, and its effect is shattering.” –Deborah Eisenberg,
The New York Review of Books
(
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)
Etched in Sand by Regina Calcaterra
President Doti:
I found Regina Calcaterra’s autobiographical
Etched in Sand
a wrenching, provocative and ultimately life-affirming story about a young girl from a horribly dysfunctional family who somehow rises above it all – or at least most of it.
Summary from the publisher:
The middle of five children, Regina, and her siblings, Cherie, Camille, Norman and Rosie were born to the same mentally ill mother but all different fathers, contributing to the family’s instability… by the age of twelve, Regina was left with caring for her younger sibling. After a brutal beating, a social worker made Regina a promise: tell the truth for the first time about how they have been living in exchange for a guarantee that the system would protect them.
Review Quote:
“Courageous and fascinating, written with a descriptive restraint that recalls moments of tragedy and perseverance with simplicity and subtlety.” —
Publishers Weekly
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)
Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II by Vicki Croke
President Doti:
Perhaps my favorite book of the year is the true story
Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II
by Vicki Croke. Believe me, after reading this book, you will have a new-found respect, maybe even love, for elephants.
Summary from the publisher:
In 1920, Williams took a job in the teak business, drawn by the lure of working with the world’s largest land animals… Impressed with their intelligence, courage, kindness, and humor, he believed that just living with them made him a better man … Over time, Williams’s uncanny rapport with the elephants transformed him from a carefree young man into the charismatic war hero known as Elephant Bill.
Review Quote:
“Although not without tragedy, the story of Elephant Bill, with his near mystical understanding of elephants, is ultimately uplifting. ‘Elephant Company’ [sic] is nothing less than a sweeping tale, masterfully written.” —
The New York Times
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)
Peace by Richard Bausch
President Doti:
We are privileged to have on our faculty one of the world’s most respected writers, Richard Bausch. His novels and short story collections make for great reading. But I want to single out
Peace
, a short novel he wrote about an American reconnaissance mission in Italy during WWII. I’ve read a lot about WWII, but this book affected me like no other.
Summary from the publisher:
“Italy, near Cassino, in the terrible winter of 1944 … Guided by a seventy-year-old Italian man in rope-soled shoes, three American soldiers are sent on a reconnaissance mission up the side of a steep hill that they discover, before very long, to be a mountain. As they climb, the old man’s indeterminate loyalties only add to the terror and confusion that engulf them.
Review Quote:
“An abrupt and chilling act of violence opens Bausch’s 11th novel, marking the beginning of a bleak but compelling meditation on the moral dimensions of warfare.”–
Publishers Weekly
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)
They might not be summer blockbusters, but these picks from Doti are a mix of sentimentality, hope and curiosity.
Tim’s Vermeer, directed by Teller
President Doti:
As for movies, I found the documentary
Tim’s Vermeer
an absolutely fascinating and persuasive explanation for how Vermeer was able to infuse his paintings with such realistic detail.
Sony Classics summarizes: Tim Jenison, a Texas based inventor, attempts to solve one of the greatest mysteries in all art: How did 17th century Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer (Girl with a Pearl Earring) manage to paint so photo-realistically — 150 years before the invention of photography.
Review Quote:
“The movie puts forth an utterly fascinating and fairly compelling argument, not to mention the question: Was Vermeer less genius than geek?” — Michael O’Sullivan,
The Washington Post
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)
The Secret of the Grain, directed by Abdellatif Kechiche
President Doti:
I also recommend the French film
The Secret of the Grain
about the head of a Franco-Arabic family and his dream of opening a successful restaurant.
Palace Films summarizes: “Set in the rustic port of Sète (superbly captured by the atmospheric cinematography of Lubomir Bakchev), The Secret of the Grain [sic] follows Slimane, whose growing dissatisfaction with the shipyard job he’s had for the last 35 years prompts him to try to open his own restaurant.
Review Quote:
“The scenes…have a syncopated authenticity for which the sturdy old word realism seems inadequate.” — A. O. Scott at
The New York Times
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)
The Lunchbox, directed by Ritesh Batra
President Doti:
Another movie with food as a central theme is
The Lunchbox
. This endearing story of two people in India craving love and affection come together as a result of tastefully prepared lunch box meals and beautifully written letters.
Sony Classics synopsis: Middle class housewife Ila is trying once again to add some spice to her marriage, this time through her cooking. She desperately hopes that this new recipe will finally arouse some kind of reaction from her neglectful husband…but his lunchbox is mistakenly delivered to another office worker, Saajan… Curious about the lack of reaction from her husband, Ila puts a little note in the following day’s lunchbox.
Review Quote:
“The Lunchbox
is perfectly handled and beautifully acted; a quiet storm of banked emotions.” —
The Guardian
(
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)
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