Of Hemingway, Resolutions, and Discoveries

My New Year's Resolution, this year, was to reread Hemingway. I can honestly say I haven't picked up one of his novels in a good ten years. I started with A Movable Feast, my favorite. The book that made me fall in love with Paris, without ever going there. I still laugh out loud at his description of the trip he took with F. Scott Fitzgerald to pick up a car.

However, I have discovered that the older I get the more depressing Hemingway gets. How can this be? When I first read him as a teenager, I thought he was romantic and truthful. I got how he wasn't big on happy endings, after all, I was told, life held few. I really didn't notice the hopelessness, until now.

Can I still learn from him? Yes, he wrote his male characters very well, although, he was no stranger to misogamy. You have to remember the times he lived in. I love his writing style and anyone can learn from his succinctness. Now, if I can just get through A Farewell to Arms without obtaining a prescription for Prozac.

Winter's Bone, Fried Squirrel and Home

I spent a small part of my young life in Missouri, right around the area where Winter's Bone was shot. Southern Missouri, close to the Arkansas border is beautiful, even in winter. However, you can starve on fresh air, if you are poor.

Winter's Bone is the story of Ree Dolly, portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence, a 17 year old, who has had to grow up fast and shoulder responsibilities that would break some adults. Dad is a meth cooker, who has disappeared, and Mom has totally checked out of this reality. Ree also cares for her little brother and sister. It's a bleak world, for this girl who dreams of going into the Army.

To get out of jail, Jessup Dolly, her father, put the homestead up for his bond. He's got a court date coming up and can't be found. If he doesn't show up, the family home and land will be taken.

As Ree begins her journey to find her father, we meet her immediate family, among them is Uncle Teardrop, (great name), portrayed by John Hawkes of Deadwood fame. Hawkes' portrayal of this character is chilling. Believe me, I'm related to people like him, and thankfully most of them are now dead. Honor, clannishness, and defiance of authority, it's all there. He is very scary, and ultimately, the guy you want on your side. We meet other nasty people along the way, including some evil sisters that make the witches of Macbeth look like church ladies. We eventually learn that Jessup has committed the ultimate sin in this society. What Ree has to do to keep her home is beyond horrifying, and oh, so very brave. All the while keeping her own honor intact. She is a great heroine.

I really liked this movie, it works on many levels. It's the classic hero's story, a quest if you will. It portrays the people of the region realistically, with no apologies. Debra Granik, who directed and wrote the screenplay, stays fairly in line with Daniel Woodrell's novel. She never talks down to the material, there is no "look at the ignorant hillbillies" here. Are there people like this who give a whole new dimension to the word trash? Yes, and they are found in every part of the country and aspect of society, not just the poor of the south.

The actors are superb, John Hawkes, especially. I hope he gets nominated for something, at least an Independent Spirit award, for his performance. Jennifer Lawrence portrays her character with quiet tenacity, it's a remarkable performance. Dale Dickey, who portrays one of the evil sisters, Merab, (another great name!), is fantastic. She's a white trash with a little money nightmare, who proves surprising, in the end. The music is wonderful too, if you like old timey mountain music.

Oh, about the fried squirrels. There is a scene where Ree and her brother are dressing some squirrels they have just shot. That struck a ringing truth with me. When you are that poor, fried squirrel sounds delicious. I've been that poor and it is.

Eat, Pray, Love

Why is it when a man goes "in search of himself", we find it life affirming and noble? Larry from The Razor's Edge comes to mind. When a woman does it, it's self-indulgent, narcissistic hooey.

I tried to read Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert, really, I did. Ugh, I couldn't get past the page after page of, well, crap that goes on inside this woman's head. Talk about someone lost in their own drama. Good grief.

Now, with the release of the movie, we are being bombarded with the merchandise. It's every where. Candles, clothes, perfume, sheets? I guess with all that eating, praying and loving, you need a good night's sleep on 500 thread count sheets. I know I do.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Scandinavian mysteries have become quite the phenomenon. We've had Wallander on PBS, and now the late Steig Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest in bookstores and movie theaters. With the exception of one thing, I loved the books and the first movie. The novels were well written thrillers, with a decidedly Euro-flair, since they were translated from Swedish. I'm not really familiar with Sweden, except for meatballs, Volvo's and Ingmar Bergman. I thought the books did have a little Bergman feel to them. With that said, here's what I thought of the first of the three movies...

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, the Swedish version, released on DVD, July 14. Starring Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander and Michael Nyqvist as Mikael Blomkvist.

They couldn't have cast a more perfect actress than Noomi Rapace. She was Lisbeth, from her pierced eyebrow to her platform boots, she was exactly as I pictured her, while reading the books. She's very androgynous, and extremely Goth. She also had the character down cold, lots of attitude and contempt, but also confusion and vulnerability. Lisbeth is one of those rare characters that is totally victimized, but never thinks of herself as a victim. She doesn't crawl away, she gets spectacularly even. I really loved that about her.

The actor who portrayed Blomkvist, the reporter, was also very good, in a shrugging Euro way. One thing that was so surprising, is the age of Nyqvist and the rest of the supporting cast. I admit, I haven't been watching a lot of European films in the last few years, so I don't know if this is a trend, but they used a lot of middle aged actors for this film, that really looked middle aged. I would say none of them looked good for their age. Really. I know that sounds awful, I guess I'm used to the nipped, tucked, agelessness of American actors. The plot does deal with a forty year old crime, but these actors looked like they lived hard, I'm talking rock star hard.

The one thing I didn't like about the first book or the movie is the graphic rape scene. I know it was an important event. It factors into all three books. I just didn't have to be beaten over the head with it. I didn't want to read the details, nor did I want to see them. I like to think that if Stieg Larsson lived, he might have toned it down a bit. This one scene has turned off a lot of female readers. I can honestly say there is nothing like it in the other two books. I know the original title of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was Men Who Hate Women, so I understand why the scene is there. I just don't think graphic rape is a form of entertainment, in any medium. Suffice to say, my DVD player has fast forward and I used it through that scene. Although, what happens to the rapist is Epic Karma.

Of course, the Americans have garnered their own film rights to the books. It's said that Daniel Craig of 007 fame will play Blomqvist, and every young actress in the world wants to portray Lisbeth. Personally, if they can't get Noomi Rapace, they should go with an unknown. Look what we did with La Femme Nikita. I always thought Bridget Fonda was a little too perky for that role. I can see it now, Dakota Fanning in Goth makeup or Keira Knightly in a punk hairdo.

I would recommend this movie for a rent or buy. The Girl Who Played With Fire is in theaters now. If I can get the husband over to the fashionable part of town to see it, I will. The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest will be in theaters October 15.

Of Coolness

At a recent family get together, my 29 year old nephew said something quite shocking. We were talking about my recent brush with a computer virus, he said that's why I should get an Apple, I said I'm not cool enough for an Apple. Then he then said something that just stopped me in my tracks, "You're my cool aunt, you've always been cool."

Wow, I've always thought I was kind of weird. My husband says I'm a little eccentric and my best friend says I spin in a different orbit from anyone else. See, I think those are just nice ways of saying weird.

What is coolness? Well, Steve McQueen was super cool, so was James Dean. However, they were movie stars and most of them look or seem pretty cool. I think it's more than that, I think it's more about being, your true self. My mother always said, "don't follow the beat of a different drummer, follow your own beat". Mom was a big believer in individuality.

Maybe that's the secret, just be your own weird self and someone will think you're cool.

Purple Pots

I can hardly stand it... Le Creuset has come out with purple pots!!! I am obsessed with enamel over cast iron cookware. Combine that with my love of purple and this could be a serious situation.

Now, I had a hard time convincing my DH to get my made in China cast iron Dutch oven. However, he did change his tune when he tasted the artisan bread and the beef bourguignon that came out of it, so maybe... but $200 for a glorified frying pan, or excusez moi, a Braiser, I think would be stretching it. I have a better chance of going to Paris for the weekend.

Just think of the fantastic food that would come out of my Braiser. Delectable sauteed veggies, melt in your mouth short ribs, or even coq au vin. Ah yes, I can dream. C'est la vie.

Of Bread, Pots and Grandpas

I never thought I came from a family of bakers. Oh there were cakes, pies and the occasional biscuit and cookie but no hard core baking. Until I found out that one of my grandfather's many jobs during the Great Depression was baker. My aunt told me that when she was a girl, Grandpa would bake bread, cakes and pies for the coming week. I never knew this. He never said a word. He was many things, a coal miner, deep sea diver, (really), vintner, marksman, hunter and conservationist, but I would have never have pegged him as a baker. Although, he did have the arms for it. Have you ever noticed the biceps on a bread maker? Which is one of the reasons I've always used a bread machine.

Now a bread machine makes decent looking bread, and it's edible. However, if you want old fashioned crusty bread or artisian bread, you need a bread oven. I'm not really sure of the mechanics but I think it has to do with steam at some point. Anyway, I read about this new method called No Knead Bread and then I saw a show on Cooks Country about it called Almost No Knead Bread. That's the method I used. It calls for an enameled cast iron Dutch Oven, which I've always wanted and never could afford. LaCrusette/no Monet. Walmart just happened to have a really nice one on sale, it's made in China not France, I'll get over that. I won't include the recipe, because it's not mine and I didn't change it one bit. You can get it from the Cooks Country website.

I must admit this was really easy to make and look at the result. I've never made a prettier loaf of bread. I'd like to think my grandpa would be proud.