Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kindgom

Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom
Sylvia Plath

I was aware of The Bell Jar, as well as the journals of Sylvia Plath, but I had no idea she had ventured into the realm of weird fiction. This could probably be better classified a a short story, but the feelings and images are quite well fleshed out in their intentional incompleteness.

There's not a lot that can be said, without retelling the entire story, due to the weird nature of the environment of it. Ostensibly, it is the story of a girl taking a train trip, but the real power lies in the unknown and slightly weird events, people, and scenery. I would highly recommend this for a quick lazy day read.

The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar
Sylvia Plath

I feel like this book has been discussed enough, that there is very little I can contribute. One thing I will say though, is that if someone you care about has depression, this book is well worth the read. Not for the drama, but for the accurate description of the absolute banality of depresson many times. From "I don't think I'll go, I don't feel well", to starting then suddenly stopping projects, to what appears to be "throwing away" opportunites, it's all pictured here.

One caveat that I will give, is that there is a bit of quite outdated language when referring to other people and cultures. However, the core message of it, although society has become considerably different, remains the same, even today.

Mozart

Mozart
Maynard Solomon

I admit, classical music is one of the things that I am sadly deficient in my knowledge of. I was hoping to rectify a bit of this via biographies of famous composers. I will not say that this is a bad book, on the contrary, it is quite thorough, however it is definitely for someone with a bit more pre-existing knowledge than I have.

This biography covers Mozart's life, including a brief history including the musical achievements of his father. The bulk of it, however, is a life framed around the music, so if one is woefully undereducated in the department of Mozart's music (perhaps even if one only has a passing familiearity), a great deal of the content goes somewhat over your head. Fot those who are more serious students of music, this should prove to be an excellent source in placing the music in context with the life.

Nonetheless, I do find muyself coming out with more knowledge than I went in with (namely a years ago viewing of the movie "Amadeus"). Going solely by this biography, I found a great deal that was either over-hyped in the movie (the rivalry with Salieri), or misrepresented. The biggest thing I found was the circumstances of Mozart's death. I had long believed that he died in poverty, and was unceremoniously dumped into a pauper's unmarked grave. While partially true, this book frames it more in line with the ideals of the time as not unusual, and not a true pauper's burial, just a third class one. It also briefly touches on the gain Mozart's widow made via her presentation as a grieving, impoverished widow with children.

Overall, I would rate this as an excellent biography, just one that was a bit over my head with my current status of (lack of) knowledge regarding classical music.