Natalie Haynes and Greek mythology

There, just finished Natalie Haynes’s “Divine Might”, released last 28 September.  “Beguiled” is my state at the moment after going through her seven books the last three months.

“Classics” and “entertainment” are juxtaposing terms, but Natalie Haynes has managed to meld these two in her writing. You’d think that someone who is steeped in ancient history would be stuck in her ivory tower looking down on the heathen population. But no, Haynes, with aplomb and humour,  joins the dots between the ancients and popular culture while injecting her staunch feminist position and political opinions.

It is tempting to stalk Haynes (she also does shows!), invite her to tea, and talk about the fantastic things she has written about. She must be prescient and aware of her powers as she's issued a veiled warning in “Amber Fury” to those who fall hopelessly in love with her and her work.  

Natalie Haynes is a rockstar and a goddess reincarnate. 

Roman Empire Trilogy by Steven Saylor (2007, 2013, 2021)

 

Roma (#1)

Astoundingly ambitious and utterly successful weaving of the personal stories of the Potitii and Pinarii ancient Roman families into the tumultuous "history" of Rome years before the time of Romulus and Remus, the rise and fall of the Roman republic, up to the assassination of Julius Caesar and the ascension of Rome's first emperor.

 

Empire #2

An incredibly massive story spanning five generations of the Pinarii (Lucius the Lightning Reader, Titus and Kaeso the twins, Lucius the Seeker, Marcus the Sculptor, and Lucius, comrade of Marcus Aurelius) amidst the backdrop of Imperial Rome (from the Julio-Claudian dynasty to the Year of the Four Emperors, the Flavian Dynasty and finally to the end of the reign of Hadrian of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty) and the mysterious fascinus which had made its way from one Pinarius family member to the next.

Dominus #3

The last of the trilogy, I read it as slowly as I could. It may be a while before Steven Saylor writes another book (or maybe this is it, he will retire!). I was heartened, however, to read this article:

Quo Vadis, Mr. Saylor?

by Steven Saylor
In 2018, I wrote “the end” not just to the novel The Throne of Caesar, but to the whole “Roma Sub Rosa” series featuring Gordianus the Finder, sleuth of ancient Rome. Roman Blood kicked off the series in 1991; another thirteen novels and two collections of short stories followed (with countless murders, conspiracies, kidnappings, robberies, and other crimes along the way). The series took place over the final four decades of the Roman Republic, from Cicero’s first murder trial to the assassination of Julius Caesar, and spanned 27 years of my writing career.

Along the way, I produced a couple of stand-alone novels set in my native Texas, A Twist at the End (serial murders in 1885 Austin) and Have You Seen Dawn? (contemporary suspense in a small Texas town uncannily like the one where I grew up).

Right now I’m in the final editing stages of Dominus, a third novel to complete the trilogy that began with Roma and Empire. It’s a family saga that follows the fortunes of the aristocratic Pinarius clan from the earliest beginnings of Rome, as a small trading post on the Tiber River, to the reign of Constantine the Great, first Christian emperor—who moved the imperial capital away from Rome to his own new city, Constantinople (modern Istanbul). Dominus will be published in June 2021.

So where do I go next? Or as Gordianus might have asked, “Quo vadis?”

For the first time since 1991, I’m not locked into a publishing contract, which means I have no deadline looming. Having that deadline year after year always represented security—I send in the book, they send me a check. But not having a deadline gives me a sensation of freedom and relaxation I haven’t felt in many years.

Also, I’m rapidly approaching age 65, looking forward to Medicare and all those senior discounts.

So, what’s next? I’m going to retire, of course!

Only problem: everyone tells me that writers never retire. My husband insists that writers can’t retire—it’s categorically impossible, like walking on the ceiling.

I feel awfully lucky to have finished, to my own satisfaction and at my own pace, not one but two series. No plot-threads left hanging. No nagging sense of something left unsaid, some corner of history unexplored, some crime unsolved. I’ve said what I wanted to say. And I think that the quality of my writing, whatever its intrinsic worth, has been pretty consistent from start to finish. I don’t want to be one of those writers who keeps turning out reams of prose longer than he or she should. (I’ll name no names, but I suspect most readers could cite a favorite author or two whose work “went off” toward the end.)

In 2013, I saw the late Ursula K. Le Guin speak to a packed auditorium on the UC Berkeley campus. (Famed for her fantasy and science fiction, Le Guin also visited ancient Rome in her novel Lavinia.) She talked about getting older, which she characterized as a progressive diminishment of every aspect of life. In her eighties, Le Guin wasn’t exactly retired, but she had left novel-writing behind; she attended a local writing circle and wrote poetry. She said she simply no longer had the physical or mental stamina to produce a novel.

I’m nowhere near 80 yet, and I suspect I could write more novels. But should I?

If life has taught me one thing, it’s to never say never. I learned that early in my career, when I initially thought Roman Blood was strictly a stand-alone, then, when my publisher wanted a sequel, I told interviewers that my Roman mystery series would comprise three or four books, at most. I’m glad I was wrong.

 "Dominus" ends with the reign of Constantine and with the Pinariis moving to Constantinople, the new Rome. There's still almost two centuries before the barbarian general Odoacer deposes the last Western emperor. I really hope that Steven Saylor carries on with the magic of weaving the Pinarii saga into Rome's history.

 

 

The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do (2010)

 

“There are only two times. Now and too late.”
- Anh Do's dad

I've run into Anh Do via my son's book collection (Ninja Kid, E-Boy, Weirdo) and I thought this happiest refugee dude who is a stand-up comedian must be another person. I did a quick google a few years ago (I check out the authors of the books we read) and there's another Anh Do who finished law school at the University of Technology, Sydney. I thought at that time, "There sure are a lot of Anh Dos out there!"

I have just finished reading Anh Do's memoir and I am blown away by not just what he has accomplished (writing books, running interesting businesses, competing at Dancing with the Stars, hosting TV shows, acting in films, etc. etc. etc.) but more so with his ability to rise above his circumstances, the gratefulness and zest for life that radiate with everything he does, his love for his family, and his earnestness to remain true to his core values.

You could say that Anh Do is a master showman. But there's nothing in this book that feels remotely like he's saying he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. He tells his story in a gleeful way, full of humility, and with a sense of marvel at how amazing life is with its myriad of twists and turns.

I caught myself saying a few times, "This Anh Do is an amazing human being!"

Spare by Prince Harry (January 2023)

Spare is a royal tantrum of majestic proportions: the prince took swipes at people from his childhood, aired dirty linen in public, griped about his perceived financial destitution, gloated over his war games, advertised his philanthropic activities, worried about his nether regions, reminisced his pre-Meg romances, justified the wild partying, and yes, rolled weed.  While he vociferously justified why he came out with the book, it is incomprehensible why he provided all this fodder as he has incessantly complained against the relentless viciousness of the media. Early in the first chapter, he referred to Wallis Simpson as "notorious" which in the scheme of things, is preposterous as the Sussexes have made Edward and Wallis's exit look like child's play.One does understand the Eton teacher's frustration when he vented:

I cannot fathom it, Wales. We’re talking about your blood relatives – does that mean nothing to you?

 To which the Spare, replied:

Less than nothing, sir. It wasn’t just that I didn’t know anything about my family’s history: I didn’t want to know anything.

The unfortunate thing is, at the end of the book, Charles's darling boy doesn't feel darling at all with his moaning and groaning. Matters which are being pushed by the House of the Sussexes - racial discrimination, mental health, tabloid reporting, and violation of privacy – were eclipsed by the prince’s whinging and the travails of his privileged life. What Spare successfully did was bolster Hilary Mantel's observation in 2013:

I used to think that the interesting issue was whether we should have a monarchy or not. But now I think that question is rather like, should we have pandas or not? Our current royal family doesn’t have the difficulties in breeding that pandas do, but pandas and royal persons alike are expensive to conserve and ill-adapted to any modern environment. But aren’t they interesting? Aren’t they nice to look at? Some people find them endearing; some pity them for their precarious situation; everybody stares at them, and however airy the enclosure they inhabit, it’s still a cage.

(PS. The infamous Henry VIII was a spare too. And look what he became when his brother passed away and he became the heir.) 

Elvis Presley's Travel Bookcase

The Bendigo Art Gallery is presenting from Graceland, various costumes, vintage memorabilia, and personal effects of Elvis Presley. The exhibit runs from 19 March to 17 July 2022.

Who would have thought that the King of Rock and Roll owned not only a bookcase, but a Travel Bookcase!

 “This bookcase was found on Elvis’s private plane, the ‘Lisa Marie’ by the Graceland Archivists. He used this case to transport books while touring. Elvis was a reader of eclectic materials, but with particular interests in spirituality, politics, and history. ‘The Prophet’, the classic 1923 volume of poetic writing by Lebanese-American author Kahlil Gibran, was one of Elvis’s favourite texts which he gifted to many friends. Elvis’s passion for spiritual and philosophical explorations was encouraged by Larry Geller, his personal hairdresser and confidence during the 19602 and 1970s, sometimes creating tensions within the Graceland entourage."

Gatsby and beyond

 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)

Who has not laboured in undergraduate school pondering what makes Gatsby great? Jay Gatsby, owner of a splendid mansion in West Egg, host to ostentatious parties, and who carries his expensive suits with aplomb. Everyone speculates that a dark shadow lurks in his past and Mr Gatsby is not who he says he is. Nick Carraway, Gatsby’s neighbour, slowly develops a sympathy for Gatsby. He finds out that his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, is the key to unlocking the enigma. In a previous lifetime, before Daisy became Mrs. Buchanan, there was Daisy, Jay, and a future full of possibilities.

I first read this book more than twenty years ago and it continues to be a favourite. Perhaps it’s because of Gatsby’s tunnel vision to improve himself and attain his dream. Maybe it’s because of the freedom, sultriness, and sophistication that envelope this book.  It could be the realisation that notwithstanding the disparateness in class and wealth, people can be happy and unhappy in almost equal measures. Or it may be the beautiful conversations: sonorous, elegant, and saturated with unarticulated meanings and desires. There’s also that enunciated contempt and cynicism, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” And of course, there is the hot reverberating anger of Nick shouting across the lawn, “You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together!” It may also be how the whole story ended – with a bang, literally. 

 

Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor (2022)

Jillian Cantor is not letting things be. Fitzgerald ended “The Great Gatsby” as an open-and-shut murder and suicide case. It also left in its wake, a general impression of vapid, selfish women. Cantor gives these women the time of day in her new book.

There’s Daisy Buchanan who has a back story to why she went off and married Tom and his wealth. Jordan Baker and her grit to succeed a male-dominated sport and headlong tackle prejudices. Catherine McCoy who refuses to accept that men are the answer to women’s aspirations and who believes that women should be given the opportunities to run their lives on their own terms. There is an outcry running in this book that women have had enough of the patriarchy and that henceforth, they will take matters into their own hands.

Cantor is so deft in her storytelling that at the end of the book, we walk away cheering Daisy, Jordan, and Catherine with the thought crossing our minds that, “Hey, Mr Gatsby wasn’t that great after all” and that these beautiful women were most definitely not little fools.

 Postscript:

The characters in Cantor’s book seemed to have imbibed a prodigious amount of mint julep and gin rickey that I thought of making these:

 

Mint Julep

Ingredients:

2 ounces bourbon

¼ ounce simple syrup

8 mint leaves

Garnish: mint sprig

Garnish Angostura bitters (optional)

 

Directions:

Place the mint leaves in the bottom of an old-fashioned glass and top with the sugar.

Muddle these together until the leaves begin to break down.

Add a splash of seltzer water, fill the glass ¾ with crushed ice.

Add the bourbon.

Top with another splash of seltzer, stir, and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Serve immediately

  

Simple Syrup

Ingredients:

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup water

Directions:

Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan over medium heat

Stir until sugar is dissolved

Let cool, then pour into a glass jar and seal tightly with a lid.

(will keep for about a month, refrigerated)

  

Gin Rickey

Ingredients:

2 ounces gin

½ ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed

Club soda, to top

Garnish: lime wheels

Directions:

Fill a highball glass with ice.

Add the gin and lime juice.

Top with club soda.

Garnish with 2 lime wheels. 

How to do an ending

 

“A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead.”
― Graham Greene

It is said that “there is more than one way to skin a cat”. There is also a song that laments, “breaking up is hard to do”.  Saying goodbye can be abrupt, decisive, and final. It can be cruel and malevolent. Or it can be a drawn-out experience: excruciating, philosophical, and cathartic at the end.

 This Is Not How It Ends by Rochelle Weinstein (2020)

Charlotte and Philip’s story is a cosmopolitan fairy tale: wealthy, dashing man meets pretty, young bookworm and they live happily ever after in Islamorada. Well, not quite. Philip is one busy man but after he got engaged to Charlotte, his business trips became inexplicably prolonged. Charlotte, after weighing things, decided on a painful course of action only to backpedal after a shattering experience. Running into an upscale New York restaurant called TINHIE, however, changed everything.

 

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (2011)

Tony Webster’s story unfolds slowly, gently, and then jarringly. At his age, he thinks life has become peaceable and should not hold any more surprises. After all, hasn’t he managed to stay friends with his ex-wife and maintain a good relationship with his daughter even after his divorce? Then out of the blue, he received a letter informing him that the mother of Veronica, girlfriend from a previous lifetime, has bequeathed to him some money and two documents. He is forced to confront a past that he had perfunctorily whitewashed. And here lies the heart of the matter as Veronica has jarringly put across Tony: “You don’t get it, but then you never did.”

 

The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (1951)

Maurice Bendrix, a writer of some fame in the 1940s, sought out Henry and Sarah Miles, with the intention of surreptitiously gathering material and inspiration for his next book. Little did Maurice know that he will be catapulted into a relationship of unimaginable jealousy, suffering, and rage at how the universe has decided to arrange itself. This is a book that exhaustively takes on the moral aspects of a complicated relationship and its theological and mystical ramifications.

 

How does one know that it is the end? Graham Greene’s Bendrix rationalised: “Nothing in life now ever seems to end. Chemists tell you, matter is never completely destroyed, and mathematicians tell you that if you halve each pace in crossing a room, you will never reach the opposite wall, so what an optimist I would be if I thought that this story ended here.”