February 11, 2008
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MONDAY READING
Fieldwork
by Mischa BerlinskiMy current book is a novel that at first I didn’t think I’d take to, but it’s grown on me and now I can’t wait to see how it all turns out. The narrator is a journalist who gets swept up into doing what is called “fieldwork” to discover why a female anthropologist who was herself doing fieldwork in an obscure Thai hill tribe has committed suicide in a Thai prison where she was sentenced for murder. His own fieldwork consists of backtracking through all the people in her life and following the trail from her birth to her death to unravel the mystery of how it all went
down. Here are a couple of sentences from the page I’m on now:After lunch, the villagers dozed. The pigs rooted in the mud and then, having dug themselves comfortable wet beds, stretched out; the dogs found quiet places under the houses and lay their flea-bitten heads on their worn paws; the chickens pecked industriously at slow-moving bugs; lazy clouds gathered together slowly in preparation for the afternoon rainstorm; the bullocks were tethered and dozed in their traces; water slithered down the bamboo pipes and dripped into the ceramic cisterns; the clang of the blacksmith’s hammer petered out; the last woman pounding rice or grinding corn stretched her arms out, yawned, balanced her basket on her hip, and wandered home. This was Martiya’s favorite time of the day.
The author is 35, studied classics at UC Berkeley, and has been a journalist in Thailand like the narrator in this, his first, novel. I’m totally impressed with his eye for detail and character description.
Deep Thought: “Whenever you read a good book, it’s like the author is right there, in the room, talking to you, which is why I don’t like to read good books.”
Today I am grateful for: Round things
Guess the Movie: “Whether or not what we experienced was an According to Hoyle miracle is insignificant. What is significant is that I felt the touch of God. God got involved.” Answer: Pulp Fiction, 1994. Winner: lowflyingsquab.
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Comments (30)
Darn it all. The one time NO ONE has commented yet, I don’t know the movie. *sigh*
Hope all is well with you.
The movie is Pulp Fiction!
I love the author’s description of the Thai hill village, because it is so true-to-life. It sounds like a book I want to read. Maybe I will take it to thailand with me!
That sounds like a fascinating book. That movie quotation sounds completely unfamiliar to me, and if it is Pulp Fiction that makes complete sense since I have yet to see it. No, I can’t explain it.
The author’s llooooonnnggg sentence structure reminds me of Henry James. It’s been a long time since I read any of his writing, but I remember the incredible length of some of his sentences.
When I get to the warmer clime, I too shall practice non-Ado.
Peace!
Is this based on a true story?
what type of round things are you grateful for?
awesome! I will look for it at the bookstore. thanks!
wow that sounds like an interesting read…wish I had time to pick up a book! it’s going on my list
i’m just gonna walk the earth. like Kane, in Kung Fu.
the book sounds kind’ve interesting.
that does sound interesting… i wonder though, was she sentenced for murder because she was accused of murder or because she’d actually committed murder. hmm.
and ryc: that made me giggle.
an eprop is round
RYC: I agree.
And yes, Carate, an eprop is, in fact, round.
Ah, perfection in the details is a hard craft! He does it well!
I was reading your deep thought and I realized that for the most part, I get so totally lost in the book that I lose track of time during the day. If the book is written in a narrative fashion, then I can see myself listening to someone tell the story.
Thanx for the thoughts,
steve
That book is definitely one I want to read.I am quite visual and I love this kind of writing that permits me to see it all in my minds eye.RYC I know genetics is at play as my family of origin ,and my extended family has been touched by it more then once..It is a difficult challenge if it is pervasive.I myself am subject to different versions of the same kind of thing.Hopefully It will resolve or become less of a factor in her daily life.
Have a great day!
happy valentine’s day!!!!!!!!!!
we got not as bad news as i thought. thankfully. sometimes i worry over much… guess because my day was not going as well as could be i was looking on the darker side.
ryc, thanks.
for me, good books are a special gift…happy reading.
Yummy. Thanks for this. I’ll look for it at the library.
I put this on my library “wish list.” Sounds awesome.
I hope you are having a good weekend!
I think this must be the year of the sinus infection. It seems everyone I talk to has had one and they seem to harder to get rid of this year. I’ve never used a neti pot but some people swear by them.
I hope you are feeling better soon!
I’m going to the library Tuesday to pick this one up. Yup, yup.
I’m picking up the book today – busy was me these last few days. Are you LOVING this weather or what? Wow. Everything in my yard is either flowering or budding. Yippeeeeeee!
TYC: Thank you. We’ll see if it holds up. EVERY project we do has some problem, so we’re waiting. I’ll probably sit in it and the deck will sink down into the water table.
I prefer square things, but that’s just me.
Always looking for a good book to read!! Sound fascinating!!
That sounds very interesting. I love Thailand but only really know Bangkok in real life and everywhere else from reading.