Janis by Holly George-Warren

I love Janis Joplin and love being immersed in her story. I can’t say I really learned anything in this bio that I hadn’t from the several others that I have read. This one leaned heavily on Janis’ copious written correspondence with her family; and seemed less focused on her relationships with men, and more on those she had with women. Janis here is presented as frankly bisexual, if not lesbian with a daddy fixation.

I took issue when lyrics were misquoted. The most egregious example was the part in “Piece of My Heart” where Janis sings, “Nowma nowma nowma nowma nowma HEAR me when I cry-y-y-y, and baby I cry all the time!” This was transcribed on paper as “Never, never, never hear me when I cry.” I can only think that when another artist wrote or transcribed the song, the word was “Never.” If so, tell us what you’re quoting. Because you’re not quoting Janis. On no planet does “Nowma” mean “Never.” (It means, obviously, “Nowma”.)

My thoughts on the medical nature of addiction have evolved since I last immersed myself in Janis’ life story. With so much attention to the opiate crisis, so many obituaries of young people in my local paper, and a harrowing recent book club meeting covering DOPESICK by Beth Macy accompanied by a gut-wrenching story of the addiction-related death of the son of one of the members of my own book club, I now more than ever consider addiction to be a brain-altering medical condition.

And this makes me ponder in a new light the narrative of Janis Joplin. How would it be different if she had lived? Luck played a huge part in who among her cohort lived and who died in the 60s. What if she had lived, cleaned up, moved on; would we still dwell so much on the “tortured soul” angle of her early years?

She indisputably had a lot of difficulties in her background. She tried to kick heroin multiple times, sometimes seeming to come oh-so-close, only to relapse – how it always goes. In the past, I would think, “What tortured her soul so much that she had to keep going back to it?” Now I simply think, “She was an addict. The addiction kept her coming back.”

What is it about Janis? Right in the introduction, George-Warren nails it: “Janis was a walking live nerve capable of surfacing feelings that most people couldn’t or wouldn’t.” When I’m asked what it is about Janis that so enthralls me, the only phrase I can come up with it “out there,” accompanied by expanded arms. “She was so out there.” It was all out there. Being “14 with no tits,” as she put it. The acne, the high school hall put-downs that didn’t seem to end with high school. She puts it all out there in a way I can’t or won’t. Janis is my live nerve. ( )

 

Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon

This made Louise Penny look like the finest literature. It was so cheesy. The treatment of homosexuality was so dated. Nobody had any personality. Not a moment was believable.  No more mysteries, book club!  ( no stars )

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Books, Fiber, Food.  Is that all there is?  Not exactly; there are a few other things like work.  Tomorrow I take an exam to become a certified Amazon Web Services Cloud Practitioner.  I need it for work.  I have been studying very hard.  Almost all of my team has already passed, and it would be super embarrassing if I didn’t; so I’m nervous.  I have to drive 50 miles to Lyndonville, VT, to take the test.  I hope to post good news tomorrow.

 

Watership Down by Richard Adams

Why don’t they write stories like this anymore, at least not for adults? Is this a children’s story? What makes it a children’s story?

I won’t do too much of a plot synopsis for such a well-known and beloved book. It’s a story about bunnies who have a lot of allegoric adventures. It is reminiscent of LORD OF THE RINGS in many ways – unlikely heroes set off on a quest, and battle evil, for the sake of saving the peaceful life of their idyllic pastoral home. It’s a ripping good yarn. And there are allegories and messages and morals to be learned that don’t whack you over the head.

Two topics I found myself mulling as I read it, and the first was the treatment of male vs. female characters (bucks vs. does) and how it shows the book’s age. Had it been written a few years later than it was (1972), we might have had female characters saving the day now and then. As it is, does are gentle, not unintelligent, and brave, but they are subordinate to bucks. Every buck has a name; a few does do, but most of the time they are “a doe” or “the does.” Look, I don’t know what rabbit society is like. I’m sure it’s not as enlightened as 21-st century human society in terms of gender roles. It’s just an observation.

The most puzzling episode I found myself mulling over was the significance of the warren the heroes found, where rabbits were indirectly fed by humans, for the purpose of occasionally being snared and killed. The rabbits in this warren had developed visual art and profound poetry. Indeed – I disliked most of the detours into rabbit story-telling that didn’t advance the plot, and I famously hate poetry; but the poem recited by the rabbit in that warren, I found to be beautiful. That very poem fills Fiver with horror and dread. The heroes ultimately run away from the warren when they discover what’s really going on with the snares. But they are filled with horror not only at the killing, and the warren rabbits’ acquiescence to it, but at the art and poetry as well. They deem this unnatural and a distraction for the warren rabbits so that they forget their miserable position. What is Adams saying about art and poetry? What are they a distraction from? I’m assuming he has some message here for humans, not just rabbits, but what is it? What should we do or face instead of distracting ourselves with art?

If you don’t care for questions like this, it’s easy to get caught up in the story without searches for deeper meaning. Just curl up and enjoy some rollicking good bunny adventures. ( )