2 Review

In the past three days I have read an incredible book and seen a wonderful play, and would like to share my thoughts on both.


I first heard about David Guterson's "Snow Falling on Cedars" through a Goodreads update sent to my email. Liz had reviewed and loved the book and I knew I had to read it as well. I picked it up at the library Tuesday afternoon and just an hour ago finished reading it in Lithia Park. I literally had a hard time putting it down. It is one of the best new books I've read in a long time (I've been rereading a lot of my favourites, though I did just read "Their Eyes Were Watching God" for the first time and also found that incredible). It was powerful, moving, thought-provoking, tense, beautiful. I'm not really into crime or trial novels so I don't have anything to compare it to, but while I would find it hard to maintain the level of tension and suspense a courtroom scene required to hold interest for readers Guterson never once allowed our minds to wander. By interspersing the trial with past and present events, the suspense holds and we draw our own conclusions and form our own opinions before the characters have a chance to react. Though I would make the case for Ishmael Chambers as the "main" character, every other player in this compelling world has depth and unique characteristics that make them equally real and important. I also appreciated the author's writing style. Although the novel contains its fair share of simile and metaphor, I never felt bogged down by inane comparisons. I never had to figure out what the author meant, and the style never felt overtly stylized or pretentious. Again, it felt like an objective (albeit intimate) observation of the events taking place within these people's lives.
I also appreciated the novel because of its themes. Set in 1954 on San Piedro Island, the book deals, among other things, with tensions between the American inhabitants and their Japanese neighbors. Having watched a lot of anime lately, I feel I have a basic, if not slightly skewed, understanding of Japanese culture and can relate to the tension Eastern and Western philosophical differences create. I also just recently watched "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence," a film (with David Bowie!) about English and Australian soldiers in a Japanese POW camp during WWII, and the vast differences between English and Japanese social and cultural customs. There are times you don't know who to root for, because on the one hand, regardless of one's cultural, social, political, or ethnic background we are all just human beings. On the other hand, how can you reconcile your own social and personal beliefs when people are dying? It is an interesting thought, and I appreciate the openness with which Guterson explores the human heart. I thoroughly devoured and enjoyed this book, and would offer a strong recommendation to all.



Yesterday afternoon I saw the play "Ghost Light" at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. (By the way, for the longest time I thought the person in the poster was a woman, but it's not. It's a boy). It's a play written by Tony Taccone, directed by Jonathan Moscone, and is about Jonathan's reaction to and how his life was changed by the assassination of his father, Mayor George Moscone of San Francisco, and includes strong references and parallels to "Hamlet." While the reception by the audience has been mixed, I greatly enjoyed this play (and I don't think it's just because I'm from the Bay Area). While the play draws on the experiences of Jonathan Moscone and the influence of his father's assassination (or lack of, given the simultaneous death of Harvey Milk), the play never felt egocentric or even personally cathartic. I can't imagine it wasn't, but that was not its sole purpose. Through the observation of one person's incredible and incredibly personal journey, we feel within ourselves a recognition of universal emotions and situations: the loss of a loved one, a need for love, a realization of loneliness. I laughed out loud at the straight-forward humour, and brushed away tears at the statement of truth. Regardless of whether or not we knew who George Moscone was, I think we were all tickled and touched by the story of one man undergoing a tremendously difficult journey of self-awareness and acceptance.
I also really appreciated the structure of the play itself. It's not at all linear or straight-forward, and although I am a great fan of Realism, I am becoming more and more appreciative of theatre that pushes the limits of theatrical convention, that explores and blurs the boundaries between presentational and representational theatre. I loved the dreamlike and surreal nature of the text, and the syntax itself was unique and poetic. Although there were times I questioned a particular scene and its placement within the play, I later realized how that particular event triggered the next step in Jonathan's emotional journey. And sometimes it's more fun to have to figure things out. As Jon says, "we should just trust the audience to make the connections for themselves." And while all the actors were wonderful, Christopher Liam Moore's performance as Jon was absolutely astonishing and heart-breaking. Throughout the play I found myself entirely invested in the story and the characters, interested in the outcome, and affirmed in many of my beliefs about life. As the director writes, "Theater is not so good at the real, but it's pretty good at trying to get to the truth."
"Ghost Light" closes at the Festival in November, and then it moves down to Berkeley Rep, where I strongly recommend anyone in the Bay Area to see it (hint, hint, Mom). It was a funny and poignant play, and I hope to see it again before the end of its run.

There you have it! Two reviews of two magnificent pieces of entertainment. Hope you get a chance to experience each for yourself. Shalom!