Jamie's America: Easy Twists on Great American Classics, and More Review

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Jamie's America: Easy Twists on Great American Classics, and More ReviewJamie Oliver's latest cook book is as rich in flavor and variety as our American culture is. For this book, he traveled through the United States to find out what "real" American food is all about (not the typical cliche of "junk food", but rather "how people feed their families"). Instead of going from state to state, he tried to pinpoint six different parts of the country: New York, Louisiana, Arizona, LA, Georgia, and what he calls the "Wild West". During his trip he visited "everyday people" to see how and what they cooked for their families, as well as little diners, supper clubs, even illegal restaurants run from people's homes. He even joined in on an alligator hunt to (literally) get a taste of the "local game".
I've been a fan of Jamie Oliver's cooking since his early "Naked Chef" days, and have enjoyed many of his recipes. Though I don't own every one of his cook books (most of them, though, as well as his iPhone app, which I really like!), I really thought the concept of this one sounded interesting. So I gifted this to myself for the holidays. I absolutely love the variety of the recipes in this book! You find classics like the "Waldorf Salad", Chicken noodle soup (lovingly called "Jewish Penicillin" in the book - so good that my husband and kids have already requested me to make this one three times in the 1+ week I've had this book!), "Deep-Pan Pizza" (delicious!), or pork ribs (haven't tried them yet, but his rub and BBQ sauce sound delicious!). He even has some desserts strewn in there ("Peach Cobbler", "Chocolate Rocky Road", "Velvet Cupcakes", or "Peach Ice Cream", for example).
But then you also find these great region specific recipes ("Collard greens, turnips & pork", or "Southern Pecan & Apple Salad" - doesn't that just scream "Southern" to you?). I can't wait to try one of his Gumbo recipes, his "Cajun Blackened Fish Steaks", and am even debating to get myself some alligator meat once the hunting season starts up again just so I can try his "Cajun Alligator with sweet potato & salsa" (though I may end up substituting the alligator tail for chicken breast).
There is one recipe per double page, with the actual recipe on one side, and at least a picture of the finished dish on the opposite. I enjoy the fact that Jamie Oliver wrote a small introduction to every recipe, and has strewn some stories and pictures in from his travel through the country. (I have not found this to be too political, btw.) The recipes are not very difficult to follow (as usual), taste great (I tend to use recipes as a starting point, varying them to my/my family's taste), and he has added wine suggestions for most of the recipes. All in all, this book makes a great addition to his other cook books. This time, though, I think there is a lot more variety to his recipes, than there has been in previous books. I guess you could say that Jamie cooks his way through the diverse American cuisine tastefully, and I will gladly follow.Jamie's America: Easy Twists on Great American Classics, and More Overview

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The Good Terrorist (Vintage International) Review

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The Good Terrorist (Vintage International) ReviewWe'd do well to read, or re-read, this literary masterpiece by Doris Lessing which dissects for us the common-place, undramatic way in which many people in our Western society can get involved with terrorism. At the same time, the novel is a criticsm, full of irony and subtlety, of the hypocrisy and lack of values of western middle classes . In my opinion, this novel is far more scary than reading a black and white view of society, something Doris Lessing certainly never does here, since it is the blurry quality of grey what makes us confused when we have to judge.
Alice Mellings, the main charater of this novel, has all the qualifications for being the perfect middle-class home-maker: she cleans, decorates, cooks, and in general takes care of housekeeping and looks after her people. In the first of the great ironies of the book, though, Alice is not a middle-class housewife, but someone who "rebelled" against her middle class family in her youth by becoming a squatter, and is still trying to determine just the exact meaning of that. The people Alice looks after in such a motherly way are a group of squatters, mainly people who have abhorred their middle-class roots and have failed to find their place in the London society of the day. The house Alice tries to make into a nice, cozy home for all of them is an old, abandoned house where they are illegally living.
From the point of view of the protagonist, Alice, we follow the dozens of small problems and mishaps she has to overcome in order to reach her goal of creating a comfortable home for "her people". We follow her when she goes to her despised middle-class mother's house and steals money (an important source of income) or she speaks with the city council authorities to have electricity or water at home. We see these home-making activities are all-important in her aimless life, while she pays little attention to politics as they are discussed by the people who live with her.
These people vow to make revolution against capitalism (most of them, but especially the most rabid of these characters -I won't say more or it would be a spoiler- come from well-off families) and eventually begin to talk of aiding the IRA in their terrorist actions in London (the novel was written in the eighties...). Again, ironically, we know nothing of Alice's political opininos. In fact, she doesn't seem to be interested in politics at all. She is just "Anti-system", without knowing very well what it means, but, anyhow, her comrades seem to be very sure about it so she goes along with them....And thus, though passively, Alice is finally involved in the terror these people create in London.
What is masterly in this novel is the concept that terrorism, although obviously a political weapon, must rely in the actions of persons. That these persons, involved in terrorist actions, are certainly not good citizens or exemplary members of society, but usually psychollogical misfits who, once having found the explanation for their particular grudge and the easy justification for violence that extremist ideologies provide , are impossible to control.
But the best concept in the novel is that it shows how what we consider the best elements in our society (from the very home-making impulses of the protagonist to the idealization of youthful rebelliousness, to the "democratic" way in which the squatters' home is ruled, to the altruistic ideals the squatters seem to share...)are ironically being handled in a context and situation far from what we would consider idealistic. And we see how these very western concepts can ultimately be used against our society when they are not backed by human values. When abstract words such as "system" "capitalism" "socialism" "class struggle" "revolution" and many others (that, in the case of these novel, the characters manipulate without knowing very well what they mean), are seen as more important than the single, objective concept "human being", our best values are lost. Our society is creating monsters. And no matter how much we repeat that the threat of terror comes from outside. Ideas might come from outside, and that cannot be stopped....but the terror is inside. Doris Lessing helps to make us aware of this.The Good Terrorist (Vintage International) Overview

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The Armada Review

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The Armada ReviewNo one would write a book about the Armada quite like this again - during the quadcentenial (1988), the interest seemed to focus on the ships, armaments and tactics. Mattingley is weak on these, and if that is your prime interest, look to Geoffrey Parkers book published in 1988. However, for narrative force, characterization and political background, Mattingley has no equals. For me, his account of the Armada, published over 40 years ago , is still the best by far. The narrative swings from Low Counries, to Madrid, to Cadiz, to Paris, finally to the Channel and Calais, then back to France. Mattingley shows that the defeat of the Armada ensured the survival of the Reformation and (not least) the independent survival of England, France and the Netherlands. Yet he is even handed at every stage, indeed Medina-Sidonia (the Armada's commander) is one of the heroes. Other heroes are Queen Elizabeth, the Duke of Parma and Henri III of France. Well, maybe anti-hero for Henri III, Henri of Navarre (Henri IV to come) is the true French hero. Indeed, for me, the nastiest figures in the book are not Spanish at all. One is Henri of Guise, Philip's co-conspirator in France, and Sir Francis Drake, who comes across as both paranoid and greedy. Read and be transfixed by its narrative sweep - each chapter is like a dramatic news bulletin adding to the powerful impact of the unfolding story.The Armada Overview

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The Rains of War Review

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The Rains of War ReviewAs a debut novel, the Rains of War is a tour de force, Interesting premise and exciting drama are the reasons why I give it 5 stars.
Cannot wait for the follow upThe Rains of War Overview

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Pleasure for Pleasure (Essex Sisters, book 4) Review

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Pleasure for Pleasure (Essex Sisters, book 4) ReviewIn the final book about the Essex sisters, James (author) has set the bar high for herself. Not only does she try to convince the reader of a romantic pairing betweeen the youngest of the sisters, sassy and outspoken Josie (18), with the familial friend (and beloved rake of her previous books) Earl of Mayne (34), but does so while proclaiming that he is in love with someone else ( and engaged!) for most of the book. While it was probably inevitable that these two would get together, it just didn't work for me and the age difference wasn't the problem.
My biggest problem was that Mayne was so supposedly in love with another woman for a good 3/4 of the book. James mentions over and over how he loves this and that about his fiance and everyone around him can see how *in love* he is with her. This distracted from the sexual tension that James could and should have exploited between Mayne and Josie earlier. There were just not enough sparks between these two and I'm still not convinced that he truly loved her in the end. Their love scenes were odd and a bit vague to me. There was no defining moment when I said -aha! - these two are in love. Maybe a grand romantic gesture/sacrifice would have convinced me.
On the other hand Mayne's sister's romance completely stole the show. Griselda trists with the dashing, but younger, Darlington added the spice and sexual tension which was sorely lacking in the book. Their love scenes were steamy. I absolutely loved the way Darlington pursued Griselda and tried to convince her that their age difference didn't matter.
So, I don't really know how to rate this book. I suspect that most readers who have been anxiously waiting for a romance for Mayne won't be dissapointed much, I just feel that James should have given him a separate book. I don't think that of all the sisters (all of whom have had romantic intentions towards Mayne at one time of another), Josie is his best match. Its more of a luke-warm pairing and not what a former rake deserves. It maybe worth it to borrow this one from the library just to read about the secondary romance, but its certainly not a shelf keeper for me.Pleasure for Pleasure (Essex Sisters, book 4) Overview

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