Twice Moved

Today’s posting is about a book I’ve just completed last night and a movie I saw today.
The book is titled:  “Disraeli: A Picture of the Victorian Age“, (1936©) reprinted in 1980, and written by André Maurois.  Maurois is actually the nom de plume for Émile Salomon Wilhelm Herzog, but interesting enough, he legally changed his real name to that for which he was famous.  Maurois was in the French military when he wrote his first book and the military was banned from publishing.
This book is the second I’ve read from the Time-Life Reading Program series which I collected back in the 1980’s.  More specifically, this is the book upon which I based my decision to begin purchasing the series.  I originally read this book in my young teenage years.  I don’t recall if I was in the eighth grade of grammar school or a freshman in high school.  At any rate, it was a fantastic look at another time (Victorian Age) and political system (British Parliament) which combined political maneuvers with a true romantic background story and it captivated me.
After his wife (Mary Anne) dies from old age (and cancer), Disraeli begins going through their effects in preparation for moving out of her ancestral home which must be passed on to its inheritor:
“Every fortnight for thirty-three years, Mary Anne had cut her husband’s hair, and every time the harvest had been garnered in a small sealed packet.  He found hundreds of them.”
This struck me, even as a teen, as such a personal and loving act (both the cutting and the saving of the cuttings) that I believe it set a standard for me to judge male/female relationships.  To this day, when I watch the movie “Phenomenon“, starring John Travolta and Kyra Sedgwick (and Forest Whitaker), I am reminded of this book.  If you’ve never seen the movie, there is a tremendously sensual scene in the movie where Sedgwick shaves Travolta and cuts his hair.  By “sensual” I mean it exudes sexuality without having any “sex” in the scene at all.
By way of contrast, I discussed the above quote with my daughter and she felt is was “creepy” and “like a stalker”.  She felt there was no romance / affection in either act, at all.
Another point, which may be of interest to only me – I’ve been “saving” this book for almost 40 years, knowing I was going to re-read it, but in no hurry, because it was going to be like re-meeting an old friend.  I don’t often re-read books because most of my reading tends to be technical in nature.  I do enjoy re-reading some books – novels in particular.  I assume it is because they engage me without trying to teach me.  (That’s just a guess…)  In this case, I was waiting for the above story, but I did not recall it was told after the wife’s passing.  When Mary Anne died from cancer, I briefly convinced myself that I must have read a different book when I was young and I had purchased the series based on a complete mistake!  Not that it would have mattered so much, but it seemed an irony that I was looking forward to meeting my old friend, only to find out I would be meeting a distant relative (a book about the same topic, but by a different author).  So I got a chuckle (to myself) when I found it was the correct book.
No, I haven’t said much about the book – by way of review, anyway.  Suffice it to say, it’s a very well written book, a fast read, a romanticized biography, and a fascinating story of a man who rises to great stature on the strength of his intelligence, ability and determination.  Highly recommended!!  As an aside, on researching Maurois, I found dozens of great quotes which you will no doubt be seeing over the coming months.
Today’s movie was:  “Lee Daniel’s The Butler“, which depicts a fictionalized version of true story about a man (Eugene Allen) who served eight U.S. President’s over a 34 year period of working in the White House.  The story is one of quiet dignity and strength contrasted against a turbulent period of time which covers the “Civil Rights” movement during the latter half of the 20th century.  The main character (Cecil Gaines is the name used in the movie) is played by Forest Whitaker who I feel will almost certainly get a Best Actor nomination, if not win the Oscar, for this performance.  He is brilliant!  Oprah Winfrey does a very good job in playing the spouse and there is an all-star cast filling out many of the other roles.
In a manner similar to “Forrest Gump“, the movie intersperses historical TV footage with acting.  To this extent, the film is certainly not original, but it is no less powerful.  If anything, there is almost too much happening in Civil Rights for one to take it all in.  Young viewers may be surprised to see how far the nation has come in just the single life-times of their parents or grand-parents.  Having grown up and lived through the period, I was profoundly moved by the entire film.
Is this a “made for Oscar” movie?  Yes, blatantly so.  It vividly shows the horrors of racism and contrasts that with the dignity of a working man who only seeks a safe life for his family and a better life for his children.  The cast is strong and the story is accurate chronologically (if not entirely factual to Allen’s life).  More importantly, it touched me as a father, a working man and a family man with similar goals.  I saw this movie with my mother, sister and nephew (Kyle) and my mom and sister were tearing up just as much as me.  This is a MUST see movie and I highly recommend it!!
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On This Day In:
2012	Just Like Bubbles
2011	Caring and Driving
	Achieve Greatly
2010	Unwise To Trust
	Attitude
	If The Mind Is Not Tired
	Irrationally Crazy
	2nd Pair – Shoe Review
	Ahnu – Gesundheit!
2009	As for me…
	Health Care Reform Now!!

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But So Far…

I am wholly devoid of public spirit or moral purpose.  This is incomprehensible to many men, and they seek to remedy the defect by crediting me with purposes of their own.  The only thing I respect is intellectual honesty, of which, of course, intellectual courage is a necessary part.  A Socialist who goes to jail for his opinions seems to me a much finer man than the judge who sends him there, though I disagree with all the ideas of the Socialist and agree with some of those of the judge.  But though he is fine, the Socialist is nevertheless foolish, for he suffers for what is untrue.  If I knew what was true, I’d probably be willing to sweat and strive for it, and maybe even to die for it to the tune of bugle-blasts.  But so far I have not found it.
―    H. L. Mencken
From his book:  “In Defense Of Women“
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On This Day In:
2012	Just Like Bubbles
2011	Caring and Driving
	Achieve Greatly
2010	Unwise To Trust
	Attitude
	If The Mind Is Not Tired
	Irrationally Crazy
	2nd Pair – Shoe Review
	Ahnu – Gesundheit!
2009	As for me…
	Health Care Reform Now!!

Read Full Post »