BOOK REVIEW: The Girl With No Shadow

Joanne Harris is an author who can be a hit or a miss; some of her books I have really enjoyed and others have been just average. One that I did enjoy was Chocolat and I have to admit that I even enjoyed the movie. The movie was different from the book, but it did star Johnny Depp. Her latest book is titled THE GIRL WITH NO SHADOW and it continues the story of Vianne Rocher. Though the book could stand on its own, it is best read as a sequel.

Vianne has always allowed the wind to dictate her every move. She had left the small French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes and arrived in Paris, thinking that she, her daughter Anouk, and baby Rossette can lose themselves in the crowded streets. She takes on the new identity of widowed Yanne Charbonneau and again opens a chocolate shop.

This time though she tries to fit in. She has warned Anouk not to do anything that would appear odd. It seems that each of the three have magical powers and are aware that every action causes a reaction. There is a price to be paid, whether a person is a witch or not.

But this time when the wind blows, it brings Zozie de l’Alba into their lives. Zozie is charming and charismatic. She embodies all of the brightness and joy of life that Vianne was trying to leave behind. Soon Zozie has worked her way into the chocolate shop and into the life of Vianne and her preadolescent daughter Anouk.

Zozie also has powers, maybe even stronger than Vianne had had in the past. Vianne only sees Zozie as a friend who has helped her build her business and become the new confidant for Anouk. She does not see that this wind was a very evil wind and that Zozie will tear her comfortable world to shreds.

As I said, this book can stand on its own, but there is more depth to the story if you know what happened to Vianne in Lansquenet-sous-tannes. The book Chocolat’s ending and the movie’s ending are different, so read the book before seeing the movie. (Then if you are also a Johnny Depp fan, by all means rent the Academy Award nominated movie.)

I enjoyed THE GIRL WITH NO SHADOW, but do not think that this is a children’s book because of the magic involved. This is a classic tale of good vs. evil for adults. It is so easy to champion Vianne as she tries to live a normal life, doing what is best for her children. Ms. Harris has a hit with THE GIRL WITH NO SHADOW.

THEATER: Local High School Isaac Awards

The Isaacs were presented by the Altoona Community Theatre (ACT) at the historic Mishler Theatre on May 29, 2011. The Isaacs, the high school equivalent of Broadway’s Tony Award, are awarded each year to encourage and support excellence in high school musical theatre. The program was established in 2005 by ACT and involves 13 area high schools.

Our local winners were:

•  Best Production, The Pajama Game, State College High School

•  Best Featured Dance, Runner-Up, “Hernado’s Hideaway”, The Pajama Game, State College High School.

•  Best Actress in a leading role, Ashley Lope as Babe,  The Pajama Game, State College High School.

•  Best Musical Number, “Once a Year Day”,  The Pajama Game, State College High School.

•  Best Actress or Actor in a Featured Role, Runner-up, Elise Mortensen as Gladys,  The Pajama Game, State College High School

•  Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Richard Spicer as Lumiere, Beauty and The Beast, Bald Eagle Area High School.

The winner in each category made a Tony-worthy acceptance speech and received a $500 scholarship for any field of study at any accredited post-secondary institution.

The Gazette would like to extend congratulations to each of our local winners and runners-up. Thank you, also, to all of you who support high school drama.

For the complete list of schools involved and all the winners, go to ACT's website:  http://www.altoonacommunitytheatre.com/

BOOK REVIEW: Going Local, Volume 2

If you ever have the opportunity to attend a book signing by Ken Hull, go! Ken is the author of the Going Local books and his enthusiasm is contagious. His informative books list the locally owned eating places with a critique and a bit of history on each place. GOING LOCAL, VOLUME 2 has just been released and therefore Ken is doing the book signing circuit.

Ken is very vocal about the importance of supporting our local establishments; or, as Ken puts it, “Un-chain yourself.” To help us to do just that, Ken has drawn a 75 mile circle in the center of Pennsylvania, using Boalsburg as the center. Within this 360 degree area he has highlighted some of the most interesting places to eat.

For example: People who call Bellefonte home have been familiar with Bonfatto’s. Those of us who have been here for some time remember when it was a small grocery store; after they started to sell a sandwich that was trademarked as the “Bonanza”, we watched Bonfatto’s grow to become a full restaurant. The family’s interesting history is included in the book as well as comments on the food.

Opening GOING LOCAL to any page and you find an eating place that needs to be checked. The best use of this publication may be that of a guide book. If you want to take a day trip to Renovo, you will know that Darlene’s Country Cottage is waiting for you. Just reading about Darlene’s Campfire Breakfast made me consider this a destination stop.

The book includes a map that makes finding these places easy and also includes the important information on each: owner’s name, type of cuisine, price range, hours, location, contact numbers, as well as nearby attractions and accommodations. Ken has given us all of the material we would need to make a trip for a good meal, an adventure.

The book is also fun to read. If you do get a chance to meet Ken, you will quickly see how he gets so much information from the people at each restaurant. His love of what he does, as well as his pure joy of doing all of this on his trusty motorcycle, is catching. Reading the book is like sitting down with a friend while he shares these passions with you. Open GOING LOCAL, pick a location, take a day, and enjoy.

BOOK REVIEW: Can't Wait To Get To Heaven

After spending almost half an hour in Hell, 45 minutes in Heaven, and being reassured that both are real in recent books, I was ready for a lighter touch on the subject. Serious subjects with just the right light touch usually mean a book by Fannie Flagg. Sure enough, her CAN'T WAIT TO GET TO HEAVEN was just what I was looking for.

Elner Shimfissle had promised her niece Norma that she would not climb the fig tree again. But she had wanted to make some fig preserves and knew that she could be up the ladder, gather the few figs that she needed, and be back down making the preserves before Norma’s husband could get there to pick them for her. She had not counted on the wasps’ nest and now she is watching herself in the emergency room at the hospital.

Elner’s death has an impact on everyone in the small town of Elmwood Springs. The whole town is thrown in a loop with some touching and some humorous results. As word spreads we hear the stories of how Elner had made a difference in each life.

No one is more surprised than Elner. She finds herself in Heaven getting a chance to meet some of her favorite people, including her hero Thomas Edison. Heaven is not quite what she expected; it might be even better than anyone could imagine.

Fanny Flagg has the talent to give us our lessons with a spoonful of humor. This is not to say that she overlooks the dark moments of life; it is that she believes that most things can be handled if kept in perspective.

One of my favorite themes in literature deals with the impact that each of us has on those around us and Fanny Flagg uses Elner to show the difference one person can make.

Any time that you need a funny, charming, feel-good, testament to the joys of life, may I suggest Fanny Flagg. Her characters are a delight and will help you to look at life in the best, possible manner.

Oh, this book also contains recipes for Aunt Elner’s liver and onions, neighbor Dorothy’s heavenly caramel cake, and Mrs. McWilliams’ corn bread.

Enjoy.

THEATER: Epic Proportions

State College Community Theatre has picked the perfect play to open Boal Barn Playhouse for the summer. Epic Proportions is clever, witty, and gives the actors a chance to be a little outrageous.

The time is the 1930’s and D. W. DeWitt is filming Exeunt Omnes, which translates loosely “Everybody Out”, in the wastelands of Arizona. This movie should be bigger than Exodus, The Ten Commandments, and Ben Hurr combined. If it gets finished.

Brothers Phil and Benny start out as crowd filling actors, or as Assistant Director Louise Goldman calls them, “atmosphere personnel”.  Not only do the brothers fall into bigger parts in the movie, they also fall for the vivacious Louise.

Katie Kensinger as Louise is on stage most of the evening and is often responsible for getting the audience involved in the action. Sometimes the funniest scenes are when the actor is playing her part straight while everyone around her is a bit zany. Ms. Kensinger was in charge of the movie and her character at all times.

Jason Poorman as Benny had the right amount of serious dedication to be an actor in this epic movie. His bewilderment at getting the worst of the action, including the plagues, made us all feel a little sad for him.

Playing Benny’s brother Phil, Gordon Robinson gets the chance to grow from the reluctant “atmosphere personnel” to the dictatorial man in charge. Robinson was convincing all the way.

The fun parts were played by Lyn J. Freymiller, Chris Gallagher, Matt Greer, and Sarah A. Shaw. That means that they played most of the other parts. All of them seemed to be having fun with their various roles, but Ms. Shaw had the flashy parts. Her Queen of Egypt was more Jersey girl than Egyptian and delightful; as the lesbian costume director she was more Edith Head than butch and that worked well.

Gert Aron was the great man, D. W. DeWitt himself. Mr. Aron knows that small parts can be scene stealers. Although not on stage long, Mr. Aron makes good use of his time.

The evening went very quickly thanks to a well paced show with actors who were having fun. The show continues at Boal Barn until May the 28th. Go, you will have an enjoyable evening.

Up next at the Barn will be No Sex Please, We’re British!  This show will run from June 7 to June 18. This also sounds as if it will be a good evening.

BOOK REVIEW: Sing You Home

In all modesty, I would like to take credit for Jodie Picoult’s recent fame; I have been telling people about her for years. This past month her SING YOU HOME was on the bestsellers list and I feel maybe I had a small part in her success.

Once again, Ms Picoult has taken a controversial news story and turned it into a riveting novel. She has the ability to put a very human face on very somber subjects.

Zoe Baxter and her husband Max have not been successful in their attempts to start a family, and after years of disappointments, Max has filed for a divorce.

Zoe is a music therapist, a person who helps to relieve the pain of the ill and the dying. After the death of her unborn child and the divorce of her husband, she throws herself in to her job. While trying to help a troubled teenager, she becomes friends with Vanessa, the school counselor. Their friendship develops into love, marriage, and a legal battle over the frozen fertilized eggs that Max and Zoe jointly owned.

As per Ms. Picoult's usual style, the book is written in the voices of each main character: Zoe, Max, and Vanessa. Just when you start thinking that one of the characters is the heavy, his or her story is told. This gives the reader a chance to connect with all three people.

Max is a sympathetic character. He is a recovering alcoholic and it is easy to root for him. His new church and its pastor really do help him to get his life back together.

Zoe has her music and her mother for support. Her relationships with her patients make for some of the most interesting parts of the book.

The book does lack a sense of balance on the subject of frozen embryos and the legality of same sex marriages. The contrast between the lawyers is a good example. Zoe’s lawyer is a young woman full of righteous zeal; Max’s is a little slimy.

The witnesses also were almost stereotyped. Max’s church becomes a big part of his defense. They organize pickets, use the local media to stir up hate, etc. Zoe’s friends are shown as sensible people who are under attack. The book could have used a moderate view along the way. All church members are not part of the far right and all educated people are not liberals.

The book includes a CD to be played at given points in the story. An interesting idea, but I do not know if it was needed.

Ms Picoult is known for her surprise endings--the ones that make you think that there might be more to the story. This ending was pretty much what I expected. All in all, SING YOU HOME was not my favorite Picoult, but still it was an interesting read.

BOOK REVIEW: An Irish Country Doctor

If it were not for dear friends, I would probably get caught up on the books stacked all over our house. It seems that is not about to happen. Several of these well-meaning people gave a copy of AN IRISH COUNTRY DOCTOR by Patrick Taylor to me and here we go again.

If you need a warm, witty, literate read, AN IRISH COUNTRY DOCTOR is the best medicine I can recommend. This book could stand alone, but when I found out that there are sequels, I bought two more.

The plot is easy. Barry Laverty is fresh out of medical school and has taken a job in Ballybucklebo in Northern Ireland as an assistant to Dr. Fingal Flahertie O’Reilly. Even finding Ballybuckebo on the map is difficult and the one person that he finds to ask directions, runs away when Dr. O’ Reilly’s name is mentioned.

When he finally finds the right address, he is just in time to see Dr’ O’Reilly kick a patient out the front door into the hedges. This starts Barry’s education as a rural doctor with a man who sometimes has his own way of dealing with his colorful clientele.

The fun of this novel is getting to know these town inhabitants along with Barry. In the last chapter, we are invited to a bash in the O’Reilly’s back yard. By this time we feel that we have bought our own home in Ballybuckebo and moved in among some of the most delightful characters in literature.

Dr. O’Reilly’s housekeeper, Mrs. Kincaid has provided the Afterword to the book. This includes a short collection of basic Ulster recipes. I am sorry to say that she did not put in her recipe for blood pudding. The Doctor says that the smell would gag a maggot. She does, however, give us her recipe for Irish Soda Bread and Chicken Liver Pate.

Following Mrs. Kincaid’s Afterword is a glossary of Ulster dialect. Those of us who live in Central Pennsylvania will be surprised by how many expressions are already in our vocabulary.

Patrick Taylor is a medical doctor who now divides his time between Canada and Ireland. He wrote humor articles for a medical magazine and those articles gave birth to Dr. O’Reilly. If this book is any indication of how he must have practiced medicine, being one his patients must have been a treat.