BOOK REVIEW: Calling Invisible Women

Ladies, have you ever felt invisible? Have you ever felt that your loved ones would not notice if you were present, as long as the food appeared on the table and the laundry was done? Or… better question…..What would you DO if you were truly invisible?

If any of these questions have ever crossed your mind, meet Clover, the fifty-something heroine of Jeanne Ray’s CALLING INVISIBLE WOMEN. Clover panics when she makes the discovery one morning that her body can no longer be seen. Although her husband Arthur and their son Nick sit across from her at the breakfast table that morning, neither are aware that Clover has no body.

Wearing long sleeves, slacks, a hat, and sunglasses, Clover ventures out of her house into a world that does not notice her lack of a body. Luckily, she finds that she is not alone with this condition. The Organization of Invisible Women helps the members develop self-confidence and useful survival skills, particularly the freedom of being naked. After all, no one can see them.

Being unseen gives Clover and her new friends an ability to do Super Hero types of actions like stopping bullying on the school bus and stopping a bank hold-up. The women discover that the one thing that they have in common is a combination of drugs that they had taken and that the responsible pharmaceutical company knows of this side effect.

CALLING INVISIBLE WOMEN is a very light read, but it does have serious ideas. The author seemed to have two points that she wanted to make: how easy it is to over- look women of a certain age and how far large pharmaceutical companies will go to make a profit.

One quote saved the book from being silly : “…..before it happened I felt that I had all of the burdens of no one paying attention to me and none of the benefits. Now I can see how many things you can do when no one is watching. It’s a huge freedom when you think about it.”

So, if you ever feel invisible, dance as if no one is watching; it can be liberating according to Jeanne Ray’s CALLING INVISIBLE WOMEN.

THEATER REVIEW: The Importance of Being Earnest

The high school theatre season has started and I could not be happier. If I have as much fun at the other schools as I did this past Friday at Bellefonte High School's fall play, it will be a good year.

The Bellefonte Area High School Drama Club stretched their Thespian muscles with Oscar Wilde’s THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST proving that audiences can still relate to Oscar Wilde and that our high school students have talent.

The two charming bachelors who confuse the plot by proposing to their respective girlfriends under the pseudonym of “Earnest” were played by freshman Stephen Giacobe and senior Sean Connelly. Both actors captured the period of the play well. I initially had some trouble with Stephen’s British accent, but before the end of the first act it was no longer a problem.

The girlfriends were delightfully played by seniors Elizabeth Catchmark and Julia Laufer. These two young actresses have great stage presence and clear diction. Since so much of Wilde’s humor depends on the audience catching the clever lines I really appreciated the work that went in to the dialogue. They are also to be commended on handling hoop skirts so skillfully.

Senior Chelsea McGhee played the only “earnest” person in the play, the pompous Lady Bracknell, with dignity and a touch of true snobbery. When she and the governess Miss Prism, senior Marichka Lucas, explain what has happened, it almost makes sense. Again, the work that went into making the lines clear to the audience was appreciated.

Zachary Spaw and Kyle Naylor “ butlered” perfectly. They were the very model of Victorian correctness. Sean Gipson had the fun part of the Reverend Canon Chasuble. These three actors proved that there are no small parts in theatre. Each young man took his part and made it his own.

Extra credit goes to the technical crew for capturing the period so well. Costumes, sets, and even the women’s hair styles were well done. Artistic Director Shaun McMurtrie put together a very enjoyable evening. It will be fun to see what this group will do with South Pacific in April.

BOOK REVIEW: Moment of Truth

As I said last week, I have discovered Lisa Scottoline. I just finished MOMENT OF TRUTH and am a little ambiguous about my feelings.

Wealthy Honor Newlin has been murdered. Her husband Jack finds her body in their apartment, rearranges the death scene, calls 911, and confesses to the crime. Jack knows that their daughter Paige was to have met her parents for dinner that night, so he is sure that Paige is guilty of killing her mother. Jack hires the inexperienced attorney, Mary DiNunzio. Mary may not be a veteran criminal lawyer, but she finds Jack’s story unbelievable and starts investigating Paige. Sixteen-year old Paige is a very successful model whose career has been managed by her mother. For all of those years Paige has put up with her mother’s abuse and now she has to tell her mother of her pregnancy. What follows, of course, is a plot full of twists, chase scenes, and several more murders.

This book was a disappointment to me. I know that just because an author makes it to a best seller list does not guarantee that I will like him or her, but I expected more. The characters in MOMENT OF TRUTH did not ring true to me; I wanted more depth, more growth. The basic plot was good and Scottoline is able to introduce humor in the spots that need to be lightened, but somehow this book felt rushed, as if the author’s mortgage was due and a deadline was fast approaching. I will read Lisa Scottoline again. Her collection of articles, Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog made me feel that I know her personally. Keeping that in mind, I will give her another chance.

BOOK REVIEW: Why My Third Husband Will Be A Dog

It is not clear how Lisa Scottoline has escaped my radar screen. She is a best-selling author of mystery stories and like mystery stories. One day a friend gave me a copy of WHY MY THIRD HUSBAND WILL BE A DOG, a collection of Scottoline’s newspaper articles, and about a month later, our book group decided to read Moment of Truth. It seemed as if fate wanted me to read something by Lisa Scottoline.

WHY MY THIRD HUSBAND WILL BE A DOG, is an honest relating of the day to day life of a woman who is a best-selling author, has been married twice, Thing One and Thing Two, has a grown daughter, a mother who is starting to age, and several dogs with distinct personalities. Besides being full of wit and wisdom, this book is full of advice. For example: if you crave carbs and your jeans no longer fit and you believe that these two things are unrelated, you may need a reality check.

Scottoline can cleverly twist a line to bring humor to a situation, but she can also make you sigh with recognition over the death of a beloved pet or the independence of a daughter out on her own. On a visit to her daughter’s apartment, she learned that daughters CAN do laundry, cook a decent meal, and stay safe in a big city.

The chapters in this book are very short, the length of a newspaper article, so that it is a good book to “read at”. Several of my reads have been a little heavy recently and it was pleasant to pick up something that was fun. (It was too light to read in one sitting). It also was a good thing to have read before her novel, Moment of Truth, but I have run out of space and will get to that book next week. Stay tuned.

THEATER: Little Shop of Horrors

GUEST REVIEWER:  Sydney Fondi

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, playing at The Community Theatre League on 3rd Street in Williampsort, PA is a fantastic stage reproduction based on the well known 1986 film starring Rick Moranis as Seymour and Steve Martin as Orin the Dentist.

This Community Theatre League musical stars Johnathan Hetler as Seymour and Melissa Mabus as Audrey.  The vocals alone are enough to keep you in your seat, but the humor that this cast has incorporated into their performance is what brought down the house.  Orin Scrivello is played by the young Caleb Albert who successfully channeled his inner Steve Martin for this outstanding role. 

This theater is cozy and intimate and perfect for this play.  I'm new to being a critic of the arts, but I am a huge fan of them.  This performance was nothing less than stellar and I encourage everyone to come out and see them perform.  The casting and directing was brilliantly chosen and there is a fun and enjoyable atmosphere about their performance as a result.  Enjoy!

For more information or to get tickets for Little Shop of Horrors, please visit the Community Theatre League's website.  The show will be performed November 1 - 3rd at 7:30pm and November 4th at 2:30pm.

EVENT: Designer Bag Bingo

This is a plea to help our local public libraries and therefor a shameless bit for your help.

As you know funding has been cut drastically to public libraries. As is the case in all towns, Bellefonte’s library is really hurting for funds. If you want to help, there will be a 

DESIGNER BAG BINGO 

at Lambert Hall, 303 Forge Road, Bellefonte, Pa. 

on Saturday, November, 10, 2012. 

Doors will open at 12:30 p.m. 

The cost will be $25 for advance sales and $30 at the door. 

All proceeds will benefit the Centre County Library and Historical Museum. 

Call 814-355-1516 for more information or go to http://centrecountylibrary.org/content/saturday-november-10-bingo-fundraiser-benefit-centre-county-library

This will be a fun way to show your support of the services provided by our library.

BOOK REVIEW: Winter Moon Trilogy

My husband and I just got back from the perfect vacation. Well, it is perfect for the two of us. He fishes all day and I sit in the air conditioning and read. I take a large bag of books with me, a little bit of this and that. Finding a collection of novellas is always a treat and for this trip I had found a volume that contained two of my favorite fantasy authors and one who was new to me. As expected, WINTER MOON was fun.

Mercedes Lackey is probably the best know author of the three. Her Moontide was a good opening for the book. Moira na Ferson has been ordered home to her father’s keep along the stormy seaside. He had sent her to be fostered by the Countess Vrenable not knowing that the Countess trains her select group of young women to be Grey Ladies, ladies who have been prepared to be skilled assassins. Arriving home, she finds that her father has hired a mis-shapened Fool and has a guest who is to be her future husband.

The purpose of the keep is to maintain the beacons that warn the passing ships of the dangerous rocks surrounding the coast. Moira discovers that somebody in the castle has the magical powers to move the lights to deliberately mislead the ships. Her secret training will have to be used either to obey her father or to trust the Fool.

The Heart of the Moon, the second story is by Tanith Lee and was my favorite. Warrior priestess Clirando finds that her lover and her best friend have betrayed her. She challenges each of them to a public duel. After the fight, struggling with the curse of her dead comrade, Clirando is sent on a spiritual journey to the Moon Isle. On the magical island she meets Zemetrios who is there to battle his own demons.

My favorite part of any story is character growth and this story emphasized character more than it did the magical events. Good fantasy and/or science fiction depends on keeping the human element a contributing factor. What is truth is truth no matter when or where a story takes place.

The final story, Banshee Cries is by C.E. Murphy. I was not as familiar with this author as I was the other two, so I had no idea what to expect. I learned that the main character is a part of an ongoing series. Even though this novella stands perfectly on its own, I want to know more.

Jo Walker is happiest when working as a mechanic on the police cars. Her gift to see supernatural happenings does not go unnoticed by the police brass and she is taken from the garage pool and finds herself on the homicide squad. A ritual murder has taken place under the full moon and Jo is called in to view the crime scene and to pick up on clues that the “ungifted” police would miss. Her sight discovers two other bodies, all three connected physically.

Jo is very unskilled at using her talents and not at all sure that she even wants them. She is sure that she is not happy to be dealing with the gruesome aspects of ritualistic murders. When she finally has to confront a Harbinger of Death, her gifts are the only thing that will save her own life.

Novellas are perfect vacation reading. They are short and fast paced. That fact may have been my problem with Lackey’s contribution. The other two told a neat, compact story; Moontide needed to be longer to give the characters space to develop. I have enjoyed other books by her, but if this had been my only contact, I am afraid that I would have dismissed a top notch fantasy author.