Updates!

I didn't mention my next book yet because at the time, I really wasn't sure. I have since started The Water Method Man by John Irving, and I'm not exactly sure why, but I'm not loving it. Typically I adore Irving; I love his complete disregard for convention and politeness and his ability to maintain a story regardless of how politically incorrect it may be (see, for example, A Prayer for Owen Meany about a child who claims an immaculate conception). It may just be the fact that it's summer, and I have some Isabel Allende and Philippa Gregory waiting for me on my bookshelves. Irving definitely doesn't write "girly" books, and I have a tendency to gravitate towards "girly" books during summertime.

So, I think I'm going to put The Water Method Man on the back-burner and look towards Ms. Allende or Ms. Gregory to satisfy my summer reading urges. And, of course, none of these are on the 1,001 Books list. I've put myself on a complete book budget cut...no more buying books because saving for a house down payment and closing costs for next summer is much more important at the moment. This means that I will be relying completely on my own bookshelves, my in-law's bookshelves, and the local library bookshelves for a good long while. The Home Buying for Dummies book will be my last book purchase for a long while, I hope.

The History of the Siege of Lisbon by Jose Saramago

The History of the Siege of Lisbon tells the story of a proofreader, Raimundo, who changes an affirmative sentence to the negative by inappropriately adding a "not" to a sentence in a historical work. As a result, the book then read that the crusaders refused to aid the Portuguese in their siege on Lisbon, which was then controlled by the Moors. Although the publishing house inserts an errata into the published novels correcting the mistake, Raimundo's decision to insert that "not" changes his life.

As a result of the intentional insertion of an error, the publishing house hires a new woman, Maria Sara, to oversee the proofreaders to make sure that such a mistake does not occur again. Although the relationship between Raimundo and Maria Sara starts as one full of tension, underhanded criticisms, and awkwardness, it slowly normalizes, eventually leading to a fantastic love story between the two. Saramago does a fantastic job of describing the beginning tension and the slow realization that both characters have as they begin to accept that they truly love each other. The tension-filled relationship is not a result of their working relationship; rather, it is because of mutual attraction from the very time that they meet.

The secondary storyline surrounds Raimundo's new version of the History of the Siege of Lisbon, which acts as a book-within-a-book. It is the result of Maria Sara's suggestion that Raimundo work off of the incorrect version of the original book to create a novel telling how the history would read had the crusaders not stayed to help the Portuguese retake Lisbon. The book seems to mirror Raimundo's own life, as he includes his own love story between a Portuguese soldier and an officer's concubine. The result of the two stories is a novel that, I believe, successfully intertwines the present with the stories of the past.

I will, however, caution any potential readers. Saramago often includes discussions about his doubts about the validity of written history (for example, it was rather easy for a proofreader to, for reasons unknown, insert a single word that can change what future generations may see as the truth), the importance of words and word choice to create a meaning and mutual understanding, and various other philosophical and historical issues. Personally, I really enjoyed some of these discussions; as a historian, I was particularly interested in Saramago's discussions about history and historical knowledge. He led me to really think about the sources of certainty within history, who writes the history that I personally read and discuss, and just how we know today about what happened in the past. I've always had it drilled in my head that you have to use multiple sources to ensure that you're not continuing possible misunderstandings or contextual issues with older sources, and Saramago's book definitely reinforces that idea. That being said, at times, the asides can get distracting from the actual telling of the story. In addition, Saramago utilizes long sentences and minimal punctuation, which can, at times, make the novel a difficult read. It requires a lot of concentration to actually understand rather than to just read. Still, the effort is totally worth it.

My rating: 9/10

A Rush to Injustice by Nader Baydoun and R. Stephanie Good

This book is a recounting of the debacle that was the Duke Lacrosse rape case done by a Duke alum; both authors are attorneys also. I picked this one up at the Eagles Mere bookstore, and it was a perfectly quick read that was a bit of a break from some of the longer novels that I've been reading. I thought the book was well-researched, and the authors were careful to give validity to their criticisms of Nifong and the rape investigation itself using quotes from local attorneys, the accused boys, and the case documents that have been made public. I tend to be rather skeptical when it comes to popular recountings of popular cases, but I thought the authors did a pretty good job. Still, this book is anything but sympathetic to the officials dealing with this case. Often, the authors would include their own opinions and feelings about the case, both at the time of the announcements and in hindsight. Some people may be interested in this, but I got frustrated at times; I'd much rather have the authors tell the story without including their own opinions. It made it seem like much more of an "attack" style book, rather than a book about the case itself.

One thing that I thought the authors did a fantastic job on is the inclusion of primary sources: the newspaper editorials, letters to the editors, court proceedings, court documents, and public statements by the entire lacrosse team, Coach K, and the accused boys and their attorneys. I think it made the story much more lively...the stereotypical idea of "showing and not telling" what happened that made the whole investigation seem like such a sham. I definitely learned some things from these documents that I hadn't known before, in particular, the tendency of some of the Duke faculty to speak against the boys and college sports in general, before all the facts became public knowledge. Ultimately, the accused boys were vindicated since a NC official has publicly declared them "innocent" and the D.A. involved in the case has been brought up on ethics violations as a result of the case. Still, it remains an important event in popular understanding of college sports, college towns, race, gender and, on a more legal scale, the justice system. Hopefully, the very public downfall of this case will help prevent such a thing from occurring again.

Up next: I've been wavering between Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and Jose Saramago's History of the Siege of Lisbon. I think I may go the way of Saramago just because it's a love story, which seems particularly appropriate for a good summer poolside read. We'll see how it goes.