Suicide Blonde

Suicide Blonde by Darcy Steinke published in 1992. Melodramatic tale of a 30 year-old woman and her decomposition. In between homosexual confusion, a little heroin, prostitution and of course blondes and suicide. Wonderful pithy witticisms such as:

'I wanted to yell at Pig that there was no more poignancy in the aging of a beautiful woman than a plain one. If beautiful girls had higher expectations it was only because of vanity, not because they were better people, or more blessed. And besides, it didn't seem possible that I could end up like Pig. She let her nails dig into the soft part of my arm and with the pain I thought, Once she was like me.'

'"Is there anything more delicate than an egg?" he asked smiling.
"Yeah" I said. "Relationships."'

'Happy people are the cruelest, I thought. This is the cock Bell wanted in his mouth, up his ass. Kevin stopped kissing me and brushed my hand away from his pants. "You can't tell where you stop and other people start," he said. "That's a dangerous quality to have."'

catcher in the rye

Comin Thro' The Rye
O, Jenny's a' weet, poor body,
Jenny's seldom dry:
She draigl't a' her petticoatie,
Comin thro' the rye!

Comin thro' the rye, poor body,
Comin thro' the rye,
She draigl't a' her petticoatie,
Comin thro' the rye!

Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the rye,
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need a body cry?

Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the glen,
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need the warl' ken?

Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the grain;
Gin a body kiss a body,
The thing's a body's ain.

-Robert Burns

Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger in 1951. First person narrative. Journal style about the events of a manic-depressive teenage on the loose in manhattan.

Holden misquotes “if a body catch a body comin’ through the rye”. After his kid-sister Phoebe asked Holden one thing he likes, the only thing he'd like to do is to catch kids as they are playing from going over the edge of a crazy cliff. The title of the novel uses the word “catch”, instead of “meet”, because Holden wants to catch the boy coming through the rye to help him deal with an unfair, violent and dishonest world.

interpreter of maladies

Interpreter of Maladies is a collection of stories by Jhumpa Lahiri published 1999. 'A Temporary Matter' - the disintegration of a marriage after their first child arrives as a stillbirth. 'When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine' - Bangladesh state separation through the eyes of an Indian child who's family hosts a Pakistani University professor for dinners. 'Interpreter of Maladies' - Indian family on tour in India reveals themselves as shallow Americans to tour guide. 'A Real Durwan' - Unofficial 'doorman' gets a bad deal when tenants obsess over home improvements. 'Sexy' - A married Indian man romances a young woman; she feels 'sexy' for the first time. 'Mrs Sen's' - Transplanted Indian wife through the eyes of the child she watches. 'This Blessed House' - Impetuous marriage reveals its cracks when the modern educated wife becomes determined to display the christian icons they find in their newly purchased home. 'The Treatment of Bibi Haldar' - disenfranchised epileptic woman finds her cure with an inexplicable yet wished for pregnancy. 'The Third and Final Continent' - After having an insightful relationship with the 100 y.o. matron who rented a room to him, young Indian man quietly establishes his life in Boston with his arranged wife.

Jhumpa Lahiri presents a good descriptive range of the Indian experience but her writing is slightly stiff, as if the author was not engaged but kept herself at a distance.

Desperate Characters

"Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them. "


Desperate Characters by Paula Fox published in 1970. Think Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby. It is social commentary of the late 60's NYC expressed through the pain of being, that is the pain of every day life. Paula Fox offers no solutions just a hushed intimate look as the changing era overtakes Sophie and Otto Bentwood.