Tag Archives: Joanne Guidoccio

Book Review: Cover of Snow

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

cover of snowChilling to the bone.

Set in a small village nestled in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, Jenny Milchman’s debut novel, Cover of Snow, is both thrilling and unsettling.

When Nora Hamilton wakes up one morning, she discovers her husband hanging from a rope in the attic. Shocked by the suicide and numbed by grief, Nora cannot wrap her mind around it. How can a loving husband who was happy with his wife and life as a well-respected police officer kill himself? And why didn’t he leave a note?

Shortly after the funeral, clues star popping up: an unexplained prescription bottle, “a splintery snake of rope,” and a secretive hideout in her mother-in-law’s house. Determined to discover the truth behind her husband’s death, Nora enlists the aid of her sister, a reporter with a secret past, and an autistic man who speaks in rhyme.

Never really accepted by her husband’s family and friends, Nora quickly discovers she is an outcast in the tightly-knit town where the snow never seems to stop falling. Everyone from her mother-in-law to the police chief urge her to stop asking questions and move on with her life. Some of the warnings contain sinister tones: “Brendan died and I’m mad as hell, like you, but no good comes from wondering why.”

As the clues continue to unfold and more calamities and unexplained deaths occur,  Nora realizes that no one around her can be trusted. Undaunted, she continues to peel away the layers of secrecy, discovering uncomfortable truths about herself and her husband’s past. Throughout the book, Nora wonders if she ever really knew the man she married.

Jenny Milchman skillfully weaves all these strands together into an unexpected ending and, in the process, creates a heart-pounding thriller.

Oprah and Nate Berkus–Part II

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

nate

On yesterday’s Super Soul Sunday, Oprah continued her conversation with Nate Berkus.

Having survived one of the greatest disasters of our time, Nate  is not afraid to talk about the massive tsunami that took the life of 230,000+ people, among them his beloved Fernando. Nate speaks eloquently about the man who encouraged him to see life in a different way.

Throughout the hour telecast, I could easily visualize many of the scenes Nate described. The lovingly prepared knapsacks for needy children flying through the air. The mattress that appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around a telephone pole, allowing Nate and Fernando to hang on for a short while. Fernando, clinging to Nate, and then suddenly blown away, never to be seen again.

While grieving, Nate felt raw, insignificant and afraid. But with the love and support of his family and friends, he was able to come to terms with the fact that he was living a new normal.

Quotable Quotes…

If I can get to the light, I can breathe. ~Nate Berkus

All death is a reminder to turn up the volume on your life. ~Oprah

When the worst has happened and you are able to speak your truth, you get a lot done. ~Nate Berkus

Every day is the reason. ~Oprah

Witnessing was a gift. ~Nate Berkus

When people show you who they are, believe them…the first time.
~Maya Angelou

Movie Review: Hitchcock

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes. Jim Carrey

In Hitchock, Alma Reville does much more than roll her eyes. Unknown to many Alfred Hitchock fans, she played an integral role in the creative production of those dark and dazzling films. In his book, Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Pyscho, author Stephen Rebello describes her as the “exacting Mrs. Hitchcock” and the first person Alfred had to impress and please with any film idea. Dame Helen Mirren captures the intensity and elegance of this forgotten heroine, while Sir Anthony Hopkins plays Hitch at the height of his fame, just after the dazzling success of North by Northwest.

Determined to prove that he is not a relic at age sixty, Hitch decides to finance and film Psycho after the studios balked at the idea of filming something so grotesque. Undaunted, Hitch mortgages his house and instructs his assistant (Toni Collette) to buy every copy of Robert Bloch’s novel, Psycho, to keep the public from knowing the story. Acting on Alma’s advice, he persuades Janet Leigh (Scarlett Johansson) and Tony Perkins (James D’Arcy) to play the lead characters.

I was impressed by Hopkins’ rendition of the corpulent director obsessed with his leading ladies and fetishes. The seasoned actor inhabits the role, giving one of his best performances. But, in my opinion, Mirren was the star of the movie, leaving me to wonder what Hitchcock’s movies would have been like without Alma.



Book Review: State of Wonder

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

stateofwonderBad news arrives by way of Aerogram. Anders Eckham has died of a fever in a remote part of Brazil.

His colleague, Dr. Marina Singh, who does unremarkable research on cholesterol at Vogel, a large pharmaceutical firm based in Minnesota, experiences “a very modest physical collapse” when she hears the news from her unremarkable lover, Mr. Fox, the company CEO.

As these two emotionally crippled characters struggle with the news, they realize that Anders’ wife, Karen must be told. After delivering the news haphazardly, Mr. Fox concludes that Anders bungled his mission and decides to send Marina to investigate the situation in Brazil.

Dr. Annick Swenson, a former medical school professor who stopped Marina’s medical career in its tracks, is supposedly creating a fertility drug that will allow women to bear children well into old age. Excited by the prospect of this wonder drug, Vogel funded the research and gave the formidable Dr. Swenson considerable latitude. Unfortunately, the septuagenarian considers herself beyond reproach and does not feel accountable to Vogel.

The story follows Marian as she travels from the plains of Minnesota to the heart of the Amazonian rainforest. Along the way, she loses her luggage, not once but twice. Forced to dress like the natives, her skin darkens and she is even mistaken for a member of the Lakashi tribe.

While working with Dr. Swenson, Marina faces her demons. We learn of the foreign graduate-student father who abandoned his family long before “that had become the stuff of presidential history” and Marina’s dealings with “all those translucent cousins who looked at her like she was a llama who had wandered into their holiday dinner.” We hear and see her severe reaction to the anti-malarial medication she had to take while visiting India and, now Brazil. And we learn of the tragic mistake that derailed Marina’s surgical career.

Set deep in the Amazon jungle, State of Wonder is primarily an adventure tale, replete with poison arrows, snakes and cannibals. While reading I could easily visualize the ravenous mosquitoes and floating snake heads and feel the oppressive heat and powerful storms. But Ann Patchett goes beyond the adventure, skillfully weaving some of the most important social issues of our time into this provocative and ambitious novel.

Oprah and Nate Berkus

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

nate

Yesterday, Nate Berkus sat down with Oprah on Super Soul Sunday to share intimate stories about the experiences that have transformed him.

He found his acorn within the oak at the age of thirteen. Getting his own room was definitely a milestone for the sensitive young man who cared about how things looked and felt. Having grown up around design and following his mother to auctions, estate and garage sales on the weekend, Nate appreciated  life in all its layers, textures and light.

While he was fortunate to have a loving and supportive family, he did not come out until his university years. Nate admitted to developing a skill set that made him dishonest and spending most of his adult life trying to get rid of it.

I was impressed and moved by how his step-father handled the situation. After discovering a letter from Nate’s lover, his step-father waited three months before having the conversation with Nate. He wanted his step-son to know that it didn’t matter and he wouldn’t be treated any differently. An excellent example of putting spiritual philosophy into spiritual action.

Nate also shared the lessons he learned from his talk show. While it was the opportunity of a lifetime, Nate realized during the second week of production that a daily program was not a good fit. Throughout the two-year run, he felt overwhelmed and exhausted. When Oprah pressed further, he admitted that ego and money factored into his original desire to have a talk show. Grateful for the experience, he now knows that he needs space and time around his decisions.

Quotable Quotes…

Everyone has the acorn within the oak that is you. (Oprah)

When you confide in your beloveds, give them the space to grieve the dreams they had for you.

If you’re not willing to stand up for who you are, then everything else does not matter.

I want your personality to come through in another language. (Cheryl Storm—French teacher)

If you cannot be authentic and true to yourself, it is hard to function.

I needed the freedom to create and design my own timeline.

Stop and take a beat before you acquire.

Book Review: Love is a Canoe

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

canoe2A self-help junkie, I have often wondered what it would be like to spend face-to-face time with one of my favorite gurus.

What insights could I gain from Louise Hay, Martha Beck or Wayne Dyer?

In Love is a Canoe, author Ben Schrank plays with this deep-seated desire among fans of self help/motivational literature.

Stella Petrovic, an ambitious young editor at a prestigious New York publishing house, spearheads a contest to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of a best-selling relationship book—Love is a Canoe—written by Peter Herman. She invites married couples in trouble to share their stories. One lucky couple will spend a weekend with the author in a picturesque town in upstate New York.

Hundreds of letters arrive, most of them “hopeless and upsetting in shocking circumstances.” While reading about these unfixable marriages, Stella frets about finding suitable candidates and worries that some of that negativity may rub off on her.

Emily Babson’s letter makes the cut.

Happily married for three years to Eli Corelli, she has recently discovered his affair with an employee at his bicycle company. A long-time fan of Love is a Canoe, she admits to reading and rereading the book several times while growing up in a household with fighting parents who eventually divorced. Still devoted to the success of her marriage, she hopes that her weekend with Peter will enable her to forgive Eli.

While Peter’s own marriage with his recently deceased wife appears almost idyllic, there were cracks in that perfect facade. Peter didn’t always follow the folksy advice he gives in his book: “Good love is a quilt—light as feathers and strong as iron”; “Desire for your loved one gives you the strength to paddle on.”

I didn’t particularly like any of the main characters,  but I could easily visualize the quiet and judgmental child/woman struggling with her husband’s betrayal, the awkward outsider trying to get a handle on the clawing and back-biting in the publishing industry, and the conflicted, aging author forced to acknowledge past indiscretions.

A well-written novel that explores the chaos and messiness of relationships.

Many Winding Roads to Success

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

winding roads

The timing was off.

No one wanted to read about the Korean War, the forgotten war that was overshadowed by the immensely unpopular Viet Nam War.

But that didn’t prevent H. Richard Hornberger (using the pseudonym Richard Hooker) from devoting eleven years to writing about his experiences as a surgeon at the 8055th mobile army surgical hospital unit during the Korean War. His agent spent another eight years sending the manuscript to over thirty publishers who soundly rejected it. Hornberger then asked famed sportswriter W.C. Heinz to help him revise it.

A year later, MASH was acquired by William Morrow and Company.

In 1970, MASH was the third-largest grossing film that year and spawned the popular CBS series, which ran from 1972 until 1983.

Oprah and Ayana Mathis

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

oprahayana

After reading the first chapter of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie,  Oprah knew she had found her second Book Club 2.0 pick. On yesterday’s Super Soul Sunday, she sat down for an interview with author Ayana Mathis.

Ayana started by describing her experiences at the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Grateful for this opportunity to work with Pulitzer Prize winner Marilynne Robinson and other up-and-coming writers, she talked openly about the hopes, dreams and frustrations that lie behind those hallowed walls. When she arrived at the workshop, she was working on another book, a fictionalized memoir. At one critique session, Robinson suggested that her characters were “insufficiently complex.” Ayana took the criticism to heart, had her ugly cry and then turned to writing short stories. Her first story was a hybrid of the first and last chapters of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie.

Inspired by Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns, Ayana set her book against the backdrop of the Great Migration.  Starting around 1916,  over six million African Americans migrated north to escape the poverty and hardships of the south. The main character, Hattie Shepherd, is a strong but flawed woman who fiercely loves her eleven children but cannot demonstrate that love. While each chapter focuses on a different child, Hattie is the glue that holds the book together.

In writing this novel, Ayana wanted her readers to encounter a fully, fleshed out black humanity. To that end, she got into the soul of each character and spent as much time as possible in their minds.

When asked about her childhood, Ayana admitted that there was little money and she and her mother often lived in neighborhoods where they couldn’t afford to pay the rent. In spite of their limited circumstances, Ayana was given an enormous amount of freedom and chose her own life path.

Extremely grateful for the success of her debut novel, Ayana admits to being permanently stunned. She still thinks of the book as a Word document.

Quotable Quotes…

Our humanity means we don’t have to be completely defined by race.

We find companions and mirrors in literature.

There is an arc of human history that bends toward social justice.

Character development is a process cultivated over time. Reward comes from reworking.

Movie Review: Quartet

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

At age seventy-five, Dustin Hoffman has made an outstanding directorial debut with this gentle comedy about aging musicians living at Beecham House, a British retirement house. The film is based on Italy’s Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, first chronicled in the 1984 documentary Tosca’s Kiss.

The musical seniors are rehearsing for the annual gala fundraising concert. When legendary diva Jean Horton (Maggie Smith) arrives, she creates a stir and receives a standing ovation from the other residents.

But not everyone is pleased to see her.

Reggie Paget (Tom Courtenay) still holds a grudge against his ex-wife and fellow member of a London operatic dream team. Two other members of the team, Wilf Bond (Billy Connolly) and Cissie Robson (Pauline Collins), also live at Beecham and hope to persuade Jean to join them and wow the audience with their famous quartet from Rigoletto.

The supporting actors include actual retired stars, among them opera singer Gwyneth Jones and jazz pianist Jack Honeyborne.

Hoffman has provided the perfect backdrop for creative people who refuse to slow down, despite their aging bodies and minds.

Simply delightful from start to finish.