The Pillars of the Earth

Author: Ken Follett

Epic. Architecturally fascinating. Masterfully assembled.

I have resisted this book for quite some time. It's really long and so popular that I immediately shrugged it off. I sometimes have difficulty reading things I feel I must. Nonetheless, I read this, not quite at my usual pace, but with a constant hunger.

My immediate interest was in the architecture but I quickly realized how truly perfectly this novel was sewn together. It was a puzzle of enormous proportions and I kept thinking how brilliant Follett was to set up each part of the story hundreds of pages before, without the slightest hint of his intention. Even seemingly insignificant roles would float to the surface much later and make my stomach lurch in anticipation and dread.

But my admiration for him goes further.

Follett took an actual event in history (the sinking of the White Ship) and created a fictional history around this single event. The ability to weave such an epic tale, while maintaining some sense of historical accuracy, is astounding to me. Think of the massive amount of research he must have done to get it right.

The other thing I am impressed with is the power of Oprah. Follett wrote this book in 1989. Twenty-one years ago. In 2007 it was selected for Oprah's book club and I suspect it has enjoyed vastly more success since then than when it was originally published. Her influence is terrifying.

Normally I'm drawn to certain books because I become emotionally invested in the characters but not so much this time. Don't get me wrong - of course I was interested in them and wanted to follow their paths, but as I continued to read I was more impressed by the blueprint of the story and Follett's ability to build it flawlessly. I don't think I can recall another book where the structural integrity of the novel is so absolutely unwaveringly solid. No detail was overlooked and every sentence has a distinct purpose. Completely efficient in its enormity. Brilliant.

Ellen's Okra

We spent our night canning okra from Ellen's house in Statesboro, GA. She brought us SO MUCH beautiful okra so we pickled 12 jars and I'm planning on making some tomato and okra soup. W is planning on making some gumbo. After all that I still think we'll have enough okra to do it all over again.

Bistro 217...and Elvis

New factoid: it's illegal to wear a thong in South Carolina. Any kind of thong, either sex.

On one of our last nights of vacation we opted to go out to dinner and were trying to choose between Chive Blossom, a highly recommended place, and Bistro 217, a place mom heard about from the woman who did her hair last week.

We ended up at Bistro 217. Despite the sweltering weather, we ate outside on the cutest patio under a tent (it turned out it wasn't much cooler inside anyway), with lots of fans and misting water.

Our Albanian waiter, Elvis, with his soft eyes and French/Eastern European melting pot of an accent, was the perfect accompaniment to the most fabulous meal we've had in the two years we've been here.

First, the food. All apologies to Mary James but the shrimp and grits were beyond perfect. Instead of a bowl of grits the seared shrimp were served over a jalapeno grit cake that stayed crispy all the way through the andouille sausage, okra, and tomato espanole sauce. So perfectly fabulous and not like I had ever had it before.

But Heidi won the app contest with her seared tuna Napoleon: three layers of seared tuna on a crispy won ton piece with an avocado salad. Holy crap, this thing was amazing. Other apps included crab bisque (clearly the weather did not affect Baguer's choice) and carpaccio (the only disappointment of the meal).

Entrees: I had Jack's favorite fish to say - humu-humu-nuka-nuka-apuaa, or triggerfish. It was pecan crusted and served over a fried crab and rice cake with a coconut cream sauce and bok choy. The bok choy was quite tedious and the crab in the cake completely unnecessary but the rest was unbelievable. Cris ordered the biggest lamb shank I've ever seen, and ate every bite of it. Baguer got the flounder which looked good, and Heidi got the special halibut over a bevvy of sauteed vegetables. Mom had the carpaccio and Dad had the Asian BBQ ribs. Everyone was happy.

Now, Elvis, our server. We took bets that he spoke 4 languages. We were wrong. Six: Albanian, Italian, French, German, English, and Spanish. And as Heidi liked to say, he had bedroom eyes. After dinner Heidi and fam stopped to get us some ice cream at Latte Litchfield, a sweet little place Heidi and I found earlier in the day when we needed an iced caffeinated beverage to quell my headache.

As Heidi was chatting up the girl who had helped us earlier in the day, she was saying how we blew off dessert at Bistro 217 to come there instead. After being asked, Heidi was describing who our waiter had been and the girl behind the counter finally said, "Oh, the gigolo with the bun-wrap." Apparently, Elvis prefers the European beachwear style. This is when Heidi found out from the state trooper in Latte Litchfield that thongs were illegal in South Carolina.

What a truly fabulous night.

Mansfield Park

Author: Jane Austen

I sincerely struggled through the first half of the story but as soon as we were past all the formalities of character development the story was so civilized. I wish I lived in Mansfield Park. Loved it. I'm not sure if I loved it more than Pride & Prejudice but I think there's no doubt that Austen has quickly become one of my favorite authors.

Pandora

Author: Anne Rice

A little bit of brain candy sprinkled in the literature is a good thing. And sometimes, the candy ends up being more than you would have hoped for.

Anne Rice proves again that she is a great storyteller - not just about vampires and witches - but in the way she weaves history into her adventures. Not to spoil anything, but I don't even think Pandora becomes a vampire until two-thirds of the way through the book. This book is so clearly not about being a vampire.

The story centers around Lydia (later to become Pandora) and her life in ancient Rome. I felt like I was watching the prematurely aborted masterpiece Rome that was on HBO. The history of the worship of Isis got a little old but was necessary I suppose.

If you like Anne Rice, this was a very pleasant return to her magical storytelling skills that have been adrift since the early days of Louis and Lestat.

The Caliph's House

Author: Tahir Shah

Book Club Selection

Written in the spirit of A Year in Provence and Under the Tuscan Sun, this tale of adventure and cultural adaptation was set in Casablanca.

I absolutely loved this book, perhaps even more than either of the two in whose footsteps it traces. For me it was the absolute stark contrasts in culture from his London upbringing that proved most entertaining.

Definitely recommended.