A New York Winter's Tale - a mini-review

I never usually write book reviews, I leave that to the other excellent reviewers on Goodreads. However, every now and again a book comes along that I seem to have a difficult relationship with, and Mark Helprin's A New York Winter's Tale is one of those books. 

I first came across the book on a "what to read before the adaptation hits the cinema" list, and to be honest, I love to read book-film adaptations. After seeing the film, I made sure that Helprin's book was my next read.  Firstly, the book is really nothing like the film, they only share themes and a loose story line connection so if you adored the film and wanted to see how it read on the page, maybe you will be disappointed. The second thing I couldn't help but notice is that the book is really quite long, so if you are looking for an easy, quick read, again, it might not be for you. 

A New York Winter's Tale is a book that needs time to be dedicated to it and is for those who are willing to give a book time to unfold a complicated and intricate storyline, that jumps to different periods of time where the character's lives criss cross and intertwine. It's a book for readers that truly love to read, those who want a book to challenge them and provide more than just escapism in it's purest form. Of course, there is nothing wrong with books that you can fly through and lose yourself turning each page as you easily absorb each word without consciously realising, I love those books too! 

One of the most memorable things about this book is that it is truly beautifully written, as I said, it challenged me, I found myself looking up words (miasma!) and getting lost in the descriptive passages of the city and the landscape: I felt that New York City was alive, a creature growing, evolving, and hiding many secrets in its complex and diverse streets. It was a treat to read passages so lush and creative in their language.  As beautiful as it was, it sometimes served as detrimental to the storyline itself, I got so lost in the descriptions that I forgot how it drove the story or for what purpose. 

The writing works well alongside the book's genre of magical realism. I understand that this genre is either love or hate for a lot of readers, and for me personally, I quite enjoy it but you have to suspend your disbelief. A story about the stars, people who live for hundreds of years, a mythical horse and lake people that blends with the hustle bustle of mythic New York City during the industrial era as well as a modern day version, though distinctly different from our own.

It's difficult to sum up this book in a quasi review and my main problem is that I didn't feel satisfied at the end of the 700-odd page book. I had been through a journey with these characters but I didn't feel complete at the end. Maybe this book deserves and needs a second read in order to unravel the detailed commentaries on life, love, and morals. All and all, a remarkably written piece of magical realism, but one that requires a lot of time to truly immerse yourself in the story. 

A weekend in... Zacatecas, Zacatecas.

The state of Zacatecas borders the northern highlands of Mexico and it's capital city of the same name is beautiful, colonial city.  Steeped in history and culture, Zacatecas offers a delightful insight into the importance of both art and, surprisingly, silver mining.  Two cultural aspects that seem so very far apart but live together serenely among desert-like countryside.  

We stayed at the Hotel Emporio Zacatecas, which is located in the heart of the city, just opposite the beautiful cathedral and was the perfect base for exploring the city on foot.  Once again, something that always seems to be the best way of exploring small Mexican cities, you can meander through (and up and down) the small streets which twist and turn, often leading to bustling plazas or hidden temples.  

The city has a variety of museums which display the talents of local artists as well as other historical artifacts.  The Museo Rafeal Coronel is the home to work of the Zacatecano artist which is set in the ruins of a former convent, the results are magnificent.  The location is so stunning that local girls use it for the backdrop for quinceañeras and wedding photos.  The crumbling walls are surrounded by charming gardens, made even more splendid by a cloud free blue sky.   The museum is also home to hundreds of ceremonial, festival, and death masks and gives comprehensive explanations of their history, use and craftsmanship.  

On the other end of the scale, a trip down into the Mina Eden, a former silver mine, displays the stark contrast between the demand for the precious metal and the horrendous treatment of local indigenous people who were basically enslaved to mine the silver.  Our incredibly knowledgeable guide told us that every day 1 in 3 of the workers died in the mine.  The mine originally had seven levels but now the bottom 2 (I believe) are flooded by crystal clear water, full of minerals and deathly still.  The guide informed us of all the local legends and ghost stories, gave us a peso to make a wish into the fountain, and even stole us quartz from the rock.  The Mina is also home to a nightclub/bar where you can dance away the night underneath the twinkling quartz.  A must visit destination in one of the most famous silver cities in Mexico. 

From the Mina you are able to take a cable car (teleférico) across the roofs of the city to the Cerro de la Bufa, a hill that dominates the landscape of the city.  At the top of the hill, you have amazing panoramic vistas of the colourful little houses on the steep streets and the domes of the grandiose colonial churches.  There are also statues of the Mexican revolutionaries (one of which is the grandfather of our mine tour guide!) and a quaint temple.  We then enjoyed (!) a trek down the hill back into the town, good walking shoes required but easier going down the hill than up!

Typical of Mexico, Zacatecas offers a wide range of Mexican and international cuisine, and as typical of me and my gallstones, I was very limited with what I could eat.  However, we had delicious meals that left me
feeling satisfied and pleased that I could eat more than a sandwich.  The Mykonos Cocina Mediterranea does what it says on the tin and does it very well at that.  A good selection of Mediterrean cuisine that was delicious, I had Spaghetti arrabiata, which was very tasty with a lovely kick of chilli and black pepper.  Also, amazing humous and flatbread.  We also ate in El Mercader, situated in an old market place, wonderful salads, pasta and Mexican food.  Also delicious limonada (I have made it my mission to sample limonada in each place I travel to!).

Zacatecas was a perfect, relaxing weekend away.  A small but charming city, with lots to do and plenty of opportunities to sit and soak up the Mexican atmosphere if you'd simply prefer to do that.

"There is no friend as loyal as a book"

Reading has been a massive part of my life for as long as I can remember.  Some of my most vivid childhood memories are of my Nanna helping me read and throughout my life I can pin point certain moments because of what book I was reading.  Books can offer us guidance or answers when we are feeling lost or broken, they comfort us, they pass the hours in a more engaging manner than just passively watching the television (although I do enjoy this too...) and what better feeling is there than seeing that it's 1.30 or 2am but you are so engrossed in a book that you don't want to put it down or go to sleep.  Just one more chapter...!

In this blog, I'm going to talk a little bit about 5 books that have made an impact on me or have further flamed my love for reading.

1. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger

"Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody."

When people ask me what my favourite book is, I always go straight to The Catcher in the Rye.  I first read this as part of my English Literature class during my A Levels and I was going through a rough time, I was 16/17 years old, feeling a bit lost and hopeless in the world, unhappy with things that I wasn't really sure why or even how to make them right, and having to make big decisions like university.  Then we read this book in class and to be honest, and, at fear of sounding cheesy, it spoke to me.  Holden was my age, feeling a lot of the same emotions that I was and the themes are so perfect for an adolescent  (and to some extent, grown up me!): loneliness, the pains of growing up, how fake the adult world is, Holden's protective 'barrier' from the rest of the world that only serves to cause him more pain.  Holden Caulfield has become a literary hero for the thousands of people that call The Catcher in the Rye their favourite book.  Although, Holden isn't my hero as such, the vividness of the writing and the fact that the themes hit home so much caused me to think about myself and even now, reading some of the passages from the book break my heart a little that we can hurt so much and not realise or choose to ignore it.

This book heavily influenced another one of my favourite reads and coming-of-age novels, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.


2. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

"I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am."

The Bell Jar was introduced to me by another keen reader who probably knows me better than I know myself.  It is a book that I will always remember as one that was there for me during an extremely difficult part of my life.  Plath's life was sad and so tragic and The Bell Jar almost autobiographical.  The Bell Jar is also a coming-of-age story but as Esther, the protagonist, gets older, she falls into depression and madness.  The book is very critical of psychiatric care and the 'treatment' they used during the 1950s is shocking.  Plath describes honestly and accurately the thoughts that run through a depressed mind, however she does it in a hauntingly beautiful and sometimes funny way.  The Bell Jar remained in mind for a long time after I read and I think that she has put down in words what you feel when you are so despairingly sad, the twisted logic,emptiness and disappointed and hurt by the world.  A beautiful, heart-wrenching emotional book.


3. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

"Because the world does not deserve them."

The Book Thief is one that I read recently and I have never been through such a rollercoaster of emotions with one book. Set in Nazi Germany and narrated by Death, it is not a read that you get through in an evening.  It's not necessarily happy.  It broke my heart, the first book to make me cry since Marley & Me.  Books written about the First or the Second World War always drive a knife into my heart, I, like so many people, find them so harrowing.  I was really drawn to the character or narrator of Death, he struggles to understand humans, how they can be so kind and so evil at the same time.  I ask myself if we don't all struggle to understand that aspect of being a human being at some point in our lives.  The Book Thief made me laugh, cry, disgust at the actions of some humans at all the same time.  It was one of those books that I could not put down and would stay up late at night, devouring all the words in the same way the Liesel learns to read.  A sparkling story, written with so much human emotion, and one that challenges you and also for me, the way I act and how I treat people.


4.  Stardust - Neil Gaimen

"There is something about riding a unicorn, for those people who still can, which is unlike any other experience: exhilarating, and intoxicating, and fine."

I enjoy reading fantasy but I usually use it as a go-to genre for relaxing, unwinding and switching off from the rest of the world.  I read Stardust because I saw the film adaptation, and it generally goes for me, if I loved the film, I am more than likely going to love the book.  Stardust is a relatively short novel but it's magic and love story whisks me away to another realm and I would say that it was the book that got me into reading other fantasy novels.  Stardust is an entertaining modern fairytale, and is a book that I think I will go back to time and time again.



5.  The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick

"There will always be a part of me that is dirty and sloppy, but I like that, just like all the other parts of myself." 

Another book that deals with mental illness as a theme.  For me, it's important to deal with mental illness because, as I have mentioned in previous blogs, it's something that has affected my life a great deal.  I love this book because it shows life with a mental illness from the viewpoint someone who is still suffering and someone who has technically 'recovered' but still has to deal with the shadow that depression casts over you, constantly threatening you.  The Silver Linings Playbook was full of passages that made me shout: "YES!  I FEEL THAT TOO!"  or put into words that disjointed thoughts that run through my head.  It also inspired me; that, like the quote above says, you can like the parts of you that are less than perfect, it's okay to be messy, sloppy, or a little bit of a fuck up. I'm not there yet but it gives me hope.  The film adaptation differs quite a lot, but boils down to pretty much the same message.  I'm all for books, films, whatever bring mental illnesses into the forefront of our mind.  It's not something to be ashamed of, we need to talk about it, we need to address it.  All in all, I love this book because it reflects real life, we don't all have happy endings, sometimes things are a lot less than perfect, but if we look for something, anything positive, it will help us survive.

Also, massive kudos to Matthew Quick, I tweeted to say how much I enjoyed the book and he replied, showing his thanks.  Kindness makes everyone smile :-)

Ajijic, Jalisco

Ajijic is a charming little town that sits upon the shores of Lake Chapala in Jalisco, Mexico. The town thrives on it's mixture of traditional Mexican culture and that of the laid back, trendy Americans who flock to the town during the winter months or have retired there. Although some usually frown upon the ever growing influence of the United States on Mexico, Ajijic maintains its charm with cobbled streets and sun kissed central plaza, and is far, far away from the commercialism of other costal tourist hotspots like Cancún or Puerto Vallarta.

It's possible to while away the hours perusing the art galleries, boutiques or simply wandering the streets, soaking up the sun. We came across Babaras Bazar whilst meandering through the different through streets, a Bazar of everything and anything, from antiques, to first edition Harry Potter books, to old kitchen appliances and material. It was a treasure trove of goodies each way you turned and cost nothing to look at all the different things you wanted, Magimixs or 19th century German chairs. Ajijic continues to please with little hideaways such as these, so pleasant for a first timer to the town! 

Breakfast at La Una. 

Another enjoyable way to explore a different place is, of course, through food!  However, since I am still ill, I have to be very careful about what and where I eat and I am always beyond thrilled when I can eat something in a restaurant.  Fortunately, Ajijic offered a wide range of eateries that are relatively gallstone-friendly.  Richie 88 is a charming cafe offering baguettes, salads, burgers and delicious Italian sodas, all of which can be enjoyed in a shaded patio.  We also had breakfast in La Una, a French-style cafe with free coffee refills with breakfast.  La Una offers continental-style breakfast (a generous portion of fresh fruit, with yoghurt, granola), eggs (of every variety!), waffles and French toast, again with a leafy green patio area.  What better way to enjoy breakfast?  It's worth paying a visit to Cafe Grano as well, extremely good Mexican coffee to revitalise you after a morning in the sun.  The ambience of the cafe was relaxed and informal, and you can buy a variety of  ethically grown coffee beans to take home if you
desire.  Ajijic also has a wide selection of restaurants of different international cuisine.  One restaurant that has had nothing but good reviews is Ajijic Tango, an Argentinian restaurant which was packed to the rafters when we were there, definitely one I want to try next time I visit Ajijic.  

Ajijic means 'the place where the water flows' in Nahuatl, an indigenous language spoken in Mexico and walking along the boardwalk of the lake allows you to take in its shear size.  A pleasant breezes cools the hot sun during the day and watching the sunset in the evening is magical.  Almost a meeting place, the boardwalk is a perfect spot to people watch, Mexican tourists chattering and soaking up the atmosphere or residents, both native and ex pat, walk their dogs or simply sit and listen to the waves lapping the shore.  Ajijic may be the most commercialised of the towns surrounding Chapala lake but don't let that put you off, it's a tranquil, yet thriving, gem that is a wonderful spot to enjoy a few days away.