New date?

hey,
wasn't sure if I missed a make up date but thought I would check as well as attempting this post, trying to embrace blogging...
C

"Road" not taken

If you haven't read our runner-up, "Revolutionary Road," I encourage you to do so. Though the novel was completed about a half century ago, it reads as if it were written today. The language is crisp, spare, but poignant. Even the story itself about how a young couple's volatile ambitions and passions upset their lives could seems contemporary, especially in the aftermath of our consumption orgy. "Revolutionary Road" reminded me of Cheever's "The Swimmer": not so much a snapshot of suburban Americana in the '50, but more of a fable about human nature.

Of course, I didn't see the movie starring Kate and Leo, so my images of the characters weren't already formed. Cathy found it impossible to read the book without envisioning the "Titantic" stars. But as Dulcy wrote earlier: Forget the movie. And read the book.

Rice and beans

Dulcy writes:

Hey Everyone,

Come over at 7:00 on Sunday, May 17 to discuss Oscar Wao. I'll make
beans, rice, and chicken. If you want to bring a small
Caribbean-themed dish or dessert to augment, that'd be great (let me
know what it will be so I can be sure there are no gaps). And if you
just want to bring a bottle of wine, that'll come in handy, too.

Address is:
1209 8th Ave. 3L
Brooklyn

Take the F train to 7th Avenue station. If you're at the front of the
train, you'll come out onto 8th Avenue and 9th Street. Walk up to 12th
Street on 8th Ave. We're on 8th between 12th and 13th.

Home phone is 718-852-9635
Cell is 917-887-6870

See you then!

Obama reading Netherland

Interesting tidbit brought to my attention via the Ditmas Park Blog:

The Times Magazine reports President Obama "he had become sick enough of briefing books to begin reading a novel in the evening" -- Joseph O'Neill's Netherland, which is set in part at a house on Rugby Road just off Cortelyou.

Maybe "Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" is next....

Food for thought

If you haven't finished reading, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," hurry up! Our next book club meeting is on May 17th at 7 p.m. at Dulcy's Park Slope apartment.

The main characters are Dominican, so Dulcy is thinking that we could have Caribbean fare for dinner. She is open for suggestions, so let us know what you'd like to bring. If you can't bring a a small dish or appetizer, you can always a bottle of wine.

To find out more about Dominican food, read Junot Diaz's article on Dominican food in New York City for Gourmet. The national dish is la bandera -- "the flag" -- made with rice, brown beans and some kind of chicken or steak.