Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope

Trollope's comic masterpiece of plotting and backstabbing opens as the Bishop of Barchester lies on his deathbed. Soon a pitched battle breaks out over who will take power, involving, among others, the zealous reformer Dr Proudie, his fiendish wife and the unctuous schemer Obadiah Slope.

I listened to Timothy West's narration on Audible, which is wonderful. This is one of the last of my self-assigned books to read for my 2022 book challenge.

No wonder this is one of Trollope's best loved books. It is a lot of fun and perfect light reading. It makes me think of Thackeray's Vanity Fair although this book is gentler than that but it has the same vibe for me. He carefully builds a complicated tangle of characters who come clashing against each other quite naturally as each works toward a single-minded goal.

I grew quote fond of almost every character as we followed their trials and travails in doing things seemingly as simple as throwing a summer party — which is not simple at all as it turns out. Even the few people you love to hate have their moments of humanity as comeuppances are delivered.

I can foresee reading the entire series. 

Well Said: Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean

One of my favorite quotes from an author whose prose captures me every time I glance through one of his books.

In everything that can be called art there is a quality of redemption. It may be pure tragedy, if it is high tragedy, and it may be pity and irony, and it may be the raucous laughter of the strong man. But down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. The detective in this kind of story must be such a man. He is the hero, he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor, by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world. ...

If there were enough like him, I think the world would be a very safe place to live in, and yet not too dull to be worth living in.

Raymond Chandler, The Simple Art of Murder

I'd say that this applies not only to the hard boiled detective but to how we live our own lives.

A Fishing Boat at Sea

Vincent Van Gogh, A Fishing Boat at Sea, 1888

Family Photo

Family Photo, Remo Savisaar

This picture of this little boar family is so sweet.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #72 — A Face in the Crowd

It's been 11 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

POWER! He loved it!
He took it raw in big gulpfuls...
he liked the taste, the way it mixed with the bourbon and the sin in his blood!

Lonesome Rhodes (Andy Griffith) is a homespun philosopher and country singer discovered in a drunk-tank by a radio show producer in Northeast Arkansas (Patricia Neal). His charm and disarming honesty make him an influential overnight sensation. As Rhodes moves up the ladder into bigger markets he is courted by people who want to use his influence with his adoring audience who mistake image for truth. But the people behind the scenes know what he's really like.

You've never seen Andy Griffith like this! He could really act. Who knew there was so more to his abilities than he displayed on The Andy Griffith Show or Matlock? Despite that, it's Patricia Neal whose quiet performance anchors the film. Keep an eye on her subtle reactions for a deeper reading of the story.

This is a spiritual cousin to the also little known Ace in the Hole directed by Billy Wilder. That film examines sensationalist journalism while this one dives into the intertwining of cult of personality, mass media (TV) and politics. This was the second and final collaboration between Elia Kazan and Bud Schulberg after On the Waterfront. In its own way it is equally as good a film and definitely should be better known.

Irises

Vincent van Gogh, Irises, 1889

Vase with Cornflowers and Poppies

Van Gogh, Vase with Cornflowers and Poppies
via Arts Everyday Living

Last year, I painted nothing but flowers to accustom myself to a a color other than grey, that’s to say pink, soft or bright green, light blue, violet, yellow, orange, glorious red.

Vincent van Gogh, letter to sister Willemien,
late October, 1887

Starry Night

Starry Night, Jean-François Millet

This goes along with today's quote. Click on the link to see the stars fill the screen more. I also like finding paintings of stars that aren't Van Gogh's. Nothing wrong with his paintings but his stars are seen everywhere.

When he calls the stars, they answer "Here we are!"

But the one who knows all things knows her [Wisdom];
he has probed her by his knowledge—

He who established the earth for all time,
and filled it with four-footed animals,

Who sends out the lightning, and it goes,
calls it, and trembling it obeys him;

Before whom the stars at their posts
shine and rejoice.

When he calls them, they answer, “Here we are!”
shining with joy for their Maker.

Such is our God;
no other is to be compared to him:

He has uncovered the whole way of understanding,
and has given her to Jacob, his servant,
to Israel, his beloved.

Thus she has appeared on earth,
is at home with mortals.

Baruch 3:32-38

I always love it when scripture personalizes nature's response to God. It adds a new dimension to His creation and to how it speaks to us in a way deeper than words (Psalm 19). This one's for Hannah - Happy Birthday, nature lover!

A fern in a glass of water

A Fern in a Glass of Water, Duane Keiser

 

Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity.

Literature and fiction are two entirely different things. Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity. A work of art can hardly be too short, for its climax is its merit. A story can never be too long, for its concusion is merely to be deplored, like the last half-penny or the last pipelight.

G.K. Chesterton, In Defence of Penny Dreadfuls

Courtyard of the Pazzi Chapel

Carl Georg Anton Graeb, Courtyard of the Pazzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence
via Gandalf's Gallery

People must have stories

But people must have conversation, they must have houses, and they must have stories. The simple need for some kind of ideal world in which fictitious persons play an unhampered part is infinitely deeper and older than the rules of good art, and much more important.

G.K. Chesterton, In Defence of Penny Dreadfuls

A Movie You Might Have Missed #71: The Old Man and the Gun

It's been 11 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

A True Story...Mostly.

Based on the true story of Forrest Tucker (Robert Redford), from his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 to an unprecedented string of heists that confounded authorities. 

Wrapped up in the pursuit are detective John Hunt (Casey Affleck) and a new acquaintance (Sissy Spacek) who might be falling in love with him.

A solid film which is more thoughtful and interesting than a lot of people have given it credit for.

I first heard of this as a fitting last work for Redford because of the good natured manner and the twinkle in his eye. This did not sound compelling. But listening to The Next Picture Show talk about it made me give it a try.

It is leisurely and character driven — which seems funny for a movie about a detective and bank robber playing cat and mouse, but there you go — and that's where the interest comes in. When you consider the other two main characters and their lives in contrast to Tucker, then you find the movie's substance.

Also it is only an hour-and-a-half. Like one of Tucker's robberies, you're in and out before you know what hit you ... and you're smiling at the end.

Evening Bells

Evening Bells, Carlos Schwabe

My OSV article — Exploring 6 great Christian authors (and how to start reading them)

I had the opportunity to write an article for Our Sunday Visitor which was a lot of fun to write. It includes a sidebar of Christian authors who wrote about things other than faith — like mysteries — but who managed to slip an overtly Christian book into the mix nonetheless.

Here's the introduction and then you can go read the whole thing for yourself online.

“Well, if it’s a symbol, to hell with it.” — Flannery O’Connor, speaking about the Eucharist

“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.” — G.K. Chesterton

“Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine, there’s always laughter and good red wine.” — Hilaire Belloc

Each of these quotes is famous because it pinpoints a truth that is simultaneously reassuring and startling. Yes, the Eucharist is more than a symbol. Yes, children do know about danger. They also need to know it can be overcome. Yes, the Catholic faith is good, delicious and life-affirming.

These quotes are just the tip of the iceberg. We’re going to dive past the quotes and into the work of six great Christian authors of the 20th century to see why they’re so often talked about and cited in the Catholic world. Most people have a superficial sense of these writers and their works. C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien are well-known for tales of Narnia and hobbits. Flannery O’Connor seems disturbing, G.K. Chesterton seems confusing, and Graham Greene seems depressing. Hilaire Belloc is practically forgotten — except for the quote above.

But what they all share is a love of Christ and a unique way to bring his message to the world. They wrote to help us readjust our vision to the correct angle for a deeper truth. If you’ve read these authors’ well-known works, we’ve got treasures off of beaten paths. If you have been intimidated by their reputations, we’ve got the perfect “gateway” work to help you see the world — and the Faith — through their eyes.

Horses, Chickens and Pigs in a Farmyard

Horses, Chickens and Pigs in a Farmyard, John Frederick Herring Jr.

 This seemed as if it went perfectly with today's quote!

Lagniappe: Why I like chickens and pigs ...

It may be helpful if I preface this by saying that the author had been saying his horses' tetchiness over windy days wears him out. Though I think this works on its own too...

This is why I like chickens and pigs. In a high wind, pigs lie close together at the back of their house, snoozing, straw pulled over their heads. The chickens sit on their perches knitting and doing their accounts.

Verlyn Klinkenborg, More Scenes From the Rural Life

The Natural Home of the Human Spirit and The Ambassadors

The Catholic Church is the natural home of the human spirit. The odd perspective of life which looks like a meaningless puzzle at first, seen from that one standpoint takes on complete order and meaning, like the skull in the picture of the Ambassadors.

Hilaire Belloc to G.K. Chesterton
upon hearing of his conversion to Catholicism

Just to make it easy I'm including the painting that Belloc was referring to. You can see the odd shape in the bottom of the picture which, viewed at just the right angle, is seen to be a skull.

The Ambassadors, Hans Holbein the Younger

Wikipedia tells us:

The distorted skull which is placed in the bottom centre of the composition, rendered in anamorphic perspective, is meant to be a visual puzzle as the viewer must approach the painting from high on the right side, or low on the left side, to see the form as an accurate rendering of a human skull.

Hence, Belloc's comparison. I must say, for my own part, Belloc hits the nail on the head. The world didn't make true sense to me until I looked at it through the lens of Church teachings. 

Here's the skull, adjusted so we can see it as if we were the ones coming down the staircase.

The anamorphic skull, viewed  at an oblique angle

Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World by Simon Callow

Simply superb. Simon Callow reads his own work and I highly recommend the audiobook for those who are so inclined.

This is a brief but comprehensive biography of Dickens told by an affectionate fan who is nonetheless clear eyed about Dickens' positive and negative qualities. Callow is an actor by trade and his appreciation for Dickens is in large part for someone who was always "performing" and thrived most when he had a relationship with his audience.

I myself didn't realize what a talented actor Dickens was or how many theatrical performances he was a part of, especially since in Victorian times amateur plays were a common pastime. When you've got friends the likes of Thackeray and Wilkie Collins, you know the screenplay will be terrific, there will be lots of fun getting the show together, and you'll pull in quite a crowd. No wonder Dickens loved driving those performances!

As I said, this is a comprehensive biography and I highly recommend it. I was left with a greater appreciation for Dickens' genius and a real sympathy for those who lived with that genius running their lives. It must have been glorious but tiring to be one of Dickens's friends or family!