Monday, January 14, 2008

Chevy Chase and feeling a bit better

So yesterday's post was pretty dire. Things weren't going well in the world of Deb. I think sometimes I need to get to that point and lose it completely before things get any better. There is a lot to be excited about in my life. There is also heaps to be sad about, but that's true of anyone. The point is that I can't change anything that has been by dwelling on it or using it as proof that crap happens to nice people (well I think I'm nice!) If anything, by dwelling on the hard time we've had in the past year or so, it gives that more power. The only way to get through this is to take a positive step now and again. Stop saying "it's not fair" and accept it. Life goes on and someday this will all be a bad memory. A story I can tell someone when they are in deep emotional trouble, of how it all got better, eventually.

I don't think I am going to have any more kids though. Alex will have to be an only child! Luckily he has lots of cousins and kiddies his age in the church.

I just finished reading Chevy Chase's authorised biography....it was kind of interesting, but the lady so had the hots for him, all she did was blabber on and on about how handsome and charismatic he was bla bla bla. It's funny cause I grew up with Chevy Chase as this goofy old dude who was in movies. I looked at some of the photos in the biography, and she's right - he was quite good looking. Quit with the shameless bum kissing though, lady! And it was all very factual and not..hmm.....didn't flow that well. It was one of those books that you finish reading cause you keep thinking it's going to get better. But it didnt'! I quite enjoyed the anecdote of him standing up at an awards dinner and going off about how George W Bush was a moron who's made very bad decisions. My respect for C.C. went up after that. I am sure he is glad, a 30 something mum in Australia respects him more, phew!

While I'm talking about books, I have to say that one of my favourite authors' last book was really really disappointing. The first time I ever read a Marian Keyes book, I was sold. I just re-read "Lucy Sullivan is getting married" and I remember why I loved it so much. Also loved "Watermelon", "Rachel's Holiday" and the other one about Angels. But gah......"Is there anybody out there".....very very disappointing. It attempts to tell the story of the remaining Walsh sisters, Helen and Anna......but it's really unsatisfying and hollow. Everyone is a caricature.....especially her sister Rachel, some sort of AA nut, which is disappointing. There are normal people in AA, or so I'm led to believe. Her sister Claire, whose story was told in Watermelon, comes across as some tragic forty something who won't accept her real age....not the Claire we met in Watermelon.

Anna you kind of feel sorry for, but don't get much of an idea about what she really thinks, she seems to have her introspection removed. And don't get me started on Helen. She comes across as harsh, two dimensional and kind of ....sad..... really. I mean what 29 year old woman with any self respect continues to live with her parents and avoid any sort of responsibility? Something very wrong there. You'd think that she'd grow up somewhat during the course of all those books. The sisters, and the mother and father, seem to not only respect her choices, but encourage her. I think if she'd just stuck to telling Anna's story, that would have been fine...but she has included longer and longer emails from Helen and her mum, which strikes me as a bit of a cop-out. Just stick an unfeasible story from Helen in an email and you don't need to fill those four pages with character development. Helen is a character who I care very little about, and frankly felt annoyed everytime an email from her took up a page or two. I felt like saying "enough with the Helen, give her another book!".

Ahh...now I feel horribly guilty cause I really do love Marian. I just think she got it way wrong here. Anyone else?

No comments: