Book Club: Snow Angels

Our Book Club pick for April was Snow Angels by Stewart O'Nan. Perhaps not a seasonally appropriate choice, but still one that I was very happy with. Out of all the books we've (or I've) read for Book Club, this one is the easiest to recommend, but also the most depressing. Sure, The Moviegoer was depressing, but in a way that's hard to verbalize. For me, while I enjoyed The Moviegoer, the language got in the way of a visceral connection. With Snow Angels, the language (I almost typed "prose," but I'm not in an English program anymore. I don't have to use that word anymore! Barf) was unobtrusive and simple, bringing the devastation of the story to the forefront.
Snow Angels deals with two plots, one focusing on a fourteen-year-old boy, Arthur, and the other on his former babysitter, Annie, and her husband, Glenn. One of these stories is far more tragic than the other, and it's a real credit to O'Nan as an author that he's able to make us care just as deeply about the more trivial story.
What made this novel stand out so much for me was O'Nan's attention to the little high-school details; the indignities of riding the bus, the marching band director trying in vain to extract some kind of greatness out of a bunch of bumbling kids, and most importantly, the real selfishness of 14 year old kids. I'm pretty sure Little Alex never went through a phase like that, but most kids, myself included, did. In one scene, Arthur's parents are arguing in the next room as he prepares for a date, and he thinks, "I wasn't going to let anything ruin my happiness." Well, yeah. That's being 14.
So in a way, sure, this is a book about "growing up," but it's a lot more than that, too. The last paragraph is one of the most quietly crushing passages I've ever read. Highly recommended, you guys! You'll go O'Nanners for O'Nan (sorry).

The Saddest Thing

Obviously, terrible things happen to people every day. In the grand scheme of life, a radio station shutting down is not that big of a deal. But the fact that WOXY is no longer broadcasting still makes me sad. I spent so much time in college listening to this station, and I've not found another station so reliable. Of course, I think a large part of my love was because they were stationed in Ohio for so long, but even when they moved to Austin I understood (because, really, who wouldn't, given the chance?). Hopefully they'll work it out.

When Alex Watched When The Levees Broke

So, I'm watching When The Levees Broke for a class. I need to write a paper about a ten minute segment of the film. I'm a little surprised that I like it. Not in a weird way. Not like my facebook interests are, "9/11, The Holocaust, Hurricane Katrina". I don't like watching it, but now that I've started it, I feel kind of compelled to finish it. All four hours of it. Remember? It's a Requiem in Four Acts? For the most part it's really well done. There are some issues with it, one being that it's four hours long. Four hours of anything can become tedious. Four hours of this would probably get old. Anyway, you should probably watch it and learn about some horrible stuff. Stuff that these people apparently did not learn. Some people are fucking dicks. Did they really watch all four hours of this?

John Hughes

Pretty in Pink was my favorite movie in high school. It still is, kind of, I just don't watch it every week like I used to. Molly Ringwald was divine, and I absolutely wanted to be her character Andie. Except that, like most people, I've always wished they stuck with the original ending where Andie ended up with Duckie. Poor, poor, Duckie. I mean, Blane? That's a major appliance, not a name!
I'm really sad that John Hughes died. He seemed like a nice person and his movies always made me (and probably a lot of other nerdy high school kids) feel a lot better. Here's one of my favorite scenes from Pretty in Pink.

Awww

This is sad. I'm a big Roger Ebert fan. He looks so happy though! Like, he does not look like the same person at all. The old Roger Ebert always looked kind of like, "Really? You liked that movie?" This Roger Ebert looks a lot more like, "I'm glad to be alive!" Also, Leonard Maltin!

A Winfrey Plea

Somebody please, for the love of Christ, give Bob Odenkirk some money to make a movie or a TV show that he wants to make.  I just listened to this interview with him and it's so sad.  He talked about how he just hasn't made a film that he feels good about, and how no one will give him money.  He said that he has taken it upon himself to help other people get their projects made (Tim and Eric), and he wishes someone would do that for him.  Imagine how great a movie written by Bob Odenkirk would be.  It would be very great.  He was so excited about Derek and Simon on Superdeluxe, and now that's not even something that's real anymore.  It's just really sad that there's this amazing and hilarious guy who is really nice and has been working (successfully) in the comedy business for 20+ years, and he's struggling to get his passion projects made.  This world is Messed. Up.

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What's up with all of these people?  I wanted to post this video, but I guess I won't be able to.