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Archive for the ‘Authors’ Category

Jonathan Franzen–“Meet Me in St. Louis” (New Yorker, December 24, 2001)

Posted in Books about writers, Consumerism, David Foster Wallace, David Lipsky, Essays, Jonathan Franzen, New Yorker, Oprah, Sonic Youth, The Fall, The Replacements on October 6, 2010| 3 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: PAVEMENT-Slanted and Enchanted (1992).

I decided to go back and give a good listen to Pavement since I’ve always liked them but never loved them And, yes, they were in Central Park the other night).  So I started at the beginning.

I listened to the disc about a half-dozen time at work and I really started enjoying it a lot more by the end. It’s a difficult album, one that doesn’t actively embrace its listeners.  It’ a noisy, sloppy album (and that’s one reason why I like it), but there are hints of melody within.

Because I’m not in the moment, I can’t decide just how revolutionary this album was.  Nearly twenty years later it sounds like any number of noisy distortion fueled, lo-fi recordings of the period.  You can hear all kinds of influences on the band, Sonic Youth, The Fall, even The Replacements.  So, it’s not like they created something out of the blue.

Perhaps they were the first band to consolidate these influences into this particular stew.  No songs really stand out for me, as this seems more of an album of sounds that a collection of songs.  I rather enjoyed some of the oddball instrumentals and the use of keyboards, (which seem too polished for their sound: out of tune guitars and scratchy vocals).

It’s a fun record, and it certainly sets a tone and an agenda for the band.  I’m just not blown away by it.

[READ: September, 22, 2010] “Meet Me in St. Louis”

As I mentioned in the Franzen article the other day, I missed the whole brouhaha with Oprah and Franzen.  This article, which touches on that somewhat, gives Franzen’s perspective on what happened.  But primarily it shows (his take on) the videorecording that happened for his big Oprah TV show.

Mostly it involves Franzen driving around St. Louis.  Franzen grew up in St. Louis but spent most of his adult life in New York City–which is where he considers his home.  However on the book tour for The Corrections, he stopped in St. Louis.

The producers of Oprah wanted to film his great homecoming, even though he never felt it was one.  About two years before this event he and his brothers sold their family house after his widowed mother died.  That was the last time he had been to the house, and he had planned to never return. (more…)

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Jessica Shattuck–“Bodies” (New Yorker, September 30, 2002)

Posted in Cancer as plot device, Jessica Shattuck, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Pavement, The Colbert Report on October 5, 2010| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PAVEMENT-“Gold Soundz” live on the Colbert Report (2010).

Philistine alert: I never loved Pavement.

Yeah, let that sink in.  It’s shocking, I know.  I have liked a great many of their songs, and I could definitely see myself enjoying the entirety of their new greatest hits record.  But even though I have their first three discs, and I adore them in theory, in practice I just don’t love all of their output.

When they broke up in 2000 or so I wasn’t really that bummed.  I felt they’d done a number of great (and by now) classic alt rock songs, but I didn’t really feel like music had ended or anything.

Having said that, the fact that they’ve reunited makes me happy.  It’s nice to see yet another “classic” alt rock band banging out some tunes together.  And, in this case, it means that I get to hear them play a great classic track live on The Colbert Report.

This song is a kind of The Platonic Form of Pavement songs.  It features everything: noisy guitars, vocals that go from mid-range to high pitched with almost no warning, inscrutable lyrics and, in spite of itself, a catchy liquid center. I’ve never seen them live (and I missed a chance in Central Park recently, sorry Al) but this clip sure makes me think they’d be a great show to see.

And who knows, maybe I’ll have to actually get Terror Twilight.

Colbert’s interview with Stephen Malkmus is hilarious, too.

[READ: September 20, 2010] “Bodies”

As with a previous time that I scoured a New Yorker back issue, I found a short story that came directly after the article I wanted.  The name Jessica Shattuck sounded familiar (and her debut novel The Hazards of Good Breeding also rang a bell), but apparently I’d never read her before.

This story opens with a woman named Anna who we learn has recently been diagnosed with Stage III Hodgkins lymphoma.   She is currently living in her bosses’ house with her boss’ husband and five-year old son.  The arrangement is not ideal, but Anna had nowhere else to turn.  And, since she is not working, while she is recovering she is acting as the boy’s nanny (the boss is away a lot and the husband spends much of his time working out).

She is beginning to feel better, stronger, and is even feeling confident enough to leave the house for a little while.  And so, to me, the last thing I expected was for this story to grow sexual.  And yet it does. (more…)

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James Joyce–Ulysses (1922) [abridged audiobook 2000–Jim Norton & Marcella Riordan]

Posted in Death, Drinking, Dublin, Ireland, Irish Writer, James Joyce, Jim Norton, Language, Marcella Riordan, Masturbation, Prostitution, Sex on October 4, 2010| Leave a Comment »

[LISTENED TO: September 27, 2010] Ulysses [abridged]

Because I am a glutton for punishment, I decided to listen to the abridged version of Ulysses as well (what’s 4 more hours of my life?).  (This edition is by Naxos, which Amazon is selling as a download).  I decided that the main reason was that since I have the text so fresh in my mind, it would be interesting to see what they abridged.  I mentioned in a recent post that the abridged version is 4 discs (just under 5 hours).  That is a serious abridgment, from 40 to 5 hours (actually the Naxos unabridged version is only 22 discs…how come theirs is so much shorter?  It seems that Jim Norton reads much faster).  And I am curious to see what they consider the “essential” text of the book.  Plus, realistically, I would never really want to do it at a later date.

So this version is read by two different people: Jim Norton (who read Dubliners, Portrait, and an abridged Finnegans Wake too) and Marcella Riordan.  There are a number of places where the two interact (she is Molly in the early scene in bed and she is some of the whores in the nightwon scene…it adds some real dramatic resonance to the story). (more…)

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Jonatahan Franzen–”Mr. Difficult” (New Yorker, September 30, 2002)

Posted in Big Books, Books about writers, Essays, Huh?, Jonathan Franzen, New Yorker, Public Enemy, R.E.M., The Cure, William Gaddis on October 2, 2010| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: R.E.M.- Fables of the Reconstruction of the Fables of the  (1985).

I’m willing to go on record saying that I like the title of this disc to be elliptical, even if the band has a definitive answer for what it should be called.

So, I’ve learned that I’m a bit of a fair-weather R.E.M. fan.  I’ve always felt that they were the bedrock of any alt music collection.  But recently (with the re-release of this album, which I did not buy) I decided to go back and listen to the full albums (I listen to Eponymous a lot, but I wanted to hear some deeper cuts, as they say).

This album has a lot of quintessential R.E.M.-sounding songs, and yet it’s also not a very poppy album, so it doesn’t feature too much of that jangly guitar–the other trademarked R.E.M. sound.  Rather, we get a lot of picked guitar bits, some great bass (a very underappreciated aspect of the band) and a lot of one of my favorite things: Peter Buck’s backing vocals.

There are a  few “hits” on this disc, songs that I love very much, but this disc also features a bunch of songs that don’t really excite me.  In fact, the back end of the disc is kind of ho hum. “Green Grow the Rushes” is a nice enough song.  “Kohoutek” just never really grabs me.  “Auctioneer (Another Engine)” is a pretty interesting experiment: the minor chord vocals section in the middle are rather creepy (and the guitar sounds a bit like an early-80s Cure song).  It’s my favorite track in the back of the disc.  The last two songs are gentle folk songs that are, again, nice, but not mind blowing.

Of course the front half of the disc is full of weird gems. “Feeling Gravity’s Pull” is a bizarre, off kilter delight.  And that weird string section at the end is only part of the oddity of it. “Maps and Legends” is a fascinating song that just seems chock full of noises (like an acoustic Public Enemy track) that keeps you guessing what will happen next.

“Driver 8” begins my favorite section of the disc.  “8” is one of the major highlights of this disc.  It’s dark and mysterious without being swamped under by murk.  And while I have no idea what it’s about it never stops me from singing along.  “Life and How t o Live It” features some great bass work (and an interesting guitar riff).  “Old Man Kensey” starts out really promising with a cool bass and peculiar guitar line, but it kind of drifts a little after that.  But the final track of this section, “Can’t Get There From Here” is an ebullient song, that feels really out of place here.  It’s one of my all time favorite R.E.M. tracks, and it adds some much needed adrenaline here.

I admit that I am more of a fan of R.E.M.’s louder songs (Document is a highlight).  So this disc is a little too tame for me.  I’m lead to believe that the new edition of the disc features some live tracks that really bring these songs to life, but I think I may just stick with Eponymous.

[READ: September 19, 2010] “Mr. Difficult”

I am planning on reading The Corrections soon (and one of these days Freedom, too).  Somehow I missed all of the controversy surrounding Franzen (I am blissfully ignorant of Oprah) when it was all over the place, but I recently learned that he and David Foster Wallace were friends and respected each other, so I thought I’d give him a read.  But before I get to the big book I decided to read some of his nonfiction (I had read about this Franzen article in which he talks about William Gaddis and wanted to read this right away).

So this article is a lengthy discussion about William Gaddis.  It is inspired by a letter writer (whom he calls “Mrs. M—-“) who accused Franzen of being an elitist–for using big words like “diurnality” and “antipodes”–and for not writing for the “average person who just enjoys a good read.”  So Franzen talks about two types of writers.  First is the Status Writer (like Flaubert) where the best novels “are great works of art…and if the average reader rejects the work it’s because the average reader is a philistine.”  And then there is the Contract Writer where a novel represents a compact between the reader and the writer “with the writer providing words out of which the reader creates a pleasurable experience.”

Franzen never says what camp he himself falls into, but rather, he explains that when he was in school, he wanted to be a Status Writer, he wanted to love difficult books.  However, when his screenplay was described as, basically, a knock off, he was despondent.  So, he decided to sit down and read Gaddis’ The Recognitions, a 900 page Difficult Book.

And he loved it.  He was engrossed and couldn’t stop.   (more…)

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Rick Riordan–The Maze of Bones [The 39 Clues, Book One] (2008)

Posted in Adventure, Barenaked Ladies, Bob & Doug McKenzie, Bob and Doug McKenzie, Children's Books, Fantasy, Geddy Lee, Mystery, Rick Riordan, Talking Heads, The Specials, Travel on October 1, 2010| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: BARENAKED LADIES-Buck Naked (1989).

Although The Yellow Tape was the major catapult, their previous cassette (known as Buck Naked) was their first demo tape.  Wikipedia explains that it came in many versions with several covers.

The initial release had 5 songs.  The final release bumped it up to 15.

I wasn’t even aware of this cassette until I was browsing around for The Yellow Tape.  And, thanks YouTube for supplying all of the tracks.

The recording is just Steven Page and Ed Robertson and a couple of acoustic guitars. And it’s totally a home recording.  But for all of that, it’s delightful to see how fully released some of their songs were.  It includes these songs which appeared on later releases” “King of Bedside Manor,” “Great Provider” “Be My Yoko Ono” and “If I Had $1,000,000.”

The rest of the tape is a mix of a few silly things and a lot of not at all silly songs.

“Road Runner” is a cover. But not THAT cover.  Rather, it’s a cover of the Saturday morning Road Runner cartoon theme song: “Road Runner, the coyotes after you….” They also cover “Psycho Killer” which is pretty hard to mess up (their version is a good campfire version, although it devolves into nonsense).  “Rudi, a Message to You” one of the great, mellow ska songs also get something of  an acoustic cover here.  Although it’s more lackluster than the original (no horns).  Finally “Wishing Well” is a cover of the Terence Trent D’arby song and is full of amusing cheap casio sounds.

“Really Don’t Know” also has a delightful excerpt from the Geddy Lee/Bob and Doug MacKenzie song “Take Off”

The other songs are decent folkie songs.  Primarily they seem to be about relationships (but it’s not always easy to tell).  Although “Careless” is a fun pop-culture mocking song (that would probably still work well live).

Sadly, the last track, the 5 second “How’s the Level,” does not seem to have made it to YouTube.  It’s obviously a goof of some sort, but I would have liked to have heard it.

I can’t imagine how many times this cassette was played before it was sent to YouTube, some of the songs sound very faded which is certainly a problem of the tape, not the original recording, but even those song (where the lyrics are hard to decipher) still sound good (and their harmonies were solid back then too).

[READ: September 13, 2010] The Maze of Bones

For two years now, this series has been red hot.  All of the kids want to read these books (probably second only to the Percy Jackson series).  What fascinated me about this series is that it is written by several different authors (which is a nightmare for libraries who shelve their books bu authors). There are ten books in all.   The authors are: Rick Riordan [Book 1], Gordon Korman [Books 2 and 8], Peter Lerangis [Books 3 and 7], Jude Watson [Books 4 and 6], Patrick Carman [Books 5], Linda Sue Park [Book 9] and, and Margaret Peterson Haddix [Books 10].

I’ve not read any of Riordan’s other books, so I don’t know how this compares.  I felt the story opened a little slowly (there’s quite a lot of information to impart) but once it took off I couldn’t put the book down.

Amy and Dan are orphans living with their mean and controlling aunt.  They learn that their grandmother (whom Amy loved and Dan thought was weird but had cool stuff) has just died.  When they go to the funeral, their grandmother Grace has set up a fascinating contest for the surviving families.  They can either take their allotment ($1 million) or they can give it back in exchange for the first of 39 clues.  Solving the clues will give them the secrets they need to become, literally, the most powerful people in the world (although at the stage we don’t even really know what that means). (more…)

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Iain Banks–The Wasp Factory (1984)

Posted in Bret Easton Ellis, Death, Drinking, Iain Banks, Rapeman, Threats, Unlikable main character, Violence, Yuck! on September 30, 2010| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: RAPEMAN-Two Nuns an a Pack Mule (1989).

One of Steve Albini’s many groups, Rapeman made one album and an EP (both are included on the CD).  Probably the most striking thing about this CD is Albini’s guitar which is so sharp it practically hurts (and when your guitar is more notable than the lyrics from a band named Rapeman, you know that sound is pretty striking).  [You can hear hints of this sound on Nirvana’s In Utero (which Albini produced), particularly the screamy parts of “Scentless Apprentice”.  The template is the same, although Nirvana’s drums are much much bigger. And, of course, Albini leaves the sonic edge really sharp for himself].

Although the guitar is what really stands out on this disc, the album would be far less interesting if the rhythm section wasn’t so strong.  The bass is mixed really well, running lines that are never in concert with the guitar lines but which blend nicely and provide some needed low end.  And the drums are sharp and punctuate the noise perfectly.

The opening of “Monobrow” is squeaks and feedback (I wonder if you could even write the music for it).  When the rhythm kick in, it gives a herky jerky momentum.  There’s an interesting twist on a song like “Trouser Minnow” which is written from a woman’s perspective (and yet she’s not an exemplary woman either) so you can read it a couple of ways.  Of course, the opener, “Steak and Black Onions” is unequivocal: “Why don’t you snuff it man, you plant-eating pussy.”

But there’s definitely a sense of humor to all of this.  In “Up beat” Albini gets angry and suggests that he’d beat a guy up.  It ends, “I suppose I’m not too threatening presently.  But wait till I start Nautilus.”  There’s also something funny (I think) about them covering ZZ Top’s “Just Got Paid.”  Funny or not, this version rocks like no one’s business, and it shows that Albini can actually play the guitar, not just make noise.

The Budd EP was recorded live.  I love the description of the review here.  It sounds less screechy (and more bass heavy), but no less menacing.

[READ: September, 16, 2010] The Wasp Factory

I bought this book many many years ago (I found a card in the pages from when I used to live in Brighton, MA (circa 1992) as a “bookmark.”  But I think that the bookmark must have been not a real placeholder as nothing in the book was familiar, I just knew that it was supposed to be a dark, disturbing book.

And so it is.

The story concerns Frank, a 16-year-old who lives on an island outside of Scotland (my knowledge of Scottish geography is awful, so I don’t know exactly what he meant by an island, but suffice it to say that Frank’s family is isolated where they live).  Frank is a disturbed individual.  As the story opens, we learn that death and carnage follow Frank everywhere.  In fact, Frank admits responsibility for three of these deaths. (more…)

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Daniel Alarcón–“Second Lives” (New Yorker, August 16 & 23, 2010)

Posted in 20 Under 40, Barenaked Ladies, Daniel Alarcón, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Public Enemy, Travel on September 29, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BARENAKED LADIES-The Yellow Tape (1991).

The Yellow Tape is legendary in terms of demos.  It was an indie cassette-only release and it went platinum in Canada.

Before the internet, it was really hard to come across this cassette (again, even though it went platinum in Canada, I don’t know that it ever even made it south of the border).  Of course, now with the web, you can hear all 5 tracks on the cassette (thanks YouTube).

Four of the 5 songs appeared on their first album anyhow, and they don’t sound dramatically different from the “Yellow” versions (“Brian Wilson” still has that awesome bass from Jim Creeggan for instance). It basically sounds like an early live recording.  (The harmonies are spot on, the only difference is Steven Page’s vamping, which is a bit more than on the release).  Although I think “Blame It on Me” sounds a little less exciting than the Gordon version.

And of course, the final track is their original cover of “Fight the Power.”

It’s interesting that the band chose these 5 songs, two of which talk about famous people and are sort of funny. (And then a cover of a Public Enemy song!)  It really sets them up as a goofy band (which they are, although they are much more than that), but it kind of put them in a novelty niche right off the bat.   A niche which they never really outgrew, even if their later discs were much more serious.

[READ: August 17, 2010] “Second Lives”

Daniel Alarcón is another New Yorker 20 Under 40.

I love the way this story begins.  It informs us that the narrator’s parents had the foresight to have their first child in the United States.  His parents were in Baltimore on a visa.  His father enrolled in school and his mother worked in the health care profession.  They were comfortable enough in their lives to have their son Francisco there.  But then a coup broke out back home, their visas are not renewed and they were forced to return home.  Their second son, the narrator, with whom his mother was pregnant at the time wound up being born not in America.

And so, when your brother has American citizenship and can freely roam the American countryside, what exactly are you supposed to think when you are denied this freedom? (more…)

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Wells Tower–”Vogalooooonga” (Outside, April 2010)

Posted in Adventure, Canoeing, David Sedaris, Drinking, Essays, Funny (ha ha), Odds, Outside, Phish, Travel, Wells Tower on September 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: ODDS-Neopolitan (1991).

This was the first Odds album.  For such a quirky name, Odds played some pretty standard music. I’m not even sure if the first song qualifies as “alternative” as it sounds not unlike an early Phish song, only less quirky (and much shorter).

The disc offers a pretty nice range of poppy tracks, from acoustic based songs like “Are You Listening?” to louder guitar rockers liked “Evolution Time” (probably the most interesting track here).

Another notable song is “Wendy Under the Stars” a surprisingly explicit song about the day Elvis died.  The other track that stands out is “Love is the Subject” which has a harder more abrupt sound that is actually a bit premature for that style and sounds quite funky for this album.

Lyrically, the cleverest song (and one that seems to foreshadow their future songs is “Domesticated Blind” “Making babies, buying houses.  A French guy’s name is on our trousers.  We used to be such rabble rousers.  Before the world revolved around us; I’ve been domesticated blind”

I like this album, but I admit that it’s not the kind of disc that makes people go, “Ooh, who is this?  I want to get it!”

[READ: September 12, 2010] “Vogalooooonga”

This is the last of the Outside pieces that Tower wrote (not chronologically, just for my reading schedule).  And I’m really pleased that I saved it for last.

It does what Tower does best: tell a story while relating an event.  In fact, if he just changed a few details, this would make a great short story.

Wells and his brother have apparently been on many “assignments” together, and it transpires that when they travel together they often end up at each others throats.  So the piece opens with them agreeing to never do another story together again.  Then they get a call to go to Venice together to ride in the Vogalonga, “a 19-mile noncompetitive rowing regatta, held in late May, that promises a breathtaking tour of the old republic’s lagoon and outer islands” and that is traversed only in vehicles that can be paddled.  Wells’ brother says that they can’t pass up a trip to Venice, so he agrees to go along.

Based on the other stories that Wells has written, he is an athletic guy (and his brother is evidently bigger and stronger than he is).  Nevertheless, a 19 mile canoe trip in the canals of Venice can only lead to trouble.

And so this piece reads a bit like a David Sedaris story of familial in-fighting (although it’s a lot more manly than any of Sedaris’ pieces).  They fight from the get go (including his brother’s suggestion that they assemble their 17-foot canoe in their 10-foot hotel room.  And aggressive hilarity ensues. (more…)

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James Joyce–Ulysses 17-18 [audiobook 2013–Donal Donnelly and Miriam Healy-Louie]

Posted in Dublin, Ireland, Irish Writer, James Joyce, Language, Marriage Trouble, Prostitution, Sex, Toilets, Word usage on September 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

[LISTENED TO: Week of September 20, 2010] Ulysses 17-18

The final two Episodes of the Ulysses audio book were a mix of nothing new and massive revelations.

Episode 17, the catechism, doesn’t reveal all that much in the reading.  It’s a fairly straightforward Episode, so there’s not very much in the actual reading that would impact it.  One or two things do become somewhat clearer with the audible emphases but questions like this one are still a beast to unpack:

What counterproposals were alternately advanced, accepted, modified, declined, restated in other terms, reaccepted, ratified, reconfirmed?

Although in Episode 18, Molly says:

he says hes an author and going to be a university professor of Italian and Im to take lessons what is he driving at now

So I guess the Italian lessons plan is settled?  Which gives us some account of Stephen’s future.

But back in 17, this time through I became more aware of the

interment of Mrs Mary Dedalus, born Goulding, 26 June 1903.

So Stephen has been “in mourning” for almost a year.  Is that standard for Ireland at the time?  And how interesting it is that

Rudolph Bloom (Rudolf Virag) died on the evening of the 27 June 1886.

Their parents died on almost the exact same date (different years, obviously).  This is another interesting similarity that is not directly mentioned in the Q&A. (more…)

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Nell Freudenberger–“An Arranged Marriage” (New Yorker, September 6, 2010)

Posted in 20 Under 40, Barenaked Ladies, Marriage (Happy), Nell Freudenberger, New Yorker, Public Enemy, Religion, Short Story, Travel, Virginity (Loss of) on September 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BARENAKED LADIES-“Fight the Power” (1993).

Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” is one of the greatest anthems of the late 80s and 90s.  It’s got everything: noise, strength, rebellion great lyrics and Chuck D.  So, what can five white Canadians do with it?

Well, they keep the intensity of the song very strong–even in an acoustic setting–by overloading their version with a whole mess of music.  Between the noisy piano, the occasional sound effects and the fantastic noisy drumming, they manage to really capture what a great “song” this is (as opposed to being a powerful anthem and protest).  Divorced from the awesome cacophony of the original, you realize that it’s really catchy, too.

BNL are usually goofy, and they do put a bit of nonsense in the song (during the Elvis was a hero to most section).  And they clean up one of the words, with a great twist (changing “motherfuck” to David Duke” in “David Duke him and John Wayne).

BNL has been performing this song for years.  Their first version appeared on The Yellow Tape [1991] (a much simpler version with drums, bass and two vocals).  But this version (which as far as I can tell only appears on the Coneheads soundtrack, ugh) is really solid and (aside from the fact that nobody’s voice could ever compare to Chuck D’s) sounds like an good Unplugged version of the track.

[READ: September 14, 2010] “An Arranged Marriage”

Freudenberger is one of the New Yorker‘s 20 Under 40.  I have to say I was (unfairly) surprised that a story written by a woman named Freudenberger was about a woman named Amina who lived in Bangladesh.

Nevertheless, the story was a good one and was an interesting twist on the concept of the titular arranged marriage.  Amina meets George online at AsianEuro.com (after having met several men who were not what they said they were).  Amina (and her parents) had always planned for her to move to America.  Somehow.   She had considered applying for a college degree, but found that even that was prohibitively expensive.  So why not, as the Voice of America radio suggested, find a mate? (more…)

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