Life, Fannishness, and Thespic Infatuation

Last night, I finished reading the Shirley Jackson novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle. What a bizarre little book. Told in the first person, We Have Always Lived in the Castle follows the strange, isolated daily lives of Mary Katherine (Merricat) Blackwood, her reclusive sister Constance, old Uncle Julian, and Mary Katherine's cat, Jonas. Living in their large family home, the Blackwoods keep to themselves, the objects of mystery and scandal, fear and fascination for the neighboring villagers. Merricat uses her fanciful imagination and personal magic to protect her much loved sister, fearful of change, and particularly upset when estranged Cousin Charles comes to visit.

I don't want to say too much about this, as it is a wonderful read that unfolds bit by bit and page by page as Ms. Jackson slowly reveals the secrets of the Blackwood family. Neither am I certain how to classify the book--not really "horror" in the classic sense, still it gives the reader a certain sense of unease as the family secrets come to light.

Shirley Jackson is an author who really must be experienced to be appreciated. Her writing is rich and textured, but as a storyteller, she gives her readers only just enough and leaves you unsettled and wanting more.

If anyone does decide to give the book a try, I'd be interested to know what you think. 'Cause I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it.

I never did get around to my review of The Haunting of Hill House. Another excellent book, and very interesting in terms of contrast with the movie made off of the book, The Haunting.

Thought I'd share this most profound and insightful commentary on the nature of bread. From The Northern Exposure Cookbook, by Ellis Weiner. Chris Stevens, btw, is Cicely's radio personality Chris-in-the-Morning (played by John Corbett). This is just so . . . Chris.

You know, bread is considered the simplest and most basic of foods, but its profound secret is that it's just the opposite. Searchers for simplicity need look no further than fruits and vegetables, which of course can be eaten as is. Meat just needs to be thrown on a fire. But bread needs grain, milling, yeast, ovens, and effort.

Any animal can eat produce or flesh. It takes an entire civilization to make bread.

Wow.

It came! It came! The copy of Northern Exposures I purchased came today!

Due to my newfound appreciation for Rob Morrow, I've been checking out some of his other work. I remembered him from NX, of course, when Numb3rs premiered, and I'd seen him in Quiz Show when it was first released to the theaters. But I never fully appreciated his work until I was re-introduced to NX several months ago by way of my bro's DVDs. (RM's performance in his independent film Maze clenched him as my most recent thespic infatuation.) So as I was looking into the availability of his other projects, I came across . . . what's this? . . . he's authored a book? A book of photography? Of Northern Exposure? Well, I must check this out.

So I checked with our library. *snerk* Yeah, right. Like I'm going to find anything esoteric at our library, unless it happens to be on the best seller list.

So when Geo and I went to DC recently, and he had a meeting at the Library of Congress and told me I should request a couple things to read while I was waiting, I opted for Northern Exposures. I wanted to actually see the book before I paid money to buy it.

And I was pleasantly surprised! It's a small book, a softcover, but it's a delightful "family album" of Mr. Morrow's castmates and the crew that made NX a reality (if anything in Cicely can be considered "real" *g*).

In the introduction, Morrow gives a brief but insightful account of how the book came into being, starting with his interest in photography. His description of setting up a darkroom in his apartment brought to mind the many times I as a child sat on my father's lap in his darkroom watching him develop photos. To this day, the smell of photo chemicals reminds me of my childhood. Morrow tells about how he used his downtime between shots to take photographs, and how his particular favorites often end up as gifts to the subjects of the photos.

The photographs in this book are all black and white, taken during the show's 3rd and 4th seasons. Some of the pics are intriguingly artistic, with very creative lighting and shot composition. Some are whimsical. Some are candids of cast and crew, either at work or hamming it up for the camera. Some are simply portraits of the people that made up this production "family." Having worked on an independent movie myself, I was particularly interested to see the costume/wardrobe crew, and the set pieces that made up the environs of Cicely. The captions, too, show goodnatured insight into the people who worked on the show.

And I especially like the self-portrait of the author, whom you'd never recognize if you didn't know who it was.

Overall, it's a nice little read if you're interested in behind-the-scenes views of TV production, if you're a fan of the show, the author, or photography in general.

It also leads me to believe that RM is a very intelligent and creative man and a passionate artist. I mean, I had that impression already from what I've seen of his work and what I've read and seen in interviews. This book says the same thing in a different way.

Now I have to decide if I'm going to spring for the autographed copy I found.