Recent Reading

Arranged Marriage by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. This is a collection of short stories about Indian women dealing with the culture of the U.S. either by immigrating or in their relations with those who have emigrated to the U.S. The writing is quite beautiful and evocative, but the message is generally depressing. With so many strikes against them, it seems women from India have very little chance of happiness in our culture.

The Bell by Iris Murdoch. Dense language and conflicting passions make this novel fascinating. A failed wannabee priest who is attracted to young boys (I'm sure this reads completely different now in light of the Catholic church scandals) tries to make out the difference between ideals and human actions. Although the book is fascinating, I was struck by the incredible self-centeredness of almost every character. Perhaps that is Murdoch's point.