71. Title: [We Sinners] Author: Hanna Pylväinen Pages: 208 Genre: Fiction Medium: Hardcover Acquisition: LT rec from Padre, library book Date Completed: November 20, 2012 Rating: **** We Sinners follows a family of eleven who belong to a claustrophobicly-conservative Lutheran sect that bans everything from television to "music with a beat." Though their religion seems surreal from an outside perspective, the members of the family prove to be all too human. The father struggles with anger, stress, and anxiety, the mother struggles with making the right choices for her nine children, and the children find themselves split as they find their way through contemporary America. The characters are sympathetic and horrifying - and sometimes both. The story is compelling, and the narrative is clear and engaging. 72. Title: [The Girl in the Clockwork Collar] Author: Kady Cross Pages: 416 Genre: Steampunk Teen Medium: Hardcover Acquisition: Library book Date Completed: November 22, 2012 Rating: *** Highly predictable and self-indulgent, but distracting. I find that I can appreciate books of this sort more when they're borrowed rather than purchased.

Ballet Review: Dracula

On November 3 I had the very real pleasure of attending The Washington Ballet's production of "Dracula."  As a fan of both ballet and the original source, I had high expectations, but higher still were the expectations of the two "ballet virgins" who accompanied me.

The ballet is atmospheric and enthralling.  while the company's production of "Alice in Wonderland" fell flat due to awkward aerial equipment changes and hoaxes effects, "Dracula," is just lavish enough to keep with the tradition of depictions of Stoker's novel.  The dancers were well-cast, and Hyun-Woong Kim as Dracula was simply spell-binding. 

Lucy and Dracula, dancing passionately to her death.


As a whole, the production was not always well-paced; there were overly-long scenes that seemed placed just to emphasize the ballet in an otherwise very theatrical production.  The lowest point in the ballet was actually the conclusion, at which point a horde of undead craws from the scenery to dance in celebration of Dracula's acquisition of Mina.  The dancers looked like they were ready for, as I thought in the moment, a Hot Topic Prom, and I expected them to break out into "Thriller" at any moment.  In an otherwise carefully costumed and directed production, this dance was simply hokey. 


However, this weak scene can be forgiven for the beauty that came before: an amazing pas de deux between Dracula and Harker at Dracula's castle.  Well-choreographed, phenomenally preformed, and perfectly breathtaking, the feats of strength and grace presented by the dancers took away our collective breath.  It was a perfect struggle between the two, capturing both the energy of the medium and the characterization presented in the primary source. 
The pas de dux of Dracula and Harker. 
Here you can see a preview of the ballet, and here you can see a great dress rehearsal video.

70.
Title: The Girl in the Steel Corset
Author: Kady Cross
Pages: 480
Genre: Steampunk - just ask Cross
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition: LT rec
Date Completed: November 11, 2012
Rating: ***

Everything about The Girl in the Steel Corset is, well, typical.  This is typical YA (poor estranged girl finds that she's special), typical romance (two handsome boys fight over the seemingly-plain girl), and typical steampunk.  The later is both the draw and downfall of the book; Cross attempts to include all elements that have been established as core features of the genre (clockwork, steam-powered technology, goggles, dirigibles), but many of the allusions are extraneous to the actual storyline - most of the references literally serve no purpose other than to shout "THIS IS STEAMPUNK!"  But despite these narrative faux pas, the book has some fun moments, and is worth a quick blustery-day look. 

66.
Title: [Othello]
Author: Shakespeare
Pages: 100
Genre: drama
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: work text
Date Completed: October 20, 2012
Rating: *****

This semester I assigned a "defense of villainy" essay for our reading of Othello: students had to either defend Iago, or Othello's murder of Desdemona.  I'm about to dive into those essays now...

67. 
Title: [The Adoration of Jenna Fox]
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Pages: 288
Genre: YA Dystopian
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition: Purchased used
Date Completed: November 1, 2012
Rating: ***1/2

The Adoration of Jenna Fox was included on a list of superior YA dystopian fiction I received at a conference, and though the first suggestion was a major flop ([Feed]), I decided to give this a try.  I'm glad I did.  While I'm not certain I agree with the labeling of this text as dystopian, the narrative is interesting and really calls one to question our current medical and political systems.  It's not perfect, and some questions are left unanswered, but overall the novel is satisfying. 

68. 
Title: [Titus Andronicus]
Author: Shakespeare
Pages: 100
Genre: drama
Medium: paperback
Acquisition: Work text
Date Completed: November 1, 2012
Rating: *****

Presented somewhere between 1592-1595, Shakespeare's earliest tragedy is a product of its time; revenge tragedies and the translated works of Seneca are widely popular, each characterized by violence and bizarre events.  Although the content of the play - including mutilation, rape, and cannibalism - may seem shocking, even these elements are not singular to Shakespeare's text, as much of the inspiration for characterization and events comes from Ovid's Metamorphosis.

Using Titus in the classroom for the first time is very interesting, as student reactions vary widely - one student has even requested to step out momentarily when we discuss the rape of Lavinia.  The students recognize the sins of Titus, and yet still we wrestle with our desire to prefer him to Tamora.  Discussions are lively, and the questions are very smart.  At the end of it all I am asking them to write a paper of definition defining "tyrant" or "tyranny," using both (or either) Othello and Titus as support. 

The school's drama department is producing Titus now, and many students have said that being asked to see the play has actually improved their readings.  I'll go see it myself tomorrow. 

69. 
Title: [The Beautiful Mystery]
Author: Louise Penny
Pages: 384
Genre: Mystery
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition: Preordered
Date Completed: November 2, 2012
Rating: ***

Never before have I been able to step away from a Louise Penny novel before full consumption, but I had no problem putting down The Beautiful Mystery for long periods of time; despite preordering the book and receiving it on its release date, I'm only just finishing the novel.  Much is poetic, as usual, but I didn't find the story nearly as compelling as others.  As for the conclusion, my one thought is good riddance to bad rubbish.