2019 #5: The Shaw Memorial: A Celebration of an American Masterpiece

The Shaw Memorial: A Celebration of an American Masterpiece by Gregory C. Schwarz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I purchased this book in the gift shop of the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in New Hampshire, admiring it for aesthetic production and the inclusion of rare photos. Then I read it.

Wow. Each essay provides so much in terms of historical context, and understanding the process that Saint-Gaudens undertook to create his masterpiece(s)--plural, one might argue, because the different versions all seem to express the artist's commitment to perfection (even if he felt he never achieved it). Likewise, one gets a fairly good understanding of conservation efforts as well.

Particularly compelling is Ludwig Lauerhass's essay, "A Commemoration: The Shaw Memorial as American Culture." In reading the first few pages, I rolled my eyes initially at the seemingly hagiographic language, but quickly changed my mind as Lauerhass's well-researched and cited essay delved into an intertextual exploration of poetry and film. Charles Ives "The Saint-Gaudens in Boston Common" is briefly mentioned, as is the score for the movie Glory, by James Horner.

The eternal question of reception and understanding still hangs in the air--and this is perhaps the most valuable aspect of the book. Discussion of Robert Lowell and Paul Laurence Dunbar's less-than-celebratory poems (commentaries on society's failure to act on the lessons of history) helps us understand why we might revisit the monument, and what the role of the viewer is. We can observe the sinewy muscles of the horse, the rich detail in the faces of the soldiers, the posture of Col. Robert Gould Shaw. But what is more important is that we understand the fatigue of that march...that it is ongoing, in our own backyards.

2015 #12: A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Devastating" and "beautiful" often sound cliché when they are paired together, but in the case of A Thousand Splendid Suns, these words are more than apt. Part of the power of the book is to that there are many Mariams and Lailas all over the world for whom this story is not a fiction. Hosseini manages to passionately advocate for them without hyperbole or an excess of drama, spinning a tale that is tragic, but so human. The horrors in the book are at times almost unreadable, but Hosseini compels you to read further because you feel you owe it to the characters who persevere. Ultimately, you realize you owe it to the many people in the world for whom bombs are a daily reality, and the frightening relativism of terrorism inside a house vs. outside a house is perhaps the sharpest edge of the knife.

In a book with so little that is redemptive, I was startled by the ending. It is perfect--not happy, nor sad, but the perfect way to let us know that the story goes on well beyond the last page of any book.

#AroundTheWorldChallenge: Afghanistan