Blockbusters: Whistler and The Odyssey

Summer is blockbuster season, and I've jumped on the bandwagon with both feet, reading Whistler, like everyone else, and going to see The Odyssey like everyone else!

Just Read Whistler

Whistler, Ann Patchett's latest novel, was such a satisfying read. So well-written that the words just flowed. My husband is currently reading it, and his comment, which I totally resonated with, is that you really like all of the main characters and enjoy spending time with them.

They are kind, intelligent, good people who do their best for those they love. I really loved how Patchett introduced the story of Whistler, the horse, and allowed it to gently and naturally become the theme for the main story arc between Daphne and Eddie and the novel as a whole, which is essentially "no one left behind."

I confess that initially I thought that Daphne and Leda's biological father would be the villain of the story, and I was relieved and happy with how Daphne's relationship with her father matured as she matured. Her understanding and acceptance and care of Buddy was profoundly moving for me.

I also loved how the novel ended. So many authors struggle with endings, and many a good book has been flawed by a clumsy ending. I am happy to remember Daphne and Eddie sitting companionably in the Met, watching the ebb and flow of life as they take a rest.

Virginia Woolf said that George Eliot's Middlemarch is "one of the few English novels written for grown-up people." I would say that Whistler is about grown-up people. Even when Daphne and Leda were children, they showed a maturity that puts so many other characters in other books to shame in which allegedly "grown up people" are perpetually adolescent. Case in point, I am currently reading David Nicholls's One Day and two-thirds of the way into the book, I am still waiting for thirtysomething Dexter to finally grow up. On the same note, Henry, Leda's son, is eighteen and definitely an adult--I found him utterly charming and would love a follow-up novel featuring him.

Just Saw The Odyssey

My son treated me to The Odyssey yesterday, knowing how much I love Greek myths, and we both loved it. I haven't spent any time at all reading the various criticisms of the movie but rather wanted to go into it unbiased. Glad I did. I absolutely loved the visuals, the casting, the special effects, the landscapes, the ancient cities, and especially the script. The theme of Zeus's law (i.e., hospitality to guests) and the consequences of violating that law really resonated with me and made the story make sense and relevant. 

In particular, I loved the way Anne Hathaway portrayed Penelope. I thought Matt Damon was superb as Odysseus, Helen/Clytemnestra was incredible--Helen's bitterness was palpable. She knows the war wasn't really about her--it was economics and trade and she was just the excuse. I wish Circe had been given more time--I loved Madeline Miller's novel Circe, so I wanted more of her, but seeing her transform the men into pigs and then return them to men was awesome. At almost three hours, I know the movie couldn't include everything in Homer's Odyssey, but that's okay. Just seeing Troy was enough for me. Loved how they handled the horse--not wooden but spectacularly and realistically done. 

Final note--as with Troy, the movie with Brad Pitt as Achilles, the gods were invoked, blamed, and worshipped, but they were not actually part of the story. The stormy seas were blamed on Poseidon, but we never saw Poseidon as a character. The only exception was Athena, who only appeared to Odysseus, and she didn't speak or seem to cause anything. I saw her as a manifestation of Odysseus's conscience for the part he played in destroying Troy and slaughtering its inhabitants.

Pro Tip: We did go to an IMAX showing, but not the full 70mm because there wasn't a theater in our area that offered this. My son insisted we use earplugs because he heard it was very loud--it was, and I am glad we both had earplugs in for the movie. The lady sitting next to me said she wished she had done the same after the movie was over.

In Other News

We escaped to Rocky Mt National Park last Friday for a hike--third time this year. RMNP is now the only (I think that's right) national park that has preserved the timed-entry system adopted during COVID. I am so glad they did. From mid-May to mid-October you need a timed-entry slot to get into the park during peak hours. This means that you can actually find a place to park and hike a favorite trail without feeling like you are in a busy downtown street instead of in the mountains. I know people complain, but it just takes a little planning, and it preserves this incredible place for future generations.