I guess I should preface this blog by saying that this was not my first experience with Sarah Paretsky. I have been reading and listening to Sarah Paretsky for years. My mother used to take us on trips as little kids, and we would listen to books on tape. My mom loves mysteries, and as a single mother, loves ass kicking females. V.I. was one of her favorites.
So I guess you could say that I was pre disposed to like this book, from a young age. I must admit, I was surprised to be reading this book in a class at school, and pleasantly happy to be reading a book I was sure to enjoy.
And enjoy this book I did. It has everything to make a person happy- sex, violence, and more sex. It is great. There is even a cool English journalist put in just to spice things up. I enjoyed the fact that although Vic is in a male profession, she remains fundamentally feminine much of the time, thinking about things like clothes. The part where she talks about being jealous or not being jealous because she is a modern feminist woman is quite funny as well.
Of course, the action is nonstop, which is also a plus. There is not a lot of thinking or pondering going on in Vic’s world. Much of the time she simply charges head into situations without thinking about the consequences, which are often very bad. One such example of this is her wandering the south side swamp/garbage dump and almost dying. The book is cool for that reason- it is funny, hip, and moves quickly.
The imagery of Chicago is also great, although it leads me to one of the problems of the book. I know that Paretsky has socialist roots, but everyone living in South Chicago is not a working class hero being held down by the man. Although I am personally sympathetic to workers plights (being a worker myself) having worked in the South Chicago area, and having entered many of the homes in this area, I can assure you that while there are good people, there are also a lot of bad people as well. Lazy people who have never worked. Crackheads. Criminals. There may be working class heros, but most of the families are people who never got a chance to succeed in life in this book, while the reality is not the same as the book. I understand the need to further her political agenda, but this got really old really quick to me. The black and white of the culture (lots of people in the south shore area are nicie people downtrodden, and all the Buysmart folks except Billy are evil) turned me off. Nothing is black and white, and using black and white examples makes the book unrealistic.
I also did not like the way the Emergency services of the city are represented. Throughout the book, they are consistently late to places, and seem at best apathetic to the plight of the people in the story. However, there is a reason for this. The cops in these areas have calls stacked up, and receive 3 calls at a time. The area is infested with crime and criminals. It also contains people that call 911 because they have a cold, and want a trip to the ambulance to rule out the swine flu. Her beloved working class heroes stretch the system thin, and the workers to the breaking point. Sorry, I will get off my soapbox now, but that was really annoying to me.
All in all, I believe that the book is really good, and has some good political messages in it (such as the evil big corporations abusing the employees) However, I do feel that Paretsky could do better than one dimensional characters being good or bad. But, all that aside, it sure was fun to watch Vic kick some bad guys asses!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Afro-Centric post the life of Miriam Makeba
I am honored that we were given six random post to elaborate on topics that may not have been discussed in class. Since I am an African American studies minor, I have been introduced to things and people that I did not know prior. I am currently taking a history course that is concerned with female African agency. I am glad I took the course. My current research project is on a South African woman named Miriam Makeba. I was just a baby when she took South Africa, as well as America by storm. To me, she was a Queen.
Miriam Makeba met Harry Belafonte and he helped her career soar above and beyond anything she ever expected. However, her career success is overshadowed by the oppressive state her people suffered under the apartheid regime. As a young singer, she was asked to play a small part in a Movie called, Come Back, Africa. Her role was considered radical and rebellious. Ms. Makeba was offered the chance of a life time, to go to America and walk the red carpet at the premiere of the movie. It was a great success. She thought her life would take off. To her surprise, it was not. When she attempted to go back home to South Africa, she was told her passport had been revoked and she was no longer recognized as a citizen of her birth country. She had no family in America, no friends, no system of support besides the Belafonte's, whom she had recently became acquainted. White South Africans were not pleased with her role of the movie.
I told this long narrative because it made me think about "exile." How deep is this word and what is the effect it can have on one's life? I was struck with a short poem...
Take me home, I want to go
Do you know how to get there
over the water, over the mountains.
I want to go.
Do you have a home, do you live there
over the water, over the mountains?
can you claim it as yours, is it yours to claim?
I want to go.
Do you hear me? Can you see me,
I want to go home.
Vanished Bookstores
In 1995 & 1996, over 150 independent bookstores went out of business nationwide. I've seen plenty of Chicago bookstores disappear in the 18 years that I've lived here. Here is a list of eight, with a brief description for each:
Kroch's and Brentano's
Once located at: 29 S. Wabash & elsewhere
Years in business: 88 (1907-1995)
It was originally a German language bookstore founded in 1907 by Adolph Kroch. In 1933, after Kroch acquired its main competition, Brentano's, Kroch's and Brentano's became the largest bookstore in Chicago and the largest privately owned bookstore chain in the United States.
It was "a pioneer in book display concepts and store design," was thought to have carried the finest selection of art books in the city and "its sales clerks were legendarily knowledgeable."
The bookstore also was known for tracking down obscure or out of print editions for customers from around the world and its book-signings by major authors.
It dominated book sales in Chicago until it was devastated by the onslaught of discount chains, and was the city's oldest independent bookstore when it filed for bankruptcy in 1995.
Scenes Coffee House & Dramatists Bookstore
Once located at: 3168 N. Clark St.
Closed: in the 90's
This was a favorite hang-out of mine the first year that I lived in Chicago in 1991-92. It was a really lovely coffeehouse with huge windows and wood bookcases.
Act I Bookstore
Once located at: 2632 N. Lincoln
Closed: in the last 10 years
This was an excellent bookstore to find any play or theater-related book that you could possibly desire. Theater newspapers, magazines, tapes, etc. It was very much a theater person's bookstore. Probably the only reason I even knew about it was because in the mid-90's my sweetheart at the time was an actress and she used to make regular trips there to pick up scripts and such.
Aspidistra Bookstore
Once located at: 2630 N. Clark
Closed: in the 90's
This was the best used bookstore in Chicago. I spent a lot of time there in my late teens. I think that a sushi restaurant took its place. Probably in the last 10-15 years, the number of sushi restaurants in the city has increased by 100,000%, while the number of independent bookstores has decreased as much.
People Like Us
One located at: 3321 N. Clark St/1115 W. Belmont
Closed: in the 90's
This was the only exclusively gay and lesbian bookstore in Chicago. I remember going there for the first time when I was 18 or 19 years old and feeling really in awe of this place. It was supportive of local writers and the number one place to stop on book-tour in Chicago if you were a gay or lesbian writer.
The Children's Bookstore
Once located on: Lincoln Ave.
Closed: 1996
Years in business: 11
Considered a valuable community resource, The Children's Bookstore had over 25,000 children's titles in stock, offered free story hours, author readings and art workshops, and at its peak hosted 250 events in a single year. Five superstores opened within a one-mile radius of it within the year before it was forced to close.
In the small factory town where I lived as a child, the only bookstore was Little Professor Books. It was not, as the name may seem to indicate, a children's bookstore. It was an all-ages bookstore with a section for children. I remember that I used to get stomachaches from the excitement whenever my mom would take me there to pick out a new book. And that was in response to one aisle of children's books. So, I imagine The Children's Bookstore was a kind of overwhelming paradise for a lot of Chicago children from the mid-80's to the mid-90's.
Savvy Traveller
Once located at: 310 S. Michigan Ave.
Closed: 2007
Years in business: 22
This bookstore was amazing, and I was crushed when I heard that it closed. It was the coolest travel store around. You could buy everything there that you can possibly think of related to travel except your plane or train ticket. They had awesome globes, maps, hundreds of travel guides, and all kinds of sweet travel gear and gadgets.
They now operate an on-line store, but it was the atmosphere of the old, flesh and blood store which made it so unique and wonderful. It used to make me come alive even if I was just walking by it on my way somewhere else and didn't have time to stop. This one was definitely a great loss for the city.
Transitions Bookstore
Once located at: 1000 W. North Ave.
Closed: August 15, 2008
Years in business: 19
This was a self-help/New Age bookstore and cafe that was located right next to the old Whole Foods on North Ave. It was also a shop where one could buy incense, meditation cushions, statues of Buddha, relaxation cds -- all sorts of material goods to accompany you on the path. They had a regular reading series and often brought in well-known health and spirituality writers like Deepak Chopra and Andrew Weil.
Prairie Avenue Bookshop
Once located at: 418 S. Wabash Ave.
Closed: September 1, 2009
Years in business: 48
The most recent, and perhaps the most devastating loss, in my opinion, other than maybe Kroch's & Brentano's, is the Prairie Avenue architecture bookstore. It was referred to by architects as a national resource. This place was like an architecture museum/library/sanctuary. I can't think of another bookstore with as much class or style. It was totally gorgeous and had some of the most beautiful books on its tables and shelves. The bookstore originally was begun in Wilbert and Marilyn Hasbrouck's home. Then they opened it in 1974 on Prairie Avenue and then moved to the Wabash location in 1995.
It is sobering to think of the so many independent bookstores -- these that I've listed, and others -- that Chicago has lost in the past 15 years, but this one makes my heart ache.
Kroch's and Brentano's
Once located at: 29 S. Wabash & elsewhere
Years in business: 88 (1907-1995)
It was originally a German language bookstore founded in 1907 by Adolph Kroch. In 1933, after Kroch acquired its main competition, Brentano's, Kroch's and Brentano's became the largest bookstore in Chicago and the largest privately owned bookstore chain in the United States.
It was "a pioneer in book display concepts and store design," was thought to have carried the finest selection of art books in the city and "its sales clerks were legendarily knowledgeable."
The bookstore also was known for tracking down obscure or out of print editions for customers from around the world and its book-signings by major authors.
It dominated book sales in Chicago until it was devastated by the onslaught of discount chains, and was the city's oldest independent bookstore when it filed for bankruptcy in 1995.
Scenes Coffee House & Dramatists Bookstore
Once located at: 3168 N. Clark St.
Closed: in the 90's
This was a favorite hang-out of mine the first year that I lived in Chicago in 1991-92. It was a really lovely coffeehouse with huge windows and wood bookcases.
Act I Bookstore
Once located at: 2632 N. Lincoln
Closed: in the last 10 years
This was an excellent bookstore to find any play or theater-related book that you could possibly desire. Theater newspapers, magazines, tapes, etc. It was very much a theater person's bookstore. Probably the only reason I even knew about it was because in the mid-90's my sweetheart at the time was an actress and she used to make regular trips there to pick up scripts and such.
Aspidistra Bookstore
Once located at: 2630 N. Clark
Closed: in the 90's
This was the best used bookstore in Chicago. I spent a lot of time there in my late teens. I think that a sushi restaurant took its place. Probably in the last 10-15 years, the number of sushi restaurants in the city has increased by 100,000%, while the number of independent bookstores has decreased as much.
People Like Us
One located at: 3321 N. Clark St/1115 W. Belmont
Closed: in the 90's
This was the only exclusively gay and lesbian bookstore in Chicago. I remember going there for the first time when I was 18 or 19 years old and feeling really in awe of this place. It was supportive of local writers and the number one place to stop on book-tour in Chicago if you were a gay or lesbian writer.
The Children's Bookstore
Once located on: Lincoln Ave.
Closed: 1996
Years in business: 11
Considered a valuable community resource, The Children's Bookstore had over 25,000 children's titles in stock, offered free story hours, author readings and art workshops, and at its peak hosted 250 events in a single year. Five superstores opened within a one-mile radius of it within the year before it was forced to close.
In the small factory town where I lived as a child, the only bookstore was Little Professor Books. It was not, as the name may seem to indicate, a children's bookstore. It was an all-ages bookstore with a section for children. I remember that I used to get stomachaches from the excitement whenever my mom would take me there to pick out a new book. And that was in response to one aisle of children's books. So, I imagine The Children's Bookstore was a kind of overwhelming paradise for a lot of Chicago children from the mid-80's to the mid-90's.
Savvy Traveller
Once located at: 310 S. Michigan Ave.
Closed: 2007
Years in business: 22
This bookstore was amazing, and I was crushed when I heard that it closed. It was the coolest travel store around. You could buy everything there that you can possibly think of related to travel except your plane or train ticket. They had awesome globes, maps, hundreds of travel guides, and all kinds of sweet travel gear and gadgets.
They now operate an on-line store, but it was the atmosphere of the old, flesh and blood store which made it so unique and wonderful. It used to make me come alive even if I was just walking by it on my way somewhere else and didn't have time to stop. This one was definitely a great loss for the city.
Transitions Bookstore
Once located at: 1000 W. North Ave.
Closed: August 15, 2008
Years in business: 19
This was a self-help/New Age bookstore and cafe that was located right next to the old Whole Foods on North Ave. It was also a shop where one could buy incense, meditation cushions, statues of Buddha, relaxation cds -- all sorts of material goods to accompany you on the path. They had a regular reading series and often brought in well-known health and spirituality writers like Deepak Chopra and Andrew Weil.
Prairie Avenue Bookshop
Once located at: 418 S. Wabash Ave.
Closed: September 1, 2009
Years in business: 48
The most recent, and perhaps the most devastating loss, in my opinion, other than maybe Kroch's & Brentano's, is the Prairie Avenue architecture bookstore. It was referred to by architects as a national resource. This place was like an architecture museum/library/sanctuary. I can't think of another bookstore with as much class or style. It was totally gorgeous and had some of the most beautiful books on its tables and shelves. The bookstore originally was begun in Wilbert and Marilyn Hasbrouck's home. Then they opened it in 1974 on Prairie Avenue and then moved to the Wabash location in 1995.
It is sobering to think of the so many independent bookstores -- these that I've listed, and others -- that Chicago has lost in the past 15 years, but this one makes my heart ache.
Paretsky
Upon getting “Fire Sale” at my local library I was a little concerned at the length of it all. I haven’t read a book that long in a class since “Paradise Lost” and that was not an all together great experience. So I have to say that I was a little biased in the beginning and went into it with a bit of a bad attitude. So I finally got down to it and started reading. And low and behold lets just say I was not immediately enthralled in the book. I found the first hundred and fifty pages or so to be complete filler. Of course I understand that with a mystery book like this there has to be a substantial amount of build up and background and such, but I was worried it was never going to end. Certainly it was all relevant in the end, but I felt like the beginning of the book had no action whatsoever. I found my self skimming the pages waiting for something to happen. I mean how many time can she get into her mustang (that she references ever 10 pages or so) with her dogs, or talk to her neighbor downstairs, or complain about her friend? It gets old.
I decided that I wasn’t going to quit and that eventually something interesting had to unfold or it wouldn’t have been published. To my surprise, once she followed her dog through the swamps of Chicago (which I still baffled by, who knew we had swamps?) and finds her friend on the brink of death I admit I was drawn in a bit. While I agree that this probably isn’t the greatest piece of writing available to the public, I think that Paretsky has something to say. The ways in which she talks about the city, it is as if she knows more than I do and maybe just maybe if I kept reading she would reveal her sources. Also, while a mystery, she made it seem subtly academic. She makes a point to use language that is both simple and complex and she isn’t afraid of it. Her detail is both riveting and alienating at the same time. Having no known or expected there to be swamp land just south of Chicago, I could put myself into the picture, but had a hard time seeing the skyline in the backdrop.
Paretsky does a good job at exploring the difficult struggles of south side working class people and juxtaposing it to the affluent of Barrington Hills. Living right next to Barrington Hills I could easily envision the By-Smart family in their lavish homes with their fancy cars and fur laden outfits. Driving through Barrington Hills is like driving through Beverly Hills with the winding roads and two mile long driveways through forests that open up to houses that can’t even be labeled McMansions, but mansions. Countering that with the flats on the south side was an interesting contrast. Again, having never been further south than 35th Street (home of the Chicago White Sox of course), I had a hard time being able to fully amerce myself in that part of the narrative. I could of course envision what she was describing, but coming from a middle class family myself I could only relate to the characters on a superficial level.
Overall I think Paretsky presented not just a typical who-done-it mystery, but a commentary on Chicago’s diverse economic position. I don’t think I would personally read another V.I. Warshawski novel, but for the scope of the class it gave me another perspective of Chicago that I hadn’t really noticed before, and certainly left me curious about those swamps on the south shore. I mean, I know Chicago used to be completely under water, and Blue Island really was an island, but swamps equal the south to me, so perhaps one of these days I’ll go on my own search and discovery mission.
I decided that I wasn’t going to quit and that eventually something interesting had to unfold or it wouldn’t have been published. To my surprise, once she followed her dog through the swamps of Chicago (which I still baffled by, who knew we had swamps?) and finds her friend on the brink of death I admit I was drawn in a bit. While I agree that this probably isn’t the greatest piece of writing available to the public, I think that Paretsky has something to say. The ways in which she talks about the city, it is as if she knows more than I do and maybe just maybe if I kept reading she would reveal her sources. Also, while a mystery, she made it seem subtly academic. She makes a point to use language that is both simple and complex and she isn’t afraid of it. Her detail is both riveting and alienating at the same time. Having no known or expected there to be swamp land just south of Chicago, I could put myself into the picture, but had a hard time seeing the skyline in the backdrop.
Paretsky does a good job at exploring the difficult struggles of south side working class people and juxtaposing it to the affluent of Barrington Hills. Living right next to Barrington Hills I could easily envision the By-Smart family in their lavish homes with their fancy cars and fur laden outfits. Driving through Barrington Hills is like driving through Beverly Hills with the winding roads and two mile long driveways through forests that open up to houses that can’t even be labeled McMansions, but mansions. Countering that with the flats on the south side was an interesting contrast. Again, having never been further south than 35th Street (home of the Chicago White Sox of course), I had a hard time being able to fully amerce myself in that part of the narrative. I could of course envision what she was describing, but coming from a middle class family myself I could only relate to the characters on a superficial level.
Overall I think Paretsky presented not just a typical who-done-it mystery, but a commentary on Chicago’s diverse economic position. I don’t think I would personally read another V.I. Warshawski novel, but for the scope of the class it gave me another perspective of Chicago that I hadn’t really noticed before, and certainly left me curious about those swamps on the south shore. I mean, I know Chicago used to be completely under water, and Blue Island really was an island, but swamps equal the south to me, so perhaps one of these days I’ll go on my own search and discovery mission.
Bellow and Trains
While I found this to be in an odd sense a good book, I was particularly distracted at the beginning of the book. The distraction came in the form of Amy. When Harry meets her again in the street he says that he did not recognize her because of the El. It was the El that made everything look gray. This struck me in a weird sort of way because I have always felt that in a way the El distorted reality.
I’m sure at one point, everyone who has ever lived in Chicago has gone under the El tracks. When I go up north to Lincoln Park to hang out with friends I always have to go under the Brown/Purple/Red tracks for they are perpendicular to my path. Every time I go under the tracks it’s a new experience. Generally I am listening to my Ipod to drown out city noise, but when I go under the tracks if a train is approaching, everything gets loud. I cannot even hear my own thoughts. The train will literally put my mind at a standstill while it passes over head. The trains control my thoughts, that is a lot of power. Other times, if a train is not coming and it’s a sunny day, the street below the tracks is shaded, but not completely shaded, but the sun tries its hardest to seep through the cracks but only at the trains will. It’s walking in and out of darkness. One minute you’re in the light, then it’s dark with a tease of light every few steps. The trains control the light, that is a lot of power. If it’s a rainy day, when walking, you go from rain, to no rain. In the spots where the light shines through you’ll get a small bit of a shower. The trains control the weather, that is a lot of power. At night, street lights brighten up entire blocks, but not under the tracks. Walking under the tracks takes you from artificial, safe light, to absolute darkness. The trains control the darkness, that is a lot of power. Like in the book, on a gloomy day vivid colors are dampened and diffused to a murky gray. The trains control the color, that is a lot of power. For the people on the trains, they live their lives according to the train schedule. If the trains are late, they are late. If they miss a train, they have to wait for the train to come to them. The trains control peoples lives, that is a lot of power.
While Bellow doesn’t actually take that one line to any great lengths, it made me think of how powerful things are in life. For Harry, Amy has so much power. He has loved her for forty years. While she was in and out of marriages, she still held a part of his heart in her hands. She has all of the control. In the end, he puts her on the spot and seemingly takes control when he inappropriately timed asked her to marry him, but she still holds all of the control in the final decision. She is the actual to him, so I suppose that means that the actual holds all the control and that might be what constitutes it as the actual. Of course, I am taking the entire book out of the context of a line in the book that could easily be overlooked but it is a different way of looking at their complicated history. What ended up distracting me from much of the books meat and potatoes led me on a tangent that concluded that the El controls my life. I suppose that’s not really what I was getting at, but it is interesting to see that the things around us hold much more control than we think we allow them to.
I’m sure at one point, everyone who has ever lived in Chicago has gone under the El tracks. When I go up north to Lincoln Park to hang out with friends I always have to go under the Brown/Purple/Red tracks for they are perpendicular to my path. Every time I go under the tracks it’s a new experience. Generally I am listening to my Ipod to drown out city noise, but when I go under the tracks if a train is approaching, everything gets loud. I cannot even hear my own thoughts. The train will literally put my mind at a standstill while it passes over head. The trains control my thoughts, that is a lot of power. Other times, if a train is not coming and it’s a sunny day, the street below the tracks is shaded, but not completely shaded, but the sun tries its hardest to seep through the cracks but only at the trains will. It’s walking in and out of darkness. One minute you’re in the light, then it’s dark with a tease of light every few steps. The trains control the light, that is a lot of power. If it’s a rainy day, when walking, you go from rain, to no rain. In the spots where the light shines through you’ll get a small bit of a shower. The trains control the weather, that is a lot of power. At night, street lights brighten up entire blocks, but not under the tracks. Walking under the tracks takes you from artificial, safe light, to absolute darkness. The trains control the darkness, that is a lot of power. Like in the book, on a gloomy day vivid colors are dampened and diffused to a murky gray. The trains control the color, that is a lot of power. For the people on the trains, they live their lives according to the train schedule. If the trains are late, they are late. If they miss a train, they have to wait for the train to come to them. The trains control peoples lives, that is a lot of power.
While Bellow doesn’t actually take that one line to any great lengths, it made me think of how powerful things are in life. For Harry, Amy has so much power. He has loved her for forty years. While she was in and out of marriages, she still held a part of his heart in her hands. She has all of the control. In the end, he puts her on the spot and seemingly takes control when he inappropriately timed asked her to marry him, but she still holds all of the control in the final decision. She is the actual to him, so I suppose that means that the actual holds all the control and that might be what constitutes it as the actual. Of course, I am taking the entire book out of the context of a line in the book that could easily be overlooked but it is a different way of looking at their complicated history. What ended up distracting me from much of the books meat and potatoes led me on a tangent that concluded that the El controls my life. I suppose that’s not really what I was getting at, but it is interesting to see that the things around us hold much more control than we think we allow them to.
Algren's Undying Love
"Once you've become a part of this particular patch, you'll never love another. Like loving a woman with a broken nose, you may well find lovelier lovelies, but never a lovely so real."
Clearly, despite all of her flaws, be it gangsters, mobsters, political scandal, rich, poor, good and bad, Algren loves Chicago. Having grown up in the suburbs of this great city my whole life, I think I have come to take the city itself for granted. When I was a kid getting on the train to the city was the most exciting thing. Each year around Christmas my whole family would pack in the car, trek out to the blue line and make our way to see the tree in Daley Plaza and the windows and Marshal Fields (never Macy’s). Popping Frango mints on the way home was also a treat, but it just seemed like every other outing. The city was a bunch of tall buildings that looked cool, but never had a past. The only think I could ever think of as a past was which story did the windows tell last year or I wonder why we can’t climb on the Picasso anymore. While the buildings were awe-inspiring, they were a bunch of metal, steel and glass. The loop was the whole city, the museums were cool and sports rock.
Then came the time to pick a college. My friend and I had decided in 8th grade that we were going to go to school in the city. We chose the city because it looked like the most fun, not because it had a rich history that could teach us about why we were actually there, but because of all the bars for when we were 21! My dorm room freshman year was the top floor with a view of the Sears Tower (yet another building whose name will remain as it is in my memory). Everyday when I first got to school as I sat down to do homework I would look at the tower and it would take my breath away. Three years later as I walk through campus I see the building in the distance and don’t think twice. It’s there, it always has been and always will be so why ogle at it anymore? I have lived in the city for three years and have never gone further south than Comiskey Park and never further north than Wrigley Field; never more East than the lake (for obvious reasons) and never more West than Logan Square. I have stayed in the comfortable bubble that I have in my mind that is Chicago.
In a way, I feel like I take the city for granted. The buildings will always be there, the CTA will always make me crazy and the drivers will always be total morons. And yet, I have a new appreciation of the city because of Algren’s words. The façade that is the city isn’t everything. This class has given me an opportunity to look at the nooks and crannies that really make up the city, it’s past, present and future. I’ve been to other cities, and really none compare. New York is dirty and loud and HUGE. LA is the same way. Then other cities are too small, not as grandiose. Chicago really is the perfect city. It has the diversity that is unmatched and an unbeatable skyline, and perhaps one of the seediest histories ever, and that’s what makes it so great. Algren is completely right, it doesn’t matter what the city has done in the past or what it will do in the future, this is home and nothing will ever trump that. Everything that I know about cities has come from living and visiting this city and I’m better for it. When I meet people who have never ridden the CTA I get so confused. Then of course I realize that not everyone has been to such a fantastical city before and I have to cut them some slack. Everything that has ever happened in Chicago has shaped it into the city it is now and Algren has such an appreciation for it. Sure some of the things the city isn’t particularly proud of **Blago** but she redeems herself in so many other ways and that is what Algren is saying. One must overlook the bad, but accept it as well in order to see the city for her true beauty.
Clearly, despite all of her flaws, be it gangsters, mobsters, political scandal, rich, poor, good and bad, Algren loves Chicago. Having grown up in the suburbs of this great city my whole life, I think I have come to take the city itself for granted. When I was a kid getting on the train to the city was the most exciting thing. Each year around Christmas my whole family would pack in the car, trek out to the blue line and make our way to see the tree in Daley Plaza and the windows and Marshal Fields (never Macy’s). Popping Frango mints on the way home was also a treat, but it just seemed like every other outing. The city was a bunch of tall buildings that looked cool, but never had a past. The only think I could ever think of as a past was which story did the windows tell last year or I wonder why we can’t climb on the Picasso anymore. While the buildings were awe-inspiring, they were a bunch of metal, steel and glass. The loop was the whole city, the museums were cool and sports rock.
Then came the time to pick a college. My friend and I had decided in 8th grade that we were going to go to school in the city. We chose the city because it looked like the most fun, not because it had a rich history that could teach us about why we were actually there, but because of all the bars for when we were 21! My dorm room freshman year was the top floor with a view of the Sears Tower (yet another building whose name will remain as it is in my memory). Everyday when I first got to school as I sat down to do homework I would look at the tower and it would take my breath away. Three years later as I walk through campus I see the building in the distance and don’t think twice. It’s there, it always has been and always will be so why ogle at it anymore? I have lived in the city for three years and have never gone further south than Comiskey Park and never further north than Wrigley Field; never more East than the lake (for obvious reasons) and never more West than Logan Square. I have stayed in the comfortable bubble that I have in my mind that is Chicago.
In a way, I feel like I take the city for granted. The buildings will always be there, the CTA will always make me crazy and the drivers will always be total morons. And yet, I have a new appreciation of the city because of Algren’s words. The façade that is the city isn’t everything. This class has given me an opportunity to look at the nooks and crannies that really make up the city, it’s past, present and future. I’ve been to other cities, and really none compare. New York is dirty and loud and HUGE. LA is the same way. Then other cities are too small, not as grandiose. Chicago really is the perfect city. It has the diversity that is unmatched and an unbeatable skyline, and perhaps one of the seediest histories ever, and that’s what makes it so great. Algren is completely right, it doesn’t matter what the city has done in the past or what it will do in the future, this is home and nothing will ever trump that. Everything that I know about cities has come from living and visiting this city and I’m better for it. When I meet people who have never ridden the CTA I get so confused. Then of course I realize that not everyone has been to such a fantastical city before and I have to cut them some slack. Everything that has ever happened in Chicago has shaped it into the city it is now and Algren has such an appreciation for it. Sure some of the things the city isn’t particularly proud of **Blago** but she redeems herself in so many other ways and that is what Algren is saying. One must overlook the bad, but accept it as well in order to see the city for her true beauty.
Friday, November 20, 2009
On Bellow
It is a toss up for my favorite book from this class between "The Actual" and "City on the Make." It's pretty hard to compare them really, because they are such drastically different narratives. The Actual was a very interesting peak into high society, sort of in the way the Lee gave us that peek into high society as well. It exposes the ridiculousness of rich people's lives in a way that a lot of us would never know: Hugh's demands to have his peas on the North/East corner of his plate and if it's place is wrong re-assigning that poor person who did it wrong to the garage. In a similar light, the Adletsky's are engaged in a ridiculous purchase of furniture that is of no consequence to them. It seems merely a game to them, because they have to find something to do to pass their days, spend their money etc. It is also interesting in The Actual to see the middle class characters surviving and living amongst the upper class. The scene with Amy and Madge in the bathroom shows a very interesting power dynamic between the classes. Overall The Actual manages to pack in a lot in a very short amount of space and I look forward to reading more Bellow!
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