(Spoiler alert)

I’m now sure how The Hummingbird’s Daughter got on my reading list. I think it may have had a very positive review in the old L.A. Times Book Review section. I used to read that section when I subscribed to the Times several years ago before we moved to SGV. I don’t remember what they said about the book but I’ve enjoyed many books by Latin American and Latino-American authors since they were assigned reading in college. In college I also learned about the “Realismo Magico” genre of Latin American fiction. I’ve enjoyed reading many different books of this genre including Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits during first semester freshman year in college, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Cien Anos de Soledad in Spanish during a summer break from colleg, and, more recently, Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima in 2008 (see earlier review). The Hummingbird’s Daughter is the most recent Realismo Magico Latino-American fiction I’ve read. It probably has the most basis in fact of any of these books I’ve read. Most of them have some basis in fact or history but The Hummingbird’s Daughter involved twenty years of research by the author, Luis Alberto Urrea. The main characters are the author’s great aunt, Teresita Urrea, and his great-great-uncle, Tomas Urrea, also Teresita’s father. But the book is still fiction. I’m sure some of the many conversations did not occur exactly as written. But much is also based on interviews and non-fiction accounts of his great aunt who was known as “The Saint of Calora.” With both its facts and fiction, the book made for a very enjoyable and edifying read.

The Hummingbird’s Daughter spans from the time of Teresita’s birth on the same month and day (though in a much earlier year) as my mother through age 19. It’s a rather long book at over 500 pages with large pages and small type. So much occurs in the book that it seems to span longer than 19 years, perhaps as many as 30. The characters change, grow more mature, learn a lot, and grow much closer. In fact, the story seems to contain just about all possible elements: change, love, death, war, persecution, fun, humor, insight, etc. In addition to Teresita and Tomas there are many major characters and even more minor characters some of whom are still important such as Caytenya, Teresita’s mother, also known as La Semalu or The Hummingbird because she’s so small. Hummingbirds also have important meaning in the book. Another character who makes a cameo is Rudolfo Anaya, the first who calls out a “piropo” or poetic admiring praise to Teresita as she walks through the plazuela at the Urrea ranchero with the other girls in their nice cloths. Is this Anaya related to the real-life Rudolfo Anaya who wrote Bless Me, Ultima? Both that book and The Hummingbird’s Daughter feature curanderas or healers as major characters. The book also had many subplots, most of which are not settled by the end. But Teresita’s and Tomas’ stories are complete. As I reader I got to know them well and even felt like I changed along with them. There’s a lot of foreshadowing but also many things I thought would be important that weren’t. That’s how it is in life, I guess. I never know what’s going on now that will most affect the future.

The story takes place in rural Mexico in the late 19th century. I checked my atlas and many of the places mentioned in the book are real such as Orotoni, Sinaloa, Sonora, and Calora. In addition to the two main characters, many real life people are characters in the book such as President Diaz, General Bandala, and Tomas’ friend, the engineer Lauro Aquirre. The book is in English but still includes many Spanish words, especially slang. In a letter to Aquirre, Tomas lists all the words for “fool” in Spanish. There are about 13 of them. He meets a priest who speaks with a Castilian accent, pronouncing the “s” sound as “th”. “Zaragoza” becomes “tharagotha”. But not only Spanish is featured. Teresita and many of the People (as the peasants are called) are Mexican Indian. Some tribes are named specifically such as the Yaquis and the Apaches. The Indians call the white people “Yoris”.

In addition to language, the book presents many aspects of Mexican culture. There are many different regions of Mexico: Sinaloa in the south; the drier Sonora in the north; and the mountains where the rough people known as the “tigres” live. One minor character is from the town of Parangaricutirimicauro, a mouthful of a name. Tomas’s ranch hands (also called cowboys or buckaroos) give the man a round of applause after he says the name of his hometown. There’s also the food that the People and the Yori’s eat such as salsa borracha (drunk salsa?). When the Sinaloans move from Sinaloa to Sonora, they learn that the Sonorans indulged in the unspeakable atrocity of eating flour tortillas. “Flour! Any human being knew that tortillas were made of corn.” (p. 104-105)

The book contains a lot of humor and the characters and the author don’t take themselves too seriously. Early on, Tomas writes limericks for fun with first lines such as “There was a young man from Guamuchil/ Whose name was Pinche Inutil” or “There was a young man from Parangaricutirimicauro/ Oh, to h*** with it.” The funniest parts of the book are exchanges of dialogue between characters. Tomas’s friend, the engineer Lauro Aquirre describes how he went to a department store in the city, a new concept in urban shopping at the time. He describes them as “Germans selling coats and underpants and pots and toys all in one great store.”
“No meat,” Tomas answers.
“No”
“What kind of store sells no meat” (p. 88)
Another exchange is between Teresita and Huila, the curandera or healer who takes Teresita under her wing. Huila tells the 6-year-old Teresita a story of how Mary, the Mother of God flew down toward a group of Indians and landed on a cactus. The Indian warriors shot arrows at her, not knowing what she was. They all missed and she spoke to them.
“What did she say?” Asked Teresita.
“She said – ‘Get me a ladder!’” Huila answered.
“What?”
“Get me a ladder, that’s what she said. Holy be thy name.”
Teresita burst out laughing. So did Huila.
There’s also a humorous exchange between Cruz Chavez, the self-proclaimed “Pope of Mexico” from the mountains and Segunda, Tomas’s right hand man.

There’s a lot of humor in the book and, at times, the story seems almost light-hearted. But there’s also an underlying seriousness. The coming Mexican revolution and the hidden persecution of the Indians and political agitators eventually spread to the relatively idyllic and isolated life on Tomas’s ranch. But the serous lessons appear from the beginning. As a child, Teresita has dreams of a hummingbird staring at her and then flying to her left. Huila tells her “Left is the direction of the heart. Did you know that? The heart is on the left.”
Teresita answers, “I thought the heart was in the middle.”
Huila: “On the left. That’s why wedding rings are on the left hand, you see, the heart side.” (p. 96)
Much later in the book Teresita has a vision of Huila showing her the stars that become silver globes. Within them, Teresita sees herself riding on a train in one, as a child in another, grown up and holding a child in another, at her wedding in yet another. She asks Huila what this is and Huila answers, “It is you. Every you, every possible you. Forever you are surrounded by countless choices of what you are to be. These are your destinies.” (p. 486-487)

The Hummingbird’s daughter is an epic novel about destiny, change, and just about everything else. Its events are unpredictable just like a day for Tomas on his ranch. He doesn’t know what the day will bring: good luck, visitors needed help, something that will change everything. The humor makes for fun, almost casual reading of a story that is deceptively not casual at all but very serious. There’s a lot of referring back to previous actions and conversations, though not all of them are important. In life it’s difficult to know what will affect you greatly and what won’t have much effect. Like Huila’s silver globes, our destinies are as countless as our choices.

We went to Gyu-Kaku for dinner on Thursday, September 3, 2009 to celebrate my wife passing an exam and finishing school. It’s a chain restaurant and we went to the branch at Victoria Gardens shopping destination in Rancho Cucamonga. Another reason we went is that my wife receives e-mails from Victoria Gardens and one of them announced that Gyu-Kaku was having a deal from August 2 to September 7 where the garlic filet mignon was only $3.95 rather than the usual $7.95. The e-mail also had a coupon for free s’mores with a $10 purchase, a $2.95 value. We had been to Victoria Gardens several times and eaten at several restaurants there but we hadn’t heard much about Gyu-Kaku. It was advertised as a Japanese barbecue and it looked like we would have to cook the food ourselves or have the food cooked right in front of us. In the week or so before going we referred to the place as “that $3.95 filet mignon place.”

I went to work early on that Thursday and got home at 4:45 pm. I figured it would take us about an hour to get to Rancho Cucamonga from home given the afternoon traffic. We left at 5 pm and drove east on the 210. We hit some traffic in spots and on the way we listened to a CD of the Jackson Five and early Michael Jackson recordings. His funeral and burial took place that day. We exited at Day Creek Blvd and drove south. Normally when we go to Victoria Gardens we turn left on North Mainstreet and park in the structure on the north end. But my wife was still recovering from a broken toe so we drove past North Mainstreet and past Versailles Street where we couldn’t turn left. We turned left on Victoria Gardens Lane, then left on Monet Avenue, right on Versailles Street and left on Waterland Place. Our final turn was a left into the small parking lot.

Gyu-Kaku is in the same building as the Flemings Steakhouse near the J.C. Penney. The parking lot was full, probably of people starting the Labor Day weekend early. Luckily a car left leaving us a spot. As we walked toward the building we could already smell the barbecued meat. It looked like the restaurant had some back doors but they appeared to be for employees only. We walked to the large front door along Monet Avenue. We gave our name to the hostess soon after we entered at 5:50 pm. She asked if we had a reservation and we didn’t but we still only had to wait for three minutes.

Every table, including ours, had a circular hole with a grill, a circular metal grid of half-inch squares. It looked like it had a gas-powered flame that they turned on after we sat down. Our server gave us a couple of multi-page menus. He was willing to answer any questions we had. The menu had several pre-set menu options of many different meats and side dishes. These cost $40-$50 per person. There was also an all-you-can-eat option that was $10 off or only $34.95 per person for a limited time. We saw from a couple near us who ordered the all-you-can-eat option that it’s actually “all-you-can-cook”. As for the individual items, there were many different kinds of meat including cuts of beef, pork, chicken, Japanese sausage, even bacon-wrapped asparagus. The menu said to order 2-3 meat options per person. They cost around $4-$9 for 3-4 ounces. Our plan, of course, was to get the discounted filet mignon. There were also vegetables for grilling both wrapped in foil and without. There were also many options that didn’t required cooking on the customers’ part including appetizers, rice, and noodles. We placed our order without much help from the server. He seemed to be steering us toward the more expensive preset meals and all-you-can eat options.

Along with the grills on each table, the décor consisted of dark wood tables and paneling, spherical Japanese lanterns hanging from the ceiling, and slightly dim lighting. The place was actually quite large with multiple rooms. Over the speakers they played 80’s music including The Ramones, Paul Young, Depeche Mode, Prince, and Michael Jackson.

The first thing they served was the calamari appetizer that was crispy and golden. It was cooked just right: not at all chewy, and it came with a light red dipping sauce. The rest of our (non-dessert) food came nearly all at once. Our garlic fried noodles came in a large black bowl that the server warned us was hot. The noodles were thick, flavorful and quite substantial. Our assorted vegetables came on a white platter. Unlike the calamari and garlic fried noodles, the vegetables would require cooking on our part. They consisted of two large cross sections of onions, zucchini slices, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, small ears of white corn, and green chili peppers. We grilled everything except the chili peppers that we skipped. We halved the mushrooms before grilling. The ears of corn were done first and, slightly blackened, they tasted sweet. The grilled mushrooms, zucchini, and tomatoes took a few minutes per side to grill and they were also good. The onions took the longest: about 4-5 minutes per side, but they were worth it with them retaining just a bit of their raw flavor mostly dulled by the grill.

The two 3.25 ounce servings of $3.95 garlic filet mignon all came together cut into chunks on a narrow black platter. We had wanted to order more servings but we could only get one serving per person at that price. Our server told us to place them in the middle of the grill and cooked them on one side until the juices started to run out the top. Then we had to turn them over and cook them until the juices run out or until desired doneness. We followed his directions. There were about 10-11 small chunks of meat. My wife didn’t mind having her share being a bit rare and I could keep mine on the grill until the meat was well done. I think it took about 10-15 minutes to cook all the pieces. When done my pieces were blackened and fully cooked but not chewy at all and they had delicious garlic flavor.

After finishing dinner we had to wait a bit as our server was busy tending to the couple at the table next to us who had ordered the all-you-can-eat (cook) option. We gave him the printed coupon for the s’mores. Another server came by and removed our grill grid with a forked instrument and replaced it with a clean one. Then our main server brought us our s’mores, not yet assembled. They consisted of two marshmallows, two small slabs of Hershey’s chocolate, and four square graham crackers. They came with two metal skewers with wooden handles and forked ends. We roasted the marshmallows by holding them 1-2 inches above the grill with the skewers. This involved toasting them until golden on the outside. I had my s’more without chocolate, so it wasn’t a true s’more. To melt the chocolate for my wife’s s’more, we held it over the grill for a few seconds, using both skewers. The s’mores were good.

Our total bill, including the tip on the undiscounted total, came out to not much more than the discounted all-you-can-eat price for one person. As we left I noticed there was a dial on the side of the table for controlling the heat level of the grill. We drove home satisfied.

When I was in high school many years ago I participated in the school musical production of “West Side Story”. I was part of the chorus, a nameless member of the Sharks, the Puerto Rican gang. I guess that counts as my only gang affiliation. It was fun even though we didn’t get to sing very many songs. There was some choreography but I think the Shark girls and Jet boys have bigger roles than the Shark boys and Jet girls. I preferred participating in the school musical “Anything Goes” the year because there were more songs sung by the entire company. In “West Side Story” we only sang part of the “Tonight” quintet.

After my involvement in the high school production, I didn’t hear much else about “West Side Story”. My wife had gotten a CD of instrumental music from the musical a few years ago. Still, I’d nearly forgotten about it until sometime during the first half of 2009. We were watching the Tony Awards and learned that there was a revival on Broadway of “West Side Story”. They had revised some of the lyrics to be sung in Spanish and made the gangs look more thuggish and authentic. I believe the actress who played Anita in this production won a Tony. I also think I heard that the actress who played Maria was discovered by the casting directors when they saw her on YouTube. This all sounded interesting. When I was in the high school production I wondered how come the Sharks didn’t have more Spanish lines. The only one I remembered was Bernardo saying, “Vamanos, chicos! Es tarde.”

We got the CD of the New Broadway Cast Recording. The production came to Broadway in early 2009. I think it opened in March of that year. During the first track, “Prologue”, the Jets and Sharks have some skirmishes. The Sharks banter among themselves and yell Spanish insults at the Jets. The next song sounds identical to the original. “When You’re a Jet” serves to introduce us to the Jets: Riff, the leader; Action; A-Rab; Baby John; Big Deal; Diesel; Snowboy; 4H; and Anybodys, the tomboy. The next track, “Something Coming” sung by Tony, is also unchanged from the original. I remember the choreography for the next track, “Dance in the Gym”, a mostly instrumental number. It begins sounding like swing but soon changes to a Latin beat with everyone calling out “Mambo” at different points. In this new version both the Sharks and the Jets call out “Mambo”. I only remember the Sharks calling it out in my school’s production.

The next track, “Maria”, also sung by Tony, is also the original. But when the spoken lines are also included I could clearly discern Maria’s Latin accent. During the next song, “Tonight” sung by Maria and Tony, Maria speaks Spanish at the end: “Te adoro, Anton.” I don’t remember if that’s part of the original production or not. The next song, “America”, is sung by the Shark girls, principally Anita and Rosalia. Their Latina accents are very apparent but they don’t sing in Spanish. It’s still a fun song. The Jets sing the next song, “Cool” and I think some of the Jet girls join in for a few parts. Tony and Maria then sing “One Hand, One Heart” that’s all in English. The use of Spanish doesn’t become very apparent until the next song, the “Tonight” quintet. The singing alternates between the Jets, Maria, Tony, Anita, Riff, and the Sharks. This time the Sharks sing only in Spanish. They use a wide vocabulary with several words I didn’t know such as “impondremos”. When I was in the high school production, I think we just sang the same words as the Jets or, at least, words in English. But in this production, the Sharks get their own story in their own language. For example, the words in the earlier version were:

Jets: “Well, they began it.”
Sharks: “Well, they began it”

In the new version they are:

Jets: “Well, they began it.”
Sharks: “Son los cupables.” (It’s their fault.)

I also learned some more names of the Sharks from the CD liner notes. In addition to Bernardo, the leader, Chino, and Indio there are Bobo, Inca, and Pepe.

The next track is the “Rumble” that’s an instrumental and similar to the prologue. There’s not as much banter in either language. The only discernable word is Tony shouting “Maria!” The next song is all in Spanish and sung by Maria and the Shark girls. Previously it was the cheesy-sounding “I Feel Pretty”. Now it’s “Me Siento Hermosa.” Like the “Tonight” quintet, it has a complex and wide vocabulary with a couple of words I didn’t know: atolondrada and faz. It just sounds more natural in Spanish, like it’s more about celebration than vanity. It even has what sounds like a Latin rhythm.

The language is back to English for the next song, although not entirely. “Somewhere” is Maria and Tony’s fantasy about getting away from all the troubles around them. I think there was a dream sequence at this point in the high school production. In the new Broadway production, they added the character Kiddo, a Jet who’s young enough to be a child. He sings one verse of “Somewhere” in a choirboy voice. This adds to the fantasy of a safe and innocent place. At the end they sing one line in Spanish that I think greatly improves the song. Previously, the lines seemed a bit repetitive:

Maria: “Hold my hand and we’re halfway there.”
Tony: “Hold my hand and I’ll take you there.”

Now the lines are more original:
Tony: “Hold my hand and we’re halfway there.”
Maria: “Llevame para no volver.” (Roughly, carry me in order to not return)

The next song is unchanged from the original and it doesn’t require improvement. It’s the song that “lampoons the legal system” as my former English teacher wrote. “Officer Krupke” remains very funny and very witty. Action is the Jet on trial, 4H is Officer Krupke, Diesel is the judge, Snowboy is the head shrinker, and either A-Rab or Baby John is the social worker. I believe in our high school production they had the social worker sing in falsetto voice for some reason. Wisely, they don’t do this in the new production.

The next song is in Spanish. Anita and Maria’s former song “A Boy Like That” becomes “Un Hombre Asi”. Note the direct translation, “A Man Like That”, matures the subject from a boy to a man. But a man makes more sense. Again, the song includes a sophisticated Spanish vocabulary with lines “y este amor te sale caro”. The line “your own kind” from the original becomes “los tuyos” so it’s more like “your crowd” or “your group”. The last song is the finale, a recap of “Tonight” in instrumental. At the end this time Maria sings “Hold my hand and we’re halfway there,” and Tony answers “llevame para no volver.”

Overall, I think the New Broadway Cast Recording is a big improvement. The tragic story, excellent songs, and mixture of humor with the predominantly serious drama are all still there. But the use of Spanish lyrics and lines give the Sharks their own culture and identity, making them more than just foils for the Jets. It’s also more realistic. People that aren’t very far removed from their original cultures tend to bring them along, including the language. It makes the musical overall that much richer. I wish this version was around back when I was in high school. It would have given me a chance to practice my Spanish, maybe learn some new words. Then again, the directors might have thought it too difficult because my school had few Spanish-speaking students at the time, if any. Still, this new version would be great for high schools in Southern California, most of which have many Spanish-speaking students. Perhaps the musical itself will appeal to the growing Latino population in the U.S. West Side Story is about the clash of culture and the new version gives both cultures their proper respect.

(Spoilers)

My wife got me the book How to Get Fat from the store Sidecca that’s inside the Montclair Plaza to help me gain weight and because the title sounded funny. It doesn’t have a specific author but rather was produced by Knock Knock Productions who are based in Venice, CA. How to Get Fat is a small, short book with a colorful cover and illustrations for each chapter. Knock Knock has produced a whole series of “self-hurt” books including this one along with How to Get into Debt, How to Drive Like a Maniac, and How to Tramatize your Kids. But this isn’t just a book of jokes, but rather a book of practical advice on how to get fat. It does contain a lot of humor along with information and encouragement and some surprisingly important lessons.

How to Get Fat is split into many chapters on the different aspects of gaining weight. It covers what to eat, where to eat, how to eat, and the proper mindset or “fattitude”. It includes formulas to determine how many calories to eat and how much weight to gain. There’s so much more to gaining weight than simply eating more unhealthy food and not exercising. There’s shopping for food correctly (when you’re hungry), and making sure to buy bulk so you never run out. There’s the proper way to order at restaurants such as getting more fattening tempura instead of sushi when eating Japanese. One of my favorite foods, fajitas, is actually listed among the foods to avoid at Mexican restaurants because they’re too healthy. They recommend ordering chimichangas instead.

I learned some things from the book that I didn’t know before such as the fact that once you’re full, leptin is released in your brain and makes you feel full. However, the common sweetener high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) inhibits leptin secretion and your brain never gets the message that you’re full. I also learned that the ingredients listed on food labels are in descending order and the first item given comprises the greatest percentage of the food.

The book contains a lot of humor along with all the useful information. It is written in a fun, comical tone. It doesn’t make fun of itself or devolve into sarcasm or parody, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously, either. One part describes how a sedentary person burns fewer than 1,750 calories per day while an active person burns 2,200 calories. The book goes on to say “that 450-calorie difference equals roughly nine Oreos. If you’re sedentary and you eat the nine Oreos, that’s like a 900-calorie gain.” (p. 52-53) Another part indicates how exercise is unnecessary. Modern transportation means we only have to walk a few feet to get anywhere so there’s no functional reason for physical fitness. “Toning your muscles and increasing your endurance is therefore a waste of valuable time that could be spent eating.” (p. 167)

Much additional humor and information can be found in boxes separate from the main text. One box describes how “decades of American farm bills have reduced the cost of staple commodities such as corn, wheat, and soy with $25 billion in subsidies.” (p. 110) As a result, healthy foods such as lettuce and berries are 40% more expensive than they were in 1985, while the cost of soda, that’s rich in high fructose corn syrup, is 23% cheaper. I’m not sure whether that’s all true but it sounds interesting. Another box describes how all branches of the U.S. Military have weight restrictions and if you exceed them and conscription is reinstated, you won’t be drafted. Many of the boxes contain funny and profound quotes from famous people including:

“When we lose 20 pounds, we may be losing the best 20 pounds we have! We may be losing the parts that contain our genius, our humanity, our love and honesty.” –Woody Allen

“Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch.” –Orson Welles

With all its humor and interesting information, the book also presents some important lessons that aren’t just applicable to getting fat. It describes how when you try to get fat, you’ll have two types of detractors: those who disagree with your goal of gaining weight and those who don’t want you to succeed in anything due to their own issues with self-loathing, lack of discipline, and jealousy. The book advises to agree to disagree with the former and drop the latter because they’re toxic. An earlier passage describes how thin people have to fight off unwanted advances and never know whether people like them for who they are or what they look like. Once you’re fat, you don’t have to worry about that. You can base your self-worth entirely on your character and know that people like you for the right reasons. Towards the end, the book describes how “the true accomplishment is recognizing the control you’ve taken over your body and your life and knowing that you can achieve anything that you set your mind and mouth to.” (p. 179-180)

Overall, I enjoyed the book. The only drawback was that it seemed to gloss over the potential health effects of getting fat. It actually offers at least one health benefit. In my opinion, society pulls us in two directions: one is the “cult of thin” and the other is all the best-tasting, fattening food we can eat. How to Get Fat is refreshing because it just focuses on one direction.

(Potential spoilers)

I first heard about Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo from reading the book Freedom Writers a couple of years ago. Erin Grewell’s students at their high school in Long Beach had used Zlata’s Diary as a model for their own writing. Like many people, I heard about Freedom Writers from the film of the same name that came out a few years ago and starred Hilary Swank. Grewell’s class studied the Holocaust, the Nazi persecution of Jews and Anne Frank’s diary in particular. They considered Zlata Filipovic to be a modern-day Anne Frank who recorded her life as she lived through the first few years of the siege of Sarajevo. Zlata also acknowledges this comparison in her diary, but hopes she doesn’t suffer the same fate as Anne Frank. I like reading about real life, even very difficult real life like that described in Freedom Writers and Zlata’s Diary. It puts more personal perspective on the events in the news.

Zlata never planned to write a world-famous account of surviving a war. In the late summer of 1991 before there is any hint of a war she starts a diary to record her life and her life as an only child of upper middle class parents seems very happy. She has school, activities, friends, and interests in pop culture. Her life seems like that of a normal 11-year-old, maybe just a bit different because she lives in a foreign country. In December 1991 she writes about being home sick in bed and listening to “Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson on the radio and how she’s considering joining a Madonna fan club. I thought that Michael Jackson’s song “Black or White” would be the one playing on the radio in 1991. Maybe they have different pop culture trends in Yugoslavia. Their version of Monopoly is also a little bit different. The highest bills are the red notes for 5,000 each (she doesn’t give the currency) and the properties have names like Place de Geneve and Cote D’Azure. I’m not sure if that’s French or Croat or the language that they speak. They seem to use many consonants such as for the first name Srdjan and last name Lajtner, and place name Crnotina. I’d like to know how some of these names are pronounced.

By spring 1992 Zlata’s diary gets a name: Mimmy; but the tone of the diary changes for a different reason. The war begins, first in other towns such as Dubrovnik but by April or May 1992 it reaches Sarajevo. From Zlata’s perspective the war consists of shooting, shelling, buildings destroyed, and lives lost or destroyed. Zlata has to stay indoors as her home becomes a makeshift bunker. It’s a life most of us couldn’t even imagine and it’s just as hard on her parents. The gas, electricity, and water are all unreliable. In the wintertime they have to sleep in the kitchen because it’s the warmest room in their apartment at 63.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Many of her friends leave the country and some are killed by shelling. Telephone and mail service are also unreliable. She mentions how her loved ones die and she doesn’t even know about it, how all her friends and relatives have been split up and she can’t even keep in touch with anyone except her neighbors.

In all the turmoil, Zlata, her parents, their neighbors, and the few friends that she sometimes gets to see try to carve out a life that’s as close to normal as possible, though it’s very far from normal. They organize a summer school, play lots of cards and games, and adopt and care for pets as best they can. They even give a name, “Jovo”, to a sniper whose shooting they hear in their area (though I don’t think they actually meet the sniper). “(Jovo) was in a playful mood today.” Zlata writes on April 28, 1993. Though the fun-loving side that she showed before the war is greatly diminished, she doesn’t lose it entirely. On July 30, 1993 she writes about seeing all the different contraptions people use to haul water. The topper is a sled on roller skates. She and the others refer to the politicians that are partially responsible for the situation as “kids”. She writes in November 1992 how “The ‘kids’ are playing, which is why us real kids are not playing . . .”

Zlata’s Diary includes a lot of wisdom beyond her years, probably developed by the situation she and her parents are in. On September 2, 1993 she writes, “Someone once said that books are the greatest treasure, the greatest friend one has. The Vjecnica (a library) was such a treasure trove. We had many friends there.” (p. 182-183) She also describes earlier how politics is conducted by “grown-ups” and she is “young”. She doesn’t understand politics, but she still thinks the “young” would do a better job if they were in charge. They wouldn’t have chosen war.

Zlata’s Diary gives a unique perspective of someone directly affected by an ongoing conflict. Her account is more personal than a journalist or detached writer writing about a war. Zlata describes the sights, smells, and sounds such as the streets all quiet because everyone is hiding and the screeching sounds of the wheeled contraptions hauling water. Food mostly consists of rice, beans, and pasta without sauce. She misses fruit. I think the saddest part is that after page 40, the war just goes on and on. The book spans September 1991 to October 1993 and the siege of Sarajevo lasted from 1992 to 1996. Zlata writes about early versions of her diary getting published. Mimmy starts to bring her fame and in July 1993 Zlata is even filmed as the “Person of the Week” on ABC News.

Zlata did not suffer the same fate as Anne Frank. She got out alive, first moving to Paris and eventually settling in Ireland. But the happy childhood she had known from before the war was forever lost. She never wanted her diary to make her world-famous and without the war, it probably never would have. But she does give a voice to children all over the world who live in war zones.

Incredible story! Simply incredible. This one grabbed me from my first listen to the first CD all the way to the 18th, the final minute of the 21st hour. Normally I complain about the selection of audiobooks at the Covina Public Library but this time they had a real gem. I first noticed that they had it earlier in early 2009. It’s a fairly new edition, produced in 2007. It doesn’t just have one actor reading the book but an entire cast. The original edition was published in 1965, written by Frank Herbert who’s from Tacoma, Washington and who attended the University of Washington in Seattle. My parents read it around the time it came out. My mom said that when she made French bread it reminded her of the enormous sand worms in Dune. Herbert wrote several sequels, none as good as the original. His son has continued to write sequels after his father’s untimely death in the 1980’s. A film version of Dune directed by David Lynch was released in 1984. I heard it wasn’t very good. I also heard that a TV miniseries of Dune aired in 2000.

I had all but forgotten about Dune when I noticed it in the audiobook section of the Covina Public Library in early 2009. As I said it is read by an entire cast. The cast includes Scott Brick, a famous reader of science fiction audiobooks. I’ve listened to Isaac Asimov’s I Robot and Second Foundation read by Brick. This Dune audiobook is very long consisting of 18 CD’s and totaling about 21 hours of listening. I usually only listen to audiobooks while folding clothes, doing tedious chores, and driving long distances alone. I didn’t think I would be doing enough of those activities to complete a 21-hour audiobook in the 3-week checkout period and 3-week renewal period. But then we decided to go to Las Vegas with Mom and Dad (my in-laws). They would be driving so I wouldn’t have total control of when we stopped. I figured a long, compelling audiobook such as Dune would distract me from any reason that I might need to stop. Well, other than having to compete with the radio and their CD’s, the plan worked perfectly. The car trip to and from Vegas just fly by and the drive through the desert was consistent with the desert planet setting of the book. Still, even all that listening didn’t make much of a dent in the total 21 hours of the book. But I was hooked.

I had to finish before the book was due after the 3-week renewal period allowed. During the last three weeks I spent my lunch hours and afternoon train rides home listening to it. I enjoyed every minute and I finished the day before it was due. This has to be the longest audiobook I’ve every listened to. Initially, I thought the 18 CD’s comprised more than one of the Dune books. But it’s only the first and original Dune. It is split into three sections labeled as “books”. Their names are: “Dune”, “Muad’ib” and “The Prophet”. Most of the text is read by Englishman Simon Vance with other cast members voicing the main characters during particularly dramatic parts of the book. During the less dramatic parts Vance voices the characters. They all do a great job. Scott Brick voices several different characters. Different women with slightly difference voices play the female characters. There’s also some music and sound effects such as the whistle of the desert wind at certain points. The production really makes the story come alive.

The story is a science fiction/fantasy, a coming-of-age, a struggle between subjectively defined good and evil, and so much more. Herbert hasn’t just thought up new worlds and technologies but also new political systems, class structures, cultures, religions, social norms and mores, and economies of the universe. Good and evil are not so clearly defined with different players all having their own different hidden agendas, sometimes stretching back generations. There are many powerful-sounding futuristic names such as the feuding families the Atreides and the Harkennons; the planet Arrakis, also called Dune, where most of the story takes place; the characters Stilgar, Feyd-Rautha, Chani, and Piter Devries; and the Sardaukar, the feared imperial soldiers. An imperial princess has the name Irulan, the same name as one of the participants of the TV show The Real World: Las Vegas, I believe. There are advanced weapons and vehicles such as Laseguns and Ornithopters. There also traditional weapons called crysknives. (Interestingly, one of the Weapons of Moroland is also called “Kris”.) Among these new names are some familiar ones: the duke’s heir, Paul Atriedes and his mother Jessica. Some plants on Arrakis are the same as the ones in Earth’s deserts such as saguaro and creosote.

Herbert doesn’t always explain everything that is going on or various aspects of the culture and reality of Dune that differ from what the reader is used to. It’s as if he trusts the reader to figure it out on their own. Some things are first introduced and explained later. Others are slightly explained over the course of the book. Rather than turn me off the lack of explanation made me want to keep reading and learn more. There are the Bene Gesserit, schools for women that train them “to serve”, yet the women have the intuition to see through any deceit, abilities to calm down in the face of fear, and even powers of persuasion. At the other end is the mythical Space Guild with their monopoly on space travel. On Arrakis are the Fremen, the elusive desert people for whom water is precious to the point of being used as currency. From the book I learned that a man requires 10 liters of water per day while a palm tree requires 40 liters making it a thing of great luxury. Much is explained by the end, though not all. It’s a bit like living in a different country or culture. Initially everything is new and nothing is explained, but after a while, you learn the culture.

There’s a lot of foreshadowing in Dune. A word I came to know well was prescience, the knowledge of things or events before they occur. There’s much discussion of destiny and purpose. Still, not everything is predictable and, though the story in general unfolds as expected, many details are surprising and this keeps things interesting. Every scene of the novel is important to the story. There is no filler or digression. Each scene is usually a different setting and situation with different characters. The book is also paced well, spanning several years in the lives of the characters yet not seeming too long. There was always more I wanted to know and the action is gripping enough that I couldn’t help but keep on listening.

Dune is one of the best science fiction/fantasy books I’ve read. It ranks up there with Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Peake’s Gormenghast trilogy. But Dune isn’t just good sci-fi but also good writing, good character development, and what an imagination! I read that Frank Herbert got the idea for Dune from seeing the sand dunes outside Florence, Oregon. Some say that Dune has themes of environmentalism and religious fundamentalism. But to me it’s just a great story and I’ll never underestimate the audiobook selection at the Covina Public Library again.

On Sunday, August 2, 2009 we went to dinner at Alondra Hot Wings to celebrate Dad’s (my father-in-law’s) birthday. My wife had obtained a $25 gift certificate (required spending $35) to that restaurant from restaurants.com for only $3. It seemed like a pretty good place specializing in hot wings but also serving other things such as pizza and sandwiches. We had wanted to make a reservation but when my wife called them they said they did not take reservations. On Sunday afternoon we drove over to Mom and Dad’s and after my brother- and sister-in-law arrived and Dad finished cooking some crab for the paella he was making for his birthday celebration the next day, we all drove to the restaurant. It’s in northern Alhambra requiring us to drive north on Atlantic Blvd. and turn right on Main Street. Alondra Hot Wings is on the north side of the street near the intersection with 5th Street. We turned left on 5th Street. There didn’t seem to be much parking behind the restaurant but there was a public parking lot on the east side of 5th Street. We just parked there, crossed 5th Street and entered the restaurant through the back door.

Alondra Hot Wings has a “gangster” theme, not in terms of gangbangers but in terms of old school organized crime and famous gangsters in history. We entered through the back door and walked down the hall. On the right wall were framed front pages of vintage newspapers detailed arrests of famous criminals. One the other wall were large black and white photographs of the famous gangsters, most of them portraits and/or mug shots. There were many we had heard of: Bonnie and Clyde (whose car we saw at the casino in Primm, Nevada in late June), Bugsy Siegel, Luciano, Gambino, Genovese, Capone, Gotti, and many we hadn’t heard of such as Gigante, a great name for a gangster. Each photo had a brief written profile below it with the gangster’s name and when they lived. The restaurant had a black and brownish red color scheme. Most seating consisted of booths along the walls and tables set together in the middle. Other large photos on the walls showed the New York City skyline, a couple showing the late World Trade Center twin towers. There were also several flatscreen TV’s showing the L.A. Dodger game. Over the speakers they played traditional Pop music, mostly Frank Sinatra.

The restaurant was cranking. Ever booth and table was full. I noticed one table where several cops sat and I wondered what they thought of the décor. At the large L-shaped bar and open kitchen on the left side of the restaurant they told us we had to give our name and the size of our party to the hostess at the desk up front. We did so at 6:54 pm and the hostess said it would be a 20-minute wait. While we waited I saw many people eating wings served on round metal platters on elevated on stands. I also had a chance to look at the menu. They served three different kinds of wings: original, barbecue, and teriyaki. For each we could choose a level of spice between mild, medium and hot. They all came with carrot and celery sticks and ranch dipping sauce. There were also many other sauces to choose from including “atomic” hot sauce, honey barbecue, and maple syrup.

The menu included a lot more than just wings, though. There were also deli sandwiches and burgers from the grill that included one called “The Big Apple” though it didn’t have any apples in it. The section “Organized Pizza” listed many pizzas named for gangsters or other gangster terms. Like the photos they had the “Bonnie and Clyde”, the “Gotti”, and the “Luciano”. They also had the “Don” and the “Sleeping with the Fishes” pizzas. Desserts included fried twinkies and doughballs or chunks of snickers bars coated in thick dough. I also learned from the menu that they have four locations: in Paramount on Alondra Blvd. (possibly the original location), Long Beach, Alhambra (where we were), and Montebello.

We actually weren’t seated until 7:25 pm yielding a wait of over 30 minutes. They put us at one of the group of tables in the center. We knew what we wanted so we ordered right away. My brother-in-law brought a bottle of wine and I believe they charged a $5 corkage fee. First they brought the Philly Cheesesteak sandwich that Mom ordered and then they brought a plate of 16 original wings, mild spice level. They were small but numerous enough for everyone to have some and enough for a meal for me. Even though they were mild they still had a bit of heat, enough to give them flavor. I also tried some of the fries that came with Mom’s Philly cheesesteak sandwich. They were good, especially after dipping them in the residual sauce from the wings. My wife enjoyed her tomato fried in buttermilk batter that she shared with the others. They also had a “Sleeping with the Fishes” pizza that has shrimp on it. For dessert, they ordered a fried twinkie though Dad was also given a fried twinkie for his birthday. The servers sang “Happy Birthday” to Dad, singing “Happy Birthday to the Gangster” in place of his name. The others also ordered some of those Snickers doughballs that they enjoyed very much.

The bill net of the $25 gift certificate came out pretty reasonable. We made out like gangsters.