That Old Cape Magic / Richard Russo ~ November / Pre-discussion

[bellamarie]

That Old Cape Magic          by Richard  Russo

From Bookmarks magazine:
Following Bridge of Sighs—a national best seller hailed by The Boston Globe as “an astounding achievement” and “a masterpiece”—Richard Russo gives us the story of a marriage, and of all the other ties that bind, from parents and in-laws to children and the promises of youth.
 The storytelling is flawless throughout, moments of great comedy and even hilarity alternating with others of rueful understanding and heart-stopping sadness, and its ending is at once surprising, uplifting and unlike anything this Pulitzer Prize winner has ever written.


From The Washington Post
Every year, Jack Griffin's parents would drive from the Midwest, where they were both unhappy-to-miserable college professors, to spend two weeks in a rented cottage somewhere on the beautiful island of Cape Cod, Mass., and as they crossed the Sagamore Bridge they would, as if on cue, begin to sing "That Old Cape Magic," their altered version of "That Old Black Magic."

Questions for Chapters 1 - 3

1. What were your first thoughts as you began reading this book?
Is it different in some way from what you might have expected - less sunny, despite the glorious ambiance - more serious?

2. After reading the first three chapters (52 pages), what is your impression of Griffin, the narrator?
He does acknowledge his "petulance" in the very first paragraph of Chapter One  but seems reluctant to apologize to Joy, his wife. 

3. Do you think the appearance of Griffin's mother in the first chapter, "A Finer Place", is essential  by way  of an explanation (if one were neded)  for Griffin's behavior?

4. Were you amused or appalled reading Griffin's revelations of his parents' professional and personal lives?

Discussion Leader: Traude 

Gumtree...our Aussie night time fairy, who posts while we sleep, although you and I do bump into each other every now and then, since I tend to be a night owl.  Hoot hoot...How are you?  I so agree with you that my books feel like my friends.  Afterall, we come to know the characters on a personal level and so once we are done with the book why must we file it away never to be seen again?  Just a glance at the title on my desk gives me warm feelings of how much I enjoyed the book, or in some cases a glance reminds me of the knowledge I gained.  So...for my early Christmas present I shall buy that corner bookshelf I have had my eye on for nearly a year now.  I hope they will dicker the price a tad with me.  If not...I shall give them the asking price, since it will be worth its price in gold to me.  I look forward to Nov. 1st, my book is on its way.  I found it online at a discount book site, so I truly saved there.  

[straudetwo]

Thanks to our matchless techie team we have a real folder now, no longer the proposed one.
I'm grateful to the team, and to all of you.  

Tomorrow I'll tell you a few things about Cape Cod, its geography,  and its many attractions.  

[salan]

I just finished That Old Cape Magic.  It was a library book and there's a waiting list, so wanted to be sure and get it back on time.  It took me longer to read than usual, since I was trying to make notes for our upcoming discussion.  I probably won't be able to get it back in November.  Reading it this way really interrupted the flow of the book for me.  Enough said.  My lips are sealed (sort of) until November.  I am eager to begin the discussion.
Sally

[ginny]

Salan, good for you taking notes! I'm going to wish I had, I'm trying something different this time, just for the heck of it, I'm reading it like any other book. Then we'll see if I can even remember my own  name when I get to the discussion. hahahaa

This way I figure I can go on impressions, or the impressions I've gotten from the book, I may be sorry, but that's what I've done this time. Normally I mark as I read, something which stands out, maybe a neat turn of phrase or a point made,  but of course you couldn't do that in a library book, we'll see what we see. I'm enjoying it.

I look forward to hearing about Cape Cod, Traude.  I am trying to remember the last time I was there, it was probably 50 years ago. I can sing the song You're Sure to Fall in Love With Old Cape Cod but for the life of me I can't remember why you would, or what's there, so this will be fun.

Looking forward to it and the discussion!

[JoanP]

Ginny, the song you need to learn for this one is - That Old Black Magic - so I'm told...

[ginny]

Yes, the title is a take on it, and apparently they would sing it,  substituting "Cape Magic" for "Black Magic"  as they motored out. Ah the American vacation! Can't wait for this one to start!  Am glad to have the lyrics, oh my goodness Keely Smith, how many years has it BEEN, and Louis Prima, used to watch them on TV all the time, thank you!  Golly moses.

[straudetwo]

JoanP,  special thanks for the link to the song That Old Cape Magic.
It has been done in many different versions by many artists, some only instrumentally, one by Jerry Lewis, half talking half singing, with a sixties' blonde looking on adoringly. I can't remember whether it was Sandra Dee or Stella Stevens.
I like the rendition with Keely Smith - what a lovely timbre! She performed with Frank Sinatra, too - in perfect harmony. Aaah, those were the days when we had MUSIC and melodies of all sorts to hum ... some still vivid,  but where to begin?
 
And who can forget Patti Page singing in her silky voice and beautiful diction

"If you spend an evening you'll want to stay
Watching the moonlight on Cape Co Bay,
You're sure to fall in love with Old Cape Cod"

Ginny, what you've described  may very well be the only way to read this book, where feelings, memories, the family ties that bind and snap are the main focus.

Let's begin with the first location,  Cape Cod.
It's a peninsula at the easternmost end of the landmass of Massachusetts.  Its topography is  rather "curious" : the land curves around, as it were,  like a raised right elbow -- or the curled tail of a cat.  The body of water within the "elbow" is Cape Cod Bay.  On the outside of the "elbow" is the Atlantic.  The beaches on the Atlantic side are favored because the water is warmer  there due to the proximity of the Gulf Stream. Around Cape Cod Bay, on the other hand, the wate is several degrees cooler, which can disappoint unknowing visitors.

Cape Cod is  a peninsula that functions, in effect, like a barrier island protecting the coastline against the onslaught of the Atlantic during hurricane season and particularly heavy Nor'easters in winter.  In the last few years the  rate of beach and harbor erosion has increased alarmingly, especially in the town of Chatham.  Retired friends of mine have moved from their home there to Truro on the upper Cape.  (Our book contains a chapter about Truro.)

I'm a great believer in maps and believe we could  enjoy looking at one. With technical help I hope to get one o you in the header.  In readiness now is a truly wonderful picture of the Sagamore Bridge, the major gateway for motorists to Cape Cod, the one Griffin in our book uses.

There is something special about Cape Cod, an undefinable quality because of the dazzling light and the endless vista of the  sea.  It has attracted artists from a long time back.  Provincetown , for example, affectionately know as P-town and located at the very tip of the Upper Cape, has become a popular summer resort and artists' colony.  

More later

[salan]

Ginny,  I much prefer to read a book all at once, highlighting things that speak to me.  That's why I usually buy my own copy.  I took notes since I had to return the book.  I've found from past book club experiences that I can't trust my memory unless I have something to refer back to.

Straude, I will be most interested on geography and history about Cape Cod.  Several years ago my late husband and our best friends flew into Boston and rented a car. The main purpose of our trip was to travel the coast line into Maine and then cross country through New Hampshire and Vermont.  It was a fantastic trip and I really want to go back as two weeks was too short!  The guys decided to make a quick diversion and go to Cape Cod.  Now, I am a planner and like to study maps and travel information before embarking.  Since Cape Cod was spur of the moment, we had to "fly by the seat of our pants".  When you are travelling with 2 men who think that "ticking the box" is simply getting to a place, you really don't see much.  We saw lots of Cape Cod houses, beautiful country, but could never find a public road to get us close to the water.  Does seeing it through the tree tops count?  I somehow don't think so.  Did I mention that the men were driving and wouldn't ask for directions to the water??  Anyway, Cape Cod is on my do over list.

Sally

[straudetwo]

It's wonderful to have pictures of the Sagamore Bridge and of the book cover in the header, and also a map of Cape Cod.  I am indebted to Pat for her help and admire her skills.

In the picture of the Sagamore Bridge you can spot, if you squint, the Sagamore's twin, the Bourne Bridge.
There's a third bridge over the Cape Cod Canal that serves railroad traffic.   I'm so appreciative of having   the map of Cape Cod in the header.  It clearly shows the location of the towns Russo mentions in the book and, more to the south, the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.   (Not too far south of Nantucket, in July of 1956, the Italian luxury liner SS Andrea Doria collided with the smaller Swedish MS Stockholm and sank within hours.)

A few historical notes, if I may.
Captain Myles Standish, an English officer hired by the Pilgrims to plan their voyage on the Mayflower, was the first to consider  (in 1623 !)  building a waterway in the narrow, lowest-lying area south of Plimoth Colony to facilitate trade with native Americans,  a task too large for a small band of Pilgrims.  More energetic planning and surveys under George Washington did not lead to fruition either.  The early planners in the following century either ran out of money or were overwhelmed by the project, which had yet  even to be defined.
  
The first attempts at digging began in the late 19th century.  Privately hired engineers had  decided to connect the Manomet and Scusset Rivers. and dredge through the hillsides.   The construction of a working canal started in 1909.  Partially opened in 1914,  the canal was completed in 1916.   In 1928 it  was bought by the Government, widened and deepened.  1400 men worked on it during the Great Depression.  By 1940 the Cape Cod Canal was the widest sea-level canal in the world, used by more than 20,00 ships each year. Both sides of the canal are popular recreational areas with bicycle paths and other attractions.

The Sagamore Bridge is the more frequently used gateway to the Cape. The main thoroughfare is Route 6; it leads all the way up to Provincetown.  That spot at the extreme tip of land is of a haunting, luminous beauty.  It's long been a popular summer resort and artists' colony.  But in 1916 it was a sleepy, sun-drenched fishing village and Eugene O'Neill an unkown beachcomber.  But there was a group of Province Town  Players and they performed O'Neill's early play Bound East for Cardiff there.  

Norman Mailer visited  P-town, as it is also affectionately known,  in 1945 and lived there from the nineties until his death.  The action of Tough Guys Don't Dance takes place on the Cape.

Another novelist who lived happily on the Cape  for some years was Kurt Vonnegut.

Sally,  like you, I like to read a book in its entirety- then let it "gel" for a day or so.  Every now and then I've been lucky to get a brand new library book.  I don't much like copies with coffee stains and underlining in them.  By and large I buy my own book - paperback if possible, because easier to hold in bed.   And I have a terrible time parting from any of them ...

I'll be happy to answer any questions about Cape Cod.  
When we first came here lo these many yeas ago I knew nothing about Cape Cod, had never heard of The Cape and didn't understand how proprietary people felt about it.  Aah, but times change = Tempora mutantur et nos mutamur in illis.   I feel exactly like that  myself now!

Traude

[jane]

I borrowed this book from the Library and got a start on it last night.  I've not been to Cape Cod, but we're planning to join a group going there is next Sept.  I'm enjoying seeing the names of towns already and finding the cast of characters I've "met" so far very interesting.   

I, too, will need to take notes since the book will need to be returned before this discussion begins.

jane

[Gumtree]

I have the book but haven't turned the first page yet. I'm thinking of starting to read this coming weekend...otherwise there's every chance of my slipping behind once the discussion starts.

Thanks for putting up the Sagamore Bridge and its twin the Bourne ...they are very similar to the Hellgate Bridge and of course the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Sydney one has a larger span and is (still I think) the largest single span suspension bridge in the world. They were all built around the same time (Sydney opened in 1932). 

The map is very helpful for me too ... most of the place names are familiar because of their association with historical events or more recently with well known people but for me their exact location has always been something of a guess. 

[ginny]

Thank you  Traude, for the background I read it several times and the map is wonderful. So THERE is Chappaquiddick, are these old Indian names or something?  I'm like  Gum, but for me their exact location has always been something of a guess.  

Exactly. Is the attraction historical, I wonder, or artistic (the writers, artists)?  I it a playground for the rich  or successful? Quaintness? I wonder what the actual attraction is?

I went too long ago to sense the...ambiance.....

 All I seem to remember was a shop which sold candles and you stuck your finger in one scented with bayberry and made a finger candle. Hello? hahaha And it's totally possible that was in another town.

Isn't it odd, when you look at an area like Cape Cod and read the background, how....somewhat distanced you feel?  Or is that just me? You sense a great attraction by people  to the place, without being able to figure out why.   If you have no personal connection to it, you have to wonder what...what the attraction is, the quaintness?

Jane is going!  I really want to hear her first impressions in 2010.

I wonder...Traude, would you say Cape Cod might epitomize the good life or symbolizes it to some people simply because of the famous people who have stayed there?  How does it compare to the Hamptons, for instance?

[straudetwo]

Excellent questions, Ginny.  Thank you.

In an earlier post I used the adjective "proprietary", and that is how people feel about the Cape hereabouts.
It's part of their lives.  Reams have been written about "The Enduring Shore", where there is literally something for everybody. The oldest town is Sandwich (I'll tell you about its history another time), P-town is more "hip". Truro and Chatham are  known as "expensive" locations.  The residents of Truro keep voting down any plan for new development.

Many Massachusetts residents drive to the Cape for long weekends, like Columbus Day, the second Monday in October just passed, which is a legal holiday here.  There are biking paths on both banks of the Cape Cod canal between the twin bridges and many lookout points with wonderful vistas.  The Hy-lines operate a number of ferries from their terminus in Hyannis and organize cruises on the Cape Cod canal.

There's a regular schedule for ferries between Hyannis and Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.  The islands can also be reached by air from Hyannis.  Martha's Vineyard is the larger of the two islands and perhaps better known because the Clintons visited there and President Obama went this year.  Walter Cronkite had a home there, the novelist William Styron, and the wonderful Art Buchwald.   Buchwald was based in Paris for years with the International Herald Tribune and composed an absolutely hilarious tale in French explaining the origin of Thanksgiving  in the Plimoh Colony in 1620= Le jour de merci-donnant [/i]...

Oak Bluffs is an old community settled in 1642 with handsome homes. Dorothy West (in the tradition of the Harlem Renaissance)  wrote a book about it, The Wedding, , which was made into a film starring Halle Berry.  

There's something on the Cape also for budding scientists and meteorologists : the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, founded in 1930.. It's a village near Falmouth.  Both on our map.

The attraction is definitely  ihistorical in part:  the whaling past,  the Indian lore.  Descendants of Wampanoag  tribe live in Mashpee on the Cape.  They seek permission from the state to build an off-reservation  casino  on the mainland.  The location was chosen about a year ago. town meetings were held and revealed hefty promotion and a great deal of opposition. So far everything is still in flux.

The attraction  I'd say is physical and tangible:  sightseeing; quaint light houses;  museums; beaches; the freshest seafood;   summer theatre performances;  exhibitions; author readings (like Russo's!!); plus the light  is fabulous.  And sometimes an attraction becomes a trend  

I'm so very glad to see Jane here.  WELCOME!   Cape  Cod is a gem and I am sure you'll enjoy it.
There's so much pleasure in the planning, always!

Before I forget, Nantucket is smaller than "The Vineyard",  calmer somehow and quieter.  No cars allowed. The houses are all similarly constructed  (rigid bilding codes) with  natural shingles beautifully greying in the sun and light.  My family has gone to Nantucket regularly, sometimes day-tripping.  Once we flew from Hyannis with  the daughter of friends from our years in Virginia who'd come to visit.  We parked the car at the airport and stayed on Nantucket  for a week  in a house in just the right location I had carefully researched.  The owner was an eccentric old man (so much for my careful research  hahaha) , but we were the perfect guests.  Of course.

[jane]

Traude...thank you for the welcome and for the information above.  I got started reading again last night and couldn't put it down until I'd finished.  I haven't felt that way about a new novel in a very long time!  Most of the time, I end up taking them back to the library after about the first 50 pages.  [I'm too old and life is too short to spend it reading novels I'm not enjoying!  ]  I enjoyed this one!

I've got my notes handy and will need to return the book before the discussion, but I'm hoping maybe others will have had their chance and I can perhaps get it back sometime during November if my memory fails me...as it seems to do too often anymore.

jane

[Babi]

 I now have my copy, and like most of you will be making notes.  It will be
interesting to see the kind of thing that catches the eye...and produces the notes...of the different readers.

[Eloise]

One of the reasons why I will never forget my Cape Cod visit 10 years ago is because it was at the time of John Kennedy Jr.'s plane that crashed in the sea. In the small restaurant where we were having breakfast every customer seemed extremely disturbed by some very sad news. We got up that morning with a very thick fog and started on the long drive home to Montreal driving very carefully and didn't turn on the radio in the car. The fog was so thick we could hardly see the road and we learned of the crash a few hours later in another restaurant, we were very sad at the news because he was very much loved all around.

My son in law wanted to go to Cape Cod to film whales for a documentary he was producing. During the 4 or 5 days there we did everything we had set our minds to do. Going on whale watching expedition,  playing ball on the beach with the kids and shopped for souvenirs. I bought a recipe book that I tried several recipes from.

My book hasn't arrived yet and it will get here soon because I ordered it on the 28th of September. I look forward to the discussion, it looks promising from what I read here.   

[straudetwo]

Jane, my impression is exactly like yours. The book is a page-turner. It really propels the reader forward.

Babi, I'm glad your book came. 

Ḗloïse, when your copy arrives,  you'll be able to relive the morning of your leaving Cape Cod in thick fog  ...!

[Babi]

  I'm having a little trouble getting into the book, but that may be because
of frequent distractions.  I'll see if I can settle into it better once the
weekend is over.

[ginny]

Thank you Traude, a masterful description of Cape Cod, you almost have me believing! hahhaa


Eloise, what a tragedy that was, such a sad ending.

I'm almost through the book, your map in the heading is definitely coming in handy. I expect I will have to reread it, but some things do stand out. This is going to be a great one, am looking forward to talking about it, won't be long now!

[straudetwo]

Only a few days are left before we start our discussion, and I'd like to keep interest alive.  "To keep the home fires burning", which I considered, would hardly be appropriate, because we've had the loveliest,  mildest weather imaginable in these parts. Smiling eople running in short sleeves, rucksacks on their backs (tourists, of course).  A blessing.  

But nor-easters are not unusual  at any season in the Bay State.  Just last Sunday Boston experienced an early wintry day, thick snowflakes dancing over rowers competing on the Charles River. Fortunately nothing stuck.  To he south of the city we had howlig gusty winds.  On the Cape. between Orleans and Chatham, a house  - part of a camp ground - was swept into the churning ocean.  Mangled parts of the original structure were deposited back by successive waves. Ah, nature's fury !

[Babi]

 Whoa! Sounds like pretty strong winds.  I assume it was a really old house. My granddaughter Marie is living in Boston, working and attending
college there. She seems quite satisfied there.  I find gusty winds can be something of a personal hazard now.  Just yesterday I had to hang onto
a door to keep on my feet!  They come up suddenly and unexpectedly;
you just have to stay in or hope something is within reach to grab. 

[straudetwo]

Babi,  I can understand that yoor daughter enjoys Boston.  Famous universities,  rich cultural offerings year-round :  the Boston Symphony  (in the summer, they repair to Tanglewood in the Berkshires); the Boston Pops;  the new,  positively stunning Institute of Contemporary Art. There's also the Aquarium for young and old.  And Boston is an eminently "walkable" city. The "Freedom Trail" covering all the historic sites is a huge attraction, and not for tourists only.

On the other hand, motor traffic on Boston's narrow, winding roads can be nightmarish for the uninitiated, not to mention driving through the tunnels on the way to the airport, to the North Shore,  and on into New Hampshire. Some road signs in the city are misleading. Getting lost is not unusual. The Big Dig, a project that took years to finish, has remedied some problems, but not all.

One thorn in many motorists' side are the rotaries, where up to half a dozen roads suddenly converge. Confusion results, not to mention fender benders.   One of the most infamous of these was (past tense!) the Sagamore Rotary. It caused backups miles before the bridge was in sight, especially on weekends and holidays, from April until the end of summer. It took more than a decade to plan how to eliminate the rotary and how to restructure the road network.  Doing it took another five or six years.  The job was completed in September of 2006.  It's been well worth it.

[Babi]

Marie is my granddaughter, STRAUDE.  She doesn't have a car, so
I assume she uses the public transportation to get around or rides with
friends. Maybe she enjoys the 'walkable'. We've never really talked (e-mailed) about what she does in her spare time. I really should ask her
about that.

[bellamarie]

My book has arrived and I must say as tempting as it was, I have yet to open the pages.  I just finished reading my FIRST Jane Austen book, Sense and Sensibility.  I know you all are probably laughing and saying gosh she is behind the times,  lol  Well, I am new to the classics, I spent way too many years with Danielle Steele and Mary Higgins Clark.  lol  Since SeniorLearn I have broadened my horizons, thank you very much!

I long to visit Cape Cod one day.  Hopefully this book will be just the nudge that will get me there.  I loved John Kennedy Jr. and when I read of Eloise being on the Cape the day his plane went down it brought back bittersweet memories of pictures I saw of John riding his bike in Tribecca, the picture if his wedding in the rustic church, so very private, and of course my memories of him as a child under the famous President's desk, and his salute as the horse drawn carriage carried his father's casket.  Oh dear, just the mention of Cape Cod fills me with excitement and sadness. 

I can't wait to begin this Nov. 1st.  I noticed the schedule is not yet posted, I would like to know which chapters to read and where to stop.  I have to say, I refuse to read ahead when I discuss the books with SeniorLearn.  As tempting as it can be at times I refrain so I won't give anything away by accident.  I don't know how anyone is able to read the entire book and not.  So, I will be back in just a few days to begin the discussion.  Until then everyone have a Happy Halloween!!!!  

[straudetwo]

Bellamarie,  I'm glad to know you have the book

There is no reading schedule because  IMHO this book doesn't lend itself to being divided into equal portions, even though that has been our traditional approach.  There will be no assigned chapters; instead,  I plan to propose questions that pertain to issues raised in the story, as well as style and structure.

As for me,  I always read a book straight through, especially if I am the DL - a matter of personal preference.   The only way to read this book, I believe, is at one's own speed,  to get absorbed in the story as it unfolds.  More soon.

And yes, of course, Happy Halloween  !

[PatH]

Bellamarie, I envy you.  You still have the remaining Austens ahead of you if you want them.  How did you like "Sense and Sensibility"?  The 1995 movie, directed by Ang Lee, with Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant and others is very good indeed.

[Babi]

Bella, when I make my notes for a discussion, I always write where I am in the book. Then when the schedule is posted, I can go back and frame the schedule around my notes. It's quick, easy, and so convenient.
  I see Traude's post about no schedule for the 'Old Cape Magic'. Traude, I do hope you plan to post your questions in sequential groups, beginning to end. It seems to me one's 'take' on the situation changes as the story progresses.

[straudetwo]

Babi, oh yes, questions will definitely be sequential,  exactly as they might occur to the reader.  I'll ask Pat W to put them in the header.

BTW, if you wondered  about the "Dennises" on pg. 13,  they are Dennis and South Dennis, respectively,  two towns on the Upper Cape.  

[bellamarie]

straudetwo....Oh dear NO assigned chapters, I have never participated in a discussion without them before.  Something else new I shall learn in SeniorLearn.  So I suppose that means we will all have read the book before Nov. 1st in order to discuss what pertains to the issues raised in the story.  If not then we would not all know what you are referring to.  

Yes, Babi, I do hope the questions will be in sequential order also.  I also write the page number along side my notes, if I don't own the book and highlight.  Gosh can you imagine all my books written with side notes and highlighter.  lol

PatH..I bought a book at Borders that has all four of Jane Austen's books (Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion).  I must say, reading her for the first time I was having a difficult time, but once I finally got the style and language of the English it got easier.  I kept thinking, Oh for crying out loud why does she use so many words and descriptions rather than actual dialogue between the characters?  I guess because of my modern day life, I found it a bit frustrating at times.  But I tried to visualize the story in a movie form and it helped.  I intend to read Pride and Prejudice next.  Thank you for letting me know the movie is worth watching I love all the actors you  mentioned.  That will make for a good winter Sunday afternoon for me.

So I guess I better get to reading Cape so I will be ready for Nov. 1st.  

Have a Booootiful Halloween!  

[Gumtree]

Hi Bellamarie - Don't rush the book - with Traude at the helm all will be well - anyway we couldn't possibly discuss all the matter contained in this book overnight (so to speak)

Glad you enjoyed your first dip into Austen. She is an absolute delight to read and her satire is right up to the minute today. Her observation of what makes people tick is simply amazing. So true to life. It always takes me a few pages to really relax into her writing and begin to savour the language - it is wordy but the words are there for a purpose and my chief delights in reading her are her prose and the telling satire. There are several good productions of her works. PatH mentioned one of Sense & Sensibility Both Alan Rickman and Hugh Grant are superb in their roles, as is Emma Thompson. If you get to read Persuasion(my favourite of the novels) you might like to look at the BBC production with Ciairan (sp) Hinds.

Traude I read the book the other night - took it in, in two big gulps. Just read it - didn't make notes but will do so with the reread. Wonderful choice for the discussion. Looking forward to it.
P.S. - what's the Latin for 'time is my enemy'

[straudetwo]

Hello, Gumtree, and many thanks.

I formulated the first four questions, which PatW will put in the header.  She has done the iterally "impossible" for me.  Isn't it a blessing to have the help of experts who make things happen?
The questions are pertinent to chapters I to 3.  

Chapters 4-7 (pp. 53-121) make up the rest of Part I, and we'll explore them in due course.  It is the overall  end effect that matters, as Gumtree said.

In re "Time is my enemy" Gumtree.  Here's my literal translation .

Time = tempus
Enemy = hostis [/b](in wartime);
under more ordinary circumtances  inimicus, adversarius, both masculine nouns. Hence the pronoun  (my) would be meus

The placement of the verb, "is" in this case', varies, and sometimes one must look for pages FOR that verb.
But it's eay in this case. Both versions that follow are acceptable.

Tempus inimicus meus est [color=red.]
Tempus est est  meus inimicus.

Ha!  like the second versionbetter.

What a rich linguistic heritage we have and --- all to often --- don't recognize the extent of it !!





      

[straudetwo]

]A quick note to readers:


Questions pertaining to Chapters One to Three will be posted in the header as soon as deemed feasible by our techies.  It is a feat I could not accomplish on my own  ... Please be patient.

[ginny]

Tempus is a neuter, remember?

I'd say:

Tempus mihi inimicum est


Here's a good one, this is true for me, anyway:  Tempus fugit: time flies? hahahaa

Good to know that chapters 1-3 will be the initial focus, I think I'll reread them. Very much looking forward to the discussion, not sure what the book is about, having read it all, but I know the discussion will be a super one!

[Babi]

TRAUDE, most of us DL'S depend on our experts for the technical details.
I, for one, haven't a clue as to how to set up and maintain a heading. I
just holler for help, and they come through for me every time. Heaven
bless them!

[ginny]

Pat has the questions in the heading now.

[straudetwo]

  Thank you, Pat! 
I'm grateful the questions are in the header, and  grateful to know we'll go to work on November 1st in a new folder.

[Gumtree]

Traude :  Thanks for your comprehensive help on my Latin query - and Ginny too - I was across tempus fugit -  though we haven't got to the neuter yet.

I think taking the first three chapters will be a good starting point. I haven't read any of Russo's other work so look forward to our discussion which starts so soon. tempus fugit indeed.

[PatH]

Or, as I remember from somewhere, (I think it's "The Pajama Game"), tempis is fugiting.

[Gumtree]

PatH   

[straudetwo]

Our Latin excursion is refreshing,  thank you, Ginny.

Of course, tempus is neuter,  and that must be reflected in the pronoun: meus for masc.  mea for fem., meum for neuter.  ("My" is classified as one of the pronomina possessiva.)

However, in my proposed translation  the pronoun  "meus" referred to inimicus or adversarius, both masculine.

Also,  with respect,  isn't mihi ("mir" in German),  the dative (singular) of the pronomina personalia?