BOOK REVIEW - "LOVE, ETC" by JULIAN BARNES (2000)

I LOVE (get it?) the way this man writes! He's a GENIUS. I had to look up words on every page it seems, which in turn took me twice as long to read the book (only 227 pgs). Either the British have a completely different, every-day vocabulary OR I'm sadly lacking in my knowledge (or both......).

The way JULIAN BARNES presented the story, by having each character alternately share an opinion, a perspective or an update, was brilliant and entertaining. It was fun to know up front that GILLIAN was currently married to OLIVER and she had previously been married to STUART. Ahhhh, LOVE! 

And of course, for more "LOVE" and kicks, there is TERRIE and ELLIE - each of whom expand STUART'S "love-life", or perhaps more appropriately stated, his "sex-life". There are a few graphic sex passages, which can be disturbing to the more conservative of readers...... you are forewarned.

So, OLIVER goes on and on with his "philosophy" about things. STUART is STUART. GILLIAN is an interesting character and she's misunderstood, I believe. And the other characters fill in the blanks. 

It is so perfectly titled - "LOVE, ETC.". 

I literally fell in LOVE with JULIAN BARNES when I read his MAN BOOKER PRIZE winning book, "THE SENSE OF AN ENDING". I LOVED his writing style and I couldn't get over the HUGE story that he told in less than 200 pages! Alternatively, a friend of mine said "I had a SENSE that it was NEVER GOING TO END!!".  She didn't appreciate that book nor his writing the way I did.

I fell in LOVE with JULIAN BARNES all over again with this book. He's a MASTER at story-telling and in such a DEEP way. Are the things he writes, feelings that he's had personally, or thoughts he's had or experiences that he's had or is his imagination just that far-reaching?

I'm going to read it again right away to see if I remember any of the new vocabulary I learned (or most likely have promptly forgotten). I highlighted in yellow so many passages that "spoke to me", or that I found thought-provoking, or that were entertaining...... that the book is filled now with the color yellow! 

Too many passages to share that are notable, so here is just one from each (STUART, OLIVER and GILLIAN) from CHAPTER 2:

STUART - "We met, we fell in love, we married. I made the mistake of thinking that was the end of the story, when it was only the beginning. I suppose it's a mistake lots of people make."

OLIVER - "Do we not, each of us, write the novel of our life as we go along? But how few, alas , are publishable."

GILLIAN - "The point is, you can love two people, one after the other, one interrupting the other, like I did. You can love them in different ways. And it doesn't mean one love is true and the other is false. That's what I wish I could have convinced Stuart. I loved each of them truly. You don't believe me? Well, it doesn't matter, I no longer argue the case. I just say: it didn't happen to you, did it? It happened to me."

JOAN

WHARTON ESHERICK STUDIO IN VALLEY FORGE, PA

Built over a 40 year time period, the WHARTON ESHERICK STUDIO is a local GEM!!  Who knew?  Right in my own backyard (so to speak), in VALLEY FORGE, is a MARVELOUS, QUIRKY, COLORFUL STUDIO filled with SCULPTURES, WOODCUTS, POTTERY, FURNITURE and PAINTINGS.

The Admission Office is located in what looks like a garage. I fell in LOVE with this building the minute we walked up. So many ANGLES and COLORS and TEXTURES and FADED PAINT - I mean, what's not to love?

The actual STUDIO, where WHARTON lived and worked, is set back on the hillside. Architecturally interesting with a variety of textures and materials, he used wood, stone, cement, tin and glass.

Notice the hand-picked STONE that shows so many FABULOUS COLORS! This wall is truly a work of art in itself.

The door handles - UNIQUE, INTRICATE and EXQUISITE.

Once inside the house/studio, your eyes jump from one TREASURE to the next. The HOOKS on the wall - each one hand-carved - each representing a different animal or person that meant something to WHARTON.

I had to touch this CHAIR to confirm that there was NO LEATHER or FABRIC - it's 100% CARVED WOOD.

 

Handmade SPIRAL STAIRCASES lead to the bedroom and to the kitchen.....

I was fascinated by the BEDROOM. The bed is tucked into an alcove and surrounded by BOOKS. His clothing is folded absolutely perfectly to fit into the drawers he so brilliantly designed under his bed. 

Hand-laid FLOORS in the dining area were put together from WOOD SCRAPS - forming an impressionistic pattern under foot.

The tiny KITCHEN was also designed with optimum EFFICIENCY, such as you'd find in the close quarters of a ship.

One of my favorite sculptures was the face sculpture representing THE SCREAM, a painting by EDVARD MUNCH (1893).

And the WINNIE THE POOH stone sculpture on his deck......

Quite an enjoyable outing with my 13-yr old grandniece, GRACE (standing with our wonderful tour guide), during GRACE's 4-day stay with AUNT JOAN this summer. We sure have a lot of FUN together, don't you think?!!

JOAN

THE DANIEL BOONE HOMESTEAD - BIRDSBORO,

GRACE is my 13 year old GRANDNIECE. Each summer for the past several years, she's come to my house for a week to attend the local YMCA DAY CAMP.  She loved camp, but at age 13, she decided she'd rather just visit with me instead.

She is a such a DELIGHT to be with. She didn't want to do any "ROAD TRIPS", but was excited to visit two local points of interest with me.

She arrived on Wednesday. On Thursday we drove about 35 minutes to Birdsboro, PA to the DANIEL BOONE HOMESTEAD. This has been on my bucket list for some time now because my grandmother used to say to me all the time "You know, you're a KIN to DANIEL BOONE!!". I'm just starting genealogy, so I hope to find out what she was talking about. I have two friends who are also related to Daniel Boone - I just might find more cousins than I ever expected!

Born in 1734, DANIEL was raised here before he headed off to KENTUCKY. What a beautiful HOMESTEAD!! I recommend a visit, and especially to all who love the look of CHESTER COUNTY STONE buildings (although the property is in Berks County). 

In the next two pictures, look closely at the bottom section of stone - how it's so closely knit together. This is the original base of DANIEL BOONE'S home - a log house built in 1730. The larger stones above that, were added later by subsequent owners as additions.

Below was their SMOKEHOUSE for meats and fish.

Some beautiful UTILITY buildings on the property

A local, historic, water-powered SAWMILL was moved to this property in 1972.

In 1777, the DE TURK FAMILY (Pennsylvania Germans) bought this property and are buried in the cemetery there. As you can see, two headstones remain. Their family lived at this Homestead into the 1820's.

The BOONE HOUSE interior is decorated with pieces from that time period, not from the BOONE FAMILY.  Here are the 3 rooms on the FIRST FLOOR.

A WORK ROOM (wool spinning) and BEDROOMS are on the second floor.

What a SLAVE'S ROOM would have looked like.

And the ORIGINAL BOONE HOUSE CELLAR - for food storage and their natural SPRING for fresh water.

Notice the large slice of tree in the left corner - the RINGS were counted and prove that this tree was on the property when DANIEL BOONE lived here.  

And naturally I had to have GRACE pose with the tour guides.......

LUNCH at PEDDLER'S VILLAGE BAKERY ended our outing. If you are local and haven't eaten here, I HIGHLY recommend it.  Closed on Mondays.

Stay tuned for my next Blog post - about  another local outing - a visit to the WHARTON ESHERICK STUDIO in CHESTER SPRINGS, PA.

JOAN