Ex Libres

Ah, books. Let's get started, shall we?
Tom Cruise: the Unauthorized Biography, by Andrew Morton, isn't a bad read. For all of the shoutin' you'd think there would be a fire, but you would be wrong. By all accounts, Mr. Cruise is a man. An extraordinary man, perhaps, but just a man. Tommy comes off as any actor you might have met before: somewhat devoid of personality, needy, afraid to be alone. I got the sense that Tom Cruise found a formula and stuck with it, be it relationships, work, family, his own persona, etc. Who hasn't done this? Granted I lack his egomania, his tireless ambition, and his religion, which is a little on the crazy side.
Andrew Morton is apparently in hiding after publishing this book; I can only assume it's because he will go on an on about Scientology. As the real villain of the piece Scientology looms behind every decision in Tom's life, scheming diabolically while twirling it's mustache. There are many, many claims about this "cult"( Tom Cruise can move things with his mind!?!). I can't say with any surety that this religion has committed the scary, oppressive, very, very wrong actions Morton has accused it of because the author has a rather tarnished reputation himself. What I can surmise, however, is that Tom Cruise likes control and playing pretend and Scientology is all about those things. This is a biography that sketches out a bizarre, often hilarious/pitiful life. Good for incredulous voyeurism.

If I know anything about China, it's that the Chinese are absolute traditionalists-so far as any one thing can be applied to a mulitude. Many novels seek to display the tug of war between duty and identity set in China (see Tan, Amy), but this one has a little twist. Snowflower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See, is about the lifelong relationship harbored by two women, Snowflower and Lily, in Imperial China. Lily is a poor but compliant and Snowflower is willful and spoiled; their respective circumstances change in the course of the novel. Together they endure foot binding (this is a wonderfully painful passage to read-yikes), contracting husbands, new families, babies, rebellion and at last old age and death but they do so primarily through a secret language used by females called nu shu (the girls write passages on a fan that they share). As the reader, you are inundated by the mundane aspects of their lives; the feminine labors of house and family are exotic yet rote. It's the traditions and expectations of that bind the girls (particularly filial obligations) and bring out their character. Lily, our narrator, subjugates herself to conventions and eventually loses herself in them. Snowflower, less inclined towards custom and made of stronger stuff, seeks nothing but friendship and companionship. Of course you know what happens, but it's a good and satisfying read nonetheless. Good for instruction.