Book Review

Indiana
by George Sand

George Sand is one of the slightly more obscure nineteenth century authors. I think she is probably better known for being Chopin's lover than for her novels. I'd like to say that this is a pity, but unfortunately, I found Indiana disappointing. It is the story of Indiana, a young, naive woman who is married to a much older man. She falls in love with a dashing aristocrat, Raymon, but the experience turns out to be extremely painful due to his shallowness and egoism. However, the light at the end of the tunnel turns out to be the (eventually) happy resolution of Indiana's relationship with her devoted cousin and lifelong friend Ralph. My biggest disapopintment was the lack of a character I could warm to. The husband is a very callous man and very much a secondary character besides. Indiana has the seeds of strength, but utterly fails to cultivate them - she instead ends up weeping and fainting far to much for my liking. Raymon is manipulative and self-serving. Ralph is the best of the lot, but even his fortitude and goodness get tiresome. This was Sand's first novel, though, so I may give her works another chance in the future.

Relief from the heat

It has finally cooled down here - it's a very comfy 70 degrees in Boston right now. There's a nice breeze, and the air is less oppressive. This comes not a moment too soon, because yesterday was one of the most miserable I've had in a while. It was in the upper 90s, but felt as if it was over 100. The air was humid and stifling - being outside was horrible. And as if that wasn't enough, the red menace made its appearance at lunchtime. I was actually glad to be at work where we have air conditioning and nice ergonomic desk chairs. I was even lucky enough to have a quiet day during which I could work quietly and comfortably at my desk - no meetings, no need to deal with a lot of people, and plenty of tasks that didn't involve tromping around the building.
Other Kenjari and I had the wisdom to go out to dinner and a movie after work, so I got spend most of my evening in air conditioned comfort, mostly inert. We saw My Super Ex-Girlfriend, which was sweet and pleasantly fluffy. I liked it more than I expected to. Uma Thurman is quite amusing, and Eddie Izzard as a Lex Luthor type villain practically steals the movie. I think the movie also has some subtle messages about how men can have better success with relationships once they get over their fears and insecurities regarding smart, competent, powerful women.