March Preview

Well it’s March now and we have quite a snowstorm underway presently. It’s pretty and white at the moment but surely it will be a mess later. I’ve been shoveling the walkways like a banshee to no avail. It’s falling too quickly, but it should be good for the ski areas. Spring is supposed to start around March 20, but you’d never know it looking around outside today.

Meanwhile it’s almost Oscar time. This Sunday is the big shindig. I was looking over the list of Best Picture nominees and it appears I have seen seven out of the nine movies. The two I haven’t seen are “Phantom Thread” and “Call Me by Your Name,” which I’ll likely see sometime on rental. Of the nominees I saw, I particularly liked “Darkest Hour,” “The Post,” “Dunkirk,” “Lady Bird,” “Get Out,” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” I didn’t care too much for “The Shape of Water,” which was surprising to me since it received a lot of hullabaloo, but it’s okay.

My guess is that “Three Billboards” will win for Best Picture, and Gary Oldman for Best Actor since he was superb as Churchill in the “Darkest Hour.” I sort of wish Greta Gerwig would win for Best Director for “Lady Bird” but know that is probably a long shot; Christopher Nolan for “Dunkirk” would also be okay. I think Frances McDormand is favored to win for Best Actress for “Three Billboards,” but I wouldn’t mind if Meryl Streep won for her role as Katharine Graham in “The Post.” As for Best Supporting Actor, I’d pick Sam Rockwell in “Three Billboards” for his portrayal as a racist cop who undergoes a bit of a transformation. For Best Supporting Actress I didn’t see Allison Janney in “I, Tonya,” but I thought Laurie Metcalf as the mother in “Lady Bird” was pretty great.  So that’s my take for now. I think Jimmy Kimmel will likely make a fun host and I hope they don’t mix up any of the award winners like they did last year. Will you be watching the show and which were your favorite films of the year?

Meanwhile it’s time to check in with what’s new releasing this month. There are new novels by such well-known authors as Anna Quindlen, Lisa Genova, Chris Bohjalian, and Clare Mackintosh to name a few though I’m looking at a few others at the moment.

There’s a novel by Mark Sarvas called “Memento Park” about a father and son’s relationship that undergoes a shift when the son becomes aware of a painting that he believes was looted from his family in Hungary during the Second World War. In trying to reclaim it, the son has to repair the strains with his contentious father and travel to Budapest to uncover the mysteries behind his family’s history and identity. Hmm, there’s been quite a few stories like this about looted artwork and family roots, so the novel doesn’t sound totally original, but it has received some strong praise and does sound pretty compelling. I’ll likely try to find it from the library.

Next up is a novel by Rachel Kauffman called “The Gunners” that I’m hoping is also good about a close-knit group of childhood friends (known as the Gunners) that reconnect in their 30s after one of their members commits suicide. It sounds a bit like a “Big Chill” kind of story — about friendship — that is set against a backdrop of a funeral event in a snowy suburb of Buffalo, N.Y.

Apparently each member has changed greatly over the years and is grappling with where to go next — and as secrets are revealed plenty of self-exploration is sifted through. Despite the funeral aspect, the novel’s been called “perceptive, funny, and endearing” by Publishers Weekly. And though it seems to have a well-trod premise, it apparently goes favorably beyond that and has received some nice praise as well. So I’m keeping it in mind.

Next up is a novel by Aminatta Forna called “Happiness” about a chance encounter of two strangers on London’s Waterloo Bridge that creates a fork in the road for both. One of them is an American woman who studies the habits of urban foxes and the other is a Ghanaian man specializing in refugee trauma. They end up helping each other in ways and a friendship unfolds against a London backdrop that is apparently richly described.

I have not read this Scottish and Sierra Leonean author before but many liked her novel “The Memory of Love,” which was a finalist for the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2011. I think it’s about time I read her, especially since it fits in well with our trip to London later this summer.

The last two March novels I’m curious about are Luis Alberto Urrea’s novel “The House of Broken Angels” and James Carroll’s new novel “The Cloister.” Urrea’s highly touted novel is a saga about the patriarch of a Mexican-American family who throws a big party for his extended family over two days at their house in a San Diego neighborhood, where many family tales are recounted.

The narrative apparently also follows the family as they air old grievances, initiate new romances, and try to put their relationships in perspective. The novel is said to be an unforgettable portrait of one Mexican American family and the American dream. Hmm. I have not tried this author before but the acclaim about his books precedes him, so I should get on the ball with this one.

Last up, James Carroll’s novel “The Cloister” includes two entwined stories: one that involves the medieval love story between the great scholar Peter Abelard and Heloïse, and the other that’s set in 1950 Manhattan about Father Michael Kavanagh, a New York priest, and Rachel Vedette, a museum docent whose late father studied Abelard’s defense of the Jews of Mainz.

Over multiple meetings, the two build a rapport and share their secrets. The story seems like quite a blend of church history and fiction and though I don’t often read religious-themed tales, it looks to be quite an interesting premise so I plan to check it out. I did read a pretty good memoir from this author back in 1996 called “An American Requiem: God, My Father, and the War That Came Between Us,” so I might like to try another of his books.

As for movies in March, there’s a few notable books that have been made into films that are coming out that include: “Red Sparrow,” “A Wrinkle in Time,” and “Ready Player One.” Of these, I’ve just read “A Wrinkle in Time” — the 1962 classic by Madeleine L’Engle, and judging by the movie trailer of it, I’m sure it will be quite a Disney production.

I am just a bit worried though it’ll be a bit tweaked from the book or my imagination of it — so I don’t plan to immediately rush out and see it despite the notable cast it entails. I’m just a bit hesitant to go there — since it’s based on such a dear and vivid book, but let me know if you do see the movie and like it.

As for “Red Sparrow” my husband read and liked the spy thriller it’s based on, so I was curious to check out the movie but then it received some pretty bad reviews so it’s likely I will hold off on that one too. Perhaps it’s a month for rentals? (We are watching Season 2 of “The Crown” at the moment.)

Lastly in albums, there’s new ones by such female singer/songwriter stalwarts as Mary Chapin Carpenter, Tracey Thorn and the legendary Joan Baez (who’s doing her last tour this year, so see her if you can) — as well as new albums from such male artists as Moby, David Byrne, and the band the Decemberists. All seem pretty interesting, but thanks to NPR’s First Listen program I’ve been checking out and liking an album by an alternative Aussie trio called Camp Cope that’s new to me. The band’s new album “How to Socialise & Make Friends” sounds pretty edgy and new, so I’m going with that as my pick this month.

What about you — which releases this month — are you most looking forward to?