THE HOTEL on PLACE VENDOME

This was a marvelous read that dealt with the occupation of Paris (1940-1944), but more so with the occupants of the Hotel Ritz. The blood and guts were there, but somewhat muffled since the main focus was on the exotic residents of the famous hotel (opened in 1898). Tilar J. Mazzeo is part of that new group of authors that write non-fiction, but make it read like a novel. It was executed with skill and efficiency with almost every chapter ending in a cliffhanger. The book actually has a cast of characters, which I found accommodating considering all those French and German names. I’m dumbfounded that Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre were not regulars at the hotel (joking). But guess who comes to the Ritz for an extended stay at the end of the occupation? Casablanca’s Ingrid Bergman, who surprisingly falls in love with another sometime resident, Robert Capa, the famous American war photographer. I realize some reviewers object to what I found intriguing, but that’s why there are “different strokes for different folks” (I love my idioms). Mazzeo’s narration made for a intoxicating (by the way, champagne was the drink of choice) and credible romp through those turbulent years, backed by twenty three pages of notes and ten pages of selected bibliography. One tries to guess who is the spy, double agent, collaborator, or member of the French resistance amongst the hotel staff and inhabitants throughout this stimulating book. Wow, enough said for the opening paragraph.

On June 14 1940, 300,000 germans occupy Paris, while the great (ha) Charles de Gaulle heads out of town. Also leaving ahead of the German invasion are the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, yes the same Edward VIII who abdicated the throne of England for twice divorced Wallis Simpson. Luckily, Winston Churchill sent them in exile to Bermuda till the war’s end (the ex-King was thought to be sympathetic to Hitler). Ernest Hemingway and his artsy group were also long time frequent residents who vacated. Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring moved into a sprawling suite taking up an entire floor. On page nineteen, we find out that…”one half of the Hotel Ritz was an exclusive retreat for German private indulgence, on the rue Cambon side of the ancient palace and in the bars and restaurant the hotel remained open to the public.” After the Germans take over the Ritz, Mazzeo gives the reader some background on the hotel from 1898 till the German arrival. I found these chapters very interesting, especially the part where the artist and intellectuals out maneuvered the noble traditionalist (the privileged) for dominance of the bars and rooms. Also provided was the reason for the two sides clashing... the famous Alfred Dreyfus (a framed Jewish artillery officer) treason trial. I also enjoyed the story of Marcel Proust, a social climber, who wrote one of France’s great books, In Search of Lost Time , which was written in seven parts between 1913-1927.

Once the Germans take over the Hotel Ritz, we find out that Herr Goring is a morphine addict.  A German doctor from Cologne supposedly had a “wonder cure” and “There in the Hotel Ritz, the doctor would come to submerge Goring in a tub of water, give him injections, then submerge him again, for hours and hours,” the staff remembered. “We had to bring the professor piles of towels and lots of food, because the procedure made Goring ravenous.” On page fifty one, we find out…”That the previous occupant of Goring's suite was a certain Laura Mae Corrigan, the widow of a midwestern steel industrialist...Her monthly income in the summer of 1940 was $800,000.” Corrigan sold many treasures to the Reichsmarschall and Adolf Hitler. “She cashed out-some said she sold out-to the Nazis.” This is one of many chapters containing the escapades of the residents of the hotel. Another sidebar to this book is the battle of wits between journalists Ernest Hemingway, Robert Capa, Martha Gellhorn, and Mary Welsh to be the first to land on Normandy Beach during the allied invasion in August 1944. Their sexual affairs are another story in this rousing book. Previously, I hinted to you that this book was filled with juicy information, am I right so far? Meanwhile, Frank Meier, the longtime bartender at the Ritz is passing information along to the French Resistance. The Germans didn’t know he was Jewish. And surprisingly, the plot to kill Hitler (Operation Valkyrie) was hatched at the grand Hotel Ritz.

The poop hits the fan when Hitler orders General Dietrich Von Choltitz into Paris in August 1944 to plunder all the treasures and artwork and then upon leaving... burn Paris to the ground! Do you remember that famous film Is Paris Burning? Believe it or not, I only touched on a few chapters of this exciting book. To get the rest of the scoop, get your own copy, but read slowly because you are not going to want this book to end. I highly recommend this book, but not to those World War II aficionados who only want the facts involving the strategy and results of the war. You will not find that in this book.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: It seems to me that Tilar J. Mazzeo’s book is sort of “a one of the kind.” I mean all the books that I have researched are about the history, cuisine, or cocktails of the hotel. The following are some that are noteworthy by rakuten.com :

The Cocktails of the Ritz Paris by Colin Peter & Ueta Field: “A nostalgic collection of more than fifty popular drink recipes celebrates the celebrity histories of such classic cocktails as the Sidecar, Dry Martini, and Bloody Mary, pairing each recipe with related cultural commentary and additional advice on mixing and glass selection.A nostalgic collection of more than fifty popular drink recipes celebrates the celebrity histories of such classic cocktails as the Sidecar, Dry Martini, and Bloody Mary, pairing each recipe with related cultural commentary and additional advice on mixing and glass selection. 15,000 first printing.” “A bartender from Paris's Ritz bar presents his recipes for 50 cocktails--some of them highly unusual Ritz specialties--that the bar has served to such luminaries as Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Noel Coward, and many more. He also includes the history of that world, and of the drinks that kept it going.”

Ritz Paris: Haute Cuisine by Michel/Mesplede Roth: “This celebration of the grand culinary tradition at the Ritz Paris features inspirational stories of three great men and is completed with sixty recipes.   At the age of thirteen, the young sommelier Cesar Ritz was summarily dismissed by his employer who told him he lacked the flair and talent to succeed in the hospitality business. Of course, Ritz went on to become one of history’s greatest hoteliers, creating the Ritz in Paris and its world-renowned restaurant L’Espadon with the help of renowned chef Auguste Escoffier. Both Escoffier and Ritz loved simplicity, but perfection reigned in their finest of dining rooms.”

The Artistry Of Mixing Drinks by Frank Meier: “A complete reproduction of the Vintage Cocktail Book bestseller "The Artistry Of Mixing Drinks" written by Frank Meier (RITZ Bar, Paris), originally published 1934. "Frank Meier's book enables one to enjoy at home or elsewhere the various drinks which he has made and served to a world-wide clientele. His many friends and admirers will welcome his work, which gives the secret formulas. Once more, even though absent, they will have those delicious drinks which Frank alone can serve." Dedicated to all cocktail lovers and bartenders.”

Picture of the Hotel Ritz:

THE MARTIAN

What would you do if you were presumed dead and left stranded for 549 sol days (that’s an Earth day plus 39 minutes) on the planet Mars? Well, that’s the premise of this fresh new novel. It was an exhilarating story, although way too technical (for me) and somewhat predictable, but nonetheless well worth reading. Astronaut Mark Watney is injured and caught in a windstorm when Earth cancels the Mars mission because the MAV (Mars ascent vehicle) is about to tip over from the furious 175 kph winds. Wow, is that a tough situation, or what? The crew is leaving for Earth without you and the next mission to Mars is four years away. At least in Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719), Crusoe had his sidekick, Friday, to mingle with. And in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi (2002), Pi had a Royal Bengal Tiger to share his 227 days at sea with. Can two consecutive sentences end in the same preposition? Probably not, but I write with Cormac McCarthy’s rules.

Anyway, I found the story difficult without a companion for Watney on Mars. What’s left is his scientific effort to stay alive and bore the reader with empirical evidence. I must admit that this is not my strong suit. I don’t understand how to make oxygen, water, or make dirt to plant potatoes on Mars. I struggled through many pages of this without the action and exploits that I expected. Maybe the story needed a Dan Simmons innuendo type allusion. Yet... I did like the book! With the MAV leaving to dock with the ship Hermes (which is orbiting Mars) and then take the crew back to Earth, Watney knows he is in big trouble. Since the crew doesn’t know that all communications on Mars have been destroyed by the storm, and coupled with the fact that Watney’s bio-monitor computer readout indicates that he is dead (they don’t know it’s broken), they leave. On page seven, Watney thinks to himself, “So that’s the situation. I’m stranded on Mars. I have no way to communicate with Hermes or Earth. Everyone thinks I’m dead. I’m in a Hab designed to last thirty-one days.”

After Mark settles in, he decides to find Pathfinder (from the 1997 mission) and the rover, Sojourner, so he can acquire it’s radio and communicate with Earth. In the meantime, Satellites orbiting Mars send pictures back to NASA indicating that Watney is still alive. Watney gets to Pathfinder and finally communicates with NASA on sol day 97. The next 251 pages are much better in the excitement category, as NASA tries to figure out how to get Watney back, and as you can imagine, many things go wrong on Earth and Mars (finally). I realize that this novel had to be demanding to write since it’s not really science fiction. And I knew that we weren’t going to meet eerie green Martians, but still I expected a wee bit more calamity and intrigue. The postulation of the novel was so grand. I was hooked on the first sentence on page one…”I’m pretty much f***ed.” That’s as close as I can quote, if I want Amazon to okay this review. All in all, I have to recommend this novel by Andy Weir.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

Comment: According to theguardian, besides the above mentioned novels, The following are excellent “marooned in literature” novels:

Lord of the Flies by William Golding: “ William Golding’s first novel describes the ghastly fate that befalls a group of British schoolboys when they are stranded on a desert island (Golding was a prep-school teacher when he wrote it). At first, the boys set about creating an ordered society, with the good-natured Ralph as chief. But a dissident faction emerges and seizes power. Ralph, together with his myopic sidekick Piggy, wants the group to concentrate on getting rescued; the other lot just want to hunt. The boys' descent into savagery symbolises mankind's innate capacity for evil.”

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet  by David Mitchell :
“The twice Booker-shortlisted writer's new novel (out next month) is set in 1799 on the tiny island of Dejima, a Dutch trading concession off Nagasaki. The book follows Jacob de Zoet, a young clerk who becomes stranded when war between the English and the Dutch breaks out. It's a detailed, richly imagined tale thoughtfully examining clashing cultures. Dejima was the notoriously repressive Sho dynasty's one point of contact with the outside world and Mitchell shows how it became a portal for western ideas to be smuggled into Japan.”

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss :
“Inspired by the teachings of John-Jacques Rousseau, this 1812 novel is the wholesome saga of a family's 10-year sojourn on a deserted island. When the Robinsons' boat is shipwrecked, things look bleak, but the island is blessed with a cornucopia of natural resources and the brave family survives and builds a successful colony. Incredibly, the worst thing that happens is that their donkey gets eaten by a boa constrictor. When help eventually arrives, some of the Robinsons decide to stay put in their tropical paradise.”

Concrete Island  by JG Ballard :
“Ballard's 1974 updating of Robinson Crusoe sees rich young architect Robert Maitland, marooned not in some far-off place but on a traffic island under three converging motorways outside London after his Jaguar crashes over a parapet. Unable to climb up the embankment to safety, Maitland finds himself imprisoned and the novel becomes a record of his struggle to survive using only what he finds in his car. Ballard suggests that Maitland's imprisonment is as much psychological as physical; it's weird, gripping stuff.”

I thought one of the better movies was 20th Century Fox’s Cast Away (2000), starring Tom Hanks as a FedEx employee stranded on an Island in the South Pacific with nobody but his buddy Wilson, who was a Wilson volleyball.

The Sojourner Rover:

A Young Man in the Wild Blue Yonder

The publisher sent me a copy to read and review:

David K. Hayward writes a epistolary non-fiction work that reads like a scrapbook your neighbor would show to you. It is sprinkled with photos, sketches, cartoons and diary entries. World War II never seemed so pleasant. I mean that as a compliment. The war was there, but the blood and guts were not...great job Mr. Hayward. I recently read Adam Makos’s  A Higher Call , which was a more violent look at the war in the skies, albeit equally entertaining. In the introduction, Mr. Hayward explains why a 91-year old veteran of World War II would write a book. “The answer? Most of the writing has been done. It was a matter of putting the pieces together, like a jigsaw puzzle.” He is a man of his word, the book follows his three and a half years and fifty three missions in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations during World War II. Also patched throughout the book are his exploits during his down time and the details of his many reunions with the 22nd Bomb Squadron.

Mr. Hayward explains on page 121 what his job entailed…”I must emphasize that the mission of the B-25 medium bomber in the China-Burma-India Theater was not to attack population centers but rather non-civilian targets such as bridges, airfields, and ships used by the enemy to move it’s supplies.” Those missions are peppered throughout the book along with his stateside training with the many different bombers and fighters of the times. Surprising to me was the amount of young pilots that were killed during these non-combat training exercises. After Hayward’s 53 missions, he was assigned to Bolling Field in the District of Columbia. Until the war’s end, Lt. Hayward test flew aircraft recently repaired, flew mail to General George C. Marshall, flew ‘missing man’ formations during ceremonies, and co-piloted for the Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, on internal missions. While this book was far from exciting, it does give the reader an ‘eyewitness account’ of how it was to be a participant of the war.

Hayward touches on the famous Doolittle bombing of Tokyo and Yokohama that began about four months after Japan’s December 1941 Pearl Harbor attack. Sixteen B25 Mitchells were launched from the USS Hornet in a mostly propaganda attack of Japan. On their return most of the U.S. bombers crashed or ditched before they reached the airfields in China. The prose and the book's tendencies seemed to me like ‘the man on the street’ was telling the story, which I think makes Hayward’s story somewhat charming. I know Mr. Hayward isn’t a noteworthy writer, but he kept me entertained. I think eyewitness accounts are invaluable to historians. I’m amazed that a man of 91 put his first book together... what took you so long? What’s next Lt. Hayward? I do recommend this “yeoman’s work”, by the way, no pun intended, Hayward’s brother served in the U.S. Navy during the war.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

Comment: My all time favorite Army Air Force movie is Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo , which I  alluded to in the Doolittle paragraph. Wikipedia states: “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo is a 1944 American war film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is based on the true story of the Doolittle Raid, America's first retaliatory air strike against Japan four months after the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Mervyn LeRoy directed Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo and Sam Zimbalist produced the film. The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo was based on the 1943 book of the same name, written by Captain Ted W. Lawson, a pilot who participated in the raid. In both the book and the film, Lawson gives an eyewitness account of the training, the mission, and the aftermath as experienced by his crew and others who flew the mission on April 18, 1942. Lawson piloted "The Ruptured Duck", the seventh of 16 B-25s to take off from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo stars Van Johnson as Lawson, Phyllis Thaxter as his wife Ellen, Robert Walker as Corporal David Thatcher, Robert Mitchum as Lieutenant Bob Gray and Spencer Tracy as Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, the man who planned and led the raid. The film is noted for its accurate depiction of the historical details of the raid, as well as its use of actual wartime footage of the bombers in some flying scenes."

THE EVOLUTION OF REPTILIAN HANDBAGS

The author sent me a copy of this novel to review:

If Melanie Lamaga wrote these ten short stories to show off her creative writing skills, then it was a immense success. If she wrote these stories to display her storytelling skills, then it’s a horse of a different color. It’s been awhile since I’ve read a maiden novel where the writer had such a firm grip on descriptive and creative writing. Now that the author has a handle on those skills, maybe her next effort as a storyteller will be exceptional, because I thought most of these stories were shaky at best with a few exceptions. Lets focus on those few exceptions. 

I liked four of the stories: Waking the dreamer, What the Dalai Lama said, The seduction of forgotten things, and Black crater, white snow. Yet, these four stories had oblique and unsatisfyingly deficient endings, which also marred the six stories that I didn’t like. It’s almost like Melanie gets a great idea and then quits on it as soon as it gets interesting. Black crater, white snow is the story of a young girl named Jade gone mute after a unknown crater explosion, or earthquake while living with her mother, Anna, in Iowa. It really got my attention. I thought that Melanie could have easily made this story into a 300 page novel. Instead, 32 pages later the ‘show is over.’ In Waking the dreamer, Melanie’s opening line is, “I have a story you won’t believe. No one does. And I planned it this way.” I’m thinking, wow, this is going to be good. A mysterious naked lady found in the woods protected by “...a huge, white dog.” The ending was better than most of the stories, but it was still unfulfilling.

As for What the Dalai Lama said, Justine and Max’s interest in Buddhism causes Justine to write a letter to The Dalai Lama for advice. Months later, Dalai Lama writes back! (or does he). Once again, a great start to a story.Yet sixteen pages later it abruptly ends. The seduction of forgotten things was the longest story at 60 pages. This was my favorite story. A rebellious seventeen year old named Isabelle is unsatisfied with her boring life. She lives in a home called the White Rose House in the Old South. “Wandering the alleys, Isabelle observed the men and women who spent their days combing through trash.” Then she meets a homeless man in dirty fatigues that flits around like alley cat. He is seen yowling at the ringing of the church bells at Saint Francis church every Sunday. Isabelle and ‘the traveler’ become a happy wandering couple until the worm turns. Melanie, this story shows me that you have the potential to become a serious writer.

Although I think Melanie Lamaga has a world of upside, I have to give this novel a neutral rating because of the mostly weak storytelling. I would like to see her next effort a full novel. She seems to have plenty of good ideas that only need to be brought to fruition. She has to think like a closer. I remain a big fan of her writing skills.

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

Comment: In the last year, I have reviewed many first-time writers. As I’ve said in the past...How does a new author get published by a big publishing house? Does everybody have to self publish? Well I recently read an article from literaryrejections.com and it seems this rejection attitude is not new. Publishing Houses have been doing faux pas with writers for a long time. The following are some major blunders:

Louis L’Amour received 200 rejections before Bantam took a chance on him. He is their best selling author with 330 million sales.
“You have no business being a writer and should give up.” Zane Grey ignores the advice. There are believed to be over 250 million copies of his books in print.
“It is so badly written.” The author tries Doubleday instead and his little book makes an impression. The Da Vinci Code sells 80 million. 
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter was rejected so many times she decided to self-publish 250 copies. It has now sold 45 million.
Margaret Mitchell gets 38 rejections from publishers before finding one to publish her novel, Gone with the Wind . It sells 30 million copies.
“A long, dull novel about an artist.” Publisher rejects Lust for Life by Irving Stone. 25 million sales.
“Too radical of a departure from traditional juvenile literature.” L. Frank Baum persists and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz sells 15 million.
“Unsaleable and unpublishable.” Publisher on Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead . Random House takes a chance on it. It sells 7 million copies in the US alone.
Five London publishers turn it down.The little book finally finds a home: Life of Pi by Yann Martel winning The Man Booker Prize in 2002.
 “An endless nightmare. I think the verdict would be “Oh don’t read that horrid book.” Publisher rejects The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. It is soon published in 1898, and has been in print ever since.
The Alfred A Knopf publishing House turned down: Jack Kerouac, George Orwell, Sylvia Plath, and Mario Puzo’s The Godfather .
“He hasn’t got any future.” Yet, publication of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold leads to it’s author, John Le Carre, having one of the most distinguished careers in literary history.
With 23 rejections, Frank Herbert finally lands a publisher, and Dune becomes the best-selling science fiction novel of all time.
 “We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell.” Stephen King’s Carrie sells 1 million in the first year alone.
 “Stick to teaching.” Louisa May Alcott refuses to give up on her dream. Little Women sells millions, and is still in print 140 years later, unlike the name of the publisher who told her to give up.

Okay you writers yet to be published...Buckle up and stop whining! You are not alone.