Here we are again, we've heard this complaint before. Where can I meet well read individuals with whom I will be able to form lasting, worthwhile relationships? We have already begun a book club, which is sailing along nicely, however, it is virtual and still leaves me without friends here to share with.
As I travel on the train day to day, I find myself scanning the many titles adorning the covers of the literature my fellow travelers have chosen. I begin to think to myself, how can I approach those who share my taste in reading material. I can't very well interrupt them, and beg them to be my friend, and I feel shy about mentioning that I have also read and enjoyed, Fight Club, or To Kill a Mockingbird. Besides, as it happens, I'm probably focused on my own copy of Haunted, White Oleander or, The Billionaire's Vinegar as the case may be. Perhaps we should branch out, and rather than disturbing the woman reading The New Yorker, I could simply pass her a note that says, " I see you are reading an interesting piece of literature. I too enjoy this simple pleasure, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself". But, that is probably too creepy, so I will just stick to the book club.
The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine by Benjamin Wallace
An excellent choice for our first book. Honestly, I typically do not enjoy historically factual stories, though this one captured my interest. The thing that struck me about this book is the fact that I caught myself trying to discuss it with my co-workers (who refuse to join the book club) simply because of the fact that the wine in question is old. I have an appreciation for things that are old, such as the old chest D. owns, or the old quilt passed down through my family. As I mentioned before, however, I do not usually like stories with historical significance unless it directly relates to me somehow, or I feel a connection. Having never been a wine collector, I didn't expect the story to reach me as it did. I found myself posing the question to everyone, "What would you do with a very old bottle of wine? Would you try to drink it, or just hold onto it for history's sake?"
As for the story itself, I have to admit that it lost me in a few places. I felt like the story was jumbled with too many facts and would have preferred to just following the one bottle of wine through time, versus the many different bottles and the countless side-stories of mishap, collecting, and forgery. While I agree that those were some interesting stories, I got mixed up in the sheer number of details.
But enough of what I think, that should be enough to start a conversation,(besides we have a professional book reviewer among us) I want to hear everyone's comments.
A.
10 comments:
You know, I have yet to finish it because you took it from me after I had started it. Then, you didn't tell me you were finished with it until a week of me staring at it on the side of the bathtub made me ask.
I can tell you that I was interested that wine collecting really didn't start all that long ago. I had thought that this sort of thing went back way before the 17th century or whatever but apparently not. I personally would never consider drinking a bottle of wine that is that old, especially if it were once owned by Thomas Jefferson.
Looks like I will be taking some time out tonight and tomorrow to finish this book so that I have something of relevance to say about it.
D.
First of all, you told me to take it because you had other stuff to read and I needed a book, secondly, I DID tell you I was finished, you just didn't listen, as usual.
But yes, I also would not drink a bottle of wine that old.
A.
All right, all right, relationship complaints should probably get their own comment thread, no?
SOME SPOILERISH STUFF BELOW>>>>>GO AWAY UNTIL YOU'VE FINISHED, SLACKERS.
What killed me about this book from the get-go was that the narrative keeps the mystery alive for a while, but the back flap jacket copy goes right ahead and spoils everything by telling you outright.
That said, I really enjoyed this book up until about the three quarter point through. I think Wallace tries to draw things out a bit and keep the tantalization going but loses a lot of his steam in doing so. With a mystery as the heart of your story, you really need the exact length. Too short a narrative buildup and your story feels rushed and cheated; you don't give the readers time to "solve" the mystery for themselves. Too long a narrative and the thing falls apart because you fritter away the momentum.
Partly I think that happened, and the whole business with Koch's lawsuit was a good chance to sink back into the meat of the story, but Wallace seemed to have short-shrifted things here. Maybe he just ran out of interest in the story by that point, maybe he was just exhausted with the effort of keeping his research notes together.
Another reason I may have started to run out of total interest in the book was after enough salivation over the conspicuous consumption of these richy rich douchebags, I began to hate all these wine collectors with their fancy computerized cellars and the idiotic ways they waste their money on showing they have the biggest, fanciest, most gold-plated cocks to swing around.
Now, I've said a lot about what I didn't like about the book, which makes it sound like it wasn't an enjoyable experience to read, but it was. All told, cover to cover took about two and a half to three days. Wallace's style throughout is pretty damn readable. All that magazine journalism gives you good practice for narrative flow and a "just the facts, ma'am" approach to your style.
While he does draw the characters very well and every one feels really indidvidualized and easy to distinguish (with so many names I never lost sight of who the players were), I think some basic wine knowledge would have been helpful in keeping track of the welter of names (Lafite, Sauternes, Rothschilde, Yquem, Mouton, after a while it all swam in my brain).
Apparently, the whole shindig is still going on if this website is any indication.
Check out their prices!
http://www.antique-wine.com/
Yes, I couldn't agree with you more. It also took me a couple days to get through it, even though usually I read a book of this length in one to two versus three to four.
As for the characters, I was slightly annoyed that we are introduced to Broadbent at the beginning and really got to know him, but by the end he was just sort of a side note. That's about the point when it lost me. I was clinging to a character who knows more about wine than myself, and once he wasn't as present, my own knowledge couldn't support my interest.
A.
Well, I can understand Broadbent having to take a back seat at some point, but maybe in that case Wallace shouldn't have made him such an integral part of the early chapters of the book. He starts out like a star but ends up like a bit player.
Probably fitting, considering how much Rodenstock's business relied on him as its good-word-of-mouth advance man, as it were. But at the very least maybe the author could have painted Broadbent as a kind of tragic figure, the fall of the antique wine market being an external analog to his own bottoming out in reputation.
So, are we the only ones who read the book? SEE!? Book Clubs suck!
A.
I guess it'll be a book club of two then. I'm already almost done with When You Are Engulfed in Flames and in October, H. and I are going to see David Sedaris.
I already read Engulfed. Let me know when you are done with it. ha!
A.
In my defense, I spent the last month learning 10 Spanish verb tenses. I started the book, but wasn't able to finish it. I will finish it as soon as I get it back from my boss. My class ends tomorrow, so I'll start Engulfed on Friday. I promise to finish it!
That said, Red, what did you think of the cover art and the font choices?
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