What I read over Shabbat

[rhu]

Got Sondheim's "Finishing the Hat" out of the library. Although it's dauntingly large, most of it is lyrics --- which are great for reference but for the most part can be skimmed in order to get to the Good Parts. And the Good Parts are very good indeed; there were quite a few great laughs, and an understanding of how Sondheim writes and, more importantly, how he hears.

I'm not a Sondheim fan (I may have just lost a few friends for saying that) but I really enjoyed this book. One point that I'll highlight for my Zamir friends is that Sondheim includes the original lyrics for the song that got cut from West Side Story and became the men's theme in the second movement of Chichester Psalms, which will never be the same to me. (Although Sondheim mistakenly writes that Chichester is in Latin. Even Homer nods.)

I'm also continuing my way through the collection of Moynihan's letters that I mentioned a few posts back. As many of you know, I'm a fast reader, but I can't read this book fast. Perhaps I simply read a constant number of ideas per hour, and most writing isn't as densely packed as Moynihan's. It's not due for another week, though, so I should be able to finish in time.

With the revelations this week of some of Kissinger's comments, and the passing of Holbrooke, seeing them through Moynihan's eyes thirty to forty years ago has been even more interesting.

I'll also note that the editorial introductions are getting better as I get further into the book; perhaps the editor started to get more of a feel for his job. Pity he didn't go back and revise the earlier parts.

I'm also dismayed by the number of typos in both books, especially the Moynihan letters.