Kanlaon

The sun is shining.

Even better, you do not have to teach today.

A few months ago (Time is a regular galloping chariot these days, especially when one leaves the realm of youth and graduates to the realm of whatever), you asked fab teacher Liza Erpelo if you could post the list of essay prompts she had devised for your collection, Mayor of the Roses. And, of course, you never did get around to posting the essay prompts, as so many things happened to you. To wit: Ying (leukemia), class from hell (still ongoing), not winning this or that writing contest (for which you paid a $30 entry fee), trip to Tel Aviv etc etc

But, today, today is the day when you finally get around to doing it. And here are the prompts:

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ESSAY Prompts for Marianne Villanueva’s Mayor of the Roses

1) In several of the short stories in Mayor of the Roses by Marianne Villanueva, the narrators were told stories that were meant to be warnings. Identify the “warnings” in each of these stories, and investigate the significance of these messages. What is the importance of storytelling for these narrators? In developing your response, consider such important factors as who tells these stories and delivers these “warnings,” what each of the narrators were warned against, and what each character does with the advice.

2) Even though the main protagonists in Villanueva’s short stories tend to be women, men also play important roles throughout this book. Identify these roles, and in your essay, consider how the men are portrayed as well as the reasons why they are portrayed these ways.

3) In a San Francisco Chronicle book review from 2005, the reviewer wrote, “An appropriate marketing scheme for Bay Area resident Marianne Villanueva’s collection of short stories, Mayor of the Roses, would be to offer a coupon for a cocktail with each copy; you will need something to lift your spirits.” Do you agree with the review? Why or why not? Use specific examples from the short stories to support your claims.

4) The themes of desperation, fragmentation and abandonment echo in many of Villanueva’s short stories — particularly when it comes to “family.” Choose a character whose actions reflect these themes, and describe the significance of this character’s actions. Why does this character behave the way he or she does? How is “family” portrayed or defined for this character? You may use more than one story to develop your response to this question.

5) Throughout the book, the author makes use of a variety of images that may be symbols, things that represent something else. Identify the patterns of images you see and use specific evidence from the text to investigate the significance of those images as symbols. Think about how the symbols influence your interpretation of the novel and determine what the author was trying to convey by means of the symbols.

It occurs to you, looking over these prompts today, that they are genius, just genius, dear blog readers. To Liza and her students, self’s most heartfelt thanks.

And now, to Part Deux of this post, the list of books self is interested in reading after perusing The New York Times Book Review of 20 April 2008:

(1) After reading Valerie Steiker’s review of Susan Nagel’s latest, Marie-Thérese, Child of Terror: The Fate of Marie Antoinette’s Daughter:

Susan Nagel’s Marie-Thérese, Child of Terror: The Fate of Marie Antoinette’s Daughter

(2) After reading Louisa Thomas’ review of Elizabeth Strout’s “novel in stories,” Olive Kittredge:

Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kittredge

(3) After reading Marilyn Stasio’s review of the new mystery by Booker Prize Winner John Banville (writing under the pen name Benjamin Black), The Silver Swan:

Benjamin Black’s first mystery, the Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel, Christine Falls

(4) After reading Karl Taro Greenfeld’s review of Martha Sherrill’s Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain, about “a legendary breeder of prize-winning Akita dogs” :

Martha Sherrill’s Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain