8 | The Corne¬ Daily Sun | Tuesday, September 30, 2014
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT A Feminist Grows in Brooklyn
ahead of them some 60 years later. She clarifies her instinct to refuse her mother’s cooking lessons most wisely: “Once you learn to do it, A young, notoriously clumsy neighbor assures seven you’ll be expected to do it.” Amen, year-old Marie, “Someone always helps me up,” after sister. recounting to Marie how a man had rescued her from a More embracing of her strong fall on the subway. She tells Marie that if she sees him personality is Marie’s husband. An again, she will “pretend to fall, see? Right next to him. unexpectedly timid and chattering And he’ll catch me and say, ‘Is it you again?’” The first man, he more than atones for funeral that Marie attends in her life is that of this young Marie’s first and less gallant love. lady, who takes a nasty fall not too long after that converTheir marriage is as humble and sation, without someone there to catch her. In Someone, beautifully believable as Marie Alice McDermott’s first novel since 2006, there are many proves to be, though they end up someones falling; sometimes there is someone to catch not only being someone to lean on them, and sometimes there is not. for each other, but for Marie’s fallen In Marie’s immigrant neighborhood in Brooklyn, the older brother, as well, for whom the infallible umpire of the boys’ street baseball games is world seems to be too heavy. After blind. The girls sit on the stoops to watch the action and both their parents die, and Marie gossip about how Dora Ryan’s groom revealed herself to works many years at the local funerbe a woman on the wedding night — a mystery even to al home as a kind face for the their parents, it seems. Through the fuzzily innocent narmourning relatives, she’s seen death ration of this self-described homely more than most, but there is still so girl with thick glasses, we see a little of life that she understands — Someone community and its characters especially her brother’s battles. She decaying in parallel, some changing has learned to reassure even when By Alice McDermott and maturing in small ways around she doesn’t understand, however. Farrar, Staruss and Giroux Marie, who only comprehends the Their home, which has likewise COURTESY OF MACMILLAN events in hindsight. She herself, seen so much loss, seems to be reashowever, maintains much of the suring in and of itself. same spunk and stubbornness we “You’re here Momma … where see in her seven year-old self Irish-Catholic family. It is a we’ve always lived,” Marie tells her mother over and over throughout her adult life and old title she takes to without com- in her last days; her fear that somehow she is back age. “home” in Ireland is palpable in the crumbling apartment. Marie grows up watching her Marie’s mother, whose ment. “Not Home, Mama, Brooklyn.” older brother recite Shakespeare and classic poetry at the brogue only comes out when she’s angry, endeavors perkitchen table each night after supper. In an exquisite petually to quell Marie’s forceful independence-for-its- Madeline C. Jones is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. scene that perfectly captures her effortless rebellion, she own-sake, but Marie’s own children have that same battle She can be reached at mjc37@cornell.edu. MADELINE C. JONES Sun Contributor
mumbles a curse word in Irish over her tea, shaking her head as if she didn’t know what to do with her brother, meanwhile not understanding the word at all. Her parents begin calling her “our little pagan,” to the neighbors, in order to humbly offset their pride about her brother’s inclination toward the priesthood — the highest honor for a mid-20th century,
Music’s Purest: Iron & Wine at Bailey Hall HADIYAH CHOWDHURY Sun Contributor
Years ago, I can remember listening to Samuel Beam’s deliciously husky voice and humming along to his lyrics, thinking that they were beautiful enough but nothing special. But Iron and Wine’s performance at Barton Hall on Saturday changed everything — Beam is not only beautiful to listen to, he is beautiful to watch; he coaxed his melodies out of his twangy guitar with so much grace and poise that it was difficult for me to believe that he could speak without singing. Beam’s comfortable stage presence made the audience feel a sense of intimacy with him as soon as he stepped on stage. But really, I should start from the beginning, shouldn’t I? An Australian duo who call themselves The Falls opened for Iron and Wine and while a lot of their pieces sounded similar, I loved their sound. In addition, The Falls’ female half, Melinda Kirwin, entered the stage barefoot and in a flowy white dress — she was so adorable and sweet-spoken that I instantly fell in love with both of them. Kirwin’s sweet, pure vocals combined with Simon Rudston-Brown’s soulful voice to harmonize beautifully and leave me feeling a little haunted. The duo is about to record their debut album in the next few months, so if you are into folksy guitar-picking doused with some gorgeous harmonies, keep an eye out. Beam opened his set by asking the audience what they wanted to hear,
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which set the tone for his COURTESY OF SUB POP entire performance. He alternated between his old and new work which suited a casual listener like me perfectly. Beam made a joke about almost every suggestion that was offered up to him, making the concert venue feel 10 times smaller and more intimate. The fact that it was an entirely acoustic show added to the comfortably casual ambience and left me with a warm feeling at the end of the night. Iron & Wine serenaded his audience with minimal voice distortions, and in a musical world full of synthesizers and auto-tune, I found his acoustic show to be a breath of fresh air. It is difficult to pin- place enough, but everyone’s idea is point what exactly is so haunting about slightly different. After he sang his last Beam’s voice, but is has certainly song, an absolutely beautiful a Capella matured since his earlier work into a version of “Flightless Bird,” the crowd crooning, viscous sound which contrasts burst into well-deserved applause for a perfectly with his clean guitar playing. good three minutes before Beam He sings about love, as most indie and returned to grace us with one final song: alternative artists do, but also about “Such Great Heights.” This song left me childhood, friendship and loss. His utterly unwilling to move because I haunting voice adds to the sincerity of wanted it to last forever, but alas, all his words — I must admit, I was near good things must come to an end. Not only is Iron & Wine incredibly tears when he sang “Tree By the River.” Somehow, Beam finds images that talented and but Beam is also so utterly almost everyone has a version of in his or unselfconscious that I felt like I had disher head: Trees by rivers are common- covered some great inner truth after hav-
ing listened to an hour and a half of his soft, layered voice. That being said, some of the songs did meld together to a certain extent. I had absolutely no qualms about this, but one could certainly say that Iron & Wine’s repertoire is not particularly varied. Still, I left the concert with some new favorite tunes by Iron & Wine, having discovered a new up and coming Australian folk duo and having fed my soul utterly and completely to the brim with music in its purest form. Hadiyah Chowdhury is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at hrc39@cornell.edu.