Category: Featured Content

Just keep running

How to challenge yourself to get going, stay at it and get in a race — even now

Two years ago, I got my dad a shirt that says “I’m a streaker,” and he gets endless enjoyment out of allowing strangers to think he is in the habit of taking off his clothes and running naked in public. In reality, it’s a Runner’s World shirt created for crazy people like my dad who have (fully clothed) running streaks of days, months or years.

You don’t have to run every day, or far, or quickly, to reap the benefits of running. Find out how and why to get off the couch, why streaks are, in fact, awesome (should you choose to go that route), and why running a virtual race is a great way to alleviate the fear of the starting line.

Just do it

One of the best things about running is how easy it is to get started, no matter what your fitness level is, how much time or money you have — or how much you dread the thought of being seen by your neighbors as you struggle, red-faced and sweaty, around the block.

Millennium Running owner John Mortimer watched his mom become a runner, starting by walking one mile a day — and only at night.

“She would put her reflective vest on in the cover of darkness and walk the mile,” Mortimer said.

She then started adding jogging intervals, going from one mailbox to the next while jogging, then walking to the next, and so on. She worked her way up to three laps — three miles — and then ran her first 5K.

“You can take baby steps,” Mortimer said. “It’s literally just about trying to move a little bit each day.”

Christine Lewis, co-owner of Total Image Running with business partner Lisa Misiaszek, has similar stories; she’s been training runners for more than two decades. She remembers training a friend, Lisa Trisciani, who had lost 100 pounds and set a goal to run the Disney half marathon. But she had never run before and was afraid to take that first step because she thought people would judge her. Lewis worked with her on walk/jog intervals as well as strength, core and balance training.

“Within eight weeks Lisa ran her first 5K,” Lewis said. “We continued to train and she ran the Disney half and crushed it.”

Trisciani has since run several full marathons, relay events and half marathons.

“You’re never too young, too old or too out of shape to start running,” Lewis said.

Gear up

“The best part about running is you don’t need a gym membership or fancy, expensive equipment to begin,” Lewis said. “Just get yourself a good pair of running sneakers and step out your front door.”

She recommends getting fitted for running shoes at a specialty running store such as Runner’s Alley.

The Millenium Running retail store in Bedford can help you find the right shoes too, taking you through a full fit process that includes gait analysis.

Running too much in the wrong shoe can turn you off to the sport altogether, whether it’s because the shoes themselves are uncomfortable or because they cause aches and pains.

“I think runners or walkers often stop doing it because it starts to hurt,” Mortimer said.

Other gear might include reflective vests or headlamps for safety if you’re running in the dark.

But other than the right shoes, “There’s nothing overly critical that you need,” Mortimer said.

Start slow, but stick with it

Mortimer has three key suggestions to help people get in the right mindframe to start running. First, he says, is to find your motivation. Why do you want to start running? It could be to improve your heart health, to lose weight for a wedding or to change your lifestyle. Keeping that motivation in mind will help you commit to yourself mentally and emotionally.

Second, Mortimer says, is to be consistent; if you stop doing it after a week, you haven’t gained anything from the experience.

“But that doesn’t mean you have to run 10 miles every day,” he said.

Lewis agrees.

“The reason people get discouraged quickly is because they do too much too soon,” Lewis said. “Don’t plan to run the entire time. Start with very short jog/walk intervals, doing more walking than running at first. Do not be ashamed to walk. It’s all part of the process. Listen to your body and take a break when and if you need it.”

Similarly, Mortimer’s third guideline is to be patient. You’re not going to see results overnight — you won’t lose five pounds overnight, and you won’t be able to go from running zero miles a day to running three overnight.

Lewis also recommends cross training, doing things like strength training and yoga to keep your body strong and limber. Mixing it up and balancing your body will help you stick with it, too, she said.

“It will help keep you injury-free and [avoid becoming] bored of the same running routine day in, day out,” she said.

Find support

There are all kinds of running clubs in New Hampshire, including the Millenium Running Club, the Runner’s Alley Club, and the Total Image Running Run Walk Brew Social Club. Becoming part of a club helps you meet other runners who will offer support and motivation.

“Our club is not just about running,” Lewis said. “It’s about motivating each other to work out then celebrate with socializing and a brew.”

Most clubs welcome all fitness levels and abilities, so even if you hesitate to call yourself a runner, well, you are.

“If you’re putting one foot in front of the other, you’re part of the running family,” Mortimer said.

Start streaking

Streaking runs in my family (yes, the terrible pun was unavoidable). My dad’s longest was 9,056 days; my uncle’s was 10,328 days (that’s more than 27 years of running every. single. day.). My cousin made it just past 1,000 days. It took an operation for prostate cancer to end my dad’s streak, and knee surgery to end my uncle’s.

I’m not a professional runner, but I have joined the streaking club (I’ll hit 1,000 days Aug. 16, barring injury or heat stroke), which I would say makes me qualified enough to tell you why running streaks are good for your mind, body and soul, whether you’ve never run before or you’ve run marathons.

1. They’re motivating. A streak will get you out the door when nothing else will. It was 96 degrees the other day, and the humidity brought the “feels like” temp to well over 100. If I didn’t have a streak to maintain, I absolutely would not have laced up my Sauconys and headed out for a run. I would have continued sitting on the deck in the shade at my parents’ cottage on the lake, justifying to myself that it was definitely too hot to run.

When I started this streak, I had no goal in mind. My thought was that I’d just run every day until I had a good enough reason not to — and that hasn’t happened yet. Snowstorms, heat waves, being insanely busy — none of those are real excuses. Dress warmly and watch for plows, dress lightly and drink plenty of fluids, bring running shoes everywhere so you can run after dropping one kid off at soccer practice but before picking up the other kid at football — “I have to run” means you figure it out. Without a streak, a million excuses can get in your way.

2. They’re better for your body than a Netflix streak. Again, I’m not a professional, and many runners and doctors might cringe at the whole concept of a running streak — because rest days! — but I personally think the pros outweigh the risks. (Still, talk to a doctor before starting any serious fitness endeavor or if you have any preexisting conditions or concerns.)

Every body is different, and so far mine is holding up just fine. In fact, I would argue that I’m healthier now than ever before. When I started running in my early 30s, I couldn’t even finish a mile without walking. I’m not a natural athlete, and I spent the first 30+ years of my life doing very little in the way of exercise. Now, I generally feel better, I’m stronger, and all my vitals are fantastic. If I weren’t streaking, I would choose the couch more often than not.

Still, if you’re sick, achy, or just not feeling it, there’s no need to overexert yourself. The running community generally sees one mile a day as the minimum you need to keep your streak intact. It’s unlikely you will die while running or jogging one mile if you don’t have any medical issues. But, you know, bring your phone just in case.

3. They keep you sane. Perhaps even more importantly than the physical benefits, my streak has provided a no-excuses outlet to clear my mind and alleviate stress. It’s built-in self care; my kids are almost always my priority, but because of this streak, I sometimes choose running over their wants and needs (I know, the audacity). If I didn’t “have” to run every day, I probably would put them — or work, or laundry, or lawn mowing — first 99 percent of the time. Running is my outlet. It’s where I can clear my head or think things through. I don’t even listen to music. I like the silence, the sound of rain, the quiet when the roads are covered in snow and no one else is crazy enough to be out. Not every run is amazing, and sometimes all I want is for it to be over. But I have never, ever regretted going for a run.

4. They make memories! Having to run means I sometimes have to carve out time in creative ways, and I’ve had some great experiences come out of that. I once ran laps around a parking garage at the Fort Lauderdale airport during a layover. During a trip out west last summer that was jam-packed with sightseeing and driving, I ran along the Grand Canyon, at Yellowstone (while stuck in not-moving traffic for more than two hours due to a herd of buffalo crossing the road), on a trail at the Grand Tetons, in a parking lot at Mesa Verde, in four states at once at Four Corners, and, less glamorously, on random roads when my family stopped for food on long days of driving. One of my favorite runs ever was with my brother on a snowy Christmas Day that was otherwise not very festive. I’ve also run races with my dad, my brother and my kids, because why not get some swag and have some family fun when you have to run anyway?

5. Anyone can do it. Your streak can be whatever you want it to be — you make the rules. Run a little, run a lot, have an end goal in mind or just keep going until you can’t or don’t want to anymore. Some people do holiday streaks, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. Some people start with 30 days. Just start and see what happens. That’s what I did — and now I’m the proud owner of my very own “I’m a streaker” shirt.

Race your way

Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been running for years, races can provide motivation in the form of time goals, finishing goals and community support — and the swag doesn’t hurt either.

Of course, the racing landscape looks a little different right now. The cancellation of road races in the spring quickly led to a transition to virtual races. Many organizations that typically held 5Ks as fundraisers turned them into virtual runs, and companies like Millennium Running in Bedford and Total Image Running in Auburn, which organize runs throughout the state, did the same.

There are some benefits to virtual runs, including their flexibility — most races offer a range of days and times you can run, and you can typically run anywhere you want.

Virtual runs can minimize race jitters, too.

“The fear of the starting line, the fear of that first step, is sometimes mitigated by [running virtually],” said John Mortimer, owner of Millennium Running in Bedford.

Millennium reintroduced in-person runs several weeks ago with exclusive 5Ks, keeping them to 100 participants, with two races every Saturday. The runners start one at a time, every five or 10 seconds, to avoid crowds gathering at the starting line and bunching up on the course.

Participants are taking the changes in stride, Mortimer said.

“By and large I think our running community has been super positive,” he said.

Virtual runs

Here’s a list of upcoming virtual races that under normal circumstances would be held at various locations around southern New Hampshire this summer and fall. A few are offering the option of running virtually or in person. Many races benefit local organizations. Check event websites for up-to-date information.

• There’s still time to participate in the Total Image Running Virtual Race Series’ Christmas in July Virtual 5K, going on now through July 25. Prizes will be awarded to the first-place male and female finisher. Registration costs $30 and includes a print-at-home bib and a downloadable finishers certificate. The registration deadline is Saturday, July 25. Visit totalimagerunning.com.

• Goffstown’s Berry Classic Road Race is going on now through July 26. Participants must run a continuous five miles, which they can do on the five-mile loop around the Piscataquog River in Goffstown or at another location of their choosing. Registration costs $20 and closes on July 26 at noon. Visit runsignup.com/race/nh/goffstown/berryclassic.

• Swimming with a Mission presents Virtual Swim with a Mission. Participants can swim, paddle or kayak any body of water now through July 31. There are 1K, 5K and 10K options. Registration is free and closes on July 24. Visit runreg.com/swim-with-a-mission-virtual.

• The Colon Cancer Coalition presents Get Your Rear in Gear virtually. To participate, do a physical activity of your choosing between now and Saturday, Sept. 12, then join the virtual event on Facebook on Sept. 12 at 9 a.m. Registration is free. Visit donate.coloncancercoalition.org/newhampshire.

• The Fox Point Sunset 5 Mile Virtual Road Race is open now through Saturday, Sept. 12. Run, walk or bike a five-mile course anywhere. Registration costs $10. Visit foxpoint5miler.org.

• The Total Image Running Virtual Race Series presents the Hula Hustle Virtual 5K & 10K from July 26 through Aug. 9. Register by July 24. The cost is $30 for the 5K and $35 for the 10K and includes a race T-shirt, a print-at-home bib and a downloadable finishers certificate. Visit totalimagerunning.com.

• The Cigna/Elliot Corporate Virtual Challenge & 5K will be held July 27 through Aug. 23 and is open to corporate teams and individuals. Participants are challenged to run or walk every day to train for the virtual 5K, which they can complete between Aug. 20 and Aug. 23. Registration costs $25 per person and includes a race bib and race mask. The registration deadline is Friday, Aug. 14, at 9 a.m. Visit runreg.com/cigna-elliot-5k.

• Granite Ledges of Concord’s Race to the Ledges 5K Run/Walk will be held virtually from July 31 through Aug. 9. The deadline to register is Aug. 7. Registration costs $20 now through Aug. 5 and $25 on Aug. 6 and Aug. 7. Visit genesishcc.com/gl5k.

• The Alton NH Old Home Week Virtual 5K will take place Aug. 8 through Aug. 16. Registration costs $15 and closes on Aug. 16 at noon. Visit runsignup.com/race/nh/altonbay/oldhomeweekvirtual5k.

• Lamprey Health Care’s Annual 5K Road Race will be held virtually from Aug. 8 through Aug. 16. Registration costs $25 and closes on Aug. 16. Visit runsignup.com/race/nh/anywhere/lampreyhealthcaresvirtual5k.

• You can do the Wine Run 4 Miler in person in Auburn, or you can do it virtually as part of the Total Image Running Virtual Race Series. The race takes place on Thursday, Aug. 13. Registration for the virtual race costs $35 and includes a race T-shirt or tank top, a print-at-home bib and a downloadable finishers certificate. Registration is limited to 300 participants, so register soon. Visit totalimagerunning.com.

• The Saunders at Rye Harbor 5K will take place virtually from Aug. 13 through Aug. 20. Participants can do a run or a competitive walk. The deadline to register is Wednesday, Aug. 19, at noon. Registration costs $30 and includes a race T-shirt. This race is a part of the Seacoast Road Race Series. Visit saunders10k.com.

• The Sabine Strong 3.3 will be held virtually on Sunday, Aug. 30. Registration costs $35 and closes on Wednesday, Aug. 12, at noon. Visit runsignup.com/race/nh/newington/sabinestrong33kidsdash.

• The Marcus Warner Memorial 5K Race will take place virtually on Saturday, Sept. 5, and Sunday, Sept. 6. Registration costs $10 and closes on Sept. 5 at noon. Visit marcuswarner7.wixsite.com/marcuswarner5k.

• Veterans Count presents the Wolfeboro Pirates Cove 5K Fun Run & Walk from Saturday, Sept. 5, through Monday, Sept. 7. Registration costs $25 for runners and walkers age 13 and up and $15 for service members, veterans and children age 12 and under and includes a printable bib and finishers certificate. The registration deadline is Friday, Sept. 4, at noon. Register by Aug. 12 to receive a free long-sleeved race T-shirt. Visit runreg.com/wolfeboro-pirates-cove-5k.

• Join the 12th annual Celebrate Pink 5K Run & Walk virtually between Monday, Sept. 7, and Sunday, Sept. 13. Registration costs $30 for adults and $20 for youth under age 14 and closes on Sept. 13, at noon. Register by Aug. 14 to receive a free race T-shirt. Visit cp5k.mybreastcancersupport.org.

• The Hunger is the Pitts 5K will be held on Thursday, Sept. 17, in person in Auburn and virtually as part of the Total Image Running Virtual Race Series. Registration for the virtual race costs $30 and includes a race T-shirt or tank top, a print-at-home bib and a downloadable finishers certificate. The registration deadline is Wednesday, Sept. 16. Visit totalimagerunning.com/hungeristhepitts.

• The 15th annual CHaD HERO will be held virtually from Oct. 4 to Oct. 18. Participants can run, walk, hike or bike, or they can complete their own “Virtual Quest” activity like hiking the Appalachian Trail or racing across the state. A virtual celebration with live music, special guests, raffle prizes and more will take place on Sunday, Oct. 18. Registration costs $15; register by Oct. 17. Visit chadhero.org.

• You can walk or run the Great Island 5K in person in New Castle or virtually on Sunday, Oct. 11. Registration costs $25 and closes on Oct. 10 at noon. This race is part of the Seacoast Road Race Series. Visit greatisland5k.org.

• The TangerFIT Virtual 5K takes place Oct. 11 through Oct. 18. Registration costs $25 for participants age 16 and up $15 for youth age 15 and under and closes on Friday, Oct. 2, at noon. Visit tangeroutlet.com/race.

• The Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire presents its Howl-O-Ween 5K virtually from Thursday, Oct. 15, through Sunday, Oct. 18, with a finish line celebration on Facebook Live on Oct. 18 at 11 a.m. Registration costs $30 for participants age 13 and up, $20 for youth age 12 and under and an extra $5 to include your dog as an official participant. The registration deadline is Friday, Oct. 16, at noon. Electronic bibs will be emailed to participants the week of the race. Register by Sept. 12 to receive a free race T-shirt. Visit rescueleague.org/howloween5k.

• The Pumpkin Regatta 10K takes place on Sunday, Oct. 18, in person in Goffstown and virtually as part of the Total Image Running Virtual Race Series. Registration for the virtual race costs $35 and includes a race T-shirt, a print-at-home bib, a training plan and a downloadable finishers certificate. The registration deadline is Saturday, Oct. 17. Visit totalimagerunning.com/pumpkinregatta.

• The Seacoast Half Marathon is going virtual. Participants can do a 5K, quarter-marathon (6.55 miles) or half-marathon anywhere, any day between Oct. 31 and Nov. 8. Standard registration costs $15. Registration for the 5K or quarter-marathon that includes a long-sleeve race T-shirt costs $35, and registration for the half-marathon that includes a long-sleeve race T-shirt and finishers medal costs $40. Registration closes on Saturday, Oct. 31 at noon. Visit seacoasthalfmarathon.com.

• Veterans Count, an Easterseals program, presents Penmen for Patriots Virtual 5K from Nov. 1 through Nov. 30. Registration costs $30 and includes a race bib and long-sleeve T-shirt. The registration deadline is Monday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. Visit vetscount.org/nh/events/penmen-patriots-5k.

Photo: Meghan Siegler proudly wears her “I’m a streaker” shirt on a (slow, walking) hike with her kids, Ben and Eisley, who have been very supportive of her streak despite constantly hearing things like “I’ll be back in time for the second inning” and “We can’t — I still have to run.”

Music City bound

Amanda McCarthy makes her move

With a combination of innate talent and plucky determination, Amanda McCarthy has become a fixture on the regional music circuit, from the Seacoast to the White Mountains. She’s recorded and released multiple albums of original songs — the latest, Epilogue, arrives in the fall — while performing covers to fuel her dream of being a full-time musician.

Like many before, McCarthy’s time in the trenches playing bars and restaurants led to an inevitable conclusion — that it was time to try her luck in a major market.

“People like my original music in New Hampshire, but there’s not really an original music industry here,” she said in a recent phone interview.

So, after a few more gigs, including a farewell bash with some of her musical friends on Aug. 1 at Long Cat Brewery in Londonderry, Amanda McCarthy is moving to Nashville. The goal, she said, is to live in a milieu that makes her artistic development more possible.

“I love playing for people,” she said. “Even if it’s playing covers, I really, truly enjoy it. But I know in my heart I love writing songs; that’s why I went into music in the first place.”

In the past year, McCarthy’s relationship with U.K.-based Evolved Artists has encouraged her to take the next step.

“I’ve been working with them as a songwriter … sending demos that they’ve been sent off to their contacts,” she said. “I figured if I was lucky enough to land an opportunity like that being in New Hampshire, then what else can I accomplish when I’m actually down there where things are really happening?”

“Here,” a preview track from her new album that will be officially released at the Long Cat farewell show, offers insight into the urgency McCarthy feels about testing the water in that “very big pond” now instead of later.

“All my friends are running off to chase their dreams, from Hollywood to Tennessee, oh but I’m still here,” she sings. “I vow, I’ll make it out of here somehow.”

McCarthy is encouraged by area musicians she’s met who’ve headed south like Tom Dixon, Sam Robbins, Morgan Clark and Stacy Kelleher, along with others she hasn’t.

“I don’t know Brooks Hubbard personally but I know of him,” she said. “I know he’s down there; I’d love to get in touch with him at some point.”

As she begins to wend her way into the Nashville community, McCarthy has the valuable currency of a good story to tell — the one about her close encounter last March with New Hampshire’s most well-known rock star, Steven Tyler. It’s an experience she calls “the second best day of my life after having my daughter.”

As she and her boyfriend drove to her gig at Salt hill Shanty near Lake Sunapee, McCarthy mused that the Aerosmith singer, who owns a home there, might be in the crowd. The two were joking, but things got real as she finished her encore and spotted him at a table with friends.

She had a choice to make.

“I stood there for about 30 seconds,” she said, “then I said into the microphone, ‘I don’t know if this is kosher, but if I don’t do it I’m gonna hate myself,’” and proceeded to play a flawless version of “Angel” — after which she was unable to eat or drink anything.

“I was just literally dumbfounded,” she said. “One, that he was there, and two, that I just did that. At some point I decided I didn’t want to go bother him; I’ve read his autobiography and he really just values being a normal person.”

So she began to pack up and load out, only stopping to send a copy of her Road Trip CD and a note with thanks for being an inspiration over to Tyler’s table.

When she heard Tyler say, “Wait, she’s still here?” McCarthy knew her magical day hadn’t ended yet. He came over and the two had a happy chat.

“He was so kind and down to earth, and he just talked to me; not like I was some dumb kid 40 years younger than him … like a human,” she said. “It was one of the kind of things completely above my expectations.”

Asked what she’ll miss most from her home state, McCarthy quickly replied, “one hundred percent the ocean” — she lived in Hampton for four years. She’ll also treasure the camaraderie of the New England music community.

“From Day 1, when I was 19 years old and didn’t know what I was doing, they gave me a shot and made me feel welcome. Between Penuche’s and people like Paul Costley, they allowed me to be a full-time musician, which was all I really wanted. I’m going to miss being able to do that down there … but I’m hoping it’ll be worth it in the long run.”

Amanda McCarthy & Friends
When: Saturday, Aug 1, 6 p.m.
Where: Long Cat Brewing, 298 Rockingham Road, Londonderry
More: amandamccarthy.com

The Outpost (R)

Film Reviews by Amy Diaz

U.S. Army soldiers operating in a remote corner of Afghanistan find themselves under attack in The Outpost, which is based on a true story told, among other places, in a book called The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor written by CNN’s Jake Tapper.

The movie takes place at what is eventually called Camp Keating, after Capt. Benjamin Keating (Orlando Bloom), the outpost’s commander as the movie opens. It doesn’t take military expertise to understand that this outpost is a bad scene — it is surrounded on three sides by mountains, putting the outpost and its personnel at the bottom of a bowl. Taliban soldiers can easily find a position on the mountains from which they can take easy shots at fighters throughout the camp. And they do, nearly every day, we’re told. For a while, the tension of bullets (and later mortars) entering the camp at any moment relaxes only at night because the Taliban fighters don’t have night vision.

We meet many of the soldiers who man this outpost, attempting to build relationships with the local population. What feels like oodles of people are introduced with on-screen IDs and we learn bits of information about lives back home. Ultimately, the men we probably spend the most time with are Specialist Ty Carter (Caleb Landry Jones), Lt. Andrew Bundermann (Taylor John Smith) and Staff Sgt. Clint Romesha (Scott Eastwood). The camp has a series of commanding captains, whom we also meet, each of whom has a different leadership style that presents a different set of challenges; their introductions serve as sort of chapters to the story as the movie builds to what we’re told from the beginning is definitely coming: the big one. That is how the soldiers refer to the inevitable attack by overwhelming numbers of Taliban using the advantage of the mountains to attempt to overrun the camp.

By the end of The Outpost, I completely understood all the storytelling decisions made in this story, which runs a little more than two hours and begins the most intense action (the predicted “big one”) a little more than an hour in. I feel like there was a version of this movie that could have slid in at fewer than 90 minutes and, similar to Tom Hanks’ recent Greyhound (which The Outpost sort of reminded me of), confined itself to the core of the fight. But Greyhound’s source material is a novel based on World War II events and this is a true story featuring soldiers who are real people, alive and deceased, with still living parents and spouses and children, and I understand why the movie puts such emphasis on having the audience learn everybody’s name and get at least a slice of backstory even when it feels like information overload.

The movie also stays away from having an overt point of view about the war and the larger politics involved. Instead, its criticism is pointed at military decisions made in reference to the outpost from its very existence in this (as the movie describes at the end) “obviously indefensible” location to various bad-call requests and decisions made by military officialdom elsewhere. The story’s focus is on the men, their bravery in their defense of each other and their ability to think on their feet and adapt when what seems like an unwinnable fight begins. B

Rated R for war violence and grisly images, pervasive language, and sexual references, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Rob Lurie with a screenplay by Eric Johnson, The Outpost is two hours and three minutes long and distributed by Screen Media Ventures. The movie is available for rent.

Book Review 20/07/23

Parakeet, by Marie-Helene Bertino (224 pages, Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

The bride, “ethnically ambiguous,” has been banished to a luxurious inn, sent there by the groom a week before the wedding to decompress.

The groom, an elementary school principal, had proposed after five dates. The bride describes him like this: “He will never lie to me and he will never make me howl with laughter.” His family is composed of academics who each look “perpetually poised to ask a question after a great deal of thought.” Of course she said yes.

At the inn on Long Island, there is ambivalence and fear, not the normal pre-wedding jitters, but weapons-grade anxiety, the sort that makes it entirely plausible that a dead grandmother will show up in the form of a bird and make demands of the bride.

She was a “a rueful bird endowed with death’s clarity,” as acerbic in death as in life. She both warbled and cussed, and she soiled the bride’s wedding dress before she left.

Such is the powerful beginning to Parakeet by Marie-Helene Bertino, a much-lauded writer of fiction who lives up to the hype. A former fellow at MacDowell artist community in Peterborough (no longer “Colony”), Bertino has written one other novel, 2014’s 2 A.M. at the Cat’s Pajamas, and a collection of short stories. She’s already sold another novel, set to be published in 2022, pandemic willing.

Parakeet takes place within the span of a week, with occasional flashbacks and one poignant flash forward, to describe the trauma-pocked life of the bride and her brother. It’s astonishing to realize that the bride is never given a name (nor the groom) and this omission does not matter or even seem strange. We don’t need to know her name; we learn everything else that matters.

The “bird-shaped grandmother” that shows up in the bride’s room knows about the impending wedding, but asks the bride to do something that has nothing to do with the ceremony. She/it wants the bride to find her estranged brother, and she makes a cryptic prophecy: “You won’t find him.”

The bride hasn’t seen her brother, Tom, for seven years. He’s a playwright who became wealthy and famous for writing about his sister’s life and then vanished.

“The last time I saw Tom was at his own wedding, where he lay bloody on a gurney, asking me to hold his hand,” the narrator-bride says.

But she loved her grandmother and so sets off to find the brother she doesn’t really want to see, all the while tending to the mundanities of a pre-wedding week, such as dealing with the florist, buying a new dress and seeing her maid of honor, her best friend from childhood, who, as it turns out, isn’t the greatest friend after all.

As the bride describes the relationship, “There’ve been several times in our friendship when Rose and I reached what I feared was its conclusion, when an important update to our subscription to each other had lapsed, and we either had to renew or face the tenuousness of our connection.”

This is typical of Bertino’s writing, which is startlingly original and frequently witty, as in her description of the woman from whom she buys a wedding dress: “Ada doesn’t wax her eyebrows or even trim them in any way I can detect. The courage this requires stuns me.”

Later, the bride describes her “smile so pale and winsome I appear floured.”

The exquisite writing and fresh turns of phrase do not exist to cover up a flan-like plot. The story is rich in its own right, thickened by pain and trauma.

The bride works as a biographer of people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries, compiling the personal details of their lives for juries. (A visit she makes to a man whose brain is so unreliable that he needs to be reminded not to pull out a hot oven rack with his hand is especially poignant.)

But she has her own injuries, too, psychological ones from her mother and physical ones from a random attack. As she navigates the week, we are not sure if what she is experiencing is even real or the desperate imaginings of a brain that is truly broken.

Parakeet is a quiet thriller in that regard, pulsing with mysteries and questions. But it’s also a deeply empathetic portrayal of a woman struggling to discern what is real and right, like a bird banging into a glass window. It’s an excellent antidote to the common vacuous beach read.

A — Jennifer Graham

BOOK NOTES
The Twitter war over J.K. Rowling and her views on transgender people has lately expanded to include other authors, including New Hampshire’s Jodi Picoult.

Picoult, who lives in Hanover on property that has views of both the Green and White Mountains, was asked by a fan to weigh in and tweeted (as did Stephen King) that trans women are women. Rowling, who does not share that view, is getting backlash from fans of her Harry Potter franchise, with some going so far as to have Potter-themed tattoos removed.

Picoult, however, stands to benefit from her tweet, as some Twitter users suggested that people buy one of her books in solidarity. There are plenty to choose; she’s written 27, with another, The Book of Two Ways, coming out in September. (The prologue is on her website if you want a sneak peek.)

Meanwhile, Rowling has a new work called The Ickabog, which she is publishing, one chapter at a time, on a website called theickabog.com. Right now, the extended fairy tale consists of just Rowling’s words, but she is running a contest in both the U.S. and United Kingdom to choose illustrations that will be used when the book is published in the fall. Proceeds will go toward Covid-19 assistance.

For fare less controversial, Jane Austen fans might consider a book published this week: Rachel Cohen’s Austen Years, a Memoir in Five Novels (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 304 pages).

The first line: “About seven years ago, not too long before our daughter was born, and a year before my father died, Jane Austen became my only author.” Sign me up.

Album Reviews 20/07/23

John Carpenter, “Skeleton”/”Unclean Spirit” (Sacred Bones Records)

It’s funny how things work out, isn’t it? I would have loved to hear the put-downs of Carpenter during the 1980s, mumbled during power-lunches with Hollywood executives, when they’d mercilessly tool on the musically untrained Carpenter’s insistence on soundtracking his movies (Halloween, The Thing, They Live, etc.). Of course, they probably ate all those words when he won a Saturn award for soundtracking his 1998 film Vampires, or maybe, more likely, they didn’t, but in any case, his musical style — bouncy, redundant Nintendo-techno — is pretty huge these days. This advance two-song single offers his signature vibe, which of course has seen a rebirth of late (think the theme music to the Netflix show Stranger Things), and voila, music critics have to pretend to be paying attention. “Skeleton” is a rather upbeat offing, entry-level ’80s krautrock with a good amount of heart, whereas the much darker “Unclean Spirit” conjures a cross between “Dies Irae” (the Gregorian chant that opens the movie The Shining) and, oh, something with the usual looping and piano-bonking, let’s say the theme to Halloween. Hey, if he’s happy, it’s fine with me. B+

Peel Dream Magazine, Moral Panics EP (Slumberland Records)

I wrote off this New York crew as the latest tuneless pile of emperor’s new clothes way back, upon hearing a few tunes from their 2018 debut LP Modern Metaphysics. Singer Joe Stevens is so bad that he single-handedly set back the entire hipster-pop movement a gorillion years (the only vocal comparison I can make is Lantern Waste, whose deliriously awful song “200 Miles to York” is often played as a joke by Toucher and Rich on their local 98.5 Sports Hub radio show in Boston). But whatever, here we go again, thankfully just an EP this time. It starts out survivably enough with “New Culture,” a droning stab at borderline no-wave remindful of Superdrag’s “Destination Ursa Major,” in other words amateurishly rendered Foo Fighters. Stevens doesn’t suck as bad as he usually does there, which had me — well, “salivating for more” wouldn’t be it; more like “not retching.” Of course, that attempt at normal music is immediately ruined by the pointless crayon-drawn doofus exercise “Verfremdungseffekt.” These folks have a gift for bad music, I’ll give ’em that. D

Retro Playlist
Eric W. Saeger recommends a couple of albums worth a second look.

As you (hopefully) just read, one signature feature of the pandemic is album release dates being canceled, changed or otherwise messed with. I’ve about given up the delusion that a release announcement consists of reliable information, but the show must go on here.

Another bizarre thing we’ve witnessed is the freezing of trends. In the area of music, after several years of the 1990s being laughed off as the worst decade for music ever (which always happens just before something blows big from the same arena), sure enough, bands were starting to fess up to listening to ’90s bands as a guilty pleasure. It was becoming cool for bands to cite grunge, riot grrl, commercial ska-pop, etc. influences when BS-ing rookie rock writers from Nylon and such. It looked unstoppable.

And then came Covid 19. Like I said somewhere above, at this point people are more occupied with virtue-signaling and fighting on social media and fretting about the apocalypse than reading some hipster dummy’s thoughts on Gwen Stefani’s “edgy” years. It’s as if every artistic rebirth and micro-renaissance that was in queue is in stasis, frozen like Ripley on Alien, waiting for the coast to be clear.

There were good things about the ’90s, at least in my view. Nirvana of course, Rage Against The Machine, Cypress Hill, Moby, Limp Bizkit, Korn, a bunch of other stuff, including many you’ve probably never heard of, bands that helped usher in the ’90s-rock era by releasing albums that were clear warnings of things to come. Transvision Vamp may have been doomed to obscurity from birth, but they were different in a lot of good ways, a sort of commercialized riot grrl thing that presaged sexy android-pop bands of the Aughts like Asteroids Galaxy Tour. In fact, Transvision Vamp peaked and declined at the decade’s turn, unfairly so, because their 1991 full-length Little Magnets Versus the Bubble of Babble was no less sexy and vampy and kickass than their 1988 Pop Art debut. Another one you may have missed was Gaye Bykers on Acid, which, along with a few other bands, almost squashed the grunge movement in favor of the “grebo” scene, which mashed influences from punk rock, EDM, hip-hop and psychedelia. We’d all be so much better off if their 1992 self-titled album hadn’t been lost in a sea of grunge (their 1987 freak-fringe niche-hit “WW7 Blues” is still monstrously cool).

Yeah, a ’90s revival wouldn’t be the worst thing.

If you’re in a local band, now’s a great time to let me know about your EP, your single, whatever’s on your mind. Let me know how you’re holding yourself together without being able to play shows or jam with your homies. Send a recipe for keema matar. Email esaeger@cyberontix.com for fastest response.

PLAYLIST
A seriously abridged compendium of recent and future CD releases

• Friday, July 24, is ahead, and with it will come albums, some good, some bad, some why-would-anyone-bother-recording-this. To be honest, the list is pretty thin at this writing, which may be due to the fact that all the bands have figured out that people aren’t interested in music anymore, because it’s much more fun and self-fulfilling to argue with people on the internet, just to take the edge off the stir-craziness the coronavirus has wrought. Matter of fact, my usual source of hot new music nonsense, Metacritic, only has two upcoming new records listed, so I’m going by the list on Pause And Play. This means I am out of my comfort zone once again, having to deal with some stupid new website that wants me to fork over my email address and then drop a cookie into my Cookies folder, just so that Pause and Play can send me spam and slow down my “browsing experience” while the cookie tracks every moronic thing I look for on the internet. Does anyone not just click the little “X-close” button when presented with that kind of junk, or should I really just spend an entire afternoon searching Google for “best free spamblocker”? (I won’t do that. I spend a lot of time on the internet, yes, but going to such trouble seems a little obsessive.) Where was I? Right, albums. Most of these look kind of dumb and boring, like the only one I’m actually drawn to is Goons Be Gone, the new album from Los Angeles-based duo No Age! They make noise-rock, which you all know makes me smile, and… oh, come on, the release date changed to last week, according to Amazon! See why I hate using new systems? See why I didn’t want to use Pause and Play? Whatever, I’m listening to the single “Sandalwood” anyway, because the whole rollout here is a hot mess, and maybe it’s coming out on the 24th. Whatever, the tune is cool, noisy and messy, like Mick Jagger jamming with Half Japanese, and that brings us to some actual usable news, the first new album in 27 years from ancient punk band X, called Alphabetland! Ha ha, look how old they are now, like Exene looks like some random Birkenstock Karen who haggles with gift shop owners for price breaks on stinky incense. The title track is like early Ramones except with Exene singing half-heartedly. It’s eh.

• Neck Deep is a power-pop band from Wales, in the U.K. Their fourth album, All Distortions Are Intentional, is on the way as we speak, led by the single “Lowlife,” which is OK but sounds like the last nine billion songs you’ve heard that involve ripping off Weezer in Nirvana mode. So, unless anyone has questions — yes, you, in the back. No, I will never willingly listen to this song again. That it? Good, let’s proceed to the next thingie.

• Country-Americana-folkie Lori McKenna is from Stoughton, Mass., where there are no cowboys. She once received a country Grammy nomination. Her new album, The Balladeer, includes the single “Good Fight,” a strummy folk-pop song that you might like if you dig ’70s radio-pop.

• Time for one more, and I choose Irish singer Ronan Keating’s new album, Twenty Twenty! Did I choose wisely? No, unless you like shuffle-y chill-out Ed Sheeran-ish boy-band pop that would be a perfect fit on the Ellen show. I do not.

Physical theater

Copenhagen opens as live shows return to the Hatbox Theatre

The Hatbox Theatre will reopen on July 24 with Phylloxera Productions’s staging of Copenhagen, the first show at the small Concord theater since it closed its doors in the spring.

Friends and physicists Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg were the world’s leading experts in nuclear fission during World War II. With their countries at war — Bohr was from Germany and Heisenberg was from Denmark — and Germany racing to develop atomic weapons, meeting would be a dangerous endeavor. Copenhagen, written by Michael Frayn,is a speculative look at what happened during the secret meeting between the two men that took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1941.

The playpremiered at the National Theatre in London in 1998 and opened on Broadway in 2000. It won numerous prestigious awards, including the Drama Desk Award for Best New Play, the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Best Play and the Tony Award for Best Play.

Director and producer Gary Locke first read the script for Copenhagen 12 years ago after he had seen several actors perform monologues from the play as part of their auditions for his productions.

“They were such rich, complex and wonderful monologues, and that made me curious about [the play],” Locke said. “I started reading it, thinking I’d be reading a story about World War II, but what I got was insight into the way the world works philosophically, emotionally — from every standpoint. It’s been on my radar [to produce] ever since.”

The three-person cast depicts Heisenberg, Bohr and Bohr’s wife Margrethe.

“It’s a wonderful play for actors,” said Jim Sears, the actor playing Niels Bohr. “There isn’t a lot of fanfare to it. It’s just three people and their interactions, with nothing else in the way. It’s one of those plays where you [as an actor] discover who you are during rehearsals.”

Though Copenhagen is chock full of science-related dialogue, audience members do not need to be fluent in the scientific concepts to enjoy the play, Locke said.

“I don’t want to convey the idea that it’s dense, not interesting and not fun,” he said. “It’s really a fascinating slice of history and character study of these three people.”

The play was originally scheduled to open in late April. The actors started learning their lines last fall and rehearsing in January, but in March, Covid-19 brought their in-person rehearsals to a halt. Still, they continued running their lines together over the video conferencing platform Zoom.

“We had to have a way to keep interacting and repeating the words while looking at each other,” Sears said. “It’s an incredibly pale [way of rehearsing] relative to being on stage with the other actors, but it was all we could do, and it was necessary.”

Locke said that because the play only has three cast members he “never had any doubt that it could still go forward in the era of Covid,” and he had always planned on bringing it to the stage as soon as theaters were allowed to reopen.

“This is a massive work of memorization for these actors, so they had already put a big commitment into it at that point, and I owed it to them not to cancel,” he said, adding that, even though the actors will be paid less than expected due to the limit on ticket sales, “I never heard a single complaint or doubt from any of them.”

Copenhagen
Where: Hatbox Theatre, Steeplegate Mall, 270 Loudon Road, Concord
When: Friday, July 24, through Sunday, Aug. 9, with performances on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $18 for adults; $15 for theater members, seniors and students; and $12 for senior theater members.
Covid-19 guidelines: Audience members will be required to social distance and wear face masks during the performance.
Contact: 715-2315, hatboxnh.com

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