Possessing Culture

The two stand-out reads from February were "The Art Thief" by Michael Finkel and "The Ornament of the World" by Maria Rosa Menocal. Each of these non-fiction offerings presents something suprising. In the case of "The Art Thief" the reader is presented with an astounding narrative of a truly skilled klepto who deviates from the norm with a love for what he steals. "The Ornament of the World" traces the juxtoposing cultures understanding of other in Medieval Spain and how we are still the inheritors of so much of the cultural mix of that time. Reading this book made me want to travel to Spain even more!