Howards End - E.M. Forster: A Review

Title: Howards End
Author: E.M. Forster
Date Finished: Sept 30, 2007
Pages: 236
Rating: 1.5/5

I read this book for the Decades challenge (1910) and every single minute of it was pure struggle. OK, not every minute, but mostly every minute. This book is only 236 pages, but it took me two weeks to finish!!

The story is about Margaret Schlegel who befriends her neighbor Mrs. Wilcox. When Mrs. Wilcox passes away, she leaves her home, Howards End, to Margaret--although Margaret is unaware of the bequest. After the death, Margaret then befriends Mr. Wilcox. A strange type of courting pursues and they eventually become engaged. On the sidelines of the story are Wilcox's extravagant and snotty children and Margaret's aloof sister Helen. In the side-sidelines are the Basts, Leonard and Jacky, who are of a lower class but become entwined in the story. Its difficult to give a summary without giving away any of the plot, so that's basically it. Most of the story is wrapped up in class issues, the Mr. Wilcox and Margaret's courtship, and family scandals.

I've recently heard good things about Forster, particularly his A Passage to India but this is quite possibly the worst book I have read all year. Granted, I did just start a new job on Monday, but I was struggling even before my time got cut in half. And I'm not even really sure why I disliked this book so much! The character development wasn't half bad, but I found the writing a little confusing and very anticlimactic. The last couple of chapters were the best in the book, but I thought the writing was boring and without passion. I would not recommend this book and if you are reading it or plan to, I hope you have much better luck than I did. :(

Travels with Charley - John Steinbeck: A Review

Title: Travels With Charley In Search of America
Author: John Steinbeck
Date Finished: September 22, 2007
Pages: 275
Rating: 4/5

In the 1960's, John Steinbeck felt as though he lost his connection with America, so he set out with is French Poodle, Charley, to rediscover it. He basically traveled in a great loop around the country - beginning with New York across to Washington, down the coast, and through the southern states. Since I have had a bad case of wanderlust recently, this book was great for me!

Along the way, Steinbeck tried to make friends with the locals to get a feel for their particular locale. He did not throw around his name, but he did use Charley shamelessly to get his foot in the door. Steinbeck's narrative was very endearing to me. I felt he was really honest in what he wanted to say. There were some places that he loved, but others that really irritated him. Overall, at the end of the trip, I'm not sure that he was able to reconnect with America because the country itself is so unconnected in many ways, and I think Steinbeck really mourned this.

In many ways this book is outdated, but I felt that this was some of the charm in the book. I loved how Steinbeck described trailer parks with utter astonishment, it was humorous to hear him talk about traffic in the metropolitan cities and the vastness of Texas (he apparently did not like the state), and he spoke about civil rights issues with passion and fury. I would recommend this book - it is light and other than his tendency at the beginning to skip around from subject to subject every paragraph it was a solid read.

Sunshine and Roses: BTT

This week's BTT is the reverse of last week’s question:

Imagine that everything is going just swimmingly. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and all’s right with the world. You’re practically bouncing from health and have money in your pocket. The kids are playing and laughing, the puppy is chewing in the cutest possible manner on an officially-sanctioned chew toy, and in between moments of laughter for pure joy, you pick up a book to read . . .

What is it?

Honestly? I usually will pick up whatever book I'm currently reading. Right now I'm reading two books--Travels with Charley and Howards End. I had some great news yesterday about a job offer, so I came home and read Travels with Charley--the more entertaining book of the two. I don't think I really read for my moods, but I definitely don't want to read something that is depressing (or boring like Howards End) if I am in a superhigh mood.

Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert: A Review

Title: Eat, Pray, Love
Author: Elizabeth Gilbert
Pages: 331
Date Finished: September 16, 2007
Rating: 4.25/5

I really enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it like I keep hearing most people say they do. But I still really enjoyed it. At the beginning of the book, Liz explains her situation - a rather desperate situation. Her life seems to be falling apart all around her so she pleads with God to help her figure things out. What she decides is to travel for a year: first to Italy where she can learn the beautiful language and search for pleasure; second to India where she will live in an Ashram and devote her time to mediation; and finally to Indonesia (Bali, specifically where she will try to balance the pleasure and spiritual lives she lived in Italy and India.

What I really liked about this book was Liz's frank attitude. At times she reminded me of my old hero Bridget Jones - one starts to wonder, seriously? how could things get any worse but she also handles her situations with grace and humor. Her narrative was very personal and I found her humanness very easy to relate to. I found myself becoming Liz's personal cheerleader - wanting her to succeed in her searches and to find the happiness she so deserves. Honestly, I'm not sure what it is about the book that is keeping me from screaming I LOVE IT I LOVE IT, but there is just something...

I would recommend this book to a number of different people. I actually dropped it off at Mom's house last night for her to read when she has finished with the HP series - and usually I base my recommendations on whether or not I would pass the book on to Mom. There is just something about Liz that makes you want to really like her. But she isn't perfect--she has her really ugly moments, which to me makes her all that much more likable.

Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi: A Review

Title: Reading Lolita in Tehran
Author: Azar Nafisi
Date Finished: September 13, 2007
Pages: 343
Rating: 3.75/5

I'm wondering if I should give this one another day or two to soak in because I feel myself wavering between this rating and a higher one, but I think that is partially because I really loved the ending of this memoir. I'm not even sure what I accomplish with my ratings because I usually end up changing my mind later on anyway. It will be interesting to see at the end of the year how all the books stack up to what I initially thought of them.

Enough rambling! Reading Lolita in Tehran is the story of an expelled literature professor who takes in seven students for Thursday-morning discussions of the works of fiction they all love. The book is divided into four sections: Lolita, Gatsby, James, Austen. Nafisi's memoirs go beyond these teaching sessions, though. It seems to me as though her books is two-fold. First, she talks about literature - mainly in the context and with connection to the women's lives in Tehran. Second, Nafisi talks about the events and their effects on her and her teaching. Let me try it this way: in the first and last section, Nafisi focuses on her book group with the seven students. But then she regresses in the middle to sections to earlier events (about two decades) working her way back up to the book group. While in their own rights I appreciated all of these sections, the organization was confusing. We got to know these girls and their discussion of Lolita but then lose them except for vague references throughout the middle sections until they return in the final section. The point is, sometimes it felt as though Nafisi was trying to take on too much with this book OR that she wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do and where she wanted to go with it.

For me the best parts of the book were when she was discussing the characters (of the book, not the fictional characters). Because I haven't read any of the James works discussed or Lolita, sometimes I felt as though I was reading literary criticism with a deaf ear--not really being able to understand the full meaning of Nafisi's words. The heart of the book was the Islamic Republic and how it shaped the lives of these women, but also how the fiction shaped their lives in different ways. I don't usually include quotes, but I found this one particularly striking:

"I said to him I wanted to write a book in which I would thank the Islamic Republic for all the things it had taught me--to love Austen and James and ice cream and freedom. I said, Right now it is not enough to appreciate all this; I want to write about it. He said, You will not be able to write about Austen without writing about us, about this place where you rediscovered Austen. You will not be able to put us out of your head. Try, you'll see. The Austen you know is so irretrievably linked to this place, this land and these trees...." (338).

And I love that quote because literature/fiction/reading is such a personal thing - something that is tied to our experiences, emotions, thoughts. But at the same time, literature/fiction/reading is also a social experience - sharing, collaborating, exploring. And I think that this is what Reading Lolita in Tehran tries to express. I would recommend this book with a little hesitation. I think some of it may be lost one those who don't have any experience with literary criticism or who haven't read the texts. Sometimes the reading was tedious, but the overall experience of the book was a good one. OH YA!! This is my final Non-Fiction Five. Whooopppeee!

Comfort Food - Booking Through Thursday

Okay . . . picture this (really) worst-case scenario: It’s cold and raining, your boyfriend/girlfriend has just dumped you, you’ve just been fired, the pile of unpaid bills is sky-high, your beloved pet has recently died, and you think you’re coming down with a cold. All you want to do (other than hiding under the covers) is to curl up with a good book, something warm and comforting that will make you feel better.

What do you read?

Hmmm, this is kind of a difficult question for me since if I am that down I will usually go for the movies instead of the books. If we are talking movies, my first picks would be Pride and Prejudice, Love Actually, Moulin Rouge, When Harry Met Sally, While You Were Sleeping. If I'm down, I don't have the energy to even pick up a book. I also don't tend to re-read books since I'm paranoid that I'm eventually going to run out of time and not be able to read all the books I want to read. Hmmm. :)

But a book that can always pick me up and make me feel loads better about myself and my situation is Bridget Jones. It is one of the few books that I've read more than once and will probably read again and again. I think good ole Bridge can make any down girl feel a little better.

What do you read/watch? Go here to play!

Tales of Edgar Allan Poe (Part 1)

So, I haven't quite figured out how to go about blogging for these short stories yet. Because I want to remember the individual stories as I do with a book, I guess I'll just make a record each time I read a few (I'm going for 3 a week so I can finish this month) and then give a regular review of the book as a whole? Whatever-- Oh ya, I'm not sure how to talk about a 10 pages story without spoilers, so these contain spoilers. Get over it. :)

Today, I read "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Black Cat," and "The Tell-Tale Heart." The first and third I have read several times, so it was fun to revisit, but I had never read "The Black Cat" before. Perhaps I'm a little numb to the ones that I'm so familiar with, but yikes!! This one really creeped me out.

"The Cask of Amontillado" is the story of revenge in the most primal sense. Fortunado has committed some offense against the narrator (is it telling that we don't know what the offense was??). In order to seek his revenge, the narrator lures Fortunado into the catacombs beneath Venice. Although he gives him several opportunities to leave the dank, dark maze, Fortunado refuses. Once at the end of the pathway, the narrator chains a drunk Fortunado to the catacomb wall and begins bricking the passageway until Fortunado is sealed into his death. I love the irony of Fortunado's name; I love the pure vileness of Montresor but also Fortunado's greed for superiority that continues to lead him to his grave after Montresor gives him numerous outs. But to me, the creepiest part of the story is not really knowing what Fortunado did to offend Montresor (or, maybe I missed it!!). I don't know how to upload it onto here, but I found a great cartoon on YouTube!

"The Black Cat" is the story of, well, a black cat. Once upon a time there was a man, a man who is NOT mad, mind you! Anyway, for reasons that I'm not quite sure of (is being drunk a good enough reason?), he begins tormenting the cat--beginning with the eye and finally ending with hanging it in the yard. The cat comes back to haunt him, although this time it is not exactly the same cat. The narrator (who is NOT mad), attempts to take an ax to the cat's head but instead hits his wife in the head. So, he buries her in the cellar beneath the mucky plastered walls. Finally, he can sleep at night peacefully. When the police come to the house, he takes them to the basement (see, he says, not here!), but then a harrowing screech comes from beneath the walls. The wife is found nearly decomposed with the black cat. Having read this one for the first time, I was really bothered by his cruelty toward the cat (nevermind the wife...I expected that). Other than that, it seemed very reminiscent of "The Tell-Tale Heart."

So, I was going to include a picture of "The Tell-Tale Heart" but just looking at them was going to give me nightmares, so I refrained. Again, this story is of a man who is so convinced that he is meticulous and thoughtful instead of demented and crazy, but in the end crazy wins! He is haunted by his neighbor's eye, a pale blue eye that is filmed over. After watching his neighbor for seven nights, he kills him to rid himself of the eye (yes, very sane). But, as the police come to investigate, the man begins to hear the dead neighbor's heart beating. At first very softly, then louder and louder until he is so consumed by the noise that he confesses to the police. I think that of all the Poe I've read, this one is my favorite. It is short and the narrative is concise and tight. And the justifications this narrator gives for his actions and motives--can't beat it.

Alright, now that I've scared myself silly, I'm off to read something a little more...well, not crazy anyway!

The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield: A Review

Title: The Thirteenth Tale
Author: Diane Setterfield
Date Finished: September 8, 2007
Pages: 406
Rating: 4.5/5

This one is a popular choice for several challenges, and I picked it for the Something About Me Challenge. After hearing great things, I was excited to take this one as my vacation book to Alaska. While I didn't get much reading done on the trip, I was able to finish the rest of it during our 5 hour airport-wait and 5 hour plane ride home from Seattle yesterday.

I really enjoyed this book. The frame story is of Margaret Lea, an avid reader and amateur biographer, who is commissioned by the prolific novelist Vida Winter to write her biography. Margaret doesn't quit understand Winter's choice as she has never picked up one of her books (she prefers the Gothic classics), but she agrees to write Winter's biography under a number of conditions. The frame story was OK--Margaret bothered me in a number of ways and I wanted to scream at her several times "Get over yourself!!" But I didn't. :)

The story within the story, though, is what captured me. I really don't know what to say about this story without giving anything away, but it is a dark story, haunting, gothic, tragic, and gripping. As Winter tells her tale, Margaret also begins to piece bits of the story together through her own means, and she, as I did, becomes enraptured in the ghostly tale. I loved that I couldn't quite figure this one out until the moment of revelation. You know its there, something fishy, I turned every scenario over and over in my head, but... When the moment did come, I had to flip back and re-read entire passages just to see the puzzle pieces fit. Love it! And can I just say that I loved the references to Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Willkie Collins, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, etc etc. I would definitely recommend this one!

Big Fish - Daniel Wallace: A Review

Title: Big Fish
Author: Daniel Wallace
Date Finished: September 1, 2007
Pages: 180
Rating: 3.75/5

This doesn't happen very often, but I prefer the movie to this book. This is the story of Edward Bloom who is on his deathbed after living a full and unusual life. His son, William retells the stories of Edward's life (well, mostly. Some are prefaced with "they say" not really knowing who "they" are). For me this was a little reminiscent of my freshman comp days when I would ask my students, WHO ARE THEY?? They got really tired of me asking that over and over, but it is something that really bothers me!

Anyway, the stories are fantastical - from the woman in the water, to the giant that Edward befriends, the witch with the glass eye, and Edward's purchase of the town of Specter. The bigger story, though, is that of Edward and William's relationship as father and son. At the beginning of the book the relationship is sparse, but as William gets deeper and deeper in the humanity of Edward, their relationship forges in real life. The biggest story is of Edward himself and his evolution of a character beyond the realm of humanness.

The movie really is beautiful (as are most Tim Burton flicks). I missed the circus scenes which are only in the movie and the dynamics of Jenny and Edward which are only touched upon. The movie was magical, and I think reading the book after made the tales seem less magical. The ending of the book, however, was more powerful for some reason than the movie--which for me is usually how it goes. Redemption at last...