Finally. . . !

Done at last, done at last, thank God almighty, I'm done at last.

That's the way I feel about The Brothers K, a book that now holds the record for most time between beginning and finishing this audio book. I started this book in mid-August and finally finished it about a week ago. I never did find a character that I cared about. Yes, there were themes and lessons about a family that is just enough dysfunctional to be more akin to the typical family. Perhaps, if I had been born a few years older so that the 60s and Vietnam war was a more significant part of my life. But I haven't lived through the 1700s or 1800s at all, and I've enjoyed quite a few books set during those centuries. Either way, I just couldn't relate to this. I finished it, so my record of having finished every audio book I began is intact, but I'm at a loss as to why so many people rated this book so highly.

In terms of books read, while in Spain, I finished Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. I loved it. Not as much as Pride and Prejudice, but well enough. Fanny Price was a bit passive in many ways, but like so many of Jane Austen's lead female characters, she was made with a core of steel that precluded her from compromising her values. The Mrs. Norton character was quite a masterful stroke. I'm a little freaked out by Fanny's marriage to the cousin with whom she was raised like brother and sister. All in all, I enjoyed the story.

Current reading/listening.
Reading: The Forsyte Saga, by John Gallsworthy
Listening: Your Brain on Music.