Falling Behind on Updating

Finished Reading: Georges, by Alexandre Dumas. If there were ever any questions about how Dumas felt about his bi-racial ancestry, Georges gives some insight. The title character, a mulatto, is treated a second-class citizen on his home island. While his father, rich and successful, learned to accept the treatment of whites, Georges is not nearly as accommodating. Indeed, he in many ways, overcompensates, proving himself to be the superior of any white man, in terms of academics, bravery, discipline, and romance. He wins the love of the fairest (and wealthiest) woman on the island.

I had the uncomfortable knot in my stomach as the plot built toward the slave rebellion, led by Georges, knowing that the slaves would not prevail and might make their situation worse. But Georges escaped, besting all that had crossed him.

Not like, but not unlike The Count of Monte Cristo.

Finished reading, A Room with a View, by E.M. Forster.

With this book, I can now claim e-reader status. I can't justify the cost of a Kindle (>$200!!), but when I found an iPod app, giving me 50 books (yes fifty) for $10.00, readable on my iPod, I figured I could spring for ten bucks. I had tried out this particular reader, which offered for free The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, so I can't say I was really living on the edge. Ah, the ease of carrying 50 books in my purse!

Having listened to and enjoyed A Passage to India, I was ready to give Forster another chance with A Room. It was good. Once again, an exploration of England, and the English view of the world, contrasted with the perspective of the Italians, as the protagonist, Lucy, grows from a girl, constrained by what's proper (i.e. pretentious) in English society to a woman, mature enough to reject her snobby fiance and follow her heart. It's one of those books that's growing on me.


In the process of listening, reading, and e-reading:

Listening: Tom Jones
Reading (sort of): The Appeal
E-Reading: White Fang.