Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. As a seventh-grader, I thought this book was just okay. After all, it was originally characterized as a book for boys. And as a seventh-grader, I knew far too little about character development. Therefore, Long John Silver was simply a "bad guy."
As an adult, I still wouldn't count it among my favorite books, but I have greater appreciation for the story and the character development. Jim Hawkins, a boy who becomes a man as he truly becomes the man of the house, following his father's death, as he embarks on the grand adventure in search of treasure. Long John Silver, who could be charming and devious; resourceful and deceptive. What might have happened to Silver after his grand escape.
A relatively quick read. But before I leave it, I do have at least one question: what right did Dr. Livesy and Squire Trelawney have to take a share of the treasure? Shouldn't Jim (or his mother) made a conscious decision about who to trust? Shouldn't there have been some negotiation about the percentage (if any) the others would take? Maybe a flat fee would have been more appropriate. Maybe it's just the lawyer in me, but seems a little sketchy to me.
Now to consider what to read next. Sense and Sensibility? A Reliable Wife? Something else?
Monday, December 27, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Playing Catch-up
A Confederacy of Dunces, by O'Toole. Knock another book off of the "to read" stack. This book made its way to the stack as the result of a Brian's recommendation during a visit to his favorite DC bookstore. it languished on the stack until in need of something to spend an Audible credit on, and wanting to add another Pulitzer prize winner to my list, I got an audio version. Probably a good thing that I did. As it turns out, this book did not hold a lot of natural attaction for me, and I probably would have given up if I'd simply read it. On the other hand, the performance by the reader of this book brought the characters to life and made me care enough about them to finish the book even though at times I had doubts.
To be honest, there were some funny moments, not gut-splitting moments, but milk-sputtering moments to be sure. On the other hand, this was one of those books that seems to be at a loss for a story line until the end. I tend to be a bit impatient with such books, and to some extent, I was so with this book. But was it worth getting to the very end? I'd say so, with a resounding yes. Ultimately, the little vignettes were woven into a story that had a nicely wrapped happy ending, and the stories were accurate depictions of a hundred little absurdities that one either knows or strongly suspects that occur every day.
Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte.
Having just re-read Jane Eyre, it seemed only fitting that I should read Wuthering Heights for the first time. If Charlotte could write such a good story, maybe there was something to Emily? Plus, so many people love this book that it was time to give it a try again. Yes, this too, is one of those books that I started, but then gave up on for failure to pay close enough attention to follow the plot.
I don't know what was so difficult about following the story. Yes, there were two Catherines. Yes, there was lots of intermarrying between the two main families: Catherine Earnshaw (Catherrine Sr.) marrying Edgar Linton, begetting Catherine Linton; Isabella Linton, marrying Heathcliff, the orphan, and begetting the frail, whiny Linton Heathcliff; Hindley Earnshaw, and his short-lived wife begetting Hareton Earnshaw; and finally, Catherine Jr. marrying Linton (her first cousin), only to later fall in love with and marry Hareton (her other first cousin). Whew!!
The story revolves around the undefineable relationship between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, but forces converge to deny Heathcliff the love of his life and respect because of his low-birth. He leaves the moors to return a "gentleman" and embarks on a bloodless vendetta that would make Don Corleone rethink his bloody ways. Resentful of the way Hindley relegated him to the station of a servant, Heathcliff manages to succeed to title to Wuthering Heights, including Hindley's son, Hareton. Next up, he's out to get Edgar Linton, for marrying Catherine and for denying him visits to Thrushcross Grange. Isabella, you ignorant slut! You've been punked in the worst kind of way. Duped into marrying Heathcliff when you should have known of his obsession with Catherine Earnshaw.
As if marrying Edgar's sister wasn't enough, now to really stick it to Edgar: gaining (collecting, if you will), Catherine Linton, by forcing her to marry her little whiney-butt cousin, Linton, as her father lay dying. With the marriage, and Edgar's death, and Linton's death, Heathcliff gets Thrushcross Grange too. He who dies with the most property wins?
Anyway, in the end, there's some redemption of sort as finally Heathcliff seems to soften as he nears death and Catherine and Hareton seem to to represent a redemption of civility themselves. Hareton, who has grown up with little guidance to smooth his rough edges is finally accepted by Catherine, who initially can't see such a rough creature as Hareton as any relation of hers.
Anywho, it all wraps up well in the end. As with Jane Eyre, you can see the Biblical themes in the story, likely a result of the Brontes' father's profession as a minister.
I liked this book.
Still need to address: Treasure Island.
To be honest, there were some funny moments, not gut-splitting moments, but milk-sputtering moments to be sure. On the other hand, this was one of those books that seems to be at a loss for a story line until the end. I tend to be a bit impatient with such books, and to some extent, I was so with this book. But was it worth getting to the very end? I'd say so, with a resounding yes. Ultimately, the little vignettes were woven into a story that had a nicely wrapped happy ending, and the stories were accurate depictions of a hundred little absurdities that one either knows or strongly suspects that occur every day.
Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte.
Having just re-read Jane Eyre, it seemed only fitting that I should read Wuthering Heights for the first time. If Charlotte could write such a good story, maybe there was something to Emily? Plus, so many people love this book that it was time to give it a try again. Yes, this too, is one of those books that I started, but then gave up on for failure to pay close enough attention to follow the plot.
I don't know what was so difficult about following the story. Yes, there were two Catherines. Yes, there was lots of intermarrying between the two main families: Catherine Earnshaw (Catherrine Sr.) marrying Edgar Linton, begetting Catherine Linton; Isabella Linton, marrying Heathcliff, the orphan, and begetting the frail, whiny Linton Heathcliff; Hindley Earnshaw, and his short-lived wife begetting Hareton Earnshaw; and finally, Catherine Jr. marrying Linton (her first cousin), only to later fall in love with and marry Hareton (her other first cousin). Whew!!
The story revolves around the undefineable relationship between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, but forces converge to deny Heathcliff the love of his life and respect because of his low-birth. He leaves the moors to return a "gentleman" and embarks on a bloodless vendetta that would make Don Corleone rethink his bloody ways. Resentful of the way Hindley relegated him to the station of a servant, Heathcliff manages to succeed to title to Wuthering Heights, including Hindley's son, Hareton. Next up, he's out to get Edgar Linton, for marrying Catherine and for denying him visits to Thrushcross Grange. Isabella, you ignorant slut! You've been punked in the worst kind of way. Duped into marrying Heathcliff when you should have known of his obsession with Catherine Earnshaw.
As if marrying Edgar's sister wasn't enough, now to really stick it to Edgar: gaining (collecting, if you will), Catherine Linton, by forcing her to marry her little whiney-butt cousin, Linton, as her father lay dying. With the marriage, and Edgar's death, and Linton's death, Heathcliff gets Thrushcross Grange too. He who dies with the most property wins?
Anyway, in the end, there's some redemption of sort as finally Heathcliff seems to soften as he nears death and Catherine and Hareton seem to to represent a redemption of civility themselves. Hareton, who has grown up with little guidance to smooth his rough edges is finally accepted by Catherine, who initially can't see such a rough creature as Hareton as any relation of hers.
Anywho, it all wraps up well in the end. As with Jane Eyre, you can see the Biblical themes in the story, likely a result of the Brontes' father's profession as a minister.
I liked this book.
Still need to address: Treasure Island.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Don't forget
Finished:
Wuthering Heights
A Conferderacy of Dunces
Reading:
Treasure Island
The Emperor of All Maladies
Wuthering Heights
A Conferderacy of Dunces
Reading:
Treasure Island
The Emperor of All Maladies
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Time flies
Has it really been more than a month since I posted? I've been busy reading, but don't seem to have much to show for it.
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. It's been about 10 years since I read this book for the first time. I enjoyed it then, but only now do I realize how much I missed. I had only just started my quest to read the books that I should have read in my youth, so I just wasn't as good--that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Anyway, I missed (or didn't remember) how much of an independent thinker Jane was and how she differed so from the other women of her time. Was it the time spent at the Lowood School such that she missed learning how Victorian women were supposed to act? Or was it just part of her personality, as was clear in the early chapters when she still resided with the Reeds? One thing is clear that many women today could learn a thing or two from Jane. How many women, given the chance to travel and live as the kept woman of a rich man, would have gladly become his mistress? Heck, many women are willing to give it up for a whole lot less.
Okay, enough sermonizing, I enjoyed re-reading this book. Well-written--so descriptive that I could feel Jane's misery as she wandered around hungry and homeless after fleeing Rochester's house.
I'm glad I re-read it.
When the Game Was Ours, by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. I'm not sure why I selected this book--sports memoirs aren't my cup of tea, but I'm glad I did. I remember the NCAA Final between Michigan State and Indiana State. I remember many of the NBA Championship games between the Lakers and the Celtics. I remember the Magic/Bird rivalry. So it was fun to be reminded of those games.
But there was lots I didn't know (of course). That Bird and Magic both anticipated and wanted the match-ups, and that each haunted the dreams/nightmares of the other was a surprise. That they had actually been teammates on the World Invitational Team during college was interesting. How they ultimately became re-acquainted and sowed the seed for their friendship, during the shooting of a Converse commercial, was intriguing.
Of course, the book couldn't have been complete without a recount of Magic's HIV+ saga. Maybe the back-story has been available, but I didn't know it. It's easy to forget how much of a death sentence HIV+ status used to be. Twenty years ago, the only question for those with HIV was how long before, (as the Rent line goes) "the virus takes hold." The fear and the ignorance is a thing of the past, for the most part, at least in this country.
Any good book should inspire a desire to learn more or do something more. I'd like to go back and review some of those games from the Magic/Bird era. It was a different game then--one where the star players played for the benefit of the team rather than their stardom. When the game was theirs, it was a different game.
It was a book well worth my time.
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. It's been about 10 years since I read this book for the first time. I enjoyed it then, but only now do I realize how much I missed. I had only just started my quest to read the books that I should have read in my youth, so I just wasn't as good--that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Anyway, I missed (or didn't remember) how much of an independent thinker Jane was and how she differed so from the other women of her time. Was it the time spent at the Lowood School such that she missed learning how Victorian women were supposed to act? Or was it just part of her personality, as was clear in the early chapters when she still resided with the Reeds? One thing is clear that many women today could learn a thing or two from Jane. How many women, given the chance to travel and live as the kept woman of a rich man, would have gladly become his mistress? Heck, many women are willing to give it up for a whole lot less.
Okay, enough sermonizing, I enjoyed re-reading this book. Well-written--so descriptive that I could feel Jane's misery as she wandered around hungry and homeless after fleeing Rochester's house.
I'm glad I re-read it.
When the Game Was Ours, by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. I'm not sure why I selected this book--sports memoirs aren't my cup of tea, but I'm glad I did. I remember the NCAA Final between Michigan State and Indiana State. I remember many of the NBA Championship games between the Lakers and the Celtics. I remember the Magic/Bird rivalry. So it was fun to be reminded of those games.
But there was lots I didn't know (of course). That Bird and Magic both anticipated and wanted the match-ups, and that each haunted the dreams/nightmares of the other was a surprise. That they had actually been teammates on the World Invitational Team during college was interesting. How they ultimately became re-acquainted and sowed the seed for their friendship, during the shooting of a Converse commercial, was intriguing.
Of course, the book couldn't have been complete without a recount of Magic's HIV+ saga. Maybe the back-story has been available, but I didn't know it. It's easy to forget how much of a death sentence HIV+ status used to be. Twenty years ago, the only question for those with HIV was how long before, (as the Rent line goes) "the virus takes hold." The fear and the ignorance is a thing of the past, for the most part, at least in this country.
Any good book should inspire a desire to learn more or do something more. I'd like to go back and review some of those games from the Magic/Bird era. It was a different game then--one where the star players played for the benefit of the team rather than their stardom. When the game was theirs, it was a different game.
It was a book well worth my time.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Slow to post, but busy reading
King Solomon's Mines, by H. Rider Haggard. This was part of B&N's free classics Fridays during the summer. Having seen the mid-80s movie, with Richard Chamberlain, and hating it, I had little interest in reading the book, but the reviews suggested it was a good and quick read, so what the heck. No question: it was far better than the movie. What is less clear in my own mind is whether I liked it or not. It was suspenseful and there were exciting parts. But the treatment of the African characters in the book made me a tad uncomfortable. On the one hand, these Europeans, who have already profited from the plundering of the African nations are looking to profit even more by locating "King Solomon's mines." They tend to have a superiority complex, expecting that the Africans, in their own nation, should be deferential to the white man, i.e. that they should know their place. This is evident when they meet their guide, as they go in search for the mines and one of the European's missing brother, who also went in search of the mines. One of the natives, enlisted to help with the excursion, is essentially described in terms that today would make him sound uppity.
On the other hand, when the Europeans get drawn into a battle to restore the rightful king of one the tribes, there is a degree of respect for this same servant, who turns out is the rightful king. One of the Europeans ultimately falls in love with one of the beautiful natives and is heartbroken when she dies. Of course, her death provides an escape from the issues that would have existed with this interracial love affair.
Ultimately, they find the mines only to come close to being trapped for all time. They barely escape with their lives and only a few gems--enough to make them rich. So maybe all's well that ends well.
Either way, I simply tried to enjoy the book for the story and the adventure and to recognize that Haggard was a product of his times. The views on race were radically different then as compared to now, and in truth, he was probably a bit more progressive for his time than most of his era.
,
Room, by Emma Donahue. Imagine being the offspring of a woman, who was abducted and imprisoned for seven years, and her assailant. Imagine further spending the first five years of ones life in a 11 x 11 room. The only thing that is real is what's in that room. "Outside" and the things on TV aren't real. In Room, it's easy to believe that Baby Jesus and Dora the Explorer are pals. That is the premise of Room.
The story is told in first person by five year old Jack. His mother, lured by her abductor, gives birth to him in Room and creates a world that to him is as normal to him as living in the 'burbs is to my kids. Jack and Ma ultimately succeed in tricking "Old Nick" and escaping. For the first time Jack learns that "outside" really exists. Ice cream exists; grass exists; other children exist, and so on. An Ma discovers that dealing with "outside" after such a long captivity poses its own problems.
Good story, which surely must have been inspired in part by the Jacie Dugard case, in which a little girl is kidnapped and kept for some 15 years or so, and gives birth to two of her abductor's children. Donahue does a fantastic job of describing the world through the eyes of a child who has lived an extraordinary existence. It dragged a bit in the middle after the suspense of the great escape. In the end, however, it is one of those books, like The Giver that forces me to view the world through different eyes.
Reading: Madame Bovary
Re-reading: Jane Eyre
On the other hand, when the Europeans get drawn into a battle to restore the rightful king of one the tribes, there is a degree of respect for this same servant, who turns out is the rightful king. One of the Europeans ultimately falls in love with one of the beautiful natives and is heartbroken when she dies. Of course, her death provides an escape from the issues that would have existed with this interracial love affair.
Ultimately, they find the mines only to come close to being trapped for all time. They barely escape with their lives and only a few gems--enough to make them rich. So maybe all's well that ends well.
Either way, I simply tried to enjoy the book for the story and the adventure and to recognize that Haggard was a product of his times. The views on race were radically different then as compared to now, and in truth, he was probably a bit more progressive for his time than most of his era.
,
Room, by Emma Donahue. Imagine being the offspring of a woman, who was abducted and imprisoned for seven years, and her assailant. Imagine further spending the first five years of ones life in a 11 x 11 room. The only thing that is real is what's in that room. "Outside" and the things on TV aren't real. In Room, it's easy to believe that Baby Jesus and Dora the Explorer are pals. That is the premise of Room.
The story is told in first person by five year old Jack. His mother, lured by her abductor, gives birth to him in Room and creates a world that to him is as normal to him as living in the 'burbs is to my kids. Jack and Ma ultimately succeed in tricking "Old Nick" and escaping. For the first time Jack learns that "outside" really exists. Ice cream exists; grass exists; other children exist, and so on. An Ma discovers that dealing with "outside" after such a long captivity poses its own problems.
Good story, which surely must have been inspired in part by the Jacie Dugard case, in which a little girl is kidnapped and kept for some 15 years or so, and gives birth to two of her abductor's children. Donahue does a fantastic job of describing the world through the eyes of a child who has lived an extraordinary existence. It dragged a bit in the middle after the suspense of the great escape. In the end, however, it is one of those books, like The Giver that forces me to view the world through different eyes.
Reading: Madame Bovary
Re-reading: Jane Eyre
Friday, October 8, 2010
A Keeper
The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins. After languishing on the "buy" list for probably two years or so, this book can be officially moved to the "read it" side of the ledger. I listened to parts and read parts, and enjoyed it immensely.
The Woman in White: is she a ghost? As it turns out, no. Just a sad character who meets a sad ending. But from the first of this tale, told from different perspectives by those who have first hand knowledge, like a trial (which I can appreciate), the tale winds through a labrynth of shady characters and vulnerable, though aristocratic women, with a sprinkling of second-class women, in service, to care for those aristocratic women.
Wilkie's character development is fantastic. Apparently, some reviews of the story at the time of its publication were critical, accusing Collins of creating flat characters whose only purpose was to carry the plot forward. What book were they were reading?? The pernicioulsy evil Count Fosco? Weak, self-centered Mr. Fairlie (the "invalid")? Staunchly loyal Marian Halcomb? Laura, Lady Glyde, is a little flat, but wasn't that the point? A beautiful, wealthy, young women whose main value lay her money, her ability to bear an heir, and maybe her connections. In those days women were not encouraged to be more than eye candy or maybe sources for entertainment if they could sing or play piano, but ultimately dependent on their fathers (or a proxy thereof) until they married, at which time they became entirely dependent on their husbands. And of course, these rich, idle women had little incentive to be otherwise.
In the end, Collins created a deliciously suspenseful book that was worth the time. Perhaps there is a sadness in knowing that were the story written today, there'd be no story: one quick buccal swab would clarify much of the mystery, and the rest wouldn't matter. Progress, right?
The Woman in White: is she a ghost? As it turns out, no. Just a sad character who meets a sad ending. But from the first of this tale, told from different perspectives by those who have first hand knowledge, like a trial (which I can appreciate), the tale winds through a labrynth of shady characters and vulnerable, though aristocratic women, with a sprinkling of second-class women, in service, to care for those aristocratic women.
Wilkie's character development is fantastic. Apparently, some reviews of the story at the time of its publication were critical, accusing Collins of creating flat characters whose only purpose was to carry the plot forward. What book were they were reading?? The pernicioulsy evil Count Fosco? Weak, self-centered Mr. Fairlie (the "invalid")? Staunchly loyal Marian Halcomb? Laura, Lady Glyde, is a little flat, but wasn't that the point? A beautiful, wealthy, young women whose main value lay her money, her ability to bear an heir, and maybe her connections. In those days women were not encouraged to be more than eye candy or maybe sources for entertainment if they could sing or play piano, but ultimately dependent on their fathers (or a proxy thereof) until they married, at which time they became entirely dependent on their husbands. And of course, these rich, idle women had little incentive to be otherwise.
In the end, Collins created a deliciously suspenseful book that was worth the time. Perhaps there is a sadness in knowing that were the story written today, there'd be no story: one quick buccal swab would clarify much of the mystery, and the rest wouldn't matter. Progress, right?
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Tragic ending, to state the obvious
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, by Victor Hugo. I continue my quest to read the books that I should have read in my youth. Add another to the list. Quite simply, I enjoyed this book, despite that it did not have the happy ending that, as an American, I guess I crave. Humans are shallow now, and humans were shallow then, as Esmerelda so clearly illustrates. Beauty--and ugly--are only skin deep, yet Esmerelda can't look past either Quasimodo's fugly exterior or Phoebus's pretty-boy looks to see the truth about either of them.
Some priests are depraved now, and some priests were depraved then. Exhibit A, the bishop, guilty of both attempted kidnap and attempted rape, and cruelly able to send Esmerelda to her death because he couldn't have her.
Some individuals hurt themselves with their prejudices today; the samewas true back then. Look to Sister Gedulla for proof. If only she hadn't spent virtually her whole life, blinded by her hatred for gypsies, she might have seen that the Esmerelda, the "gypsy", was actually the daughter she long sought to find.
And life's choices are hard. Did you ever have to make up your mind? Pick up the one and leave the other behind . . . And so it was for Quasimodo. There could be no happiness in either choice.
Listening to: The Woman in White.
Reading: The Jungle?? Haven't decided yet.
Some priests are depraved now, and some priests were depraved then. Exhibit A, the bishop, guilty of both attempted kidnap and attempted rape, and cruelly able to send Esmerelda to her death because he couldn't have her.
Some individuals hurt themselves with their prejudices today; the samewas true back then. Look to Sister Gedulla for proof. If only she hadn't spent virtually her whole life, blinded by her hatred for gypsies, she might have seen that the Esmerelda, the "gypsy", was actually the daughter she long sought to find.
And life's choices are hard. Did you ever have to make up your mind? Pick up the one and leave the other behind . . . And so it was for Quasimodo. There could be no happiness in either choice.
Listening to: The Woman in White.
Reading: The Jungle?? Haven't decided yet.
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