The Aleph - Jorge Luis Borges

the aleph
jorge luis borges
c. 1949
134 pages
completed 9/2/2009

read for: classics challenge, penguin classics

*may contain spoilers*

A collection of short stories.

First off, I don't yet know how I should review short stories. I don't read short stories very often. I don't tend to like short stories. I just feel like there's not enough time for anything to happen, for characters to become involved, and so the story is supposed to be more about the writing, the beauty of the prose, than the story itself. Which I don't enjoy.

As for this set of short stories...this was just not for me. I can appreciate why this is known as great literature, but I don't do well with surrealism and metaphysics and philosophy. I don't always understand what the author is trying to say. And I think that happened a LOT while I was reading this. So I got frustrated and in turn just kind of powered through the book not really caring whether I understood what I was reading or not.

2/5

Agnes Gray - Anne Bronte

agnes grey
anne bronte
c. 1847

219 pages
completed 7/2/2009

read for: classics challenge, penguin classics, 1001 books

*may contain spoilers*

Agnes Grey tells the story of our title character Agnes as she goes off looking for adventure by becoming a governess to first one and then another family of unruly, uneducated, ungrateful children.

This book was surprisingly readable. I was expecting it to be somewhat stuffy, but I didn't find that at all. The voice of Agnes was incredibly engaging and confiding.

The ladies and gentlemen that Agnes works for are terrifying. Are they really that out of touch with the realities of their children? How can these parents just have no idea that their children are such terrors? I cannot understand how these parents can spoil their children, can pretty much tell Agnes only to make them do what they want to do, and yet still expect Agnes to have control over them. The children themselves were pretty terrifying as well. The little boy from the first family who liked to torture animals is going to grow up to be psychopath. Did you know torturing animals is the first step in the cycle of domestic violence?

And the girls from the second family were not that much better. I wanted to scream when Rosalie said that vanity is the most essential attribute of our sex. Wow. How were thoughts of this nature ever seen as attractive and desirable? Thank God for the Mr. Westons and Mr. Darcys of this time who wanted women of sense. I loved Agnes' quiet longing for Mr. Weston. It's so sweet and simple, her love for this man. And he's so kind to her despite the example set by everyone else in the Murray household where she works.

This was a bit of a rambly review.

Sorry. 5/5

A classic love...

This is a bad deal. I need to STOP joining challenges. Before I go a little cuckoo! Between April 1st and October 31st, Trish is hosting the Classics Challenge! Choose between three options: a classic snack (four classics), a classic entree (five classics), or a classic feast (six classics). I have decided to bite the big one and make myself go completely bananas. My books will be...

1. Agnes Gray - Anne Bronte

2. The Aleph and Other Stories - Jorge Luis Borges

3. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

4. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

5. Lady Audley's Secret - Elizabeth Mary Braddon

6. The Adventures of David Simple - Sarah Fielding

This is good. I'm crossing books off my lists and reading good, enjoyable stories. Despite going bananas.

The wrap up...

Go me, I have just finished The Classics Challenge! I read five classics and the one that someone else believes should be considered a "new classic." I really enjoyed this challenge. I am always trying to get myself to read more classics, and it was interesting to see what someone else feels should be a classic. My books were...

1. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott 5/5
2. Daisy Miller - Henry James 2/5
3. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson 2/5
4. Adolphe - Benjamin Constant 2/5
5. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde 3/5
6. American Gods - Neil Gaiman - 3/5

I wasn't wild about all my books but I'm glad to have read them.

American Gods - Neil Gaiman

american gods
neil gaiman
c. 2001
480 pages
completed 12/13/2008

read for: classics challenge

*may contain spoilers*

This was read for part of the classics challenge (see sidebar) as a newer book that should one day be considered a classic. I have to say, I disagree. This was an interesting read (for the most part), but not a classic. In my opinion.

In the beginning, I thought the premise was very intriguing, a war between the old gods (Odin, Anansi, etc) and the new gods (media, technology, etc). I really wanted to see how that went down. And it was cool seeing Gaiman's interpretations of the gods living today, lots of different gods that are not necessarily too commonly known to the average American anymore, as well as American legends like Johnny Appleseed. But in the end when you found out "just kidding we're not having a war!" I was kind of disappointed.

Also I thought the subplot about the missing Lakeside children was weird and out of place. And the little stories about the random gods being brought to America and then forgotten kind of detracted from the story. I understand the point of them, and how they were connected to the main story, but...

3/5

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

the picture of dorian gray
oscar wilde
c. 1891
187 pages
completed 12/1/2008

read for: decades challenge, classics challenge, 1% challenge, 100 greatest novels, 1001 books, penguin classics

*may contain spoilers*

This was an interesting book. As far as the story goes, I enjoyed it. There were some chapters that just expanded on the philosophies of Lord Henry that were hard for me to read and enjoy. I believe there was one whole chapter of that nature that I skipped. His philosophies were somewhat interesting at the beginning, but I got bored having to keep hearing about them. The idea of 'good' was beauty, youth, art, and pleasure. The idea of 'evil' was crime, vulgarity, and (worst of all) ennui. If that was all I got out of his philosophies, that was good enough for me to understand the point of the book.

Dorian and Lord Henry's relationship was very puzzling to me. Lord Henry was the one who influenced Dorian with his philosophies and books. Lord Henry was, in my opinion, the one (outside of Dorian) most responsible for the corruption of Dorian's soul; he was the serpent to Dorian's Eve, and yet it was Basil, who did nothing more than idolize Dorian and paint his portrait, who Dorian blamed.

What I found most interesting, and also most aggravating, about this books was some of the...missing information. For example, the old woman at the opium den. Who was she? How did she meet Dorian? How did she know to call him Prince Charming? Probably the most prominent of these bits of missing information was the character of Alan Campbell. What came between him and Dorian? What sin did he commit that Dorian was able to blackmail him for? We never find out.

All in all, an enjoyable story, though not always the most enjoyable read.

3/5

Adolph - Benjamin Constant

adolphe
benjamin constant
c. 1816
123 pages completed 11/11/2008

*may contain spoilers*

I don't think I enjoyed this book. I was irritated the whole time. Irritated by both Adolphe and Ellenore. Both of them were ridiculous and I found pretty much nothing redeemable about either of them. No matter what they told themselves, neither of them were in love. Adolphe was bored and then weak. Ellenore was just clinging to someone who treated her with something more than grudging respect.

It seems to be a common theme with French writers from around this time that men did not fall in love before they began these affairs. Instead, they're bored and decide to embark on a contest with themselves. The affair has nothing to do with love, it's a challenge to see if they can get a woman to fall in love with them. And I can find nothing at all interesting about this kind of affair.

2/5

Daisy Miller - Henry James

daisy miller
henry james
c. 1878
98 pages
completed 11/6/2008

*may contain spoilers*

This was much shorter and different than I expected. I don't know if the author meant it to be so, but to me it just seemed like a cautionary tale for young girls. Don't flirt, don't act improper, don't hang out with foreign men who are beneath your status, otherwise you will die of malaria. Or whatever Roman Fever is supposed to be.

I wasn't too impressed. It was not very engaging, and none of the characters were sympathetic, especially Daisy. No one was in any way likable. Though I did find it interesting that while Winterbourne grew increasingly more appalled by Daisy's behavior, so much so that he stopped seeing her altogether, I got the impression that had HE been the one that Daisy was spending so much time with he would not have disapproved of her behavior quite so much. Very hypocritical.

2/5

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson

the strange case of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde
robert louis stevenson
c. 1886
90 pages
comepleted 10/7/2008

*may contain spoilers*

I think my sister, long a fan of all things Edward Hyde, would not be at all surprised when I start this review by saying "I didn't like it." But I was! I had always held off because this type of book isn't normally my thing, but when I decided to read it I went about it really objectively. Yes, this is not my favorite genre, but it's written by the author of my favorite book (Treasure Island) and I LOVE the musical (despite the cheese and seeing the TV movie version starring the Hoff). So I really tried to go into it optimistically.

Sadly, my optimism did not last long. I just felt like nothing happened. There was no character development as we really weren't seeing anything through Jekyll or Hyde's eyes, there wasn't very much action, and the structure of the book made it seem like you had to hear the story twice. I do think part of the problem was it was written so the identity of Mr. Hyde was a twist, and I obviously already knew the twist. Maybe that twist would have added some sensationalism to the story. Well, I tried.

2/5

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

little women
louisa may alcott
c. 1868
669 pages
completed 9/22/2008

*may contain spoilers*

This was read for several challenges: the Decades Challenge, the Classics Challenge, and the Book to Movie Challenge (see sidebar for all).

I can't believe I haven't read this book before now. I saw the movie (with Winona Ryder and Christian Bale) forever ago and even without having seen it I knew all the spoilers from Friends seeing as my favorite episode is "The One Where Monica and Richard Are Friends" (where Rachel and Joey trade books and then spoil the books for each other...and then in the end Joey has to put Little Women in the freezer since he's so upset about Beth). So this fitting into so many challenges seemed like a good time to finally read it.

I was a little worried I would find the book boring, especially since I already knew the story, but thankfully that turned out not to be the case. I was not expecting this book to be so focused on morals. The first half especially, it seemed like every chapter ended with one of the girls learning some kind of moral life lesson. And the lessons were sweet and you fell in love with the girls for learning them in their funny little ways, like Meg burning off her hair. I know Jo was supposed to be the heroine, but I think I liked Meg the best. She was sweet and she was funny and I enjoyed reading about the scrapes she got into the most. I couldn't stand Amy. Occasionally I felt sorry for her, like when she was embarrassed at school or when she had to man the flower booth instead of the art booth, but for the most part I just thought she was a brat. Yes, she grew up and learned what was really important in the end, but I had spent so much time not liking her that for me it was too late. She may have changed her ways, but by that time I didn't care. I skipped over the whole chapter that was just her letters home from her trip abroad. I just didn't care.

5/5

A classic lady...

Also new this month The Classics Challenge 2008! We all know I am working on become much more versed in the classics and so this is the perfect opportunity to work on that! I have chosen Option 1. Read five classics between July 1 and December 31. Period. And I'm going to be adding the bonus (a book chosen from the participant's list of "will be classics one day") as well. Now I'm crossing over a bit with my list from the Decades Challenge (see sidebar), but there will be two not from any other challenge, but off the Penguin Classics list, as well as the bonus.

My books:

Little Woman: Louisa May Alcott
Daisy Miller: Henry James
Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde: Robert Louis Stevenson
Adolphe: Benjamin Constant
The Adventures of David Simple: Sarah Fielding
*BONUS* American Gods: Neil Gaiman

I think The Librarian will be proud I'm trying to read Gaiman.

Classics Meme

I will be officially joining the Classics Challenge 2008 in June when the sign up is posted and once I've chosen my books, but in the meantime, I'll take some time to fill out the pre-challenge meme.

1. My favorite classic is Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
2. The classic I had the toughest time finishing is Adam Bede, mostly due to the author's writing style I think.
3. I would recommend Treasure Island to someone who doesn't read a lot of classics or who doesn't generally like classics because it was not meant for literary analysis or as a social commentary on its day, just a pure adventure story for entertainment. A super fun way to enter into the world of the "classic."
4. To me, a classic book is a book that stands the test of time: one that is still loved and/or studied at least 50 years after they were first published. A classic defines the era in which it was written. It revolutionizes peoples' thinking either because of the subject matter or the writing style. A classic is iconic.
5. The type of relationship I have with classics is somewhat forced. I want to be "well read" and part of that is knowing your classics. Sometimes this is easy and enjoyable while other times this is somewhat difficult.