My Antonia, by Willa Cather will be the next book I tackle. I've always wanted to read this book but do not own a copy. With my Kindle, I was able to purchase it for free and will begin reading it this evening.
According to the information provided by Amazon.com, My Antonia was first published in 1918 and is essentially the tale of a young girl whose parents have moved to Nebraska to farm the land. The story follows her and an orphaned boy, Jim Burden, who is the narrator of the story. I've heard this is a wonderful romantic novel, and after Penguin Island, I need something a little less in the head and a little more in the heart.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Perhaps this would have been better if France had chosen elephants rather than penguins
While I did enjoy Penguin Island by Anatole France, I believe I only enjoyed it because I had a semblance of a background in French history. Having performed in the Marat/Sade years ago I had to complete a crash course in French history and I think that without that prior knowledge I would not have appreciated this book for what it was.
Anatole France painted an interesting picture of the history of the country of France through the eyes of Penguins made human as a result of a botched baptism by a blind monk. Believe me, I too was on the verge of tossing this book out the window at first and think that had I been more interested in the subject matter, I would have enjoyed the book much more. As it stands now, I would not recommend this book unless one is very interested in a satirical look at how France became France, at least up to the early 1900's.
Removing the "human" element from the story of French history by anthropomorphizing penguins was an interesting choice on the part of France, however I felt that this choice made understanding the direction of the novel difficult at times. Also the fact that he threw in both references to both the Christian faith and the gods and goddesses of Rome and Greece, created a sometimes difficult to follow narrative. I was also at times confused as to who was narrating this novel. For some parts we are being spoken to by a first person narrator, at others by a third person omniscient narrator. The transition between these two narrators had no rhyme or reason nor forewarning and resulted in my having to turn back several times to see whether or not I had missed something.
While not as dense as Dickens, this book was indeed challenging and as I indicated earlier may have proved more enjoyable if I was indeed more interested in French history. Thus, I can say that I can check this one off the list, but will not be revisiting it ever in the future.
Anatole France painted an interesting picture of the history of the country of France through the eyes of Penguins made human as a result of a botched baptism by a blind monk. Believe me, I too was on the verge of tossing this book out the window at first and think that had I been more interested in the subject matter, I would have enjoyed the book much more. As it stands now, I would not recommend this book unless one is very interested in a satirical look at how France became France, at least up to the early 1900's.
Removing the "human" element from the story of French history by anthropomorphizing penguins was an interesting choice on the part of France, however I felt that this choice made understanding the direction of the novel difficult at times. Also the fact that he threw in both references to both the Christian faith and the gods and goddesses of Rome and Greece, created a sometimes difficult to follow narrative. I was also at times confused as to who was narrating this novel. For some parts we are being spoken to by a first person narrator, at others by a third person omniscient narrator. The transition between these two narrators had no rhyme or reason nor forewarning and resulted in my having to turn back several times to see whether or not I had missed something.
While not as dense as Dickens, this book was indeed challenging and as I indicated earlier may have proved more enjoyable if I was indeed more interested in French history. Thus, I can say that I can check this one off the list, but will not be revisiting it ever in the future.
Friday, September 10, 2010
The respite has passed because....
I got a Kindle. While I've always been opposed to this digital reader, now that I have it my library is going to grow exponentially. But before I gush about my new piece of technology, let me chat a bit about how much I enjoyed Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This book was a much needed rest from the heavy nature of the items I have been reading, or at least that is the approach I took to this novel. Twain certainly was making many a comment about African Americans in general and slaves in particular as well as how they were treated. He accomplished conveying his ideologies through with the voice of Huck and I believe that for the time that this novel was published, Twain certainly had some controversial views. All that being said, I took this novel for the adventure that it was and really enjoyed the relationship between Huck and Jim and how that bond grew and flourished as the novel progressed.
I really cannot focus on that novel right now however, as I am so into browsing the Amazon library for new books to download onto my Kindle, most of which, by the way are FREE, that's right FREE.... or if they do cost something it's nominal, I've actually only found one title that I wanted that was more than $0.95 and it was a specific translation of a specific text.
So, since about an hour ago I've put Penguin Island by Anatole France, The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper, The Divine Comedy by Dante (not the translation I wanted so perhaps I'll leave that for later), Emma, by Jane Austen, Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters, Waverley by Sir Walter Scott, and Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert onto my Kindle. And how much did I spend? Well if you must know, all of $0.99, including delivery to my e-reading device. I am astonished. I'm telling you, I was diametrically opposed to even the idea of an e-reader, but I am now hooked, and I've only had the thing for about four hours. I've browsed a few of these titles, reading a page here and a page there so will report back on the "readability" of this special screen after this first read, but the convenience of the thing is what is getting me. And the affordability. If I had had to purchase just these books, in paper form, I know I would have paid as much as $80.00 total plus shipping, so the Kindle has nearly already paid for itself.
I must note, I did not pay for this item, it was a gift from my loving and amazing husband, who told me two weeks ago that he was working of a "virtual" gift for me. He has a tendency of doing things like telling me a gift is arriving weeks in advance just so that he can watch me squirm with anticipation. Well, this was a most pleasant surprise.
So the next title is... Penguin Island, by Anatole France. I've no idea what this book is about, but from what I can find on Amazon, it is a satirical novel first published in 1908 and uses the history of penguins to critique human nature, specifically the human nature of the French political system. Perhaps aligning with Brave New World as a social commentary, perhaps not... we shall see.
I really cannot focus on that novel right now however, as I am so into browsing the Amazon library for new books to download onto my Kindle, most of which, by the way are FREE, that's right FREE.... or if they do cost something it's nominal, I've actually only found one title that I wanted that was more than $0.95 and it was a specific translation of a specific text.
So, since about an hour ago I've put Penguin Island by Anatole France, The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper, The Divine Comedy by Dante (not the translation I wanted so perhaps I'll leave that for later), Emma, by Jane Austen, Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters, Waverley by Sir Walter Scott, and Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert onto my Kindle. And how much did I spend? Well if you must know, all of $0.99, including delivery to my e-reading device. I am astonished. I'm telling you, I was diametrically opposed to even the idea of an e-reader, but I am now hooked, and I've only had the thing for about four hours. I've browsed a few of these titles, reading a page here and a page there so will report back on the "readability" of this special screen after this first read, but the convenience of the thing is what is getting me. And the affordability. If I had had to purchase just these books, in paper form, I know I would have paid as much as $80.00 total plus shipping, so the Kindle has nearly already paid for itself.
I must note, I did not pay for this item, it was a gift from my loving and amazing husband, who told me two weeks ago that he was working of a "virtual" gift for me. He has a tendency of doing things like telling me a gift is arriving weeks in advance just so that he can watch me squirm with anticipation. Well, this was a most pleasant surprise.
So the next title is... Penguin Island, by Anatole France. I've no idea what this book is about, but from what I can find on Amazon, it is a satirical novel first published in 1908 and uses the history of penguins to critique human nature, specifically the human nature of the French political system. Perhaps aligning with Brave New World as a social commentary, perhaps not... we shall see.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
And the next selection is...
Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I chose this book simply because I wanted a less challenging read. I'm curious if I will receive what I am looking for. This novel was originally published in 1884. I am reading a version adapted by Ollie Depew a professor of English at Southern Oregon College of Education, published by J. J. Little & Ives Co., Inc. in 1951. I've never read any Twain so I am anxious to see just what all the fuss is about. I am hopeful that this read will provide me with the entertainment I am looking for right now. I feel that my last choice, Brave New World, was a little to heady and that I was not able to read it with the keen eye with which I wanted to read it. Therefore, Brave New World is officially on the "re-read when possible" list, along with many other titles. For now, I enter the world of Huckleberry Finn and will report back shortly with my musings.
Is a brave new world upon us?
Decidedly I think not... While Huxley certainly makes some extraordinary points with his commentary on utopia, I still believe that there are individuals out there like Mr. Savage and Mr. Watson, individuals with backbones and a curiosity that cannot be quenched that will prevent our society from becoming singularly minded and monochromatic. I really enjoyed how Huxley described the thought processes of the men in this book who thought as individuals. At one point Watson muses "Did you ever feel as though you had something inside you that was only waiting for you to give it a chance to come out?" This desire is one that becomes a repetitive theme throughout the book, beginning with Bernard and Watson and continuing with Mr. Savage.
The part of this novel that truly disturbed me was the idea of systematic conditioning. That different castes in society are differently conditioned. What the masses lack is a sense of self-consciousness, and this lack of self-consciousness is indeed by design. When visiting the "reservation" in the states, Bernard begins to recognize his difference his separateness from society. His encounter with John Savage illustrates that his feeling of loneliness is a direct result of his differences from other Alphas and certainly from the members of other castes. Bernard was almost one who I could empathise with as he was on the verge of being guilty for the manner in which he treated those members of castes who were below his own. However, he became a victim of his own competitiveness and began to treat others not as he wanted to be treated himself. He got so involved in the world which he had previously rejected that he became what he had previously despised.
Brave New World illustrates to the reader that in this Utopian society individuality is indeed a most grievous infraction. Individuality results in independent thought, a desire to seek knowledge and interaction not approved by those who run society. As the director of the hatchery and conditioning center indicates, "no offence is so heinous as unorthodoxy of behavior." Huxley paints a picture of a society where individuals do not exist and when they do, they are forced to exist on the fringe. If these individuals dare to show their individuality publicly they run the risk of being exiled to an island, which in all reality becomes a utopia for them as they are finally put with others of like minds.
By the close of the book the reader is let in on the joke. Mustapha Mond explains it all and presents Huxley's thoughts quite clearly. The creators of this society have decided to give up individuality for happiness for they believe that the two entities cannot coexist. Mond admits that free thought and expression are beautiful things, however he believes that universal happiness is more beautiful. I cannot disagree more with his outlook. Without individual thought society is nothing but a drab existence devoid of anything original or worthwhile. I think Huxley provides his readers with fodder for the idea with without intellectual and even spiritual growth society is doomed to failure. While he seems to admit that society would survive, he also illustrates that this survival would indeed be pointless.
Brave New World is at it's heart a commentary on the direction Huxley saw society heading. Luckily for us, we are removed from the reality he predicted. We should, however not allow ourselves to ever believe that we are completely safe from this fiction becoming reality. With the global population becoming more and more connected through technological advances and our world becoming smaller and smaller, we run the risk of someone, some where believing that happiness must be achieved at all costs. We must be ever mindful of the fact that without the individual, and all of the successes and failures that come along with individuality, existence is truly pointless.
The part of this novel that truly disturbed me was the idea of systematic conditioning. That different castes in society are differently conditioned. What the masses lack is a sense of self-consciousness, and this lack of self-consciousness is indeed by design. When visiting the "reservation" in the states, Bernard begins to recognize his difference his separateness from society. His encounter with John Savage illustrates that his feeling of loneliness is a direct result of his differences from other Alphas and certainly from the members of other castes. Bernard was almost one who I could empathise with as he was on the verge of being guilty for the manner in which he treated those members of castes who were below his own. However, he became a victim of his own competitiveness and began to treat others not as he wanted to be treated himself. He got so involved in the world which he had previously rejected that he became what he had previously despised.
Brave New World illustrates to the reader that in this Utopian society individuality is indeed a most grievous infraction. Individuality results in independent thought, a desire to seek knowledge and interaction not approved by those who run society. As the director of the hatchery and conditioning center indicates, "no offence is so heinous as unorthodoxy of behavior." Huxley paints a picture of a society where individuals do not exist and when they do, they are forced to exist on the fringe. If these individuals dare to show their individuality publicly they run the risk of being exiled to an island, which in all reality becomes a utopia for them as they are finally put with others of like minds.
By the close of the book the reader is let in on the joke. Mustapha Mond explains it all and presents Huxley's thoughts quite clearly. The creators of this society have decided to give up individuality for happiness for they believe that the two entities cannot coexist. Mond admits that free thought and expression are beautiful things, however he believes that universal happiness is more beautiful. I cannot disagree more with his outlook. Without individual thought society is nothing but a drab existence devoid of anything original or worthwhile. I think Huxley provides his readers with fodder for the idea with without intellectual and even spiritual growth society is doomed to failure. While he seems to admit that society would survive, he also illustrates that this survival would indeed be pointless.
Brave New World is at it's heart a commentary on the direction Huxley saw society heading. Luckily for us, we are removed from the reality he predicted. We should, however not allow ourselves to ever believe that we are completely safe from this fiction becoming reality. With the global population becoming more and more connected through technological advances and our world becoming smaller and smaller, we run the risk of someone, some where believing that happiness must be achieved at all costs. We must be ever mindful of the fact that without the individual, and all of the successes and failures that come along with individuality, existence is truly pointless.
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