Next I've decided to venture out from what I've been reading in the past, mostly American and British literature and look instead at a completely different continent. I've chosen Australia and the novelist Miles Franklin. I have chosen her first novel, My Brilliant Career, originally published in 1901. The novel was written while Franklin was still a teenager and was published when she was just 22. The subject matter closely mimics the lives of her family and friends and apparently caused her much distress when originally published. As a result, she withdrew the novel from publication until after she passed.
I am excited to venture into uncharted, at least by me, territory. Hopefully I will not be disappointed and instead will be encouraged to continue to explore new and exciting avenues from which I can discover literature I may not have otherwise encountered.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
A passage to.....
I guess India, but really I didn't much care. While I enjoyed the overall story that Forster presented, I was disappointed with the manner in which the story was told. I was disinterested for the majority of the tale, something I don't remember being when reading other Forster novels. I think this disinterest stemmed from my lack of empathy for the characters in the story. I did not care for the characters and therefore really had no interest in what was happening to them.
I am disappointed that I was unable to connect with this story. I enjoy Forster's style and really wanted to love this book. I had heard many good things about it and the film version was nominated for a best picture Oscar and had won many awards. I have not seen the film, but it is on my Netflix list for this summer.
Please do not misunderstand, there were aspects of this story that I loved, but they had more to do with Forster's style than the substance of the novel. I loved the descriptions he presented throughout the book and at times I felt as though I were watching scenes unfold in my mind's eye, but this only happened during the narrative, not during dialog. Forster's ability to describe a scene is remarkable and I was easily able to picture the caves, the processions, the college, the polo fields, the club, and the various bungalow's we visit throughout this story. I can especially picture the flies at Aziz's bungalow and their constant annoyance.
One quote from the story is worth mentioning and in fact is something I think we should all remember as we travel through life. These words are spoken by the character Mr. Das (the man who presided over Dr. Aziz's trial) to Aziz, after the charges against him are dropped. It is with these words that I will close my commentary on A Passage to India... "excuse my mistakes, realize my limitations."
I am disappointed that I was unable to connect with this story. I enjoy Forster's style and really wanted to love this book. I had heard many good things about it and the film version was nominated for a best picture Oscar and had won many awards. I have not seen the film, but it is on my Netflix list for this summer.
Please do not misunderstand, there were aspects of this story that I loved, but they had more to do with Forster's style than the substance of the novel. I loved the descriptions he presented throughout the book and at times I felt as though I were watching scenes unfold in my mind's eye, but this only happened during the narrative, not during dialog. Forster's ability to describe a scene is remarkable and I was easily able to picture the caves, the processions, the college, the polo fields, the club, and the various bungalow's we visit throughout this story. I can especially picture the flies at Aziz's bungalow and their constant annoyance.
One quote from the story is worth mentioning and in fact is something I think we should all remember as we travel through life. These words are spoken by the character Mr. Das (the man who presided over Dr. Aziz's trial) to Aziz, after the charges against him are dropped. It is with these words that I will close my commentary on A Passage to India... "excuse my mistakes, realize my limitations."
Thursday, June 9, 2011
It's been a little more than a year...
I've managed to bring my total of works of the canon read to 67. That is a far cry from the thousands that I have to get through so I hope to break the 100 mark by the end of the year. Basically that means that this summer is going to be spent reading as much as humanly possible. Certainly more that what I conquered last summer, which was, in it's entirety... Bleak House.
Since the start of this project a little more than a year ago, I've read 21 titles. I'm happy to say that so far, Harold Bloom has not led me astray. Everything I've read has been worth it. I've no complaints. As for what's next...
E.M. Forster's A Passage to India, is the next selection. I fell in love with Forster 's stories after watching the Merchant Ivory production of A Room With a View, and gobbled up that novel at some point during my high school years. Later I picked up Howard's End while a member of a book club back in 2003 or so and enjoyed that piece as well, now I'm onto A Passage to India. First published in 1924 it was hailed as one of the the 100 great works of English literature by Modern Library publishing company, won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Literature in 1924, and was included in Time Magazine's 100 best English language novels from 1923 to 2005. All that being said, I'm expecting a good read. So, without further ado... here I go.... (hopefully I'll post again within a week or so... fingers crossed).
Since the start of this project a little more than a year ago, I've read 21 titles. I'm happy to say that so far, Harold Bloom has not led me astray. Everything I've read has been worth it. I've no complaints. As for what's next...
E.M. Forster's A Passage to India, is the next selection. I fell in love with Forster 's stories after watching the Merchant Ivory production of A Room With a View, and gobbled up that novel at some point during my high school years. Later I picked up Howard's End while a member of a book club back in 2003 or so and enjoyed that piece as well, now I'm onto A Passage to India. First published in 1924 it was hailed as one of the the 100 great works of English literature by Modern Library publishing company, won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Literature in 1924, and was included in Time Magazine's 100 best English language novels from 1923 to 2005. All that being said, I'm expecting a good read. So, without further ado... here I go.... (hopefully I'll post again within a week or so... fingers crossed).
I've been terrible I know.....
It's been over two months since my last post and I think I'll pay for it in my commentary on the last three books I've read. So I'll keep at least the first two brief as, while I remember them well, I've not thought about either much recently.
First Wharton's Age of Innocence.... I enjoyed this read. I think what I liked about it most was the fact that the ending was unexpected. It was an enjoyable love story however it did not feel all nicely tied up with a bow at the end as the Victorian novels I've been reading throughout this journey have felt. Interesting writing and more importantly solid character development is what I believe makes Age of Innocence a story which compels the reader to continue on. I am interested to see the Scorsese adaptation from 1993 to see if it holds a candle to the book. With Daniel Day-Lewis as Archer Newland I think that it may well stand a chance. I've not read any critical reviews of the film, but perhaps will give it a go this summer. I would certainly recommend the novel for terrific yet light summer reading.
Next on the agenda was James Fennimore Cooper's The Deerslayer. Published in 1841 it was the last of his Leatherstocking tales and functioned as a prequel to the other tales written. At first this book seemed endless, in fact I think it took me the better part of a month to read it. I was determined to get through it but must admit that it was slow starting and could not even be considered interesting until probably the last quarter of the novel. Cooper certainly captures the American "frontier" as it was at the inception of our nation. The conflict between the white colonists and the Native Americans was aptly depicted and was at times quite disturbing. In the end I was glad that I got through this piece. While long and at times tedious it presented me with an idea of American Literature during the mid 1800's and more importantly provided me with an example of a genre that I was unfamiliar with in the past. I am interested to read more of the Leatherstocking tales simply to explore more of Cooper's writing.
The last book I conquered was George Eliot's Adam Bede. I just finished this book last night and adored it. While it is yet another Victorian novel, and does in fact wrap itself up neatly with a bow at the end (and a marriage of course) I found the twists and turns in this novel to be genuine and not forced. First published in 1859, it was Eliot's first novel. I must note that George Eliot is a pseudonym for Mary Ann Evans a novelist, journalist and translator. She adopted the name George Eliot in order to have her writing taken seriously, and I'm sure, at the time, a male pseudonym provided her with certain liberties that she might not have received had publishers known she was in fact female.
Adam Bede is a terrific novel and has prompted me to want to read more of Eliot's work. She explores religion and the lives of estate tenants in an interesting, endearing and at times provocative manner. In some of the research I've done about this particular novel it is listed a work of historical fiction, and I can see how Adam Bede fits into this genre. One other aspect of the novel that I enjoyed was the voice of the narrator. At times, the narrator speaks directly to the reader, as a confidante, something that I find to be a compelling convention used by the author.
An excellent story, with well developed characters that the reader is almost forced to care for, and plot twists that are intricate and seemingly effortless make this novel a must read for any lover of Victorian literature, and more importantly good stories. I do promise, however I will not be taking on anything written between 1800 and 1900 for the remainder of the summer.
Until the next selection, which will be this evening.....
First Wharton's Age of Innocence.... I enjoyed this read. I think what I liked about it most was the fact that the ending was unexpected. It was an enjoyable love story however it did not feel all nicely tied up with a bow at the end as the Victorian novels I've been reading throughout this journey have felt. Interesting writing and more importantly solid character development is what I believe makes Age of Innocence a story which compels the reader to continue on. I am interested to see the Scorsese adaptation from 1993 to see if it holds a candle to the book. With Daniel Day-Lewis as Archer Newland I think that it may well stand a chance. I've not read any critical reviews of the film, but perhaps will give it a go this summer. I would certainly recommend the novel for terrific yet light summer reading.
Next on the agenda was James Fennimore Cooper's The Deerslayer. Published in 1841 it was the last of his Leatherstocking tales and functioned as a prequel to the other tales written. At first this book seemed endless, in fact I think it took me the better part of a month to read it. I was determined to get through it but must admit that it was slow starting and could not even be considered interesting until probably the last quarter of the novel. Cooper certainly captures the American "frontier" as it was at the inception of our nation. The conflict between the white colonists and the Native Americans was aptly depicted and was at times quite disturbing. In the end I was glad that I got through this piece. While long and at times tedious it presented me with an idea of American Literature during the mid 1800's and more importantly provided me with an example of a genre that I was unfamiliar with in the past. I am interested to read more of the Leatherstocking tales simply to explore more of Cooper's writing.
The last book I conquered was George Eliot's Adam Bede. I just finished this book last night and adored it. While it is yet another Victorian novel, and does in fact wrap itself up neatly with a bow at the end (and a marriage of course) I found the twists and turns in this novel to be genuine and not forced. First published in 1859, it was Eliot's first novel. I must note that George Eliot is a pseudonym for Mary Ann Evans a novelist, journalist and translator. She adopted the name George Eliot in order to have her writing taken seriously, and I'm sure, at the time, a male pseudonym provided her with certain liberties that she might not have received had publishers known she was in fact female.
Adam Bede is a terrific novel and has prompted me to want to read more of Eliot's work. She explores religion and the lives of estate tenants in an interesting, endearing and at times provocative manner. In some of the research I've done about this particular novel it is listed a work of historical fiction, and I can see how Adam Bede fits into this genre. One other aspect of the novel that I enjoyed was the voice of the narrator. At times, the narrator speaks directly to the reader, as a confidante, something that I find to be a compelling convention used by the author.
An excellent story, with well developed characters that the reader is almost forced to care for, and plot twists that are intricate and seemingly effortless make this novel a must read for any lover of Victorian literature, and more importantly good stories. I do promise, however I will not be taking on anything written between 1800 and 1900 for the remainder of the summer.
Until the next selection, which will be this evening.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)