by Jane Austen
1813
In early 19th century England, a family of five girls is marked for
marriage by their rather silly mother, Mrs. Bennet. More than one
suitor comes calling; Elizabeth, the second oldest, is courted by the
wealthy and arrogant Mr. Darcy, but she finds him insupportable. Will
his snooty relatives crush her sister’s chance of marrying their friend
Mr. Bingley? Will the foolish youngest sister, Lydia, lead them into
ruin with her wanton ways? Will Elizabeth never find happiness with
Darcy? The answers, of course, are obviously negative – but this
delicate, intricate novel kept me turning the pages (all 375 of them)
eagerly. Written with a superb verbal dexterity, laced with rich and
subtle wit, this novel is truly a classic.
five stars
Tuesday, June 6, 2006
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Wake Up, Sir!
by Jonathan Ames
2004
Alan Blair, a neurotic, alcoholic Jewish writer, goes to a writing
colony in Saratoga Springs. He brings along his valet, Jeeves, who may
or may not be Alan’s own ego personified, the result of Alan’s
depression and “an overdose” of P.G. Wodehouse’s books as a remedy.
Either
way, this is a stunningly insightful book. Since it’s about a man
writing a novel, it’s full of mostly unrelated ruminations — bits of
scenes and ideas for novels, for examples — but they are always
interesting, if not hilarious. The dialogue is an homage, respectfully
lifted straight from Wodehouse, but with a modern, Woody Allen-esque
bent. Alan tries to tackle the Homosexual Question, the Jewish Question,
Buddhism, thanatos, eros, suicide, and the rest of the usual Deep
Thought suspects, always with interesting and amusing insight. I’ve
never before read Ames; he’s a terrific writer.
five stars
Sunday, March 12, 2006
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
by A.J. Jacobs
The author, an editor at Esquire, reads the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, A-Z. He breaks the books down into alphabetical entries, relating each heading to some event in his life or reading. Along the way, he and his wife succeed in their quest to become pregnant, he goes on “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire,” they travel, and he meets people such as Mensa members, Alex Trebek, and the editors of the EB. This is truly a hilarious book, absolutely laugh-out-loud funny, and not without a few poignant moments on the nature of learning and life itself. Excellent.
four stars
The author, an editor at Esquire, reads the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, A-Z. He breaks the books down into alphabetical entries, relating each heading to some event in his life or reading. Along the way, he and his wife succeed in their quest to become pregnant, he goes on “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire,” they travel, and he meets people such as Mensa members, Alex Trebek, and the editors of the EB. This is truly a hilarious book, absolutely laugh-out-loud funny, and not without a few poignant moments on the nature of learning and life itself. Excellent.
four stars
Tuesday, February 7, 2006
Dear Mr. Henshaw
by Beverly Cleary
A young boy writes letters to an author and in his diary, detailing his parents’ divorce and his adjustment to a new school. I found this to be an interesting and poignant kids’ novella, but it ended very abruptly. I know it’s a slice of life type of book, but the utter lack of resolution surprised me.
A young boy writes letters to an author and in his diary, detailing his parents’ divorce and his adjustment to a new school. I found this to be an interesting and poignant kids’ novella, but it ended very abruptly. I know it’s a slice of life type of book, but the utter lack of resolution surprised me.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
The Jungle Books
by Rudyard Kipling
A series of stories, mostly but not always set in India. I did not know when I first picked this up that not all of these tales feature the most famous character: Mowgli, the baby carried off by a lame tiger and rescued by wolves, who grows to be master of the jungle. (In this, he predates Tarzan by a couple of decades.) I remember reading some, but not all, of this book many years ago, but I remembered little of it, especially from the second book.
Some of the tales are well-known ("Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”) and some not so well known ("Servants Of the Queen," in which various army pack animals discuss their lot, and by extension, the lot of their masters, in life). For me, the ones that jarred the most were the stories that take place in the Arctic regions of all places ("The White Seal" and "Quiquern"). They seemed wildly incongruous mixed in between the better-known tales of the tropics. The one connecting thread of the tales, no matter what their locale, is that they all deal in some way with an animal's view of the world. Are these tales allegories of colonialism? I don’t know. I can see how one might argue the fact - "The White Seal" in particular appears to be a particularly blatant suggestion of the superiority of the white man - but it's also clear that Kipling loved India, far too much to write about it simply to push an agenda. Even if it is an extended allegory (which I don't believe) it’s a very poor one, since it's so rich and subtle. Anyone could pick it up and enjoy a tale of adventure, fantasy, heroism, familial love, triumph over tragedy, and sad farewells without ever dreaming there might be some hidden meaning, or considering what the various animals "represent." It's often considered a children's book, but I doubt it would be thought so if it appeared today; the language is complex, there's quite a lot of killing and threats of torture, and, least Disneyfied of all, the end is not at all the neatly-tied happy resolution that the majority of non-series children's stories seem to require today. (Kipling seems to favor ambiguous, rather sad endings; Kim and Thy Servant a Dog are respective examples). Still, what kid wouldn't want to hear about how Mowgli massacred the pack of wild dogs with the help of a python, some wolves, and about a million angry bees?
A series of stories, mostly but not always set in India. I did not know when I first picked this up that not all of these tales feature the most famous character: Mowgli, the baby carried off by a lame tiger and rescued by wolves, who grows to be master of the jungle. (In this, he predates Tarzan by a couple of decades.) I remember reading some, but not all, of this book many years ago, but I remembered little of it, especially from the second book.
Some of the tales are well-known ("Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”) and some not so well known ("Servants Of the Queen," in which various army pack animals discuss their lot, and by extension, the lot of their masters, in life). For me, the ones that jarred the most were the stories that take place in the Arctic regions of all places ("The White Seal" and "Quiquern"). They seemed wildly incongruous mixed in between the better-known tales of the tropics. The one connecting thread of the tales, no matter what their locale, is that they all deal in some way with an animal's view of the world. Are these tales allegories of colonialism? I don’t know. I can see how one might argue the fact - "The White Seal" in particular appears to be a particularly blatant suggestion of the superiority of the white man - but it's also clear that Kipling loved India, far too much to write about it simply to push an agenda. Even if it is an extended allegory (which I don't believe) it’s a very poor one, since it's so rich and subtle. Anyone could pick it up and enjoy a tale of adventure, fantasy, heroism, familial love, triumph over tragedy, and sad farewells without ever dreaming there might be some hidden meaning, or considering what the various animals "represent." It's often considered a children's book, but I doubt it would be thought so if it appeared today; the language is complex, there's quite a lot of killing and threats of torture, and, least Disneyfied of all, the end is not at all the neatly-tied happy resolution that the majority of non-series children's stories seem to require today. (Kipling seems to favor ambiguous, rather sad endings; Kim and Thy Servant a Dog are respective examples). Still, what kid wouldn't want to hear about how Mowgli massacred the pack of wild dogs with the help of a python, some wolves, and about a million angry bees?
Monday, July 25, 2005
The House Of the Spirits
by Isabel Allende
1982
translated by Magda Bogin
Four generations of an aristocratic and extremely eccentric Chilean family, tied together by the patriarch, Esteban Truebe, a hardworking conservative who marries Clara and becomes a wealthy man and a senator. His wife, a mystical clairvoyant with a loving heart, passes her peculiarities to her descendants, much to Trueba’s rage and dismay. Even as he rails again the communists and what he sees as the ridiculous behavior of his sons (one a dreamer and mystic, the other an obsessively dedicated doctor to the poor), the political countryside shifts, the left and the military battling for power.
Another epic – 430 pages – this book had me hooked at the first paragraph. Like Marquez’ One Hundred Years of Solitude, this is a blend of political criticism, comedy, magic, and an homage to the family, especially (albeit Trueba is the one consistent thread) matriarchy. Allende keeps the rich tapestry of so many years and events together through a variety of devices: hints of foreshadowing, two narrators (one in the first person), and Clara’s notebooks, which purportedly provide the material for the book itself. This is a grand book, filled with wonder, needless tragedy, great love, and in the end, a family that conquers pride and tyranny with love. A hugely entertaining and thought-provoking novel.
1982
translated by Magda Bogin
Four generations of an aristocratic and extremely eccentric Chilean family, tied together by the patriarch, Esteban Truebe, a hardworking conservative who marries Clara and becomes a wealthy man and a senator. His wife, a mystical clairvoyant with a loving heart, passes her peculiarities to her descendants, much to Trueba’s rage and dismay. Even as he rails again the communists and what he sees as the ridiculous behavior of his sons (one a dreamer and mystic, the other an obsessively dedicated doctor to the poor), the political countryside shifts, the left and the military battling for power.
Another epic – 430 pages – this book had me hooked at the first paragraph. Like Marquez’ One Hundred Years of Solitude, this is a blend of political criticism, comedy, magic, and an homage to the family, especially (albeit Trueba is the one consistent thread) matriarchy. Allende keeps the rich tapestry of so many years and events together through a variety of devices: hints of foreshadowing, two narrators (one in the first person), and Clara’s notebooks, which purportedly provide the material for the book itself. This is a grand book, filled with wonder, needless tragedy, great love, and in the end, a family that conquers pride and tyranny with love. A hugely entertaining and thought-provoking novel.
Friday, April 22, 2005
Kim
by Rudyard Kipling
Kim, orphaned son of an Irish sergeant in the Indian Army, is brought up as an Indian street urchin. Fluent in Hindi and Pushtu, he is quick-witted and street-wise. When he becomes attached to a Tibetan lama searching for the River of Buddha’s Arrow, his life becomes intertwined with the Great Game --- England’s espionage network that safeguards British India.
This is a terrific novel: witty, suspenseful, rich in descriptions of forgotten or disappearing people and customs, and above all as complex and layered as India herself. There is a smack of the white man’s superior airs in the novel --- it is Kim’s “white blood” that makes him immune to the suggestions of India’s magic and his English education that allows him to resist hypnotism --- but there is nothing, to my eyes, denigrating in the novel. Kipling loves India, and Kim is India. Able to mimic a Sahib, a Hindi, a Muslim, a beggar, a chela or what have you, he represents all of India: its “good, gentle” people who revere the wise and the virtuous. The ending of the book is perfect: there’s closure, but it leaves all of India, from its dusty plains to the bitter cold of the Hills (Himalayas), open to Kim’s skills and knowledge. A truly great book, much more than an adventure story, road trip, or coming of age story. It is all these and more. It is one of the world's greatest novels.
five stars
Kim, orphaned son of an Irish sergeant in the Indian Army, is brought up as an Indian street urchin. Fluent in Hindi and Pushtu, he is quick-witted and street-wise. When he becomes attached to a Tibetan lama searching for the River of Buddha’s Arrow, his life becomes intertwined with the Great Game --- England’s espionage network that safeguards British India.
This is a terrific novel: witty, suspenseful, rich in descriptions of forgotten or disappearing people and customs, and above all as complex and layered as India herself. There is a smack of the white man’s superior airs in the novel --- it is Kim’s “white blood” that makes him immune to the suggestions of India’s magic and his English education that allows him to resist hypnotism --- but there is nothing, to my eyes, denigrating in the novel. Kipling loves India, and Kim is India. Able to mimic a Sahib, a Hindi, a Muslim, a beggar, a chela or what have you, he represents all of India: its “good, gentle” people who revere the wise and the virtuous. The ending of the book is perfect: there’s closure, but it leaves all of India, from its dusty plains to the bitter cold of the Hills (Himalayas), open to Kim’s skills and knowledge. A truly great book, much more than an adventure story, road trip, or coming of age story. It is all these and more. It is one of the world's greatest novels.
five stars
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