As always for longer read-athons, I’m just going to try to read a bit more than usual. This week, I’d particularly like to read and review When Beauty Slept and The Bombers and the Bombed since they come out on Thursday. I’m also hoping to fit in something just purely for fun without a review deadline. Perhaps The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress or The Year of Living Biblically. I’m also looking forward to the mini-challenge! I’ll be tracking my reading progress throughout the week here.

Monday
Pages Read: 153
Books Read: Emma
Books Finished: Emma

Tuesday
Pages Read: 68
Books Read: While Beauty Slept
Books Finished: 

Wednesday
Pages Read: 77
Books Read: While Beauty Slept
Books Finished:

Thursday
Pages Read: 291
Books Read: While Beauty Slept, The Bombers and the Bombed
Books Finished: While Beauty Slept

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Title: 

There are two kinds of re-tellings. There are those which use the original as an inspiration and which become awesome by using the original material in creative new ways. Cinder is one of my favorite examples of that kind of re-telling. This is not that kind of re-telling. This is the other kind, where the source material is preserved almost entirely with just a setting change and this is by far the best example of that kind of re-telling that I’ve ever read.

First of all, despite the integration of modern terms and even some pop culture, the writing reminds me very much of Austen. It’s something about the way she uses adjectives and long descriptive clauses, in my non-English-major opinion. Whatever it is, it works. I thought she also did a remarkable job preserving the spirit of each character. They may not be exactly the same, but the things I would list as being essential to who they are were all preserved. This is a little thing, but I thought it was nice that she kept the same names for her characters too. There’s no reason to change that (unless your change of setting demands it) and it makes it far less confusing to discuss the book later!

I was also incredibly impressed by the author’s ability to create modern situations analogous to the now outdated social situations in the original. Every scene I loved in the original had an counterpart in this re-telling. There was also some detail added to Edward and Elinor’s romance, something I liked in the movie and also liked here. It’s so much easier to root for a couple when you know why the like each other! At the end of the day, this still might have only been a four star review except for one very important thing. This book made me feel the exact same way as re-reading the original. I had some memory of what was going to happen, but I still couldn’t wait to get to the conclusion and I was so happy for our characters when I got there. While it is likely that no re-telling is going to do it for a real Austen purist, for anyone else, if you are out of new Austen to read and need something to fill the gaping void that has created in your life, read this. It was almost a lot like getting to read Sense and Sensibility for the first time all over again.

For some other perspectives, check out the other stops on the tour, Amazon, or Goodreads.

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However, despite missing seeing some characters in the movie, I preferred the directness of the movie to Dumas’ rambling style. Unlike some of the book adaptations I read, this directness was achieved without losing the sense of Monte Cristo’s intricate plotting. The dialogue was much better too. I think Mercedes might be a bit too soft-spoken, but with that exception, I loved all of the casting choices and it was a lot of fun to see the characters come to life. I also thought the relationships in the movie had more depth. I adore Dantes’ relationship with the Abbe Faria in the movie and understand the relationship between Mondego and Dantes much better. Although I can’t say too much without spoilers, I found the ending of the movie much more satisfying as well. Overall, especially given the relative time investment, I really would recommend the movie over the book.

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Title: 

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now… (Source: Goodreads)

It’s possible I started this book with my expectations too high. I’ve heard nothing but the highest praise for The Handmaid’s Tale and I was convinced it was going to be amazing. The writing was everything I could have asked for. Every word was selected thoughtfully. Words were often used to convey multiple meanings or to connect several disparate ideas. I don’t usually notice quotes I especially like when I’m reading, but in this book I was constantly savoring words and phrases. The writing was so beautiful I just wanted to read it out loud and feel the words on my lips. The world-building was done incrementally through Offred’s daily experiences and occasional memories. I loved that I constantly wanted to know more without feeling as though the author was using annoying plot devices to withhold information.

By page eighty or so, my love of the writing could no longer distract me from the fact that nothing but world building had happened yet. Towards the end events do become more exciting. Things happen that are outside of Offred’s normal routine and which require her to make some tough decisions. However, even in the most exciting scenes, the writing stays beautiful and slow. I never felt completely swept up in what was going on and the ending in particular felt emotionless to me. After the good things I’ve heard about this book, after the spectacularly beautiful writing, after the intricate world that was built, I expected more than that. The ending felt very flat to me. So while I will try more Margaret Atwood, if only to luxuriate in more of her beautiful writing, I felt a bit let down by this one.

Amazon|Goodreads

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Title: 

The Count of Monte Cristo is a classic story of betrayal and revenge. Edmond Dantes has it all: a father he loves, a pending promotion, and a beautiful fiance. Unfortunately, others envy him his good fortune and conspire to have him sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. When a fellow prisoner informs him of a treasure located on the Isle of Monte Cristo, he determines to escape and use that treasure to enact his revenge.

From the great introduction to this book, I learned that Dumas wrote this to be published in sections in newspapers and was paid by the line. Reading The Count of Monte Cristo with it’s convoluted plot and inclusion of mundane conversations, that incentive is clear. However unnecessarily complicated the count’s revenge may be, it was still a lot of fun to read about. While some sections dragged a little, there was always some part of the plot which made me want to read quickly because I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. The events could be cliched at times, but I enjoy cliches and to be fair to the author, he may be the originator of some of these now-cliched plot devices.

One small problem I had with this book was the dislikable nature of our protagonist. As time goes by he gets more and more arrogant, convinced that his revenge is the hand of God! Fortunately for us, a pair of young lovers shows up for us to root for instead, so I never found myself without a character to relate to. Overall, this was far from the best classic I’ve read. It gave little insight into human nature and wasn’t especially well written. Fortunately, these flaws didn’t stop if from being an amusing swashbuckling adventure which was a lot of fun to read. Given it’s success as a light adventure story, I might recommend searching for a well done abridged versions. While the idea of missing parts of a story makes me nervous, I don’t think anyone is going to want to pick up a 1000 page book for light entertainment.

Amazon|Goodreads

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Dorian Gray is a beautiful and likable young man until presented with opportunity to remain unchangingly young. The influence of an immoral friend and the temptation to do wrong without showing any signs of his corruption soon prove too much for Dorian.

The most intriguing part of this story is the premise and it’s possible I would have enjoyed it more if each revelation of what was happening had surprised me. As is, I felt like there wasn’t much of a plot.  There was a certain fascination to the beginning of the story, although it was a fascination I felt bad for, like I was watching a car crash. Even that interest want away after Dorian realizes what’s happening. The story becomes a lot of excessively specific descriptions of all of things Dorian collects mixed with excessively vague descriptions of what he’s actually doing.

Like many classics, the book was an interesting reflection on human nature. In addition to the plot itself, the characters have many conversations about morality and beauty. However, with no characters expressing a view of human nature I could agree with, I found those sections un-enjoyable as well. Despite the interesting premise, the book itself was turned out to be fairly bland and disappointing.

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Title: 

Originally titled Elinor and Marianne, in a way the book was still named after it’s two main characters. Elinor is eminently sensible, always putting her own feelings second to looking out for her mother and sister. Elinor is the exact opposite, entirely focused on her own sensibility and feelings with a complete lack of concern for the practical. Despite their dissimilarity, both sisters will face similar challenges as they navigate society trying to find love.

This was a reread for me and the first thing I noticed was that I didn’t remember just how funny Jane Austen can be. The humor is very dry and understated, but I thought that made it even better. She rarely outright tells you anything about a character, instead giving you snapshots of their lives that show their personality. As one of the critics quoted in the book pointed out, although the book isn’t overly predictable, the characters always act self-consistently enough that their actions don’t surprise you.

Although I personally relate much more to Elinor than to Marianne, I liked that the two heroines were so different. It added interest and should give everyone a character to empathize with. The plot was strangely engaging. Events move fairly slowly and what happens is all gossip and romance; not a description that I would expect for such an enthralling book! Despite the apparently unexciting contents, I couldn’t put the book down and always wanted to know what happened next.

In addition to liking the story, I also liked the edition I picked up. It was a Barnes & Noble classics edition and it included the best extras. The introduction was less spoiler-y than many but still thought-provoking.  I also liked that at the end of the book there was some extra discussion, some book club discussion questions, and a few quotes from critics across the ages. It gave some great context to the story and I’ll definitely be picking up more classics from this series.

Amazon|Goodreads

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Title: 

Today I’m going to be sharing with you the goodreads summary of the book because I think it does a great job explaining not just the action of the plot, but the character development that is the most exciting part of the story. Orphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead, subject to the cruel regime at Lowood charity school, Jane Eyre nonetheless emerges unbroken in spirit and integrity.  She takes up the post of governess at Thornfield, falls in love with Mr. Rochester, and discovers the impediment to their lawful marriage in a story that transcends melodrama to portray a woman’s passionate search for a wider and richer life than Victorian society traditionally allowed.

I’ve been having a hard time writing this review because I basically like this book for the same reason I like nearly all the classics I’ve read. I like the older style of writing, which always strikes me as more beautiful and formal than much of today’s writing, without becoming stiff. The observations on human nature are definitely there, keeping the book relevant. And I love Jane’s character. With her passion and desire to be happy, she’s much more a protagonist for today than many other heroines in older books.

Unlike some other classics, Jane Eyre didn’t have much else going for it. The plot was kind of boring, with not much action and a lot of coincidences necessary to make things work out. Some of the plot points strike me as unbelievable, especially the rare gothic or even supernatural elements. I also found Jane and Mr. Rocheter’s interactions often stretched my belief. While a lot of their flirting was witty and enjoyable in an almost Shakespearean fashion, at other times they seemed to be downright cruel to one another. Then they forgive each other everything. For me, the writing was enough to forgive all these flaws. If I sat back and analyzed, I wasn’t impressed with the plot, but most of the time, I just enjoyed reading it.

Amazon|Goodreads

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn follows Francie Nolan as she grows up in Boston as part of a poor, second-generation, American family.  A major theme running throughout the book is Francie’s mother’s focus on seeing her children educated and giving them a better life than she herself had.  Francie’s own love of reading and education was to me one of the most endearing parts of the novel.  As a bibliophile, it’s hard not to fall in love with a precocious little girl who’s decided to read through every book in her library – what she thinks is every book in the world.  This is a small spoiler, but I think the fact that Francie eventually got her education was crucial to my enjoyment of the book.  I’m someone who prefers happy endings any way and to have someone so in love with learning be stuck working menial jobs forever would have just been too heart breaking.

I also loved Francie, and the author, for their interesting observations about people.  I found the spark notes chapter-by-chapter analysis actually talked a lot about these observations and the larger  themes the author was trying to convey and ended up reading that commentary along with the book.  Although some of the more literary among you might turn your nose up at the use of spark notes, I would highly recommend them.  Not instead of the book of course (sacrilege!) but as a supplement to make you take a step back and think about the bigger issues addressed in the book.

The story flowed very nicely, so much so that I had trouble putting it down, and I loved the authors writing style from the very first page.  As our host Erin wrote, the author’s tone is “straightforward, immediate, and no-nonsense, and yet through it she expresses so much.”  Although I agreed with Erin, this almost seemed like a contradiction to me – how could the book be so matter-of-fact and yet so engaging?  For me, I think the answer is that the book is about human nature and life.  There are beautiful bits, moving bit, sad bits, and heart-warmingly happy bits.  And while they’re all presented matter-of-factly as just part of life, they are no less beautiful, moving, sad or heart-warmingly happy because of that.

Finally, here is one of my favorite quotes: (Francie’s grandmother’s giving advice to her mother)

Summary

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – ★★★★☆ -Wonderful book about growing up and human nature.  Loved the writing style and the main character.  Definitely a book I would recommend.

Other Reviews:

• Estella’s Revenge

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