Hi from Texas!
I've been spending time with family/friends, eating butter-filled dishes, and chatting my face off. It's been grand.
I've also been reading a ton since classes have finished for the semester {made the grade!}, and I'm on holiday. Along with the books I mentioned earlier, I'll share my thoughts on two of the best and the boring.
Pnin
Somehow, the subtle humor of this short novel was lost on me, and I only found myself chuckling at the most obvious of Pnin's blunders. I had a great deal of sympathy for him {that ex-wife was terrible!}, and I would have liked Nabokov to explore his relationship with his son in greater detail.
"The house was burning, the yellow-red sky was like the sunset...Nothing would be left, the golden ferns and the silver ferns, the orchids, the ginger lilies and the roses...When they had finished, there would be nothing left but blackened walls and the mounting stone. That was always left. That could not be stolen or burned."
In the first section of three in Rhys' response to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Rhys explores the same dark, uncontrollable trauma that Eyre experiences in her lifetime. The quote above is plucked from the end of part one, and struck me as one of the best descriptions in the novel, as it helped me connect to the main character, known by the name of Bertha in Jane Eyre, or the 'madwoman in the attic'. A Creole in the West Indies, Antoinette {or Bertha} grew up hated by both black and white people, as she and her family where somewhere in between. Her home is vandalized, her mother is/becomes crazy, and she's driven to marriage as she's told it's her only option. Part two of the novel if from Rochester's perspective, and details why he detests the unknown land he's sent to to find his wife. The hatred is from the same vein we see his character erupt from in Jane Eyre. It's interesting that I was sympathetic to his character in both Wide Sargasso Sea and Jane Eyre. I remember reading Jane Eyre in high school and every girl in the class despised Rochester, but somehow I still liked him. The same was true for this novel. Then, in the last section, we meet the mad woman in the attic of Rochester's huge house. It's tragic, dark and beautiful.
I can see how this story would work well broken into smaller pieces and published in a magazine, as it was initially in The New Yorker; however, the multitude of somewhat pointless breaks in the plot {rests, maybe?} caused me to lose interest and set the book down many times.
I have Lolita just waiting for me on my bookshelf, but I'm not sure Pnin built up Nabokov's case to dedicate more time to his novels. One day, maybe.
I have Lolita just waiting for me on my bookshelf, but I'm not sure Pnin built up Nabokov's case to dedicate more time to his novels. One day, maybe.
by Jean Rhys
"The house was burning, the yellow-red sky was like the sunset...Nothing would be left, the golden ferns and the silver ferns, the orchids, the ginger lilies and the roses...When they had finished, there would be nothing left but blackened walls and the mounting stone. That was always left. That could not be stolen or burned."In the first section of three in Rhys' response to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Rhys explores the same dark, uncontrollable trauma that Eyre experiences in her lifetime. The quote above is plucked from the end of part one, and struck me as one of the best descriptions in the novel, as it helped me connect to the main character, known by the name of Bertha in Jane Eyre, or the 'madwoman in the attic'. A Creole in the West Indies, Antoinette {or Bertha} grew up hated by both black and white people, as she and her family where somewhere in between. Her home is vandalized, her mother is/becomes crazy, and she's driven to marriage as she's told it's her only option. Part two of the novel if from Rochester's perspective, and details why he detests the unknown land he's sent to to find his wife. The hatred is from the same vein we see his character erupt from in Jane Eyre. It's interesting that I was sympathetic to his character in both Wide Sargasso Sea and Jane Eyre. I remember reading Jane Eyre in high school and every girl in the class despised Rochester, but somehow I still liked him. The same was true for this novel. Then, in the last section, we meet the mad woman in the attic of Rochester's huge house. It's tragic, dark and beautiful.
If you've read Jane Eyre and loved it, look into Rhys' response. On the other hand, too, if you didn't care for Jane Eyre, Wide Sargasso Sea can perhaps help you to connect or identify with the characters of Bronte's classic novel.
What are you {Currently Reading}? Just curious, but who is your favorite Bronte and why?
Wide Sargasso Sea was required reading in high school...and considering how much I disliked Jane Eyre, it didn't really do anything for me. I just finished Caitlin Moran's "Moranthology" which was pretty funny. Her writing is good for a bit of light-hearted thought provocation.
ReplyDeleteEyre had to grow on my for sure - I didn't care for any of the characters until the last third of the book. I'll definitely look into Moranthology - thanks for the rec.
ReplyDeleteAny chance you're on Goodreads?