{Currently Reading} Kingsolver, Fitzgerald, DFW & Gawande

It's time for another "Currently Reading" update! In an effort to not spoil any of the novels for you, I've hidden the remaining reviews after the jump. If you have no qualms reading revealing notes on The Lacuna, This Side of Paradise, The Broom of the System, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and Complications, have no fear and read on!

The Lacuna {5 Stars}

I read Barbara Kingsolver’s The Lacuna as part of the newly formed Seestor Book Club, which first met in May 2013. My sister and I are the only members, and chose this book based on a recommendation from Seestor’s friend.  I was a bit cautious at first, as I hadn't read any of Kingsolver at that point. In truth, I had some notion that her books were just pop fiction, as they were always charted – even Oprah touted them as some of her favorites. It had to just be hovering above chick lit, right? Reading the first few pages of Kingsolver’s writing, I soon learned that this was completely false. Her imagery was so fitting for the story, scenes just came alive. "The mood of the fiesta was enclosed in a perfect square: four long lines of electric bulbs strung from posts at the corners, fencing out a bright piece of night just above everyone's heads." I felt as if I was accompanying the narrator, Harrison Shepard, through the avenues of the market.

Reading in April

In the brief minutes between commitments, I've been reading all over the place so I'll be ready for my book clubs in May. Yes, that was plural. In 2013, I find myself as a part of three book clubs. How did this happen, y'all!?

The first book is The Broom of the System by David Foster Wallace, for my 'adult' book club. Adult meaning everyone is well-established in their lives/careers/reading acumen. About the book: This is DFW's first novel, oddly about nursing home escapees, and the first 25 pages are straight up hilarious.  This was my suggestion many moons ago with this group, but it took a bit for them to take up this lengthy novel.  They're not afraid of choosing long novels or obscure/controversial writers. But, when I bring up suggestions, they fall flat at times; it takes time for a youngster to gain some clout. We'll see what the group thinks after we meet next.

The other novel is Barbara Kingsolver's acclaimed The Lacuna, which I'm reading for the newly-created Sister Book Club. The group members include me and my sister, which is truly awesome because we're getting to do something together, though thousands of miles separate us.

We're planning to meet and discuss the novel when we're in Chicago next month. More on that soon! I'm off to work on a finance presentation.

Happy weekend!

{Currently Reading} Pnin & Wide Sargasso Sea

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

by Vladimir Nabokov

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. 

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.

Wide Sargasso Sea

    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?

{Currently Reading}

Currently Reading:

Home | Toni Morrison

Neuromacer | William Gibson

The Left Hand of Darkness | Ursula K. Le Guin

Pnin | Vladimir Nabokov

Are we friends on Goodreads? I'd love to know what you're reading!