tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293530782024-03-08T04:08:56.471+01:00Rooms with BooksCicero said "A room without a book is like a body without a soul". I have many rooms full of books...even the bathrooms! How about you?
This is a blog about books I'm reading, enjoy!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-45240189483606850402014-07-20T15:29:00.000+01:002014-07-20T15:29:05.336+01:00Garman and Worse by Alexander Lange Kielland (SPOILERS) , part 2<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
I finished Garman and Worse finally the other day. I had anticipated reading a lot while I was
on vacation at home to US to see family.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get ANY reading done until the plane ride
home. I usually get a lot done on
vacation, but this one didn’t really lend itself to reading for some
reason. Probably because I was with
family. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This book was so much more then what I wrote about in my
last post. Focusing on one aspect that I
didn’t really see coming was what it said about the life of women during the
time period, the book was published in Norway, 1885 . There are three young women whose lives we
experience. Our first women is Madeline,
at first a feisty young women we think is going to make a love match with a
fisherman. But of course, this wouldn’t
do. She is from a merchant family and
can’t lower herself to this level. She
is sent to live with the rest of Garman clan in town. Here she is taken under the wing by Fanny,
Madeline’s cousin-in-law. Fanny uses
Madeline to prop herself up by making her feel at once befriend and also
someone of a lower order. They both fall
for Delphin, who though he wants Madeline, let’s himself be flattered into an
affair with Fanny. Madeline secretly catches
them coming from an assignation and falls apart. Though she turns down a minister’s marriage proposal,
she ends up being tricked into the marriage as she struggles to deal with Fanny
and Delphin’s deception. Delphin runs
off when he hears of Madeline’s engagement and Fanny is left to continue her
little games with others. The fact that
Madeline is tricked into marriage so easily for someone who knew what she
wanted, shows what being in “society” could do to woman. Of course there is remorse at the end for
what could have been. At the end of the
book she sees her first love, Per, and his wife together and the life they have
set up for themselves. She can’t resist
running to Per when she knows he is alone and apologising for not being
stronger. He is very upset by this and
you can see that he still loves her. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The second young lady is Marianne, who sews for the Garman
household. We learn that she was once
very beautiful and though she tried to rebuff one of the young men of the household
she was impregnated by him. He was sent
off for bring shame to the family. She lost
the baby, but was always none as the “fallen” woman. In a bigger community she might have been
able to go somewhere else for employment.
But, her brother and father worked for Garman and Worse as boat
builders, so she was stuck working for the family that was part of her
downfall. She is very ill and eventually
dies. I can hardly bring myself to tell
you how that all ends, so you’ll have to read what happens at her death and
burial. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The last and only redeemed young lady is Rachel Garman. Throughout much of the story I didn’t like
her because she was cold and demanding.
I found myself more caught up in Madeline’s story line. At the end though, you find that she is the
only one that actually comes out well.
She had very demanding ideas of what kind of man she wanted. She thinks that the local school teacher who
has religious aspirations will be the one.
He will get in the pulpit and let the sinners know what they should do
and she was going to be so proud and then marry him. Lucky, for her, the head of the church gets a
hold of him first and warns him off the topic of his sermon. Rachel is mad about what she sees as a
character flaw in the teacher and goes off of him. All this time there has been Tom Worse in the
background. He is the grandson of the
Worse that started the firm with the original Garman. Tom though has set himself up in his own
business, I was never able to get it very clear but I think that when his dad
died the firm was taken over by the Garman’s with the Worse family still receiving
some, but not much, of the profit.
Anyway, when Rachel’s father dies she is placed in the guardianship of
Tom along with her younger brother. Her
older brother took over the business, so I assume Rachel’s dad must have
figured he had enough to do. In Tom,
Rachel has found an ally. Rachel goes to
him because she feels restless. She doesn’t
know what to do with herself and doesn’t want to just get married and be a
wife. Tom encourages her to go to a
friend of his in France and see if she can find any employment that she will
enjoy doing. This is what is so
amazing. He doesn’t just say, oh you
silly thing go do some charity work. He
wants her to choose what she is to do. She
does find her passion and her business acumen (which appears to be better than
her older brother). By the end of the
book Tom and Rachel get happily married, and I felt at least someone’s life
ended happily!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
I also read <u>Metamorphosis</u> by Franz Kafka, before I
left for the States. That will be
another blog post though. So now I’m
starting another Norwegian book <u>The Family at Gilje</u> by Jonas Lie. I also read a good review of <u>Berlin: Imagine
a City</u> by Rory MacLean, so I’ll see what that is like.<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-21811589015143013992014-05-17T19:28:00.001+01:002014-05-18T11:41:46.056+01:00Garman and Worse by Alexander Lange KiellandI finally finished Gosta Berling. It was magical to the end. It is a book that should be read by more people. In fact the copy I read I had ordered through Interlibrary Loan but I've decided that I need to own a copy. I'm trying to be more careful with buying the books, since storage is scarce, but I had to own this book!<br />
<br />
So I've now gone back to the book I was reading when Gosta Berling arrived. Kielland is a Norwegian writer. I had written down in my notes to read him at some point. I find authors from all sorts of places, so I can't remember where I had read about him. I decided to start with this book and was able to get it free for my Kindle. <br />
<br />
The book was published in 1885, and is set during that time it feels. The title is taken from the shipbuilding company of Garman and Worse which is owned by the main characters. The Consul Garman, is running the company primarily. His brother, Richard, travelled around being irresponsible and comes home with a daughter in toe. He takes up residence in a lighthouse and raises her very happily there. When he becomes aware that his daughter Madeline is becoming a woman and interested in a local fisherman, he sends her back in to town to stay with his brother's family.<br />
<br />
This has a feel of a Victorian novel where you have lots of characters of all walks of life. Class is important here, which I'm finding interesting as it is the same as in English literature of that time. I'm really enjoying it and will let you know how I get on with it. <br />
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I was in my favorite "local" independent bookshop (not so local to me but my sister-in-law) Much Wenlock books. Anna, the owner, was telling me about a website called My Independent Bookshop. You can put together a list of books you like and can get recommendations based on these. People can look at your recommendations in your "bookshop". If you set it up to be attached to a independent bookshop and you buy a book, they receive a percentage of the money. Have a look for yourself. I've named my bookshop "Cosmic Dawn's Books", so if you are interested have a look. Let me know if you sign up and what your bookshop is called so I can have a look!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-54136049202962560392014-04-15T13:36:00.001+01:002014-04-15T13:36:40.677+01:00Saga of Gosta Berling part 2Wow, I love this book. It is a bit of magic. I never thought I liked adult fairy tales, but now I know I do. <br />
<br />
I have to take that back a bit, I quite like Syliva Townsend Warner's books I've read like <u>Lolly Willowes</u>. It starts out a normal story of not much happening.....which is the kind of books I like...and then turns into a fairytale. <br />
<br />
Back to Gosta, I'm about half way through now. The translation is so good, I can imagine that it must be very lyrical in Swedish. Each chapter is like another story of Gosta and his effect on women, but not in a Don Juan sort of way (though it is clever that the beautiful, powerful horse in the story is called Don Juan). It is hard to describe without it sounding airy-fairy.....because it is anything but. The stories are quiet dark and the magic sneaks up on you as you are reading. <br />
<br />
One of the stories is about a girl (Anna) has been promised by her family to marry someone, but has been taken in and entranced by an older man. The family ask Gosta to go and take her away. Instead they are smitten by each other and while driving past the house of the family (with Don Juan as their horse) they are set on by black wolves. When they try to head back the other way and pass the house again, they are again set on by the black wolves. They give up and Gosta drops her off at the families house. They are happy and Gosta realises that he can't have her. Anna feels that God sent the wolves to make sure she made the right choice....later she isn't so sure if it was God or not.<br />
<br />
My writing doesn't do it justice as the story is so lyrical you are swept along like you are listening to a folk song. It is making me think that I might give Angela Carter a read after all. We have a lot of her books in the Uni library I work at and they obviously teacher her ever couple of years. So I might just have to give it a go.<br />
<br />
On another topic...does anyone have a good app for blog writing? I've downloaded one or two but they never let you write very much. I have an Iphone and a Kindle fire and either one I download doesn't let me scroll down for writing, only for looking at the page....if you see what I mean.... <br />
<br />
Ah well....happy reading!!!<br />
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-402954853234519122014-04-05T22:45:00.000+01:002014-04-05T22:45:12.846+01:00Selma Lagerlof The Saga of Gosta BerlingI like to go through the Pulitzer Prize winner occasionally to look for writers I might enjoy but haven't heard about. I started this when I read started to.read Knit Hamson. I found this time the first woman who won in 1909. She also fits into my Scandinavian reading scheme too. I'm looking forward to trying this. I'm reading her bio at the moment. Sometimes I do this with new books, but sometimes it is good to go into it blind. She sounds really interesting so we will see how the book<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-18971634044078321942014-03-24T21:36:00.002+01:002014-03-24T21:36:22.394+01:00What I've been reading I see that my poor blog is still here so I thought I would try and have a go again. This is more for me then for anyone else, so I know what I've been reading.<br />
<br />
I've become more interested in German writing and cultural history of the wars and between. I think this is a result of the English going ON and ON about WWII. It seems every day they are commemorating something to do with the war, which is commendable, but does get a bit repetitave. There is so much more we should be remembering. Many of the expats I from many different countries feel the same way, so it isn't just me. Especially, as you can imagine, the German! <br />
<br />
Anyway, I came across a review of Gunter Grass' <u>Peeling the Onion.</u> I decided I had to read it and wasn't disappointed. He is an amazing writer. He is so lyrical and his description of telling his life story as slowly peeling back the layers of an onion is very evocative.<br />
<br />
This led me to read his <u>The Tin Drum</u> which I found I could only read in small snippets at a time, as it was too powerful to read in one long session. I had to stop and think through all of the imagery and try to understand what he wrote. Again, he is so lyrical that it isn't hard to read...just very thought provoking. I've allowed myself some time before trying to read another one of his books!<br />
<br />
I've been reading more Muriel Sparkes which I'll hopefully write about more later. So I haven't given up working my way up through the years of English women writers. I've started Virgina Woolf's <u>Jacob's Room</u> tonight, so we shall see how far I get through. We are off for a weekend away in Wales so I hope to do some reading and writing. We shall see how it goes!<br />
<br />
Anyway.....happy reading!<br />
<br />
DawnAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-53153589639796391342011-01-06T13:50:00.011+01:002011-01-06T21:55:46.772+01:00Anna Kavan "I am Lazarus" - Spoiler!<div>The short story "The Brother" is another stunner. The narrator talks of being a sickly child, well taken care of by his mother while his brother is hardy and beautiful. He tells us that he has great regret about his treatment of his brother. He was always <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">quarrelsome</span> and hid behind his illnesses to be unkind to his brother and his friends. The brother was kind and always tried to bring a smile to the narrators face, though he was never rewarded with one.</div><br /><div>The love the narrator got from his mother, he was entitled to because he needed to be taken care of, being sick often and unable to get around. "I was puny, weak, incapable of tying my own shoelaces without gasping for breath, my <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">complexion</span> was sallow, my hair stringy and dull, my manner <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">lifeless</span> or boorish and petulant (72)". He says he never really noticed the wear and tear his care was taking on his mother. He was entitled to this care, why should he worry how hard it was on his mother. </div><br /><div>He gets a bought of flu and gives it to his brother, though he assures us that his brother was only mildly effected by the illness. As they are recouping in study, in the same room which hadn't <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">happened</span> for a long time, his brother <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">initiates</span> a conversation. "...(he was) begging my pardon if he had hurt me in some way, and asking if we could not make an effort to get on better together, if only for mother's sake (75)." The narrator says that he wanted to make amends, that he felt a "softening towards him (75)", but he was suddenly taken with a seizure. The mother wants to go get the medication he needs, they have none in the house, but the brother decides to go. The narrator <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">encourages</span> this plan of action and the brother goes in to the cold winter weather. </div><br />The brother gets pneumonia, his mother commands the narrator attend the death bed. The narrator feels she is uncharacteristically sharp with him.<br /><blockquote><br /><div></div>The fearful sound of his breathing was so loud that it seemed to be inside<br />my head. I had the sensation of participating in the agony of a man being<br />tortured to death, and my shudders became so uncontrollable that I was<br />afraid of falling upon him. At last words came; clear, and yet not like<span style="font-size:+0;"><br />human speech at all, they came from so far away. </span><br /><p><span style="font-size:+0;">It's a pity. </span></p>It was like listening to a voice speaking across oceans and continents. And<span style="font-size:+0;"><br />after a long delay, very softly, so that none of the others heard, followed two more words. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:+0;">For you. (76) </span></blockquote><span style="font-size:+0;"></span><div><blockquote></blockquote>What does he mean? He pities the narrator, then the truth is revealed when his mother comes in later to see him in the study. He senses that he can no longer rely on her comfort so does not even look at her as she comes in. </div><br /><div><blockquote>The silence between us became intolerable and I stammered <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">something intended</span><br />for consolation, saying that at least we still had each other.</blockquote><blockquote>Yes, you are all that is left now, she said in a low, grave <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">tone</span>, while<br />her eyes appeared to be studying me with the same <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">unnatural</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">dispassionate</span><br />consideration that I had bestowed on the tablecloth. </blockquote><blockquote>And suddenly, as she stood there looking at me so quietly and steadfastly<br />in the quiet room...I realized everything, my own blindness, the horror.<br />It <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">was</span> not I but my brother whom <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">my mother</span> had loved all along. He was the<br />treasure of which I had robbed her for all these years and of which I had <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">deprived</span> her for ever.<br /><p>As if she knew what was in my mind she remarked:<br /></p><p> You were always stronger then he was, and now you have managed to get rid of him for good (78).<br /></p></blockquote></div><br /><div>How chilling is that??? All along he thought that because of his frailness he had been able to keep all of the love of his mother. When she asked the brother not to try and make amends with him it wasn't to keep the narrator from getting upset but the opposite. When the narrator would make rude remarks to the brothers friends, she asked him not to bring them around not to appease the narrator, but not to embarrass the brother. He has skewed the whole situation his whole life. </div><br />Is this what we do? Do we really know how people feel about us, or do we just see what is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">convenient</span>. I think the brother all along had been protecting the narrator from knowing the mother's true feelings, and that is why the pity. Now that the brother was dead the narrator was going to know that he wasn't the center of his mother's love and devotion. The theme of this book is how the mind works, and I think that his seizure is timed to keep him from making amends with his brother. His mind wouldn't let him make this move, the move that would have kept the family together. An excellent 15 minute read!<br /><span style="font-size:+0;"><span style="font-size:+0;"><span style="font-size:+0;"><span style="font-size:+0;"><br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-size:+0;"><span style="font-size:+0;"><span style="font-size:+0;"><span style="font-size:+0;"></span></span></span></span></blockquote></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:+0;"><span style="font-size:+0;"><span style="font-size:+0;"><span style="font-size:+0;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Kavan</span>, Anna. <u>I am Lazarus</u>. London: Peter Owen, 1978.<br /><br /></span></span></span></span><p><span style="font-size:+0;"><span style="font-size:+0;"><span style="font-size:+0;"><span style="font-size:+0;"><span style="font-size:+0;"></span><span style="font-size:+0;"></span><span style="font-size:+0;"></span><span style="font-size:+0;"></span><span style="font-size:+0;"></span><br /></span></span></span></span></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-85269513620688999182011-01-06T00:25:00.001+01:002011-01-06T00:25:21.017+01:00iPhone helps again I'm lying in bed typing away on my phone. Might not be as quick, but if I write that is what is important! <br><br>So what am I reading? At the moment I've seperated my reading into daytime and nighttime. I'm reading Gunter Grass's "The Tin Drum" and "The Box" in spurts. "The Tin Drum" is so thought provoking I can only read a chapter a week almost. He writes so lyrical that even if the subject matter can strain, you flow along with it. <br><br>I'm also reading "I am Lazaris" by Anna Kavan. She is so good, but again challenging. All of these are work reads. I carry them with me and read when I can process what I'm reading. This book has short stories about the effects of mental health on everyone. Kavan suffered from depression and spent time in an Asylum. She writes so true of the feelings of the sufferers, but not a rose color view. She writes in one of a doctor, in charge of an Asylun of soldiers, who has his own agenda and tries to make all the patients fit his plan. When one patient can not conform he is brought in for a session where he is told to talk and confront what is in his head. The patients mind and body can't take the pain and anguish and he ends up dying on the couch. The doctor has no feelings, saying he thought that might happen and basically shrugs the death away. Her stories highlight how hard it is to be on both sides of the situation, but especially of the misunderstanding of those who have not experenced it. (Kavan was writing in the 1930s on). <br><br>Lastly my Mom bought me a Kindle, so I downloaded "A Tiny Bit Marvelous" by Dawn French and "Role Models" by John Waters. These are my bed bed time reading. After reading my last Dervla Murphy book and not sleeping thinking about the worlds problems, i decided I needed something a bit lighter before lights out.<br><br>So what are you reading during the day?<br><br>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-35404920674827305912009-07-29T20:28:00.002+01:002009-07-29T20:47:28.746+01:00Where have I been?I was embarrassed by some comments to posts I made a long time ago. I'm sure I've not posted in a year...so it is time to either close the blog or get to writing...so I'm going to get to writing.<br /><br />I've been reading more books by post-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">WWII</span> English women writers. I've always like the era around the war both just before and just after (not so much during the war). Elizabeth <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Cadell</span> and Mrs. Read where writers I've enjoyed in the past. I've written on here about Anna <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Kavan</span> who I really like, though I need to get on with her next book. But the writer I want to talk about today is Muriel Spark.<br /><br />I read "Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" a couple years ago. I loved it and decided to read more of Spark. I've read the first two "The Comforters" and "Robinson". The first is a bit <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">awkward</span>, though it was really a good read. I must admit I started it and then put it away for a few months and came back to it. "Robinson" was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">compelling</span> though. A plane wreck leaves three survivors living with a loner who owns the island. The man disappears and the three survivors then start turning on each other <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">believing</span> that one of them is a murderer.<br /><br />The book I'm reading at the moment is "Memento <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Mori</span>". It is about a group of people who are interconnected, though from different classes, dealing with getting old. The main characters are in their 70s and 80s. Spark challenges you with not only how their minds are aging, but also with your misconception that the elderly didn't have a life before. You find out that many of them had affairs in their younger years and they have memories of lost loves. I'm finding it interesting and a bit <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">disturbing</span>. We will see how it goes, I'm about half way through at the moment. <br /><br />I'm also reading Elizabeth Bowen's "Hotel". I've just started it so no real impressions yet, except that I'm enjoying reading it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-35338915279490285902008-08-05T18:59:00.003+01:002008-08-05T19:07:26.849+01:00So what did I do on vacation?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrKwkhdcyi5vH4_9FDOyyH0xaNtkW9xhIUiBQpWLvuzb6N5Cgb7Nc2qCZ9xSf5-cwHnWegXsbJP8MA8_DRnG2DM2uMhPt3AHsFeCnTDdFIqTf2btwTcG7-Gtx_Hz2MJ4-klifn/s1600-h/Both+stacks.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrKwkhdcyi5vH4_9FDOyyH0xaNtkW9xhIUiBQpWLvuzb6N5Cgb7Nc2qCZ9xSf5-cwHnWegXsbJP8MA8_DRnG2DM2uMhPt3AHsFeCnTDdFIqTf2btwTcG7-Gtx_Hz2MJ4-klifn/s320/Both+stacks.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231095684982505106" border="0" /></a>The stack on the right are the books that I read (ok two of them were ones that I wrote a review of only) and the stack on the left is the stack of books that I wanted to read. Only 2 of them I brought with me....the rest I bought on the trip...and truefully I think I bought more then that. Lots of great bookshops in the Peak District.<br /><br />You may recognize the book "The Behaviour of Moths" by Poppy Adams. I met her at a book talk given by <a href="http://www.wenlockbooks.co.uk/">Wenlock Books</a>. She was very interesting and personable. I'm about half way through now....and it is great. I've chosen it for our family book group and one of my sisters sped through it and loved it. I'll have to write a review soon.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-86514704770184302602008-07-08T16:14:00.001+01:002008-07-08T16:16:41.839+01:00Cranford by Elizabeth GaskellAnother book I finished ages ago, but haven’t had the time to write about.<span style=""> </span>I decided that since I’m on vacation I was going to do my best to catch up a bit!<span style=""> </span> <p class="MsoNormal">Gaskell is one of those people I’ve wanted to read, but had been put off because I’ve been told her work can be very difficult to get through.<span style=""> </span>Most of her books are about the hardness of life in the 1800’s and can be quite dense reading.<span style=""> </span>However, when the BBC made this into a TV drama I thought I would give it a try.<span style=""> </span>I didn’t get a chance to watch the programs, but I feel that I would have missed out a lot of I hadn’t read this book.<span style=""> </span>It is FANTASTIC.....how can it not be when it starts out:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote>In the first place, Cranford is in possession of the Amazons; all the holders of houses, above a certain rent, are women.<span style=""> </span>If a married couple come to settle in the town, somehow the gentleman disappears; he is either fairly frightened to death by being the only man in the Cranford evening parties, or he is accounted for by being with his regiment, his ship, or closely engaged in business all the week in the great neighbouring commercial town of Drumble, distant only twenty miles on a railroad.<span style=""> </span>In short, whatever does become of the gentlemen, they are not at Cranford.<span style=""> </span>(1)</blockquote><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Now, as a woman, how can you not find that intriguing!<span style=""> </span>Especially when you have been told how little control women had back in that time?<span style=""> </span>It is written from the standpoint of a young lady who visits.<span style=""> </span>I think this was an interesting thing to do, get bored...go stay with someone for a few months.<span style=""> </span>Back when you couldn’t easily go visit for a day, this seems to be the way to do things.<span style=""> </span>She stays with several ladies during the time frame of the book and shows us life in several different living conditions.<span style=""> </span>I enjoyed it, and would suggest it to anyone needing a light and enjoyable read.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I have to admit I enjoyed the book also because it was one of those tiny editions that you could easily see a young lady of the time period putting in her receptacle to pull out and read as she walked in the garden.<span style=""> </span>It is about 3” by 4”, with tiny writing.<span style=""> </span>I love these editions especially that have a large margin at the bottom.<span style=""> </span>I can see someone even more reading these as they walked or sat in a garden, with plenty of room of their fingers to hold the pages open.<span style=""> </span>So as you can see...I am a bibliophile of the extreme.<span style=""> </span>Given an opportunity to read a book in a newer edition or an old one...I always choose the old.<span style=""> </span>I think that it adds to the feel of the time period of the book.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Gaskell, Elizabeth.<span style=""> </span><u>Cranford</u>. London: Oxford University Press, 1965.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-14029270074176176312008-07-08T15:49:00.000+01:002008-07-08T15:50:23.830+01:00A Stranger Still by Anna Kavan (Helen Ferguson)As promised I’ve finished this book, a while ago actually.<span style=""> </span>I’ve found it hard to find the time to sit down and write though, even if I can do it from my bed (see earlier post).<span style=""> </span>Anyway, I read this a month or so ago, but have been trying to think of how to write the review.<span style=""> </span>I think it would be best to be a bit sketchy, because the book is easy to get a hold of new or used. <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>This book was much easier to read then <u>Let Me Alone</u>.<span style=""> </span>The Kavan character isn’t central to the plot.<span style=""> </span>Instead the plot revolves around the Lewison family.<span style=""> </span>Cedric Lewison owns a department store chain, and has done very well for himself.<span style=""> </span>Kavan, the author, I feel likes to show rot in families.<span style=""> </span>Cedric doesn’t realize that he can’t control his partners anymore then he can control his family.<span style=""> </span>Slowly things begin to change and go further out of his reach.<span style=""> </span>His older son isn’t has business savy as he is and can’t take care of the business when Cedric becomes ill.<span style=""> </span>His other son Martin, isn’t interested in the family business and has married a woman that has brings shame on the family.<span style=""> </span>The daughter falls in love with the man that helps to topple Cedric’s empire.<span style=""> </span>His partners take over the bulk of the shares and he is not longer in control of his business.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Kavan character is involved only in a small way.<span style=""> </span>We see her has she has left her husband and has moved back to England.<span style=""> </span>She has opened a shop with a school friend, though this isn’t working out very well.<span style=""> </span>Kavan just isn’t interested enough.<span style=""> </span>When she decides to leave she feels that she has had an epiphany:</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 14.15pt 10pt;"></p><blockquote>It was as if on this night of her twenty-fifth birthday someone had suddenly called her to account for herself.<span style=""> </span>The sense of unreality had left her, she felt clear-headed as never before.<span style=""> </span>She stood there in absolute honesty, looking into herself.<span style=""> </span>She was suddenly, objectively, aware of the girl Anna Kavan, an individual human being, alive in the world, alone, without support, without obligations, capable of intelligent thought and responsible for her own destiny.<span style=""> </span>For twenty-five years she had existed fortuitously.<span style=""> </span>Her life had unrolled itself haphazard, without definite aim, direction or method.<span style=""> </span>From laziness, from good nature, from thoughtlessness, from indifference, she had drifted into one meaningless situation after another.<span style=""> </span>She had allowed chance external circumstances to control her life.<span style=""> </span>She had relied vaguely for support on something indefinable and non-existent, on something outside herself.<span style=""> </span>There were, she knew, elaborate systems of thought, philosophies and religions, specially designed to provide external support.<span style=""> </span>But as far as she was concerned she knew they were useless, void.<span style=""> </span>She was completely reliant upon herself, completely independent.<span style=""> </span>She shuddered as she realised her utter freedom and the responsibility it implied.<span style=""> </span>With perfect clearness she saw the futility of her past life; saw that it must be changed.<span style=""> </span>She must change everything.<span style=""> </span>Now, at once she must assume control of her existence. (55-56)</blockquote><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This all sounds great, but she finds that it isn’t that easy.<span style=""> </span>For a woman of that age, she can’t just make her own decisions because she has no financial freedom.<span style=""> </span>Even though she was in business with her friend, she was relying on her friend to make the money and her part had been finance by her Aunt.<span style=""> </span>She was a good saleswoman, but her heart had to be in it, and it often wasn’t.<span style=""> </span>She just wasn’t interested enough. <span style=""> </span>She needed to find something that she could do herself, but that was impossible because she had not been taught skills.<span style=""> </span>She ends up back under her Aunts financial control for awhile until she meets Martin Lewison, Cedric’s son.<span style=""> </span>This is where the two stories collide.<span style=""> </span>Anna and Martin fall madly in love with each other.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Finally, you hope that Anna will find happiness.<span style=""> </span>But of course, it isn’t to be.<span style=""> </span>Martin can’t deal with the idea of having someone else relying on him.<span style=""> </span>Germaine was ok as a wife, because she didn’t need him for anything.<span style=""> </span>They got on with their own lives, and only because Cedric insisted did they divorce.<span style=""> </span>But Martin finds it difficult to think that he is responsible for anyone. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">There is so much more there, but I don’t want to chat on too long.<span style=""> </span>The book is well worth a read and has themes that Kavan uses in most of her writings.<span style=""> </span>I tried to read <u>Goose Cross</u>, her next book, but found it difficult going.<span style=""> </span>I couldn’t take it home for one thing, because we had to Interlibrary Loan it from a library that made it reference only.<span style=""> </span>I got about half way through so got the flavour of it.<span style=""> </span>I can understand why it didn’t do as well as <u>A Stranger Still</u>, though the themes of not being in charge of your own existence are there.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Kavan, Anna. <u>A Stranger Still</u>. London: Peter Owen, 1995.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-70182798050953466292008-04-15T21:08:00.002+01:002008-04-15T21:15:31.625+01:00Update on Kavan's book " A Stranger Still"This book is much better then her last "Let Me Alone". It has the same character in it, Anna Kavan, but she has come in to her own. The writing is much more like her book, "The Dark Sisters". I'm really enjoying it. <br /><br />I process the orders for the library I work for, and one of the tutors has ordered a few of Kavan's later works and the new biography "A Stranger on Earth" by Jeremy Reed. I've been reading this biography along with the books, to get an insight from someone. There isn't a whole lot of scholarly work out there about Kavan, that I've found yet. I'm going to keep looking though. I just think it is interesting that someone that I've discovered for myself is now going to be taught in a literature course. <br /><br />I told you having the computer in bed would make it easier for me to write! I wonder how many writers actually write in bed???Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-29150380031615920252008-04-15T21:07:00.000+01:002008-04-15T21:08:23.421+01:00The Comforters – Muriel Spark<o:p></o:p>I had to take a second stab at this book.<span style=""> </span>I’ve done that twice now with books, and found the second time I could read them.<span style=""> </span>I’m not sure what makes the difference; probably just my mood…but it did this time.<span style=""> </span>I enjoyed this book very much.<span style=""> </span>It was so different then the other books I’ve been reading by Virginia Woolf and Anna Kavan.<span style=""> </span>In this story, people knew or figured out what was going on in others lives.<span style=""> </span>They didn’t just make assumptions on how the other characters were feeling.<span style=""> </span>In this story they try to find out.<span style=""> </span>Even to the extent of being really nosey.<span style=""> </span>I loved it.<span style=""> </span> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>Laurence Manders is a snoop and has been his whole life.<span style=""> </span>His grandmother is up to something, she seems to have a “gang” of men that come around to play cards.<span style=""> </span>He wants to find out what is going on, not because he wants to save her from any wrong doing.<span style=""> </span>He just can’t stand not knowing what is going on with people around him.<span style=""> </span>His grandmother is very proud of his ability to snoop and enjoys his attempts at finding out.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>Laurence’s girlfriend, Catherine, has become a devote Catholic, and is on retreat when she is introduced to the story.<span style=""> </span>She comes across Mrs. Hogg who was a servant of the Manders.<span style=""> </span>She seems to be very sinister, though a she says a lot about being a devote Catholic.<span style=""> </span>You spend most of the book trying to figure out what her game is.<span style=""> </span>Catherine runs away from the retreat, because Mrs. Hogg upsets her.<span style=""> </span>When she gets home, she starts hearing a typewriter and voices repeating the thought she has had.<span style=""> </span>This part reminded me so much of the movie “Stranger then Fiction” (which I loved).<span style=""> </span>You wonder if Mrs. Hogg has something to do with this.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So what does all this have to do with each other?<span style=""> </span>You find out that each character is living out their own fantasy, but they soon end up all tangled up with the others.<span style=""> </span>It is so much fun to be taken for the ride and to see what piece is going to fit in where.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">This is Spark’s first book, and she bit off a bit more then she could handle….I thought with all the different plot lines…. but she handles it really well. <span style=""> </span>At the end you feel that you’ve had a fun ride and all of the questions have been answered for you.<span style=""> </span>Along with the fact, you get a lot of insight into each character.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I’ve found recently reading the writers of this era; they are really good at describing people and giving you a good explanation of the motives of the characters, without using psycho-babble. <span style=""> </span>For instance Laurence’s Dad finally makes an appearance at the end of the book.<span style=""> </span>He was either on one retreat or another.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 1in 0.0001pt;"><i style="">…he had been given cause to wonder if he did not make his retreats too frequently.<span style=""> </span>Amazing things occurred at home; extraordinary events which he never heard of till later.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 1in 0.0001pt;"><i style=""><span style=""> </span>‘Why didn’t you inform me at the time, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Helena</st1:place></st1:City>?’<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 1in 0.0001pt;"><i style=""><span style=""> </span>‘You were in retreat, Edwin.’<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 1in 0.0001pt;"><i style=""><span style=""> </span>He had misgivings then, about his retreats.<span style=""> </span>He told his spiritual director, ‘I might have done better to spend the time at home.<span style=""> </span>My family have had to cope with difficulties…my son…my brother…my mother-in-law…one of our old servants…I might have done better had I not made so many retreats.’<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 1in 0.0001pt;"><i style=""><span style=""> </span>‘You might have done worse,’ said the shrewd old priest, and sounded as if he meant it.<span style=""> </span>It was a humiliating thought, which in turn was good for the soul.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 1in 0.0001pt;"><i style=""><span style=""> </span>‘They managed admirably without me,’ Edwin Manders admitted.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 1in 0.0001pt;">(227)</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 1in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">Edwin has qualms about being out of things at home, but in the end knows that he can’t really handle it.<span style=""> </span>So he is better off in a retreat hiding from the world. I thought <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Sparks</st1:place></st1:City> tells us this in a really cunning way, instead of just saying, he can’t handle family problems.<span style=""> </span>Her writing is lovely too.<span style=""> </span>All in all a good read, I mean who could resist a grandmother who runs a gang of thieves!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">(Spark, Muriel.<span style=""> </span><u>The Comforters</u>.<span style=""> </span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:City>: Macmillian, 1985.)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-82137391721884474412008-04-11T20:58:00.003+01:002008-04-11T21:20:27.095+01:00I have been reading, believe it or not.<p class="MsoNormal">In fact I’ve been reading a lot. I just haven’t felt like sitting in front of the computer at home.<span style=""> </span>I have to do so much of it at work.<span style=""> </span>I’m going to try and use my laptop a bit more, so that I can type in bed where I usually do my reading.<span style=""> </span>I’ll see if that encourages me.<span style=""> Only problem is, I keep hitting the wrong buttons....ugh!!! This keyboard is so different.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal">So what have I been reading.....I've been trying to get back into some of my mysteries, as well as keep up with my "header" reading. I've also been reading a very good book about depression "Just Shoot the Damn Dog" by Sally Brampton. If you have suffered from depression, or know someone going through it...it is a great book. Makes you know that even though you aren't "sane" you aren't "different" then any other depressive! (Though I have to admit I hate the title.....being a dog lover!)<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">I've waded through Helen Ferguson/Anna Kavan's "Let Me Alone". I was just working on the review for that, but not sure if I can manage it. It is a bit difficult. There are so many different parts to it. It is autobiographical, the main characters name Anna Kavan, was taken on years later by Ferguson. It describes much of what Ferguson's life must have been like, so you don't really know where fiction and non-fiction meet. There really isn't a plot, you are just going through birth to the early 20's of the main character. Unexplainable things happen to her by other people. For example, her Dad stands her against the barn and shoots her outline with a gun. She doesn't flinch or scream, and you don't really get a sense of why other then he wanted her to be strong, or to hate him. I can't decide. Happiness seems to always be enjoyed for short spurts before people around her effect her life in a negative way. I think in the end of the book, she is finally able to choose how she wants her life to be. Well, I'll find out. I'll be reading the sequel "A Stranger Still" next.</p>I've also read the charming "Tales of Hill Top Farm" by Susan Wittig Albert. My mom had been bugging me for ages to read any of this series. I have to say I loved it. It helps that I love Beatrix Potter, who is the main character, and love the area the book is set in. I've been fortunate to have vacationed for a week in the Lake District and went to Hill Top Farm. My husband and I bought ourselves a large rustic wood carving of Squirrel Nutkin. The characters are interesting and like Rita Mae Brown's Sneaky Pie books, they talk...but only to each other, not to the humans. <br /><br />I could go on, but I want to work on a real review....so Happy reading!<br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style=""></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-5998217861505803662008-01-15T20:11:00.000+01:002008-01-15T20:14:31.083+01:00The Dark Sisters by Helen Ferguson (Anna Kavan)<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">I was so very, very lucky to be able to get this book.<span style=""> </span>I had to Interlibrary Loan it from <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Dublin</st1:place></st1:City>.<span style=""> </span>The book is a bit rare because it was only printed once.<span style=""> </span>The book is in great condition though, puts modern printing to shame!<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">I was really interested to see what Kavan, since that is the name she changed to later I’ll use it here, wrote next after reading The Charmed Circle.<span style=""> </span>Wow is it good.<span style=""> </span>Again we are dealing with family, two sisters, who are inexplicably tied to each other.<span style=""> </span>I just finished Night and Day by Virgina Woolf and I’m finding these books and the last book I reviewed very similar.<span style=""> </span>The books are about what happens when you don’t actually tell people what you are thinking!<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Emerald and Karen live in an apartment together.<span style=""> </span>Emerald supports Karen by modelling.<span style=""> </span>This is an excellent description of Karen:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><blockquote>“Karen could be trusted never to do anything efficiently.<span style=""> </span>She had a genius for incompetence that maddened her sister.<span style=""> </span>At times it really drove her almost to madness.<span style=""> </span>But in spite of her resentment and perpetual sense of grievance that it aroused in her she could not resist.<span style=""> </span>Emerald’s soul rebelled always with bitterness against the helplessness in Karen that forced her into every leading role, saddling her for ever with the entire responsibility of their joint lives.<span style=""> </span>The responsibility was nauseous to her and yet unspeakably dear; a sweet torture.<span style=""> </span>She could never forgive Karen for inflicting it.<span style=""> </span>She was passionately devoted to her sister.” (10)</blockquote><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Karen always lives in a dream world, rarely worrying about how she is fed or what will happen from day to day.<span style=""> </span>Instead she is thinking about pixies in the woods and her embroidery.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>“In spite of her helplessness there was a certain isolation and self-sufficiency about Karen.<span style=""> </span>With practical things she was unsuccessful because she had no will to succeed.<span style=""> </span>Such things were unreal and unimportant to her.<span style=""> </span>She seemed scarcely alive to reality.<span style=""> </span>Yet she had some vague life of her own, apart and lonely like the sea.<span style=""> </span>And if she was troubled by her sister’s irritation, it as only faintly, superficially, as the sea is troubled.<span style=""> " </span>(11)</blockquote><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p>Emerald on the other hand is realistic and active:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>“Emerald, as the elder, had long assume, half avid, half reluctant, the direction and responsibility of their lives.<span style=""> </span>In her the sound heritage of san-living ancestors battle, successfully in the main, against a dangerous imaginative streak bequeathed by the mother.<span style=""> </span>Mainly, a wholesome zest triumphed.<span style=""> </span>Inaction was distasteful to her.<span style=""> </span>It pleased her to work, to be always doing things.<span style=""> </span>She saw life in terms of action.<span style=""> </span>But psychologically she inclined to extravagance.” (29)</blockquote><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p>In the course of the book she tries very hard to seduce a man into marriage, because she feels it would be best for them.<span style=""> </span>She knows that she would not be happy with the man and his way of life, but she felt that responsibility to take care of them.<span style=""> </span>This is only one of her schemes.<span style=""> </span>She seems to go from one man to another, depending on who is giving her attention.<span style=""> </span>One moment she is trying to capture <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmond</st1:place></st1:City> and the next Morgan.<span style=""> </span>Her vanity gets the most of her many times in this book.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>The relationship between <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmond</st1:place></st1:City> and Morgan is interesting.<span style=""> </span>Both have money, though <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmond</st1:place></st1:City> lives in the country on a great Estate and Morgan in the city.<span style=""> </span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmond</st1:place></st1:City> is big and country like, Morgan slight and cultivated.<span style=""> </span>I’ve never read a book of this age that so clearly shows homosexual love.<span style=""> </span>It is never openly acknowledged.<span style=""> </span>But the love the Morgan has for <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmond</st1:place></st1:City> is not just friendship.<span style=""> </span>There is a real caring, and Kavan writes about physical contact between them that usually you would read about between man and woman.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>“…he laid his hand caressingly on <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmond</st1:place></st1:City>’s hand that was resting on the table beside him.</blockquote><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"></span></p><blockquote> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><span style=""> </span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmond</st1:place></st1:City> looked down at the hand lying on his own.<span style=""> </span>In the pinkish glow of lamplight, it was wonderfully white and frail, as if refined away, with the blue veins showing their faint tracery.<span style=""> </span>He frowned in bewilderment.<span style=""> </span>He really did not understand his friend; and because he didn’t understand, he must always be on the defensive, a trifle suspicious of him.” (136)</span></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>The writing is well done, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmond</st1:place></st1:City> never really understands his friend even at the end.<span style=""> </span>But then again, none of them understand each other.<span style=""> </span>That is the problem.<span style=""> </span>This is why relationships never seem to work in this book.<span style=""> </span>The reader knows what each person is thinking, and like most of us the thoughts can be confusing.<span style=""> </span>One moment Karen is delighted that <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Edmond</st1:City></st1:place> is paying her attention, the next she can’t stand the fact that he is so big and clumsy.<span style=""> </span>Almost in the same breath these thoughts are expressed by all of the characters in this book.<span style=""> </span>For example Karen thinks this about <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmond</st1:place></st1:City>:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><blockquote>“There was a certain kindliness about him that was rather touching.<span style=""> </span>He seemed to watch her with an almost fatherly solicitude.<span style=""> </span>It was difficult to withstand his gentle kindliness.<span style=""> </span>Her heart warmed towards him.<span style=""> </span>But then, all at once, she shuddered as though he had thrown a shadow upon her.<span style=""> </span>Again she saw him as a heavy, indifferent man who encroached upon her with his imperceptiveness, inaccessibility, out of her secret world; to force her into contact with him.<span style=""> </span>And this she could not tolerate.<span style=""> </span>There could be no contact between them.” (99)</blockquote><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>What changed her feelings towards him?<span style=""> </span>Nothing that actually happens, her thoughts just flow from thinking about his kindness to his indifference.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">When considering these reactions to relationship, it seems to me like they are just trying to keep people at arms length.<span style=""> </span>Emerald and Karen neither want to really give in to anyone.<span style=""> </span>So once they start liking someone, or see someone responding to them…they cut them off.<span style=""> </span>They even do it to each other.<span style=""> </span>Because of the way they act, others around them act defensively and have the same thought patterns.<span style=""> </span>If the characters actually told each other about their feelings then she would have to make a definitely decision.<span style=""> </span>Once someone actually tells Emerald that he loves her, she automatically runs.<span style=""> </span>She can’t handle the truth any more then she can handle not knowing.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">To let you know a bit more about the plot, the sisters go to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmond</st1:place></st1:City>’s for Christmas.<span style=""> </span>Morgan is also there with many rowdy relatives of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmond</st1:place></st1:City>’s.<span style=""> </span>Emerald first goes between liking both men to deciding the best thing for her and Karen is to marry <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmond</st1:place></st1:City>.<span style=""> </span>So she tries to lay her trap, but she can’t quite deny herself and the fact that she doesn’t really like him.<span style=""> </span>He also feels threatened that Karen and <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmond</st1:place></st1:City> like each other.<span style=""> </span>(Again, if they had just talked she would have seen that Karen had no more liking for <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmond</st1:place></st1:City> then Emerald did really.)<span style=""> </span>Emerald gets very jealous and angry with <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmonds</st1:place></st1:City> brother-in-law, who accuses her of doing exactly what she has been trying to do.<span style=""> </span>Emerald can’t take that she has been found out, so she decides to leave.<span style=""> </span>She tells Karen to pack up they are leaving, and Karen decides she doesn’t want to be told what to do.<span style=""> </span>She refuses to leave until the next morning, and the sisters depart very angry with each other.<span style=""> </span>Karen didn’t think that Emerald would really leave, but she does.<span style=""> </span>For the first time you actually see Karen taking in what is going on around her and her own welfare.<span style=""> </span>She crumbles.<span style=""> </span>What is she to do with out Emerald?<span style=""> </span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmond</st1:place></st1:City> comes to see her and he falls in “love” with her.<span style=""> </span>He thinks he is in love, but the reader knows that really he likes to be needed and Karen needs him.<span style=""> </span>He promises to take care of her.<span style=""> </span>Over the next few days he tries desperately to get her to show feeling for him, but she just can’t pretend.<span style=""> </span>She knows she owes him a lot so she makes the right noises, but he can tell she doesn’t really mean it.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>While this is going on, Emerald goes back to her life and finds it very difficult not to have Karen around.<span style=""> </span>She finds her life shabby and boring compared to her selective memory of what life was like in the country.<span style=""> </span>Her friend Carew takes her out and ends up confessing his love.<span style=""> </span>She runs saying scathing things to him because she doesn’t know how to deal with true feelings.<span style=""> </span>Morgan comes to her rescue and they make a trip to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmonds</st1:place></st1:City> to check on Karen.<span style=""> </span>Morgan talks to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmond</st1:place></st1:City> and finds that his friend is very unhappy with the situation with Karen.<span style=""> </span>Though Emerald at first tries to stay in the car, she found herself drawn to the house.<span style=""> </span>She promises herself that if Karen will forgive her for leaving, she will never leave her again.<span style=""> </span>She will take her back to their old life, and will take care of her forever.<span style=""> </span>Karen does forgive her, and twisting the knife in a bit, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edmond</st1:place></st1:City> tries to convince her to stay.<span style=""> </span>He has decided that he wanted Emerald all the time, not Karen.<span style=""> </span>Fickle, yes, but they all act that way.<span style=""> </span>They are desperate to get on to some life they think is out there.<span style=""> </span>Emerald, remembering the cross she is baring of promising to take Karen back to their old life and take care of her, refuses.<span style=""> </span>They head back into town.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Emerald of course is very bitter…as she was to begin with…with having to take care of Karen.<span style=""> </span>She thought she could go back to the old life, but seeing what life could have been like makes it even harder for her.<span style=""> </span>She finds out that Karen hasn’t been as true to her sister as Emerald has, well Emerald never explained her promise to Karen…so how was Karen to know she was causing so much grief?<span style=""> </span>Karen and Morgan have started to see each other when Emerald has been out.<span style=""> </span>They have found that they are very suited to each other.<span style=""> </span>They are both a bit other worldly and Morgan appreciates her dreaminess and doesn’t see it as a slight to his ego.<span style=""> </span>At the very end, Carew comes back to see Emerald.<span style=""> </span>The book ends with him coming to visit and her unexpectedly and she excepts him into her apartment.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">The book ends different then <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">A Charmed Circle</st1:address></st1:Street>, even though Karen and Emerald are still living together, the reader does know that things are in the process of changing.<span style=""> </span>I felt very relieved actually.<span style=""> </span>You hate to see people going round in round in circles and never learning from that what they need.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Over all a great read, and if you can get your hands on a copy…even though I’ve given away the plot etc…you might find it interesting.<o:p><br /></o:p></span></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-46983036783095234112008-01-09T22:12:00.000+01:002008-01-09T22:23:15.077+01:00Into the Wild the MovieWow. It was good. I'm so glad I saw it on the big screen. The views are stunning and the music was GREAT! I mean Eddie Vedders music and voice was perfect for the film. It was a long one, but I thought it was just long enough to tell the story....it wouldn't have worked shorter. The screen play stuck really close to the book as far as Chris' story. It left out the stuff about Krakauer and other people that he discusses. It sticks right to Chris. But I have to admit I cried most of the movie. I just couldn't help it!<br /><br />I know people think he was selfish and put his parents through a lot of pain (and others who he met.) The thing is....his parents were selfish. Why should he have acted any different, what kind of role models were they? They didn't agree with how he wanted to live his life, and he didn't like the way they lived theirs. They didn't seem the kind of parents that would just accept what he wanted to do. Sometimes parents have to let their children make their own mistakes. The best thing a parent can do is tell them that they will support them not matter what. I'm not sure if he felt that they were......anyway...enough about that.<br /><br />Another Anna Kavan book next week...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-71876036678904440272008-01-05T20:12:00.000+01:002008-01-05T20:20:52.242+01:00Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlvi7WZroPbLw15hlH07UEdh3ikmOmmr7N35I80SfxC095ebqb-v-FCiG02TSPhWXJDIJEhpAmBc3VbNyFLGQUA8A3SwR6iV_DtTiYBu4I6SFhyNLbZk9q0LlEr-sq8rIjaBN/s1600-h/510t3vpognL._AA240_.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlvi7WZroPbLw15hlH07UEdh3ikmOmmr7N35I80SfxC095ebqb-v-FCiG02TSPhWXJDIJEhpAmBc3VbNyFLGQUA8A3SwR6iV_DtTiYBu4I6SFhyNLbZk9q0LlEr-sq8rIjaBN/s320/510t3vpognL._AA240_.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152072869949771634" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Recently I was watching the Culture Show, that sounds pretentious but isn’t really.<span style=""> </span>I like it because it covers everything from movies to the theatre, indie music to classical, and today’s art to the classics.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Anyway, they had Sean Penn on talking about his new movie based on this book.<span style=""> </span>I was really intrigued.<span style=""> </span>Penn had spent a lot of time trying to get this movie off of the ground and you could tell that it meant so much to him.<span style=""> </span>The strength of his feeling really compelled me.<span style=""> </span>I have a tendency not to be able to watch movies that have this much feeling…so I thought I would pick up the book and see what I thought.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">The author Jon Krakauer is most famous for writing “Into Thin Air”, an account of a 1996 expedition to the summit of Everest, where 8 people died.<span style=""> </span>I remember when this book came out and at the time, couldn’t bring myself to read it.<span style=""> </span>(Another one of those…book is too popular…I’m not going to read it… things I do….which are sometime stupid….but hey!<span style=""> </span>I have my ways!).<span style=""> </span>But the fact that he wrote this book made it more interesting to me.<span style=""> </span>I assumed that it was probably well written, and it was. <span style=""> </span>I decided that if he was so interested in this kid that he wrote a book about him, I would like to know why.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">So what made Penn and Krakauer interested in a kid that goes off into the woods of <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Alaska</st1:place></st1:state> and dies?<span style=""> </span>Because there is so much mystery to what motivated this kid.<span style=""> </span>His name was Chris McCandless, a newly graduated young man who decided to go off on a wander around the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<span style=""> </span>He had a mother and father and sister who loved him.<span style=""> </span>He made friends along the way.<span style=""> </span>He kept in contact with many of these friends and one older gentleman felt like he was a son.<span style=""> </span>So he did care about people and they cared about him.<span style=""> </span>Even though he drifted and didn’t want to be found, so stayed clear of the law, he still tried to live a very moral life.<span style=""> </span>When his prize procession a Datsun gets flooded he goes out on foot, burning all identification and money he has, instead of contacting the police for help.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">This is one of the mysteries, why did he burn the money?<span style=""> </span>You find out in the book that his last two years of education had been paid for by a friend of the family.<span style=""> </span>The rest of the money he took and donated it to OXFAM.<span style=""> </span>The money he burned amounted to a pitiful sum, just enough for him to live on for a week if he was careful…but he burns it.<span style=""> </span>Of course he then needs money so he ends up hitchhiking and working as he goes.<span style=""> </span>Did he feel that last bit of money he had wasn’t earned?<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Part of me understands that he wanted to live an uncluttered life.<span style=""> </span>He wanted to rely only on himself.<span style=""> </span>He didn’t want to live for money.<span style=""> </span>He wanted to live like the characters in his favourite books by Thoreau and Tolstoy.<span style=""> </span>I don’t think he wanted others to rely on him.<span style=""> </span>But why?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Many people Krakauer talked to thought Chris was one more fool that thought that he was indestructible and had the hubris to think he could survive on his own strength and intellect.<span style=""> </span>I don’t think that Chris felt that way at all.<span style=""> </span>In one of his last letters he said:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">This is the last you shall hear from me Wayne.<span style=""> </span>Arrived here 2 days ago.<span style=""> </span>It was very difficult to catch rides in the <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Yukon Territory</st1:place></st1:state>.<span style=""> </span>But I finally got here.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br /></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal">Please return all mail I receive to the sender.<span style=""> </span>It might be a very long time before I return South.<span style=""> </span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">If this adventure proves fatal and you don’t ever hear from me again, I want you to know you’re a great man.<span style=""> </span>I know walk into the wild.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> Alex<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">(70)</p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><blockquote></blockquote></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">He knew that there was a good chance that he wasn’t going to make it, and yet he went.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">I find myself wanting to tell you too much about the story.<span style=""> </span>Krakauer writes so well that, if you are interested read the book.<span style=""> </span>Krakauer goes back and forth and tells you the story in a really interesting way, quoting letters and using interviews that he did with people that were touched by Chris’s life.<span style=""> </span>He also gives other examples of men that go off and try to make it living in the wild, even giving examples of his own feelings that run along this same vein.<span style=""> </span>So why do they do it?<span style=""> </span>I’m not sure I still understand.<span style=""> </span>Maybe it is a gender thing, I can respect him for what he did….but as a woman I know that I need others.<span style=""> </span>I know that I don’t want to do everything myself without some help and I like to help others.<span style=""> </span>But maybe it isn’t, maybe it was because of the dirty little secret he found out about his father……that is another mystery…..<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">I’m not giving anything away when I say that Chris dies in the end alone in a bus abandoned in <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">Alaska</st1:state></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>This is the part that I’m worried about when I see the movie.<span style=""> </span>It is easier to read such things sometimes, then to see them.<span style=""> </span>But in a way I really admire him.<span style=""> </span>He did what he wanted to do.<span style=""> </span>You might say he failed…but he kept saying he wanted to try to live off the land in <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Alaska</st1:place></st1:state> and he did for awhile…I admire the courage it took to live life the way he wanted to and not let anyone else tell him what his life should be like.<span style=""> </span>That is amazing.<span style=""> </span>How many of us have that courage?<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">I decided to check and see if the movie was showing in our area.<span style=""> </span>It just so happens, that it is here for three days, today…tomorrow…and Monday.<span style=""> </span>So I’ve booked tickets for Monday evening.<span style=""> </span>I’m a bit apprehensive….but the actors are people that I like and I really want to see what Penn does with the story.<span style=""> </span>It doesn't hurt that the soundtrack was written by Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. I’ll have to make another post to let you know what I think after seeing it.</span></p>Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. Pan Books, 1996.<br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-16186811793338199372007-09-18T19:44:00.000+01:002008-01-05T20:23:52.568+01:00A Charmed Circle – by Anna KavanI love finding new/old authors. So what do I mean by that? Well, authors that wrote many years ago, but who I’ve never heard off. Many of these have become favourites, such as Barbara Pym. Anna Kavan will be the same I have a feeling, though from what I understand some of her later books are a lot different then her first few.<br /><br />Anna Kavan wrote this book in 1929. It is a modern book of the time, so you have to get that time period in your head….only if like me you like to picture what is being worn etc. Industry has taken over much of the countryside of Hannington and the vicar moved out of the Old Vicarage and a new family moved in. This family is who we meet in this story. I was taken from the start with the way Anna writes:<br /><br /><blockquote>In time builders came. They set up houses of a different kind: neat, ugly<br />little boxes strung together in rows. The rows, too, strung together. Surprisingly, they extended and met, forming mean streets that devoured the unresisting land. Fields were eaten away almost in a night. People went for their yearly holidays and returned four short weeks later to find the landscape strangely altered. Everywhere was an alien and unwelcome activity. Steam-rollers crawled over the endless new roads; workmen swarmed everywhere, combining with the inhabitants of the new houses to overwhelm the natives of the place. The ancient population dwindled and<br />vanished. A new people took possession of Hannington; a people which<br />teemed in the poor streets, demanding numberless shops, public-houses and<br />chapels.<br />(Kavan, Anna. A Charmed Circle. London: Peter Owen. 1994, p.9.)</blockquote><br /><br />You really get a sense of what is going on here…then you meet the family and you see that unlike the progress that is going on around them, this family is stuck. They can’t seem to progress at all even though several of them try.<br /><br />The reason I think they are stuck is because they don’t communicate with each other. It drives me made how many people I have difficulties with, only because they won’t tell you how they feel. At first you see it with the sisters. You are in their heads a lot and they tell you how they feel. But for some reason they can’t seem to express that then to the other sister and it leads to resentment and misunderstanding. There is a real hatred that flows through all of the inhabitants of the house. None of the family are happy, none of them tell each other how they feel, and they are all stuck together. No matter what they try to do so they can live their own lives….they end up back where they started. The reason is never really explained. I found that interesting. You have to really try and figure it out for yourself. You get the feeling that it could have something to do with the Dad and the illness he had that changed him. Or is it the house that keeps drawing them back. Is this why they can’t communicate to each other?<br /><br />From what I understand, this book reflects the way Kavan was brought up. I see that with many authors (one of the reasons I like to read their biographies as I’m reading the first book.) <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stranger-Earth-Life-Work-Kavan/dp/072061273X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/202-5444429-3698261?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190140588&sr=8-3">A Stranger on the Earth: The Life and Work of Anna Kavan</a> by Jeremy Reed, is the new biography that has been written about her and I’m going to get it soon so I can read it.<br /><br />It might take you a bit to track down this book, but it is worth it! I interlibrary loaned it and it came quite quickly. In the States, I’m not sure how easy it will be to get.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-31001129023658238882007-09-05T19:30:00.000+01:002007-09-05T19:32:40.076+01:00Friends in High Places by Donna Leon<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" lang="en-GB">When <a href="http://www.groveatlantic.com/leon/author.htm">Donna Leon</a> writes about Venice, you feel like you are there. Her description of places and people almost makes you smell the salt of the sea. The opening of this mystery we find Commissario Brunetti told by a representative from the Ufficio Catasto that the apartment that his family live in doesn’t exist. This leads to Leon’s use of the corruption of Venice as a drive for what happens in the book. As the title says, if you know the right people, then little things such as an apartment addition that didn’t go through the proper government channels can be overlooked.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" lang="en-GB"><br /></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" lang="en-GB">Leon plays with the idea of what is just calling in a few favours and what is letting something slide that is criminal. Brunetti’s father-in-law is called in by Paola to do something about the apartment. His contacts handle the problem very quickly. But Brunetti isn’t happy because he wanted to fix the problem. But does it really matter, would one person’s favour calling be any different then an others?</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" lang="en-GB"><br /></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" lang="en-GB">Corruption is rife in the book. Vice-Questore Patta, Brunetti’s superior, has a son arrested for selling drugs. Brunetti’s trying to figure out where a young man, who died from an overdose, bought the drugs. But Brunetti puts Patta’s son in danger with an planted article in the local newspaper. Patta makes Brunetti call up the paper and say that the problem has now been sorted. So the death of the young man is forgotten so that Patta’s son can walk free.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" lang="en-GB"><br /></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" lang="en-GB">Another case of corruption is when the representative from the Ufficio Catasto, Rossi, that contacted Brunetti about his apartment, is killed because he was going to tell Brunetti about corruption in his department. Two drug addicts who witness the crime are also killed. All so that one man can be protected from scandal.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" lang="en-GB"><br /></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" lang="en-GB">This is a very good read. In fact all of her books are very good. Brunetti and his family are very close and intelligently written. You really like them as a couple, they work hard at their marriage. The returning characters are well drawn. The description of Italian food makes me want to go make myself a tomato, mozzarella and basil salad! Definitely give her a try. She is a stunning writer! I would say that each of the books stand alone, though I have enjoyed reading them in order myself.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" lang="en-GB"><br /></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;" lang="en-GB">Death at La Fenice (1992) </p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;" lang="en-GB">Death in a Strange Country (1993) </p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;" lang="en-GB">Dressed for Death (1994) </p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;" lang="en-GB">Death and Judgment (1996)</p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;" lang="en-GB">Acqua Alta (1996) </p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;" lang="en-GB">The Death of Faith (1997) </p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;" lang="en-GB">A Noble Radiance (1998.) </p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;" lang="en-GB">Fatal Remedies (1999) </p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;" lang="en-GB">Friends in High Places (2000) </p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;" lang="en-GB">A Sea of Troubles (2001) </p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;" lang="en-GB">Wilful Behaviour (2002)</p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;" lang="en-GB">Uniform Justice (2003) </p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;" lang="en-GB">Doctored Evidence (2004) </p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;" lang="en-GB">Blood from a Stone (2005)</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" lang="en-GB"><br /></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" lang="en-GB">I’m reading another great book at the moment from Anna Kavan. I can’t wait to introduce you to her….though I must finish the book first and then let you know about her! </p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-80730655188100717382007-07-25T18:48:00.000+01:002007-07-25T19:25:15.656+01:00So what is beside YOUR bed?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBklGmaJ8yxMRtdQTCKGuaOPzK5XewdK0q-eqX8StYt26RZsDeIXUKLUM_dV9TC0FCLWHu507rKFaV5A0Tl-uOvgxGgXF7r_yJ73POydA-GrvA7NHekla2WkE4VIZs23Lm7e9K/s1600-h/bedside.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBklGmaJ8yxMRtdQTCKGuaOPzK5XewdK0q-eqX8StYt26RZsDeIXUKLUM_dV9TC0FCLWHu507rKFaV5A0Tl-uOvgxGgXF7r_yJ73POydA-GrvA7NHekla2WkE4VIZs23Lm7e9K/s320/bedside.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091193366581521170" border="0" /></a>Sorry this isn't that great a picture, I should have used the flash. This is what is next to my bed to read at the moment. Yes, I did clean up the dirty clothes and tissues...but you don' t want to see the TRUE mess? Right so I'm currently reading...of course Harry Potter. Well.....I didn't want everyone to know what happened and let it slip. Underneath that is Martha Grahams biography by Agnes DeMille which is very good. I don't know much about modern dance, nor do I watch it much. But I love to read about people who are originators and she definitely was! It is a really big book, but I'm enjoying it. I also picked up "Don't you have time to think?" letter written by Richard Feynman. He is one of the best science writers I've ever read. In the past I have read his autobiography and have listened to some of his more technical books on tape. They are so fascinating and I just love hearing or reading about science from someone who loves the topic so much. I mean...this man was learning how to pick locks while he was also helping to build the Atomic Bomb. (Just for the record, he like most on scientist on the team regretted their part in how that was used and campaigned against its use.) You would have thought that he would have been using his brain enough for the real work he was doing, not to be fooling around with locks. <br /><br />So under that is the Literary Review. I really enjoy reading this. It is like Slightly Foxed, in that you get a good idea of what is out there to read. A lot of times I don't need, or wouldn't read the whole book...but I find the reviews so interesting! Under Slightly Foxed is a new knitting book I bought and next to it is the new Workbasket that came in. Can't forget the crafts. <br /><br />The last two books have been really setting me alight learning. They are both books by the assassinated Russian Journalist Anna Politkovskaya. I wanted to read the book that was published shortly after (or before) she was killed, but then I found that she had written two others that they had in, so I didn't buy "A Dirty War: a Russian Reporter in Chechnya." I've started with "Putin's Russia". Then of course I couldn't leave it there, so at work I've got a couple books about Russia history in the last decade and also about Politics since Stalin, just to kind of help me. So....what is beside your bed? Leave a link in the comments so everyone can see!<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dirty-War-Russian-Reporter-Chechnya/dp/1860468977/ref=sr_1_5/026-2097295-8817229?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185386590&sr=1-5"><span class="srTitle"> </span></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-79098092942855703132007-07-10T14:46:00.000+01:002007-07-10T14:54:35.326+01:00What is up with me??? I promise I have been reading, but I've had so much studying and stuff to do, I haven't had the time to write. Since I love to write, that means something. I let you in on a little secret, I've had a struggle with my reading. I got Bored...I NEVER GET BORED of reading. But I tried to do something that wasn't very smart for ME (not everyone is like this). I stopped reading what I wanted to read, and took suggestions from too many people. Not so much people in blog land, but more in my personal life. I do better if I really feel passionate about what I'm reading. I read for my moods. If I'm feeling sad and depressed, I'll read a mystery or maybe Barbara Pym. If I'm feeling lazy, I'll read something about a dancer or athlete. If I'm feeling smart I'll read a book about science. I read to learn, to experience new things. So, I'm back to reading from my list of books I want to read. <br /><br />I will be soon writing a review of: Barbara Pym's<span style="font-style: italic;"> "</span>An Unsuitable Attachment" and Martin Cruz Smith's "Wolves Eat Dog". I'm reading at the moment a book about Martha Graham and the letters of Richard Feynman. So I promise to be back soon!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-63057813653128819832007-04-25T19:23:00.000+01:002007-04-25T20:03:13.123+01:00Need to get rid of a few books?I've decided that I need to get rid of some of the books that I've bought, but should get rid of. You notice I said SHOULD....because as you all know...it is difficult to part with books! I was frustrated because I like to donate the books, but want to give them to people that actually will read them. Many of my books are mysteries. I use to get these from the Library I worked at in the States, so I didn't have to buy them. But to keep reading them now, I have to purchase them. I tried to get a few friends interested in them, but that didn't really work. Then I tried to give them to my fav second hand shop, but they just didn't go very well. I guess they are just too American. So then I joined a couple online book exchanges. That has been a really good way to give them to people that actually want to read them. I keep thinking I'm going to join <a href="http://www.bookcrossing.com/">Bookcrossing</a>, but I'm not sure about some of my mysteries that way. I will do that soon though.<br /><br />So what exchanges do I do? Well the most successful has been <a href="http://www.bookmooch.com/">Bookmooch</a>. It is an international exchange, but you can decide not to send outside of your country if you wish. I've given away two books now and have been sent two books. There are a few I have missed and a few that wouldn't be sent to me because I'm out of the US. But that is ok. They also have a very active forum, to talk about books that are being offered or looked for. The things I like about it:<br /><ul><li>They use a point system. You get 1/10 of a point for listing a book and full points for both mooching and for being mooched from.<br /></li><li>You can put your wishlist on the site. As people but books in their inventory, it will flag that you have it on your wishlist.<br /></li><li>You are emailed and you can say whether you want to give the book, how long it might take you to send it, and you can email the person to find out if they are willing to send etc.</li></ul>The other I do is UK only...<a href="http://www.greenmetropolis.com/">Green Metropolis.</a> I've not had quite as much luck with this one for books for myself, but of course I've not used the wishlist like I have for bookmooch...so that is my fault. I have given lots of books away though. With this one:<br /><ul><li>They use a money system, where you can keep a balance as you sell books so that you can then "purchase" them without actually spending any money! Love that!</li><li>The person you send the book to does not get your address. The return address is to Green Metropolis.<br /></li><li>5p from all books recycled they donate to the Woodland Trust. You can also chose to spend some of the money you get for your books to them also.</li><li>Their focus is on the recycling.<br /></li><li>They are strict on when you send the item and how it is sent, but they give you three days...which is usually doable. You can tell the system when you will be on holiday so t hat you aren't notified during those times.</li></ul>So try these two out if you want. Please leave me comments about any others that you know about. It doesn't hurt to have the books on a couple, as long as you remember to take them off when you have given them away!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-55580922456584176612007-04-17T15:47:00.000+01:002007-04-17T16:14:31.251+01:00Libraries need Librarians....the clue is in the name....<br /><br />I attended something very meaningful yesterday. My first protest. I was a very young person during all the protests of the 60's. I always envisioned myself protesting against the Vietnam war, or against human rights violations. My first protest shouldn't, couldn't have been imagined to be for people that I feel so strongly are so important to this information age. Over the last three years, I've struggled with my calling...and I've always considered being a Librarian my calling. As soon as I stepped into a library, I wanted to work there. When I finally got my chance I proved to myself and overs over and over again that I was good at the work. I was interested in helping others. Interested in the process of finding information, and that only grew when we came into the internet age...not to long ago.......<br /><br /><br />The Hampshire County Council, (my local government) however, feels the Librarians are not needed. Why pay people who have been trained and have an interest in the field do a job for "all this money".........sorry....I just had to pick myself up off the floor laughing about that one...who has heard of a well paid library staff member????? When we can put library assistants who have no experience and who in most cases (not all cases) are only there to have the job, not because they have a love of information and helping people and pay them less! I was there. I've seen it. Library assistants asked questions that they have not been trained to answer and put on the spot by patrons that have no idea they AREN'T talking to a trained Librarian! It isn't fair to the assistants, the patrons, nor the Librarians! Three years ago when I worked for Hampshire, they had just been through a restructuring where they had replaced almost all of the Library managers with non-library degree staff. All staff member then were trained to manage libraries....I mean really....lets pay a bunch of money to train people...LIBRARIANS COME TO THE JOB TRAINED! Management is a course you take to get your degree!!!! You then would only need to learn the management software and forms that need to be filled out. The management course I took covers human resource, project and money management! <br /><br />Ok, I'm off the pedestal....but it makes me soooo angry. So I've decided that the best way to fight back, is to get the degree and then market the heck out of Librarians. We are needed. I see that everyday. Students need us to help them with online journals searches. Who else would the go to that has sat down and learned the ins and out of searching on this torturous things? How do you know the information you are pulling off the internet is correct??? Ask a Librarian! What book should I read if I like so and so.....ask a Librarian! Want to have a educational experience for your child during the summer? Ask your children's librarian! Is the stereotype changing? Yes!!! Do we need to change and grow as Librarians? Yes!!! But every job has to do that! The problem is, we are changing...but now one is taking the time to notice!!!<br /><br />If you would like to read more there are online articles<a href="http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/video/video/display.var.1332824.0.0.php"> here</a> and <a href="http://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/display.var.1332042.0.library_protesters_in_mass_read_out.php">here<br /></a><br />I promise that I am reading, but I've been trying to study and get things like that done. We are having an early spring, and it is hard to sit here at the computer. I have to admit, that I've hit a bit of a slump. I've picked up several books I couldn't get into, no matter how I tried...and that has been a problem. But I will have another review soon!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-71444797568832052992007-03-19T13:54:00.000+01:002007-03-19T13:56:38.657+01:00A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina LewyckaI don’t usually read books that people go on and on about. Partly, because you end up knowing so much about the book…there isn’t any adventure to it. Partly, because I like to be individual and shun things that might make it look like I’m conforming…..how self-aware is that statement!!!! Truth is, I don’t usually enjoy highly recommend books, because I find they are usually sad, and I just don’t need to read about the suffering of others. I’m a very sensitive person and being bombarded with my own memories and the lives of those around me is enough…without reading more.<br /><br />Anyway, I’m discussing this because I’ve gone out on a limb once again and read something that was highly talked about. Unlike Arthur and George (see previous review), I liked this book very much. I did not, however, find it as funny as the blurbs on the book cover made out to be. I found it a very good read and I would recommend it.<br /><br />The narrator of the book (Nadezhda or Nadia), is the youngest daughter of immigrants to England from the Ukraine. The mother has recently passed away. The father, to the horror of his two girls, has decided to marry a visiting Ukrainian woman. The woman wants to move to England, and obviously is using this frail 80 year old man, to make this happen. You never get a really good feel for Valentina, other than what the narrator tells you. She is a bit stereotypical; she uses the last of the money given to her before moving over to stop along the way and get breast implants. She eats boil-n-bag food and wants a Rolls-Royce, because it is important to have these as western status symbols.<br /><br />The relationship between Valentina and the father is only secondary really to the story. The important relationships to me are those between the narrator and her father and sister. Nadia and her sister Vera, have a very rocky relationship. Nadia has always been concerned with others. She was involved in the socialist movement of the 60’s and teaches sociology at University. Vera is a survivalist, she thinks of her and her children before anything else. They are polar opposites. As the story goes along you see that having a common enemy has made it possible for these sisters to communicate. Instead of just avoiding each other, they have to work together to help their father. At the end of the book, the narrator has a better understanding of why her sister is who she is. The revelation is stunningly done. Because it isn’t chronological, you get the pieces a bit at a time. I find this wonderful.<br /><br />I think that Nadia learns a bit more about her father during this book also. There is of course the struggle of a child becoming the caretaker. Both Vera and she have to help their father out of the situation he is in, but they have to learn to understand him a bit more too. Nadia finds out, as we do, that her mother, father and sister’s lives have been shaped by what happened to them in World War II. The things that are revealed about the father show that he is a survivalist like Vera. There aren’t heroic tales of his ability to help others. He did what he had to, to survive. Instead of making Nadia hate him, she realizes that what happens in war is not rational or sane. As she is fighting the “war” with Valentina, she finds her self doing many things that are against her usual ideology. To protect her father she feels that she finds herself torn between trying to understand and befriend Valentina and getting her out of her father’s life. Once Valentina starts to physically abuse him though, she does what she has to, to help him survive, because this time he can’t do it on his own.<br /><br />So what about the title of the book? Well, the father has decided that he must write the history of tractors. This helps us to understand the history of the area, through tractors instead of through the battles or just the explanation of the politics. It is an interesting way to learn history, not as dry as it sounds. I think it also helps to humanize the father. He isn’t just an old man, who is being taken advantage of. He is also a very intelligent person, who retains lots of information about the topic that has always been important to him.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29353078.post-9393211494243135432007-03-13T19:19:00.000+01:002007-03-13T19:24:02.489+01:00Skeleton Crew by Beverly Connor<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbTO5w1BFGvJhI8j1JgC_ixgrjWZ1RwVuiW8N_14DjN7BaI5dy0UIuYKvR7UX1kwxG4BleEv-30EBJ2MGHPutugW626OeGNhJpNiQ793A5JUFn78VpoqfZMUnDOXu2TPH-gQlU/s1600-h/1581820429.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_AA90_.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbTO5w1BFGvJhI8j1JgC_ixgrjWZ1RwVuiW8N_14DjN7BaI5dy0UIuYKvR7UX1kwxG4BleEv-30EBJ2MGHPutugW626OeGNhJpNiQ793A5JUFn78VpoqfZMUnDOXu2TPH-gQlU/s320/1581820429.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_AA90_.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041476495960826978" border="0" /></a><br /><img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Dawn/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg" alt="" /><span lang="EN-GB">I’ve been reading through Connor’s work for the last few years, taking my time with them as I try to do with all my mystery series.<span style=""> </span>This one was very good.<span style=""> </span>Lindsay Chamberlain is an archaeologist and forensic anthropologist, which is something I’m strangely interested.<span style=""> </span>I also like the fact that I’ve been on the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Georgia</st1:placename></st1:place> campus, so I feel that I have a tiny connection.<span style=""> </span></span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Lindsay is working on a new site that is actually in the ocean.<span style=""> </span>They have built a cofferdam off the island and sucked out the water so that they can excavate a shipwrecked boat.<span style=""> </span>How they built the dam and maintained it was really interesting. Connor also ties it together with a journal that has been found by the only survivor of the shipwreck.<span style=""> </span>She includes passages from this journal.<span style=""> </span>As the translator is translating the work for the archaeology team, you also get to read in his own words what happened.<span style=""> </span>It adds to the suspense and is well done.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The problems start right away when it is found out that there are treasure hunters watching every move that is being made.<span style=""> </span>There are rumours that there is another shipwreck somewhere with lots of treasure to be had.<span style=""> </span>The island that they are excavating has been under the care of a biology research team who have been shoved to the side by this more “important” work.<span style=""> </span>The biology team aren’t happy and do all they can to cause problems and not be helpful.<span style=""> </span>People start turning up dead and there are too many people that could be blame.<span style=""> </span>Boats become sabotaged and the crews are put into dangerous situations.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Lindsay must figure out: <span style=""> </span>who is doing the present day killings, whom did the 400 year old killings, and at the same time a romance is budding between her and someone she has had a rocky past with.<span style=""> </span>It all culminates in what everyone had feared throughout the book, a hurricane which helps Lindsay solve all the mysteries in one fell swoop.<span style=""> </span>I did not figure this one out at all.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Her book list for this series is:</span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style=""><i><span lang="EN-GB">A Rumor of Bones</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style=""><i><span lang="EN-GB">Questionable Remains</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style=""><i><span lang="EN-GB">Dressed To Die</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style=""><i><span lang="EN-GB">Skeleton Crew</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style=""><i><span lang="EN-GB">Airtight Case</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style=""><i style=""><span lang="EN-GB">Kill Site</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> (to be published in 2007)</span></li></ul>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404979394696184273noreply@blogger.com0