In order to start a book club I asked potential participants to suggest books they were interested in reading. These are the books:
1. Divided sky/Der geteilte Himmel by Christa Wolf
2. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
3. Thanks for the memories by Cecelia Ahern
4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
5. 29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life by Cami Walker
6. Five hours with Mario/Cinco Horas Con Mario by Miguel Delibes
7. Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney
I find it amazing that so much variety can exist between seven books!
Books
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Fall already!
The Fall of Atlantis is an interesting, although flawed book. The flaw is found in the failure to create a coherent world. There are many hints at the structure of the story-world in which this book takes place, but there is a lack of actual description on the part of the author, Marion Zimmer Bradley. Rituals, phrases, and hierarchies are described, without explanation for the naive reader.
The main characters are two sisters, Domaris and Deoris, who are priestesses of an unnamed religion. The religion which predates all future religions, perhaps. The (mainland) temple in which they live encapsulates the action of the story, with Atlantis lurking in the background. Atlantis, always out of focus, is a somewhat unorthodox colony where a new temple has recently emerged. The narrative thread begins when Domaris and Deoris are teenagers, and follows their diverging paths. Domaris accepts the world as it is and follows the path of the light. Deoris, on the other hand, is rebellious and rejects the light to follow the path of certain darkness. Bradley manages to portray the "good" and "bad" sides well; however, showing how cruel and inhuman the "good" can be and how accepting and kind the "bad" can be. To state the focus shortly the overarching theme is the complexity of loving relationships.
The main characters are two sisters, Domaris and Deoris, who are priestesses of an unnamed religion. The religion which predates all future religions, perhaps. The (mainland) temple in which they live encapsulates the action of the story, with Atlantis lurking in the background. Atlantis, always out of focus, is a somewhat unorthodox colony where a new temple has recently emerged. The narrative thread begins when Domaris and Deoris are teenagers, and follows their diverging paths. Domaris accepts the world as it is and follows the path of the light. Deoris, on the other hand, is rebellious and rejects the light to follow the path of certain darkness. Bradley manages to portray the "good" and "bad" sides well; however, showing how cruel and inhuman the "good" can be and how accepting and kind the "bad" can be. To state the focus shortly the overarching theme is the complexity of loving relationships.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
"Seraphita"
This story about Seraphita/Seraphitus draws the reader in with well-drawn descriptions of the Norwegian fjords, icy hills, and vast spaces. However, the only thing that compelled me to keep reading past the remarkable setting was the intriguing ambiguity about whether the main character was Seraphita or Seraphitus. Honoré de Balzac wrote this among some ninety other novels
Unfortunately, the main point of the whole story was religious awakening. There was extensive discussion of Swedenborg, who apparently founded yet another Christian sect. So unless one is very interested in obscure Christian sects, or is willing to skip large sections of boring text this book might be avoided.
Unfortunately, the main point of the whole story was religious awakening. There was extensive discussion of Swedenborg, who apparently founded yet another Christian sect. So unless one is very interested in obscure Christian sects, or is willing to skip large sections of boring text this book might be avoided.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
"Venetia"
This novel by Benjamin Disreali is surprisingly quite interesting. Admittedly I only downloaded it to my Kindle because it was free. I must confess that I was hazy about exactly who Disreali was. A philosopher? He was in fact a British Prime Minister for roughly seven years, and the only Jewish PM.
Apparently, he wrote novels to get himself out of debt. This must be a purely British idea. Charles Dickens also seemed to do well writing. Writing novels in the modern day seems unlikely to get one out of debt. I can imagine the disbelief of a credit card company if someone were to say "Just wait till my new novel comes out! I will earn so much I will be able to pay all my bills!"
The novel Venetia is not the most famous. According to the Wikipedia entry it is "a minor novel" which mangles the histories of both Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley However, I was surprised by how good the writing was. It describes the life history of Venetia from her isolated childhood to her introduction to the king and queen and beyond! Unlike most romantic stories about how young Victorian women end up getting married, it is her relationship with her mother which is most central (and her absent father). That relationship which often appears to be both unhealthy and controlling is very very well described. Venetia's descents into illness which are in direct response to the control exercised by her mother are also insightful. The relationship between Venetia and her childhood friend, Plantagenet provides the romance.
I almost quit reading near the end as I expected the ending to be predictable, but there is a twist at the end which makes this book hard to categorize as a romance.
Apparently, he wrote novels to get himself out of debt. This must be a purely British idea. Charles Dickens also seemed to do well writing. Writing novels in the modern day seems unlikely to get one out of debt. I can imagine the disbelief of a credit card company if someone were to say "Just wait till my new novel comes out! I will earn so much I will be able to pay all my bills!"
The novel Venetia is not the most famous. According to the Wikipedia entry it is "a minor novel" which mangles the histories of both Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley However, I was surprised by how good the writing was. It describes the life history of Venetia from her isolated childhood to her introduction to the king and queen and beyond! Unlike most romantic stories about how young Victorian women end up getting married, it is her relationship with her mother which is most central (and her absent father). That relationship which often appears to be both unhealthy and controlling is very very well described. Venetia's descents into illness which are in direct response to the control exercised by her mother are also insightful. The relationship between Venetia and her childhood friend, Plantagenet provides the romance.
I almost quit reading near the end as I expected the ending to be predictable, but there is a twist at the end which makes this book hard to categorize as a romance.
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