Archive | October, 2010

The Way It Is

30 Oct

The Way It Is by Donalda Reid

Ellen dreams of becoming a medical researcher, but in 1967, girls are not expected to be interested in the sciences, let along enroll in accelerated programs to prepare for university. Brainy and shy, Ellen has little interest in the things that the other girls at school go mad for–boys, fashion, dancing–she’d much rather spend her time in a lab learning something new. When her father suddenly realizes that life is too fleeting to waste doing a job he feels no passion for and decides to move to the Interior to run a resort with Ellen’s mom, Ellen believes they are being selfish and ruining her chances by taking her away from the program she worked so hard to get into. Never did she expect that moving to Salmon Arm with her parents would expose her to a whole new range of experiences and the chance to finally find friendship and love.

Any girl who has ever been the awkward, shy, smart girl who always sits at the back of the room in class can relate to Ellen. Too tall, too smart, and too out of touch with the things that other students her age enjoy, Ellen feels that she will never fit in and so does her best to become “invisible”. After years living in the same place and going to school with the same set of students, Ellen perfected her invisibility, but moving to Salmon Arm changes all that and forces her to cope with the experience of being the new one in town. One of the scenes that I most enjoyed was the one where Ellen goes to register for classes. The high school in Salmon Arm doesn’t offer a science program like the one she was participating in, so she has to compensate by taking the most advanced science courses the school offers. Of course, when the school councilor sees the courses she selected, he tries to dissuade her on the basis that she’s a girl and no girls take those classes. It’s one of the first scenes when Ellen is forced to stand up for herself and come out of “invisible mode,” and it’s a great reminder of the strides women have made that girls today can take any classes they want (I was one of two girls in my graphic arts class through middle and high school; gender is still an issue in schools with regards to the kind of classes girls will enroll in, but I never had to defend my right to enroll for the class).

Gender issues aside, the novel also deals with racism and miscegenation. The resort that Ellen’s parents rent is located on reserve land, as Ellen soon discovers, though the Indians who live on the reserve are not allowed to run the resort or make use of the property. Ellen feels strongly about the discrimination against Salmon Arm’s Indian population and starts to take note of the ways in which the Indians are made to feel like second-class citizens when in town. When she makes friends with Tony, the only Indian student at her school, Ellen wants to learn more about him, his people, and the impact of race on his life. The novel is eye-opening and insightful, especially for readers who may be unfamiliar with the history of Canadian Indians (or Native Americans in general). The dynamic between Tony and Ellen is great; they get to know each other in a way that is sweet and realistic. Neither of them are made to appear as victims; both encounter sexism and racism, but they face it and stand up to their beliefs.

Ellen’s gradual transition from shy nerd to confident, bright young woman, also comes across as a natural part of the plot. There is no sudden Cinderella-esque transformation. Ellen changes her style and tries to do some of the things that other girls like to do–like going dancing–but she does not suddenly become the life of the party or the most popular girl in school. I liked that; it’s another one of those elements that made Ellen a relatable character.

I really enjoyed the novel. It made me realize that I haven’t read much on the ’60s, though it’s such a fascinating period. Oddly enough, when Ellen was helping Tony look up information on schools and scholarships, I kept waiting for her to log on to her computer… then I would smack myself and remember that the story is set in 1967. Shows I’ve become way too accustomed to the presence of technology in my readings.

I received my copy of The Way It Is from Second Story Press.

Random life update & a quickie review

27 Oct

One research paper and one final project to go… Plus, I start a new job on Monday :) . Going to have to re-work my blogging, reading, commenting time to fit into my new schedule, but hoping that things will settle down soon. Also, only two more classes to go after this term! After nearly 8 years of uni, I am happy to say that this will officially be the last term (for the foreseeable future, at least).

Vixen by Jillian Larkin

It looks like flappers are the new vampires… possibly, maybe. With Bright Young Things by Anna Godberson currently on the shelves and Vixen by Jillian Larkin coming out in December, the ’20s may very well be the next YA trend. I signed up to receive an ARC copy of Vixen as part of B&N’s Teen First Look Book Club for November because I love the ’20s (the early 20th century is my second historical obsession, after the Victorian era), and the plot sounded intriguing. Three privileged girls living in ’20s Chicago trying to find themselves amidst the danger and glamor of speakeasies, gangsters, and flappers. One is looking for redemption, one for a chance at life, and the other for something she can’t quite understand. I wanted to read more.

Like many YA novels, this is a coming-of-age story, except that it’s really three coming-of-age stories held together by one girl’s story. If it weren’t for Gloria, Lorraine and Clara’s stories would be entirely unrelated. This was one of the problems that I had with the novel. I couldn’t stand Gloria or Lorraine, both read like whiny, over-indulged socialites playing at life among the lower classes. Lorraine just seemed petty and entirely lacking in any sense of self-esteem, while Gloria seemed like a bland, little white girl with a sudden need to rebel and escape dull society life. I only really cared for Clara’s story–the country girl from Pennsylvania who moved to New York City, fell in with the flapper crowd and made a mess of things. Arrested after a raid, Clara is shipped to Chicago under threat of reform school unless she shapes up, and her Aunt Bea, Gloria’s mother, will make sure that she does or else. Perhaps it was Clara’s effort to make others believe that she’s changed, or perhaps it that she comes across as a much more self-aware individual than Lorraine and Gloria, but Clara’s chapters were the only ones that I really enjoyed and looked forward to… I would speed read Lorraine and Gloria’s sections to get back to poor, Country Clara. Think I would have enjoyed it more if the author had used one perspective, rather than three.

Blathering on about Bleak House, Fin.

27 Oct

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Final Thoughts & Post Index

I am sooo glad I decided to join the readalong! My experience with Dickens has been a mixed one—I enjoyed part of Great Expectations but had been unable to connect with any of the other books I had tried to read. I’m not sure if this was as a result of Dickens’ style or his characters, but I was very surprised to find myself so engrossed by Bleak House so soon after starting the book. I really thought it would be a sort of personal challenge to read it to the end—will and determination to finally read it, rather than pleasure. But it was a pleasure!

I know that some readers find Esther terribly boring, but I really enjoyed her narrative and found myself looking forward to her chapters. There were so many side stories and characters in this novel that it was hard for me to keep track of them in the beginning, but Esther’s account brought them into focus for me. She is not so strong-willed as Jane Eyre, as I have previously noted in my “Blatherings,” but she is a strong character nonetheless, and stands out as an enterprising woman in her desire to prove herself useful and worthy of her companions and good fortune.

Because I was still wondering about Esther’s illness, I did some research based on the symptoms, and it likely was smallpox that she contracted… I suspected as much based on the prevalence of the disease during the time, but I had never considered the implications of having smallpox on one’s appearance. It’s terrible what it could do to you, the images I found are horribly graphic and reveal that the pox rash often spread on the face and extremities, making it near impossible to hide the subsequent scarring. I can now understand why Esther takes so much note of her lost beauty—I just thought she looked worn after her illness.

So, enough blathering. Mission accomplished and all that.

Post Index

Part 1 – Chapters 1 – 7
Part 2 – Chapters 8 – 13
Part 3 – Chapters 14 – 19
Part 4 – Chapters 20 – 25
Part 5 – Chapters 26 – 32
Part 6 – Chapters 33 – 38
Part 7 – Chapters 39 – 46
Part 8 – Chapters 47 – 53
Part 9 – Chapters 54 – 59
Part 10 – Chapters 60 – 67

The Bleak House Read-Along was hosted by Amanda at The Zen Leaf.

Blathering on about Bleak House, Part 10.

27 Oct

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Chapters 60-67

And Mr. Guppy reverts back to his usual manner, though I did find Mr. Jarndyce’s reaction to Mrs. Guppy’s efforts to remove him from his own home rather funny.

I was intrigued by the picture of the fallen country house at the end of the novel when the narrator returns to Chesney Wold and considers the great mausoleum that houses the Dedlocks of old. Such a contrast is made between the middle class world of the now married Woodcourts in their happy little Bleak House, and the empty, forbidding estate. Mr. Boythorn’s kind antagonism toward Sir Leicester continues to illustrate the unerring goodness of that man, while Mr. Skimpole’s end only serves to complete a picture of grasping greed.

I finally warmed to Richard and Ada in these final chapters. They seemed so inconsequential throughout the novel, despite their part in the Jarndyce case and Richard’s misguided actions. While Ada remained a quiet figure, her hopes for the future made her come alive as a character for me. Until this point, Ada remained a sort of set piece in Esther’s narrative, too passive to play a proper supporting role. Despite Esther’s humility, I thought her a well-rounded character who grows and develops. Ada never really seemed important until the end, though it was only through Richard’s slow demise that she came into her own. It’s strange that this should be, that only as a result of Richard’s descent into the Cause do we see Ada take action. Poor Richard, poor Ada.

I felt this line perfectly summed up Richard’s experience:
There is a ruin of youth which is not like age; and into such a ruin, Richard’s youth and youthful beauty had fallen away.

But, returning to the now married Woodcourts… Happily, Mr. Jarndyce’s goodness inspires him to dissolve his engagement with Esther, allowing her to accept Mr. Woodcourt’s offer. I still wonder about Esther’s illness and her reference to her loss of beauty, but this is no impediment to her union with Mr. Woodcourt and their merry life at the new Bleak House. In her simple life, Esther reaps the real reward brought about by the end of the Jarndyce trial, while Ada takes her place as the new Fitz-Jarndyce (as Miss Flite would say).

The Bleak House Read-Along is hosted by Amanda at The Zen Leaf.

15 authors

24 Oct

This is a book meme that’s been making the rounds on Facebook, but as most of my bookish pals are bloggers, I thought I would cross-post it here. Feel free to pingback to this page or leave a comment so I can view your list :) . I’d love to read everyone’s 15 picks.

The Rules: Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen authors (poets included) who have always influenced you and will always stick with you. List the first 15 you can recall in no more than 15 minutes, and they don’t have to be listed in order of relevance to you. Tag at least 15 friends, including me, because I’m interested in seeing what authors my friends chose. (To do this, go to your Notes tab on your profile page, paste the rules in a new notes, list your 15 picks, and tag your friends.)

My very random, quick list:

1. Christina Rossetti
2. Jane Austen
3. C.S. Lewis (Narnia only)
4. George Eliot
5. Holly Black
6. Neil Gaiman
7. Robin McKinley
8. Frances Hodgson Burnett
9. L. M. Montgomery
10. W. B. Yeats
11. A.C. Swinburne
12. Sarah Waters
13. Diana Gabaldon
14. John Keats
15. Charlotte Brontë

Honorable mentions: Oscar Wilde, J.K. Rowling, Patricia C. Wrede, & Tamora Pierce. I tried to follow the rules and just wrote the first ones that came to mind.

Shades of Milk and Honey

22 Oct

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

Jane Ellsworth has settled into the quiet life of a soon-to-be spinster. She busies herself with the feminine arts–music and glamour–knowing that these are the only things that recommend her as she lacks the conventional beauty sought by gentlemen. Her sister, Melody, is beautiful and passionate, sparkling at every ball, but has no talent for the arts that her plain sister wields. When Melody’s passionate nature gets the better of her, the two sisters become antagonists and Jane gets caught in the middle of a tangled affair involving several parties, her own passions coming to the fore when she acknowledges the jealousy and negative energies that mar her feelings towards her sister. As Jane learns to harness her feelings for art, she learns more about herself and the talents she possesses.

Shades of Milk and Honey is the sort of book that needs to settle a bit before I can truly say whether I enjoyed it or not. This is such a gentle, well-mannered sort of book, I liken it to a soft, pink-hued vapor, something ephemeral and bright that passes you by. That’s a frilly way of putting it, but it’s the kind of book that leaves me feeling as if I didn’t quite get it, but that it’s not the sort of book that you can get with one reading. In many ways, it reminds me of Robin McKinley’s Chalice; there’s a quiet magic to it that I don’t quite understand. But that’s alright, I enjoyed the parts that I did understand.

There is magic in this book, but it’s more akin to Jane Austen than any fantasy novel I’ve ever read. That is one thing that Kowal does really well–this book feels like a Regency novel. She really captures the nuances of language that mark a true novel from the era. I started the novel expecting it to be similar to the Sorcery & Cecilia series, but it was more like reading Sense and Sensibility.

I can’t say whether I am satisfied with the story; it felt too brief, for one thing. At times, it seemed too similar to Austen, as if I could spot the Austen characters that served as a references/influences for Kowal’s characters. It’s an unexpected sort of book.

Blathering on about Bleak House, Part 9.

20 Oct

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Chapters 54-59

Aha! Hortense is found out and Mr. Bucket gets his suspect.

Mr. Guppy has finally redeemed himself for being a shallow, self-serving little toad. He has admirably preserved Esther’s honor and carried out her wishes not to stir up trouble, and now he has acted honorably and warned Lady Dedlock about the possibility of Mr. Smallweed’s possessing her letters to Hawdon, and trying to profit off them.

Lady Dedlock remains cold as ever, but I found this passage on her character to be a satisfying explanation of her manner:

In truth, she is not a hard lady naturally; and the time has been when the sight of the venerable figure sueing to her with such strong earnestness would have moved her to great compassion. But, so long accustomed to suppress emotion, and keep down reality; so long schooled for her own purposes, in that destructive school which shuts up the natural feelings of the heart, like flies in amber, and spreads one uniform and dreary gloss over the good and bad, the feeling and the unfeeling, the sensible and the senseless; she has subdued even her wonder until now.

But back to Mr. Bucket. I was really impressed by the sudden turn that the story took into the arena of Holmesian detective fiction. I can now see why this is considered a precursor to the development of that genre. I couldn’t sleep for want of getting to the heart of the mystery and very nearly stayed up all night just to know what was going to happen to Lady Dedlock. Unfortunately, no good could come of it, but Mr. Bucket proved his mettle as a detective and Esther proved her worth as a woman of good sense. The shifts from omniscient to first person narration as the narrative went from Mr. Bucket’s experience to Esther’s added a sense of urgency and suspense to the plot that made these chapters fly.

I found myself suddenly endearing myself to Sir Leicester Dedlock when he learned of his Lady’s past. His forgiveness and sorrow showed a side of their relationship, and his devotion, that was hinted at throughout the novel but really came to the surface after her disappearance. I naively hoped for a better ending for the Dedlock’s, but it was not to be.

The Bleak House Read-Along is hosted by Amanda at The Zen Leaf.

Ruthless and the three volume novel

17 Oct

Ruthless by Anne Stuart

I was in the mood for some literary meringue… a tasty treat without much substance. Ruthless had a bit more substance than I expected, but it definitely fit the bill. I haven’t read much romance, as I’ve noted in the past, but I’ve been moving beyond my usual genres in an effort to defuse some of my literary snobbishness. There’s not much I can say about Ruthless, other than that it was a quick, enjoyable read. It is what it is–a romance novel with a fast plot, a dash of mystery, a bit of banter, a dark hero with an inscrutable past, and an unlikely heroine who redeems him against his will (and her better judgment). There was sex, but nothing so graphic that it would put off readers who don’t enjoy such scenes. The novel is part of a trilogy, but it seems that the volumes can be read individually.

Speaking of three-volume novels, I am suddenly reminded of one of my favorite scenes from “The Importance of Being Earnest”… so I leave you with some Wilde.

Miss Prism: Do not speak slightingly of the three-volume novel, Cecily. I wrote one myself in earlier days.

Cecily: Did you really, Miss Prism? How wonderfully clever you are! I hope it did not end happily? I don’t like novels that end happily. They depress me so much.

Miss Prism: The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what Fiction means.

Old Photographs

16 Oct

Old Photographs by Sherie Posesorski

Phoebe is your average girl–she does alright in school, enjoys sports, and has a terribly distracting crush on Colin, the top debater from the local boys school’s debate team. Trying to while away the summer months while her only friend, Yuri, spends the holidays in Tokyo, Phoebe passes the time cycling and reading Agatha Christie novels (Yuri’s favorites). One day, Phoebe spots a garage sale and decides to take a look around. Sure enough, she finds all kinds of treasures, but the best find of all is Mrs. Tomblin, the elderly woman running the garage sale. Noticing a couple trying to take advantage of Mrs. Tomblin’s too-trusting nature, Phoebe steps in to make sure she isn’t abused and soon learns why Mrs. Tomblin is being forced to leave the home she’s lived in since she was married. Taking to her, Phoebe starts to learn more about Mrs. Tomblin, offering her assistance whenever the happen to meet her. When Mrs. Tomblin becomes the victim of a crime, Phoebe wants her friend to receive the justice she deserves–the last thing she expects is to find herself caught up in a mystery the likes of which only Miss Marple can solve… Does Phoebe have what it takes to become the Toronto Miss Marple and solve the case?

—

Old Photographs was a treat to read. Phoebe comes across as a real teen with all the insecurities and idealism that comes with being a teen. She has a complicated relationship with her mother and new stepfather, she misses her family, and she wishes she could understand how to make things better for everyone involved, but she isn’t perfect and this isn’t a fairy tale. Family life is depicted in all its messy, irrational glory, as are the feelings stirred by poverty and privilege. Her crush on Colin is sweet and entirely understandable–smart boy with an Irish brogue, what girl wouldn’t crush on him? But what I found most thought-provoking and inspiring about the novel was its very real treatment of aging and Alzheimer’s. I haven’t read many Young Adult novels that touch on the subject, most being the sole territory of the young and adventurous; Phoebe’s relationship with Mrs. Tomblin illustrates all the frustrations that this terrible affliction causes. The only other YA novel I can think of at the moment that explores aging in such a manner is April and the Dragon Lady, but I think this is a topic that is relevant to many teens living with grandparents or near elderly neighbors (all the elders near me love to terrify me at least once a month by forgetting to turn their stoves off). I really enjoyed Phoebe’s transition from reader to sleuth, and couldn’t wait to see where her investigations would lead.

I received my copy of Old Photographs from Second Story Press. You can learn more about the novel and Sherie Posesorski here.

You can find Old Photographs at The Book Depository and Amazon.

Childhood Favorites

13 Oct

Arrived home soaking wet this afternoon, but my awful rainy day took a delightful turn when I found a package from Pomegranate Communications waiting on my bed…

Inside was a beautiful, hardbound copy of Three Classic Children’s Stories by James Donnelly with illustrations by Edward Gorey (one of my favorite illustrators!). I won it from LibraryThing (love love love the LT member giveaway). I never expected it to be quite so lovely. Every illustration is presented in full-color, the paper is thick and satiny, and the book has the look of something that will become an heirloom. I couldn’t be more pleased and can’t wait to re-read some of my favorite childhood stories.

Thank you Pomegranate!

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