Silver's comments (member since Aug 23, 2008)

Silver's comments from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die group.

The Machine Stops is a marvelous story, I abolsutely loved it. The Story of the Siren is also brillaint!

I acutally enjoyed her aloofness and the mystery about her. I can relate to the idea of choosing to isolate oneself. I rather enjoyed the walks she took through the woods and along the seaide. I thought she was quite headstrong in her own way, but I could not completely forgive her for seducing a man she knew was engaged.

But one of the things Fowles was pointing out within the novel was that as a woman living in the Victorian age, she truly did not have a lot of choice. While I do not find some of the things she did to be admirable, and had mixed feelings about her. If women at that time wanted to be assertive at that time, they had to do it under the guise of passivity.

Particular considering the position she already was in within the society, she was in the very real danger of possibly being committed into an insane asylum as often happened to women at that period of time, if she was not careful, because she was different and lived outside of society.

I did not find Sarah to be truly "passive" I think if anything her seeming passivity was really just an act. She manipulated the siutation to acheive what she wanted.

That is interesting....it is currious how certain books by varrious authors do tend to become more popular.

Yes I agree, Room With a View was a decent story, and I found it enjoyable, but it does not offer that much, it is fairly simple, it does not hold a candle to Passage to India.

I have to say, while out of everything I have read of him so far, I think that A Passage to India is the best of his works in story, character development, and prose, I have still enjoyed everything I have read from him, and look forward to reading more. His short stories are particularly marvelous.

I have most recently finished Howards End and thought it was a wonderful story. Beneath the light and comic exterior, it has such a rich depth beneath it. As the famous phrase goes "only connect" Forster does a rather clever job of connecting the dots within his story to bring everything together full circle again. It is a story that challenges the connections we make within our own lives, and the conventions of society. The way we connect both to individuals on a personal and intimate level, and the way we connect to mankind in general, also how we connect with ourselves or some greater force outside of ourselves.

It is also interesting the way in which fate, to a certain degree seems to play out in the background of Forester's work, it is like the guiding hand that helps push the characters together so they are able to than come to the necessary conclusions about themselves, their desires, and the state of their life.

But perhpas it is not our right to know these things, if the wishes of the authors are that they did not want them to be known. They should be intitiled to privacy as much as anyone else.

As morbid as that is, though of corse I am not hoping for him to die, but it has to happen eventually, no one lives forever, I would absolutely love to read any new writings by him. I have already read all of his works of which are currently published.

Yes, as far as I know he is still alive, age 90 and still a recluse.

I am currently reading Emma now and I love it, it is a wonderful story so far. So very engaing as well as quite humurous. It is some of Austen's strongest writing I think. Emma for me is right up there with P&P.

I have thus far now read all most all of her major works. I have just yet to read Mansfield Park.

Sense and Senseiblity I finnished reading last month and thought it was a delightful story. When I read it the thing which first jumped out at me was how openly humurous it was.

I read it a couple months ago, and I loved Death as narrator, I thought that was great. It was a very interesting story and I also really enjoyed the fact that it told the story of the war from the perspective of the average citizens of Germany giving a different look at the subject. It was a very enjoyable book.

Mr. Brooke reminds me of that parent or teacher who thinks they are "cool" and "hep" and that they know how to relate to younger people, and try to talk in slang, or dress in current fads, and just end up making fools of themselves but they are clueless.

The way he is always saying "I use to be into that sort of thing" when he is talking to anyone.

Fred is amusing, and yes I quite like Marry.

I wonder what the significance is between the contrast of the Viney's and their family and situation of the Brookes. The way in which Eliot goes back and forth between the two it seems that some comparison is intended.

Is it just giving a wider look at the different lifestyles/social classes of the time? A contrast between the new developments of science with religious belief?

It is interesting the way in which Fred is Dorothea’s complete opposite.

Recently started Beloved it is a bit difficult to read becasue to the style of it, and though I do not dislike it, I cannot get really drawn into it so far.

If she had not rushed into marraige she may have had the chance to meet Ladislaw before she was married, and could have possibly made a match with him, as he too was a scholar but much closer to her age so they could have formed a greater attraction both in thier physical and intellectual relationship.

Address the idea of disillusionment which came up a few posts ago, my thoughts on it are not that Casabon himself had deceived or deluded Dorothea in anyway, as he was simply who he was, and it did not change or become a different person.

But that Dorothea deluded herself with her "idea" of Casabon, she really didn't see him as they physical human being that he was, and did not truly see him for herself, she was attracted to a certain ideal of what she thought he would represent.

She wanted to be "martyr" to be Milton's daughters so to speak, but when she had the reality of that dream of hers she realized that it was not quite what she had thought it would be.

But the fault of this I do not think lies in Casabon himself, but rather in Dorothea's youth and ambitions. She made a rash decision to marry him because of what he represented to her.

It makes one wonder if indeed Mr. Brooke had faulted as her guardian, while he was criticized by others for allowing the marriage to go ahead, and not at least making Dorothea wait until she was older, they protested only because of their own personal interests. While Mr. Brooke looked noble in his views of not interfering in the marriage choices of others.

Would Dorothea have in the end truly benefited if Mr. Brooke did lay his foot down and encouraged her to at least postpone the wedding?

I just finnished Possassion by A.S Byatt, it was a very interesting and good book.

Yes, I though the ending of it, was like a modern day version of the fairy "happily ever after" in thier own way things worked out for everyone. It was clelver how it was all wrapped up.