C.A. Gray's Blog, page 22
December 2, 2022
The Tethering by Megan O’Russell
Today’s podcast review comes from this blog review of The Tethering.
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November 20, 2022
Review of The Adventure of the Final Problem
After reading “A Study in Scarlet” and then “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” I looked up which were the best Sherlock stories and chose this one, since apparently it’s the only one that actually features Moriarty (really?? Given how prominent he is in all the adaptations, that’s amazing!) A good chunk of the story describes Moriarty as the criminal mastermind overseeing all London operations of crime at an almost supernatural level, but it goes in to absolutely no detail in how he does it. I suppose this didn’t really matter–the point was, he was Sherlock’s equal, as he must be in order to bring about the great detective’s demise, and to do so in such a way that Sherlock’s death also serves a greater purpose. But I’d had the distinct impression from adaptations that Sherlock faked his death… and this one really leaves little doubt in the reader’s mind that he is, in fact, gone. (Apparently, as I read elsewhere, it left so little doubt that many readers cancelled their subscriptions to the periodical in which it appeared, in protest. I don’t blame them!) But Doyle was tired of being pigeon-holed into Sherlock stories and wanted to do something different, so he killed him off–and faced appropriate backlash. Later, apparently, it was so extreme that he made up an excuse for why Sherlock wasn’t dead and wrote another entire series of tales.
At any rate, this short story intriguingly introduced Moriarty, but in very vague terms, and then simply described how Sherlock tried to evade him with Watson’s help. Ultimately, of course, Sherlock allows himself to be confronted and killed, because even in death, Sherlock cannot be overpowered. The next one I’ll have to read is The Adventure of the Empty House, where he supposedly comes back to life again…
My rating: ****
Language: none
Sexual content: none
Violence: present but mild
Woke content: none
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Villette
As mentioned with Jane Eyre, the Bronte sisters are definitely on the dark and gothic side. Villette is no different. It follows Lucy, a plain governess just like Jane Eyre (and I believe I’ve read that these characters were somewhat autobiographical, for Charlotte at least.) Lucy is in some ways like Jane: she’s also very intelligent and sympathetic, but she’s far more tormented emotionally. She’s also the sad victim of unrequited love… and it’s very clear from the beginning that Dr. John will never return her affections. There’s much more going on in the story than just Lucy’s affections, though, and it doesn’t end wholly sad–Lucy does find her match, though compared to the Adonis that is Dr. John, it’s hard to feel satisfied with a consolation prize. Read this one only if you’re in the mood for bittersweet!
My rating: **** 1/2
Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Green Gables is one of my all-time favorite classics: I practically memorize the Megan Follows film versions, and I’ve read and listened to the books many times as well. I’m only listing the first three books, though, because the love story between Anne and Gilbert wraps up at the end of “Anne of the Island.” (After that, the story frankly isn’t all that interesting, and later books in the series aren’t even about Anne anymore–they’re little anecdotes about the scrapes her kids get into.) These are very episodic, but so idyllic. I love the atmosphere of Prince Edward Island at the turn of the 19th century, when life was simpler and everybody knew their neighbors (sometimes too well.) And Anne’s struggle with her “romantic ideal” versus the very real, flesh-and-blood Gilbert who was right there waiting is so compelling.
My rating: *****!
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Pride and Prejudice
I don’t know how many times I’ve either read or listened to or watched the film adaptation (or miniseries version of) Pride and Prejudice. I love Jane Austen, and this is her quintessential novel, the most memorable of the bunch. What is it about Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett that makes them so compelling? We all identify with Elizabeth, surely. She’s spunky and smart, self-deprecating at times, and she also so dearly loves her sister–her primary motivations are unselfish. And Mr. Darcy of course has all the worldly advantages: wealth, looks, and status. But in this story, we get to know him twice, through Lizzie’s eyes: once with her false assumptions of his pride and arrogance, and once when she looks at him instead through the softened eyes of knowing herself to be beloved. All of us want someone to fight for us, no matter how undeserving we believe ourselves to be… and this novel vicariously delivers.
My rating: *****!
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Scarlett
WOW. So very very satisfying. When I finished GWTW I absolutely had to get this one for some closure (and I read other people’s reviews to make sure I would get it… I’d have been *pissed* if this one ended sad or on a cliffhanger too!) But it didn’t.
Now, I will say early on, the characters seemed a bit clumsier than they did in Margaret Mitchell’s hands in the sense that Ripley would come right out and say things that Mitchell would show in the way the characters behaved, allowing the reader to draw the appropriate conclusions. But I was impressed with how well-researched the book was, so I either got past this, or it stopped happening so much as the book went on.
One other frustration from early on was that Scarlett’s behavior toward Rhett made me cringe with shame for her (“You idiot! You’ll never win him back that way!”) And this went on for a few hundred pages, to the point where I started to think the whole thing was going to be like a soap opera (whereas the original GWTW was an epic, and the historical setting was very important to the story.) But after one pivotal moment, all that changed, and Scarlett became the heroine we loved so much from the original book, and the one Rhett fell in love with, too. The rest of the book, from that point on, was utterly absorbing.
Down to the last 23 pages, I almost didn’t want to finish, because I didn’t see how she could possibly wrap it up happily. But she DID, and I was totally satisfied! Anyone who felt grief-stricken when GWTW was over should definitely read this, you won’t be disappointed!
My rating: *****!
Reality is Not What It Seems
This was so mind-bending that after listening to it on audio, I had to download the kindle version and read it so I could highlight. Even then I had more highlights than I could export, and I think I’ll have to review what I do have to get a better grasp. I’ve read a lot of books on physics and quantum physics for laymen, and this is the first one in a very long time that I felt both gave me a better understanding particularly of the historical progression of discoveries, and also suggested something new. I was not aware that there was a rival theory to String Theory: Loop Quantum Gravity, which actually (according to this author anyway) seems to be a better contender for unity between quantum and Newtonian physics. What blew my mind most was the idea that time, like all macroscopic objects in the physical world, is an emergent property. On the quantum level it doesn’t exist, any more than a single object, as such, exists. It’s all averages of where individual particles are likely to be in space at any given time.
My rating: *****
Language: none
Violence: none
Sexual content: none
Political content: some, but minor
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The Disappearing Spoon
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The Tipping Point
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