Sandra’s Comments (group member since Jan 21, 2020)

Sandra’s comments from the The Obscure Reading Group group.

Thank you, Jan. I truly appreciated reading your poem about your father. What a sad story. I will be curious to hear your thoughts about Abigail and how her experiences relate , if at all, to your family’s.

I loved Ethan Frome. I want to read more of Edith Wharton’s books. I also am considering reading the Shirley Jackson book that was nominated. It’s lovely to add more books to my “endless” list.

I think I will start reading it tomorrow. I can’t wait to discuss another book. That may be what I miss most about teaching. And I don’t have anything else to read that sounds as interesting!

My book arrived today!

Thanks so much for your comments about the poem, Cathleen, Fergus, and Jan. Cathleen, I wrote this poem last summer, so fairly recently. My mother talked so much about the war years and sang us many songs from that era. My father’s sister sent me several photographs that I had never seen; my parents divorced in 1951, so I have been writing about the pictures. My copy of Abigail will arrive in one week, and I look forward to a completely new view of those years.

Thanks, Kathleen and Ken! Kathleen have you tried getting it through a used bookstore, or do you not want any hard copies?

I am learning new titles from all of you! I just ordered Abigail. I also received the sample on kindle, and after reading the translator’s introduction, I am already raring to go. The fact that I was born in 1945 makes the setting relevant to my personal history. I can’t resist sharing this recent poem with all of you since another member shared a poem. I hope no one minds!

Browns, Illinois 1946


The Illinois Central zooms past
my grandparents’ old two story
with the rusted porch swing
right on cue, carrying soldiers
home to farm fields, to mothers,
to anxious sweethearts.

They are those arriving in April,
those who didn’t make it home
by Christmas, those who needed
“Operation Magic Carpet.”

The war is over, and somewhere
parades are marching, but not here.
My aunt is clutching me, holding
my dimpled baby hand up
to wave at the men on the train, to
give a victory salute to the uniforms
peering out.

But I’m too transfixed. Look, she says,
as she points at my older sister who is
laughing in the gray grass
tumbling about with a black and
white terrier named Happy.


My eyes are fixed on the train.
I hear its whistle, low and
long and mournful.

My sis hugs the cute puppy.
My aunt looks towards the man
with the camera, his shadow looming
like a giant with no hands, my father
who will soon be gone forever.

But I only see the train speeding away
from the tattered edges of my photograph.
And I’m already thinking about leaving.

Welcome to new and established members! I am excited to see the fascinating choices for our June discussion. Thanks to you, Ken, for the work you’ve contributed on our behalf.

I can’t think of a book to nominate, but I will be happy to vote!!

Yes, makes perfect sense!

How delightful, Ken. I must confess, I tend to read all literature with an eye for something or someone I can identify with on a personal level. Perhaps we all do. But I like your inventive approach. I always thought of myself as “hidden” rather than “obscure.” I like reading the reviews on Goodreads, but I rarely write one. I’m in awe of many of you!

I’m open to all suggestions. I haven’t read Stegner at all, so I will definitely read the book even if we don’t choose it.

What about “Crossing to Safety” by Wallace Stegner? Or has everyone read it except me? Seems to share the theme of marriage with Jude but less disheartening...

Thanks for setting this up, Ken. It will be fun and interesting to see what books people want to read.

Sounds good! Thanks.

I still think Huckleberry Finn is a masterpiece. I laughed every time I read it out loud to my students. The duke and dauphin were FUNNY! And Emmeline Grangerford was a brilliant satire. But the ending—a disappointment.

Any progress setting up the new book discussion?

Good article, but I agree with Ken—a teenager?? Really? Excellent question about how Arabella and Father Time could be even remotely related. I loved the book, but unity of time and place is definitely lacking. Hardy added more detail than necessary, probably because he wrote it in serial form. I always thought it interesting how Twain wrote different endings to Huckleberry Finn. Did Hardy have a different ending for Jude? I’d like to think so.

Yes! Very much like a Greek tragedy. Clearly, Hardy knew what his model was. But I’m thinking about which character gains self knowledge. Did any of them? Certainly not at the same level that Oedipus gained vision. Jude is tragic as a result of the class system John refers to. His ambition to be an enlightened and educated man was blocked at each crossroad. Sue is a modern woman with aspirations to transcend gender roles, but she’s also blocked. Arabella is a farcical character who succeeds! Black humor, indeed. Aka cynicism.

Jan, Kathleen, Darrin, Carol, Laysee—just to mention a few—thanks for such thoughtful reflections and comments. I have enjoyed reading all the thoughts on this thread.

I agree that Hardy used the characters as symbols and not as fully-believable individuals. A cautionary tale, absolutely! Sue’s need for punishment and Father Time’s tragic decision to end the children’s lives somehow seem all too current. Hardy was well ahead of his time in his views of marriage and social institutions. I will be adding a chapter about this book to my ongoing memoir!