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

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

I finished the book, which really gets some giddy-up starting in Ch. 4, so will hold my counsel till next week.

Hats off to Murdoch, though, for pulling this off.

Sue wrote: "I’m still perversely interested in this weirdo. After the Hartley/Mary and hubby episode I declared our “narrator” totally delusional, an idiot, a loser. I thought it might be a fitting end for him..."

I wish I had a deeper background in psychology. Narcissist, for sure. Something Americans are well versed in since 2016. After that, though, not sure. There's more wrong with him. Beyond the pale of delusion, idiocy, and loserdom, I mean.

Fergus, Quondam Happy Face wrote: "This sounds great, Ken. I get it now - after floundering balefuly and without much attention through the opening - so now I feel heartened and will continue at my small senior's snail pace!"

Take heart, Fergus, and keep on keeping on!

As for the senior stuff, I've become accustomed to it now. After looking at me, clerks and servers often offer me the senior discount (if it exists) without my asking (and I never think of asking because, in my mind, I'm 29).

Kathleen wrote: "You mean you aren't charis'd by the simple elegance of his meals? the way he says he has kept fit and what a great swimmer he is? that thing he mentioned he does with his hair (no idea)? ."

Admit it might be me. I'm no expert at charisma, having never really been around people with the riz.

Also, I just finished Ch. 3 and admit it finished with a dramatic flourish. All I'll say for now is that Chekhov never mentions a gun and leaves it at that. We'll see if Ben's revolver from army days has an affinity for Chekhov's rules.

And perhaps it's time to add the Green-Eyed Monster to our cast of characters.

I wonder if it swims?

Yes, but you can't just TELL the reader a character is charismatic. What's upside down to me is that Murdoch implies charisma through other characters and not through Chaz himself (his actions, words, descriptions, etc., are hardly impressive, making it tough for readers to commit to "the fictional dream").

Agree about Hartley. She says so little, both in the Pre-History sketch (which makes her disappearance appear "sketchy") and in Ch. 2 that the jury's still out and plenty of evidence remains hidden.

Of course, that can be said of damn near everybody in this book.

I am in Ch. 3 of the History, but can comment this much:

What I liked about the pre-history part was the narrative mystery of faces in windows, broken vases, moving bead curtains and, most mysteriously, the sea serpent that's not a whale jumping as a Sunday constitution. Less liked? The jumpy character sketches of Chaz's past conquests.

Sadly, in the History section, we move to full-time fleshing out of characters aforementioned. The Ch. 1 bit is especially disappointing, as it undermines the Gothic nod of the pre-history (see list above). To me, this particular woman's demands and invasive tendencies stretched the suspension bridge of disbelief a bit, too. Really? Certainly the reader has no evidence that Chaz is worth it. To the contrary. And no actions or words seem to paint a dashing Lord Byron or Casanova or Lothario type portrait. Chaz is not a haunt-worthy get.

The Hartley chapter gave me something, on the other hand. Some really uncomfortable moments that, better than any before, point to deeper psychologically disturbing problems for our anti-hero (who apparently has decided to "save" his first love from an unworthy husband) than initially suspected.

Neither the husband nor Chaz come out looking so great. It's Hartley who earns our pity, stuck in her XY Chromosome hell.

Soldiering on, though less enthusiastically. It's always a challenge sharing lodgings (a book) with a vile protagonist. I mean, with Poe at least it's a short story. This is a long haul.

Finished the first section. I'm mostly enjoying the weird parts, as in broken vases, inexplicable faces (in the window), and Cecil the Sea Serpent coming up for a hale-fellow-well-met from the depths. Symbolic, I'm sure, though there's a bit of suppressed Gothic at work too.

Less enjoyable is the number of characters Chaz recalls from theater life and love lives. Let me now sketch this one, he says. And that one. And I'm so proud of my writing about that person. And hey, not bad, wouldn't you agree, when I tackle THAT one?

So the struggle in this oddly-named section comes between narrative writing and episodic character sketches. Without the narrative of setting and strange events, the opening section would not be as engaging.

As for the unreliable narrator's worst fault, it's hard to pin down. Maybe Lizzie? You know, "I don't love her and never have but wouldn't mind her joining me to give my days variety."

Pretty funny, too, that the natives spy on his skinny dipping. Life must truly be slow in this village.

I just got the book and am playing ketchup without the hamburger. So far surprised that it is more modern than I'd expect from a name like Iris Murdoch, but then I haven't read a thing by her, so what do I know?

I know, like Hemingway, she likes to write about food as others have noticed. And the Loch Ness monster lost from the lake, the lake to make a cameo in the sea, the sea.

Interesting about library differences. There are seven copies available via interlibrary loan here in Maine. Maybe because so much of Maine borders the sea, the sea?

More than one nominator is in a gothic mood, I see!

Phil wrote: "Hi all, new to this group - I love Jude the Obscure - such a gloomy yet amazing read. I can't quite work out what you are currently reading though - any tips on where I find that. I live near Londo..."


Hi Phil, and welcome. We are in the process of selecting a book to read starting Oct. 1st even as I type. Kathleen will be sending out a poll with all nominations soon. It should arrive in our message box here on GR so you can check out the books and vote for one.

Once a winner is chosen after two rounds of voting, we'll have around four Sept. weeks to find it and read it, if we so choose. Glad you liked JUDE. We did, too!

Craig wrote: "Hello. I too, am new to this group, and in fact, any book group on Goodreads. To start, Reeds in the Wind was a difficult book to find, and I ended up getting it for free on iBooks. The translation..."

Welcome to ORG, Craig. Glad you wrangled a copy of the book. I know finding it was a trial for some.

Ken, as the gentleman here, do you agree with Ginny's thesis about men? :)

I was going to be a gentleman (see?) and keep my peace, but since you ask, I think that NO group can be generalized or ever should be. It won't hold up, or even come close.

From Sardinian ethnographer, Dolores Turchi: "The rugged landscape of Baronia on Sardinia sets the scene for this novel of crime, guilt and retribution. This novel presents the story of the Pintor sisters - from a family of noble landowners now in decline - their nephew Giacinto, and their servant Efix, who is trying to make up for a mysterious sin committed many years before. Around, below, and inside them the raging Mediterranean storms, the jagged mountains, the murmuring forests, and the gushing springs form a Greek chorus of witness to the tragic drama of this unforgiving land.

"Deledda tells her story with her characteristic love of the natural landscape and fascination with the folk culture of the island, with details about the famous religious festivals held in mountain encampments and the lore of the 'dark beings who populate the Sardinian night, the fairies who live in rocks and caves, and the sprites with seven red caps who bother sleep.'"

This thread is to discuss the novel in its entirety, so if you have not finished and worry about spoilers, beware. Feel free to offer questions, opinions, connections, and asides about Deledda's plot, writing style, characters, literary devices, etc.

What's weird is Amazon sells a $9.99 Kindle version but they also sell a $1.99 one (maybe a different translator?).

https://www.amazon.com/Reeds-Wind-Gra...

Final poll results for June's selection can be seen here.

As this book is only 208 pp., we will read it in one fell swoop (as Shakespeare would say), being ready to go when the discussion thread appears on June 1st.

This discussion thread is a place for background info on and preparation for the ORG's June selection, Reeds in the Wind by Grazia Deledda.

Instead of Top 3 vote-getters, we have a Top 4 because SAILOR SONG and HERSELF SURPRISED were tied for third place behind HAVOC and REEDS IN THE WIND.

Happy Voting!

Today is DAY TWO of Round One voting, folks. If you haven't voted, you have till midnight Pacific Time (3 a.m. Eastern Time, and God Knows When if you're here and there and elsewhere in the increasingly-shrinking world).

Tomorrow I'll put the Top 3 vote getters up for a 24-hour run-off.