Pam’s Comments (group member since Jul 12, 2018)

Pam’s comments from the Never too Late to Read Classics group.

Well. no sooner did I say no more books than I went to Bookman's, a HUGE used bookstore (plus other media) in Phoenix. I picked up 3 classics- Oblamov by Ivan Goncharov and 2 by Daphne du Maurier - Julius and The King's General and 1 non-classic, but about an author of classics, Kafka, part narrative and part illustrated by Comic artist Robert Crumb.

I finished The Enchanted Wanderer by Leskov. I liked the story and the writing but I think it could've been shorter. The monk Ivan (sometimes called Ivan Bighead or my half-respected friend) is telling his crazy life story, with unbelievable adventures before becoming a monk, to a group of travelers. I felt like he probably added to his story every time he told it and the whole thing was just a big fish story. One thing I've noticed in his stories is that there is a lot of whipping of people (even a whipping contest) and animals (horses and a cat), which I found disturbing. I think there was some cultural humor and play on words in the story that I may have missed. One that I picked up on was the ship officer that Ivan referred to as the Thirsty-mate (probably a play on third mate) whom Ivan got in a drinking contest with. I need a little time to process this one before moving on to the next story. I feel like I would have to re-read the story to really appreciate the humor but, overall, I enjoyed it.

I plan to read the Q1-Q4 authors plus Hans Fallada and possibly Zweig. I recommend Chess Story and plan to read The World of Yesterday or The Post-Office Girl. Knowing Zweig's action, after mailing his manuscript of Chess Story to his publisher, made it that more impactful.

For Kafka, I want to finish The Trial and read The Castle. I just bought a used copy of Kafka, which is a "part illustrated biography and part comics adaptation" by David Zane Mairowitz and well-known comics illustrator Robert Crumb. I want to read Kafka's books first before diving into this illustrated presentation!

I’m totally in! Expanding Horizons "should be" doable.

Relaxed Reader - 5 books:
1. Masters of the Dew by Jacques Roumain (French)
2. House of Mist: A Novel by María Luisa Bombal (Spanish)
3. Monday Starts on Saturday by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky (Russian)
4. The Alienist and Other Stories of Nineteenth-Century Brazil by Machado de Assis (Spanish)
5. Zazie in the Metro by Raymond Queneau (French)

Expanding Horizons- 10 books
6. Giants in the Earth by O.E. Rølvaag (Norwegian)
7. How Do You Live? by Genzaburo Yoshino (Japanese)
8.
9.
10.

I plan on reading Nabokov and Leonard Cohen (Canadian). I didn’t realize, until recently, that Cohen was also a novelist! I had only heard of him for his songwriting. His books look really interesting! Nice list Lesle!

I read both books several years ago. Very Good, Jeeves was my first book in that series and I enjoyed it. I found the dialogue/ expressions to be amusing. I hope you all enjoy both books!

I love Arthurian tales! I read this one as a teen and re-read it earlier this year and enjoyed it!

I just started The Lost Steps by Cuban author Alejandro Carpentier. I think it will be interesting! We have a 7 hr drive on Saturday so I hope to finish it then.

Pyangie - From the 3 ebooks I found on Overdrive, there are at least 3 different translations. I read the one by Robert Chandler and thought it was really well done.

I also watched Lady Macbeth, the British movie adaptation of the story, which I didn’t like. The book has a distinct Russian feel to it and giving it British characters and setting didn’t work for me. Plus, they completely changed the ending. The ending of the story was terrific but the movie’s ending was flat.

I haven’t read any Zane Grey but, just as an aside, we drove past the refurbished Zane Grey cabin (and Rim County Museum) in Payson, AZ the other day. My husband said he visited it as a kid but it later burned down to the ground and they rebuilt it. Grey has another historic cabin in Oregon.

The Enchanted Wanderer by Nikolai Leskov

Thanks Lesle! I’m loving the warmer weather! Can’t wait to go swimming and do water aerobics outside!

Yes, my dad has a coyote that has been jumping over his wall into his yard. (His back yard overlooks the Rio Grande Bosque so there are a lot of animals in the area.) The first time he was chasing a bird but not a road runner! His next door neighbor has seen the same coyote in her yard. I don’t think they are usually aggressive towards people but I’m not interested in finding out! They are known for attacking small dogs and cats.

I’m making my way through Leskov’s stories. Finished The Sealed Angel, which I liked, and now reading The Steel Flea.

23 degrees here this morning! Brrrrr. Fortunately, we are off on a road trip to a warmer destination, Scottsdale AZ. I’m looking forward to a change of scenery and milder weather!

My dad has had some interesting wildlife in his neighborhood recently- scrub jays, a coyote in his backyard, and a heron in his neighbor’s yard! I took a pic of the heron standing on top of the roof. They are huge!

Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels everyone!

I’m reading The Nose by Nikolai Gogol, which I found on SimplyE.

I found some used Latin American classics and one non-classic (6 different authors!) yesterday:

The Lost Steps by Alejo Carpentier
Collected Stories by Gabriel García Márquez
Captain Pantoja and the Special Service by Mario Vargas Llosa
The Alienist and Other Stories of Nineteenth-Century Brazil by Machado de Assis
The Violent Land by Jorge Amado
Happy Families: Stories by Carlos Fuentes (Well, not a classic YET! Published in 2006)

I also picked up 2 dual language books: Spanish Stories: A Dual-Language Book and Nine Centuries of Spanish Literature: A Dual-Language Book. There is some poetry in the 2nd book which I will probably read some for the December poetry read.
This really has to be the end of my book acquisition, until I free up some space!

Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson


151 pp
Group total: 596,383

Karin wrote: "I would like to do The Winds of War (1971)."

Karin - The Winds of War and the sequel War and Remembrance are both excellent. I think those 2 books were my introduction to WWII literature.

I just finished the short story Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and enjoyed it. I really liked the writing style (a more modern feeling than other Russian authors I’ve read), and the exploration of the dark sides of people. Interestingly, there are 5 adaptations - a Shostakovich opera, a ballet, and 3 films. The latest film is a 2016 British film titled Lady Macbeth. My library has it so I may check it out. Maybe it’s also on Netflix? I plan to read more of his short stories and The Enchanted Wanderer, if I can find it.