Dani’s Comments (group member since Nov 11, 2015)

Dani’s comments from the Return of the Rogue Readers group.

Thanks, Jordan! How does Bouvard and Pecuchet by Gustave Flaubert sound to everyone?

"it felt kinda like Sinclair was a sophomore in college who had to write a persuasive paper for a creative writing class, but spent the weeks leading up to the due date smoking the reefer and reading edgy Marxist blog posts. He had the essay finished and while proofreading it he realized he spaced and never actually wrote the motivational, persuasive end of the tale. So, at 3am he scrambled to come up with something that was remotely coherent and this is what we got."

Jordan, that was a brilliant interpretation!

Mike, I think you are right with your thoughts that it is partly autobiographical.

I read that in an introduction by Wilde for the second edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde states the following:
Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be-in other ages, perhaps.

It really is unfortunate how Wilde's life ended up. I had heard of him and of his works, but this is my first time reading anything from him or about him. I can say that I am interested in reading more.

Jordan, that is an interesting and hilarious comparison to The Jersey Shore. I, too, noticed the part where they discussed the pork packing business in America. It was like old familiar territory after our last book.

Emma, hopefully you get the chance to read it and join in the discussion.

I really enjoyed this book. It's very poetically written but it wasn't just a compilation of pretty words, it was witty and entertaining. As for the characters, none of them were particularly likable and the sexist comments were aplenty, but I feel like the point of the book was to spotlight the ugly in people. The young and beautiful Dorian Gray sold his soul to keep his youth and good looks. His selfishness and vanity made him a detestable character that got away with all of the vile things he did. I found myself annoyed at his lack of morality and how he turned things around. An example that comes to mind is how he was annoyed at how Sybil's poor performance had made 'him' look and how selfish she had been for killing herself. How dare she not think of him and the long hour of discomfort it would cause him!

One thing I found fun was the foreshadowing of Dorian's death in the beginning. He throws a tantrum about how painting will mock him as he ages and Basil gets upset and decides to destroy it. He goes towards the painting with a knife of some sort causing Dorian to yell out to stop, that to destroy the painting would be to kill him.

Sounds good

Welcome to the group, Emma! I haven't read either of those but they are both are on my 'to-read' list. I look forward to your selection.

I didn't realize you had responded, Amy. My apologies for the delay. I suppose it is just a difference in opinion on Jurgis' intentions. In my opinion, he was just motivated to do his best. He was proud of his skills and speed and saw it as a way to move forward and do more for his family. His lack of compassion for his coworkers was misguided in that he saw it as them being less motivated to work hard, rather than the fact that they had simply been at it longer and had already been beat down. He would soon come to realize the truth of it all. I can see how it could be interpreted different ways, though.

I agree with you both, Mike and Jordan, about the ending. It was too feel-good and felt awkward and forced into an unrealistic happy ending. It didn't work and brought the book down a notch in my opinion.

Amy, I think Jurgis was just trying to work harder (using his own words) to try and provide a better life for his family. The vibe that I got, was that he didn't realize that his 'harder work' would ultimately be done in vain. I don't feel like he was self-serving, just determined to do his best to keep his place as an employee. That seemed to be all anyone could do in that scenario. Workers were easily expendable, so if there was a 'weaker link', they could toss them on the street to starve and let another guy in. Jurgis was trying to keep his job so that he could provide something for his family.

You are right when you say that the mix up says a lot about the book, Jordan. So much tragedy to keep up with, it was hard to keep who died, and how, straight in my head. I see why you would want to put the book down, Mike. I'm curious as to whether or not you finished it. If so, what did you think of the ending?

I really liked this book. It was horrific and disturbing in a way that makes you think. If I were a high school English teacher, it would be on the top of the reading list for my students.

The most disturbing part for me was the complete disregard of life. It showed the ugliest of the ugly in human nature with the greed and corruption in business and politics. The steady destruction of Jurgis's family really brought to light the oppression of the poor, immigrant families in the book. They were tricked in to immigrating to Chicago with promises of higher wages and the potential of a happier life. Jurgis entered his first day so proud of himself and ready to work hard for his family only to get repeatedly knocked down and then kicked into utter submission. The family couldn't catch a break. I agree with you, Jordan, about the part when the son, Antanas, died alone in the street. That was a very bleak moment that left me with the 'Damn, this really isn't going to get better for them' thought. Even the brief moments of reprieve were short lived. What luck it was for Jurgis to run into the wealthy guy who mistakenly gave him a $100 bill! I thought, at least he'll be able to eat well for awhile. Nope, the greed and selfishness of the bartender took even that away. He didn't even get to drink the beer he bought to get the bill changed!

Amy, I didn't get the asshole vibe from Jurgis but I can see where some of his actions, or ways of handling things, weren't ideal. For example, he shouldn't have spent the families last $3 on booze after Ona died, however, I saw it as a guy who had been beaten down so much that losing his wife pushed him over the edge. Not exactly excusable, but I can't even begin to imagine what emotions and exhaustion he was dealing with. What else did he do to make you dislike him so much? The jock comparison threw me for a minute because I had completely missed the part of him flexing his arms and acting superior in the beginning. That is really funny though. I do remember him being so proud and ready to 'work harder' for his family and how he didn't understand why the others weren't just happy having any job. He learned quickly and was knocked off of his short lived pedestal where he looked down on the 'tramps'.

Ok, I will stop now. I could go on and on with this book. Haha

Agreed, Mike. I did the same.

Great, diverse selection to choose from! Decisions, decisions...

I neither loved nor hated this book. The first part was my favorite part of the story as well. The characters were interesting as well as entertaining. You made a good point about it almost reading as a historical novel, Mike. I, too, enjoyed the historical aspect of it. Historical novels, whether fiction or non, are on the top of my favorite genre list. Although sci-fi is not my first choice, I do enjoy a good sci-fi story. Agreeing with Garrett, I also enjoyed the hobo character. He kept resurfacing and added a touch of mystery while connecting the different eras (?) of the book with a familiar 'face'. Jordan, your review hit the nail on the head. You painted a great picture of each phase of the book. I think felt the same, or similar, anxiousness as the story came to an end. It felt like an endless cyclical path of the buildup, development and ultimate destruction of societies. All in all, the book was not bad and was a new experience for me in many ways. For that I'm glad to have read it.

June 6th works for me. :)

Awesome! I don't recall reading anything from this author. I look forward to it!

I, also, didn't realize that it was a collection of short stories going into it. I enjoyed the story of Mowgli, perhaps because it was the one I was most familiar with. Rikki Tikki Tavi was also vaguely familiar. I chose to listen to the book via librivox and found it to be a refreshingly light and relaxing tale to listen to in the beginning. It was definitely an easy and nostalgic story. I have to admit that after the first story ended I found myself easily distracted from the book on numerous occasions. The remaining stories didn't keep my full attention.

Thanks for the tip about Librivox.com, Jordan! I've found that there's also a Librivox app! It's really simple to use so far.

What is the audio book length? Less than 10 hours I assume? If so, it shouldn't take too long. Maybe 2 weeks?

I've not read that book. I look forward to it.

If I had to assume a future for Richard, he probably followed Door around until either being killed or getting lost.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Ask and you shall receive! "How the Marquis Got His Coat Back" is in this story collection.