Book Concierge’s Comments (group member since Feb 12, 2016)

Book Concierge’s comments from the Who Doesn't Love a Classic? group.

A classic in the mystery genre.


At Bertram’s Hotel – Agatha Christie
Digital audiobook performed by Stephanie Cole.
3***

Miss Marple takes a holiday in London at the well-known Bertram’s Hotel. She always stays at this property; she enjoys the traditional décor, the attentive staff, the high tea, and people watching as the many guests flow in and out of the property. But unknown connections between various guests become apparent after an elderly, and rather forgetful, cleric goes to the airport on the wrong day.

Christie excels at creating complicated plots with many suspects and red herrings to keep the reader guessing. She has plenty of surprises in store with this one as well. I had, unfortunately for me, seen the PBS Masterpiece mystery series episode, so knew where it was heading, but I still found it fascinating to watch how Christie wove the elements together.

Stephanie Cole did a fine job of narrating the audiobook. She sets a good pace and has the skill as a voice artist to differentiate the many characters. I do like the way she interprets Miss Marple.




LINK to my review

Out Of Africa – Isak Dinesen / Karen Blixen – 5*****

I had a farm in Africa. One of the best opening lines.

What glorious writing. I first read this in 1998, and re-read it for my book club in 2013. I revisited it again in 2017 and now, here I am again. If you're expecting the movie you'll be greatly disappointed - Denys Finch-Hatton is barely mentioned. No, the great love of her life was Africa itself.

While I still love Dineson’s writing, and love the way she puts me right into early 20th century Africa, I am more attuned to social justice these days, and have to cringe a bit at some of the references to the indigenous tribes. The colonialists had such a superior attitude. But this a product of the era and of the social status of the writer, and we must give her her due. She worked long and hard to try to succeed in this doomed effort to grow coffee at too high an altitude, and with a husband who basically abandoned her as soon as she arrived.

Here are a couple of passages:
Night on the farm: It rained a little, but there was a moon; from time to time she put out her dim white face high up in the sky, behind layers and layers of thin clouds, and was then dimly mirrored in the white-flowering coffee-field.

The view from a plane: You have tremendous views as you get up above the African highlands, surprising combinations and changes of light and colouring, the rainbow on the green sunlit land, the gigantic upright clouds and big wild black storms, all swing round you in a race and a dance. … You may at other times fly low enough to see the animals on the plains and to feel towards them as God did when he had just created them, and before he commissioned Adam to give them names.

The view from the perfect spot: “To the South, far away, below the changing clouds lay the broken, dark blue foothills of Kilimanjaro. As we turned to the North the light increased, pale rays for a moment slanted in the sky and a streak of shining silver drew up the shoulder of Mount Kenya. Suddenly, much closer, to the East below us, was a little red spot in the grey and green, the only red there was, the tiled roof of my house on its cleared place in the forest. We did not have to go any further, we were in the right place.”

For this, my fourth re-read of this work, I choose to listen to the audible audio, performed by the marvelously talented Julie Harris. Unfortunately, this is an abridged version of Dinesen’s memoir. While I really enjoyed Harris’s performance, it’s worth the time to read the entire book.


LINK to my review

All Quiet On the Western Front – Erich Marie Remarque
Book on CD narrated by Frank Muller.
4****

From the book jacket: “I am young. I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow.” This is the testament of Paul Baumer, who enlists with his classmates in the German army during World War I. They become soldiers with youthful enthusiasm. But the world of duty, culture, and progress they had been taught breaks in pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches.

My reactions;
Many have called this the “greatest war novel of all time.” I’m not certain I agree with that superlative, but it IS a powerful, emotional, gripping, disturbing, enthralling, and honest exploration of war and its effects on the young who become the pawns of their leaders.

Remarque was himself a soldier in World War I, so he was intimately acquainted with both the romantic adventure that lures many a young person to enlist and the despair and terror of the horrors witnessed on the battlefield.

Frank Muller’s performance on the audio book is perfect. He is in turns eager, excited, confused, terrified, gentle, compassionate, ruthless, defeated, or hopeful.


My full review HERE

Caddie Woodlawn’s Family – Carol Ryrie Brink
3.5***

This sequel to the popular Caddie Woodlawn book was originally titled “Magical Melons” when first published in 1939

Set in the late 1800s, in Western Wisconsin, the books chronicle life in the Woodlawn family, primarily from the perspective of Caddie, who is almost 13 in this episode. She and her five siblings have great fun in and around their farm and the land surrounding it. They enjoy school, visit with neighbors, marvel at the stories told by traveling preachers and peddlers. A rare trip to town fills them with wonder and joy.

There are some vignettes that made me cringe … chiefly dealing with the prejudices against the native Indian tribes in the area. But, like the “Little House on the Prairie” series, these books provide a reasonable look at life in those pioneer days.




LINK to my review

The Jungle Book – Rudyard Kipling
Digital audiobook performed by Ralph Cosham
3.5***

Of course I was familiar with Mowgli, Shere Khan, and Baloo, but I had never read the stories that make up this classic of children’s literature.

This edition had Mowgli’s tale, but also included three bonus stories: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (the mongoose who battles the cobras), Toomai (who watches the elephants dance), and Kotick (the white seal who leads his herd to a safe haven). They are marvelous adventure stories with a few life lessons included. The exotic nature of the setting appeals to the imagination as well.

I remember a children’s book I had as a child that had a one of the Jungle Book stories in it. I loved when my Daddy would read it because he of the voices he used for the different animals. Well, sorry, Daddy, but Ralph Cosham does an even better job when performing the audio. His underlying sibilant hiss for the cobras was just chilling. And his deeply sinister voice for Shere Khan would make anyone afraid. It was an absolute delight to listen to him read this classic.


LINK to my review

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland -and- Through the Looking Glass – Lewis Carroll
Digital audiobook performed by Christopher Plummer
3***

Believe or not, I had never read this classic of children’s literature before. Oh, I knew the basics of the story. And, of course, I had seen the Disney movie when I was a child. I even had one or two of the chapters included in a series of books I had as a child (and still have to this day). But it took a challenge to read a banned book to finally get me to crack this one open.

I certainly understand why this story is so beloved by so many legions of children. There is absurdity, fun word play, unusual situations, talking animals, and a slew of outlandish characters. Still, I think I just may be too old to really appreciate it. I was bored with much of the craziness. I just couldn’t let my imagination run wild and enjoy it.

Christopher Plummer does a fabulous job of narrating the audio version, however! His gift for many voices and accents added to the experience; I absolutely LOVED the way he voiced the white rabbit. Also, there is a bonus chapter at the end – an alternate ending to the knight’s tale that Carroll wrote but which was never published. I’d rate Plummer’s audio performance 5***** (but I won’t increase the overall rating).



LINK to my review

Mark wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: "Christopher Hurt did a fine job narrating the audio book. There’s something about that clipped British accent that just draws me in."

My first exposure to the story came not..."

OH, I bet Nimoy did a fantastic job!

The War of the Worlds – H G Wells
Digital audiobook performed by Christopher Hurt
4****

Classic science-fiction horror. Residents of a small community outside London are puzzled and curious about the “meteor” that has landed in a nearby field. But it’s clearly a manufactured rather than a natural object. And they notice that there is an effort – from the inside – to open the vessel. Thus begins the horror that becomes an invasion from Mars.

I knew the basic premise going in. I knew about the Orson Welles’ radio broadcast that caused panic (despite an introduction advising that this was a dramatic reading of a work of fiction). But I’d never read the original.

The first-person narrative lends a sense of urgency and immediacy to the narrative. The reader feels completely immersed in the story. Wells includes significant tension; while there are a few moments of respite, I found it a very anxiety-producing read. I like that he leaves much to the reader’s imagination, which heightens the suspense.

Christopher Hurt did a fine job narrating the audio book. There’s something about that clipped British accent that just draws me in.



LINK to my review

Doña Barbara – Rómulo Gallegos
3.5***

This classic of South American literature was first published in 1929 and virtually forgotten by US readers. It first came to my attention through Public Broadcasting System’s Great American Read program in 2019.

It is an epic tale of two cousins who are fighting for control of a vast estate / ranch in Venezuela. Doña Barbara is beautiful and powerful. At her core she hates men for the way she was used and abused as a young girl. She has earned a reputation as a witch and is widely known for using, abusing and tossing aside her lovers as whim and her needs dictate. She fits perfectly into the wild, untamed landscape of the llano (prairie) and the surrounding swamps, bogs and jungles.

In contrast, we have Santos Luzardo, who, while born on the plains has long left for an education in the city. Now he returns to reclaim his inheritance – land and cattle. But he retains the manners and customs of his city education. Their battle is both cerebral (who can outwit the other?), and physical, involving seduction, chicanery, violence, gamesmanship, cunning and some magic as well.

The novel is an early example of magical realism and Gallegos weaves together adventure, fantasy, and romance. He uses vivid description and outlandish storytelling (I loved the one-eyed monster alligator!) to bring this era to life. The various outdoor scenes were particularly exciting – I could practically taste the grit, feel the dust in my nostrils, hear the roar of stampeding herd, and smell the smoke of an uncontrolled wildfire.

If there was an element that made me downgrade my rating it was the story of Marisela, and the way that Doña Barbara came to terms with that character. It was rather melodramatic and very soap-opera-ish.

In the introduction, Larry McMurtry writes: “[Doña Barbara] is, in her way, a tragic heroine, seeking to attract a decent lover, while giving herself day and night to very coarse lovers indeed. She is, however very vividly drawn, a Bovary of the llano.”



LINK to my review

Something Fresh – P G Wodehouse
Digital audiobook performed by Jonathan Cecil.
3***

Book One in the Blandings Castle series, featuring the elderly Lord Emsworth, his son Hon. Freddie Threepwood, and his trusty secretary, Baxter. The basic plot involves Lord E’s neighbor, the wealth American, Mr Peters, and his prize collection of scarabs. Ashe Marson is a writer of a popular mystery/adventure series, who is in need of inspiration – and funds. Joan Valentine is Marson’s lovely neighbor – a young woman who is struggling to find herself and soon takes a “position’ as lady’s maid to her old school chum, Aline Peters (daughter of Mr Peters, and engaged to Hon. Freddie T.)

Wodehouse excels are writing ridiculously plotted societal comedies that poke fun at the aristocracy and just about everyone else as well. There are unlikely disguises, attempts at hiding identities, and a variety of funny missteps along the way. Of course, true love will win out and everyone will be happy in the end.

I had grown tired of the Jeeves series and stopped reading Wodehouse, but I’m glad I gave the author another try. This was a delightful romp and crime caper/comedy. Just great fun to read … or listen to.

Johnathan Cecil does a fine job performing the audiobook. He has a lot of characters to deal with and is up to the task. I particularly like the way he voices Lord Emsworth, the Hon Freddie, and the blustery Mr Peters.



LINK to my review

O Pioneers! – Willa Cather
4****

Cather’s first novel follows one family over decades as they settle the great plains of Nebraska. The heroine is Alexandra Bergson, who comes to the prairie near Hanover, NE, as the only girl in a family of brothers. Yet it is Alexandra who grows up to take over the farm from her father and ensure the family’s prosperity.

I loved Alexandra, despite her blind spots. This is a strong woman! Her love of the land is evident, but she is no romantic. Her eyes are wide open to potential disasters, but her shrewd instinct and even handedness in the way she husbands resources and manages both the land and the farm workers help her avoid disaster and recover from set-backs.

In addition, Alexandra is also completely dedicated to her family and to helping her younger brother, in particular, achieve his dreams. Her devotion, however, comes with a price, and she foregoes more than one chance at her own personal happiness. And yet, the story encompasses triumph as well as tragedy.

Cather’s writing is gloriously descriptive. I can smell the scent of freshly turned earth, hear the animals, feel the dusty grit. Her work evokes in me a kind of nostalgia for a simpler time, and at the same time, great relief that I do not have to perform that hard work today.



LINK to my review

1st Published in 1956, this is a "modern" classic ...



Giovanni’s Room – James Baldwin
Digital audiobook performed by Dan Butler
4****

A classic of gay literature explores the coming of age of a young American living in Paris in the 1950s. Torn between his fiancé and the bartender he meets and comes to love, David struggles to find a way to be true to himself.

I don’t know how I came across this little gem of a novel. But I’m so glad I’ve read it. Baldwin’s writing is evocative and atmospheric. His characters are well drawn and reveal their strengths and weaknesses through their thoughts and actions. I did think the dialogue was a little stilted, especially between Hella and David, but then I suppose it would be, as these characters (particularly David) are trained to be circumspect about such things. And David has spent so much of his young life hiding the truth from others, and, more importantly, from himself.

The tragedy that unfolds as a result of all this duplicity is perhaps inevitable, but still breaks my heart. I feel for all these characters as their dreams and aspirations are slowly destroyed. I think Hella will find her way; her eyes have been opened and she’ll be more cautious next time, but she’ll find love again. But David? I worry for David. I wonder what is next for him as the novel closes, and I can’t seem to imagine a happy ending. But perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps he’s learned something valuable about being honest with himself and others. Perhaps he’ll get another chance to love honestly and find happiness. In today’s environment, certainly that could happen. In the 1950s?

Dan Butler does a superb job of reading the audiobook. He sets a good pace and gave a nuanced and empathetic performance.



LINK to my review

Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Audible audio performed by George Guidall
4****

Who hasn’t heard of Don Quixote fighting windmills, or wearing a barber’s basin as a helmet? Who doesn’t know about his faithful squire, Sancho Panza? Or the beautiful Dulcinea, for whom the Knight is ready to lay down his life?

I’d read snippets from this work over the years but never experienced the whole thing. I’m sorry I waited so long to do so. It is a marvelous piece of fiction and is widely acknowledged as the first modern-day novel.

Cervantes gives us a main character who has lofty ideals and a noble purpose, but who is fatally flawed (possibly insane). His attempts to replicate the feats of chivalry he has long read about and admired are met with scorn and ridicule, yet he remains faithful to his ideal. Certain that he will save the imprisoned Dulcinea and win her heart and everlasting gratitude.

Sancho is the faithful servant, commenting frequently in pithy sayings and proverbs, trying, in vain to steer his master away from disaster, but gamely following and taking his punishment. My favorite section is toward the end when Sancho is “appointed governor” and asked to hand out judgment on a variety of disputes. His solutions are surprisingly wise, despite his convoluted explanations.

This edition is translated by Edith Grossman, and was published in 2003. While I have not read other translations, nor the original Spanish, I thought it flowed smoothly and gave me a sense of Cervantes’ style.

The audiobook of this translation is performed by George Guidall, and he does a fantastic job of it. I was fully engaged and recalled those long-ago days when my grandparents, aunts or uncles would tell stories on the porch on summer evenings, all us children listening in rapt attention. I particularly liked the voices he used for both Don Quixote and for Sancho Panza.



LINK to my review

Moby-Dick, Or, the Whale – Herman Melville
Digital audiobook performed by Anthony Heald
4****

This is a re-read … sort of. The first time I attempted this book I was only 11 years old, in 7th grade, and participating in a “great books” discussion group. I gave up and relied on the Cliff’s notes and watching the movie with Gregory Peck as Ahab.

Some years ago, I read Nathaniel Philbrick’s excellent In the Heart Of the Sea , a nonfiction account of the whaleship Essex, which was the inspiration for Melville’s tale. I found it fascinating and commented “Almost makes me want to read Moby Dick .”

Well I didn’t forget that urge and decided to give the audiobook a try. I’m glad I did.

Yes, Melville writes in great detail – ad nauseum – about the intricacies of whaling, the various species of aquatic mammals, the arduous and dirty (even disgusting) job of butchering the carcass. But he also explores the relationships developed among the crew, the sights of new ports, the weeks of tedious boredom broken by a day or two of exhilarating chase.

And then there is the psychology of Ahab. A man tortured by his own obsession and need for revenge. That was the most interesting part of the book for me and I wanted much more of it.

I struggled with my rating and ultimately decided on 4 stars for the enduring quality of the work; despite its flaws and the things I disliked about it it’s a work that will stay with me.

Anthony Heald was the narrator of the audio book I got from my library. He did a fine job of the narration. He read at a good pace and brought some life to a work that frequently bogs down in minutia.



My full review HERE

Man’s Search For Meaning – Viktor E Frankl
Digital audio narrated by Simon Vance
5*****

I first read this book when I was in college and it has remained with me ever since. When a book group hosted by a local university announced this as one of their picks I immediately signed on for the discussion.

This is both a memoir and an inspirational lesson in how to survive and thrive. Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl relates his experiences in Nazi concentration camps and shares the experiences, too, of his patients, to show that, while no one can completely avoid suffering, we can choose HOW to deal with and process those experiences to find meaning and a renewed sense of purpose.

I was struck by a few things that I’d forgotten or overlooked the first time I read it. Frankl had some serendipitous encounters even in the midst of the horrors of the concentration camps. The advice to shave closely, for example, helped him give the appearance of a healthier person, thus saving him from being culled from the group as too weak to work. Additionally, his attitude of acceptance seemed to give him the strength to endure. Over and over again he chose to remain and face his fate, rather than try to escape.

The book is divided into two parts. The first is more memoir of the times he spent in the camps. The second part goes into detail on how he developed and refined his theory of logotherapy. While the second clearly builds on the first, I thought it was less interesting than the memoir section. I found section two more academic rather than personal, and therefore it had less impact.

Simon Vance does a marvelous job reading the audiobook. His diction is clear, and he sets a good pace and an appropriate tone for this serious and insightful work. Still, I did read sections of it in text format, and I think it is best experienced by reading the text.


My full review HERE

Around the World In 80 Days – Jules Verne
Digital audiobook performed by Frederick Davidson
4****

One of the books in Verne’s series of “Extraordinary Voyages” begins when Phileas Fogg accepts a wager at his gentleman’s club. He’s certain that he will be able to circumnavigate the world in eighty days. Taking a significant amount of cash and his trusty servant Passepartout, and chased by Detective Fix who is certain Fogg is a bank robber, they set out on a grand adventure.

I’d seen more than one movie adaptation but had never read the book until now. What a delight! (Although, of course, there are some racial stereotypes that grate on the modern reader’s sensibilities.)

I marveled at how cool and collected – almost uninterested – Fogg remained throughout. He is never upset or even particularly inconvenienced. He moves with the certainty that he is correct in assuming that he can achieve this great task. Passepartout on the other hand is in a dither frequently, and he is a wonderful foil for Fogg … and for Detective Fix.

Great fun!

One quibble re cover art. SO many covers (as well as the movies) show the iconic hot-air balloon … which is NEVER used in the book!

Frederick Davidson does a marvelous job narrating the audiobook. He sets a good pace and I loved the way he interpreted the characters. I was happy also to have a text copy available, which included a handful of full-color illustrations, as well as a small drawing of the mode of travel for each of the chapters.



LINK to my review

Seems that I'm the only member who still posts anything. I hesitate to delete the group in its entirety, just in case people are at least reading these posts. And, in case some of our old Shelfari friends return at some time.

I'm still very active on Goodreads ... so fell free to reach out to me with a private message if you don't want to post in this group.

I'll keep posting reviews of classics I read.

Our Man In Havana – Graham Greene
Book on CD performed by Jeremy Northam
4****

Jim Wormold is not very successful as a vacuum cleaner salesman in Havana. His chief accomplishment is his lovely daughter, Milly, who attend a private Catholic school and has developed expensive tastes and attracted the romantic attention of Police Captain Segura. He happens to meet Hawthorne, a man who is a British intelligence agent, and who recruits him to spy for the mother country. It comes with a reasonable salary, as well as an expense account, and the promise of more as Wormold signs up additional local sources / agents. Before long Wormold is inventing a string of sources, sending amateur sketches of a nefarious weapon (really vacuum cleaner parts), and finding his life really in danger.

This delightful send-up of espionage / spy thrillers was published in 1958, just a few months before Castro’s successful revolution and takeover in January 1959. Greene gives us a wonderful supporting cast of shady characters, corrupt police officials, and clueless bureaucrats, a nice romantic twist and a not-to-be-believed ending. Great fun, though the British humor is a bit dry. I've never seen the movie but kept picturing Sir Alec Guinness in the lead role.

Jeremy Northam does a fine job performing the audio version. He was able to give the many characters sufficiently unique voices so I could keep the story straight. He was a little less successful differentiating between Milly and Beatrice, but they don’t have many scenes together so that wasn’t a major problem.



LINK to my review

The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
Book on C.D. read by William Hurt
3***

One of Hemingway’s earliest novels, this was first published in 1926, and has never been out of print since that time. It is loosely based on the author’s own experiences with a circle of friends frequently known as “The Lost Generation.”

The novel follows Jake Barnes, an American journalist, and Lady Brett Ashley, a twice-divorced Englishwoman who seems unable to function without a man fawning over her. Together with a group of friends, including Brett’s fiancé, the Scot, Mike Campbell they travel from Paris to Pamplona for the Festival of San Fermin, and the running of the bulls. Along the way more than one man is convinced he loves Brett and can win her affections.

The first Hemingway work I read was his The Old Man and the Sea, which was assigned reading when I was in 8th grade. I loved it and have been a fan of Hemingway’s ever since. Still, some of his works fail to resonate with me. And this was one of them.

The ennui with which these people live their lives just doesn’t interest me. I am as bored as they seem to be by their own lives. I don’t understand the attraction to Brett, who seems unable to form any lasting relationship but lives for the conquest. Yes, she beautiful and apparently has some money, but men are literally coming to blows over her affections.

And Jake? I get that he’s been wounded in WW1, and that has resulted in impotence. I can understand his resultant reserve and reliance on alcohol to dull his emotions. But I just didn’t get the relationship between he and Brett. Or for that matter, his relationship with the other characters. What drew them together? And what kept them connected?

I may have liked (or at least appreciated) the novel more had I read rather than listened. I absolutely hated William Hurt’s delivery on the audio. He is a wonderful actor, but in this case he sounded so bored and uninterested. I felt that the pace dragged. He even managed to make the bullfight sound boring. 1* for his performance of the audio.

NOTE: The book was published in Britain under the title Fiesta



LINK to my review

Riders of the Purple Sage – Zane Grey
Digital audiobook read by John Bolen.
3***

From the book jacket: Cottonwoods, Utah, 1871. A woman stands accused. A man, sentenced to whipping. In … rides … Lassiter, a notorious gunman who’s come to avenge his sister’s death. It doesn’t take Lassiter long to see that this once-peaceful Mormon community is controlled by the corrupt Deacon Tull – a powerful elder who’s trying to take the woman’s land by forcing her to marry him, branding her foreman a dangerous “outsider.” Lassiter vows to help them. But when the ranch is attacked by horse thieves, cattle rustlers, and a mysterious Masked Rider, he realizes they’re up against something bigger, and more brutal, than the land itself…

My reactions
I hardly know what to write about this classic of the Western genre. It’s full of adventure, violence, strong men and women, tenderness, brutality and an abiding sense of justice. And, of course, there is the landscape, which Grey paints so vividly it is practically a character.

Yes, the storyline and dialogue are a bit melodramatic. But Grey’s story still captured this reader’s imagination with its sense of drama, almost non-stop action, and bold characters. I was reminded of the many western movies I watched with my Daddy in the ‘50s and ‘60s. They were exciting and the good guys always won. Clearly those movies (and other books of the genre) had Grey’s strong foundation on which to build. I’m glad I finally read it.

The digital audio available through my library’s Overdrive system was read by John Bolen. I was not a great fan of his delivery, which seemed overly dramatic to me. I might have enjoyed this better had I read the text.



LINK to my review