Estefanía’s Comments (group member since Dec 08, 2019)

Estefanía’s comments from the EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club group.

I second The Woman in White.

I nominate The Book of Lamentations by Rosario Castellanos, 400 pages. First published in 1962.

I have never read Nancy Drew before, I remember her from a PC game. Sound fun, I second The Secret of the Old Clock.

Well, I discovered the staggering carelessness of acquaintances, friends and family. I strangely started looking for plagues in fiction. It funnily gives me some comfort. In the past I had started and stop reading some of them because I couldn't believe the characters bad decisions making, but now I know better. I'm just so tired.

I second the The Price of Salt: Or Carol and The Phantom of the Opera.

Kendyl wrote: "Listening to this now. Borrowed the audiobook through my local library. It’s read by Harlan Ellison and it’s the most entertaining book I’ve ever listened to! Ellison is so animated, I can’t help b..."

It sounds great, but I always get worried when a hear him. I remember him being super passionate in his voice work. He will always by the voice of AM to me.

I only have fuzzy memories of seeing adaptations about Vernes work. I hope it will be a good time.

Just a little question. Was it normal for people to have a beef with Jules Vernes in the seventies? The guy wrote the prologue (he was also the translator) of my copy really didn't like Vernes. I was just confused at the guy how is supposed to get you interested in the story, go out of his way to call the author's body of work vulgar, mediocre and "literature".

I'm asking because I read a prolog in The Time Machine edition that also took shots at the guy. However they were nicer, they called him boring next to H. G. Wells.

A member nominated A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, 496 pages, yesterday in the Classics suggestions. She is being back by one member, at the time of this comment.

I nominate The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, 294 pages. I also second Jane Eyre.

In the Classics (1969 & before) suggestions someone nominated A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, 480 pages. The Bookshelf is getting so large, I'm not surprised if somebody missed a book while checking the old reads.

If your starting maybe some short reads a will be good.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.
Beloved by Toni Morrison.
The Burning Plain and Other Stories by Juan Rulfo.
The Popol Vuh

Well,I kind of saw her as someone with no self esteem. Recounting everything with self loathing up to eleven. She focus so much on herself and Rebecca that Maxim is just there. I really didn't understand why she was so invested in the guy. It's like she though of course his great, I don't have to explain a thing.

If she wanted tug at our heartstrings, wouldn't she play up the going from hotel to hotel and the traumatized husband? For what little we now of their future is Manderley is gone. Nothing is said about rebuilding. The longing for that building make the fire look like a murder. The family never stopped mourning nor have the will to move on. Nonetheless, she can choose to get lost in her memories, the husband isn't so fortunate. By the Ms. de Winter's description he will soon get his wish and leave everything behind. Let's hope he doesn't confuse her for Rebecca on one of his bad days.

Betsy wrote: "That's an unforgettable point Barbara. Gives me chills just reading your comment haha!

Estefanía, thank you for that important and relevant historical note. Man, it sounds mad, like propaganda tal..."

Because it was. More specifically an attempt of the cleaning the industry's image after a number of scandals and help it weather the landmark decision of Mutual Film Corp. v. Industrial Commission of Ohio. The Supreme Court at the time decided the free speech didn't extend to motion pictures. That left them at the mercy of indecency laws. However, it was overruled by Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson ("The Miracle Decision") in 1952. In other words, the day was saved by an italian anthology film (L'Amore) section called The Miracle. Because reality has to be more on the nose than fiction.

That is a result of the Hays Code. It was designed to "regulate the moral content of feature films", basically the same as the Comics Code Authority (CCA) for its medium. A form of self regulation, in order to prevent government regulation. In crime and law section:
Crime and immorality could never be portrayed in a positive light.
Methods of committing crime could not be explicitly presented.

Alfred Hitchcock couldn't included the original twist if he wanted his movie to see the light of day. It had to be change into an accident. The problem of the new one a guess is the same thing that happens with adaptations. When there is more than one version of the same work, nip and cut the part whey like. They wanted Du Maurier, but also Hitchcock name recognition. That's why I imagine they kept a change that Hitchcock didn't even want to do in the first place. Also, they seem to have thought it was a romance as in a love story and not in the gothic sense. Heck, you could say they might have wanted a classy fifty shades of grey.

I second Their Eyes Were Watching God and Gulliver's Travels.

I second Misery.

I nominate 1984 by George Orwell, 328 pages. Also, second Jane Eyre.

I nominate Herland, The Yellow Wall-Paper, and Selected Writings by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 384 pages.

I second A Raisin in the Sun.

I second Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and A Wizard of Earthsea.

I nominate Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig, 281 pages.