Jane from B.C.’s Comments (group member since Aug 08, 2010)

Jane from B.C.’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

10.8 SPELL IT OUT
(Authour's initials - P.R.)


Nemesis by Philip Roth


This is my first experience reading Philip Roth. It is a slight novel but it packs a wallop.
Intially I was struck by the simplicity of the writing – it almost seems old-fashioned.

The story is set in the scorching hot summer of 1944 in Newark. 23-year-old Bucky Cantor runs the summer playground program keeping the children entertained and active. Bucky has been omitted from serving in WWII due to his poor eyesight. This is something he feels guilty about, so the conscientously throws him self into his summer job. He has a girl friend working at a summer camp in the Poconos and a loving grandmother at home. But then the virulent scourge polio strikes the community and begins infecting the chilren at the playground.

Philip Roth does a wonderful job of setting the scene as the fear and paranoia gradually take hold of the community. I felt caught up in the fear, and wondered how I would have handled it had I been a parent or child in such circumstances. A curious thing about the novel is the perspective from which it is told. It initially appears to be first person, but not Bucky telling the story. Then it fades away to third only to reappear later as first. The second section of the book is third person. By the final part of the book the narrator is revealed. It is a curious device and one I am still mulling over.

I know that Roth is considered by many to be one of America’s greatest living novelists. I have no way of commenting on that sentiment based on reading this one novel. However I do find this book worthy of contemplation.

+10 Task
+10 Review

TOTAL = 195

Task 20.5 In honor of Emma

Female authour and female 1st person narrator/main character

One Good Hustle by Billie Livingston


Set in the 80s, this is the story of a 17-year-old Sammie Bell, who has been raised by two con artists. The story begins as she has moved out on her drunk, suicidal mother and is staying with her best friend, Jill.

I found the authour really captured the essence of an adolescent girl - her sarcastic defensiveness mixed with vulnerability. Sammie came life instantly on the page with her distinctive voice. Sammie is torn between loyalty to her parents and her desire to be a 'normal' kid. She also feels that she is damned to be a grifter like her parents. When I picked this up I feared that it would be a bleak story, but it is not. It is not overly heavy and there is actually a great deal of humour in the tale but it is heartfelt and thoughtful. I was sorry when the story ended as it seemed to do so rather abruptly. I would have happily spent more time in Sammie's world.

On a side note, the story is set in Burnaby, British Columbia (the city just east of Vancouver). I live not too far away and I always find it a treat to read a story set in my 'neck-of-the-woods.'

+20 Task
+10 Review

+30 Task total

Grand total = 175

20th Century - Chronologician

15.3 Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes published 1966

Task +15
Bonus +10

Sub total for That's so 20th Century: 65

GRAND TOTAL: 145

Task 20.5 : In honor of Emma

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes



The author is female and the story it told in 1st person (with the exception of about 15% of the story) by main character Louisa Clark. (With the exception of the prologue, all non-Louisa 1st person is used as POV of another character’s take on Louisa or for expository purposes to the story.)

This book has been touted as a modern day “Love Story” but having never read “Love Story” nor seen the movie, I don’t know if this statement is accurate. Yes it is a love story about two people from different ‘worlds’, but it is also about a young woman who’s perspective on life is changed when she become a companion to a paraplegic. Louisa is 27, from a working class family. She has never seen the world nor stretched herself much. She is content working at a café and living at home. Her paycheque helps support the family. When her job ends, she is forced to take a position as a companion to a well-to-do man who used to have a big-city job, and has travelled the world. They clash initially, but then gradually they get to know each other. Yes, it all sounds cliché and I did find the story fairly predictable. However, I liked Louisa as I enjoyed the voice the authour gave her. There is a fairly significant ethical topic raised within the context of the story and it did give me food for though.

+20 Task
+10 Review

Task Total: +30

Grand TOTAL: 120

Karen GHHS wrote: "I really enjoy books about midwives so I am hoping these are ok:

...

The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times by Jennifer ..."

and the TV series which this book inspired - Call the Midwife - is a BBC production (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_the...) so it would get combo points for 20.2, would it not?

I am reading Flowers for Algernon for the 20th century challenge and want to confirm that it is eligible at a 1966 publication.

It was initially published as a short story in a magazine in 1959 but was expanded and published as a novel in 1966. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowers_...

Could you please clarify ?

Thanks!

Chronologician Task 15.2: 1965

Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall

+15 Task
+10 Bonus

Task total: +25

That's so 20th century Total: +40

GRAND TOTAL: +90

Rebekah wrote: "So has anyone figured out if any of the group reads are eligible for combo points? I usually try to fit as many of the group reads into the various tasks because I really enjoy reading the books th..."

Rebekah - I know off the top of my head that The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was made into a BBC mini-series (IMdB here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115387/) back in the mid-90s. So that makes it eligible for 20.2 combo points.

10.4 Irish born authour

Saint Joan: A Chronicle Play in Six Scenes & an Epilogue by George Bernard Shaw

REVIEW:
This is a fascinating play and very insightful into how Shaw thought. It is his only tragedy but by his own words: "There are no villains in this piece." Many call it his best work.

When this play was published in 1924, Shaw added an extensive, dense 50 page preface in which he spells out his rationalization for how he came about creating his character of Joan and her detractors and other elements in the play. It is a marvelous insight into his thinking and philosophy and is filled with his sarcasm and wit. However, I recommend reading the play first and then returning to the 'meaty' preface afterwards.

The play itself is lengthy and somber, but not with out Shaw's trademark humour, especially in the first Act. Shaw's Joan is a stubborn, determined young woman who's deep religious faith confounds her detractors. There are plenty of detractors - Earl of Warwick, the Bishop of Beauvais (Cauchon), and the Inquisitor to name a few. Shaw omits the staging of any action packed set pieces - there are no battle scenes; nor the coronation of the Dauphin to King Charles VII; nor do we see the burning of Joan at the stake. However it is a lengthy play as it's running time is 3 1/2 hours according to the Preface. Some have tried to shorten the play by removing the Epilogue in which Joan and her detractors appear before King Charles VII in a dream and it is revealed to her critics that she is now St. Joan. Shaw condemns the omission of the Epilogue in his preface. I do see how the omission of the Epilogue may seem logical to some, however the act of canonizing Joan spurred Shaw to write this play; so to omit his Epilogue is to strip much of Shaw's message from it.

I enjoyed the play and hope some day to see it performed.

+10 Task
+10 Reveiw
+10 Oldie (published 1924)

Task total: 30
Grand total: 60

10.1 Square Peg

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Authour Ernest Cline takes the reader on a wild 'geeky' ride through 2044 where the Global Energy Crisis has made the world an awful place, but most people can escape, be educated and be employed in the virtual world - OASIS - created over decades by James Halliday. When Halliday dies, he leaves a will inviting anyone and everyone to join in a complex 'easter egg' hunt in OASIS. The first to find the 'egg' will be the new owner/controller of the OASIS virtual world. The clues to the hunt are all wrapped up in 80s pop culture references - movies, music, video games and TV shows. The young protagonist, Wade (aka Parzival), jumps into the hunt.

This book is a beach read for 'geeks' and fans of 80s pop culture. I thoroughly enjoyed the book while reading it and I found some of his pop culture references nostalgic, but ultimately it is a bit of fluff. One nitpick I have with the premise of the story: If the world has suffered a Global Energy Crisis, how can so many people be 'jacked in' to the sophisticated virtual world of OASIS which would be a HUGE energy draw to run?? Hmmmm.

+10 Task
+10 Review

Task total: +20

Grand total : +35

George Sand is one of the authors mentioned on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum wiki in the 'other' section. No specific book is mentioned. Is this Five Comediesa viable option for this task?

Chronologician Task 15.1: 1964

I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (Lexile score 810)

+15: task

RwS Total: 15

Would The Paris Wife by Paula McLain be and acceptable book for this tasks?

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Got it! Thanks for bringing it to our attention."

Thank you so much!

Hi,
I was wondering if the page number listed for a book could be corrected. I am currently reading .
I have the book with the ISBN 978-0-670-06637-7. (The Canadian hardcover edition). GoodReads states that this edition has 288 pages when it actually has 350. Can this record somehow be updated to reflect the correct pagination? Thanks so much!!

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Jane from BC: you should look again at your 1970 entry for 84, Charing Cross Road. The most popular edition is only 97 pages, not meeting our 100 page minimum."

OK ..thanks for catching that!! I will look for an alternative.

I have not participate in a Reading with Style challenge in quite awhile, but thought that I would give it a go. This one sounds like fun.

Here is my Chronologican list as it stands. I may tweak it.

1964: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory(Lexile 810)
1965: Roseanna
1966: Flowers for Algernon (Leixile 910)
1967: I Heard the Owl Call My Name (Lexile 1080)
1968: The Santaroga Barrier
1969: The Edible Woman
1970: 84, Charing Cross Road , The Bluest Eye
1971: Nemesis
1972: Watership Down
1973: Duchess of Bloomsbury Street

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Jane from BC wrote: "I have a question about publication dates. I am considering a book published in 1967 in Canada, but not published in the US until 1973. Can I use either?

(Here is informatio..."

Thanks!

I have a question about publication dates. I am considering a book published in 1967 in Canada, but not published in the US until 1973. Can I use either?

(Here is information about the book:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Heard_...)

I believe that fits this task. Right?

Here is the link to the wiki info about the book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeline...