☯Emily ’s
Comments
(group member since Jul 27, 2011)
☯Emily ’s
comments
from the Classics for Beginners group.
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Nina wrote: "I'm not sure anymore when this is stated (maybe only a bit later - I personally found the beginning of the book a bit confusing because the context is not clearly given) but this is explained. If y..."Much of your "spoiler" is indicated in Record One.
Dan, D-503 is also writing to those people who are his ancestors. He makes a reference to his audience in Record 5. He says,"I believe you won't judge me to harshly. I believe you will understand that it is more difficult for me to write than for any author in the course of all human history: some wrote for their contemporaries, others for their descendants, but no one ever wrote for their ancestor or beings who resemble their own distant, savage ancestors..."
I hope that answers Dan's question...LOL.
The translator of my edition, Natasha Randall, does not indicate the significance of 503. However, she say that Auditorium 112 refers to Zamyatin prison cell (#112).
Biblio wrote: "Spoiler free questions:How are you finding the Record approaches? Instead of using Chapters? Does it seem like a creepy alternative world?"
The word record seems more mathematical than chapter. One records numbers or data.
In Record 3, D-503 talks about freedom and its dangers. He doesn't understand how a government could allow its people to live in freedom. He yearns for every second of every day to be accounted for in the Table of Hours. Why is the concept of freedom so scary? I notice that in today's world that many are willing to give up their freedoms for security, protection against perceived enemies or even because the government dictates this.
Why do governments try to curtail freedoms? Why do we allow them to do so?
George Orwell definitely got some of his plot ideas from this book. I have only completed 6 records, but the following are similar: constant surveillance, regimented activities and a young woman who makes the first move to get acquainted with the protagonist. The women in both books seem very proactive and rebellious and seem tougher than the men.
Nick, I just read 1984 for the first time and loved it. It is so applicable to the events occurring in the world today. Alas, I hated Catcher in the Rye, which I read a few years ago.
Hayley wrote: "Half Blood Blues"This sounds like a great book by a Canadian author. However, it was published in 2011.
Enjoy reading Albert Camus? Andre Langevin admired Camus and his style of writing. Dust Over the City is Langevin's best known book. It was written in French and published in 1955. I am willing to lead.
In July 2017, Canada will be celebrating its 150th anniversary. The Canadians are excited and even the USA is excited for their sibling to the North.I thought it would be a great time to read about Canada. So, this month, we will nominate books about Canada or books written by Canadians. The normal rules apply:
Nomination Rules
1. One nomination per person.
2. Classic books only (over 50 years old).
3. Books can be of any length, but if a book wins and is over 600 pages, we will read it over a two month period.
4. No book we have read before as a group read.*
5. No book from an author who we have read in the last 10 months.†
6. To facilitate poll creation, please use a Goodreads link to add the nomination by clicking on 'add book/author' above the text box.
7. Please indicate whether or not you would be willing to lead the discussion if your nomination is chosen.
*For a full list of books we have read before please check the master-list: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
(Note: lists sorted by book title, author surname, or date read)
†Authors not to nominate:
Malcolm X (June 2017)
Yevgeny Zamyatin (May 2017)
Victor Hugo (March-April 2017)
Theodore Dreiser (January-February 2017)
Daniel Defoe (December 2016)
Albert Camus (November 2016)
M.R. James (October 2016)
Jack London (September 2016)
Charles Dickens (October-December 2016)
James Joyce (July-September 2016)
The poll will go up on May 14.
Nominations So Far:
Dust Over the City by Andre Langevin
Who Has Seen the Wind by W.O. Mitchell
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
I originally could not find this book in my extensive library. When I mentioned this to my librarian, she was stunned. It turns out that the author's name is spelled in different ways, so if you can't find it spelled one way, use Biblio's extensive listings to see if there is another spelling.
I just finished 1984 and We is mentioned as one of Orwell's inspirations. I will be eager to read this later in the month.
We had a tie this month. We have now created a runoff poll for the top two books. This is the link to the new poll. https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/4...
Piyangie, glad you are joining our group.
Biblio wrote: "Oops!! My bad!! I have 2 ideas ... We It inspired Orwell's 1984. Or Petersburg Maybe it's a mix of 1984 and Master and Margarite.
Must only pick one. *Narrows eyes in..."
I am intrigued by We. It sounds interesting, plus it is NOT originally written in English. I never heard of it, and, unfortunately, I can't find it in my large library system.
If we could reread books, then I would nominate 1984.
I read this book many years ago when I was preparing to go to Paris. I remember it being hard to plow through the description. I think it does get more interesting later.
The group will have a time to nominate books for an upcoming month. After about 10 days, all the books nominated are voted on in a poll. The winner is the book that gets the most votes. If the winning book has over 500 pages, it will be read over a two month period. Beginning on March 1, those interested will be reading The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo. We will have discussion threads for different sections of the book, so the readers can make comments as they read. If you want to see how it is done, you can look at the threads set up for the current book, An American Tragedy. I will link you to the first discussion page: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
