☯Emily ’s Comments (group member since Jul 27, 2011)

☯Emily ’s comments from the Classics for Beginners group.

Karen wrote: "I'm currently reading Wharton's book "Old New York". It contains 4 novellas, each dealing with the customs and society of NY in the 1840s, 50s, 60s and 70s. I started with the last story "New Year'..."

I really enjoyed reading Old New York: Four Novellas.

Gisela wrote: "How about Herman Hesse's Siddharta"

Are you willing to lead the discussion?

Kristín wrote: "I nominate My Cousin Rachel"

Would you be willing to lead the discussion if it wins?

Hi Classic Lovers!

It's time for our March nominations.

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:
Gaston Leroux (February 2018)
Ernest Hemingway (January 2018)
Edith Wharton (December 2017)
Elizabeth Gaskell (November 2017)
Grahame Greene (October 2017)
Madeleine L'Engle (September 2017)
Agatha Christie (August 2017)
L.M. Montgomery (July 2017)
Malcolm X (June 2017)
Yevgeny Zamyatin (May 2017)

You have until January 12th to nominate.

Nominations so far:
Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
Siddharta by Hermann Hesse
Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott

Several people who recommended this book said it was humorous. Do you think it was humorous? I didn't, other than the opera remark and maybe one or two other comments.

I have a question about how Wharton describes May's smile. Several times, including the last paragraph in Chapter 19, May mentioned as having a "boyish smile." What is a boyish smile? What is Wharton trying to say when she repeatedly uses this term?

Chapter 21 mentions the Lime Rock Lighthouse and its keeper, Ida Lewis. Ida Lewis was quite a woman in a time when women were not considered fit for such hard work. http://www.rhodeislandlighthousehisto...

I loved her quote about opera in the first chapter: "...the musical world required that the German text of French operas sung by Swedish artists should be translated into Italian for the clearer understanding of English-speaking audiences."

That basically sums up how I feel about opera!

If you read about the life of Edith Wharton, you will see that she was a part of the New York society and strove mightily to break away. She did not marry the man she loved and she had an unhappy marriage. She had at least one adulterous affair. There is a lot of autobiography in this book.

It doesn't seem like much has changed with a certain class in New York City. I live outside of New York City and I visit it quite often. There is small, select group of people who live there who only associate with others of their class and wealth. They have an isolated life that completely ignores the lives of those around them except when they need something. These people leave their homes in limousines with darkened windows. They are dropped off at acquaintance's homes or businesses unconcerned with the lives of those around them. If they wrote a book about their life in NYC, I doubt of they would mention the tourists, the street vendors, the vast amount of workers, the subway riders, etc. since that is not part of their everyday life. They might mention the traffic if it interfered with their plans.

Wharton gives us the literature of the time that Newland is being torn between two women. She mentions that Middlemarch had recently been published (1872) and reviewed. Newland becomes engrossed in The House of Life. Since I had never heard of this one, I looked it up. The author is Rossetti and the book of verse was published in 1870. More information about these poems and what they mean is here: http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/d...

Could anyone keep track of the genealogical relationships written in chapter 6 and in other places?

This month, we will only have one thread as we read and discuss A Farewell to Arms. Please, if anyone wants to discuss a part of the book that might spoil it for others, then use spoilers. It would also help if you mention the chapter you are discussing before you make a comment. That way other participants might wait to read your comments.

It has been more than three years since this group read Hemingway, so it should be a interesting experience.

Many love The House of Mirth and Ethan Frome.

Did you think the way John Barton and Mr. Carson acted at the end of the book was realistic?

Are there any similarities between the gap of rich and poor in the time of Gaskell (1848) and to our time? Even though there is plenty of communication today about the rich and poor, has it made any difference in the understanding? Why do the wealthy corporations believe they have the right to pay less percentage of their taxes than poor people?

What did you think about the events surrounding the arrest and trial of Jem? I found the searching for Will to be exciting and suspenseful.

Do you think the book should have been called John Barton instead of Mary Barton?

A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy

Rev wrote: "The Red and the Black- Stendhal"

Thanks! Are you willing to lead the discussion?