Katherine’s Comments (group member since Nov 29, 2012)

Katherine’s comments from the Classics Without All the Class group.

George wrote: "It's a long time since last post to this topic, but here's mine:
I'm at 25, or if I take credit for Rabbit, Run because I've read two other books in that 4-book series by Updike, 26. That seems to ..."

Lonesome Dove is worth reading, if only because of literature that resulted from it. It gives a very real-feeling picture of the early American West, and the isolated nature of the men and few women who lived there. The video series is worth watching because of the cast - Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover, Diane Lane, and Ricky Schroeder as Newt.

I read Trainspotters some time ago. It was very challenging because of the slang and because I did not know much about the world of drug/heroin addicts, especially in Britain. It really broadened my world.

Allie wrote: "I second Kathleen but I'll go farther and just include everything he's ever written!

Moby-Dick; or, The Whale comes to mind...

I'm not a fan of Ernest Hemingway either. The ones I'v..."

I agree with Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. I had to read it for an English course in college over the Thanksgiving weekend. Needless to say, I skipped over a few sections. My husband loves it.

The Sound and the Fury represents to me the tragedy of the south - people who are unable to adapt to the new realities of the modern world. Faulkner is talking about how the past creates the present. There is tragedy in all of his major novels.

Benjy is stream of consciousness personified.

I always saw Caddy as the result of her mother's narcissism. Caddy is the only person who is living a real life in the real world. Everyone else seems caught in the dream world that is the past.

Bookshelf! The depiction of certain existing cultural beliefs taken to the extreme is indeed frightening.

Tiffanie wrote: "I was thinking of reading "

I recommend it. She does a good job of giving the facts while telling enough stories to make it meaningful.

As I was reading the book, I was comparing to Faulkner and Flannery O'Conner. I studied and loved the writer's of the first half of the twentieth century, but have not read all of them. I was a little frustrated with the pace, but as I got into the story, I was fascinated by Wharton's depiction of the social norms of the era. The counterpoint of Ellen's freer behavior made the novel. Some commentary I read said this novel showed the beginning of the end of the "old society" in the United States. I am looking forward to reading more of Wharton's novels.

I think Countess Olenska is the closest to a "modern" woman in the book. I really identified with her. I don't know if I would have been so noble as to return to Europe to be away from Newland Archer.