Alana’s Comments (group member since Apr 19, 2013)

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

I feel like I need a graphic to show me how all of these people are related to each other. If I understand it correctly, the narration by Nelly involves the elder Mr. Earnshaw and his daughter, Cathy, plus the child he takes in, Heathcliff. The younger Cathy, who is his DIL, has not yet entered Nelly's tale (I presume because it's many years before she's born?)

Gets confusing when cousins marry cousins, too....

I think most of us at heart WANT to be Melanie or Jane or the other "good" characters.... but it sounds so exhausting! We want to believe we can be that good, but none of us think we have it in us.... although others may see it, if we can't, at times.

Or, like Anne in Anne of Green Gables, who wants to be with a man who's not "REALLY wicked, but who COULD be wicked, but wouldn't" for the other side of that coin :)

I've heard that, but not as commonly. All about perspective!

I think the "Reconstruction" parts are the most fascinating, because frankly it's just not "P.C." to talk about it from the former rich landowners perspective. We hear about the repressed black families--which is completely understandable!--but regardless of the rest of that, to be denied the basic right of human citizens--voting--because we don't like the choices someone made and we beat them in a fight... how is that just? We are still fighting that battle in some ways today! Granted, many terrible people who were horribly abusive to their slaves got what they deserved and got to see the other side of the coin. But from what I gather (granted, this isn't a history book), those who were cruel and ruthless before the war were going to be just as cruel and ruthless after the war, not following the rules, and profiting in any way possible. Those who tried to live in the rules and make the best of it, like many of the kinder landowners, got the brunt of some of the more negative changes, but didn't have any power to fix it. There will always be someone evil to take advantage of a bad situation and someone good who unfortunately ends up punished for it in some way.

As a returning reader, hm, that's a hard question. I already knew for the most part how they all were.

However, I read it MANY years ago, so I'd forgotten a lot of the details. I'd forgotten how much of a rogue Rhett truly is and how ruthless Scarlett can be. Mammy is devoted almost to the point of ridiculousness and Melanie is far too perfect.

I think mainly I just dislike Ashley more and more throughout because I cannot for the life of me figure out what Scarlett sees in him. She can't see the obvious affection from Rhett (although he does try to hide it) but she's so stuck on worthless Ashley who cannot seem to function on his own. I guess Rhett is much older than her so she just can't understand him, and maybe she feels she relates to Ashley, but good grief!

You have to love Melanie, though, even if she is too kind and fiercely loyal. Everyone needs a friend like that in their lives, one that sticks with them through EVERYTHING and is determined to see the good in people, no matter what. She's very like Jane in Pride and Prejudice, actually, although I think Jane tends to have a SLIGHT bit more grasp of reality.

I read it in a weekend AGES ago, this time I took it more slowly, and listening to audio took me a couple of weeks (darn work getting in the way!) and I got so much more out of it, mostly from being older and being able to recognize the complicated politics of the story that I didn't realize before. One of my favorites to keep re-reading for sure :)

I just finished re-reading it a couple of months ago, and don't be intimidated: the story flows along very quickly, so I think most of you won't find it difficult to finish, but even so, there's plenty to discuss long into February, so I doubt you'll get behind :)

It's a great story, well worth reading!

There are definitely many questionable elements, especially in this first section. I agree about the contraceptives...in fact, in this society, I'm surprised that they don't just sterilize the embryos on their conveyor belt as they go... or do they recognize that to continue to produce relatively healthy bodies, that they can't just keep creating clones of clones of clones and that eventually they need healthy egg/sperm to create their next "batch?"

Martin wrote: "I daren't Google "tempering nuts" ..."

Lol, agreed! Though I did wonder myself...

I've only seen the new one, not the 1953. I'll have to check that out.

I had the opportunity to listen to a version of this where the original radio broadcast was imitated by several of the various Star Trek actors. It was a lot of fun to listen to! Actually, I highly recommend listening, as that's how the original audience experienced the story. I can imagine how the audience, if they didn't tune in to the first part where the story is being explained, might have thought that newscasters were relating actual events. It gets your adrenaline going to listen to it!

I read this over a year ago and don't remember a lot of the details, but I did quite enjoy it. Worth reading anything by Atwood, for sure!

I didn't know there was such a thing? I'll have to check that out...

I especially liked the bit about the chandelier. What a clever way to work that event into a story!

Library bag. I liked it, probably won't re-read it, don't care to own it. But I certainly don't hate it.

I only sympathize with Erik to the point of wishing there was more help in that day and age (and still in our own) for those who are certifiably mad, as he clearly is. He is completely mentally unstable, a sadistic, narcissistic madman. You only feel sorry for him because the world has treated him poorly due to his physical appearance, but his choices and the ways he uses people are all his own. Completely unforgivable. I found him utterly creepy and only felt sorry for him that he brought himself to that point.

As for the overall book, I absolutely enjoyed it! The descriptions of the labyrinth below the Opera and the lake and even the torture chamber were fascinating, making the Opera feel like a living, breathing thing. Makes me want to watch the movie again!

I'm finding the book much more dark and mysterious (and creepy) than the musical at this point. I didn't realize how much it had been toned down from the original story! It's getting quite creepy.

I do love the intricate descriptions of the opera house, though. It seems to be disproportionately huge for what I would think of as a typical theater of the time. It's becoming rather a character of its own right.

Definitely seems to be a very interesting montage of characters at this point, all a little messed up in their own ways.

I've read one other story by this author and was so thoroughly confused during the whole thing because there were so many descriptions and characters, that even when the final explanation was given at the end (it was a "locked room mystery") I still couldn't really figure it all out. Being already familiar with this story from the film version (of the musical) I'm curious as to my perspective throughout.

Well said, Denise!