Reading the 20th Century discussion
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What books are you reading now? (2020)
I enjoyed Rudin by Ivan Turgenev, but it did not wow me.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have begun Ivan Turgenev's sequel to Rudin--Home of the Gentry. So far, the characters are all different! I do recognize similar themes.
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The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis
The five star reviews are most definitely justified
Coincidentally Mrs B is watching the new adaptation on Netflix. It's already obvious why it lends itself so well to an adaptation
Rest assured you don't need to be a Chess expert to enjoy it
Beth Harmon becomes an orphan when her parents are killed in an automobile accident. At eight years old, she is placed in an orphanage in Mount Sterling, Kentucky, where the children are given a tranquiliser twice a day. Plain and shy, she learns to play chess from the janitor in the basement and discovers that she is a chess genius.
I've just finished an essay by So Mayer A Nazi Word for a Nazi Thing about the erasure of queer/non-normative cultures in Nazi Germany which links this to strategies of erasure deployed by the contemporary right, and discusses past and present forms of resistance and ways of reclaiming lost histories. Thought it was really interesting. My review is here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm reading Anne Boyer's The Undying a personal and political exploration of the experience of being treated for breast cancer in contemporary America, she references Audre Lorde's The Cancer Journals a very brief account that's just been republished as a Penguin Modern Classic, so thought I'd read Lorde before continuing with Boyer's work. An incredibly powerful, still very relevant piece despite being originally published in 1980. Link to my review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Yes I agree she's very impressive almost every page has a comment or an observation that stands out...and I love how frank she is about all aspects of what she's going through including her moments of self-doubt.
I've gone back to So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading by Sara Nelson. She was talking about Wharton's The House of Mirth and wondering if she is the only one not to have read it. I waved my hand - I haven't.
I don't regret reading Ivan Turgenev's Home of the Gentry but it is not one my most favorite Russian classics.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have begun the memoir Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk. I have hesitated to read this b/c other books by the author have failed me.
A Long Way From Home by Peter Carey - 3 stars - My ReviewThis is a book about a race and racism. Set in Australia in the 1950s, the plot revolves around a couple, Irene and Titch Bobs, entering the Redex Trial, a car race around the perimeter of Australia, starting and ending in Sydney. As the drivers enter the backcountry, the race recedes in importance and Australia’s brutal treatment of the Aboriginal people takes center stage. I am not sure this dramatic shift is going to work for all readers, especially those interested in the race itself. I suggest reading it as representative of Australia’s colonial past.
I am sure most of you have read this classic, but I had not gotten around to it before now:Brighton Rock by Graham Greene - 4 stars - My Review
A small-time mobster leads a band of criminals in the Brighton resort area on the southern coast of England in the 1930s. Pinkie and his gang commit a string of crimes, including murder. This book has a very dark tone. Pinkie’s psychopathic manipulation of a young woman is one of the most intriguing aspects. It includes elements of religion and superstition. It explores good versus evil, salvation versus damnation, hope versus despair. I found it well-written and compelling. It was published in 1938 and has been adapted to film in 1947 and 2010.
I have completed Istanbul: Memories and the City by Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have begun Death in Venice by Thomas Mann.
Finished Death in Venice by Thomas MannMy review; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and started The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath by guess who.
Look forward to your review of the Plath, I read the edited version of the journals and have a copy of the unabridged but it's a doorstop and a half so not sure when I'll be able to fit it in...I read(?) a piece by Edward Gorey which has quite a novel format The Helpless Doorknob: A Shuffled Story, I'm a huge Gorey fan so loved this for his artwork and the concept
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I also finished a collection of ghost stories from the 1920s written by Eleanor Scott Randalls Round despite the rather fierce cover design, these are quite gentle tales with a hint of folk horror and a definite debt to M. R. James not amazing but very readable
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Alwynne wrote: "Look forward to your review of the Plath, I read the edited version of the journals and have a copy of the unabridged but it's a doorstop and a half so not sure when I'll be able to fit it in...I..."
Yeah, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath IS vey long. If I were to read an abridged book I would not be satisfied because I would want to know what I had missed...... Long books means you don't have to write reviews for a while--that is their advantage.
Mod
It is mentioned at the start of the book that TWO journals are missing--Hughes says one s lost and one he destroyed. What I am noting is that her mood lies under the mass of small things she says. I can relate to her through her lines--"I like people too much or not at all."
RC, I have a question--maybe you have the answer. To what extent did she work through these journal--the writing is TOO perfect to be just jotted down?! It is hard for me to believe that such beautiful and perceptive writing just fall from her head. Maybe she jotted down her thoughts in diaries continually, but then then worked through them before she transferred them to another book, the journal.
Do you know? Does anybody else know?
The lines are too perfect to just plopp from her thoughts onto the page. Except.......I do believe that the ability to write is an inborn trait.
Sorry, just one more thing. How do you draw life in just three words?"Character is fate!" says Sylvia Plath.
and I like this:
"What could frost my cake more?!"
and this:
"God, but life is loneliness."
I guess you can tell I am enjoying The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath. I like sharing my enjoyment with others.
Mod
My understanding is that the abridged 'journals' as published by Hughes contained a variety of source material: some of her hand-written diaries but also scraps of paper scribbled on, and type-written pieces that he said might have been her trying to capture moods or specific moments for a potential novel. He edited all these and cut where he chose then published them as 'abridged' partly because he needed the money, partly because he seems to have wanted to control the narrative of her life.
The unabridged journals are the hand-written diaries and the editor, Kukil, has said that they're transcribed accurately with no editorial intervention. My understanding is that Plath didn't rework these as they were never intended for publication. I find them quite painful reading with the level of self-scrutiny and self-castigation - they feel raw, still.
On her polished writing, even as a child of 7-8, her letters written to her mother from summer camp are vivid gems and her voice comes through clearly.
Mod
I'm so glad you're enjoying the journals so much - Plath is one of my obsessions!
I am reading the UNabridged version. Thank you. It seems from what is written there that Plath did no editing of that which we are reading. Pretty amazing, if you ask me! The writing is not only raw, but also perceptive and beautifully expressed.
Mod
I see your other message now--the writing definitely reflects the time in which it was written, the 1950s and McCarthyism. I noted this to my husband at breakfast this morning.
I just read Emily M. Danforth's Plain Bad Heroines which I really enjoyed, great fun, clever, nicely meta, a fascinating play on gothic horror tropes and a wonderful exploration of Sapphic themes. A pleasing mix of literary and commercial that I found totally immersive. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
It is ages since posted anything about my reading here. I finished rereading Milkman yesterday and very much enjoyed it, but I won't make major changes to my review of that. I also read most of the Goldsmiths Prize shortlist - the winner will be announced tonight and I would be very pleased if Mr Beethoven is chosen.These are the books I have read since rereading Blindness:
5* (reread): Milkman by Anna Burns My review
5*: This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson My review
4*: A Lover's Discourse by Xiaolu Guo My review
3*: Meanwhile in Dopamine City by D.B.C. Pierre My review
4*: The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey My review
5*: Mr Beethoven by Paul Griffiths My review
4*: Bina: A Novel in Warnings by Anakana Schofield My review
5*: Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon My review
4*: The Cheffe by Marie Ndiaye My review
5*: I is Another: Septology III-V by Jon Fosse My review
4*: In Custody by Anita Desai My review
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Meanwhile in Dopamine City - what a great title. Shame the book doesn't live up to it then?
Oh my, I am now having a really hard time with The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath. I loved it so much at the start. It is so fragmentary, huge swatches are missing.. When her mental stability heads downhill so does her writing. Of course that is logical.
Mod
No, I dislike diluting one's impression of a book with other books. This should not be necessary. Her writing does fluctuate. I sense that it mirrors her own emotional situation. In the audobook, sections of the text are move to appendices. It took me awhile to figure out how to get to them--I prefer reading them as they were written, with the other sections, not at the end . I am not critical of her writing ability, just how the book is assembled.
I'd probably second Roman Clodia here in that I think the fragmented nature of the journals is itself eloquent, sometimes the silences, the gaps and spaces in a person's representation of their lives can be quite telling.I recently finished Jean Toomer's Cane a book I've been meaning to read for some time and finally tackled, I'm interested in the Harlem Renaissance and the novel's routinely associated with it, although reading it and reading around it, it's clear that Toomer's links to the Harlem Renaissance are not straightforward either in terms of his own priorities or his writing. It's a powerful, challenging piece, I'm glad I read it but I can't say I actively enjoyed it.
Link to my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Alwynne, I see your point--that silence speaks too. It is however important for prospective readers to know, before picking up the book, the events of Plath's life and the dates when they occur. I found it strange that practically nothing is said about Ted when they first met and when their relationship must have been growing.
It sounds as if you'd prefer a more fully annotated edition which I totally support but obviously those are more time-consuming/expensive to produce so imagine publishers assume that readers will plug the gaps! I imagine too a lot of people, like me, come to the journals as Plath completists so have already read biographies, fiction, poetry etc...
The thing is, it is good to know on exactly what days things happen, and even if a person has read biographies one might not remember exact dates.In any case, I am liking it more again. I was frustrated around the time when SHE was at wits end and (view spoiler). Her writing mirrors her emotions. Personally, I think it is important to continue when as a reader you read a rough patch.
Finished this book (published in Oct 2020):The Blind Light by Stuart Evers - 4 stars - My Review
Set in the UK, story of a long-lasting friendship between two men, Drummond Moore and James Carter, who meet during their military service. They bond over shared experiences at Doom Town, a civil defense center that simulates situations related to nuclear war. They are from different classes and backgrounds. We follow their long-lasting friendship, relationships, marriages, and children from the late 1950s to the 2010s. The plot is structured around worldwide events that induce fear, showing that just as one subsides, another takes over. I enjoyed the literary writing style. The premise of this book caught my attention. Evers examines fear, how it can permeate decisions, and the resulting harm to those we seek to protect. It seems like a pertinent topic for our times.
Recently finished this classic, published in 1967:One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez - 4 stars - My Full Review
García Márquez writes elegantly of love, sensual pleasures, and seclusion, as well as power struggles, natural disasters, and the cycle of life. It is open to many interpretations, depending on the reader’s areas of interest. I can see why this book is heralded as the author’s masterwork.
I am glad to have read The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Liking this as much as I did, I want even more. Her Husband: Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath - A Marriage is free for Audible Plus members. I think it is good, but I have not come far.
Just finished Bryher's Beowulf: A Novel of the London Blitz recently republished 1940s novel based on her own experiences. I'd heard of Bryher because she was the long-term partner of H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) who's a favourite writer but this is the first piece by Bryher I've read. It was one of those slow-burners that crept up on me until I was totally immersed in it.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson - 4 stars - My Full ReviewPublished in 1982. After the death of their parents, sisters Ruth and Lucille move in with their grandmother in the small town of Fingerbone, Idaho. The writing is elegant and atmospheric. The book examines abandonment, memory, belonging, and social pressures to conform. The tone is melancholy, but contains an ever-present hopefulness, as Ruth never succumbs to despair. It will appeal to those that appreciate stories of self-preservation in the face of tragedy.
Roman Clodia wrote: "Sounds interesting, Alwynne. What would you recommend from H.D.? I've never read her but was fascinated by her life in Square Haunting: Five Women, Freedom and London Between the Wars."She was a fascinating woman, I think a good novel to start with is Bid Me To Live
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You can get some of her work still, if you look on Abebooks for example but sometimes she's listed as Hilda Doolittle, my copies are mostly vintage Virago editions, some of which are still floating around online. But there are some American editions that are in print.
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Judy wrote: "Susan, you've reminded me that I want to read the Hunter Davies memoirs, as I always enjoy his writing - I will start with The Co-op's Got Bananas: A Memoir of Growing Up in the Post-War North though!"
How did you get on?
Having thoroughly enjoyed A Life in the Day, the second part of Hunter Davies's autobiography back in 2018, I've now started its predecessor The Co-op's Got Bananas: A Memoir of Growing Up in the Post-War North
It's already most enjoyable. I love this kind of autobiography and Hunter Davies is a wonderful writer
Here's the blurb....
Despite the struggle to make ends meet during the tough years of warfare in the 1940s and rationing persisting until the early 1950s, life could still be sweet. Especially if you were a young boy, playing football with your pals, saving up to go to the movies at the weekend, and being captivated by the latest escapade of Dick Barton on the radio. Chocolate might be scarce, and bananas would be a pipe dream, but you could still have fun. In an excellent social memoir from one of the UK's premier columnists over the past five decades, Hunter Davies captures this period beautifully. His memoir of growing up in post-war North of England from 1945 onwards, amid the immense damage wrought by the Second World War, and the dreariness of life on rationing, very little luxuries and an archaic educational system, should be one that will resonate with thousands of readers across Britain.
In the same vein as Robert Douglas's Night Song of the Last Tram - A Glasgow Childhood, Hunter's memories of a hard life laced with glorious moments of colour and emotion will certainly strike a vein with his generation.
Judy wrote: "I think I've only read poetry by H.D. but would be interested to read her prose too. I will look out for those Viragos!"I've not read anything by her but I did like her chapter in Square Haunting, so I will keep and eye out when the second-hand bookshops are allowed to open again.
At the moment I'm reading Every Man For Himself by Beryl Bainbridge set on the Titanic.
Reading the 20th Century
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The Dutch House by Ann Patchett - 4 stars - My Review
Quiet character-driven novel about siblings Maeve and Danny Conroy, whose mother left home when they were children. They go through rough times, experiencing the ups and downs of life over the course of fifty years. They constantly revisit their past. It explores the childhood trauma of abandonment, how memories get tangled over time, and how acting on a sense of obligation or duty can change a life. The writing is elegant. The characters feel authentic. I listened to the audio book, read by Tom Hanks. He is a fantastic reader.