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Pip's 2023 Randomised Reading List
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But I realise I have read The Corrections!
And What Maisie Knew. I am a bit slow this morning - I had to check both because I couldn’t remember. Don’t worry, I have to read the other two.
Replacement will be made in the New Year (possibly sooner LOL)
Do you have links to your reviews for the 2 you have read?
Do you have links to your reviews for the 2 you have read?
I’ll add the reviews tomorrow. I have also read three Lives (and hated it! Don’t worry - I am unlikely to read more than I have now! I hope 23 is kind to you - best wishes
Having read Freedom earlier this year I was thrilled to have this Franzen as my TBR choice this month, but, sadly, I took a long time to read it. The satire of old age was just too close to the bone at the moment and it took the stories of each of the children to finally garner my interest. The characters are all appalling in their own disparate ways and as a commentary on near contemporary life I can understand the appeal (although I did pick up my copy in a heavily discounted sale!) Some of it, especially the Lithuanian section, was farce, some of it was laugh out loud funny, but most of it was an excruciating portrayal of the modern family. Sadly, my lasting memory will be of the appalling salad that Enid made in anticipation of her grandson's Christmas visit.
In this collection of the lives of three women in early twentieth century U.S.A. Stein is experimenting with the form of the novel. Her three protagonists are three women of humble means who are struggling with the challenges of life. There is good Anna, Melanctha the black girl of mixed heritage and no strong parental guidance, and gentle Lena, who, like Anna, is an immigrant from Germany. She writes as in an extended prose poem. Rhythm and repetition are important to the flow of the stories. In the story of good Anna, this make for an interesting read. The description are constantly repeated for emphasis and effect and although the story has a plot that is less than riveting, the style is sufficiently interesting to keep one reading. In the second, much longer story, Stein is attempting to follow the ebb and flow of passionate relationships by following the dialogue between the two lovers, writing as it may have been spoken, with all the repetitions and contradictions of real conversation. However, this become painful to read as, in particular, the relationship between Melanctha and Doctor Jefferson Campbell goes back and forth ad nauseum. Her efforts to portray the development of an attraction between two people and its passionate climax, followed by disillusionment and eventual disintegration could be considered admirable, but as Stein skirts around any description of actual sexual contact it becomes extremely tiresome. The last story, about a very passive and socially inept servant is mercifully much shorter and has a bit more plot action, in that Lena is organised into marriage, has three children and then dies in childbirth with her fourth child. I have not read any other work by Gertude Stein and this is enough to put me off for a long time to come!
This is an intriguing attempt to see a litany of licentiousness through the eyes of a child. It starts off humorously, as the reader understands what young Maisie does not, about the adultery all around her. But as James explains Maisie's motives for what she says, usually pretending to be stupid because that seems to be the most successful strategy, his explanations are tediously longwinded and I felt the need to reread many times to tease out the meaning. James also uses current slang such as "squaring up" and "straighteners" which compound the difficulty in interpretation. Possibly because I was rushing to finish, I was less than satisfied with the book as a whole. I was left sympathetic for Maisie in her attempts to behave in ways which were pleasing to her succession of carers, without understanding what she was saying or the implications thereof. But I was also impatient with the opaqueness of James' exposition.
I read The Siege of Krishnapur a couple of years ago and rated it a five star book. I had not realised that it had been styled one of the Empire Trilogy, Troubles being the first in the series. There were similarities. Both depicted the British Empire confronted with change and the adaptation of the characters to their hitherto comfortable way of life. In both books a privileged lifestyle is threatened, much more obvertly in Krishnapur, but the rising feeling of threat and uncertainty in post World War One Ireland in this book had a similar tone. What Farrell captures uniquely is the blust and swagger of a dominant group, but his descriptions are gentle, humourous and quite delightful. Troubles is set in Ireland circa 1919. The Major, as he is consistently referred to, visits the Majestic Hotel south-east of Dublin to meet a woman with whom he had been corresponding during the war. He is not sure whether he is engaged to her or not, and as a sterotypically blundering Englishman he cannot find a way to ask. He becomes a permanent fixture in the hotel, which is deteriorating in many alarming ways, much like the British Empire itself. The owner, Edward, more of a country gentleman than a hotelier, is a quintessential Anglo-Irishman who cannot believe that the Irish would vote for Sinn Fein rather than British rule. It sounds rather grim, but it is actually both very funny and quite appalling. In both books Farrell is able to conjur up characters who exhibit both the best and worst of British culture in such a way as they become characters the reader cares about. I am looking forward to reading the third in the trilogy - Singapore Grip.
Book I have read both Three Lives and Troubles. I think Troubles may be a Wish List book because I couldn't find other reviews.
1. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen2. Alberta and Jacob by Cora Sandel
3. What Maisie Knew by Henry James✔ 4. Troubles by J G Farrell (WL)
✔ 5. Three Lives by Gertrude Stein
6. The Bells of Basel by Louis Aragon
7. Leaden Wings by Zhang Jie (WL)
8. Rashomon by Akutagawa Ryunosuke