Curtis > Recent Status Updates

Wow, Octavian was not popular! People seem to align with him more because they see which way the wind's blowing. First confiscates land for soldiery after beating the Republicans, then refusing to deal with Sextus, leaving the blockade to mess up prices. Now everyone seems happy but we all know how this goes lol. Good cultural context; poets of the day, festivals & superstitions. Well paced, doesn't feel rambly.

Octavian starts as side character, will become more central as it goes; inverse of Cleo book. Begins w/ brisk summary of Rome, system, civil wars. Stoic prose, some dry wit. Loving reading this right after Cleopatra; cements things in memory, & cool seeing same events from different locale & knowing whats happening off page. Similar in medias res approach but done better/briefer. Think this'll be better than Cleo!

Solid, though not a fan of structuring, especially at start with starting in middle of action meeting Caesar, blasting through her sibling struggles, frequent diversions etc. Picked up when Caesar died, got better as it went. Still didn't rivet me like I was expecting. Nice to zoom in to one component of larger familiar story, still learned lots, though it felt sparse by its delivery at times. Worth reading.

Overall, book improves as it goes. Though Cleo ends up being the archetype Schiff claims she wasn't, right down to competing with other women for men's favour. But context makes clear these were the tools women in her position had to use. Ironically she's sidelined in her own story as attention necessarily goes to Antony/Octavian struggle, though she plays big role in exacerbating tensions. Good narrative momentum!

Much more momentum when Caesar is assassinated. Though I've read several books dealing with this period, the particulars of following civil war always escape me, but 2nd Triumvirate now formed, stage set for the last phase of Cleo's life. Suddenly finding myself having to pay attention instead of passively being given little factoids! Enjoying it :)

Adjusting expectations: book about Cleo's world & context. Major events in her life (being usurped & restored) given summary pacing. Lots of detail about fashion, domestic life, medicine, etc. Enjoying more since realizing that's what it is. Still provides great info on Cleo, challenging exoticisms. No merit in being on throne, but plenty of merit in keeping it, as info on family plots shows! Eager to read more.

Not keen on mixed chronology style. Understand why its done (frame things around most turbulent time in Cleo's life, use flashbacks to provide context when needed) but it's too frequent. Lots of tangents but I enjoy them: fill you in on culture, lush descriptions. Immersive. Mixed pacing. Ch 3 deals with loyalties as Cleo dethroned & restored thanks to Alexandrians & Romans. Love the conspiring & cronyism; very GoT.

Summary of Cleo's life, legacy, & distorted reputation. Book sets goal of cutting through romanticized crap but admits to issues stemming from who wrote about her in life/just after her death. Problematic historicity, Roman bias. Narrative starts in medias res--meeting Caesar in carpet--then dials back to start of her life. Simple style, prose heavy like a novel, bit flowery & extra. Not hooked so far but we'll see!

Super tough book, much f it over my head, still learned lots. Fun varied depending on section; Luddism, looks at life/conditions & activist history: best bits. Wish it had gotten to showing what working class did with itself after identity solidified! Kept alluding to Chartists doing so, but never covered it. Purely a look at how conditions pushed people into sink/swim situation, with pessimistic end. Great but hard.

Last chapter shows consolidation of past events into working class consciousness, following 3 big standoffs + easing of some repressive laws in the wake. First section on activist press & many factions dominating a lot of reading; great stuff! But current section detailing certain writers surprisingly difficult/boring, getting into long breakdowns of prose styles, so meticulous I lose sight of writers broad views.

3 attempts at insurrection: Pentridge, Peterloo, Cato Street. Great narrative of postwar breakdown of activist movement; rift between reformers & revolutionaries, clashing personalities (Hunt & Thistlewood), govt. spies pushing people into self-destructive action. Competing working class journals, crackdowns on speech leading to increased radicalism (6 Acts). Author great at nuancing these movements from mere mobs.

Ch. 14 V got deeper into Luddites, specifically their organization & tactics. Loved it, especially the attacks on factories & machines responsible for slashed wages, not punishing capitalists who treated workers better, assigning leaders to each assault, & more threatening letters which are always great. Death penalty put on people who damage certain machines, but gains made as well. Wanna learn more about this.

Workers fighting against combination acts, being pushed underground, etc. Loved bits about unions being like nefarious secret gangs, meeting on moors in dead of night, oaths sworn in front of effigies of death, burying their records, etc. Shows how life or death this was, how people would be at risk of losing everything, including lives. Luddism explained in detail; much more than just destroying machines. So dense!

She wassending letters right to the end! Last one is 6 days before she dies, then grand daughter fills in the end w/ memories of her. Very touching, especially the desire for death by the end--I wonder if all very old people get that way? Would've liked to see accompanying images in the text to show the art as she mentions it instead of all at the end. Very interesting book, lots of insight into an artist's mind.

Last part of diaries quite sad; knows death is coming, husband gone, grandson killed, not able to make art anymore. Surreal for someone so keenly aware of mortality even when young. Letters section so much different from diaries; goes to show how much more personal diary-keeping is. Letters are mostly pleasantries; doesn't talk too much about her artmaking, her struggles, etc. Detailed travelogues. Tougher reading.

Conflicted over feeling senselessness of war that son died believing in; great look at WWI for people at home. Shows art as grappling with chaotic world. So relatable/inspiring hearing her artistic process: uncertainty, highs & lows, idea for her masterpiece taking shape gradually in her mind. Love how she talks about art making as solving series of problems. Makes me want to keep diary to help process art thinking!

Despite tragic life, the letters that interest me most are ones about her art, she works out issues she's having with themes/composition etc--invaluable documents! And relatable! Also interesting: she was bisexual; even used that term for herself. Not everyday you get that from someone born in 1860s. Eerie foreshadowing to loss/grief to come in early letters, reflecting on possibly losing kids years before she does.

Deep dive into culture of the time, events & recreation. How capitalist class coordinated w/ churches to tamp down any recreation other than being pious! Everything a vice now, 'divine hierarchy.' Finally addressing women's struggles locked in that structure too. Part 3 starts with trying to revive activist movement after French Revolution they emulated went all Napoleon/Britain went nationalist. Halfway through!

Mixed on it. Touching moments, moving, accessible plot, but the kids are dumber than posts; very condescending to children readers its aimed at. Not as bad as Boy in the Striped Pyjamas but it's in that ballpark. Wish more authors could pull off 'innocent kid in horrific history setting' aimed at children without falling into twee stereotypes. Theme of fluid/concrete identities interesting!

Last two chapters just what I wanted: deep descriptions of everyday drudgery & oppression of workers. Chapter 9: danger & conditions of cotton mills. Chapter 10 details life in various stages, with childhood section most disturbing. Perpetual brink of famine in poor regions. Breaks down statistics/figures to explain why appearance of median wealth is deceiving & has given false positive perception to this period.

Slower chapter, but good illustration of how being in a union but surrounded by non union labour can result in a race to the bottom for wages; conversely, strong union presence lifts up non unionized work. Tell that to countries that have been taking the ax to unions for decades. Also gets into people losing jobs to tech advances; something that is inevitable but a fairer organized economy could provide for them.

Firsthand accounts are highlights, especially threatening letters from peasant/worker class to wealthy. Though chapters on industries focus less on painting picture of day to day, instead focusing on socio-political issues facing groups at the time. Field laborer section talks of enclosures & land being gobbled up by capitalists. In reversal of contemporary French novels, English see rural poor as vile, not virtuous.

Just what I wanted; seems part 2 explores working conditions among key industries that led labour activism! Hoping for descriptive, immersive daily life descriptions. Thompson's goal is to attack the idea that the tech advances of industrial revolution advanced the material conditions of working class, suggesting that this period was more repressive despite more money changing hands. We'll see if he sells it!

Ch. 5 best so far. Latter half breaks down different major activists, and shows the defeat of activist momentum by English society becoming more oppressive in wake of French Revolution/ramping up of war fervor. Thelwall particularly notable figure. In part 2 I'd love to see a real portrait of work/living conditions for working class, something to immerse me in the time & issues. But much more readable now! Enjoying!

Ch. 5, SO much more accessible! Narrative flow, less unexplained refs, momentum as power class tries to contain social momentum by banning books, organizations, arresting activists. Reformers become more radical in their goals, now skeptical of monarchy in general. Really makes me wanna read Tom Paine. Tensions are simmering & I'm eager to see them come to a head! Hoping for descriptions of working life.

Ch 3: History of mobs/riots around this time; acceptance of crimes against ruling class. Ch 4: Progress of reform rhetoric, how Paine said tradition must be broken; later class conscious suggestions. Still difficult, but beginning to accept what I don't understand. Loved the threatening letter sent for raising the price of bread, interesting seeing astroturfed mobs aiming to divide lower classes. So much depth!

VERY academic, presumes a LOT of prior familiarity with the period; this will be a big struggle. Not sure I can handle it. That said, the section about how conspiracy-mongering is misdirected form of revolutionary spirit that peaks during times of intense awareness of class oppression was thought-provoking; sheds light on current events. Might be most difficult book I've read, but determined to see it through!

Feels like the story stopped just as it got going! It had so much potential too; in its short span, it critiqued sexism & work culture in Japan, parental pressure, & homophobia (Japanese LGBT manga often skirts or ignores these things). It even subverted the butch initiator trope by having the femme get things rolling. If only there was more! You can read it in 30 minutes, so give it a shot, but far too brief.

Stone cold ending, which I'm somewhat torn on. It almost seems Frank got purified at the hands of the Nazis, a contradiction I'll have to grapple with for a bit. Yet Frank had so little concern for things like politics/allegiances throughout, worried only about what could be gained from the situation instead of what it represented. It might only fully click for me after thinking for a bit, but still enjoyed it!

Major shift; damn near stream-of-consciousness style now. Frank forced to turn inward, violence inflicted on him; a parallel that implies that his life of crime was also an aspect of Nazi occupation, as it ended up being directed against locals. Divided story structure reminiscent of Camus' The Stranger, though DS only seems to flirt with existentialism. Strange final stretch, but curious to see the end!