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Book 2 was real drag; book 3 much better, thanks to Cambyses. Stories in here deal with miracles & favour of gods; not a far cry from the bible which was being compiled around same time/place. Shocked to hear Herodotus believing Ethiopia & India is furthest south & east humans have populated. He doubts existence of islands beyond Europe; notes say he's referring to Britain. Really puts his antiquity in perspective!

Loveletter to lesbian scene of 80s that also pokes fun at itself, from over-politicized killjoys & risky, low-commitment sex to the warmth of a marginalized enclave finding solidarity. Humour is hit & miss, often subdued, but characters & drama is compelling. Much more of a full story than I was expecting, though also works episodically. Interesting seeing similarities & differences compared to the subculture now.

Thank god I'm finished this hulking bloated novel. There's great stuff in here, but it gets buried deep, especially once David becomes an adult. I'm glad I left this as my last of the Dickens novels I own, because if I'd read it earlier in my Dickens reading, I would have a hard time picking up my other books by him. I enjoyed everything else I've read by him, at least!

Loved Cyrus' backstory & end of his life. Losing track of all the names of nations, tribes, cultures etc, but think I'm getting gist. Momentum screeches to halt in book 2 though, where Herodotus atomizes Egypt, especially its geography. Interesting to see ancient scientific inquiry but it goes on so long! Though I'm finally getting to descriptions of Egyptian ritual/sacrifice. Enjoy Herodotus' sense of heritage.

Croesus & Cyrus story embellished with moralizing about humility in face of destiny, a warning not to become complacent with wealth/power because luck can change on a dime, & how empires/cultures should not allow themselves to be softened by decadence. Herodotus has Croesus learning these lessons in a clear character arc reminiscent of a fable; impressive how he sets up these story beats that pay off later. Enjoying!

Enormous intro took 3 hours to read, but great job contextualizing Herodotus: why he's so significant, the world he was born into, the political slant of his work in Greece at the time, the historicity of it, how he compares to predecessors and successors to the genre & a rationale for the digressive structure of the work. Really makes me feel this is the definitive edition; I feel prepped to get the most out of it!

Esoteric, impenetrable, & increasingly mesmerizing, especially as characters begin to fully unravel in the wake of a mystery that defies explanation. Shows the transience of our society in the face of nature that can never be fully charted. Anatomizes the empty sense of real-life unsolved disappearance while criticizing the society it's set in: classism, sex/gender, miscommunication, propriety etc. Really liked it.

Commits to themes of order vs chaos by denying the reader closure, & seeing a lot of the established stability unraveling in the wake of the disappearances. All the discipline & etiquette of society turns out to be very fragile. We see girls turn on Irma demanding to know 'the truth,' Appleyard's accounting of everything begins to crumble, hints of complex inner lives of students. Ominous despite being so opaque.

Romanticist novel disguised as conventional mystery. Lindsay uses timeline contradictions to make mystery defy explanation & put reader in more mystical headspace; long passages are taken up with descriptions of nature. Parallels drawn between Appleyard College & Hanging Rock--both described as fortress-like, surrounded by streams and lawns. Former is curated; latter wild. I think disappearance meant to be symbolic.

Book goes from one story thread to the next in a round-robin way, meaning you have to go through all the threads before getting a continuation of each one. So when the book seems to be picking up momentum, the next chapters are entirely unrelated to that story & you have to wait many chapters before continuing the thread you're invested in, & by the time you get back to it, the momentum is lost. Very tedious.

Interesting from a cultural perspective--this was a time of counter-culture, tearing down tradition, pushing the idea of 'thinking outside the box' to parody & plowing on anyway. NSCAD leaning into this & letting artists run the place at this time was bold, & much of the work to come out of it was ridiculous, but I was charmed anyway. Just wish there'd been more context because w/o it, this seems a bit ivory tower!

Funny how much of this conceptualist art makes me roll my eyes (showing an empty gallery as your exhibition? Seriously?), but other pieces which sound lame at first end up being really interesting when executed (exhibiting the backdrop pieces of paper used to roll a print to show the negative space of ink bleed). The varying results make me wanna dig out the old 'concept' piece I did for school, & make more myself!

Some projects shown here are almost identical to projects I saw my peers do when I was at NSCAD; funny since its unlikely the students saw the art in here. Love seeing the old invites/posters, and the ways they're designed. I'm comparing and contrasting the NSCAD described here with my experience 40 years later. Wish book included more context; explanations of featured artists & movements, their significance, etc.

Halifax Conference was a hilarious comedy of errors, bizarre as an avant-garde art forum sponsored by big tobacco, hampered by bad tech & format. Funny that this event is still what put NSCAD on the map! Some of the art now inspiring me, especially relating to the print shop, even though much is still stupidly pretentious. Wish Kennedy would take a moment to explain conceptualism & its philosophy. Still enjoying it!

The 'child wife' part was vomit inducing, I'm sorry lol. Seriously, is there supposed to be something wrong with Dora? She comes off like a complete idiot & literally asks David to infantilize her instead of talking to her like a fellow adult. I don't know if this is supposed to be satire or if Dickens literally thinks this behavior is endearing. Either way, I cannot take this love seriously. Want it to end.

Interviews & artist talks by guests in 70s. Themes emerge from these--the notion that profit motive hampers innovation instead of facilitating it, whether it be in the arts, science or education. Students seek to escape hierarchical art world of collectors, critics, museums, enter extreme avant-garde as result, making 'artworks' hard to document. Book sees Halifax's isolation from art world as benefit to this.

Good idea but the movie did much better with it. Character development minimal, undercooked love interest, failed to capitalize on its stakes, lacked momentum. But charming, funny. Satirical aspects and allusions to other fantasy interesting. More should have done to subvert Sophie's role as homemaker, since Howl seemed much more rounded by being a subversion of male tropes. Climax felt rushed but twists were fun.

Kinda coming down on this a bit. I'm not sure if Jones is being satirical by having a self-referential fantasy novel where the female lead is only ever doing housework, but either way it's not super engaging. The book's deconstruction of the heroic male lead as vain & peevish is much clearer. Also, maybe just me, but this middle section seems to lack the momentum of the movie. Still enjoying, but could be better!

Took major turn; very surprising twist! Suddenly no idea where it's going, & excited to find out. Book subverts fantasy while referencing it, especially Alice in Wonderland & Wizard of Oz. Hero's journey focus has swapped from Sophie to Howl. Motif of fours: 4 portals, 4 members of Sofie's, Howl's household/families. Each character goes by multiple identities based on who they're with. Unsure of significance its yet!

Every time David gets going about how much he loves Dora I'm just rolling my eyes. I mean I always expect melodrama with 19th century novels but this is so sickly sweet, & all over the least interesting female character in the book by far. At least it brings him in proximity to the Murdstones who are one of the few sources of conflict I care about. Uriah Heep interesting to, but annoying, especially in the audiobook.

Fun, charming, though simple in the writing, descriptions & characterization. Written in a bit of a Victorian pastiche, but in a way a kid could understand. Though lacking the striking visuals of the Ghibli adaptation, it gets themes across much better--the idea of living a listless, directionless life, not able to live up to full potential because of constraints of society/peer pressure, obsolescence. Liking it! :)

David now the side character in his own story, sitting back while more interesting characters & plotlines unfold. Unlike other Dickens I've read, this one very apparently unplanned/made up as it goes, and it gives it a very listless, purposeless feel. Though stakes are raising, the protagonist seems disconnected, only having a stake because he knows the people involved--his personal well being is unaffected.

The book remembered it's supposed to have a plot! There now seems to be a conflict, though it's still coming in & out of vision to keep up with the 'incidental encounter' style of the story. But there's also a love interest which weirdly has no set up at all. There were multiple women David knew who he coulda fallen for, but Dickens instead has a 'love at first sight' with a nobody, so I'm not invested in it yet.

David adultified all through childhood--put to work, presumed guilty/dangerous, drinking alcohol. Now he's on cusp of adulthood & being treated as juvenile, still apart from the adults around him but trying to be one of them, showing how performative his culture is, especially about how to treat social "lessers/betters" and the opposite sex. Unfortunately, David is a dull character so far. Well written though!

Some people from earlier in the book turn up, mostly mundane slice of life stuff happening, though some old friends of David's have fallen on hard times. No clear conflict or trajectory right now, which might be difficult to maintain. At this point in Great Expectations or Oliver Twist a lot of the underlying mysteries and story threads were beginning to reveal themselves. This one operates at a very different speed.

Badass tongue lashing from Miss Betsey--I love David's aunt! Such a cathartic moment. A bit of a lull between David going to London for work & meeting his aunt, but hopefully it gets going again. Last chapter was definitely my favourie part of the book so far, though. Like how Dickens shows the 'proper' manners of the time often hide bad people, how Betsey throws off decorum but is in the right. Eager for more!

Starting to understand 'Dickensian:' this follows similar blueprint as 'Expectations' & 'Twist.' Urbanization of peasant class, underfunded social institutions, 'work sets you free' mentality, criminalization/adultification of boys. Strong critique of how children were treated. Copperfield may be slower than others but we've gone through the different settings faster than other Dickens novels. Enjoying so far.

Guess it wouldn't be a Dickens novel without some cute innocent kid suffering horrible stuff. I've already cried once lol. But I've also laughed out loud (esp. at the note-passing David did between two lovestruck adults)! First big change of scenery to start the adventure off with, & I'm already wondering which characters will pop up later in the story. David too trusting; he's in for rough time. Eager to read more.

Hasn't grabbed me yet, but I knew about this being slow to start before getting into it. The great aunt in 1st chapter pretty funny. By now Dickens' prose feels like an old friend; enjoy his charm & turns of phrase. The way he taps into childhood naiveté must've been unique at the time. I like how David doesn't interject his adult understanding onto his childhood experiences to let you feel like a kid in a big world.

Wasn't expecting such a touching ending! Happy it took a cathartic approach instead of staying misanthropic. I would've hated this if I'd read it as a teen or had it assigned in school--wouldn't have understood the irony, would've judged Holden harder than he judges others & left it at that, thinking I was better than it. Glad I read it now--easier to reflect on how you've grown since thinking you were done growing.