Posted on October 24, 2008
I did it! I finally finished Lolita. (Okay, I finished it on Saturday, but today is the first day I thought I could actually write about it.)
This book was confusing for me. Of course, the subject disgusted me, which didn’t help. But, I actually kind of enjoyed the style of writing. It was raw, and honest. It was painful to read because the narrator didn’t hold anything back. It was written as a confession of his misdeeds, as an explanation for why he did what he did. He talks about his obsessions with young girls in poetic and romantic terms, sexualizing the innocent actions of adolescents. He is despicable, but pathetic enough where you almost almost forgive him. (Of course, I still wanted to see him eaten by dogs.)
One major issue I had with this novel is it felt a little over written. Some of the phrasing was too calculating. At times it was confusing because the narrator had different names for each of the characters and he used them interchangeably, so if you aren’t paying attention, you have NO IDEA who he’s talking about. Oh, and he frequently speaks in French. I don’t speak French, so I had to skip over a lot of that. If I was still in one of my college lit classes, I would have found a French dictionary, or used the Internet, to translate it all. But, I wasn’t, and so I didn’t.
Anyway, it was a tough read, but I am proud of myself for finishing it.
I give it 3 stars, mostly because it made my brian and my soul hurt.
Posted on October 1, 2008
I have all but stopped reading. I was doing sooo good. I was averaging a book a week since we started the 50 Book Challenge.
Well, as per usual, my extensive TV watching habits have interfered with my reading. (Damn the new fall season!)
In addition to that, I am trying to read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov in preparation for Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi, a book I attempted to read a year ago, but found it difficult to follow since I had never read Lolita.
Which, I got to say, is a difficult book to stomach. It’s all about glorifying pedophilia, and I am having a hard time with that.
Anyway, I am done making excuses. I will try to get back with the program. If anybody out there has read Lolita, it would help me to know that the narrator gets run over or eaten by dogs or something. That might make it easier to stomach.
Posted on September 22, 2008
by Elizbeth Kostova. (4 stars)
The multigenerational search for Vlad the Impaler’s (AKA: Dracula) tomb. John made fun of me for this one. But, it was a DENSE novel full of Eastern European history. And, yes, there were a few vampires, but there were also intrigues, puzzles, mysteries and a touch of romance.
I enjoyed this book, but it wasn’t an easy read. The historical perspective was fascinating, but complicated and difficult to wade through. The characters were smart, but seemed to lack compassion, and in essence, they were a little cold. Whatever the characters were lacking, the mysteries surrounding Vlad’s tomb more than made up for it. The “goth” in me really wanted to believe this was a true story.
So, I would recommend it, but give yourself several long, quite, uninterrupted hours to read it.
Posted on September 9, 2008
by Susan Vreeland (4 Stars)
First of all, let me apologize to Becky. She gave me this book FIVE YEARS AGO (I could tell because she used the receipt for the book as a bookmark and it had a date stamp) and I just picked it up. Sometimes I procrastinate like that. It’s one of the reasons I rarely if ever get books from a library, I will find books that I think are interesting and I really do want to read them, just not right NOW. I like to have the books on my shelf for when I finally get the motivation to read them.
That being said, she told me when she gave it to me that I would like it, and she was right. It was another quick read, I think it only took me 4-5 hours to finish it (aka: two nap times) and that was mainly because I had a really hard time putting it down.
This is the fictional account of Italian artist Artemesia Gentileschi, who was “one of the first female artists to achieve recognition in the male-dominated world of post-Renaissance art.“ When she was eighteen, she was raped by her art teacher. Her father insisted on a very public trial, where she was accused of being a whore, tortured with thumb screws, and examined by midwives in the courtroom while all of Rome watched. Even though her rapist was found guilty, his punishment was merely banishment from Rome. Her punishment was far more severe, her reputation as a woman was destroyed, and her reputation as an artist was sullied. She was also forced to flee Rome with the aid of a hastily arranged marriage to an artist from Florence.
Vreeland’s Artemesia was truly a remarkable woman. She never allowed the stuffy and old fashioned men who ruled the art world ignore her. She continued to create remarkable masterpieces that intrigued wealthy and influential people (such as Michelangelo the younger, and Cosimo de’ Medici II) forcing academia to accept her has a talented artist. She was the first female accepted into the Accedemia dell’ Arte Disegno.
However, her recognition and acclaim quickly became a source of jealousy and resentment among her peers, and her talent didn’t always pay the bills. She constantly had to relocate herself and her daughter in order to find patrons willing to hire her.
She struggled her entire life, but she was so passionate about her art, and leaving behind a legacy, that she never gave up.
I think it is really easy to forget that women have always fought to receive the same chances as men. Even in a field as subjective as art, women had to fight to even be considered artists. I read novels like this, and I am so grateful that my daughter was born in a time when she truly can be anything she wants to be!
A little housekeeping, awhile ago I wrote that I would be finising books for the 50 book challenge. Well, apparently I have absolutely no interest in finishing those books. I tried, and my heart wasn’t in it. I would pull the book of the bookshelf, it would sit there for a week and I would find new and improved excuses for not reading. I have had a lot more success finding new books. So, for the sake of this challenge, I have been reading full books. I just wanted to make that clear so nobody thinks I am “cheating.”
Posted on September 5, 2008
By Lian Hearn.
One of the great things about being in a book club with women of completely different literary backgrounds is that you are introduced to books you wouldn’t normally pick up yourself. Across the Nightingale Floor definitely falls into that category for me. I don’t usually read fantasy books, and I have never read a fantasy Japanese novel, and yet I enjoyed this book.
The first caveat, it was a very simple book. As in, the language was simple, the characters where somewhat shallow, the plot obvious and uncomplicated, and the theme catchy. I literally read most if it today during Chloe’s nap. After reading it, I looked at the back cover and noticed it won an award for “One of School Library Journal’s Best Adult Book for High School Readers,” and it explained a lot.
That being said, I still enjoyed it. I enjoyed the mysticism and the glimpse into a superstitious culture. I loved the female characters, who acted in accordance to the rules of the culture and the time period, but still managed to be as strong if not stronger than the male characters. The descriptions of the settings were simple, yet adequate for me to visualize. I became emotionally invested in the characters, interested in what was going to happen next, and as this is the first book of a series, I will probably read the second book to see if it can maintain the same level of interest.
However, the novel definitely had its flaws. The supernatural (or preternatural abilities, as the back cover claims) didn’t hold up for me, I just didn’t buy it. And, I am a girl who LOVES superheros! I will suspend my disbelief for ANYBODY in a cape and some hose! But these, guys…let’s just say I thought their abilities were kind of lame. I didn’t learn anything new from it, it didn’t surprise me or shock me. It certainly didn’t rock my world. But, it entertained me on a day when I didn’t have anything to watch on TV. So for that, I give it 3 stars.
Posted on September 2, 2008
Small Island by Andrea Levy caught me by surprise. I was expecting a story about growing up in Jamaica (it was given to me as a present and I only skimmed the back cover before reading.) It turns out, it was yet another book based on WWII. And it was also yet another view point, not only of WWII, but also of racism during this time period.
The young men of Jamaica were offered an opportunity of a lifetime. The chance to fight for their mother country (Britain), with the understanding that after the war they would be given an education that would lead to a better life then that which they would have in Jamaica. Unfortunately, racism, though less violent than in America, was still prevalent. This is the story of a Jamaican couple, their white landlord, and her husband. It covers the time before the war, their experiences during the war, and then their lives after the war.
I enjoyed how the author gave each character a distinct voice. I felt like I understood the characters, and could relate to what they were going through, even though they’re experiences couldn’t be more different then my own. My only complaint is I would have liked to get a better feel for life in Jamaica, but that was a pretty small part of the story, so I understand why Levy didn’t elaborate.
I give this novel 4 1/2 stars.
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