Classics Circuit Tour Stop: Edith Wharton

Welcome to the final stop of the Classics Circuit Tour. I'm so excited to welcome Edith Wharton to my blog today. I'm a huge fan. If I had to name my two all time favorite authors, Wharton would be on the list, along with Ian McEwan. I've chosen to read Summer but as you will soon see, I take a broad path through all her works. Get comfy. I'm feeling long winded today.

Summer
by Edith Wharton

I was first introduced to Edith Wharton as I was reading through the classics in The Well-Educated Mind. The House of Mirth was probably my favorite book on the novel list. Since then I have read Age of Innocence, The Buccaneers, Madame de Treymes, a book of short stories, The Children, and Ethan Frome, which is my favorite by far. I've also read about 300 pages of the 800 page biography of Wharton written by Hermione Lee.

If you were to ask me why I love her writing so much I'm not sure I could articulate it well. On the surface there is nothing remarkable about the writing but once I start I must keep reading. There is no point where I stop and say, "that paragraph was poetic in it's description." The writing never, ever draws attention to it's self. It's not poetic but the descriptions are effective in drawing a picture in your mind. And every description, every setting, tells you about the story. I'll explain more in just a bit. First let me tell you what Summer is about.

Beware of Spoilers!
Rescued from the slums in the mountains, Charity Royall is being raised by her guardian in a small town near New York. After Mrs. Royall's death, Dr. Royall makes an advance on Charity, followed by a marriage proposal. Disgusted by this, Charity throws herself headfirst into a relationship with Mr. Harney. As the relationship gets more serious, Dr. Royall becomes more protective, but Charity wants no help from her lovesick guardian. She is willing to go to any lengths to escape him.

In the case of Summer, the setting has so many layers of meaning. For example, we generally have a positive idea about summertime. It's warm and we are outside a lot. Fourth of July is celebrated with picnics, BBQs, and fireworks. But summer will soon come to an end. The trees will lose their leaves. The air will become cold. The sun will fade as the sky becomes dark and grey. This mimics what will happen with Charity's hot romance. It will catch fire but it will not last.

Then there is the lovers' secret getaway. It's a ramshackled hut in the middle of the woods, heading up the Mountain that is known to hide the poverty stricken. The hideaway is first described as a cozy place that the lovers have fixed up. They've fixed some things that were falling apart. They've added a few things to make it livable. It's become a rustic home for them. Until the romance has some trouble; then it becomes a hollow shell, a make believe put together with rotting wood and torn scraps of fabric. It's compared with the hovel that Charity's mother dies in deep in the Mountains. When you look back at the setting of nearly any point in the novel you can see how it pointed to the unfortunate ending of the book. The lover's broach that meant so much to Charity but cost her so dearly. The white castoff slippers that she wears to the fireworks show with Harney. Every part of the story carries some kind of meaning. Deciphering it, peeling away the layer of the onion at each point is one of the reasons I will always be a fan of Edith Wharton. I already wish I could go back and reread the story to gain deeper insight.

Wharton's novels have another facet to them that I love. They all share a moral message. Some of the books are cautionary tales. Some are examples of people doing the right thing despite the personal cost. Life is never simple and is often messy. Each character must decide if what they want is worth what they must give up to attain it. Some make the right choice and some don't. I love this because it is life. It really is. We all must choose what we value. Sometimes the things we want cannot work together and we have to decide between the them.

While searching for a cover photo I came across this movie trailer. There is not yet a movie of Summer. It looks as if they developers are looking for funding. If it ever does become a movie I would certainly be interested in seeing it.

The Sunday Salon

Literature
Reading has been hard. Hard to get motivated and hard to stay focused. I guess I'm in a slump. French Milk was okay. I'm liking My Life in France more. And I'm listening to the audio form of Bleak House. I'm so glad. I don't know if I would have kept up with it in the paper version. It's a looong book with looong chapters full of looong descriptions of a whole lot of stuff and even more people. Dickens was looong winded.

Life
I'm emotional. All. The. Time. There's the depression I've been fighting with since Thanksgiving, the intensifying chronic insomnia, and then the passing away of my uncle. I'm a wreck. Ask me a question and I will snap at you. Say boo and I will burst into tears. I'm so frustrated about everything. I ruined dinner tonight. Bacon spit in my face leaving a blister near my eye. Someone left a comment on an old review and I freaked out. I have a big zit on my nose. My pajamas were wet when I put them on. I can't figure out what to read next. Every one of these things is worth sobbing tears. But what is really bothering me?

I want my uncle back! And I want to wake up from a deep, restful sleep and find my joy in the everyday. But for now I'd take having my uncle back.

So, to change the subject, I've been creating. It gives me something to focus myself on without requiring too much from me. I've been crocheting scarves for that Etsy shop I'm still planning to open. The crocheting has been a point of happiness amongst the gloom. I love how the scarves are turning out. They're curly; some are lacy looking(like the one pictured which is my favorite), some fluffy, some skinny. I love playing with different colors and textures. Creating something beautiful rejuvenates me. This is why I need that Etsy shop, so I can buy all the pretty parts and turn them into a beautiful whole without breaking the bank.

Blogging helps me to feel better too. Thank you to those who stop and listen for a while. I appreciate you.

Review: Because of Winn-Dixie

Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo

Opal Buloni (pronounced like the lunch meat) is new to the small town of Naomi. She's in need of a friend and so is the mutt she finds wreaking havoc at the Winn-Dixie grocery store one day. The two are a pair suited to each other perfectly. Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal makes friends with an interesting cast of locals and brings them all together. Along the way she learns that life is full of sorrow and sweetness all mixed together.

This is a great story for kids of pretty much any age and adults who enjoy a story with a good moral tone. Not so much about faith and religion as it is about the common lessons of life.

The best part of the story for me was that Opal, and thus the reader, is encouraged to not judge a person by their past or their mistakes but by their heart. It's a simple but powerful message.

The movie was just about as good as the book. They added a couple of characters that I felt were unnecessary but they didn't hurt the story. I always enjoy AnnaSophia Robb with her piercing almond-shaped eyes and her pure and fun characters. I love that Dave Matthews was in it and that he did an excellent job, though they didn't have nearly as much of him singing as I would have liked. It has it's corny moments but they are easy to overlook because the story is so fun and positive. It's worth a family read aloud or movie night.

Because of Winn-Dixie counts for the Read the Book, Watch the Movie Challenge even though I technically didn't read the book. Which is why it also counts for the Audio Book Challenge. I'm counting it as a Win! Win! pick for the 2010 Challenge and the Proper Name leg of the Four Month Challenge for an extra 5 points. That was some book, eh?

In Mourning

Just a quick check in to let my beloved readers know that content will be sparse and mild in the next couple weeks. My uncle died on Monday, and I am taking it pretty hard. Not feeling up to reading or writing. But be assured that I will be back to my old energetic self before long. Uncle D. would want the laughter to continue and the smiles to abound. You'll see me when the sun is shining again.

The Proper Meanings of Words

While writing a comment on another blog, I looked up the words "peeked" and "peaked" but was not satisfied that the definitions fit with the phrase I was trying to write correctly. So I turned to Google. How I have come to love google for these seemingly trifling bits. Here's what I found:

"It is tempting to think that your attention might be aroused to a high point by “peaking” your curiosity; but in fact, “pique” is a French word meaning “prick,” in the sense of “stimulate.” The expression has nothing to do with “peek,” either. Therefore the expression is “my curiosity was piqued.”

An amazing number of people write about “mountain peeks.” A peak is a summit; a peek is a glimpse."

Now I know, and so do you. :)

The Last 20

Lenore from Presenting Lenore has an interesting set of posts. She discloses where the last 20 books she read came from. Out of curiosity, I decided to see where my last 20 books came from too. "FotL" means Friends of the Library, and "from my shelves" means I've owned it for at least 6 months.

1. Girl, Interrupted-from my shelves, bought used from FotL book store
2. Fireworks Over Toccoa-snagged from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program
3. Because of Winn-Dixie-from my shelves, bought used from either FotL book store or Salvation Army
4. Alias Grace-from my shelves, bought used from FotL book store
5. The Snowflake-library
6. Stitches-library
7. When She Flew-snagged from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program
8. Lonesome Prairie, MO-received ARC from author (who is a personal friend)
9. Breaking Her Fall-library
10. What-the-Dickens-library
11. The Diving Bell & the Butterfly-from my shelves, received from PaperBackSwap.com
12. The Hidden-TLC book tour
13. The Coming of the Fairies-from my shelves, bought new from Amazon
14. Green Angel-from my shelves, bought used from FotL book store
15. Confessions of a Slacker Wife-library
16. The Persian Pickle Club-bought new from B&N
17. Harry Potter book 1-from my shelves, gift for son from years ago
18. The Ghost Writer-from my shelves, received from PaperBackSwap.com
19. House of Sand and Fog-from my shelves, bought used from FotL book store
20. Pay Attention, Say Thank You-requested from NetGalley.com

The Breakdown:
9 from my shelves (8 used, 1 purchased)
5 ARCs
5 library books
1 bought new

I like this average. I've reduced my ARC consumption, read many books I already owned, and utilized the library for challenge books that I was not likely to want to spend money on. For the last 3.5 months I have spent only about $15. on books. This is about the best summary of me and my books I could have hoped for.

Review: Girl, Interrupted

Girl, Interrupted
by Susanna Kaysen

I grew up with Winona Ryder. "Lucas", "Heathers", "Mermaids", "How to Make an American Quilt", etc. She's good at angst/under confident. Whenever she is taken out of that role, as in "Edward Scissorhands" or "Autumn in New York", she is not convincing. I have always felt that "Girl, Interrupted" was a movie hand picked just for her. It was her last, great movie. (Too bad. I'd love to see her shine again.)

I didn't know it was a book. Did you know it was a book? I mean, it makes sense but it never occurred to me. So I swooped it up when I saw it at the local Friends of the Library Book Store. It was not what I was expecting.

If you've seen the movie, and I'm venturing to guess that most of you have, it is the chronicle of the 2 years that Susanna Kaysen spent in a medium security mental facility. We meet the other "crazies" on her ward while she tries to figure out why she is there and what to do with her life. Angelina Jolie plays the sociopath Lisa convincingly. Whoopi Goldberg is the compassionate and fearless Nurse Valerie. The late Brittany Murphy makes an appearance as the disturbed Daisy.

But the book is totally different. I don't mean that it's essence was changed. I mean the book is not written as a story of two years in chronological order. It is chunks of episodes, some out of order, told as the author feels the need to share them. Daisy's story, or what little is known of it, is told in a 3 page chapter. It's not a catalytic moment for the author as it is in the movie.

The differences remind me heavily of the differences in the book and movie versions of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The books share glimpses of life at it's most interesting; the movie weaves an elaborate story with the bare facts.

I enjoyed both the movie and the book. Occasionally the book gets hard to decipher but that is something one should expect when it is written by someone with a personality disorder. Most of it is easy and interesting reading.

Another tally mark for the 2010 Challenge Charity book as well as for the Read the Book, See the Movie Challenge.

Review: Fireworks Over Toccoa

Fireworks Over Toccoa
by Jeffrey Stepakoff

Lily, age 17, married 2 weeks before her husband was deployed to fight in WWII. She loved Paul and he loves her. It's now been 3 years of being alone with her domineering mother and her strong but silent father. Her life has been in suspended animation, waiting for her husband to return so her life can begin. Then she meets Jake, the passionate fireworks operator hired for the big July 4th homecoming celebration planned for the soldiers. She is swept away in a whirlwind by Jake and now must decide which path to take: that of true love or of commitments already made.

I thought there was a lot of potential for a moving love story here. But there were a few strikes against it from the beginning. First I read it on the heels of Alias Grace which is a truly well crafted literary fiction with a lot of depth and historical context. Fireworks, indeed many novels, couldn't survive in its shadow. Second, I detest the idea of adultery in the name of true love.

One of the biggest things that bothered me was that the author kept butting in to tell me how passionate Jake was. There was little evidence to back it up. Lily could tell he was a passionate man after just a few minutes talking with him. Really? How? Because she looked deep in his eyes? Because he was incredibly handsome? Also, every hour that passed Lily's and Jake's feelings grew into a consuming fire that multiplied exponentially. It kept hitting infinity and then growing times 100, times 1000. Not good. It broke the first rule of good writing: show, don't tell.

There was so much potential. I was disappointed that I wasn't given more to enjoy. The characters could have been developed better; the setting could have been brought more to the forefront; the situation given more thought and depth. I was left wanting it to be more than it delivered. My mind kept saying, "Just like Bridges of Madison County except I don't really care whether she picks Jake or Paul."

I will give credit where it is due. I loved the character of Lily's mother, Honey. She was a true Georgian matriarch. She brought flavor to the story though she didn't serve much purpose beyond that. The research was there too. A knowledge of the area of Toccoa during the war years and the operation of fireworks was evident, as well as all the little details of an upscale household in the 1930s. There was a good base story. The skeleton was workable. The ending was well suited to the story. It just needed more padding.

I tend to be pickier about what I read. I want a love story to have some point beyond two hearts aflame coming together. There are many positive reviews that I've seen so this book could be a good fit for a lot of people. If you like a lot of romance and a little history, if you like moral dilemma, then you should check it out.

If the author reads this review I hope he will not take offense but will tuck these critiques into the back of his mind for future novels. I want more. Make me believe it. Make me care about these people. I want to sweat in the Georgia heat as I sit here in the damp, January cold of the west coast(It's 39* as I write this review). I want to cry for the difficult decision of a young woman who was married before she understood what a lifetime commitment meant. I want to understand why a man being too perfect is something to run away from.

This title counts for Something New in the 2010 Challenge.

I received this free review copy from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer Program. Thanks go to St. Martin's Press.

It's Tuesday...Where are you?

Has a book ever transported you to a new land or experience? Share where your reading has taken you this week. Visit An Adventure in Reading to participate.

I am King Charlemagne's arrogant nephew. I'm boastful and proud. These qualities have led me into a bloody battle in Gascony, France, destroying a large part of the King's army. Death seems eminent.

The Song of Roland by anonymous

Wow! This regain is steeped in history.

The Sunday Salon

Literature
Books-I've already finished one book this year, Fireworks Over Toccoa. And I ditched one book, Dead Before Dark. I know many of you love the Sookie Stackhouse books but I was 15 pages in when I decided that what was bothering me about the book wasn't something that was going to resolve itself later on. This year I am not wasting my time on books that are not up my alley.

Challenges-I will actually be finishing a book for the Really Old Classics. I have started and abandoned 3 so far but I am liking The Song of Roland. With my review of Alias Grace I have added another 10 points to the Four Month Challenge and it also counts for Our Mutual Read and the 2010. What an encouraging start to the year!

Life
Wii-Finally! My mom got a Wii last year "for the grandkids and for exercise" and I loved it as much as my kiddos did. Now I have my own Wii Fit Plus and a Pilates game for it. Plus my daughter got Wii Dance which is hugely fun. I love to work my lower body with Fit Plus, my upper body with Sports, and get aerobic exercise with Dance. I just need to get past the soreness of starting a new workout routine.

Resolutions-Everyone's got them. Most of you have shared them. I'm trying to keep mine simple and few.
*I want to get more of my unfinished sewing projects done this year. I'm running out of storage space for all of it. I'm still investigating Etsy. There are some seriously cool things being made and sold on there.
*I'd like to get back to a mostly healthy lifestyle now that the holiday treats are just about gone. Dinner tonight will be salmon, brown rice and broccoli.
*I hope to get back to the poetry reading I started a couple of years ago.
*I'd like to do some WWI research since that's the setting for my nanowrimo novel from last Nov.

Wishing all my readers a peaceful and joyous 2010. May all your resolutions come to fruition.

Review: Alias Grace

Alias Grace
by Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood is a name that rates up there with Ian McEwan and John Irving. The idea of reading her books has intimidated me for long enough. I have finally taken the plunge and found her to be praiseworthy.

Grace Marks is convicted of murder in 1843, but is surprisingly spared from the death penalty. She is considered an accomplice with James McDermott in the murder of her employer and his housekeeper/mistress. There are discrepancies in her story and in those told by James, who was executed for his involvement. Was she an innocent who was forced into helping for fear of her life or was she the mastermind who enticed James with promises of a carnal nature. Dr. Simon Jordan, a doctor of mental illness, is driven to find the truth.

This is a book that caused me to ponder. I was fascinated by the story yet repelled by the characters even as I sympathised with them. Grace tells her life story in such detail. She expresses her emotions through her narrative. The reader is drawn in along with Dr. Jordan to wonder if she is telling the truth or spinning a yarn. Then there is the secondary story of how this murderess is affecting Dr. Jordan's personal life. This too can be interpreted as either the draw of innocence or a masterful manipulation. By the end I still couldn't make up my mind.

This is not a quick and easy read. This is one of those books that is meant to be considered at length. Do I like these people? Can any of them be trusted? What the heck really happened? Can anyone know truth with certainty? What about the differences between the upper and lower classes? Do we all have the same discrepancies of character? There are so many questions that it brings up. Be prepared to grapple with them if you choose to read any of Atwood's books.

None of this is to say that it is difficult to understand. The writing is clear and effective. It makes an impression.

I was blown away with the integrity of the context. This book could have been written in the time that it is set. It didn't give a hint of modernity. There were no judgements based on the morals of the 20th or 21st centuries. That is not an easy thing to pull off. Atwood, I am a fan.

This book is a 3 for the price of 1. It counts for 3 challenges:
Canadian Writer for the Four Month Challenge
Set within the time frame for Our Mutual Read
Charity book for the 2010 because it was bought from a Friends of the Library sale

Books of 2009

This is for my records.

58.The Snowflake
57.Stitches
56.When She Flew
55.Lonesome Prairie, Montana
54.Breaking Her Fall
53.What-the-Dickens
52.The Diving Bell & the Butterfly
51.The Hidden
50.The Coming of the Fairies
49.Green Angel
48.Confessions of a Slacker Wife
47.The Persian Pickle Club
46.Harry Potter, Book 1
45.The Ghost Writer
44.House of Sand and Fog
43.Pay Attention, Say Thank You
42.Against the Odds
41.Things Worth Remembering
40.The Time Traveler's Wife
39.Homer & Langley
38.The Weight of Silence
37.Sacred Hearts
36.Tethered
35.The Embers
34.Book: The Sequel
33.The Two Princesses of Bamarre
32.Prayers for Sale
31.Tuck Everlasting
30.The Walking People
29.The First Part Last
28.Home
27.Doctor Faustus
26.Serpent in the Garden of Dreams
25.The Well and the Mine
24.The Merchant of Venice
23.Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
22.The End of the World as We Know It
21.Beach Trip
20.The Blue Notebook
19.Garden Spells
18.A Reliable Wife
17.Last Night in Montreal
16.The Lost Hours
15.Blink
14.The World in Half
13.Nothing Right
12.Crossed Wires
11.A Peculiar Grace
10.Cutting for Stone
9.The Mighty Queens of Freeville
8.The Vagrants
7.Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
6.The Secret Scriptures
5.Delicate Edible Birds
4.Tender Grace
3.Breathing Out the Ghost
2.The Reluctant Dragon
1.The Shack