The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

I stumbled upon a HarperPerennial blog a while back called The Olive Reader. If you recall, I mentioned that they are starting their own book club called English 101. You can check out my post on that here. Anyway, they asked if I wanted to review any of their books and I picked The Bell Jar, a classic novel by Sylvia Plath. I had read probably twenty pages back in high school or college but never finished it. I thought I'd give it another chance...that and the Olive Edition with the purple cover is just too cool.

The story starts out with Ester Greenwood, a young, fairly attractive woman, who is spending the summer interning in NYC at a magazine. I'm assuming the time frame is the early 1960s. Sounds fun, right? Not really. She comes across as kind of glum or complacent. While her friends are going out to parties and being fairly promiscuous, Ester is just kind of going along with the flow but not really a part of it. Actually, many of her experiences are pretty terrifying, including a weird almost-rape scene at a party. Oh, and she's also engaged to a sickly guy who she isn't particularly interested in.

Returning home, she applies to attend a school for writing but is turned down. What proceeds is her spiral into depression. Concerned, her mom makes her see a psychiatrist who gives her electric shock therapy. Yeah. Apparently her depression isn't a symptom of her environment but of faulty wiring in her brain. Obviously the treatment doesn't work well and she becomes suicidal and is institutionalized.

I'm going to leave the story there.

Before picking up the novel, I knew somewhat what the book was about. I kept thinking about the movie Girl, Interrupted. While this book sounds incredibly depressing, it actually wasn't. Well maybe just a bit. Instead, it just made me think. I thought about what makes people go crazy or depressed. How I don't think I would have been a very sane person during that time period. How society puts so much pressure on people then and now that it's amazing that more people don't lose it.

I also thought, just maybe, Ester wasn't that crazy. But then again, maybe she was. The story is through her perspective but I never felt that I really knew what she thought or felt. I couldn't quite grasp what her depression spiral stemmed from but maybe that's just me.

While it is an interesting and thought provoking novel, I think it's notoriety comes from being the only novel by Sylvia Plath. It was published in the early sixties under a pseudonym. Apparently the novel is semi-autobiographical and shortly after it was published, she committed suicide. So yeah, this novel stirred up some notice.

**Have you read this novel? What did you think? Have you read any other books similar to this, such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or others?

Also Reviewed by:

The Roaring 20s

P.S.

I really like the Olive Edition's cover and particularly the spine of the book. Here's a picture:

I also remember the first time I noticed The Bell Jar was in the 1999 movie 10 Things I Hate About You - Kat is reading the book at home on the couch.

Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. Oh what to say about Mrs. Dalloway....

Let me warn you first that I've been in a weird reading funk this year. This is also my first foray into the works of Virginia Woolf, and while I didn't like Mrs. Dalloway, that doesn't mean I won't try again with a different work.

Here it is:

Mrs. Dalloway is the central figure of this story. The whole book takes place in a single day and starts off with Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway heading out to get some flowers for a party she is throwing that night.

It follows Mrs. Dalloway out into the city and there skips around in narration. The central figures are Clarissa and Peter Walsh (an old flame) who comes back from India and stops to see Clarissa. Other characters are Sally (a past best friend), Elizabeth (Clarissa's daughter), Richard (Clarissa's husband), and a few random park people. The story ends with Mrs. Dalloway's party.

Honestly, I loved the writing. Once I got used the rhythm I really enjoyed it. I was a little confused at the beginning because I had no clue how old Mrs. Dalloway was supposed to be. A bit into the book we find out she's 52 years old. But I guess I was thrown by the spunk of her character and the cover of the novel.

But halfway into the book I got bored. I lost interest in Clarissa, Peter, Richard, and the whole bunch. I really didn't care. The most interesting characters were Elizabeth, which we didn't hear much of, two very side characters of a ex-military man and his Italian wife, and a snippet of Clarissa's past friendship with Sally. Actually, had this book only been about those people, I'd have enjoyed it. I really just couldn't stand Clarissa or Peter.

In all honesty, I would never have finished this book besides the fact that I had signed up over at Sarah's blog for Woolf in Winter. That and I knew I'd never pick this book back up again...well at least not in the next couple of decades. I wonder if I'd like it more when I'm closer to Clarissa's age. Or maybe not. I guess I just felt that Clarissa and Peter just seemed so childish.

If you've read this and like it, or didn't, let me know what you thought! I'm off to read some reviews.

Also Reviewed by:

BookBath
What we have here is a failure to communicate (and more)
A Striped Armchair
Regular Rumination
It's all about me (time)
Books, the Universe, and Everything
Book-a-rama
Rhinoa's Ramblings

1001 Update: Persuasion - Jane Austen

I read Jane Austen's Persuasion back in December and haven't reviewed it. I was a little lost for words since it is such a great classic and I can't believe I had never read it before. But then Alaine reviewed it over at Queen of Happy Endings and I thought, man up Amanda, just review it!

For those Persuasion newbies, here's the story:

Anne Elliot is 27 years old and unmarried. Agast! Her father, Sir Walter Elliot, has fallen upon hard times and is forced to rent out their nice home and move to a more modest abode in Bath. And who should rent their home, but the sister and husband of Anne's former flame, Captain Wentworth.

When Anne was 19, the Captain proposed and although Anne loved him, she was persuaded (get it?) by a family friend to turn down his offer. Scorned, she has not seen him since then. The Captain has made his fortune abroad and now is considered a fine catch. When the two finally cross paths again eight years later, he totally ignores her and pours affections on other (younger) women. Apparently hell hath no fury like a scorned man.

I was going to say, "Move over Pride and Prejudice, I've found a new favorite" but that's not entirely true. I still adore the wit and characters of P&P, so Persuasion is running a close second place. It doesn't help that I watched the movie shortly before I read the book. And wow. I think I've found a new crush. So yeah...move over Colin Firth as Darcy, I've found Captain Wentworth:
O yeah. The 2007 version has good eye candy. BUT...both the movie AND the book make me just want to slap these two characters. I mean. Anne is so passive and the Captain seems so heartless towards her. But I guess that makes the book enjoyable. The type of book you want to throw (but in a good way) and then pick it back up and continue reading until the hopefully happy ending.

So yeah, I loved both the book and the movie.

**Note: I read my version online at Online-Literature.com. I just love the Penguin version's cover above.

**Another note: I've only seen the 2007 movie but heard that the older 1995 version is really good. Have you seen either one or both? Thoughts?

The 2007 Persuasion movie:

The 1995 version:
1001 Books to Read Before I Die Challenge

1% Well-Read Challenge (I'm at 33 books, I had no clue!)

Also Reviewed by:

Queen of Happy Endings
Stacy's Books
Fyrefly's Book Blog
Books. Lists. Life
Shelf Love
Book Nut
Book Bath 2007 Movie
Stacy's Books 1995 Movie
Blogul cu umbrela. The Period Drama Addict 1995 Movie

Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys

I decided to read Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys because of Twitter. Yes, that's right. Because of Twitter. I follow @WNBA_NRGM which is National Reading Group Month from the Woman's National Book Association. They mentioned this article from NPR. Confused yet?

I had no idea that this novel had anything to do with Jane Eyre [my review]. **If you've never read Jane Eyre and are planning to, you might want to stop reading here. **I happened to see it the other day at the library and picked it up. So here we go.

Wide Sargasso Sea imagines the background of "Bertha" the first wife of Rochester from Jane Eyre. It's supposed to clear up the mystery of why she ending up being the crazy lady in the attic.

And I say "supposed" because it didn't really clear up anything to me. At the end of the book, I still feel that "Bertha" a.k.a. Antoinette Cosway, the wealthy Creole girl from the Caribbean, is still such a mystery.

Let's be honest. I didn't really like this book. Classic literature it may be but here's why I had problems with it.

1) Rochester doesn't really seem like the Rochester from Jane Eyre. That said, if he's supposed to come off as an evil man who enslaves her in his attic....it kind of failed. You could see where he seemed just as stuck in having to marry her as she was to him. And there was no logical reason for him to start calling her "Bertha", it was out of character, and it just bugged me. (A large portion in the middle of the book is written from Rochester's perspective. I DID like that.)

2) The book jacket made it seem as if she had no choice in marrying him. As if against her will she was forced. But I didn't really see that in the book either. I couldn't really see WHY she had to marry him or why she did.

3) She remains a complete mystery. If she's supposed to be strong-willed, I don't see it. If she was supposed to be an innocent who was manipulated, I don't see it. I'm just not sure where the author was wanting to take this character.

4) The characters were confusing, the writing was confusing...I'll just leave it at that.

What I did like about this book:

1) The very beginning is very vivid. It's the part where Antoinette is a child, growing up as a Creole without a father, and the social changes that happen on the island where she lives. I'd tag this as "classic" just from that small section. Then the book just goes down-hill from there.

2) In a weird way, I could never get a picture of what Antoinette looked like. Maybe it was purposeful since Antoinette was caught between worlds, not fitting into either one. I thought that was a really powerful writing tool she used.

3) I did like the parallel between Jane's upbringing and Antoinette's. Lots of similarities.

4) Jean Rhys. I am kind of fascinated about the author herself. I'd love to read a book just on her.

***Has anyone else read this? Did you like it? If so, what was I missing?

1001 Book Update - Heart of Darkness

The other day I finished the book I was currently reading on the subway to work. My commute each way is about an hour...long I know but it gives me time to read. So I thought I'd swing by the library and grab a short novel for the ride home.

Back in high school I was supposed to read Joseph Conrad's book, Lord Jim, but never did. I kind of feel guilty about that one. So I grabbed this slim book which has two of his short books. Surprisingly, I really liked them. The Secret Sharer was a bit more easier to read than Heart of Darkness.

The introduction was really interesting though. I did not know Joseph Conrad...a great "English" writer was really Polish. His name is really Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski. Wow, huh? That and he didn't really learn the English language until he was twenty. His books, well at least these two, have real moral and psychological undertones. I love that.

Heart of Darkness
Published in 1902, Heart of Darkness begins the story on a ship leaving London. Marlow, one of the English passengers on the ship tells a story of when he was a Captain of a boat in the Congo doing Ivory trading. He is given the task of going down the Congo River to retrieve a fellow ivory trader, Kurtz, who has quite the reputation in the region.

While the writing is very very wordy (the introduction even notes that), the imagery is very strong. He depicts the horrible conditions of the slaves in the area. And when he finally does meet Kurtz, the absolute lack of humanity in him is just...well plain scary. And that's when it gets sort of into the psychological aspect of the story. I mean Kurtz is a horrible trader who will do anything to get more ivory. I mean the guy has heads on stakes around his place. Just as a warning. But Kurtz has presence. Just pure evil genius. And Marlow actually starts to admire him. Not admire what he does or did but just the genius of it all. It really confronts that idea of the ability of everyone to be or do evil. Kind of like in World War II...how do regular people end up doing horrific things? Even the title of the story, Heart of Darkness is a psychological twist. Africa used to be called the "Dark Continent" but it's really about the darkness of the human heart.

The Secret Sharer
This short story, published in 1910, was a bit more straight forward than Heart of Darkness but still pretty good. The story is about a newbie Captain of a ship. He really hasn't gotten to know his crew or his ship. While he on watch during the night, he finds a naked man hanging onto the ladder of his ship in the water. He takes the man on board, hides him in his cabin, and learns his story. The man is named Leggatt and is from the ship, Sephora, which is nearby. During a horrible storm, Leggatt, in a fit of rage, killed a fellow shipmate because Leggatt thought the shipmate was being lax in his duties. He escaped punishment by diving in the water, feigning drowning and hiding.

So the Captain actually sides with this guy! He hides him, lies to his crew, and lies to the Sephora Captain. He even goes as far as to call this guy "his other self"...I mean he really identifies more with this murderer than with anyone else. Kind of crazy.

Conclusion:

I'll have to read more Joseph Conrad. I love the psychological/moral twist in these stories. They really make me ponder things long after I've read them. And I love that Joseph Conrad actually went to these places since he worked in the French and British Merchant Navies. It makes me wonder how much of his stories he took from real life...which is kind of scary.

1001 Book Update - 1984

1984 by George Orwell is one of those "classic" books that I was supposed to read in high school...and never did. I mean, it was actually assigned and I never read it. Shocking I know. I thought I read most of it....well, it turns out I never got past the first few chapters. So I thought I'd right a wrong and finally read it...I even had the same book I purchased back in high school. Yeah. That's pretty bad.

Ok. To sum it up: it was good...wish I had read it back then. But I still prefer Aldous Huxley's Brave New World to 1984. Not so much because of the story...but because of the writing. I remember why I petered out at reading 1984 past the first few chapters...I still think those chapters are pretty dry. Stick with it though and it gets better. I do think that 1984 is more futuristically realistic than Brave New World...well, now with genetics stuff going on who knows. But I really liked the relationship between Winston and Julia.

For those of you who've read it...what did you think about the prison sequence? I thought that was pretty well written. Wow. It actually reminded me of The Septembers of Shiraz (my review here) which takes place in the early 1980s in Iran after the Revolution...which is really creepy. There may not have been televsision screens with Big Brother spying but other than that it's pretty darn close. And Isaac's imprisionment really reminded me of Winston's. If you've read both, what do you think?

And of course, here's the other covers. I don't really like the version I have above. Not so much for the cover, but because the font is really hard to read.

Here's my favorite I found:This on is pretty cool too:
And here's the current version...just kind of "eh" to me:
My Links:
1001 Books to Read Before You Die
Dystopian Novel Challenge

Also Reviewed By:
Books Love Me

1001 Book Update - If on a winter's night a traveler

I was at the library the other day when I saw If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino. I've heard of the title somewhere and it just sounded good. Then I realized it's on the 1001 List so I said why not.

This is a TOUGH review to write. I loved it, then I got confused at Chapter 6 and almost gave up, but then I re-read Chapter 6 and moved on and I loved it again because Chapter 7 seemed to be speaking to me. Not like "it moved" me or whatever...it was REALLY talking directly to me. It told me, in a lot more words and way more eloquently, that I, the Reader, was on a plane, on descent to the airport, but I really wanted to finish the book. And I WAS on an airplane, going to Vegas, and we had just started the descent, and I was almost finished with the book!!

Ok. Let me back up.

This book is odd. Very odd. You, the Reader, are a character in the novel. You had just picked up a copy of If on a winter's night a traveler and are somewhere relaxing, kicking up your feet, and reading the book. And then the novel begins. And it's interesting. And then it stops. What? You, the Reader, get mad and go to the bookstore for another copy. But ALL the copies are like that. What's going on? At the bookstore you meet a lady (yes Reader, you are male, apparently). She too has the book and is trying to figure out what's going on. And you are attracted to her so you strike up a conversation and go on a quest with her to figure out what's going on.

Crazy, right? The book has Chapters which describe the Reader's search for the book, and interspersed are a number of short stories...all different, completely different.

I loved it. I was frustrated. Each chapter sucked me in and I wanted to know more. But each story just stopped. But I loved it. And the Reader falls for the other Reader, Ludmilla, the lady from the bookstore. So you have a tad bit of romance as well.

Has anyone read this book? Liked it, hated it? Did my review make any sense?

For the curious, here's an excerpt from the first chapter of the book. Doesn't it just suck you in?

**Note: The other covers of this book are pretty boring. But I LOVED this cover. A train is mentioned in the book, and you can't see it on the image above that well, but the steam from the train is all shreds of lines from the stories. Very cool.

1001 Update: Rabbit, Run - John Updike

John Updike's book Rabbit, Run is the first official selection of the book club I started here at work. I call it the Brunch Book Club. There are five of in the book club and four made it to brunch that day. And the general consensus is that we ALL liked it! And none of us had read an Updike book before.


Keep in mind that this book was written in 1960...so things were a bit different back then.


The story revolves around Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, a twenty-six-year-old. He was a big basketball star back in high school but now he is married, sells vegetable peelers, and has a second child on the way. And he's unhappy. But it doesn't come right out and tell you he's unhappy.


He's on his way home from work when he sees a bunch of kids playing basketball. He joins in and pretty much womps them. And he goes home and his wife is drinking and smoking (see...the differences between then and now?). And he's annoyed at her and that she's drinking. Oh, he's not annoyed because drinking is bad for the baby...no...it's because he's quit and she hasn't. So when he has to go pick up the car and she askes him to pick up a packet of cigarrets on his way home...he just leaves and doesn't come back.


At first he tries driving to Florida. But somehow that doesn't work. He ends up in a nearby town and hooks up with another lady and starts living with her. And he's really conceited. And it's all just a muddled mess.


And that's all I'm going to tell you. There is a part toward the end that is just shocking. Watch out because you might tear up on the subway, or miss your stop, or slack off responsibilities because you have to read it to the end then.


What we all agreed on is that the story just sucked us in. And Rabbit wasn't a very like-able character. But then again he wasn't supposed to be. We still all agreed that even we didn't know why we still cared about what was going to happen when really NONE of the characters were really like-able. But maybe that's the point. We get flawed characters because really none of us are perfect. And who doesn't know of a person like Rabbit.


I'm definitely going to read the other books in the series.


Have you read any of his Rabbit stories? What did you think?


Ok, as I was looking for other covers, I ran across this one. Wow! Slightly scandelous! And then I realized there was a movie made back in 1970. Hmm...has anyone seen it? What did you think?

Also Reviewed by:

Shelf Love

1001 Book Update - Breakfast at Tiffany's

I found Truman Capote's short novel Breakfast at Tiffany's at the little library near my work for sale. I thought it was a great find! I've always loved the movie with Audrey Hepburn and I've read Capote's In Cold Blood and really like it. So I thought I'd give it a whirl.

I loved it!

Holly Golightly. What a character.

The narrator is a young writer who is recalling the memory of when he lived in the same apartment building as Holly Golightly in the Upper East side of New York City. They meet one early early morning because Holly is locked out (a common occurance). Holly dubs the narrator Fred, the name of her older brother, and they become friends.

Holly is eccentric to say the least. She's young...nineteen or twenty...and lives pretty much as call girl. She goes out partying all night and men usually give fifty bucks to go to the ladies, fifty for a cab ride, etc. And the image of Audrey Hepburn fits it perfectly (except Audrey was a bit older than the novel's portrayal...but still). So the novel just outlines this eccentric character who sits on her fire escape and plays the guitar and sings, has a cat with no name, has sketchy dealings with a mob boss who she visits in prison, and a number of other things.

The "breakfast at Tiffany's" part comes from her habit of dressing up, going to Tiffany's and having breakfast whenever she gets the "mean reds"...not the blues mind you.

Here's what Holly said:

"What I've found does the most good is just to get into a taxi and go to Tiffany's. It calms me down right away, the quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there, not with those kind men in their nice suits, and that lovely smell of silver and alligator wallets."

I absolutely loved it.

And because I love this song and scene where Audrey Hepburn sings Henry Mancini's song Moon River:

And some fun covers:

Also Reviewed by:
In Spring it is the Dawn

Book-a-rama

Stacy's Books

Movie Review:

Tea at Trianon

1001 Books Update - Cat's Cradle

I just finished reading Kurt Vonnegut's novel, Cat's Cradle, and I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it. This is the first Vonnegut book I've read and I liked it enough to read another one. But I'm still feeling a bit "eh" about it.

This book counts towards my Dystopian Novel Challenge, Carl's Sci-Fi Experience, AND the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die Challenge. I like books that fulfill more than one challenge. Yay!

Ok. Here's the synopsis:

John, a journalist is doing some research for a book about what "regular" people were doing the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. So he writes to and interviews the children of Dr. Hoenikker, one of the big mastermind scientists behind the atomic bomb. Newt, the youngest was just six when the bomb was dropped, but he recalls his dad playing cat's cradle with some string that day.

Honestly, the first part of the novel was the best part. I was really enjoying the story, the writing, even the billion and one chapters because each chapter is only a page or two long. But then John tries to get in touch with the other two children, Angela and Frank. And he finds Frank has become a general with the country of the Republic of San Lorenzo. So he hops on a plane (which happens to also carry Angela and Newt) to find Frank. He also falls in love with a beautiful native of San Lorenzo. And that's when it starts to get weird and drag. He starts writing a bunch about Bokononism, the sort of religion of San Lorenzo. And it's weird. And maybe it's supposed to be funny and sarcastic but it was just kind of silly and weird. And I lost interest.

Oh! And before Dr. Hoenniker died, he had developed a product called Ice-Nine, a blue crystal which if touches water will harden/freeze all the water all over the world. Which of course, in this dystopian novel does happen.

So I think this all probably has a big deep meaning that I'm just not getting. I debated looking online for some discussion questions or something but then didn't.

So if you've read this, what did you think? Is there something I'm missing?

Now for interesting covers.

The cover with the cat's cradle:
This one's kind of a nice with a little montage of scenes:
And covers more about Ice-Nine:

1001 Update - Miss Lonelyhearts

For a while now I've been trying to remember the name of this novel. I read it back in 2003 when I was studying abroad in Wales. I took some great classes there and one I took for fun was a class called "Crisis of the American Self". No kidding. Did you know they have "American Studies" majors? I mean, it makes sense. But it still boggles my mind.

Anyway, along with The Catcher in the Rye, A Farewell to Arms, etc. we had to read Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West. I really loved this novel and was surprised I hadn't heard about it before. Have you?

It was published in 1933 and is set in New York City during the Great Depression. The protagonist of the story is a guy who writes an advice column for the newspaper, known as Miss Lonelyhearts. He is basically a big joke for the newspaper. Obviously after reading so many letters for advice he becomes very depressed and alcoholic. Obviously he gets into brawls and all that stuff. But at the same time it's pretty funny. It reminded me of a black and white movie...the one where the detective is sitting and smoking and the gorgeous lady asks for help. Picture that only the detective is a newspaperman pretending to be a lady writing an advice column. Definitely a black black comedy if you like that sort of humor.

I remember reading this and wondering why I hadn't heard of it before. It wasn't until I was perusing the 1001 To Read List that it popped out and rang a bell. I am definitely going to re-read it.

Oh, and I just love some of these covers. I don't remember which one I read (I think the duel novel one) but I'd love to own an old version:

1001 Book Update - The Picture of Dorian Gray

I just finished up reading The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. This is the only work by Oscar Wilde I have read and I have to say that it was a pretty good story. Talk about a great gothic novel for October!

In all honesty, I had tried reading this book years ago and got pretty bored the first few chapters and didn't finish it. I had thought my mom had recommended it to me until I realized she had recommended The Portrait of an Artist as A Young Man by James Joyce....yeah, a completely different type of novel. :)

Anyway, the story opens up with Basil Hallward, an artist, painting Dorian Gray's portrait. Dorian Gray is in his early twenties, beyond handsome, and innocent. Also present is their mutual friend Lord Henry Wotton. Basil's finished portrait of Dorian is exquisite. Dorian see's this masterpiece and hates knowing that while he will grow and age, the portrait will always remain young and perfect. So he makes a silly off-hand wish...that the portrait will age and he won't.

But the wish comes true. And along with Lord Henry being a corrupting role model...Dorian Gray through the years becomes a truly vulgur human being while looking like perfection personified. And hidden in his house is the portrait that tells the truth.

I thought this was a great novel...and it's pretty short if you want to read it. Make sure you make it past the part where Lord Henry gives Dorian a particularly corrupting book as a present. That second half of the book is where the truly gothic aspects of the book come out. And I loved reading Oscar Wilde's writing about the dark aspects of Victorian society. And I kept imagining Ruppert Everett's voice for Lord Henry.

Oh, and for you movie buffs...a new movie called Dorian Gray is scheduled to come out next year staring Colin Firth which I heard about on this great blog.

This has been yet another book for Carl's R.I.P. III Challenge
Also Reviewed By:
Trish's Reading Nook
Serendipity

1001 Book Update - The Turn of the Screw

I read The Turn of the Screw by Henry James as part of Carl's R.I.P. III Challenge. I have to admit that I've never read anything by Henry James (gasp!) and actually didn't know anything about the plot of this story. I saw that a few people had added this book as part of the challenge. I have to admit I was surprised. If you want a quick ghost story, this is the story for you.

I read it online from the New York Public Library's ebook section, but you can also find it online for free. It's very short book, just 137 pages in my ebook. The story is about a governess who is hired by a gentleman to watch his niece and nephew. The two childrens' parents have died and their uncle does not really want the responsibility. What happened to the childrens' previous governess? Are the children really angelic or are they mischievous? Is the governess really seeing ghosts?

While it's not an amazing story (perhaps due to my having seen too many horror/scary movies) it is a perfect ghost story to read in October for this challenge. I will say that I will be wanting to read more novels by Henry James in the future.

**If you've read the book, what did you think about the ending? Make sure you note :Spoiler: to not ruin the ending for others. Thanks!

This has been my third book for the R.I.P. III Challenge

Also Reviewed by:

Things Mean A Lot

Out of the Blue

You're History!

Booknotes by Lisa

Age 30+ - A Lifetime of Books

1001 Book Update - Northanger Abbey

What better way to get out of a reading slump than to read Jane Austen. And I still can't believe that I haven't read Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey until now.

Here's the synopsis:

While on vacation with friends in Bath, seventeen-year-old Catherine makes new friends and falls in love. Catherine also loves creepy, scary, Gothic novels. So when her crush, Henry Tilney, and his sister Elenore invite Catherine to stay with them at their renovated Northanger Abbey home, Catherine gladly accepts. Not only is she excited to be in proximity of Henry but she gets to explore a "Gothic" abbey house. But is the abbey haunted by the dead Mrs Tilney? Or did General Tilney kill his wife? Or is she still alive, hidden somewhere in the house? Does Henry love Catherine in return?

This is a cute novel which was an easy and fun read. I loved Catherine who's imagination was constantly getting the better of her. While reading it, I couldn't help but think that Catherine had quite a bit of Jane Austen...or what I imagine Jane Austen to have been like. At first I almost expected this to become my favorite Austen book...but by the end, while still an enjoyable read, my favorite is still Pride and Prejudice.

Oddly enough, while I had never read Northanger Abbey I had never seen a movie on it either. So I'm posting some pictures of the movie so I will remember to go rent this one.

Is Northanger Abbey your favorite Austen novel? Why?

Have you seen the movie and did you like it? Which version?

Also reviewed by:
Enchanted by Josephine
Ulat Buku in the City
The Novel World
Carla from My Little Corner
Things Mean A Lot
Shelf Love

Movie reviewed by:
A Striped Armchair


This is the first book completed for the R.I.P. III Challenge:

1001 Book Update - Like Water for Chocolate

Interestingly enough, I picked up Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel at the library book sale and did not realize that it was on the 1001 list. Good thing though, because I just finished it and really enjoyed it. It's quite a book though so I'll try and do it justice.

The story takes place in Mexico during the turn of the 20th Century. Mexico at the time is going through a revolutionary period but this book is not a historical fiction. It's about love, family, and being true to yourself. The De la Garza family is ruled with an iron thumb by Mama Elena. She gives birth to her youngest of three daughters, Tita, who is the heroine of the story. Mama Elena decrees that since Tita is the youngest daughter, she is destined to take care of Mama Elena (and only that) until her mother dies. This becomes a problem for Tita when the love of her life, Pedro, wants to marry her. Instead, Mama Elena forbids Tita to marry and gives her other daughter Rosura to Pedro. Well, you can see where this is going. Eventually Tita has to realize how she has to take control of her life. Her destiney is in her hands, not Mama Elena's.

But what's interesting about this book is how it's written. The book has 12 chapters and each chapter is a month which starts at January and ends at December. At the beginning of each chapter is a recipe, for Tita is an amazing cook, and her preparing each meal playes an important part of the story. Most of these recipes aren't really ones I wouldn't be able to fix myself (oxtail, pheasants, etc.) but make the story very sensual.

Like Water for Chocolate is a perfect example of magical realism and is more accessable, at least to me, than One Hundred Years of Solitude. While I really enjoyed this book, I think I like my magical overtones to be a little less subduded in books. The un-reality of it all is sometimes a bit too much in this book. But that's my opinion.

I do really want to see the movie now since I read that Laura Esquivel also wrote the screenplay. And I want to see how the magical realism transfers to the big screen.

Have you read the book and/or seen the movie? What do you think?

Also reviewed by:
Medieval Bookworm
Trish's Reading Nook
The Things We Read
The Biblio Brat

1001 Books Update - The English Patient

I found a copy of The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje at the Mid-Manhattan Library Book Sale and decided to pick it up. I've been wanting to read this AND it's on the 1001 List.

The book is set just after the end of World War II in an Italian villa and revolves around four people at the villa. Hana, a nurse is left behind to tend to a badly burned man, the assumed English patient. The man was discovered in the desert and his identity is unknown. An old friend of Hana's father, Caravaggio, hears rumors of where Hana is and comes to stay. An Indian, Kip, who's job is to deactivate bombs soon joins the group. During this time, the English patient begins to tell his story and his identity.

The story is really very beautiful. The relationships between the four at the villa are interspersed with the story of the English patient's affair with the lovely Katherine Clifton. Sounds a bit confusing, I know, but it works.

A few years ago I watched the movie version and was pretty impressed. I tend to be a little wary of some movies who get a lot of Oscar nods. They sometimes are really awful...like Shakespeare in Love. Joseph Fiennes, Tom Stoppard, and Geoffrey Rush and it still came out awful! I digress.

But The English Patient movie was really a beautifully made movie. It also has a Fiennes brother, Ralph Fiennes who plays the English patient. I was very impressed. Watch it if you haven't seen it. So I was torn reading the book. For the first half I decidedly thought the movie was better than the book. I felt like it rambled and fluctuated way too much. Sometimes I was a bit confused. But by the end of the book I thought the book was better. So I came to the conclusion that both the book and the movie are beautiful pieces in their own right.

For those of you who have read the book and seen the movie...

What do you think about Kristin Scott Thomas in the role of Katharine Clifton? The book described someone I felt was much much younger than Ms Thomas. BUT, I don't know who could have done a better job. Thoughts?

And who's story touched you more? Almasy and Katharine? Hana and Kip? What was Caravaggio's purpose in the story?

For fun, here's some movie pictures:

The English Patient (before he was a patient) and Katharine:
Kip and Hana:

Also reviewed by:
Books I Done Read
S. Krishna's Books
Booking Mama
Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?
Five Borough Book Review