Oh dear

I am starting to get a bit tired of The Red Queen. The author is good and I can tell that she’s filling in the history because she needs to, but it’s becoming a bit tedious.

There is absolutely nothing new to report in the reading department and for that I apologize.

The Red Queen – Pt. 2

All right. So. I have continued reading The Red Queen and am thoroughly enjoying it. I will say that it is a bit too much on the history side of things, but I know that it is necessary for me to understand this information as the second half of the book (which is set in modern times) will make absolutely no sense without it.

The last fifty pages or so of the book have been spent explaining the childhood of Princess Hong. She is a girl from 1700′s South Korea who is picked at an early age to be the wife of the crown prince, Prince Sado. She is taken and they are married at the green age of 10. However, the marriage, as is stated in the book, is not consummated until the children are fifteen. This part of the tale was related in a very bitter fashion.

After that bit of information, the author, said to be Hong herself at this point, continuously goes on long tangents about her slightly deranged father-in-law, her husband who never had a father’s loving care and herself, who she looks upon as a very pathetic character at least early on.

I must say this set-up is intriguing me. I’m very excited to read the second half of the novel and follow a different character discovering the life of this princess.

Well, that’s all I know for now. I shall report any new findings post-haste.

Ciao!

Aesop’s Fables and The Red Queen

All right, so. I have again changed my mind as to how I’m going to read through the list. What I’m going to try is checking out one book from the top of the list and one from the bottom of the list from the library each time and reading them simultaneously.

So far this is working perfectly. I have Aesop’s Fables by Aesopus and The Red Queen by Margaret Drabble sitting on my desk in my dorm room at this very moment. So far I have read ten fables and the first 16 pages of The Red Queen. Both are excellent.

I was immediately drawn in to The Red Queen. First off, this book has no chapters, just two parts. A bit annoying, but it sure makes you not want to put the book down. It tells the story of a girl growing up in Korea during the Enlightenment period. That’s about as much as I’ve gotten so far. However, reading from the back cover of the book I found out that she becomes the Crown Princess of Korea. It promises to be quite fascinating.

The thing with Aesop’s Fables is that they’re making me think. Horrible. I know. The version that I have is in verse so I’ve found that I really have to dig through the iambic rhythm to find the meaning behind the quaint little stories. Some of them are giving me a bit of a problem.

Side note: I was interested to see that the Amazon.com page for The Red Queen said that people often bought The Sea by John Banville at the same time. If that means anything than I think I will love Drabble’s second most recent work of fiction.

Anyway, I need to get to class. More later!

Apology

Allow me to apologize for the fact that I have not posted anything in over a month. Things got hectic and I was away from the library…which is no excuse, I know, but still, that’s how it stands.

I have also decided something. I have grown weary of modern British literature and am therefore going to the very end of the list and working my way backwards for a bit.

Thus, the next book will be Aesops Fables by Aesopus. I am quite excited for this as I know the stories, but I’ve never actually read them. Let us embark on the continuation of my journey!

The Sea – Pt. 4

Whew…that was a marathon. I read the last 70 pages of The Sea by John Banville last night and were they amazing! I couldn’t put the book down. It was as if my mind was fully enveloped in the story.

Max, the main character, was staying in the house of his childhood friends which is now a boarding home run by a Miss Vavasour. The only people staying at the home are him and an old army-man called simply “The Colonel.” They make a very strange threesome, barely talking, and when they do it’s just a bunch of nonsense and ill-directed questions.

However, as the book moves farther and farther on, one comes to realize that his memories are becoming more and more flustered. “Madame Memory” is playing more tricks on him than near the beginning of the book. She seems to be throwing memories at him faster than he can recollect them and acknowledge them.

Memories of his wife meeting his mother, their deaths, his first kiss, his friends’ governess and her possible love affair with their father (which is hinted at, but is later revealed to, in fact, have been an affair with the mother… I was much disappointed with this twist, but that is my opinion) and many other trivial and significant facts.

I felt myself relating to the character of Max more and more. Wishing for the childhood neither of us had, reminiscing over his wife, hoping my relationship with my wife (whoever she might be) could be recalled with more warmth than that. How strange it is to read a book that could have been written by you many years in the future. It was comforting and yet sad at the same time. It spurred me on to make more of my life, it did.

Near the end of the book after he recalled exactly the circumstances under which his wife had died, he brought to life the point at which his childhood friends, Chloe (his some-time girlfriend) and her brother Myles died. This part seemed strange to me. They were having a disagreement… No, that is not it. Myles, Chloe and Max were all in a small shack which they found on the beach and Myles fell asleep. Chloe decided that she wanted to kiss Max and they did that and proceeded to go a bit farther than that, being simple what with their wearing swimsuits, but were interrupted by their governess opening the door.

The reaction to this was mixed. Chloe ran out the door towards the sea, sat down and hugged her knees to her chest glowering while Max stood confused, the governess throwing a slightly pitying look in his direction. Myles, on the other hand ran down the beach to his sister and put his arm around her shoulders and leaned his head on her shoulders. What happened next is the part that befuddles me. The two siblings wade into the water, jumping in and swim out a ways and then submerge themselves as if to re-surface farther down the shore. However, they never do. A lifeguard runs in and looks for them but never finds them.

One doesn’t know if they actually died, as they were great swimmers, or if they decided they were going to commit suicide together.

Besides that fact, the end was amazing. Miss Vavasour, in a wild twist turns out to be Rose, the governess from years earlier in Max’s life and he leaves the house disgruntled after a night of heavy drinking which eventually lands him in the hospital. Max’s daughter comes to the boarding house and collects him and tells him that from then on he is to live with her and her fiance in her apartment.

He doesn’t like the idea, but goes along with it – seeing as how he wasn’t given a choice.

Banville never reconciles his assertion at the beginning of the novel: “Someone has just walked over my grave. Someone.”

I am tempted to think that it is metaphorical, perhaps referring to the fact that someone stirred up Max’s memories, what with this book constituting his autobiography. However, I would like to think that it is something more. The fact that he is now dead and I am reading a book that wasn’t quite finished because the author died before it’s completion.

However it ended I have finished a truly well-written, well-constructed, intriguing novel. This book is definitely worth re-reading.

On to the next read!

The Sea – Pt. 3

I have officially made it over halfway through the book! I threw a celebration, ate some pumpkin bread and got an extra glass of water. This is the type of party that I associate with. I am a poor nerdy college student. Huzzah!

Now that you know my strange habits, I will update you on the book. Part II of The Sea by John Banville is proving to be even better than Part I. The main character seems to be recalling things at a much quicker rate than before and is finding that “Madame Memory” has become fickle and is mixing memories together.

However, one of the things that is starting to get a bit more awkward as it goes. One memory that he references regularly is his memory of how much he liked his friends’ mother. Yes. I did say their mother. There are several instances where he reflects on his adoration of this matronly figure, including one time when he is on a date with this woman’s daughter.

Besides this brief maladroit moments, the story is pulling me farther and farther into this life. The slightly off-color and bitter remarks about his departed wife continue to cause me emotional pain (only on a shallow level, however) and are uncomfortable in a good way. You know what I mean, right? Those times when you aren’t quite sure if you’re committing a faux pas, but go along with it. It’s the discomfort that comes from self-awareness.

I am currently around 70 pages from the end and excited that I have the entirety of Thanksgiving break to read. I shall have another book on here in less than a week!

Here’s the quote that was sent to me as part of Quoteland.com’s ‘Quote of the Week:’ “Life without thankfulness is devoid of love and passion. Hope without thankfulness is lacking in fine perception. Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude. Every virtue divorced from thankfulness is maimed and limps along the spiritual road.” ~John Henry Jowett

The Sea – Pt. 2

Okay, so yes. I know that it has been an incredibly long time since I last posted on my blog. I apologize profusely. However, this has been a stressful week at school for me, and I’m sure many of you can sympathize with me.

As for the book, it continues to surprise me. Banville really knows how to spin a yarn that ties you up, sits you down and doesn’t let you go.

The make-up of the story is very unconventional, which may be why many people don’t appreciate it. Instead of using a natural time-line, he skips all over the place mixing memory with the present moment.

This style of writing is quite refreshing, in all actuality. It reminds me of the way my own mind works. Moving smoothly from one topic to another without a moment’s pause between.

For instance, he moves straight from reminiscing about his now-deceased wife to remembering a meal with his daughter to seeing his childhood friends running down the street in his mind.

He continues to make small mentions of the fact that he’s dead – similar to the one spoken of in my last post. Things like while I was on earth, when we were around; things like that.

The story is heart-wrenchingly sad while being incredibly uplifting. The feelings that run through your mind while pouring through a past yearbook would compare to this.

The look at his relationship with his slightly distanced daughter make one wish to bring their own family closer while hearing about his wife’s terminal illness brings one to examine what you are doing with your life and how to make it better.

Also it is interesting to note the kind of relationships he recollects from his childhood. Banville must have an incredible memory, for the best writing is brought from one’s own mind. He creates the sorts of childish relationships we all have: crushes, instant best friends, head-scratching confusion over why someone does one thing and not another.

All this to say that I am thoroughly enjoying this book and look forward to seeing where it leads. I am currently at page 79 out of 195. Part I of the book ends at page 97, so I am getting close to the halfway point.

I will be sure to keep you updated more often.

Here’s a quote as restitution for my lack of updating:

“The road to happiness lies in two simple principles; find what interests you and that you can do well, and put your whole soul into it – every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have.” -John D. Rockefeller

Tonight

Hello readers!

Do not worry about getting the next installment of my blog. I will post it tonight. I was able to read almost half of the book on my flights this last weekend, so I have a lot to write about.

Be sure to check back later on!

6. The Sea by John Banville – Pt. 1

The Sea by John Banville opened beautifully.

It isn’t often that I am pulled in from the very first sentence, but read this: “They departed, the gods, on the day of the strange tide. All morning under a milky sky the waters of the bay had swelled and swelled, rising to unheard-of heights, the small waves creeping over parched sand that for years had known no wetting save for rain and lapping the very bases of the dunes.

The rusted hulk of the freighter that had run aground at the far end of the bay longer ago than any of us could remember must have thought it was being granted a relaunch. I would not swim again, after that day. The seabirds mewled and swooped, unnerved, it seemed, by the spectacle of that vast bowl of water bulging like a blister, lead-blue and malignantly agleam. They looked unnaturally white that day, those birds. The waves were depositing a fringe of soiled yellow foam along the waterline. No sail marred the high horizon. I would not swim, no, not ever again.

Someone has just walked over my grave. Someone.”

This is the kind of writing I enjoy. Flowery yet still demonstrating an economy of words. The author proceeds to bring his story to light using the first person narrative.

This is a journal of sorts, although it seems as though the main character is no longer with us. The line about someone walking on his grave lends itself to the idea that perhaps this is the story of a recently deceased person recalling, or perhaps regretting, their life.

However, this could also be attributed to figurative writing. The answer will expose itself by the end of the book.

The first thing that threw me off was the fact that Banville decided not to use the usual convention of chapters and instead opts for dividing his tale into two parts. Within each of these parts he separates scenes by an extra space or two between lines.

Without these indicators I would most likely not stop reading and just continue on until I finish the book entirely in one sitting. Which, although I am not averse to the idea, would take a considerable amount of time that is not available to me.

After opening with a wonderful description of the shoreline, the main character proceeds to recall some early memories at a particular house near the beach and the family that occupied it.

I am unsure at this juncture what significance the family has in the story, but it seems tragic, as the language used to describe them seems tinged with sorrow. You almost become nostalgic along with the narrator, as if the life described is your own.

So far, I have only reached the fifteenth page of the book, but it is sublimely anticipatory.

I am extremely interested in seeing where this book leads. I am glad that I have the weekend off from school during which I may read and write.

Interval 2

Hello everyone.

I feel terrible that I haven’t gotten any new posts up yet. Today I will actually get the chance to read as I will be on break from school, so expect a new post anytime between 9pm and midnight.

Thank you for hanging in there with me!