1800s

The Turn of the Screw – Henry James

inspirationalreads1 Comment

Book # 789

Reviewer: Inspirationalreads

 I am going to start with a straight-out confession; I found the writing of this book difficult which directly affected my enjoyment of it.  Now, I’m not going to claim I am hugely familiar with 19th century style of  writing, but I love me some Austen and have recently read and enjoyed some Wells and Wilde.  I had heard that Henry James could be a bit more taxing and so I thought I would start with this, one of his shorter novels and one that appealed to the sinister, horror-fan that I am.

The book opens on a Christmas Eve night.  A group of friends are sitting around when one says that he has a manuscript of a now deceased former governess.  And so, from the perspective of our un-named governess, our story begins when she comes to care for two young orphans.  Hired by a remote Uncle whose main stipulation is that he wants no contact whatsoever in regards to the children’s care, our young storyteller meets the younger of the two first.  She is immediately caught up in the child’s beauty and is quick to grow genuine care and affection for young Flora.  Flora’s older brother Miles is away at school, but the first note of not all being right is struck when a letter arrives advising that Miles has been expelled from school.  Distraught at such news, when Miles does arrive home the governess is also charmed by his beauty, enough so to put the letter aside and dismiss it as an error or failing on the part of the school.  All seems to be going along perfectly when our storyteller begins to see a man and a woman in and around the house, both of whom are strangers to her.  She soon learns that she is seeing the ghostly appearances of her predecessor, Miss Jessel and her lover Peter Quint, ghostly because the are both now dead.  From here the situation only worsens for her as she begins to suspect that the children are aware of these visitor and are actively interacting with them.  It seems that the close relationship that Jessel and Quint had with Flora and Miles in life has continued after their death.

This story is genuinely creepy.  The children are unnerving with their angelic appearances being at odds with the knowledge and co-operation with our spectral duo.  And it is their barefaced lies in the face of interrogation, their sweet voices and their sly smiles that really ups the ominous tone.  The appearances of our not-so-dearly departed two also startle but all of this is undone by the very wordy and long-winded contemplation of our narrator.  This introspection and its intensity are there to make the reader begin to doubt that everything is right with our governess and her version of events, but it is just so wordy and long-winded (repetition and italics.)  I am a reader in this day and age and not that of when the book was written, so I can’t comment on the appropriateness of this.  All I can comment on is that it made a short novel seem really long and a chore to finish.

That being said, there were many passages that were beautiful in their description and effective in the imagery they evoked.  It is clear to see why James is heralded as a master.   The following is when the governess lets go of the reserve that is holding her back from directly addressing the matter with the children

“Where is Miles?”

There was something in the small valour of it that quite finished me.  These three words from her were in a flash like the glitter of a drawn blade, the jostle of the cup that my hand for weeks and weeks had held high and full to the brim.  And that now, even before speaking, I felt overflow in a deluge.

Just when my mind would start to wander, a phrase or paragraph like the above would pull me back in and make me appreciate why this book is on the list and just what it was contributing to my ongoing reading education.

At the end of the day, to admire the technical proficiency is good, but I want to enjoy what I read and to learn and grow from it but not feel like it is an assignment to endure.  It is a horror story and it achieved what a horror story should; it was creepy and eerie and frightening as well.  But I am pretty sure that boredom is not on the list of what a great book is supposed to do and yet boredom is the overriding memory I take away from it.  I give it a 2/5 rating.

Les Misérables – Victor Hugo

inspirationalreads5 Comments

Book #873

Reviewer: Tall, Short & Tiny

When I first saw the musical – probably close to 20 years ago – I had no idea that it was based on a classic novel, and all I can really remember is that it was dark and gloomy, and seemed to be all about the French Revolution.

So it was with some trepidation that I picked up a copy of the book; the font was small and I envisaged a novel full of dreary tales and chapters made up entirely of the phrase, “Vive la Révolution!” However, it transpires that the backdrop for Hugo’s novel is not the French Revolution as most people believe, which means my pre-judgement of it was waaaaaay off base!

From the very first page, I was hooked – this was a novel I could not put down. It was one of the best classics I’ve read in a long time; it was powerful and poignant and very poetic, despite the often gruelling nature of its subject matter.

Hugo writes in a beautifully evocative way. I often found myself shivering with cold, experiencing numb feet and a gnawing hunger in my belly, along with the main characters. I was drawn in, and my imagination was in overdrive as I pictured the dark cobbled streets of Paris, run-down old buildings, and a vast contrast between the rich and the poor.

It is very difficult to summarise the plot without ruining the story. The characters and events are so cleverly intertwined, and each adds another layer to an already fascinating tale, that I feel I would spoil it for you if I tried. The main plot is the story of ex-convict, Jean Valjean, and his journey to becoming a good person; he is unable to escape his dark past, but various characters along the way help him to create a better life for himself and those he comes in contact with. He draws on each experience to benefit others, and pay forward the forgiveness and love that was shown to him at the beginning of the story.

Essentially, Les Misérables is a story about the power of love, social injustice, and right versus wrong (or perhaps legality versus morality). These themes run strongly through each sub-plot, adding to the complexity and intrigue.

I can’t recommend Les Misérables enough! Go to your local library or better yet, treat yourself to a copy – this is a book that every book lover should own. It exceeded all expectations, and was a beautifully harrowing tale of struggle, morality and humanity. Well-written, and well-deserving of being considered one of the best novels of the nineteenth-century.

Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy

inspirationalreads4 Comments

Book #799

Reviewer: Tall, Short & Tiny


Speaking with a friend just before Christmas, our conversation turned to what we were each reading.

“Jude the Obscure,” I told her. “But I’m finding it pretty tough going at the moment…”

“It’s depressing, isn’t it??” she cried.

I was relieved; I’d thought that my morning sickness had been the only reason I’d been struggling to find anything endearing about this novel.

Jude the Obscure is a depressing story. Any moments of joy Hardy has thrown in are quickly tempered by tragedy, which makes for a compelling but gloomy read.

From what I’ve gathered, Hardy was one for making his feelings about aspects of Victorian society well-known through his writing. This is certainly evident in the themes running through Jude the Obscure; he is rather blatant in his commentaries of class boundaries, religion and the institution of marriage. At the time of publication (1895), the novel was heavily criticised and even publicly burned by one English bishop.

Jude Fawley, a young orphan, aspires to be a university scholar. He spends his spare time studying Latin and the classics, and firmly believes that his lack of money will be off-set by his intelligence and enthusiasm. He is tricked into marrying a local girl, Arabella. Arabella is vain, and mocks Jude for his studies; Jude in turn scorns Arabella for her trickery, and after two years, she leaves him.

Jude then sets out to follow his university dreams in a nearby city, but is disheartened to learn that his passion for learning is not enough to see him admitted into the university. He is poor, and of the wrong class of society, and no amount of knowledge is going to change this.

While earning his living as a stonemason (and still hopeful that one day he will fulfill his dreams), he meets and falls in love with his cousin, Sue Bridehead. Sue resists Jude’s pledges of love and marries an older gentleman, but is desperately unhappy and finds her husband physically (and therefore sexually) repulsive. This combined with her love for Jude sees her convincing her husband that he should free her from their union, and he agrees – his love for her is so great that he would rather let her go than see her stay and suffer.

Sue and Jude begin to live together in a non-sexual relationship; both are resistant to the idea of marriage in part due to each previous failure, but also because their family has a history of tragic unions. However, Jude eventually convinces Sue that they can have a sexual relationship and live together as a “married” couple without making it official, and they have two children together. They also become instant parents to a son from Jude’s marriage with Arabella; a son he did not know existed, as Arabella had not been pregnant long when she left him.

The family are socially ostracised when it is discovered that Sue and Jude are not legally married. A tragedy that befalls the family sees Sue turn to Christianity; she has previously been indifferent to religion, but is now convinced that the tragedy is divine punishment for her and Jude’s actions, and throws herself completely into the church which has previously ostracised her.

Hardy himself was unable to attend university for financial reasons, and his own wife turned to the church as she got older, causing increasing issues in their own marriage as Hardy was always highly critical of organised religion. I don’t think the novel was intended to be a biographical piece, but it is interesting to see Hardy using it as a very obvious sounding-board for his own thoughts and feelings.

I found this novel to be too depressing to be enjoyable, but there was something compelling about it that had me persevering until the end. I won’t lie – I breathed a sigh of relief when I read the last page – but I think the sporadic moments of happiness and lightness are enough to make this a novel I’m glad I read….I would just recommend you tackle it on bright sunny days, when you have enough moments of sunshine and happiness in your own life to ensure this novel doesn’t bring you down!

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain

Ms Oh Waily1 Comment

Book # 825

Reviewer: Ange P.

Notice
PERSONS attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.

So begins The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and if I obey the author my review will be limited in scope.  However Mark Twain tended to ignore rules he didn’t like and so I will follow his example rather than his dictates.

The character Huckleberry Finn was first introduced in Tom Sawyer, which I haven’t read for several years.  I remember him as a disreputable boy who liked to live wild with little respect for others.  In the beginning of this book that is the boy we meet, however by the end the character is much more developed and hence much more interesting without losing any of his charm.

The plot is that Huck escapes life with his father by pretending to be dead and sets off down the Mississippi in the company of an escaped slave, Jim.  He encounters many adventures on his travels including a feud between two families that has killed more people than anyone cares to remember; a band of murderous robbers on an abandoned steamboat; a floating house; a hopeful lynch mob; and a ‘duke’ and a ‘king’ who are two of the biggest charlatans you could ever be unlucky enough to meet.  The last two sell Jim, which upsets Huck mightily since he considers Jim to be ‘his slave’ or at least that of Jim’s escaped owner, a widow in Tom and Huck’s hometown.

And rights to own humans is what a fair chunk of this book is about.  Huck is under no illusions by the end that Jim is a friend, but he can’t let go of the fact that Jim is also someone’s property. Huck has been taught that his loyalty lies with the owner, but deep down inside he is uncomfortable.  Twain clearly outlines the moral choice presented to a good person in a society where the slave owner’s rights are paramount.  In the end Huck, abetted by Tom Sawyer. decides to help Jim escape from his imprisonment.

Twain also cleverly balances his (non) message with his sense of fun, which runs throughout the entire book.  In places I was laughing out loud – and that’s unusual.  Tom’s ‘help’ is more of a hindrance because of his insistence that all aspects of the escape must be consistent with tradition.  In particular, readers should watch out for the exchange between Tom, Jim and Huck about suitable animals to provide companionship to Jim during his interment.

…Tom thought of something, and says:

‘You got any spiders in here, Jim?’

‘No, sah, thanks to goodness I hain’t, Mars Tom.’

‘All right, we’ll get you some.’

‘But bless you, honey, I doan’t WANT none.  I’s afeard un um.  I jis’ ‘s soon have rattlesnakes aroun’.’

Tom thought for a minute or two, and says:

‘Its a good idea, And I reckon its been done.  It MUST have been done; it stands to reason.  Yes it’s a prime good idea.  Where could you keep it?’

‘Keep what. Mars Tom?’

‘Why, a rattlesnake.’

I have two minor criticisms of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  The first is that some of the characters, while entertaining, are just too ridiculous and especially too credulous.  The second is that it took at long time for the book to develop a sense of direction.  This might be why Twain warned against looking for a plot.  There were no clear signposts of what was to come and I found this slightly disconcerting.

Overall, an excellent read with interesting thoughts to ponder and a great sense enjoyment.

Little Women – Louisa May Alcott

Ms Oh Waily3 Comments

Book # 863

Reviewer: Ms Oh Waily (first published 2011)


Little Women is set in New England, during the time of the American Civil War.  The little women in question are the March sisters – Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy.
Their family was once comfortably well off but those fortunes are now reversed.  Mr March is off serving as a Chaplain in the Union Army, while at home the girls are guided by their mother whom they call Marmee.

It is considered to be loosely based on Alcott’s own childhood and adolescence.

This book has sat unread on my shelves for a great number of years and joined the Bedside Pile this past week.  My trepidation seems to have stemmed from this particular edition’s size (321 pages) and vaguely dull impressions gained from seeing the odd snippets of television movies.  We each have our own literary leanings, both positive and negative, and in my case I am not attracted to 19th Century American literature.  Sadly I have no idea why this is the case.

Back to Little Women.

The girls are effectively split into two groups.  The elder sisters, Meg and Jo, who are sixteen and fifteen at the start of the book go out to work in order to help support themselves and take a bit of the financial burden off the family.  The younger sisters, Beth and Amy either do lessons at home or attend school.

To add some male influence to the group, there is Theodore Laurence or “Laurie” and his grandfather, the family’s wealthy neighbours.  Laurie becomes as a brother to the girls and Mr Laurence a general protector with a special soft spot for Beth.
In addition, there is Mr March’s aunt, for whom Jo works as a companion and is known to the family as Aunt March.

Each of the girls has a distinct personality.  Amy is the artist of the family but she is also selfish.  Beth is the peacemaker and musician but extremely shy.  Jo is the writer who is quick to temper, and is occasionally too blunt.  Meg is the prettiest who wishes for fine things and to be rich.
The book is written in part as a story about the passage to adulthood and the alterations in character that each of the girls must go through as they grow up. It is full of references to The Pilgrim’s Progress and the journey Christian takes.  Pilgrimage had been a game the girls had played at while younger.  But now that their father is away for an uncertain amount of time they collectively decide that they should each set about taming the negative aspect of their personalities.  In this way they wish to show their father that they had not wasted the time that he was away at war and in doing so gain his good regard.

It is quite a charming story.  It is full of good morals and does a fine job of not being too preachy with it.  As it turned out, the 321 pages gave no real trouble and in the end was read over three nights.  There is a sequel, Good Wives, specifically about the next stage in the March girl’s lives.  Following on from that are the books Little Men and Jo’s Boys, all about Jo’s family.  Having enjoyed Alcott’s writing style here I may be tempted, once the Bedside Pile is under control, to find those at the library.

Just a final note, Little Women appears at number 19 on the BBC Top 200 list and it well deserves its place there.