1900s

1984 – George Orwell

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Book #547
Reviewer: Angela Noelle, of Striking Keys (review previously published 8 February, 2013)

1984Long before Katniss became a household name, I was passionately poring over dystopian fiction — it’s been around a long time, after all…long enough that a pioneer in the sub-genre painted a future assigned to a date that is almost three decades passed.  Sadly (and I wanted to be pleased by it, I did),  I was disappointed when I finally read this George Orwell “classic.”

1984 is the wartime novel which spawned the overused coinage, “Big Brother,” and so unsurprisingly, much of the text centres on surveillance, mass manipulation and mind games.  The narrative follows the protagonist’s journey — from participating in writing and re-writing propaganda for distribution to his pursuit of writing his own history very differently from what has been prescribed.

While I respect Orwell’s foresight, imagery, and poignant analogies, I never looked forward to reading more of this book.  That was a bad sign.  Respecting an author but not enjoying their work.  I found what was initially mysterious and mildly suspenseful became slow and tiresome.  

It didn’t help that I found so many of the key tenets of the attempted utopia so flawed (I am not convinced that abstinence and submissiveness are so intrinsically connected, quite the opposite, actually), and consequently felt the crux of the character’s development and greater story would serve better as moot for a debate I was negating than a theme in speculative fiction.  

In many other author dystopias, I can see how facets of our current society, if allowed to thrive, could persuade us to initially welcome what would become an oppressive nightmare — I’ve always been drawn to dystopia because I felt it presented the more plausible science fiction; the probable skeletons of future closets.  1984 had the potential to do this (the inception of “Big Brother” is utter brilliance), but it failed to strike the chord I am so fond of in this sub-genre — that moment that I shudder and think one of the following: “I can see how this would seem appealing,” (Matched, Uglies, and The Giver) OR “I can imagine us ending up this way” (Fahrenheit 451, The Children of Men, Left Behind, The House of the Scorpion and Delirium) OR “This is so darn entertaining I will suspend my disbelief,” (The Hunger Games, The Host, Pure and Divergent); 1984 didn’t quite achieve any of these for me.

If you are fond of dypstopia, this book is a worthy exploration — if only to acquaint yourself with a common source for so many other works.

2.5 / 5

The Hobbit – J.R.R.Tolkien

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Book #610

Reviewer: Ms Oh Waily

THSuch a terrible task I have taken on.  To review one of the worlds most loved stories. Before we begin, you may be aware of the incredible amount of love that a great number of people have for the works of J.R.R.Tolkien, or not as the case may be.  If you are a long time admirer and have read his entire canon, then this is not a review you need to be reading.  This is for those thinking of dipping their toes in to the world of Middle Earth.

Published back in 1937 The Hobbit, or There and Back Again has since been revised many times in order to bring it in to line with its sequel, The Lord of the Rings.  It is a tale for children, but has many themes that are worthy of an adult’s attention.

Essentially this is the tale of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins.  Like all hobbits, he’s a home-loving sort, with a great appreciation of food and peacefulness.  He is highly respectable until one day the wizard, Gandalf, appears at his little round hobbit hole.  As a result of Gandalf’s brief visit Bilbo finds himself inundated with dwarves for afternoon tea the following day.  Thirteen of them, in fact.

Led by Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, King under the Mountain, these thirteen wish to reclaim their treasure from the Lonely Mountain and from under the belly of Smaug the dragon.  Gandalf proposes Bilbo as the fourteenth member of the party and chief burglar.

In this way, the stay-at-home Bilbo is led into an arduous, dangerous and even humorous series of adventures as the fourteen, plus Gandalf, make their way from the safe and secure Shire to the halls of the Lonely Mountain.
Along the way we meet trolls, goblins, wargs, Gollum, the Eagles, Beorn, the Elvenking of Mirkwood, the Master and men of the laketown Esgaroth and finally Bard the Bowman.  Each promising adventure, danger and bravery in equal measure.

It is beautifully realised, and perfectly pitched for children.  It does not shy away from the grimness of life, but also allows for it to be described in such wonderful language as to soften many of the harder aspects.  It really is an excellent read.

Descriptions of the terrible travels in the mountains,

He knew that something unexpected might happen, and he hardly dared to hope that they would pass without fearful adventure over those great tall mountains with lonely peaks and valleys where no king ruled.  They did not.  All was well, until one day they met a thunderstorm – more than a thunderstorm, a thunder-battle.  You know how terrific a really big thunderstorm can be down in the land and in a river-valley; especially at times when two great thunderstorms meet and clash.  More terrible still are thunder and lightning in the mountains at night, when storms come up from East and West and make war.  The lightning splinters on the peaks, and rocks shiver, and great crashes split the air and go rolling and tumbling into every cave and hollow; and the darkness is filled with overwhelming noise and sudden light.

Descriptions of the fighting, in this case with the goblins,

Just at that moment all the lights in the cavern went out, and the great fire went off poof! into a tower of blue glowing smoke, right up to the roof, that scattered piercing white sparks all among the goblins.
The yells and yammering, croaking, jibbering and jabbering; howls, growls and curses; shrieking and skriking, that followed were beyond description.  Several hundred wild cats and wolves being roasted slowly alive together would not have compared with it.

Yes, no backing away from grimness.  But done so poetically.

And as for poetry, the book is scattered with it, often in the form of songs.  The dwarves love to sing and make music, as do the other inhabitants of Middle Earth and Tolkien shares this regularly throughout.  My favourite being the song sung by the dwarves in Bilbo’s hobbit hole on the night they meet to discuss the adventure ahead.  For the sake of brevity I will only quote a small amount.

Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek the pale enchanted gold.

The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.

For a wonderful adaptation of this song*, and for a fair (in my opinion) retelling of The Hobbit so far, you can’t go wrong with the film released last year.  In the meantime, here is a Youtube version of Misty Mountains for you to get a feel for the ambiance of the film and, I think, of the book.

All in all, this is definitely a book to read to your children and for yourself.  If you have not read The Lord of the Rings, then starting here is a nice, light way in to the world and peoples of Middle Earth.

A definite five-star read for me.  I hope you enjoy it too.

—
* they chose two verses, with minor alterations to one line of the original song.

For more Hobbit and Lord of the Rings discussions and information, you cannot go past The One Ring website.
And a final disclaimer, yes I do proudly live in Middle Earth.  In fact I live in the middle of Middle Earth where these stories have been brought to another generation through the films.  So perhaps I am a little biased.

Waiting for the Barbarians – J.M Coetzee

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Book #287

Reviewer: Inspirationalreads

WFTBWith an impressive ten books on the list, this is surprisingly the first Coetzee to be reviewed on this site.  A Nobel Prize winner and two-time Booker prize winner, this South African native is one of the most highly lauded modern day authors Coetzee (pronounced kut-si) cannot be overlooked any longer.

Set at the colonial settlement of an undefined (sidebar: I really feel I have to stress the undefined Empire.  For some reason, and I think because I knew Coetzee is South African, I really thought it was set in Africa and got a little thrown when they started talking about the approaching snowy winter and when our Magistrate adopted a wolf cub.  I’m not going to assume that any other readers are as presumptuous as I am, but just in case, undefined.), “Empire”, our narrator is the magistrate, having been appointed to the post some twenty years earlier.  Over this time he has grown to know and respect the indigenous people of the area, referred to as the Barbarians.  When a new Colonel arrives due to the news of some disturbance by the Barbarians, the Magistrate becomes more and more uncomfortable of the treatment of the Barbarians at the hand of this new authority. When a relationship develops between himself and a Barbarian girl, he leaves to return her to her people, further emphasising his sympathies and when he returns is branded a traitor to the cause.

This is an all encompassing story of a flawed man with very noble intentions.  As the Magistrate is our narrator, we, the reader, are able to hear his most intimate thoughts and motivations and his own painful awareness of his flaws.  There is no self delusion here, or even delusion in his role in the Empire, or in the Empire itself.

For I was not, as I liked to think, the indulgent pleasure-loving opposite of the cold rigid Colonel.  I was the lie that  the Empire tells itself when times are easy, he the truth that the Empire tells when harsh winds blow. Two sides of imperial rule, no more, no less.

The story itself is moving, because at its very basic it is about a man who is persecuted for being a decent human being.  History itself dictates that these type of atrocities happened and still do happen. And yet, to have this tale told from the perspective of someone in power, is a compelling read.  His fall from power, the resulting suffering he experiences both physically and mentally all leading to a bittersweet redemptive conclusion is laid out with a masterful hand.  Coetzee paints a very real man in an artfully described surroundings, surroundings not specific to a time and location so could be at any time in history, anywhere.

This book is well written, as well it should be as not only is it on the list but has at its helm on of the most highly regarded authors of modern time.  But the strength in my opinion is the sympathy and emotion evoked, an absorption into the story that leaves the reader mulling over it long after they are finished reading it.  This is not a happy read, and is quite heavy going in parts which is not unexpected given the subject matter, but it is a great read and one I highly recommend.

Women in Love – D. H. Lawrence

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Book #728

Reviewer: Lizzie C

Women in LoveAnother first time reviewer here on the blog – welcome along Lizzie. C!

Before I begin it has been years since I have sat down and written any kind of book review so forgive me for being slightly rusty in this area. I also must mention that this book is a sequel to The Rainbow although I did not realise that until I was about half way through, I cannot say it impacted at all but perhaps might be best to read that book first.

The central characters are sisters, Gudrun and Ursula. Gudrun is an artist and Ursula is a school teacher in the 1910’s in the Midlands, England.

As the story progresses the 2 love interests arrive into the lives of the sisters. Gerald Crich the son of a coal mine owner becomes Gudrun’s love interest and Rupert Birkin a school inspector and Gerald’s friend becomes Ursula’s.

The two central relationships that develop are not your typical boy meets girl ones with them all living happily ever after. The relationships are somewhat tainted with politics, social standings, the place of men and women in society and their own individual inward battles.

It also becomes quite clear as the novel evolves that there is quite a strong love between Gerald and Rupert but there are too many internal and external barriers to prevent them being together. There are definite descriptions of subtle homoeroticism which whilst would be considered tame these days would no doubt have potentially been quite the controversy back when this novel was written.

It must be mentioned also that despite the fact there is often discussion of love and a repeated asking of “Do you love me?” between characters it seems there is also a self filled hatred of love, almost a disgust of it, a total inability to take it as a joyful emotion within each character which overrides a lot of conversation and inner thoughts.

In terms of the characters themselves Gerald is a cruel, very pessimistic man who totally overrules Ursula and who verges on evil and dangerous which becomes more apparent near the ending.  Birkin is less harsh and more loving towards Gundrun but I got the feeling that neither man loves either sister, they just say the words, they just do what is expected and that as a result it only adds to their bitterness towards life.

Overall I would say that I enjoyed the book and that with a bit of persistence it is worth reading. There is a lot of flowery language and internal conflicts that can be a bit over the top intertwined with some discussion that can be a bit self absorbed but overall as I said I enjoyed it and I would recommend it.

The Color Purple – Alice Walker

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Book #272
Reviewer: J.Gi Federizo

 

The Color PurpleFourteen years old and Celie was already one big mess—pregnant, poor, under-educated. And black, lest we forget. How could Celie even think of leading her life differently? As her future husband said, “You black, you pore, you ugly, you a woman…, you nothing at all.”

The Color Purple starts with Celie writing a letter – a confession – to God. She has just been molested by her own father. Pa has told her to never tell on him unless she wants her mama to die of heart break, so she doesn’t, but the sick mother dies anyway. Celie is forced to be the surrogate mother of the house. Such is the life she is left to accept. But then Pa seems to be setting his eyes lately on Celie’s younger sister and this worries her.

Celie is eventually married off to widower Mr. _______ who only wants a wife to cook, clean, work and raise his children. Life in the 30s could be so cruel, particularly to black women whose main purpose, it seems, is to be their husbands’ servants. Soon, smart Nettie comes to live with them. The sisters are forced to separate later and Celie doesn’t see Nettie again, breaking her heart and spirit.

Celie continues what she does best: live a life of thankless servitude as she takes care of Mr. _______’s house, his mean kids, and just about everything else. That is, until Shug Avery comes along and teaches her what life should really be about.

Now that I have given you enough background of the story, let me tell you about The Color Purple as a literary work. It is a brave attempt at telling the real black woman’s story with author Alice Walker pulling no punches along the way. It is not for the faint of heart, and I mean that in the most figurative way. You have to have enough heart to understand and relate, if only as a human being. It tackles very sensitive issues in a very bold manner that should make not a few people cringe. Page One and already, you get a sample of the novel’s direct, no-holds barred language in the coming chapters. There is such brutal honesty and graphic storytelling that the book itself has become an issue in the literary world, subjected to negative criticisms, censorship and what-not. Then again, that’s what makes this book a very good study. For one, you are allowed to think – do you like or hate this book? Do you like it despite the unpleasant reactions it keeps getting that must equal the pleasant ones? Would you stand by it?

If you are rather sensitive to strong, violent language, it may not be the book for you. Then again, if you have some fragment of curiosity in you and can get pass all the coarseness, continue at your own risk. Beauty is still in the eyes of the beholder.

The Color Purple is written in quite matter-of-fact tones that you have no choice but to take things as Celie describes them in her letters to God. Yes, letters, because for Walker to make her lonely protagonist tell her story, the character must be able to have an avenue to express herself in such an honest manner to whom she believes is the only one left that understands her pain perfectly. Too under-educated, Celie is not wont to practice the art of sugar-coating, not even for God.

So through the letter-writing or epistolary style, that is how we come to understand Celie and what she is about. She is the voice that is not heard and so she writes. There is no getting around it and the frankness of it all is what most love about the book, I guess. In the world of fiction, to make your characters speak as they are supposed to speak, accent and all, is a powerful way to make your readers understand and hopefully sympathize with realistic characters.

This “wrong” use of words is somewhat acknowledged in the book itself when Celie tells of a younger colored woman trying to correct her atrocious grammar that is a dead give-away of her very low social strata.

The real beauty of The Color Purple is it tackles relevant issues – or developments, depending on how you see it – without fear. There’s quite a bunch; take your pick:

Racism is evident – white trumping black, even black trumping black as apparently, there are blacker blacks than black. Walker deftly walks us (pun intended) through some history dating back to a much earlier time when native Africans considered lighter-skinned blacks as a disgrace and sold them to work for the rich, white people as slaves.  

Celie’s own story is set at a time when African-Americans are starting to clamor against racial segregation, a precursor to Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement. (Discrimination has been a long habit to break, unfortunately, with every color today joining the fray and nobody really wins.)

Feminism or women empowerment, too, is gradually emerging, with two characters setting an example to Celie. Tough-as-nails Sofia is my actual favorite whose personality is probably what makes Celie’s insecure and silly stepson fall for her in the first place. Then this becomes a constant bone of contention as Harpo tries to “make her mind” the way Mr. _______ does to Celie.

Then there’s the enigmatic Shug whose independent nature and charm hold great power over Mr. _______ . Personally, I am not taken by this character. She maybe Celie’s glimmer of light, but she’s not exactly quite a good example either. On the other hand, whoever says she’s perfect? There’s a third one that I should probably mention, then again, that would be too much of a spolier already.

Another big issue is lesbianism, which probably turns off some readers. I have no problem with that; people should be allowed to live as they want to as long as they are not hurting anybody else. As said, I have no problem with any of the characters’ sexual orientation. Not per se; I’m just thinking that it’s not a necessary factor in the story. In fact, it just feeds the wrong notion that feminism is the same as lesbianism.

I think the problem with this book as a whole is it tries to cram all these issues in just 250 pages with big fonts. Issues like child abuse, incest, domestic violence, slavery, gender inequality, etcetera. To be fair, Walker does this in a very cohesive manner. Still, it could be quite overwhelming for the reader to be bombarded like this.

What I love, really, are the letters Celie gets (although suddenly, I feel like history is being forced in again as fast and as much as possible). That makes me feel like I am reading a whole new book, and a whole new book about it would not be a very bad idea. I wouldn’t mind reading more about the Olinka tribe.

So why The Color Purple? I’m not telling. But I can tell you that I do like this book, regardless of the negative criticisms. Yes, I would stand by it. The Color Purple is a contemporary great that any adult reader shouldn’t miss.