I remember reading one of Agatha Christie’s mysteries before, one featuring Poirot, but I don’t remember anything about it except that it was a chore to get through. I wasn’t too excited, therefore, when I randomly shuffled this card from my deck. Nevertheless, I have to admit that this was a very good read. Unfortunately for you, I don’t want to say too much about this book because it really needs to be read without any possibility of spoiling the mystery. Actually, I guess it’s good for you that I don’t say too much.
The story doesn’t actually feature Christie’s famous detectives. Actually, no one character is ever the main character throughout the whole novel. The plot is classic, and will undoubtedly sound familiar: a group of strangers are summoned to an isolated island for different, perfectly legitimate reasons, only to be killed off one by one. Now, put that way, it just sounds like the plot of every bad summer-camp-for-randy-teenagers-getting-killed-by-a-freak-in-a-hockey-mask type movie. What you get with Christie, though, is a good narrative of suspense, fear, cabin-fever, and most importantly, one hell of a mystery. I was wondering the entire time, who the hell did it? Believe me, you’ll never guess. Don’t even spoil it by looking this up in anyway. Hence why I’m not linking any articles related to the book. I liked that the plot, with all its twists and turns, is very simplistic. There aren’t any crazy “oh that is not possible!” moments (well, not too crazy), just a really interesting mystery story that gets going right from the start. That's all I can say about it.
21 down, 31 to go.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Something in the Air
Ah, Valentine's Day. Funny how, even though this is one of the few years where I'm actually dating somebody, I didn't do anything particularly special on February 14th. I guess you could count laundry, bathroom cleaning, and grocery shopping special. Jalapeno poppers from the local mexican restaurant were involved after Rock's and my hard work, so there is that. So while Sunday may not have been a romantic, chocolate-stuffing affair (and in general I'm not one to get too excited about this day anyway) there is something different about Valentine's this year: I've pretty much been celebrating it all week long.
This doesn't mean that I've suddenly become a poster child for heart-shaped Hallmark cards. I mean, I did pester Rock all last week about how he had to buy me a heart-shaped chocolate box, but it's not the heart-shape I care about: I just like any holiday that gives me an excuse to eat large amounts of delectable chocolates (in fact, won't Cadbury cream eggs soon be taking over the seasonal aisle at the grocery store?). And I have been more than a litte giddy about the awesome roses that Rock got on Friday, which came with chocolate frosted cupcakes and was a complete surprise. They look beautiful, and even though I've always felt bad about cutting flowers up, and even though I know I'll feel terrible when the roses start to wilt, I just love how they look. So pretty!
When I say I've been celebrating all week long I mean that Valentine's for me pretty much started on February 7th when the Love is in the Air holiday event kicked off in WoW (bet you didn't think that's where this was going...or maybe you did, I am pretty predictable I suppose). Yes, since last sunday I've been trading virtual love tokens, eating virtual chocolates, spraying virtual perfume, and looking for love under a virtual picnic umbrella. Achievements have been gotten and my character is now known as Sinnh the Love Fool. For the next week, while the event continues, I also have the chance of aquiring a Valentine's ooze pet and/or a Big Love Rocket mount (though I'm never that lucky).
What I enjoy best about the WoW holiday is that it's absolutely silly but it's also rather twisted. You don't gift people chocolate to show you care. You pelt them with chocolate samples produced by the Crown Chemical Co. for a cut of the profits. You get rewards for gifting bracelets to the different faction leaders. That sounds nice, until you realize that you are making the bracelets from the bones and teeth of the beasts and humanoids that you slaughter. And there's a mini quest to track down who is really behind the "love sickness" that is plaguing everyone (turns out it's some evil apothecary that wants to use rockets to deploy mind controlling chemicals to everyone at once...evil he is). It's events like this that really remind me how much I love this game :)
This doesn't mean that I've suddenly become a poster child for heart-shaped Hallmark cards. I mean, I did pester Rock all last week about how he had to buy me a heart-shaped chocolate box, but it's not the heart-shape I care about: I just like any holiday that gives me an excuse to eat large amounts of delectable chocolates (in fact, won't Cadbury cream eggs soon be taking over the seasonal aisle at the grocery store?). And I have been more than a litte giddy about the awesome roses that Rock got on Friday, which came with chocolate frosted cupcakes and was a complete surprise. They look beautiful, and even though I've always felt bad about cutting flowers up, and even though I know I'll feel terrible when the roses start to wilt, I just love how they look. So pretty!
 I am liking these SO MUCH :) |
What I enjoy best about the WoW holiday is that it's absolutely silly but it's also rather twisted. You don't gift people chocolate to show you care. You pelt them with chocolate samples produced by the Crown Chemical Co. for a cut of the profits. You get rewards for gifting bracelets to the different faction leaders. That sounds nice, until you realize that you are making the bracelets from the bones and teeth of the beasts and humanoids that you slaughter. And there's a mini quest to track down who is really behind the "love sickness" that is plaguing everyone (turns out it's some evil apothecary that wants to use rockets to deploy mind controlling chemicals to everyone at once...evil he is). It's events like this that really remind me how much I love this game :)
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Fun Spot 2010
This past Saturday was a blast. Rock had spent the last couple of weeks trying to talk himself out of this impending road trip, but I think he knew (I certainly knew, though I let him work it out on his own) that it was just a matter of time before we headed out to the funnest spot in New Hampshire: Fun Spot! (side note: I am appalled that Word doesn’t think funnest is a word). He was starting to drive me a bit batty talking about Fun Spot all the time. I would try to steer him faster into the direction I knew he was headed: “well why don’t we take a day off and go up some weekday?” and “why not go this weekend?” and “it’s been so long since you’ve gone, you might as well.” All such helpful hints and suggestions were considered and then met with a “meh.” So Rock does the next obvious thing. He wakes us up on Saturday morning, completely decided to head to Fun Spot…if I really wanted to go too, of course. And he says I’m the indecisive one. I wasn’t intentionally trying to torture him, but since I had not woken up with the indescribable urge to drive to New Hampshire for three hours, I was a tad…hesitant.
The thing with Fun Spot is (as I told him) I always have so much fun when I’m there…but I don’t spend weeks thinking about the place and I don’t get as nostalgic about it as he does. See, Fun Spot is one of the largest arcades still featuring 80’s arcades, and this is a big deal to Rock. As a child of the 80’s, he remembers where and when he first played several arcades (it’s actually kinda weird). I grew up playing Nintendo but I didn’t grow up with any arcades around. I can see how stepping into Fun Spot for him is like stepping back into a magical childhood world that he lived through. For me, it’s a magical childhood world but I’d never seen it before.
This is now my third time to Fun Spot and each time I’m surprised at how quickly the time flies and how much fun I’ve had and how many games there are that I still have not been able to play. I’ve noticed I’ll head for the same machines though: Asteroids, Space Invaders, Pacman, Burgertime, Contra, Gauntlet, Warlords, Donkey Kong, just to name a few.
The place has another claim to fame, which I particularly like. Several parts of the documentary King of Kong were filmed there. If you have not seen this documentary, do so, now. I think you can watch it instantly on Netflix if you’re a member. Even if the subject matter didn’t appeal to me, I would still say that this is an awesome, funny, interesting, heart-felt documentary. Seriously, go watch it. Now!
As I write this post I can’t help but remember all those arcades, my personal favorites and all the others I haven’t even tried yet. I think next time around I won’t wait for Rock to plod through weeks of indecision. As soon as he mentions he’s getting the urge to visit Fun Spot, I’ll pick up the car keys and head out. Maybe he’ll come to his senses by the time I’ve warmed up the car.
P.S. I do sincerely apologize to Rock, who was sweating bullets while he drove, for turning up the heat throughout the three hour drive cause I was freezing... I feel really bad about that, to this day...poor critter
The thing with Fun Spot is (as I told him) I always have so much fun when I’m there…but I don’t spend weeks thinking about the place and I don’t get as nostalgic about it as he does. See, Fun Spot is one of the largest arcades still featuring 80’s arcades, and this is a big deal to Rock. As a child of the 80’s, he remembers where and when he first played several arcades (it’s actually kinda weird). I grew up playing Nintendo but I didn’t grow up with any arcades around. I can see how stepping into Fun Spot for him is like stepping back into a magical childhood world that he lived through. For me, it’s a magical childhood world but I’d never seen it before.
 It's about what you'd imagine...lots and lots of arcade games |
The place has another claim to fame, which I particularly like. Several parts of the documentary King of Kong were filmed there. If you have not seen this documentary, do so, now. I think you can watch it instantly on Netflix if you’re a member. Even if the subject matter didn’t appeal to me, I would still say that this is an awesome, funny, interesting, heart-felt documentary. Seriously, go watch it. Now!
As I write this post I can’t help but remember all those arcades, my personal favorites and all the others I haven’t even tried yet. I think next time around I won’t wait for Rock to plod through weeks of indecision. As soon as he mentions he’s getting the urge to visit Fun Spot, I’ll pick up the car keys and head out. Maybe he’ll come to his senses by the time I’ve warmed up the car.
P.S. I do sincerely apologize to Rock, who was sweating bullets while he drove, for turning up the heat throughout the three hour drive cause I was freezing... I feel really bad about that, to this day...poor critter
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Stand - Stephen King
I’m a little surprised at myself when I say this, but I don’t think I really have anything in particular to say about The Stand. I’m surprised because I found it to be a good book (I would definitely recommend it to others), and it was engrossing (once I picked it up I wouldn’t put it down again for hours). But, other than that, I have nothing much to say about it. I guess those two things should be enough, really, but what I mean is nothing really hit home that much, not the characters, or the ending, or the supernatural elements. They were all just all right, good, nothing to get overly excited about. In any case, I don’t think as highly of it as I do of Wizard and Glass. But the review must get written, so here it is.
The book is divided into three books. In the first book, King provides an awesome story and the best part of the entire book, in my opinion. A superflu epidemic (oftentimes compared to the swine flu, and let me tell you how enjoyable it was for the hypochondriac in me to read about a massive deadly flu right in the middle of our very own swine flu panic) has been accidentally released from a U.S. research facility, wiping out something like 99.9% of the world’s population. King’s narrative throughout this whole first part is phenomenal: suspenseful, tragic, scary (terrifying even), believable (to me, at any rate), and even funny sometimes, as he describes the outbreak, the spread, the reactions, society’s downfall, the panic, basically the meat of any apocalyptic story. The main characters are setup and you start to really care about their different storylines and personalities.
The second part of the book introduces the supernatural elements of the story, where the remaining survivors begin to have dreams in which they are either drawn to Mother Abigail (the archetypal good force) or to Randall Flagg (the archetypal devil). The rest of the story plays out as a battle between good and evil (the spiritual, religious kinds, with God, hell, demons, etc.) as the remaining survivors either build up a democracy along with Mother Abigail or succumb to Flagg’s domination. The last book recounts the final stand and the resolution of this good vs. evil battle.
The supernatural elements, well they’re fine…possibly a bit silly if you stop to think about it but this is King after all. Supernatural stuff is part of the deal when you read his books, silly or not. But I thought the pace of the story gets a big bogged down, things get dragged out a bit more, characters get lost in the shuffle of too many characters, and so on. I’m not saying parts 2 and 3 are bad. They’re still engrossing and interesting, but the high point of the book was part 1 and everything else leaves you with a feeling of “well I guess I gotta keep going here just to find out what happens,” and sometimes it even leaves you with a feeling of "oh come on, the Hand of God, really, THE God? phhht." Parts 2 and 3 also take on a Lord of the Rings type feeling, which King has acknowledged is intentional. I didn’t realize it was intentional until I read the wiki site to refresh for this review, but I did notice a Lord of the Rings quality to it as I read it. I couldn’t describe it to you but if you’ve read Lord of the Rings, and if you read The Stand afterwards, you’d probably feel it too.
One other thing, which I’ve talked about before, is how I both love and hate King’s foreshadowing. For example, he’ll write something like “And that’s the last time they saw each other.” I hate it because I don’t want to know that’s the last time they see each other, I want to hang on to some hope that maybe later on they will see each other even if they don’t. At the same time, I love it because now I no longer have to wonder if they will see each other, I can just wait to find out why they won’t get to see each other. That makes no sense, I suppose, but in my own tortured way, I quite enjoy when those passages pop up.
At the end of it, I’m left in neutral territory because it was an outstanding opening with a tepid ending. But I would still recommend.
The book is divided into three books. In the first book, King provides an awesome story and the best part of the entire book, in my opinion. A superflu epidemic (oftentimes compared to the swine flu, and let me tell you how enjoyable it was for the hypochondriac in me to read about a massive deadly flu right in the middle of our very own swine flu panic) has been accidentally released from a U.S. research facility, wiping out something like 99.9% of the world’s population. King’s narrative throughout this whole first part is phenomenal: suspenseful, tragic, scary (terrifying even), believable (to me, at any rate), and even funny sometimes, as he describes the outbreak, the spread, the reactions, society’s downfall, the panic, basically the meat of any apocalyptic story. The main characters are setup and you start to really care about their different storylines and personalities.
The second part of the book introduces the supernatural elements of the story, where the remaining survivors begin to have dreams in which they are either drawn to Mother Abigail (the archetypal good force) or to Randall Flagg (the archetypal devil). The rest of the story plays out as a battle between good and evil (the spiritual, religious kinds, with God, hell, demons, etc.) as the remaining survivors either build up a democracy along with Mother Abigail or succumb to Flagg’s domination. The last book recounts the final stand and the resolution of this good vs. evil battle.
The supernatural elements, well they’re fine…possibly a bit silly if you stop to think about it but this is King after all. Supernatural stuff is part of the deal when you read his books, silly or not. But I thought the pace of the story gets a big bogged down, things get dragged out a bit more, characters get lost in the shuffle of too many characters, and so on. I’m not saying parts 2 and 3 are bad. They’re still engrossing and interesting, but the high point of the book was part 1 and everything else leaves you with a feeling of “well I guess I gotta keep going here just to find out what happens,” and sometimes it even leaves you with a feeling of "oh come on, the Hand of God, really, THE God? phhht." Parts 2 and 3 also take on a Lord of the Rings type feeling, which King has acknowledged is intentional. I didn’t realize it was intentional until I read the wiki site to refresh for this review, but I did notice a Lord of the Rings quality to it as I read it. I couldn’t describe it to you but if you’ve read Lord of the Rings, and if you read The Stand afterwards, you’d probably feel it too.
One other thing, which I’ve talked about before, is how I both love and hate King’s foreshadowing. For example, he’ll write something like “And that’s the last time they saw each other.” I hate it because I don’t want to know that’s the last time they see each other, I want to hang on to some hope that maybe later on they will see each other even if they don’t. At the same time, I love it because now I no longer have to wonder if they will see each other, I can just wait to find out why they won’t get to see each other. That makes no sense, I suppose, but in my own tortured way, I quite enjoy when those passages pop up.
At the end of it, I’m left in neutral territory because it was an outstanding opening with a tepid ending. But I would still recommend.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Don't Nobody Do Anything Crazy
I hadn’t been home to Honduras since 2007, which is a really long time for me. I hadn’t been able to go because of graduation and starting a job and then, in 2009, some jackass got it into his head that he would violate the Honduran Constitution repeatedly and create a huge media frenzy when he re-entered Honduras and barricaded himself in the Brazilian embassy. He was still in there when I was deciding to go. He’s been in there since October of 2009 and it’s anybody’s guess when he’s getting out…most likely in handcuffs.
Anyway, that stressed me out whenever I thought of going home for Christmas because how absolutely wonderful would it be for me to go home and then have that same jackass make a huge scene, which would then lead to airports shutting down or the U.S. closing borders to Hondurans? But I finally decided to go, especially since things had been very calm for the last month. The first few days I was expecting stuff to go down at any moment, but after a while you start to realize that the situation in Honduras is nothing more than a sociopath sitting in an Embassy while life is going on outside much as it always has. After a while, you forget he’s even there. You can drive by the Embassy where he’s locked in and see the police barricade and soldiers standing guard (how I regret not taking a picture), but that’s it. I’m glad to say the crazy stayed inside and the trip went very well. And he’s still in there…
Besides stressing out over fears of political insubordination and riots, I also had a chance to reflect on some cultural aspects of Honduras that I’ve (naturally) always taken for granted, but which now jump out at me and make me pause…here’s a list of things you may notice when traveling to Honduras that might strike you as…odd…
1. Most of the year, days are sunny to partly cloudy, temperatures range from 74 to 86 degrees F, humidity is a pleasant 55-65%, and nights get as cold as 60 degrees F….it is ridiculous how awesome the weather is every day.
2. Nearly every meal, regardless of what it is, will also feature rice and corn tortillas…even pasta dishes.
3. Residential houses can be turned into anything: restaurants, bars, salons, boutiques, grocery stores, offices, you name it.
4. Pulperias are ubiquitous. These are your poor-man’s versions of a CVS on every corner. Home owners will often set aside a piece of their house (usually a small brick house adjacent to the main house) and set it up as a mini-convenience store. You can get food, beer, soda, cigarettes, bathroom supplies, medicine, and so on. Damn, I should have taken a picture of the one right next to my house…(not mine)
5. Any social gathering is a good excuse to throw up a piñata; this is not reserved just for birthdays, as I learned when I went with my parents to my dad’s office holiday barbecue.
6. This one is odd only because it’s so eerily similar to the U.S.: there are coffee shops on every street block, some even across the street from each other.
7. The only other store more popular than coffee shops are pharmacies. There is one on every other street block.
8. Fireworks may be illegal, but there has never been a Christmas or New Year’s Eve where it didn’t sound like a war was going on in the entire city for 10 min before and after midnight on those days.
9. Hondurans will go out and drink like it’s the weekend even on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays.
10. I’ve talked before about every house having a 6 to 10 ft wall completely surrounding it (some of the wealthier mansions can get even higher), but I didn’t remember that most houses will ALSO put up bars on every window and door. Who said fire hazard?
11. Any security guard, police officer, or soldier that you see will be carrying a shotgun. I think it’s a shotgun anyway, it looks like one of the weapons you can pick up in Left 4 Dead. This includes bouncers outside some bars and clubs (though those only carry a gun, not a shotgun), guards outside banks (any bank, all banks, every single one, will have armed guards at all times), vehicle patrols, and I know I’ve seen more but I can’t remember where else. Basically, don’t be shocked if you walk to a gas station or a store and someone is standing around with a bulletproof vest, a Security hat, and a shotgun.
12. During Christmas, anywhere you go, any restaurant, store, or house, will have at least three nativity scenes on display…at least.
That’s all I can remember for now. I had a longer list but I knew I would forget half of it by the time I got back. Despite all I know about myself and my horrible memory, I can never get into the habit of writing things down constantly :(
Anyway, that stressed me out whenever I thought of going home for Christmas because how absolutely wonderful would it be for me to go home and then have that same jackass make a huge scene, which would then lead to airports shutting down or the U.S. closing borders to Hondurans? But I finally decided to go, especially since things had been very calm for the last month. The first few days I was expecting stuff to go down at any moment, but after a while you start to realize that the situation in Honduras is nothing more than a sociopath sitting in an Embassy while life is going on outside much as it always has. After a while, you forget he’s even there. You can drive by the Embassy where he’s locked in and see the police barricade and soldiers standing guard (how I regret not taking a picture), but that’s it. I’m glad to say the crazy stayed inside and the trip went very well. And he’s still in there…
Besides stressing out over fears of political insubordination and riots, I also had a chance to reflect on some cultural aspects of Honduras that I’ve (naturally) always taken for granted, but which now jump out at me and make me pause…here’s a list of things you may notice when traveling to Honduras that might strike you as…odd…
1. Most of the year, days are sunny to partly cloudy, temperatures range from 74 to 86 degrees F, humidity is a pleasant 55-65%, and nights get as cold as 60 degrees F….it is ridiculous how awesome the weather is every day.
 Perfect weather every day...no wonder I complain about New England winters and summers |
3. Residential houses can be turned into anything: restaurants, bars, salons, boutiques, grocery stores, offices, you name it.
4. Pulperias are ubiquitous. These are your poor-man’s versions of a CVS on every corner. Home owners will often set aside a piece of their house (usually a small brick house adjacent to the main house) and set it up as a mini-convenience store. You can get food, beer, soda, cigarettes, bathroom supplies, medicine, and so on. Damn, I should have taken a picture of the one right next to my house…(not mine)
5. Any social gathering is a good excuse to throw up a piñata; this is not reserved just for birthdays, as I learned when I went with my parents to my dad’s office holiday barbecue.
 Yep, that's a snowman piñata for a holiday office party :) |
7. The only other store more popular than coffee shops are pharmacies. There is one on every other street block.
8. Fireworks may be illegal, but there has never been a Christmas or New Year’s Eve where it didn’t sound like a war was going on in the entire city for 10 min before and after midnight on those days.
9. Hondurans will go out and drink like it’s the weekend even on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays.
10. I’ve talked before about every house having a 6 to 10 ft wall completely surrounding it (some of the wealthier mansions can get even higher), but I didn’t remember that most houses will ALSO put up bars on every window and door. Who said fire hazard?
 These houses don't completely show what I'm saying because the house can also be completely removed from the wall...but, as you can see, bars everywhere |
12. During Christmas, anywhere you go, any restaurant, store, or house, will have at least three nativity scenes on display…at least.
That’s all I can remember for now. I had a longer list but I knew I would forget half of it by the time I got back. Despite all I know about myself and my horrible memory, I can never get into the habit of writing things down constantly :(
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The Portrait of a Lady - Henry James
First, let me just get this out of the way: I am so, so, SO, SOOOOO glad I’m finally done with this book. Second, now that I’ve fully prepared you for a less than praising review, I urge you to not judge this book based on my poor review. People much smarter than me have praised this book very strongly for a very long time. Third, this is a long book…a very LONG book and I was never good at putting up with those. Fourth, possibly I’m depicting myself as educationally-challenged (if that’s even a term, which just cements the point further, I guess). And, finally, on to the book review!
It’s not that I don’t understand why this book is generally regarded as James’ best novel. Really, I get it, the themes are ripe for discussion: the juxtaposition of American ideals (namely, freedom and individuality) with European standards (sophistication and social convention); the embodiment of these conflicting ideas in the story’s heroine, Isabel Archer; Isabel’s struggles as she is faced with betrayal, deceit, responsibility, and emotional pain. I even learned a new literary technique (you know, for whenever I decide to become a writer…): ellipses. Not, not the “…” that I already use far too frequently. I mean the style of skipping over main events, rather than narrating them, and only referring to them in side conversations after they have happened. It works surprisingly well.
No, I’m afraid my problems with the book are much simpler than disagreeing with the plot, the themes, or the ideology. I was simply bored. The pace of the book induces zombie-reading (you know, reading over a paragraph before realizing you’ve no idea what you just read). And (granted James is a key figure in psychological realism) I think it was too psychological, and a lot of it went over my head. Spark notes helped a lot. In other news, I really am becoming a dunce :(
And, lastly, I disliked Isabel. But I think that only shows that James is excellent at character development because I hated this woman as if I knew her in real life. She thinks about herself obsessively and generally has the highest opinion of herself, regarding her strong beliefs in individuality, freedom, and her moral strength. This is mostly the attitude of the first half of the book and it really does get very annoying. But character development is the major element of this portrait (I had to get that in there) and by the time we reach the second half of the novel, Isabel has undergone some… well, some development. She isn’t radically different from who she was at first, but the events she has undergone have created a conflict within herself, between who she once was and what she has become (between freedom and social convention).
I don’t want to give plot points away, but she really is incredibly stubborn and stupid at times, and even she comes to realize this by the end. So, again, it’s not that the story or the character are badly written, it’s more that James does such a good job of creating this person that I was yelling at her (in my head, of course). And, speaking of the end, this book ends with one of the biggest cliff-hangers of all time. Ok, maybe not that drastic, but it does end very abruptly and indefinitely, meaning you can’t be completely certain what Isabel has decided to do at the end. Critics generally agree on what she did end up doing, but from the text it really can be interpreted in a couple of different ways. It’s not that big a deal, you do still get a sense of completion, but be warned in case you don’t like those kinds of endings. In any case, the point of the ending is to leave the reader with a sour taste.
I probably didn’t give this book a completely fair chance. I mean, I did when I started it, I was expecting it to be a really good book, but it just lost me somewhere along the way, in between Isabel’s self-reflection and the story’s snail pace. I highly doubted whether I would finish it at one point because it was an exercise in overcoming boredom. But, after finishing it (and reading analytical overviews), I see what James did there.
20 down, 32 to go.
It’s not that I don’t understand why this book is generally regarded as James’ best novel. Really, I get it, the themes are ripe for discussion: the juxtaposition of American ideals (namely, freedom and individuality) with European standards (sophistication and social convention); the embodiment of these conflicting ideas in the story’s heroine, Isabel Archer; Isabel’s struggles as she is faced with betrayal, deceit, responsibility, and emotional pain. I even learned a new literary technique (you know, for whenever I decide to become a writer…): ellipses. Not, not the “…” that I already use far too frequently. I mean the style of skipping over main events, rather than narrating them, and only referring to them in side conversations after they have happened. It works surprisingly well.
No, I’m afraid my problems with the book are much simpler than disagreeing with the plot, the themes, or the ideology. I was simply bored. The pace of the book induces zombie-reading (you know, reading over a paragraph before realizing you’ve no idea what you just read). And (granted James is a key figure in psychological realism) I think it was too psychological, and a lot of it went over my head. Spark notes helped a lot. In other news, I really am becoming a dunce :(
 My attempt at spicing up my posts with some visuals...I'll give Isabel some credit, though...she didn't come off as that stuck up |
I don’t want to give plot points away, but she really is incredibly stubborn and stupid at times, and even she comes to realize this by the end. So, again, it’s not that the story or the character are badly written, it’s more that James does such a good job of creating this person that I was yelling at her (in my head, of course). And, speaking of the end, this book ends with one of the biggest cliff-hangers of all time. Ok, maybe not that drastic, but it does end very abruptly and indefinitely, meaning you can’t be completely certain what Isabel has decided to do at the end. Critics generally agree on what she did end up doing, but from the text it really can be interpreted in a couple of different ways. It’s not that big a deal, you do still get a sense of completion, but be warned in case you don’t like those kinds of endings. In any case, the point of the ending is to leave the reader with a sour taste.
I probably didn’t give this book a completely fair chance. I mean, I did when I started it, I was expecting it to be a really good book, but it just lost me somewhere along the way, in between Isabel’s self-reflection and the story’s snail pace. I highly doubted whether I would finish it at one point because it was an exercise in overcoming boredom. But, after finishing it (and reading analytical overviews), I see what James did there.
20 down, 32 to go.
Friday, November 6, 2009
The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton
I can already tell I won’t be able to do this book justice. I’ll just get this out of the way now: I loved this book. Rock will laugh at my “sentimental female nature, the typical silly-girl stereotype that sighs at the doomed love affair and cries during the film adaptation.” Well, in fact, I did. I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it. Daniel Day Lewis is partly to blame, damn him and his awesome acting (though the hair…was a tad ridiculous). I didn’t cry when I finished the book, but watching the movie afterwards really put that last nail in, as the saying goes. The screenplay adaption went well beyond anything I expected. I remember liking the movie when I saw it years ago. I didn’t expect such a faithful adaptation of the novel.
It would be hard to improve on the book anyway, or to mess up the carefully-aligned series of events that take place. The novel won Edith Wharton the 1921 Pulitzer Prize, making her the first woman to receive one, which is a pretty cool feat right there. The novel is probably best known (at least, that’s what I knew about it before I picked it up) for its accurate portrayal of New York City’s upper class during the late 1800s. Wharton herself grew up in that society. In the novel, she doesn’t scorn or condemn the society, but she does question the moral righteousness and stifling social codes that the society depicted in her novel adheres to.
The central character is Newland Archer, who finds himself questioning his society’s norms – norms which he strictly upheld at the start of the novel – in light of his perfect but dull marriage, his too-perfect wife, and his wife’s modern and unconventional cousin. You see the triangle, I’m sure. My favorite aspect of the book was the complexity of Newland’s and May’s personalities. Newland’s views change quite radically (radically for the context, anyway), from strictly upholding the established social norms and seeking the perfect marriage with the perfect New York socialite, to questioning everything his society believes and the motivations of all the people he thought he knew so well. The catalyst for this is, of course, May’s cousin, the Countess Olenska, a woman who is the complete opposite of every cookie-cutter debutante he’s ever met. Then there’s May, who Newland generally attributes as a product of New York society, with little opinions or motivations of her own beyond those which have been instilled in her. In my opinion, one of the saddest parts of the book is that Newland never really understood his wife, while becoming painfully clear at the end that it was May who always understood him.
And yet Wharton doesn’t portray Newland as a complete jerk, but as a person in the middle of a personal crisis. That, I think, is why the book works so well, instead of coming off as just a book about someone’s affair. The entire environment also makes the book enjoyable. Wharton’s careful descriptions, both of characters and settings, rich with detail and meaning just make every paragraph fun to read, even if she’s merely discussing the emotions evoked in Newland by a lady’s forgotten parasol or the preparations for the annual society ball. I’m keeping a copy of this book in my phone, as I would definitely pick it up again to read a chapter here or there.
21 down, 31 to go.
It would be hard to improve on the book anyway, or to mess up the carefully-aligned series of events that take place. The novel won Edith Wharton the 1921 Pulitzer Prize, making her the first woman to receive one, which is a pretty cool feat right there. The novel is probably best known (at least, that’s what I knew about it before I picked it up) for its accurate portrayal of New York City’s upper class during the late 1800s. Wharton herself grew up in that society. In the novel, she doesn’t scorn or condemn the society, but she does question the moral righteousness and stifling social codes that the society depicted in her novel adheres to.
The central character is Newland Archer, who finds himself questioning his society’s norms – norms which he strictly upheld at the start of the novel – in light of his perfect but dull marriage, his too-perfect wife, and his wife’s modern and unconventional cousin. You see the triangle, I’m sure. My favorite aspect of the book was the complexity of Newland’s and May’s personalities. Newland’s views change quite radically (radically for the context, anyway), from strictly upholding the established social norms and seeking the perfect marriage with the perfect New York socialite, to questioning everything his society believes and the motivations of all the people he thought he knew so well. The catalyst for this is, of course, May’s cousin, the Countess Olenska, a woman who is the complete opposite of every cookie-cutter debutante he’s ever met. Then there’s May, who Newland generally attributes as a product of New York society, with little opinions or motivations of her own beyond those which have been instilled in her. In my opinion, one of the saddest parts of the book is that Newland never really understood his wife, while becoming painfully clear at the end that it was May who always understood him.
And yet Wharton doesn’t portray Newland as a complete jerk, but as a person in the middle of a personal crisis. That, I think, is why the book works so well, instead of coming off as just a book about someone’s affair. The entire environment also makes the book enjoyable. Wharton’s careful descriptions, both of characters and settings, rich with detail and meaning just make every paragraph fun to read, even if she’s merely discussing the emotions evoked in Newland by a lady’s forgotten parasol or the preparations for the annual society ball. I’m keeping a copy of this book in my phone, as I would definitely pick it up again to read a chapter here or there.
21 down, 31 to go.
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