Questions on Classic Books

1. What is a classic book that you didn't like?

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys.  This is a prequel to Jan Eyre and I didn't like this book because of how much they changed the character of Rochester. He is never the classic hero in Jane Eyre but he is definitely the bad boy in the novel Wide Sargasso Sea which turns him into a cruel, shiftless and self absorbed man. The greatest issue Rhys seems to have with Rochester is his actions towards Bertha and I understand how this section of Jane Eyre is foreign to modern readers. In today's society when someone in your family has a mental illness it is frowned upon to lock them in an attic. But mental health was viewed very differently in the 19th century and I don't think there are clear examples of Rochester's neglect of Bertha. Bertha is actively trying to kill Rochester and he still provides medical help for her as well as a full time career. I have no problem with authors having a go at writing sequels or prequels to classic books but this vast removal from Charlotte Bronte's vision frustrates me. It is like someone coming along and drawing skeleton men all over the sails of the Sydney Opera House and saying it is all right because they view the opera house as a place of death and skeletons. Maybe they do view it that way, fair enough, but it is not their property to doodle on. 

2. What is your favourite time period to read about?
Medieval, Viking, Roman, 16-19th Century Europe, Regency, Elizabethan, American Civil war... I could go on. This question should be worded what time period do you not read about. 

3. What is the classic book that you are most embarrassed you haven't read yet?
To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee. I keep putting this off because I am worried the the ending of court case will frustrate me too much. I know most of the story already, do I actually have to read it?

4. What are five classics you would like to read?
Dracuala by Bram Stoker, On the Beach by Nevil Shute, Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliff, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

5. What is your favourite movie or tv series based on a classic book?
Cranford based on the novels set in the village of Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. I like how the tv series and novels show excitement in the little things that occur in village life. 

6. What is the worst classic to movie adaption?
Pride and Prejudice 2005. Similar to Wide Sargasso Sea, I feel this adaption goes too far away from the novel. Lizzie's station in life is changed, the whole village is much more rustic and unrefined, and the characters are crass. At best this was the idea of Pride and Prejudice but certainly not a close copy of the original. There would have been no pig just wandering around indoors at the Bennet household!!

7. What is an under hyped classic you would recommend to anyone?
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson. This book is not completely unheard of but it is certainly over shadowed by Treasure Island. The protagonist David Balfour is an unreliable narrator and his indecision and mistakes create a lot of confusion and adventure. Alan Stewart who travels with David is also a very complex character and I found I kept switching my opinion on whether he was a scoundrel or not. This book set in 18th century Scotland sees David and Alan being pursued over sea and through the Scottish highlands. This is a good old fashioned adventure book, that could be read by anyone!

Bertie steps up to the plate

Thank you, Jeeves,

- P. G. Wodehouse 

In this Jeeves and Wooster novel chaos, miscommunication, and conflagrations once again harass the hapless characters. The book begins with Bertie's realisation that his calling in life is to be one of the world's great banjolele players. This calling is very clear to him but not to any of his neighbours, friends or Jeeves and soon Bertie is faced with a decision. Either he must cease his aspirations with the banjolele or Jeeves will leave his service. The decision is made and the banjolele comes out on top. Bertie moves to the village of Chuffnell Regis with his new man, the morose Brinkly but Bertie and Jeeves will not be separated for long. The cottage where he will be staying is owned by Bertie's old school friend Chuffy and Chuffy's new valet is Jeeves. Joining the throng at Chuffnell Regis is; Seabury - Chuffy's nephew who is demanding protection money, Sir Rodderick Glossup - the famous nerve doctor who believes that Bertie should be certified, J. Washburn Stoker - the american millionaire who hates Bertie and his daughter Pauline Stoker, who was once engaged to Bertie.

Bertie must ward off a murderous valet, escape kidnap and try to save Chuffy's love life all while being harassed by the ever watchful Police Sergeant Voules who lives next door. 

I love Jeeves and Wooster books because they are cleverly written and they can always brighten my mood. I also love them because of Bertie's character. He is not a clever man, in fact Jeeves himself states that Bertie can be "mentally somewhat negligent" but his other qualities make up for this in spades. In world politics today it seems like those looking for power see strength in rudeness, bullying and intimidation. I will always prefer the Berties of the world who find that the qualities of cheerfulness and resilience are just as compelling.

My rating; 5 Stars

"He sighed slightly. All this talk of my going to shows was distressing him. What he really wanted was to see was me sprinting down Park Lane with the mob after me with dripping knives... The man annoyed me. I hadn't the slightest objection to his spending his time planning massacres for the bourgeoisie, but I was dashed if I could see why he couldn't do it with a bright and cheerful smile." 

When the going gets tough...

The Fated Sky
- Henrietta Branford

I think we can all agree that life can be tough. I know there have been many instances in my life where I have felt like dramatically falling to my knees, clenching my fists and howling "Nooooooo!" However, overall I live a comfortable, happy life and one of the most difficult moments in my day can be when I realise the peanut butter has been left in the fridge making it solid and unspreadable for my toast. The agony of it all!

It is helpful to get some reality on how good I have it and this book The Fated Sky served well as a cuff on the ear. 

Ran is a teenage girl living with her mother and grandmother on an outlying Viking homestead. Her brothers and father were Viking warriors/slavers/traders who died far from home. Recently an old flame of Ran's mother has turned up and he and her mother start to make life difficult for Ran. This old flame has a crazy viking name starting with a V, I haven't seen it in print since I listened to the audio book and I have no idea how you would spell the name so we shall call him Vile V. Every year those living on the outlying homesteads gather for a time of feasting at the central grand house and Ran, her mother and Vile V set off on the difficult three day journey. The wilds of Norway are still very wild and there is the risk of being attacked by wolves or dying from exposure and cold. A day out from the grand house they are attacked by a pack of wolves and Ran's mother is critically wounded. Vile V wild with grief lashes Ran with his fury as they rush the last couple of miles. Ran hopes for sanctuary and peace at the grand house but she swiftly comes to the realisation that there can be danger anywhere and she has no cards to play. 

Ran is living in a time where young women are possessions not people and whoever owns you has the right to do with you as they will. In the book, one woman casually tells another to avoid travelling with a certain man because he will attack and sell her. Everyone knows this but no one will make any effort to condemn or stop him, it's just the way things are. This is a time when superstition, and religious fear rule and people are chosen at random to be brutally sacrificed to appease the anger of the gods.  It's best to make the most of what you have when you have it because quite likely it will be stolen, destroyed, attacked, burnt, killed or die. The moments of mercilessness in this book really shocked me and it was hard to listen to how some characters reacted to their onerous lives with vicious and evil behaviour. Ran's experience was not sugar coated it showed her tough life and I think this contributed towards a number of negative reviews this book has recieved. This book was raw and harsh but it managed to not revel in the ugliness of the situations. 

The thing that stopped this book from being four hours of wallowing despair were the tiny rainbows of hope throughout the story. Ran found beauty in the the rugged landscape of Norway and Iceland and I liked her descriptions of what she saw. Also, even in the midst of the conflict in this novel, some of the characters showed that it is possible to make your own happiness. 

My rating: 3.5 stars

Eccentric is cool

Death in the Stocks

- Georgette Heyer

I really enjoyed about 90% of this book, it was clever, funny and the murder happened in the first chapter. All good signs of a murder mystery novel in my opinion! 

The book begins with the body of Arnold Vereker being discovered in historical stocks set in the middle of a village green. The suspects seem obvious as Arnold's half brother and sister both come out of the situation extremely financially well off. Also not helping their case, Kenneth and Antonia Vereker seem completely unperturbed by their half brother's murder. They are openly happy that Arnold is dead and they thoroughly enjoy taunting the police as they revel in eccentricity. I found many similarities between Kenneth and Antonia and Jean Ralphio and Mona Lisa Saperstein. Since I love Jean Ralphio and Mona Lisa I loved the Vereker siblings. Their honesty was refreshing and their loyalty to each other was endearing. The other cast of characters include the Vereker's laid back lawyer, Kenneth's gold digger fiance and the Vereker's grumpy housekeeper/maid/guard dog. 

The mystery itself was not all that difficult to wok out as there was some not so subtle hinting in my opinion but the characters in the book were fantastic which made the novel enjoyable overall. My only frustration was I felt that in the last couple of chapters some of the characters had their personalities watered down.

My rating - 4 stars.

"People who start a sentence with personally (and they're always women) ought to be thrown to the lions. It's a repulsive habit." 

Feminism in 900 AD

Hidden
- Donna Jo Napoli

This book begins just after Brigid escaped from a slave ship off the coast off Denmark in 900 AD. Brigid as an Irish princess had known a privileged life but her new situation - alone and in a distant country - places her suddenly at the bottom of the pecking order. As a foreigner, a female and with no family she has very few rights and very few people to rely on. She is constantly vulnerable to being used and possessed but Brigid is a fighter and she refuses to be controlled just because she is a female. She goes from being a virtual slave to an adopted daughter of a queen to a pirate captain. Through the years her single aim is to find and rescue her sister who had been kidnapped at the same time. 

One of the reason I love historical fiction so much is because I feel transported into another time period and I can have a view into that time's different lifestyle and traditions. "Hidden" didn't conceal the harshness of the time period and I really felt like I experienced the effort it would have taken just to live and function during this period of history. Some historical fiction is almost written like contemporary literature just with everyone living in castles and wearing long dresses or tunics. However in this novel the differences between my life and Brigid's life were stark and shocking.

This novel started slowly but the last half was so suspenseful and engaging it made up for this and I stayed up late finishing it. I would not recommend this to someone who is more interested in frou-frou/ romance historical fiction but if  you like Rosemary Sutcliff novels I think you will enjoy this book.

My rating-

4.5 stars



"You are a pirate? Alfhild, my Alfhid?"
"I am Brigid."
"Brigid?"
"I was hidden before. But I'm Brigid inside."

I confess.

Spindle's End
- Robin McKinley

I confess! It was I, I did it. I planned it, acted on it and enjoyed it. I'm glad, glad, glad I did it and if I had my time again I would still do it.
I listen to Audio Books.

When I was very small I relied on my sisters to read books to me but once I could read alone I did it with gusto. In my prime I would read six to seven books a week. Along came uni and the number dropped to one or two and then the final destroyer of free time- work- arrived and the number of books I read dropped again. I come home from work tired and busy and visits to the library are far and few between but how can I desert books? Thus began my discovery of audio books.

I spend at least an hour in travel time every day and then have menial tasks at home and I can listen to books during this time using the brilliant skill of multitasking. I still read books with my eyes looking at printed words but many of the recent books I have come across have been audio books. I am sure there are many highbrow people out there who would feel that I can no longer claim to read these books. They might say because I only listen to them I only experience them in a lesser way. It means I don't have to struggle with reading hard to pronounce names or face the peril of crushing in my face when reading a heavy book lying down. However, I say to my critics, I still learn the entire story and come to grasp with concepts and characters. I will take a stand and wave my placard high!  Listening to books is far better than not going near a book and is a valid and worthwhile use of time. To me all fellow time-poor book enthusiasts!

I have come around in a full circle and once again I have people reading to me.


Spindle's End

Guess what fairy tale this is a retelling of? Sleeping Beauty. Robin McKinley added a lot to this simple story. When she was finished with it, it was no longer a pretty little tale but a lengthy, background information stuffed, complex novel.

The story begins at the birth of Sleeping Beauty. Her parents neglect to ask the evil fairy to the name day event but this fairy of evilness is not put off by the lack of an invitation. The wicked fairy Pernicia arrives bent on a hideous revenge. Pernicia cackles appropriately and curses the Princess to a deathly sleep brought on by the prick of spindle's end on the day of her 21st birthday. All living creatures, humans, animals, and living houses (yes, living houses) are horrified. The Princess must be saved!

To protect the life of the princess a plan is concocted and she is spirited away by a young, ordinary, country fairy called Katriona. On this difficult journey Katriona is helped by many different animals and this is the beginning of a deep life-long friendship the princess has with all animals. The location of the princess is kept a secret even from her parents and her elaborate name 'Casta Albinia Allegra Dove Minerva Fidelia Aletta Blythe Domina Delicia Aurelia Grace Isabel Griselda Gwyneth Pearl Ruby Coral Lily Iris Briar-Rose' is changed to Rosie (what one name would you pick from this list?). The plan is that the longer Rosie is hidden the less chance there will be that Pernicia can harm her. However the closer it gets to her 21st birthday the harder it will be to hide her from Pernicia's spell. Time passes and Rosie grows up about as un-princess like as possible. She is far too tall, she wears her hair short and she works as a  horse leach, caring for animals in the muck and mess of a blacksmith's shop.

Rosie does not know her true identity and she never dreams she could have a secret life outside of the small village where she lives. Her aspirations are that the introverted and grumpy blacksmith will finally notice her as a woman and they will live happily ever after. Rosie see herself as a clumsy, useful type of girl not at all interested in dresses or ceremony. All of this is thrown into confusion for Rosie when a stranger turns up on the doorstep only a few months before her 21st birthday. The stranger is a high ranking fairy and he has just discovered where Rosie lives (a male fairy, what?). He knows that if he has discovered the location of Rosie then Pernicia could easily do the same.

Pernicia filled with rage and revenge bares down on Rosie and Rosie is forced to take on her roll of princess-protector for the first time in her life. She has the help of her human and animal friends as well as a jolly old living castle but Rosie is unsure that she even wants the life that success over Pernicia will bring her. 

It is clear to see that Robin McKinley is very imaginative, She breaks up the original story of sleeping beauty and then stitches it up differently giving much scope for new perspectives and building extra characters. However there is such a vast amount of exposition and history that this book drags out to be a lengthy story. Mckinley at times seems to get so lost in threshing out side details that it comes as a shock when the actual story begins again and there is some action. Spindle's End entertained me enough as I drove and did cooking but I will not be shouting it's praise from the rooftops. 

"People forgot; it was in the nature of people to forget, to blur boundaries, to retell stories to come out the way they wanted them to come out, to remember things as how they ought to be instead of how they were." - Robin McKinley

When Jays fly to Barbmo

When Jays Fly to Barbmo

- Margaret Balderson

Book Three - Twelve books about WW2

The time is 1940, the location is a remote island in northern Norway and the protagonist is Ingeborg a teenage girl who has to make some big decisions. 

In early 1940, Norway was not yet involved in World War 2 and many Norwegians hoped that they would continue to remain uninvolved. Switzerland had claimed neutrality, Norway would claim it as well. While so many other countries had been secretly or not secretly building and fortifying their armed forces Norway was running late and had remained relatively unprepared. In fact when Germany swiftly and silently invaded Norway on the 9th of April (exactly 74 years to the day that I am writing this!), Norway did not even have a standing army. What Norway did have though was cities with harbors that didn't freeze in winter and when both the Allied and German forces wanted control over iron ore resources and and transport in the Baltic sea, Norway became an important playing piece in the war. 

Now to the story!

Ingeborg lives with her father Arne, her father's sister Anne-Sigri and an old friend of her father's called the Wood Troll. Just before this book begins, Ingeborg ran away from the small city boarding school because she missed her home and her father. However, now she is where she wanted to be, Ingeborg feels closed in and she is knows that the family has secrets. No one will talk to her about her mother who died in childbirth, her aunt adores her father but he can barely stand the sight of her, and Ingeborg wishes the Wood Troll would be more open and stop talking in riddles. 

In northern Norway where Ingeborg lives there are months on end of darkness during the winter. Ingeborg loves the arctic air, the brooding mountains and the deep blanket of snow but she also feels the 'dark sickness' when the endless night causes her to feel restless and scatty. 

Not long after the invasion Ingeborg's father is killed by Germans as he tries to help some Norwegian soldiers escape in his boat. The small family is distraught and Ingeborg demands the Wood Troll tell her about her mother. He finally complies. Her mother, Susanna, was a Lappish girl, the native wanderers of Norway. Susanna had married happily, but her natural wanderlust had made her feel trapped at the farm and her relaxed ways had created tension between her and Anne-Sigri. Days before she was to give birth to Ingeborg, Susanna was suffering from dark sickness and she made for the hills desperately wanting to be free. Arne was away on a fishing trip and by the time Susanna was found she was dead but Ingeborg, miraculously, was alive. Arne in despair blamed Anne-Sigri for Susanna's death.

Finally understanding her true identity, Ingeborg feels strongly that she wants to follow her mother's last journey. If she leaves she will have the free, exciting life she has always dreamt about. However, leaving will also mean turning her back on the dangers facing her community, on the Wood Troll who Ingeborg discovers is Jewish and her friend Viekko who is attempting to hide from the Germans so he won't be forced into service. 

While much of this book is focused on Ingeborg discovering her Lappish heritage and working out what she really wants for herself there is another theme. This other theme show the various reactions made by groups and individuals about the war. The Norwegians try to avoid it, the Lapps ignore it and Ingeborg's father faces it. The word "Barbmo" in the title refers to that place over the horizon that birds fly to at the start of winter. The Jay bird customarily stays throughout winter. In this novel, Ingeborg must decide if she will fly to safe Barbmo or stay and face out the winter.

"I am so heartily sick of not knowing who or what I am, I said."

This book would be in my top 20. 

Behold the "Charise Seal of Approval"!