Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Great read.  I had wanted to read it en français, but I finally decided to give in and read it in English, since that’s the only version available to me (yes, I know I could go online, but I didn’t want to pay that much).  Plus, I hate to admit it, but my French is getting so rusty, it would have been slow going.  

There’s a reason that this book is famous.  What more can I add to what I’m sure are the plethora of dissertations out there?  What a marvelous portrait of a discontented woman!  I liked the line where Emma realizes that “adultery can be as banal as marriage.”  If only people could just realize that before they start straying from their marriage vows.  The blind, deformed beggar reminded me of the character crushed in the train accident at the beginning of Anna Karenina.  I suppose some parallels could be drawn there.  Like so much of French lit there was the usual conflict between religion and secularism – in fact, I wonder if that’s really what the book is supposed to be about, and not adultery at all.  

The Dance of the Rose and the Nightingale by Nesta Ramazani

This autobiography is story of an upper class Iranian girl who danced.  It is rich in the sights, sounds, and cultures of her world growing up in the 1920s – 1940s.  Her experience is not what most Americans expect to hear about, especially those who may have seen movies like Not Without my Daughter.  That was fine with me, but I am a little annoyed at the jacket write-up, which obviously was catering to our American preconceptions.  For example, “. . .an autobiography penned by an Iranian woman – still a taboo in traditional Iranian society . . .”  Well, she wrote the book while living in the U.S., so it was hardly a risky endeavor.  

Her family was Christian/Zoroastrian, so right there she’s in the minority.  If you want a book about the plight of abused, down-trodden, veiled Iranian Muslim women, you will be disappointed.  This is a well-written description of Persian culture, with a smattering of history (probably more than most of us got in school) thrown in.  Certainly she does deal with women’s issues in Iran, but not in a sensational manner.

Magic Street by Orson Scott Card

I don’t read very much fantasy or science fiction, but occasionally I do make an exception if it blends our real world to the fantasy world, as E. Nesbit and C. S. Lewis do, for example.  I thoroughly enjoyed this novel by Card.  I have read a few of his other works, including Enchantment (very good), Ender’s Game (brilliant, but depressing).  Magic Street  is reminiscent of Enchantment.  Here’s the surprise: Card is white, and book is set in an middle class African-American community in L.A., with no white characters.  I’m impressed that he would even attempt such a thing.  Apparently a friend of his requested that he write a book with an African-American hero.  Whether or not he pulls it off successfully, I can’t say, not being black myself.  But he does seem to do a fair job at the very least.  

The story is kind of like a Part II to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream, and then some.  The plot developed well, although by the end it was pretty easy to figure out what was going to happen.  I think Bryon Williams was one of the most interesting characters, but unfortunately we didn’t see much of him after the beginning.  Puck was well-done.  One of my favorite moments was when Card tossed in an allusion to the movie The Court Jester with Danny Kaye (great show, go rent it), and thankfully did not explain the allusion.  Overall, it’s a good read.

The Sound of Us by Sarah Willis

This is a well-written story of a lonely ASL interpreter who gets unexpectedly involved in a little girl’s life.  It gives the reader a look at the foster-care system, although I think it may be a little too rosy of a picture.  The narrator deals with the recent death of her twin as she tries to help the child.  Unfortunately, I had to stop reading it because there was too much offensive language.  Why, oh why, do authors think that is necessary?  The narrator is an educated woman.  Surely she can be a believable character without frequently using the “f” word.  So I just skipped to the end to see what happened.  

Life on the Tenure Track: Lessons from the First Year by James M. Lang

(Nonfiction)  This was a fun little read about a first year college professor’s struggles.  He’s a likeable guy: he tries hard to reach his students, teach well, and be a good father to his two little girls.  It is definitely a must-read for anyone contemplating a career in the world of academia.  He avoids crude language.  This may seem like a small item to some, but too many authors seem to have no better option than to resort to continuously tossing obscenities into their writing.  

I found it interesting to compare his first year to a secondary school teacher’s first year (by my own personal experience).  Sorry, Dr. Lang!  You had some rough challenges, but it’s nothing compared to the sheer brutality of a first year teaching middle or high school.  In fact, it made me wish I had written a book on my first year of teaching, although I’m sure it’s been done many times.  It’s not like I had the time or energy to do it then, and now I’ve forgotten so much.  Maybe I could write about my fifth (and last) year teaching.  I can still remember some of it.

Mad Monkton and Other Stories by Wilkie Collins

I did not discover Wilkie Collins until about a year ago.  He was a contemporary and friend of Dickens.  His works are what I would call semi-classical literature.  He has the rich vocabulary and elegant language of the 19th century Victorian.  His writings rely a little too heavily on sensational plot lines to be considered serious literature.  However, they are quite enjoyable to read.  If you are looking for a page-turner where the villains are villains, the beautiful heroines are practically saints, and a few ghosts appear, he’s your man.  He is most famous for The Woman in White and The Moonstone (considered the first detective story).  This collection of short stories that I just read were fun, although by the end they had all started to blend together, and become a little too predictable.  The Biter Bit was the most clever and amusing, in that it used an unpleasant egotistical policeman’s letters to narrate the bulk of the tale.

Welcome

Welcome to my reading blog! I love to share book recommendations, and so this blog will allow me to do that with those are interested, and take a little pressure off of my family. I read a wide variety of books, but if you’re looking for the latest bodice-ripper, you won’t find it here. I will post on whatever I am currently reading, as well as occasionally posting books I have enjoyed in the past. Happy reading!