If you need your stories to come with concrete-facts and absolutes, this is not the book for you.
This is a book that plays with perception an5 Stars
If you need your stories to come with concrete-facts and absolutes, this is not the book for you.
This is a book that plays with perception and morality. Tim O’Brien served in Vietnam and these short-stories are based on his time there. But to call this a memoir feels wrong— not when the author spends so much time in the fantastical, in re-telling stories or in side notes that make us wonder at the nature of “truth.”
Do we trust what we’ve heard or what others tell us? Do we trust our memories because we were there? We as humans always need to be able to put things in a story... but can we ever make sense of it?
I am not one for war books. But I am one for books that make me think about how I view the world around me. This is definitely one of those....more
”’Merricat,’ said Constance, would you like a cup of tea?’ ‘Oh no,’ said Merricat, ‘You’ll poison me!’”
I will forever adore Shirley Jackson's unnerving”’Merricat,’ said Constance, would you like a cup of tea?’ ‘Oh no,’ said Merricat, ‘You’ll poison me!’”
I will forever adore Shirley Jackson's unnerving writing style. The way she was able to build starting from the first page and gradually heighten the experience until we're hurtling towards an ending.... just perfection.
Unfortunately, I did guess a 'twist' here and overall liked it a bit less than The Haunting of Hill House, but it was still very good and very creepy!...more
Edmund was a boring ham sandwich of a person. But he’s still kind of cute and eveQuiet strength is STILL strength
(Aka, my girl Fanny gets a bad rep.)
Edmund was a boring ham sandwich of a person. But he’s still kind of cute and even though the whole thing feels like a church special, you still root for them. ...more
It’s some really interesting and big ideas told through a series of rushed subplots and by a revolving cast of faceless men with the exact sam2 Stars
It’s some really interesting and big ideas told through a series of rushed subplots and by a revolving cast of faceless men with the exact same voice. ...more
From his most famous 'Scarlet Letter' to his short stories, most of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writings seem to focus on man’s sin and the struggle for perFrom his most famous 'Scarlet Letter' to his short stories, most of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writings seem to focus on man’s sin and the struggle for perfection.
This short-for-school-read is no exception. In this story, Aylmer is married to the young and beautiful Georgiana, and while he loves her, he can’t seem to stand the hand-shaped birthmark on her face. Being slightly obsessed with science and 'overcoming nature' he sets out to remove it.
Of course, this birthmark is merely a symbol—which the narrative explicitly tells us:
“In this manner, selecting it as the symbol of his wife's liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death, Aylmer's sombre imagination was not long in rendering the birthmark a frightful object, causing him more trouble and horror than ever Georgiana's beauty, whether of soul or sense, had given him delight.”
From this, we can easily infer that Georgiana’s birthmark is not just a physical mark, but a symbol of her humanity-- and therefore imperfection.
While this raises some interesting questions, it all feels very cut-n-dry. The symbolism is flat-out explained to us, the characters nothing more than tools for the discussion and the old-1800s-English doesn't help any.
But maybe I'm just a cynic, as I said-- this does present typical Hawthorne-esque questions about perfection, sin and morality. If you read his other works and enjoyed them, you may certainly enjoy this more than I did. ...more
“Some view our sable race with scornful eye, ‘Their colour is a diabolic dye.’ Remember, Christians... Negros, black as Cain, May be refin'd, and j
“Some view our sable race with scornful eye, ‘Their colour is a diabolic dye.’ Remember, Christians... Negros, black as Cain, May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train.”
This was a for-school-read that I really ended up enjoying. First published in 1770, Phillis Wheatley was a remarkable young woman. A slave in the American colonies, Wheatley spent years not only learning English, but developing a power with words. She became the first African-American poet published, with success as far reaching as Europe.
Reading her works from a 21st Century viewpoint is somewhat odd. Not only is the language itself more difficult, but the some of the themes extremely dated. Engrossed in religious fervor, several of her poems reflect the ideas of Calvinism, including predestination-- that there's a God with a specific plan for everything. In one work, Wheatley even goes as far as stating, “'Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land, Taught my benighted soul to understand that there's a God, that there's a Saviour too.”
Most of my class found this understandably off-putting and antiquated. And I'm certainly not trying to claim it isn't. But the subtle message of her works is stronger. Believing in a sovereign God, it can be inferred Wheatley viewed her slavery as part of a predestined plan to bring her to Christianity, but that does not mean she agreed with the practice itself. (In fact, she spent most of her life vehemently fighting against it.)
In Revolutionary-Era America, the literate were predominantly white, due to the restriction of access to education. Wheatley seems keenly aware of her audience. She didn't use poetry as a way for blatantly calling for the abolition of slavery, but instead uses her poems as a lyrical way of advocating equality, by appealing to their shared religion. In quotes like the one I've place at the top of this review, she politely, but firmly reminds "Christians" that all races are equal in their God's eyes. To be frank, she's continually calling out their hypocrisy.
I found it intensely courageous that someone so young was so dedicated to spreading a message so important, whether the world was ready to hear it or not.
In Conclusion: Definitely not for an afternoon of light reading. Intensely powerful all the same....more
Quick read for school-- if I can call poetry from 1650 quick??
Basically this is the opening to her poetry anthology-- the first published by an AmeriQuick read for school-- if I can call poetry from 1650 quick??
Basically this is the opening to her poetry anthology-- the first published by an American, according to my course. And Bradstreet starts all, "Oh, I'm just a feeble woman, I could never write long poems about war and life and love-- oh wait, I DID."
And I'm always down for snarky women defying societal expectations, even if this wasn't an easy read. I'm not one for poetry, but I thought this flowed well....more
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