A planet which looks familiar but can't be that... no cities, roads, planes, tall buildings, ships but strange animals, abnormal trees, in a primitiveA planet which looks familiar but can't be that... no cities, roads, planes, tall buildings, ships but strange animals, abnormal trees, in a primitive, lost little remnant civilization and still odder people, with weird customs sprouting biblical words , no deviations from the word allowed. Mutations eliminated at birth or in a few days, six toes will not do. Hence any abominations can't be tolerated or the children of the Lord will perish and the pure must be preserved from devilish contaminations, only in God's image nothing else, otherwise Tribulations follow. David Strorm dreams of a metropolis from long ago, with ships in the harbor, soaring structures reaching dizzy heights, flying crafts above them, and unexplainable speeding horseless carts, with frightening creatures inside, traveling on level paths. The boy's elder sister Mary told, sadly shakes her head the deluded little brother a shame, a childish imagination can bring many difficulties... David just ten, the suffering begins in earnest. The Old People have gone never to return, why the mystery is unsolvable. However the modern reader knows this is post- nuclear war Earth, centuries after the bombs fell the reason, the interest at the moment will humans rebuild or die. An unique science- fiction story that preaches salvation, but tough problems have no easy answers. Back to the plot, Rosalind the kid's cousin and best friend enjoys the same malady (not proper description I grant you) aberration... better still the gift of telepathy , nevertheless this would kill anyone on the frontier farming settlement in Labrador , the weak are easily disposed. The secret kept or the end arrives too soon for the deviant. Eight others have this affliction in the struggling district ruled by David's strict father Joseph. Unbelievers not tolerated even relatives punished, a loose confederation governs from a remote hamlet far away from Waknuk. If only the boy could grow quickly but this is rather a dubious wish, to escape with friends into the Badlands full of the reputed vicious Fringes, horrible barbaric mutants and relentless enemies...There has to be some higher authority somewhere in this unhappy world if the species can prosper and get some normalcy... but that is a tiny hope. A miniscule white candle with a flame even more diminutive, as the weak brightness illuminating an adverse gargantuan globe . The dark novel full of unusual ideas and the harsh actions taken, a necessity to live in a lawless land but this philosophy I don't always agree with....more
Is love all, nothing else matters , no rules, customs, loyalty and the old-fashioned if you excuse me, word, morals. In Lady Chatterley's Lover this iIs love all, nothing else matters , no rules, customs, loyalty and the old-fashioned if you excuse me, word, morals. In Lady Chatterley's Lover this is the presumed subject of the 1928 controversial book by the British writer D.H. Lawrence, banned as too explicit and censored for forty years in America and numerous other nations. However the world never stops but it moves forward or backwards depending on your point of view but it moves. Today the novel would not cause a small ripple on a smooth , clear pond. Sir Clifford Chatterley an aristocrat, a wounded soldier of the recent World War 1, paralyzed from the waist down living in a Manor House , a beautiful wife Constance , plenty of money and servants during the roaring 20s, the age of Jazz and the Flapper, what glorious luck and happiness he enjoys...except for a little malfunction, life with be perfect. Enter our third main character the lowly gamekeeper a peasant and ardent nonconformist Oliver Mellors. He resides in a slight but comfortable shack alone, employed on Sir Clifford's estate with his dog Flossie, female naturally, still a persistent visitor eases his isolation. The unhappy, bored Lady Chatterley, starts a strange liaison not her first, and instantly commences with a lower class individual, scandalous not a proper choice , a married sensual man whose slutty wife left to be with another, a messy situation, a secret for how long? Hilda, Constance's older sister is not pleased, disgusted even but is powerless. Mrs. Bolton a widow becomes nurse to the disabled husband and soon admirer. Sounds like a silly soap opera but the real object by Mr. Lawrence is ostensibly sexual freedom, still wrong again folks, it's a male fancy of licentious indulges , silly laughable sex scenes where women become things to play with and love banded about to make them feel liberated from the outside, appalled world. The taboo is gone so is the merits of this, the philosophy doesn't compute in modern times or make sense. This classic is not that anymore but an obtuse narrative which embarrasses....more
The structure, alone, ancient , an infested house of another period standing in somber, eternal twilight tucked away surrounded by hills of diabolicalThe structure, alone, ancient , an infested house of another period standing in somber, eternal twilight tucked away surrounded by hills of diabolical spirits...Dr. John Montague ardent occult scholar invites three others to spend a few days investigating the mansion with a reputation, Theodora , gorgeous, feckless fun loving girl, Luke the frivolous nephew of the owner and future inheritor, the aunt doesn't trust strangers, delicate Eleanor without a friend she needs badly. Hoping to acquire some, anyone. The hostile housekeeper Mrs. Dudley and great cook, caretaker husband Mr. Dudley both leave before darkness, they know better, staying is not an option. Roaming the frigid halls, the guests are curious trying to discover its secrets in the darkness , pretending they're not afraid but hands shake , courageous up to a point... Things bump in the night literally, our brave group in bed but not for long the haunting begins, the terrific knocks on doors, vibrations spin, shake the dismal edifice, the quivering foundation seems unsound, the manifestations continue, the people inside think this is harmless. Open doors close by reasons unknown, why? Still daylight brings relief, walking in the pretty gardens, picking flowers, smelling their melliferous fragrance and walking barefooted on the grass, visiting the nearby babbling brook looking at the clear waters, wishing for a picnic to happen somehow, a bit of sunshine, life can be beautiful...sometimes. Eleanor becomes the center of everything, all revolves around her, the gentle, shy woman who needs help, even stealing sister's car and running away from a bad situation . Later the domineering Mrs. Montague arrives with their mutual friend Arthur , her husband feels uneasy, unsure did he make the right decision bringing these amateurs to the house to suffer, changing the atmosphere, the dream becomes a nightmare, the story chills the body, the cold spot of the house penetrates their skin, and bones. A haunted house book which feels possible if not probable. Shirley Jackson gives these engrossing, fictional characters personalities, though they never lived we wished otherwise. An adult telling of unseen ghosts that comes near to be genuine, shadows nevertheless. Now I know why this classic is a classic, the simple chronicle has much more than is obvious to the ordinary reader, it endured because of the quality....more
PEOPLE ARE STRANGE; this encompasses that truism well for two British families in the novel; the wealthy Wilcoxes and the intellectual Schlegels, simiPEOPLE ARE STRANGE; this encompasses that truism well for two British families in the novel; the wealthy Wilcoxes and the intellectual Schlegels, similar looking however under the layers so different it may to modern eyes seem they're from another species. Yes different classes, the old taboo in the fading society of 19th century England which still cares for it until money becomes more important than who are your relatives. Monetary benefits will soon give outsiders the edge and better comfort as the aristocracy falls victim to the hard working, the leisurely ones slow descent into irrelevant status. They may have the titles, others the cash and since all are equal with bread, nobody cares as long as you provide. Two sisters Margaret Schlegel older and more stable of the British born, with German roots family, like the ruling Royals and prettier younger Helen at 21, by eight years, too idealistic for her own good, oh also Theobald (Tibby) the juvenile, insignificant brother . Being orphans Margaret is in nominal charge...sometimes... causes problems. Henry Wilcox , rich very successful businessman but not with his children, a remote figure, the oldest son Charles bold, materialistic but needs his father's guidance as do the rest, younger Paul who enjoys the outdoors in foreign countries, rude daughter Evie self-absorbed and least Ruth the quiet, gentle wife, mother, she loves her home Howards End. Unfortunately this will not last. The fly in the ointment, not his aim, lower class Leonard Bast unhappy, poor , a wife he despises... meets the two sisters, well you can imagine the unhappy consequences. A study in the long gone British society written in 1910, yet it does show a nation in transformation, the good , the bad and human greed striving always to become prosperous but at what cost? Nevertheless sometimes change isn't welcomed. E.M. (Edward Morgan ) Forster was a brilliant writer and observer of life in its numerous complexities, a person with the power to recognize the absurdities and joys of living on Earth. His only shortcoming was he gave up literature much too soon... ......And before I forget, amusing busybody Aunt Juley Mund, of Margaret, Helen and Tibby, steals every scene she is on the page, the chuckles are a pleasant divergent for the otherwise mostly disagreeable situations....more
To begin with I must state this is the best post-apocalyptic novel and I've read so many but not all. A plague hits the world set in the United StatesTo begin with I must state this is the best post-apocalyptic novel and I've read so many but not all. A plague hits the world set in the United States during the late 40s and the human race like flies fall to the ground in bunches, an endless profusion of people expiring in bed, still miracles occur, a few for an unknown reason stay standing , this is the straightforward plot. One of the lucky or unlucky depending on your point of view by the odd name of Isherwood ( Ish ) Williams camping in the high Sierra Nevada mountains of northern California just to get away from civilization. He will get his wish and then some as the disease quickly terminates the Earth people while Ish recovers from a snake bite seemingly a break for him in an abandoned cabin. Weird things happen though, strangers sneak in look terrified seeing Mr. Williams sick in a bunk fleeing in panic...why ? Discovers the unhealthy circumstance as the Berkeley University graduate student who had gone away because of too much pressure gets rewarded a plenty then but not in a good way. The story becomes a mystery when Ish searches across the almost 3,000 miles wide land from sea to now empty sea , however only a handful of beings spotted . These are not the type to rebuilt America or the Earth, returning to California the roads deteriorating , trees blocking the paths, deadly lightning strikes causing forest fires, old automobiles soon become useless the friendless man needs friends. Emma found, a decade older not book smart still has wisdom, mixed blooded, she makes the shy loner happy, Ezra an Englishman with two wives the planet needs children, George an intellectual... not quite, yet a splendid carpenter repairs anything , a few dozens in the new settlement in dusty houses, the owners left in good condition, poor Evie the prettiest girl in the group has mental problems. Ish the ineffectual leader the best educated but nevertheless the kind that are liked but not taken seriously. Schools, he teaches badly, mentions plumbing, growing crops, rebuilding, and restarting the culture they agree still that's for tomorrow which never arrives. A good guess by the writer if the collapse comes, this unfortunate premise could become fact. My second read of the novel and this hasn't diminished its impact and the dismal narrative continues to impress even though written seventy-five years ago, maybe things have changed immensely but people are people....more
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