“I think we deserve to be beaten out of our beautiful houses with a scourge of small cords—all of us who let tenants live in such sties as we see roun“I think we deserve to be beaten out of our beautiful houses with a scourge of small cords—all of us who let tenants live in such sties as we see round us.”
Amazing. Exquisitely told nineteenth-century soap opera with extended musings on the character of the principle young men and women, and society in general. Historical fiction set in the late 1820s and early 30s, published in 1871. Deeper complexity than Jane Austen or Charles Dickens. Not easy reading.
“It is troublesome to talk to such women. They are always wanting reasons, yet they are too ignorant to understand the merits of any question, and usually fall back on their moral sense to settle things after their own taste.”
How could anyone miss that this was written by a woman? Deep, insightful analysis of the workings of her characters. Most chapters start late in their action, then relapse into telling what happened before. Peppered with pithy epigrams, as follows:
We begin by knowing little and believing much, and we sometimes end by inverting the quantities. But we all know the wag’s definition of a philanthropist: a man whose charity increases directly as the square of the distance. You have not only got the old Adam in yourself against you, but you have got all those descendants of the original Adam who form the society around you. On the whole, one might say that an ardent charity was at work setting the virtuous mind to make a neighbor unhappy for her good. Severity is all very well, but it’s a great deal easier when you’ve got somebody to do it for you. Disagreeable people who only thought of themselves, and did not mind how annoying they were to her.
Critical insights softened by affection of midland English society. Classical and literary allusions, deep characterizations, politics, and religion. No violence, no sex, no profanity, but plenty of racial and class slurs. No one is a villain to himself, even if he finds himself surrounded by despicable characters. Irritating habit of opening sentences with conjunctions.
For the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs. ...more
“There are shades in all good pictures, but there are lights too, if we choose to contemplate them.”
A formative Dickens work. The progenitors of many “There are shades in all good pictures, but there are lights too, if we choose to contemplate them.”
A formative Dickens work. The progenitors of many characters Dickens would employee in A Christmas Carol in five years are found here, with a cameo by Jane Austin’s Mrs. Bennet (Pride and Prejudice).
[Redacted] was quite lazy enough (and sufficiently vain and frivolous withal) to have been a fine lady; and it was only the arbitrary distinctions of rank and station which prevented her from being one.
Episodic in every sense of the word. Written to appear in weekly installments. Apparently Dickens was paid by the word or column-inch because several subplots do not relate to the main plot. On the other hand, typical of Dickens, several minor characters are revealed to be major before the denouement.
“Coom awa’, coom awa’. In wi ’un, doon beside the fire; tak’ a soop o’ thot. Dinnot say a word till thou’st droonk it a’! Oop wi’ it, mun. Ding! but I’m reeght glod to see thee.”
Not one of Dickens’s best. Repetitive, rambling exposition. Coincidences abound. His rendering of Yorkshire dialect becomes tiresome. He was still learning his trade.
“Why, I don’t believe now, that there’s such a place in all the world for coincidences as London is!”...more
Gave up. As if Hallmark remade a comic book. Fun, but lightweight romcom. Hormonally-driven supposed adults acting like junior high tweens. Cliché fesGave up. As if Hallmark remade a comic book. Fun, but lightweight romcom. Hormonally-driven supposed adults acting like junior high tweens. Cliché fest. Too many issues to detail. Not inclined to read farther. Don’t care who survives, so long as the dog doesn’t die …. ...more
Some say that ever ‘against that season comes Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated, The bird of dawning singeth all night long: And then, they say, Some say that ever ‘against that season comes Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated, The bird of dawning singeth all night long: And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad, The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike, No fairy takes nor witch hath power to charm, So hallow’d and so gracious is the time. Wm Shakespeare
An essential family Christmas anthology. Published 1977, it includes mostly 19th and 20th century literary offerings.
God rest you merry, Innocents, While Innocence endures. A sweeter Christmas than we to ours May you bequeath to yours. Ogden Nash
Dozens of Rockwell illustrations, mostly full color.
“And that, of course, is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the world seemingly most indifferent. For this is still the time God chooses.” Taylor Caldwell. ...more
Don’t throw up. Don’t throw up. Don’t throw up. That wasn’t how she wanted to spend her first moments in the United States of America.
A well-written Don’t throw up. Don’t throw up. Don’t throw up. That wasn’t how she wanted to spend her first moments in the United States of America.
A well-written tale of miscommunication, loss, and love. Protagonists are a mail-order bride and an autistic genius. Lots of missed signals and false conclusions. Angst and humor. Surrounded by loving family. The type of story Hallmark wishes they had (and it would surpass much they do) but couldn’t air if they did make it.
Odd was good. Odd was an opportunity. Besides, she was odd, too. Just not as odd as he was.
Hoang shows great promise. Her characters and plot, while obvious, are well-developed and believable. Everything is almost inevitable, but getting there is fun. What could go wrong? Lots.
[Redacted] might be able to handle a physical relationship without any adverse effects, but he didn’t think he could. She was already a song that played on endless repeat in his head.
Three stars is a gift. Yes, some people having what we used to call Asperger’s syndrome are prone to excessive profanity, but Hoang could convey that without sinking the story. Not sure where the line is between soft and hard pornography, but Test straddles it.
[Redacted] didn’t smell like gym socks and man sweat, and her curves fit into his hollows, soft to hard, smooth to rough, the perfect debit to his credit....more
“A stupid villain threatens, Charlie. A smarter villain offers a service.”
Innovative and humorous storytelling as expected from when Scalzi was among“A stupid villain threatens, Charlie. A smarter villain offers a service.”
Innovative and humorous storytelling as expected from when Scalzi was among the best new writers a decade ago. Old Man’s War was his first and best. Unfortunately, this story continues his sad decline into publishing house hack. On his way to being this generation’s literary Robin Williams, Scalzi sold-out to being Don Rickles.
“Do you get actually get paid?” YES. “How much?” MORE THAN YOU. “I suppose I deserved that for asking,”
Hopeful opening: Scalzi made it a dozen pages before dropping the first f-bomb. Alas, it was not to be. Hard to follow the story for the verbal land mines. A stupid writer uses profanity; a smarter writer conveys the same information and emotion without insulting his readers.
“So this is all a cult.” “Cults are more fun.”
Good storytelling? Yes. Solid, quirky characters? Yes. Cynical humor? Yes. Entertaining plot? Yes. Could have been one of Scalzi’s better tales. I don’t recommend it to anyone.
‘Don’t swim with the dolphins during a labor dispute. No matter how much they try to convince you otherwise.” ...more
Imaginative tale of slipping reality. Reader accompanies protagonist in dizzying descent into paranoia and insanity. Maybe. P“James Bond out of Kafka”
Imaginative tale of slipping reality. Reader accompanies protagonist in dizzying descent into paranoia and insanity. Maybe. Published in 1993 but apparently set in the 70s or 80s—manual transmissions, pay phones, phone books, cords on phones, etc. Many allusions to period books and movies.
Was that the kind of film this was? Maybe he wasn’t the hero at all but some subsidiary character, the poor sap who got it in the first reel.
Quibbles: Noticeable errors: Running around with rear window shot out, hoping to avoid notice; news cycle within hours of non-local events; shifting English car with right hand; Learjets across the Atlantic.
Oh, shut the f*** up, ordered his brain.
Good writing and world building, though readers younger than fifty may puzzle over references. Gratuitous profanity.
“They’ll have to figure out how to destroy the world without my help.” ...more
“I’m beginning to think there’s something very odd about this house.”
A light fantasy about a widow and her children moving into a house already occupi“I’m beginning to think there’s something very odd about this house.”
A light fantasy about a widow and her children moving into a house already occupied by a ghost. Neither horror nor suspense. Not really a romance, but that’s closer.
“… having lived by other people’s consciences until now.”
Written in 1945, there’s much social criticism of turn-of-the-century England. Hypocrites get short shrift, as they should. Many allusions to scripture. Not a particularly Christian work, but it respects what people believe.
“You have to be master of yourself before you can be master of the sea, and with a ship too many lives are at stake.”
Read the Foreword after the book. Trivia and spoilers.
“But we never choose which [words] to use, for as long as they mean what they mean to mean we don’t care if they make sense or nonsense.”
If Terry Prat“But we never choose which [words] to use, for as long as they mean what they mean to mean we don’t care if they make sense or nonsense.”
If Terry Pratchett had updated Pilgrim’s Progress. A morality tale for a post-modern world. Funny in a lame three-quarters-century old way. Lots of word jokers and puns.
“Infinity is a dreadfully poor place. They can never manage to make ends meet.”
Eighty years ago this was cutting edge. Readers would have marveled at the sophistication of Juster’s prose and Jules Feiffer’s illustrations. Better than many contemporary shots at the same target.
“I never knew words could be so confusing.” “Only when you use a lot to say a little.”...more
Time to act like a grownup. Time to be an adult. Depressing thought.
Growing up is hard, especially when you’re an adult. And a success. Visibly so. CoTime to act like a grownup. Time to be an adult. Depressing thought.
Growing up is hard, especially when you’re an adult. And a success. Visibly so. Complex, believable inner dialogue. Who needs saving and how do they get it? Three point of view characters, folded timeline, occasional flashes back and forward. Insights into writing, movies, friends, family, and agents. Very cerebral, dare I say literary?
You can start rumors, but you can’t control them.
Talk about in media res. The book opens a third of the way into the story, literally. Being a single story cut in thirds by the publisher, this second installment tosses the reader into the flow with no character introduction or background. Read Pride's Children: Purgatory first. The closing, by no means the end, is sufficiently satisfying to keep readers hooked until the conclusion is published. A really big train wreck assured.
This is what writers did: they had imaginary conversations in their heads where they played all the parts.
Notes: One character’s accent borders on caricature, while everyone else has none. Both female characters are surrounded by support while the male is alone against the world. Even his agent hates him. Too many epigrams opening each chapter.
“It’s always hard to balance reality with what people think they know.”...more
If you like detective stories, this is one. I’m not a fan of that genre, and having female protagonists doesn’t cancel the implied anti-female bias ofIf you like detective stories, this is one. I’m not a fan of that genre, and having female protagonists doesn’t cancel the implied anti-female bias of the genre. Good use of secondary character as the point of view. ...more
"Everyone in the Rutherford Household was so very ordinary—so completely what they seemed. Could it really be possible that one of them was a murderer"Everyone in the Rutherford Household was so very ordinary—so completely what they seemed. Could it really be possible that one of them was a murderer?"
Pleasant, if formulaic period romance/mystery. Awkward blend of Jane Austen and Agatha Christie. Readers interested in a Jane Austen mystery might try Northhanger Abbey.
Verisimilitude errors. “Time for those he works for in London to send word as to his veracity. I should think I have a few weeks, at least, the state of the roads and the mail being what it is.” Kent abuts London; verification could be had overnight. “I’ve been an agent of the Crown since war first broke out with France.” England and France had been at war for centuries.
Fails to convey the period. Errors in details kick the reader out of the spell of the story. One character sustains several bullet wounds but keeps soldiering on.
"Her mission, it appeared, was to call on some of the poorer members of the village and do what she could to scold and bully them into prosperity." ...more
“He’s an animal-rights activist. He’s not dangerous.” “That doesn’t necessarily follow,”
Hard core Willis fans will adore this collection of Christmas-“He’s an animal-rights activist. He’s not dangerous.” “That doesn’t necessarily follow,”
Hard core Willis fans will adore this collection of Christmas-related shorter stories. Your mileage may vary. Connie does distracted really well. In fact that’s what she does. Almost every story, all the time. It fits some of these short stories; others it ruins.
“Of course she can act. What do you think she was doing in here for the last hour? Mimicking emotions one doesn’t have—I believe that’s the definition of acting.”
“Newsletter” is my favorite. Quibble: “The only place in the U.S. where it’s never snowed is the Florida Keys. And Hawaii, of course.” Wrong. It snows on Mauna Kea on Hawaii. Enough to ski. Skip the introduction. Many spoilers. Do read it after you’ve read all the stories. I also liked, and occasionally violently disagreed with, her list of favorite Christmas books, movies, and stories.
“Where’d you get that?” “It was in the hotel room.” “You stole a Gideon Bible?” “They put them there for people who need them. And I’d say we qualify.”...more
‘It was impossible to reform the “Queen of Hearts,” and equally impossible not to love her. Such, in few words, was my fellow-guardian’s report of his‘It was impossible to reform the “Queen of Hearts,” and equally impossible not to love her. Such, in few words, was my fellow-guardian’s report of his experience of our handsome young ward.’
Published in 1859. Scheherazade without the interlocking stories. The framing story is simple and obvious. Interesting rather than enjoyable.
‘It is not wonderful that the public should rarely know how to estimate the vast service which is done to them by the production of a good book, seeing that they are, for the most part, utterly ignorant of the immense difficulty of writing even a bad one.’
Mostly mysteries, but a pleasant mix of female protagonists, humor, and surprise climaxes leaven thew nineteenth century English fare.
‘In the course of my wanderings I had learned to speak French as fluently as most Englishmen.’
Which is to say, of course, not at all. Like most Americans. Reflects the prejudices and mores of its time.
‘We most of us soon arrive at a knowledge of the extent of our strength, but we may pass a lifetime and be still ignorant of the extent of our weakness.’ ...more
“The murder part is quite easy and simple. It’s the covering up that’s so difficult. I mean, why should it be anyone else but you? You stick out a mil“The murder part is quite easy and simple. It’s the covering up that’s so difficult. I mean, why should it be anyone else but you? You stick out a mile.”
Unexpectedly good mystery from a reader who generally avoids murder mysteries. The draw is the intersection of modern science and pop culture (parapsychology and hedge witch level occult). Classic Christie: she gives the reader more than enough clues. Perhaps too many.
“Murder by remote control isn’t murder in the eyes of the law. It’s just nonsense. That’s the whole beauty of the thing.”
The various investigators, wading through conflicting, seemingly impossible clues, forget Occam’s Razor. That said, Christie is unclear at the denouement of the chain of authority, if not causality.
“There is evil. And evil is powerful. Sometimes more powerful than good. It’s there. It has to be recognised—and fought. Otherwise we go down to darkness.”
Ariadne Oliver is Christie’s alter ego, a mature female writer of mysteries. She is not a major character in this story; don’t know about the others.
“Take your time. No hurry in the world. Take your time.”...more
'Why couldn’t two unhappy people refresh each other on their way through this dusty business of life by a little talk—real, natural talk, about what t'Why couldn’t two unhappy people refresh each other on their way through this dusty business of life by a little talk—real, natural talk, about what they felt, what they would have liked, what they still tried to hope?'
Four post-World War One English women trapped in cages of their own making. Published in 1922, April is a gentler take on English going on Italian vacations than E. M. Forster’s 1908 A Room with a View. Better than Forster.
'Mrs. Fisher was upset. There were many things she disliked more than anything else, and one was when the elderly imagined they felt young and behaved accordingly'.
Excellent inner voice on female characters, who are the soul of the work. The men come and go as needed to propel the women in conflict and blossoming. Filled with charming turns of phrase which have the advantage of not being cliches. Delightful.
'She sighed. “You mustn’t sigh in heaven. One doesn’t.” “I was thinking how one longs to share this with those one loves.” “You mustn’t long in heaven. You’re supposed to be quite complete there.' ...more
“Nobody has got me yet as a sweetheart, instead of my having a dozen, as my aunt said. I hate to be thought men’s property in that way, though possibl“Nobody has got me yet as a sweetheart, instead of my having a dozen, as my aunt said. I hate to be thought men’s property in that way, though possibly I shall be had some day.”
Gave up. Hardy’s introspective treatment of his male protagonist shows promise, but he treats his female lead like an adolescent twit. Can’t believe female English readers a hundred years ago stood for the defamation. Don’t waste your time.
“Well, what I mean is that I shouldn’t mind being a bride at a wedding, if I could be one without having a husband. But since a woman can’t show off in that way by herself, I shan’t marry—at least yet.” ...more
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