classic literature

Book Review: Mujercitas (Little Women: Spanish Edition)

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Mujercitas by Louisa May Alcott

Mujercitas (Little Women)
by Louisa May Alcott, Gerardo Gambolini (Translator)
5 out of 5 stars

Fue un placer escuchar esta historia como un audiolibro en español. ¡Me encantó volver a visitar esta historia favorita en mi segundo idioma despues de leerlo muchas veces en ingles! Fue genial para mi comprensión del idioma y fue casi como redescubrir a estos personajes por primera vez.

¡Amo a Beth, Amy, Jo y Meg! Son personajes tan dulces. Nunca me canso de leer sobre sus pequeñas aventuras y dramas.

El audiolibro gratuito que escuché era de “Voz Humana”. Fue una buena traducción y sentí que reflejaba muy bien el estilo de la escritura original. Me gustó mucho la narradora. La narradora hablaba clara y lentamente, por lo que era fácil de entender, incluso si el español es su segundo idioma.

KEEP READING TO SEE MY REVIEW IN ENGLISH!

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Classic Review: Wind in the Willows

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The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

The Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, Grahame Baker-Smith (Illustrations)
5 out of 5 stars
I adore this book! It is one of my favorite classics to reread. There is something so enchanting about Mole and Rat, Toad and Badger, and all the animal folk. Every time I read it, I am swept away into the exciting world of the River.

When I received this beautiful Templar edition in the mail, I literally started crying because the book is so beautiful. The cloth-bound green cover perfectly captures the peaceful mood of a breezy day boating on the River. I love the gorgeous gold foiling on the cover. It’s so tactile! I want to run my fingers over it, feeling the embossed edges of the ripples in the water, but I don’t want to mess it up by handling it too much.

And the inside is just as gorgeous! The endpapers are a pretty green with patterns of willow branches. Every couple of pages throughout the story, there is another delightful illustration bringing the story to life.

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Manga Classic Review: Macbeth

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Macbeth by Crystal S. Chan

Macbeth
by Crystal S. Chan (Adaptor), Julien Choy (Illustrator), William Shakespeare, Michael Barltrop (Modern English Adaptor)
4 out of 5 stars

Despite its popularity, MacBeth has never been one of my favorite Shakespearean plays. Too bloody and gory and gloomy for my taste. But if you like a dismal adventure with plenty of violence and mayhem, MacBeth has plenty of that! And this manga adaptation rings true with the moods and poetry of the original play. I like that the words of Shakespeare are modernized in a thoughtful way, and the artwork beautifully illustrates all the action and drama.

Each character has a memorable and striking appearance, and I found it especially interesting to see how MacBeth’s demeanor changed after he commits murder. His posture and facial expressions are different, and shadows gather around him in the darker shadows of the artwork. It’s a subtle but effective way of showing the development of his character, slowing falling into madness and despair.

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Book Review: Romeo and Juliet

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Manga Classics Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Manga Classics Romeo and Juliet (Modern English Edition)
by William Shakespeare, Crystal S. Chan, Julien Choy (Illustrator)
5 out of 5 stars

This manga adaptation of Williams Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is the perfect way to introduce Shakespeare to readers who might feel intimidated by the original play. The text is modernized, but is still written in iambic pentameter, and still has the original rhymes of the play. The entire play is intact, and all the beauty of Shakespeare’s words comes through wonderfully in this modern adaptation.

I am so impressed with the way the text was modernized, and with the integrity and thoughtfulness that went into editing it. It really does feel like something that Shakespeare would have written if he had been alive today. There is no jarring modern slang to ruin the beauty of the lines. It feels like someone just translated the words from another language, and made it easy to understand for modern readers, but without losing any of the flavor and emotion of the original text.

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Book Review: Emma Brown

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Emma Brown by Clare Boylan

Emma Brown: A Novel from the Unfinished Manuscript by Charlotte Bronte
by Clare Boylan, Charlotte Brontë
2 out of 5 stars

A child is mysteriously left at a girls boarding school. She has no memory of her past and is enrolled under a false name. Mr. Ellin takes it upon himself to find out about the girl’s history, hoping to restore her to her family.

Charlotte Bronte wrote the first twenty pages, and then tragically passed away before she could finish this intriguing story. And a modern author, Clare Boylan, has tried to finish the book in Charlotte Bronte’s style. I was not impressed.

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Classic Review: The Island of Dr. Moreau

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The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells

The Island of Dr. Moreau
by H.G. Wells, Alan Lightman (Goodreads Author) (Introduction)
3 out of 5 stars

Mr. Prendick is cast ashore on an island, where the evil scientist, Dr. Moreau, engages in animal vivisection and terrifying experiments. Gradually Mr. Prendick begins to realize that the other humans on the island are not all they seem to be. They have animal instincts and strange behavior, and Mr. Prendick has to fight for his life and find some way to escape this island of horrors.

The plot moves rather slowly, with more attention given to analyzing the morality and implications of Dr. Moreau’s work. A lot of time is spent scrutinizing different themes and ideas, like interesting explorations of what it really means to be human, but all the philosophizing does slow down the plot. However, when there IS any action, it is exciting and dramatic…. and violent. I did find the themes extremely interesting and well thought out.

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Classic Book Review: Dr. Wortle’s School

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Dr. Wortle's School by Anthony Trollope

Dr. Wortle’s School
by Anthony Trollope
5 out of 5 stars

Dr. Wortle has hired Mr. Peacocke as a teacher in the boys prep school, but learns that Mr. Peacocke and his wife are hiding a terrible secret. The Peacocke’s are not to blame, but circumstances are against them. Dr. Wortle must decide whether to throw them out, or assist them in finding a solution to their difficulties. The ensuing scandal might be enough to close down the school unless Dr. Wortle can act quickly to silence the wild rumors.

I loved this book so much! What an exciting story! One of the characters travels to America and has some dangerous encounters there, while Dr. Wortle is at home having milder adventures of his own trying to keep vicious rumors out of the press. The plot is really interesting and full of surprises.

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