classics
Poetry Review: Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage
Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage by George Gordon Byron
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is an epic poem in four Cantos about a young man, disillusioned with life, who goes on a tour of Europe, reflecting on wars fought in various countries and their histories, and ultimately deciding that life sucks, and there is no love or peace to be found anywhere. (Yay. So it’s a happy poem.) There are many references to a hidden emotional pain of Harold’s that forced him to leave England and haunts him wherever he goes, marring his enjoyment of life. What that painful secret is, we never find out.
The poetry itself is beautiful, of course, but I was hoping for more of a plot instead of all these ramblings and reflections on history and society. The entire poem is rabbit trails with no real resolution! There’s little to no structure in the story. Continue reading
Review: Coriolanus by Shakespeare
Play Review: Coriolanus
Coriolanus by William Shakespeare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this play so much! This is the story of Marcius, a noble general in the armies of Rome who wins renown in battle, is renamed Coriolanus, and is promoted to consul. But the political machinations of Rome bring him down because he won’t pander to the people or speak sweetly to the rabble. It IS a tragedy, so of course we already expect him to die in the end.
I was intrigued by Coriolanus/Marcius’ tempestuous nature and rage that is tempered by his love of honor and justice. He has a high regard for noble deeds, and refuses to compromise to lesser men, and naturally his honesty is what gets him killed. Continue reading
Book Review: Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is my umpteenth time reading this book, and I enjoyed it just as much as I did when I was a girl! There’s a simple charm to these stories of pioneer life that invites you in.
As always, Laura is my favorite character because she is spunky and brave and hilarious, while her sister Mary is prim and boring. Continue reading
Recent Reads: Shakespeare, Thomas Hardy, Fantasy
Junk Food Book Tag
created by GabsAboutBooks: https://www.youtube.com/user/GabsAbou…
Junk Food Book Tag: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnPf3…
Questions:
1. Chocolates are ooey gooey. Choose a book Continue reading
Book Review: Far from the Madding Crowd
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This classic tells the story of Bathsheba Everdene, a young farm owner, and the three men who are in love with her. She has to make some difficult choices, some of which bring tragedy to her life, but ultimately she finds true love.
As with most classics, there is a lot of setup in the first chapters, but once the story gets going, it really moves along! Towards the middle and end, I was gasping and crying and laughing my head off. It’s definitely a wild story at times, and so brilliantly written.
Hardy has a reputation for writing depressing stuff, and there were some terrible depressing scenes that had me crying and horrified. But the ending is happy, so I was buoyed up again. Continue reading
Book Review: The Winter’s Tale
The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This story is all over the place, but I loved the random plot and the clueless characters! I can’t figure out if it’s a hilarious tragedy or a dark comedy, but I was certainly never bored.
In this play, King Leontes is suddenly struck with the erroneous belief that his wife, Hermione, is cheating on him with his childhood friend, King Polixenes. He descends into a form of madness, trying to assassinate his friend, publicly accusing his wife of being unfaithful, and sentencing his actual child (who he believes to be illegitimate) to death by exposure in the wilderness. And of course, all sorts of trouble ensues, because he has angered the god Apollo, who predicts that he will never have an heir to his throne until he finds his lost daughter again, who did not die of exposure. Continue reading
Book Review: Sanditon
Sanditon: A Novel by Jane Austen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I am so pleased with this uncompleted last novel of Jane Austen’s that was finished by “another lady”. It tells the story of Charlotte Heywood who is visiting friends in a seaside town called Sanditon. Charlotte meets all the respectable society of Sanditon, and spends most of her time observing their characters and deciding if she should laugh at them, pity them, befriend them, or scorn them. She herself is very unassuming and sensible, but when the charming Mr. Sidney Parker comes on the scene, her self-possession begins to slip and Charlotte finds herself wrapped up in intrigue, deceit, and gossip of the worst kind.
I couldn’t even tell where Jane Austen’s original work left off and Marie Dobbs writing began! I’m usually very skeptical about other authors trying to recreate or imitate someone else’s work, but wow! She perfectly captures the sweet laughing mockery of Austen’s writing. Austen made fun of everybody with little biting remarks, but also forgave them their faults in the next sentence. This writing style, the wording, the dialogue, and even the descriptions are perfectly blended together throughout the book in Austen’s own way. I could have sworn she wrote the whole thing! (And I am very picky and critical about all things Austen, let me tell you.) Continue reading
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