BOOK REVIEW: To Kill A Mockingbird

In anticipation of the publication of Harper Lee’s Go Set A Watchman, the Friday afternoon book group at the Centre County Library decided to read TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.  TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD has been considered an American classic for its fifty five years. It has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize, been named the best novel of the century by the librarians of the country, has sold over thirty million copies, and been made into a very popular movie. It had been Harper Lee’s only published book until this year.

More personally, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD  has stayed in the top position on my favorite book list for all of its fifty five years. It is one of the few books that I have read several times, led discussion groups on, taught to high school seniors, and seen the excellent movie as well as a play based on the courtroom scene.  I would have thought that I knew this book.  Rereading it, I still found little gems of delight.

In case you are not familiar with its story: In the deep South, in the 1930’s. lawyer Atticus Finch is raising his young children, Scout and Jem, to be honorable people. The center of the story revolves around Atticus being assigned to defend a black man who has been charged with the rape of a young white woman.

The events are told entirely through the eyes of nine year old Scout. The young girl does not always understand the behavior of the adults in her town and is quick to be in the middle of any fight in the school yard. She worships her father and her big brother who do their best to help her grow up. She is confused by the hateful actions and name calling that comes with having a father who is defending a black man.

Scout is probably the most delightful young girl in literature. Her reasons for not wanting to stay at  school make perfect sense to me. Her first grade teacher is appalled by the fact that Scout can read and write. The teacher’s solution is to demand that Atticus stop reading with Scout. Scout is devastated. Her opinions on everything from attempts at being taught to be a young Southern lady, to why some people are not  accepted in polite society are so right on that you will smile in agreement.

Each time that I have read TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, I have identified with a different character. The first time it was Scout who questioned the hypocrisy of so many of the town’s people. A later reading brought Atticus, the father into focus. I was now a mother and could relate to his challenge. For some reason, this last time my focus was on Jem, the teenager who faced his loss of innocence.

The lesson of the book is so perfectly summed up in its title. It is a sin to kill a mockingbird. They do no harm and exist only to provide beauty. It is exquisitely used to explain the ending of the book.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD will stay as my all time favorite book and I hope that I get another excuse to read it again someday.

BOOKS: Holiday Wish List 2014!!

Once again it is time for Auntie Pattie Clause to come to your aid with last minute Christmas gift ideas.

Mike Greenberg’s ALL YOU COULD ASK FOR really surprised me. Men might be more familiar with Greenie as a sports analyst, but this is not a book about sports. It is a sensitive story of three women who face the challenge of cancer.  *Very readable and relatable.

Sue Monk Kidd gives a well crafted story of real historical figures mixed with characters who might have been involved with them in THE INVENTION OF WINGS. *Good coverage of some little known people who made a difference in our history.

Kurt Vonnegut is such an American treasure that any book of his, not previously read, would make a great gift. His LOOK AT THE BIRDIE is new, but for someone who has not read him, WELCOME TO THE MONKEY HOUSE is a good introduction. *Comments on life that still make sense.

John Green may be considered a teen author, but he is worth looking at no matter what your age. Any of his books would make a terrific gift. *Not just for the youth market.

Greg Iles has started his new trilogy with NATCHEZ BURNING, I personally was counting on the next book for Christmas, but it looks as if I will have to wait. Some of his books stand alone and some, as NATCHEZ BURNING, deal with Penn Cage and his family. Watch, if reading series in order makes a difference to you. *One of my favorite authors.

Judy Coopey has also started a trilogy with THE FURNACE. Again any of her books would be appreciated. I really loved her REDFIELD FARM. *A not-just-for-women author.

Bentley Little can be counted on for terrifying novels. THE COLLECTION is the most nightmare producing collection of stories I have ever read. *Bram Stoker Award winner-and deservedly so.

Oh, and gift cards are always safe and a treat for the bookaholics in your life.

PS, let me know if you get a book that you loved and we can share it. I am always looking for that “new “ author.

BOOK REVIEW: Frankenstein

My one book group regularly picks a book from the “Should Have Read, But Haven’t” list. Last month we decided to read Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN. And, no, I had never actually read it because after all of the movies, comic books, and Broadway musicals. I felt that I knew what it was all about.

We do know the basic story: Doctor Victor Frankenstein becomes obsessed with creating life. His creation becomes a revenge seeking monster. It seems like a very simple plot to have captured the public since it was written in 1797.

I have always been fascinated in how it was written. Mary Shelley was raised in a freethinking household. With little formal education - remember this was London in the seventeen hundreds when girls were not considered to be “educatable”- Mary was influenced by her parents, Mary Wollestoneraft and William Godwin and developed a love of reading. She eloped at age sixteen with the poet Percy Shelley.

One night at a house party that included Lord Byron, the men challenged each other to a contest of who could write the best horror story. Mary won the bet for her short tale. She later expanded it to a full length novel and in spite of trouble finding a publisher and poor reviews, her story of Doctor Frankenstein and his monster became very popular and has remained so today.

The book FRANKENSTEIN is written in a frame device style. We first meet Robert Walton on a ship in the far North through letters that he is writing to his sister back in England. His ship rescues a man, Doctor Frankenstein, from a large piece of ice and Frankenstein, like the Ancient Mariner, has a story that he has to tell. Within his tale we hear the Monster tell of his lonely life. It was a convenient tool for the author to use for the jump from character to character.

Most of the movies that I have seen of Frankenstein’s story start with the creation of the creature. The book takes us into the earlier mind of Victor and how he became so obsessed with the ability to create life. I wish somebody would do a movie or play that ends with the creation. The emphasis of the book is more on the obsessions of the characters: Walton’s to explore where no man had gone, Victor’s to create life and the Monster’s to be accepted.

Mary Shelley’s style of writing may be a little dated for young, modern readers, but her characters, her physical descriptions, and her insights into the human condition were remarkable for such a young person. There were passages that I felt went too deeply into the background story of secondary characters and were an additional, not needed narrative.

FRANKENSTEIN is a true “classic” novel. It has stood all of these years as the example of what a horror novel should be. And, of course, if imitation is the ultimate form of flattery, I can not think of too many stories that have had as many take-offs, from Boris Karloff, to Abbott and Costello, to Mel Brooks.

I am glad that I read the novel that started the monster craze, but will pass on any of Mary Shelley’s other books. I needed a dictionary to help with the loquacious wordage and my taste runs to a more succinct style.

BOOK REVIEW: Bespelling Jane Austen

Mary Balogh is one of my favorite Regency Romance  authors and when I found a new book with her name in large letters across the top, I quickly dropped it in my shopping cart. A closer examination showed that the title of the book was BESPELLING JANE AUSTEN. This is even better. If you are not familiar with the background of Regency Romance novels, Jane Austen actually wrote during that period of English history and she is the author most copied by today’s followers of the genre.

It keeps getting better and better. I felt that I had found a book that would pay proper homage to the great Jane Austen by an author that I love.

BESPELLING JANE AUSTEN was not at all what I was expecting, though the other authors in the anthology should have given me a hint. Colleen Gleason, Susan Krinard, and Janet Mullany are better know in the field of paranormal fiction. Still, I felt that it would be worth the try. Mary Balogh and Jane Austen were involved.

Susan Krinard was the editor of this unique collection of short stories. She invited the others to take part and simply take a favorite Austen novel and turn it into a story that included vampires, werewolves, faeries, etc. Should be easy. Right?

Mary Balogh chose Persuasion as the base for her “Almost Persuaded”. Persuasion lends itself perfectly to a story that follows two lovers through time, but never the right time for them. Balogh admits that this is not her style of writing and this may be the weakest story in the collection. It is a sweet love story, but does not fit the requirements of the book.

Colleen Gleason’s choice of the brooding Northanger Abbey  for her “Northanger Castle” gave her room to write a tongue in cheek take off of Gothic novels in general. Our heroine sees vampires everywhere, laughs at silly girls in stories who enter dark rooms in the middle of the night... alone, and is easily taken in by a handsome face and smooth manners. And, of course, it includes the dark, mysterious man who remains a mystery until the very end.

By  far my favorite was “Blood and Prejudice” by Susan Krinard. This story had me from its opening line, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that ever decent straight guy who isn’t dead broke, is in want of a good woman”. (A line that sounded almost familiar). Set in present day Connecticut, “Blood and Prejudice” does an admirable job in following the original story. It seemed natural for the Bennet sisters to have modern careers and it really made sense, at least to me, for Mr Darcy to be a vampire.

It also made sense that Emma, who tried so hard to play matchmaker for her friends, should be moved to Washington,D.C. and be helping with a dating service that specializes in finding mates for the lonely, vampire, werewolf, or elfin.  “ Little to Hex Her”, Janet Mullany’s contribution, sticks to the original, Emma, closely... with some weird twists.

Most modern authors have to give credit to Jane Austen for their plot lines. She has stayed a classic all these years for good reasons. These short stories are excellent rip offs. They are fun, but I would guess that some of the more tongue in cheek humor will be missed if the reader is not familiar with the originals.

It always amazes me the books that just seem to jump into my shopping cart! Some good, some bad, but almost all turn out to be interesting.

BOOK REVIEW: A Wrinkle In Time

Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me was almost a homage to Madeleine L’Engle’s A WRINKLE IN TIME. It has been years since I read this classic and thought that it was time for a return read. It was even better reading it as an adult. So no matter your age or if it has been years since you travelled with Meg Murry, her small brother, and their friend, Calvin to rescue Mr. Murry, you might want to give it a try.

Meg, her mother, and brother, Charles Wallace first meet Mrs. Whatsit on a dark and stormy night. Charles Wallace seems to understand this unusual visitor and later that night takes Meg and Calvin to meet two other women, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Witch.  The three beings explain that they are there to take the children to find Meg and Charles Wallace’s father. What follows is an exciting journey through the galaxy.

One thing that I like about a L’Engle book is that she never talks down to her readers. Mrs. Who has problems with putting her ideas into words so almost all of her conversation is made up of quotes: Shakespeare, the Bible, ancient Greek and Latin through French and several Native American tongues. Sometimes a translation is given, but it is taken for granted that the reader will pick up on the message.

I also like that L’Engle is a moral author. Her Christian values are obvious in the fight between light and dark. Mrs. Whatsit points out to a frightened Meg that God chooses the weak to do great things and that she has one thing in her that evil does not understand...love. This is an idea that also worked for Harry Potter.

A WRINKLE IN TIME has been around long enough to be considered a classic. It is a fantasy tale with some depth, full of thoughts that will stay with you long after the last page is read.

BOOK REVIEW: Travels With Charley

About once a year our book group decides to read a book from our “have-been-meaning-to-read-list. This year we chose John Steinbeck’s TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY. Excellent choice!

There are several reasons to love this book, but the one that reigns supreme with me is that it is John Steinbeck, author of Grapes of Wrath, and East of Eden,  Of Mice and Men, and so on. He was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 and the 1962 recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature. I rank him with Shakespeare, Victor Hugo, and anyone else on your all-time great author list.

While Steinbeck was at the peak of his career, he had a pick-up truck converted into a camper, took his French poodle, Charley, and made a trip around the United States to find the “real” America. This journal is a collection of the sights and people that he encountered.

The people and places were fascinating, but I was intrigued to get such a personal picture of the man. He was sure that he could make the journey without being recognized. He maintained that if you are not expecting to see someone, you don’t. Today with the voracious news media such anonymity would be impossible.

The second reason this was such a great read is that Steinbeck is one of the top wordsmiths in literature. His descriptions of what he saw and of the“locals” that he met took you along, in the cramped camper, with him and Charley. 

 

His visit to the Bad Lands in North Dakota starts with his feeling as if he were unwanted in this land designed by the devil himself. He felt so uncomfortable that he was reluctant to write about it. 

While there, he stopped to ask a man if there was a place to buy eggs.   “Powdered” was the answer, and after trying to get the man to talk and only receiving one word replies Steinbeck said, "You talk too much.”  “What the wife says,” was the reply.

Charley and he camped that night in the Bad Lands to find that the setting sun turned the barren land into a land that shouted with color.

Another thing that made this book special for me is that I have been to many of the places that he writes about. It was fascinating to me how things have changed and stayed the same from his journey in 1960 to our making a similar journey in 2013.

He wrote of being so busy concentrating on his driving in the heavy traffic around the major cities that he had no time to watch the scenery nor a desire to stop to rest. Those driving conditions have not gotten better and there seem to be longer stretches of them. He comments on the road signs and that we have lost our use of adverbs, “Drive slow”, “Drive safe”. That has not improved. (It is a game we play when we travel, “correct the spelling and grammar.”)

TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY is witty, profound, honest and moving -- oh, and sometimes angry. It needs to be taken off your mean-to-read-someday list and read now. If the book is a love affair with America, the reader will end up loving the author and Charley, the French poodle.

BOOK REVIEW: Rebecca

REBECCA, the classic of romantic suspense novel by Daphne du Maurier, finally made it to the top of the pile of books on my night stand. The book was first published in 1938, so I guess it could be said that I have waited a few years to get around to reading it.

The narrator, known to the reader only as “the second Mrs. de Winter, starts by telling of her remembrances of her meeting Maxim de Winter, their sudden marriage, and her life as a new bride in the beautiful estate named Manderley. The ghost of Rebecca, the first Mrs. de Winter is very much still in residence at the estate. From all accounts, Rebecca was perfect in everything that she did and was loved by all who knew her.

Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper at Manderley, still is very loyal to her ex-mistress and goes to great length to make the new bride feel not only resented, but threatened as well. As more and more facts come forth about Rebecca’s death, the reader starts to worry about the safety of our heroine.

This is one of the first books to be written in the Gothic Romance genre and as a result, many authors have stolen freely from the original plot. Although this was my first reading, several scenes struck a chord with me as being familiar.  The evil housekeeper has become a standard character in suspense novels, as has the flashy playboy and loyal secretary.

I had some real problems with the heroine at the beginning of the book and especially when she arrives at Manderley. Her youth and lack of self-confidence gave too much power to the late Rebecca. Character development is very important to me in a book and the people in Rebecca were more than stereotypes. Mrs. Danvers truly is motivated by her love of Rebecca. Her actions may appear to be evil, but they make sense----at least to her.

As a rule, I like my romantic heroes to be, well, romantic. I found Maxim to be a bit of a cold fish. The only reason that I could see the heroine marrying him was to get out of the bad situation that she was in. I wanted more of a passionate spark on his part. It has to be remembered that love scenes have changed in the last seventy some years.

I am glad that I finally got around to reading REBECCA. I enjoy the genre, plus now when “ Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again” appears on a quiz on famous literary first lines, I will remember the two wives of maxim de Winter.