Posted by Erin on January 27th, 2012
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Ah, Room with a View. How did you like it? I very much enjoyed it myself. As was the case two weeks ago, though, I find myself without a whole lot to say. It was the sort of book with which I could sit back and just enjoy the story. Under Forster’s skillful guidance, the novel unfolded just as it needed to, I thought.
Begin spoilers!
I very much liked Lucy. Oh, did she grow as a character. I don’t think her growth was unbelievable, though. I thought Forster portrayed her magnificently, especially her movement away from Cecil as she came into her own.
 I also found George intriguing. I wasn’t completely sold on him for most of the novel — he seemed a bit awkward and maybe a little immature. The final scene, though, with Lucy and George in Italy was, I thought, lovely. They both seemed somehow to have settled into their right selves, the people they were at heart. And, with my penchant for clever titles, I quite enjoyed how the novel began and ended with the same “room with a view.”
I also appreciated that Forster didn’t wrap up all the loose ends to make a nice, tidy package of the tale. I liked that Lucy and her family were still on the road to reconciliation when we left them, and that Lucy and George were just starting their life together. I think there is a sweet spot (or perhaps several) at which an author can end a novel perfectly, with just enough having happened that the reader is satisfied but with enough left unresolved that the story lives on. In A Room with a View, I think Forster hit that spot.
And so I have nothing but praise for A Room with a View, a novel I very much believe has earned its classic status, and not so much to discuss. Perhaps February’s book (The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham, if you missed the announcement!) will have me writing more?
If you posted about A Room with a View on your blog, please leave a link in the comments!
Posted by Erin on January 24th, 2012
I’ve had a copy of Lost on Planet China by J. Maarten Troost on my shelf for a few years now. When I discovered Simon Vance (my new favorite narrator) did the audiobook, I borrowed it from my public library.
About the Book:
J. Maarten Troost and his wife are ready for a change of scenery. When Troost suggests moving with their two small boys to China, his skeptical wife suggests he make an exploratory trip and report back. Troost does so, with enthusiasm.
What follows is the story of Troost’s China experience. He travels from area to area, exploring the sights, the history, the culture, and — of course! — the cuisine. Whatever China throws his way, Troost accepts with equanimity, an open mind, and a sense of humor. I learned, I laughed, and I was glad to be taking this particular trip vicariously!
My Thoughts:
If Bill Bryson is just a wee bit harsh for you, give J. Maarten Troost a try. Troost is missing that slightly vicious edge with which Bryson occasionally oversteps a line for some readers when describing other people. The downside is that Troost isn’t quite as wickedly funny and a hair less skilled at blending personal stories with factual but entertaining tangents. Overall, Troost is like Bryson toned down just a bit. I liked him.
I’ve really never read a nonfiction book about China. It’s a country I don’t know that much about. So, Troost’s introduction was just my speed. I liked hearing about the diversity he encountered, in cultures, terrains, food, and even pollution levels. I admired his outgoing nature and cringed with him when he landed in uncomfortable situations. I was mildly appalled at the dishes he ended up consuming. Just…eww.
Simon Vance was, as always, fantastic. I wonder how much my love of his narrations affects my feelings toward the book I’m listening to. Really, if you haven’t listened to him read yet, do yourself a favor and track down one of his audiobooks!
I think anyone who likes travelogues with a sense of humor will enjoy this trip through China with J. Maarten Troost. I know I did!
Those are my thoughts. Check out Lost on Planet China by J. Maarten Troost on Goodreads or LibraryThing, listen to an Audible sample, or read other bloggers’ reviews:
Did I miss your review? Let me know and I’ll add it!
Your Turn!
What’s your favorite travel memoir?
Posted by Erin on January 20th, 2012
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell was my book club’s pick for December.
About the Book:
2060, Rome. Emilio Sandoz has returned from an interplanetary mission to Rakhat with mutilated hands and in a precarious mental state, the solitary survivor of his original team of eight. Back in the care of his mission sponsors, the Jesuits, he begins the long and arduous road to recovery. Around him, nasty rumors and outrageous accusations swirl while the world waits for the truth about what happened in Emilio’s own words.
Flash back to 2019, when it all began. Emilio is a young and charismatic Jesuit priest, his group of friends gloriously witty and alive. In alternating chapters, The Sparrow moves effortlessly back and forth in time to fill in the details of this unprecedented and tragic mission and the people who undertook it.
My Thoughts:
When I proposed The Sparrow for my book group’s December read, none of us knew what to expect. The two keywords we found it listed with were “Jesuits” and “life on other planets” — what to make of that?? I’d heard from many people, though, that The Sparrow was one of their favorite books, and I looked forward to reading it with a group.
The Sparrow is one of those deceptively simple books. On the surface, it’s an absorbing story about a group of friends and scientists who travel to a new planet, and that’s mainly where I focused. But beneath that are layers, the most substantial of which examines faith. The way Russell handles this particular theme is impressive in that she fully explores the interior journeys and struggles of several characters in a sensitive, enlightening, and interesting way. It dovetails surprisingly well with the more science fiction side of the novel to create a cohesive and rich story.
I think my favorite aspect of The Sparrow was its characters. The core group is wonderful. They sparkle, they come alive, they are so very real. They’re people you want to invite to your next dinner party, who you wish were in your own social circle. You learn from them, you laugh with them, you share their excitement and their fear. I think I loved Anne and George Edwards and their marriage the best, but the novel would not have been the same had any of Russell’s creations been missing.
There are some truly beautiful passages in The Sparrow. Stunningly beautiful, in my opinion. I won’t describe them for fear of spoilers, but suffice it to say Russell succeeds in capturing in words scenes and feelings of such rapture and revelation that the reader cannot help but experience them alongside the characters.
I know Russell wrote a sequel, Children of God, before moving away from science fiction, and I’m rather curious to read it. If you’ve read it, would you say it’s a book worth looking into?
Those are my thoughts. Check out The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell on Goodreads or LibraryThing, or read a plethora of other bloggers’ reviews!
Posted by Erin on January 17th, 2012
I’d read some good reviews of The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown, so when I needed an audiobook and saw my library had this one on the shelf, I decided to give it a go for my daily commute.
About the Book:
Tiny Barnwell, Ohio, hometown to the three Andreas sisters, is the last place Bean and Cordy Andreas expect to end up. Rose is the homebody; her two younger sisters have flown far away. But when their mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Bean and Cordy discover they have their own reasons to add to the list in favor of coming home.
With three grown girls home together, the unifying force of their mother out of commission, and their Shakespeare scholar of a father lost in his own literary world, things under the Andreas family’s roof aren’t exactly smooth. But back in tiny, boring Barnwell, at once familiar and foreign, the sisters have little to do but read novels — and face the roadblocks that sent them home in the first place.
Rife with Shakespeare references and rich with quiet truths, The Weird Sisters is about the ties that hold a family together and the struggle to soar in one’s own skin.
My Thoughts:
The Weird Sisters wasn’t what I’d expected. I’d been thinking it would be something a bit Gothic, perhaps, involving a dusty little bookshop and a bit of mystery. I don’t know where I got that impression. It’s not like that at all.
There were a couple of things I really liked about The Weird Sisters. First, Eleanor Brown really gets sister dynamics. At the same time, though, I didn’t think she relied too heavily on stereotypes. The relationships between Rose, Bean, and Cordy are complicated and ring true. Brown mixes childhood memories in with the storyline, giving the reader glimpses of the path the girls tread to get to where they are when we first meet them. Brown also writes in the first person plural, so that the story is told by “we” — presumably, the sisters. It caught me off guard at first, but this interesting approach came to feel right as I listened.
I also appreciated that nothing came too easily, and nothing was resolved the simple way. The girls got to where they needed to be, which wasn’t necessarily where I thought they were headed, and each got where she was going via a path I found believable. What could have been cheesy or sappy was instead satisfying and realistic.
I’m sure I missed most of the Shakespeare references in The Weird Sisters. They are constant. The characters quote the Bard to one another. “Our father,” as the narrators refer to their dad, speaks almost solely in Shakespearean snippets. The girls themselves are named for women in Shakespeare’s plays: Rose is short for Rosalind, Bean for Bianca, and Cordy for Cordelia. I wouldn’t be surprised if the sisters’ lives shadowed their Shakespearean counterparts (my Shakespeare knowledge is, sadly, too rusty to comment). I can say, though, that an intimate knowledge of the man’s plays is not a prerequisite for enjoying The Weird Sisters!
Kirsten Potter did a nice job narrating. I had thought she was a new-t0-me reader, but I later realized she’d read the production of Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín I enjoyed so much last year. I never one hundred percent forgot I was listening to a narrator and got swept away by the story, but her presence between myself and the novel was slight and didn’t bother me. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend The Weird Sisters on audio.
Those are my thoughts. Check out The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown on Goodreads or LibraryThing, read a plethora of other bloggers’ reviews, or listen to an Audible sample!
Posted by Erin on January 13th, 2012
Hello, Reading Buddies! Well, I’m halfway through A Room with a View by E.M. Forster (spoilers are fair game!) and I’ve yet to take a single note. I love it when I’m so absorbed in a book — and a classic in particular — that note-taking falls by the wayside. The problem, of course, is that I have very little to talk about here!
An interesting tidbit (thanks to my go-to quick reference source, Wikipedia): Though A Room with a View was published in 1908, the third of five novels published during Forster’s lifetime, it was actually the first one he started.
I’m enjoying the novel immensely. I’ve previously read Howards End, A Passage to India, and The Hill of Devi by Forster (the last one nonfiction), and none quite prepared me for how very entertaining I’m finding A Room with a View. I think Forster’s wit and sense of humor really shine, and I’m loving it.
I’ve finished the first part, with Lucy and Charlotte in Italy, and am a few chapters into the next section, back in England. The jump between the two was so sudden that I checked to be sure my ebook copy from Project Gutenberg was complete (I think it is!). I expect the story to be filled in a bit as I read. At this point, I’m not Cecil’s biggest fan — especially since I’ve just discovered Lucy tends to imagine him in a room…without a view! I suspect somehow George Emerson will show up again, since he and his father gave up their rooms with views at the novel’s beginning. I love when the title is worked cleverly into the book, and Forster seems to be doing a nice job of it so far.
I don’t have much else to say! How are you liking A Room with a View? Is it your first Forster? Anything in particular you’d like to discuss?
Posted by Erin on January 10th, 2012
I’ve always felt I should read 1984, so when I discovered my library had a version read by Frank Muller, a narrator I know I enjoy, I borrowed the recording to keep me occupied during my daily commute.
About the Book:
Published in 1949, George Orwell’s 1984 is a classic dystopian novel. The . . . → Read More: Thoughts on “1984″ by George Orwell (Audiobook)
Posted by Erin on January 6th, 2012
It’s that time again: time to announce the next Reading Buddies book and kick off a new poll! But first, just a reminder that this month’s read is A Room with a View by E.M. Forster, which I’m liking quite a bit so far. The Goodreads thread is up, and I’ll be posting about . . . → Read More: Reading Buddies: February Pick
Posted by Erin on January 3rd, 2012
Now that it’s officially 2012, I can do my final wrap-up of 2011! This is the first year I have previous data against which to compare, so please excuse me while I get geeky about reading stats. I don’t read just for the stats, nor do I obsess about them, but I do enjoy . . . → Read More: The 2011 Stats Post
Posted by Erin on January 1st, 2012
Happy New Year! My big year-end stats post will go up in the next couple of days, but I can’t let December go by without its own quick review post. Here’s what my December looked like:
Books
Total books read: 4 Total pages read: 1,733 Favorite book: The Woman in White by Wilkie . . . → Read More: Looking Back: December 2011 (Sunday Salon)
Posted by Erin on December 30th, 2011
Welcome to the wrap-up for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter! As usual, spoilers are fair game here and in the comments.
(By the way, if you haven’t voted for February’s read, be sure to do so via the poll in the sidebar!)
The good news is that, upon rereading, I didn’t hate this . . . → Read More: Reading Buddies Wrap-Up: “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
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