I finished My Antonia. Basically, though Antonia has a bright spirit and everyone is quick to love her, misfortune befalls her when she falls in love with a man who promises to marry her, but leaves her pregnant. Antonia is forced to return to her home disgraced. She's contrasted with Lena who becomes a successful dressmaker and businesswoman even though she is thought by the town to be promiscuous and airheaded.
Antonia gets a happy-ish ending. After many years, Jim finds Antonia set up in her own farm with a husband and a bunch of kids. She seems happy and healthy and her connection with Jim is still as strong as ever. Jim never marries and has no children but is happy to see Antonia settled down to a good man and with a good family.
This book really captured the pioneer spirit of a strong, spirited, and loving woman, Antonia. It also gives the reader a perfect glimpse into the time period. I felt transported to this era and this way of life and how it was all so much simpler. It became difficult to put down and kept me up many nights way past my bedtime. I'm happy Antonia and Jim got endings that suited them. Since Antonia's father died so early in the novel, I thought something tragic was going to befall her like Tess in Tess of the D'Ubervilles, but thankfully Cather allowed the heroine to have a life that suited her. I enjoyed this book and I can completely see why President Sample is so enamored with Willa Cather.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
My Antonia
After a slow start, I've finally started tearing through My Antonia. I realize this book will be over soon! I'm about halfway through the ~250 page novel and I'm really enjoying the change of pace from Middlemarch.
My Antonia is basically the memories of a boy, Jim Burden, as he grows up in the farm lands with his neighbor Antonia Shimerda. The Shimerdas are Bohemians who've recently come to America to start their own farm. The father has a difficult time adjusting to his new life in America and, during his first winter in America, shoots himself in the Burden's barn. From there, Antonia's older brother assumes the role of patriarch in her family. He uses Antonia as a farm hand while Jim, a few years younger, goes to school.
Right now, Jim's going to school in the town and Antonia is working as a helper to his neighbors, the Harlings. Antonia just exudes a good vibe in the novel and I don't quite know how Cather is able to do that since we really don't know much about her. She's passionate and childlike despite her hard life. She loves her family and the Burdens and isn't frivolous. Look at that. I guess that's how Cather got us to love Antonia.
The farmland, middle America setting is interesting as well. I've never really read many books that take place in this part of the world. I'm enjoying it. There's a sense of camaraderie and neighborliness in this book that's not stifled and overly polite like it is in Middlemarch. Everything about My Antonia feels so vast even though it focuses on so narrow a subset of people.
My Antonia is basically the memories of a boy, Jim Burden, as he grows up in the farm lands with his neighbor Antonia Shimerda. The Shimerdas are Bohemians who've recently come to America to start their own farm. The father has a difficult time adjusting to his new life in America and, during his first winter in America, shoots himself in the Burden's barn. From there, Antonia's older brother assumes the role of patriarch in her family. He uses Antonia as a farm hand while Jim, a few years younger, goes to school.
Right now, Jim's going to school in the town and Antonia is working as a helper to his neighbors, the Harlings. Antonia just exudes a good vibe in the novel and I don't quite know how Cather is able to do that since we really don't know much about her. She's passionate and childlike despite her hard life. She loves her family and the Burdens and isn't frivolous. Look at that. I guess that's how Cather got us to love Antonia.
The farmland, middle America setting is interesting as well. I've never really read many books that take place in this part of the world. I'm enjoying it. There's a sense of camaraderie and neighborliness in this book that's not stifled and overly polite like it is in Middlemarch. Everything about My Antonia feels so vast even though it focuses on so narrow a subset of people.
Monday, November 2, 2009
My Antonia by Willa Cather
Bought the next book on my list, My Antonia by Willa Cather. I was inspired to read this book by an article I read in the LA Times about USC's president, Steven Sample, stepping down this summer. According to the article, he wants to continue teaching at USC by doing a leadership class that he's done for a number of years during his presidency and also a literature class about Willa Cather, his favorite author. So in honor of one of my alma mater's greatest presidents, I'm reading My Antonia by Willa Cather.
I will also say that I got a great deal on this book. With my Borders membership 40% coupon, I got this brand new paperback edition for $3.26.
I will also say that I got a great deal on this book. With my Borders membership 40% coupon, I got this brand new paperback edition for $3.26.
Middlemarch - finished
Finally finished Middlemarch last night and I found myself surprised at its relevancy today. Obviously we don't really have the same social situations as we do now, but some of Elliot's ideas regarding marriage and idealism still ring very true today.
The quick summary: Dorothea and Ladislaw end up married, impoverished, but happy. Mary and Fred end up together (yay!) and live a modest life. Lydgate and Rosamond eventually end up financially secure but Lydgate dies at the age of 50 and gave up all the ideals he came to Middlemarch with. Bulstrode goes into exile but his wife stands by him.
Idealism plays a huge part in the novel. Dorothea and Lydgate are the characters with the best intentions. Dorothea only wants to do good in the world. She's really a great character on the border of insufferable if she weren't written as someone with such a pure heart and a desire to help others. Lydgate wanted to make great strides in medicine through his experimentation but ended up getting a small fortune treating rich patients of gout. This is what we find out in Eliot's epilogue and it's very sad. I had conflicting emotions. I appreciated Lydgate's attempt to make it work with Rosamond and his realization that he held both their happinesses in his hands. In the end, however, neither of them was ever really truly happy. And really Rosamond is so awful you want her to get her comeuppance at the end but it never comes.
Marriage and compatibility are also large themes in the novel. Dorothea's marriage to Cassaboun is doomed b/c he's old and crappy and she's young and wonderful. In her attempt to do what she thinks is for the greater good, she ties herself to a man whose work amounts to nothing and who's definitely not as good a person as she is. She finds a better match in Ladislaw who shares her idealism and with her support is able to make something of his life in politics.
My favorite couple, Fred and Mary, end up happily married in a relationship that seems to resemble Mary's parent's marriage. They are well-matched and have similar temperaments, but balance each other out as well. There's a cute part that Eliot puts in where Fred publishes a farming book but everyone thinks Mary did it and Mary publishes a children's book but everyone thinks Fred did it. So they're perfect for one another!
In the end, a good novel. I'm glad I read it and I'll definitely keep it in mind for future courtships.
The quick summary: Dorothea and Ladislaw end up married, impoverished, but happy. Mary and Fred end up together (yay!) and live a modest life. Lydgate and Rosamond eventually end up financially secure but Lydgate dies at the age of 50 and gave up all the ideals he came to Middlemarch with. Bulstrode goes into exile but his wife stands by him.
Idealism plays a huge part in the novel. Dorothea and Lydgate are the characters with the best intentions. Dorothea only wants to do good in the world. She's really a great character on the border of insufferable if she weren't written as someone with such a pure heart and a desire to help others. Lydgate wanted to make great strides in medicine through his experimentation but ended up getting a small fortune treating rich patients of gout. This is what we find out in Eliot's epilogue and it's very sad. I had conflicting emotions. I appreciated Lydgate's attempt to make it work with Rosamond and his realization that he held both their happinesses in his hands. In the end, however, neither of them was ever really truly happy. And really Rosamond is so awful you want her to get her comeuppance at the end but it never comes.
Marriage and compatibility are also large themes in the novel. Dorothea's marriage to Cassaboun is doomed b/c he's old and crappy and she's young and wonderful. In her attempt to do what she thinks is for the greater good, she ties herself to a man whose work amounts to nothing and who's definitely not as good a person as she is. She finds a better match in Ladislaw who shares her idealism and with her support is able to make something of his life in politics.
My favorite couple, Fred and Mary, end up happily married in a relationship that seems to resemble Mary's parent's marriage. They are well-matched and have similar temperaments, but balance each other out as well. There's a cute part that Eliot puts in where Fred publishes a farming book but everyone thinks Mary did it and Mary publishes a children's book but everyone thinks Fred did it. So they're perfect for one another!
In the end, a good novel. I'm glad I read it and I'll definitely keep it in mind for future courtships.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Middlemarch part 3
Another couple of hundred pages in and Mary and Fred are still my favorite couple though it's been rough going for the two of them. Fred didn't get the land he was hoping to get in his uncle's will and also had Mary's dad pay off one of his debts that Mr. Garth vouched for. Things are looking up thought as Fred has begun working for Mr. Garth instead of becoming a clergyman while Mary's acknowledged her feelings to Fred through Mr. Farebrother. Poor Mr. Farebrother, though, wanted to ask Mary to marry him since he just received a new living at Lowick Parish since Mr. Cassaboun died.
Yay Mr. Cassaboun died! Is that wrong that I'm so relieved that he's finally gone. He and Dorothea's marriage was just awful. And then Ladislaw comes along and falls in love with Dorothea and she with him. BUT Mr. Cassaboun, in his will, writes that Dorothea will lose her inheritance if she ever marries Ladislaw! Which is really spiteful of Mr. Cassaboun since Dorothea didn't even really think of him that way yet and now everyone thinks that Dorothea's led Ladislaw on into thinking she wants to marry him. So much drama!
And then there's the old people. I'm happy Mr. Garth got a new job that will provide for his family. The Garths are the best family in Middlemarch. They have a wonderful give and take where it's described as Mrs. Garth getting her way 95% of the time but knowing when Mr. Garth has his mind set and relents the other 5%. It's much better described in the book than what I have written, but they are delightful and I can only hope to have as happy a marriage as they have one day.
The biggest revelation, though, is Mr. Raffles. Mr. Raffles has come to blackmail Bulstrode (the big honcho in Middlemarch who is uber-religious and uber-critical of everyone). Apparently Bulstrode did some not very nice things back in the day and Mr. Raffles is trying to extort a pretty penny out of Bulstrode for Raffles' silence. Raffles, apparently, is also the stepfather to Mr. Riggins, the bastard son of Fred's uncle, the one who gave all his property to Riggins when everyone expected it to go to Fred. Middlemarch is basically Melrose Place right now except wihtout Ashlee Simpson. (Thank God!)
I'm thinking Dorothea and Ladislaw will meet again in the future, but Dorothea is too principled to marry him. I'm also hoping that Fred doesn't screw up his apprenticeship under Mr. Garth. However, so far it doesn't seem to be going too well for Fred. I still have my fingers crossed though. I want Mary, the sensible quick-witted girl, to get the guy she always wanted. Am I projecting much?
Yay Mr. Cassaboun died! Is that wrong that I'm so relieved that he's finally gone. He and Dorothea's marriage was just awful. And then Ladislaw comes along and falls in love with Dorothea and she with him. BUT Mr. Cassaboun, in his will, writes that Dorothea will lose her inheritance if she ever marries Ladislaw! Which is really spiteful of Mr. Cassaboun since Dorothea didn't even really think of him that way yet and now everyone thinks that Dorothea's led Ladislaw on into thinking she wants to marry him. So much drama!
And then there's the old people. I'm happy Mr. Garth got a new job that will provide for his family. The Garths are the best family in Middlemarch. They have a wonderful give and take where it's described as Mrs. Garth getting her way 95% of the time but knowing when Mr. Garth has his mind set and relents the other 5%. It's much better described in the book than what I have written, but they are delightful and I can only hope to have as happy a marriage as they have one day.
The biggest revelation, though, is Mr. Raffles. Mr. Raffles has come to blackmail Bulstrode (the big honcho in Middlemarch who is uber-religious and uber-critical of everyone). Apparently Bulstrode did some not very nice things back in the day and Mr. Raffles is trying to extort a pretty penny out of Bulstrode for Raffles' silence. Raffles, apparently, is also the stepfather to Mr. Riggins, the bastard son of Fred's uncle, the one who gave all his property to Riggins when everyone expected it to go to Fred. Middlemarch is basically Melrose Place right now except wihtout Ashlee Simpson. (Thank God!)
I'm thinking Dorothea and Ladislaw will meet again in the future, but Dorothea is too principled to marry him. I'm also hoping that Fred doesn't screw up his apprenticeship under Mr. Garth. However, so far it doesn't seem to be going too well for Fred. I still have my fingers crossed though. I want Mary, the sensible quick-witted girl, to get the guy she always wanted. Am I projecting much?
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Middlemarch continued
After spending a day in jury duty, I burned through almost a quarter of the book. Considering it's 838 pages, I'd say that's not too shabby.
I've really gotten into the book. Whereas it used to be the book on my nightstand that put me to sleep at night, it is now the book that keeps me up way past my bedtime. I've avoided reading the introduction because I didn't want to spoil the plot. It's hard when I could so easily wikipedia this sucker and find out what happens, but I think that would hinder the joy in reading it since I would be paying far more attention to finding foreshadowing than to what's actually happening in the novel.
So far, Dorothea's married Cassaboun. I don't know why Eliot opened the book with the relationship between these two. They are the most tiresome. Cassaboun marries Dorothea because he feels he should get married and Dorothea marries Cassaboun because she wants to be the woman behind the great man and his ideas. Then they go on a disastrous honeymoon to Italy where Cassaboun ignores her the whole time and Dorothea realizes that marriage to him isn't what she thinks it's going to be. However, Eliot does introduce Cassaboun's more interesting cousin, Ladislaw, who's taken an interest in Dorothea. We'll see how that pans out since he's come to Lowick to visit with Dorothea's uncle, Mr. Brooke, much to Cassaboun's dismay. But not really dismay since Cassaboun's too boring to be dismayed.
More interesting are the romances between Lydgate and Rosamond and Fred Vincy and Mary Garth. Lydgate and Rosamond are interesting in that he was a reluctant suitor to her, leading her on when he knew he didn't want to get married yet and she thought that they were basically engaged. Lydgate realized, however, that he wanted to marry Rosamond when he came to run some errand at her house and he realized he hurt her feelings by ignoring her. I guess this the 19th century equivalent of putting a ring on it. I'm excited to see how their marriage turns out considering that he's an orphan country doctor and she's the mayor's daughter. Something tells me she won't take too well to having much less to live on.
Fred and Mary, so far, are my favorite couple. I'm right at the part where Fred's uncle Featherstone dies. Featherstone has a large fortune and it seems as if he's going to leave it to Fred, which would allow him the means to marry. But if he doesn't give his fortune to Fred, then he's without a living and will have to find some occupation. Mary is the girl next door who Fred's always known, but now comes to love. These are always my favorite couples. Mary's sensible and she's basically told Fred that she won't marry him unless he becomes a responsible man. I hope these two end up together.
I've really gotten into the book. Whereas it used to be the book on my nightstand that put me to sleep at night, it is now the book that keeps me up way past my bedtime. I've avoided reading the introduction because I didn't want to spoil the plot. It's hard when I could so easily wikipedia this sucker and find out what happens, but I think that would hinder the joy in reading it since I would be paying far more attention to finding foreshadowing than to what's actually happening in the novel.
So far, Dorothea's married Cassaboun. I don't know why Eliot opened the book with the relationship between these two. They are the most tiresome. Cassaboun marries Dorothea because he feels he should get married and Dorothea marries Cassaboun because she wants to be the woman behind the great man and his ideas. Then they go on a disastrous honeymoon to Italy where Cassaboun ignores her the whole time and Dorothea realizes that marriage to him isn't what she thinks it's going to be. However, Eliot does introduce Cassaboun's more interesting cousin, Ladislaw, who's taken an interest in Dorothea. We'll see how that pans out since he's come to Lowick to visit with Dorothea's uncle, Mr. Brooke, much to Cassaboun's dismay. But not really dismay since Cassaboun's too boring to be dismayed.
More interesting are the romances between Lydgate and Rosamond and Fred Vincy and Mary Garth. Lydgate and Rosamond are interesting in that he was a reluctant suitor to her, leading her on when he knew he didn't want to get married yet and she thought that they were basically engaged. Lydgate realized, however, that he wanted to marry Rosamond when he came to run some errand at her house and he realized he hurt her feelings by ignoring her. I guess this the 19th century equivalent of putting a ring on it. I'm excited to see how their marriage turns out considering that he's an orphan country doctor and she's the mayor's daughter. Something tells me she won't take too well to having much less to live on.
Fred and Mary, so far, are my favorite couple. I'm right at the part where Fred's uncle Featherstone dies. Featherstone has a large fortune and it seems as if he's going to leave it to Fred, which would allow him the means to marry. But if he doesn't give his fortune to Fred, then he's without a living and will have to find some occupation. Mary is the girl next door who Fred's always known, but now comes to love. These are always my favorite couples. Mary's sensible and she's basically told Fred that she won't marry him unless he becomes a responsible man. I hope these two end up together.
Monday, October 5, 2009
First book: Middlemarch by George Eliot
I thought I'd ease into my new project by picking a book that fits into a genre I already know and love. Middlemarch is an English novel set in the 1830s about provincial life, marriage, class, etc. Basically it's very suited to me.
I don't really know much about the book. I didn't read the introduction so I don't know any spoilers going into it. I'm about 3 chapters in and so far we've been introduced to the Brooke sisters, Dorothea and Cecilia, young women who've come to live with their bachelor uncle after their parents die. I'll have to get through more before I can really discuss the book, but so far I'm enjoying it.
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