New Century Reading

Kristin Lavransdatter: The Wife

And so we come to part two of the read-along.

Sponsored by Emily, I was very excited to find this group. I read the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy many years ago in college, not for a class, but with another like-minded, literature-loving friend. As Flannery O'Connor once said, "I have been blessed with the gift of non-retention"; I remember reading the books and loving them, finding them romantic and exotic. Beyond that, I remember very little--the only plot points I retained were the tumultuous love affair Kristin has and how it leads to a complicated marriage. Heck, if the book wasn't named after her, I couldn't have told you her name all these years later.

Book 1, The Wreath, read well for me. A bit soap-opera-ish, but with points of beautiful writing, and reading it at a different stage of life, I found the story of Kristin's parents, Ragnfrid and Lavrans, to be compelling and fascinating. So I approached book 2, The Wife, with high hopes.

Well.

I have very mixed feelings about book 2. Again, there are spots of beautiful writing: "All around lay the summer-green land, bearing venerable manors on its hills. In the distance the fjord opened out, shining  and wide, with drifting shadows from the large summer clouds that billowed up over the glittering blue mountains on the other side. The cloister island looked like a green wreath with flowers of stone-white buildings, softly lapped by the sea."

And interesting religious debates, as Kristin struggles with the weight of the sins committed in book 1: "'Kristin,' the priest said sternly. 'Are you so arrogant that you think yourself capable of sinning so badly that God's mercy is not great enough?'"

And political intrigue, and treachery, and superstitions and whispers of magical powers.

But mostly, it seemed, book 2 was about Kristin crying. She cried, and cried, and sobbed, and whimpered. Not just at the logical moments, such as when giving birth (which she does multiple times), but nearly constantly. She cries for her sins. She cries for her love for her husband, or for her anger at him. She cries for her parents. For her children. For her loneliness. For the kindness of a neighbor.

Cry, cry, cry.

This reader's sympathy disappeared early on, and I found myself getting more and more impatient. C'mon, Kristin, get over yourself!

In spite of her endless supply of tears, Kristin does start to grow up a bit in this book, taking over her husband's estate and bringing it back to a reputable state. But she does this while acting as a terrible martyr and nag towards her husband, so that even when his behavior leaves a lot to be desired, I felt sorry for him, burdened with such a shrew. I find it hard to believe that their love is still intact, which appears to be the case at the end of the book (not really a spoiler--I'm leaving out the major plot point that closes the volume).

So, disappointed. And yet, still interested enough to pursue the third and final volume, The Cross, in December. Even if the title makes me apprehensive.

All about the Brontes

Really, now--after I saw this listed on Chris' blog, how could I not sign up to join in all the Bronte-ish fun?

The All About the Brontes Challenge! Geez, it practically has my name written all over it. I love the Brontes, and this past summer I reread Villette for another online read-along, which was a wonderful experience. Villette bored me as a college student, but the second time around I found it gripping, intricate, complex, with an intriguingly unreliable narrator. I followed that up by rereading Agnes Grey, which paled in comparison to Villette, although it was still a good read. Then I found myself thinking, gosh, I should go back and reread those other Bronte books. And maybe some biographies, and maybe the letters...but I never got around to it.

Well, except for reading some fictionalized accounts of the lives of the Bronte sisters. 

The challenge allows to mix and match fiction and nonfiction, and even includes watching movies. After some consideration, here's what I'm going to try and read:

Jane Eyre

Wuthering Heights

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Juliet Barker's (massive) biography

the collected letters

And, maybe, watch one version of the movies of each of the above novels.

This will be so much fun!

Howards End is on the Landing

What a wonderful book.

With a beautiful cover to boot.

Howards End is on the Landing, by Susan Hill, is a love letter to books and the role they play in the lives of dedicated readers everywhere. It starts simply enough; the author is on the hunt for a specific book in her home filled with books. As she searches, she realizes just how many books she either has not yet read, or should reread, and how many have been neglected for so many years. Her decision to spend a year reading from the stacks makes up the basis of this book, which is rather like a collection of essays around various musings inspired by her close re-examination of the books she owns.

Hill is British, and she recently commented on Nonsuch Book's site that her American publisher had rejected the book, on the grounds that they didn't think Americans would "get it."

I'd sure like to know who that daft publisher is. Are there some authors Hill talks about that I've never heard of? Sure. Does it matter? Not in the least. Any reader who is passionate about books and reading--and I count myself in that fine company--would understand and identify with Hill's adventures in her own private library. Just read what she has to say about the role of books in her life, literally and otherwise:

"But if the books I have read have helped to form me, then probably nobody else who ever lived has read exactly the same books, all the same books and only the same books, as me. So just as my genes and the soul within me make me uniquely me, so I am the unique sum of the books I have read. I am my literary DNA. ...

"All through the house, the books are murmuring, turning over in sleep like pebbles on the shoreline as the tide recedes.

"But when I reach the stone-flagged hall and stand for a moment, listening, everything falls silent. I hear the comforting, inhabited, friendly silence of a house full of books."

Anyone who loves books, anywhere in the world, will understand. I understand that there is an American publisher somewhere who has better sense and will be bringing out an American edition. Kudos to them. In the meantime, you can visit Hill's website and purchase the book directly. Then set aside some time to get lost in her literary world, and keep a notepad nearby--you may find yourself jotting down a list of books to check out.

It's Tuesday, where are you?

Joining in with Raidergirl, as I try to do every Tuesday...

I'm in two very different places this week: a post-apocalyptic America, where children are chosen to fight to the death in televised gladiator matches, and 14th-century Norway, where a headstrong young woman is forced to come to terms with the choices she's made--and the husband she fought so hard to win.

The Hunger Games. Yes, I know, I'm just about the last person on the planet to read it. Loving it so far--Collins hits the ground running and so far hasn't lost pace.

Kristin Lavransdatter, Book 2: The Wife. An oddly compelling and troubling tale.

The Lost City of Z

Three-quarters of the way through a book which attempts to solve the mystery of missing Amazonian jungle explorer Percy Harrison Fawcett, the author interviews an elderly Indian woman who was possibly one of the last to ever see him alive. After the interview, this exchange:

"Before we said goodbye, she remembered something else about Fawcett. For years, she said, other people came from far away to ask about the missing explorers. She stared at me, her narrow eyes widening. 'What is it that these white people did?' she asked. 'Why is it so important for their tribe to find them?'"

That's a good question, and David Grann's book The Lost City of Z: a Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon tells the story of Grann's own obsession with finding Fawcett, along with a history of others who tried.

Grann is hardly alone. Since Fawcett, his son, and his son's best friend left for South America in 1925 and vanished, explorers from all over the world have tried to find them, including Germans, Italians, Russians, Argentines, Brazilians, Americans, and even the brother of Ian Fleming (creator of James Bond). The obsession is easy to understand; Fawcett himself was a highly experience, extremely rugged and devoted explorer. How did he go astray?

There's also the heartbreaking angle of Fawcett's son and friend, both eager to explore--but neither of whom had ever explored before.

Finally, there's the point of the quest itself: the lost city of El Dorado (or, as Fawcett cryptically referred to it, the city of Z). He believed it to be a city not only of gold and treasures, but one that would disprove scientific beliefs of the time that held that the massive jungles could not provide a living space for Indian tribes, nor could it allow them to develop into advanced societies.

Fawcett made numerous attempts to find the city of Z, and all of them involved months of peril and hardship (not to mention many distressing encounters with all manner of dangerous creatures). He nearly bankrupted his family, focused on the goal of proving his hypothesis. Those who eventually searched for him were equally obsessed, both with finding him and finding the city of Z, yet time and time again, they failed.

Does Grann succeed? I'm not going to tell you--I don't like to give spoilers. He's written a book that's an engaging read, although veering back and forth from past to present at times is confusing, and it would have been interesting to hear more about what Grann's wife had to say of his travels, since she was essentially a modern counterpart to Nina Fawcett. Great literature? No. Fun, entertaining, informative read? Yes.

It's Tuesday, where are you?

I'm deep in the Amazonian jungles, following both the early 20th-century explorations of the obsessed Percy Harrison Fawcett, who along with his son disappeared searching out the magical and elusive city of Z, and the later 20th-century explorers who tried to find both Fawcett and Z.

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann.