New Century Reading

Great Expectations

Part the Final!

Remember last week, when I said I wasn't at all sure Pip was going to end well, that maybe there was more comeuppance coming his way? Nailed that one, didn't I? And how bittersweet that Biddy married Joe. Joe certainly deserves every happiness in the world, but Biddy would have been the best choice for Pip, and he would have been so happy with her.

Which brings us to the two endings. In the published version, he meets Estella again, and the ending is left ambiguous, yet optimistic. That's the romantic ending. The original ending, not so much. He meets Estella, but she seems pretty much wrecked by her life.

Which do you prefer? I prefer the original. Yes, it's a downer, but to me, it fits the overall tone of the book better. Practically from page 1, Pip makes it clear that he regrets much of what he's done in his life and the way things have gone. If he did meet up with Estella, and she'd changed, and they lived happily ever after, it seems like that would have colored his memories more.

I may be prejudiced by the fact that Dickens was influenced to make the change by none other than Edward Bulwer-Lytton--yes, that Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Oh, Mr. Dickens, your fictional instincts were perfect--why did you let that man whisper in your ear so persistently??

I hope you enjoyed this little read-along. It's been suggested that we do another Dickens book. I'm thinking January would be a good time to start another, and will post some ideas of which books soon.

Famous for the wrong book?

There's a very fun article in the Guardian about books certain authors are famous for writing, and how there are other books by those authors that are more deserving of fame. The article is here. I didn't read through all of the comments, but there are lots of good suggestions there.

Personally, I'd say Charlotte Bronte's Villette is more deserving of attention than Jane Eyre. Not that I don't love the latter--I do. But there's something more haunting and complex about Villete.

What do you think? Which author do you think is famous for the wrong book?

Great Expectations

Well, folks, we're almost done--this is the next-to-last post. And Dickens is wasting no time in trying to wrap things up, and yet he still manages to finish this three-chapter set with a cliffhanger: "Such was my purpose. After three days more of recovery, I went down to the old place, to put it in execution. And how I sped in it, is all I have left to tell."

Imagine how peeved people were back then, to have to wait two more weeks after that!

Also, a note for next week: my copy of the book has the published ending, and then the original ending that Dickens wrote but didn't publish. I'll talk about both.

I still find the general trend to be ominous. This is in spite of the good things that happen: Wemmick's wedding (ah, dear Wemmick and Aged P.), Herbert's rise in fortunes (thanks to Pip), and the return of Joe to care for (in more than one way) Pip in his hour of need. It truly seems like all the minor characters are going to end up well, but for some reason I don't feel the same can be said about Pip. I'm not sure why; it would seem like he's gone through enough bad times to compensate for his immature response to finding out that he would have money. He took care of Herbert; he took care of Magwitch, at least at the end; he was kind to Wemmick and his family. But it just feels like someone has to end badly, and maybe it'll be Pip.

Or maybe I'm nuts. What do you think?

 

The Summer Book

The word that keeps coming to my mind when thinking of Tove Jansson's The Summer Book is "charming." But that's not the right word. Charming implies some level of cute, or coy, or precocious, and this book is none of those things. Which, maybe, is its charm.

It's the deceptively simple tale of six-year-old Sophia and her grandmother, spending a summer together on a Finnish island. Sophia's father is there too, but he's more in the background; her mother is dead. The story centers on Sophia and her grandmother, a female at the beginning of her life and another at the end. Sophia is a smart little girl, but also stubborn and prone to outbursts, the kind that make you cringe when you're on an airplane. Grandmother is stiff, tired, wearing out, and rather cranky at times. Sophia wears on her, and yet it's clear that Grandmother loves her deeply, even when Sophia is driving her crazy. Likewise, Sophia may yell and stomp through the cottage, but she's always got her eye on her grandmother and watching out for her health and wellbeing.

The two of them putter, squabble, walk about the island, write an odd book about worms, don't go to a party, and take in a kitten. Nothing momentous, and yet every chapter moves the characters forward, Sophia to her future, and Grandmother to--well, the end of her life.

"'Oh for heaven's sake,' Grandmother said. 'All I said was that when you're as old as I am, there are a lot of things you can't do any more...'

'That's not true! You do everything. You do the same things I do!'

'Wait a minute!' Grandmother said. She was very upset. 'I'm not through! I know I do everything. I've been doing everything for an awfully long time, and I've seen and lived as hard as I could, and it's been unbelievable, I tell you, unbelievable. But now I have the feeling everything's gliding away from me, and I don't remember, and I don't care, and yet now is right when I need it!'

'What don't you remember?' asked Sophia anxiously.

'What it was like to sleep in a tent!' her grandmother shouted."

For as "quiet" as this book is, it stayed with me for days after I finished it, and I find myself reluctant to return it to the library. This one's a keeper.

Great Expectations

Sorry for the brief absence! A bit of a family emergency called me out of town, but I am back, and this is one of only three more installments in our little read-along.

While earlier in the book I could quote Alice in Wonderland ("curioser and curioser"), now I'm finding myself saying, "grimmer and grimmer." Good heavens. Pip tries to get Magwitch out of the picture only to end up with him recaptured, and Pip--finally--appreciating what Magwitch had tried to do for him, while also realizing that the money is now going to irrevocably go away; he learns that his former hometown gives all the credit of his "expectations" to that twit Pumblechook instead of, rightfully, to Joe; and Orlick tries to do him in. By today's standards, Pip would definitely be in need of some large doses of anti-depressants.

We're now so close to the end of the book that I feel Dickens is signaling that this isn't going to end well. Or maybe for some characters--maybe for Herbert? But it doesn't seem likely that Pip will get his happily ever after. What do you think?

And one little qualm I had about this section is I found myself impatient with the Orlick sidetrack. Dickens clearly wanted to tie up the loose end of who attacked Mrs. Joe, but I felt at that point like it was a needless step away from the main action of getting Magwitch out of the country. Just me?

After this section, though, I found myself reflecting on what Pip's life would have been like if he'd stayed with Joe. What if the expectations never came? Would he have been happy? Maybe married Biddy? It wouldn't have made for much of a book, but it would have been a lot happier for him.

State of Wonder

I expected to love this book. I wanted to love it. I love Bel Canto and consider it one of my all-time favorites. And it seems like the interwebs are having a virtual love fest for this book, so why not join in?

First, a story. Remember the Barbara Kingsolver novel, The Poisonwood Bible? When it came out, it seemed like everyone was raving about it, so I read it and really liked it too. Until my friend Sandra, who had lived in the Belgian Congo during the book's time period, sounded off about how vastly inaccurate it was, and described in detail all the things that Kingsolver got wrong. I thought then about how, when the reader doesn't know a geographical or historical era, it's much easier to suspend disbelief.

Fast forward to the opening chapters of State of Wonder. Imagine my surprise at having some of the pages take place in Eden Prairie, MN, where I live. Then imagine my dismay when the characters start spending time in "dens" (um, no, in Eden Prairie, we spend time in "family rooms"), or looking out the window at "jungle gyms" in the backyard (um, no, in Eden Prairie, we have "Rainbo Play Systems", or at least swingsets--jungle gyms are on school grounds, not in backyards). The crowner was having the main character head to the "St. Paul Minneapolis Airport." Minor point, maybe, but an easily Google-able one: the airport is called Minneapolis St. Paul Airport. The airport code is MSP.

I'm sure some of you think I'm being too hard on Patchett, but it really got me off to a bad start. No longer able to suspend disbelief, I frowned and snarled at various other small points. The main character, Marina, is having a fling with her boss--but she calls him "Mr. Fox". Really? You've been sleeping with him for a long time, and you still call him Mr.?

Then she's off to the deep dark heart of the Brazilian jungle, a very unnerving place, and yet she sleeps well at night in spite of the frightening creepy-crawlies everywhere?

And the ending--well, no spoilers, but I thought it was rushed and melodramatic and completely out of keeping with the character.

In fact, as long as we're talking about the main character, can I say that I found Marina to be a rather dull choice of lead, when there was someone so interesting as Dr. Swenson? I'd've loved to have the book be from her point of view instead.

I guess the question is, would I have liked the book better if Patchett hadn't botched the Minnesota part right up front, maybe set it somewhere like Kansas where I've never been, so I could buy into it more easily? Maybe. Probably.

It just goes to show, research is key.