the brothers karamazov

here it is. the end of june. have you finished the brothers karamazov? neither have i. but i’m still there. i’m still reading. and gosh darn it, i’m going to finish if it kills me. (which it just might.) here’s our guest host’s review: don’t worry, no spoilers or loosening of important plot points follows. feel free to read and comment no matter how far you got into the heavy thing.

 

I figured we should start our discussion with the introduction because many people may have read this far before the enormity of the task overcame their best intentions to read the entire book. If that is not the case, at least you know where to look for the introduction in the book.

 

I love the introduction to this book because of the many different roles it plays in the story. On the one hand, it gives us a taste of the voice of the narrator unencumbered by the plot and characters. This is particularly valuable in this novel because Dostoevsky often highlights the narrator’s voice in the foreground of his novel. Is the narrator a participant in the story? How does the narrator’s extreme proximity to the events of the story shape the narrative that s/he relates? Is s/he trustworthy? Is s/he one of the named characters in the story? I don’t have good answers to any of these questions, but they make the novel fun to read and reread.

 

On the other hand, the introduction draws particular attention to Alexey Fyodorovich Karamazov (Alyosha) as the ‘hero’ of the novel. If we take this comment at face value, the novel becomes a standard bildungsroman with Alyosha as the central character who passes through moments of spiritual crisis on his way to greater understanding.

 

What sets Brothers apart in my mind is the masterful way in which Dostoevsky engages the big questions from a variety of viewpoints. Dostoevsky’s writing is often noted for its polyphonic nature (a multiplicity of independent voices within a single work), but many times when you pin somebody down and try to get them to tell you exactly what that means, the waffling begins. As I read Brothers this time, I was struck by the variety of themes and voices in the novel. I really felt the richness of his characters as they struggled with the fundamental issues treated in the book (guilt, responsibility, suffering of innocents, family, loyalty, greed, buffoonery, faith). Dostoevsky allows each of his characters to experience and express these themes and allows each to move from the background to the foreground in the words and actions of each of his characters. The best comparison I hav eheard likens Dostoevsky’s style to a symphony―themes emerge in one voice, and are later picked up and developed by another voice in the orchestra. When we encounter the same theme in a different voices, we take something new away from the experience. So it is with reading Dostoevsky.

 

The themes of suffering and responsibility/guilt stood out to me in my reading this time. (Perhaps this is because of the circumstances in which I read the book.) These themes are inextricably linked by the the contradictory phrases that Dostoevsky associates with them in the book . . . On the one hand, “All are guilty (often translated as responsible) for all and for everything.” (все виновны перед всеми и за все) but at the same time, “All is permissible.” These statements seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum in the first sections of the book, representing the wide range of philosophies embraced by the members of the Karamazov family. Throughout the course of the novel, these ideologies charge towards each other, finally colliding in the climactic episode of the story (though we do not see them collide until long after the ‘climactic’ event has taken place). Again, Dostoevsky’s narrator leaves it to his ‘hero’ Alyosha to sort things out after the conflict passes.

 

There is so much more to write about this book, but I have a widget installed that uses an algorithm built on the length of a post, the number of multi-syllabic words and the frequency of semi-obscure literary references to warn the would be blogger if readers will make it through a given post. Said widget informs me that my time is up

 

I am curious to hear your responses. I would love to discuss the points that you find interesting. I would love to hear that anybody else read this book.

our guest host, spencer is (almost) ABD for his PhD in arabic language and literature and lives in jordan (the country) where he enjoys the best chocolate milk in the universe.

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the enchanted april

i hope the enchanted april enchanted your own april. here’s our guest host sarajane’s take on the book.

I was totally enchanted by Enchanted April. I found myself completely taken in by the delicious descriptions on every page of this delightful novel. It was almost magic how quickly I felt totally transplanted into this warm, fragrant world of San Salvatore. It was not hard to picture myself among the ladies as they discovered the beauty of the Castle and themselves. Von Arnim’s writing is witty and charming both in her characters and descriptions. I am amazed that she wrote the book in a little over five months. I feel like each of the four main characters where given adequate attention and development as they bloom into lovely women.

The wall flower Mrs. Wilkins blossoms into Lotty who is full of life, love and friendship. Mrs. Arbuthnot the reserved, ashamed, and repressed charity worker blooms into Rose the passionate bosom filled lover. Then there is Lady Caroline the pent up girl who can’t catch her breath discovers that she has all along been Srcap “a spoilt, a sour, a suspicious and selfish spinster.” Hiding underneath the name of Droitwiche and underneath the beautiful skin and voice she is after all just a lonely girl who is afraid that someone will discover that she too is vulnerable. We can’t forget Mrs. Fisher who begins to burgeon and feels that at any moment she “might crop out all green,” and actually make new friends. Each one of these charters speaks to me in their old and new states.

Lotty, after living with Mr. Wilkins for so many years actually began to feel that she was of no value. After realizing that other people placed value in his wife Mr. Wilkins began also to treat her with affection. “The more he treated her as though she were really very nice, the more Lotty expanded and became really very nice, and the more he affected in his turn, became really very nice himself.” This principle seems to really exist in relationships. People act the way they are treated. Do we not become the kind of people that others think us to be? It is a circle that continues for good or bad. As we see with Rose, the more Mr. Briggs thought Rose charming the more charming she became.

The book illustrates that the true test in a relationship is to be able to throw justice out the window as Lotty realizes when she says,“At home I wouldn’t love Mellersh unless he loved me back, exactly as much, absolute fairness. And as he didn’t, neither did I…” This book speaks out about relationships and having trust in others. Can there be love without trust? How did these women bloom into such loving people? Was it the influence of the atmosphere at the castle or was it the influence they had on one another? What are your thoughts? Feelings? Insights? Likes and dislikes about the novel?

This novel is rich with beautiful setting and blooming characters. I enjoyed being transported, after all “everybody needs a holiday.”

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books, books

i know you’ve been on the edge of your seat. “what is she reading?” you’re wondering. it’s been months, hasn’t it?, since i gave you the big book update. well, take a breath, here we go.

i finished sarah willis’s newest novel, the sound of us. verdict: utterly disappointing. everything charming and delightful about her first novel was missing. and, to top it off, it had one of those here’s-what-happens-in-five-years and everyone is unbelievably happy and doing really well endings. too easy. i hate it when it’s too easy.

next, i tried to read some karen joy fowler. i met her at the imagination conference last summer and found her writing tips profound and her sense of humor keen. i picked up a few of her books. couldn’t get more than fifty or so pages into  sweetheart season. the second book must have been equally forgettable. i find this frustrating because i really really wanted to like her books. but i haven’t given up. i’m going to try something else, like the jane austen book club or sarah canary.

i finished listening to the prydain chronicles read by james langton. brilliant brilliant brilliant! it’s a wonderful audio production. these are perfect YA fantasy thriller adventure novels and james langton does all the voices with wonderful flair.

wallowing in booklessness, i did something i never thought i would do. i picked up the massive lord of the rings trilogy.  i tried reading it in high school, but plodded my through part of the two towers and gave up. i found it utterly ponderous. but some family prodding gave me renewed vigor. i attacked these books, starting with the introduction. and now i can’t believe that i ever found them boring and difficult to read. i have to admit that the movies gave me that little imagining boost–i finally had enough setting that i could actually picture what tolkein was describing. and i’ve been flying through! i’m nearly finished with return of the king and i am stunned. the characters have so much depth and each scene is so beautifully rendered. (i’m so in love with these books that i’ve even read the songs!)

if you haven’t ever tried to tackle this 1000+ page masterpiece, hesitate no longer. it’s worth it.

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the book trail: housekeeping

i feel ill equipped to review “housekeeping.” honestly, i wasn’t sure i would enjoy it, especially after trying robinson’s pulitzer prize winning “gilead” and only managing to stomach a few pages. and even more so after attending a reading of robinson’s a few years ago: i found her arrogant and self-satisfied. i could hardly stand to hear her talk about herself and how utterly amazing she is.

well, ms. robinson, i have to say that after reading “housekeeping,” i’m inclined to agree with your generous summation of yourself. “housekeeping” is perfectly rendered. at the same time that i wanted to fly through the novel to see how everything would ravel together, i wanted to read each sentence again and again and again.

i have certain images inside me still. that bridge. the sound of the water and the train. the stacks of newspapers and tin cans. the coat. the twenty dollar bill pinned to sylvie’s lapel. the man waving and yelling after his rowboat. the children and the marshmallows stuck on the end of bare tree limbs.

i don’t even know how to categorize the narrator, ruthie. i love her. i am repulsed by her. i find her completely other. i find pieces of myself in her.

it seemed to me then that lucille would busy herself forever, nudging, pushing, coaxing, as if she could supply the will i lacked, to pull myself into some seemly shape and slip across the wide frontiers into that other world, where it seemed to me then i could never wish to go. for it seemed to me that nothing i had lost, or might lose, could be found there.

i am fascinated by ruthie slipping away. by her and sylvie trying to set fire to their house, and failing.

so, what did you think? what stuck in your mind?

and, as an addendum, “housekeeping” is on the list of 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to present. do you think it deserves its place on the list? should it share space with hemingway and fitzgerald, tolkein and orwell? will it be added to the canon of 20th century american texts?

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a girl of the limberlost

this is one of those “coming of age” novels that i clung to as i fumbled and stumbled my way through junior high and high school. elnora comstock is sassy and bright, empathetic and curious. and those lunches! my tummy dreams of the packed lunches of elnora comstock.

and occasionally, when no one is looking, i still fancy myself with very long hair and a penchant for gathering moths.

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