FLIGHT BEHAVIOR by Barbara Kingsolver, published in 2012 by Harper-Collins Publishers. I had the privilege to be invited by my friend to see Ms. Kingsolver speak at a local university. I have to say that I was enthralled by her writing method. I especially liked how she formed her story boards, using pictures of people that helped her visualize their characteristics. Very interesting talk.
How is the best way to get out of a marriage? Do you- (a) act mature and talk with your spouse, (b) realize that this is a good marriage and stay, or (c) think you are in love with someone and try to run off with him. Dellarobia, named for a wreath, chooses (c) at the beginning of the story and is on her way to a love nest aka a hunting blind, when she sees something spectacular in front of her. She believes that this is a sign to change her life.
That is how the story begins and then we are introduced to the rest of the characters; Cub, her husband's nickname because his father is called Bear. Bear the father-in-law who is strapped for cash and wants things done his way, his wife Hester, who dislikes Dellarobia, the children Preston and Cordie, who are smart and need a better educational system, especially Preston. Then there are friends, a minister and scientist who come to observe and record what Dellarobia has seen in the woods.
I was happy to follow these characters and how they developed through-out the book. There are definitely flight behaviors as the title suggests with humans as well as with the butterfly being observed. I love a book that allows me to learn more about a subject that interests me. Well written, nice story and I was not sure how it was going to end, which is always a plus. Makes you think, how would I handle myself in this situation.
Friday, July 22, 2016
Thursday, July 21, 2016
When will it stop
I am so tired of reading books that jump without a divide. Is that a sign of a weak mind? I am reading along in The Tropic of Cancer, when road block, we are now somewhere else or are we? I have to admit I am not enamored with this book and from the first few chapters can see why this was not a publishers choice in the 1930's. I am not even halfway through the book and once again feel the need to write down the characters that get introduced, dropped and reintroduced. From what I gather so far the story is about a down on his luck writer, who is not happy with writer's who are writing. And also not a fan of the women, by his calling them by a word that I hate. SOOOOOOO, french additions aside, I think I will muddle through and pronounce a verdict when I get to the end. Just a taste of where my mind is currently at with respects to this book.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
What's next for July
The following books are up for July:
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver- Book club to be finished by 15th when I have to return to library.
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller- not published in USA until 27 years after originally published.
August:
Ulysses by James Joyce- A friend and helpmate to Malcolm Lowry
In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust- My Kindle says it is in 7 volumes, hope they are short volumes.
Cinder (1st book in the Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer- This is a book club pick, told it was easy reading.
September:
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes- Not a fast read
Traitor’s Wife by Allison Pataki - Book Club choice
That leaves me : Les Miserables, The Golden Notebook, The Ambassadors, and Slaughter-house Five (though I may have read this in the past.)
Only 8 more books to go.
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver- Book club to be finished by 15th when I have to return to library.
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller- not published in USA until 27 years after originally published.
August:
Ulysses by James Joyce- A friend and helpmate to Malcolm Lowry
In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust- My Kindle says it is in 7 volumes, hope they are short volumes.
Cinder (1st book in the Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer- This is a book club pick, told it was easy reading.
September:
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes- Not a fast read
Traitor’s Wife by Allison Pataki - Book Club choice
That leaves me : Les Miserables, The Golden Notebook, The Ambassadors, and Slaughter-house Five (though I may have read this in the past.)
Only 8 more books to go.
Under the Volcano update
Yesterday I said I would read reviews, introduction and afterword and report back. From what I read Malcolm Lowry wrote about his experiences while he was in Mexico. Also, he used his experience at sea to write about Hugh's experiences. Unfortunately, Malcolm Lowry did imbibe heavily while living in Mexico and his wife at that time did leave him according to the notes in the book. He did remarry, but unfortunately remained connected to the bottle and died. I thought it was interesting that he had such vivid understanding of the conflicts of an alcoholic mind.
This book is also about socio-economics, politics, and a heavy reliance on other books to tell the tale, such as Don Quixote. In fact, Hugh is talking about a friend of his whose riding on a donkey, feet touching the ground, on a mission. There is many things this book offers, in regards to the history in which the story is set. Happy reading.
This book is also about socio-economics, politics, and a heavy reliance on other books to tell the tale, such as Don Quixote. In fact, Hugh is talking about a friend of his whose riding on a donkey, feet touching the ground, on a mission. There is many things this book offers, in regards to the history in which the story is set. Happy reading.
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Review- Under the Volcano
UNDER THE VOLCANO by Malcolm Lowry, published originally in 1947 by J. B. Lippincott. My copy was published in 2007 by Harper Perennial Modern Classics.
There are two things I would like to note in my thoughts on the book, before I really review it. One is that I fell into a sea of words and was furiously dog paddling throughout the book. I am sure there are others but this book gets the prize for most foreign languages in a book. Obviously, we have Spanish as it is set in Mexico, but also included are French, German and I am pretty sure Latin. It is the only book that I have pulled out my phone and put in phrases so that I could understand what was being said in that passage. I had a vague idea as I have the basics of some of the languages, but not enough to apparently read the passages. I also pulled out my phone to look up some of the people mentioned by Hugh in the book, and yes they are real people, so this book was educational.
It said on the cover "Lowry's Masterpiece...has a claim to being regarded as one of the ten most consequential works of fiction produced in [the twentieth] century" Los Angeles Times. At first I doubted this, but as I read along I was pulled into the characters, I also was depressed by the characters and there particular mind sets. This book goes straight into the minds of the characters:
The Consul, sent by England to Mexico, he is a drunkard prone to self-evaluation as well a his familiars evaluations. As I was reading this I had the feeling of him sitting with the angel and the devil on his shoulders having a debate, but there were more than two. This book happens within a day, so in the self-reflection and self-evaluations we get the prior story of the lives in the book. We also see how alcohol especially the Mescal and Tequila messes with his mind.
But we do not only see his reflections and evaluations of self, we also have his brother who either has a thing for the Consuls wife or actually acted on his infatuation with her, this is one of those treading water experiences for me. He is thinking about his music career, his time on a boat and how he became a journalist. He has multiple causes and opinions about what is and isn't right. He would really like to get Yvonne away from the Consul.
Yvonne is the Consul's wife who left him, mainly for his drinking, but also to see the world. We find out all about her in pages of self-evaluation. I think the most interesting part is when they are at a bull-throwing/riding and the bull is lazily walking around the stadium and all the people are trying to get it to do something. This is when she goes into a dream state with only minor interruptions in her thoughts. After several pages, we get back to the bull. This scenario happens quite frequently in the book, several pages of reflection and then we pick up where we left off briefly and then someone else reflects.
But this book is also about history, we are in Mexico around 1938, Hugh is talking about the Jews and how they are being treated. We have war lords and corrupt politicians in Mexico. They are rules in place that are really weird, such as, not being able to touch a hurt or dying person because you will be thrown in prison. So you have to just let them lie there and hope someone comes along to help. Very barbaric. So while I struggled with the book and had my own self evaluations and reflections, I can imagine that maybe for the time period, it was indeed a consequential work. Not many books delve so deeply into the psyche of a person as this book.
If you read this book, have your encyclopedia ready, maybe a dictionary and some foreign language books on hand or pulled up on your phone. I made mention several blogs ago about whether the author had been to Mexico and yes he had been there, as well as several other places. I did not read the introduction, the afterword or the section called about the book. I wanted to read it with an open mind. Now that I have this written I will go back and read those sections. I will let you know how off the mark I am, or if I almost hit the bulls-eye. I am sure I will learn more about the process and what triggered the writing of this book.
Happy reading.
There are two things I would like to note in my thoughts on the book, before I really review it. One is that I fell into a sea of words and was furiously dog paddling throughout the book. I am sure there are others but this book gets the prize for most foreign languages in a book. Obviously, we have Spanish as it is set in Mexico, but also included are French, German and I am pretty sure Latin. It is the only book that I have pulled out my phone and put in phrases so that I could understand what was being said in that passage. I had a vague idea as I have the basics of some of the languages, but not enough to apparently read the passages. I also pulled out my phone to look up some of the people mentioned by Hugh in the book, and yes they are real people, so this book was educational.
It said on the cover "Lowry's Masterpiece...has a claim to being regarded as one of the ten most consequential works of fiction produced in [the twentieth] century" Los Angeles Times. At first I doubted this, but as I read along I was pulled into the characters, I also was depressed by the characters and there particular mind sets. This book goes straight into the minds of the characters:
The Consul, sent by England to Mexico, he is a drunkard prone to self-evaluation as well a his familiars evaluations. As I was reading this I had the feeling of him sitting with the angel and the devil on his shoulders having a debate, but there were more than two. This book happens within a day, so in the self-reflection and self-evaluations we get the prior story of the lives in the book. We also see how alcohol especially the Mescal and Tequila messes with his mind.
But we do not only see his reflections and evaluations of self, we also have his brother who either has a thing for the Consuls wife or actually acted on his infatuation with her, this is one of those treading water experiences for me. He is thinking about his music career, his time on a boat and how he became a journalist. He has multiple causes and opinions about what is and isn't right. He would really like to get Yvonne away from the Consul.
Yvonne is the Consul's wife who left him, mainly for his drinking, but also to see the world. We find out all about her in pages of self-evaluation. I think the most interesting part is when they are at a bull-throwing/riding and the bull is lazily walking around the stadium and all the people are trying to get it to do something. This is when she goes into a dream state with only minor interruptions in her thoughts. After several pages, we get back to the bull. This scenario happens quite frequently in the book, several pages of reflection and then we pick up where we left off briefly and then someone else reflects.
But this book is also about history, we are in Mexico around 1938, Hugh is talking about the Jews and how they are being treated. We have war lords and corrupt politicians in Mexico. They are rules in place that are really weird, such as, not being able to touch a hurt or dying person because you will be thrown in prison. So you have to just let them lie there and hope someone comes along to help. Very barbaric. So while I struggled with the book and had my own self evaluations and reflections, I can imagine that maybe for the time period, it was indeed a consequential work. Not many books delve so deeply into the psyche of a person as this book.
If you read this book, have your encyclopedia ready, maybe a dictionary and some foreign language books on hand or pulled up on your phone. I made mention several blogs ago about whether the author had been to Mexico and yes he had been there, as well as several other places. I did not read the introduction, the afterword or the section called about the book. I wanted to read it with an open mind. Now that I have this written I will go back and read those sections. I will let you know how off the mark I am, or if I almost hit the bulls-eye. I am sure I will learn more about the process and what triggered the writing of this book.
Happy reading.
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