tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21076952195967959912024-03-13T05:43:13.061-05:00The Pulitzer ProjectReading the winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.1morechapterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919728304715220778noreply@blogger.comBlogger231125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-37650162448065192362014-05-31T19:29:00.001-05:002014-05-31T19:42:28.056-05:00Tinkers by Paul Harding (Winner, 2010)<h2><br></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-AhF05ff6tCE/U4N0X79yhbI/AAAAAAAAAGU/r3gEdNhTezA/s640/blogger-image-103301395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-AhF05ff6tCE/U4N0X79yhbI/AAAAAAAAAGU/r3gEdNhTezA/s640/blogger-image-103301395.jpg"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tinkers is a quiet book concerning human connection, death, and simplicity of action. The main character, George, is on his death bed, surrounded by his life, his family, and most importantly his thoughts. George remembers his father, long dead, who worked as a peddler of pots, thread, soap and the like. He remembers his father's work as a presence in his customer's lives, frequently performing acts of service outside his sales. One particular moving story is about his father's sales to a hermit named Gilbert – or Gilbert the Hermit as some people referred to him. Gilbert bought twine and tobacco from George's father, who walked into the woods to sell it to him every year. One year, George's father meets Gilbert with twine and tobacco but Gilbert begs, with grunts and hand motions, for help removing a tooth. George's father at first refuses, then peforms the bloody, rudimentary surgery with a pair of pliers and some corn whiskey. Afterwards Gilbert the Hermit is so grateful he leaves a generous gift, late at night, at George's father's door– an early inscribed copy of the Scarlet Letter that the hermit had from his previous life, which were rumored to include years of friendship with Nathaniel Hawrhorne at Bowdoim college. George's father is touched. When he goes at to meet Gilbert the next year, with twine and tobacco, the hermit does not appear. Eventually the woods tell George's father that Gilbert died in the winter, and his body is back in the earth. And on his deathbed, George continues to think, to remember, and to wait for his turn.</span></div><div><br></div><div><u>http://putzingthroughpulitzers.blogspot.com</u></div><div><br></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-68655092117720569602014-05-26T11:29:00.002-05:002014-05-26T11:30:04.179-05:00The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder (Winner, 1934)<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YIB9wbK0_Pk/UxuxMmfJVDI/AAAAAAAAAFg/mw-x3S0YYNQ/s640/blogger-image--89325851.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YIB9wbK0_Pk/UxuxMmfJVDI/AAAAAAAAAFg/mw-x3S0YYNQ/s640/blogger-image--89325851.jpg" /></a></div>
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I just started this book but I love the premise, which considers whether accidents occur by divine plan. Five people die when a bridge collapses after countless have walked over that bridge. </div>
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"Either we live by accident and die by accident, or we live by plan and die by plan." – Thornton Wilder</div>
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A monk who lives near the bridge aims to explore the lives of those who died to see if he can understand why the bridge buckled while they stood on it. Why did those five die? Can research bring us to understand tragedy?</div>
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<a href="http://putzingthroughpulitzers.blogspot.com/">http://putzingthroughpulitzers.blogspot.com/</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-67987679381773004522013-09-25T11:33:00.000-05:002013-09-25T11:33:41.871-05:00Kata’s Progress – The 1940’s<span style="color: #cc0000;">Haunting, Beautiful. Still Relevant. Slow Moving. Hard to Get Into. Timeless. Ponderable. Boring. </span><br />
<br />
Above are some of the words that I repeatedly used in my blog to describe the Pulitzer winning books. With perhaps the exception of <b>A Bell for Adano</b>, the books require a fair amount of discipline and patience to read. To get a true sense of these books, most need to be read slowly.<br />
<br />
<b>Tales of the South Pacific</b> marks a change in the Pulitzer winners. The award goes from being called the <i>Pulitzer Prize for the Novel</i> to being called the <i>Pulitzer Prize for Fiction</i>. <b>Tales of the South Pacific</b> is not so much a novel as a series of short stories.
Needless to say, many of the books during the 1940’s were about World War II. As with many of the earlier Pulitzer winners, racism is often discussed in these stories. <br />
<ul>
<li>1940 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-grapes-of-wrath-pulitzer-winning.html" target="_blank">The Grapes of Wrath </a></li>
<li>1942 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2012/08/in-this-our-life-pulitzer-winning-novel.html" target="_blank"> In This Our Life </a></li>
<li>1943 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2013/02/dragons-teeth-pulitzer-winning-novel.html" target="_blank">Dragon’s Teeth</a> </li>
<li>1944 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2012/09/journey-in-dark-pulitzer-winning-novel.html" target="_blank">Journey in the Dark </a></li>
<li>1945 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-bell-for-adano-pulitzer-winning-novel.html" target="_blank">A Bell for Adano </a></li>
<li>1947 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2013/05/all-kings-men-pulitzer-prize-winning.html" target="_blank">All the King’s Men </a></li>
<li>1948 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2013/07/tales-of-south-pacific-pulitzer-winning.html" target="_blank">Tales of the South Pacific </a></li>
<li>1949 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2013/04/guard-of-honor-pulitzer-winning-novel.html" target="_blank">Guard of Honor </a></li>
</ul>
Kata Kollathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236673611152467330noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-3183745186078480182013-09-25T10:14:00.001-05:002013-09-25T10:14:42.823-05:00Kata’s Progress – Finishing Up the 1930’sAs I catch up with posting my reading progress, I find it interesting rereading my blog entries. They tell almost as much about my life as about the books. Below is what I have read from the 1930's since I posted here last year. My reactions to the books are on my blog.<br />
<ul>
<li>1935<a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2012/08/now-in-november-pulitzer-winning-novel.html" target="_blank"> Now in November</a> </li>
<li>1937 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2012/11/gone-with-wind-pulitzer-winning-novel.html" target="_blank">Gone With the Wind</a> </li>
<li>1939 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-yearling-pulitzer-winning-novel.html" target="_blank">The Yearling</a></li>
</ul>
Kata Kollathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236673611152467330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-50305591204698455782013-08-01T06:59:00.001-05:002013-08-01T06:59:51.548-05:00Catch UpI've been meaning to post my previously reviewed Pulitzer books for quite some time. <br />
<br />
It took me so long to pull together the few posts that made up The Magnificent Ambersons below, that I've decided to just put up the links for my other two books so I can get on with reading more!<br />
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<a href="http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/to-kill-mockingbird-by-harper-lee.html?showComment=1375356895283#c8788285723647697108" target="_blank">To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee</a><br />
<a href="http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/the-bridge-of-san-luis-rey-by-thornton.html" target="_blank">The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder</a><br />
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Happy ReadingBronahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11110584237325026052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-39834153895183511662013-07-23T06:32:00.001-05:002013-07-23T06:36:12.783-05:00The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D_CChDzSiBk/UTXL1cKyfiI/AAAAAAAAPrs/MbdmBdVbRGU/s1600/IMG_0653.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D_CChDzSiBk/UTXL1cKyfiI/AAAAAAAAPrs/MbdmBdVbRGU/s320/IMG_0653.JPG" width="241" /></a>This is my first post on The Pulitzer Project.<br />
<br />
I recently read <i>The Magnificent Ambersons</i> as part of my <a href="http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com.au/p/classics-club.html" target="_blank">Classics Club</a> challenge.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><i>The Magnificent Ambersons</i>
is a delightful old-fashioned read; a family saga that highlights the
declining fortunes of one family during the industrialisation of
turn-of-the-century small town America.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">George Amberson Minafer is one
of the most unlikable characters in literature. He is arrogant, selfish,
spoilt and careless. Like the local townsfolk, you keep hoping he will
get his comeuppance.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The skill of Tarkington is such, that when it finally does happens, you actually feel a little sorry for George. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">But only a little. George's remorse, when it comes, is too little, too late.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The true generosity of spirit shown by Lucy and Eugene right up to the end only highlights further what was lacking in George.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The tension in the middle of
the novel as you realise what a dastardly deed George is about to do
against his own adoring mother is heartbreaking. With each step you want
to reach into the book and grab George by the scruff of the neck and
shake him into commonsense and human decency.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">As for Aunt Fanny - the
conniving, manipulative bitch wrapped up in victimhood and helpless
ignorance! It seemed fitting somehow that Fanny and George only had each
other for company at the end.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Booth won the Pulitzer Prize in 1919 for <i>The Magnificent Ambersons</i> (and again in 1922 for <i>Alice Adams</i>).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><i>The Magnificent Ambersons</i> is the second book in Booth's <i>Growth</i>
trilogy. The books are only related by theme, not characters. (The
other two books, if you're interested are The Turmoil and National
Avenue).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">My edition of <i>The Magnificent
Ambersons</i> is a Modern Library one. The inside front cover has a list of
the Modern Library's 100 Best Novels of the Twentieth Century. <i>The
Magnificent Ambersons</i> snuck in at number 100!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="click">This is
the house that Tarkington based the Amberson mansion on - Woodruff Place,
Indianapolis.</span></span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W94X7tTIXL8/UUY9wJhmPII/AAAAAAAAPxU/jK4uypiVdJA/s1600/Magnificent+ambersons+house.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W94X7tTIXL8/UUY9wJhmPII/AAAAAAAAPxU/jK4uypiVdJA/s320/Magnificent+ambersons+house.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="click"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Pg 9: "<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The
house was the pride of the town. Faced with stone as far back as the
dining-room windows, it was a house of arches and turrets and <b><i>girdling</i></b> stone porches: it had the first <b><i>porte-cochere</i></b> seen in the town."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><u>Girdling</u>: <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">n. (<span class="labset"><span class="ital-inline"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">Arch) </span></span></span></span><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">an</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">ornamental</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">band,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">especially</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">one</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">surrounding the </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">shaft</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">column.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><u>Porte-cochere:</u> <span class="click"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">n.
(Arch.) A large doorway allowing vehicles to drive into or through a
building. It is common to have the entrance door open upon the passage
of the porte-cochère. Also, a porch over a driveway before an entrance
door.</span></span></span><br />
<br />Bronahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11110584237325026052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-7140739508577367132013-06-12T08:25:00.001-05:002013-06-12T08:25:45.048-05:00The Pulitzer ProjectWelcome to the Pulitzer Project. The goal of the participants of this site is to read all 84 books that have won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. There is no time limit.<br />
<br />
You may participate solely on your own blog (and I will link to it at right) or post to this one. Anyone interested in participating on this blog should submit an email address in a comment to this post. To prevent spamming of the email, please submit it in a format similar to the following: janedoe--gmail or janedoe atttt gmail dotttt commm.<br />
<br />
You may post a review of each book you've read, even if it was several years ago. Or, you could also put the year read beside the title and not do a full review. It's up to you.<br />
<br />
If you are a participant on this particular blog, please follow these guidelines for labeling:<br />
1) Always use your name as a label.<br />
2) "Progress" should be used for list updates.<br />
3) For each book read, use the year won and the title of the book. See the August 2007 entries for an example.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_RJoGSOYMzlA/RsB_pRO5WoI/AAAAAAAAAV4/_RoCyXXXHEo/s1600-h/pulitzer.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098215125160647298" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_RJoGSOYMzlA/RsB_pRO5WoI/AAAAAAAAAV4/_RoCyXXXHEo/s320/pulitzer.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a>1morechapterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919728304715220778noreply@blogger.com134tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-57793238366338960552013-02-25T22:38:00.003-06:002013-02-25T22:38:34.887-06:00Hobby Buku's Progress [ Just In a Year Reading ]<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Hi everyone, thanks for invite me in this Reading Challenge. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My name Maria from Indonesia, and last year I just start on this project : Reading on Award Winner Books and continuing in this year, hopefully will added several progress on my reading list (^_^)</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I love <span style="font-size: small;">books on many genre, but mostly I'm enjoying classics, historical fi<span style="font-size: small;">ction, mystery, thriller, children<span style="font-size: small;">'s literature </span>and fantasy too<span style="font-size: small;"> (as long it's not paranormal romance<span style="font-size: small;">)</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Meanwhile, here is some of books I'm finished reading and reviewing <i>[ my opinion goes to the link on my blog post ]</i></span></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1932 <a href="http://my-classic-books.blogspot.com/2012/03/resensi-buku-good-earth.html">The Good Earth</a> - Pearl S. Buck </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1937 <a href="http://my-classic-books.blogspot.com/2012/11/final-chapter-gone-with-wind.html">Gone With The Wind</a> - Margaret Mitchell </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1961 <a href="http://my-classic-books.blogspot.com/2013/01/books-to-kill-mockigbird.html">To Kill A Mockingbird</a> - Harper Lee</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2006 <a href="http://my-classic-books.blogspot.com/2012/10/books-march.html">March</a> - Geraldine Brooks</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Well, not much but not so bad either for a year reading <span style="font-size: small;">too ... let's see how far my a<span style="font-size: small;">chievement this year.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Best Regards,</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Maria</span></span></div>
HobbyBukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865931811980094607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-11799240063645346462012-11-08T11:56:00.001-06:002012-11-08T11:56:09.413-06:00Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - Athena<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1451635621/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=1451635621&link_code=as3&tag=animeshouho"><img alt="Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51OzjjUS28L._SL160_.jpg" title="Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell" class="aligncenter" width="104" height="160" /></a>
This book was epic. Once again, I was conflicted about giving it a 4 or a 5 on Good Reads. As with before, the deciding factor was if I would reread it again. I wouldn't be against reading it, but then again, I'm not planning on it. It was frustrating and very long at times, but there is no doubt that this is a well written book in many ways and a classic.
I started reading this book September 20th, but I really didn't read much of it until the last weekend of September wherein I read 70% of the book from Saturday to Tuesday October 2nd.
The Beginning: Not that bad, easy going, lots of exposition, lots of idyllic life of the antebellum South.
The Middle: Gripping, dark, and compelling. This was when I started to really hit my next page button.
The End: Scarlett gets more and more cruel, ridiculous and unbearable. Book just ends a bit abruptly.
Click for my <a href="http://www.aquatique.net/2012/11/gone-with-the-wind-by-margaret-mitchell/">full review</a>.Athenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964289676270106473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-49220567330756434542012-07-11T10:46:00.001-05:002012-07-11T10:47:22.628-05:00Kata's Progress -- Newly Read 1930's<i>(Alas, I had to break my post into two posts because my tags were too long.) </i>Slowly I am making my way through the Pulitzer Prize winners. Two themes keep popping up. The first is that the characters are living in a time of change. The second is that what is near and dear to one generation is often less important or even rejected by the next generation. Below is what I have read from the 1930'a since I posted here in November. My reactions to the books are on my blog.<br />
<ul>
<li>1930<a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2012/03/laughing-boy-pulitzer-winning-novel.html"> Laughing Boy </a></li>
<li>1931 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2012/03/years-of-grace-pulitzer-winning-novel.html">Years of Grace </a></li>
<li>1932 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2012/03/good-earth-pulitzer-winning-novel.html">The Good Earth </a></li>
<li>1933 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2012/04/store-pulitzer-winning-novel.html">The Store </a></li>
<li>1934 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2012/05/lamb-in-his-bosom-pulitzer-winning.html">Lamb in His Bosom </a></li>
<li>1938 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-late-george-apley-pulitzer-winning.html">The Late George Apley</a></li>
</ul>
Kata Kollathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236673611152467330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-76872590648762681912012-07-11T10:29:00.000-05:002012-07-11T10:29:01.653-05:00Kata's Progress -- Newly Read 1920'sSlowly I am making my way through the Pulitzer Prize winners. Two themes keep on popping up. The first is that the characters are living in a time of change. The second is that what is near and dear to one generation is often less important or even rejected by the next generation. Below is what I have read from the 1920'a since I posted here in November. My reactions to the books are on my blog.<br />
<ul>
<li>1921 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2011/11/age-of-innocence-pulitzer-winning-novel.html">The Age of Innocence </a></li>
<li>1922 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2011/12/alice-adams-pulitzer-winning-novel.html">Alice Adams</a></li>
<li>1923 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2012/01/one-of-ours-pulitzer-winning-novel.html">One of Ours </a></li>
<li>1925 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2012/01/so-big-pulitzer-winning-novel.html">So Big</a></li>
<li>1926 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2012/02/arrowsmith-pulitzer-winning-novel.html">Arrowsmith</a></li>
<li>1928 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2012/02/bridge-of-san-luis-rey-pulitzer-winning.html">The Bridge of San Luis Rey </a></li>
<li>1929 <a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2012/02/scarlet-sister-mary-pulitzer-winning.html">Scarlet Sister Mary</a></li>
</ul>
Kata Kollathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236673611152467330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-64997465486820272102012-03-18T09:29:00.000-05:002012-03-18T09:29:08.855-05:00A visit from the goon squad by Jennifer Egan<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307477479/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=animeshouho&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0307477479"><img class="aligncenter" title="A visit from the goon squad" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51MbbNxbqBL._SL160_.jpg" alt="A visit from the goon squad" width="102" height="160" /></a>
<br><br>
It's been awhile since I've posted on this blog, but I am back to book blogging and this entry was originally written on my blog <a href="http://www.aquatique.net/">Aquatique</a>.<br />
<br />
I learned about <i>A visit from the goon squad</i> from the UK book show "<a href="http://www.tvbookclub.co.uk/">The TV Book Club</a>". I have generally mixed feelings about this book. I completely forgot
the premise and the structure from the segment on the show I watched
back in July. In short, the book is written like a series of short stories and while
the characters are all connected in some way to two of the “main”
characters, you don’t really see it until the latter half of the book.
Also, the narrative structure differs from chapter to chapter: first
person, second, third, editorial style, etc. There is one wonderful
chapter done in a graphical slide show format which was the highlight of
the book.<br />
<br />
The characters are hard to grasp since some of them only show up for
one chapter. It also felt experimental at times which can be good
actually. I think it worked out for the most part. I don’t know if I
would recommend this book to everyone because the uneven structure can
be confusing at times especially if you read books in small sittings
(which I didn’t so it was ok for me to keep track of mostly).<br />
<br />
I was a bit surprised to hear that this book won the Pulitzer Prize. I
have read a lot of Pulitzer prize winners over the years, but this may
not be the most memorable. To the book’s merit, I think Egan does
showcase the theme of how transient life is in these stories. By jumping around time,
the reader sees how people change, but you won’t necessarily see how
those changes happen. I guess this makes the book more realistic, but I
can see how some people who like more linear and regular narration
wouldn’t enjoy that. I will say, I liked a couple chapters more than
others.<br />Athenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964289676270106473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-39257287230194252452011-12-22T19:22:00.000-06:002011-12-22T19:22:10.821-06:00Intrepreter of Maladies - 2000<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I9FMhYp32uw/Tu_F7i-ZDEI/AAAAAAAABSs/p4b-UZG0fBk/s1600/Interpreter+of+maladies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I9FMhYp32uw/Tu_F7i-ZDEI/AAAAAAAABSs/p4b-UZG0fBk/s1600/Interpreter+of+maladies.jpg" /></a></div>
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Title: Interpreter of Maladies</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Author: Jhumpa Lahiri</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Published: 1999, Mariner Books</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Genre: Literary Fiction</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Accolades: 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, </span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2000 Hemingway Foundation /PEN Award</span></strong><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I know, I know I have absolutely no excuse on why I haven't read this amazing book before - especially since it's been sitting on my shelf for at least two years. I am so happy that I finally did decide to read it and now I have a girl crush on a new to me author.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>Interpreter of Maladies</em> is a collection of nine short stories that focus on Indians and first generation Indian Americans as they face subtle and not so subtle cultural differences that leaves each character feeling isolated and wanting in a new country. Many of the stories also center on arranged marriages and have a lingering sadness as the characters try to maneuver and assimilate to life in their new worlds with people that they barely know. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Lahiri writes each story with a refined elegance that literally took my breath away. Her writing is reflective and touching as she helps the reader find the soul in each flawed character. My favorite story was <em>The Third and Final Continent</em> (it's also the only story with a positive ending). All the characters in <em>The Third and Final Continent</em>, whether it's the newly arrived Indian immigrant or the ninety-nine-year-old American woman, feel alienated. Lahiri gently shows the reader that we all suffer from the human condition and need to hold on to each other to navigate in our worlds.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">If you haven't read this book - you should. Lahiri is a master of the short story. After reading <em>Interpreter of Maladies </em>I wanted to read more books by Lahiri - always a good sign.</span></span></span></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-63555624516637469742011-12-04T21:52:00.000-06:002014-05-31T19:41:35.608-05:00Richard Russo Empire Falls<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); line-height: 18px; "><h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; position: relative; font: normal normal bold 22px/normal Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); "><a href="http://putzingthroughpulitzers.blogspot.com/2011/12/marrying-into-1.html" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(55, 120, 205); font: normal normal bold 22px/normal Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; ">Marrying into the 1%</a></h3><div class="post-header" style="line-height: 1.6; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; "><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-7412411510478464536" style="width: 536px; position: relative; line-height: 1.4; "><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: Georgia; ">In our land of American opportunity, Empire Falls by Richard Russo reminded me that the fastest- and in some cases only- way into the top 1 percent is to marry in. The book’s looming character is the wealthiest woman in this small town, Francine Whiting. She married in. The town’s previous money stream was work at the Whiting shirt factory. Since it closed, the citizens wait for a limo with Massachusetts plates to buy and re-open the factory. And they depend on the generosity of Mrs. Whiting. Or, they consider marrying in. It won in 2002, it sounds like 2011.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: Georgia; ">Empire Falls by Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize 2002</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;font-size:6;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 21px; line-height: 29px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(14, 119, 74); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><b>putzingthroughpulitzers</b>.blogspot.com/</span></span></span></p></div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-61433245959189408332011-11-27T21:53:00.000-06:002011-11-27T21:53:41.018-06:00Arrowsmith (1926)<div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-etZl5mN1TFs/TtMFnJZHlZI/AAAAAAAAAG4/yOCQrA9VlpM/s1600/arrowsmith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-etZl5mN1TFs/TtMFnJZHlZI/AAAAAAAAAG4/yOCQrA9VlpM/s200/arrowsmith.jpg" width="120" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">This is the story of Martin Arrowsmith, who seems ordinary enough but is, in fact, that rare breed of man who thinks for himself and pursues his goals without regard for the people who want him to give up.<o:p></o:p></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">You could say the same about Sinclair Lewis, the author of <i>Arrowsmith</i>. Nothing is holy: he tears apart countless traditions and habits that we take for granted. With just a sentence or two he shows us the hypocrisy, inanity or even the evil in our many institutions and ways of life.<o:p></o:p></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">In <i>Arrowsmith</i>, Lewis is focused on the medical profession and science as a profession during the early 1900’s. But much of the book feels applicable even now. We see the flaws in a medical school that churns out doctors trained to treat illnesses without thinking about underlying causes and keyed to avoid prevention because it will take away business. We see, as in his other books, the backwardness and suffocation of a small town for a free thinker. We see how a scientist is compromised by working for a company that's only out to make money. And we see that science can’t be run by committee and isn’t at the whim of “the good of society.” Lewis shows us that science may be the most individualistic pursuit there is, and men who are willing to give it everything they have are the true heroes.</div></div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16198962345723119647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-34154809087409385592011-11-15T13:03:00.001-06:002011-11-15T13:13:05.893-06:00Kata’s ProgressDespite having a BA in English, I am more of a Science Fiction and Mystery reader. The Pulitzer Prize winners are a nice counterpoint to my usual reading. I am just starting out on this journey. Here is what I have read so far. My reactions are on my blog.
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2011/10/his-family-pulitzer-winning-novel.html">1918 His Family</a>
</li>
<li><a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2011/10/magnificent-ambersons-pulitzer-winning.html">1919 The Magnificence Ambersons</a>
</li>
<li><a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2011/11/able-mclaughlins-pulitzer-winning-novel.html">1924 The Able McLaughlins </a>
</li>
<li><a href="http://katachimesin.blogspot.com/2011/11/early-autumn-pulitzer-winning-novel.html">1927 Early Autumn</a></li>
</ul>Kata Kollathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236673611152467330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-62639099358891503982011-11-06T13:47:00.001-06:002011-11-06T13:49:30.264-06:00Breathing Lessons Anne Taylor 1989 -- Athena's review<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(68, 68, 68); line-height: 18px; font-family:Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; position: relative; font: normal normal bold 22px/normal Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); ">Breathing Lessons Anne Taylor 1989</h3><div class="post-header" style="line-height: 1.6; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; "><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-4387931245592397013" style="width: 536px; position: relative; line-height: 1.4; ">Anne Taylor's Breathing Lessons won the Pulitzer for fiction in 1989 and it can be summed up with this Ann Landers quote -- Wake up and smell the coffee!!<div><br /></div><div>I only barely remember ever reading any Ann Landers (or her twin sister Dear Abby or Dear Abby's daughter, Dear Abby) so, inspired by the Ann Landers theme in Breathing Lessons I wanted to have been in the archive. Here's a few of the letters I liked. She's a charmer.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(52, 52, 52); line-height: 15px; font-family:'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; ">Dear Ann Landers: I lost my hand (from the wrist down) in an industrial accident. A wonderful artificial-limb expert made a hand for me that is almost indistinguishable from the one God gave me. I have a manicure every two weeks, and my manicurist charges me full price. Is this fair? — No City Please</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; ">Dear No City: Yes, it is fair — unless the manicurist is willing to book you for a polish change, which takes half the time of a manicure.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; "></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; ">Dear Ann Landers: Can you please tell me whether my husband is cheating on me? The reason I am suspicious is that lately, "Clyde" has been going to the store and doing other errands but refusing to take any of our four children along. He is also gone longer than I believe is necessary. He also has started to complain about how much gray hair he is getting, and last week, he made some uncomplimentary comments about my housekeeping.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; ">Clyde is almost 40, and I think he may be going through that well-known midlife crisis. I have been trying to take better care of the house and cook his favorite dishes. We have sex as often as he likes. I will say, he never forgets my birthday or our anniversary. Am I just insecure, or is it time to start worrying? — Concerned Wife in Nashville</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; ">Dear Nashville: I'd say it's time you stopped worrying. How much trouble can Clyde get into on his way to the grocery? He probably enjoys that short break away from the kids. Wouldn't you? Keep preparing his favorite dishes, and continue to keep him well-fed, literally and figuratively, and enough with the paranoia already.</p><p></p></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(52, 52, 52); line-height: 15px; font-family:'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; ">Dear Ann Landers: My husband and I are very friendly with another couple. They are kind and generous people and would give you the shirts off their backs. We love to be with them. The problem is they are the dirtiest people I ever have known. We hate going to their home because it is so filthy. Our church group avoided their offer to host a dinner for this very reason.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; ">Both of these people have college degrees and make very good money. We enjoy their company and want to remain friends, but how can we continue to turn down their dinner invitations? (She LOVES to cook.) So far, we have managed to meet at restaurants, but this ploy won't work much longer. Do you have any suggestions? We need help. — Baltimore Dilemma</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; ">Dear Dilemma: Your friends never will be decent housekeepers. They need help. Scout around to find a good cleaning person. Tell your friends that you understand how busy they are and that you know of a wonderful cleaning person. Then give them the name and number.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; "></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; ">Dear Ann Landers: A woman in our office ("Miss Z") has a TV on her desk that she turns on the minute she comes in. It stays on until she goes home.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; ">The other employees and I feel this reflects poorly on our entire office, especially when someone from the outside comes in. Miss Z is very intimidating, and no one in our office dares approach her about this, plus she has the most seniority. Our boss has made it clear that he doesn't want to be bothered with such petty issues. What is your opinion on this matter? — No Name, No State</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; ">Dear N.N.N.S.: Sounds as if the boss also is intimidated. Too bad. The old battle-ax wins again.</p></span></div></div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-72590144006116398272011-11-06T13:00:00.000-06:002011-11-06T13:00:38.391-06:00Rose City Reader's Review: All the King's Men (1947 winner)<a href="http://www.amazon.com/All-Kings-Robert-Penn-Warren/dp/015101163X/ref=roscitrea-20"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0156004801.01._SX140_SY225_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Robert Penn Warren won the <a href="http://www.rosecityreader.com/2010/12/pulitzer-prize-for-fiction.html">Pulitzer Prize</a> in 1947 for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/All-Kings-Robert-Penn-Warren/dp/015101163X/ref=roscitrea-20"><i>All the King's Men</i></a>, his fictionalized account of Louisiana's legendary governor Huey Long. In the novel, Long is Willie Stark, an idealistic country lawyer who takes on the political machine in his state and achieves meteoric success, only to be compromised by the same system he railed against.<br />
<br />
This book has been on <a href="http://www.rosecityreader.com/2008/04/my-current-top-10-favorite-novels.html">my list of Top 10 favorites</a> since I read it in the mid-1990s, shortly after law school. Robert Penn Warren's combination of beautiful writing, compelling story, and political shenanigans wholly beguiled me. <br />
<br />
Now, getting close to 20 years later, I wanted to re-read it to see if it still packed the same punch. It did, but in a quieter way. Either because I am older now or because I was familiar with the story, the political side didn't grab me, but the personal stories of Stark's family and the narrator, Stark's operative Jack Burden, struck me even harder with their heartbreak.<br />
<br />
Warren was a poet first and a novelist second. His writing is full of metaphor, long descriptions, philosophical musings, and some long digressions away from the central plot. All these things, if not done right, can ruin a novel for me, fan of a good yarn that I am. But Warren does it right. It is definitely a book you have to settle in to and let it lead, but it is worth the dance if you do.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.rosecityreader.com/2011/11/review-of-day-all-kings-men.html"><i>Also posted on Rose City Reader. </i></a>Gilion at Rose City Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18080293172467000794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-75518768976281878582011-10-25T21:27:00.002-05:002011-10-25T21:36:06.299-05:003m's Progress (1morechapter.com)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I hadn't updated my progress for a loooong time. Here it is, with links to reviews where available.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">26/85 for 31% so far</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff9ee; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">2010 - <b>Tinkers</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff9ee; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">2009 - <b>Olive Kitteridge</b></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">2008 - <b>The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">2007 - <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Road</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">2006 - <a href="http://www.1morechapter.com/2007/04/14/march-by-geraldine-brooks/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">March</span></a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">2005 - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Gilead</span> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">2004 - <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://1morechapter.com/2007/09/15/the-known-world/" style="text-decoration: none;">The Known World</a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">2003 -<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Middlesex</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">2002 -<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Empire Falls</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">2000 - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Interpreter of Maladies</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1999 - <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://1morechapter.com/2007/12/30/mrs-dallowaythe-hours/" style="text-decoration: none;">The Hours</a></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span>1995 - <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.1morechapter.com/2007/05/22/the-stone-diaries-by-carol-shields/">The Stone Diaries</a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1994 - <span style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://1morechapter.com/2007/12/15/the-shipping-news/" style="text-decoration: none;">The Shipping News</a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1989 - <b><a href="http://www.1morechapter.com/2011/01/08/breathing-lessons-by-anne-tyler/">Breathing Lessons</a></b></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff9ee; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">1988 - <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://1morechapter.com/2008/04/25/review-beloved/" style="text-decoration: none;">Beloved</a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;">1987 - <b><a href="http://www.1morechapter.com/2009/07/11/a-summons-to-memphis/">Summons to Memphis</a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff9ee; line-height: 21px;"></span></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1983 - <span style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.1morechapter.com/2007/05/22/the-color-purple-by-alice-walker-2/" style="text-decoration: none;">The Color Purple</a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1973 -<b> <a href="http://www.1morechapter.com/2009/07/07/the-optimists-daughter/">The Optimist's Daughter</a></b> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1972 - <a href="http://www.1morechapter.com/2007/01/07/angle-of-repose-wallace-stegner/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Angle of Repose</span></a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1961 - <a href="http://www.1morechapter.com/2007/02/15/to-kill-a-mockingbird-harper-lee/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">To Kill a Mockingbird</span></a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1958 - <a href="http://www.1morechapter.com/2007/08/17/a-death-in-the-family/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Death in the Family</span></a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1953 - <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Old Man and the Sea</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1940 - <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Grapes of Wrath</span> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1932 - <b>The Good Earth</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1928 - <span style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://1morechapter.com/2007/12/06/the-bridge-of-san-luis-rey/" style="text-decoration: none;">The Bridge of San Luis Rey</a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1921 - <b>The Age of Innocence</b></span></div>1morechapterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919728304715220778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-22259917338304296822011-10-12T14:37:00.000-05:002011-10-12T14:37:16.491-05:00A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (Marg's Review)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #e6e6e6; font-family: Trebuchet, 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3gzhVxa3dBM/TpIQG4_ZzcI/AAAAAAAAIYc/FbZN3LHTAVE/s1600/visit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #72179d; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 1em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><img border="0" kca="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3gzhVxa3dBM/TpIQG4_ZzcI/AAAAAAAAIYc/FbZN3LHTAVE/s1600/visit.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px;" /></a></div><blockquote style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-left-style: dashed; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-right-style: dashed; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-top-style: dashed; border-top-width: 1px; font: italic normal normal 95%/normal Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 12px; padding-right: 12px; padding-top: 10px;">Jennifer Egan's spellbinding interlocking narratives circle the lives of Bennie Salazar, an aging former rocker and record executive, and Sasha, the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Although Bennie and Sasha never discover each other's pasts, the reader does, in intimate detail, along with the secret lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect theirs, over many years, in locales as varied as New York, San Francisco, Naples, and Africa.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />We first meet Sasha in her mid-thirties, on her therapist's couch in New York City, confronting her long-standing compulsion to steal. Later, we learn the genesis of her turmoil when we see her as the child of a violent marriage, then as a runaway living in Naples, then as a college student trying to aver the suicidal impulses of her best friend. We plunge into the hidden yearnings and disappointments of her uncle, an art historian stuck in a dead marriage, who travels to Naples to extract Sasha from the city's demimonde and experiences an epiphany of his own whilst starting at a sculpture of Orpheus and Eurydice in the Museo Nationale. We meed Bennie Salazar at the melancholy nadir of his adult life - divorced, struggling to connect with his nine-year-old son, listening to a washed-up band in the basement of a suburban house - and then revisit him in 1979, at the height of his youth, shy and tender, reveling in San Francisco's punk scene as he discovers his ardor for rock and roll and his gift for spotting talent. We learn what became of his high school gang - who thrived and faltered - and we encounter Lou Kline, Bennie's catastrophically careless mentor, along with the lovers and children left behind in the wake of Lou's far-flung sexual conquests and meteoric rise and fall.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />A Visit from the Goon Squad is a book about the interplay of time and music, about survival, about the stirrings and transformations set inexorably in motion by even the most passing conjunction of our fates. In a breathtaking array of styles and tones ranging from tragedy to satire to PowerPoint, Egan captures the undertone of self-destruction that we all must either master or succumb to; the basic human hunger for redemption, and the universal tendency to reach for both - and escape the merciless progress of time - in the transporting realms of art and music. Sly, startling, exhilarating work from one of our boldest writers.</blockquote><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />With inside cover copy like that, and the fact that this is the book that won the Pulitzer prize and others, and was longlisted for the Orange Prize as well, who needs a review!<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />When I look back on this book in a couple of years time I think the thing that will still be strong in my memory is the structure of the book - if you could call it structure as such. It isn't a novel as much as it is an interlocking collection of short stories. This isn't a book that goes from point A to point B. It probably starts at point G and eventually gets to point Z with side trips past point A and B.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />In my own mind I was trying to think of a comparison to show how this book works and the closest I could come up with was one of those puzzles we used to have as kids where there was a mixed up picture in a square and there was one piece missing so you had to move all the pieces around until the picture was formed. At first you would get occasional glimpses of what the jumbled image was going to look like, but then you would have to break the picture up to make another piece of the puzzle fit. Eventually though, the last piece slides into place and you see the whole image.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Another analogy might be a really long conversation with a very good friend, where you jump topics with ease, reminiscing about the past, talking about the future, and sharing a joke. Never a linear conversation but rather one that starts at one point, and then ends up somewhere completely different and you find yourself wondering how you got there!<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Another aspect of structure that was very different in this book is that Egan experiments with all different forms of storytelling. There are chapters written in the form of a magazine column, another in Powerpoint as well as different tenses and points of view. I think the Powerpoint chapter was amazing! The language was sparse, the story barely there on the page, but the concepts and the narrative were still strong enough to be clear for the reader, and I loved that we got to see Sasha's future life.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />After looking at the structure, how about the characters. I can't say that I particularly related to the characters that we met in the pages of the book, but such is Egan's skill that you actually didn't need to. Our two main characters are Sasha and Bennie. Sasha is on a date with Alex when her habit of stealing things, anything, causes her to steal a wallet whilst in the bathroom. As she analyses why she steals with her shrink, Alex crosses one of her boundaries without even knowing it. We meet Sasha again as a young woman struggling to make ends meet living as a runaway in Naples, and then through the eyes of her best friend Rob who has plenty of demons of his own.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />In the next chapter we meet Bennie, who is Alex's boss. He is a divorced man who is struggling to relate to his 9 year old son. One way that he can occasionally connect is through music, but even that is problematical. Through the book we see Benny with his ex wife in happier times, then we meet him as a youth revelling in the punk rock scene with his friends. We meet his mentor Lou and his very young girlfriend and her friend.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />The links as we move from chapter to chapter are at times tenuous, but they are all there for a reason. Along the way, Egan makes comment about some important issues. Not only the power of music to transcend time, but also for example the power of media when a washed up PR person is employed to try and rehabilitate the image of an African dictator.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Another chapter that I really liked, not because it was enjoyable but because of the food for thought it provided, was the final chapter. It is set in New York in the not too distant future and Egan has taken our current obsession with social media and expanded it to the nth degree to come up with a quite scary world where even the youngest child has exposure to the media in a way that is similar to our own world but amplified many times over. A washed up musician is being bought back for a live concert and one of our characters is being asked to find some parrots - people who can spread the word, hype up the event to make it a success, to make it the kind of event that everyone who is anyone will claim to have been at even if they really aren't. In a way it kind of reminded me of a discussion of the difference between buzz and hype and how one, or the other, is generated, whether it is organic or whether there is someone in the background pulling the strings to manipulate the public.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />This is the second Egan book I have read and liked. A few years ago now I read The Keep which was a kind of modern, gothicky ghost story. I am not sure why I haven't bothered to go and track down her other books. I will definitely be watching to see what the author comes up with next as she doesn't seem to be afraid to take risks in her writing and to take her readers on the journey with her!<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Rating 4/5Marghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508430635744720721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-38822443105625320752011-08-03T21:53:00.003-05:002011-08-03T21:56:34.567-05:00The Age of Innocence (1921)<div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TEhcuEsEwQ8/TjoJZMguueI/AAAAAAAAAEU/K3j32fM2g_g/s1600/The+Age+of+Innocence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TEhcuEsEwQ8/TjoJZMguueI/AAAAAAAAAEU/K3j32fM2g_g/s200/The+Age+of+Innocence.jpg" width="123" /></a></div>This is a story about love and duty, about the choices we make and the way we let others make choices for us, about the life we have and the life we could have, if only we’d reach out and take it. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking and well worth a read.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Newland Archer is a young man in the prime of his life. He’s a member of the upper echelon of New York society and he’s about to be married to May, the most beautiful and sought-after girl of the season. On the same night that their betrothal is announced, he meets her cousin, Ellen Olenska. And so it begins.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Archers and all the other families in New York society live by strict codes. Nothing is said outright, but they all understand each other: everything they say has a hidden meaning and everyone follows their codes so religiously that the hidden meanings are clear. But some things can never even be hinted at – anything too unpleasant must be put aside. As the narrator describes early in the book during a conversation between Archer and his mother: “it was against all the rules of their code that the mother and son should ever allude to what was uppermost in their thoughts.” Archer’s betrothed, May, follows these codes completely – she is the “perfect” woman. But he begins to see that there may not be anything else at all underneath her perfect exterior.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Archer feels different from his fellow men, and he wants to push back against these strict rules of behavior. As his relationship with Ellen develops, he feels both more desirous of breaking free and more hemmed in and unable to escape than ever before. His life is inevitable and he feels unable to act according to his own free will. His feeble attempts continue to fall short.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Archer and Ellen meet in society and catch spare moments alone in hallways or Opera boxes. They fall in love in an innocent way and neither sees it happening. But to the reader it feels so real. In one scene, when they are seeing each other after a separation, Archer is struck anew by everything that Ellen is. He says to her “Each time you happen to me all over again.” This is what love feels like. To capture that in a novel is what makes reading such a pleasure. And this novel is a pleasure, indeed.</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16198962345723119647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-81639889352838826072011-07-31T20:49:00.000-05:002011-07-31T20:49:51.728-05:00Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (2005)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3a8lSMw7T9I/TjVZ1-WhqvI/AAAAAAAABHI/gVT6pt2WzqU/s1600/gilead221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3a8lSMw7T9I/TjVZ1-WhqvI/AAAAAAAABHI/gVT6pt2WzqU/s1600/gilead221.jpg" /></a><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Title: Gilead</span></strong></div><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Author: Marilynne Robinson</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Published: 2004, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Genre: Literary Fiction</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Accolades:</strong> <strong>2005 - Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 2004 - National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, 2006 - long list Orange Prize for Fiction </strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">76-year-old Congregationalist Minister John Ames is dying of a heart condition. Still capable of preaching and mentally sharp he has decided to write a letter - a journal of his thoughts - to his young son to explain the family's history, who he is, and what he believes. Set in Gilead, Iowa in 1956 this quiet, profound book is the story of a life and a faith that can move mountains if only it can forgive.</span><br />
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<span style="padding-left: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are certain books that as soon as you read the first two or three pages you know that it is special - that it will change you somehow - maybe not lightning bolt jolts, but small, subtle movements near your heart. <em>Gilead</em> was that book for me. <em>Gilead</em> begins with John Ames counting the blessings of his life and expressing the joy of having found love and having a child in the twilight of his years.</span></span><br />
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<div align="center"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><span style="color: #3d85c6;">" I'm writing this in part to tell you that if you ever wonder what you've done in your life, and everyone does wonder sooner or later, you have been God's grace to me, a miracle, something more than a miracle." page 52</span></em></span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="left"><span style="padding-left: 20px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">What simple words written or spoken that could be life-changing - some one's salvation - maybe we need to say them to those we love. As we read on though we discover when the "prodigal son" of a life-long friend comes back to town that John Ames has yet to give the greatest miracle of all - forgiveness. Though Ames is a minister he still struggles with a human soul and Robinson deftly and beautifully describes his torment and his epiphany.</span></span><br />
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<span style="padding-left: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In the bible Gilead means hill of testimony and that is what the book <em>Gilead </em>is for John Ames his testimony of a well-lived life. </span></span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">My Rating: 5 out of 5</span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-80256097238377699202011-07-26T18:01:00.000-05:002011-07-26T18:01:10.492-05:00A Visit From the Goon Squad (2011)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-46VP_yh0wgM/Ti8zv7hcQkI/AAAAAAAABGA/NzipFCNY86E/s1600/goon1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-46VP_yh0wgM/Ti8zv7hcQkI/AAAAAAAABGA/NzipFCNY86E/s1600/goon1.jpg" /></a><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Title: A Visit From the Goon Squad</span></strong></div><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Author: Jennifer Egan</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Published: 2010, Borzoi Book - Alfred A. Knopf</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Genre: Contemporary Fiction</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Accolades: 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award, long list for 2011 Orange Prize</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>A Visit From the Goon Squad</em> is a novel that is written as a collection of stories that center around Bennie Salazar a music executive, his kleptomaniac assistant Sasha and the people that weave in and out of their flawed lives. Each chapter is a story that moves through the timeline of Bennie and Sasha's lives and as readers we witness the moments that changed them.</span><br />
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<span style="padding-left: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>A Visit From the Goon Squad</em> has received critical acclaim, but somewhat mixed reviews from the "everyday" reader. I understand the division. This book is difficult to pinpoint and to categorize - just writing the first paragraph of this review was hard because it is a difficult book to explain. But I will tell you that I loved it. The writing is crisp, honest, and inventive. There are proses in this book that are so vivid and accurate that I had to stop and read them again and again.</span></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial;"><em><strong>"It's turning out to be a bad day, a day when the sun feels like teeth." page 60</strong></em></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<span style="padding-left: 20px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Time is a key element to the story (The Goon Squad is a reference to time) - it is always there hovering over the characters and they each feel its impact as it changes their relationships, values, and themselves. The book weaves back and forth through a time span of about 50 years starting in the 1970's and ending in a somewhat dystopian 2020. My favorite chapter is the chapter that is written as a power point by a teenager of today. It is so in the moment - our current time - it is brilliant.</span></span></div><br />
<span style="padding-left: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>A Visit From the Goon Squad</em> is a remarkable, strangely moving story about the one thing we can't escape - the impact of time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My Rating: 5 out of 5</span></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-19623727187635136602011-07-15T21:57:00.003-05:002011-07-15T22:07:55.185-05:00His Family (1918)Roger Gale is a widower with three adult daughters and he has suddenly realized he doesn’t know them. That is where the action begins in <i>His Family</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, the 1918 winner of the Pulitzer Prize. This realization would doubtless concern him no matter what, but he is especially dismayed because he had promised his wife when she died that he would keep an eye on the girls and report back to her when they met again in the afterlife. He has since suffered a crisis of faith and withdrawn from his family. But now he means to get to know them once again.</span> <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Each daughter represents a possible path for a woman to follow, and tracing the drawbacks and benefits of each path is a major theme in the book. One daughter, Laura, is a socialite, a party girl with no plans to have children and with no social consciousness. Another, Edith, is a mother of five who is so wrapped up in her own children that she cannot think or speak of anything else. The third, Deborah, is a social reformer and suffragist who is terrified to marry and have children because she fears she will never be able to go on with her work, which is the most important thing to her. Roger Gale is most often perplexed by each daughter, and even more so by the interactions between them. The narrator clearly favors Deborah, the social reformer, from the start and Roger gets there eventually too. She is, obviously, the best of his daughters.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The woman question was on the top of the nation’s mind in 1918, so it’s no surprise that this book was awarded the Pulitzer. But there is more to it than that. A deeper and more enduring theme is mortality and how we find immortality in the lives of our family. Before she died, Roger’s wife told him, “You will live on in our children’s lives.” Throughout the book he realizes the truth of that statement, as he gets to know his daughters and finds himself in each of them. He feels the roots of his family before him and seeks comfort in the fact that he, too, will be a figure in the distance to the coming generations. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Finally, Roger often contemplates the youth of mankind – he feels as a child still, and he sees everyone else in the same way. All his life he has felt that he is just beginning, and now he is already nearing the end. As he walks through a birch grove on his farm one evening, he comes to an understanding of it all. “It seemed to Roger that all his days he had been only entering life, as some rich bewildering thicket like this copse of birches here, never getting very deep, never seeing very clearly, never understanding all. And so it had been with his children, and so it was with these children of Edith’s, and so it would be with those many others – always groping, blundering, starting – children, only children all.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The book also deals with the growth of New York City; immigration and poverty; and World War I. Roger Gale came to New York when horses and carriages traveled its roads, and now he has to face the crush of modern life with its fast cars, tall buildings and bright lights. Little did Roger know that the chaos of urban life was only just beginning. One facet of this new city life that Roger struggles so much with is the influx of immigrants and the rise of tenements. As he gets to know Deborah he sees her work with the children of these tenements and he gains a new understanding of the deprivation they face. When World War I breaks out, he is faced with suffering on an even grander scale. Roger comes to a new understanding of humankind and he learns to make sacrifices to help those beyond his own family. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">These political themes play an important role in the book, but it’s true strength is in dealing with the personal. As Roger Gale comes to know his daughters, we come to know more about life. Can we ask anything more from a novel?</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16198962345723119647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107695219596795991.post-86378744842460412922011-02-27T09:13:00.000-06:002011-02-27T09:13:30.295-06:00Review: The Age of Innocence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-vwWlpHRPTss/TWpnBWkNc8I/AAAAAAAAA9c/w9DFq2L68lw/s1600/the+age+1of.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" l6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-vwWlpHRPTss/TWpnBWkNc8I/AAAAAAAAA9c/w9DFq2L68lw/s1600/the+age+1of.jpg" /></a></div><strong>Title: The Age of Innocence</strong><br />
<strong>Author: Edith WHarton</strong><br />
<strong>Published: 1920, D. Appleton & Company</strong><br />
<strong>Genre: Classic</strong><br />
<strong>Accolades: 1921 Putlitzer (first Pultizer given to a woman), Modern Library List: 100 Best Books of the Century, Radcliff Publishing Course: 100 Best Novels of the Century and on and on...</strong><br />
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I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading Edith Wharton's <em>The Age of Innocence,</em> but I was wonderfully surprised at the depth of Wharton's wit and her satirical analyze of the society in which she belonged. With the introduction of our protagonist Newland Archer we are given a "fly on the wall" perspective of what it was like to live and circumvent the twists and turns of high society in New York City during the Gilded Age. Archer is very much a product of his society and it's rules and is happy to live by them because he understands what happens to those who try to go against the norms of his world. When Archer meets his fiancee's cousin Ellen Olenska, a woman who is escaping a scandalous marriage, he knows that this women is capable of changing his world for better or worse, but like a moth drawn to the flame - he can't resist.<br />
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<span style="padding-left: 20px;">I found myself thinking about what it would have been like to live in that tightly guarded circle of society and how difficult it was to become a part of it or to escape it. You would almost have to be born into it to understand the nuances of what is expected - lessons that took a lifetime to learn. The society wasn't about money because they frowned upon the new money and crassness of the Carnegie's, Frick's, and Rockefeller's. Even those captains of industry could not buy themselves memberships into this elite group.</span><br />
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<span style="padding-left: 20px;">Wharton's development of her characters is artfully crafted as you realize that the characters that appeared to be weakest and shallow are the strongest and most manipulative. What one would do to preserve appearances due to the code is tragic and heart-felt. Love is not the number one priority - it is your placement in society. </span><br />
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My Rating: 5 out of 5<br />
Note: I read the 2008 Oxford World's Classic editionAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com1