Classics Considered

Reading Something not immediately evident from this blog is that I'm a recent "fan" (for lack of a more precise word) of Soren Kierkegaard 's writings.  His book Works of Love changed my life in 2016, but being so profound in topic, it was not a book I felt comfortable writing a review on.  I did review Fear and Trembling , though once again, not delving too deeply as I felt myself inadequate of completely analyzing it.  I approach philosophy as outsider, not from the "ground up," so many cross-references are a bit lost on me.  However, there's something addictive about Kierkegaard in particular that makes the struggle worthwhile.  It's like listening to the ramblings of a friend who would be incredibly obnoxious if he weren't so incredibly brilliant, even obviously to outsiders like me.    The Concept of Anxiety has sat on my bookshelf for a while.  Right now I'm going through a great deal of anxiety (though not the worst I've ...

My current interest in Antarctica led me to finally read The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket , by Edgar Allan Poe , and its sequel An Antarctic Mystery , by Jules Verne .  (I am the biggest Vernian fangirl ever, so this duology sounded written for me.)  While in fairness I can only give Pym 3 stars and its sequel 3.5 stars , together they were definitely worth the read, if you're into polar fiction, Poe, and/or Verne. Pym is probably the least - or most? - Poe-like writing of his I've read.  Think "Treasure Island ends badly"...  Indeed, the plot starts out as a traditional sea story: boy runs away to sea, boy happened to pick a ship that was bound for adventure (or, in Poe fashion, terror).  The plot has a spontaneous quality to it, and when Arthur Pym eventually makes it to Antarctica, it seems rather like an accident or an aside.  You'll find several classic Poe moments - aka spooky stuff - throughout the book, but not as many as fans migh...

The actual title of the book is Billy Budd and Other Stories , published by Penguin Classics.  However, there is such a similarity in the writing, I was reminded of the title of a Hawthorne collection, Mosses from an Old Manse .  Since Hawthorne was the dedicatee of Moby-Dick  and also referenced by name in one of these stories, I'm sure Herman Melville  would take the comparison as a compliment! Overall, I give the book 4 stars , but it's a mixed bag, so I'll review each story on its own: Bartleby, the Scrivener I really loved this story.  It's probably the closest thing to Kafkaesque,  pre -Kafka, that I've read.  Bartleby is an enigmatic scrivener (copier - think Nemo from Bleak House ), and it's hard to say if he's the hero or the antagonist, but he is certainly the mystery.  I'm still not sure what to make of it, but it's one of those stories that is very good at painting atmosphere and the impression of things. The Piazza Another kind of mys...

Note: Before getting into the review, I want to mention how disappointed I was by the  Barnes & Noble Classics edition .  There was an unnecessarily massive amount of footnotes, and one of the endnotes disclosed a major spoiler, long before I reached that plot twist!  Normally I'd recommend B&N Classics, but this one I cannot. It's been more than fitting to have read Lord Jim during my last quarter of college.  I would say, in fact, that this ' bildungsroman '   by Joseph Conrad is a timely read for those of us who can sympathize with Jim - a Romantic holding his ideals in one hand and finding his place in the world with the other.  Is it best read as a warning, a fairytale, or a historical fantasy?  Hopefully, by the end of this post, I will have figured it out.  One thing is certain: Lord Jim  is not your typical trainwreck.  It's a longer, more tedious disaster, realistic in its portrayal of events whose consequences are a...

Despite a bit of a guilty feeling - not having finished The Brothers Karamazov yet - I was really in the mood to read Lord Jim .  This is my second or third attempt.  Previously I could hardly get past three pages; now I'm nearly a third of the way through and have definitely put BK on hold. That's not to the detriment of BK, but to the genuinely captivating prose in  Lord Jim .  Once I finally get into a Conrad story, I become intrigued and entranced.  It doesn't matter if I don't always understand what is going on.  This novel, probably Conrad's best-known after Heart of Darkness , is almost quite as surreal, reading like stream-of-consciousness, albeit very structured and subtle.  Part of this comes from a familiar voice: the narrator Marlow.  Ever loquacious, he recounts his perspective of the controversial seaman "Jim," his trial, and his personality. There is much to talk about, even so early on.  What particularly stands out are the e...

I was so excited to hear about this read-along at Hamlette's blog !  In fact, I got a bit of a head start and made sure to read it this past Saturday.  But that gives me time now to read other people's posts over the course of this week, and I'm looking forward to hearing other people's thoughts.  :) +  Have you read The Old Man and the Sea before?  If so, did you like it more or less after this reading than you did before? This was my first time reading the book, but I grew up on the classic film with Spencer Tracy. As a child, I absolutely loved Age of Sail books and movies.  What I especially liked about TOMATS was the Marlin jump.  It never failed to strike a bit of terror in me - I was right there with the Old Man, thrilled and awestruck by the size of the "Fish." This made the Marlin in the book sort of anticlimactic.  It was beautifully written and probably would have been exciting had I not seen the film - but it felt short, very short. ...

An incredible, incredibly busy summer quarter hasn't left me much time to read.  I'm taking two classes, tutoring part-time, and job-hunting on the side.  However, yesterday I was able to get over to Barnes & Noble and pick up this lovely trio. I couldn't keep myself out of The Old Man and the Sea , so I read it today and will be posting a review for Hamlette's read-along at The Edge of the Precipice .  Not gonna lie - the cover and typography are just gorgeous!  (Admittedly a purchasing factor.)  I will say nothing yet of the story, except I'm glad I finally read it. And then there's Melville and Conrad.  Conrad really is best-read in hard copy.  His writing is wonderfully intricate, so much so it's easy to feel a little lost in the e-Ink versions.  I already know the story of "Billy Budd" from a radio drama, but I wanted to read the original and also "Bartleby the Scrivener," which comes highly rated.  Also, on a tight schedule, sh...