Laura (lindsacl)'s 2012 Reading - Part 1

Snow Geese on our pond, December 2010




My WikiThing contains my personal threads from a variety of LT groups and group reads, past & present. After 5 years here I felt like I needed an archive, even if it's only useful to me!

My 2011 reading can be found here:
Episode 1 * Episode 2 * Episode 3 * Episode 4

Books completed ("details" jumps to location in this thread where review & links can be found)
1. Beyond Black - details
2. Lullabies for Little Criminals - details
3. Fault Lines - details
4. In the Country of Men - details
5. Good Behaviour - details
6. Lady Susan - details
7. Oryx and Crake - details
8. A Dance to the Music of Time: Third Movement - details
9. Dissolution - details
10. Emma - details

2012 Reading Resolutions

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2012! Does anyone else make reading resolutions? Here are a few of mine:

1. I will read more books from my stacks than I acquire. I have over 60 unread books acquired before 2012, and more than 140 unread Virago Modern Classics in my collection. I realize some people have much more formidable TBRs (ahem -- Darryl!), but mine still represents over 2 years of reading. In 2012, I hope to read 35-40 books I already own (about 50% of the year's reading).


2. I will read more non-fiction. My 2011 reading was more than 90% fiction. And I have tons of nonfiction on my shelves! I joined the Non-fiction Challenge Group to help me focus on this.


3. I will continue making progress on all reading projects, but especially reading Booker & Orange Prize winners/nominees, and Virago Modern Classics. I don't have quantitative goals, but will be reading books that catch my interest.


4. I will increase interaction with the book blogging community. In addition to all my LT activity, I interact with other bookish folks through my blog. My interaction level dropped last year, so I'm on the lookout for ways to engage in group reads and other events.

And there they are: challenging, but not overwhelming. Wish me luck!

Welcome back!

Hi Laura! Dropping in to leave my star

LAURA! That photo is *gorgeous*!

Love the picture up top, Laura!

Glad to see you back with us again for 2012!

How beautiful and that's your pond!

Oh yes, I'm here to place my star. Got a bit distracted for a moment!

Hi Laura!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Laura!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, dear Laura!
I'm bringing a star and a hope that 2012 bests 2011 in wonderful books and conversation!
WHAT a beautiful picture!!!

Happy New Year, Laura!

Happy New Year everyone! Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to chatting with all of you this year. I posted some "Reading Resolutions" up in message #2.

I like your list of resolutions, Laura. Good luck with them!

Beautiful intro pic! =) Starred!

Good luck with your reading goals, Laura. I'm planning to read more of my Virago Modern Classics this year so I'm sure we can mutually nudge each other towards the especially good ones! I'm looking forward to reading lots of Elizabeth Taylor during the group reads.

Happy New Year, my dear tormentor friend! I'm glad you're joining the TBR Pile Reduction Solidarity group, and I look forward to seeing which nonfiction books you'll read this year (and, of course, your Orange reads!).

1: Your pond? Lovely! Lucky. (Or strategically located.)

Happy New Year!

Hello and Happy New Year, Laura!

I share similar goals to numbers 1, 2 and 3 of your book-related resolutions, though I haven't yet got round to writing up my aims on my own thread - let's encourage each other to get those already-owned books read before we buy too many more, and include plenty of non-fiction, VMCs and Oranges in the mix!

Happy New Year, Laura! Bring on the books and the reviews! xo

This is such a chatty day in the 75 Group -- the "unread" count just keeps growing!
>17 kidzdoc:: tormentor? moi ?!
>18 qebo:: the pond was the feature that sold us on the lot. It's a "flag" lot, meaning it could not be further subdivided, and our development is small (just 6 lots). We are at the end of a cul-de-sac with the pond and additional land (some wooded, some not) behind the house. The pond attracts lots of wildlife and we've been somewhat of a "deer sanctuary" these past few weeks (hunting season ... grrr ...). I am thinking about having "seasonal" photos of the pond to kick off each of my threads this year.

"This is such a chatty day in the 75 Group" You're not kidding! I can't tear myself away. I have books waiting too!

Happy New year, Laura! I'm glad you are joining the NF Challenge, as well. That should be fun and you should get a ton of good recs over there! Have a great day!

This is such a chatty day in the 75 Group -- the "unread" count just keeps growing!
Aaaaagh! Yes. I finish one loop through and have to begin another. And I was hoping to read today too.
I am thinking about having "seasonal" photos of the pond to kick off each of my threads this year.
Oh, that would be delightful.

Hi Laura, I'll also try and follow your thread this year.
That's a beautiful picture in your EP, fits perfect with my current reading of Nils Holgersson.

I agree with Katherine - seasonal pictures of the pond would be delightful!

LOve the resolutions. So much more doable than numbered challenges. And I promise to comment a bit more on your blog...I have it in my feeder and look every night, but don't always do as much as I should to say "hi". Have a great 2012.

Good luck on your reading resolutions, Laura. I missed the snow geese here this year - or maybe they missed us.

They missed us, too, Donna -- my photo is from 2010 and to be honest, it's the only time we've seen more than just a couple of them.

1. Beyond Black (DNF)
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: Public library
Why I read this now: Orange January ... but sadly, not a good start to this event!

I have to admit this is not my usual fare: "A modern-day medium and a jaded divorceé navigate the world of psychic fairs, until a crazed spirit guide threatens to pull them over to the beyond -- a place from which they can never return." But it was written by Hilary Mantel, author of the Booker Prize-winning Wolf Hall. And it was nominated for the Orange Prize, just like Wolf Hall. So I had high expectations, but I was ultimately disappointed and unable to finish this, my first book of 2012.

Alison is a spiritual medium, working fairs and stage shows where she brings her audience messages from those who have passed into "Spirit World." Colette, recently divorced, attends one of her shows and later becomes Alison's business partner, helping to organize her diary and the accounts. Alison is haunted by a troubled past, and by many spirits who speak to her routinely. Among these is Morris, her "spiritual guide," a presence from her childhood who is always hanging around and is, frankly, disgusting. Colette brings a sense of order to Alison's life, and working for Alison helps Colette land on her own two feet.

Weird? Yes. Intriguing? Maybe. But dreadfully slow-moving. And then Princess Diana dies, and Alison & Colette meet up with other mediums and fortune-tellers. I thought this might be interesting, but it was more of the same: lots of talk, spirits intruding and making Alison sick, Colette fretting about, and Morris being disgusting. Then Alison & Colette decide to try to get away from all this by buying a house in a new community, and that seems to take them forever. Things weren't looking good for them personally, and I figured anything that happened was going to take a long time. Like another 165 pages. I just didn't have it in me.

29: Somehow I really enjoy your reviews for books you couldn't get through. (PS: Typo in author name in first paragraph.)

aak! Thanks for the catch. And I kind of enjoy panning a book now and then :)

Well, I loved Beyond Black, but I did realize it wasn't for everyone.

>32 rebeccanyc:: I knew that, Rebecca, and for a while that gave me the courage to persevere. But I couldn't hang with it. I recall you saying each of her books is very different, so I haven't given up on Mantel altogether!

You might enjoy A Change of Climate more. It is more of a family story, albeit a family tearing apart from secrets.

Happy New Year Laura - I'm trying to read more VMC's this year too.

#29 Sorry you didn't enjoy Beyond Black more (partly because I have it lined up this month too). Is that the first Orange book you've been unable to finish?

Way to go Laura, panning the first book of the New Year! Making sure none of the rest of us have to endure it. Stars? Any? I see Jill didn't think much of it either.

BTW I'm having a much different experience with my Orange read, Sorry which I have tagged you as the recommend-er of. I'm savoring every beautiful passage and trying not to hurry it.

>34 rebeccanyc:: I have that book on my shelves, Rebecca! So read it I will.

>35 souloftherose:: Hi Heather! Thanks to LT tags I can easily identify my "did not finish" books. There are several Booker nominees on that list. And whaddaya know yes, this is the first Orange nominee I couldn't finish. Well. How about that.

>36 brenzi:: Hello Bonnie ... it was a bit unexpected. I don't give stars to "DNF" books, so nope. Glad you are enjoying Sorry!

I hope The Giant, O'Brien fares better for me. Fingers crossed. Great review!

I loved The Giant, O'Brien too (more than Beyond Black), for what it's worth.

Oh yes, try A Change of Climate, Laura. It's my favourite Mantel and I was really impressed by it (though I haven't read Wolf Hall and I read it before my LibraryThing days, when I might have been less discerning)!

Beyond Black is not going to be my cuppa either, I suspect, so I am not even going to try it. I have read The Giant, O'Brien and Fludd by Mantel and am beginning to suspect she is not an author for me - she goes completely over my head. I did read and enjoy Wolf Hall, although I did not love it like many here in the group did.

I hope your next read is a much better one for you, Laura!

Mantel is an author who can deliver pretty much everything from straightforward "literary" fiction to historical novels and more esoteric fare -- I stalled on Beyond Black the first time I tried, but it's still on my shelves as I plan to try again. I may end up not liking the book much, but I don't think it will be because of Mantel. Stasia, you might want to try A Change of Climate or Eight Months on Ghazzah Street or even her book about the French revolution.

As for reading resolutions -- I'm going to try to blog more, as that kind of fell off in the autumn, and keep ratcheting down my book buying activity. I'm actually quite pleased -- I got 71 books from Amazon from June 30 through to today, not counting freebies or the 99 cents/$1.99 specials on Kindle; only 11 of those books were books that require shelf space. I bought perhaps a dozen books in bookstores, max, in the same time period. Considering how much I read, that's pretty good! Still, I need to be even more disciplined about full-priced Kindle purchases and ordering from the UK. Got 37 books from Amazon.co.uk, which wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the shipping fees...

Well keerap that the first one for 2012 was a disappointment. But you captured so well that agonizing process of trying to persist in the face of the odds!

#42 Eight Months on Ghazzah Street is the Mantel I liked least; in fact, I would not have finished it if it hadn't been a Mantel. I have read almost everything she has written, and I continue to be impressed by her courage in not sticking to the tried and true, but this does result in some books being better, i.e., more to my taste, than others.

I'm still psyched for Bring up the Bodies later this year!

There are books by a couple of my favorite authors I've never been able to finish -- T.C. Boyle, for example, he really does choose to do different things in each novel - I've utterly bogged down in The Women, for example. And yet I will always at least try on of his novels. I think it's better for an author to stretch and try new things.

I struggled with Beyond Black too - I read in January last year and it took me a long while to get into it, but in the end I was glad I had read it, and it has stayed with me. I've only read that and Wolf Hall so far - such very different books, I'm looking forward to trying something else of hers.

I hope your next read is more enjoyable for you.

I went on a small B&N book-buying binge last week, lured in buy a big sale and a gift card. My books arrived today and I found that in my haste I'd ordered a large print edition of Atwood's The Year of the Flood. Rats, I didn't want large print!! I was bummed out for a while but then decided hey, it was only $2.99 and I can always list it on Paperbackswap after I've read it.

More distressing was the Everyman's Library hardcover edition of a book for my husband, which arrived with two small tears in the dust jacket. Grrrr.

Sorry, just a wee bit cranky today!

Laura - bad luck with Beyond Black. It is on my shelves too but not so prominently displayed. Going for her Wolf Hall this month instead which has more consistent reviews and the subject matter of which is more my usual taste.

Very interesting discussion of Mantel here. I am still reading Beyond Black; finding it a bit boggy in the middle, but not so much that I don't want to keep going. It's also suffering from back-to-work week, after having so much luxury to immerse myself in reading over the holidays, now I have to snatch a few pages here and there again. I am still avoiding reading your review, Laura (and those of a couple others you said they didn't like it). I will do so when I'm finished with the book myself. I loved both Wolf Hall and The Giant O'Brien; was a little less enthusiastic about Every Day is Mother's Day, but as Rebecca said above, that was not Mantel's fault; the writing was brilliant but the story wasn't all that for me.

48: I would be cranky too, Laura. I bought a book from Ebay intending to give it to my husband as a Christmas present. It was advertised as a new copy but had several folded pages and was slightly grubby :(

I've really enjoyed reading all the comments on Hilary Mantel. I want to read A Place of Greater Safety this year and bought it last year... eek, two enormous Mantels in one year might be a tad ambitious! (I'm assuming the Wolf Hall sequel is going to be a chunkster.)

>52 cushlareads:: I'm really looking forward to the Wolf Hall sequel too Cushla!

Regarding my crankiness with Barnes & Noble, I contacted customer service via their website to report the damage to the dust jacket. I received an email reply saying,

We are eager to resolve your problem, but require more information.
Please respond to this email with the following:

- Name of the item which you have received damaged.

This sent the crankiness meter higher because, of course, I supplied that information in my original email!

I think my crankiness was exacerbated by returning to work, and having far less time to curl up and read. Yesterday I was dismayed to find I'd read only about 100 pages between Tuesday and Friday, which is low for me even during a typical work week. Sigh. Maybe I can catch some time over the weekend!

53: Yesterday I was dismayed to find I'd read only about 100 pages between Tuesday and Friday
Similar. Work, plus a bunch of other stuff clustered together. It's only a week into the year, and already I've fallen behind.

This sent the crankiness meter higher because, of course, I supplied that information in my original email!
Aaaaagh! I would imagine someone at the other end deluged with holiday complaints, either inattentive to details or deliberately using delay tactics...

Crankiness = justified!

And you are not making me look forward to getting back to work on Monday! (Not that I was anyway...)

Working for a living is highly overrated. Except, of course, by those who can't. I worked 4 days this week after being off since the Thursday before Christmas, and I was so wiped out by Friday night it was pathetic. We need to get back in training, I guess, Laura!

SmuglySympathetically listening to work vs. curling up with a good book comments. Well I've only read and adored Mantel's Wolf Hall but I do have A Change of Climate on my shelf. I'm also eagerly awaiting the WH sequel Laura.

I remember those back to work doldrums. We don't realise how tightly wound we keep ourselves until we get a chance to shut down for a bit. Full sympathy here. I'm going to try that Mantel anyway, Laura, simply because it's sitting on the TBR shelves. And bummer about the dust jacket.

Yesterday I was dismayed to find I'd read only about 100 pages between Tuesday and Friday, which is low for me even during a typical work week.

Yep. You did much better than I did; I read 35 pages between Monday and Friday. I hope that I'm more productive this coming week.

I've only managed about 50 pages in the past week too - there's something about this post-holiday week which is very hard-going!

Let's hope we all get back into the swing of reading next week.

I think I made up for it on the weekend! Last week was a blur -- cramming about six days of work into four -- and this week probably won't be much better. Except that Thursday I will have hours of reading time on planes and Friday I will be working from the Caribbean.

Must decide which books to pack...

>61 Chatterbox: I really really hate you. A LOT.

Hi Laura!

*ignoring smug retirees in #s 57,58*

I'm glad I'm not alone here! Like Suz (who nobody hates except for cranky Richard), I made up for lost time on the weekend and made good progress on my book. I'm also looking forward to a business trip next week which involves x-country airline travel. I'm looking forward to the meeting itself, but I think I'm looking forward to airport/airplane reading time even more!

>62 richardderus:: Hi Richard!

2. Lullabies for Little Criminals ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: Public library
Why I read this now: Orange January!

Baby lives with her father, Jules, a heroin addict. She doesn't remember her mother:

He and my mother had both been fifteen when I was born. She had died a year later, so he'd been left to raise me all by himself. It didn't make him any more mature than any other twenty-six-year-old, though. He practically fell on the floor and died when a song he liked came on the radio. He was always telling people that he was color-blind because he thought it made him sound original. He also didn't look too much like a parent ... I thought of him as my best friend, as if we were almost the same age. (p. 4)

Jules tries to make a living and support his habit by peddling merchandise at flea markets. To stay one step ahead of their landlord they seem to always be on the move. Baby knows how to fit her entire life into a small suitcase. Despite all these disadvantages, Baby is smart and does well in school. She seems determined to overcome the odds, but her world is turned upside down when Jules goes into rehab, and Baby into the foster care system. Over the next year, Baby moves in and out of care, is placed into a remedial program at school, and gets sucked into the unhealthy lifestyle on the streets of Montreal.

Baby narrates her story with an authentic twelve-year-old's voice, and really got on my nerves for the first half of the book. But as her personal hardships intensified, so did my sympathy, and I found myself pulling for her. She was often left on her own for days at a time, and had to grow up far too quickly. I understood why she did what she did, but wished I could influence her choices (I'm avoiding spoilers here).

Such a realistic and gritty story should have been "unputdownable." It thought it was an interesting and unique book, but had no problem setting it aside. It may have just been my mood this past week; I still recommend reading this Orange Prize nominee.

I'm still no further than page 52 with this one but I'm sure I will get back to it soon. I'm very caught up in Of Love and Hunger at the moment (though may struggle when I come to reviewing it, to explain exactly what was so compelling about this tale of a vacuum cleaner salesman in the 1930s)!

Good review! I have that one on my wishlist already, I probably should try and read it this month

>65 Soupdragon:, 66: I'll be looking for your thoughts on this one. It's quirky.

>>29 lauralkeet: - I didn't get as far as you did Laura. However, it is the only Mantel I haven't managed to get through of those I have read.

I like quirky ;)

3. Fault Lines ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: Public library
Why I read this now: Orange January

This multi-generational family saga explores the impact of World War II and Nazi Germany, from some very unusual angles. It's told through the eyes of four 6-year-olds, each from a different generation. The reader meets each generation through Sol, a precocious boy living in California in 2004. His father Randall works as a computer programmer, and circumstances have recently forced him to take a job with higher pay but a much longer commute. Randall has a distant relationship with his mother, Sadie, and is closer to his grandmother, Erra, a professional singer known as Kristina in her youth. Sol's section of the novel ends as the entire family arrives in Germany to visit Erra's dying sister.

From there, author Nancy Huston takes us back to 1945 one generation at a time, from Randall to Sadie to Kristina (all age 6). She peels the onion of family relationships and secrets to show how they came to North America, and the physical and emotional toll wrought by the Nazi regime. I can't say much without spoilers, but their story was not at all what I expected. Judaism and Nazi atrocities played a part, but in unusual ways. And both the family tree and the inter-generational relationships were much more intricate than they first appeared.

I found Erra/Kristina the most interesting character, perhaps because she appeared in each generation's story. She arrived on the scene first as a staunchly independent elderly woman who dearly loves her great-grandson, and is appalled at some of his parents' philosophies. She despairs over their plans to surgically remove a birthmark. Her fears seem irrational, but by the time Kristina appeared as a child, I understood the birthmark's significance and her modern-day reaction was completely understandable. Fault Lines was filled with revelations like this, that really drove home the importance of understanding the societal and familial forces that shape each generation. This was a well-written, enjoyable, and thought-provoking novel.

Excellent review of Fault Lines, Laura. The structure and main topic of the novel sound interesting, so I'll this to my wish list.

Fault Lines does sound interesting, Laura. I have not heard of it before.

Fantastic review of Fault Lines, Laura. And the best thing is when I went to put it on my WL, I found I already own it. Now to move it up the TBR list!

That's a great review, Laura, and the book goes straight to the WL. It's still early in 2012, but my reading seems to be centered around Third Reich/ Holocaust/ Judaism and this book would fit in very well.

Thumbs up for that one, Laura. It sounds very much like my kind of reading.

Laura- Excellent review of Fault Lines. The book I just finished The Invisible Bridge has many similarities.

I've read that too, Mark. Fault Lines is shorter :).

The story line is quite different ... focused on North Americans more than Europeans, and less grim. it's interesting to imagine these literary characters going through their respective traumas all during the same period.

Breezing by - Thanks for the review of Fault Lines which sits somewhere on Mt. Bookpile. I can't make up my mind to start another Mantel; I don't even know if it will be Beyond Black. Sorry about The Year of the Flood, which I've wished for.

4. In the Country of Men ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: Public library
Why I read this now: I heard the author interviewed on a podcast recently, and it inspired me to read this book.

That visit has remained with me ever since. Whenever I am faced with someone who holds the strings of my fate – an immigration officer, a professor – I can feel the distant reverberations from that day, my inauguration into the dark art of submission. Perhaps this is why I often find a shameful pleasure in submitting to authority. … And this is also why, when I finally think I have gained the pleasure of authority, a sense of self-loathing rises to clasp me by the throat. I have always been able to imagine being unjustifiably hated. (p. 159)

When his father disappears one day in 1979, nine-year-old Suleiman’s life is forever changed. Just a short time before, the same thing happened to his best friend Kareem’s father. Instead of spending long happy summer days playing with neighborhood boys, Suleiman tries to make sense of his world. He acts out his emotions and uncertainty, turning on Kareem instead of offering support.

Under the Qaddafi regime, Libya had become a place where dissent was dangerous. Counter-revolutionaries were rounded up for interrogation; some never returned. Suleiman’s mother Najwa tells him Baba is on a business trip, and consoles herself with “medicine” (alcohol, obtained illegally). She has her own demons, having been forced by her family to marry when she was just 14. To protect Baba from investigators, Najwa and a family friend Moosa burn his books and papers. But Suleiman nearly gets caught in the web when a strange man begins asking him questions about Baba and his associates. In one of the more horrifying scenes Suleiman, Najwa, and Moosa watch a public execution on television. At the end, the TV broadcast returned to images of flowers and nationalistic music. And life went on.

Suleiman grew into a man, but one with emotional scars that would never heal. Hisham Matar writes convincingly, and from direct experience: his own father disappeared many years ago, and to this day Matar doesn’t know what happened to him. When he describes the televised execution’s impact on Suleiman, you know he’s also talking about himself:

Something was absent in the stadium, something that could no longer be relied on. Apart from making me lose trust in the assumption that “good things happen to good people,” the televised execution … would leave another, more lasting impression on me, one that has survived well into my manhood, a kind of quiet panic, as if at any moment the rug could be pulled from beneath my feet. … I had no illusions that I or Baba or Mama were immune from being burned by the madness that overtook the National Basketball Stadium. (p. 198)

This book started slowly and quietly, but the tension steadily grew. I was drawn into the family's story, and felt quite emotional reading about how the events of 1979 affected Suleiman for the rest of his life. This is a very powerful book deserving of its 2006 Booker Prize nomination.

Oh yes Laura, isn't this one just a quiet little gem? I loved it too. And I was disappointed to read that his second book doesn't really compare. You captured it's essence very well in your review.

79: Wish, wish, wishing I hadn't left this in a charity shop when I saw it there last year! I picked it up, thought about it and then put it down again. Why?!!

That sounds like a very powerful read - I hadn't heard of it before.

I had a sneaky suspicion you'd like this one! =)

Bonnie, I heard the same about the second book ... I think from Darryl, which is probably where you heard it too.

Dee, I hate it when that happens. Perhaps you'll stumble upon a copy again some other time!

Genny, it is ... it kind of snuck up on me. I was liking it well enough and then I had a long reading period yesterday (one benefit of air travel), and found myself completely immersed in the second half of the book, and really caught up in the emotional trauma.

Jill, you know my reading tastes, that's for sure!

I don't know if it's still available, but the BBC World Book Club podcast author interview was really amazing (from October I think?). He was so interesting. The author visited my daughter's university in December, lucky girl.

Laura - a couple of great reviews here which I will need to get to sooner rather than later. In the Country of Men is on the shelves somewhere, but Fault Lines gets added to the hitlist.

Wow another five star one for you...you're off to a great start this year. Must keep an eye peeled for this one.
>81 Soupdragon:: Dee, I've done that too and kicked myself for it later...especially at charity shop prices!

Excellent review of In the Country of Men, Laura. I'm glad that you also enjoyed it.

>>79 lauralkeet: - sheesh, heading back to my thread to add it to my list of TBR's. Thanks chum!

Ha! A book bullet!

I'll resist the book, but I appreciate knowing about it, thanks Laura.

Just spotted your five star rating for Good Behaviour- can't wait for your review!

Yeah how about that: two 5-star reads in a row !!! I don't think that's ever happened to me before.

Wow on your review of In the Country of Men! *smooch*

Laura you are on a reading roll. Have a great weekend.

That's such a great review, and it's high time I should read a book about Lybia. Thumbed and wishlisted

Richard, Paul, Nathalie ... thanks for visiting and for your very kind compliments on my review. And now I really must write my next one. Back soon, I hope :)

oops, wrong thread....erase, erase, erase
xo

5. Good Behaviour ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: My Virago Modern Classics collection
Why I read this now: I noticed it was nominated for the Booker Prize in 1981.

For certain families, keeping up appearances in public is of prime importance. The St Charles family is one of these. Daughter Aroon, now the ungainly, unmarried daughter, looks back on her childhood at Temple Alice and how expectations of "good behaviour" ultimately brought unhappiness and even tragedy. Aroon and her brother Hubert grew up in the care of a cool and distant mother and a philandering father. Mummie preferred to look the other way, rather than confront Papa's infidelity. Papa loved his children on one level, but preferred riding, fox-hunting, and women to life at home. When Papa is wounded in the war, his convalescence provides Aroon and Hurbert an unexpected opportunity to enjoy a new level intimacy with their father. Mummie remains aloof, and can't hold back a sadistic glow when she realizes her husband is unable to ride.

As Aroon grows into a young woman, she sets her sights on Hubert's best friend Richard. She wildly misinterprets his behavior towards her, and convinces herself they are lovers. She fails to see what's obvious to the reader: Richard and Hubert are much more than friends. When Richard suddenly goes off to Africa, Aroon continues her delusion, sure he will return for her one day. When a letter finally arrives, she is at first disappointed -- until she finds a way to infuse each paragraph with hidden meaning.

Inevitably, the family's fortunes change. They have lived way beyond their means, with a bad habit of stuffing every bill into a drawer. Their solicitor knows the score and tries to help, but Mummie and Papa are compelled to maintain the illusion of wealth and society, so their irresponsible spending continues unchecked. Even in the most intense and private situations, good behaviour rules:

When the last speechless hand-grip was completed, Papa, Mummie, and I were left in the hall, with empty glasses and the empty plates; funerals are hungry work. We exchanged cool, warning looks -- which of us could behave best: which of us could be least embarrassing to the others, the most ordinary in a choice of occupation? (p. 113)

Good Behaviour landed Molly Keane firmly on my favorite authors list. Her characterizations are classic examples of an author showing, not telling. At an early age Richard is "caught" reading poetry in a treehouse. Richard and Hubert go to great lengths to be together alone. Slowly, the reader comes to realize they are gay. It's brilliantly done. She conveys emotion with similar skill. When Aroon goes to a party alone and finds she's been paired with an older, misfit of a man, her pain is palpable. And yet there are also moments of delightful wit, such as Mummie's visit with neighbors, when she finds the primary bathroom already in use. Her host directs her:

'You'll have to try the downstairs. I'll just turn out the cats. They love it on a wet day.' I could imagine them there, crouched between the loo and the croquet mallets and the Wellington boots and the weed killer. (p. 157)

My Virago Modern Classics collection includes several more books by Molly Keane (who also wrote under the pseudonym M.J. Farrell). I can't wait to discover more of her talent.

#98 - "Virago Modern Classics" is one of my 12 in 12 category challenges. I had not considered this one, but your review has convinced me to put it on the list.

I've had this one on my WL since Dee recommended it Laura and now you just clinched it. Thanks for your excellent review:)

On the hunt for THAT one! *thumb*

Kerri, I'm not doing the "12 in 12" challenge, but I still set a goal of reading 12 Viragoes this year. Alas, I will probably acquire more than that but I do love my green spines!

Bonnie, Tui: yay! Really, I suspect anything by Molly Keane is good. I aim to find out.

6. Lady Susan ()
Source: Kindle
Why I read this now: I was traveling this week, and finished book #5 with time remaining on my flight. Kindle to the rescue!

This 100-page epistolary novella is told primarily through Lady Susan herself, an awful woman if ever there was one. Recently widowed, her time is spent chasing men and trying to manipulate everyone around her. This book is so short I can't quite muster a full review. It's one of Jane Austen's early works, and it shows. While it fell flat for me in places, there are clear signs of the talent she would later bring to her full-length novels.

Laura - I will have to pull Molly Keane off the shelves based on your excellent review. Sometimes we don't realise the gems that are hidden in our bookcase!

Laura- Great review of Good Behaviour. I was not familiar with this title or the author. You've changed that. Thank you. Enjoy your day!

>104 PaulCranswick:, 105: hello gents! I was completely unfamiliar with Molly Keane until I got sucked into collecting Virago Modern Classics (and that happened only because of LT and a wonderful, active group devoted to VMCs). Virago publishes all kinds of books by women writers, many of whom are not at all well known. I've enjoyed reading and collecting, and I especially love it when I discover such a fine author.

Laura, that was a fantastic review of Good Behaviour and I just WL'd it. Just how many VMCs are there anyway? It sounds like you're going to need a second set of dedicated bookshelves for them.

>107 phebj:: Pat, so far there are 559 Virago Modern Classics (whew!). I have 189 and have read, erm, 45. You're right about that second set of bookshelves. Mine are all housed in a nice bookcase but I am on the verge of requiring more space!

I remember seeing the picture of the beautiful bookcase for your Viragos and how they didn't all quite fit. I had no idea there were so many.

108: I have 189 and have read, erm, 45.
This is not an atypical LibraryThing proportion... :-)

I am dodging book bullets left and right. I lucked out and only had to add one of your recent reads, Good Behaviour, to the BlackHole as the others are already there or already read.

Great reviews as usual, Laura!

Laura, I have been looking for Good Behaviour since I started collecting VMCs but it never shows up in Nz bookshops!

Pat - watch out, it is quite addictive once you start collecting them!! My husband knows to check out any second-hand bookstores when he goes on trips for work to hunt for them.

Oh yes, Good Behaviour what a fine fine book. Glad you loved it!

>109 phebj:: Pat, I added a bookshelf photo to message #108. This is probably the one you remember. There are 153 books shown. There's room for more below what you see there, so I've been able to expand within that bookcase. There's also room on either side, except there are other books there now. Fortunately my husband, who builds furniture, has decided to make a couple of bookcases, so someday we'll have more storage.

>110 qebo:: thanks for absolving my guilt, Katherine.
>111 alcottacre:: I hit Stasia with a book bullet? Wow!
>112 cushlareads:: Cushla, I hope you find it one of these days!
>113 sibylline:: Thanks Lucy!

Your gorgeous book case of Viragos makes my little shelf of Viragos look so sad...

Well you have to start somewhere Katie! No shelf too small, no stack too sad ...

Yes, that's the picture I remember! You obviously love your VMCs to give them such a lovely home. :)

That is an impressive collection Laura. Mine could fit on a very small shelf, very small, so that just housed with all my other books. I'm wish listing them on PBS though so we shall see.

>118 brenzi:: Bonnie, that's not a bad strategy. I've acquired 40% of my collection that way. Yes, I'm keeping track, sometimes I can't help myself :)

My, this is a dangerous thread - Good Behaviour goes to the WL as well.
What a gorgeous book case! I just visited the Virago site, I actually never knew what Virago books were and I don't know if I ever read one. They are clearly worth collecting.

My Viragos have burst out of their shelf and I don't know quite what to do with them. Sigh with a tinge envy.

114,121: An in-house furniture builder would be handy.

>122 qebo:: indeed he is. He is also available for hire should any of you be interested in custom furniture. PM me if you are.

I've moved my Virago collection three times, and hope to expand again. I think that Molly Keane was my first VMC experience, Two Days in Aragon, but I haven't read Good Behavior. I look forward to it! (And I'm not about to check to see what my "own to read" ratio is - not as good as yours, I expect.)

>108 lauralkeet:: Laura, I'm sorry for the drool on your lovely books. That is an awesome sight. Seriously, when can I visit your books you?

>124 LizzieD:: chicken :)
>125 Donna828:: anytime Donna! We have a guest room :)

I wanna come too! =)

Laura, your house looks lovely, your lake looks wonderful and that's not a bad Virago collection you have there! I think we'll all be moving in soon. Perhaps a few of us could camp by the lake when you run out of bedrooms ;)

I enjoyed your review of Good Behaviour and loved that quote about the cats in the loo!

I still have three of Austen's "primary works" to read so won't think about Lady Susan quite yet.

Hi Laura- Love those bookshelves. Mighty impressive!

>128 Soupdragon:: I think we'll all be moving in soon. Perhaps a few of us could camp by the lake when you run out of bedrooms.
We have a few acres of pasture behind the pond. My husband is always threatening to build houses for my daughters back there so they can never leave :) Perhaps we should consider guest cottages instead? We could offer book retreats (hosted by me) and woodworking/furniture building retreats (hosted by him). Hmmm .... !!

130: Hmmm... indeed. You post a picture of your lovely quiet retreat from the world, and see what happens?

#130 All that sounds delightful---for US. I have a feeling you and your family might get tired of it rather quickly!

Ooh, a book retreat! I think that idea has legs. :)

>130 lauralkeet: but that means I'd have to be in two places at once!

7. Oryx and Crake ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: I picked this up in a used bookshop a couple months agol.
Why I read this now: Orange January!

Human society, they claimed, was a sort of monster, its main by-products being corpses and rubble. It never learned, it made the same cretinous mistakes over and over, trading short-term gain for long-term pain. It was like a giant slug eating its way relentlessly through all the other bioforms on the planet, grinding up life on earth and shitting it out the backside in the form of pieces of manufactured and soon-to-be-obsolete plastic junk. (p. 243)

Snowman, formerly known as Jimmy, lives in relative solitude, sleeping in a lean-to and scavenging for food and water in a city destroyed by a disaster. He wears a watch, although it no longer functions, and covers himself with a bed sheet as protection from the sun's harsh rays. Snowman also watches over the "Children of Crake," a group of ... what are they? People? Aliens? And how did all this come to pass?

Snowman's entire life is set sometime in a near future, that bears some resemblance to the world we know today. The story takes us back to Snowman's childhood, when his father worked for one of many corporations using science to "improve" the world. Through genetic engineering, they seek to evolve human and animal life to advanced forms, free from perceived weaknesses. But of course that comes with a price to people and society. Snowman and his best friend Crake spend their days in typical boy/teen pursuits, like videogames, but even these have a somewhat sinister aspect. As they grow up, their paths diverge -- Crake is more scientifically minded, and is recruited by a renowned university -- but they meet up again in their 20s, along with Oryx, a beautiful woman they have both admired for years.

Along the way, Margaret Atwood leaves tiny clues, so the reader begins to envision what will happen, and how Snowman ends up as possibly the last remaining human on earth. It's both gripping and highly disturbing. Atwood considers her work "speculative fiction," not science fiction. And Oryx and Crake has the requisite dystopian and apocalyptic elements. It's not my usual fare, but she is so good at it, I could easily imagine Snowman's world, and see the path to it from the world I know today. In writing Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood said she intended to give one answer to the question, "What if we continue down the road we're already on? How slippery is the slope? What are our saving graces? Who's got the will to stop us?" And frankly, her answer is bleak. It could be a wake-up call. Or we could all just continue down the road we're already on ...

Hmm, another excellent review of a book I've recently left behind in a charity shop. Are you creeping in behind me, Laura and buying all the ones I've picked up and put down again? ;)

Seriously, this is one which I didn't think was for me but your review and other comments at Orange January have made me think it might be. I think I'll pop back to the charity shop. There were two copies and it wasn't very long ago.

Do read it, Soup, I was equally impressed by it when I read it last year. (I seem to be following you around the threads today!)

>136 Soupdragon:: What a coincidence, Dee! I was really wary of this one because it's really not my usual cuppa. I wouldn't say I loved it, but Atwood is such a fabulous writer, I found myself appreciating "how she does it".

>137 sibylline:: Lucy, have you read Year of the Flood? I picked it up cheap recently having heard it's a good companion read to O&C.

Hi, Laura! I read both Oryx & Crake and The Year of the Flood fairly recently, and if you liked the one, you'll like the other, I think. They're different, but complement each other nicely.

Another nod to Oryx and Crake huh? I'm getting closer and closer to pulling the trigger on this one and I did read your review (thumb!) and you've have laid out a very persuasive argument Laura.

I agree with you Amber -- there were even some things about Flood I liked better than O&C - came away with a much wider understanding of the whole situation -- although Jimmy might be the best overall character of both books.

135: Laura, your terrific review reminded me why I liked this book so much. I read on someone's thread that this is part one of a trilogy. I may hold off a bit on reading Year of the Flood to space them out a bit.

Thanks for the perspective on both O&C and YotF.

I'm now reading a chunkster, the third movement of Anthony Powell's Dance to the Music of TIme, which is 3 novellas, and somewhere over 700 pages. So it will be a while before I have anything substantive to say here ... maybe we can find other things to talk about!

I finished the first novella of the 3rd movement (243 pages) last night. It's sooo good! We're now up to WW II (the series started somewhere around 1920) and the main character, Nick Jenkins, is in the army. This is one of those books where I wish I didn't have a job and other responsibilities :)

I would love to read those books but I have way too many others waiting for me, to embark on something like that. One day...

I still haven't got to Oryx and Crake Laura, nor its sequel, but they are in one of those TBR piles.

Love your Virago bookcase! I don't have anywhere near as many!

Glad you liked Oryx &C. I do admire everthing of Atwoods I've read, which is most of it. Admire rather than love, mostly - she's a writer who somehow keeps her distance.

I read O&C in around 2006, and have had a copy of the Year of the Flood for over a year now, so I really should pick it up soon. I have so many books in the TBR shelves, they somehow hide each other!

I'm also hoping to read the Powell, but so far have only managed to find a copy of the the third movement. Bother, I really should have ordered the first volume as one of my recent Thingaversary purchases...

I've now finished the second novella of A Dance to the Music of Time: Third Movement (another 228 pages down!). It's easy reading and so nicely done. In the first book, the war was almost background; not much "action" yet. The second book is similar, in that Nick is stationed in Ireland and then London. But then the bombing starts and the war begins to take its toll in a way that has a personal impact on Nick.

Why do I have to work today? I'd rather read the third book.

Why do I have to work today? A question I so often find myself asking. *sigh*

148: Why do I have to work today?
I'm just settling in at the computer with the same question.

That's a sign of a good book!

Or a bad job!

I love that comment about Atwood, Genny.

The only good thing Laura is having so much more of Dance to look forward to!

8. A Dance to the Music of Time: Third Movement ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: On my bookshelves
Why I read this now: I would like to finish the series this year, and I like curling up with chunksters in the winter months (this book tops 700 pages).

Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time is a series of twelve novellas originally published between 1951 and 1975. Narrated by Nick Jenkins, the story begins during his school days in the 1920s, and continues for more than half a century. The books are not as much about Nick as they are about people he meets, and how their paths repeatedly cross over time. Chicago Press published the series as collections of three novellas they called "movements". I read the first two movements last year, and discovered a gem of English literature. The Third Movement is set during World War II; the titles of each novella -- The Valley of Bones, The Soldier's Art, The Military Philosophers -- have a distinct military tone.

This installment opens with Nick assigned to a military unit stationed in Ireland. The war is in its early days, and very few have seen real action. Nick finds himself banded together with a variety of men, many bankers by trade who cannot relate to his work as a writer. And there are some from less educated classes whom he would never meet outside the military. Inevitably, there are connections between new characters and those we've met in earlier books, and so the dance continues.

Nick's military career is a slow one, and almost entirely administrative. He never goes to the front (isn't that a convenient way for the main character to survive the conflict?), but the war still takes a personal toll. Nick experiences his share of loss, and I was struck by the way he often learned of death indirectly, and long after it occurred. Nick's personal life advances too, but this is very much in the background. His wife only occasionally enters the picture, and the reader doesn't learn much about how the war affected her, even though she would have been devastated by one of the more significant losses in this book.

As I've come to expect from Dance, there is considerably more talk than action. It's difficult to describe the pleasure that comes from reading these books. It's all in the dance metaphor, which is so rich and satisfying. I love the element of surprise when a nameless character is described at great length, and Powell gradually reveals they are a significant player from a earlier novella. When new characters enter the story, I look for clues to their significance: will they enter the dance later? And in what way?

I have only one movement left to read, and I'm torn by wanting to complete the series, and yet wishing it would never end.

These books sound wonderful, Laura. I'm definitely a fan of more talk than action!

You are making these sound so enticing. A thumb, of course!

Laura, you write so beautifully about these books. I just thumbed your review too. The only thing holding me back from starting the First Movement is the length. I went out and bought it when you reviewed it!

I'm in the same boat as Pat - bought the First Movement after you reviewed it so beautifully last year but haven't gotten the nerve to start it yet!

Aw gee, you guys are all so nice. Since each movement is 700 pages or so, I would definitely recommend reading the first one before you rush out and buy more, just to be sure you like it. We bought all 4 volumes used and it's kind of funny how easy it is to get the later volumes in "like new" condition. No doubt many people have rushed out and bought the set (or received as a gift), and then found it wasn't their cuppa.

Another good review of a book I want to read, Laura. I doubt I would find a copy at our spring library sale as this set is not mainstream enough. I did, however, snag a mint condition copy of Infinite Jest last fall. Now how do you suppose that happened?

Well Laura, I'm having a run of chunksters but I guess I won't get to these this year because I'm saving the best for last. I have Olivia Manning's The Balkan Trilogy which I'm thinking of reading next month as I am now reading the new NF Max Hastings WWII book and that would make a nice connection. And then I have the Raj Quartet to read and then, finally, I will get to your luscious series which I have the first three volumes. I mean why wouldn't I like them? You do.

Thumb, BTW.

Love love love The Balkan Trilogy and loved The Raj Quartet when I read it in the 80s.

Glad you are still enjoying Mr. Powell!!

Adore The Balkan Trilogy as well, though I never got into the Raj Quartet. Was probably too young; started reading in my early 20s, when The Jewel in the Crown miniseries was on TV, but never got traction.

I do need to catch up on my Atwoods; I am, however, relieved that I don't have 140 plus VMCs awaiting my attention!! I hope you enjoy them...

I watched both The Balkan Trilogy and The Raj Quartet on TV, and a few years later read The Raj Quartet (probably in my late 20s, Suz!) Probably should read The Balkan Trilogy but it sits waaay out there on a virtual queue, no idea when/if I'll get to it. So I can relate to you all keeping Mr Powell in reserve.

Morning Laura- Always enjoy the morning DA chatter. It's like our cyber water-cooler. BTW- I wasn't calling you Lynda. That was Lynda (Carmenere). LOL.
I hope you have a great day.

>165 msf59:: oops.

I'm still waiting to find a used copy of the first movement of the Powell - not that I have any shortage of other things to be reading in the meantime (including my own growing collection of as yet unread VMCs) - but your review makes me impatient to get started!

>167 gennyt:: Genny, is Powell available in "movements" in the UK? My editions are published by Chicago Press so I have often wondered if they were only sold as individual novellas in the UK.

I had the same problem Suz -- maybe someday (ha ha) I will re-open the Raj.

168: I know the question wasn't addressed to me but I happen to know that the books are available as movements in the UK, as I have all four on my Amazon.co.uk wishlist :)

Balkan Trilogy and Raj Quartet on my shelves, and wink from time to time. I too saw both the very fine series in the 80s/90s.

Laura, I have come to wish you a very happy birthday! However I have to admit I'm a bit confused over whether it is today or tomorrow. I hope you have, or are having, a very lovely day!

Edited to say: Looks like it's tomorrow. Hope you have a most frabjous day!

It IS tomorrow Dee but I'm thrilled to be getting the party started!

Happy birthday for tomorrow Laura! have just caught up on your thread. I'm pretty sure I have the first volume of a Dance to The Music of Time here. It sounds really good.

I can't remember where on LT I've told this story, but many years ago there was a show here called Mastermind (like the English one). Every contestant had to pick a specialist subject, as well as general knowledge, andone year the winner's topic was A Dance to the Music of Time. I must have been about 10 - anyway I got the idea from that that the cycle was very difficult to read and really long and I think it's put me off for years! (If I already said all this when you started reading it, sorry for my forgetfulness.)

Hello Cushla, thanks for the birthday wishes, and what a great story! It's not at all difficult to read, and it's oh-so-English which is part of what I love about it. I could see it being on the TV show though, because there are sooo many characters, and locations, and references to literature and art. In fact my husband found a book, Invitation to the Dance, which is a reference for all those things. I enjoy reading it in the same way I enjoy poring over maps. I know folks here will understand :)

Hey, Happy Birthday! I figure if I get my wish in now, you can have an entire day of goodies.

Oh, Happy Day Cake!! (As Charlie says.) Hope you have a wonderful wonderful day, and that you get good and spoiled.

Hope you have a wonderful birthday tomorrow Laura!

Laura, I'm another one who had better wish you a happy birthday now. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Hope your new year will be full of wonderful opportunities and even more wonderful books!!!!
I remain thrilled that you are so happy with one of my favorite series. The others: THE RAJ QUARTET and *The Poldark Saga*. Also the E.F. Benson *Lucia* books. Oh. And Dorothy Dunnett's *Chronicles of Lymond*. Now I'm through.

Oh I'm loving this, a birthday party on my thread! And no cleanup required!
>177 scaifea:: I like "Happy Day Cake"!
>179 LizzieD:: don't tempt me, woman!

I will quietly admit that this is a "big" birthday in which the number ends in zero. I don't get too worked up about these things, and my husband is a few months older so I always pass the milestones with him first. But still ... 50. Eek.

Hi Laura, Happy Real Birthday! These virtual parties are lots of fun but we would also like to know about the actual celebration. i hope you have an extra special day!

Happy Birthday, Laura!

180: Happy big birthday!

Happy Day Cake indeed, Laura! xoxo

Happy Birthday, Laura!

A big Happy Birthday to you, Laura. Lucky you to have your birthday fall on a weekend. Hope you have a wonderful celebration.

Morning Laura! Happy Birthday! Have a fantastic day!

9. Dissolution ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: My shelves
Why I read this now: I was in the mood for something light after my last book.

Between 1536 and 1541, King Henry VIII disbanded monasteries across England, Ireland, and Wales. This was not without controversy and resistance. Dissolution imagines a possible scenario involving murder and corruption. Matthew Shardlake is sent to investigate the brutal murder of a king's commissioner at a monastery on the south coast of England. Shardlake and his assistant, Mark Poer, are invested with the authority to interview anyone they choose, examine the monastery's financial records, and move pretty much without let or hindrance to identify the murderer. They soon learn almost everyone has a motive, but at the same time almost everyone has an alibi.

It turns out the commissioner wasn't the first person to be murdered there, and soon there are still more bodies. What's an investigator to do? Matthew Shardlake is shrewd, with superb analytical skills, and quickly forms a hypothesis. At this point, the reader can glance at the number of pages remaining and be fairly certain Matthew is not on the right track, but even as one theory is proven wrong another forms. The situation is more complex than simply knocking off someone sent to shut down the abbey. A long history of rivalry, corruption and "cooking the books" adds to the intrigue, resulting in a rich, layered mystery.

I enjoyed this novel's historical setting. C. J. Sansom brought a dark side of Tudor England to life, especially the environment of fear and control. Matthew Shardlake and Mark Poer were simply functionaries with a job to do. But their investigation also challenged them to face the beliefs and systems that made them who they are, and each resolved that conflict in his own way. This is the first book in a series, and I will definitely be back for more.

Nice review of a series I haven't begun yet.

A rich, layered mystery is a perfect way to describe a Shardlake novel, Laura. I'm happy that you enjoyed your first one!

Hope the birthday was a good one too.

Belated Happy Birthday Laura!

A great review of Dissolution, but what I'd really want to read now is Dance to the Music of Time. I had never heard about that one before your review, now it's on my tbr.

Happy Birthday one day late.....

Ah so now you know the lure of Matthew Shardlake. Nice.

Nathalie, I'm happy to have introduced you to the "Dance". We both have Peggy (LizzieD) to thank for it actually!

Lucy, thank you! I'm happy to keep on celebrating.

Bonnie, having read all the Jackson Brodies, and all but one of the Julia Spencer-Flemings, I felt like I needed a new series. And I'm picky about mysteries, and about series in general. Thank goodness for LT to steer me in the right direction!

good review! I've seen quite a few by Sansom on here, I believe that one is already on my wishlist!
Oh soo many books to read!

I'm reading Shardlake now for the first time, and it's gooood. We both have the same person to thank for that one, I believe? (No. 184 above, I'm looking at you!)

10. Emma ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: Kindle
Why I read this now: This is year two of my tradition of reading one Jane Austen novel each year.

I lay it down as a general rule, Harriet, that if a woman doubts as to whether she should accept a man or not, she certainly ought to refuse him. If she can hesitate as to 'Yes,' she ought to say 'No' directly. It is not a state to be safely entered into with doubtful feelings, with half a heart. (p. 43)

Early on, the title character in Jane Austen's Emma offers this advice to her friend Harriet, recently presented with a proposal of marriage. And it seems sensible advice, indeed, but in one stroke, Emma creates a mess that takes the rest of the novel to sort out.

Emma Woodhouse is a frivolous young woman, with a comfortable life at Hartfield, her father's estate. Her former governess and dear friend, a Miss Taylor, has recently become Mrs Weston. Their friendship continues to thrive, but Emma is still pleased to make the acquaintance of Harriet, another young single woman. Harriet is of somewhat lower class, and Emma sets her sights on "improving" her, with nearly disastrous consequences. She convinces Harriet she can do better than marry a common farmer, and invites her into Hartfield's social circle to play matchmaker. Her first target is Mr Elton, the vicar, but Emma is surprised to find Elton interested in her instead of Harriet. That makes for some awkward moments with her new friend. From that point on Emma tries to be less obvious, but in her continued efforts to pair Harriet with a suitable man, she is blind to other attachments forming around her.

The first time I read this book, I jumped right on the "isn't Emma an awful person" bandwagon. This time around, I found her a more sympathetic character. She repeatedly claims she has no intention of marrying, but much of this is due to a sense of duty towards her father, a widower who is very dependent on her and resistant to even the slightest change. I also rather liked her confidence:

Something occurred while they were at Hartfield, to make Emma want their advice; and, which was still more lucky, she wanted exactly the advice they gave. (p. 176)

Much like when I re-read Pride and Prejudice last year, I most enjoyed Austen's characterizations and humor. Mr Woodhouse is a complete worrywart, agitating over every little thing. He made me smile, but I especially enjoyed the scenes with neighbors Mrs Bates and her niece Miss Bates. They are so chatty, and can't ever seem to come to the point in a conversation:

'Thank you. You are so kind!' replied the happily deceived aunt, while eagerly hunting for the letter. --'Oh! here it is. I was sure it could not be far off; but I had put my huswife upon it, you see, without being aware, and so it was quite hid, but I had it in my hand so very lately that I was almost sure it must be on the table. I was reading it to Mrs. Cole, and since she went away, I was reading it again to my mother, for it was such a pleasure to her -- a letter from Jane -- that she can never hear it often enough; so I knew it could not be far off, and here it is, only just under my huswife -- and since you are so kind as to wish to hear what she says; -- but, first of all, I really must, in justice to Jane, apologise for her writing so short a letter -- only two pages you see -- hardly two -- and in general she fills the whole paper and crosses half. ...' (p. 132)

We've all been imprisoned in conversations like this, haven't we? In Austen's novels, everyone is too well-mannered to simply tell someone to shut up and get to the point already. Every time the Bateses came on the scene, I imagined everyone else rolling their eyes at each other and squirming uncomfortably in their seats.

But of course romance is at the heart of this story. Emma is filled with potential couples, it's just not clear who will end up with whom. Fortunately it's only a matter of time before everyone is happily paired off, and the reader can breathe a contented sigh.

Hi Laura. I've just started Emma so will read your review when I've finished!

I haven't read any Austen since high school days. Sounds like I should start rereading them.

Isn't it wonderful, Laura! You've made me want to reread it, doing a two Jane winter this year!

198: Did you follow SqueakyChu's tutored read of Emma last year? I haven't read Emma in 30 years or so, keep getting these LT reminders...

Excellent review Laura, as I knew it would be. That quote from Miss Bates had me giggling as I thought about her interaction in the book. But those polite people just sighed and tried to get a word in edgewise or, better, think of an excuse to get out of there.

Hello Dee, Rebecca, Tui, Katherine & Bonnie!

I can't wait to read your thoughts on Emma, Dee. It's not my favorite Austen (that would be a tie between P&P and Persuasion), but I did enjoy it very much.

Rebecca, I highly recommend a re-read. I'm getting so much more out of these books now. I was in my 20s when I read P&P for the first time, and I found it challenging to get into the language of the time period. It was more a badge of honor to have read it, than the enjoyable experience it should have been. Now I'm more, shall way say, mature, and have also read more widely, and I appreciate Austen's work much more.

Tui, which Jane did you read this winter? I feel like I should know this but can't recall. I really like this new tradition -- thanks for inspiring it.

Katherine, I remember seeing the tutored read but no, I didn't follow it. If you've had a 30-year hiatus then you are overdue, my friend!

Bonnie, thank you! It was fun reading this at the same time, comparing notes along the way, and seeing how each of us captured the book in review form.

Looky looky, I'm finally "eligible" to continue this thread. I'll keep this one going until I finish my next book.

Laura, I read Persuasion. I have now downloaded Emma AND Mansfield Park onto my Kindle, for good things to read when I'm oot and aboot. I had read P&P last winter.

ETA: started reading Emma--I'd forgotten what a busybody she was!

Hi Laura- I'm just swinging through to say hi! Hope you are enjoying your weekend and are deeply immersed in a good book.

I have, indeed, been immersed in books this weekend Mark. I've only just now gotten around to reviewing a book I finished ... um ... last Wednesday. But you'll have to visit my new thread to read about it!