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1Kristelh
Starting a new thread for 2017. Last year read 40 books from list but some were rereads. I am at 32%.
The continuation of my reading of books from 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.
v2, http://www.librarything.com/topic/144668
http://www.librarything.com/topic/144668#4765409
Last years thread; http://www.librarything.com/topic/210737
The continuation of my reading of books from 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.
v2, http://www.librarything.com/topic/144668
http://www.librarything.com/topic/144668#4765409
Last years thread; http://www.librarything.com/topic/210737
2Kristelh
419. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino, 3.5 stars
I have a lot of disjointed thoughts about this book but then the book was disjointed so that makes sense. so this is about reading, about writing. It's clever. When I read a book like this I am impressed with the cleverness but when I think of it as a book that is enjoyable to read, it isn't that. This was work. It did not pull me along. So here are my random thoughts. The book starts out with a train, small town and I am reading The Idiot by Dostoevsky so the two remind me of each other. The next thing I notice is that the book is about writing and the process of writing, how the writer develops the story and the how the reader approaches the story. From this, I am reminded of Stephen King's On Writing. The writing is postmodernist narrative and it is a Frame story. We first have the story from one perspective followed by commentary of the story from another perspective and the story keeps changing. Each chapter divided into two parts. You, the reader, is a character in the book. It is a "Quest" to finish the book. The journey, arrival/frustration, final ordeal, goal. Also for me, I notice that as the reader goes from book to book, the creativity of the writer deteriorates, more use of ghost writer, formulas, plagiarism, computers and less story telling and more sex and erotica.
I know that this is gifted writing, I appreciated much, but I really did not enjoy the time I spent on it.
I gave the book 3 stars but now I need to examine that rating.
1. How has this book contributed to the world of literature. The age is postmodernism and experimental. It contributed to the world of literature in examining the experience of reading and writing. It looks at both even though it specifically is about the reader. I don't know if it left us something but for me there was a fair amount of warning about how modern times maybe is corrupting the writing and reading experience.
2. Plot/how does it hold together. It is disjointed feeling but in the end it is all connected. I think it is taxing and not sure everyone will hold out through the relatively short book to get to the surprising end.
3. The characters/setting/scenes: the characters (me the reader), that person was consistent mostly, I liked the early women more than the later women. They may have been strong women but sex was also present.
4. Readability: I did not feel that it flowed that well but it was still skillful in a "clever" way. Because of reading on a kindle I can not comment on how the book was experienced but what I like about the kindle is the easy access to dictionary, character list and taking notes/highlights.
5. Did the author achieve what he set out to achieve. Yes!
6. Style: this is a book with a style, a series of unfinished stories. A Frame story, traveling to various places. etc. Lots of style.
So is it still a 3 star read? Yes, maybe a 3.5 star. Clever, unique style would push the rating up, disjointed, sexual content, too much "clever" pushes the score back down. The lack of pure reading enjoyment brings score down. The fact that this book makes good discussion and I am pretty sure will stick with me pushes it more toward 4 stars if I were to round up or down.
I have a lot of disjointed thoughts about this book but then the book was disjointed so that makes sense. so this is about reading, about writing. It's clever. When I read a book like this I am impressed with the cleverness but when I think of it as a book that is enjoyable to read, it isn't that. This was work. It did not pull me along. So here are my random thoughts. The book starts out with a train, small town and I am reading The Idiot by Dostoevsky so the two remind me of each other. The next thing I notice is that the book is about writing and the process of writing, how the writer develops the story and the how the reader approaches the story. From this, I am reminded of Stephen King's On Writing. The writing is postmodernist narrative and it is a Frame story. We first have the story from one perspective followed by commentary of the story from another perspective and the story keeps changing. Each chapter divided into two parts. You, the reader, is a character in the book. It is a "Quest" to finish the book. The journey, arrival/frustration, final ordeal, goal. Also for me, I notice that as the reader goes from book to book, the creativity of the writer deteriorates, more use of ghost writer, formulas, plagiarism, computers and less story telling and more sex and erotica.
I know that this is gifted writing, I appreciated much, but I really did not enjoy the time I spent on it.
I gave the book 3 stars but now I need to examine that rating.
1. How has this book contributed to the world of literature. The age is postmodernism and experimental. It contributed to the world of literature in examining the experience of reading and writing. It looks at both even though it specifically is about the reader. I don't know if it left us something but for me there was a fair amount of warning about how modern times maybe is corrupting the writing and reading experience.
2. Plot/how does it hold together. It is disjointed feeling but in the end it is all connected. I think it is taxing and not sure everyone will hold out through the relatively short book to get to the surprising end.
3. The characters/setting/scenes: the characters (me the reader), that person was consistent mostly, I liked the early women more than the later women. They may have been strong women but sex was also present.
4. Readability: I did not feel that it flowed that well but it was still skillful in a "clever" way. Because of reading on a kindle I can not comment on how the book was experienced but what I like about the kindle is the easy access to dictionary, character list and taking notes/highlights.
5. Did the author achieve what he set out to achieve. Yes!
6. Style: this is a book with a style, a series of unfinished stories. A Frame story, traveling to various places. etc. Lots of style.
So is it still a 3 star read? Yes, maybe a 3.5 star. Clever, unique style would push the rating up, disjointed, sexual content, too much "clever" pushes the score back down. The lack of pure reading enjoyment brings score down. The fact that this book makes good discussion and I am pretty sure will stick with me pushes it more toward 4 stars if I were to round up or down.
3Kristelh
420. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky, 4.5 stars 
Dostoyevsky is by far one of my favorite Russian authors. I've read 3 of the 5 books he has on the 1001 list. Looking at his life as I just did, I did not realize that he actually was given a death sentence when he was arrested for opposing the monarchy. This is touched on in this book in the chapter where they are discussing that death by murder is better than death by sentence. His time spent in prison and labor probably made him the man that can write such stories as Crime and Punishment, Brother's K and The Idiot. In his travels, he meets Appolinaria Suslova. His relationship with her is reflected in “The Idiot,” “The Gambler” (“Igrok”) and his other works. She is believed to be the main inspiration for Dostoevsky’s female characters. He did not marry her but instead married his stenographer. Who he may have used as inspiration for Nastasya Fillipnova. (http://russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-r...) This book is about a man who is good and kindhearted in contrast to the wordly people he encounters in Russia. The author set out to write a story of a splendidly good man and he said it was the most difficult thing to do. His books are largely translated and required reading in many schools. His stories reflect the mood of the times and his views of Russia. The story and characters are well developed. I certainly can see that writing about someone who is "simply good" would be hard to stick to as humans just aren't that good therefore the prince is a Christ like figure with Rogozhin serving as the antagonist to the prince. I listened to the Blackstone audio and narrated by Robert Whitfield and the pdf file translated by Eva Martin. The audio was good but I really did not like his women voices and so therefore this might not be the best audio. Did the author achieve creating a splendidly good man. Yes and no. I don't know why a splendidly good man would also be a man who suffers from epilepsy and had to be hospitalized or is that how he became a good man because he had been removed from the world and not contaminated by the world. While this was the author's favorite book, it wasn't mine, I think I liked The Brothers Karamazov best so far. Rating is 4.5
Dostoyevsky is by far one of my favorite Russian authors. I've read 3 of the 5 books he has on the 1001 list. Looking at his life as I just did, I did not realize that he actually was given a death sentence when he was arrested for opposing the monarchy. This is touched on in this book in the chapter where they are discussing that death by murder is better than death by sentence. His time spent in prison and labor probably made him the man that can write such stories as Crime and Punishment, Brother's K and The Idiot. In his travels, he meets Appolinaria Suslova. His relationship with her is reflected in “The Idiot,” “The Gambler” (“Igrok”) and his other works. She is believed to be the main inspiration for Dostoevsky’s female characters. He did not marry her but instead married his stenographer. Who he may have used as inspiration for Nastasya Fillipnova. (http://russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-r...) This book is about a man who is good and kindhearted in contrast to the wordly people he encounters in Russia. The author set out to write a story of a splendidly good man and he said it was the most difficult thing to do. His books are largely translated and required reading in many schools. His stories reflect the mood of the times and his views of Russia. The story and characters are well developed. I certainly can see that writing about someone who is "simply good" would be hard to stick to as humans just aren't that good therefore the prince is a Christ like figure with Rogozhin serving as the antagonist to the prince. I listened to the Blackstone audio and narrated by Robert Whitfield and the pdf file translated by Eva Martin. The audio was good but I really did not like his women voices and so therefore this might not be the best audio. Did the author achieve creating a splendidly good man. Yes and no. I don't know why a splendidly good man would also be a man who suffers from epilepsy and had to be hospitalized or is that how he became a good man because he had been removed from the world and not contaminated by the world. While this was the author's favorite book, it wasn't mine, I think I liked The Brothers Karamazov best so far. Rating is 4.5
4Kristelh
421. The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams, 
Published in 1988, this is the second book in the Dirk Gently series. I really enjoyed this one. I listened to the audio read by the author (great job) and also had a book. This is a fantasy/sci fi book where Dirk Gently is a detective. The title may seem to not fit the novel but wiki tells me that this title is a phrase that appeared in Adams' novel Life, the Universe and Everything to describe the wretched boredom of immortal being Wowbagger, the Infinitely Prolonged, and is a play on the theological treatise Dark Night of the Soul, by Saint John of the Cross and refers to that time on Sunday when the weekend is over and the weekday has not started "In the end, it was the Sunday afternoons he couldn't cope with, and that terrible listlessness which starts to set in at about 2:55, when you know that you've had all the baths you can usefully have that day, that however hard you stare at any given paragraph in the papers you will never actually read it, or use the revolutionary new pruning technique it describes, and that as you stare at the clock the hands will move relentlessly on to four o'clock, and you will enter the long dark teatime of the soul." Dirk Gently calls himself a holistic detective. He has been hired by a man who wants to be protected from a large green monster set on killing him. He suspects the client is nuts but after he is found beheaded on a record that is playing "don't pick it up" he decides to follow the clues to find out what has happened. It is a riotous tale and truly quirky. I enjoyed this much more than I did The Hitchhikes Guide to The Galaxy. I did read it out of orderr and will need to eventually read the first book. This is a book with alternate universes of man and Valhalla. Technology is not very advanced in 1988 and this book makes fun of it. It's also about man forgetting the deities that had been called into being by humanities need for faith. Rating 3.5 leaning toward a 4.
Published in 1988, this is the second book in the Dirk Gently series. I really enjoyed this one. I listened to the audio read by the author (great job) and also had a book. This is a fantasy/sci fi book where Dirk Gently is a detective. The title may seem to not fit the novel but wiki tells me that this title is a phrase that appeared in Adams' novel Life, the Universe and Everything to describe the wretched boredom of immortal being Wowbagger, the Infinitely Prolonged, and is a play on the theological treatise Dark Night of the Soul, by Saint John of the Cross and refers to that time on Sunday when the weekend is over and the weekday has not started "In the end, it was the Sunday afternoons he couldn't cope with, and that terrible listlessness which starts to set in at about 2:55, when you know that you've had all the baths you can usefully have that day, that however hard you stare at any given paragraph in the papers you will never actually read it, or use the revolutionary new pruning technique it describes, and that as you stare at the clock the hands will move relentlessly on to four o'clock, and you will enter the long dark teatime of the soul." Dirk Gently calls himself a holistic detective. He has been hired by a man who wants to be protected from a large green monster set on killing him. He suspects the client is nuts but after he is found beheaded on a record that is playing "don't pick it up" he decides to follow the clues to find out what has happened. It is a riotous tale and truly quirky. I enjoyed this much more than I did The Hitchhikes Guide to The Galaxy. I did read it out of orderr and will need to eventually read the first book. This is a book with alternate universes of man and Valhalla. Technology is not very advanced in 1988 and this book makes fun of it. It's also about man forgetting the deities that had been called into being by humanities need for faith. Rating 3.5 leaning toward a 4.
5Kristelh
422. Dom Casmurro by Machado de Assis, 
The author Machado de Assis is one of Brazil's great authors. His literary style is unique. This book, about 255 pages in length, has 148 chapters. The book starts out telling us how Bentinho Santiago has come to be known as Dom Casmurro, or as a reticent, tight lipped man of a noble nature. The the first person narrative, Dom Casmurro takes us back to his adolescent years and his friendship with the neighbor girl Capitú. His mother has promised that she will give her son to the service of God. Bento has other ideas after he discovers he loves the next door neighbor girl. It is a story of young love ruined by jealousy and we have Shakespeare's Othello as our example. The book starts with the old man looking back at his live that he has lived in Rio. We know he is alone with his servant and is writing his life's story out of boredom.
The author Machado de Assis is one of Brazil's great authors. His literary style is unique. This book, about 255 pages in length, has 148 chapters. The book starts out telling us how Bentinho Santiago has come to be known as Dom Casmurro, or as a reticent, tight lipped man of a noble nature. The the first person narrative, Dom Casmurro takes us back to his adolescent years and his friendship with the neighbor girl Capitú. His mother has promised that she will give her son to the service of God. Bento has other ideas after he discovers he loves the next door neighbor girl. It is a story of young love ruined by jealousy and we have Shakespeare's Othello as our example. The book starts with the old man looking back at his live that he has lived in Rio. We know he is alone with his servant and is writing his life's story out of boredom.
6Kristelh
423. Amerika by Franz Kafka, 3.8 stars, 4/21/17, 
I read an audio book narrated by George Guidall. He does a very good job of narrated the story. Franz Kafka's last book and this translated is truer to the original condition. Kafka had left instructions to burn all his work. Thank goodness that wasn't done. This is the story of an immigrant that comes to the United States. It is like short little adventures here and there and nothing really goes well in the end. Probably the most reality based book Kafka wrote it was never finished but he thought of it as his American novel. Kafka never visited America. This book starts with a picture of the statue of liberty with a punishing sword and Karl our protagonist is being punished by being sent to America. As an immigrant his own desires are completely disregarded in this book. Everyone poor Karl meets take advantage of him and use him even though Karl is a nice guy and more than willing to help out his acquaintances. There is a sex scene in this book where Karl is basically raped by one of the servants. It is the reason he has been sent to Amerika. It is well done, if only author's could take a hint if they think sex scenes need to be a part of their books. The poor Karl does seem to finally find a home in Oklahama but who knows if it would have lasted if Kafka had finished the book.
I read an audio book narrated by George Guidall. He does a very good job of narrated the story. Franz Kafka's last book and this translated is truer to the original condition. Kafka had left instructions to burn all his work. Thank goodness that wasn't done. This is the story of an immigrant that comes to the United States. It is like short little adventures here and there and nothing really goes well in the end. Probably the most reality based book Kafka wrote it was never finished but he thought of it as his American novel. Kafka never visited America. This book starts with a picture of the statue of liberty with a punishing sword and Karl our protagonist is being punished by being sent to America. As an immigrant his own desires are completely disregarded in this book. Everyone poor Karl meets take advantage of him and use him even though Karl is a nice guy and more than willing to help out his acquaintances. There is a sex scene in this book where Karl is basically raped by one of the servants. It is the reason he has been sent to Amerika. It is well done, if only author's could take a hint if they think sex scenes need to be a part of their books. The poor Karl does seem to finally find a home in Oklahama but who knows if it would have lasted if Kafka had finished the book.7Kristelh
424. 
Waiting for the Barbarians. I think Coetzee is very good with his writing though his stories are far from enjoyable pleasure reads. Rating 4.42
Waiting for the Barbarians. I think Coetzee is very good with his writing though his stories are far from enjoyable pleasure reads. Rating 4.428Kristelh
425. Time's Arrow by Martin Amis, 
story of Dr. Tod T. Friendly, living in the United States, who once worked in Auschwitz as a doctor. The story is told in reverse chronology and makes the mere 165 pages a very laborious read. No doubt Martin Amis is a skilled writer but this is not the first book written about a man's life lived backwards because there is Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The difference in this case, the man is old and dying and maybe his life is flashing backwards and it is told by the narrating soul of the man. It is all very confusing. I can't really say I enjoyed the story. I felt that there was inconsistencies and the plot, story board and turning points were difficult using reverse chronology. My rating is 3.43
story of Dr. Tod T. Friendly, living in the United States, who once worked in Auschwitz as a doctor. The story is told in reverse chronology and makes the mere 165 pages a very laborious read. No doubt Martin Amis is a skilled writer but this is not the first book written about a man's life lived backwards because there is Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The difference in this case, the man is old and dying and maybe his life is flashing backwards and it is told by the narrating soul of the man. It is all very confusing. I can't really say I enjoyed the story. I felt that there was inconsistencies and the plot, story board and turning points were difficult using reverse chronology. My rating is 3.439Kristelh
426. Hallucinating Foucault by Patricia Duncker 
debut novel. It is the story of a postgraduate students quest from Cambridge to psychiatric hospital to the shores of southern France to rescue the author of his thesis. It is the story of the love between the writer and the reader.
The author of the book is called Paul Michel which happens to be the name of Michel Foucault. Paul-Michel Foucault is a famous French philosopher whose thories address power and knowledge. Foucault died in 1984 of complications of HIV/AIDs. The writer Paul Michel quit writing after the death of his "reader" Michel Foucault.
The book was published in 1996 and addressed issues of homosexuality, madness, and touched on AIDS/HIV. The originality is the part about addressing the love affair between writer and reader but this is not a new thought. It has been covered in other books like book:If on a Winter's Night a Traveler|374233. The plot was mostly connected but the connecting of Paul Michel and Michel Foucault, the Germanist, the doctor, etc was all a little loose. The characters wer mostly well developed, the setting and scenes were descriptive with a lot of comments about smells especially of the asylum smelling of urine and excrement. It was readable. A short book and I finished it in a couple of days of reading. It won a price in England and it is on the 1001 Books list. The book addressed issues of homosexuality such as a choice or born that way. The prose was mostly good with some foul language and sexual content. Sexual content is not overly descriptive but it is present. rating 3.57
debut novel. It is the story of a postgraduate students quest from Cambridge to psychiatric hospital to the shores of southern France to rescue the author of his thesis. It is the story of the love between the writer and the reader. The author of the book is called Paul Michel which happens to be the name of Michel Foucault. Paul-Michel Foucault is a famous French philosopher whose thories address power and knowledge. Foucault died in 1984 of complications of HIV/AIDs. The writer Paul Michel quit writing after the death of his "reader" Michel Foucault.
The book was published in 1996 and addressed issues of homosexuality, madness, and touched on AIDS/HIV. The originality is the part about addressing the love affair between writer and reader but this is not a new thought. It has been covered in other books like book:If on a Winter's Night a Traveler|374233. The plot was mostly connected but the connecting of Paul Michel and Michel Foucault, the Germanist, the doctor, etc was all a little loose. The characters wer mostly well developed, the setting and scenes were descriptive with a lot of comments about smells especially of the asylum smelling of urine and excrement. It was readable. A short book and I finished it in a couple of days of reading. It won a price in England and it is on the 1001 Books list. The book addressed issues of homosexuality such as a choice or born that way. The prose was mostly good with some foul language and sexual content. Sexual content is not overly descriptive but it is present. rating 3.57
10arukiyomi
Interesting to note that your ratings have taken on a very exact nature. What gives you a 3.57 v a 3.43?
11Kristelh
>10 arukiyomi:, I really was frustrated with my rating of books because at the end of the year it just did not hold up. It isn't fair to judge a book that I just enjoyed reading but had no literary value against a book that is a masterpiece of literary achievement. I took off from your rating system but that wasn't fully working for me so I researched different ways to look at and rate literary works and then created a rubric to score them. I have 7 points that I am using with a 5 point Likert scale that I use and then I average the points. It seems to be working so far. At least at the end of the year I won't have a bunch of books rated 4 that doesn't really reflect any differences in them. Does that make sense?
12puckers
>11 Kristelh: I know what you mean. I can see the literary merit on most of the list books so have a default of 3 for those as they are "above average". If I like one book more than others I will make it 3.5 or 4, but often I look at recent books I gave the same rating to and think I really enjoyed X but it has the same rating as Y which I liked but didn't enjoy as much. At the end of the day though I'm happy enough with the broad brush ratings as long as I don't try to take them too seriously.
13Kristelh
>12 puckers:. Exactly. So this is helping me feel a little bit better about my ratings at at the end of the year when I make my top 10 list, I will see if it makes that easier.
14arukiyomi
interesting... seems we have the same motivation but have come up with different approaches. Cool. What are your seven points? I only have 5.
15Kristelh
>14 arukiyomi:,
1. Legacy (ways it contributes to literature, captures the spirit of the age it was written in, the mood of times, relevance then and now.
2. Plot, does the whole hold together, how does each part contribute to the whole, sturcture, organized, issies it deals with (structure and organization)
3. Characterization, well constructed, setting and scenes they are placed in
4. Readablity
5. Achievement, did the author achieve what they set out to do. (did they waste their time, did the work do nothing much but a special nitch, the work made some long lists, the work made short lists, the author fully achieved and won recognition.
The last two are mostly for me as they might be points that I find objectionable but someone else would not
6. Political corrected ness. Does it read like the author is trying to include everything and keep the PC police happy
7. Sex and language. Sex and floul language that has not real purpose and was unnecessary. Gratuitous sex, etc.
1. Legacy (ways it contributes to literature, captures the spirit of the age it was written in, the mood of times, relevance then and now.
2. Plot, does the whole hold together, how does each part contribute to the whole, sturcture, organized, issies it deals with (structure and organization)
3. Characterization, well constructed, setting and scenes they are placed in
4. Readablity
5. Achievement, did the author achieve what they set out to do. (did they waste their time, did the work do nothing much but a special nitch, the work made some long lists, the work made short lists, the author fully achieved and won recognition.
The last two are mostly for me as they might be points that I find objectionable but someone else would not
6. Political corrected ness. Does it read like the author is trying to include everything and keep the PC police happy
7. Sex and language. Sex and floul language that has not real purpose and was unnecessary. Gratuitous sex, etc.
17Kristelh
427. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, 
Finished this one, glad to have read it but not ready for reread, yet.
Finished this one, glad to have read it but not ready for reread, yet.18arukiyomi
Was that supposed to be an image there for Infinite Jest? Just shows as a white square for me.
I picked up a really nice copy of IJ recently with those old rough cut pages and the kind of paperback that stays open on a table without the need to hold the pages down. Love those. Really looking forward to getting into it.
I picked up a really nice copy of IJ recently with those old rough cut pages and the kind of paperback that stays open on a table without the need to hold the pages down. Love those. Really looking forward to getting into it.
19Kristelh
>18 arukiyomi:, the picture shows for me. I wonder why it doesn't show for you. I took the picture from LT.
21Kristelh
>20 M1nks:, thanks, good to know. I've run into this before. Different browsers?
23Kristelh
>22 M1nks:, chrome and safari
24Kristelh
428. American Rust by Philipp Meyer. 
Rated 3.43
Story of decline of American middle class in steel mills of Pennsylvania.
Rated 3.43Story of decline of American middle class in steel mills of Pennsylvania.
26Henrik_Madsen
>15 Kristelh: So I guess you are saying that lots of political correctness and unnecessary sex are good things? ;-)
On a more serious note: Isn't that very hard to figure out in older works? There was a time when writing about sex was a groundbreaking artistic choice in and of itself and what is considered political correct obviously depends very much on the context.
On a more serious note: Isn't that very hard to figure out in older works? There was a time when writing about sex was a groundbreaking artistic choice in and of itself and what is considered political correct obviously depends very much on the context.
27Kristelh
>26 Henrik_Madsen:, you are absolutely correct and I do take that in to consideration with my scale and the first item I look at is how the work fits in the time it was written and currently. I also fully acknowledge that my last two items that I use are arbitrary and therefore only important to me.
28Kristelh
429. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, 
Published in 1852 by Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin is an antislavery book. It is a story written in supplements like Dicken's wrote his stories and the stories of various characters revolve around Uncle Tom, a longsuffering, godly man. It was the best selling novel of the 19th century, second to the Bible. The characters can be called stereotypes and this book gets much criticism in this day and age. I read this after reading The Underground Railroad and am glad to have done so. What I liked in the story is that the author not only shows the evil of slavery in south she also shows the bigotry of the Northern people in their treatment of blacks. It is unfortunate to only criticize the book for its stereotypes and fail to acknowledge the impact of the book during the time in which it was written.
Rating: 3.85
Published in 1852 by Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin is an antislavery book. It is a story written in supplements like Dicken's wrote his stories and the stories of various characters revolve around Uncle Tom, a longsuffering, godly man. It was the best selling novel of the 19th century, second to the Bible. The characters can be called stereotypes and this book gets much criticism in this day and age. I read this after reading The Underground Railroad and am glad to have done so. What I liked in the story is that the author not only shows the evil of slavery in south she also shows the bigotry of the Northern people in their treatment of blacks. It is unfortunate to only criticize the book for its stereotypes and fail to acknowledge the impact of the book during the time in which it was written. Rating: 3.85
29Kristelh
430. City of God by E. L. Doctorow, 
The City of God by E. L. Doctorow is a story told by the narrator Everett who is writing a story about Pem, an Episcopalian priest. In the telling of the story there is a lot of short little essays or philosophical musings and often it is hard to know who is the current voice. The story looks at human relationships with God, each other and with themselves. The story starts out with a missing cross that shows up at a synagogue called the Synagogue of evolutionary Judaism. Pem finds he no longer can believe in much of what he had, removes himself from the clergy and begins to explore Judaism. Mostly he believes in something that really makes no sense but amounts to a Christless Christianity and therefore Judaism is a better fit. He also happens to be in love with the rabbi, Sarah. So there is a lot of jumping around, we get quite a bit of a holocaust story. There is also a bit of Vietnam. There is a bit about film verses literature. While I enjoyed some of this book it really was an effort to read. Rating 3.14
The City of God by E. L. Doctorow is a story told by the narrator Everett who is writing a story about Pem, an Episcopalian priest. In the telling of the story there is a lot of short little essays or philosophical musings and often it is hard to know who is the current voice. The story looks at human relationships with God, each other and with themselves. The story starts out with a missing cross that shows up at a synagogue called the Synagogue of evolutionary Judaism. Pem finds he no longer can believe in much of what he had, removes himself from the clergy and begins to explore Judaism. Mostly he believes in something that really makes no sense but amounts to a Christless Christianity and therefore Judaism is a better fit. He also happens to be in love with the rabbi, Sarah. So there is a lot of jumping around, we get quite a bit of a holocaust story. There is also a bit of Vietnam. There is a bit about film verses literature. While I enjoyed some of this book it really was an effort to read. Rating 3.1430Kristelh
431. Notes From Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky 
Possibly the first existential novel (novella). The unnamed writer, 40 years old, tells us he is writing to no one but argues that man must choose (free will) and will choose not to live by logic and in fact will choose against logic. The second part, gives us the background of the writer and how he ended up underground. Then the very end, we learn that even this has been edited and we the reader do not know what is the truth. Rating 3.43.
Possibly the first existential novel (novella). The unnamed writer, 40 years old, tells us he is writing to no one but argues that man must choose (free will) and will choose not to live by logic and in fact will choose against logic. The second part, gives us the background of the writer and how he ended up underground. Then the very end, we learn that even this has been edited and we the reader do not know what is the truth. Rating 3.43.31Kristelh
432. The End of the Affair by Granham Greene 
The story is told on many levels. On surface it is a story of an affair and the love triangle. We have Bendrix the narrator, author, Sarah the wife/lover and Henry the husband. It is also about search for meaning and God as well as a story of being a writer. This story according to the narrator is the story of hate. The narrator is unable to trust and is full of insecurities and I question whether he ever knew love. He knew desire, jealousy and insecurity leading to meanness but he never loved. He never was able to care about anything but himself. Then there is the element of theological debate of the existence of God. I did not know that Graham Greene is considered the Catholic writer but found out when doing research about this novel after reading it. Sarah faces an existential crisis. One of the characters quote, Augustine's dictum that time "came out of the future which didn't exist yet, into the present that had no duration, and went into the past which had ceased to exist." which I really like. There is redemption and existential meaning in the book. The author struggled with his own affair and this book may very well reflect his own experiences and thoughts. Rating, 3.71
The story is told on many levels. On surface it is a story of an affair and the love triangle. We have Bendrix the narrator, author, Sarah the wife/lover and Henry the husband. It is also about search for meaning and God as well as a story of being a writer. This story according to the narrator is the story of hate. The narrator is unable to trust and is full of insecurities and I question whether he ever knew love. He knew desire, jealousy and insecurity leading to meanness but he never loved. He never was able to care about anything but himself. Then there is the element of theological debate of the existence of God. I did not know that Graham Greene is considered the Catholic writer but found out when doing research about this novel after reading it. Sarah faces an existential crisis. One of the characters quote, Augustine's dictum that time "came out of the future which didn't exist yet, into the present that had no duration, and went into the past which had ceased to exist." which I really like. There is redemption and existential meaning in the book. The author struggled with his own affair and this book may very well reflect his own experiences and thoughts. Rating, 3.71
32Kristelh
433. Breakfast of Champions 
by Kurt Vonnegut, 3.25 stars. Humor about topics that are not so funny. My second Vonnegut. I liked this better than Slaughter-House Five but it did cover a lot of territory and a little too much porno stuff for my taste.
by Kurt Vonnegut, 3.25 stars. Humor about topics that are not so funny. My second Vonnegut. I liked this better than Slaughter-House Five but it did cover a lot of territory and a little too much porno stuff for my taste.33Kristelh
434. The Artamonov Business 
by Maxim Gorky,
A story of Russia told through the family saga of the Artamonov covers the time period of Russia industrial revolution to it's conclusion in the Bolshevik Revolution. The Artamonov are the new class of Russian merchants born out of the end of the serfdom declared by Tsar Alexander. Artamonov comes to the sleepy village of Dromov to build a Linen Factory. Ilia Artamonov barges into the town, interrupting life as it was formerly lived by the citizens. The story takes us through to the third generation and as may be the norm, the business deteriorates as we get further from it's origins.
Quotes:
"There are no human beings at all, only workers, except for beggars and the gentry. We all live merely to work; work overshadows everybody." page 95.
"he (Peter) saw with astonishment that his son by some miracle had become his match, either by rising to a grown-up in authority, or else by reducing a grown-up to his own level." page 129
Rating 3.57
by Maxim Gorky, A story of Russia told through the family saga of the Artamonov covers the time period of Russia industrial revolution to it's conclusion in the Bolshevik Revolution. The Artamonov are the new class of Russian merchants born out of the end of the serfdom declared by Tsar Alexander. Artamonov comes to the sleepy village of Dromov to build a Linen Factory. Ilia Artamonov barges into the town, interrupting life as it was formerly lived by the citizens. The story takes us through to the third generation and as may be the norm, the business deteriorates as we get further from it's origins.
Quotes:
"There are no human beings at all, only workers, except for beggars and the gentry. We all live merely to work; work overshadows everybody." page 95.
"he (Peter) saw with astonishment that his son by some miracle had become his match, either by rising to a grown-up in authority, or else by reducing a grown-up to his own level." page 129
Rating 3.57
by David Gemmell interesting fantasy. Rating 4
by Romain Gary 36Kristelh
437. The Blind Assassin 
by Margaret Atwood. Rating 4.75
by Margaret Atwood. Rating 4.7537Kristelh
438. World's End 
by T. C. Boyle,
Story of generations of Dutch that settled the New York area. A family saga (two families actually) and it goes back and forth from early settlement (1600s to to the 1960-70s). I really enjoyed learning about the Dutch and the early years of the New York area. I thought the author did a great job of putting the history into his characters. Rating: 4.375.
by T. C. Boyle, Story of generations of Dutch that settled the New York area. A family saga (two families actually) and it goes back and forth from early settlement (1600s to to the 1960-70s). I really enjoyed learning about the Dutch and the early years of the New York area. I thought the author did a great job of putting the history into his characters. Rating: 4.375.
38Kristelh
439. Aesop's Fables by Aesop. morality proverbs using animals. Rating 3.5
39Kristelh
440. What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt 
Rating 4.25. Really liked this one that covers so much including fragmentation of relationships, art, mental illness. Set in the 80s and 90s it also captures the spirit of the age, mood of the times. And loved that the author was from Minnesota and Minnesota got a couple of mentions.
Rating 4.25. Really liked this one that covers so much including fragmentation of relationships, art, mental illness. Set in the 80s and 90s it also captures the spirit of the age, mood of the times. And loved that the author was from Minnesota and Minnesota got a couple of mentions.
rating 4 * Story of the Chinese revolution.
