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Title: The Awakening
Author: Kate Chopin
ISBN: 0553321330X
Publisher: Bantam Classics/1981
Pages: 205
The Awakening was first published in 1899. Even though Kate Chopin was a well known writer, because of its subject matter, it was widely criticised and was banished from the literary world for decades.
The story starts in Grand Isle, Louisiana on a Sunday morning where Leonce Pontellier is waiting for his wife Edna Pontellier, to ome out from a swim with another young man, Richard Lebrun. Edna and Leonce have two young sons. Edna is a mother to them in her own fashion. Pontellier is very much a Creole belonging to the place and Edna is the outsider. He had fallen deeply in love with her and married her.
We also meet Adele Ratignolle, who is equisitely beautiful and has three children, with a fourth one on the way. We observe womenbeing pursued by young men, none of their husbands minding it a bit. They behaviour is beyond question and they mantain decorum at all levels. Edna is happy enough to be with her husband and she loves the attention Richard lavishes on her. Only when Richard leaves, we find her missing him, thinking of him. She slowly awakens from her life which she percieves as dull. She wants to be her own person, comes to realise that she has fallen in love with Richard.
From the beginning, there is a strange intimacy between Edna and Richard. None of them are aware of it, including Leonce. I see it as a sign of a liberated man. A man who loves his wife and trusts her implicitly. He is aware too that Richard wouldn't cross the limits of acceptable society. He can observe the change in her behaviour but does not relate it with Richard.
This is a book about a woman's emancipation, one who desires to live in own terms, one who wants to succumb to her needs and desires. A woman in the path of self-discovery. One who wants to give in to her senses, deep primal forces within her. Does she? Is she able to break away the shackles? This novels gives us insight of those times, the embarkments it place on a woman's life. Of liberation, freedom of both women and men too. It speaks about Southern culture, Creoles and the social norms. Even in those times a woman could live in her own terms. Mademoiselle Reisz is one such woman who is independent, ill-mannerd, single and childless but still respected and admired for her knowledge and skill in music. How many can claim the same even in our so-called liberated times? In some parts of the world, nothing has changed.
The short stories too are filled with insights and Chopin's prose keeps us hooked in. I especially liked Beyond the Bayou and Desiree's Baby. Her work is filled with symbolism which was rare in those times. Somehow it made The Awakening difficult to be accepted in the litrary circles. However, this very symbolism has elevated the novel. No doubt, a classic.
Title: Matrimony
Author: Joshua Henkin
ISBN: 9780375424359
Publisher:Pantheon Books, New York/2007
Pages: 291/Hardcover
Matrimony was sent to me by the author as I had commented on a blog post that I wished to read this book. One can see this book being read and reviewed in the book blogs. Joshua Henkin was kind enough to contact me and offer me a copy, which I accepted eagerly. (Can we refuse books?!)
The novel opens with Julian Wainwright, son of a Yale educated banker, starting his freshman year in Graymont College in Massachussets and meeting Carter Heinz, a scholarship student. Both come from different backgrounds. Soon they become good friends. However, Carter can be seen resenting Julian's family background. He desires to be a wealthy man. And Julian aspires to be a writer. There they meet Mia. And Julian and Mia fall for each other. They seem to be somehow made for each other. They are unpretencious, compatible and utterly likable. In the final year of their graduation, Mia's mother is diagnosed with breast cancer and that spurs them to get married before she dies, muh before they graduate.
Next we see Mia and Julian in Ann Arbor, Michigan where Mia is studyin to be a psychologist and Julian is seen taking English Composition classes. He is still working towards his novel and has published a story or two. For Mia's sake Julian is contented to live in Ann Arbor. Meanwhile, Carter has gotten rich and after a few years Julian is devasted to learn something, which almost breaks down his marriage with Mia.
This novel spans twenty years. Here we see the characters coming into their own. This novel deals with love, friendships, relationships between lovers and friends. It is also about burning ambition, about money and desire to be famous. Carter has this burning desire to cross the line from where he initially came. It is about Julian giving up a part of his life for Mia. It is about Mia who finally realises that she needs Julian, more than she can comprehend. For a couple who married young, they take their relationship to another dimension slowly, with love and honesty.
Julian and Mia have everything going for them. They are rich, well educated and well known, have the right connections. Despite this, they are so very realistic. Both have feet of clay. Maybe that bonds them to the reader, who instantly likes them.
This is a once-you-pick-it-up-you-have-to-finish-it kind of book. Here you can see the characters growing right while you are reading and you can get inside their mind and feel the way they do. The prose is simply great. I say, go pick it up!
Check out more reviews of Matrimony here:
Bethany
Kristen
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Title: The Snow Leopard 
Title: America's Hidden History
Author: Kenneth C. Davis
ISBN: 9780061118180
Publisher:Collins/An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers/2008
Pages: 236/Hardcover
Genre: Non fiction/History
Before I proceed, what I thought about the book, I reproduce here the product description of the book as mentioned in the inside of the front cover.
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Kenneth C. Davis, author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller Don't Know Much About History, presents a collection of extraordinary stories, each detailing an overlooked episode that shaped the nation's destiny and character. Davis's dramatic narratives set the record straight, busting myths and bringing to light little-known but fascinating facts from a time when the nation's fate hung in the balance.
Spanning a period from the Spanish arrival in America to George Washington's inauguration in 1789, America's Hidden History details these episodes, among others:
Full of color, intrigue, and human interest, America's Hidden History is an iconoclastic look at America's past, connecting some of the dots between history and today's headlines, proving why Davis is truly America's Teacher.
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Title: Day of Wrath
Author: Larry Bond
ISBN: 0446516775
Publisher: Warner Books/1998
Pages: 481/Hardcover
Genre: Techno Thriller
After a long time, I picked up a techno thriller. One reason being it was very cheap and from the back cover I found it interesting. I had not read books by Larry Bond before and not likely to pick him again in hurry either. It was a good change after all those heavy reading I have been doing lately.
It deals with terrorism with the help of modern warfare. Ibrahim, a Saudi Prince pumps money for such purposes. On the cover of a company, known as Caraco, he manages to buy people to work for him and is very influential with the current administration in the White House. He financially supports various factions of terrorism.
A Russian cargo jet, with U.S. officials onboard, crashes in northern Russia . Following clues to why the plane crashed , Thorn and Gray pursue Germans into parts of northern Russia, with the help of a Russian MVD officer. They get into trouble with Russian locals when the MVD officer is killed in an ambush. Finally they zero in to Nuke smuggling into US.
They have a hunch that, jet engines are being used to smuggle nuclear weapons to the U.S. Disobeying orders from their government, Thorn and Gray pursue the leads to the U.S. and get help from a retired General Farrell. With the German and Arabic terrorists after them as well as their own government, Thorn and Gray manage to elude them and get to the heart of the problem, before Ibrahim can unleash twenty 150 Megaton nuclear bombs on the U.S., almost destroying parts of it.
It does have a grain of truth, can be plausible to some extent. Bond's knowledge of weapons is well researched. However, it does tend to get slow at times. The romantic element does nothing for the story. For one time read and then forget it. It was not a bad change from my usual readfing. Pick it up if you like warfare thrillers. You can always skip the slow bits. The way I did.
Title: The Road from La Cuava
Author: Sheila Ortego
ISBN: 9780865345881
Publisher: Sunstone Press/2008
Pages: 139/Hardcover
Sheila Ortego asked me to review this and when I said yes, she sent me a signed copy of her book. I received it yesterday and started reading it right away, finishing it today.
This novel is about Ana Howland, who works at St. Joseph's and lives in La Cuava which is thirty miles from the town, with her controlling husband Frank and thier 4 year old daughter Emmi. She hates the house, the roads, Frank, everything about her life apart from Emmi. However, she never lets out her feeling known to anyone. She is much too constrained for her own good. She tries to be a good mother and wife despite her frustrations.
She develops a good relationship with an eecentric Neighbour Margaret who lives in a motor house with numerous pets. Ana and Emmi come to love her and care for her. Ana comes in contact with a male Nurse Michael, who understands her loneliness and her desires which need an outlet. . She falls for him but is unable to leave Frank as she is afraid of him. Michael cuts her off from his life.
In the second half of the novel, we see Ana snapping out it and find her taking care of Margaret who is very sick. One can feel the bond that forms between Ana and Margaret. Facing harships, she discovers herself and finds strength within herself. Her spirit restores itself and she is her own person again after so long, which had been subdued by Frank. She welcomes any change that helps in the restoration of faith in her ownself.
What happens to Margaret? Where is Michael? Is she able to go for what he truly desires? How does her daughter Emmi figure in all this? The Road from La Cuava answers all these questions and more. It makes us question our life. Ana does find the courage to face up to it and walk away. With Emmi. On her way she finds a new Margaret too. This book seems a bit slow in the middle as we wish for Ana to walk away from Frank fast. She takes her own time.
In India, women just take whatever their husbands dish out without protesting at all. They consider it as their lot. A husband always has the last word. In that context, I could relate to the book although being single I don't face any such situation. However, I have seen this happening closely. It is so difficult for a woman to walk away from her home and husband. Especially when she has children. She simply accepts it as her fate and goes on living passively like this.
It truly made me think of a close friend of mine. My copy goes to her! Maybe it will help her in some way.
Ana is so calm externally and seeting internally. Any woman would relate to that.
The road is a good metaphor here, the hardships parallels her life. The shedding of mud and all, are reflected in Ana's life. I found that very interesting. As a first time writer, Ortego is a good writer. It is an easy, uncomplicated read, unlike a few difficult books I have been reading lately. Get going folks, read this book!
Also reviewed by:
pussreboots
Title: Down to a Sunless Sea---Short Stories
Author: Mathias B. Freese
ISBN: 9781587367335
Publisher: Wheatmark/2007
Pages: 134
Mathias B. Freese offered me this book for reviewing and I gladly accepted it. It is a collection of 15 stories and fairly a thin book. I wouldn't call it an easy read. One needs to concentrate while reading. The mind deviates and one has to go back.
The stories border on the dark side of human nature. The lonely, melancholic side of it. Not the violent. Freese worked as a clinical social worker and psychotherapist for 25 years and that comes through in those stories. One can see the empathy for the troubled human beings who are taken to be deviants. His understanding and compassion for those comes through very well in the stories. He is insightful and not preachy at all.
His story telling is matter of fact without being sentimental at all. Nowhere I felt it bordering on mushiness. Maybe that is one reason, I felt connected to a few of the characters. As I teach so-called lower class, I can somewhat empathise despite the cultural differences. His stories are meant to make us think. Beyond ourselves.
Down to a Sunless Sea, the title story is about Adam, who has been pampered initially by his mother and after she dies and his father remarries, is ignored by his step mother. His internal thoughts speak of confusion and finally acceptance. I' ll Make It, I Think is about a boy who is physically deformed and has names for each part of his body. As he does not have friends, his body parts are very much his real friends. He is not at all emotional about his loneliness. He just takes it as a part of his life. In fact, he is glad that nothing is going to change. Freese has made use of symbolism in both the stories and that made me think of Marquez for a while. In a way, here it is easier to understand unlike Marquez whose work churn out ones brains.
The Chatham Bear is interesting. Here the sighting of the bear is more interesting than what really goes on in the town. More violent happenings are taken to be part of life. An harmless bear is talk of the town. Diesn't it speak for the human mind which tends to brush aside the unpleasant thoughts out of his mind and concentrates on trivialities?
Another story which made an instant impact is Herbie, a boy who is taught to shine shoes by his abusive father. When he wants to take it as a profession, his father objects. He cannot understand why. In Alabaster, a young boy meets a mother and a daughter and finds that the older woman has a number on her arm. He does not know yet that he has met a holocaust victim. The older woman, despite suffering, sees hope in the boy's eyes. This particular story touched me.
Juan Peron's Hands is somewhat macabre. Those are cut off and at the end shown to be just something which are of no value, after being taken away from Peron. Is it not symbolic? This goes deeper than just a pair of hands. Just Errands is a story I could wholly relate. The narrater keeps on thinking if he posted the two letters he wrote when he is outside of his home. One can understand his almost paranoid feeling about it. Most of us have gone through such thoughts at one time or the other, about certain things. We keep asking ourselves, did we or did we not?
Arnold Schwarzenegger's Father Was a Nazi is one of the stories which is not dark. Infact it is a tongue in cheek account written in 1991, much before Arnold became famous. Nicholas is about a boy of the same name who has huge problem with his teacher. He is not afraid to answer back. He speaks his mind and walks out. In my line of teaching, I have met such students.
Not going into details of the other stories, which are equally thoughtful, I say that this book is a good read. The short stories hold interest despite being dark. The darkness depicted here is not despair. It is that we chose to set aside by our own ignorance. One gets a deeper understanding of those human beings which are virtually neglected by us. In a way, this book might make us take a lenient view towards those by making us thing of them. That is one good reason to read the short stories.
I am going to look out for his other book The i'Tetrology. Mathias B Freese is one author to watch out for. He truly gets insides his characters and brings those to us. I for one, am very glad I read this book. A must read for serious readers. However, for light readers, I would say stay away from it.
Down to a Sunless Sea won Allbooks Reviews Editor's Choice Awards and was an Indie Excellence Book Awards Finalist.Check out these reviews too: Books Love Me
Bogorman
Reader Views
Curled Up
Breeni Books
Tanabata
Title: Three Men in a Boat
Author: Jerome K Jerome
First Published: 1889
Pages: 222
Genre: Humour
I took along this book to read while travelling. It is a re-read for me after some years. After 17 years, I think. When it was written in 1889, it was a huge success. It sold more than a million copies in 'pirated' editions in America alone. Jerome was a persistent and enthusiastic traveller. Although he was a struggling clerk in a solicitor's office, he discovered the joys of continental travelling. He became very famous after the publication of this book, which helped him in becoming a full time writer.
Three men in a Boat is about Jerome, Harris and George and their dog, Montmorency. The three are bored with their life and need a break to dispel it. So they plan a holiday together. After much discussion, they agree on travelling from Kingston to Oxford on Thames river. A boating holiday was rare in those days.
It was intended as a travel guide with humorous anecdotes. However, the comic portions took over. It became a delightful read with the idiosyncrasies of the travellers along with their dog. The friends are very much real. However, the dog is a fictional character.
The interactions between the friends is interesting. The narrater at times goes off in a tangent taking us along with him. His insights are wonderful, albeit with comic effects. They have disasters on the way but can see the humourous side of it. Maybe the author sees it more often than the other two and the dog as he continues to rib them. Certain passages are worth reading again and again. Especially about the plaster of paris trout in an inn and also the preparation of Irish Stew.
There never is a dull moment reading this book. I liked re-reading it. In the present times, Bryson fits the bill for writing great travelogues.
