Warning: Spoilers below!

Liked:

• This was a short, quick read that took no more than a few hours to get through.
• Although this book was in no way, shape, or form up to typical Willa Cather standards, it should at least be somewhat appreciated as having contributed to the author’s overall experience as a writer.

Disliked:

• The heavy-handed, transparent symbolism found throughout the novel was one of the clearest indications of Cather’s inexperience.
• Bartley wasn’t a sympathetic character at all. While I guess I can understand wanting to recapture his youth, he really had no reason to cheat on Winifred and try to resume a relationship with Hilda. It was unfair to both women, actually.
• The death scene was sort of melodramatic. It was rather convenient that the bridge held up just long enough for Bartley to arrive, and then started crumbling. And of course Winifred was waiting around until the body was pulled out of the water, completely unaware of her husband’s recent infidelities.

Rating:

Well, what is there to say about a book that the author herself basically disowned? Alexander’s Bridge is only noteworthy because it was written by Willa Cather. Others have called it “Edith Wharton lite,” and I tend to agree with that assessment. Still, because it was so short and to the point, I think it deserves at least 3 stars out of 5.

Patch’s impassioned marriage to Gloria is fueled by alcohol and consumed by greed. The dazzling couple race through a series of alcohol-induced fiascoes — first in hilarity, and later in despair. The Beautiful and Damned is a piercing and tragic depiction of New York nightlife, reckless ambition, squandered talent, and the faux aristocracy of the nouveaux riches. Published in 1922 on the heels of Fitzgerald’s first novel, This Side of Paradise, it gives evidence to the sharp social insight and breathtaking lyricism of one of the most important American writers of the twentieth century.

Warning: Spoilers below!

Liked:

• The portrayal of Anthony and Gloria’s relationship felt very real to me. I’ve been in relationships like that, where things are only good when the money’s there and the couple spend all their time recklessly living it up instead of working, paying bills, and saving. Just as with Anthony and Gloria, that lifestyle is fun for a while, but soon becomes strained and exhausting. Their deterioration hit way too close to home and was very hard to read about at times.
• Speaking of hitting too close to home, I was surprised to learn that this book predates Scott’s own marriage to Zelda Sayer. Wow, shouldn’t he have used this as a real-life cautionary tale? Was he just perversely determined to become Anthony in the flesh? Yikes.
• The scenes towards the end of the book where Anthony tried to muster up the courage to ask Maury Noble and the film producer Mr. Black for money were just gut-wrenching. Again, if you’ve ever been in a position of pride/independence and then had to swallow that pride to borrow money… well, Fitzgerald captures those feelings perfectly.
• The novel really picked up steam after Anthony joined the Army and went south. I didn’t like the Dot character or the way Anthony carelessly disregarded his marriage vows, but that separation from Gloria seemed to be the impetus for the only true action in the entire book.
• Anthony’s pitiful attempt at becoming a salesman was another part that I found to be very realistic. Anthony is EXACTLY the kind of person who would spend more money trying to make a sale (e.g. getting drunk in bars in order to try to sell stocks to the bartender) than he would ever earn in commissions.
• Some of the writing was truly wonderful. This particular novel of Fitzgerald’s is generally derided by critics for being too overwrought, and while I do agree that many of the descriptions and adjectives are so ornate as to be distracting, it’s clear that this wasn’t written by an ordinary talent.

Disliked:

• The first half of the novel dragged in a LOT of places. Gloria and Anthony were interesting for a while, but then their scenes became way too repetitive. They drank, they spent money, they fought, they were irresponsible, they were unproductive members of society….how many different times and in how many different ways did we need to see that?
• I didn’t like the ending. I thought it would have been more interesting had Gloria and Anthony NOT received any money from the Adam Patch estate. Their downfall was delicious, and since they were utterly selfish characters without any positive qualities, I would have preferred that their descent continue until they were forced to work. To have $30 million fall into their laps at last didn’t feel right. The fact that Anthony was so frail at the time of his inheritance that he would likely be accepted into Housing for seniors mitigated the situation — but only a little.
• Dot was kind of a scary little stalker, wasn’t she? First the stunt about threatening to commit suicide if Anthony didn’t come see her right away, and then tracking him down in New York City when she knew damn well he was married… Women who are that desperate always give me the creeps.
• Did F. Scott Fitzgerald really name check himself in this book by mentioning This Side of Paradise as something that the young folks of the time were reading???
• Richard Caramel was a tedious character. What purpose did he serve? Was he meant to make Anthony jealous because Anthony wanted to write? Was he meant to be a parody of FSF and his contemporaries? Whatever the case, I didn’t like him.

Rating:

This was my second time reading The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and now that I was able to look at it with the perspective of one who has been through similar situations, I have a whole new appreciation for the characters of Anthony Patch and Gloria Gilbert. But the book still lacks the tightly focused writing and well plotted structure that Fitzgerald would become famous for with his third novel (Gatsby), and the story wasn’t very compelling after all is said and done. I give this one 3 stars out of 5.

Warning: Spoilers below!

Liked:

• This isn’t the kind of book that immediately grabs you with a page-turning quality; instead, it takes a few days for the wonder of the work to settle in. It was only after I reached the end that I realized what a wonderful journey I’d been on — right along with Jim Burden through his childhood and beyond.
• I liked that although Antonia didn’t have the glamorous future that she’d once aspired to, she turned out to have a happy life. Yes, she worked hard and never made it out of the small town, but she seemed completely fulfilled and content thanks to her children. Tiny and Lena may have been the more obvious, commercial “successes,” yet I have no doubt that Antonia was happier than those two lonely women.
• The first section that introduced the Shimerdas was by far the most interesting of the entire novel. Cather was best known for her portrayal of hardworking immigrants laboring on Nebraska farmlands, and that part of My Antonia was perfectly illustrative of Cather’s talents.

Disliked:

• I wish Antonia had remained the focus of the novel all the way throughout. She kind of dropped out of the story once she had her baby out of wedlock and went back to live with her parents and brother in shame. I didn’t really care about Jim’s college years or his reconnection with Lena; rather, I was just anxious to see what had become of Antonia.
• I would have preferred a more traditionally structured plot with clear arcs and more well-defined characters.

Rating:

I first read My Antonia by Willa Cather in high school, but decided to revisit it now to see if I could come to appreciate it a bit more now that I’m an adult. Although I’m sure I still missed a lot of the nuances and subtleties that make this one of the standouts of American Literature, I did end up enjoying My Antonia much more than I did when I was a teen. I give the book 4 stars out of 5.

Liked:

• Having spent a considerable amount of time in Small Town, Minnesota myself, I could readily identify with Carol Kennicott. Her observations of the town and people of Gopher Prairie rang entirely true to me. Sure, it’s probably a stereotype to consider all small town residents to be backwards, gossipy hicks who are completely resistant to change, but that was definitely my experience.
• For some reason, I thought it was completely hilarious that Erik Valbourg’s nickname was “Elizabeth” because of his dandy-ish ways!!! Yeah, it was demeaning and all that, but totally funny for something in the 1920′s.
• There is a real sense of timelessness to this novel. From the writing style to the words and phrases Lewis used to the themes that pervade the story — all of it could just as easily apply to today’s society. Indeed, I wouldn’t have been surprised to find references to a cell phone or golf gps finder, and had to check the publication date several times to confirm to myself that the book wasn’t far more recent than I thought!
• Many of the characters were clearly fleshed out. Yes, there were some flat ones along the way, but Carol, Will, and Erik, Maud, and several others seemed very realistic.
• I found myself opposing and supporting Carol in nearly equal measures throughout the book. While I agreed that Gopher Prarie could do with some changes, she really did come off as smug and snooty most of the time. If I were a Gopher Prairie resident, I probably wouldn’t have liked her at all, but she certainly makes for an interesting protagonist!
• Not all satires hit the mark, but this one certainly does. Main Street was funny, poignant, and ultimately true to life.

Disliked:

• I’m not gonna lie: there were some incredibly boring patches along the way. The story moved quite slowly at times, and Lewis occasionally went into such minute descriptions of seemingly unimportant things that I found my mind drifting more than I would have liked.
• I didn’t like that Carol ended up staying with Will despite his infidelity. She was supposed to be so progressive, and yet she turned out to be pretty much like everyone else. (Yes, this was probably intentional characterization on the author’s part; but that doesn’t mean I have to like it!) She should have left Will…or at the very least, had the fling with Erik that she so desperately desired.

Rating:

Overall, I think Main Street by Sinclair Lewis definitely deserves its place as a classic of American Literature. Carol (“Carrie”) Milford Kennicott is a memorable character, and the themes that pervade the book are still relevant today. Although I would have liked this book to be at least 25% shorter, it’s still worth a read. I give it 4 stars out of 5.

Warning: Spoilers below!

Liked:

• Hey, am I just imagining things, or was that a happy ending?!!! Well, even though Dick and Fancy can’t be said to be living in perfect bliss, this is as close as it will ever get with Hardy!
• I couldn’t help but look at Fancy Day as a precursor to other Hardy heroines. It was interesting to see how this character had some similar features to Tess, Sue Bridehead, Batsheba Everdene, et al. For instance, she was highly aware of her sexuality and used it to get the man she wanted, just as future Hardy women do. I believe this was Hardy’s first published novel, so it was cool to see his prototypical heroine taking shape.

Disliked:

• Meh, a book about a group of country musicians wasn’t really my cup of tea. Sure, the romance between Dick and Fancy took center stage eventually, but there was quite a bit of description about general life in Mellstock that I found rather dull.
• The dialect was kind of hard to get through. I understand the desire for authenticity, but it certainly would have been a lot easier to read standard English!
• The book was so short that the characters barely seemed to be developed at all — not even Dick Dewy and Fancy. Maybe I would have cared about their outcome more if I had known more about them.

Rating:

Thomas Hardy is one of my favorite writers of all time, but Under the Greenwood Tree is clearly not on the same level as his other works of fiction. This book is interesting mostly because it contains hints of the author’s great talent, but as a standalone, it doesn’t have much merit. I give it 2 stars out of 5.

“Murders in the Rue Morgue” is widely held to be the first detective story, though Poe called it a work of “ratiocination.” This locked roomy mystery features literature’s first detective, C. Auguste Dupin (though he is never referred to as such), who solves the crime based on clues that the incompetent Paris police force overlook.

“The Purloined Letter” is another Dupin mystery; “The Thousand-and-Second Night of Scheherazade” imagines the storyteller of the 1001 Arabian Nights continuing her tales for another evening; “A Descent into the Maelstrom” is the story of a man who survives a hurricane and whirlpool while out to sea; “The Raven” is about a grieving lover’s waning sanity; and “The Masque of the Red Death” is a horror story about a group of nobles who try to wait out a plague by hiding in a castle.

Warning: Spoilers below!

Liked:

• Of course I’d heard of “Murders in the Rue Morgue” before, but this was the very first time I ever read (or, more accurately, listened to) it. It was nice to finally get a look at the first detective story ever written — and to disabuse myself of the notion that the murders took place in a morgue called Rue! (Now I know Rue Morgue is a fictional street in Paris. Duh.)
• “The Raven” is one of my favorite poems of all time. I know its true literary merit is constantly being debated, but I think the rhyme scheme is actually pretty clever and a bit complicated if you really analyze it. I always prefer rhyming poetry anyway, so it’s no wonder I love this one.

Disliked:

• I thought the solution to the Rue Morgue murders was rather far-fetched. An escaped orangutan? Really??? That was underwhelming, to say the least. Plus, there’s the whole thing about the reader not having a fair shot as solving the crime since there was zero indication at all that an orangutan might be involved. Sigh.
• “The Thousand-and-Second Night of Scheherazade” and “A Descent into the Maelstrom” were incredibly boring to me. I barely paid attention to those and couldn’t figure out why they were included in this story collection. I guess there’s a reason these two pieces are hardly mentioned when talking about Poe’s works.

Rating:

I wasn’t all that entertained by Murders in the Rue Morgue and Other Stories, and think the collection deserves only 2 stars if rated on entertainment merit alone. But I feel compelled to acknowledge the fact that Poe launched an entire genre — one that I love today — and for that reason, bump up my rating to 3 stars out of 5.

Dreiser’s first novel, Sister Carrie (1900) was inspired by the life of one of his sisters, who had eloped to New York with a disreputable lover. Its sympathetic depiction of Carrie’s love affairs shocked its publisher, whose grudging efforts won few initial readers until the book’s successful re-publication in 1907. Today it resonates with Dreiser’s clear-sighted understanding of life in the increasingly mercantile world of the big city, and with his belief in the domination of fate over free will. Particularly in the unflinching tragedy of its final chapters, the novel broke new ground in American fiction for its gritty realism and for the character of Carrie, who begins “a half-equipped little knight” and becomes a truly modern woman.

Warning: Spoilers below!

Liked:

• Dreiser reminds me very much of Thomas Hardy (a favorite) in terms of the stark, gritty lives his characters lead. They face privation and hardships, there is not always a happy ending. But it makes for fascinating reading.
• I loved Dreiser’s characterization of Carrie as a materialist. She thought of everything in dollars and cents, and even when she was poor, she couldn’t help spending her money on luxuries instead of necessities. People like Carrie are part of the reason why America’s finances are in such disarray now; I consider her a precursor to the current state of affairs.
• This book was published in 1900, and I can only imagine how shocking it was for people of that time to read about Carrie’s living arrangement with Drouet. He essentially bought her services as a kept woman, and Carrie barely even blinked at that fact.
• It was interesting to witness Hurstwood’s descent into complete apathy. That rash act of stealing the $10,000 from Fitzgerald and Moy’s got the ball rolling, and from there Hurstwood managed a third-rate saloon in New York; idled about without a job for almost a year; broke a train workers’ strike as a scab (for one day); took on menial tasks at a hotel; turned to begging; and finally sunk into complete dependence upon charity for his survival. Then, when he saw no other way out, he committed suicide in a fleabag boardinghouse room with his final words being, “What’s the use.” Wow.
• I liked that Carrie was still lonely and unfulfilled even after she achieved success as an actress. For people like her, being comfortably ensconced in the middle class is not enough. She always has her eye on those above her on the social ladder, and will never be satisfied with her own lot.

Disliked:

• Certain episodes seemed unnecessarily drawn out, including the information about the train workers’ strike and Carrie’s first rehearsal for that play in Chicago. Those parts were pretty boring and lost my attention.
• I wish Dreiser had revisited Carrie’s sister and brother-in-law to capture their reaction about what Carrie had made of her life. Didn’t they wonder where she went? Did they try to find her in Chicago? Did they know about Drouet and then Hurstwood? Did they hear about her success on the New York stage? I didn’t like that they were completely dropped at the end of the first part of the novel.
• I didn’t like how Carrie thought it was so scandalous to support Hurstwood for a while. I realize that this is more a function of the time period (1890′s) than her character, but still… it just didn’t seem right. Hurstwood essentially threw away his whole life for her and shared his money to support her, but she couldn’t do the same? I agree that he could’ve done more to try to find work and could have at least tried selling discount dental supplies or something, but Carrie was still way too harsh on him.

Rating

This was my second time reading Sister Carrie, and it just reinforced my opinion that Theodore Dreiser is one of the most underrated American novelists. I wish I had studied him in school instead of some of the standards like Hemingway or Jack London. This book was highly realistic in its portrayal of poverty and the fear of poverty, and brought forth some memorable characters in Carrie Meeber, Charlie Drouet, and George Hurstwood. I give it 4 stars out of 5.

Plot summary (from the publisher): Carpenter Adam Bede is in love with the beautiful Hetty Sorrel, but unknown to him, he has a rival, in the local squire’s son Arthur Donnithorne. Hetty is soon attracted by Arthur’s seductive charm and they begin to meet in secret. The relationship is to have tragic consequences that reach far beyond the couple themselves, touching not just Adam Bede, but many others, not least, pious Methodist Preacher Dinah Morris.

A tale of seduction, betrayal, love and deception, the plot of Adam Bede has the quality of an English folk song. Within the setting of Hayslope, a small, rural community, Eliot brilliantly creates a sense of earthy reality, making the landscape itself as vital a presence in the novel as that of her characters themselves.

Warning: Spoilers below!

Liked:

• The second half of the book was much better than the first. Whereas the first dragged on and on in an attempt to set the scene and familiarize the reader with the characters, the second contained most of the action. I’m just surprised I stuck with it long enough to get to the “good stuff.”
• I liked that Hetty did not get a happy ending. Getting pregnant was obviously not her fault alone, and I do believe she meant to go back and rescue the baby instead of letting it suffer and die from exposure. But she couldn’t erase that initial act, no matter how much she repented afterward. It’s good that she was spared the death penalty, but it was also fitting that she was transported to the colonies to serve her sentence (where she subsequently died).
• The teacher (I’ve already forgotten his name) provided a bit of comic relief with his ranting against women. He turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable character in a book mostly devoid of them.

Disliked:

• It took far too long for Eliot to get her story started. I listened to the audiobook, which was a good thing in this case. If I’d had to read it on my own, I wouldn’t have finished it. That I was stuck listening to it on a long car trip helped me push through to the end.
• Adam Bede was such a dull, uninteresting character that I have no idea why he merited first billing in this book. He did nothing to arouse any kind of emotion in me whatsoever, so I didn’t care what happened to him or his family.
• How did Adam and Dinah end up together?? It was pretty convenient of Seth to simply renounce his feelings of love for Dinah so that his brother could have her. And then of course Seth ended up being the perfect bachelor uncle to Adam and Dinah’s children while they all lived together? Whatever.

Rating:
It had been far too long since I’d read a classic, so I decided to jump back in by tackling Adam Bede by George Eliot. This story totally felt like a first novel from an inexperienced writer — which is precisely what it was. No wonder it wasn’t published until after her death. I give the book 2 stars out of 5.

Warning: Spoilers below!

Liked:

• I thought the premise of Harry Haller having a dual nature (part man, part wolf) was an interesting way to look at man’s natural appetites. I probably would have appreciated this book a lot more if Hesse had addressed this topic in a more straightforward manner.

Disliked:

• Many of the scenes in this book were just way too out there for me. For example, all the Mozart stuff seemed utterly ridiculous, and I didn’t buy any of the Maria/Hermine/Harry stuff.
• This wasn’t really fiction so much as it was a philosophical treatise. Philosophy has its place, of course, but this kind of content wasn’t really what I signed up for.
• So Hesse’s ultimate message is that we shouldn’t take ourselves or our lives too seriously? That we should lighten up, laugh a little more, and love each other? Gee, how deep.
• Haller wasn’t really that compelling as a protagonist. I didn’t like anything about him, and as the story slogged along, began wishing with all my heart that he would just go ahead and kill himself already instead of waiting until his 50th birthday!
• I can see how this book might appeal to college students who think they know everything. You know, the ones that constantly question authority, despise everything they see in regular society, and generally think they’re somehow above the fray. But reading this as a well-grounded, middle-class, family minded adult? Meh, total disconnect.

Rating:

I read Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse because of its standing as a classic. After an intriguing start, however, the story simply descends into a slush pit of philosophical drivel that didn’t grab my attention at all. No doubt I’m one of the hedonists that Harry initially railed against and no doubt I missed some of Hesse’s other important “messages,” but there’s no way I’m going to spend any more time trying to figure it all out. I give this book 2 stars out of 5.

Set in a near-future U.S.A. whose economy is collapsing as a result of the mysterious disappearance of leading innovators and industrialists, this novel presents an astounding panorama of human life-from the productive genius who becomes a worthless playboy…to the great steel industrialist who does not know that he is working for his own destruction…to the philosopher who becomes a pirate…to the woman who runs a transcontinental railroad…to the lowest track worker in her train tunnels.

Peopled by larger-than-life heroes and villains, charged with towering questions of good and evil, Atlas Shrugged is a philosophical revolution told in the form of an action thriller.

Note: I read approximately 50 percent of this book before tossing it aside in a fit of “life’s too short for this bullshit” rage. This was my second attempt at reading Atlas Shrugged, and though I got a bit farther along this time than last, I just simply cannot ever imagine a scenario in which I actually finish the thing.

Warning: Spoilers below!

Liked:

• The non-political, non-business stuff was terrific. Rand has some intriguing characters here, and their personal dramas were fun to follow. I especially liked Dagny and Hank’s relationship, and am kind of curious as to what happens to them. Not curious enough to finish the book, to be sure, but enough to want to look up the answer somewhere.
• I like and agree with Rand’s general philosophy regarding capitalism and the role of government.

Disliked:

• OMG, the book is sooooo long and repetitive that I simply couldn’t bear the thought of having to read another page. I honestly cannot figure out how this book rates so highly with modern readers. Look, I know I’ve read a lot more popular fiction/bestsellers in recent years than anything that would truly be considered thought-provoking, but I assure you that a larger sampling of my reading background would show that I have devoured more than my fair share of the classics. I have often had to struggle to get through well-regarded books (ahem, Middlemarch, I’m looking at you), but I could at least understand why others liked the work. I just don’t see it with Atlas Shrugged. I loved The Fountainhead; but my god, this one could have used a good editor. Though I didn’t finish it, I find it hard to believe that Rand couldn’t have gotten her point across in a fraction of the number of pages she used.

Rating:

In theory, I should have loved Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I believed in everything she said, and I liked the characters she used as her mouthpiece. But the presentation was godawful, in my very, very humble opinion, and overwhelmed whatever positive aspects there might have been. Since I couldn’t even finish the book, I give it 0 stars out of 5 — and remain completely baffled as to why this title is consistently voted the best piece of modern literature out there. Ugh.