THINGS FALL APART

by Chinua Achebe



I was about ten chapters into Things Fall Apart when it occurred to me. I was enjoying the book, but I felt like I was missing some serious points. The sparse writing had temporarily lulled me into skimming the surface. I hopped on Google and found myself a fabulous study guide that supplied questions to ponder as I continued reading and a resource website that explored Post-Colonial Literature from various parts of the world. Suddenly I was reading a book that went from "quaint" to "powerful".

On the off chance that it’s not completely obvious, I lack a college education in literature. While I often am tempted to remedy that, I am also acutely aware that years of required reading being laid out for me would probably not produce the desired effect, because, quite frankly, I want to read what I want to read when I want to read it. Therefore, I am doing my best to educate myself while indulging in my wide-ranging tastes. Hence, the occasional forays into the world of online study tools. In this case, I was extremely pleased that I did. I think that I would have picked up on more of the themes once I had gotten into the coming of the missionaries, but I’m not sure I would have fully appreciated the entire first section of the book where Achebe describes many of the intricacies of tribal life. I ended up becoming so engrossed that I immediately went out and purchased the two books about the main character’s descendants, Arrow of God and No Longer at Ease, which I plan on reading right away.

Ultimately, I had a hard time drumming up a lot of sympathy for Okonkwo, the main character. Even in the light of his own culture he was a jerk. But I did understand his feelings at the end. And I felt terrible for the Ibo people as their world began changing before their eyes. While the Ibo traditions look harsh and primitive to Western sensibilities, it worked for them and had beauty and nobility despite its flaws. While I have no desire to live in a tribal culture, I find myself envying certain aspects of a simpler life. And every time I read about things like this coming of the missionaries or the displacement of the Native Americans and the like, I always think to myself, “And what makes our way of life so much better? Why do we think we are so superior?” Granted, leaving babies out in the woods to die because of superstitious beliefs is abhorrent on every level, but why do we feel the need to wipe out every aspect of life that doesn’t look like ours? And as I sit in my mid-western suburban home pondering these questions, American troops sit in Iraq. I’m not getting political here. This is a book blog. I’m just saying there’s a lot to think about.

Lezlie

What I've Learned So Far . . .

I'm almost to the 3 month mark of being a blogger. I've been having so much fun that it seems like much longer! The Challenges have been a huge draw for me, and as I looked over my spreadsheet of titles I've committed to and thought about all the great books I've discovered since I wrote up my lists, I started to think my lesson so far had been, "Never make your year's reading plan in January." Not so, my friends!! Lucky me! With the exception of the To Be Read Challenge, all the lists can be altered at will! Oh, glorious day! (I know, I know. The Challenges are not meant to be taken that seriously, but once I've set myself some goals I can be real bull-headed about changing them. Not always a good thing. And I like to follow the rules.)

It took some doing, because I cross-challenged with a lot of books, but some changes were made to accommodate my literary ADD. I'm sorry to say that Far From The Maddening Crowd and Wuthering Heights lost their spots unless I read faster than I think I can. I have a few "Undetermined" spots they still may fill, but they might see the TBR Challenge next year, where I can't remove them again. :-) But in their place are some interesting reads I couldn't pass up. I've added:

-- Finn by Jon Clinch, because it's about Huck's father and I want to read it right after Huck Finn

-- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz because I want to read Was by Geoff Ryman (which I've also added), which is based on Oz

-- Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe, because I'm reading Things Fall Apart right now, and I really want to read more by him

I think I made a few more adjustments also, but those were the ones I was the most excited about. I'm re-energized! My new lesson: "Challenge lists are not written in stone. Be flexible!"

Happy Reading, Everyone!
Lezlie

Booking Through Thursday

While acknowledging that we can’t judge books by their covers, how much does the design of a book affect your reading enjoyment? Hardcover vs. softcover? Trade paperback vs. mass market paperback? Font? Illustrations? Etc.?


Those things will definitely have an impact on my browsing. I'd rather have a new book than an old or used one. I am nearly neurotic about the condition of my personal collection. I closely examine copies I'm thinking about buying for nicks and scratches and bends. I prefer trade paperbacks to hardcovers or mass market paperbacks. I pick up books with interesting-looking covers. I'll read the backs of books with covers I think are ugly just out of curiosity. But as for affecting my actual reading enjoyment, it doesn't change a thing. My final opinion of a book rests with what is written on the pages, corners bent or not.


Play along with Booking Through Thursday here.

Lezlie

Short Stories

I've never been much of a short story reader, but for a long time I have wanted to learn more about them and to develop an appreciation. I joined the Short Story Challenge just for that purpose. It provided a reason for me to interrupt my steady flow of novels for brief moments and begin my short story education. The couple that I've read so far, I've really enjoyed and would like to share them with those of you who have read the reviews and would like to read the stories for yourself. Therefore, I have added links to online texts of the two stories I have reviewed so far and will continue to do so for those that are available. If you've already read my reviews, feel free to come back and read the stories themselves and let me know what you thought of them! Here are links back to the original two for your convenience:

"Battle Royal" by Ralph Ellison
"Miss Brill" by Katherine Mansfield

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
Lezlie

MISS BRILL

by Katherine Mansfield

What is it about some short stories that they can put you in your place and make you feel like a complete heel without ever directly pointing a finger? "Miss Brill" is a three page vignette of a woman people-watching at a public band performance in a park. She goes there every week and enjoys the miniature "performances" unfolding around her, listening in on snippets of the lives of others, smiling and envisioning wonderful things for those she sees. We've all done that. And we've all passed our snarky little judgments on those we've deemed unworthy for no reason other than we didn't like the way they looked. But guess what? Life is not a private performance. The others we're watching are watching us, too. How many kind-hearted Miss Brill's would I have made cry if they could have heard my thoughtless remarks?

I closed the book on this gorgeous story feeling thoroughly chastised. Once again I am reminded of all the work I have ahead of me if I really want to be the kind of person I would admire.

Lezlie

Read the story for free on line! Click here.

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY

by Oscar Wilde

"What the worm was to the corpse, his sins would be to the painted image on the canvas. They would mar its beauty, and eat away its grace. They would defile it, and make it shameful. And yet the thing would still live on. It would be always alive."

I thought it would be a bit unnerving to read this book as I pass into the early stages of middle age. I see my hair slowly graying, my skin beginning to loosen ever so slightly. My eyes are not as sharp as they once were and my knees and ankles pop. And I am surrounded by a society that worships youth and beauty. What would I give to the stop the decaying hands of time and stay forever young?

Those were my thoughts as I began the novel. The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of those books that has been in my consciousness for so long that I thought I knew what it was about. How wrong I was! No devil shows up to bargain for Dorian’s soul in exchange for immortality. Dorian’s wish to remain forever young turns out to be merely a passing whim stated out loud then all but forgotten. But something or someone heard, and his eternal youth becomes a beautiful mask to polite society while his originally somewhat naive soul plunges into duplicitous immorality, and the mutating painting becomes a constant reminder of the ugliness beneath the flawless skin.

There is so much going on, so many messages in this book that it is difficult to choose a single aspect to spotlight for a short review. Because most of Dorian’s debaucheries are never explicitly stated, each individual will most likely see a different monster in this tale that is still so relevant today in a society where image seems to be everything. Said Wilde himself, "Each man sees his own sin in Dorian Gray. What Dorian Gray’s sins are, no one knows. He who finds them has brought them."

Lezlie

Booking Through Thursday

You’ve just reached the end of a book . . . what do you do now? Savor and muse over the book? Dive right into the next one? Go take the dog for a walk, the kids to the park, before even thinking about the next book you’re going to read? What?

(Obviously, there can be more than one answer, here–a book with a cliff-hanger is going to engender different reactions than a serene, stand-alone, but you get the idea!)


I think my answer is always the same: Dig right in to the next one!! Just like most of us, I always have too many I want to read and not enough time to read them. And with all these Challenges I've discovered, there's no time to waste! :-)

If you'd like to play along with Booking Through Thursday, click here.

Happy Spring, Everyone! It's finally here!!!
Lezlie

New Project In The Works. . .

Hi, Everyone!

I'm hard at work developing a new, fun and educational reading project. I posted about my U.S. Presidents Reading Project, and a few people had expressed an interest in joining in and wondered if I was going to host an "official" project. I mulled it over, and I've decided to go ahead and take the plunge! I'm working on the blog now. It will be a project in which participants read at least one non-fiction book about each President, taking as long as they would like to do so. I would like the blog to act as a resource for everyone who would like to participate. There will be links to each participant's site, if they so choose, pages for each President and book suggestions for each with convenient links to Amazon for more information. There will be open comments where participants can review the books they've read, leave links to the reviews on their own sites, and leave additional suggestions for books. There will even be a link to the White House website where readers can do some additional exploration. I'm thrilled with the way it is developing and hoping to officially open the project for participation in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know. I can't wait to get it all going! Unfortunately, this is also causing other wild ideas. World Leaders Reading Project, anyone? :-)

Lezlie