Farewell, my friend (or how to strain a friendship)

On September 27, 1929 Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms was published.  According to legend, Hemingway sent a draft of the novel to his friend F. Scott Fitzgerald who returned it to Hemingway with nine pages of suggested revisions.

Hemingway made a note at the bottom of the last page of Fitzgerald's suggestions.  It read,

Kiss my ass.

We *heart* Hemingway.

Subtle Coming of Age Storytelling.....

Title:  A Separate Peace

Author:  John Knowles

Genre:  Classic American Literature

208 pages

ISBN:  

978-0553280418

Source:  Personal Copy

Grade:  A-

A Separate Peace is the critically acclaimed novel by John Knowles, first published in 1959, in which a man returns to his former New England prep school and finds himself engulfed in memories of the pivotal summer of 1942 and the events that took place amongst schoolmates that would change their lives forever.  This was Knowles' first novel and it grew out of an earlier short story he wrote entitled "Phineas."

Tantalizing hints are dropped throughout the first chapter as Gene rediscovers the geography of his alma mater and within the next few chapters, the reader is transported back in time as Gene recounts that strange school year when WWII was raging across the Atlantic.

Disparate in personality is Phineas, Gene's best friend and yet, strangely, also his adversary in that mysterious,  pubescent-boy manner.  Phineas is wealthy, free-spirited, confident, a born leader, and quite the opposite of Gene in every way.  Despite their close friendship, something happens during that summer of 1942 that fundamentally changes the man Gene would become.

This now classic novel is subtle yet gripping throughout.  Knowles masterfully manipulates the story using surprisingly little words (the novel is less than 200 pages in it's entirety), each one carefully chosen for maximum impact.  In the end, it is a careful character study and while Gene is certainly the protagonist of the story, it is Phineas with whom you will fall in love.  Rarely have we encountered a character so wittily sophisticated, full of live with complicated demons lurking under the surface.

The title of the novel, interestingly enough, comes from Hemingway's classic novel, A Farewell to Arms, in which a soldier fighting in WWI notes "I have made a separate peace" with the enemy he is fighting.  A poignant title that has much relevance to the themes that Knowles explores.

Ultimately, this novel questions our responsibility for our own actions.....something we all need reminding of now and then.

Top Ten Reasons for NOT Finishing The Brothers Karamazov

A Reader's Respite tried.  We really did.  But honestly, did we really expect to finish a 800 page novel that quite literally puts us to sleep every three paragraphs?  At this rate, it would take us approximately 5 years to finish.

Here is our list of top ten reasons for not finishing The Brothers Karamazov.....

1. It's disloyal to Tolstoy.
2. We need to rest our eyes before our upcoming Lasik surgery.
3. We wouldn't want to turn into a book snob.
4. Big Kid thought the hardcover version solid enough to serve as a second base in the back yard.
5. Any novel featuring a mystic Russian monk is simply foreshadowing Rasputin.
6. Sarah Palin is planning on banning it in 2012.
7. A dozen diminutive names per character is just plain annoying. (Alexei is also known as Alyosha, Alyoshka, Alyoshenka, Alyoshechka, Alexeichick, Lyosha, Lyoshenka)
8. It might encourage other pesky Russians to write repetitive drivel.
9. The garbage needs to be taken out.  (Mr. RR raises his eyebrows)
10. The oil needs to be changed in the car.  (Mr. RR falls over in a dead faint)

Book Bundles

A Reader's Respite is always smitten with books that, while not necessarily a series, tend to enhance each other....

Louisa May Alcott's classic novel was first published in two volumes, the first in 1868 and the second, originally titled Good Wives, the following year.  It wasn't until 1880 that both volumes were combined under the title Little Women.

Geraldine Brooks won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize with her parallel novel to Little Women, called March.  The novel follows the absent Mr. March as he struggles to return home from the Civil War to his family.

In April of this year, Kelly O'Connor McNees made her literary debut with The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, a well-received historical fiction novel that imagines Alcott's mysterious love life.


We think this trio is rather cozy, don't you?

Feeding the ducks with Harper Lee

If you haven't seen all the hoopla (and frankly, we don't know how you could miss it), 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the incomparable novel by Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird.      

And while A Reader's Respite counts this work as amongst our very favorites, we've been feeling a little sorry for Harper Lee lately.  The extremely reclusive author recently consented to give just her third ever interview recently to reporter Sharon Churcher, of the Daily Mail.  This was a very, very big deal.  It could have been the interview that elevated Ms. Churcher into a legend amongst journalists (move over, Bahbwa Wahltahs). 

The only stipulation for the interview?  Don't mention Mockingbird.  When Ms. Churcher arrived for the interview, Lee invited her to come feed the ducks.

So much for the scoop of the year.

Now for some odd reason, this sent A Reader's Respite into peals of laughter.  Perhaps it's because we sympathize with Harper Lee.  She's eight-four years old now, which means To Kill a Mockingbird was published when she was thirty-four.  It won the Pulitzer Prize and then....well, that's pretty much it.  Harper Lee never published another word (exception: a couple of short stories that didn't come to much).  She retreated from the world, refusing to give interviews or to even speak about Mockingbird.

And who could blame her?  Just imagine...you publish your first novel and it wins the Pulitzer.  For a true artist, how could you ever hope to top that?  Would you even want to try?  The artistic pressure (never mind the media pressure) would be overwhelming.  Her support system crumbled when her agent developed cancer, her editor passed away and her close friend, author Truman Capote, drifted away into his own world. 

Capote

On a side note - A Reader's Respite has always gotten a chuckle from imagining Capote's real thoughts about Mockingbird.  God love him, but that man was a drama queen if ever there was one and we can just imagine his private reaction when his "protege" submits her quaint little novel and bam....instant best-seller, Pulitzer Prize and a movie deal starring Gregory Peck.  He must have turned an exquisite shade of green with envy.

In the end, Harper Lee (to quote Sinatra) did it her way.  And that is something A Reader's Respite deeply admires. 
                  

************************

For those of you interested in learning more about Harper Lee, A Reader's Respite whole-heartedly recommends the biography by Charles Shields.  Engaging and meticulously researched, Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee is an essential read for those who want to know more about Harper Lee.

The Relevancy of The Catcher in the Rye (open discussion)

The recent death of J.D. Salinger got us to thinking about what is probably his best-known work, The Catcher in the Rye.  First published in 1951, this coming-of-age novel had found it's way into America's classrooms by the early 1960's.  It also found it's way OUT of America's classrooms as it became one of the most challenged/banned books in U.S. schools up until even the 1990's..

Now anyone who's ever picked up the novel knows why it was so often challenged by parents.  The real question, for us at least, was why was it so often taught?  Why do you think this book was deemed important by literature professors?

A Reader's Respite originally had about three pages of questions intended to guide a discussion today.  Questions about the reliability of the narrator, the symbolism of Holden's hunting hat, even a question about the source of the title.  But then we realized that these questions weren't so important.

What is important is how YOU felt when reading this novel.  When did you first read it?  If you re-read the novel recently, how have your perceptions changed as an adult?  Do you think you'd feel differently about the novel if you'd first read it as an adult?  How do you feel about Holden (now and then)?

But perhaps the most important question of all....is The Catcher in the Rye still relevant in the classroom?

Clearly there are no right or wrong answers here today.  Every viewpoint (even if you hated the novel) is relevant.  We'd love to hear your thoughts!



PS....For anyone interested in review nostalgia, A Reader's Respite found this NYT book review of The Catcher in the Rye dated the year of it's publication.

The Classics Circuit: A Dark Night's Work

In a dogged effort to better ourselves with more refined reading, A Reader's Respite bravely signed up for The Classics Circuit's tour of author Elizabeth Gaskell. If you're anything like us, about the only work we could name by this well-regarded author was the novel Cranford, which the BBC boldly turned into a mini-series starring Judi Dench earlier this year. (A review of Cranford, by the way, will be featured over at Notes From the North this coming Friday!)

A Reader's Respite, however, wasn't quite brave enough to tackle one of Gaskell's novels and instead we opted to read one of her lesser known novellas, this one entitled A Dark Night's Work.



Published in 1863, A Dark Night's Work is the story of Ellinor Wilkins, daughter to a well-to-do country lawyer in rural England. Having lost her mother and sister at a very young age, Ellinor develops an intense bond with her father and enjoys all of his attention and financial comforts throughout her childhood.

Her bond with Mr. Wilkins is so strong that, as is wont to happen in these circumstances, Ellinor is also blind to his faults, not the least of which are an over-reaching pride and drunkenness. As Ellinor grows into adulthood, she will eventually meet and become engaged to a young man of a noble family.

Just as she is about to float blindly from one comfortable life with her father into another with a husband, tragedy strikes.

Mr. Wilkins, in a fit of drunken rage, commits murder. Desperate to avoid the disgrace, Ellinor, her father and a family servant hide the body.

From here on out, the story is chiefly concerned with the effects of a guilty conscious. Each person concerned deals with the guilt in devastating ways and the effects are far-reaching into the future.

Gaskell's forte with this novella is her examination of character and tragedy. She foreshadows early in the story,

...it is approaching all of us at this very time; you, reader, I, writer, have each our great sorrow bearing down on us. It may be yet beyond the dimmest point of our horizon, but in the stillness of the night our hearts shrink at the sound of its coming footstep. Well is it for those who fall into the hands of the Lord rather than into the hands of men; but worst of all is it for him who has hereafter to mingle the gall of remorse with the cup held out to him by his doom.
A Dark Night's Work, Elizabeth Gaskell

Very gothic, no?

Gaskell doesn't attempt to develop much sympathy for Ellinor's plight. Rather, she simply states facts without sentiment and allows the reader's to draw their own conclusions. You may, as you read her story, determine that Ellinor gets everything she had coming to her. Or you may decide the consequences are rather too harsh.

Either way, the novella is a story with dark undertones of family dynamics and social mores, rather impressive for the time frame and rather reminds us of Edith Wharton's darker works which weren't to come along for another fifty years.

If you're interested in Gaskell's work, most of her writings are available on Google Books or Project Gutenberg, free of charge.






FDC Disclaimer: This book came to us via a free download on to our Amazonian Devil Device (aka, the Kindle) from Amazon.com. No Kindles were harmed in the making of this review.

It's a James Cain Festival....

Well, at least it is for A Reader's Respite ever since we discovered this founder of the American hard-boiled detective novel. We were smitten with Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice (if you missed our musings about that novel, check here) and curiosity led us to find out what else the man had written.



Imagine our surprise when we discovered Cain had quite an impressive bibliography to his name, including the novel Mildred Pierce.

Yes, for all of our fellow vintage film buffs, that Mildred Pierce. Turns out, Cain's novel was the basis for the Oscar-winning film starring Joan Crawford in 1945. (Is there anyone out there who hasn't seen this movie?) So A Reader's Respite set out on a mission: to get our grubby hands on this book.

Did you know that the studio wanted Bette Davis for the role? Davis turned it down because she didn't want to portray a character that had a 17 year old daughter.

Once we accomplished that task, we couldn't pull our nose out of the book. Like Postman, the movie had the inevitable deviations from the novel, probably because the book has deeper, darker psychological undercurrents.

Cain's characterization of Mildred herself is nothing short of genius...the reader understands her faults with sympathy and cheers her gumption even when it is misguided.

And Veda? We know you're all waiting to hear about Veda....the girl is just as much of a snotty little b*tch as Ann Blyth presented on the Silver Screen. Honestly, has there ever been a more evil daughter to ever grace the pages of a novel? Cain was a master, truly.

You can print this photo out and aim darts at Veda. But leave Crawford alone...we love her, wire hangars and all.

Michael Curtiz directed the 1945 film version that saved Joan Crawford's career. It was nominated for six Oscars that year, winning for Best Actress. Crawford's career was in the proverbial toilet at the time and Curtiz actually made her audition with a screen test (big slap in the face) before awarding her the role.


Next stop on our Cain adventure? Double Indemnity.

Cover Hijinks of the Past

Even fifty years ago the marketing department of the book world was in full swing. Take, for example, the cover of A Reader's Respite's vintage paperback of James Cain's classic noir tale, The Postman Always Rings Twice:

Published in the late 1940's by Pocket Books, the art department came up with a drawing of the femme fatale Cora as a sultry blond bombshell.

Nevermind that the Cora that Cain created has black, curly hair and a darker complexion....so much so that by only page three, she's lashing out because people might think her Mexican.

don't do it, Cora!!!

Of course, it's worth noting that the first hit film version of Cain's classic, featuring the sex-pot and couldn't-be-blonder-if-she-tried Lana Turner, had been released the year prior to the Pocket Books' edition and was a big influence on the cover art.

Bad cover or no, this short novel that packs a huge punch is still worth picking up even today. Despite gallant attempts, no filmmaker could ever convey the sheer psychological twisted-ness (is that a word? it is now.) of drifter Frank Chamber and waitress Cora Papadakis as they plot and scheme to do away with Cora's poor husband, Nick.

That Cain could manage to build such an incredible amount of tension and bring it to such an explosive and tragic ending in just 121 pages is nothing short of genius.

Worth a read folks, if you ever come across an old copy somewhere.

Whatcha readin' for Halloween?

A Reader's Respite just loves Halloween. Not just because we're kinda witchy (broomstick, jet aircraft....tomayto, tomahto), but because we can indulge in theme reading.

This year, thanks to Sandy over at You've Gotta Read This!, we started the month off right with a re-read of Daphne Du Maurier's classic Rebecca. This is a perfect Halloween read in our opinion, just creepy enough to set the mood, but no blood and gore (we're working our way up to that by the end of the month).



In the past, A Reader's Respite has mused about re-reads and changes in perception. Now we've read this novel perhaps a dozen times over the years and seen the film countless times. Sure enough, we found that our reaction to the novel this time was indeed markedly different from previous reads.

Now for those of you unfamiliar with the storyline, allow us to give you the Reader's Respite version:

Mousy young girl meets rich, handsome widower. Girl marries widower and returns with him to his fabulous country manor. You want to root for her....really, you do. But it doesn't take long before she realizes that the previous dead wife still rules the roost. Secrets, lies and deceit abound in this subtle psycho-thriller. No wonder Hitchcock loved it.



So what changed for us this time? Instead of feeling sorry for our erstwhile heroine, we found ourselves wanting to buy the girl a spine. We wanted her to stand up and shout, "The woman is dead, get over it people!"

Our patience was just in short supply. We're pretty sure this is because our last read of this classic was B.K.

Before Kids.

Yep, our kids have used up all of our patience and now we're taking it out on timeless heroines.

*Sigh*

On another note, however, did you know that author Sally Beauman wrote a prequel to Rebecca? It's true. Rebecca's Tale is the story told from the dead's wife's point of view. A little on the salacious side, it's a fun read for anyone who enjoyed Rebecca.


And A Reader's Respite just happens to have a copy up for grabs.

If you're interested, leave us a comment and on October 22nd we'll draw a random winner, just in time for Halloween. As always, no Following, Twittering, Facebooking, Whatever-ing is necessary to enter. Just check back on the 22nd to see if you've won!

The Classics --- Argggghhhh!

So A Reader's Respite has this theory (feel free to agree or disagree as you are inclined):

We think that most bibliophiles would love to read the so-called classics of literature. But by and large, most people only slog their way through a handful and even those were at the barrel of a gun being pointed by your college lit professor.



Why?

Because let's face it, they ain't easy reads. Most were written in a different era with a different style of language that forces us to SLOW DOWN and digest what we're reading. Some were even translated from a foreign language first, making reading comprehension even tougher (damn you, Proust).

Books 'n Border Collies hates it when I do this....Lezlie loves Proust

And even then, it's easy to turn the last page muttering to yourself, "What the hell is all the fuss about?"

But here's the thing: we believe that reading the classics is an acquired skill. And a worthwhile one at that. Like any skill, however, it needs to be taught. Now if you were super-duper lucky, somewhere in your educational background you had a professor who taught you how to read classic literature.


If not, well, it's not all that difficult to teach yourself. The trick is BABY STEPS. That's right, start small. No need to run out and buy the biggest damned copy of War and Peace you can find.


There are plenty of other classic novels that are shorter, easier to digest and a much smarter way to start down the road of enjoying classic literature.

A suggestion? Well, since you ask....


The Return of the Soldier was written by author Rebecca West in 1918. Set in a English countryside manor house in 1916, this is the story of a soldier returning home from the front with shellshock and a peculiar case of amnesia.

The historical context is WWI, the war that changed wars as mankind knows them forever. Never before had the world seen war on such a huge scale. The devastation was without end -- remember, West wrote this in 1918 and the war was still raging with no end in sight. People like West had no reason to believe at this point that it would ever end and this changed how people viewed the world.

The small cast of characters West creates represents society as a whole. Is our soldier better off not remembering, despite the hurt this causes his family?

All in all, this is a fine example of how great literature mirrors changes in society's mindset.

At 80 pages, this small novel is an easy way to dip your toe in the water, it's handily picked up for a couple of dollars at a used book store (or even free on Google Books), and is easily digestible in an afternoon.

Give it a try and let us know what you think. We loved it.

Classics, Perceptions and the Passage of Time

A Reader's Respite is feeling a bit pensive these days.




When Sandy, from You've GOTTA Read This! invited her fellow bibliophiles to join her in a reading of Emily Bronte's classic Wuthering Heights, A Reader's Respite couldn't resist.

Fond memories of the novel from our teen years swirled around this novel like a thick fog on the moors. The passion! The tragedy!

We dusted off one of the six (!) copies floating around on our shelves and prepared to dive into the gothic literary fest.





Then we opened the book and.......








...what in the hell were we thinking all those years ago?


As a hormone-driven teenager, Wuthering Heights was the epitome of passion. All those characters literally dying when separated from their one true love....what could be more romantic?




And now, twenty-odd years later? Those same characters just seem, well, stupid.

Sacrilegious, right?


Now read with the older, and we'd like to think wiser, eyes of a thirty-something, Wuthering Heights appears to be the dysfunctional story of a group of violent, egocentric megalomaniacs who abuse their children and randomly will themselves to die when they don't get what they want.



Clearly the passage of time and life experiences have skewered our view of this classic novel and the logical question is: will the passage of another twenty years alter our views yet again?

And so here are some of the things A Reader's Respite is pondering:

1. Does this experience happen to all bibliophiles?
2. What makes a novel a CLASSIC?
3. Why wasn't Viggo Mortensen cast as Heathcliff?

If you have any answers, please speak up.