"The Arcade of the Pont Neuf is not a place for a stroll. You take it to make a short cut, to gain a few minutes. It is traversed by busy people whose"The Arcade of the Pont Neuf is not a place for a stroll. You take it to make a short cut, to gain a few minutes. It is traversed by busy people whose sole aim is to go quick and straight before them… The arcade now assumes the aspect of a regular cut-throat alley. Great shadows stretch along the tiles, damp puffs of air enter from the street. Anyone might take the place for a subterranean gallery indistinctly lit-up by three funeral lamps.
This nineteenth century French novel has a deliciously dark atmosphere from page one. The Arcade of the Pont Neuf is home to a mercer shop that will take you into the depths of a psychological drama that might give you chills if you were to read this alone on a bleak and stormy night. Emphasizing the animal side of human nature, Emile Zola created two depraved characters in Laurent and Therese – ones that we should all hope to avoid a glimpse of within ourselves! How do emotions drive one to commit an act of evil? What are the consequences of these actions? If we repent, will we be absolved of our sins? If repentance is not something the bestial self is capable of seeking, then what becomes of us?
This book had some gruesome images that may make some flinch and others may find worthy of a great horror novel. I personally cringed and at the same time was fascinated by a most revolting description of a Parisian morgue. I was shocked to learn that it was in fact a favorite pastime for the people of Paris to visit the morgue and ogle the unfortunate inhabitants of this notorious attraction! "The morgue is a sight within reach of everybody, and one to which passers-by, rich and poor alike, treat themselves. The door stands open, and all are free to enter. There are admirers of the scene who go out of their way so as not to miss one of these performances of death."
I found this book to be quite riveting overall. There were times when it felt a bit repetitive and dragged slightly, but then it would shift and I would once more become submerged in the misery, depravity and psychological suspense. I would recommend this to those that enjoy classics and intense psychological studies. It is actually a very readable classic, so shouldn't necessarily exclude those that don't dip into the classics on a regular basis. 3.5 stars. ...more
I needed to find a first-in-a-series book to read and had a hankering to read a crime novel. Having not previously read a Scandinavian crime book, I tI needed to find a first-in-a-series book to read and had a hankering to read a crime novel. Having not previously read a Scandinavian crime book, I thought this was as good a time as any to give one a try. The thought of some astonishing landscape thrown into the mix appealed to me as well. I grabbed Sun Storm since it was readily available and I was happily entertained.
"The Aurora Borealis twists and turns like a dragon in the night sky. Stars and planets are compelled to give way to her, this great miracle of shimmering light, as she makes her unhurried way across the vault of heaven."
This stunning phenomenon endures even as the prominent evangelist Viktor Strandgard lays dying on the floor of his beloved church of The Source of All Our Strength set atop a hill in Kiruna, Sweden. Viktor Strandgard is eventually found dead by his sister, Sanna, who goes to the church following a bedside vision of her brother. Fearing for herself and her two daughters, Sanna contacts her old friend Rebecka Martinsson. A former member of this fundamentalist church, Rebecka is forced to face some stinging memories that she thought were finally behind her. As Sanna finds herself a possible suspect in Viktor's murder, Rebecka finds her role as a Stockholm tax attorney perhaps not quite suited to representing a "friend" with whom she has a very tenuous relationship at best. But Sanna is counting on their old bond and entrusts her case as well as the care of her young daughters to Rebecka.
Enter Anna-Maria and Sven-Erik, two investigators assigned to the case. I really liked Anna-Maria – pregnant, she has been placed on desk duty but still seems to be all too eager to get to the bottom of this case and away from her desk. She's one tough woman! Nothing seems to intimidate her, including the overly zealous band of hypocritical and evasive pastors of The Source of All Our Strength. Rebecka, too, must confront this group and does so with the strength of several years of animosity stemming from her history with the church and these leaders. I'm not quite certain of my feelings for Rebecka. I was definitely in her corner, but she was not always very likeable. Her caring for the little girls was commendable and her determination was admirable, but I couldn't always tolerate her personality. Perhaps she would grow on me in later installments of the series.
Overall, this was fast-paced, reasonably gruesome, and ultimately satisfying as a diversion from my usual form of reading. I have come to realize that I need to pick up a good mystery/crime novel from time to time. I enjoyed trying to guess whodunit and this book definitely kept me on my toes. It took me a decent amount of time to figure things out. The last part of the book, even if not completely believable, was tense and exciting! Throw in some fabulous scenes of the Aurora Borealis and the lonesomeness and desolation of the expansiveness of the snowy landscape and you have a respectable, solid start to this series. 3 stars. ...more
This was a very entertaining and refreshingly different read! Set in the communist country of Laos during the 1970's, The Coroner's Lunch is a 4 stars
This was a very entertaining and refreshingly different read! Set in the communist country of Laos during the 1970's, The Coroner's Lunch is a mystery/crime novel with a bit of the supernatural and a nice dose of humor thrown into the mix. I absolutely loved Dr. Siri Paiboun, a bit of an atypical sort of hero, but a very charming and convincing one despite his background and his seventy-two years. Siri is not in the least a detective, but instead has his training in medicine. With retirement on his mind, he suddenly finds himself thrown into the role of the nation's coroner. After just a few short and rather uneventful months on the job, Siri and his cohorts, morgue assistants nurse Dtui and Mr. Geung, are all at once in the middle of some high profile murder cases with the party officials keeping a close eye on their progress.
Now, you might say supernatural is not for you. It's not necessarily my usual cup of tea either, but it worked for me here. Some regional superstition makes the story more interesting from a cultural perspective. Siri himself has the gift, or perhaps he would say the curse, of an occasional posthumous visit by some of his former "customers".
The characters in this book were a huge pull for me. Dr. Siri Paiboun is very well-drawn. We learn so much about his past, his beliefs, his kindness and his sense of humanity, and his wit. "Despite having joined the Communist Party for entirely inappropriate reasons, Siri had been a paid-up member for forty-seven years. If the truth were to be told, he was a heathen of a communist. He'd come to believe two conflicting ideas with equal conviction: that communism was the only way man could be truly content; and that man, given his selfish ways, could never practice communism with any success."
I enjoyed Siri's interactions with his assistants Nurse Dtui and Mr. Geung and we get to know these two like a couple of familiar friends as well. There were also a handful of other characters that Siri can depend on and a few that were either fairly incompetent or clearly corrupt. The author expertly reflects the political climate of the time through some of these extras. The plot moves along at a good pace and I admit I thought I had at least one mystery solved only to find I was evidently quite mistaken. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy a mystery in a more exotic setting with a fascinating historical background. It is not overly graphic, if you tend to shy away from that sort of a crime novel, but it may not be completely "cozy" either. Overall, a really fun read and I intend to delve into the next in this series. ...more
"The first purpose of a librarian is to preserve and defend our books. Sometimes, that means dying for them - or making someone else die for 3.5 stars
"The first purpose of a librarian is to preserve and defend our books. Sometimes, that means dying for them - or making someone else die for them. Tota est scientia. Knowledge is all."
Imagine what it would be like if you couldn't legally own a single book that you could cherish, re-read over and over again until the pages are dog-eared, and then place it lovingly on your home bookshelf. What if every single word that you read was controlled by a higher power? As readers and book-lovers, I don't think we could envision or tolerate such a world! But, that is exactly the world that author Rachel Caine has created for us in the first book in The Great Library series, Ink and Bone. An alternate history where The Great Library of Alexandria was never destroyed but still exists, the invention of the printing press was never allowed to come to fruition, and the librarians and those in higher positions are in absolute control of all dissemination of knowledge through use of a Codex, an electronic means of communication - these are all realities for Jess Brightwell and the myriad cast of characters we come across in this book. The Brightwell family runs an illegal but lucrative business running and selling original books. But then Jess is presented with the opportunity to train and possibly earn a position within the Library itself. He travels from his hometown of London to the glorious city of Alexandria and is joined by a group of postulants from around the world. There begins their difficult and dangerous education under the tutelage of the enigmatic Scholar Wolfe.
I have to admit, initially I felt disappointed after the first chapter or two. I was confused about the alternate history – especially the reasoning behind it. I also had trouble figuring out the various roles and hierarchy of the library personnel. Many characters appeared and disappeared rather quickly. It took me to almost the halfway point of this book to really grasp and become interested in this mystifying world. Once everything began to click for me, I was committed to seeing this through to the end. I enjoyed the complexities of some of the characters – in particular, Jess Brightwell, who loves books and wants to do the right thing, despite not always knowing what that might be. Scholar Wolfe grew on me and I would like to hear more of his story. Members of a resistance group, known as the Burners, were intriguing –they were presented as the "bad guys" but is there more to them than meets the eye as well? I suspect I would need to read the next book in the series to find out the answer to that question.
There is a lot of peril and adventure in this book, and I found that I turned the pages rather quickly during the second half. I could have done without the magical/alchemy element in this novel – it seems that there were way too many things going on and this just added to the confusion. We also get a glimpse of a war going on between the English and the Welsh, social injustices and starvation of the "common" people, and general unrest – but without a clear explanation as to the origins of this instability. Maybe less is more, at least for me as a reader, but others may find that all these components add to the excitement and intricacies of the plot.
I would be interested in reading the sequel with the hope that many unanswered questions will become clearer in my mind. I want to find out what happens next – what does the future hold for Jess and his friends and Scholar Wolfe? Can the library maintain its power? Will the book-lovers of the world someday be able to hold an original book in their hands without fear of punishment? I recommend Ink and Bone to anyone interested in fantasy/alternate history and in particular to fans of fast-paced, young adult novels. ...more
"Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, two hundred souls at most, no more than a blip on the fast road between Toulouse and Bordeaux. Blink once, and it's gone. One"Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, two hundred souls at most, no more than a blip on the fast road between Toulouse and Bordeaux. Blink once, and it's gone. One main street, a double row of dun-colored half-timbered houses leaning secretively together, a few laterals running parallel like the tines of a bent fork. A church, aggressively whitewashed, in a square of little shops. Farms scattered across the watchful land."
Magical and scrumptious, Chocolat is a thrilling delight for the senses. When Vianne Rocher and her imaginative daughter, Anouk, establish themselves and their chocolaterie in the small, French-Catholic town of Lansquenet, they are met with guarded curiosity and veiled hostility. As Vianne slowly begins to attract the townspeople with her winning combination of tantalizing chocolate creations and her warm friendship and unprejudiced acceptance, she sparks the wrath of the self-righteous and judgmental priest, Père Reynaud. Determined to rid the town of both the river gypsies as well as the influence of Vianne Rocher, Père Reynaud readies himself and his church for the battle between what he considers good versus evil. But, there is something quite incongruous and disturbing in his convictions. He loathes the members of his congregation: "Sheep are not the docile, pleasant creatures of the pastoral idyll. Any countryman will tell you that. They are sly, occasionally vicious, pathologically stupid." He is arrogant and overly confident: "When Vianne Rocher sees the power of the church - my influence over every single soul in the community - then she will know she has lost." Can Vianne and Père Reynaud exist side by side in this small community?
The story alternates between the first person narration of Vianne and Père Reynaud, allowing the reader to become quite intimate with the innermost thoughts of these complex characters. With vivid imagery, an entertaining and eccentric cast of secondary characters, and an engaging storyline, author Joanne Harris has created a novel which satisfies not only your senses, but also your intellect. Don't let the backdrop of exquisite chocolates and other heavenly concoctions fool you into thinking there is nothing more to this novel. With its underlying themes of moral perplexities, Chocolat contains more than meets the eye.
Note to potential reader: Prior to opening the pages of this book, I highly recommend that you indulge and stock up on a plentiful supply of superior chocolates to be consumed while reading. A last minute search for a leftover Hershey bar or chocolate kiss will leave you a bit disappointed. ...more
"Ah my brother, don't you see? The ultimate technological achievement will be escaping from the mess we've made. There will be none after that 4 stars
"Ah my brother, don't you see? The ultimate technological achievement will be escaping from the mess we've made. There will be none after that because we will reproduce everything that we did on earth, we'll go through the whole sequence all over again somewhere else, and people will read my paper as prophecy, and know that having gotten off one planet, they will be able to destroy another with confidence."
When I began reading this book, I had no idea that Homer and Langley Collyer were real-life hoarders and recluses living in Harlem in a Fifth Avenue brownstone during the first half of the 20th century. They became legendary after their bodies were found in 1947 amongst nearly 120 tons of junk ranging from anything and everything from ceiling-high stacks of newspapers to pianos to a Model T Ford planted right in the middle of their living quarters. E.L. Doctorow takes these two eccentrics and fictionalizes and humanizes them to a degree that allows the reader to perhaps understand their motives as well as to possibly provide us with a warning as to what may happen in a society where we accumulate more and more to the point that we become blinded to reality and the world around us.
In Homer & Langley, Doctorow expands the life of these characters beyond their demise in 1947 and instead we get a view of them from their childhood and straight into the 1970's. In so doing, the author allows us to get a broad overview of the historical events of this time period, ranging from WWI to the Vietnam War. We gain a perspective of these events through the two brothers and the people to whom they come in contact with throughout their lifetime. In this story, Langley is a victim of mustard gas in WWI and returns to his home and his brother not only as a troubled man but also one full of ideas and theories about mankind. Langley begins a daily perusal of any and all newspapers he could obtain and begins to accumulate "stuff" in order to perhaps make sense of a world gone awry.
This novel is actually told through the narration of Homer looking retrospectively at the lives of the two brothers. "I'm Homer, the blind brother. I didn't lose my sight all at once, it was like the movies, a slow fade-out." For a person without sight, Homer instead has a sharpened awareness through his other senses as well as keen insight into the world around him. He and Langley encounter a motley assortment of persons throughout their time, including gangsters, prostitutes, musicians, immigrants and hippies. They host parties; they wrestle with the authorities, including the electric and water companies and the health department; they fend off the abuse of rude children. At times, the glimpse at life and its absurdities was almost comical. While at the same time, Homer's introspective viewpoint was intensely stirring. Homer yearned for love. "I still had hopes of finding someone to love but felt as I had never before that my sightlessness was a physical deformity as likely to drive away a comely woman as would a hunch of the back or a crippled leg. My sense of myself as damaged suggested the wiser course of seclusion as a means of avoiding pain, sorrow, and humiliation."
This was an engaging yet deliberate look at a couple of fascinating and quirky individuals. E.L. Doctorow managed to capture a bit of the nostalgia of times gone by in an ever-changing city. Ultimately, as Homer and Langley plunge further into their own private darkness, they become more and more shut off from society. It is interesting to reflect personally on our own lives. In the end, what is our legacy – is it the objects that we have left behind? How will we be remembered? It is our story that perhaps matters the most. "Given who I am what is there to write about?... Exactly who you are. Your life across from the park. Your history deserving of the black shutters." ...more
"We are all born happy. Life gets us dirty along the way, but we can clean it up. Happiness is not exuberant or noisy, like pleasure or joy; it3 stars
"We are all born happy. Life gets us dirty along the way, but we can clean it up. Happiness is not exuberant or noisy, like pleasure or joy; it's silent, tranquil, and gentle; it's a feeling of satisfaction inside that begins with self-love."
Alma Belasco knows that happiness is not an easy achievement. After years of learning and growing and forgiving herself for choices she has made, the aging Alma knows a thing or two about living life and feeling fulfilled. Separated from her parents during the Nazi occupation of Poland, Alma was raised by a caring and prosperous aunt and uncle in San Francisco. Here she makes a lifelong connection with two men – her devoted cousin, Nathaniel, and Ichimei, the love of her life. However, war, the internment of the Japanese-Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and economic and cultural differences are all seemingly insurmountable barriers to Alma and Ichimei's relationship throughout their lives.
Caretaker Irina Bazili has faced adversity and heartache of her own. Alma, now a resident at Lark House where this young, Moldavian immigrant is employed, is perhaps the one person who can teach the haunted Irina how to find peace with herself and seek happiness. Alma shares the wisdom that comes with age and experience and establishes a trust and a bond of friendship that Irina clearly needs at this time.
Isabel Allende has long been one of my favorite authors. So, needless to say, I was quite excited to read this book. While I can certainly say that I enjoyed The Japanese Lover, I also have to admit it is not one of my favorite Allende novels. I wanted to get a bit closer to these characters of many layers. While I caught a glimpse of their dimensions, I still felt a bit estranged. Perhaps it was the jumping between timelines as well as characters that seemed to impose a barrier in my mind. Maybe it was the dialogue itself that left me feeling a little let down. I can't quite pinpoint what was lacking for me personally. I would have loved to get a better perspective of Ichimei himself. "They called him Ichimei, meaning 'life', 'light', 'brilliance', or 'star'…" He truly was the light in Alma's life and I wanted to get a more intimate look at this admirable and genuine man.
There is a wealth of themes running through this novel that certainly speak to Allende's ability to present her readers with food for thought. This would be a great book for a club - I think it would definitely generate much discussion on a wide range of topics. On my end, I will make sure I catch any of her earlier novels that I may have missed along the way. ...more
These eight short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri are quiet, penetrating, and meticulously written. The first five stories are distinct, while the last threeThese eight short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri are quiet, penetrating, and meticulously written. The first five stories are distinct, while the last three are interrelated. Lahiri's prose seems so clean and precise that it is very easy to turn page after page despite the fact that her stories are not really plot-driven. Rather, each story delves into the psyche of each character with such skill that the reader can't help but feel extremely intimate with each one, whether male or female, likable or otherwise.
Lahiri's characters are predominantly Bengalis that have moved from India to America. Some of her protagonists are the children of these Bengalis and themes may focus on the struggle to assimilate and the conflicts between the values of the parent and the desires of the children to pave their own way. These and other themes feel far-reaching, however, and the reader may recognize and understand many of the feelings, battles and tensions quite personally. Mother-daughter relationships as well as other parent-child connections, alcoholism, illness, raising children, love, marriage, separations, and death are all deftly scrutinized. Overwhelmingly, however, I recognized a sense of melancholy and loneliness in these characters as they sought to belong and to pursue their dreams.
One of my favorite stories in the collection was the title story "Unaccustomed Earth", one about a young mother, Ruma, who renews her relationship with her father after her mother's death (not a spoiler). Ruma sets aside her career to move across the country to raise her young family. She craves a sense of happiness that seems always out of reach. A visit from her previously aloof father sheds a different light on this parent as the daughter watches him form a strong and loving bond with his grandson.
"Growing up, her mother's example – moving to a foreign place for the sake of marriage, caring exclusively for children and a household – had served as a warning, a path to avoid. Yet this was Ruma's life now."
"He wanted to shield her from the deterioration that inevitably took place in the course of a marriage, and from the conclusion he sometimes feared was true: that the entire enterprise of having a family, of putting children on this earth, as gratifying as it sometimes felt, was flawed from the start."
The last three, interrelated stories are probably the most poignant of all. "Hema and Kaushik", also the names of the two protagonists, covers an expanse of time from when the two meet as children until their paths cross once again later in life on another continent. As children, Hema and Kaushik are forced together by circumstances and a friendship between parents which develops more out of a sense of a need to belong than to a true sense of affinity. Kaushik has a strong attachment to his mother and this will affect his choices and his feelings right into and through adulthood. A chance encounter brings Hema and Kaushik back together after many years. What draws one person to another? Is it destiny or some link to one's past that can't be severed?
"Their parents had liked one another only for the sake of their origins, for the sake of a time and place to which they'd lost access. Hema had never been drawn to a person for that reason, until now."
I highly recommend this book if you enjoy short stories that have a wealth of depth despite their length, characters that are superbly drawn, and wonderful writing. Based on the first story and last set of stories, I would rate this book with 5 stars. However, as not all stories within the collection were right at the 5 star mark, although certainly worthy in their own right, I am giving this 4 stars. This is not my first Lahiri work and will most certainly not be my last! ...more
"The first memory of all is dark and fireshot. It is not my own memory, but later you will understand how I know these things. Yo5 enthusiastic stars!
"The first memory of all is dark and fireshot. It is not my own memory, but later you will understand how I know these things. You would call it not memory so much as a dream of the past, something in the blood, something recalled from him, it may be, while he still bore me in his body. I believe that such things can be. So it seems to me right that I should start with him who was before me, and who will be again when I am gone."
Wow! This book was exceptional! I was admittedly quite surprised at just how much I enjoyed reading this. By no means an expert in Arthurian legend, far from it in fact, I wondered if this book would really hold my attention or not. Well, it most certainly did! Do I dare say I was enchanted?!
The Crystal Cave is a wonderful blend of history and mythology. Recounted through the voice of Merlin himself, this first book in Mary Stewart's Arthurian saga takes us through his young boyhood as a bastard child living under the roof of his grandfather, a crowned king of Wales, right into his adulthood and ending with the conception of King Arthur. My preconceived notion of Merlin, based on my scant knowledge, was of an eccentric and perhaps shifty and ruthless wizard. Ms. Stewart, however, introduces us to a very human, intelligent, and compassionate individual who is born with the gift of prophecy. He is a friend to his servants, an avid learner, a loving son, and a very capable young man. He first begins to truly understand his gift under the guidance of Galapas, an old and wise man that Merlin meets after discovering the Crystal Cave. Educated in the fields of magic, medicine, languages, religion, math and engineering, Merlin is quite versatile thanks to the teachings of mentors such as Galapas and others. Most importantly perhaps are the words instilled within him from the mouth of Galapas himself: "The gods only go with you if you put yourself in their path. And that takes courage." Merlin throughout his adolescence comes to learn about the ancient religions as well as the new religion brought to Britain from Rome. Always keeping an open mind, Merlin is able to absorb the best of these and remain true to himself and his calling. "But there's nothing in this world that I'm not ready to see and learn, and no god that I'm not ready to approach in his own fashion. I told you that truth was the shadow of God. If I am to use it, I must know who He is."
Eventually Merlin arrives on the shores of Less Britain and into the hands of the exiled king Ambrosius and his brother, Uther, both predecessors to the legendary King Arthur. Here he becomes involved in a grand plot to unite Britain and rid the people of the treachery and turmoil of the current leader, King Vortigern. Merlin must use all his power- and not simply magic, but his intellect, clear judgment and cunning to not only save himself but to pave the way for the great king yet to come. There ensued a fabulous dose of adventure and plenty of suspense which kept the pages turning. I was thoroughly riveted! The pacing of this novel was superb; I never became bored and never once got bogged down in any of the historical details. Each character was so expertly depicted and the writing is so wonderfully vivid and descriptive that one could feel transported back to this very place and time. I really became attached to not only Merlin, but some of the more minor characters as well. The banter between Merlin and some of his companions was often witty and added an appreciated lightheartedness to the narrative from time to time.
Undoubtedly, Mary Stewart is a master storyteller. She weaves together the threads of history and mythology in such exquisite fashion that this book should interest a broad range of readers. I am puzzling over why this book is not more widely read. It never felt dated; rather, it seems timeless. You do not need to be a fantasy buff by any means to read this book. If you enjoy a great historical piece with well-developed characters, effortless pacing, and vivid descriptions then this book is for you. I highly recommend you do yourself a favor and pick this one up. As for me, this book is going on my favorites shelf while its sequel, The Hollow Hills, should be arriving at my doorstep any day now.
"What god are you talking about?... I think there is only one. Oh, there are gods everywhere, in the hollow hills, in the wind and the sea, in the very grass we walk on and the air we breathe, and in the bloodstained shadows where men like Belasius wait for them. But I believe there must be one who is God Himself, like the great sea, and all the rest of us, small gods and men and all, like rivers, we all come to Him in the end." ...more
"There is a veil to this world, thin as smoke, and it draws back occasionally and when it does we can see incredible things."
This, my second Gr3 stars
"There is a veil to this world, thin as smoke, and it draws back occasionally and when it does we can see incredible things."
This, my second Graham Joyce novel, forced me to ponder - what is reality and what is fantasy? Is there really a veil to the world that is drawn back, or do we have to use our own power and suspend our own disbelief in order to see beyond what is visibly evident? I felt I had to make these choices while reading this book and it seemed a curious exercise. My first Joyce novel, The Tooth Fairy, had a similar though more unsettling and darker tone throughout.
After disappearing following a walk in The Outwoods twenty years ago, Tara suddenly reappears and has much to answer to her parents, brother and former boyfriend. She has a tale to tell that is quite fantastical – or is it? Could she be telling the truth or is she suffering from some sort of trauma that has caused her to compensate by telling such an outlandish story? Her story is believable in its own fashion. Tara's brother convinces her to speak with a psychiatrist, Dr. Underwood, upon her return. I quite enjoyed this part of the novel and found Dr. Underwood's clinical explanations fascinating and plausible as well. Just now as I am writing this, I have to wonder if it is not a coincidence that the author chose to name the psychiatrist Dr. "Underwood". His reasoning is told in juxtaposition to Tara's story of her experiences after disappearing in "The Outwoods". Anyway, this just struck me now and I can't say if there is significance or not. Just as I can't quite draw a conclusion about what really happened on that day that Tara went missing.
I like Joyce's style of writing – good pacing, satisfying and interesting dialogue, well-drawn characters, and some vivid descriptions. The woods and the bluebells were perfectly enchanting:
"Their perfume stole the sense right out of your head. It turned you over and shook the juice right out of you. You couldn't walk between them that year, they were so dense; you had to swim in them. The madness of it! The scent was so subtle that it got all over you, in your nostrils, in your cavities, and on your fingers like the smell of a sweet sin. Didn't it bind you in blue lace and carry you away?"
Unfortunately, I felt the story fizzled out a bit for me towards the end. I can't quite pinpoint exactly what happened; maybe I just wanted more answers. But, I don't think that was the author's intention here. I may not be the kind of reader intended for this type of book. I struggle a bit with magical realism. When presented with a great fantasy novel, I can quickly adapt and grasp onto what I need to believe in order to fully engage with the story. Maybe I needed to visit the fantasy world here a little more often. I felt tied to the real world a bit too much – and when I felt tied in this way, I couldn't quite emerge from it. This in turn left me even more perplexed with the ending. ...more
"She felt very young; at the same time unspeakably aged. She sliced like a knife through everything; at the same time was outside, looking on. She had"She felt very young; at the same time unspeakably aged. She sliced like a knife through everything; at the same time was outside, looking on. She had a perpetual sense, as she watched the taxi cabs, of being out, far out to sea and alone; she always had the feeling that it was very, very dangerous to live even one day. Not that she thought herself clever, or much out of the ordinary."
Virginia Woolf takes us through a single day in 1923 in post-World War I London. She does so with gorgeous prose and a stream of consciousness writing that takes us directly into the very minds of both Clarissa Dalloway herself as well as those to whom she comes in contact. It is as if one could hear every little musing and wandering thought process of each person we encounter in any ordinary day. Imagine hearing all this – it could get a bit busy and confusing as all these thoughts crowd in on us! Indeed, sometimes it was a bit disorienting as a reader to jump from one mind to the next; one must truly be patient to follow the flow of thoughts within this novel in order to be rewarded.
As Clarissa makes preparations for an evening party, she reflects on her past, her present and her future. Time itself plays a large role in this novel. "The clock was striking. The leaden circles dissolved in the air." When a former lover, Peter Walsh, returns to England from India, Clarissa contemplates her own identity. She examines her view of her inner self in relation to the scrutiny of Peter Walsh and what she believes he thinks of her. She perceives that he thinks of her as being empty and only interested in social concerns, prosperity and parties. She feels there is so much more to her than meets the eye. Can one ever really know the innermost workings of another human being? She frequently ponders death and what her own death would mean in the context of the life she has lived.
"Did it matter then, she asked herself, walking towards Bond Street, did it matter that she must inevitably cease completely; all this must go on without her; did she resent it; or did it not become consoling to believe that death ended absolutely? but that somehow in the streets of London, on the ebb and flow of things, here, there, she survived, Peter survived, lived in each other, she being part, she was positive, of the trees at home; of the house there, ugly, rambling all to bits and pieces as it was; part of people she had never met; being laid out like a mist between the people she knew best, who lifted her on their branches as she had seen the trees lift the mist, but it spread ever so far, her life, herself."
Ms. Woolf introduces us to another haunted individual within this book. A young veteran of The Great War, Septimus Warren Smith has survived the war but at great cost. Suffering from what appears to be post traumatic stress disorder, Septimus is in a downward spiral and is not able to obtain the proper psychological help needed to reverse the effects of the horrors he has witnessed. His young wife, displaced from her own country and family following her marriage, is a victim in her own right. She is not equipped to handle the trauma her husband suffers. She desires children and a stable life that Septimus is not able to provide given his illness. Unknown to one another, Septimus Smith and Clarissa Dalloway's stories are fundamentally linked together in a way which will become apparent to Clarissa on the evening of her party.
Undeniably, Virginia Woolf is a brilliant writer. I have adored two of her previous works, The Voyage Out and A Room of One's Own. Mrs. Dalloway is one I certainly respect as well. However, I found the flow of thought a bit more difficult in this compared to the others I have read thus far. Essentially, depending on whose psyche I happened to be meandering through at any given moment, I was either completely submerged or floundering to get a grasp. This affected my overall enjoyment of the book but not my admiration for the beautiful language and the talent of Ms. Woolf. I will continue to read her work and perhaps come back to this another day when I can more fully immerse myself and hopefully gain even further insight.
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