There is no frigate like a bookOne of my big summer reads, of course, was Jane Austen's Philosophy of the Virtues by Sarah Emsley. Here's the first post in my series on it. Those who enjoy this series may also enjoy my friend Esther's series on the same book. I also recently enjoyed reading Emsley's series for the bicentennial of Pride and Prejudice, especially her post: Does Mr Collins Read Novels?
(Completed partly as audiobook)
As a feminist Christian, I think that Patriarchy in the Bible created many problems. This is well demonstrated in the story of Jacob and his wives and concubines, and his daughter Dinah. Diamant's feminist reimagining of the story of Dinah has been much lauded, and I did enjoy her thoughts on feminism and authorship in her introduction to the reissued novel. However, acknowledgment of the problems of Patriarchy doesn't have to mean that we paint all men as boors or villains, especially influential ones in Jewish and Christian spirituality, such as Jacob and Joseph. I almost prefer a Patriarchy in which these men "command their households" after the one God, than this version of female power through persistent polytheism. Despite beautiful prose, it was quite a depressing book, and I agree with my friend 3gee on Tumblr that it adds little to my understanding of Genesis. I found this hermeneutical examination of Dinah's story both more relevent to feminist concerns, and more respectful of the biblical record. It examines the systems of oppression and violence that led and resulted from Dinah's rape, while maintaining her agency in her own story.
Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon by Jane Austen (reread, actually listened to LS as librivox recording)
I decided to reread this because of the Youtube series Welcome to Sanditon, by the creators of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Lady Susan has some great lines, but the epistolatory form prevents Austen from developing each member of her cast so distinctly as in novels with more dialogue. Rereading The Watsons made me grieve that it's unfinished. I know some critics have felt that written during a time Austen was likely in low spirits, it lacks the sparkle and promise of her other works. I think it has tremendous potential. There's the fact that Mr Watson was to die during the course of the novel -- while in most of Austen's works death is only mentioned in the opening narration. Then there is poor Emma Watson having to be "dependent for a home" on that buffoon Robert and her equally egregious sister-in-law. Lord Osborne is also a buffoon, but his interest in Emma may be more extreme (in class distinction) than Darcy's in Elizabeth. Poor Mr Howard is to pursued by Lady Osborne, creating a love triangle of sorts. And my suspicion is that Margaret may have been readying to run away with Tom Musgrave.
As for Sanditon, it's also funny and fresh, exploring themes new for Austen. Unfortunately, the webseries was awful. I ranted about it on Tumblr.
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (reread, to be embarrassingly honest)
Adam Bede by George Eliot
When
I first started watching the web-series I would read the comments, and
chuckle at all the people shipping Edward and Clara. spoiler for the
real work follows — In the text, Sir Edward Denham aspires to be the
kind of rake in Samuel Richardson’s novels. His intention is to seduce
(and if “necessary” kidnap!) the poor dependent Clara Brereton. His
deliberately misreads popular novels (pop culture, as the webseries
chose to transliterate it) to further his attempts to manipulate women.
If the webseries had chosen to take this angle, they could have
initiated real dialogue about dude-bros* patriarchy, gender relations,
and even rape culture. Instead they went with a syrupy romance, with no
real tension or interest - See more at:
http://litlass.tumblr.com/post/59056207383/welcome-to-sanditon-rant#sthash.N63o58l3.dpuf
When
I first started watching the web-series I would read the comments, and
chuckle at all the people shipping Edward and Clara. spoiler for the
real work follows — In the text, Sir Edward Denham aspires to be the
kind of rake in Samuel Richardson’s novels. His intention is to seduce
(and if “necessary” kidnap!) the poor dependent Clara Brereton. His
deliberately misreads popular novels (pop culture, as the webseries
chose to transliterate it) to further his attempts to manipulate women.
If the webseries had chosen to take this angle, they could have
initiated real dialogue about dude-bros* patriarchy, gender relations,
and even rape culture. Instead they went with a syrupy romance, with no
real tension or interest - See more at:
http://litlass.tumblr.com/post/59056207383/welcome-to-sanditon-rant#sthash.N63o58l3.dpuf
When
I first started watching the web-series I would read the comments, and
chuckle at all the people shipping Edward and Clara. spoiler for the
real work follows — In the text, Sir Edward Denham aspires to be the
kind of rake in Samuel Richardson’s novels. His intention is to seduce
(and if “necessary” kidnap!) the poor dependent Clara Brereton. His
deliberately misreads popular novels (pop culture, as the webseries
chose to transliterate it) to further his attempts to manipulate women.
If the webseries had chosen to take this angle, they could have
initiated real dialogue about dude-bros* patriarchy, gender relations,
and even rape culture. Instead they went with a syrupy romance, with no
real tension or interest - See more at:
http://litlass.tumblr.com/post/59056207383/welcome-to-sanditon-rant#sthash.N63o58l3.dpuf
When I first started watching the web-series I would read the comments, and chuckle at all the people shipping Edward and Clara. spoiler for the real work follows — In the text, Sir Edward Denham aspires to be the kind of rake in Samuel Richardson’s novels. His intention is to seduce (and if “necessary” kidnap!) the poor dependent Clara Brereton. His deliberately misreads popular novels (pop culture, as the webseries chose to transliterate it) to further his attempts to manipulate women. If the webseries had chosen to take this angle, they could have initiated real dialogue about dude-bros* patriarchy, gender relations, and even rape culture. Instead they went with a syrupy romance, with no real tension or interest - See more at: http://litlass.tumblr.com/post/59056207383/welcome-to-sanditon-rant#sthash.N63o58l3.dpufWhen I first started watching the web-series I would read the comments, and chuckle at all the people shipping Edward and Clara. spoiler for the real work follows — In the text, Sir Edward Denham aspires to be the kind of rake in Samuel Richardson’s novels. His intention is to seduce (and if “necessary” kidnap!) the poor dependent Clara Brereton. His deliberately misreads popular novels (pop culture, as the webseries chose to transliterate it) to further his attempts to manipulate women. If the webseries had chosen to take this angle, they could have initiated real dialogue about dude-bros* patriarchy, gender relations, and even rape culture. Instead they went with a syrupy romance, with no real tension or interest - See more at: http://litlass.tumblr.com/post/59056207383/welcome-to-sanditon-rant#sthash.N63o58l3.dpufWhen I first started watching the web-series I would read the comments, and chuckle at all the people shipping Edward and Clara. spoiler for the real work follows — In the text, Sir Edward Denham aspires to be the kind of rake in Samuel Richardson’s novels. His intention is to seduce (and if “necessary” kidnap!) the poor dependent Clara Brereton. His deliberately misreads popular novels (pop culture, as the webseries chose to transliterate it) to further his attempts to manipulate women. If the webseries had chosen to take this angle, they could have initiated real dialogue about dude-bros* patriarchy, gender relations, and even rape culture. Instead they went with a syrupy romance, with no real tension or interest - See more at: http://litlass.tumblr.com/post/59056207383/welcome-to-sanditon-rant#sthash.N63o58l3.dpuf
When
I first started watching the web-series I would read the comments, and
chuckle at all the people shipping Edward and Clara. spoiler for the
real work follows — In the text, Sir Edward Denham aspires to be the
kind of rake in Samuel Richardson’s novels. His intention is to seduce
(and if “necessary” kidnap!) the poor dependent Clara Brereton. His
deliberately misreads popular novels (pop culture, as the webseries
chose to transliterate it) to further his attempts to manipulate women.
If the webseries had chosen to take this angle, they could have
initiated real dialogue about dude-bros* patriarchy, gender relations,
and even rape culture. Instead they went with a syrupy romance, with no
real tension or interest - See more at:
http://litlass.tumblr.com/post/59056207383/welcome-to-sanditon-rant#sthash.N63o58l3.dpuf
Yet all this is strange, because Adam Bede is (except for those small tropes) a supremely realistic work. Set in the rural world of early 19th century England, the land may be sometimes idealized, but its inhabitants are not. It's also a work replete with homely humor. Smiley faces decorate most of Mrs Poyser's speeches in my copy.
Like Eliot's other works, it's a complex study in psychology, especially drawing on Wordsworth. Like all Eliot's works, it called me to self-examination of how my "personal" faults affect others, but also called me to be less black and white in my condemnations of others' seemingly-heinous sins. I return to my absorption in the fortunes of its characters when I quote Dickens' words as true for me: "Adam Bede has taken its place among the actual experiences and endurances of my life."
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (Young Adult novel)
I like you; I just don't love you. You're really funny, and you have the breathless, unique voice of your creator Mr Green. You're smart: I didn't much care for the math problems, but I learned a cool new word and a Latin phrase. I identified with protagonist Colin Singleton's desire to matter through accomplishments. I tend to resent prodigies like him because I want to be one, but your point that in the end it is the stories we live and create that "make us matter to each other" had some resonance.
It's not you, it's me. (I think.) I'm not used to reading YA novels, and frankly, the attitude toward sex, and the references to bodily functions aren't my thing. I picked you up with low expectations, as a fun read on a road trip. So don't take it really personally when I say you didn't measure up (or down, actually) with the depth of, say, Anne of Green Gables.
Hey, it was fun. I just don't think we're totally compatible. I'm holding out a bit of hope for Looking for Alaska
(not really) Yours,
Sarah
Reader, that's pretty much all that I read during anything that looked remotely like summer here, other than my annual August Jane Eyre reread/re-listen (which, as ever, was filled with "light for the mind" and pure delight). What have you all been reading?
Red Tent: interesting - I've not read much Biblical fiction recently. As you know, I'm still not sure exactly where I fit on the feminism scale, but your comments seem quite perspicacious.
ReplyDeleteJane Austen's other works - I just listened to an audiobook of Lady Susan, and I actually really enjoy it. It has a really fun psychological battle between Lady Susan and the De Courcys. I'm not sure exactly what I think of the opponents this time - Lady Susan is as repulsive yet hilarious as ever, but Reginald I can almost see with her eyes. A man who treats women the way he judges them fit to be treated is not much of a man. I still retain sympathy of Mrs. Vernon, though, and poor Frederica.
I confess I've never really had much inclination towards the Watsons or Sanditon. Probably partially on account of the awful edition I first encountered them in - they retained the ampersands, contractions, and confusions of the manuscript.
I didn't enjoy Dalloway as much as you, but I did find it very interesting.
I am ashamed to confess that I've not read Adam Bede, just watched the rather odd version with Susannah Harker as a very cool Dinah. One of these days, I shall give Eliot her full due instead of just stopping with Middlemarch and Deronda.
I quite like your thoughts on Katherines. I am much more into YA than I've found a lot of the critics I've been reading. Is it the focus on teenagers that makes something YA? Or what is it? People keep complaining that somethign is "YA," but they seem to assume that the reader knows what that means.
Green's attitude, voice, and content do tend to irritate me very quickly, which is why I've not gone on to read any of his other stuff. Plus, I really hate the more tragic stuff, which is why I've shunned his more famous ones, Alaska and Fault in Our Stars.
Glad you loved dear Jane as well as usual. :)
I've been reading all over the place - urban fantasy (Seanan McGuire and my first Jim Butcher), YA modern Greek myths (Rick Riordan), superhero fiction (Marion Harmon's Wearing the Cape series), bits of The Daughter of Time on audio, some scifi in an anthology for a book club, and some comics. :)
Hmm, maybe this is going to be the length of an epistle. (For some reason it's easier to write long email-like comments than long emails. ;/)
DeleteSo have you read much Biblical fiction at all? I haven't, and it's probably a good idea that I don't, since my personal views on interpretation are bound to be at least as strong as on Austen's works. ;) While -- unlike you -- I jumped into the feminist label, I especially struggle with applying feminist thoughts and principles to the Bible. The thing is, I've lately been reading a theologian who criticizes some feminist interpretations, yet actually gives female characters, like Rebecca, a more influential place in the biblical story and its overarching themes than Diamant as a self-avowed feminist did. Anyways, I could go on about this sort of thing forever.
Very good point about Reginald! The thing is, Mrs Vernon judges correctly almost without fail (though one could draw the conclusion that only her resentment to Lady S keeps her from being charmed) but how much does she see how reprehensible Reginald is?
My copy of the 3 works has an intro by Margaret Drabble and the editing is pretty good.
Well, I _chose_ to enjoy Mrs Dalloway and extract as much goodness from it as I could. (Also, I should edit more, because look at that hideous row of adjectives! Shame!)
I have no idea what makes something YA other than the label on the library book. ;) Since you say you're into YA, perhaps you can recommend some to me that I won't promptly label shallow?
Occasionally Green annoys me; more of the time I find him very amusing. But I do realize I'd probably not be able to stand a person like him in "real life". I once heard something about him talking fast and hyper because of his anxiety issues. But other videos -- non Vlogbrother ones -- show him talking more normally, so there's certainly a performative element in it. Of course, you're conservative, so I'm assuming that accounts for some part of why his "content" annoys you. Others have criticized the "nerdfighter" culture for emphasizing or catering to only specific youth -- white, those with the privilege to help them do well in school. I don't know, but the whole thing is interesting to observe.
I both do and don't want to read Fault in Our Stars because I have an 18 yo cousin with cancer. Not sure if it would be too emotional and scarry (given what I've somehow learned of the ending), or if it would help me understand his experience better.
Said cousin was reading Rick Riordan when I saw him last week. I was considering reading "Labyrinth" so I'd have something to talk with him about. (He's getting pretty sick of people's attempts at conversation mostly being "You're so brave" and "We pray for you every day".) But then the other day my dad went into a philippic on the terribly worldly book the boy was reading, and how it would surely destroy all spiritual tastes in him. So not sure I'm going to read it at the present time and cause my parent's more distress than the reading of Shakespeare has caused. (Sorry for ranting.)
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey? Is it good? I've heard about it from The Ricardians. *said in hushed voice, as when talking of Bilderbergers*
PS Please forgive typos. This computer has no spell check. :(
Sometimes that is the case. I also wish I were like Jane Austen - could write a short letter that said everything a long letter should have said. :)
DeleteOver my whole life, I think it's probably fair to say I've read a good chunk of Biblical fiction. However, I haven't read any very recently, so I'm kind of out of that particular genre. That Biblical critic sounds pretty interesting, though!
Jane Austen is great at creating characters with believable blind spots - Mrs. Vernon clearly loves Reginald a lot, and thus does not comment on his failings in behaving poorly to Lady Susan - but she does point out his failings, and worries that Lady Susan will encourage the weaker part of his nature.
Excellent - I'm sure if I were in the right frame of mind, I would enjoy the Dalloway style quite a bit. I was mostly just not engaged by the plot.
Well, it's on the cusp of YA and Middle Grade, but Megan Whalen Turner's The Queen of Attolia is one of my very favorite books of the last two years. It's absolutely not shallow, and I think very beautifully written (the sequels are quite as jewel-like, but are still really good).
Green's editing also emphasizes the speed at which he talks. It's a fairly common trait in vloggers, though - delete the dead space to increase content without increasing runtime.
I feel quite outside of the "nerdfighter" demographic, not just because of age, but also because for all the preaching of diversity, it seems that they are really just a center-left group of internet buddies. Conservatives and strongly-left liberals are unwelcome.
I actually quite like the Riordan books - the first five are definitely middle grade, and the second five are shooting more for YA (but really, other than length and age, they are pretty much tonally and content-wise the same). They definitely start out very shaky construction and prose-wise, and improve a lot (in some ways - the plots still frustrate me in the newest books) as the series continues. I think the biggest appeals are the taxonomic impulse (the worldbuilding by catagorizing strategy) and the characters.
My mom is not happy that I got my 16 year old brother into the Riordan books, for similar reasons. I'm much less bothered by an outright pagan worldview - I like my opponents to be where I can seem them :). My parents aren't usually quite as bothered by that kind of thing - they let me read adult Star Wars novels at 11, and they are pretty blatantly pagan as well. However, even at that age, I was a lot more voracious and widespread in my reading, so I think my mom is worried that my brother doesn't have the same context that I might when reading. Dunno. But I think outside of their explicit paganism (and it's worth noting that the books note that the gods are not worth worshipping), they do have a lot of valuable insights into friendship, loyalty, and heroism.
I adore The Daughter of Time. There's a sort of good Sayers type vibe in Tey's style and characterization. Plus, it's the book that converted me to Ricardianism. :)
Typos, bah! This is the internet! :)
So is there any Biblical fiction you really like? The OT critic's paper is actually for my denomination's study committee on women's ordination, but gives an overall respectful, but redemptive interpretation of OT gender relations. If you're interested I can email it to you.
DeleteI think I'll incorporate replies to some of the other comments into the (long overdue) email.
That does sound interesting! It's been a long time since I've read Biblical fiction. I didn't mind Orson Scott Card's Women of Genesis books, and The Vinegar Boy was enjoyable. But I read all of those back in high school, nearly a decade ago.
DeleteI would be interested in the paper!
Must read Watsons some day. What was the tone of John Green? Is his grammar decent? I've been planning to read him (mainly to see what the hype is all about) but have no idea where to start.
ReplyDeleteYes, but you must also read Sanditon because there's a discussion of Wordsworth. ;)
DeleteWell, I'm pretty sure the guy _can_ write very poetically, but with all the teenagers there was a fair bit of slang... and at least one instance of wrong grammar, which was followed by a note on the correct grammar. Since I've only read the one, I can't really advise you. Perhaps, though, you should go for one of the earlier, award-winning ones. Sorry I'm not better help. You could put an ask on tumblr, telling a bit about your tastes and tag it "nerdfighers" and "John Green".
Glad you revisited Ripple Effects so I know about a fellow Albertan (we could be in the same city... I'm in Cowtown) And to know about your blog here. I've read some of the books you mention and for those I haven't, thanks to your reviews, they just might all go into my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteI've read all of Jane Austen's six novels, several times, as well as some spin-offs, and seen almost all of the available adaptations. Yes, you can say I'm a 'Janeite'. Have not read Jane Austen's Philosophy of the Virtues, and thanks to your discussions, this sounds like an intriguing one.
I'm in little Cowtown (Ponoka). ;) Your lovely blog has introduced me to a number of books and I'll enjoy reading your thoughts on any I mentioned here.
DeleteThe author of "JA's Philosophy of the Virtues" is Canadian, so it may be in one of the Calgary libraries. (Wasn't in any of the more central public ones.) You seem like someone who would really appreciate it.