Just a quick entry today. It's the 30th of June, tomorrow is Canada Day. I finished my last book of June this morning. I'll update that plus what I'm starting next. I also have a few new books, two came in the mail and my neighbour gave me another one.
Just Finished
"Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) is the 3rd book I've read by Jean Rhys. I can't say she is one of my favorite authors but she has a unique style. Wide Sargasso Sea is a period piece, set in the Caribbean Islands. It follows Annette, who is also the lady in the tower in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre.
The story is told in three parts; the first is narrated by Annette and follows her life from childhood until she is introduced to Rochester (not named in the book); the second is narrated by Rochester, describing his marriage and their life at their honeymoon home near a town called Massacre; the third part has moved to England and Rochester's home and is narrated first by Grace Poole (the nurse) and finally by Annette.
It's a fascinating story, often harsh and depressing. Annette's childhood is actually quite terrifying, her mother alone with a sick boy and a young girl and being harassed by Negro population and also looked down upon by the English population. It's a period I'm not familiar with set after the Emancipation Act of 1833, when the Negro slaves were freed in the Caribbean Islands. It's a period of transition and Annette and her mother do not fit into any group. Annette's mother was a Creole women who had married a white Englishman, meaning she didn't fit into any group. It makes her life harsh and ultimately there is a tragic event. (You read it). Annette ultimately is married off to Rochester and we follow that part of her life, also tragic.
Reading the story made me think of the current situation in the US with the BLM movement. Wide Sargasso Sea is only peripherally related but the underlying issue of race made it especially topical. The story has a dark tone throughout. The different narrative perspectives makes it interesting and at times difficult to follow. But the story does draw you in and it can be difficult to put down. (4 stars)"
The story is told in three parts; the first is narrated by Annette and follows her life from childhood until she is introduced to Rochester (not named in the book); the second is narrated by Rochester, describing his marriage and their life at their honeymoon home near a town called Massacre; the third part has moved to England and Rochester's home and is narrated first by Grace Poole (the nurse) and finally by Annette.
It's a fascinating story, often harsh and depressing. Annette's childhood is actually quite terrifying, her mother alone with a sick boy and a young girl and being harassed by Negro population and also looked down upon by the English population. It's a period I'm not familiar with set after the Emancipation Act of 1833, when the Negro slaves were freed in the Caribbean Islands. It's a period of transition and Annette and her mother do not fit into any group. Annette's mother was a Creole women who had married a white Englishman, meaning she didn't fit into any group. It makes her life harsh and ultimately there is a tragic event. (You read it). Annette ultimately is married off to Rochester and we follow that part of her life, also tragic.
Reading the story made me think of the current situation in the US with the BLM movement. Wide Sargasso Sea is only peripherally related but the underlying issue of race made it especially topical. The story has a dark tone throughout. The different narrative perspectives makes it interesting and at times difficult to follow. But the story does draw you in and it can be difficult to put down. (4 stars)"
Currently Reading
"EVERY DAY THE SAME
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She's even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life--as she sees it--is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.
UNTIL TODAY
And then she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough. Now everything's changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?"
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She's even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life--as she sees it--is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.
UNTIL TODAY
And then she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough. Now everything's changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?"
New Books
"In a fast-moving tale
of witchcraft, desperate chases and heady excitement Colonel Nicholas
Pym investigates a warlock scientist and the strange rites practised at a
country mansion .. crosses swords with a dangerous bigot who threatens a
new Civil War ... and foils an attempted assassination - with his old
enemy Charles Stuart fighting at his side ..."
"The Edgar Award-winning
author of New Orleans Mourning offers more of her bestselling series
starring San Francisco lawyer/sleuth Rebecca Schwartz. Rebecca heads to
an Easter morning sunrise service and gets the shock of her life: the
body of a tourist has been nailed to the cross."
"How did Fidel Castro
fool the CIA for a generation? Why did Neville Chamberlain think he
could trust Adolf Hitler? Why are campus sexual assaults on the rise? Do
television sitcoms teach us something about the way we relate to each
other that isn't true?
While tackling these questions, Malcolm Gladwell was not solely writing a book for the page. He was also producing for the ear. In the audio book version of Talking to Strangers, you'll hear the voices of people he interviewed--scientists, criminologists, military psychologists. Court transcripts are brought to life with re-enactments. You actually hear the contentious arrest of Sandra Bland by the side of the road in Texas. As Gladwell revisits the deceptions of Bernie Madoff, the trial of Amanda Knox, and the suicide of Sylvia Plath, you hear directly from many of the players in these real-life tragedies. There's even a theme song - Janelle Monae's "Hell You Talmbout."
Something is very wrong, Gladwell argues, with the tools and strategies we use to make sense of people we don't know. And because we don't know how to talk to strangers, we are inviting conflict and misunderstanding in ways that have a profound effect on our lives and our world."
While tackling these questions, Malcolm Gladwell was not solely writing a book for the page. He was also producing for the ear. In the audio book version of Talking to Strangers, you'll hear the voices of people he interviewed--scientists, criminologists, military psychologists. Court transcripts are brought to life with re-enactments. You actually hear the contentious arrest of Sandra Bland by the side of the road in Texas. As Gladwell revisits the deceptions of Bernie Madoff, the trial of Amanda Knox, and the suicide of Sylvia Plath, you hear directly from many of the players in these real-life tragedies. There's even a theme song - Janelle Monae's "Hell You Talmbout."
Something is very wrong, Gladwell argues, with the tools and strategies we use to make sense of people we don't know. And because we don't know how to talk to strangers, we are inviting conflict and misunderstanding in ways that have a profound effect on our lives and our world."
There you go. For anyone celebrating Canada Day tomorrow, enjoy but stay safe. Wear a mask if you're outdoors.
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