Tag: classic literature

Ten Books That Have Been On My Shelf Since Before MLBB (that I still haven’t read.)

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HOLLLA readers, I feel today’s topic will be incredibly eye-opening. I think one of the things that happens as bloggers is that we have a list 10 pages long of books we want to read, but because we’re constantly adding them on, some books just kind of get left behind. Today I’m going to try to list ten that I still haven’t read. Now a lot of these I expect will be classics because when I started my blog I was determined to read a hella load. I’ve read a few but there’s many to go.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

When I was in high school certain English classes were given different books to read dependent which teacher you were in the class of. I studied Gatsby, Frankenstein and also Enduring Love, but I know that almost all of the others studied The Catcher in the Rye. I’ve always wanted to read this because I just hated the fact that we didn’t all get to read the same – it felt unfair for some reason.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

This one is on the list because I have little idea what it’s about. For some reason this book has eluded me for years, and that’s really on purpose from my point of view. I am yet to read anything from Oscar Wilde and I think this should be the first book from this author that I read.

The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry

The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery (image credit Penguin) VIA Amazon.com

This is on so many people’s lists for books they adore and I haven’t read it still – I will get it to it eventually. Hopefully it doesn’t take another three years.

Lord of the flies by William Golding

This is another book from my high school years that I didn’t read. I know that I definitely could have read it on my own time, and space. I haven’t yet but I will.

On the road by Jack Kerouac

I was bought a beautiful copy of this book and it’s been sat in my bookish suitcase. It just needs to be picked up and read. It’s just another author I’ve read nothing by yet and I need to!

I am the messenger by markus zusak

This one is a little bit of a cheat because I read The Book Thief before I started blogging, it was just that once I finished the book, I mean started it even, I knew I would have to read something by this author again. I’m yet to

the golden notebook by Doris Lessing

This book was suggested to me by someone I really respected while I was at university. This person also loved books and was very passionate about them and writing. I know I have to get this read, not due to just their recommendation but also because it’s been sat in my mind for the past few years.

Notes from a small island by bill bryson

I love BIll Bryson, and I’ve started this book maybe four or five times, I’ve just never QUITE made it all the way through but I intend to very soon.

Anna karenina by leo tolstoy

These last two books are books that I feel I should have read but haven’t. I like the idea of reading them and being all cultured and a proper reader but, ya know. Not quite yet.

Ulysses by James Joyce

Everyone has to try this one right?

So, there they are. Ten books that have never been read by yours truly but I have always, always wanted to. Except for Ulysses which I know a lot of people have opinions of, which books have you read? Are there any I should take off the list, is there one I should read first? Let me know in the comments!

Factotum: Charles Bukowski

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Afternoon readers and happy Tuesday; after a wonderful evening playing monopoly and eating heaps of chicken tikka masala, mushroom pilau and peshwari naan I have another classic review for you today in the form of ‘Factotum by Charles Bukowski.’ As mentioned in yesterday’s Monday Musing, its suggested similarities to George Orwell’s book Down-and-out in Paris and London promoted me give this a go and I’m going to attempt to compare the two in this review because despite the similarities in context the styles are wildly different. However another overall fulfilling and intriguing read.

Henry Chinaski, an outcast, a lover and a drunk, drifts around America from one dead-end job to another, from one woman to another and from one bottle to the next. Uncompromising, gritty, hilarious and confessional in turn, his downward spiral is peppered with black humour.

 As the blurb suggests the book follows the rather down-and-out Henry Chinaski as he bumbles between bouts of drinking, half-hearted attempts to keep down a job, a smattering of highly sexual relations with numerous women and a slight yearning to be recognised as a writer. The book, as like Orwell’s, takes on a documentary style ultimately detailing his succession of menial jobs, shortage of money and his day-to-day experiences of low life urban America.

So the basic framework is down, onto the good bits. Whilst Orwell’s book took a truly romanticised style of commentary Bukowski is brash, unaltered, and blunt. The words used are haggard and honest. In one scene near the beginning Henry has moved into a new apartment when he is introduced to the lady next door, a prostitute. The language and description of the brutal event that takes place next is both harrowing and appallingly described. Whilst Orwell romanced us as a reader, Bukowski is sharp and observant. The reason this works is because Henry as a character is so blasé. Both unmoved and offhand he drops women, apartments and jobs at the drop of a hat.

In this sense it allows the plot to move forward continually with little abandon, moving between cities and jobs with very little care. He works in many different establishments with many different titles including janitor, bookie and stock boy. He moves with reckless abandon and with little worry. The only constant is the relentless drinking and the inevitable circle of hangovers. Henry states, ’When you drank the world was still out there, but for the moment it didn’t have you by the throat.’ The description of their (Henry throughout the book is in an on-off relationship with a lady named Jan also dependant on liquor) is raw and honest and the author holds very little back. The descriptions of their booze filled evenings, with no food to make a meal but with enough wine to get the two blind-eyed drunk is explicitly written. The blazing rows, the infidelities and the sudden exposure of a sexual disease are described crudely. Almost purely documentary in style we meander along living the life of Henry through the words told to us.

My only real wobble with the book was the way Bukowski described the females in the tale. Throughout the book Henry is both often uninterested and cold however despite this most of the women described throw themselves at his feet desperate for his affection. It’s an odd mix and comes off incredibly misogynistic. The second is a little deeper; throughout Bukowski is incredibly honest. His characters and their events are told from a cold piercing eye looking upon the world. At times however it strays from being authentic and feels more of an imitation of reality, something a little contrived and seeking too much pity. For me it’s lacking something that Orwell managed to pack droves in and that was sympathy; I was rooting for the main character from the very beginning. Here, I didn’t, but, I was happy to sit back and read along.

 Overall despite everything I did enjoy reading this tale; rough and ready, packed with dark humour, violence, sex and alcohol it tells a compelling tale of a male who finds sanity in the bottom of a bottle rather than in life itself. A wandering tale that has left me only wanting to read more from Bukowski.

factotum1

Musing Mondays

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MusingMondays-ADailyRhythm

Happy Monday readers; yes it’s that time of the week again  where we drag our aching bones from warm beds and hazily stumble into the daily grind of work once again. It’s only the 9th of March and I’m having a pretty productive month already. I’ve overhauled my theme and working on some new graphics and already I think it’s so much fresher, brighter and cleaner. I’ve also managed (somehow) to review five books this month with two being classics and one purple flower has finally sprung from my purple hyacinth and it is beautiful. To get us through another Monday, I have a little musing for you, a meme by the wonderful Jenn at A Daily Rhythm 

This musing comes from the line ‘I’m currently reading.’ If you’re a regular reader of MLBB you will know I’m currently completing a challenge to read ten classic books. Now I’ve started it, it seems like such a small number to read because so far each that I have read has shown me something new. You can see the reviews so far on my 101 things in 1001 days page  and this week there will be a review of the book I’m currently reading; ‘Factotum by Charles Bukowski.’ I’m only a third or so in but already it’s pulling all the right strings. It’s blunt, brutal whilst also sharp and snappy. It’s also plunging through the plot pace wise with no abandon. I picked it up because the blurb quoted,

‘Not since George Orwell has the condition of being down-and-out been so well recorded: The New York Times.’

Now I loved George Orwell’s book ‘Down and Out in Paris and in London,’ and so with this book being described in this way I couldn’t help myself but take this one out too. Since I started the challenge I’ve been inundated with suggestions of books that will intrigue and interest me. Only last week my dear friend Otis came round and we sat up until just before 1am talking about classic literature and eating my Grandmother’s shortbread. My parents who have always encouraged my love of reading have also suggested books and we have spent a great deal of time discussing classic authors and their books.

Additionally on entering the library this week, one of the librarians took me aside and told me that the library has a vast number of classics that are kept away because there just isn’t space for them on the shelves. Seeing me perusing the shelf ‘named classics,’ he told me to let him know if there were any I wanted but couldn’t see because he would go down and personally find them for me. I’ve been missing out all this time on some exceptional books because a small fraction of classic literature had left me cold and cynical. I think this 101 things challenge has been the most eye-opening so far and I cannot wait to get stuck into more even when the challenge has been completed.

The Bell Jar: Sylvia Plath

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Happy weekend readers, I’m currently snuggled up in bed watching Hell’s Kitchen and penning you this review which is an odd but quite productive mix, if I suddenly start writing in capitals you’ll know that Gordan Ramsey is throwing people out of the kitchen. Saying that I’m sure it won’t  come to that. Today’s book review is another classic, although ultimately a modern classic and one I’ve been getting around to reading for a little while now. I haven’t really spoken about my TBR list but I don’t actually keep one because it terrifies me how long it would be, however I have one that sits snugly in the back of my mind of books I think I should read and this one has been on it for years. Finally I have got round to it. It’s taken a little while to decide my final thoughts but today I bring you my review of the beautiful and haunting ‘The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.’

I was supposed to be having the time of my life.

When Esther Greenwood wins an internship on a New York fashion magazine in 1953, she is elated, believing she will finally realise her dream to become a writer. But in between the cocktail parties and piles of manuscripts, Esther’s life begins to slide out of control. She finds herself spiralling into serious depression as she grapples with difficult relationships and a society which refuses to take her aspirations seriously. The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath’s only novel, was originally published in 1963 under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. The novel is partially based on Plath’s own life and descent into mental illness, and has become a modern classic.

I’m not sure how many of my readers will have read this rather wonderful book but I’ll script out a little bit of the plot. The story follows a year in the life of Esther Greenwood a plucky young lady who wins an internship to at a New York Fashion magazine. Despite the wild parties, exciting lifestyle and a bounty of friends Esther’s life starts to spiral out of control, first slowly and then suddenly almost all at once. A mixture of difficult relationships, the worry of losing her virginity and society refusing to taking her aspirations wholly seriously she spirals into a deep and serious depression. After failing to get onto a writing course with an author she ends up back at home with her parents who take her to psychiatrist, worried about her mental state. We follow as she battles with her depression, suicidal thoughts, and the inhumane shock therapy she is subjected to. A truly compelling tale.

So that’s a very crude description of the book and there is so much more to it but I’m hoping to pull you in with the review more than the description of the plot. Additionally before we dive into my thoughts I’ve done a little researching on the book and this was originally published under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas back in 1963. Some say the book is mainly autobiographical some state it was partially based. I’m reviewing this as much as I can on the book and the book alone.

I guess what stands out the most about Plath’s novel is how committed it is to telling a truly honest tale about experiencing a mental illness and Esther’s truly difficult battle with depression. It doesn’t feel over emphasised or skewed to make it more dramatic. Instead, we are told a truly upsetting but wholesome tale of ‘The Bell Jar.’ See, as Esther considers her life she describes her illness as to be trapped inside a bell jar. Alienated from the world Esther battles with the feeling of isolation, which leaves her unable to function on a human level (at one point she refuses even to shower.) The novel doesn’t give any easy quick fixes and throughout Esther discusses her belief that she may never be cured but will be something that needs controlling by her for the rest of her life.

One of the things I really enjoyed, were the contrasts between both the different parts of the story, the first during her internship and the second where she struggles between different psychiatric units; both are beautifully written. The imagery of the girls she meets and befriends and their glitzy nights out and interesting daily lives are brought to life before the reader’s eyes but there is always that feeling of isolation and an inability to fit in. The writing is stylish, honest, raw and sometimes confusing. It moves at times randomly and without warning. Esther is such an interesting character as well, both honest, naïve, blunt and edgy her personality warps throughout making the events even more intriguing.

It’s very difficult to get everything into this review because there is so much to pack in. If you haven’t read it I would really recommend it because it is a stunning piece of writing. It’s a raw and honest portrayal of Plath’s decision to face her own demons and attempt to pull through. Devastatingly we know the heartbreaking truth of Plath’s battle but her novel and tale live on, there to be read by generations and generations to come.

sylvia