Yes, just as I expected, the ending to "Excellent Women" has not changed my rating for the book. It was a fitting ending to say the least. She doesn't get married (though maybe they're hinting at it?) and she gets new neighbors (but oh crap, they're not regular Catholics...they're those Roman Catholics!).
My book discussion is on Sunday and I'm not sure how much commentary I'll be able to contribute. What's there really to say about a passive main character who loves church and does everyone else's bidding? I get a feeling the older people in my book discussion group are going to praise this book. That's gonna be awkward :-)
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Excellent Women - Not So Excellent
The second book of my Book Discussion group is "Excellent Women" by Barbara Pym. I'm starting to understand the selection of these books after going to my first discussion last Sunday. I was at least 20 years younger than everyone there. Though funny enough, many of the people in the discussion group felt exactly as I did about "Nathan Coulter" (see my review of that book below).
As for "Excellent Women," it has tinges of my gripes about "Nathan Coulter." This is a weird prim-and-proper English novel. It follows the life of a 30-something single woman named Mildred, who doesn't seem all that interested in getting married. She acts like she's 60, though, maybe even 70. If I had to make a Match.com profile for her, it would be "LIKES: Church, church jumble sales, tea, cooking books, everything boring. DISLIKES: Drama, men, science, liquor, everything interesting." This is no joke. Mildred loves church, loves solitude, and everything that infringes upon those loves is considered a bother...not that this isn't interesting, but rather an amusing undertone throughout the whole book. In fact, her commentary on her dislikes are hilarious. How she frets over every boring thing is hilarious. ("Oh no, the tea is not strong enough! How dreadful!") And whenever something comes up that contradicts her beliefs, well, please let the hilarity ensue! For example, her pastor, her married neighbor downstairs (Rocky), and Rocky's wife's business partner, Everard, are all interested in her. But #1 - She doesn't think pastors should marry. #2 - Rocky is married and apparently a playboy. He also seems to only like her because she possesses two qualities his wife lacks - Mildred can clean AND make tea. WOW!! And #3 - As perfect as Everard is for her (he even goes to church!), he's also an intellectual, which doesn't seem to thrill Mildred. My guess is that she hates science since it's interesting (and also tends to turn people atheist).
It's set in post-WWII England, but it might as well be 1850. The dialogue is just so sickeningly proper that sometimes I feel like writing a curse word somewhere to liven it up. Even on important subjects like DIVORCE, CHEATING, BREAK-UPS, and DEATH, Mildred takes a tone of, "Oh, of course one must miss one's husband when he leaves." Uh-huh. Way to state the obvious.
Despite the prim-and-proper plot, dialogue, and character (no stockings?! YOU REBEL!), the book is actually quite enjoyable. I won't rate it as the best book I've ever read, but I won't rate it as the worst either. Seeing as how I'm 20 pages from the end, I know the ending won't change my mind about this book. So, I'll tell you now. I'm giving it a 6/10 for easy reading, good character development, and a rather entertaining non-plot. Oh yes, non-plot...not nothingness like "Nathan Coulter," but more along the lines of nothing happens but everything happens. It's a very internal plot.
I'll let you know how the ending goes.
As for "Excellent Women," it has tinges of my gripes about "Nathan Coulter." This is a weird prim-and-proper English novel. It follows the life of a 30-something single woman named Mildred, who doesn't seem all that interested in getting married. She acts like she's 60, though, maybe even 70. If I had to make a Match.com profile for her, it would be "LIKES: Church, church jumble sales, tea, cooking books, everything boring. DISLIKES: Drama, men, science, liquor, everything interesting." This is no joke. Mildred loves church, loves solitude, and everything that infringes upon those loves is considered a bother...not that this isn't interesting, but rather an amusing undertone throughout the whole book. In fact, her commentary on her dislikes are hilarious. How she frets over every boring thing is hilarious. ("Oh no, the tea is not strong enough! How dreadful!") And whenever something comes up that contradicts her beliefs, well, please let the hilarity ensue! For example, her pastor, her married neighbor downstairs (Rocky), and Rocky's wife's business partner, Everard, are all interested in her. But #1 - She doesn't think pastors should marry. #2 - Rocky is married and apparently a playboy. He also seems to only like her because she possesses two qualities his wife lacks - Mildred can clean AND make tea. WOW!! And #3 - As perfect as Everard is for her (he even goes to church!), he's also an intellectual, which doesn't seem to thrill Mildred. My guess is that she hates science since it's interesting (and also tends to turn people atheist).
It's set in post-WWII England, but it might as well be 1850. The dialogue is just so sickeningly proper that sometimes I feel like writing a curse word somewhere to liven it up. Even on important subjects like DIVORCE, CHEATING, BREAK-UPS, and DEATH, Mildred takes a tone of, "Oh, of course one must miss one's husband when he leaves." Uh-huh. Way to state the obvious.
Despite the prim-and-proper plot, dialogue, and character (no stockings?! YOU REBEL!), the book is actually quite enjoyable. I won't rate it as the best book I've ever read, but I won't rate it as the worst either. Seeing as how I'm 20 pages from the end, I know the ending won't change my mind about this book. So, I'll tell you now. I'm giving it a 6/10 for easy reading, good character development, and a rather entertaining non-plot. Oh yes, non-plot...not nothingness like "Nathan Coulter," but more along the lines of nothing happens but everything happens. It's a very internal plot.
I'll let you know how the ending goes.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Nathan Coulter - Reviewed
I finished Nathan Coulter last night. Grandpa finally died in the last 2 paragraphs of the book. It was anti-climatic at best. Though there wasn't really a climax to begin with.
So, let's recap - This book was a book about a farming family in Kentucky. The 118 pages of the book (there's 118 pages, not 114 as noted in my last post) describe Kentucky landscape, farm life, and hick characters that do nothing. The Kentucky landscape is nice, but author Wendell Berry feels the need to remind me of what it looks like every few pages. It's repetitive. Farm life - I'm not really sure 50+ pages need to be devoted to describing how to put in a fence post, pulling vines, harvesting tobacco, and planting seed. Berry wants the reader to feel that the relationship between farmer and land is romantic, despite all the hard work. I get that. But to describe that bond is NOT a PLOT. And then we reach the hick characters. You've got the drunk, the one-eyed guy, the bible-thumper, etc. Nathan looks up to the drunk, his uncle, as a role model. Ridiculous. Am I really supposed to feel something for these characters? If so, it's downright disgust. The "Shooo-eeey" knee-slapping hillbillies are not likable characters because they're one dimensional. And just plain annoying.
I don't know why, but I'm rating this book a 3/10. I'm pretty sure you were expecting a 1/10, but I have to give this book some credit. The fact that it's a book about nothing and yet it still made me interested enough to read it to the end must mean there's something good about this book. It did have some really great descriptions and the the writing was easy to read. It flowed. But due to lack of interest, lack of plot, lack of complicated characters, and some grievous repetition, I have deducted 7 points from the book's score.
Nathan Coulter receives a 3/10.
So, let's recap - This book was a book about a farming family in Kentucky. The 118 pages of the book (there's 118 pages, not 114 as noted in my last post) describe Kentucky landscape, farm life, and hick characters that do nothing. The Kentucky landscape is nice, but author Wendell Berry feels the need to remind me of what it looks like every few pages. It's repetitive. Farm life - I'm not really sure 50+ pages need to be devoted to describing how to put in a fence post, pulling vines, harvesting tobacco, and planting seed. Berry wants the reader to feel that the relationship between farmer and land is romantic, despite all the hard work. I get that. But to describe that bond is NOT a PLOT. And then we reach the hick characters. You've got the drunk, the one-eyed guy, the bible-thumper, etc. Nathan looks up to the drunk, his uncle, as a role model. Ridiculous. Am I really supposed to feel something for these characters? If so, it's downright disgust. The "Shooo-eeey" knee-slapping hillbillies are not likable characters because they're one dimensional. And just plain annoying.
I don't know why, but I'm rating this book a 3/10. I'm pretty sure you were expecting a 1/10, but I have to give this book some credit. The fact that it's a book about nothing and yet it still made me interested enough to read it to the end must mean there's something good about this book. It did have some really great descriptions and the the writing was easy to read. It flowed. But due to lack of interest, lack of plot, lack of complicated characters, and some grievous repetition, I have deducted 7 points from the book's score.
Nathan Coulter receives a 3/10.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
A Story About Nothing
"Nathan Coulter" is turning out to be a story about nothing. But not in the good Seinfeld way. I'm about 30 pages from the end of the book and if you asked me what the plot of the book is, I'd say, "Nothing." There's no climax, there's no PROBLEM, there's just page after page describing the river and the farm and hick-farm people in Kentucky. If I didn't have to read this book for the book club, I would have deserted it a long time ago.
The strange thing about this book is that it's a quick read. I'm not sure WHY or HOW, but it is. I mean, the book is only 114 pages long which is perhaps one of its endearing qualities. I still find myself reading it wondering if something is FINALLY going to happen. I read the back of the book - Grandpa is supposed to die. Perhaps that's what's driving me to the end. I'm waiting for this old guy to DIE. Maybe while the authors at it, he (she?) can kill off the narrator, too. He has no mind of his own, a sort of BLANK SLATE NARRATOR who just reports, does whatever he's told, and always seems to have the word "Huh?" floating over his head at all times. Nathan Coulter must also die.
Death is a good way to end a book. I've done it in many of my novels. The tragic ending...oh so satisfying!
Well, next time, I'll report on the ending of this book and rate it. But I'm sure you can already guess my rating. Til next time!
The strange thing about this book is that it's a quick read. I'm not sure WHY or HOW, but it is. I mean, the book is only 114 pages long which is perhaps one of its endearing qualities. I still find myself reading it wondering if something is FINALLY going to happen. I read the back of the book - Grandpa is supposed to die. Perhaps that's what's driving me to the end. I'm waiting for this old guy to DIE. Maybe while the authors at it, he (she?) can kill off the narrator, too. He has no mind of his own, a sort of BLANK SLATE NARRATOR who just reports, does whatever he's told, and always seems to have the word "Huh?" floating over his head at all times. Nathan Coulter must also die.
Death is a good way to end a book. I've done it in many of my novels. The tragic ending...oh so satisfying!
Well, next time, I'll report on the ending of this book and rate it. But I'm sure you can already guess my rating. Til next time!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)