Breaking Up Is Hard to Do... But You Could've Done it Better by Hilary Campbell

3 Stars

Cute and funny.

So, I've been in a relentless spiral of depressing books, and I thought this would cheer me up--make of that what you will. But, since I haven't had a breakup recently (decades) this was amusing. All the "OUCH!" and facepalms were humorous. The artwork is definitely rough sketch quality and the stories ranged from kindergarten to adulthood. Some were egregiously bad and others were just funny, though each one left me with the "You dodged a bullet feeling". There are several confessors included, so we can all relive our less than stellar end moments and do a reflective critique. 

This isn't amazing, it's amusing. Not sure about the price point, but someone who's passed that first stage of breakup where a nice thick scab has formed over it is probably ready for this. 

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

3 Stars

A gothic Austen.

It has been many years since I had read this and my rating remains unchanged at three stars because while there are parts I enjoyed a great deal and some lovely insights into women's lives there is a tremendous amount of liturgy and forbearance espoused, which I find to be quite chaffing. So, in the end this reads much more like a parable than a romance. 

The story is one long letter written by Gilbert Markham. As an epistolary it is quite easy to forget as Markham employs two viewpoints, his and Helen's. The first third is relayed via direct narration by Markham and is quite enjoyable with some atmospheric touches of gothic primarily via the unforgiving natural elements to set the mood. The second portion is quite long and relays Helen's viewpoint via diary; it is much more dramatic and filled with Christian scripture that embraces martyrdom, which to be honest is not my cup of tea - I only give one cheek, I'm just not that good a person. Then we enter the extended drawing out of things as they spiral wildly to extremes in ways only Brontes can do. Toss in some updated courtly love concepts and more martyrdom - yes, this all makes terrible sense as Bronte's father was a clergyman - and finally we get to the precious ending.

All loose ends are tied up, any characters we might have had more than a brief introduction to is settled in bliss or eternal damnation, and thus the reader has the just desserts of their patience. I just don't read books that are nearly 600 pages with any regularity so that rolling pace swamped me, though to be honest, the severe morality of Helen was a bit much, especially in contrast to the wild cavorting of other characters. I would have much preferred Markham's narration even though he was prone to romanticism over Helen's which felt like it was delivered from a pulpit more often than not.

There was a lot of what if your only purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others.

Favorite quote: ‘If such are your expectations of matrimony, Esther, you must, indeed, be careful whom you marry—or rather, you must avoid it altogether.’

Persuasion by Jane Austen

3 Stars

Not my favorite Austen.

While this was a lovely second chance love story I found that it floundered in the middle. Perhaps it's just that I don't have patience for Anne's pretentious sister and father and the superficiality that imbues half the characters in this story. That said it wasn't Emma, either, which made me want to strangle. I get being trapped and working within the confines of her situation and admire her remarkable strength of kindness and lack of pettiness. Anne truly exemplifies the ideal of acting as she believes even while others make poor choices. She has a conviction and Austen's ongoing analysis of pride versus vanity is continued herein. 

There were also some lovely quotes that on days that seem more trial than not which were particularly insightful. 

Her spirits wanted the solitude and silence which only numbers could give.

She hoped to be wise and reasonable in time; but alas! alas! she must confess to herself that she was not wise yet.

"Yes, yes, if you please, no reference to examples in books. Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands. I will not allow books to prove anything." 

Frankly, this story started slowly for me and then improved. I guess the most interesting takeaway for me is that during our lives we have but only a few chances to make choices that alter the trajectory of our lives and the decision we face is whether the risk is worth it. We can solicit advice, consider consequences to others, but in the end we are responsible for making the choice.

The Evenings: A Winter's Tale by Gerard Reve

2 Stars

This is really not a me book. My initial impression as I started reading this is that it reminded me heavily of Kafka's Metamorphosis. Unfortunately for me, this did not change as the story went on. There's that minutiae and sense of futility and psychotic breaks that just drag. I know others love this, but not me. 

Fritz lives with his mother and father. She harps and complains and he longs for peace and calm. He is obsessed with baldness and death, and his powerlessness. He goes through the day detailing his every action, which if you want to know how people lived is great, but for entertainment value is as about exciting as watching paint dry. 

Clearly a classic, and beloved by many, I really believe if you are a fan of Metamorphosis that you'll enjoy this book, too.

My Life by Anton Chekhov

3 Stars

Lice eats grass, rust eats iron, and lying the soul.

Russian literature and I have a dysfunctional relationship. I think I should like it, have had several friends over the years who adore it, and yet, at some point during a book I want to put myself out of my misery. Whether it's Tolstoy, Dostoyevski, or Chekhov I find a point where I really understand vodka. To be fair, I had a nice Turgenev experience and still need to crack open Gogol, but that will come after a breather because this one took me through my paces.

It's the usual unrelenting bleakness. Here that feeling of being trapped is neatly wrapped up in a youth's rebellion of class structure and the resulting consequences. There's more downs than ups--it's Russian literature, misery is requisite--but after I dragged myself through the extraordinarily long sagging middle, the final 10% was great. Maybe because like a horse on the way home I raced along or the conclusion was just more concise and less mud and cold and uselessness. Either way, a significant character death as offering for my suffering always helps me end on an up note--Wuthering Heights and Anna Karenina dragged themselves out of one star territory with this trick. Thus my 2.5 star rating gets pushed to 3, mostly likely due to a sense of relief.

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

4 Stars

Wilde's name came up in conversation when a dear friend mentioned they found a 1946 copy of his collected works in a used bookstore and was using that as reading material for their bus ride to and from work. After finishing At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails they needed something new and stumbled upon it while perusing and 5 quid was a perfect price. 

So, this is the roundabout way that I found myself reading Wilde again so quickly. Where De Profundis was bleak, poignant, and filled with determination to pull oneself out of a hole--the dark side of the street--this was absurd, pointed, and optimistic in its frivolity. The bright side of the street was not filled without its critique and this is what I enjoy about Wilde's works that I've read. That laugh that has a bit of a slap in it. 

Algernon: I really don't see anything romantic in proposing, It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal. Why, one may be accepted. One usually is, I believe. Then the excitement is all over. The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If ever I get married, I'll certainly try to forget the fact.

Jack: I have no doubt about that, dear Algy. The Divorce Court was specially invented for people whose memories are so curiously constituted. 

And this quote is always funny: 

Lady Bracknell: To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. 

The silliness surrounding the falsities and switched identities is amusing while the commentary about what is valued in society is the needle. Position, money and names--quite literally the importance of a name, drawn out ridiculously.

Frederica by Georgette Heyer

3 Stars

Charming and delightful regency romance.

Heyer's plucky heroines make for enjoyable reading. Frederica is the penultimate eldest sister who has inherited the mantle of family matriarch after her parents' deaths. Juggling four siblings' needs is time consuming for as a soon as one is settled, another needs sorting out. 

While I liked this one, I didn't enjoy it as much as Cotillon. This one was rife with responsibilities which I don't have issue with, but the conversations between Alverstoke and Frederica were repeated over and over again: 

F: I shouldn't impose, but the situation is dire.
A: Nonsense it's nothing. Talk no more.
F: Really, it was a dreadful overstep.
A:You're boring me with this talk. 

A great deal of this is tongue-in-cheek, nevertheless--Tedious. 

That said, Felix, the youngest brother and scamp extraordinaire saved this and facilitated the entire relationship. Quite easily the most entertaining member of the Merrivilles. Anyway, this story was more about watching Alverstoke become a pillar on which Frederica leaned than a romance. It was very pleasant, but not my favorite storyline.