Persuasion by Jane Austen

Persuasion is Jane Austen's last completed novel. She died, aged 41, in 1817; Persuasion was published in December of that year (but dated 1818). More than seven years prior to the events in the novel, Anne Elliot falls in love with a handsome young naval officer named Frederick Wentworth, who is intelligent and ambitious, but poor. Sir Walter, Anne's father and lord of the family estate of Kellynch, and her older sister Elizabeth are dissatisfied with her choice, maintaining that he is not distinguished enough for their family. Her older friend and mentor, Lady Russell, acting in place of Anne's deceased mother, persuades her to break off the match. Now, aged 27 and still unmarried, Anne re-encounters her former fiancé when his sister and brother-in-law, the Crofts, take out a lease on Kellynch. Wentworth, now a captain, is wealthy from wartime victories in the Royal Navy and from prize-money for capturing enemy ships. However, he has not forgiven Anne for her rejection of him.


Jamie - I am only half way done with this book but I wanted to post this before Erin had a chance to post something. She would probably like to compare our relationship to the one between Anne and her older sister Elizabeth. Erin being Anne and me being Elizabeth. But a more accurate comparison would be Anne and her little sister. Anne being me and Erin being Mary... :P

Jamie - *sigh* I love Jane Austen! Her endings are always so perfect! For some reason I hadn't realized that I'd never read this book. I was under the impression that I had already read all of her books but this one was completely new to me. I was so happy that Anne ended up with Captain Wentworth! For awhile there I wasn't sure. I thought she was going to end up with Captain Benwick or Mr. Elliot and I wasn't happy with either of those choices. Some of my favorite parts of this book were Capitan Wentworth's letter to Anne, of course! and Mary's letter, I mean seriously hilarious! She was such a funny character. I also had a soft spot for Sir Walter. The characters in this book were just so ridiculous! I'm just happy we finally got to a real love story!!!

Jamie - *erinsucksatblogging cough cough* P.S. I rented the BBC movie from the library and I am really excited to watch it. And not at all because of the cute actors in it, muhahaha! ;)

The Invisible Man - H.G. Wells

The Invisible Man is a science fiction novella by H.G. Wells published in 1897. Wells' novel was originally serialised in Pearson's Magazine in 1897, and published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man of the title is Griffin, a scientist who theorises that if a person's refractive index is changed to exactly that of air and his body does not absorb or reflect light, then he will be invisible. He successfully carries out this procedure on himself, but cannot become visible again, becoming mentally unstable as a result.


Erin- It has been quite a long time since I read this book. Once again, a general lack of desire to read made it near impossible for me to finish this book, let alone write anything about it! But, I got through it and finally turned the last page. My insights: it was sad and lonely and probably didn't help my downer mood lately. A combination of icky weather and some H.G. Wells had me down in the dumps! It took reading the entire Harry Potter series to get back into the swing of things! But moving on... Poor Griffin. It wasn't entirely his fault (especially for my mood :) He really does discover something amazing, I mean invisibility has its benefits for sure (think HP invisibility cloak...). But temporary invisibility would be the key. Unfortunately, through some poor choices, Griffin is forced to destroy the machine that made him invisible, rendering him permanently invisible until he can make a new "machine" (ps. I could be way wrong about the details of this... I am trying to recall from memory and I suppose I could look up the entire synopsis on Wikipedia but that just seems unfair. Call me an elitist.). And soon, chaos takes over. He tries to stay sane but soon resorts to criminal behaviors and next thing you know, we have a full blown sociopath! It was a real psychological thriller and definitely was thought-provoking (when I wasn't glaring at the book out of the corner my eye, where it was guilt-tripping me to finish it). If you really think through being truly invisible, there is a lot of variables! Clothing is number one. Unfortunately Griffin wasn't able to invisibilify (my own word, hehe) any clothes, so the poor fellow had to run around naked in the winter! Unless he bundled up and pretended to be a burn victim. Sad. And cold. He can't eat because the food is visible as it makes it way through his GI tract. Also, any snow or rain drips down and reveals him, along with dirt and mud. I mean this is 19th century people! Mud everywhere, mud streets, mud sidewalks, mud mud mud! And what would you do if you saw some muddy footprints, and muddy feet but no body!? FREAK OUT! Unfortunately, Griffin meets a sad end and when he dies, his invisibility leaves him; his killers, who really were just trying to protect themselves, are faced with a thin, naked man, bloody and bruised. See what I mean! Its a downer. But at least it is out of the way and done. I can officially say I read The Invisible Man and I am glad it is over. Jamie, you are exempt from writing anything about this novel because it took me over a month to write up my thoughts!

And for any readers, you few and far between (if any), do you like knowing the books ending? Or does it just give it away? I am thinking we may need to revise our reviews on here to maybe leaving at least some parts up for surprise... We will see. We are now reading things in a mishmash order so bear with us (or don't... hah).

Jamie - Blah! Too long ago to really remember. Ummmm... I didn't love it but found it enjoyable to read. Honestly anything would be enjoyable after readying The Turn of the Screw! The book was a little misleading because it called it a "grotesque romance" so I was all set for some love! To my disappointment, the love story was between the main character and power. Poo! This is a really insightful review, I know! lol ;)

The Turn of the Screw - Henry James

The Turn of the Screw is a short novel or a novella written by American writer Henry James. Originally published in 1898, it is ostensibly a ghost story that has lent itself well to operatic and film adaptation. Due to its ambiguous content and narrative skill, The Turn of the Screw became a favorite text of New Criticism. The account has lent itself to dozens of different interpretations, often mutually exclusive, including those of a Freudian nature. Many critics have tried to determine what exactly is the nature of evil within the story.

Jamie - Okay so I have read two books from the list since reading this book so I don't have much to say about it. I honestly did not enjoy reading it. I had a really hard time grasping Henry James' writing style. His sentences were so long and complicated that I found myself having to go back and reread sentences just to get a grasp on them. The story itself was pretty annoying too. It was hard not to get caught up in the main characters frenzy and I found myself continuously trying to figure out what was going on. I had read somewhere that the movie "The Others" was partly based on this book and so I was expecting some huge twist. The ending was probably the BIGGEST disappointment of the whole book. Seriously I don't think I have ever encountered such an unsatisfying ending!

Erin- One: I don't like being scared. Two: I especially don't like scary ghost stories. Three: I HATE ambiguous endings of books. I like nice, solid, tidy endings. No loose strings. And Turn of the Screw is all of those things! It took me about 3 weeks to finally finish a 130 page story. It was pathetic. I just couldn't get into it and really enjoy it! I like classic novels in general; they are rich and detailed, full of meaning and depth. You can just dig in and get your hands dirty--it's great! But TotS was a slimy, writhing mess that was hard to handle and when you are finally starting to get it, it's over! Just like that! Who ends a book AT the climax? It leaves one floundering for air wondering if somehow someone left the rest of the book out, perhaps there was a printing error or something! And it is nice that these old storied have been pondered and dissected throughout the past two centuries so there is plenty of reading to enlighten us amateur readers but, quite honestly, I was ready to be done with this one. So, to keep it short: crazy nanny, creepy beautiful children, two ghosts and a dead kid in the end. Poor Henry James. I'm afraid to say my opinion isn't too high of his story.

ps. a HUGE lack of motivation occurred hence why this post and the actual readings are months overdue. Perhaps we can keep some sort of flow going here on out... No guarantees though! :P

The Awakening - Kate Chopin

Short blurb from Wikipedia:

The Awakening is a novel by Kate Chopin, first published in 1899 (see 1899 in literature). Set in New Orleans and the Southern Louisiana coast at the end of the nineteenth century, the plot centers around Edna Pontellier and her struggle to reconcile her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century South. It is one of the earliest American novels that focuses on women's issues without condescension. It is also widely seen as a landmark work of early feminism.

Jamie: I went into this book with a little apprehension. I thought that the book was mainly based on the character's "sexual awakening" and was a little worried that the content would be too risqué. But I kept telling myself that it was the 1800's, I mean how risqué could it be? The answer is not at all. I mean Twilight was 10 times worse so my fears were definitely ungrounded. For the time, I'm sure it was very scandalous but compared to modern literature, it was nothing. The being said, this book was short, I read it within a few hours and it was definitely a roller coaster of sorts for me. My first impressions were that I found it hard to grasp the relationship between Edna, the main character and Robert. How was it that her husband was not at all phased by their intimate friendship? I guess it has something to do with their culture, but it seems out of place in the standards of the 1800's. I also initially had sympathy for Edna, who seemed to have fallen into a marriage with a man she didn't really love. But by the end of the book I was sick of her and all of her issues. Her "awakening" seemed more like a symptom of some sort of mood disorder. She was constantly up and down, happy and sad, loving towards her husband and then cold, loved her children and then resented them. I definitely wouldn't consider myself a Adele Ratignolle, the image of a self sacrificing mother and wife, but even I had to roll my eyes at Edna and all of her actions by the end of the book. Now, I'm not great at seeing the deeper meaning in literature so my review is mainly on the plot and story line. I plan on checking out SparkNotes to get a deeper understanding of the book but wanted to write this first so that I wouldn't be influenced by that. I'm interested to see what Erin says because she is better at that sort of thing than me. I might come back later and add to this post once I've researched the book a little more.

Jamie - Me again :) Erin's being lazy and hasn't posted yet! I spent the last 30 minutes or so looking over all the SparkNotes for this book and have come to the conclusion that I am not destined to be a Lit Major. There was so much stuff that went right over my head as I was reading. I'm sure it comes from years and years of reading "fluff" books so hopefully this whole process will make me a more insightful reader.... hopefully. Here are a few things I missed because they weren't plainly spoken about like I am use to. First of all, I didn't realize that Adele was pregnant the whole book! I mean I know they mentioned that she kept referring to her condition but the narrator almost made it seem like she was making it all up or that she just had a weak constitution. The whole chapter about the actual birth was really confusing to me and then I kind of figured out she must have been pregnant but I'm not sure where in the book we were suppose to know that. Another HUGE thing I missed is that I didn't realize that Edna and Alcee had a sexual affair. I mean I knew they spent a lot of time together and I knew there was some kissing and intimacy there but I didn't realize it had crossed that line. I guess I need a little more directness to catch onto things like that! Other than those two major misses in the plot, I also missed almost all of the symbols and such. Erin, did you get the whole symbolism with the birds the first time through? What about the symbolism with the widow and the lovers? Hmm, like I said, hopefully by the end of all of this I will be a little better at all of this stuff! Another question for Erin, what did you think of the ending? Was it a final act of awakening and independence or was it a desperate act of defeat?

Erin (the smarter sister): Yes, it has taken one million years to finally comment on The Awakening. My apologies. I disagree with my darling sister for most of the part. I find that she is being rather harsh towards poor Edna! Yes, it may seem like she has some sort of mood disorder at times but don't you remember being in love Jamie? It tends to turn a woman slightly crazy, especially for one who seemed to have only unrealistic romantic interests (ie: the cavalry officer, engaged young man, and famous actor) before marrying. She was caught up in infatuation with the actor when she met and married her husband, only to realize after they were married that she must close off her romantic whimsies and dreams and become a dignified wife. And then of course children followed, which she willingly admits she wasn't really "mother" material. Even before her awakening she had a distant affection for them, not the passion that many other mothers, including Adele, possessed. Plus, in those days, it was easier to put some distance between mother and child since the children's nursemaids were doing most of the raising. So put poor, distant Edna into a summer-long vacation where she her constant companion is a young fellow almost her age and something is sure to happen. I agree with Jamie that it was unusual the Creole (aristocrat of French and Spanish heritage) saw no problem with this young fellow devoting his time and energy to young married women each summer. Their culture seemed to imply that flirtation and admiration were accepted and the husbands felt no jealousy or concern. Edna was not raised in this enviroment so when Robert (the young man) attached himself to her, she began her awakening or self-discovery. She fell in love with a man that seemed to love her and, for once, this love was real and achievable (despite the fact she was married). Unfortunately Robert failed to see that she was in love with him and willing to do anything to be with him. He went away for a while and that was the time Edna really got moody. Stilll striving to discover her true self, the self that was willing to admit she wasn't so attached to children or spouse, she was caught up in the throes of love and yearning and disappointment. I think most of us girls could relate, think of the depression poor Bella dived into after Edward left her in Twilight! I don't hear you picking on Bella! And furthermore, in those days women had a specific role and domestic sphere in which they were expected to commit to. None of this free-thinking women who want passion in their life! So no, I don't hold Edna 100% accountable for her crazy actions. I felt the ending was a bit extreme, but at the same time, their was no place for her in 1800s society; she wasn't a loving mother or wife and the devotion to Robert was lost. Hopelessness would be hard to withstand for long in a rigid society. Obviously, this book was not well received when it was published. But with readers raised upon Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott, Edna was a foreign creature to them. Needless to say, the book was lost in obscurity until the 1950s where it was hailed as a major work of american literature, one of the first of its kind to talk so directly about sex. That being said, its not as racy as it sounds (take it from us, we are both pretty prude!). And it was written in the 1800s after all! I really enjoy some of her short stories too, they are worth checking out. And yes Jamie, I caught on to the pregnancy and the sexual affair. I thought their might be something to the widow and the lovers but I think I've been reading too many "fluff" books too! We will get better as we go along, hopefully! ;)


ps. For any of our brave readers who have made it all the way down here, what do you think of our approach? Too wordy? Uninteresting? Or perhaps we give too much away, if you are interested in reading a novel from 1899 :) We would love to hear your feedback! Even better if you read the book and have anything to add or argue!

pps. Maybe we should take photos of us dressed as characters from the book? Would that add some spice? I'll be Adele, naturally, and Jamie can be Edna, crazy Edna. Muhahahaha!

Jamie: A couple quick notes, I hope everyone can see just who is the ornery sister! And also, I hated the books where Bella was all depressed, seriously annoying so I am not a hypocrite!