Oliver Twist Readalong Post 1: Volume 1 (Ch. 1-22).

Welcome to the first post (of three) for the Oliver Twist readalong hosted here at A Literary Odyssey.

If you have been around and reading my posts for any length of time, you have probably noticed that I am not the biggest fan of Mr. Charles Dickens. I blame it on a first horrible experience with Great Expectations, ninth grade English, and my unwillingness to read the novel.

Since then, I have given Dickens a few more chances. I "read" part of Hard Times in college and hated it. I read A Christmas Carol and the only saving grace was the fact that it was a story I knew well before going into it. I reread Great Expectations as book #10 in this project of mine (and still hated it), and recently participated in a readalong of Bleak House and guess what, hated it.

So Dickens and I meet again. And I am glad that I have so many of you along for the ride. And if you were coming here, expecting to hear me rant and rave about the atrocities of Mr. Dickens once more, well...

You were wrong.

I actually kind of like Oliver Twist. It shocked me too. But from the beginning, this was a story that captured my attention and drew me in. Perhaps it is the tone the narrator takes from the very beginning;

"Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there is one anciently common to most towns, great or small: to wit, a workhouse; and in this workhouse was born; on a day and date which I need not trouble myself to repeat, inasmuch as it can be of no possible consequence to the reader, in this stage of the business at all events; the item of mortality whose name is prefixed to the head of this chapter," (3).

I love the tone and the feeling of despair that I get as the reader. After reading this (lengthy-it IS Dickens), I knew that I was going to be captivated by the story. While unhappy and sober, I am captivated by it. I want to know what happens to poor Oliver Twist.

The first section of the book (of 3), introduces us to Oliver and takes us through the beginnings of his miserable little life. He is orphaned as an infant, his mother dying shortly after giving birth to him, and spends the beginning few years of his life under the care of a horrible woman.

After a certain time, he taken to a workhouse. It is here that we have that famous line;

"Please, sir, I want some more," (15).

We watch as Oliver is humiliated for asking for more food, estranged from the other boys, and determined to be a horrible example of a human being. He is degraded, called names, and seen as worthless by the men in charge of the workhouse.

He is misunderstood and craving love and care. Of course, being an orphan, poor, and homeless, Oliver is not deserving of love and care from anyone. After all, who would care for a young boy?

I know that Dickens purpose in many of his novels is showing the plight of the poor, and that is evident in the treatment of Oliver and the other poor characters we encounter. It enrages me now to know that people were treated this way. In some areas, prejudices like this still occur. It saddens me, to know that a young boy can be so misunderstood because his stomach is still growling and deemed a troublemaker.

Oliver eventually escapes (I cheered), only to find himself in the hands of a man and his group of young, pick-pocketing boys. They take Oliver in and we watch as Oliver misunderstands what they want of him. Again, I felt awful reading about Oliver's naivety regarding crime and life on the street. I rooted for him when he was taken in and cared for, but of course, that nasty man found him and brought him back.

Speaking of that man, he is always referred to as "the Jew," or something more derogatory. At first I wasn't offended, thinking Dickens was just trying to tell us more about him, but after he is repeatedly referred to in that way, I started to get annoyed. Can we please just call him by his name Dickens?

The first section ends shortly after Oliver finds himself back in this lair of thieves. When I finished, I found myself thinking how fast the 180 pages flew by, and how much Dickens seemed to cram into those pages.

I find this novel, and the writing style, to be far different from my other experiences with Dickens. While at times some of the writing is still a little much for me, I didn't find it as offensive as I did in some other novels (*ahem* Bleak House). The story also seems fairly straight forward...and simpler in some way. It is deceptive in that way. As a reader, you think you are only learning about Oliver's life from an offhanded and uncaring perspective, but you can see where Dickens is trying to subtly draw our attention-like to the conditions in the workhouse. Very clever Charles, very clever.

But I come away from the first section wanting to read more and not wanting to bash my head in. That is a huge improvement from my previous experiences. Let us hope that Charles doesn't disappoint me.

What did you think? For those of you who have read things by Dickens other than Oliver Twist, do you find that there is a difference in style?

For those participating in the readalong, please comment below and leave a link to your post. I will link it here so that others can find your thoughts and comment.

The second post on the next 14 chapters is scheduled for the 17th. See you then!

Stacy
Darlyn
Katy F.
Kristi
Bookworm1858
L.L.
tasseled
fleurfisher

Jousting with Joyce Post 1:

I'm participating in the "Jousting for Joyce" insanity that is being hosted over at Fizzy Thoughts. For those of you who have no idea what we're doing, a small group of us (I think 12 signed up) are reading Joyce's Ulysses.

Hands down, this is the hardest thing I have ever read. I alternate thinking, "Man, Joyce must have been a genius to make so many connections to all of these pieces of history and literature," and thinking, "What the hell was Joyce smoking?"

I have found myself reading and rereading the first three chapters that make up this first post. Since Ulysses is modeled after Homer's Odyssey, which I love, I am picking up on a lot of the allusions to Homer. The first three chapters are called the "Telemachus" chapters, modeled after Odysseus' son in the Odyssey.

Stephen Dedalus is the main character that we meet in Chapter 1. He is surrounded by people who use and abuse him (or at least that is what I pulled from the chapter). This is definitely a lot like Telemachus, who is surrounded by his mother's suitors (lazy jerks). Dedalus is surrounded by the cocky Buck Mulligan, who is simply a huge bully.

Chapter two follows Dedalus to his job working at a school. He teaches his pupils and then goes to his boss to collect his paycheck. Supposedly this chapter is full of great references and lines, but I struggled just to follow along. The two of them, Dedalus and his boss, sit and chat about Ireland, and of course, the evil Jews.

Chapter three was by far the most difficult thing to read. Stephen wanders around and starts philosophizing about his life and what's going on. This is all in stream of consciousness. I think I'm pretty good at figuring out that style of writing, but comparing the way Woolf and Faulkner use this to Joyce...it is completely different. Joyce takes it to this far level. Besides that, he is filling it all with these allusions to other pieces...I found myself backtracking and rereading it. I got lost, looked things up on Google, reading summaries of the chapter online, and did a ton of research. And even when I read it again this afternoon for the fifth time, I still didn't get all of it.

I suppose what I am saying is that I no longer wonder why this novel is considered so difficult, and why people can spend months and years reading it trying to understand it.

I also understand why they make those annotated versions, so that people like me can have something to refer to for help with all of those references. I am definitely going to get one of those before I go any farther.

But I am enjoying this. And seeing how far Joyce is going to push me before I completely crack. I'll see you back in two more weeks for the next 6 chapters.

Weekly Wrap-up for February 6, 2011: Weird Week and Yes, More Book Acquisitions.

This week was a little all over the place, don't you think?

We finished up our first semester LAST week with exams and all of that, so the first two days of this week I had to finish grading and upload all of those grades. It was time consuming and stressful. Not to mention, we had "snowpocalypse" headed our way, so I made doubly sure that I uploaded and finished all of my grades Tuesday before going home.

To make this week even weirder, we only had students two days this week. Monday was a Professional Development day, so the students were off. Then we had school Tuesday, where the kids had all new classes and I scared all of my students :). Wednesday and Thursday we were off after getting snow dumped on us. Friday the students were back and we spent the class periods trying to catch back up and get things straight.

So yes, weird week that has thrown me completely off.

To combat the stress, I spent most of my first snow day (Wed) reading some "fun" reads. My mind has been working overtime recently, so I pulled a YA series off the shelf and dug in (it is the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan-the first book is The Lightning Thief). I managed to read the first two books and half of the third on Wednesday. I finished up the third one by Friday night and spent a lazy Saturday reading the last two in the series. Yep, I read the whole series of five in a matter of a couple days. It was a good breather from the heavy reading I have been doing lately. My brain needed the break.

I also read some more War and Peace and prepped some more posts. If it hadn't been for my stress load, I would have been almost caught up with books finished. Oh well, more posts for this week. :) For the record, I really would like to be caught up, so that the posts go up as I am reading the book, not a month after. I have been working on getting there, but I don't want to double post in a day, know what I mean? Slowly I think I'll get there.

I was also bad this week and went book shopping. Yeah, I know, I know. After those stacks of books I brought home last week from the library sale, how could I possibly buy more books? You see, I have this disease, called "I want it so I can read it" and it means that I bring home far too many books.

This stack is from two different trips this week:


Starting from top to bottom:

• Joseph Andrews and Shamela by Henry Fielding: I found this little gem in the used section of my local bookstore. While neither title is on my list, Tom Jones is. And when I remember that Shamela is a spoof of Samuel Richardson's Pamela, which IS on my list, I knew I need to grab this. It was in great condition!
  
• A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines: This is another title off my list that I managed to find in the used section of the bookstore, and I swear that this copy is brand new. I have read this once before (it was a required book in my eleventh grade English class), but didn't have a copy.
  
• The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins: Since I love The Woman in White, I know that I am going to want to read this other Collins title on my list this year. Its inevitable. I think I may save it for around Halloween, since I have heard this one is a little more suspenseful?
  
• Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Pevear and Volohonsky translation): While I already own a copy of Crime and Punishment, and have already read it for my project (it was book 2), this copy jumped into my arms from the used section. I was eventually going to get a copy of this translation because I know I am going to reread it, so I am so excited that I found a copy in such great condition!
  
• Twelfth Night by Shakespeare: I really do adore the Barnes and Noble Shakespeare editions. I think they have done a marvelous job on them. They're pretty well-researched and look great all lined up together on my shelf. :) Now that this one is sitting on my shelf, I only have 3 more to acquire until I have the set (I like sets of books, did you know that? I told you, its a disease).
  
• The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson #5) by Rick Riordan: This title (and the next one) were from my one planned book trip this week. My friend who works at a bookstore told me that this one was finally released in paperback (that was my excuse for not reading the series earlier. I picked up the first four at a Scholastic book fair and I wanted the fifth one to match in paperback. I know, I told you. Disease, okay?). I grabbed a copy and told myself I would finally read the series, since I have seen so many rave reviews!
  
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston: I selected this as the book for the second month of the new book club I started. I subbed for another teacher a couple weeks ago and her AP English class was discussing this novel. It was on my list anyway, but based on that classes' discussion, I knew I needed to read it with a group!

I hope you enjoyed looking at that stack, which unlike all my other book loot pictures recently, was taken on my desk. You can see some of the random stuff littering it (I've been busy). :)

Anyway, I am hoping for a much better week this week. The first Oliver Twist post will go up Tuesday (aren't you curious to see what I make of this Dickens title?), some posts on Romeo and Juliet, my first post for the Ulysses readalong, as well as the beginnings of my thoughts on Doyle's The Lost World.

Yep, another busy week.

Happy Reading!

Lysistrata by Aristophanes: A Classics Circuit Review.

I consider myself a huge fan of the Ancient Greeks and their writing. If you don't believe me, look at the name of my blog! When I found out that the Classics Circuit was going to be focusing on these old works, I knew that I had to participate.

Deciding what to read was the hardest part. I find that Ancient Greek literature is diverse and wonderful, so I had a hard time narrowing it down. Originally I was going to read Antigone, but I went with Lysistrata by Aristophanes, since it is one of the few small Greek works on my own project list that I am unfamiliar with.

Assuming that you are also unfamiliar with it, the first thing to know about this piece is that it is a play. It was probably first performed around 400 B.C. So yes, it is a rather old piece of literature, but very, very racy.

The basic premise of the play is that a certain woman, Lysistrata, comes up with a plan to put an end to the Peloponessian War that is currently being fought by the men-folk. After rounding up the women, she encourages them to withhold sex until the men agree to stop fighting.

What ensues is a battle of the sexes. The men, without their women or sexual favors, begin to storm the acropolis where the women are holed up. They are frustrated and angry that their women are not at home waiting for them. It is a very funny, and racy kind of play.

I have found in my reading of Ancient Greece that they were far more comfortable with the profane than we are today. It is not unusual for there to be dirty jokes and references to nudity. This is obviously a prime example of the familiarity and acceptance of sex as an everyday act. You'll find the same is true as you move forward into Shakespeare's time!

My favorite scene is when a man, Cinesias, arrives to get his wife for some "favors." Lysistrata convinces the woman, Myrrhine, to tease the poor man, by at first refusing, then agreeing. She then has to leave multiple times for things necessary for their act. She brings back a cot, a pillow, a blanket, etc. Each time she leaves he waits, frustrated and angry. It is comical and puts poor Cinesias in a horrible and compromising position. All he wants is his wife!

I don't really want to get in a whole debate on whether using sex is a good idea for revenge or ending wars (although, that WOULD be an interesting argument, don't you think?). That would be opening up a whole big can of worms I don't want to get in to.

But I do want to mention the translation I had. My edition is a Signet Classic and it was translated by a Douglass Parker. Seeing as this is the only translation of the play I have read, I don't know what liberties Parker took with it, but I found the language to be FAR too modern for the period the piece was intended for. I found it distracting and annoying that he modernized the play as much as he did. If it hadn't been for the fact that I wanted to know what happened, I probably would have the book down and gone to get another translation. I understand than when translating, sometimes there are words that don't translate exactly, but I love when translators stay as true to the original as possible. And I don't think that happened in this case. I am curious to read another translation in the future to compare.

In all, this was a great example of Greek writing and the issues that plagued the era. In Ancient times, it was far more common to be in a constant state of war than what we would hope for, so perhaps this kind of solution was a desperate last act. In any case, I am glad to have known that even then, people cracked some dirty jokes for amusement, and captured a piece of history in the process.

If you are interested in participating in a future Classics Circuit Tour, visit the designated blog to look for future sign-ups!

War and Peace Readalong Post 2: Volume 2:

Welcome to the second of four posts for the War and Peace readalong hosted here at A Literary Odyssey. A couple weeks ago, participants posted their reactions to the first volume of Tolstoy's masterpiece. In this collection of posts, we will be discussing what has happened in the second volume (and can I say how excited I am to be halfway done with this monstrosity of a book)!

I have to say that the book is really coming alive for me. I don't find myself looking at my character list as often, or sitting and trying to remember who that person is connected to. Finally I feel like I have a firm grip on who belongs to who, and just what is going on.

This volume was far more exciting than the first. Relationships are changing and transforming-I mean really, could there have been any more proposals? But I find it interesting to see how the characters weave in and out of each other's lives. You have to give a lot of credit to Tolstoy for maintaining a firm grip and idea on where he wants his story to go.

With the number of characters and small side plots, you could easily see where this could have gone astray, had the author not fully understood what he was doing. But even while you (the reader) are trying to keep everything straight, you can fully appreciate what he is doing.

I love seeing Russia through this lens. And I will be honest, I don't know a lot about Russian history or issues. But this is making it come alive for me. I want to learn more about this era so that I can truly appreciate Tolstoy's genius.

Anyway, I got sidetracked there...back to the story.

In this second half, Pierre takes on a whole new role. I have to feel sorry for him, to be thrust into the position he is and not know how to respond to anything going on around him. He struggles, and you can see that in every scene. How do you live a good life in the middle of so much chaos? That being said, I think he was an idiot for the duel and the following consequences. Men can be so rash at times. :)

Natasha has to be one of the more interesting characters. She falls in love with three different men and seems to hurt all of them. I do like the fact that she seemed to recognize her faults, but the manner in which she tries to rectify it, well, I am curious to see what happens to her as the book moves forward.

I adore Andrei. By far he is my favorite character and I find myself rooting for him. Of course, we all do things we regret, and obviously Andrei comes to terms with his own mistakes (perhaps a little too late), but he acknowledges them and moves on. You have to respect that quality and love it.

I found the battle scenes to be interesting. Like I said in my first post, I don't mind the war scenes. I love the description. Again, I think I owe that to years of reading history and sci-fi, where battles are often outlined (but I would much prefer the insanity and unrealistic space battles in sci-fi novels. Much more exciting with lasers).

In all, I am thoroughly enjoying the book and I cannot wait to move forward into the third volume.

If you are participating in the readalong, please leave a comment with a link to your post, so I can link it here.

And I do want to apologize once more for posting late. I promise it won't happen again!

Avid Reader
Kristi
Carey