jessicaxmaria's Reviews (1.04k)

This book had been sitting on my shelf for quite a long time; every time I picked it up and opened to remember it was written in "letters" back-and-forth, I always cringed. But, upon feeling the need to knock it out, plus, having just read Gertrude Stein and needing to cleanse the palate with something much more comforting, like Jane Austen, I gave in.

I'm glad I did. The book is about a teenage lady back in that letter-writing, social-rules era. She's been in the countryside for a while and now she's navigating her young life away from home, and trying to figure out London society as well as her own background. She makes a lot of mistakes, and there are those moments where you're embarassed for her, and feel for her, as she writes to her guardian at home about the ball she went to last night. The book is full of comic moments and situations, and I did get quite wrapped up in them just as I did for Elizabeth Bennet or Emma Woodhouse. Evelina is much more fragile and naive, though. Which isn't to say she's bad, I quite liked her. I'm so on her side, that some of the other characters really riled me up when they did anything bad (or "unladylike" I should say) to her.

I could not STAND the character of Madame Duvall and the leery Mr Smith. But, that's the point. There's all sorts of misunderstandings and villains and propriety to think of; I enjoyed it. There were definitely some sections that could have been thrown out or edited down, and it would have been much more concise in its storytelling, but Part III (of 3) escalated the enjoyment.

It's definitely not a book for everyone, but if you love Austen, it may be a good read after you've exhausted her few books.

I can't remember the last time I'd read such a page-turner. Let alone one that had me theorizing and guessing--only with myself--as to what was really going on and which character(s) I should believe. The writing is fantastic, and the story veers from loving to dark to funny to ...well, I won't spoil the end. I'm just waiting for all my friends to read it so I can discuss in length with them!

Highly recommended beach/summer read.

There are some definite flaws in this novel, but I can't help but love it as I read it one hundred years after it's publication, in the same city its characters traverse. I pass by the Plaza every day on the way to work, the same Plaza that Gloria is living when she meets Anthony. I recognize those trains that pass Pelham Bay as the equivalent of today's Metro-North. I understand, reading in the heat of a New York summer, why people didn't stay in New York for the summers back then (before air conditioning!).

Fitzgerald's prose again shines here, though his story devolves quite swiftly--it starts strong, but ends weak. The last third of the book is quite puzzling. Where I understood the characters motives before, they seemed to veer as the ending drew near.

I would still recommend this book to anyone who is interested in or loves New York City, enjoys portraits of marriage, or would (as I kind of did) analyze the book psychologically/sociologically in today's context. There was many similarities in the world then, and today...

Truly a great book with ideas that are still relevant today; I think mainly of how Bradbury points to media like tv/radio getting in the way of interpersonal connections and conversation. How censorship of these discussions and anything that might "offend" another person is really to the detriment of society as a whole. Also makes me wholly cherish my book club and book-reading friends!

I loved reading [a:Mary Gordon|2125|Mary Gordon|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]'s novel [b:Spending: A Novel|820711|Spending A Novel|Mary Gordon|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178674832s/820711.jpg|1039921] last year, and was eager to find more of her writing. A good friend gave me this book (since I had recommended Spending to her) and the three novellas are definitely examples of Gordon's rhythmic prose and three-dimensional women.

The short stories were sometimes difficult to read because they vascillated between first person and third person or the descriptions of actions were so subtle that I didn't realize what was happening until later. I did enjoy the subtlety sometimes--when I felt I was piecing together a mystery as the character drops a clue along the story of her life.

I connected in some way with all three stories, though didn't wholly relate to any one of the women. That's probabaly the power of Gordon's women; there are universally recognizable traits of women in all of them, but they are all individual creations.

Enjoyed, but rather subdued and dense to recommend to everyone.

The first third of the book was hard to get through as it seemed to plod along at an incredibly slow pace while dropping foreshadowing hints at the end of every section. I was getting quite tired with it, until some of the foreshadowed events came to fruition in the narrative. Then it became quite captivating. The story is told from the point of view of the daughter of Martha Carrier, an accused witch at the Salem Witch trials. The novel has some beautiful prose, if a bit uneven due to the storytelling in the beginning, but it's fascinating (as I always find the topic of the witch trials to be) and really injects the event with humanity--love, despair, disbelief, etc. I may or may not have teared up a bit at the end. It ends up being something of a relatable tome on mother/daughter relationships. I enjoyed that, as well.

Recommended to those that are also fascinated by Salem witch trials, historical fiction (the writer is a descendant of Martha Carrier herself and sometimes it reads much more historically than ficticiously), and daughters.

Well, that's over.

While I completely loved [b:Middlesex|2187|Middlesex|Jeffrey Eugenides|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316727862s/2187.jpg|1352495] and I was less than enamored with [b:The Virgin Suicides|10956|The Virgin Suicides|Jeffrey Eugenides|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1319032910s/10956.jpg|812415], I was hoping for something as magically entrancing as the former. I continued this hope through the first few pages, as I was taken in by the first scenes and the introductions. But that withered away pretty quickly...

The writing, to me, felt odd and forced at times. The brand names, the 80s pop culture references, the terrible similes--I could have been reading Bret Easton Ellis if there was any violence mixed in there. The characters weren't all that likable...not that characters have to be, but I wasn't looking forward to reading about them. It took me quite a while to finish this book, and I think it's because I was never too excited to pick it back up again.

The one character who mildly interested me was Leonard, due to his mental stability issues; an unpredictable character is something I can invest in. However, Madeline was practically one note, and Mitchell. Oh, Mitchell, how I hate thee. The nerdy, seemingly harmless guy who loves women so much and is just that type of romantic that thinks he is the best choice for all if they'd only notice him! Okay, maybe I'm generalizing, but I felt that's exactly what Eugenides did with this character. There's nothing interesting about this guy, except that Eugenides tried to make him the hero?

And how predictable was the end? I knew what was going to happen 40 pages before it did. And it all played out like it was Mitchell's choice, like Madeline wouldn't be able to do it by herself, this sad sack of a loser decides to be a bit of martyr and let her do her thing--not get in the way. While also kind of making it sound like it was avoiding the cliche, it ended up being all levels of triteness.

While sometimes the book veered into interesting territory... I particularly enjoyed the peek into Leonard and Madeline's relationship on the cape, and how his illness affected their day-to-day. But, it was still just okay. Nothing very special.

A pretty stellar collection of short stories about love. In the introduction Eugenides makes it clear what kind of love and from where the title is gleaned, which was interesting to philosophize about as I read each story. It was a good set-up.

The stories varied greatly--some I loved, some I hated, some I fell asleep during, and some I weeped during.

My favorites included:

"Natasha" by [a:David Bezmozgis|55940|David Bezmozgis|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1281985698p2/55940.jpg] (intriguing & complete)
"Some Other, Better Otto" by [a:Deborah Eisenberg|14458|Deborah Eisenberg|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1282436954p2/14458.jpg] (loved her sentences, Otto's thoughts)
"The Hitchhiking Game" by [a:Milan Kundera|6343|Milan Kundera|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1216972285p2/6343.jpg] (odd in a good way)
"Lovers of Their Time" by [a:William Trevor|16002|William Trevor|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1269201140p2/16002.jpg] (sad laughs and sighs, very British)
"Mouche" by [a:Guy de Maupassant|18791|Guy de Maupassant|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1188821941p2/18791.jpg] (laughed out loud, very French)
"Spring in Fialta" by [a:Vladimir Nobokov|5748012|Vladimir Nobokov|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-347709e8e0c4cd87940bf10aebee7a1c.jpg] (great ending)
"How to be an Other Woman" by [a:Lorrie Moore|11746|Lorrie Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1224046427p2/11746.jpg] (I can't resist New York stories)
"Yours" by [a:Mary Robison|67669|Mary Robison|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1324156236p2/67669.jpg] (I think the shortest story, and the one that made me openly cry)
"Red Rose, White Rose" by [a:Eileen Chang|110226|Eileen Chang|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1248365581p2/110226.jpg] (plan on finding more of her to read)
"Jon" by [a:George Saunders|8885|George Saunders|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1280373759p2/8885.jpg] (a surprising sci-fi story in the mix)
"Something That Needs Nothing" by [a:Miranda July|65678|Miranda July|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1211471153p2/65678.jpg] (Portland-set, very July...but I like July tremendously)
"The Bear Came Over the Mountain" by [a:Alice Munro|6410|Alice Munro|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1245100102p2/6410.jpg] (I don't think I've read a Munro story I didn't like)

I believe that's more than half the stories, making the book worth it to me. It was a wonderful gift from our wedding photographer years ago; I only lament it took me this long to read!

I remember reading this book during one of my spring breaks in college on a whim; wow. Horribly written, and entirely boring. For once, the movie is far superior to the book.

My aunt recommended this book to me last year and it was not until a couple of days ago that I picked it up and began reading. Definitely some humorous, sometimes heartwrenching, and earnest storytelling from the viewpoint of a dog. I often thought of the dogs my family had growing up, and I know many dog lovers who would enjoy this book. The racing stuff was a little bit 'meh' to me, since I have no retention of technical racing jargon. But, Enzo and his family were wonderful. I definitely smiled a lot while reading, but it was also a sad dramatic story of a family.