The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton – Book Review

Title: The Age of Innocence
Author: Edith Wharton
Genre: classics, historical fiction, romance
Release Date: 1920
Pages: 273 pages
(total of 34 chapters as 2 books)

Synopsis

The return of the beautiful Countess Olenska into the rigidly conventional society of New York sends reverberations throughout the upper reaches of society.
Newland Archer, an eligible young man of the establishment is about to announce his engagement to May Welland, a pretty ingenue, when May’s cousin, Countess Olenska, is introduced into their circle. The Countess brings with her an aura of European sophistication and a hint of scandal, having left her husband and claimed her independence.

Her sorrowful eyes, her tragic worldliness and her air of unapproachability attract the sensitive Newland and, almost against their will, a passionate bond develops between them. But Archer’s life has no place for passion and, with society on the side of May and all she stands for, he finds himself drawn into a bitter conflict between love and duty.

1^st sentence

On a January evening of the early seventies, Christine Nilsson was singing in Faust at the Academy of Music in New York.

What made me get it and thoughts on the cover

What— I own a copy of the author’s other work: The House of Mirth. I loved the color in this stunning edition so I ordered it straight away. Yes, I hadn’t read the author’s other book yet but still, I needed to have this one.

The cover — Count me in for anything to do with the color purple. It’s so beautiful and I love the purple flowers on the endpapers.

My thoughts

Isn’t it the best feeling to discover a new author and fall for their beautiful writing?
I can’t believe I’ve never read anything by Edith Wharton before. It took the movie adaptation leaving Netflix this month to finally read The Age of Innocence. Sure, the writer goes into long details sometimes which makes the reading process a bit slower compared to the dialogues peppered in the middle of that all but I don’t mind that at all. She uses the same words we’re all familiar with and then puts them in a beautiful order to give us magical sentences. Some lines were really witty too.

The main focus of the story is Archer and his thoughts. We meet him at a time when he starts to question the sameness of everyone and everything around him. We get to see life in New York back then as viewed by him. With the presence of Ellen Olenska, an independent woman that doesn’t follow the standards, Archer starts to see the life they’ve been leading so far as shallow. I loved reading his reflections on the dullness around him and on how he can predict what each person is doing just because they’re all the same. I especially enjoyed the parts where he’d form blunt and funny replies to his elders in his head only to deliver the kind and expected reply instead.

For some reason (maybe because of the movie’s poster), I thought the story was about an affair between two married people. It’s a bit more innocent than that actually. Archer tried so hard not to fall for this married/estranged woman and the poor guy started to have feelings the same day he got the approval to have his wedding to May sooner. Despite getting married, what he had with Ellen was precious and true that they decided not to ruin that by having her as a mistress. Instead, they only had stolen glances and short conversations.

I loved reading all of these different kinds of people and how Archer started to get suffocated by seeing his wife morph into her mother just because that’s how all of the girls were raised back then. Archer couldn’t blame her because he knew that’s what they’re used to but May turned out to be more knowledgeable. She just chose to keep that to herself and continue on with her married life as robotically as any other family. The sad thing is that even when Archer found out the truth in the end and getting to live in the new New York while seeing his children follow their dreams with no care of what others might think (simply because everyone became busy and have no time to be nosy) he was too scared to meet Ellen after years of separation. He criticized his own people and now has the chance to follow his dreams with nothing stopping him or Ellen, yet he still feels like he’s followed by his old critics/community and chooses not to meet Ellen because she might be disappointed by how boring he’s become.
It’s maddening…. I mean just go and see her (the story being told from his perspective, we, as readers, were not able to find out whether Ellen has changed or not) and then decide on what to do next. However, I feel the ending, frustrating as it may be, suits the story and Archer as a character.

A silly comment: I don’t know why I kept on forgetting that the setting was winter and that it was snowy around them. I’ll only remember when they mention the presence of snow after a couple of pages.
Now I’m off to watch the movie and I’m looking forward to reading another of Wharton’s novels next year.

Overall          

A beautiful classic that will make you think about the life you’re living.                 5/5 stars

Madame Olenska, dropping her cloak, sat down in one of the chairs. Archer leaned against the chimney and looked at her.
“You’re laughing now; but when you wrote me you were unhappy,” he said.
“Yes.” She paused. “But I can’t feel unhappy when you’re here.”
“I shan’t be here long,” he rejoined, his lips stiffening with the effort to say just so much and no more.
“No; I know. But I’m improvident: I live in the moment when I’m happy.”
The words stole through him like a temptation, and to close his senses to it he moved away from the hearth and stood gazing out at the black tree-boles against the snow.

       

Love Poems – Book Review

Title: Love Poems
Collected by: Editors of Canterbury Classics
Genre: poetry, classics, romance
Release Date: December 3, 2019
Pages: 193 pages
(a total of 192 poems and sonnets by 52 different poets)

Synopsis

A collection of the world’s finest love poems–from ancient Greece to the twentieth century. For thousands of years, poets across the world have expressed their thoughts on love with profound and memorable verses. Love Poems is a collection of works from more than fifty prolific poets, including Sappho, William Shakespeare, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Emily Dickinson, and Robert Frost. This volume contains over a hundred works of poetry that have been cherished for generations, and that continue to stir modern readers’ hearts with their beauty.

What made me get it and thoughts on the cover

What— I like Word Cloud Classics’ standard quote covers but I also like it when they design a cover in a new way, so that’s why I got this book to add to my growing collection.

The cover — Pink isn’t a color that I love. Still, you can’t argue that it looks good with the sparkly edges around the letters and names of poets in the heart. Can’t they just publish all of the other classics at once so as to have a full wall of Word Cloud Classics?!

My thoughts

I am not a poetry-person at all. I am a novel-person through and through. I honestly bought this and The Romantic Poets to put on the shelf and admire them for their beautiful covers. I had no intention of reading them.
Unknowingly, I read all of the poems sporadically over 2 weeks.

The poems in this book are ordered by the poet’s birth date so it starts with c. 630 Sappho and ends with poems by Sara Teasdale born in 1884.
I was surprised to find that I was familiar with a lot of the poets, as names of course and not their poems. And, from a little search on google it seems that only a few works of each person was selected.

Some poems I fully understood, others I couldn’t understand a thing, some I felt made no sense to me at all, a whole lot of them had metaphors and symbolism I couldn’t figure out, and a few of them I completely grasped the meaning yet felt they were pointless.
As for the poets, I was glad that a lot by Emily Dickinson were included because I’ve been meaning to read some of her works but I was very disappointed by them. I may have liked only one. I was surprised that I actually liked Byron’s poems (I remember watching a movie about him years ago and the poems mentioned there were not to my liking. They could be the same, I just appreciate them now I guess).
I don’t want to mention all of the poets’ names here. But as a whole I did like at least one poem by each poet. I didn’t like Percy Shelley’s though (just 2 lines spoke to me).

I had a very hard time reading the poems in my head. I couldn’t figure out how to properly read them so I asked my sister for help and after she explained to me the right way to read a poem taking into consideration the punctuation and line orders I tried to apply what she said, only then did it feel like I was reading something big and valuable. Oh, an observation: I found myself more interested in longer poems and ones that have a story within. What can I say, I’m into novels and stories but hey at least I gave poetry a try.

Overall          

A nice collection of poems centered around romance and love. Honestly, a few were rather cringy and cheesy. There are some that centered on love and death. Those I liked more.        3.5/5 stars

Some find Love late, some find him soon,
Some with the rose in May,
Some with the nightingale in June,
And some when skies are gray;
Love comes to some with smiling eyes,
And comes to tears with some;
For some Love sings, for some Love sighs,
For some Love’s lips are dumb.
How will you come to me, fair Love?
Will you come late or soon?
With sad or smiling skies above,
By light of sun or moon?
Will you be sad, will you be sweet,
Sing, sigh, Love, or be dumb?
Will it be summer when we meet,
Or autumn ere you come?

— Pakenham Beatty

The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux – Book Review

Title: The Phantom of the Opera
Author: Gaston Leroux
Translated by: ——– (original language – French)
Genre: classics, gothic fiction, horror, romance
Release Date: September 23, 1909
Pages: 315 pages
(total of 26 chapters + a prologue and an epilogue)

Synopsis

Rumors abound that the Paris Opera House is haunted by a ghost in this thrilling classic filled with passion, love, and suspense. Nobody has ever seen the ghost, but it makes itself known through malevolent acts.

1^st sentence

The Opera ghost really existed.

What made me get it and thoughts on the cover

What— To read the original work that inspired the enchanting musical.

The cover — The colors, the pattern, and the fabric of the book all go very well with the eerie vibe of the story. There are also 2 more beautiful editions I’d love to add to my book collection.

My thoughts

Let me first start with how I was introduced to the story. First, in 2002 I watched the 80’s performance of the titular song of the musical and then I watched the movie in 2005, that is when I fell for the story since it had a beginning and an ending and in 2018 I read the novel (I read it in October, which is the best month to read it by the way). The 25th-anniversary performance of the musical was on YouTube for free last week and I was mesmerized by it. It was haunting and magical and how I wish I could watch all musicals live!!! Since I can’t, watching it in high quality at home is a good alternative. While I wait for the sequel (Love Never Dies) tonight -though I wish they would show the one with the same actors we saw last week- I’m finally writing my review on the book:

I really admire the author’s way of writing the novel in a way that makes you question which parts are fiction and which aren’t. He wrote lots of actual events that inspired him to create this story and mixed it with a story of his own creation trying to convince the reader that the entire thing actually happened which really gives the mystery element that I love to read.
I loved the setting, though I would have liked a more detailed description of the grandness of the opera.

My love for Beauty and the Beast makes me gravitate towards stories where one person who doesn’t like his/her own looks is attracted to another normal-looking person. That is why I pitied Erik/the phantom. Even though he’s a murderer, I felt sorry for him when he talked about how his relatives treated him for being born the way he looks.
Unlike the movie, I liked how the relationship between Christine and Raoul had more background here. We actually get to read about the years they shared in the past and the passion they have for each other. On the other, Erik was forcing his love on Christine (which was understandable to me….. I’m sorry but I’m team Erik) so it was all one-sided except for when she was under the influence of his singing.

The story that Gaston Leroux had written has MUSICAL written all over it and I’m so glad that the famous names we know so well produced and wrote the songs for the popular and amazing musical. I mean the novel is filled with talk of stages, songs, and performances and to actually see it come alive in a musical makes perfect sense.

Overall   

A gothic tale that requires you to let your fantasies unwind in this darkness which you know you cannot fight, the darkness of the music of the night.         4/5 stars

And the voice, the voice which I had recognized under the mask, was on its knees before me, was a man! And I began to cry… The man, still kneeling, must have understood the cause of my tears, for he said, ‘It is true, Christine! … I am not an Angel, nor a genius, nor a ghost… I am Erik!’

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, Lewis Carroll – Book Review

Title: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
Author: Lewis Carroll
Genre: classics, children’s book, fantasy
Order in series: Books # 1 and 2 in a series
Release Date: 1st story: November 26, 1865
                       2nd story: December 27, 1871
Pages: 263 pages
(total of 12 chapters in the 1st story and 12 chapters in the 2nd story)

Synopsis

Follow Alice down the rabbit hole to Wonderland and enjoy tea with the Mad Hatter, find your way with the Cheshire Cat, and play croquet with the Queen of Hearts. On the other side of the looking-glass, meet Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the White Queen, and a host of other characters that share a different reality.

1^st sentence

Of the first story:
Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, “and what is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversation?”

Of the second story:
One thing was certain, that the white kitten had had nothing to do with it — it was the black kitten’s fault entirely.

What made me get it and thoughts on the cover

What— To read the classic behind Disney’s cartoon and many other movie/TV adaptations.

The cover — I almost ordered another edition and then this lovely Word Cloud Classic edition became available for pre-order, which I ordered immediately. The right colors for the cover with a sparkly title and as always awesome end papers on the inside.

My thoughts

For me, I read these two stories like they were one so I won’t be reviewing each one of them separately. It’s weird that there was a huge gap in years between when both were written. There’s also book # 0, I’m not sure what’s it about though.

Alice is extremely curious for a kid her age. She’ll get herself in a whole lot of trouble in real life. All of the characters she meets in Wonderland are ones that I was familiar with in the movies I’ve seen and some nursery rhymes we grew up with. There are also a bunch of other characters that don’t get depicted as often.

Please tell me I’m not the only one who didn’t understand most of the poems. Yeah, I know I’m awful at both adult and children’s poetry but seriously I get the idea behind the poems, just not the meaning of each sentence.
I did however appreciate the beautiful rhyming words in Lewis Carroll’s prose. I strongly believe he was mad in real life to have written this crazy and funny dialogue.

I wasn’t that invested in the story as a novel – I don’t know why,  maybe it’s just that I’ve liked other classic children’s books more than this one. Still, the illustrations are beautiful and I admire the author for creating some of the most weirdest, whimsical, and memorable characters that I’ve grown up with. 

Overall          

For the characters and the abnormal and silly writing alone, it’s worth reading.          3.5/5 stars

“In that direction,” the Cat said, waving its right paw round, “lives a Hatter: and in that direction,” waving the other paw, “lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: they’re both mad.”
“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
“Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.”

Lady Susan, Jane Austen – Book Review

Title: Lady Susan
Author: Jane Austen
Genre: epistolary, classics, fiction
Release Date: 1871
Pages: 119 pages
(total of 41 letters + a Conclusion)

Synopsis

Beautiful, flirtatious, and recently widowed, Lady Susan Vernon seeks an advantageous second marriage for herself, while attempting to push her daughter into a dismal match.

1^st sentence

My dear Brother
I can no longer refuse myself the pleasure of profiting by your kind invitation when we last parted, of spending some weeks with you at Churchill, and therefore if quite convenient to you and Mrs Vernon to receive me at present, I shall hope within a few days to be introduced to a Sister, whom I have so long desired to be acquainted with.

What made me get it and thoughts on the cover

What— I know of all 6 major novels written by Jane Austen and know that there’s a book called Love and Friendship which includes some of her letters. When a work colleague mentioned watching the movie titled Love and Friendship and saying that’s it’s based on a work by Jane Austen –Lady Susan- I ordered this short book soon after.

The cover — This book is a part of the Penguin Little Black Classics and now I own one of them.

My thoughts

I usually don’t like stories that are short in length since I feel that they lack the proper build up that I anticipate in novels. In the case of Lady Susan however, there isn’t that much going on -plot wise- so if it were any longer then the story would’ve fallen flat. Plus, having it told in the form of letters helped in giving the story, despite its short length, more substance.

We see the events and thoughts as written by one character, then in another letter we see the other party writing about the same thing to another person. So we get to see more than one opinion of the main characters of what’s going on around them.

Susan is such a schemer and her devilish acts are very obvious so it’s a bit surprising how the other men are blind to all that. I guess men will always be men when it comes to being stupid in front of certain alluring women.
I really didn’t want her to get married. she doesn’t deserve social security (and the way she treats her daughter with no affection is awful) but the guy was fooled by her, now let him deal with her from now on. 

Overall          

A mediocre read. Having it in the form of letters made the story more accessible.       4/5 stars

‘Some mothers would have insisted on their daughter’s accepting so good an offer on the first overture; but I could not reconcile it to myself to force Frederica into a marriage from which her heart revolted, and instead of adopting so harsh a measure merely propose to make it her own choice, by rendering her thoroughly uncomfortable till she does accept him–but enough of this tiresome girl.’