(Portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley's mother.)
I still need to review Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, coming up soon. I thoroughly enjoyed my reread of this truly classic, powerful novel that does not get old. Did you know that Mary Shelley was the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft, author of The Vindication of the Rights of Women? Wollstonecraft died eleven days after her daughter Mary's birth. When I read Frankenstein for The English Novel course I took as a college senior, I am sure that Professor Ann Corsa, who was at that time the age I am currently (!), and who was the teacher of my 21-year-old self--I am quite sure she informed us of that important fact, but it seems I did not remember it and it probably didn't mean anything memorable to me at the time. I have kept the notebook I used for this course and have never thrown it out.
Yet, side by side with reading Classics, I side-stepped and picked up a "domestic thriller" novel. Domestic thrillers are now a popular genre, and I'm stunned by the extraordinary multitude that are being written. I wanted to read one this January, so I searched "Best Domestic Thrillers 2018" and came up with a list. I selected one that sounded intriguing, borrowed it as an ebook from the New York Public Library, and have just finished With You Always by Rena Olsen. I must admit that after the first three chapters I felt a compulsion to finish, which kept me rooted to this novel. But, in the end, this book was no more nourishing than pablum, a disappointment. Yet, strangely, I thoroughly enjoyed the compulsion over the 3 days I read it, and it proved to be a welcome change of pace. But in the end I wanted more substance from it than I got. The twists and turns in these novels are often the reward, but this one lacked dynamism in this element.
Isn't it interesting? I had an entirely different reaction to the domestic thriller I read last January, in 2018. The Woman in the Window had loads of redeeming qualities, and as a result, it made it on the list of one of my favorite reads of 2018. Skillful characterization, edge of your seat plotting that built and built, and an intricate neighborhood setting. I do heartily recommend it, for those who are into high-stakes suspense and thrillers.
So, if you're still reading this crazy post, I've made a change to my Back to the Classics Challenge 2019 List.
When I picked up my Penguin edition of The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, which was my 19th century novel pick, I first read the introduction about his life and writings. I immediately recognized that I must read The House of the Dead first, or as it is also known in English, Notes from the Dead House, before I read The Idiot. The House of the Dead is a semi-autobiographical work about Dostoevsky's imprisonment in Siberia. How fascinating! I have so much more to say about this selection, and I have only just begun reading it.
Stay tuned for a HUGE CONTROVERSY about RUSSIAN TRANSLATIONS. When I delved into this public conundrum last weekend, I was shocked, to say the least. So, the news is coming within the next week, I do hope.
I found your blog! Enjoy your reading, and thanks for visiting my blog.
ReplyDeleteHi Laurel,
DeleteWelcome--Now that I figured out how to connect our blogs. We had 2 feet of snow last night and today, so reading was my main preoccupation today, though I did get out on snowshoes. I'll be following you--enjoy!
It took me donkey's years to get around to reading Frankenstein, I never thought I would enjoy it but I did, and when the action moved to Scotland - I was flabbergasted.
ReplyDeleteHi Katrina,
DeleteAnd yes, I did think of you when all the action migrated to Scotland. I think Frankenstein has an appeal for most readers, given that it's a tragedy that deals with basic human emotions and grief and trauma. It's a masterpiece in my view, despite the fact that it was written by a teenager. And a teenager under duress at that. Being Percy Shelley's paramour was no piece of cake, that's for sure. And she gave birth to her first child at this time. Mary was a very strong woman, I think.
Congrats on staying with the classics. I dropped them after my MA in English at a very demanding University and love reading those domestic thrillers that make the top lists. I really like detective fiction too, such as Tana French for her complex characters and plots.
ReplyDeleteOh, isn't Tana French amazing? I've read three of hers, starting with Broken Harbor. But I haven't read her latest, and I feel so behind and out of it. She has extraordinary plots, you're so right, and I never know what's coming.
DeleteIn spite the writing lacking maturity in some places, I really LOVED Frankenstein. The questions about science and our responsibility around it, as well as our responsibility for our own decisions was fascinating! Good luck with The Idiot! Looking forward to your review. Isn't it great when you come out of the reading doldrums!! :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Cleo,
DeleteI feel so much happier having crawled my way of my morass with reading.
At the end of this blog entry, I mention I simply MUST read Dostoyevsky's The House of the Dead aka Notes from the Dead House before I read The Idiot. So The Idiot is on the shelf for this year. I've already started The House of the Dead, however, and it's so interesting.
I think The House of the Dead is short so hopefully you'll get to The Idiot before too long. Let me know if The House of the Dead helps to understand The Idiot better. Dostoyevsky is hard to decipher at the best of times! :-Z
DeleteAnd I forgot to say I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say about Russian translation. I did in-depth research as well and it will be interesting if we arrived at similar or differing points of view! :-)
Hi Cleo,
DeleteThe House of the Dead OR Notes from the Dead House is approx. 310 pages. I am actually going back and forth between two translations--David McDuff's, which is the Penguin translation, and Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsy's Knopf translation. I can't decide which I prefer. They are notably different. I must choose! The post will be coming.
Mary Shelley is such an interesting person. I admired but didn’t love Frankenstein, but its impact on literature and our view of technology is profound, to say the least.
ReplyDeleteI rather like domestic thrillers, but haven’t read one in awhile. I do love being obsessed by a book to the point where I can hardly think of anything else. That hasn’t happened in awhile, but I treasure those experience even if the ending kind of lets me down.
Hi Jane,
DeleteYou're so right--Mary Shelley was a fascinating person. How did she ever survive all of the tragedies that she had to endure?
When I can find a really good domestic thriller, I feel they sharpen my focus and increase my reading speed, which is a bonus. It's a total 100 percent change of pace. For myself, I like the propulsion, if I can call it that (!) which occurs when I read a really good thriller. I like to have a thriller on hand when I'm reading especially dense, challenging to read classic novels.
The Woman in the Window (2018) is a domestic thriller that is a cut above. Challenging to the imagination. It didn't let me down at the end, at least.