How to Read Victor Hugo

So I just finished reading Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. It only took me seven days. How did I do it?

1. I took advice from people who had read it before. It really is 50% social commentary and history that you don't really need to know to understand the story.
   
2. Find someone to mock you. I got my friend, Susanna, to mock me. I didn't ask her for it. But she'd read it before and she knew that I was reading it. So she teased me and mocked me. And it motivated me.
3. Find someone to cheer you on. For me, that was my friend's little sister. She thought it was the most impressive thing ever how fast I was reading the book. So she was basically my personal cheering section.
   
4. I was listening to the musical soundtrack.
   
5. And I skimmed through the history stuff. It was boring and dry and unnecessary.
   

And I finished the book quickly.

Never Trust a Man Wearing a Beaded Snood

Theoretically speaking, I am currently sitting in my school's Language Resource Center watching Mozart's opera Don Giovanni as the title character wears a beaded snood in his hair and seduces 2,065 women. The music is lovely. And I wish I owned his snood. But the point remains...c'mon ladies! Never, never, never trust a man wearing a beaded snood.

I really am watching it. It's just kind of weird that he's wearing a beaded snood. I want a beaded snood. I don't want to be seduced. And I don't like reading 90 million different adaptations of Don Juan. The guy's a jerk; I got that in adaptation #1...and now I'm on #4. Admittedly, watching an opera is more fun than reading a book.

I'm also knitting my Slouchy Cardigan. I finished the back piece last night and cast on the right front. I have to finish that piece, make the left front, make the sleeves and the hood, and then it'll be done. I think I should have it done by Easter. (Knock on wood. *Rap, rap*)

Book Review: The Idiot

It's actually been almost two weeks since I finished it-but I recently finished reading Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Idiot. I started reading this book around October 15 and it took me until December 8 to finish it. It is the second work by Dostoevsky that I've read (my first being The Brothers Karamazov when I was in my late teens at the recommendation of my brother's friend, Mark) and it will not be the last. I do enjoy Dostoevsky-even if my friend Katie calls him "The Russian Virginia Woolf."
My reading of this book was born out of a conversation with my friend, Kyle, while looking at classic literature at Barnes & Noble back in August. He had just finished The Brothers Karamazov and had loved it-like I had a few years earlier-and was looking for more works of classic literature to read. And we saw The Idiot on the shelves. Neither of us had read it but since I had more experience with Russian Lit (Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Pasternak) I told him I would (eventually) read The Idiot and let him know what I thought of it. Well, it took me forever to read it (mostly because I was busy with school) but I finished it and I'm ready to say what I thought of it.

To best explain my reaction to this book, I have to explain how I evaluate a book:

1. Is this book interesting?
2. What is the author's main theme/message?
   
3. Was the main character likable?
4. Do I agree/accept the message the author is trying to get across?
   
5. How does the author's background/historical context affect this novel?

So to review this book, I'm simply going to answer those five questions.

1. Yes, this book was interesting; as most Russian novels are, the plot dragged at times but for the most part it was pretty great.
   
2. Beauty will save the world; the main character (Prince Lev Nikolayovich Myshkin) actually says this at one point.
   
3. Yes and no-Prince Myshkin (aka The Idiot) was likable sometimes but other times I wanted to punch the guy in the face for making (what I deemed to be) dumb decisions.
4. Yes, I believe that beauty (if we identify Christ as the source of all beauty) will save the world. Dostoevsky was a Christian, as I recall.
5. Dostoevsky strongly disliked Roman Catholicism, the Jesuits, and the European nations and their inhabitants. And this leads to my main gripe with the book. I was loving and enjoying the book until shortly before the end when Prince Myshkin goes off on a rant against Catholicism, the Jesuits, and the Pope. And later on, Madame Yepanchina rants against how horrible and uncivilized Europe and Europeans are. I find some of this logical due to Russian history. But a lot of this is Dostoevsky's personal opinions/dislikes/grievances/biases. For me, these rants kept the book from becoming a personal favorite.
   

So I give this book four out of five stars. It was good but it could have been better.

Book Review: Sophia House

So you probably don't remember this but back in March I read and reviewed a book called Father Elijah: an Apocalypse. The book amazed me and thrilled me.
Over the summer, I borrowed the other books in the series (Children of the Last Days) from Dr. F-Strangers and Sojourners and Eclipse of the Sun were the two that really stuck with me. (They both get 4.5 out of 5 from me.)
This past weekend, I borrowed Sophia House from the good doctor. I read it quickly...probably to the detriment of my American Literature and Modern Spanish Novel studies. Oh well...I only have one class tomorrow. I can read then. This book really touched me.
It was not perfect. But it was good. Set in the 1930s and 1940s, it explores Pawel Tarnowski, a Polish Catholic, who protects the young David Schafer, a Jewish teenager who will one day become the Father Elijah of the first book in the series. It explores Pawel's faith journey and David's childhood. And it does get into the social/political situation of Europe on the eve of World War II and during the war. It's really intriguing and insightful.
It does explore some really rough issues. It is decidedly not for children. It tackles sexual assault and the struggles/temptations against/towards homosexual behavior.
But it is a good book. And I recommend it.
I give it 4.5 out of 5.

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

So...I finally finished Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, Quirk Classic's latest literary contribution to the world, last night.
I give it four out of five. It was good and funny. It did a relatively good job of holding true to the original story. But it just wasn't as good as P&P&Z. I did enjoy it and it's definitely worth a read and a laugh.
Like I said with P&P&Z, if you think it's heresy, don't read it. But if you want a good laugh, go for it.

That was quick

Last night, while on page 91 of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I announced to the world that I had started to read the book. That was about 18 hours ago.

And then...as of about 11am...
I finished it! And it was fabulous!

I loved it. It made me laugh so much. And I would recommend it to most people who wouldn't be morally offended by the idea that someone (Seth what's-his-face) would drop zombies into this classic love story. Here's the deal. If you think this is heresy, don't read it.
I've heard a lot of people say that it doesn't go far enough. But I'm not sure what "far enough" is. He didn't really change the story. He just added sentences and changed a few words. Oh, and they put pictures in.

It's definitely better than Facebook stalking Great-Aunt Geraldine. But if you really want to know, she's watching Funny Face and drinking a Long Island Iced Tea.

Silence Spoken Here

Some of you know this already, but I seem to have contracted a case of "allergy-induced laryngitis" over the weekend.
On Saturday, I drove out to Grand Rapids to attend the wedding of my friends, Nate and Amanda. The wedding was lovely and I was able to meet my dear friend (and former house-mate) Christina's then-twelve-day-old son, Gabriel; Gabriel is now 16 days old. Below is a photograph (edited in Picasa by yours truly) of my older brother, Greg, holding young Gabriel. As you can see, both are quite handsome.



















After the wedding, I got back in my faithful car and headed off to the reception with my passenger and friend, Steve. As we drove, I noticed (and he didn't) that my voice was getting lower and raspier. I thought this was a BIT odd but didn't really say or do anything about it. The quality of my voice continued to diminish and people began to notice. At one point, I was dancing with a guy who told me that I sounded "like a girl but with a really deep voice." Thanks, Chris...
The voice continued to slide and shortly before 9pm (the time Steve and I had designated for our departure for Ann Arbor) it completely crapped out. I could barely speak and my throat hurt a lot. So I went over to remind Steve that we were leaving in about 10 minutes and he went off to the dance floor. I took his seat and sat there watching the dancing with my good friend, Kyle. Anyway, Kyle and I were sitting there and we started talking because he was concerned about me. We learned that if I move my lips slowly, he can read my lips. And then I started having an asthma attack. Being a good friend, he ran and tried (but failed) to find my purse, so I had to go after him and get it myself and retrieve my own inhaler. BUT HE TRIED!
And then after I started breathing normally, he grabbed Steve and told him that it was time for us to go home. And then he gave Steve absolute orders to keep me awake. So we set out for Ann Arbor. And Steve very faithfully kept me awake.
The next day, I got up and my voice was more gone than it was the day before. So I went to Mass at Christ the King and then went home to while away my time. I had decided to essentially seclude myself from the world because it was too difficult to attempt to communicate with the rest of the world-even my own family.
Sunday night, I discovered that Kyle's twin brother, Alex, also had allergy-induced laryngitis but his had started before mine had so he was (gradually) getting better. But it was nice to have a partner in silence-even though we didn't see each other until Tuesday.
Last night, I went to UCO-Ann Arbor's prayer meeting. Alex was there but he's more talkative than I am. His laryngitis is closer to being gone than mine is. I'm now on day five and I can talk but I have a rapsy voice and it's physically still really hard for me to talk. My allergies are killing my throat. But I have allergy meds and claritin and books to read and movies to watch.
And hopefully this will all be over soon!

Speaking of books and movies, I have two really brief reviews for you.
Brideshead Revisited: Three out of Five; it's 11 hours long and while it's decent, it kind of drags after a while. Plus, I stopped feeling sympathy for the protagonists during hour 8 out of 11.
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Three out of Five; it's decent. There is A LOT of immorality. The story is supposed to be moving and beautiful. But I was distracted by the immorality that is supposedly "spiritual."

That's one long blog post. I think that's enough from me for one day.

The Way of Perfection

Disclaimer: I am not perfect nor do I claim to be as such. But I like peanut butter and penguins; I believe this to be a positive step in a good direction. 

After returning from Spain, I decided I wanted to read the works of St. Teresa of Jesus, one of the great Spanish mystics and one of only three female Doctors of the Catholic Church. So I decided to start my quest with The Way of Perfection because I heard it was easier than some of her other works.

Well, only a few days before Easter, I have finished it, so here's what I think:

It's interesting. St. Teresa has an extremely low opinion of herself, which can be frustrating at times. Towards the end of the book she says something along the lines of "St. Paul could do all things through Christ who strengthened him but then there are sinners like me..." I'm not sure what sins she committed and I don't care. But it's obnoxious at times.
The book was also written specifically for the nuns of her convent and she frequently addresses herself to her "sisters" or "dear sisters." You might not appreciate that. 
Beyond those two complaints, it's really good. I'd recommend it to most girls I know. I think guys would get something from it. 

The book gives advice to the members of her order-the Order of Carmelites Discalced. It's good advice for anyone, regardless of whether or not they are a nun or whether or not they wear shoes. At times, she and I disagree, but that's okay. She primarily discusses prayer with an emphasis on contemplative prayer and a further emphasis on the meaning behind The Lord's Prayer. 

It is well-written and enjoyable. I read it during Lent and found it very helpful. 

I give it 4.5 out of 5.

But I don't know how St. Teresa felt about penguins and peanut butter was invented long after her death.

Book Review: Father Elijah

Well, it took me a grand total of two days to read the whole book. The book is "Father Elijah: an Apocalypse" by Michael D. O'Brien. It is a novel written by a Catholic about Catholicism.I fell in love with this book through reading it.
This book tells the story of Father Elijah, a monk at a Roman Catholic monastery in the Holy Land. One day, his prior tells him that he has been summoned to Rome for an unknown reason. It quickly becomes clear that the world is changing, rapidly heading towards darkness. The Antichrist is on the move and the Church is in grave peril. It is the story of the determination of the faithful few fighting back for Christ.
It is truly beautiful. Rarely do I read a book that both convicts me and excites me. It's a page-turner. It is well-written, insightful, very Catholic but not more Catholic than the Pope, inspiring and hopeful.
A few quotations to pique your interest.
"We are the children of God who come after the descent of the Holy Spirit."
"If I have taught you to carry the cross and die on it, then I have taught you everything. Have I taught you this?"
I give it five stars out of five.

You should read it.
Now, I need a new book to read.

Related note: I also highly recommend (for the same crowd that would enjoy this book "The Cardinal" by Henry Morton Robinson.It was written in the 1950s and is about a Roman Catholic priest from Boston. It's also beautiful.)

Book Review: The Phantom of the Opera

A little over a month ago, I was watching the movie Andrew Lloyd Weber's The Phantom of the Opera with some friends. As we watched it, a few girls were being ridiculous and I was getting a little annoyed. One of the guys, Mark, mentioned that he thought I would enjoy reading Gaston Leroux's book. And since he owned it, he decided to loan it to me. So, I borrowed it. Mark warned me that the book was different from the musical. And I'd heard from many people that it was much darker than the musical. But I decided to give it a try.
Well, it was a slow go for me. It took me over a month to read it. I was keeping it in my purse and I'd take it out and read a bit and then put it back in and forget about it for a few days and then read a bit more and then forget. Apply, rinse, repeat.
Saturday night, Mark asked me when he was going to get the book back and I (rather sheepishly) admitted that I hadn't finished it yet. So on Sunday, I sat down on my bed and decided to finish the book.
Read this extract from an email I sent Kyle the following morning to understand my final feelings on the book:
I finished reading The Phantom of the Opera last night and I need a new book to read. (I think we all know that book was freaking me out and Mark was making fun of me for not having finished it despite the fact that he loaned it to me over a month ago. So I got sixty pages from the end, then flipped to the end of the book and started reading it backwards. It's a little more confusing that way but I didn't care. The guy sleeps in a coffin, tries to get a girl to sleep in it with him, and kills people for fun. Why did Mark think I would like this book?)
In short, POTO is well written and enjoyable at times. But it is also very disturbing especially to my highly imaginative mind. It was very violent and odd. I also felt that it was far too vague as to what had happened to the Phantom-Erik. And I thought that considering that Erik was not really a fully developed character, the author was far too sympathetic to him.
I give it three stars out of five.

So, my next literary endeavour is "Father Elijah" by Michael D. O'Brien. Rather than being recommended by Mark S., this book comes with glowing recommendations from the likes of Dr. Phil Fleming (who has recommended other books to me and not let me down), his daughter Jennifer, Ben Gilbert, Mark Pressprich, Alex Kilpatrick, and Kyle Kilpatrick. I feel that these people know my literary tastes well and I should trust their recommendations.
I'll let you know if I like it or not when I'm done.