Finished: The Good Earth (Buck). A really good book! A Pulitzer Price winning book that I was ho hum about reading, but it actually kept me turning the pages to see what happened to Wang Lung and his family. As the book opens, Wang Lung is a poor, young farmer in China who lives only with his father. His father has arranged for him to have a slave as his bride, since that is all that poor farmers can afford or expect for their arranged marriages. Wang Lung goes to pick up his bride, O-Lan from the richest house in the neighborhood where she is the cook. O-Lan is tall, sturdy and not attractive at all...but boy what a gem she turns out to be! Wang Lung works the land of his father and grandfather before him, and has success with his crops. O-Lan works side by side with him, even through the births of two sons. Of course, all that matters in these times in the late 1800's and early 1900's in China are the male children. Female children are pretty much called slaves from the time they are born and often sold by their parents if they are destitute for money. So, Wang Lung and his family do well for a few years, and then nature interferes and refuses to send rain for the crops. All the crops in the surrounding country dry up and die, and all the people in the village are starving. O-Lan, who gave birth to a baby girl third, is now pregnant with her fourth child. As the family practically starves, they even finally kill their only ox which they need for their farming, but soon the meat from the ox is gone as well. O-Lan gives birth to another girl in a difficult birth and she kills her right away rather than have another child to provide for, and rather than have her suffer the starvation they are suffering (O-Lan has lost her ability to make milk, so her first little daughter is already starving). Wang Lung's evil uncle, who doesn't seem to be starving, comes by with unscrupulous friends who are willing to buy Wang Lung's land for a pittance. Wang Lung refuses and says if all else fails, he'll always have his land. He decides to take his father and his young family south to the city where O-Lan and the children beg on the streets while Wang Lung breaks his back making ends meet hauling a rickshaw around. Finally, as a war approaches, the times get even more desperate even in the city. There is no food to be had anywhere. Just when Wang Lung is moments away from selling his little daughter for some food, a revolution occurs and the poor, starving people break through the walls of the "great rich ones", storming their homes, and looting all their riches. Wang Lung hangs back because he's never stolen anything in his life. As he straggles in the back, he actually comes across a rich man that the other people didn't see. The rich man begs for his life and says he'll give Wang Lung anything if he lets him live. Finally, as Wang Lung's anger stirs as he sees the wealth that surrounds him, he tells the rich man that he'll "let him live" if he gives him all his gold and silver. The man does so, and Wang Lung and O-Lan are able to head back north to their land, buy a new ox, buy enough seed to start over, and more. O-Lan gives birth to another son and another daughter and Wang Lung and O-Lan's crops, and therefore fortunes, take a huge turn for the better. Soon, Wang Lung has enough saved up in both silver and food stores to survive the huge rains that come and flood most of the village. All the land is under water and no one can get any farming done. The land stays this way for weeks and Wang Lung gets a wanderlust he's never had before. He finally looks at this strong woman who has stayed by his side, given him sons, given him advice, and shown wisdom during many stressful situations...and does he appreciate her? No, he thinks what bad luck he has that his wife is so ugly. Soon, he gets bored and visits a "tea house"...where you do more than drink tea. Many young women live upstairs and sell themselves to men of the town. Wang Lung becomes enamored by one young woman and actually ends up bringing her back to his home and building another part of his home for her as a second wife. I suppose concubines were more common there? O-Lan is terribly hurt, but she keeps doing everything that has always been expected of her...taking care of the food, the house, the children, her father-in-law, and Wang Lung himself. Wang Lung feels slight guilt at times, but never enough to change his actions. He also never really faces poverty again, but he has many trials as he deals with his sons growing older and getting spoiled and testy. None of the sons work the land or appreciate its worth as Wang Lung has always done. They want to go to school and be educated, and mostly they want the status and material things that money can bring. So, Wang Lung's life continues on and he gets wealthier and wealthier. O-Lan falls ill and dies, and finally Wang Lung sees what he will miss...but he still can't admit that he had any feelings for his wife. So, years go by and life goes on. Wang Lung can't see that he's becoming like the rich men he used to despise. One day his oldest son insists that they buy the big empty house that used to be owned by the same rich people who sold him their slave O-Lan in marriage all those years ago. So....Wang Lung moves himself and his family to the big house and lives the rest of his life there, surrounded by his children, his grandchildren, and several slaves. Finally, when he is old and knows he will soon die, he tells his sons he wants to go live back at the old house so he can walk out the door and feel the earth beneath his feet. The sons visit every day and one day he hears them talking about selling the family land after their father dies. He gets upset and insists that they never sell the land, and they reassure him they won't....but then they exchange glances over his head and you just know they WILL sell the land. I can't explain why I liked this book where women are treated so, so lowly. I do know that I liked the O-Lan character immensely! I was so sad when Wang Lung broke her heart, and then when she died. I just read that this is the first book in a trilogy! I may have to read the other books to see if the sons loose everything and maybe gain some life lessons.

Finished: Native Son (Wright) A very powerful, intense book. The story of 20 year old Bigger Thomas, a young black man living in the terribly poor black south side of Chicago in the 1930's. He lives in a one room apartment with his mother, brother and sister, and he's got a chip the size of the entire tenement building on his shoulder. Not that it's not justified. This book is a powerful statement as to the destitute lives of the poor black population and how they could not get a foot forward in the rich white man's world. Slavery was over, but how did these people survive in this horrific limbo of non-equal rights for so many years?? So, the story opens with Bigger's mother begging him to take the job their family has been offered by the "relief" committee. One of the richest men in Chicago, Mr. Dalton is looking to hire a new chauffeur for himself, his blind wife, and his 23 year old feisty daughter, Mary. Mr. Dalton is actually a man who is trying to do the right thing by the black community. He donates loads of money to the NAACP. However, he also owns several of the buildings that the black families are crowded into. Instead of understanding their more basic problems and trying to put his money into perhaps decreasing their rent or improving their living circumstances, he makes generous donations of things like ping pong tables for the black youth center. I guess you can say his heart is in the right place, while his head is in the sand. Anyway, Bigger goes to interview with Mr. Dalton for the chauffeur job. Throughout the entire book, we hear and see everything from Bigger's point of view....including his terrifying interactions with white people. He doesn't know how to talk to white people, other than to say "yessur" and "nossur"...and he most definitely has trouble looking white people in the eyes. He doesn't feel like it's his right...yet, those feelings make him angry. He meets the very kind, and blind, Mrs. Dalton. She is one of the huge reasons her husband is so generous. She asks Bigger right off the bat if he'd like to further his education? He says he doesn't know. He only made it through 8th grade. Then...in pops Mary Dalton. She's a vivacious girl who has given her folks a bit of trouble with her wildish ways. She is very forward thinking and is dating a communist white American named Jan Erlone, who her parents highly disapprove of. The first thing out of her mouth when she meets Bigger is to ask him if he belongs to a union for chauffeurs. She wants to make sure his rights are protected. He doesn't know what a union is, much less why this white girl is speaking to him. That's just unheard of for him. Mr. Dalton hires Bigger and puts him to work immediately. Bigger will have his own room, a weekly salary, new clothes, and even a little extra salary for himself that he doesn't  need to give his mother for her living expenses. Bigger's first job is to take Mary to the University that night. And....this is the beginning of things going terribly, terribly wrong. As Bigger drives the chatty Mary to the University, she suddenly tells him to take a different road. Bigger is conflicted as to whether he should do what Mary says, or do what his employer asked him to do. He takes Mary where she asks, which is to meet Jan. Jan actually extends his hand to shake Bigger's and Bigger is floored. He's never touched a white man before. Jan and Mary talk Bigger into taking them into the black neighborhood to eat at a black restaurant. They want Bigger to eat and drink with them...not to wait for them in the car. Their motives are good....they don't think there should be any difference in how black people and white people are treated. What they are fighting, though, is that it is ingrained in Bigger not to trust or socialize with white people. They have no idea how uncomfortable and frightened they are making him. So...Bigger finally relaxes a little when they've all had a few drinks. After eating and drinking he drives Jan and Mary around for a couple of hours while they "make out" in the back of the car. Then, Bigger drops Jan off and drives the very, very drunk Mary home. Mary can barely stand up so Bigger is forced to help her up the stairs. He is uncomfortable in every way touching her, helping her, taking her to her bedroom, laying her on her bed...and then she kisses him! He kisses her back, but goes no further. It's after 2:00 a.m. and Mary's mother comes to her door! Bigger knows that she can't see him, but she can hear Mary mumbling on the bed. Afraid that Mary will indicate that Bigger is in the room, he covers her mouth with a pillow...tighter and tighter until she's struggling, and then not struggling anymore. Mrs. Dalton comes close to the bed and can smell that Mary has been drinking. She tries to wake her but then leaves the room figuring she's passed out. Bigger releases the pillow and horrifyingly realizes that he has smothered Mary. She's dead! Bigger panics as he tries to figure out what to do. Mary is supposed to leave the next day for a trip and her trunk is half packed. Bigger is supposed to take that trunk down to the train station in the morning. He decides to put Mary in the trunk and take the trunk to the train station and dispose of Mary somewhere along the way. By the time he gets the trunk down to the basement, he realizes it's far too heavy to take further and he'll never get it up the back stairs and into the car. So, the horror gets worse. Bigger eyes the furnace and decides to stuff Mary's body in there to burn. While he's doing so, he realizes she's not going to fit, so he chops her head off with the hatchet and shoves it in with the body. While the body is burning, Bigger takes the trunk to the train station and drops it off. The next morning, when her parents discover that Mary never made it to her destination and she is suddenly reported missing, Bigger tells the Dalton's how he and Mary really met up with Jan. However, he also lies and says that Jan came home with them and went up to Mary's bedroom with her. Eager to believe that the communist party is evil, the Dalton's have Jan arrested. Meanwhile, Bigger digs himself in deeper and deeper. He decides to tell his girlfriend, or rather, bed buddy, Bessie, that they should capitalize on the missing Mary by writing a ransom note. He thinks they'll be able to get alot of money and leave Chicago before authorities discover that Mary is dead. Bessie knows that something bad has happened and doesn't want anything to do with a ransom letter, but Bigger is very insistent. When Bigger goes back to the Dalton's, he leaves the ransom note on the steps and then goes to the basement where the newspaper men have gathered to get their story. They want to question Bigger, but Mr. Dalton doesn't want the poor, young black man questioned. While trying to fix the smoke coming from the furnace, one of the newspaper men actually rakes out some of Mary's bones that haven't burned up yet! :-( Seeing this, in the commotion, Bigger climbs up the steps and goes out a window. It is now known that he is the guilty party, not Jan...and furthermore, that poor Mary is dead! Authorities immediately claim that Bigger has raped, murdered and dismembered Mary. He runs to Bessie's and drags her with him to an empty tenement building. Sadly, though, his motives are not altruistic or loving towards Bessie. He doesn't want to go on the run with her because she will slow him down...but he doesn't want to leave her behind to blab everything to the police, so he takes her with him. After pretty much forcing her to have sex, he then bashes her head in with a brick and throws her down a shoot in between the buildings....along with the little bit of money they had in her dress pocket. Bigger alludes police for a day, but then is finally caught. His trial comes fast, and amazingly, he is visited by Jan who forgives him because he thinks he understands what motivated him. Also, Jan says that he has a friend who is an attorney who will defend Bigger, Borris Max. After finally getting Bigger to explain his own feelings and motivations and fears as a young black man with no hope for a future as he would have hoped,  Max waxes eloquently and passionately about how not just Bigger, but the entire black community has been wronged. He fights to keep Bigger from receiving the death penalty and just being sentenced to prison for life. The prosecutor waxes just as eloquently and passionately in the opposite direction. Sadly, Bessie's battered body is rolled in on a gurney as evidence. Bigger's not on trial for killing the black woman, because that's not as horrific to the public as the killing of a white woman..but she's "sufficient enough" to be evidence. In the end, the judge sentences Bigger to death. I can't even explain how sad the entire story is. It's a powerful story, though, and I can see why it is on most of the Top 100 lists of books that I found!

Finished: The Good Soldier (Ford) A very good book that I'm still contemplating. :-) This is one of those books that I have to think about for awhile before I decide how much I like it, lol. It is in the Top 100 list, so it had to be read. However, where does it fall on MY Top 100 list (which I'm slowly compiling), if at all? I think it does. Anyway, it's the story of two young, married couples who meet in a German "spa" town before WWI. Florence, the wife of the narrator, and Edward, the husband of the other couple, both supposedly have heart issues, hence their yearly stays at the spa town. Florence and John are married Americans. Edward and Leonora are married English folk. It was hard to get a grasp on the story at first, because it's told in a very random stream of conscious, here's my story, oh wait I forgot this part so let's go back, fashion. However, once you get used to it, it's a very good story that I really hated to put down. John tells his story, but rather peels off each piece like an onion until you get to the real heart of the matter. You go on supposing things, but don't know the real truth of things until they are revealed. Florence is first presented as a sickly young woman who just wants to live out her life in Europe. Oh, I forgot to mention that both couples are wealthy enough to basically do nothing but live all around various parts of Europe, doing nothing. So, Florence pretty much fakes a heart ailment on her honeymoon night...which is a cruise over to Europe, and poor John, I'm pretty sure, never even consummates the marriage because it would be too much for her heart. Meanwhile, once she gets to Europe, Florence continues an affair with another American who had gone over before who she had begun an affair with before she married John, pretty much for his money. Then, once Florence and John meet the stoic Brits, Leonora and Edward, at the spa they become pretty inseparable as couples...but then Florence and Edward carry on an affair right under unsuspecting John's nose. Of course, Leonora knows what's going on because she's been through it now three other times with Edward. Edward is a complicated character. His marriage to Leonora had been arranged by both their parents and though he respects her (because she kept his properties from going belly up with his magnanimous spending for the community and his estate employees), he has never loved her. He has, though, fallen in love with (or so he thinks) each of the women he has his affairs with. It all becomes pretty sordid once every knows what's going on with everyone else....especially when Leonora's 22 year old, beautiful young ward, Nancy, (who she has been the guardian of since she was 13) steps into the picture and Edward and SHE fall for each other (even though Edward and Leonora have been like an aunt and uncle to her her entire life.) So, what results is Florence committing suicide when she realizes that John has found out she has basically been a strumpet and has no heart ailment; Edward committing suicide when he resists the temptation to have an affair with Nancy, yet realizes that Nancy's love for him has gone away when Leonora tells her all about Edward's infidelities over the years; Nancy's going crazy because all her illusions about Edward, Leonora, and the sanctity of marriage have all been shattered; John ending up taking care of Nancy, another physically loveless relationship for the gullible, lonely man; and Leonora, the only strong one, happily remarried with a baby on the way. Of course, all that is a gross understatement and trivial synopsis of the entire interesting, intense, fast-moving story!!!

Finished: Katherine (Seton) A historical fiction account of the relationship between Katherine Swynford (aka Catherine de Roet) and John of Gaunt. I dove into this book because up until the reading of this book, I had Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt in my genealogy charts as my 19th great-great grandparents through their daughter, Joan Beaufort. Of course, reading this book made me drag out all my genealogy stuff and low and behold, I think I've come across one bad link that negates our connection to Joan Beaufort. And...the bad link looks pretty legitimate, i.e., I don't think the link exists. As it turns out, my 10th great-grandfather, Nicholas Wyatt, is almost undoubtedly NOT the son of Hawte Wyatt, who then takes us directly back to John of Gaunt, third son of King Edward III. Pooh! Oh well...the book, itself, was pretty good and I kept the pages turning in between taking breaks to look up ancestors. :-) I now know what "historical fiction" is! There is a lot of assumption made as to the actual conversations and intimate actions that take place between the characters, like John and Katherine...to the point where all that is mostly made up. However, all the historical facts are spot on. In all, a very interesting type of story. I don't think I've read a historical fiction before except for Shakespeare's interpretations of all the "histories". I enjoyed reading about John and Katherine's relationship, though she was his mistress for years and years, and I don't condone that. Though, back in that time with all the political, loveless marriages, I guess having a mistress on the side was more common. Anyway, I've loved delving into the history of that time, both when I've read Shakespeare's plays and now Katherine. And...I think I'm actually starting to keep some characters straight, hee hee. It was interesting to see young Henry of Bolingbroke, future King Henry IV, legitimate son of John of Gaunt and Blanche, be born and raised and running around with the other kids in this story. Also interesting to see the pasty, effeminate young King Richard come to power and, at the end of the story, banish Henry of Bolingbroke. I can then kind of pick up in my mind Henry IV, Part I of Shakespeare's and relish the story of Henry of Bolingbroke coming back to challenge Richard for the crown! In all, a good read...but seems like it took me forever with all the tangents I took. :-)

Finished: Brideshead Revisited (Waugh). I really loved this book! :-) Loved the story, loved the characters, loved the writing. I was drawn into each one of the characters and came to care what happened to each of them....even the ones who screwed up their lives and the ones who I wasn't too fond of. I suppose that's the essence of a good writer...to make you feel that way about otherwise unlikable characters. In Waugh's other book, A Handful of Dust, I also enjoyed the writing, and came to care for a couple of the characters, but I just couldn't get past the young mother and wife in that book abandoning her husband and young son for a frivolous affair. And then, the young son died a horrific, hunting accident death. And, then, the book had a super bizarre ending. Anyway, in Brideshead Revisited, none of the main characters ended up happy either, but the stories made more sense. The book was infused with the Catholic faith and the struggles of the characters to come to terms with their own personal faiths, or lack thereof. The protagonist, Charles Ryder, is in his early 40's when we meet him, and in the British army during WWII. His unit hasn't seen any front line action and is mainly sent here and there to various English countryside homes, which have been taken over by the military, to handle supplies issues. As they come upon their latest home, which has been pretty downtrodden by the previous military unit that stayed there, Charles realizes that it is Brideshead, the sprawling, ancestral home of his Oxford school friend, Sebastian Flyte. Charles had spent many a year visiting Brideshead and from there we are propelled over 20 years back in time to Charles' Oxford years; his meeting of the eccentric Sebastian; his meeting of other memorable people, such as the blatantly homosexual, Anthony Blanche; his becoming inseparable from Sebastian; their downward spiral into drinking; Charles' ability to "grow out of it" and Sebastian's tragic descent into full-blown alcoholism; the meeting of Sebastian's family - his authoritative and very Catholic mother, his beautiful, look-a-like, yet independent, debutante sister, Julia, his detached older brother, Bridey, and his full-of-life and faith youngest sister, Cordelia; his understanding of Sebastian's fear that once Charles meets his family, he'll be engulfed by them and won't be "just Sebastian's" any longer; his meeting of Sebastian's father, Lord Marchmain, who lives in Venice and left the family and the Catholic religion years ago; Charles' realization that he wants to be an artist, a painter, so he leaves Oxford after two years; Charles humorous first "long" holiday home from Oxford where he visits his own father who puts him through all sorts of uncomfortable situations after Charles informs him he's gone through all his school allowance and then some; Charles' realization that he will get no additional money from his father until the next semester, and his growing up the next year and learning to manage his money better; Julia's abandonment of her Catholic faith, which was shaky for her anyway, so she could marry Canadian, Rex Mottram, which becomes terribly unhappy in less than a year; Cordelia's growing up and being the one sibling to embrace her faith and go off and help others in Spain; Sebastian's still further descent and alienation, leading to the pretty much irrevocable split in friendship between Charles and Sebastian...even though...Charles goes to find him in Morocco when Lady Marchmain is on her deathbed and wants to see Sebastian, but Sebastian is himself in the hospital and too weak to travel; Lady Marchmain's death and the impact on the family; Charles marrying Celia Mulcaster, the sister of an Oxford friend, mostly for convenience and because of the physical attraction; Celia's unfaithfulness setting Charles free and allowing him to go and live his own life, spending two years in South America painting, and then hooking up with Julia after ten years and realizing he's truly been in love with her all along; Agnostic Charles and Catholic Julia's two year love affair, including many discussions about faith and the absolution of sin; Charles' pretty much abandonment of his own two young children, JohnJohn and Caroline; (OMG, I just realized that their names are the same as the Kennedy children!! That is super eerie! This book was written in 1945 so wow. I mean, really, didn't John Jr. go by JohnJohn when he was little, or am I misremembering that??) Charles and Julia's divorcing of their spouses so they can get married; Charles and Julia so in love; Cordelia's tales of traveling, nursing, and finally coming across Sebastian who is still a raging and declining alcoholic, but has taken refuge at and is actually helping out in a Tunisian monastery; Bridey finally meeting a widow he wants to marry, which finally prompts Lord Marchmain to come back home and take over the family estate of Brideshead because he detests Bridey's bride-to-be; Lord Marchmain going against all tradition and legally making Julia his heir to Brideshead instead of Bridey; Lord Marchmain's declining health which leads to his ultimate death; and, of course, the climax of the story....Lord Marchmain finally accepting the sacraments and last rites of a priest right before he dies. No one knows if he hears the rites or not, but then he quietly, struggling, lifts his hand to his forehead and then across to each shoulder, making the sign of the cross; the profound affect Lord Marchmain's last action has on his family - Julia takes that as a sign that her father saw in his last moments that there is a God to take you to heaven, so she breaks off with Charles and tells him she can't marry him and live with the "sin" they've been perpetuating...her faith has been restored; Charles having been agnostic throughout the entire story, is actually down on his knees praying to God that Lord Marchmain will be accepted if that is God's will, but also praying at the same time that Lord Marchmain will make no outward sign of his faith so he can be "right" about faith to Julia (so just by the praying alone, some amount of faith finally makes it's way into Charles); finally, all those years later during the war, Charles makes his way upstairs at Brideshead and finds a few of the old servants and the old Nanny there. They recognize him and let him know that Cordelia and Julia are together, serving others during the war, with the Ladies of Hope. Charles is alone, not married, virtually childless, since he abandoned his children (an aspect of Charles' character that really, REALLY bothers me), and has given up his art for the military...but he ends the book by going to the chapel at Brideshead. Perhaps he's found true faith after all? I might have to read some more Waugh. :-)

Finished: The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (le Carre). A really good, twisty, turny, suspenseful, surprise ending, spy book. :-) This one is supposed to be le Carre's best book. I must say I did enjoy it...and more so than Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Of course, going back to his earlier books and seeing the characters that were in that later book as younger characters makes it a little sad how the one of them turned out to be the huge traitor years later. Anyway, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold took place right when the Berlin wall was going up. Spies for both the East and the West were trapped on the wrong side when it went up. This story focuses on British spy, Alec Leamas, who is in charge of operations in Berlin for Britain's spy organization, known as "the Circus". Operations are not going well, as all of his operatives are being killed by Mundt, the director of the East German Intelligence operation. As the story opens, Leamas is waiting suspensefully at the checkpoint between East and West Berlin for his last remaining operative to make his safe escape to the west. Alas, the operative is shot ten feet from freedom. Alec Leamas is called back to headquarters in London by "Control". He figures he's going to be put out to pasture. Instead, "Control" (the British boss) asks him if he's ready to come in from the cold, i.e., retire. Alec says no, which is a good thing, because Control has one more job for him if he's up to it. He'll have to pretend to hit rock bottom, be kicked out of the Circus, go on a drinking binge, etc., until the other side believes that he's so down and out that he'd actually defect to their side and give up all the British intelligence secrets. The goal of the mission? Get inside and help bring about the assassination of the evil Mundt. Alec accepts the job, knowing the danger and risks...but there's nothing he'd like more than to take down Mundt. So, the story gets very complicated and becomes a series of tense meetings, twists and turns, interrogations, and leads to a surprise mole inside the East German Intelligence Service. Alec is so disappointed at the end to realize he has been used by his own government, along with most of the others involved...and sadly, the story doesn't have the ending I would have liked. It's a really, really good book, though. I couldn't put it down! :-) And, this was only le Carre's third novel! Now, I think I'll have to go back and get le Carre's first book, Call For The Dead, which introduces the Circus, Control, and all the spies.

Finished: The Anniversary & The Wedding (Chekhov). Two very small plays...not nearly as famous, or really as good, as Uncle Vanya, The Cherry Orchard, The Seagull, Three Sisters or The Lady with the Dog. And, neither one was as endearing as The Proposal. They were both very short, for one thing, so I guess that doesn't leave much time for character development. And, both were rather farcical. Oh well...I have still read them and I am happy to have this book of Chekhov's plays, which I got at the fantastic used book store called The Strand, in NY. :-)

Finished: A Passage to India (Forster). A really good book. Full of vivid descriptions and well-developed characters that you become passionate about either towards extreme dislike or extreme like. I'm always amazed at how horribly human beings treated each other in some environments, and sadly, probably still do. This book is set in the time when England ruled in India, so the British people who went to live in India pretty much considered the local Indian people to be so far beneath them in status that to socialize with them in any manner was nearly an atrocity. At first, the story dragged a bit for me as two British women, Mrs. Moore and Adela Quested, come to visit Mrs. Moore's son, and Miss Quested's potential fiance, in the British controlled India. The son, Ronny, is in the government there and Miss Quested has arrived to see if she'll be able to "handle" life in India. The other British wives don't much appreciate Miss Quested because both she and Mrs. Moore want to see the "true" India and get to know the Indian people. As you can imagine, this was pretty much taboo to all the other snobby, pretentious, prejudiced British people. So, the story drags a bit until Mrs. Moore meets Dr. Aziz, an Indian doctor who is a widow with three small children. He is open minded and already friends with one English professor there in Chandrapore, Cecil Fielding. Out of politeness, and out of an instant respect and kinship he feels for Mrs. Moore, Dr. Aziz invites Mrs. Moore and Miss Quested for a day trip to the nearby Marabar Caves. Circumstances collide that unfortunately put Miss Quested, Dr. Aziz and another male guide alone in one of the pitch dark caves. Miss Quested is soon running down the side of the hill and into an awaiting car, back to Chandrapore and signing an affidavit that she was molested by Dr. Aziz in the dark cave before Dr. Aziz can even make his way back down to the remainder of the resting party. Assuming Miss Quested had her reasons for leaving so suddenly, the rest of the party makes their way back by elephant, the same way they arrived, and upon getting back into town, Dr. Aziz is arrested. The only person who completely protests his innocence and stands up for him, other than his own Indian friends, is Mr. Fielding. However, the rest of the British people, most of them in government and/or police rolls, will hear nothing of it and so Dr. Aziz is set to go to trial. Miss Quested is so overcome with horror that she is ill in bed for several days. When she finally gets her strength up to visit with Mrs. Moore again, she can tell that the older woman severely disapproves and doesn't think that Dr. Aziz is guilty in any way. Miss Quested starts to doubt whether she has the right person...and after all, all the assailant did was grab her field glass strap and whirl her around before she ran out. She can't be sure, after all, that it WAS Dr. Aziz and not the guide. Her now fiance, Ronny, and the rest of the pushy Brits encourage her to move on with the trial. The incident has caused much civil unrest in the town and Indian and British relations are at an all time uneasiness. Finally, on the stand, Miss Quested for the first time actually takes her mind back to the incident in the cave and she realizes that it wasn't Dr. Aziz who grabbed her at all, and she says so right on the witness stand. Dr. Aziz is immediately set free...but nothing is the same again between so many of the main characters. Miss Quested, with nowhere to go after the trial, ends up at the only sympathetic Brit's house...Mr. Fielding's. He, at first, doesn't even want to hear a word she says because he cares for Aziz deeply...however, he can soon see that there is nothing malicious about Miss Quested...she made an honest mistake, and now has nowhere to go. Aziz becomes very hurt that Fielding has become friendly with his "enemy" and their relationship is nearly ruined forever. Anyway...there so much detail in the book, and much more story. I felt so strongly for each of the characters, and this was a good, solid book that tugged at my heartstrings quite a bit. :-)

Finished: As You Like It (Shakespeare). Ahh, another fun Shakespeare play. :-) Another one I'd seen on the stage but not read yet. And, of course, another one where some of Shakespeare's most famous lines sneak up on  you and take you by surprise and make you smile as you read them! As You Like It is the pretty simple story of Orlando falling in love with Rosalind, and Rosalind with Orlando. Orlando, though, is despised by his own big brother, Oliver, and after defeating the Duke Usurper's royal wrestler and winning the heart of the Duke Usurper's niece, Rosalind, he is forced to run from his own estates or be killed by his brother. The Duke Usurper is himself a brother, and has banished his own older brother, the rightful Duke, to the forest and taken the crown for himself. He has a lovely daughter, Celia, who is like a sister to the banished Duke's daughter, Rosalind, so he has allowed Rosalind to stay. However, the Duke Usurper is growing impatient with the "people" loving Rosalind, and so he soon banishes Rosalind as well. Celia and Rosalind secretly plot that they will run away together into banishment with Rosalind disguised as a young man. Meanwhile...Orlando and his servant, Adam, are nearly starving to death in the forest when Orlando comes across the banished Duke. He begs for food, but mostly to take food back to Adam who he left near starvation in the forest while he hunted. Seeing his goodness and kindness, the Duke, who is himself in a hardship during his banishment, tells Orlando to of course take some food and then come back and join them. So, here's that conversation that sneaks up on you that the Duke then has with one of his attendants, Jaques:

Duke Senior:    Go find him out,
    And we will nothing waste till you return.
Orlando:    I thank ye, and be blest for your good comfort.           Exit.
Duke Senior:    Thou seest we are not all alone unhappy.
    This wide and universal theater
    Presents more woeful pageants than the scene
    Wherein we play in.
Jaques:     All the world's a stage,
    And all the men and women merely players.
    They have their exits and their entrances,
    And one man in his time plays many parts,
    His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
    Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
    Then the whining schoolboy with his satchel
    And shining morning face, creeping like snail
    Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
    Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
    Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
    Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
    Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
    Seeking the bubble Reputation
    E'en in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
    In fair round belly with good capon lin'd,
    With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
    Full of wise saws and modern instances;
    And so he plays his part. The sixt age shifts
    Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
    With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
    His youthful hose well sav'd, a world too wide
    For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
    Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
    And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
    That ends this strange eventful history,
    Is second childishness and mere oblivion---
    Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
    
Honestly, who can write like Shakespeare?? So, anyway...Rosalind dressed as a boy comes across the lovesick Orlando and sees how much he does, in fact, love her. A few other characters fall in love. The Duke Usurper sends Oliver out to find and kill his own brother because he thinks that Orlando was responsible for his daughter and niece disappearing. Orlando saves Oliver from a lion and the brothers make up. Oliver and Celia fall in love. A shepherd falls in love with a shepherdess who falls in love with "male" Rosalind. Finally, Rosalind reveals herself to her father and to Orlando, and the two lovers are married in a ceremony along with Oliver and Celia, the clown and his lady, and the shepherd and shepherdess. Of course, it's all far more witty with the comical disguising of Rosalind at play. Oh, and then conveniently at the end, a third brother to Oliver and Orlando comes to announce to the banished Duke that his own brother has spoken to a religious man and seen the light. He has given up the crown and is giving all his lands back to his brother while he goes on a religious sojourn. Jaques, the profound speaker of above, who spends the whole play being melancholy decides to go and serve that Duke. Finally, a story where everyone lives happily ever after and, amazingly, no one was poisoned, stabbed or killed themselves. :-)

Another line I liked was Rosalind's. She was listening to Celia tell her how much Orlando loved her, as she witnessed his declarations firsthand, but Rosalind kept interrupting Celia and asking her to tell her more quickly. Celia keep shushing Rosalind. Finally Rosalind said:

Do you not know I am a woman? When I think I must speak.

Hee hee, I like that! Well, we're off on our plane trip to New York tomorrow where I think I will start A Passage to India.

Finished: The Trial (Kafka) Well, hmmm. That was one of the weirdest things I've read....and I've already read Kafka's The Metamorphosis, where the man wakes up and has turned into a roach! Can you get any weirder than that? Apparently so, for me anyway. I have no idea why The Trial is on the top 100 list of books. It's actually not on that Modern Library top 100 list, but it's high enough on two other lists, and included on a few that didn't rank books in order, that it appears on my top 100 list to read. ok, so...again, I just don't see it belonging on that list with the other books I've read. As a matter of fact, I'd put The Metamorphosis, which was at least fascinating and page-turning, on that list wayyyyyy before I'd put The Trial.  The Trial is all about Josef K., a bank clerk who wakes up one morning and is confronted by two men in his own apartment and told he is under arrest. They don't take him to jail, but the rest of the story is about how he's on trial for something that no one will tell him the reason for. He visits a very secretive judicial system and can never find anything out. His life deteriorates over the period of a year when, finally, two different men come back at the end and take him out to be killed because he's been "found guilty". K, as he is called throughout the story, is told by every one he comes in contact with during the story that his case is pretty hopeless and he'll most likely be found guilty. It's just a weird, weird, rambling story. And...to make things worse, Josef K. is just not a likable character. He's very haughty and disdainful towards others and treats women very shabbily. He's just not someone I really wanted to root for; not someone I really cared about by the end of the story. I really can't describe it any further. Perhaps I just didn't "get" the book? I know it's supposed to be some comment maybe on the horrible, slow, bureaucratic, inaccessible judicial system maybe? Anyway, blech. I didn't like it at all. It goes on my list of "Overrated Critically Acclaimed Books That Were Torture to Read for One Reason or Another" with Lolita, Wuthering Heights, Moby-Dick, Lord of the Flies, Waiting for Godot, Swann's Way and On the Road.

Finished: Death Comes for the Archbishop (Cather). Well, a pretty good book, but I'm not sure it deserves the high spot it holds on some of the book lists. It is actually number 127 on my own list of top 100 books that I'm reading through. I know, that doesn't make sense, but I didn't stop at making the top 100...I went to about the top 130. Anyway, I think I enjoyed Willa Cather's O Pioneers! more than this one, but oh well. I was kind of thinking that this book might be some kind of mystery, but no. Set in the 1800's, Death Comes for the Archbishop is the story of French Bishop Jean Latour and his Vicar, Joseph Vaillant, who are assigned to the United States' newly acquired territory of New Mexico. They must travel the uncharted territory and bring their Catholic faith and ways to the devout Mexicans and native Americans, both of whom are already firmly entrenched in lifetimes of their own religious traditions. There's not really any extraordinary event that occurs in the book. It's just a nicely written book with beautiful landscape descriptions that gives a rather surface story (to me) about the travails and triumphs of longtime friends, Jean and Joseph who met years ago in seminary in France. Both are true and good human beings and face their difficulties and accomplishments with grace. After Jean has been in New Mexico and surrounding territories for 40 years,  and a few years after Joseph has passed away, the now Archbishop finally dies a natural death in what has become his beloved new world home.