The Hunt for Red October

Title: The Hunt for Red October
Author: Tom Clancy
List: #81 on Modern Library Readers’ Best 20th Century Novels
Worth reading? Yes.

What do you expect from a thriller? Excitement? Suspense? Intrigue? If so, The Hunt for Red October certainly delivers. And as such, it is a nice change from the more strictly literary works on my list. As I’ve come to expect from thrillers, the quality of the writing isn’t always fantastic, but I don’t think that is what matters for this type of novel. What matters is that you start it and cannot put it down. But the thriller aspect, and its, perhaps, correlated reduced writing quality also explains why it is on the readers’ choice list.

I certainly had no problems with the level of excitement and pace of the novel while I was reading it, but when I watched the movie shortly after finishing the book, I realized there are some slightly slower parts—action-wise—that probably wouldn’t transfer very well to the big screen. And that perhaps explains why there were substantial discrepancies between the book and the movie. But it is definitely a good read and what I would consider an excellent “airplane book.” In other words, read it when you don’t want intense mental stimulation but have a lot of hours to get through!

The Alchemist

Title: The Alchemist
Author: Paulo Coelho
List: #94 on BBC Top 100
Worth reading? Yes.

The Alchemist is a novel that feels very much like a self-help book. It tells the story of a young shepherd who is trying to live out his “personal legend,” or destiny. The premise is that everyone has a destiny to fulfill, but that most people give up at some point along the way because they get distracted by material things or are held back by love. Through an old king that appears to the shepherd, the author encourages us to chase our dreams to find happiness and implies that we cannot be truly happy until we have attempted to follow our dreams and live out our destinies. The novel also implies that love is only true love if our lovers let us do whatever it takes to follow our hearts.

For the most part I am not a fan of novels masquerading as self-help books, particularly in such a spiritual way, but there is something different about The Alchemist. It is a very soothing book written in a calming prose that carries the story rapidly towards its conclusion, but in an unhurried sort of way. What I mean by that is that this novel did not put me to sleep or rush me the way a thriller would, but just gently, but firmly, urged me to reach the end. And I thought the author was quite adept at painting the scenery and transporting me to the shepherd’s world without quite making me forget my own surroundings.

I will not pretend that this novel is at the top of my must read list, nor is it close to being one of my favorites, but I really think it is worth the read. I think it would be particularly appreciated as an escape from a hectic period of life or after some more angst-driven novels.

Animal Farm

Title: Animal Farm
Author: George Orwell
List: #17 on Radcliffe’s Top 100 20th Century Novels, #20 on Modern Library Readers’ Top 100 20th Century Novels, #31 on Modern Library Board’s Top 100 20th Century Novels, #46 on BBC Top 100
Worth reading? I guess so, maybe.

When this book is in the top fifty on all four of my lists, and the top twenty of two of them, how can I say it is not worth reading? Maybe the impact of the novel has been lost over time as it has become such a staple of popular culture. I am sure that when it was first published it caused quite the sensation, but now I think I would be hard-pressed to find anyone who is unfamiliar with the story.

And so I am not quite sure what there is left for me to say. Yes, Animal Farm is quite the political allegory. Yes, it should probably be required reading for high school students learning about communist Russia and political revolutions in general. And yes, it has become a classic. But is it really relevant in the twenty-first century? Or for the future? I am not at all sure it is.

I suppose for now, even though the story will not come as a surprise, it may be worth reading just because the book and its theme are so pervasive in modern discourse.

Death Comes for the Archbishop

Title: Death Comes for the Archbishop
Author: Willa Cather
List: #61 on Modern Library Board’s Top 100 20th Century Novels, #89 on Radcliffe’s Top 100 20th Century Novels
Worth reading? Yes.

Death Comes for the Archbishop has a rather dramatic title, evoking thoughts of murder mysteries or thrillers or perhaps a historical account of an archbishop’s untimely demise. But Willa Cather’s novel is no such thing. Rather, it is a moving account of a missionary priest’s full life in the brand new American southwest. And it is quite different from the two other Willa Cather novels I have read (My Ántonia and O Pioneers!).

The novel introduces us to newly minted Catholic Bishop Jean Marie Latour, who is granted the diocese of New Mexico shortly after it becomes an American territory. We see New Mexico in its virtually untamed state through the eyes of Bishop Latour and his friend and fellow missionary Father Joseph Vaillant. The two priests struggle to unite the diocese and tend to the needs of their people with nothing but a horse or mule to help them cross the vast distances. The author lovingly describes the rugged landscape and the Mexican people and culture. She also introduces us to Navajos and other Native Americans who are vital to the physical and mental survival of the priests.

Although the plot is concerned with establishing the diocese and ministering to the Catholic flock, the language and mood epitomizes the majestic grandeur of the Southwest. The characters seem to serve as vehicles through which the author can communicate her love for the culture and landscape of New Mexico. In that sense, the book is more of a Western, but one with a completely different viewpoint. And because of that unique perspective on a beautiful region, I think the book is worth reading.

To the Lighthouse

Title: To the Lighthouse
Author: Virginia Woolf
List: #15 on Modern Library Board’s Top 100 20th Century Novels, #34 on Radcliffe’s Top 100 20th Century Novels , #48 on Modern Library Readers’ Top 100 20th Century Novels.
Worth reading? Not really.

Apparently I am missing something. Not only did the Modern Library Board and the Radcliffe Publishing Course place this novel in the top 50, but Modern Library Readers did as well. And here I sit, having just finished the book, thinking about how reading To the Lighthouse was a complete waste of time. I just do not see what the point of the whole thing was. And if it had been any longer, and I did not have this crazy goal of reading all the books on the lists, I would not have finished it

Maybe the novel is supposed to be good because of the way the narrator intimately focuses on various characters, revealing their thoughts in a very “stream of consciousness” way. The stream of consciousness is so pronounced that a character’s thoughts slip brokenly from the present to the past and back to the present creating a story within a story that is extremely hard for a reader to follow, at least in the format in which I read the book. And maybe some people like a book written almost entirely in thoughts and observations with hardly any dialogue. And maybe it does not bother other people that half the book seems to take place in the thoughts of one character in one day while, after a brief odd interlude that is supposed to indicate a lapse of time, the rest of the novel is split between the thoughts of a few more characters on another day. And maybe to those people it is fine that nothing actually happens in the book. And maybe those people focus on and admire the language rather than thinking, like me, that the author seemed so wrapped up in the language that she forgot to write the story.

But clearly, this was not the book for me. And I am very glad it is finished.

The Forsyte Saga

Title: The Forsyte Saga
Author: John Galsworthy
List: #123 on BBC Top 200
Worth reading? Maybe.

I am going to admit right up front that I read this book in stages with several interruptions in between because other books became available through my local eLibrary. My review may be somewhat tainted by this disjointed reading. When I finally fished this novel, my initial reaction was a shrug, a “meh,” an “I suppose that was alright.” In other words, I had no inclination to rave about it and was glad to be able to put it aside and cross it off my list. I wonder if part of the problem, other than disjointed reading, was that it was just so incredibly long and never seemed to end.

Let me clarify. There are long books. And then there are long books. In the “long books” category I place Outlander and Les Misérables and Gone with the Wind. Now, I know plenty of people who, at least with regard to the latter two, would put those in the “long books” category. But to me, despite their length (over a thousand pages in the case of Gone with the Wind), these books were driving towards a conclusion. I wanted to keep reading them because I knew there would be something new that would tie into the beginning and make the whole experience worthwhile. And to put this in perspective, and perhaps reveal a bit of my own character, I first read Gone with the Wind when I was ten and even then did not think it was a tiresome slog.

But The Forsyte Saga? It was just long. Now, I realize it is a saga and thus that it will cover multiple generations and that it will be long almost by definition. But this was just too much. The Thorn Birds was a saga too, but it managed to keep my attention. In fact, I think The Forsyte Saga would have been much improved if it omitted the last generation entirely. But this, too, may not be entirely fair because the despair of two members of the last, third, generation covered rests in the opening conflict, introduced towards the beginning of the tome, between members of the second generation. And the story of the third generation completes the struggle and turmoil that I suppose is the main story arc of the book.

But it was just too much. It went on too long. It may have worked if each segment of the saga was a bit shorter, but as it was, by the end, I had no sympathy (at least for the male character of the second generation) and just wanted to scream, “Get over it!” and “Stop whining!” I suppose I might just be tired of the long, flowery prose of the early twentieth century and earlier (even though I adore Jane Austen), which would explain why the modern prose of Outlander was such a welcome respite and why even the straightforwardness of Oliver Twist seemed like a relief. Perhaps it is time to turn towards some of the more modern novels on my list so that I will not feel so hopeless and, I will admit, bored, with novels like The Forsyte Saga.

Outlander

Title: Outlander
Author: Diana Gabaldon
List: #160 on BBC Top 200
Worth reading? Yes!

Outlander, known as Cross Stitch in the United Kingdom, is a book that is hard to classify. In part, its foundation lies in science fiction (or possibly fantasy) because within the first few chapters the main character travels two hundred years back in time. But besides that moment of time travel and the discussion about that event that pops up occasionally, the novel is in large part a work of historical fiction set in 18th century Scotland just before the Jacobite Rising of 1745 (where supporters in the British Isles, including many Scottish clans apparently, were trying to place Bonnie Prince Charlie, aka “The Young Pretender,” on the English throne). The remaining parts of the novel, where the author focuses on the relationship between the two main characters, are perhaps best classified as romance.

Apparently the author wrote this novel as “practice” for writing fiction, which explains why there are so many themes, and never intended anyone to actually see it. But people did see it and now it is part of an eight book series, the last (I think) of which is set to be released in early 2013. There is also a sort of spin-off series (the author says they are actually part of the main series and calls it a “sub-series”), which focuses on a different character and includes one of the main characters in Outlander.

And, based on the first book, I can definitely see why the series has been so successful. It does not matter what type of book Outlander is, what matters is that once you pick it up, it is very difficult to put back down. It is a captivating novel with a fast-paced plot that is written in a very modern manner. And understandably so because the main character and narrator, Claire, comes from 1945 and keeps up her blunt manner of speaking and acting even among the Scottish clans of 1743. Claire is very likeable and part of her charm is that she maintains her independent personality while also trying to fit into 18th century Scottish life.

I think that I can’t go into too much of the plot because I don’t want to give anything away—it was just too much fun to see the story unfold. But I can say the novel includes swordfights and gun battles, bad guys and good guys and okay guys, capture and escape and rescue, injuries and illness and recovery, trust and distrust, daring, bravery, loyalty, sacrifice, adventure, and, of course, lost love and found love.

I think this book is definitely worth the read (and I am planning to read the rest of the series as soon as I have time and they become available at the library). It is fast-paced and attention-grabbing (and holding) and very easy to read. I think the author said it best on her website: "What I used to say to people who saw me sitting outside a store with a pile of books and asked (reasonably enough), 'What sort of book is this?', was, 'I tell you what. Pick it up, open it anywhere, and read three pages. If you can put it down again, I’ll pay you a dollar.' I’ve never lost any money on that bet."