Review: The Phantom of the Opera

The Paris Opera House is haunted, everyone knows it. Christine Daae is the new hot ticket at the Opera House and the ghost has set his sights on her. However, Christine's childhood sweetheart is back and is offering the phantom some competition. As this early 20th centruy Perisian love triangle plays out we discover who will eventually win Christine's heart.

Title: The Phantom of the Opera
Author: Gaston Leroux
Publication Date: 1909
Publisher: Pierre Lafitte and Cie.
Number of Pages: 360
Where I Got It: Barnes and Noble- Huntersville, NC
Dates I Read It: May 20 - May 27, 2013
Number of Stars: 3.5/5
Read It For: Classics Club Spin #2, The Classics Club

I actually finished reading this book over a week ago, but I have had no drive to write this review because though the book was good, it just didn't stick with me. As you can see, it only got 3.5 stars from me, and that was generous. It wasn't that this was a bad book, it was just not very memorable for me. This book was #6 on my Classics Club Spin #2 which means that it fell into the category of "books I feel neutral about". I started out feeling neutral about this book and I ended it feeling the same way. It was just as I had expected it to be. I wasn't blown away by it, nor did I hate it, it just was. Am I glad that I read it- not really. Do I recommend it- only perhaps to someone who is seeking a degree in French Literature. It was nothing special, and it was only somewhat entertaining.
Everyone knows the story of the Opera Ghost that haunts the Paris Opera House and falls in love with a beautiful singer yet he is so hideous that he can not be with her in his true form. However, sometimes the writing took on a tedious tone. This is especially true when Leroux goes into long descriptions of the Opera House and all of it's underground tunnels and chambers. Another distraction to me with regards to the writing was that at times it would feel rushed and very disjointed. I would have loved more in depth background information about Erik (the Phantom) and how he ended up the way that he did, both physically as well as emotionally. It was extremely difficult for me to feel any sympathy for Erik. Had the reader been given more information on his motives and perhaps some scenes from his point of view, I think that I would have cared more for him and I would have felt more development happen with his character. I began this book having never seen the musical or any televised translation of the book, expecting to feel sympathetic towards the misunderstood phantom; instead, I ended up loathing him. The phantom turned out to be a manipulative kidnapper with a torture room- who is this guy, Christian Grey?!
One thing that I do have to praise about this book is the fact that aside from the long descriptive passages, the book overall did flow very well, especially for a translation. The book had some great elements of romance and suspense yet there was still something very much lacking for me.

Review: The Awakening by Kate Chopin

I expected The Awakening to be a much longer book. For all of the criticism and banning it gets, I expected it to be a pretty hefty book. Imagine my surprise when I was able to read the entire book in one afternoon. Most of my friends on GoodReads gave it four or five stars so I had high expectations. These expectations were so not met.

 

Title: The Awakening

Author: Kate Chopin

Publication Date: 1899

Publisher: Dover Publications

Pages: 116

Where I Got It: Used Book Store

Dates I Read It: May 12, 2013

Read It For: The Classics Club, 2013 TBR Pile Challenge (October Selection- I do realize it's May...Don't ask), 1001 Book Challenge

Number of Stars: 3/5

The story is Edna Pontellier’s and it begins whilst she is on vacation in Louisiana where she falls in love with Robert. Robert feels the same so he sets off for Mexico since Edna is married and has two children. Edna goes back home to New Orleans where she pines for Robert. Soon her husband goes away on business and sends the children to his mothers. For the first time Edna is able to be on her on with just herself and she’s given plenty of time to consider her life and how she wants it to be. Having found a comfort in this independence she moves from her family home to a smaller one around the corner. She soon takes up with Alcee who is somewhat of the neighborhood player, yet Edna holds her own with him only to come undone after her affair with him. Robert returns to confess his love only to realize this mistake. He then leaves Edna a John Deere letter causing Edna to drown herself at the same beach that she first met Robert.

I did not like this book.  I could not relate to the main character at all, which is unfortunate because I should have been able to fully connect to her as someone who has always craved independence myself. Edna was very unlikable. I wanted desperately to be fond of her, but the character development was exceedingly lacking for me.

It was not just Edna that I did not like; I also did not particularly care for the story. I had a high anticipation for this particular book as there are so many positive reviews, it was banned which is always a plus for any book, it was shocking when first published, it was about a young woman’s sexual awakening- what’s not to love? Well, for starters I did not care for the writing style. I normally like the naturalism approach, yet this one bored me to tears. I personally found that the book was not all that shocking. I kept comparing the book to one of my favorite books dealing with marital infidelity: Anna Karenina. While making this comparison I found Anna to be much more shocking. I felt connected to Anna and Vronsky and Daisy and every single character in Anna, yet I can barely even remember the characters names in The Awakening (and not just because they were French/Creole!). There was not much story to the story. It felt like the book built to a crescendo only to let the reader down in the end. I wanted to feel more remorseful over Edna’s suicide, yet I just didn't care enough about her, or any of the other characters really, to give a damn. I did really like the one part where her husband thought that she was going crazy and got a good chuckle out of that, but that is about it. There was no anticipation to the novel for me. It was a page turner, but only because I wanted it to be over with. If the book were longer, I probably wouldn't have finished it. I did end up giving the book three out of five stars (it was okay) only because of the impact that the novel had on feminism and feminist literature. I’m just grateful that all feminist literature are not like this one. 

Review: The Great Gatsby

I could almost swear to God that I read this book in high school, old sport. Didn't I?! I was under the impression that I had. I even rated it on GoodReads (4 stars, thank you very much) but I realized that with the movie coming out soon I should probably do a re-read and plus the commercials make it look tre' appealing so Friday night I picked up a copy and I really don't think I actually have read this book before. Perhaps it was assigned and in a fit of rebellion I refused to read the book. Maybe I was protesting something...



Title: The Great Gatsby
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Publication Date: 1925
Pages: 180
Publisher: Scribner
Where I Got It: Barnes and Noble Booksellers, Huntersville, NC
Dates I Read It: April 26 & 27, 2013
Number of Stars: 5/5

So, my first thought right in the middle of Barnes and Noble was "what the fuck, this isn't The Great Gatsby. This book is way too small. Is this some abridged bullshit or something? I bet it is, it's even got the movie cover. I hate when books have the movie cover on the cover on the book. Damn." Turns out the book is not actually all that thick (I had it finished Saturday evening despite being out of town all day Saturday). I do remember hating the original cover, there is absolutely nothing appealing about it at all. I wish that the publisher would "jazz" it up a little. I judge books based on their covers. There. I said it. I didn't like the original cover but I freakin' hate the movie one (even if DiCaprio is fun to look at).

Okay, let's get on with the review. So we get this story told to us from Nick Carraway. I have to start with Nick. I am so in love with Nick Carraway; he is one of my all time favorite narrators in literature. I refuse to accept the fact that he may be an unreliable narrator, because he is so simple and naive and concurrently grand and sophisticated that I want to believe every bit of the tangled web of Gatsby's mess of a life that Nick weaves for us. I love the outsider looking in narrator and I trust them more because they are just that- the outsider. There are some other characters that have to come in to play and I did not care for many (any) of them really ( did empathize with Gatsby and I did like him all right), and I really don't think that I was supposed to. Let's start off with the title character of Jay Gatsby (a.k.a. Jimmy Gatz), shall we. This guy had a poor upbringing, fell in love with a girl, fell in love once and almost completely. He is then shipped off to war where he does extraordinarily well and finds that Daisy is tired of waiting and has married someone else (here's your first sign that you're better off alone, dude) and then he comes back home, accrues wealth like a boss, moves in across the sound from Daisy (and her freakishly wealthy and total douchebag of a husband, Tom) and then he begins to throw meaningless parties (someone even put champagne in his hair- JUST FOR THE FUNSY OF IT), sits back and waits for Daisy to show. If your girl is easily lured out by the sounds of a kegger then here's your second sign, old sport. I get it though, Gatsby, I really really do. I was so in love with this one guy all through college and graduate school and I ruined good relationships with great guys because I would do anything this unattainable guy told me to do. It was a very unhealthy infatuation and I, unlike Gatsby, was fortunate enough to have real friends. One of them finally sat me down one day and told me that this guy was a chump, a user and not all that good looking. "BV, ya gotta let that fish fry." were his exact words to me and I did let that fish fry, and I'm better for it today. And I was never shot to death in my own pool.

I've been ripping on Daisy, and that's not quite fair. Did I care for her as a person? No. Was she vapid, annoying, spoiled, selfish driftwood? Yes! Do I fault her for these things? No. Why? Because I would LOVE to be a party girl in the 1920's! What a life! She was only playing the part that she had been born into and no one can blame her for that, as vexatious as she was. So this book is about wealthy people living wealthy lives and basking in their wealth. I have to admit that I was jealous as hell of most of the characters in this book. They're living the life of Riley! I mean... aren't they? I have to admit that I lead a pretty charmed life in school myself. The coursework came naturally to me so I never really had to put in a great deal of effort with homework. All I really had to do was sober up long enough to sit through a few hour long classes a week (usually in the late afternoons) and then commence partying. I was out of my mind with grief when I was finally forced to grow up and start working a 40+ hour a week job. I wish I could live the life these people lead, until I started to think about these characters- did I really want what they had, let's look at the facts: Tom's got mistresses all over the world. Daisy I swear has some sort of underlying mental health issue (perhaps a touch of Bi-Polarism or Manic Depression). Gatsby can't get over a summer fling from five years before and is stalking the shit out of her and as it turns out, money really can't buy him happiness. I really believe that Jordan, the female golf pro, is a closeted lesbian. Myrtle is literally ripped open. And Daisy is probably going to eventually commit suicide from the guilt of her actions. Okay, my life's really not so bad and their lives really aren't so great. However, I am still chasing down that dream. Sure my dream may not be a dude that I loved a few years ago, it's a job I really care about doing each day, a family I love, a little bit of money for a rainy day, and a sweet little cat named Rasputin to sit on my lap while I watch the Golden Girls reruns. Don't we all have something that we are yearning for? Aren't we all still shooting for that American Dream that Fitzgerald introduced us to? Aren't we all longing for something or someone? When you think about it, aren't we all Gatsby at heart?

Review: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Normal people living banal lives with a little affair and suicide to spice things up in Imperial Russia.

There. That's Anna Karenina.

But I guess that won't cut it in terms of a proper review, now will it?

Title: Anna Karenina

Author: Leo Tolstoy

Publication Date: 1877

Publisher: Barnes and Nobles Classics

Where I got it: Barnes and Noble- Huntersville, NC

Number of pages: 754

Dates I read it: December 9, 2012 - January 5, 2013

Number of Stars: 4 out of 5

Okay. So, Reader, it took me almost an entire month to read this damn book. I realize that I am probably giving you the impression that I disliked this book, and that's not an entirely fair impression to give as I did not dislike the book as a whole. I started off loving the book and was very into it. However, towards part 6 I started to wan on my happy feelings. I started to criticize and pick at each of the characters. You know how when you spend too much time with someone that you like you start to feel this burning hatred for them whenever they move or say something or breathe or smile or sigh?! That's how I got to be with this book and with the characters. The book was too long. Yeah, I said it. The version that I read was almost 800 pages long and dear Mr. Tolstoy, you do not need to take up an entire page of people deciding who they should go and visit and then having them not go and visit them at all. Trivial.

So, Anna Karenina is the story of two main characters- Anna Karenina and Konstantin Levin. Anna is married to Alexy Alexandrovitch who is stuffy and boring and serious and old and she does not love him. Levin is a hard-working farmer who is, for some reason, in love with Kitty. Kitty is a bore and I do not care for her. Kitty is pretty sure that Alexy Vronsky is going to ask for her annoying little hand in marriage and just before this happens, Vronsky falls for Anna and suddenly- passionate affair! Anna gives up her status and her beloved son and becomes an outcast in order to be with Vronsky. Soon she becomes jealous and raging and crazy and convinced that he will leave her for another (now, where the hell would she get a crazy idea like that?!) so she (SPOILER ALERT, kinda) jumps in front of a train to make him sorry and to end the cray-cray life that she has been leading. Meanwhile, in Russia, Levin has finally found the courage to swoop in on a rejected Kitty and get her to agree to marry him or else become a spinster. They have their ups and downs as a couple but basically end up in happy ever after land with a baby on a farm.

So, like I said, the book was really just about normal people living normal lives. I may sound unappreciative, but actually, that was what made the book so great and Tolstoy was able to take these characters and make them real and tedious and borning like we all really are (except maybe Lady Gaga). They were relatable and honest and raw and I have read a lot of reviews where people say that they hate Anna and can't understand her motives, but Reader, I saw a lot of myself in Anna. I wouldn't normally admit that to just anyone, Reader, but I appreciate you and I trust you and so yeah, I am a lot like Anna. I can be a real hot-head and I can be jealous and I am immature and I am rash just like she was. I was able to see pieces of myself in almost every character, even Alexy Alexandrovitch. The characters were abundant, but they were all, even the smallest of small characters, well and perfectly formed. Tolstoy is a master of the characterization and for this, I was able to forgive the novel its length.

I liked the book. I did not love it and I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. However, there are some themes in the novel that I think many people, even today can relate to. Consider- what is the position of the lower class citizens? Do they deserve government assistance or are they to be shunned and used only as labor? What about women's rights? The hypocrisy of the men in this novel is astounding. Anna has one affair and is never to be forgiven yet almost every man (minus the endearing Levin) has affairs all throughout the novel. It was a tedious, but thought-provoking read and I am glad to be able to put this brick of a Russian masterpiece finally on my "read" shelf.