Book # 94 Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov

Before we started this reading project I had never heard of Pale Fire before. I had however read Nabakov's Lolita just a couple of years ago. The story behind that novel was kind of icky... but I still enjoyed it because of Nabakov's writing style. The voice given to Humbert is just so weird, funny and deluded that it makes that novel a classic. So with Pale Fire Nabakov has created another crazy character that tells us a bizarre story that is just hilarious.

At first it is hard to really tell what the book is about. The book is divided into three parts. First is the foreword by "Charles Kinbote." Next is a 999 line poem by "John Shade", and then finally a "commentary" by Kinbote (which is the bulk of the book). In the Foreword we get just a bit of the backstory between Kinbote and Shade and we find out that Shade was killed the day after finishing the poem and that Kinbote has decided to publish it with his commentary. The poem itself is a moving piece about Shade's childhood, the death of his daughter, and an afterlife experience. Then we get to the real beginning of the narrative, the commentary.

Right away we see that Kinbote is nuts. He reads things into the poem that totally are not there. Kinbote starts saying how some of the smallest details are really about his homeland of Zembla and how he subtly influenced Shade during the writing of it. As his notes to the poem continue, Kinbote keeps talking about the history of Zembla and starts telling in great detail the life story of the exiled king of Zembla. Then he starts telling the story of how an assassin set on finding and killing the king ended up murdering John Shade. It then becomes obvious that Kinbote is really the exiled king in hiding. We also see that he has pretty much taken off with the poem to publish it and that he is totally nuts.

The whole book is just so weird and funny... it is unlike anything else I had read before. The structure is unique and requires a lot of flipping back and forth since the commentary makes several references to other parts of the commentary and re-reading the poem a few times is also necessary. The stories about Kinbote's escape from Zembla are hilarious and frequently he goes off on little tangents such as the proper manners for throwing oneself out of a window.

While I was reading about the history of the book I found that there are several interpretations about who the real author in the story is supposed to be. Many people think that Kinbote is just a creation of Shade, or that he is the alter ego of another person in the community. I'll have to read about all of these different theories now to see which one I'd agree with.

On a side note, the copy I read had notes written in it by the former owner. Surprisingly I found this stranger's notes pretty helpful. About half way through the book I noticed a note on the title page that this stranger believes the Zembla story is really about Nabakov's childhood... and looking that up on Wikipedia I found out that Nabakov was a Russian noble that was forced to flee the country during a revolution and that his father was later killed in a political assassination gone wrong.... and that he never had a daughter at all... so the Kinbote portion of the story is actually more autobiographical than Shade's poem.

The book was something completely different and I really enjoyed Nabakov's humor. Once I'm done with this project I'll probably look up some of his other works. I'll add it to my top 50 and give it an A.

On a side side note... I've noticed that in several of the books there are specific mentions of other books on this list. Here we get several mentions of Remembrance of Things Past. I feel like I should be keeping track of these.

An updating of my rankings :
1. Les Misérables
2. Invisible Man
3. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
4. The Hobbit
5. A Farewell to Arms
6. Great Expectations
7. The Stand
8. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
9. Pale Fire
10. The Name of the Rose
11. Frankenstein
12. Wind in the Willows
13. Anne of Green Gables
14. Rebecca
15. Anna Karenina
16. Sons and Lovers
17. Winnie-the-Pooh
18. Charlotte's Web
19. Mrs. Dalloway
20. Atlas Shrugged

Book # 27 The Chronicles of Narnia (Part 4 of 7)- Prince Capsian by C.S. Lewis

Somehow I had never read Prince Caspian before. I had checked it out from the library back in sixth grade and then the book disappeared before I could read it. So, yeah ... I lost a library book about twenty five years ago. I also saw the movie about four years ago and remember pretty much nothing about it. So I was pretty excited to finally sit down and read this book... especially since I'd read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe three or four times already.

After all that I was a bit let down by the end. I was entertained for the most part, but it isn't a classic on the same level as the first one. The story picks up a year after The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The kids are leaving to go back to school when all of a sudden they are magically transported back to Narnia. Possibly thousands of years have passed and Narnia is ruled by Prince Caspian's uncle Miraz. Caspian finds out that the king wants to kill him and flees. He uses a magic horn to call for help and that is how the kids were brought back to Narnia. The kids travel across Narnia, find Prince Caspian, and along with a bunch of talking animals they try and defeat the evil king Miraz.

The main fault is that Prince Caspian isn't that interesting of a character. He is just reacting to what people tell him throughout the story. Also, we don't get to see Miraz acting too much like a villain, so it is hard to see him as a major threat. And then the subtext with people in Narnia not believing in Aslan is just way too obvious. So far it is the weakest in the series, but still worth reading. I'll give it a B.

Who I Am by Pete Townshend

 Since I've been waiting years and years for Pete Townshend's autobiography I just had to put aside reading books on our list and read this book as soon as I could. Since it isn't a top 100 book I won't say too much...

First off, The Who are my all time favorite band. Second, I've also read the Keith Richards and Bob Dylan autobiographies, so I have to compare this book to those. Both of those other autobiographies were really fun to read. Keith's is entertaining and he just rambles on an on about fun stories and he seems to have enjoyed living the rock star lifestyle. Dylan's is good in that he just goes really in-depth into a few different parts of his life and at the end none of Dylan's mystique is cleared away. Pete's book however takes a much more conventional approach. While it is always interesting it isn't exactly fun. After awhile it is just sad to read about how he spent the entire 70's drunk and about horrible he was to his wife. Pete comes off as someone that has little self control and is prone to making stupid mistakes. At least he was able to turn most of those mistakes into really good songs.

It was also interesting to see how as he aged, Pete took longer and longer on each project he worked on. The first Who records came out yearly... by the end he spends years on projects. He goes on and on about his The Iron Man musical (which sadly isn't about Marvel's Iron Man) and says he started working on this book way back in 1996. In the last chapter he talks about a musical that he's been working on for the last five years and still hasn't finished.  It seems as he ages he becomes far less spontaneous.  I'd also complain that he sometimes doesn't go into much detail about certain events in the Who's past. He only gives a page to the Cincinnati disaster, never mentions how Kenney Jones left the band and barely mentions It's Hard (but Psychoderelict gets a whole chapter). Overall I'll give it a B.

Book # 81 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

 I first read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest about ten years ago and found it to be much better than I had anticipated. Of course I had seen the film before and thought there would be no way that the book could have been better... and I was wrong. The first thing that surprised me is that the book is narrated by Chief Bromden. In the movie he mostly just stands around and doesn't say or do anything until the very end... so it is a bit shocking to find that his character gives us the story in the novel. The next surprising thing is that Chief Bromden's narration adds an extra layer of craziness because he seems to be schizophrenic with frequent hallucinations and severe paranoia. What is fascinating about these hallucinations is that they usually act as metaphors for what is going on in the ward.

The story is pretty simple. Chief Bromden is a patient in a mental hospital where he pretends to be deaf and mute so that he can try and avoid the attention of the nurses and attendants. One day a new patient, McMurphy, is admitted to the floor. He is a bit of a tough guy that is just faking mental illness to get out of being at a work farm where he has been sentenced for a few months. He quickly encounters Nurse Ratched who is in charge of that ward. She runs the place like a dictatorship and has made all of the other patients fear her.  McMurphy tries to rally everyone against her but most of the other patients have already been defeated by her. McMurphy also learns that his release is dependent on Nurse Ratched okaying it and that she has the power to give electro-shock treatment to anyone that displeases her.... however McMurphy just can't sit by and let himself be controlled by the nurse.

It is hard reading this book without imagining Jack Nicholsen as McMurphy... even though he doesn't really fit the description in the book...  I'd say read the book before you see the movie.  After reading a bunch of books written in the 1800's by European writers, it was nice to read something a bit more modern and with a definite American rebellious spirit to it. It was also refreshing to read something that was written while the author was experimenting with LSD.

On a second reading, I enjoyed this book just as much as the first time, though I'm not sure if I picked up on anything new this time. It was in my top 50 before and stays there. A.

Book # 31 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

For a brief period of time in the early nineties if you'd ask me what my favorite book was I would probably have said Great Expectations. While it isn't at the top of my list now, I discovered that I still really enjoyed it. After twenty years I also found that I remembered only the basic outline of the story.

The novel starts out with the main character, Pip, as a small child. He is being raised by his older sister and her husband Joe who is a blacksmith. One night while wondering around the marshes on the outskirts of their town he encounters the escaped convict, Magwitch. The convict threatens Pip if he doesn't help him get some food. Pip complies and tries to help Magwitch, but he is soon recaptured anyway. A few years later Pip is sent to spend time visiting with Miss Havisham and her adopted daughter Estella. Miss Havisham is an old shut-in and goes about her giant house in a tattered wedding dress. Pip quickly falls in love with Estella even though she is cold and condescending to him. A few years after this Pip learns that someone has decided to make him "a gentleman" and begins sending him money so that he can become educated and move into a higher social class. The person helping Pip remains anonymous, but Pip always assumes that it is Miss Havisham and that she plans to marry off Estella to him. After a couple of years making new friends and leaving his old ways behind, Pip finally learns who is behind the money. This revelation is a total shock to Pip.

Now I don't really want to give anything away so I'll just leave it at that. I'm curious if when I first read the book if I figured out who the secret person was before it was revealed. Knowing that all of Pip's assumptions are wrong made me feel bad for him. He really has no evidence that Miss Havisham is helping him and she takes advantage of this and lets him think whatever he wants.  The lesson to be learned here is probably that someone shouldn't make assumptions about the quality of a person based on their social standing.

Dickens' style took a little bit of getting used to. His writing doesn't really lend itself to quick reading, but rather the reader needs to take their time and really absorb all of the details that Dickens throws at the reader. I also liked how the title can be looked at in different ways. When Pip is told that he is to be "a gentleman" he thinks that he has 'great expectations' put on his future to make something of himself by his benefactor. But also at the same time Pip places 'great expectations' on what he expects from Miss Havisham and Estella. In the end both sets of expectations are not met.

The only odd thing is that Pip at one point discovers that the stories of two main characters that don't know each other intersect in  multiple ways... yet neither character learns about this and Pip does very little with the information. Also Pip learns who Estella's real mother is but never tells anyone about it.

Great Expectations stays in my top 50 and gets an A.

Book # 62 His Dark Materials Book 3: The Amber Spyglass

Progress Book # 19 of 100

With the powers of the knife and alethiometer the adventure of Lyra and Will continues in this 3^rd and final novel in the series.  This book is longer than the other two and I was a little worried I wouldn’t enjoy it as much as the first novel.  There were a few main differences between this one and the second.  Mainly this novel has more of the original characters including the bear Iorek, Roger, and the Gyptians.  There are also angels and little people called Gallivespian spies (I imagine they are like Thumbelina’s size) that they encounter and meet along the way.  Each is much more interesting and exciting than anything introduced in the 2^nd novel.  Some of the parts were a little long, especially when they venture to the world of the dead, but overall the novel was enjoyable.  It tied up most of the loose ends, and I look forward to the next novel to help finish Will and Lyra’s love story.  Oh yeah, forgot to mention they fall in love.  It was fun to read that during this novel.   I also enjoyed how Lyra was able to send Roger off in a happy peaceful ending.  I was bothered at his demise in the first novel. After reading it I had to ask Daniel if Roger died because I didn’t want to believe that it happened.

As in the first two novels, Pullman continues sacrificing characters in this battle of good vs. evil and as suspected good wins.  It satisfied my expectations and left me wanting more.  Once I’m done with the 100 novels I may try and read the next book called Lyra’s Oxford.

I’ll give this book a A 93%

 

Book # 62 His Dark Materials Book 2: The Subtle Knife

Progress Book # 18.66 of 100

At the end of The Golden Compass Lrya goes through the portal Lord Asriel has opened into different worlds.  This book opens to a different world that is basically like our world and a new character a little boy named Will.  We are introduced to Will as he is taking his mother to an old friend to hide her from some bad people looking for them.  Once that is done, Will returns to his home and gets his father’s journal.  His father disappeared shortly after Will was born and Will knows he has to figure out what happened so he can save his mother and escape from the men who are looking for him.  While on the run Will notices something strange in the air and discovers a portal to another world called Cittàgazze.  In Cittàgazze Will meets the wandering Lyra.  After an edgy meeting Will shows Lyra how to cook and they start to become friends.  Lyra’s alethiometer tells her she must help Will find his father and their adventure together begins.

Will brings Lyra back to his world where she meets a scholar Dr. Mary Malone and learns that in Will’s world people are studying dust too.  In Will’s world the alethiometer is stolen by Lord Boreal and held for ransom, he will only return the alethiometer if Will and Lyra steal a knife in Cittàgazze.  When they steal the knife Will becomes the next owner and looses two fingers.  They learn that this knife will open portals to other worlds and his severed hand can close the open portals.  With the knife Will and Lyra steal back the alethiometer and go back to Cittàgazze and their adventure continues.

While I enjoyed this book, I didn’t think it was as good as the first novel of the series.  The religious viewpoints become more dominate in this story.  At one point Dr. Mary learns that Lyra is the next Eve and the whole of humanity in all the different worlds will depend on her.  Dr. Mary herself will be the serpent tempting Lyra.  I enjoyed the adventure of the first book and felt that this one was missing a lot of action.  They kept moving back and forth between worlds, but it just seemed like a slower read.  I did enjoy seeing the return of cowboy Lee Scoresby and the witch Serafina and wished they were more in the book. 

I’ll give this book a B 87%