Abandoned Books

     There have been several posts on other book blogs (see here) lately about abandoned books - books you just can't finish. I normally don't give up on a book. I put so much effort into choosing them that I'm almost certain to like them.
     If you've read any of our posts or our lists of books read in 2010, you'll know that I've recently become a fan of Iris Murdoch. I've read The Sea, The Sea, The Book and the Brotherhood, The Sandcastle, and The Bell, to name a few. Last week, I started reading The Red and the Green, which is about Irish rebellion. I made it to page 180, but I couldn't read another page! Unlike her other books, this focuses on political issues to the point that they detracted from the emphasis on characters and relationships that she explores so well in her other works.
     Maybe I'll pick it up again someday.  I'd love to hear from anyone who has read The Red and The Green and enjoyed it.

- Frances

The Sandcastle - Iris Murdoch

     I've read several of Iris Murdoch's novels in the past year and loved them.  This was one of my favorites.  Like her other novels, The Sandcastle is filled with dark humor, captivating characters, and plot twists. It is a story of love, guilt, loyalty, ambition, magic, and art.
     At the heart of the novel is a love affair.  It begins with a verbal conflict between Mor, a teacher at St. Bride's school, and his wife, Nan, over his future and that of their children.  It is immediately clear that Nan usually wins such arguments because Mor gives in to keep peace.  Mor reflects:

     "The early years of their marriage had been happy enough.  At that time he and Nan had talked of nothing but themselves.  When this subject failed, however, they had been unable to find another - and one day Mor made the discovery that he was tied for life to a being that could change, who could withdraw herself from him and become independent.  On that day Mor had renewed his marriage vows."

     When Rain Carter, brought up in France by her artist father, comes to St. Bride's to paint an official portrait of the retired headmaster, Demoyte, Mor finds himself falling in love.  She loves him, too, but his twenty-year marriage and two children are barriers to its consummation.  Neither of them are adept at this sort of situation - she is very young and his weakness lies in his problem with making decisions.  What follows are chance meetings, intercepted letters, and the appearance of a gypsy/vagabond who seems to be a harbinger of doom.

     Rain tells Mor that, as a child, she tried to build sandcastle's on Mediterranean beaches but when she "tried to make a sandcastle the sand would just run away between my fingers.  It was too dry to hold together."  Like the sandcastle, the lives of the characters are swept up in the chaotic tide of events and what once seemed secure slips away from them.
     The novel ends with Mor's daughter, Felicity, thinking, "Everything was alright now.  It was alright.  It was alright."  But perhaps it wasn't.
     If you've read other Murdoch novels and liked them, give The Sandcastle a try.  It has echoes of The Black Prince but I thought it was much better.
 

- Frances

One Book, Two Book, Three Book, Four...and Ten!

 We couldn't resist copying this from Stuck In A Book, so here are our "five" books (except that there are really ten - we're both terrible at math).

1. The book I'm currently reading:

 Frances

The Sandcastle by Iris Murdoch – I discovered Iris Murdoch in 2010, and this is my latest of her books. If it’s anything like the others I’ve read, it won’t disappoint!

Rose

 

The Hollow by Agatha Christie – I tried to read this once before but was distracted by a large assembly happening around me (I’m never good at reading in large public places). So, I’m going to give this Poirot another go. If I finish, it will be the first Poirot that I’ve ever read.

 

2. The last book I finished:

Frances

Saratoga Trunk by Edith Ferber - This was...disappointing. It won a Pulitzer Prize, so expected it to be better. I read afterwards that she had initially written it as a play, which explains a lot. At the time, it was praised for capturing dialects, but I felt they were contrived.

 Rose

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith - See our post about Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle. I doubt it will be easy to follow up such a great read!

3. The next book I want to read:

 Frances

A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy - I adore Thomas Hardy, and this is a lesser-known novel that I found listed on Classic Bookshelf.

 Rose

 We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - I have read this book before several years ago, but who could resist re-reading Shirley Jackson? I may change my mind tomorrow, but today I'm willing to say that We Have Always Lived in the Castle is Shirley Jackson at her best.

4. The last book I bought:

Frances

The Book and the Brotherhood by Iris Murdoch - I bought this at a library sale. It was my first Iris Murdoch and my favorite, so far.

Rose

  

 Sunlight on a Broken Column by Attia Hosain - I found this at the Book Nook and bought it for myself for my birthday. It sounded like an interesting take on the cultural/political revolution set in 1930's India.

5. The last book I was given:

 Frances

Losing Battles by Eudora Welty - I read this several years ago with a book club, but never had my own copy of the book. Rose gave it to me for Christmas.

Rose

Hundraåringen by Jonas Jonasson - I won this book in a giveaway on the Swedish blog Transparent Swedish. It was actually sent to me by the author himself, signed. Unfortunately, my Swedish isn't up to par, and it may take me a while before I can read further than the first chapter. It does, however, look great on my bookshelf! Tack så mycket, Herr Jonasson!