The Paradox of a Name

My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok

Some people are gifted in ways that make them different or strange. Their talents and gifts alienate them not only from the general public, but can also alienate them from their communities and families. My Name is Asher Lev is a tale of a boy who deals with this alienation and who struggles to be true to himself, despite the paradox that might be.

Asher’s family is Jewish and they live in New York. His father works for the Rebbe (religious leader of their particular branch of Judaism) and his mother is going to school to try to cope with the horrifying death of her brother. Asher finds himself distracted from the activities that most of his friends are interested in because he is drawn to art. He loves to draw, paint, sketch, shape, and on and on. His father is not okay with this; normal Jewish boys memorize the Talmud and work towards their bar mitzvahs. Asher’s mother tries to encourage her son’s desire to draw, and so does one of his teachers. One day, the Rebbe calls Asher into his office. The Rebbe has decided to prod Asher’s abilities, too. He has asked Jacob Kahn, a painter, sculptor, and unobservant Jew, to teach Asher how to become an artist. Asher’s father is furious, but the Rebbe has commanded it, and so it must be.

Asher spends the next several years of his life trying to balance the two sides of himself: the Jew and the artist. He travels and paints and prays and attends synagogue. The two sides of himself seem to be at odds in his head because of his father’s disapproval. However, he keeps doing both because he feels he needs both. His art gains much recognition and his shows in New York gain a great reputation for the young Ladover Hasidic Jew.

Asher finds that art comes to him in fits. He will feel nothing, and then, all the sudden, it will come to him. This happens to him one afternoon and he paints two pictures: Brooklyn Crucifixion 1 and Brooklyn Crucifixion 2. The first is a painting of his mother at the window, waiting for her husband to come home, with telephone poles reflected in the windows (note that telephone poles can look an awful lot like crucifixes). The second is his mother on a crucifix, looking three different ways: at her husband, at Asher, and to the heavens. Asher knows these are his best works; they convey the most emotions, and he uses the crucifix to show suffering for others (specifically, his mother’s sacrifices of herself for the things she cares about). However, when the paintings come to display, his community, and more specifically, his parents, are disgusted and infuriated. They can’t see how a good Jewish boy could pant such a disgrace. In staying true to the two paradoxical sides of himself, Asher has, in essence, alienated himself from the one he finds the most inspiration in. He is cast out and left alone, misunderstood and hated for painting the feelings of his heart.

The loneliness and pain Asher suffers are evident throughout the book; the boy is clearly a tortured soul. However, Asher’s journey to the crucifix has led him to the truth that he has so desperately sought through both religion and art. He believes wholeheartedly in Ladover Hasidism and he believes wholeheartedly in his art. His doppelganger-like personality and life feed off of one another: he can’t be one without the other, yet they are both fighting against each other at all times. The book paints a poignant picture of one boy’s battle to be true to himself, no matter what the cost, and no matter how sacrificial staying true to both sides of him might be. As a reader, you find yourself tangled up in Asher’s feelings, understanding where he is coming from, yet suffering with him in that he can’t get anyone else to understand. My Name is Asher Lev is a brilliantly woven tale of this sacrifice of self in order to find one’s self, and is most definitely worth reading.

Regret Nothing, Especially Your Own Bad Behavior

Lady Susan - Jane Austen

One of her lesser known works, Lady Susan was never truly completed and never published in Austen's lifetime. It is a little choppy compared to some of the author's other novels but remains interesting because of the title character.

Lady Susan Vernon is almost entirely unlike any other 19th century heroine I've come across. Indeed she really falls into the category of anti heroine because as opposed to the wilting, helpless maidens of contemporary gothic novels like Radcliffe's, the virtuous Pamela of Richardson, or even Austen's other sprightly heroines, Lady Susan is an absolute minx!

The novel, which is written in the epistolary style popular at the end of the 18th century, introduces us to Lady Susan (a woman between 30 and 40 who is considered extremely beautiful, clever, and charming) who is obliged to leave the area she has been staying in because of a scandalous flirtation with two men simultaneously (one of them married). She is trying to force her only child, a daughter named Frederica, into marriage with a rich nincompoop (with one of her own former admirers) and because of Frederica's continued refusal has packed the girl off to London to a boarding school she hates so that she may learn to be more agreeable towards the match. Meanwhile, Susan descends upon her in-laws since she has no money of her own to live on.

There she immediately snares her sister-in-law's much younger brother Reginald in her web, while still leading on her married admirer, and promoting Frederica to the idiot Sir James. The only character who can see past her deceit is her sister-in-law, Catherine Vernon, who tries to protect her pitiful niece, open her brother's eyes to his danger, and warn her extended family of the possibility of Susan adding herself to their ranks. Eventually, on a trip to London, Reginald and Mr. Manwarring (her married lover) both visit her at the same time and the game is up! Her wicked, selfish deeds regarding her own bad behavior and her cruelty towards her daughter are revealed.

The ending is not very well edited, and it seemed to me as if it had not been properly finished, but everyone ends up well. More or less. Frederica eventually goes to live with her aunt and uncle and marries Reginald, when he has recovered from being in love with her mother, and Lady Susan remarries...to Sir James. The bumbling fool she had tried to foist upon her daughter.

Dangerously, you almost find yourself liking Lady Susan. She wants comfort and stability, but not at the expense of her own freedom. And though her motives are purely selfish and often cruel, she is so good at being bad! She even ends well, most adulterous characters of this age died in a poorhouse, contracted smallpox/syphilis, or at the very least were cast out of polite society never to be heard from again. But Lady Susan survives and, one gets the feeling, absolutely never amends her ways.

This book is obviously not great literature, but it's a quick read and a good way to round off Jane Austen's writings.

Alchemy a' la Amazing

The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho

For those of you who don’t know, alchemy (according to Wikipedia) is both a philosophy and a practice with an aim of achieving ultimate wisdom as well as immortality, involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of several substances described as possessing unusual properties. The practical aspect of alchemy generated the basics of modern inorganic chemistry, namely concerning procedures, equipment and the identification and use of many current substances. Now that you know what alchemy is, we can continue.

Originally published in 1988 in Portuguese as O Alquimista, The Alchemist is the tale of Santiago, a young shepherd who finds himself on a journey to find his heart’s desire. Santiago has a dream while in a church where a tree has grown through the altar that a girl will point him to a treasure located at the pyramids. Living in Spain, Santiago first puts this off as a silly dream and something totally unattainable. However, Santiago became a shepherd because he wanted to travel, and this desire to travel leads him to decide to seek the treasure. He meets an old king named Melchizedek, who asks for ten percent of what his sheep are worth to help him find his treasure. Santiago agrees, and the king begins to tell Santiago of the personal myth, saying "when you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true." The idea of the personal myth is that everyone has a journey or a purpose. Some people find that purpose and others wander without finding it. The idea is that this journey to find the treasure at the pyramids will be Santiago’s personal myth.

Santiago continues his journey, being robbed out of his money and working in a foreign land to earn enough to continue. He helps others along his way, eventually meeting a young Englishman who is studying alchemy. This young man is on a journey to find the alchemist, or one who has mastered alchemy. This journey is taking him in the same direction as Santiago’s journey is taking him, so they travel together through the deserts of northern Africa. Halfway through their journey, they come across an oasis, where Santiago meets his soul-mate. She agrees to wait for him while he finds his treasure, saying "I love you because the whole universe conspired for me to come close to you."

Santiago also meets the alchemist, who sees that the young man is on a journey to find his personal myth, and agrees to take him through the rest of the desert to the pyramids. He teaches him some things about alchemy and leads him within sight of the pyramids. As he arrives, Santiago is accosted by some men. One of them scoffs at his dream, saying he had had a dream about a treasure under an altar with a tree growing out of it. This is the place where Santiago had his dream, and her realizes his personal myth has been a journey to find himself and his true love. He travels back to the church, digs up an enormous treasure, and goes back for his true love, where they live happily ever after.

A simple book, The Alchemist is a tale that is surprisingly deep. In response to this criticism, Paolo Coelho stated that "simple things are the most valuable and only wise people appreciate them." The storyline is easy enough to follow, and can go as deep as the reader wants to go. The symbolism ranges from traditional religious symbolism to smacks of Shakespearean allusions. When reading the book, I found it hard to put down. Though written much like Steinbeck’s The Pearl or Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea, it is the fable-like story that lends the wisdom to open the reader’s eyes to some deep, soul-searching topics. The Alchemist has become the most widely translated work by a living author for a reason: the simple yet profound story moves people. I have talked to several people who have read the book and have yet to receive a negative review. Some people will enjoy it more than others, but its peaceful style reminded me of being led gently by the hand. I borrowed the book from Calliope, but this is definitely on my “must own my own copy” list. It’s a good book to read with someone, and its reading level is simple enough that junior high age children could appreciate it. So, as you can tell, I recommend you go read it right now!

Please excuse us whilst we take a small hiatus

Calliope may or may not have gotten married this week, and I may or may not have tag-teamed the best bridesmaids ever club. This being the case, we have taken a bit of a hiatus. Expect an entry from me shortly, and we'll give Calliope a break for a bit so she can do the newlywed thing. In the meantime, I will throw down a challenge. We would love to post guest book reviews by anyone who wishes to review a book. Let us know that you want to do so and we'll get you guest blogging in no time. Woo, books!

Innocence clothed in pajamas

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

We all know that children tend to be innocent, naïve, accepting, and simple. The older we get, the more we tend to lose those qualities. On one hand, that’s a good thing; we all want to be experienced, intelligent, and, quite frankly, impressive to those around us. On the other hand, however, there are some real benefits to being innocent, naïve, accepting, and simple. Not understanding and taking things as they are anyway is sometimes the best route. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a tale of a young boy who fits the definition of childlike to a "t", but fitting that definition means accepting both the good and the bad sides of that definition.

Bruno is an 8 year old boy, living in World War II Germany. His father has recently been promoted by “The Fury” (Bruno’s understanding of “Fuhrer”) to be the head of Out-With (Bruno’s understanding of “Auschwitz”). The whole family, which consists of Mother, Father, Bruno, and sister Gretel, must move to Out-With so that Father can be the boss at this out of the way house in the middle of nowhere. Bruno is upset about the move; he has to leave his friends, his grandparents, and his beautiful home. The house at Out-With is cold and boring in comparison, and there are no children around for as far as Bruno can see. He isn’t allowed to go in the back of the house, and he isn’t allowed to play outside the gates. A tutor comes to their home, so Bruno isn’t even allowed to go to school with other children. This new move doesn’t seem like such a good idea to Bruno, and he wishes his father had told The Fury no when The Fury told him to come run Out-With.

One day, Bruno looks out his window and sees a farm. All of the people at the farm are wearing striped pajamas, which Bruno thinks is strange. What kind of farmers wear pajamas? Bruno asks his mother about it, and she becomes worried. She doesn’t want Bruno to think about the farm and tells him to forget about it. But Bruno keeps wondering about the pajama wearing farmers. In fact, one of the men that helps in the house wears these pajamas. One day, as Bruno is swinging on his tire swing, he falls and scrapes his knee. The pajama-wearing man takes him inside and cares for his knee. He admits to Bruno that he was once a doctor, and Bruno wonders what would make a man quit being a doctor in order to take a job peeling potatoes at the Out-With house. This makes Bruno even more curious about the farm.

Bruno finds a way out of the backyard one day when no one is looking, and he goes for a luxurious walk in the woods. Eventually, he finds a fence. Behind this fence is the farm with all those pajama wearing farmers! And sitting next to the fence is a boy about Bruno’s age. They start talking, and Bruno becomes friends with Shmuel, but Shmuel can’t come outside the fence and play. As time wears on, Bruno spends more and more time at the fence with Shmuel. But Bruno doesn’t get it; to him, Shmuel is just a boy in pajamas who lives at the farm.

One day, Shmuel can’t find his father. Bruno offers to help find him, and Shmuel devises a plan to get another pair of pajamas for Bruno to wear. They dig a hole at the edge of the fence and in Bruno goes. He puts on the pajamas, and off with Shmuel he goes. The farm is much different than Bruno was told it was; in fact, it seems pretty awful. He starts to wonder why Shmuel and the other farmers live here. Soon, all the farmers are rounded up, and since Bruno is with the men, he goes with them. They are rushed into a room called the shower. This doesn’t seem like such a bad idea to Bruno; the men here could use a shower. This is the last we hear from Bruno, as we assume the showers weren’t the kind most of us take in the morning.

I’ll admit; this wasn’t the happiest ending I’ve ever experienced. However, the book contained so much emotion and feeling that I found myself in tears as it ended. But I should make another confession: I read the book because I saw the movie first. I have nothing bad to say about either; in fact, I went to my students and immediately recommended both the book and the movie to them the next day. Several of them both read the book and watched the movie, and they all brought back the same report that I gave them: you HAVE to read this/watch this. I’ll admit, it seems a bit hard to believe all this could happen; I mean, aren’t even kids smart enough to get that the farm is a camp and that these people are the awful Jews Bruno has been taught to hate? Then I spent some time with some elementary school students, and realized that that innocence, naivety, willingness to accept, and simplicity is spot on. It takes looking at something as horrific as the Holocaust and World War II through the eyes of a child to realize that there were real people, individuals, who had real lives and incredibly complex feelings.

So… my official review is you have to HAVE TO read it and watch it, but you will be sad and it will make you think. But seriously, you HAVE to read/watch!

Noses up!

Snobs - Julian Fellowes

If you don't recognize the name, you should. Fellowes is the screenwriter for the Academy Award winning film Gosford Park, as well as an actor and director in his own right. Snobs is his first novel, but you'd never know that to read it!

Sticking with what he knows best, Fellowes' novel is a tale of English society and the class system, marriage, scandal, social climbing...with one major caveat: it's set in the 1990s. It's an unusual twist as most of the characters seem to be relics from Edwardian society and the appearance of cell phones and cars seems odd when set beside shooting parties, marriages of convenience, and HRHs, but all this serves to illustrate that the idea of class structure is very much alive and well in contemporary England.

Told from the point of view of a friend of Edith Lavery, the woman around whom the plot of the novel spins, the narrator remains unnamed throughout. He occupies a unique position in society, however, as both a member of the upper gentry or minor nobility (it is never quite clear) and as a working actor. His "in but not of" perspective allows him to narrate the tale of one woman's social climb, with absolutely shrewd insights into the nature of the world Edith is so desperate to enter. Snobs is at its base a critical examination of the mental, emotional, and personal state of the privilege class who have, unlike celebrities, been raised with the idea of their inherent self-worth, and the fundamental differences between them and the people who idealize them.

What made this book such an enjoyable read for me is that aristocrats in literature are often portrayed as heartless, evil, stupid, or completely unaware of their detachment from the life the other 98% of the population read. What sets the characters in Snobs apart is how deeply aware they are of their pretensions, traditions, and perceptions. The truly greatest character is the indomitable Lady Uckfield, Edith's mother-in-law, who has the clearest eyes and best sense of any of her family both as to outsider Edith's motives and struggles in her marriage, and to her own position and what power it gives her. The characters are honest, and if they prove not to be they are at least honest about their dishonesty.

The plot itself is pretty straightforward: girl marries up, discovers that aristocracy does not mean the same thing as celebrity, grows dissatisfied, and is tempted by a devilishly handsome actor. There is the natural ensuing struggle of what is most important: sex or security, privledge or money (they aren't the same thing at all), happiness or fulfillment. What makes the story gripping is the dialog and the candid insights into an archaic, protected, exclusive group of people who simply think differently than any other group.

Authentic, sharp, quietly intense, and merciless. If a canny peek into this world appeals, enjoy!

Thumbs up and out, please!

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is, by no small measure, an odd book. It was actually originally a BBC radio comedy show during the late 70’s. Douglas Adams then took his creation to the next level – he published Hitchhikers as the first book in a 5 volume trilogy (that’s some of Adams’s humor there for you). In 1981, someone tried to make it into a TV series, 1984 brought in a computer game, and in 2005 it became a Hollywood blockbuster. I’ve only read the book, so I can’t tell you about any of the story’s other mediums (though Calliope says the radio show is great and the movie is mediocre), but I can tell you about the book. Ready? Woo hoo!

We begin our book by meeting some interesting characters on planet earth. Arthur Dent is an unsuspecting human whose close friend, Ford Prefect, is actually an alien from another part of the galaxy. Unbeknownst to planet Earth, the galaxy needs more room for inter-space highways, so Earth is going to be demolished. Ford gets Arthur off of Earth just in time for it to be gone forever. Fun beginning, huh? How does Ford get them off? Well, by using his knowledge of the book called The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, of course. Every good space traveler has a copy and uses it religiously!

We then meet Zaphod Beeblebrox, the Galactic President. He and his girl, Trillian (who we find out later he took away with him last time he visited Earth) have decided to steal the newest invention by the Galactic scientists, called the Heart of Gold. It is a time-warp speed space craft that can get you anywhere by its use of an improbability drive, which powers the craft by doing and calculating the improbable.

It would be improbable for a ship to pick up random creatures floating in open space, so this is exactly what the ship does. Soon, Arthur, Ford, Zaphod, and Trillian (along with Marvin, the chronically depressed robot) are all on the same ship. Where are they headed? Well, of course, for the improbable! Many moons ago, the planet Magrathea manufactured perfect planets for rich planeteers to buy, and it was by far the richest planet. Zaphod wants to find it, so off they go.

It would be improbable to find it, right? So obviously, they do. Once there, they learn that Earth was actually a giant computer, which was to take 10,000 years to come up with the Question to the Ultimate Answer (the answer is 42, by the way). It was just about to give an answer when BOOM, the galaxy got rid of Earth, and the species which had commissioned the supercomputer/planet were out of luck for an answer. Want to know what those creatures are? Mice, of course. Who else would be the true rulers of Earth?

Throughout this journey, the improbable happens around every twist and turn of the story, making it a laugh out loud comedy in paper form. Nothing is what you expect, nor is it what the characters expect, yet they seem to expect the unexpected and are okay with that. It ends with an invitation to Arthur and Ford to visit the restaurant at the end of the universe (an abrupt ending, which actually fits nicely with the rest of the book), and that just so happens to be the title of the next book in the series.

As previously mentioned in another review, I’m not really one who gets British humor. I’m just too American, I suppose. However, I did find Hitchhikers to be very, very amusing. I read it with Techno, my husband, who up until we met had read a total of probably 6 books in his life. One of my goals in life is to get him to read books and to actually like it (which, by the way, he does now), so I often look for books we can read together. The books I enjoy on my own sometimes are way over his literary level (that’s what marrying an English teacher will do to you), so when I read the back of Hitchhikers, I knew this would be one I could get him to read. And read it he did. In fact, he was more interested in reading it than I was. I thought it was amusing and enjoyable, but he couldn’t get enough. Because Hitchhikers is part of a 5 volume trilogy, the fun doesn’t get to end for him here. He gets to read the next four, and he’s so excited about it. The sci-fi and technology aspect of the novel are right up his alley, and he frequently laughed out loud at the ridiculous things that happened within the book. As for myself, I enjoyed the twists and turns, but I’m not much of a sci-fi gal. I enjoyed the read, but I’ll let Techno read the other four on his own.

Editor's note : Sorry! We have officially sucked this past month! But in our defense, I'm getting married in three weeks and Echo (besides being the world's best bridesmaid) was finishing up the school year; English teachers have it rough. But we're back!

The Devil and Miss Prym: A Novel of Temptation - Paulo Coelho

Coelho writes modern parables in a simple, but profound language that resonates even through the Portuguese to English translation. Neither of his two books that I've read have taken more than a couple of hours to finish, but without fail they have caused me to pause and reflect on the passage of life and human nature.

The Devil and Miss Prym takes place in a remote rural village where nothing ever changes and the only person disgruntled about it is a waitress named Chantal Prym who longs to leave and see the World. But all in all, it's a pleasant place with pleasant people leading a pleasant life, until this idyll is shattered by the arrival of a mysterious stranger who wishes to conduct an experiment on human and divine nature.

Taking Chantal to the woods the stranger shows her where he has buried one gold bar and tells her that there are ten other buried all throughout the forest and explains his twisted plan. Wishing to know if people are inherently good, bad, or a mix of the both he tells Chantal that it is his intention to urge the citizens of the village to commit bad or outright evil deeds, culminating (hopefully) with murder. His explains to Chantal that she can take the one gold brick and run, and prove than men are thieves and cowards, she can tell the village of his proposition that if they kill one member of their community they will receive the ten brick ensuring prosperity for their entire populace, or she can return to the village and say nothing, but that the stranger will tell the people of his plan and they will like choose her to be their victim.

What follows is an interesting examination into human behavior. After struggling with the desire to do the moral thing, the desire to preserve her own safety, the desire to get out of her stagnant life, Chantal tells the villagers her story in order to save her own life. She also tells the stranger that his plan is flawed because only evil can be rewarded in it and "good will earn nothing but praise. You're not trying to find the answer to a question, you're simply trying to confirm something you desperately want to believe: that everyone is evil." Though the stranger is shaken, he continues on his course and watches the drama unfold.

Members of the community each start to question what they are capable of, whether it is best to kill one to save many. Leaders worry about their political future, religious authorities ponder on the nature of such a sacrifice (after all, didn't one like it already take place in Christianity?), individual rivalries and pettiness come to light, humanity is displayed at its brightest and darkest.

Coelho's simple, powerful tale serves to remind us that anyone truly is capable of nearly any deed, fair or foul. Sometimes our morality saves us, sometimes our greed...sometimes they condemn us. Definitely worth the read. If you like it, try another of his justifiably famous works, The Alchemist.

Would You Like Brains With Your Tea and Crumpet?

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Austen lovers, beware! If you are of the frighteningly humorless variety of your species who thinks that your goddess is sacrosanct, detest Matthew MaFayden for even attempting to try on Mr. Darcy's...er...I mean Colin Firth's...role, and have a shrine to the aforementioned Darcy (or Messrs. Knightley, Wentworth, Ferras or Brandon) in your closet then this book is not for you. However if you can appreciate a bit of fun and satire, as Austen herself certainly could, you'll enjoy this surreal remake of a classic.

Seth Grahame-Smith has basically left the bulk of the plot revolving around the Bennet family intact with one minor deviation: legions of the undead wreaking havoc on Hertfordshire. The Bennet sisters have been trained by their father and in the Orient in combat and are some of the fiercest slayers in England. Thankfully Grahame-Smith left the social commentary and comedy of manners left in so although it is the primary objective of Mr. Bennet to keep his daughters alive, it is still very much the primary objective of their mother to get them married.

The real humor of the story is the long passages, taken verbatim from Austen's original, seasoned with random zombie attacks and oriental fighting. The opening lines for example, "It is a fact universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." This list goes on! The early ball at Netherfield takes place with little change, except for the undead who seize and feast on those guests who unfortunately happened to be standing near the windows before being dispatched by the Bennets. When Darcy proposes to Elizabeth she returns not only an impassioned refusal, but a roundhouse kick to the face for destroying (as she believes) the happiness of her sister Jane. Lady Catherine de Bourgh is accompanied everywhere by her ninja bodyguards and gets into a duel with Elizabeth to keep her away from her nephew Darcy. And while those ardent Austen fans may be foaming at the mouth with rage to read this list of blasphemies, I think even they would join me in a hearty sense of satisfaction to hear that Darcy breaks the legs of the infamous Wickham for his rakish behavior.

Zombies may seem a bit much but the plot of Pride and Prejudice has already been done, redone, spawned series about the Darcy's future children, delved far deeper than necessary into their sex life, and redone again so in some ways it's refreshing to read a book that's an entire pun on the plot to begin with. If you read this book expecting great literature like the original, you will be disappointed (or incandescent with rage if your of that particular variety...) but if you take it as what it is, a riotous romp of whimsy, you'll spend the entire book laughing. Definitely a quick read to...er...sink your teeth into.

Letters

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Have you ever read something and thought to yourself, “Wow, I really relate to that!” Well, if you have, then you know what ever paragraph of The Screwtape Letters was like for me. I don’t know how I got to adulthood without reading it, but somehow I managed to get here. It’s been on my list, but I’ll admit, I judged a book by its cover. Er, title. The Screwtape Letters isn’t the most inviting title, and the thought of reading a devil’s thoughts was largely unappealing. And now I’m slapping myself for not having read this sooner. Bad Echo!

Basically, The Screwtape Letters is a collection of letters from Screwtape, a senior devil in Satan’s kingdom, to his nephew, Wormwood, a newly-trained devil, who is working on his first “patient.” As I read each letter and saw the advise that Screwtape provides for Wormwood, along with accompanying explanation of why that particular tactic works, I was aghast at how many of the vices they were discussing I deal with. Now, I like to think I’m a pretty good person. I go to church, I try to be charitable, I try to be patient and serve others, but man, Screwtape illuminates why someone who does these things (just like me) can really be quite the ideal patient for someone like Wormwood, because it’s so easy to make us think we’re still being so dang good.

This book goes through family relations, work, feelings for coworkers, friends, war and peace, love and sex, and many of the other things that we as humans deal with on a daily basis, but that can be twisted from a good thing into a soul-damning thing if approached in just the right way. As I read on, I felt such empathy for the patient and sincerely hoped he would make it out the other end on top. He does, which gave me hope that we can all make it if we pay attention and do what we know is right rather than what seems almost right. It was hard for the patient, as it is for us, but he made it.

It may sound campy or clichéd, but trust me, this book will show you things that are so obvious but that you’ve never seen. It is a book that needs to be sipped rather than gulped, but it’s so worth reading. I wholeheartedly recommend The Screwtape Letters, with my only regret being that I didn’t read it sooner!

Cold Comfort

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

I love satire. I work at a junior high. I love funny. Cold Comfort Farm is touted as one of the funniest novels ever written. Well, if so, it sure didn’t hit my funny bone. Now, before those of you who read and now adore the book, let me qualify myself: there were some funny parts. I did laugh out loud once or twice. But all in all, it just didn’t quite hit my specific sense of humor. Maybe it’s because I read pages 1-50 at the most awful, painful graduation ceremony I’ve been to in years. Maybe it’s because my sense of humor isn’t as refined as it needs to be. Whatever the case, I’d give it a lukewarm review, but it’s not on my list of favorites.

On with the lukewarm review.

Stella Gibbons tale revolves around Flora Poste, a recently orphaned young woman who, rather than actually get a job, decides to live with some distant family members and meddle in their lives. She writes several family members, and decides that she will live with the family she knows the least about: the Starkadders of Cold Comfort Farm.

Flora shows up to meet her new housemates and is amazed at what she finds: Cousin Judith is depressed and obsessed with her son, Seth loves the ladies (especially the farm maid, who has had a child each year after she and Seth have their little forays), Reuben covets the farm but knows he will never receive it, Amos preaches doom and destruction by deity, Elfine is beautiful but is too artsy and doesn’t have a clue how to attract a man, and Aunt Ada saw something nasty in the woodshed some 50 or so years ago and is bedridden because of it.

Flora decides she has come here in order to “fix” these Starkadders. First, she starts with Elfine. She teachers her how to walk, how to sit and eat, what to talk about, changes her wardrobe and her hair, and gets her engaged to one of the richest men in town. Then she moves on to the rest of the family. She “borrows” her cousin’s friend, the moviemaker, who sweeps Seth off to Hollywood (since he’s so dashing and farmy and all). She flames Amos’s religious fire, telling him how unfair it is to the world that he isn’t preaching all over everywhere. With Amos out of the way, Reuben has full reign of the farm, and is able to do what he will with it. Judith is sent off on a journey around Europe touring old churches so she can obsess about herself. And Aunt Ada finally makes it out of bed, with Flora’s help, and decides to live the high life in Paris. All is well, Flora moves out, and gallivants off to fall in love with her second cousin, who happens to also be a marvelous dancer.

Well, of course, there are twists and turns along the way, which are for the most part, amusing. What bothered me was that it read like a math problem. Problem – Flora doesn’t want to work and would rather meddle. Solution – Sarkadders! Problem – Judith is depressed and obsessed. Solution – churches in Europe. And on and on. There seemed to be no hindrance to the problems, and though the narration was solid, not much of the dialogue was particularly witty. I will fully admit that, having not much of a clue about life in England, I may be missing a lot of the humor in what I read. However, I am of the belief that a truly funny book can be funny no matter where the book is read. The problem could also be that I spent my major reading postmodern African American literature, none of which has a shining ending or a funny plot. So if you're into 1930s British Literature, you'll probably appreciate this much more than I did. Regardless, I did enjoy Cold Comfort Farm and am moderately glad I read it. Now just wait till Calliope reads this entry and decides she needs to set me strait in her own review of the farm…

It IS Wrong...

Eating People is Wrong
by Malcom Bradbury

For such a fantastic title and such a great topic as British university life, this book is often a bit of a letdown. Then again I'm hesitant to completely condemn it because it is also often side splittingly funny. To be honest, most of this book will go straight over the heads of those who read it because the majority of the dialog is professors and intellectuals talking about the fundamental problems of being professors and intellectuals in a post-intellectual world...but the rest of the book is those same people, normalized and brought back down to a human level, stumbling through life just about as well (or badly) as the rest of us. I also think many readers are going to be frustrated and perplexed by the lack of action, but if you decide to plug your way through it, just keep in mind that this is not an action book with action characters; it's a book about lonely, sad, over-brilliant, under-socialized university dwellers, ludicrous in their inflated sense of self-importance and crippled by the narrowness of their world. If as the reader I felt a little confined within the story, think how must the characters feel!

This is Bradbury's first novel and it has the jolty feel that most first novels do, but you find yourself intrigued by the slow plots in spite of yourself. There's Professor Stuart Treece, the main character: perplexed by his role as an intellectual in post-war Britain, unable to pass the test to get a bike license, and plagued by his "genius" (i.e. woefully unhelpable menace) graduate student Louis Bates. Bates wanders through the world trying to educate others (mostly by calling everyone other than himself and imbecile), get his poetry published (which no one wants to read until its published and they realize it's good), and falling in love (stalking) his fellow student Emma Fielding. Miss Fielding is unfortunately also the object of lust for an African exchange student, who offers to divorce his other three wives for her and give her his best goat in exchange for her hand, as well as Treece himself with whom she has a brief...well, it can't truly be called a love affair...an intellectual affair involving sex, perhaps?

"It seemed as if his special human situation had somehow sapped him...Outside his own environment Treece's vital force emerged as a small thing that was weak in front of the most eternal human test, whether he was to endure or to die; there is a further edge to alienation beyond which one cases to have a real place in the world, and Treece had found himself more and more pushed toward the fringes of the society he lived in, into a peripheral and invalid existence. What was the poor little humanist to do? The world was fragmented and no Utopia was in sight..."

That passage from the end of the novel sums up Treece's, and indeed many intellectuals' predicament in the mid-twentieth century: they are thinking folk lost in a world that values action, they have no place in society at large, they do nothing and accomplish nothing that the world recognizes a valuable. Treece and Bates both end up in the hospital, the first from a hemorrhage, the second from pneumonia when he tried to impress Emma and nearly drowned in a river. In a final desperate bid to rid herself of Bates, Emma tells him cruelly of the affair she had with Treece and that Bates is an artist and therefore a scapegoat of everything wrong with society, so he should stop fighting his fate and embrace his outcast status. Bates tries to commit suicide, for which he is moved to a mental hospital and set to stand trial.

The sense of non-change carries through to the final words, "She went away, and he lay there in his bed, and felt as though this would be his condition for evermore, and that from this he would never, ever escape."

If you're looking for classic British dark humor, by all means jump into this book. Just make sure you know what you're getting into.

Memoirs

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Geisha are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance. Many Westerners mistake geisha for common prostitutes, but true geisha are paid to entertain, not to engage in paid sexual relationships with their clients. Why am I telling you all of this? First off, you probably didn’t know what a geisha was. Secondly, I love definitions, as I’m sure you can tell.

Memoirs is the story of Sayuri, a geisha who lived and worked during the Great Depression and then again after World War II. Sauyuri starts off known as Chiyo (it is customary to change one’s name when one becomes a geisha), a small girl who lives in a fishing village with her parents. When her mother becomes sick, her father sells Chiyo and her sister, Satsu, off to become geisha. However, only Chiyo is regarded by those of the geisha district of Kyoto to be pretty enough to become a geisha, due to her light grayish-blue colored eyes, and Satsu is sold off to become a prostitute.

Chiyo meets Hatsumomo, the geisha who currently resides at the home she has been sold to. Though beautiful, Hatsumomo is harsh, cruel, and vain. She hates Chiyo and makes her life miserable. Meanwhile, Chiyo tries to escape and find Satsu so they can run away back to their village, but ends up ruining her chances to become a geisha. One day, Chiyo is crying in the streets, when a kind gentleman helps her to her feet, gives her his handkerchief, and buys her a shaved ice. The Chairman, as this man is known, leaves such an impact on Chiyo that she decides to do whatever it takes to become a geisha so she can see him again.

This dream becomes a reality for Chiyo when Mameha, a rival geisha of Hatsumomo, takes Chiyo under her wing as her big sister. Mameha gives Chiyo experience and training, as well as the support and confidence Chiyo needs in order to become a geisha. Throughout Chiyo’s journey of becoming a geisha, she is renamed Sayuri, and attracts the attention of some well-to-do men, such as Dr. Crab, Mameha’s baron danna (patron), and Nobu, who happens to be the Chairman’s business partner. Sayuri soon becomes known as one of the most alluring and entertaining of all geisha in Kyoto. Hatsumomo tries to retaliate, but is kicked out of the home as a commoner, no longer having a place which to call home and base her business from.

All seems to go well until World War II breaks out and the people of Kyoto are forced to either hide or wait for the bombs to drop. Nobu secures a place for Sayuri to hide, promising her that when this is all over, he will be her danna. Sayuri goes, and she is grateful to Nobu, but knows if he becomes her danna, there will be no chance for her and the Chairman, though up to this point, he has been friendly yet aloof with her.

The war comes to a close and Sayuri returns to Kyoto to be a geisha. Nobu asks her to help him get funding for his business by entertaining the Minister, a gross old man who finds Sayuri attractive. Sayuri realizes that if she engages in a relationship with the Minister, Nobu will want nothing to do with her, and she will be free to tell the Chairman how she feels for him. She devises a plan in which Pumpkin, an old friend and housemate of Sayuri’s, would lead Nobu into a room where he would see Sayuri and the Minister involved with one another. Pumpkin has been harboring feelings of hate for Sayuri ever since Sayuri was adopted by the house they lived at, and decides to get back at Sayuri by showing up with the Chairman rather than Nobu. Sayuri is devastated and feels all hope is gone.

Several weeks later, Sayuri is summoned to a teahouse. She goes, thinking she will have to commit to Nobu as her danna. She enters and finds someone she wasn’t expecting: the Chairman. He explains that he was responsible form Mameha taking Sayuri in and has wanted to be her danna ever since he saw her. Her actions with the Minister, her realizes, were an attempt to distance herself from Nobu so they could be together. The two then spend the rest of the Chairman’s life happily together.

Though the story may seem cliche, I have to say that it seemed new and exciting around every corner. The author does a brilliant job of immersing the reader in Japanese culture and custom without being confusing or cryptic. This beautifully woven story was captivating, and I found myself unable to put it down. I found myself wanting Sayuri to succeed, sympathizing with her situations, understanding while not agreeing with her relationship with the Minister, and thrilled with her when she finally unites with the Chairman. This is an easy recommendation for me to make. Memoirs of a Geisha is a beautifully woven story that I quickly and easily fell in love with and stayed in love with throughout my reading of it.

Bleak, All is Bleak!

Bleak House, by Charles Dickens

I have to confess that though I have read great chunks of Dickens, I have never read one of his books from cover to cover before for this reason: I can't stand him. I realize that I am treading on dangerous ground here because Dickens is not really an author one can be ambivalent about, one either loves or detests him and both sides defend their arguments vitriolically. And even though I find myself in the second category, I can still appreciate Bleak House for the themes it addresses.

It is a (horrendously long) parable on the state of the British legal system of the day, which was an antiquated mess of tradition, habit, conflicting rules and regulations, and in some cases rampant corruption. Dickens himself worked as a law clerk and found the arcane system to immensely frustrating at best and ineffectual at worst. The driving force of Bleak House's story is the court case Jarndyce v. Jarndyce which, while it is never fully explained, is a case involving a substantial inheritance that has dragged on for generations and consumed massive amounts of time and money without ever reaching a successful conclusion. There are so many people involved in the case that it has finally reached the status of one huge running joke within the Chancery.

Nearly everyone in the story is connected to this case in some way. Initially we meet Lady Dedlock, a beautiful young woman married to a man much older than herself, who is a claimant in the case and is represented by her husband's attorney Mr. Tulkinghorn, a prominent member of legal society. Through him we are introduced to an innumerable host of lawyers, clerks, landlords, tenants, shopkeepers, tramps, moneylenders, and the dregs of London's slums, all of whom are entangled in the secrets of those embroiled in Jarndyce v. Jarndyce, either intentionally or by association, as the plot progresses.

The narration goes back and forth between an omniscient narrator and Esther Somerson, a child who was raised by a spartan, vicious woman (later revealed to be her aunt) and was taken in by the generous gentleman, a Mr. John Jarndyce, along with two cousins of her own age, Richard and Ada. The pair eventually fall in love with one another but their guardian insists that before they may marry, Richard must engage himself in a suitable profession. However Richard, a rather fickle young man who has not been able hold to any of his endeavors, soon becomes obsessed with the Jarndyce case and determines that if he can finally push it to conclusion, he and Ada will be able to live off the profits and a profession will not be required.

In the usual mix one finds in Victorian literature, it is eventually discovered that Esther is Lady Dedlock's illegitimate child from a pre-marital affair, nearly dies of an awful disease, but is spared and goes on to find true love. She is also a thoroughly uninspiring heroine who is constantly dismissing herself as a worthy narrator, is ever filled with maidenly surprise when someone shows her regard, and generally goes about being a typical paragon of Victorian feminine virtue. She has her uses as a narrator but I could not find much use for her except as a dull character to drive a romantic plot forward in a book that is otherwise allegorical.

For, in the end, that is what the book is about: the flawed nature of the system and how in the end all who are involved with it are eventually consumed. Consumption is a main theme. Richard becomes obsessed with the case to the point of sinking heavily into debt and bad health, and though he pushes it to a conclusion in which he and Ada are named the heirs, the litigation have gone on so long there is nothing left to inherit and he dies a broken man. Tulkinghorn, obsessed with finding out the secrets in Lady Dedlock's past, manipulates a series of stupid or miserable people to do his bidding and ends up getting shot by and informant he refuses to help after she has outlived her usefulness to him. Another character helps drive her family into destitution while she campaigns for missionary efforts in Africa, all the which quite failing to notice the miserable state of her husband and children. The most important minor character, an insane shopkeeper who sells nothing and hordes everything (who ironically turns out to posses the concluding paperwork in the Jarndyce case), serves as a metaphor for the Chancery court itself and actually dies from spontaneous human combustion: an allegory of the legal system destroying itself from its own uselessness.

I still wouldn't classify Dickens as a favorite author after reading this, which may seem odd because I find the book valuable in and off itself (it helped spur public opinion in favor of reforming the court system after its publication). I also found the plot, even in its predictability, to be mildly engrossing and some of the characters engaging. And I can also say that the themes were interesting and that Dickens should be valued for pointing out, as many Victorian writers did, the flaws and incongruities of his society and how they often failed to live up to their own expectations.

So, Calliope, you ask, why the loathing? In the end, it's just a personal dislike of his writing style I think. Bleak House, like may of Dickens other novels, was written to be published serially in parts and such works often served as the soap operas of their day: over dramatic and driven by characters rather than plot (though I think Dickens does a good job of maintaining his theme throughout). Though I enjoyed the story, Dickens' verbosity and love of flowery imagery can be suffocating and it took me twice as long to finish as it should have because I just didn't like reading it, but when I decided to view it as the allegory it was intended to be instead of trying to make myself like it I got on much better.

Bleak House is an important read and everyone should get through it at least once (Dickens fans, as many times as you'd like, I wash my hands of you), but it's importance as an examination of the failing legal system and shortcomings of Victorian society need to be understood for its importance to be felt.

The Meaning of Atonement

Atonement by Ian McEwen

Have you ever done something wrong, really wrong? Something you’ve felt guilty for for years? Have you asked yourself over and over, why did I do it and what could I do to fix it?

Atonement is defined as compensation for a wrong. In a religious context, it means being forgiven for a sin by God after making a compensation for the sin. In a more worldly view, it means being forgiven for a wrongdoing by the person who you wronged after making a compensation for that wrong.

In McEwen’s Atonement, we meet an interesting cast of characters who live in a pre-World War II England: most importantly, 13 year old Briony; her 23 year old sister Cecelia; the 16 year old cousin, Lola; the rich visitor, Paul Marshall; and the landscaper, 23 year old Robbie. The scene starts with Briony writing a play, which she will cast her cousins to act in when Briony’s older brother comes home with his rich friend, Paul Marshall. Meanwhile, Cecilia, who has just returned from college, has a run-in with Robbie, the landscaper who grew up with Cecilia and who also goes to her same university. Robbie realizes he is in love with Cecilia and decides to write her a note. In drafting his notes, one of them states his bawdy thoughts as is, while one is written more for the reader. While he is writing this, Briony is caught up in the drama of what the play should be, and runs to the yard to fantasize about what the world will be when she is an all-important author in it. When Robbie finishes, he bids Briony to deliver the letter to Cecilia so she can ponder the letter. While she is running to do her job, Robbie realizes he has put the wrong letter in the envelope; the bawdy one is on its way to Cecilia. Cecilia receives the letter and is at first shocked. However, this shock makes her realize that she, too, loves Robbie. They meet and begin a romance. However, Briony has read the letter, and in her young mind, believes only a lunatic could write something so horrid. She begins to make him a sort of devil in her mind, so much so that when Lola is attacked and raped by someone at the party, Briony instantly blames Robbie, although Mr. Marshall bears an odd scratch on his face that wasn’t there before. Briony’s testimony, along with the letter Cecilia received, are enough to condemn Robbie to prison for raping Lola.

This, however, is only the beginning of the story. The years pass, and Briony grows up. As she grows, she starts to see what really happened that night. As this realization comes to her, she realizes what she has done to Robbie, in sending him to prison as an innocent man. She realizes what she’s done to Cecilia and Robbie, by separating them in their love, causing Cecilia to abandon her family. So she comes up with a story where they end up together and Briony tells the truth. But with what history has brought England and these characters, their reunion never happens. Briony has done something so terribly wrong, but she can never make it better. There is no atonement to be had. Because she made up the story, she is the god of the situation. And while gods provide atonement for their subjects, there is no atonement for God.

I have to admit that, at the beginning, I was a bit skeptical about a story surrounding a girl and her silly play. However, McEewen’s style was intriguing, and I figured there had to be more to a story called Atonement. So I kept reading. And I am so glad that I did. As the text unraveled itself before me, I was amazed at what an involved and intricate story this was. The characters were rich and deep, and though each has his or her character flaws, I found it truly hard to hate them, especially Briony’s character, who is the reason behind the whole fiasco to begin with. When the story wraps up with its explanation of what atonement means for someone like Briony, who created the story, I stopped dead in my tracks. I’d never thought about God needing an atonement and how real it must be that, according to the setup, he couldn’t have one. According to scriptures, if he could, he would “cease to be God.” Not only did this book make me rethink points of view and see a difficult (for the characters) story as beautiful and enthralling, it made me consider the origins of atonement and what a great burden that would be on any of us to have none available to us.

I should note that if you are averse to some swearing and would be offended by the bawdy letter and ensuing romantic rendezvous that this book might not be the best choice for you. However, for those (like myself) who don’t have a problem with this, I can fully put my support behind Ian McEwen’s Atonement.

Elegance A La Mode

Elegance: A Complete Guide for Every Woman Who Wants to be Well and Properly Dressed on All Occasions, by Genevieve Antoine Dariaux


I first found this book during one of my frequent Amazon.com surfs and was intrigued by the title because elegance, as a concept, seems to be rather antiquated. I have heard barely a handful of people described as elegant (aside from Oscar red carpet critiques) in my life, and it seems such a broad idea that I couldn't imagine how anyone could undertake to writing a guide on how to be elegant. However, Dariaux states right off that she is limiting her guidance to the area of expertise that she knew well: fashion. In the 1940s and 1950s she created a line of Haute Couture costume jewelry and a minor design house of her own before becoming the directress of salons for the Nina Ricci house of design in Paris. Apart from being her career, creating a beautiful "look" for a client was clearly her passion and her book is an undertaking to give women what she saw as the very basics of good taste.

Upon an initial glance through of the books, which is organized alphabetically by topic (Accessories, Button, Chic, etc.), I could not help but think, "The proper way to wear hats? Girdles? Well, this will be horribly out of date, but I'm sure it will still be interesting." Not twenty minutes into reading I was choking on the humble pie that Dariaux and tossed, firmly but of course elegantly, into my teeth. And I was taking both stock of my closet and notes!

Granted some of the topics she covers are genuinely behind the times for most of us (ball gowns, debutante parties, girdles and other "unmentionables," and the idea of it being a necessity to change one's outfits several times a day), but only a few pages in I was surprised to read the words "skinny belts," and not to much further on "espadrilles," "knee high socks enjoying a revival," and the essential nature of "a few vintage pieces." Wait a second, what decade was this written in again?

Almost effortlessly, Dariaux manages to remind the reader that while fashion has obviously shifted, style remains essentially the same. Age is no boundary to style, she proclaims, "A woman can be elegant until the end of her days...don't give up wearing high heels; just choose them lower and sturdier." She covers how to dress for any occasion and every type of clothing from overcoats to negligees, but most important what she emphasizes why dressing well is so essential: it is the outer portrayal of the battle we all fight to emphasize our good points and minimize (if not hide) our bad ones.

Occasionally, in spite of her claim to stick only to fashion, little gems of her personal philosophy leak through, which actually form some of the most engrossing categories of the book. Between the categories "Furs" and "Gloves" are several paragraphs dedicated to "Gestures" and how the effects of a wardrobe from the fingertips of Christian Dior himself are completely overshadowed by small acts of inelegant behavior (which include things from adjusting one's bra to speaking too loudly at the table). Even taking photos has a formula in the Gospel According to Dariaux: re-edit your photo album ever ten years or so to avoid embarrassment. She even offers up her opinion on the three types of husbands 1) the Blind Man who takes two years to notice your new suit, who's advantage is that he lets you dress in peace, 2) the Tyrant who thinks he knows best and invariably wants his wife to dress like his mother, and 3) the Ideal Husband who is genuinely interested in your clothes and admires you more than any other woman in the world. "If you possess this dream man, hang on to him," she cautions, "He is extremely rare." And cubic zircons? "[they] may be classified as 'imitations' and for this reason they do not really belong in an elegant wardrobe."

Reading her book I got the feeling that I would feel twice as nervous being introduced to Madame Dariaux than the Queen of England! Somehow in the privacy of my own home, stretched out on my couch at eleven o'clock at night she managed to make me feel unfit to be in her presence dressed as I was in my tee shirt and sweatpants. I found myself patting myself on the back when I recalled certain items in my closet that obviously would have received approval and inwardly cringing to remember certain lapses of taste, some more recent than I care to admit. I had a spontaneous and irresistible craving for mink (even though I don't wear fur) and simultaneously plotted out a limited and tight budget for a fabulously French wardrobe. I kicked myself for not preserving the lustre of my pearls by wearing them enough and committed to buying more cashmere and less Old Navy.

This book may be dangerous for your health, fashionably speaking; it will make want to storm your closet and rip half of your clothes to shreds, but it will also remind you that such behavior would probably be less than refined, surely you can have a nice, quiet bonfire somewhere and no one will be the wiser. You will find yourself perplexed at the things women subjected themselves to half a century ago in the name of beauty before realizing that the process is little altered today. And you may even feel the smallest craving, as I did, that the days of veils, hats, really well made gloves, and true dedication to elegance is fading.

The List

So as Calliope and I mentioned, we'll be hacking our way through several "must read" book lists. The first list we shall tackle is the BBC Top 100, found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml. For those of you who are sitting there, wondering what said list contains, let me go ahead and tell you:

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

We aren't going in any particular order, but as we both have a goal to read all 100 on the list of the top 100, be expecting quite a bit from here.