This was my first manga, and I honestly didn’t really know what I should expect. Would it be confusing to read a book backwards? Would it be too cartoony? I had no idea, but I was really interested in finding out. I saw this at the library — they have a whole section of manga based on classic novels, and I plan on reading as many of these classics as I can at some point. Pride & Prejudice was actually the perfect entry point for […]
In the Bleak Mid-Winter
I’ve now read all of two Edith Wharton novels and she is fast becoming one of my favorite writers. With beautiful evocative prose, Wharton creates the socially circumscribed world of early 20th-century East Coast America, a bleak place where romantic tragedies occur. In The House of Mirth, the main character Lily Bart was a beautiful young woman whose family status gave her access to upper class New York society but whose sex and poverty severely limited her ability to function successfully there. In Ethan Frome, […]
The downstairs gets their turn
As an Austen fan, reading Longbourne is almost inevitable. I’ve always wondered about the story from the perspective of the servants, and what it must have been like watching Mrs. Bennett furiously attempt to marry off her daughters so that they can avoid the poverty of the servantry. How awful it must feel to watch these wealthy people parade around, attempting to catch equal or wealthier mates to avoid winding up in your own shoes. And knowing that while your own lot in life was nothing to be desired […]
“Things could change so entirely, in a heartbeat; the world could be made entirely anew, because someone was kind.”
I love Jane Austen. I know she’s not for everyone, but I definitely have a soft spot for the author. Due to this soft spot I limit what I partake of in the Austen companion materials, no matter how long they’ve been a part of the Austen experience. The one that seems to have the most is Pride and Prejudice. I read Mr. Darcy’s Diary for Cannonball Read IV, but that experience and reading less than stellar reviews has kept me from reading Death Comes […]