Charles Dickens' Great Expectations

I read this book originally as a teenager and obviously missed a lot of the character nuances at that time, as I didn't understand why Dickens was so well loved. I picked the book up again this week and am so glad that I did. Second chances aren't so bad after all. Dickens was such a subtle humourist and his characters so endearing, that I am sure they will stay with me for a very long time.

Here are my favorite quotes:

“Life is made of so many partings welded together” 

“Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts.”

“The broken heart. You think you will die, but you just keep living, day after day after terrible day.” 

“You are part of my existence, part of myself. You have been in every line I have ever read, since I first came here, the rough common boy whose poor heart you wounded even then. You have been in every prospect I have ever seen since-on the river, on the sails of the ships, on the marshes, in the clouds, in the light, in the darkness, in the wind, in the woods, in the sea, in the streets. You have been the embodiment of every graceful fancy that my mind has ever become acquainted with.”

“I took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place; and, as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge, so, the evening mists were rising now, and in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw no shadow of another parting from her.”

The novel also took me through quite a stream of emotions. I smiled and snickered a couple of times and felt heart warmed  sad, aghast, disappointed, frustrated, glad, content and relieved at specific scenes throughout the novel (especially near the end).

Book Review: Mrs. Kimble

When I choose books that I buy there is almost always a process. I'm interested in the cover then the brief synopsis of the book. If I have not at this point been turned off - and occasionally I am turned off this easily because the book, although it had a fascinating cover, will be more cliche than a book of cliches. I usually open up to the first page. If the first sentence grabs me so well that I'm half way down the page or turning the page before I stop, the book is usually under consideration.

This book had the interesting cover, the interesting story blurb, and a truly interesting beginning. It was, in fact, the beginning that made me purchase it even though I hadn't been planning on buying anything that day at Booksale. The book itself is an interesting book that follows the lives of the three Mrs. Kimbles. They are the stars of this story in a way that Mr. Kimble although he one of the only characters that actually weaves consistently through the narrative, cannot be. After all, Mr. Kimble is, in fact, a scoundrel.

This is not a light story and in fact in some places is rather depressing. However, what I think I enjoyed about this book was the way the author was able to take these three women and describe real women with real fears and flaws and the very real reasons they might have been attracted to this man who was rarely what he claimed to be and in fact often was directly opposite of what he claimed to be. In the case of each woman it was personal insecurities that drew them to him and he was very good at preying on those insecurities to his advantage.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There were a couple of places where I felt like the author gave short shrift to the story but it's a first novel and very enthralling.

Book Review: Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas

This book is not usually what one expects from Patterson who usually writes mystery and thriller novels. This one's an exception indeed. It showed me the sensitive and emotional look at life and love. The book flowed masterfully as I expected and from that standpoint was a joy to read. The character of Suzanne quickly captured my heart and I couldn't help rooting for her despite the obvious supposition that things could not be expected to end well for her. The sweet and honest romance between Suzanne and Matt at times seemed almost too perfect and idyllic and thus was for me a bit unbelievable. Despite that, I was sucked in and as the suspense built could not help but rush through to the end which I'll admit had me shedding a few tears. I'd definitely recommend this one as a quick and easy sweet read for a rainy afternoon. You won't be left pondering the universe, but a pleasant sense of melancholy and perhaps a need to re-examine your priorities in life will linger.

Crime and Punishment

Will spend the day getting paranoid by reading this hell of a book. 

2012 Reading List

“Bessie asked if I would have a book: the word book acted as a transient stimulus…”

- Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

I'm proud to say that I have fulfilled my 2011 book challenge before the year officially ends. I must admit, it was tough to finish 48 books in just a year.

Now, here's the list for another year of reading and book fetish. I've lessened the quota to 24 books since I will have my internship, teaching OJT and thesis writing next school year. These 24 books are piled up on my study table right at this very minute. They all scream for attention, believe me.

I've already read some of these books, but I've read them so haphazardly, they need caressing, cuddling and flipping again. As for the others, I'm looking forward to a phenomenal reading experience. So please do grant me so.

1.       The Reader by Bernard Schlink

2.       Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

3.       Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field by Melissa Nathan

4.       The Darcy Connection by Elizabeth Ashton

5.       Snowbound Six by Richard Martin Stern

6.       The Summer of the Spanish Woman by Catherine Gaskin

7.       Elephants in the Living Room, Bears in the Canoe by Earl and Liz Hammond

8.       Arrest Sitting Bull by Douglas C. Jones

9.       I Can Jump Puddles by Alan Marshall

10.   Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

11.   The Brethren by John Grisham

12.   Homecoming by Belva Plain       

13.   The Starlight Drive-in by Marjorie Reynolds

14.   The Debutante by Katherine Williams

15.   September by Rosamunde Pilcher

16.   The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

17.   Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs

18.   Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz

19.   Not Another Country by James Baldwin

20.   Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

21.   Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

22.   My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters by Sidney Salter

23.   Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

24.   Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Austen's Working Table

Not long before her death, Jane Austen described her writing as being done with a fine brush on a “little bit (not two inches wide) of ivory”. Her novels are not miniatures, but she did work on a surface not so much bigger than those two imagined inches of ivory. This fragile 12-sided piece of walnut on a single tripod must be the smallest table ever used by a writer, and it is where she established herself as a writer after a long period of silence. Her early novels had been written upstairs in her father’s Hampshire rectory, and remained unpublished when the family moved to Bath in 1800, where writing became almost impossible for her. Only in 1809, when she returned to Hampshire and settled in the cottage on the Chawton estate of her brother Edward, could she devote herself to her work again.

Chawton Cottage was a household of ladies - Mrs Austen, her daughters and their friend Martha Lloyd - all taking part in the work of the house and garden. But Jane was allowed private time. Having no room of her own, she established herself near the little-used front door, and here “she wrote upon small sheets of paper which could easily be put away, or covered with a piece of blotting paper”. A creaking swing door gave her warning when anyone was coming, and she refused to have the creak remedied.

From this table the revised manuscripts of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice went to London to be published in 1811 and 1813. From this table too came Mansfield Park, Emma and Persuasion. Here she noted down the encouraging comments of neighbours - Mrs Bramston of Oakley Hall, who thought S&S and P&P “downright nonsense”, and “dear Mrs Digweed” who volunteered that “if she had not known the author, she could hardly have got through Emma”.

Austen died in 1817, and after Cassandra’s death in 1845 the table was given to a manservant. Today, back in its old home, it speaks to every visitor of the modesty of genius.

P&P Tribute

After a silence of several minutes, he came towards her in an agitated manner, and thus began —

“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”
Elizabeth’s astonishment was beyond expression.

-Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen Heroes

I wanted to make a list of my top three Jane Austen Heroes but who am I kidding, that’s just completely impossible and terrible. For one thing, these fictional characters haunt my dreams with their steadfastness of affection.

Now, as a 19 year old college student, life is not easy. After a day of studying, excavating books and shelving them back in the library, supping liters of coffee, and walking in the busy streets of La Paz, a normal person would have talked to or would walked with someone who makes the dreadful day worthwhile. But not me. After a day of attending college, I would come home to a bunk adorned with nothing fancy and a stack of books piled up in my study desk, waiting to burst open, be read and everything around me will become distorted and deafened. Nothing else matters.

Fitzwilliam Darcy – Now, almost every Jane Austen lover I know wants a piece of Darcy. He’s a very dynamic character indeed; one can see how he started from being a blunt, arrogant prick towards being a tenderly affectionate heart. What makes him different is that he started from being one imperfect fellow to something that is deeper and gentler as the story goes on. At the end of the book, one can see a profound change in his person, brought about by his affection towards Elizabeth Bennet. He is no longer the cold, arrogant man. His faults have departed and his virtues are strengthened. These make him adorable to me, but he is not the only adorable Jane Austen hero.

Mr. Bingley – He is often portrayed in movies as the dumb, annoying one which is so unfair because he is described in the book as well-mannered and intelligent. There’s not much in Mr. Bingley except that he is rich and modest and friendly and yeah – like perfect! But what’s wrong with him being so easily persuaded by the people around him? Unlike the beloved Austen heroes he is not self-confident and stays constant.

Edward Ferrars – He is a constant character. He doesn’t change much in the story. He is a reserved person who is grave to be overpowered by her mother upon himself. But despite him being static, I adore him because he contrasts the character of Willoughby, the scoundrel. He stayed true to his duty towards his family being the male heir even though that means compromising his own happiness. He stayed with Lucy Steele because he was engaged to her. However, in the end, he overcomes all this bounds pressed against him a reader can only sympathize how he betrayed his feelings that left him forlorn for so long. But being with Elinor, who possess the same decided temper that he has, he is a content and happy person.

Henry Tilney – He is the supposed metro-sexual Jane Austen hero. Haha. He know’s muslin for Pete’s sake! But don’t be alarmed, he is one of the charming characters I have encountered. He has a sense of humor, well-rounded, he cares for people genuinely and when in love- he fights for it. Catherine Morland brought out the best in him. He defied the wishes of his father because of her which would be very different if Edward Ferrars was on his place.

Colonel Brandon- He has the Darcy sort of pride but he is in no way conceited. He is brave, noble and wonderful having been in the service of the navy for a long time. Though others perceive him as a boring bloke, I beg to differ. He has the steadfastness of affection that overshadows other Austen heroes.

Edmund Bertram- I didn’t really like Edmund at the start. He is a very fickle man made even fickle by scheming women. He can be easily deluded and I hate that. At the end however, he had a firm grip of himself and was able to see who really has been constantly there for him. He’ll be okay when he’s with Fanny though. They’re for each other.

Mr. George Knightley – Um, I like this guy. It’s like being smitten in a girly sort of way. He is the textbook example, the quintessential, nice guy. He sees the worst in Emma, which are grave distresses indeed but whatever they may be he’s unchangeable! He is fixed and constant as the sun in the blue. He is, of course saddened about her making mistakes, and is willing to change her juvenile tendencies. That’s what’s good in Mr. Knightley. He has faith in Emma, a belief that she will change for the better sometime very soon.

Captain Wentworth- This man is almost a Mr. Darcy but without the ‘untouchable’ aura. He is also a Colonel Brandon but just much longer – eight years! He is my beloved Jane Austen hero. The tops! First of all, he has the rag to riches transformation. He was an unknown who made his way to the top. Then, he transformed into an extremely bitter man to a sweet one. He wrote one of the finest love letters I’ve ever beheld and read. He struggled and betrayed his feelings for a very long time and that brought out the worst in him. Unlike Darcy, he doesn’t regard his rank and pride as the hindrance towards happiness and love. He fears rejected and resentment that he continues to thrust his feelings aside.

So yeah. There they are. Jane Austen created her heroes with weaknesses and merits resembling a human which makes them realistic. However her time period and story-telling is in such a way that these characters almost seem romantic. It’s impossible to pick only three, you see. Every Jane Austen hero will always have a space in my storybook.

Stranger than Fiction

Jane Eyre from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, my most favorite literary heroine. 

Many times, I wish to see myself as a protagonist in a novel, a vivacious heroine resembling a role model who would preoccupy the heart of the reader for weeks or years. Or a kick ass heroine who is really powerful, forceful, and effective that will transcend the test of time. A character whose life is bursting with action and makes a great deal of conversation. Someone realized and insightful and know the matters of the heart.

Anne Eliot from Persuasion by Jane Austen 

I spend hours, I spend days thinking about this only to realize, again and again that my life doesn’t resemble to any of these. I am nothing special. I am a boring, uninteresting person, whose uneventful life passes her by – fleeting, with nothing to amuse or vex her in the same degree that applies to these characters I would adore to resemble with.

Molly Gibson from Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell 

I didn’t see myself any better and it remained that way for a long time.

Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 

Isn’t it a vanity to adore several heroines when in fact you’re nothing near their smallest bit? When in fact you’ve never been near their achievements, you’ve never been in the places they’ve been, not in the same compelling lines, not in the same mysterious unraveling circumstances?

Margaret Hale from North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell 

I am not the least bit poetical. I am devoid of vivacity. I am the most un-poetical thing in existence. I have lost my identity in the recurring process of trying to find myself in one of the greatest heroines. I am constantly filling other body to be able to escape through them. I am devoid of credibility. I don’t even know myself entirely.

Josephine March from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 

But to think that books let you experience all these, all these amicable and beautiful feelings, and let the reticent sensations of your heart surge into veracities, isn’t that what books are for?

One day I have thought about my life, the series of coincidences, and the revelations that broken my faith towards life and God. These series of flashes that recuperated in my mind have suddenly become to me a pivotal turning point. I remember that my life itself is a stream of synchronicities that I draw on constantly for my writing. I am my own hero and all these literary heroines are just echoes of me. These heroines are alive because of me, because I chose them to, because they are written to inspire me to do something with my life. I am the object of all of them. It is I who is the greatest heroine after all.

There soon after, I realized that if only we have the eyes, the heart or the openness of mind to see that our lives are the greatest stories of all.

Book 6 Escape by Kate Cann

This is definitely a book for summer.

Rowan wants to disentangle herself from her own family - pressurizing parents and a ridiculuos brother. Now that she's graduated from high school, she wants to escape from all the pressures of her life in London. She thinks that spending a year in the USA will be the best decision she will take. But after working for a psychotic lady and her kiddo, she feels more trapped than ever. In the mean time, she made friends with an iguana. Iggy is a symbolism of her own self. So together they set out, made themselves free by escaping yet again in California and its beautiful city lights. On the way to San Francisco, they meet a boy called Landon who invites her to the country hotel he worked at the last year. We then experience the twists and turns of her new found happiness and derision in a packed journey. The boy Landon became a romantic interest and at last, her escape to the USA was the best thing to do afterall.

I'm not really into chick literature but I enjoyed this one.

Book 5: Best Kept Secrets By Diane Downs

This is a complete waste of time and precious paper.

I am aware of the Diane Downs case after I read the book Small Sacrifices by Ann Rule when I was in grade five. It was one of the crime novels that are based on true story that I've loved eversince. Diane Downs is a tall and beautiful sociopath who was charged with shooting her three children more than two decades ago to gain the love of a married man. Cheryl Downs died, Danny was paralyzed and Christie, seriously wounded. Diane blamed the shooting on a shaggy haired stranger. The police didn’t agree. Presently she is jailed in Valley State Prison for Women in California. Anne Rule's insight into the personality of Downs is as horrifying as it is disturbing. This book is a must read to crime and mystery novel buffs.

However, Diane Downs writes her own account about the incident too. I saw this book in ABD and I just had to read it. I know the law is flawed that's why I choose to read her side of the story.

This book is so inferior. It is an alibi to the evil crime that she commited. It doesn't make the grade in any way. If I had any reservations that Diane may not have comitted the crimes she was convicted of, this nonsense would set me straight.

Fascinating, indeed. A look in the mind of a sociopath.

Jane Austen Novels Adaptations

For years, Jane Austen’s appeal dazzled the hearts of many and quite more interesting a fact is that she continues to allure different kinds of readers from all dimensions of life that if she were alive today, she would be one of the richest persons on earth having known that her novels are freely adapted here and there, from books to movies, to ridiculous TV series and other fancy things of commercial value.

I’ve read and reread all her novels except for Sanditon and this summer, I’m having quite an experience watching the BBC adaptations of her works. I’m amaze how impatient I have been for weeks and how this impatience is positively gratified by her wits and tongue lashing, her complex yet remarkable characters and the pertinent charm of dancing to awaken the affectionate heart.

Oh yes, I’ve had an overdose of all the goodness and what is more delightful is to divulge some of that goodness here. This would be a tiresome post but what’s that to matter now.









Persuasion 2007 BBC

This adaptation perfectly captured the melancholic nature of the novel. There are moments of complete dejection and a little less of the happy sorts. Sally Hawkins played the role quite incredibly especially during the moments where she stares at the camera, you can feel what she’s feeling. It’s as if she was piercing my heart, punctured little holes in its expanse. Her sad eyes, flowing tears and tremblinghands drives me to tears myself. As Anne Eliot, Sally Hawkins may not look quite pretty compared to how Jane Austen actually described in her novel but nonetheless there were moments that her inner beauty just shuns her rather unadorned appearance. Captain Wentworth played by Rupert Penry Jones is so close to how I imagined it from the novel. A sturdy yet gentle a man, with the pleasantness of character and eyes so dreamy. However, the intensity of his acting is not what I’ve anticipated. My favorite scenes in the movie were when they’ve met again for the first time for a very long time, in the Musgrove’s cottage. I’ve seen estrangement and broken hopes. Another was when Anne fell from a viaduct, where he came to her rescue despite their inner rupturestowards each other. That was an unmistakable indication of half agony, half hope. Lyme however is one tempestuous place made even more passionate with the exchange of conversations of the characters. And the concert, where their feeling became very evident to each other and finally Anne’s dash in Bath, in Campton Place, superb sensations running through me for the whole of that part.





Emma 2009 BBC

English gardens are indeed the paramount of all the gardens in the world, or at least in Emma. This is perhaps the most accomplished work of Jane Austen and I truly enjoyed the novel. Emma is a very smart girl with a flair for matchmaking. However, she went out of hand with Mr. Elton and Harriet Smith. Harriet Smith looked like Taylor Swift in this series. Mr. Elton was rather creepyish. RamolaGarai’s acting is impeccable. Her face performs so many expressions in a very pleasant way. Johny Lee Miller is quite the perfect man for the role of Mr. Knightly. His humbleness, his very upright manners, his scolding to Emma, his intuitive sentiments makes him a match with Mr. Darcy. This four part mini-series takes you to a friendship that turned into a romance, from childhood friends to lovers, from blind regard to a beautiful love story. The adaptation crafted a lively series and perhaps amplified the foolishness of Emma and elaborated her clever antics. My favorite parts were during the end where their feeling became evident and the confession begins with Mr. Knightly being so earnest and spoke just the right words to win Emma. Oh well, the scene where they were looking over the mountain holding hands just melt my heart.





Pride and Prejudice 2005 Universal Studios

I’ve watched the 1995 version and through it was very true to the novel, I think I loved the newer version better. Though Colin Firth looked so dashing in the older version, I preferred Matthew McFadyen’s dreamy eyes and gallantry. It is impossible to make a 2 hour movie from a 400 page novel but the screen writer made such a great job omitting some parts and crafting a briefer more comprehensive movie that will, I think, dazzle the earlier generations. Keira Knightley as Elizabeth was quite beautiful for the character. The plain Elizabeth was very ladylike and sharp and buoyant, not tomboyish just as how Keira characterized her. The English countryside is once again delightful. Pemberly is so much more than how I imagined it and the soundtrack in this movie does not let up, too. Favorite parts are the confession in the rain, very intense emotions there from Mcfadyen, Keira’s accent is so British that I found it very entertaining to follow; Judi Dench’s superb verbal abuses to Elizabeth makes me want to bitch slap her; Mr. Collin’s proposal was kind of amusing yet very exhilarating especially when he gave that flower to Elizabeth, it was as if he was presenting her a dagger instead by the look in her face. The proposal of Bingley where he uttered the phrase ‘incomprehensive ass’ that made me smile that such a word actually widely used in that century; and lastly when Mr. Darcy was walking towards Elizabeth one dawn in the meadows, he was mesmerizing.

The beauty of Jane Austen novels are in their language, in their remarks, witty banters and satire of the domestic lives and social norms of the Victorian era. Though these adaptations are very much close to the books, they’ve no say to it. Reading the books is like dipping a tortilla chip to whatever dip there is – very tasty. Sure, the adaptations have the best settings and greatest actors but they are only perpetuations of the original, hand-written creations of the writer. I fell in love with adaptations though. They’ve kept me up all night – just so addicting I forget to sleep.

Which Jane Austen Character Are You?

You Scored as Elinor Dashwood As Marianne's older sister, Elinor lives at the other end of the emotional spectrum. She rarely reveals her intense feelings and is more concerned with being honest and loyal than having what she deserves. Even though her intentions are pure, she sets herself up for loss by constantly placing other people before her own needs. Overall, Elinor is gentle and rational but is just as capable of radical emotions (despite her withholding them) as her sister. Elinor Dashwood 81% Jane Bennet 75% Marianne Dashwood 75% Elizabeth Bennet 66% Charlotte Lucas 56% Emma Woodhouse 53% Lady Catherine 41%

Book 4 - The French Lieutenant's Woman

When I picked this book from the bookstore, of course I didn't expect the usual Jane Austen rip-off from some wannabe authors. I never heard of this book before but reading it was a challenging experience and I found it to be a very rewarding on different levels. This was my first exposure to John Fowles writing. Contrary to my fascination about the Victorian era, Fowles constructs a Victorian Romance that is about as thick with existential allusions and irony which, in a way, emphasises the narrative.

The narrator knew what women were about and criticized Victorian sensibilities while simultaneously diverting us towards the more pernicious differentiation of post-modernism...errr..sexism. It debunks my notions of the Victorian era, that it was romantic and idyll and I hate the author for that. Yet, I appreciate how it questions me about the values of that era.

The story takes place during the Victorian era and revolves around an English woman named Sarah, a woman who finds herself socially despised because she had an affair with a French military officer. A biologist named Charles encounters her on that infamous pier, he becomes instantly captivated, and soon they had an affair while he was engaged to Ernestina, his well-off and well-bred fiance.

This is a love story and a romantic tragedy at the same time. While reading, I remebered Thomas Hardy's Tess d'Urbervilles, because the story is so exactly like it - broken angel, sexuality, innocence, undying (stupid) love, self-awareness, truth and courage. One notable difference only is that Sarah's motives were never clear to me.

Oh yes, John Fowles is one great author. Artful writing. He can throw together sentences that are just confounding. He overcame the boundaries of writing by crafting a Voctorian novel with an existentialist-modernist rationality and judgement then, puts himself as a character in the novel and actually made two conclusions for the novel. This guy's a show-off. Haha. But well okay, congratualtions, you made one staggering masterwork.

Book Review: We Were the Mulvaneys By Joyce Carol Oates

Booksale is god-sent. I bought this book  for only 50 pesos and all I can say is, damn this book is priceless!

This book is unputdownable. Like a Sidney Sheldon's but way much romantic and transcendent without the Danielle Steel kind of elongated narrative. Did I just compared one of the greatest 21st century writers to...oh well! 

So this is what happened.  The Mulvaney is a perfect family - home is such a sweet, ideal place, the parents are loving to each other, the children are achievers at school and in their personal lives. They were happy and they own a farm - an idyllic place to spend one's childhood. Everyone's happy with everyone and the bond is so intense and peaceful, the reader would want to draw out these parents and hug them for being so perfect - obsolete. 


Then, the wheel starts turning. The once peaceful happy family shifts into the lower part of the wheel and paradise is lost. On Valentine's day, the only daughter, Marriane, was raped. From there, everything was a downward spiral. Marriane was exiled, and the patriarch tries to grapple with the heinous crime and seek justice, only to find that he is unable to protect the ones he loves. he discovers how a reputation can be besmirched so easily and how people's good opinions could be so lenient and facile.The sons also tried to seek revenge and ends up like their father. 


Joyce Carol Oates talent is an oasis of richness and delight. A contemporary writer like her is up for the challenge of appearing credible when your work is continuously misjudged by different critical interpretations. I simply think she is a genius, having read three of her other books. She blends reality and vision with wonderful execution in a very much subtle and fast-paced manner that a reader comprehends her work so easily yet on the way, locates the maladies tormenting the times. 

I think my thesis would be about Oates. Or not. But I'm narrowing my list and the list still includes her. Her style is "formidable." She's one of the writers I would want to be like.  Her exhaustion, depression and all the suffering she's gone through must have evoked her mystical imagination and propelled her into writing these kinds of treasures. Way to go, Oates.

Book Review: A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

I got caught up on reading these last two weeks and I worked my way to finishing two fiction novels. We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates is the other. And turned out, these two books are closely related in terms of the plot and the unit of characters - which is family. I will do the other review for the other book in the next post.

Fascinating and incredibly destructive like a tempest.That is what this book is all about.

The story is uniquely simple. The family owns a thousand acres of farm land somewhere in Iowa and the father, knowing that he's aging, decides to divide this property among his three daughters Ginny, Rose and Caroline. Then Larry, the father started to act strange even towards his daughters. Ginny and Rose are the goody-girls who appeased their father constantly because they want their copious share of the the thousand acres. However, the youngest, Caroline has this recalcitrant nature summed up by her objection to her father's despotic commands, runs away someplace else. Well then people started dying and leaving halfway of the story which was kinda boring and all of the sudden, revelations started springing in and this is where the truth unfolds and hits you. Something is really wrong. The father has been sexually abusing his two eldest daughters for a very long time!

Jane Smiley is an extraordinary writer. She has a superb writing style and dramatic exposition techniques. Only a writer who practiced her profession for years can do well like this. The thing is Jane Smiley has the magic in her words to make every single scenario so real into our minds it is as if we're living it. Many scholars (including the author herself ) have compared A Thousand Acres to Shakespeare’s tragedy King Lear in their comparable themes of love, darkness, and greed; their analogous characters and in the implication of incest.

The novel has so much depth you could get lost in the woods of drama and conniving bitches. The characters are complex yet reliable that they appear so believable. The story touches the themes, patriarchal tyranny and oppression of the younger members of the family, revenge, pride, financial downfall, survival, greed, connivance, deception...I mean a lot of things. This is the kind of book which probes into your emotions and modestly neglects the intellect. Don't get me wrong, undeniably though, the strength of most divine literary work lies in the ways of the heart than the mind.

Book Review: The Ladies of Missalonghi

Since my life is on the edge right now, I’ve chosen a breezy read. Thanks to Raimer for letting me enjoy this book for a while.

I have two books by Colleen McCullough on my shelf right now. One is what I’m going to review today which is “The Ladies of Missalonghi” and the other one is “Thorn Birds” which I heard is very dramatic and bold and beautiful but I will keep the latter for next time.

The Ladies of Missalonghi is a well-written romance novel which, I think, is more or less fairy-tale come true story. The protagonist, Missy Wright is an unattractive, 33 year old who is so fond of reading trashy romance novels to the extent that it gave her delusions of hope. She is, however, assumed to become a spinster and live spouseless just like her aunt and mother whom she lives with in “genteel” state of destitution on the outskirts of Byron somewhere in Australia. Missy fakes a life-threatening sickness to get what she desires, just this once and that is to be out of her mother’s guardianship and her aunt's house (Missalonghi) and into the possession of the strange but appealing stranger who's just moved into town. This stranger is John Smith - a mysterious man who is the object of suspicion, the favorite of gossipmongers and the specimen of tiresome wretches. John Smith however is filthy rich and he changed Missy’s temperament on the matters of the heart and life. Smith changed Missy in a way that Missy found courage to change her bleak destiny and fight for her own happiness.

Since not one I know read the book, I was pretty much alone at the attempt to like it or to muster enthusiasm that it so well deserves which was a massive failure. Or maybe, I’m just a little distracted that I don’t appreciate it that much.

This novel bears the commonplace themes in fiction; true love, awakening, fighting for what you want, etc. This book, though well-written, is poorly crafted and was actually a bit amateurish. It is predictable. It is formulaic. It’s like I’ve read it already from some other authors.

The characters are neither dynamic nor complex. The setting so deserve the word ‘outstanding’ though.

From a chicklit reader’s point of view, this is a charming tale of self discovery and love. Leave it that way, Missy breathes in the pages from a damsel in distress to being rescued by a knight in his white horse.

The sex at the end however was so disturbing I needed to stop my fingers from throwing the book out of my bedroom window.

Bright Star

Last night, I watched a very good movie that (again) made me cry with the occasional interludes of a sigh. I saw "Bright Star" and just like any other period drama/ movie I have seen, it cut through me and wedged my heart. The words of John Keats are like sugar drops, pleasurably sweet yet makes me so very well guilty. The title of the movie was derived from his poem of the same name. The story is about his first and only love, the flirtatious Fanny Brawn, their next door neighbor.

John Keats on the Treetops trying to relive his "dream"



I used to brush away John Keats during the entire course of my English Literature subject. Maybe because we never really delved into the mind and the nature of his poetry, the power of his words, the thought and meaning underlying in a stanza or two of his "The Eve of Saint Agnes" poem. He was an object of my passive study and the gist of my careless thinking and I never knew the difference he would make to a girl who first jilted the beauty of his poetry.

At 25, he passed away, lost his life to tuberculosis which killed his mother and two other siblings. His life, as a writer, is not what he talks. Maybe this applies to every writer, especially to a poet. His life was not full of mystery and adventure and happiness as what are implied in his poetry but rather it was uneventful. He even considered himself a failure but now he is one of the most famous romantic English writers.

"A poet is not at all poetical. He is the most un-poetical thing in existence.
He has no identity. He is continually filling some other body,the sun, the moon."


"A poem needs understanding through the senses.
The point of diving in a lake is not immediately to swim to the shore but to be in the Lake,
to luxuriate in the sensation of water.
You do not work the lake out. It is an experience beyond thought.
Poetry soothes and emboldens the soul to accept mystery."


I'm going back to my materials on English Literature and read Keats again. In the meantime,
all I can say is that, I failed John Keats. I did not know til now how tightly he wound himself
around my heart.

Romantic Dances

What is more romantic than a romance movie? Nothing could make me smile or whimper like a stupid teenager than romance movies. Throw in some passionate music and voila, the characters dance in a slow pace with the bliss of romance spoiling the air and you stay on your seat melting like chocolate.

Here’s my top 5 most romantic dances from movies.
5.




Sam Montgomery and Austin Aimes at Prom. This may be the first chick flick I ever saw. And maybe the cheeziest, too. This dance scene is so sweet and embodies the entire plot of the movie. I mean, the white flowers, the violin playing, the beautiful song of Edwin McCaine...it's just soo much. Well, it's a Cinderella story anyway so what do I expect?




4.




Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy Final Dance. I needed to pause at 1.10 to satisfy the butterflies in my tummy. It was at that precise moment, that I totally, completely, amazingly and deeply fell in love with James McAvoy. His smile is so enchantingly soft. The allure of his eyes and movement!




3.




Kate Forster and Alex Wilder, The Way It Should Be. Okay. Now here's from my favorite movie, The Lake House. The song playing by Paul McCartney is adorable. One thing I really loved about this is the chemistry between Keanu and Sandra. I totally believe that they belong together in real life. In this scene, they are not acting. These are real emotions - the touching, the smiles, the embrace, the look in their eyes. I hold this close to my heart. I just don't like the kiss at the end of the dance.




2.




Giselle and Robert Phillip. This has bewitched me body and soul. With Jon McLaughlin's wonderful performance anchoring the dance, and the chemistry between the stars makes this the most romantic, carry-you-away scene.




1.




Emma and Mr. Knightley at the Crown Inn Ball. This might just be the loveliest dance of all the Jane Austen adaptations I've ever seen - and I've seen almost all of them. It's like watching Emma's subconscious self falling in love at this very moment, while Knightley becomes more convinced of the fact that he loves her. The eye flicker is the best part of the dance.


I have watched, marveled, enjoyed been enraptured and still I come back to see these scenes again. There are many runner-ups but these just stand out for me.

Great Expectations

I remember what Rother said, “Sagad kamo basa libro. Hambal nila kuno kun palabasa ka sang mga amo na (Jane Austen novels) gataas standards kag expectations niyo sa mga lalaki.”

That time, we were talking about Jane Austen heroes and to be specific, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. And for those who do not know this complex, fascinating and misunderstood character in literature, he is the chief character in Pride and Prejudice who with his unwavering self confidence and ultimate willingness to grow, made women swoon and leave men in contempt.















What I’m talking about is this. Males seemed a little frustrated with the inexplicable female fascination with Darcy for he is an idealized “fictional” character and therefore, no realistic model of a flesh and blood, breathing human male.


Well, I think the thought is that males feel the same way women feels against magazine covers – that they aren’t actual women but are based on them. It’s like being compared to an unrealistic ideal, and just as some men need to understand that not all women are magazine cover super models, and so neither are men.


In short, Mr. Darcy sets high ideals for women – ideals that are way out of proportion.


But, truth be told, I am “in love” with Mr. Darcy, Colonel Brandon and Mr. Knightly. And this is the part where I’m going to justify the crime.


Reading her books tastes like junk food. Imagining the trails of her narratives, is like imagining myself the “damsel-in deep-crapshoot” intent on being the mistress of an estate. My being not an expert in relationships, should I just take Rother’s advice and just forget the example of Darcy?


I don’t think so. No dudes. Darcy, though rich and extremely “agreeable” as what they call him, is neither like Edward Cullen nor a walking shallow Hollywood celebrity. As for myself, it’s not about Mr. Darcy that I love but what he did. DID.

What he did was two things. First, the steadfastness of his affection. Indeed, Jane Austen never married but she actually is an expert in alluring and capturing the lady’s heart. Women, today especially are lonesome people. So I think, the unwavering love is the most convincing modus operandi to captivate her. I mean, when the girl is in her tough times (and I’m not referring to PMS), he should be there. Just be there. Simple. Unless she wants to talk, then of course, you must respond. Haha. Kidding.

Second, is the inspiration of good. I really am not adept to explain this but it’s like this - one of the desires of a female heart is…to inspire the dude to be a better man.

Okay, though a total feminist myself I shall admit that males are generally better…I mean, waaaayyy better than the females. This is not a girl = angel / boy = demon-who-must-be-fixed situation. Nope. Anything but definitely not the Twilight syndrome. Haha. Mr. Darcy changes through the course of the novel, and attributes his improvement to the verbal tongue-lashing by Elizabeth, the heroine.

But I think the girl should pretty much not exercise the “tongue lashing/nagging” part. I mean girls want to inspire men to be better but, ata girl, should you sound like his mother? Forget it. There is no need of lecturing.

See, Darcy is not necessarily what a girl wants…or a girl like me wants. It’s the steadfast mushy heart thing and the willingness to mature. There is no need to be in contempt with Darcy. He’s just a character, and you’re REAL. Flesh and blood.

P.S.

Gals, especially you Carol. As what Kate Forster said in the “The Lake House” movie, “Life is not a book, Alex.” You should probably put away the book after you read it and take a look around. You never know what you’ll find.