Book 9: Persuasion by Jane Austen

Title: Persuasion
Author: Jane Austen
Length: 188 pages
Year Written: 1818
Why I chose this book: 'Persuasion' was a favorite of the protagonist in Chuck Palahniuk's books Damned and Doomed, which I read (and loved).

I "read" 'Pride and Prejudice' during my junior year of high school. I couldn't remember if I actually tried to read it and couldn't, or if I was just being a lazy asshole. When I was reminded of Jane Austen while reading another book recently (where the 13-year-old dead girl Maddy Spencer adores 'Persuasion'), I added it to my reading queue. What a mistake. I must still be an asshole, because I oh-so-barely enjoyed this novel. Even at under 200 pages, it took me a while to finish - and not for lack of trying. The language is difficult, but not the oldest writing style I've encountered this far in my bookventures. The plot is very slow, very dry, and very detailed about mundane minutiae. I actually had to look up why this book, and Austen herself, is considered so great. I know the issue lies with me, and not the book itself. I've got to pay respect. It just wasn't for me in the least bit.

I did, however, find a great review that explains what it is this book does so well, that everyone else in the world besides me seems to love: http://www.bookdrum.com/books/persuasion/9780141439686/review.html

It's a love story, like so many books are, and I can't say the end was surprising or very satisfying at all. It ends happily, but didn't make me happy. Maybe I've got to wait another eight years to take a stab at Austen appreciation.

Rating: 2/10

Book 8: This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz

Title: This Is How You Lose Her
Author: Junot Diaz
Length: 217 pages
Year Written: 2012
Why I chose this book: This was a birthday gift from another of my book club ladies, Bess (this actually rounds out the birthday-given book collection)!

This was the perfect book to make up for the sluggish pace with which I read the last one. I finished this one in two to three sittings, max. The language is so engaging, so easy to ingest. I'm also glad to have read a second book by Junot Diaz—it's always great to read multiple books by the same author. There tend to be themes that reappear throughout an author's collection of works. Diaz is certainly no exception.

Much like The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, the main characters are Dominican. There is again a Yunior (who some say is a novelized representation of the author himself that he uses in more than one book). There is again a weaving of narratives that portray doomed relationships, family strain, and sexual escapades. This book, written five years after Wao, is more bare-bones, more focused on smaller-scale stories that still mightily represent the human experience. The book's central theme is infidelity, and we see both how a string of relationship fuck-ups dented the main character's life, and how it seems like it was in his blood for him to fuck up as horribly and frequently as he did.

There is something we can all relate to in this book, whether it is trudging through difficult post-infidelity reconciliations, or reminiscing on the struggles of a trying childhood. Lots of people told me I'd love this book, and I'm glad to say that's absolutely the truth.

Rating: 9.5/10

Book 7: The Romance of the Forest by Ann Radcliffe

Title: The Romance of the Forest 

Author: Ann Radcliffe 

Length: 363 pages 

Year Written: 1791 

Why I chose this book: This was a birthday gift from my friend Marianna, who read this book for a gothic literature class in school. 

Wow. It's day 70 of 2014 and three weeks since I last finished a book. That definitely throws me off track, but with good reason! This book was incredibly hard to read, especially coming off of a series of rather contemporary novels. The language in this book is certainly indicative of its time, which also involves haunting abbeys and escapes by horseback. 

Important to note is that I probably never would have chosen to read this book on my own. That is the good thing about books as gifts—you are urged to explore pages that might otherwise have been forever unknown to you. The heroine of this book is named Adeline, and for a while, boy does it seem like she has the worst life ever. She is handed off to strangers by her father, who then turn around and hand her off to more strangers who are on the run from the law. She falls in love with a dude that works for a king-type of guy, and after a scuffle, he ends up injuring the head honcho and is sentenced to death. That same head honcho is relentlessly in pursuit of Adeline, who has not a penny or friend to her name. She adamantly refuses, and although the story becomes somewhat convoluted with names and flashbacks, there is a happy ending. 

This book (much like other historically based movies I've seen recently) made me think about lifestyles before technological conveniences. These were days of "meet me at sunset" scrawled on wrinkled papyrus, far before "come outside" popping up as a blue iMessage bubble. There are also strong themes of power vs. helplessness, as we see with Adeline's plight (and lack of control for her own circumstances) and the Marquis de Montalt (her pursuer) being near tyrannical with his position of authority. 

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book to anyone, unless gothic literature was already their thing. I certainly wouldn't recommend it for someone on a tight reading schedule. But, if you've got the time and the willpower, this is a pretty unique book to add to one's reading repertoire. 

Rating: 8.1/10