The Odyssey Readalong Part II

It's that time again to check in with The Odyssey Readalong.  This week was books seven through twelve.   Action and stupidity abound!  In book seven, Odysseus finally makes it to the palace of Alcinous.  The following day, the Phaeacians organize contests so they can demonstrate to Odysseus their excellence in sports.  Odysseus was exhausted and declined to participate and Broadsea began to taunt him.  He accused him saying that not being "skilled in games" was the reason that he wouldn't join in.  Of course Odysseus is fired up by this comment and comes back at him with this retort.

Indecent talk my friend.  You, you're a reckless fool--I see that.  So, the gods don't hand out all their gifts at once, not build and brains and flowing speech to all.  One man may fail to impress us with his looks but a god can crown his words with beauty, charm, and men look on with delight when he speaks out.  never faltering, filled with winning self-control, he shines forth at assembly grounds and people gaze at him like a god when he walks through the streets.  Another man may look like a deathless one on high but there's not a bit of grace to crown his words.  Just like you, my fine, handsome friend.  Not even a god could improve those lovely looks of yours but the mind inside is worthless.

I love it!  Men!  They are so ridiculous sometimes.  Odysseus now can't pass up a chance to show off a bit.  He chucks the discus much farther than any one else in Phaeacia.

After the sport, they gather again to listen to the bard.  Odysseus finally reveals himself and they beg him to share the tales of his adventures after leaving Troy.  The first is his encounter with the lotus-eaters.  Those who ate the lotus lost all thoughts of home.  Odysseus had to drag them back to the ship against their will.  Next they met Cyclops who was not inclined to visitors and decided to make a meal of Odysseus' crew.  After a few were eaten, a plan was formulated to stab the Cyclops' eye.  I love Oysseus' cleverness in telling Polyphemus his name was Nobody.  When his fellow Cyclops told hear him scream and asked him who was with him and he kept answering, "Nobody's killing me."

He next reaches the home of Aeolus who gave a sack of winds so that he could make safe passage home.  The jealousy of his men, assuming the sack was treasure, led them to unleash the winds that sent them back to Aeolus.  Aeolus would not assist them again for fear that Odysseus was cursed.  They then met Circe, "the nymph with the lovely braids" who turned some of his men to swine.  Odysseus outsmarted Circe with the aid of Hermes and she return his men to him.

Next they traveled to the House of Death to question the great seer Tiresias.  He met many of the dead.  The interaction between Odysseus and his mother was touching as she said that she died because of her longing for him to return home.  The exchange between he and Agamemon's ghost was interesting as we learn more about the circumstances of his death when he returned home to Clytemnestra.

They pass by the sirens safely, with wax in their ears and Odysseus strapped to the mast.  They pass Scylla, a monster with six heads guaranteed to eat six men on their journey by her crag.  They next reach on an island with the sun god's cattle.  They are warned to not kill the cattle, but do they listen?  No, of course they don't.  His men are so hard-headed sometimes!  Zeus then destroys their ship and only Odysseus survives, as prophesied by Tiresias.  Big surprise!

I loved these six books.  The pace was quick and the only time it slowed was in book eleven while Odysseus was visiting with the dead.  So many names are mentioned and I'm not familiar enough with other Greek literature to make much sense of how their stories connect.  It did spark an interest within me to learn more.

I mentioned in my last post my eight-year-old son's interest in The Odyssey.  I had forgotten how violent it was.  Yikes!  Fine for a teenager or adult, but not so much for a boy of eight.  I checked out the first three books of the Percy Jackson series from the library, but he doesn't want to read them because it's not The Odyssey.  Shelley (Book Clutter) mentioned in the comments last week that Mary Pope Osborne has written a children's version of The Odyssey.  I offered to order them for him, but he wants to read the real thing.  So stubborn!

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Road

by Cormac McCarthy
published 2006
completed October 2010


I've been wanting to read this book for a while.  I've seen it everywhere.  I finally found it at my teeny tiny library.  I happened to be there when someone returned it.  I gladly snapped it up and took it home.  As a bit of background, as a reader, I like to know as little as possible about a book before I read it.  I don't read the book jackets or summaries on Amazon.  I read blog posts on books, but always skip the summaries if it is a book that I know I want to read.  I like to be surprised.  And surprised I was when I started reading The Road.  I was already in bed and had just finished another book.  I picked The Road up with the intention of only reading for a few minutes.  I think I got through the first page before turning to my husband and saying, "This book is not about what I expected."  I know it's strange, but I love being caught off-guard like that.

The Road is about a post-apocalyptic world.  It's been many years since a disaster destroyed the earth and the narrator and his son are traveling south on the road during the winter.  Not much actually happens during the book, but there is a built-in suspense based on the fear of what could happen.  Will they find food?  Will they run into others?  Will they find shelter from the snow?

I have mixed feelings about this book.  It was a compelling read, but I don't know how satisfied I felt at the end. I'm sure there are some that say that the ending is bittersweet, but I see it as utterly hopeless.  They are still facing the same challenges as at the beginning.

Throughout the book there are no quotation marks.  I understand that this is a stylistic choice by the author, but that combined with two unnamed male main characters (and many other minor male characters), resulted in confusion.  You get "he said..." and "he said..." for an entire page and it starts to get confusing as to which "he" the author is referring.  I found myself breaking the flow of my reading to go back and re-read passages because I couldn't tell who was doing or saying what.

Part of my hesitation with recommending this book is the content.  There are deeply disturbing things happening in this book.  At one particularly disturbing passage about two-thirds through the book, I had to literally put the book down and walk away from it for a while.  The Road portrays a disconcerting view of human nature.  I'm more optimistic in my own views of humanity so it didn't seem as realistic.

The Road won the Pulitzer Prize in 2007.  I can understand how people are moved by this book.  I was more disturbed by it than anything.  It's not one of my favorites, but I don't regret reading it.  I don't think it is for everyone because of the disturbing subject matter, but it is a worthwhile read.

The Odyssey Readalong Part I

My first post for my first readalong!  I have always been intimidated by The Odyssey, but I am glad that I decided to join.  It is so much more accessible than I expected.  I am reading the Fagles translation, and I find the story fascinating and the writing beautiful.

Odysseus has not yet returned home to Ithaca from the war in Troy.  Suitors are vying for the affection of his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus is concerned at the financial cost of them all staying in their palace.  Athena comes disguised and convinces Telemachus to confront the suitors and to take action to find whether his father is dead.  Telemachus takes to the seas with a crew and Athena aboard and visits Nestor, then Menelaus seeking news of his father.  The Gods convene at Mount Olympus to discuss the fate of Odysseus and at the persuasion of Athena, Hermes is sent to free him from the island of Calypso, the nymph holding him captive.  He makes a raft to sail from the island and is met with a raging storm sent by Poseidon still angry with Odysseus for blinding his Cyclops son.  With the aid of Athena, Odysseus makes it to shore and meets the Phaeacian princess Nausicaa.

I was surprised at how involved the Gods were in the lives of the mortals.  Athena has been involved in helping Telemachus, Penelope, and Odysseus in the first six books.  It's hard to say whether in the end her interference will ultimately help Odysseus and his family.  I think there is something strange about her sending Telemachus to find out about his father when she already knew where he was and that he was alive.  I'm afraid Athena has an agenda of her own.

As I was reading this week, my 8-year-old son asked me about the book.  I thought it was strange because he usually doesn't take interest in what I'm reading.  I started to tell him the story and he was fascinated.  He was in bed already and he told me to go read some more and tell him what happened in the morning.  It's fun sharing this experience with him.  It is quite the adventurous story and I can see why he is interested.  He has continued to ask me questions about it and even had me start to read it to him one night.  It was a unique experience reading it out loud.  It made me realize how important it is to pay attention to not just the story, but the beauty of the writing.  I'm excitedly looking forward to the next six books.

More Tales of the Unexpected by Roald Dahl

More Tales of the Unexpected

by Roald Dahl

published 1980

completed October 2010

I picked this up to fulfill the "All in the Family" part of the Take Another Chance Challenge hosted by Jenners of Life With Books.  I read a book by Roald Dahl's granddaughter Sophie Dahl then I picked up one of his.  This was my first experience with his short stories for adults.

I was slightly disappointed in this collection.  It was fun to see Roald Dahl write for adults.  These stories are full of quirky characters.  There is no doubt that he is a great, imaginative writer, but there wasn't anything particularly memorable about these short stories.  They were fun to read, but they didn't live up to my expectations of Roald Dahl that were formed as a child.

A bit of a tangent here, but his children's books are magical.  I still vividly remember all of the books of his that I read.  They made such an impression on me.  Over the past years I've been reading them with my children and I have loved revisiting those stories.  They have held up to my adult scrutiny, and I can say that I probably love them more now than I did as a child.

More Tales of the Unexpected was fun to read, but I don't know if you need to rush out and get it.  It wouldn't be a book to purchase, but maybe to borrow or check out from the library.  Now his children's books--go buy them all!  They are fabulous!  You will love them and if you have children, they will love them as well.  

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

Bridget Jones's Diary

by Helen Fielding
published 1996
completed September 2010

I picked this book up for part of the Take Another Chance Challenge hosted by Jenners.  This particular entry requires reading two books, one of which is inspired by the other.  I chose to read Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones's Diary.

Bridget Jones is a single woman in her 30's.  The new year has begun and she is using her diary to keep track of her progress on the requisite New Year's resolutions.  She wants to lose weight, drink less, stop smoking, and find a decent boyfriend.

It's difficult to review this book without comparing it to it's inspiration, Pride and Prejudice.  Although the story lines are similar, these books are very different.  While there is humor in both, Austen tends to be more witty, while Fielding's book has a more a slapstick feel.  I did laugh out loud a few times reading Bridget Jones's Diary, but the book as a whole felt superficial.  There is much more depth to Jane Austen's novel and it is a book that has been memorable to me.

Bridget is a quirky girl, afraid of dying alone--drastically different than Elizabeth Bennet, who is fiercely independent.   Bridget also seemed shallow.  Bridget was always embarrassing herself which made for a good laugh but I didn't emotionally connect with her as I did Elizabeth.  I also didn't feel like Bridget did anything to deserve Mark Darcy's affections, while I can completely understand how Mr. Darcy fell in love with Elizabeth.

It's really unfair to compare a contemporary novel to an adored classic, especially since the classic is my favorite book.  On it's own, Bridget Jones's Diary is entertaining.  It's not a book that I was really sucked into.  The humor that caught me off guard with laughs at the beginning, was tiring by the end.  It would be a fun vacation or beach read, but I wouldn't recommend it on any other level.

Classics Challenge Wrap-Up

I completed my very first book blog challenge!  I participated in the Classics Challenge hosted by Trish.  I read six classics and a bonus.  When first signing up for the Challenge, Trish asked us to share a book that we thought would become a future classic.  She listed these recommendations on the sidebar and we could choose to read one of these for a bonus.  Below is a list of the books that I read for the Challenge.

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (as future classic bonus)

Besides Pride and Prejudice, these books were all first-time reads for me.  I think my favorite out of the new books would have to be The Woman in White.  I loved the mystery and the twists and turns that the novel took.  It also had an incredible cast of characters.  My least favorite was The Turn of the Screw.  I think my expectations let me down on this one.  Every review I had read mentioned how scary it was, and I just didn't find it frightening.  It was slightly haunting and has an ambiguous ending, but I didn't feel any emotional connection to the story.

I love reading classics, so I wasn't surprised by how much I enjoyed this challenge.  If Trish decides to host again, I will be sure to join in the fun.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

East of Eden

by John Steinbeck
published 1952
completed October 2010

I had forgotten how much I love Steinbeck!  Reading East of Eden brought back fond memories of when I was required to read The Grapes of Wrath over the summer before my junior year in high school.  We had a paper due the first week of school.  I remember all of my friends griping and groaning about having to read it, but I loved it.  I checked East of Eden out from the library two other times over the past few years but failed to read it before it needed to be returned.  I think I was intimidated by the length, but now I wish I had read it years ago.

East of Eden covers three generations of the Trask Family, the Hamilton Family, and the Ames Family.  Their stories are individual until Adam meets Cathy, and subsequently moves to the Salinas Valley in Northern California.  As you can imagine from the title, the stories parallel the stories of Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel, as told in the Bible.

The characterization is so rich and deep.  I adored Lee, the Chinese servant of Adam Trask.  He was so wise yet humble and was wonderful father figure to the Trask boys, Aron and Cal.  Samuel Hamilton was another favorite character with his compassion for everyone.  He was an incredible friend to Adam when Adam most needed one.  Cathy is also a memorable character as she is probably the most cold-hearted and calculating character I have ever read on page.  I came to know these characters so deeply that I could anticipate their reactions to different situations.  I knew how the story would end, but it didn’t bother me.  It was not predictable because the plot was driving the story, but because the characters were.

Steinbeck’s writing is subtle but powerful.  Although there are parallels to Bible stories, don’t fear reading it if you are not religious.  It merely uses the Bible to outline a story of the struggle between good and evil.  It's a tale of morality and poses the question of whether our actions are a result of our nature or if we have a choice.  It also explores family relationships, especially between fathers and sons, and between siblings.  There are examples of love and hate, acceptance and rejection, as well as compassion and apathy and we see the affects of such interactions play out over the generations.   The ending made my heartache, but it was touching.

East of Eden is over 600 pages, but it did not feel that way.  It read so quickly and I didn’t want to put it down.   It has characters that come alive and is thought-provoking.  Even two weeks after its completion, I often find my thoughts wandering to this story and its characters.  It is now in my top ten of the best books I have ever read.  I would highly recommend this to anyone.