Wednesday, 31 December 2014
Wednesday, 17 December 2014
Literary Movement Reading Challenge 2015 - My List
Literary Movement Reading Challenge is hosted by Fanda. I
don’t have any literary background and to be frank I have not read many books.
I have a passion for reading, especially classics. When I found this challenge,
I thought this challenge would be an opportunity to explore and learn the
different literary periods. So I am taking this challenge, and I am happy for I
could pick the books for different literary period from my classicsclub list.
Here comes my list for LMRC.
January: Medieval (500 - 1500)
February: Renaissance (1500 – 1670)
March: Enlightenment (1700 – 1800)
April: Romanticism (1798 – 1870)
May: Transcendentalism (1830 – 1860)
Hospital Sketches – Louisa May Alcott
June: Victorian (1837 – 1901)
A pair of blue eyes – Thomas Hardy
July: Realism (1820 – 1920)
The Golden Bowl – Henry James
August: Naturalism (1870 – 1920)
Germinal – Emile Zola
September: Existentialism (1850 – Today)
The fall – Albert Camus
October: Modernism (1910 – 1965)
Women in Love – D.H. Lawrence
November: Beat Generation (1945-1965) / Bloomsbury Group (1903-1964)
December: Post Modernism (1965 – Today)
Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
Wednesday, 10 December 2014
A Lost Lady by Willa Cather
Book – A Lost Lady
Author - Willa Cather
Country - United States
Language - English
Genre - Fiction
Publisher - Alfred A. Knopf
Publication Date - September 1923
This is my second book by Willa Cather. I read ‘My Antonia’ few years ago and I loved it. A lost lady is set in late 19th century, in a small fictional town called Sweet water along the Burlington rail road on the Western Plains. The finest house in Sweet Water is the white winged house of Mr. and Mrs. Forrester. The Forrester’s spend only their summer in Sweet Water, yet they called it their home. Mr. Forrester is a rail road contractor and a generous man. He had loved this place as a young man and vowed to build a home. Twenty years later he had made his dream come true. Mrs. Forrester is twenty years younger than Mr. Forrester. She is beautiful, charming and an enchanting hostess. The main focus of the story is Mrs. Forrester. Niel Herbert is a boy of twelve years at the opening of the story. He is enchanted by Mrs. Forrester’s grace, charm, laugh and the way she manages her home. Most of the story is told from Niel’s perspective. As Forrester’s become financially weak, they tend to spend more time at Sweet Water. Niel is now nineteen years of age and spends more time at Forrester’s House. His admiration for Mrs. Forrester had grown more over the years. He is dismayed when he finds Mrs. Forrester’s affair with Frank Ellinger. He had lost one of the most beautiful things in his life. Mr. Forrester becomes totally broke financially and all that is left for them is their home at Sweet Water. Soon Mr. Forrester suffers a stroke, but survives. Mrs. Forrester is worn out, yet she maintains her elegance. After a second stroke, Mr. Forrester becomes totally invalid and Mrs. Forrester loses her elegance. After Mr. Forrester’s death, she prefers life on any terms. Niel finds her affair with Ivy Peters, a shyster lawyer, who at the beginning of the novel is portrayed as a bully and a cruel teenager. His illusion is finally unveiled and he leaves her and Sweet Water forever.
This novella is a delight to read with vivid descriptions that bring Sweet Water and the white winged house at the foot of the hills and its inhabitants very much alive. Cather’s writing is elegant, yet simple and lucid.
Sunday, 7 December 2014
The Classics Club - December Meme Question
The Classics Club December meme question is about Children's Classics and the question goes like this:
"Did you read any classic works as a child? What were your favorites? If not, have you or will you try any classic children's literature in the future?" (We're aware children often read at an adult level. Please feel free to share adult or children's classics that you treasured in childhood or children's work that you have recently fallen far.)
When I think of my childhood days, flood of precious memories overwhelms me. But, books I have not read many. Just a few fairy tales and fables and I have loved them all. One book which I adored most as a child was "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carrol. I was very much fascinated by the wonderland where Alice had drifted me. Even now I love fantasy fictions and of late I enjoyed Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings.
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