Reading Rocks!

Looking Ahead...

Well, I'm about 150 pages into Shadow of the Wind and I think it's charming. The key to enjoying this book, I believe, is to suspend your disbelief and allow yourself to take pleasure in the journey.

As usual, I'm thinking ahead to our next book. Our choices so far have been male-dominated, so I suggest that we focus on a female author. What do you think of the following suggestions:

* Into the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf: a modern classic that showcases Woolf's groundbreaking stream-of-consciousness narrative. Into the Lighthouse spans two days (separated by 10 years), of one family reflecting on tensions and familial dysfunction.

* On Beauty by Zadie Smith: from the award-winning author of White Teeth, On Beauty is an affecting and entertaining look at relationships, cultural differences and political correctness. Smith is considered one of Britain's most talented young authors.

* Surfacing by Margaret Atwood: This is the book that introduced the world to Atwood in the early 70s. According to the New York Times Book Review, Surfacing is "...one of the most important novels of the twentieth century". Not to mention, Surfacing will add some Canadian Content to our repertoire.

posted by MJ @ 12:13 p.m. 0 comments

Wrapping up Disgrace

I have to say, I absolutely loved Disgrace. In a lot of ways, this book is about not understanding others. Opposition is everywhere; between men vs. women, blacks vs. whites, old vs. young and humans vs. animals. You can definitely tell that this subject matter is meaningful to Coetzee and that he is speaking from his personal experience living in South Africa. Coetzee's central theme is that history can not be escaped, whether it be personal mistakes or the atrocities of nation.

Comments on Coetzee and the Nobel Prize:
Not only is the Nobel Prize in Literature "the supreme acknowledgment of literary talent. It also recognizes the moral integrity and universal significance of one's work...Coetzee has been concerned with important moral issues . . ., including apartheid and race relations in his native South Africa, human rights, animal rights, and social and political injustice...He is also widely respected for his intellectual courage and honesty in posing such questions as, 'What do we do in the face of terror?'and for suggesting the devastating truth that lies in the possible answers to those questions."

Below are some links, related to the book:
* Lord Byron
* William Wordsworth
* South Africa
* Reading Guides: click here or here

Next up, Shadow of the Wind.

posted by MJ @ 8:42 a.m. 0 comments