Sunday Funday Bookday

Happy Sunday, readers! Sundays are always, always great days for reading. Whether it will be a day of going out to the beach or of relaxing at home, even if classes are still on and it's one of those homework Sundays, it's always a good day to squeeze in some words! I want to talk a little about The Glass of Time, as well as about The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, which I've picked up again. 

I've gotten myself into a reading frenzy. As much as I always want to read, these past few days I just haven't been able to put down my books; I'm a little obsessed. I walked over 3 1/2 miles yesterday, reading over 50 pages during!! It was soo fun :). I wouldn't mind another walk like that today. Then my boyfriend and I decided to go to the beach late in the evening, where I read (outloud because my boyfriend's the coolest) on the sand as the sun disappeared behind us. 

The Glass of Time, by Michael Cox. I haven't done a sequel in a while, so it's been fun, especially because I thought this sequel would take place way after Meaning of Night, when in fact it is during one of the character's lifetime. Edward is not physically present in the novel, at least not so far, though his actions remain important; it is Emily, the woman Edward loved who was actually in cahoots (and in love) with his nemesis, Phoebus Daunt, that has returned. In The Glass of Time, older and widowed Emily, now the Lady of Evenwood, has recently hired a new lady's maid, Esperanza Alice (a bit of a strange name). 

The novel is told in Alice's point of view, who in many ways resembles The Meaning of Night's protagonist. Orphaned, Alice was raised by a woman who was not her natural mother (like Edward), where she recieved a good education through a tutor (like Edward), and now, through a grand scheme organized by her caretakers, is being sent to Evenwood on a path of Destiny (yes, much like Edward). The novel is very entertaining; it's nice being back in Evenwood, a manor of elegance, beauty, and mysterious secrets. Cox uses the same tactic as in MON of waiting to reveal the center of the mystery, though this time, instead of it being because the protagonist chooses to reveal his story piecemeal, easy to execute in a confessional, the protagonist does not know the situation much more than the reader. Alice knows not why she is sent to Evenwood and must wait for three letters that will slowly reveal the plan. 

Though a young girl being sent to work as a maid in an unfamiliar place, for unknown greater purposes, might react with fear or reluctance, Alice is enjoying her time at Evenwood. She sees it as acting, something she has enjoyed doing since she was a child, and, having grown up relatively alone, except for the presences of her guardian and tutor, she enjoys making new acquaintances. Some of these acquaintances are quite unorthodox, especially the younger of Emily's two sons, Randolph, an amiable, humble character who contrasts the haughty, ambitious elder brother, Perseus. Perhaps this aspect of the novel is a bit silly and conventional, but I think the situation will have more import as the novel progresses.

I like the length of the book (almost 600 pages), as well as the feel of the pages (a little thinner than in MON), which all helps to give the sensation of a more substantial read. It's quite different from my experience of reading Lovecraft, which I've been enjoying, as well. There's something about the Kindle that makes reading soo fun, contrary to what every true book lover (myself included) would imagine an e-reader to be like. I was pretty scared of the idea when I first found out I was getting it more than three years ago, but I honestly love my Kindle as much as I do my physical books. 

In my post Evil, Mystery & Proust I started discussing COCDW. Since then, Charles has gotten himself too deep in the studies of things best left alone and, along the way, has uncovered horrors from beyond. The short novel so far had been driven by the question of when Charles actually lost his sanity, a point now identified as when he sent a letter to his doctor, Dr. Willett, asking him to destroy the site of his studies, the two companions who have been helping him (who turn out to be some sort of reincarnations of contemporaries of Joseph Curwin, Charles' creepy ancestor), and all the progress he has made. This is after Charles participated in vampiric escapades that weren't fully explained, grave-digging and the stealing of bodies dead for years upon years. Willett and Ward's father decide that, contrary to common sense and to what the other psychologists think, Charles really has brought back the essence of the long dead, including Joseph Curwin. In fact, it seems to me that Charles does not really exist any longer, has probably been killed or has been "substituted" as Joseph Curwin. This explains the mental illness ascribed to Charles, where his mind has lost all traces of modernity and seems to be stuck in antiquarian times, even possessing knowledge of ages past that is unnatural. 

I love these two books, both really fun and easy reads. I also carry around the next volume of Proust, which I'm super excited for. I'm off to the beach!! Till next time, everyone :)