The Start of Summer Reading

Readers--
The end of the school year always keeps me pretty busy, so I haven't had time to post since mid-April, when I was still reading D.H. Lawrence's Women in Love.

I always regret not posting about a book while it is still fresh; now I have Fahrenheit 451 and East of Eden at the forefront of my mind. Especially since I didn't love Women in Love. I really enjoyed reading the novel, despite its extreme and unsettling nature, but it was a depressing ending. Not just depressing, also a little bit weird (though, I guess not really when compared to all that preceded). I was happy to finish the book, and not looking forward to any more Lawrence for a while. I would only recommend this book to someone who either already likes D.H. Lawrence, or is willing to try reading him despite his quite unique writing-style.

Fahrenheit 451 was something I should have read back in 6th grade, I just never got around to it. I'm glad I never did; I was sad thinking about all the young kids who have read this book and was kind of shocked. It was a heavy book, violent and very sad. I guess I read The Illustrated Man at a young age as well, so maybe I am not giving the "young adult" readers  enough credit, but TIM did scar me, and I never forgot disturbing images from "The Veldt" or "The Highway." I was surprised at first by how much I enjoyed Fahrenheit 451, but then remembered it was Ray Bradbury. A super quick read, I got a lot out of it and encourage any one who like me had shied away from it to finally read it!

East of Eden, often considered John Steinbeck's greatest work, is definitely a text that, for me, sets the bar for great literature. Though I have not read a lot of his books yet, like Travels with Charley and The Pearl, I've read enough to know that Steinbeck is one of my all-time favorite authors. Without a doubt. Beautiful landscape imagery, poetic and philosophical language that does not exclude room for master narration, and characters to be remembered for life. What to say about Steinbeck? Just go read him, and nothing else is left to be said. I rejoice in having re-read this book. I could not have picked a better book to return to, and in many ways I was reading it for the first time. As it progressed, things seemed familiar, but in general I had forgotten most of the plot. And of course I'm much closer to adult-hood than I was however many years ago it was when I first read this book, which allowed me to really understand it's message. In a phrase--free will. The book is a testament to the power of the human soul, the potential of man to rise above sin and mean impulses, even in the face of hurt and rejection. Truly it is a beautiful book, and characters like Samuel Hamilton and Lee are reason enough to read it. These characters embrace goodness and acceptance, are humble and loving and kind, and so real. The other end of the spectrum can be seen in Kathy, an evil, murderous child who grows to be a cruel, murderous woman. She will haunt a reader for years. My all-time favorite character, though, is Cal. Often mean, Cal is the perfect character to relate to. He recognizes his evil nature, it often overcomes him, but he fights for goodness and struggles with himself. It is never clear if he is is able to finally and fully reject his evil nature, but that does not seem to be the point--it is more important the he is able to understand his ability to choose good. His actions are not determined before he does them; his nature is not determined by his evil mother, Kathy, nor is he damned. He is, in fact, blessed. As we all are. And we can all choose to be good.

I went to the bookstore for an hour yesterday morning (thank goodness it's summer!!), and I was deciding between six books…again. Here are the choices, probably most of which will be read throughout the summer:
1-Ada, or Ardor   Vladimir Nabokov
2-The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay   Michael Chabon
3-Number9Dream   David Mitchell
4-Never Let Me Go   Kazuo Ishiguro
5-The French Lieutenant's Woman   John Fowles
6-Wild Sheep Chase   Haruki Murakami
7-The Captive & The Fugitive   Marcel Proust

I bought John Fowles and Chabon in the store and Nabokov on my Kindle, and I already had Proust. I don't know if I'll read them all at the same time, but I'm definitely getting into Michael Chabon's crazy book. I'm a little disappointed because reviews say the end/middle is not so engaging as the beginning, which I love so far. I'll write soon, hopefully a more interesting post!