Book Reviews

Rating System:

* Don’t!
** I could contain my enthusiasm.
*** I was entertained, but there are some problems.
**** I couldn’t put it down—a masterpiece!

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: ****

I just read this for the first time, and I was not disappointed. In fact, it was shorter and easier to understand than I thought it would be. I hope to read many more of the great classics that I have missed and get back to you about them. It made me reflect a bit-- we live like the upper class of that day in many respects. Travel, entertainment, education, food... to name a few are American rights. Household employees, manners, and family honor are some things we have lost. I'm not condoning the class system, but it would be nice if I could have a cleaning lady. OK, more importantly, while reading the book I became more aware of my children's lack of manners, respect for elders, and general impertinence. I'm going to work on that. It also occurred to me that I could improve on some things as well. If we, as Americans, are going to live like kings, we should act like them too.

Mason-Dixon Knitting by Gardiner and Shayne: ****

Knit Lit at its best! This book is funny, informative, and inspirational. Now I just have to figure out which project to try first. Do yourself a favor and ask someone you know to teach you how to knit. It really isn't hard.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden: ***

A fascinating page-turner. I learned a lot about Japanese culture from this book. This is a love story with a very happy ending, considering the amount of tragedy and conflict the young geisha endures until that point. It takes place around World War 2 in Gion. It strikes me how much Christianity still affects our largely unbelieving culture when I compare it to this Buddhist culture that would sell young girls into slavery and prostitution. I learned that geishas are artists—dancers, conversationalists, entertainers. But the bottom line is: they are slaves.

The Princess Bride by Morgenstern, abridged by Goldman: *** ½

This was a delightful read. It is even funnier than the movie. Here’s the scoop on the abridgement: Goldman is the little boy in the movie whose grandpa reads the story to him. As a boy, his Sicilian father read him the ancient Italian book by Morgenstern. When Goldman’s son was ten, he found a copy (which was very hard to do and at a used bookstore), and gave it to his son. His son didn’t like it. Shocked, Goldman picked it up and quickly figured out why. His father had only read him the good parts. Morgenstern was a satirist who wove pages of often boring Florinese history into the story. So Goldman abridged it. He also wrote the screenplay of the movie, which follows the book very closely. There’s only one problem: he is way to attached to his baby. He keeps popping himself into it. Don’t you think the movie would be better if the little boy thing was cut? That’s how I feel about the abridgement, but even more strongly. He pops into it very frequently and even uses some profanity. There is none in the story-line (except when Inigo tells the six-fingered man he wants his father back, and that is mild.) So here’s what I recommend: whenever the font changes to indicate a comment by Goldman, skip it. I think I am going to reread it that way right now. Enjoy!

Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery (the complete series) ****

It doesn’t get any better than this for fiction. Anne is the ultimate heroine. The language is difficult and a bit wordy at times for modern-day readers. I admit I picked it up as a teen and put it down because the vocabulary and setting descriptions lost me at times. Of course the movie changed everything. I picked it up again as an adult and devoured the complete series. I’m now reading it to the girls. The oldest two are really into it and asking me to read it to them. The series goes through Anne’s life until middle age and also offers plenty of funny scenes that didn’t make it into the movie. Highly recommended!