#LitMoveRC
participants, this is just a quick check-in to let you know that the linky for
our January Medieval has been up here.
You can link up your reviews or posts in the linky until
February 15th.
I have
planned to read two books for January Medieval: St. Augustine’s The Confessions and Le Morte d’Arthur. But unfortunately I have been very busy since after
Christmas, and The Confessions turned out to be much more than an
autobiography, it is full with theology and philosophy; definitely not a fast reading! It is a tough read, and I need more
time to read it than I have expected. Right now I have about 80s pages to the
end, and expect to finish them by this weekend.
The problem
is, I don’t think I’d be able to finish Le Morte d’Arthur (2 volumes – 1000s
pages) in time, and I still have two other books for two different challenges. Second
problem, actually I have read about 20s pages of 1st volume, and have been bored by the repetitions during the war scene (The Arthurian faction vs
eleven Kings). Maybe I am just not familiar with its style, and actually I’m really
curious to read what‘ll happen next. But I think I’ll put it down this month,
and read it again when I have enough time (maybe next year). I do hope
this little failure will not continue on the rest of the challenge.
But what
about you, which medieval literature have
you picked? Or what are you still reading right now? Did you have difficulty on
reading medieval lit?
Confessions certainly gets denser the further you get into it. But you're almost there so that an accomplishment!
ReplyDeleteAs for Le Morte, I honestly cannot imagine anyone reading it in one month. It felt like the longest book I'd ever read. I'm glad I read it though and would like to revisit it again. It took me until about 20% into the book to start to get engaged with the story. Some parts are riveting and others are a little bit of a slog, but once you get used to the style, it gets much easier. I really hope you do read it but definitely a slower pace will keep you sane. :-)
Thanks for the advice, Cleo. I noted that, and will reschedule Le Morte d'Arthur for next year, when (I hope) I won't be tempted to do engaging challenges.
DeleteFor Confessions, I am right now on book 11, and you're right.... it gets denser, but much more interesting! I can hardly wait to write a post on it. ;)
Confessions is huge and dense! Morte is long too. I was afraid that I would run into the same problem of length--many of my medieval TBRs are on the large side--so I picked Gerald of Wales' Journey Through Wales and Description of Wales, which was really fun and manageable. http://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-journey-through-wales-and.html
ReplyDeleteI just got a book of shorter pieces, maybe I'll pick that up too...it's called The World of Bede or something similar.
Yes, they need longer time to read. Confessions is just 300 pages, but it takes me more than 2 weeks to read.
DeleteYou can submit the link in the linky now, Jean, just follow the link in this post. We'd love to read your post! ;)
I'll bet it took me six months to read Malory. Medieval literature is very challenging. So many basic assumptions about the culture and society are different. Even the meaning of words are different. It can be hard work. St. Augustine on the philosophy of time is definitely hard work.
ReplyDeleteSix months! I hope I won't need that long...
DeleteAbout the different words, I was grateful that my copy of Le Morte d'Arthur included translations. I just need to get used to the style...and more time to read. :)
Oh yeah...the philosophy of time is a really tough read, so is the good & evil's. But they are the best part so far. I can't wait to read the rest.
I'm reading Chaucer - just writing about one of his shorter poems now (well, I'm having a little break from it!), and next week I'll be writing about Troilus and Criseyde, which I'm hoping to finish reading this weekend. Finally, I'm hoping to get to Piers the Ploughman, and hopefully just one more Chaucer (The House of Fame).
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if I could squeeze in Thomas Mallory this month.... From the post and comments I'm gathering not! I think I'll leave it til summer :)
I think that will be good--delaying Thomas Malory till you have more leisure time.
DeleteYou're doing a great job on medieval lit, o. If only I could be as focused as you...
Well, I only set out to read T&C, but I thought it would be good to get a few more Chaucer's under my belt so I'm ready for Canterbury Tales in February.
DeleteNext month should be fun - when I first read about your challenge I had to look up Renaissance writers. Now I've got a pile of stuff I want to get through! I might find myself slowing down for March, though :)
Jean, Phinnea and I read Le Morte in about 2 ½ months and it was ALOT of reading. Four months would probably be manageable. The first parts have lots of fighting and introduce tons of knights, but in the last part you get hermits showing up and prophecies, etc. It was such a difference from the first part that I found myself having to slow down my reading to mull over what Malory was doing.
DeleteOh thanks Cleo, it keeps my spirit to read Le Morte when I have more leisure time.
DeleteThose were some ambitious books! I read Revelations of Divine Love and will be posting my review soon.
ReplyDelete