Goodnight Mister Tom (1981) by Michelle Magorian

💙 When England was on the brink of Second World War, many children from London were evacuated to the countryside. Tom Oakley, a widower in his sixties, who lived in a farming little village called Little Weirwold, found himself the receiver end of a little spindly and terrified evacuee called William, or Willie. His mother wanted little eight year old Willie to be placed in a house of church person or lives near a church. Tom's was the latter.

💙 Tom soon found sore and bruises all over William's body. That, and the way William flinched, terrified, when Tom took a poker to rake the fire (thinking that Tom would brand him), showed Tom how William had been abused at home, by his over religious and mentally unstable mother. William thought himself full of sin, terrified of doing anything boys used to do, and that made him bullied at school, and was called a sissy. His condition moved Tom deeply; and he, a recluse and cantankerous man ever since his wife and son died, treated William with kindness and affection. The first night of William's sleeping at his own attic bedroom, was undoubtedly the turning point of his brighter future. His "Goodnight, Mister Tom" that night before sleep, was a token of gratefulness and affection - two things William had never felt before.

💙 Soon the two, together with Sammy, Tom's dog, were inseparable. He soon went to school and befriended some children: George, the twins Carrie and Ginnie. But his best friend was another evacuee, a cheerful Jewish boy called Zach. William learned to read and write, but they found out soon that he had a special talent of painting and acting. As William gradually emerged from the timid sickly boy he had been when he first arrived, so was Tom, emerged from his "cocoon". But things were not always bright and happy for William; he would experience dark moments, coloured with violence and death. I have prayed during the second part of the book that Tom would adopt William; that he didn't have to return to his abusive mother.

💙 On the whole, it was a delightful novel, though in some part it became too dark for children, I believe. But other than that, the daily lives of the children, and Tom's affection to William, are all warm and satisfying. It was satisfying indeed when William became happy after all the abuses he had been treated. Above all, this book reminds us that we might never be immune to sorrow or loss, but as long as there's love in us, time would heal our wounds, and make us even stronger.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Greengage Summer (1958) by Rumer Godden #ParisInJuly2025 #20BooksofSummer2025

💚 The titular greengage summer is the summer when five siblings were staying at Hotel Les Oeilletes in a French seaside village. The story is narrated by Cecil Grey (13 y.o.), girl number two. The rest of the siblings are Joss, the eldest girl of 16; Hester (third girl); and the Littles, Will and Vicky. But wait, are they holidaying to France unchaperoned? Initially, their widowed mother took them there to see the Battlefield of France, however she got very ill on the way, and collapsed right upon arrival at the hotel. The proprietress, Mademoiselle Zizi almost let the family away - what hotel would receive a very ill woman with five children anyway? - but her charming and mysterious lover Monsieur Elliot interfered, and rescued them. He put Mrs. Grey into hospital, and the children are staying under his care.

💚 Without their mother's care, Joss and Cecil turned to womanhood, faster than any would expect. Especially Joss, she turned to be a very attractive woman, and this brought the children, previously left alone and unnoticed, to be under limelight. I loved all the children, from Hester who's always honest, to Will with his fashion aficionado. Even Vicky, who has the least role in the story - I loved how she's always hanging out in the kitchen with the old cook (and who always supplies hot news to her siblings!).

💚 At first, it seems like a perfect holiday for the siblings - loitering leisurely around the orchard, among greengage trees, picking and eating the fruits, and be free. But of course it's not that. I knew instantly that Elliot wouldn't have received them without reason, there's a catch somewhere. The children were drawn to Elliot instantly, and also with few of the other residents. Monsieur Armand the painter is my favorite! However, little by little they noticed strange, inexplicable things, mostly concerning Elliot. You'll be wondering all the time, whether he is a good man (he really took care of the children) who was misunderstood, or a genius villain hiding his crime behind his kindness? 

💚 I won't reveal further of the plot, because what happens next is the key to enjoy this book. In short, it is, unexpectedly, a rather intense coming-of-age story with a hint of mystery and a sinister plot twist at the end. It was an evocative reading, not the lazy one you'd enjoy during summer holiday - but definitely a perfect one for #ParisinJuly; it celebrates the glorious summer of a French seaside village!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
 

Read for:

Paris in July 2025

hosted by Emma @ Words and Peace

20 Books of Summer 2025
hosted by Annabel and Emma

The Lark by E. Nesbit

💐 The Lark is the last adult novel Edith Nesbit wrote in 1922. It's a charming, delightful, and witty bildungsroman story.

💐 Jane and Lucilla are orphaned cousins who lived in boarding school until they were coming of age. They were supposed to get into a nice income, hitherto managed by their guardian. But the guardian gambled away the money, and so the two young girls must start their independent lives, free from school, with only £500 and a small yet lovely cottage in the village.

💐 Lucilla was disconcerted when they first realized of their predicament, but not Jane. Jane is an optimistic girl, though a bit too imaginative. She believes that "life is a lark", and so it should be how we perceive of life!

💐 The two girls start to earn a living by selling flowers from their little garden. But the garden is soon inadequate for their enterprise. If only they could own the uninhabited mansion house they saw down the road, with a large garden! One day they sneak into the house. Jane fell off the stairs, but luckily a handsome young man who is nephew to the house owner helps her. His name is Rochester. Wait... Jane... and then Rochester? As in... well, you know what I'm talking about, right? Is it a coincidence? I believe not!

💐 The house owner, charmed by the girls' personalities, let them use the garden, which delighted them. The flower enterprise is soon enlarged to a boarding house business.

💐 It's quite delightful to watch the two inexperienced girls entering an adult life with all the blundering, which they try to perceive as an adventure - or as a "lark"!

💐 This book is so refreshing - funny, witty, affectionate, heartwarming. It's hard for not loving and enjoying it. If you love Nesbit's children books, you'll love this one!

Rating: 4,5 / 5

The Song of The Lark by Willa Cather

The Song of The Lark is the second book of Cather's Prairies trilogy (preceded by O Pioneers! and succeeded by My Antonia). Its the third Cather's I've read so far, and to be honest, the most disappointing.

The story is centered on Thea Kronborg - a teenage girl, daughter of a Swedish Methodist priest who lives in Moonstone, a small town along the rail line of Colorado in the 1890s. Thea is a talented teenager with extraordinary character: intelligent, independent, reserved, strong-willed, passionate, hard working. This book is a bildungsroman, telling the making of an artist from zero.

Thea knows that she's different - more superior - from her peers. Only Doctor Howard Archie (a young town physician with unhappy marriage) and Ray Kennedy (a 30 years old railroad conductor who dreams of marrying Thea when she's grown up) who fully understand and support her. There are also Thea's mother, Aunt Tillie, and Spannish Johnny from the Mexican settlement, who can see - though not fully understand - Thea's exceptional talent, and support her, though silently.

It's Herr Wunsch, an old drunkard German music teacher, who first teaches Thea to play piano. However, after one drunken frenzy, Wunsch leaves town, and Thea takes over his pupils - starting a professional career at age fifteen. Then an accident takes Ray Kennedy's life, and he leaves Thea six hundred dollars to study music in Chicago. And so, at seventeen, Thea Kronborg leaves Moonstone to study music under Andor Harsanyi, who, accidentally finds out that Thea's real talent is not music, but singing. So he let's Thea go.

(The Song of the Lark is a painting by Jules Breton, 1884, in which Thea Kronborg identifies herself with the girl - and from which Cather titled this book)

Returning to Moonstone, Thea finds her family (excepting her mother) are weighing her ambition down with their narrow-mindedness and mediocrity, and so she makes a tough decision to leave her town and family for good - cutting off a useless relationship.

Back to Chicago, she's diligently studying to become an opera singer. That's how she meets a rich, handsome son of a brewer who takes interest in opera singer: Fred Ottenburg. I honestly feel that Fred - though supportive - has changed Thea's personality... to worse. I know that Thea is reclusive from teenager, but she's also affectionate to ones she cares about. Her intimate relationship with Fred changes her to be more into herself and selfish. I hate Fred, he's an egoist man who flirts with Thea while still married. He knows that Thea is vulnerable and innocent, yet, excusing himself of raising Thea's career, lies and lets Thea falling in love with him. What a jerk!

Thea then goes to Germany for further preparing her professional career as opera singer, by borrowing money from Doctor Archie - who has grown rich from silver mines investment, and so after his wife died, leaves Moonstone and lives in the city. He is my most favorite character in this book. I've had a vague hope that he would fall in love with Thea in the end, because, apart from Fred Ottenburg, Howard Archie is the only man who can understand Thea. He's mature, kind, calm, and supportive. He would have been a perfect husband for a raising star (who came from humble and simple town) such as Thea. I imagine Doctor Archie, smiling and beaming, accompanying Thea during all the hustle bustle of showbiz from theater to theater. Smiling proudly from his seat during performances, calming the singer on the way back home when she's depressed because she has missed one high note, and nervously anticipating what the critics would say the next day. He would be Thea's counterbalance to live a quiet and meaningful life at their happy home, amidst the glittering world of operas. But... Cather thought differently; she made Archie's a fatherly (or brotherly) love, and picked instead the scoundrel Fred, who only brings bad influences, to be Thea's love interest. Bah!

(Olive Fremstad is an opera diva, by whom Thea Kronborg's story was inspired)


And perhaps, because of that, Thea has grown up as an egotist, arrogant woman, who chose an important performance rather than her dying mother. I have discussed before how Thea's unwise judgement would inevitably influence her future life. I don't know whether it's the best path for making a great artist, but if it's so, I'm truly grateful for not possessing such talent and ambition. Yes, in the end Thea might made many people happy (represented by Spanish Johnny and Aunt Tillie), but damn it, you should have put your mother's feeling on top of others, Thea Kronborg!!

I've had a lot of expectations before reading this book. I thought it would be a soothing book like Death Comes to the Archbishop or O, Pioneers! and indeed, I have been savoring every chapter from the first and second part. But starting part III, the book tone changes, along with Thea's personality. The title of part III is "Stupid Faces", which gave me foreboding of how Thea would change to be arrogant and full of suppressed anger. Afterward, it's kind of a disturbing read. Hopefully the next one, My Antonia, would make compensation for this disappointment.

Final rating: 3,5 / 5

Far from a Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

These two months have been hectic months for me, and I know I’m much behind my schedule in this (and other) challenge(s). Although I kept reading, I could not find time, focus, and energy to write any reviews. Today, as I find myself more relaxed, I force myself to write this. Hopefully I can catch up again for the rest of this semester. Now, Far from a Madding Crowd turned out to be my new favorite. I think I have picked the right book to begin with Hardy. I really enjoyed it, and now am ready to read his other books.

I loved Gabriel Oak (he is now one of my most favorite characters), and loved the rural country life presented by Hardy. Bathseba Everdeen is a combination of proud, vigor, and beauty. She is loved by three men—passionately by Sergeant Troy, possessively by Farmer Boldwood, and quietly by Shepherd Oak. When she inherited a farm from her uncle, Batsheba felt independent. She thought she could just rely on her passion, and the world would be as she wanted to be. Folly after folly, and only after reaping what she had sown, did she realize that there is no independence without responsibility.

While Batsheba represents female emancipation, Gabriel Oak represents hard work and perseverance; two perfect themes for a Victorian novel, combined with a slight touch of realism in Hardy’s writing. That makes Far from a Madding Crowd a wonderful reading!

Four and a half stars for Oak and Hardy!

~~~~~~~~

I read Penguin English Library paperback

This book is counted for:

8^th book for Literary Movement Reading Challenge: Victorian

5^th book for Back to the Classics 2015: A 19th Century Classic

3^rd book for Lucky No. 15 Reading Challenge: Cover Lust

2^nd book for Reading England 2015: Dorset

3^rd book for 2015 TBR Pile Challenge

92^nd book for The Classics Club Project

The Sorrows of Young Werther

Once in your lifetime, there would be a moment when everything seems smooth and feels right, that you know you are producing something bigger than anything you have done so far; The Sorrows of Young Werther might have been that of Goethe! In Chinese philosophy, there is a concept called Wu Wei, which literally means non-action or non-doing. The Chinese believes that there will be times when we don’t have to fight so hard to achieve something. All you have to do is to wait for that perfect moment to come, when you don’t have to work so hard, yet everything complies with your wish, then voila….your masterpiece! Goethe wrote Werther after being acquainted with a young man named Jerusalem, whose faith had similarity with his own. He finished the book in four weeks without making any preliminary plans or putting it down on notes before. And from the result (especially the ending) I could see how much Goethe has poured out his emotion into it. So intense and powerful was it, that I have lost my mood to read the rest of his writings for several days.

Werther is a young man with passionate temperament who was staying on a village. He wrote letters to his friend William, telling him all about what he has done and how his feeling was from day to day. These letters were woven into this epistolary novel. Most of the letters were about Werther’s infatuation with a peasant girl named Charlotte (he called her Lotte). They had a lot in common, and although Lotte didn’t return his feeling but engaged and married to another man, they became intimate friends. But Werther could not get rid of Lotte from his life; his love for her was too strong. The last letters he wrote to William showed how much his mental was disturbed. It affected his artistic mind too, that he was unable to paint, or even do, anything.

Werther should be a perfect reading for those who have interest in psychology; a bit similar with the troubled Philip in Of Human Bondage, though Philip’s sorrows were more complex, as the root of his problems did not come from passionate love, but from the lack of universal love. From Werther I learned to always have control and balance over our own life. Sometimes we need to follow our feelings, but at other time, when you do not feel happy, there must be something wrong in what you are doing. Your rational side must take over to make yourself balanced. The art of life is in the balancing our two poles to drive our lives to happiness.

Looking at the style, Goethe might be more suitable to Romanticism than Enlightenment. The melancholy atmosphere and his flowery sentences in Werther were very romantic. However, his regard over life (and particularly in suicides) gave him a little credit to be in the Enlightenment too, in his reasoning against traditional values praised in the Renaissance. In fact, Goethe was one of the proponents of the new movement called Sturm und Drang (=Storm and Drive) in German, which succeeded The Enlightenment, and prepared for the coming of Romanticism. Its uniqueness was in the extreme emotional expression, which you can undoubtedly find in Werther.

Five stars for Goethe and his almost autobiographical story of the young Werther!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I read Signet Classics paperback

This book is counted as:

4^th book for Literary Movement Reading Challenge:Enlightenment

89^th book for The Classics Club Project

Jane Eyre: Final Review

After Wuthering Heights about three years ago, this year I finally got a chance to read another Brontë’s. Charlotte’s Jane Eyre was definitely more enjoyable than Emily’s WH, but I think WH was more intriguing than JE. From the books, we could recognize the different personalities of both sisters; Emily is more passionate, while Charlotte is much reserved. As Jane Eyre has been taken as Charlotte’s autobiographical novel, we can assume Jane’s voice is Charlotte’s own voice.

Jane Eyre is an orphan who is adopted by her uncle, Mr. Reed. After he died, Mrs. Reed dislikes her, and with her children, treats Jane with hostility of being so sensible for a child her age. Jane is quite relieved when she goes to a charity school of Lowood Institute. But there she is also tortured by the poor accommodation. She endures it however, and even becomes a teacher for several years, before finally leaves it forever when she gets a job as governess in Thorfield hall.

Thornfield Hall belongs to an eccentric landlord, Mr. Rochester—Jane’s pupil is his ward. Mr. Rochester lived alone in his big house with the housekeeper, Mrs. Fairfax, and his ward, Adele. Even if you haven’t read this book, you would guess that soon the master and the governess would fall in love to each other. When there is a love story, there must be an obstacle to their relationship. Firstly, their age difference and their social status; but love is more sensible than social laws.

But then, it is revealed that Mr. Rochester is actually still married to his lunatic wife, whom he has secretly been hiding on the house’ attic. This fact gives the couple an immense blow. Mr. Rochester might think that he is eligible to marry another woman, as his present wife is practically lifeless. But to a sensible girl like Jane Eyre, who is a reverend’s daughter and has been educated in strict Christian morality, to become a married man’s mistress is not possible. So she runs away from Thornfield Hall, from happiness, and from her dear Mr. Rochester, to avoid degradation and humiliation. Is that the end of the story? Of course not, Charlotte then takes us to follow Jane’s new life. Whether she will or will not meet Mr. Rochester again, is a question you must keep in your mind while reading on this book to the end. I won’t give you any spoiler, if you have not read it. :)

To me, Jane Eyre is rather dull, especially when Mr. Rochester was absent, or have not yet appeared (in the first part). It is perhaps typical of Victorian women’s character of narration: emotionless and submissive. Or maybe it’s Charlotte’s own personality which was reflected to this story. Either way, I remembered that I have almost thought to put this book down, when Mr. Rochester appeared. Then, this book was not so colorless as before. He is so vigorous and full of energy, that the pace of second part suddenly felt much faster than before. Jane Eyre too, seems to become more alive everytime she converse with Rochester. Their dialogues are always witty, and are actually the best part of the book!

In Jane Eyre, I sensed the struggle of balancing the freedom (for happiness) and the principle (of conscience). In marriage, unlike most Victorian women, Jane seeks love, because marriage without love can’t guarantee her happiness. That’s why she refused St. John Rivers’ proposal, despite of the honor and security he can provide. If Jane could not marry Rochester, and won’t marry other men whom she doesn’t love, what would she get? Yes, she is now a quite rich woman, but I think not that rich that she can support her entire life without having to work. For a woman in that era, I believe this is a difficult choice. But Jane takes it confidently. Maybe this is what the readers see as early feminism: the courage to be herself; to follow her own principle, and not to bow down to the customs.

[spoiler alert] Actually, the feminism theory could be justified if the story ends up there. However, when Charlotte made Rochester fell completely (physically as well as mentally), to open a way of bringing a happy ending to this love story, then I began questioning whether Charlotte saw feminism as woman overpowering man. Is that what she really thought? Of course we would never know, and we would be wondering over and over again, what this novel is really about. Maybe….this is, after all, just about the power of love and a struggle of a woman….

Three and a half stars for Jane Eyre.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I read Penguin Red Classics paperback edition

This book is counted as:

2^nd book for Twelve Months of Classic Literature:2014 (Victorian Lit)

82^nd book for The Classics Club Project

80^th book for 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

Of Human Bondage

Approaching the end of year 2014, I think I have found a new masterpiece: Maugham’s Of Human Bondage! It was based on Maugham’s real life, and therefore it was very vividly portrayed. Following the fate of the protagonist Philip Carrey; I felt like having been knowing a real intimate friend from his childhood, and been growing with him. Maybe it’s because Philip is Maugham himself, that he could pour out all his detailed emotion into the narration. Of Human Bondage has been one of my most incredible reading experiences throughout the year.

Philip was a nine year orphan boy with a clubfoot, and an only child. He was taken care of by his uncle, a vicar in a small village. He was brought up to enter a religious profession, but his deformity has made him a shy and inferior boy, and he got much trouble in his social life. Between the rigid expectation of his uncle and his tortured feeling for the world which (he felt) did not accept him, his Catholic faith cooled away.

With a great appetite for beauty, knowledge, and adventure, Phillip spent his youth in German as a clerk—which he found too boring; then in Paris to study art-painting—but later found out he was not talented; and finally entered medical school to be a Doctor like his father. However, during his study, he was entangled in a difficult relationship with a girl named Mildred. It was a painful kind of love; and Philip let himself to be enslaved by his passion; and as a result, ignoring his study and draining his savings. Luckily he met a humble and warm family, the Athelnys, who poured their love and affection to him. It was just another proof that love and positive energy are the only way to help human from destruction.

I have a deep sympathy for Philip. Deep inside, he is tender-hearted; he can easily be moved when others show him little affection. A man like Philip needs to be understood and accepted. And that is what he lacked of. His deformity banished him from society and he became extremely sensitive and egoist. Maugham portrayed Philip’s struggle so vividly and detailed. It must have been an interesting subject if you study psychology or have interest in human character. As a bildungsroman, of course young Philip is far from perfect; on the contrary, you would want to scold him every now and then for his various mistakes. You would often want to shout at him: “Don’t be stupid, Phil!” At times he would act normally, but next time he would stumble all over again to a trouble, then you would be like: “Oow…not again!?”

Overall, Of Human Bondage is a man’s search for the value in life. When Philip was young, he judged everything by its beauty and perfection. However, life taught him much better than any art school, about the real value of life. His poverty scrapped his pride; and made him an affectionate doctor who was loved by his poor patients. I also believe, that without his folly and wretched experience with Mildred, he would have always been the irritating and cynical person he used to be. For some of us, love and kindness are our genuine personalities; but for others, who have been in more difficult circumstances, hard times and sorrows are needed to polish one’s hardness to milder heart. Philip Carey belongs to this.

Of Human Bondage is a sweet story of one human’s strives to be freed from what he thought of as bondage: other people’s rejection, religion, poverty, personal handicaps; all the wretchedness of life. We, human, always want to be free, before we really realize what that means. Maugham (through Philip) opened our eyes of what the real value of life: love and family, kindness and friendship.

This book has given me a very satisfying reading experience. Together with Philip I have been through most of human emotions. No wonder that it becomes Maugham’s masterpiece. I can feel that he has poured out his emotion totally into this story, and I admired him very much for that. Five stars for Of Human Bondage, and Mr. Maugham.

~~~~~~~~~~

I read Signet Classics paperback edition

This book is counted as:

5^th book for Back To The Classics 2014 (A 20th Century Classic)

79^th book for 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

80^th book for The Classics Club Project 

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

In honor of the late Maya Angelou—the honorable author, poet, and activist—who died on May 28, 2014, I decided to read her beautiful autobiography: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Really, before actually reading it, I have never realized that this book is really an autobiography of Maya Angelou, not just an autobiographical fiction. I just realized my fault when Marguerite told how her brother, who loved her so much, used to call her Maya (from Mya sister). It was then that I realized that is has been Maya Angelou herself who was telling her story.

Maya was only three years old when her parents divorced. They sent her and her big brother Bailey (four years old) to Stamps, Arkansas, by train, with only a porter to accompany them, to live with their grandmother. This journey (and the sense of abandonment) wounded both children. In Stamps, the grandmother, Annie Henderson, lived with her crippled son Willie (Uncle Willie). It was the two of them who raised Maya and Bailey. Momma Henderson (Maya’s appellation for her grandmother) ran the Store where the Blacks (mostly very poor cotton pickers) shopped their daily needs. Mrs. Henderson was a strong and respectable woman, and the way she maintained her dignity against the Whites’ insults was tremendous. During her life in Stamps, Maya witnessed the struggles as well as the bitter hopes of the Blacks amidst the Whites dominion. All these built the inferiority (if not hatred) in little Maya towards the Whites, although she almost never saw them in reality. She even felt guilty of having Shakespeare as her favorite author because of his whiteness.

When Maya was still nine or ten years old, her father came to Stamps and brought the brother and sister to St. Louis, to stay with their beautiful mother. One day Maya was raped by her mother’s boyfriend, and this changed her life completely. She became very quiet, and suddenly Maya grew much more mature than her age. I think Maya’s turning point optimism of being black was in her eight grade graduation, when Henry Reeds led the audience to sing Negro National Anthem with pride. It was then that Maya started to realize of her own value, as a Black, and as a human being. Her visit to her daddy’s home was another phase of Maya’s transformation, where she eventually found her own strength.

I liked this book from the first page; in fact, it did not feel like reading an autobiography at all. Maya Angelou was certainly a great story teller, and her way of re-telling her own bitter past was filled with hope and optimism, instead of condemnation or lamentation. As a title, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” offers a deeper meaning of Angelou’s sight of her people. I found an interesting article about this, which revealed that the title was taken from a poem by an African poet: Paul Laurence Dunbar—and it is a beautiful poem! When the world has not been free from prejudices and discrimination—even until now—what the oppressed must do is to maintain hope, and to keep in mind that as long as they think they are free, no one can snatch that from them.

A beautiful and inspiring reading indeed! Four stars for Maya Angelou!

~~~~~~~~~~~

I read Ballantine Books Mass Market edition

This book is counted as:

6th book for 2014 TBR Pile Challenge

74^th book for The Classics Club Project

72^nd book for 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

David Copperfield

As soon as I read the last line, and closed the book for good, I could only think…how emotional David Copperfield is; it’s much more intense than any other books I have read so far by Dickens. Then I realized, David Copperfield is Dickens’ autobiographical novel, and so he must have written it deep from his heart. Things that might have been suppressed during his life, he poured down into this book. And so, I felt like Dickens himself was speaking to me; telling his unfortunate childhood, and how he became the man he was when he wrote this book. It became very personal and compassionate reading for me; and David Copperfield now becomes one of my favorites, and the most memorable from Dickens.

The book tells about the life of David Copperfield, from his unfortunate childhood—being an orphan; tormented at home by his wicked stepfather Mr. Murdstone; witnessing injustice and cruel treatment at school, his difficult runaway—to being in his aunt Betsey Trotwood’s custody, his apprenticeship time, until he came of age, marrying the girl he adored, and experienced the sweetness and bitterness of life. And during those times, David Copperfield—later on was also called Trotwood Copperfield by his aunt—met many memorable characters—some loved him, some despised him, some did him good, but some did him worse. Through them all, David (Trotwood) Copperfield strove to build his own character and to have a better life, just as Charles Dickens emerged as one of the greatest novelists of all time.

Strangely, unlike any other main protagonists in Dickens’ novel, I didn’t find Copperfield as distinguished as I expected. Yes, he is kind, friendly, helpful, persevering in hard times and has ‘undiciplined heart’—as Dickens put it—but other than that, he seems to be too plain; like there are no specific or unique personalities that distinguishes him from others. I even like Tommy Traddles more than Copperfield; he is more ‘humane’ than Copperfield here. And of course, I like Agnes Wickfield and Betsey Trotwood—who wouldn’t love to have an aunt like that?... :)

Mr. Micawber would have one of my favorites if not for his distressing law-styled letters—which gave me enough headaches to read. Oh, Mr. Pegotty is also my favorite, this is a genuine humble man with abundance of love in his heart; bless him for his sacrifices and forgiveness for Little Em’ly! Then there is the notorious Uriah Heep with his ‘umbleness’. I felt from the beginning that Uriah’s ‘umbleness’ was fake; and I always believe that people with that exaggerated humility must have been spiteful inside.

The best part of this novel is when young Copperfield must live alone by himself, beginning actually after her mother remarried. That was the starting point of his miseries, as young as he was then—10 years?—he must take care of his own and fed himself. As Dickens wrote it from his own experience, it becomes so intense. I could sympathize with Copperfield very much; and I often felt that I was reading Dickens’ own diary. I could also feel how his wound must have been re-opened while he was retelling those dark histories of his. I could only hope that Dickens’ emotional wounds would be relieved, at least a bit, after telling it to us then. And don’t forget about the sea storm Dickens wrote so lively, almost felt like reading a semi-thriller.

Knowing that this book is Dickens’ half fictionalized memoir, I can only wonder which one of the characters here that represent the true figures in Dickens’ life. Does, for instance, Dora represent Maria Beadnell, his first lover? At least I read about it in Wikipedia. But her death in so young of age, doesn’t it represent Mary—Dickens’ sister in law—to whom he became very attached—who died of an illness on her 17 years of age, and of whom—they say—Dickens has never recovered from his grief? And what about Agnes Wickfield? Could she be the representation of Ellen Ternan, whom was believed to be Dickens’ last lover? Or did he write DC before he met Tarnen? I really need to consult my Dickens’ biography again!

In short—as Mr. Micawber usually concluded his speeches :D—David Copperfield is one of the most memorable from Dickens, and I am grateful I have chance to read it. It was so enjoyable, and I think it is one book that I would love to reread from time to time, at least the one from Dickens.

Five stars for David Copperfield.

~~~~~~~

*I read Wordsworth Classics edition*

*This book is counted as:*

21^st book for What's In a Name Reading Challenge 2013

9^th book for Read Big! Reading Challenge

14^th book for 2013 TBR Pile Challenge

61^st book for The Classics Club Project

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

“People always think that happiness is a faraway thing, something complicated and hard to get. Yet, what little things can make it up; a place of shelter when it rains - a cup of strong hot coffee when you're blue; for a man, a cigarette for contentment; a book to read when you're alone - just to be with someone you love. Those things make happiness.” 

And that is what this quite-a-chunkster book speaks about. The main idea is rather cliché; that happiness is a universal feeling; that every human being can feel it if they choose to; that happiness is about the way of viewing things around you; that happiness can be fight for. Betty Smith teaches us to live a happy life through her own experiences, which she wove into this book: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

A tree—a very strong tree indeed—grew alone in the building’s yard where the Nolans lives in poverty in Brooklyn. However, despite of the lack of means with which trees should have had to grow—it has even been felled once—it managed to survive and kept growing, while the others died. So it is in life, there’s always one kind of human race who could not easily be destroyed by hardship or poverty; these rarely human beings kept growing amidst the very limited chance. Francie Nolan is one of these kinds.

This book actually tells the lives and struggles of three generations of the Rommely’s women. It started from Mary Rommely—the grandmother—who immigrated to America with her useless but abusive husband. She couldn’t read not write in English but insisted that her children must be better than her. She also taught her daughters to save every penny they can save, and to use it to buy their own land. Mary practiced it herself, worked hard all her life, but she died poorly still.

Now Katie Rommely seemed to follow her mother’s step by marrying a useless but charming man: Johnny Nolan. Although she could at least read in English, she was nevertheless uneducated, again, because of the poverty. However, following her mother’s advice, she and Johnny worked hard to give highest education possible to their children: Neely and Francie Nolan. Now here is the resemblance of Francie and the strong-built Tree of Heaven. Throughout the story, you would be taken to witness how Francie strove from the poverty, the loneliness of being unique, and the strong need of love.

In many ordinary people, they would not make it better than the others, but Francie had her own way of going through all the hard times. She knows how to see the beauty of everything, and so she could always make herself happy. She could adapt to whatever there is around her. For instance, she knew her mother loved Neely more than her; it was a bitter fact for a child, yet she could endure it and still, at least, gave her mother a proper love and respect. In a way, her ‘dreamy’ father had a contribution to Francie’s imagination quality, and fortunately, she also inherited her mother’s toughness and practical way of living. With all these, Francie became the first of the Rommelys who could go to college and had a decent career.

In fact, there is nothing very special in this book. The story is flat and slow, there is no twist or complex conflict. It is just about uninteresting life of a family. But from their struggles, their mistakes, and their imperfectness, we can learn a lot of things. We can learn that being poor doesn’t mean we can’t have dignity. And the most important lesson I got from this book is that happiness is not about what we have, but how we see everything we have. With that, there is no reason why we cannot all be happy, in the end it’s just about the way of thinking, anyway. Be always grateful for whatever you have!

Four stars for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, it’s a kind of book you must chew slowly to get its best.

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*I read Indonesian translation edition from Gramedia Pustaka Utama*

*This book is counted as:*

9^th book for Historical Fiction Challenge 2013 -2015

11^th book for New Authors Reading Challenge 2013

7^th book for Read Big! Reading Challenge

58^th book for The Classics Club Project

The Mill on The Floss

George Eliot is the third Victorian female author whose novel I’ve ever read. The first is Louisa May Alcott (which I have failed), then Anna Sewell. And I have to confess sadly that Sewell is the only one so far I could get on very well; meaning that The Mill on The Floss did not quite impressed me like I have expected. I can blame it on Zola, for I confessed that I haven’t completely moved on from La Bête Humaine before I took The Mill, but I think it’s just me.

The Mill on the Floss is about the Tullivers who owned Dorlcote Mill on the bank of Floss River. There Tom and Maggie Tulliver had a happy childhood and formed an intimate bond as brother and sister. Until one day the Tullivers lost their fortune, land and mill from bankruptcy. Tom must drop out his education and were forced to finance the family on very early age, while the whole family was suffering from humiliation. Meanwhile Maggie met Philip Wakem, the son of Tullivers’ enemy, a hunchback and deformed young man who fell in love with Maggie. Inspired by the childhood sentimental friendship and out of pity, Maggie met Philip secretly.

Years later Tom successfully restored the family honor by paying the debt. While Philip was once again trying to renew his approach to Maggie, the girl found herself attracted to Stephen—her cousin’s fiancée—who returned her feeling. Now Maggie was in a dilemma between love and conscience. Which one should she accept: the man she didn’t love but she couldn’t hurt the heart; or the man she’s in love with, who belonged to her beloved cousin?

Actually this book is rather flat to me especially in the early pages, which I often skipped whenever the story switched to the nonsense Gleggs or Pullets. And although the ending is unexpected—but quite cliché—Eliot has failed to grab me deep into the story.

From the main characters, I did not find any favorite, Maggie is the least one. I felt there was a contradiction in her personality. In a way she was a smart girl with self-esteem, and person like this usually acts more from logic than from emotion. At first I imagined Maggie would grow up like Isabel Archer in The Portrait of A Lady; but the more I follow her story, the more I’m astonished to find Maggie turned to be sentimental and always in confused state. She kept changing her decision and could not be firm with what she has decided.

I think the main youngsters in this story were all selfish in their own ways—yes, even Maggie. Tom was the ‘best of the bad’ for me, for although he was selfish and narrow minded, he has been successful in fulfilling his father’s will. I can’t blame him too much because he had grown up with the fixed idea which his father, the families and the society have planted on him that family honor is number one. Tom has carried a burden too heavy for him; and in that situation, there’s no place for any imagination, and that’s why he kept carrying a straight purpose in life; because he saw that’s the only way he could survive.

Stephen Guest was a pure egoist man. He was born and grown up as the son of a rich and honorable family; he always got what he needed. I think there were a lot of examples of his kind. Philip Wakem was the most annoying one for me. I know that it’s hard to live as a half-crippled man, but that didn’t give him the right to force others to make him happier or make his life easier. It was selfishness too; and I always dislike people who pity himself and make his weakness as an excuse. Life is hard for everyone, but our Creator gives us the mean to survive. To be different with others doesn’t mean we are weaker than them. Wake up Wakem! Don’t just drown yourself in romantic love, there’re many other things in life you can pursue!

And last but not least there is Maggie, the so called ‘heroine’. Maggie was a person who always longed for love, she needed to be treated passionately and be forgiven from her faults, but she never tried quite hard to repentant. Maybe it’s because she was careless and lived in her own dreams; but perhaps it’s because she was indifferent; she lived only for herself. Maggie chose to be with Philip because she didn’t want to hurt Philip and Lucy. That’s ridiculous because with that, she would hurt Stephen AND Philip, because she never loved him. Nonetheless, Maggie kept her decision, because marrying Philip would be a martyrdom kind of act of her love. Selfishness… or narrow-mindedness?

With The Mill on The Floss, Eliot would like to criticize people prejudices; and particularly prejudices which made women suffered. Maggie, with her different way of thinking than the society, have successively made infamous decisions which invited unfair prejudices from the society. Both Maggie and Stephen would be cheating to their supposed partners; but while people forgave Stephen, they judged Maggie severely. This only reflect where women’s position in the society was when Eliot lived—in 19^th century—as this novel was also a semi-autobiographical story of Mary Anne Evans, the real name of George Eliot.

Three stars for The Mill on the Floss.

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I read the Penguin English Library paperback version

This book is counted for:

Baca Bareng BBI 2013 (April – book about woman/written by a woman)

3^rd book for Read Big! Reading Challenge

5^th book for New Authors Reading Challenge 2013

42^nd book for The Classics Club

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

The Portrait of A Lady – Final Review

“You wanted to look at life for yourself—but you were not allowed; you were punished for your wish. You were ground in the very mill of the conventional.”

If the story of The Portrait of A Lady must be packed in few sentences, the above quote suits perfectly to express it. The Portrait of A Lady portrayed the rise and fall of Isabel Archer’s life. Isabel was an American young woman who had been confined in her father’s protection for years. She was a smart woman, thirst of knowledge and experience of the outer world, and her dream was to see other countries and to meet people from different cultures. When her father died, Isabel saw the first hint of her fortune; a woman who introduced herself as her aunt would like to take her to England.

Isabel stayed at her aunt’s house—the Touchetts’—with her uncle, old Mr. Touchett and her cousin Ralph Touchett. Ralph was a cheerful and spirited young man; who unfortunately suffered from pulmonary disease that made him pale and weak, and forced him to resign from his job and to stay idly at home. Ralph fell in love with Isabel from the first time, but kept it to himself, realizing he had no future because of his illness. At the same time, his friend—Lord Warburton—was attracted to Isabel; and a young American businessman called Caspar Goodwood completed the group of Isabel’s suitors. Isabel rejected both their approaches, as she was still fascinated to see the world before being bounded in a marriage.

Before old Mr. Touchett died, Ralph secretly persuaded his father to alter his will, and granted big half of his share to Isabel, because he wanted to fulfill Isabel’s dream. Isabel had suddenly become rich; and this attracted Mrs. Touchett’s friend called Madame Merle. Merle introduced Isabel to Gilbert Osmond—a gentlemen without money or merit but has great ambition to be admired by the society. Osmond’s unique personalities attracted Isabel; ignoring her friend’s advises, Isabel decided to marry Osmond after she returned from the around-the-world journey, and lived in Rome. This decision turned out to be a huge mistake—as Isabel later realized—because Osmond had married her only for her money, with Merle as his ‘partner in crime’. The free spirited Isabel must now live unhappily under her husband’s strict dominancy.

This is the first Henry James I have ever read, and I instantly remarked his genius writing. Not only telling a beautiful tale, James also analyzed psychological aspects of society through his heroine and the satellite characters. But I liked this book especially because of Isabel Archer herself. I found from her first appearance that Isabel was so similar to me. We both are free spirited; we love the freedom to do things ourselves and we like to make our own decision. I share the same thirst of knowledge with Isabel, I had even promised myself—when I was in college—that I won’t marry unless I had stepped my feet in France! 

Because of the similarity, I sympathized with Isabel along her journey of life, I understood her feelings and her decisions. For others, it might be stupid, stubborn or anything, but for us it’s what we must do. Although I’m luckier than Isabel that I was not obliged to accept proposal from many suitors (and thank God I did not have to deal with stubborn suitors like Isabel’s, LOL!), I can understand why Isabel had rejected both Lord Warburton and Caspar Goodwood. Both were good men, but they were often too pushy toward Isabel; they kept circling around her, asking again and again what she wanted; offering their wealth, gentle understanding, etc. In short they were eager to marry her. The subject here was always themselves, never Isabel. You’re wrong guys, Isabel is an independent woman, she likes to be active; the harder you force an idea to her, the more she will reject it. It’s just our characters!

So, how could Isabel chose Osmond then? It’s because he appeared humble in front of Isabel—false it was in fact.

“I’m absolutely in love with you…. I’ve too little to offer you. What I have—it’s enough for me; but it’s not for you. I’ve neither fortune, nor fame, nor extrinsic advantages of any kind. So, I offer nothing.”

That’s what he told her, and I guess, that—among other things—had intrigued Isabel to like Osmond. It turned out to be a wrong choice, well….who don’t make mistakes anyway? Isabel was so innocent at that time, that she wasn’t wise enough to see motives behind other’s perfectness.

If I could advise Isabel, I would advise her to choose Ralph. For me, Ralph’s love was the purest, for he loved Isabel from his helplessness; he understood her very well; he never forced her to do or say something; and best of all, he sacrificed his part of inheritance for her happiness, without even telling her. And I believe a woman should marry a man with whom she feels most comfortable with, as if she doesn’t have to hide anything from him, for he should understand anyway. And Isabel could find that credits only in Ralph (Isabel was afraid of Goodwood, and with Warburton, she often felt uneasy).

James did not offer a sentimental and emotional ending as Dickens; James’ ending could not be said beautiful, but still made us reflect and think a lot. The Portrait of A Lady is not a tale, it’s a portrait of real life. We made mistakes and struggle, sometimes we can get out of the sorrows and start a new brighter life; but most of all, we cannot run from our decision and what we can do is to stop crying about it, and to apply a new way of thinking to make the best of it. Isabel Archer had taught me to be brave and always hold my principles. People can control me physically, but no one can control my mind!

Four stars for The Portrait of A Lady. You can find my deeper analysis of this book in my stage reading inquiries post.

Quotes:

“I would die if you could live. But I don’t wish you to live; I would die myself, not to lose you.”

Isabel Archer

“You won’t lose me—you’ll keep me. Keep me in your heart; I shall be nearer to you than I’ve never been. Dear Isabel, life is better; for in life there’s love.”

Ralph Touchett

“If you have been hated you’ve also been loved. Ah but, Isabel—adored!”

Ralph Touchett

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*I read 1999 Wordsworth Classics edition paperback*

*This book is counted as*

2^nd book for Turn of The Century Salon

 3^rd book for 2013 TBR Pile Challenge

2^nd book for Bucket List Reading Challenge

1^st book for New Authors Reading Challenge2013

30^th book for The Classics Club Project

50^th book for 1001 Books You Must Read BeforeYou Die

Great Expectations

I don’t think one would be worthy to be called a Dickensian before reading Charles Dickens’ masterpiece: Great Expectations. I have just done it, so I’m now proudly calling myself a Dickensian! :) I don’t know why it took me rather long before I come to Great Expectations; maybe because I had long time ago watched its modern-setting movie adaptations—1998 version with Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow— which was rather weird to me and I didn’t like at all (bookish lesson #1: do not watch a movie before you read the book!). Anyway, I have read it at last, and I admit now that enjoyed Great Expectations very much from the first to the last page.

Great Expectations was written as an autobiography of a fictional character: Pip. It was started when Pip was very young (around seven years old)—an orphan boy who was brought ‘by hand’ by his sister, wife of a kind-hearted blacksmith named Joe. In the real life, Pip might have grown up as a simple and humble blacksmith in a small village, marrying a simple and smart girl like Biddy, have kids, and would have finally buried in the church’ cemetery, just like his father. However, faith brought him to another scenario of life. I don’t know which one between the runaway convict and the eccentric Miss Havisham who had the most effect in shaping Pip’s life into its new mold. I believe both of them had an equal share, just like our lives molded by so many circumstances.

Pip and the convict

If little Pip had never been to Satis House, he would never had realized that he was a coarse and common boy, he would have never wanted more than life had been providing him up to that moment. And with that realization, come the need to have more. I’ve been reflecting, if Pip had never been granted with the great expectations, would he be happier then—as a poor boy who longed to have more but didn’t have the power to reach it? I think Pip would always be tormented by his own dream, he would always feel unworthy to love Estella, yet he loved her still.

The great expectations molded Pip’s life even beyond his own dream, from a coarse poor boy, he became a gentleman. He could now live the life he has always wanted. Yet, happier was he? At first everything was so fantastic, but after that Pip went through a lot of hard times that in the end he missed his old time again, and wished he’d never have met either Miss Havisham or Magwitch the convict.

Pip met Miss Havisham & Estella

Back to my reflection again, which one would be better for Pip? I believe the later one. The hardship opened Pip’s realization of what were true and what were abstract in life. Through the prosperity, and through Estella’s cruel and cold respond towards his love, Pip learned so many things in his journey to be a grown up man, that he finally knew by himself what he really wanted and what was the most important and valuable in life for him. The great expectations have built Pip’s personality much greater than if he lived as a blacksmith all his life.

To me, Pip is representing our own lives. He was not perfect, he made a big mistake as a matter of fact by being snob at Joe and Biddy, but he endured all his hard times very well, and he could learn from his mistake. I am happy because Pip was forgiving and grateful to his benefactor, despite all the negative consequences they had brought him. I think Pip know that people could bring you their influences, but at the end, it’s you who must make the final decision. Pip had made his own decision, wrong it was, but he learned, he regretted, he asked for forgiveness, he learned for the good.

[might contain spoiler] The copy I read (Penguin English Library) contains George Bernard Shaw’s analysis of Great Expectations and other Dickens’ works, and from it I know what kind of ending Dickens had originally put for this book, but was asked to discard it by Bulwer-Lytton. What we read now was the second ending Dickens wrote, but I somehow felt that it was still not a perfect ending after all. I would have preferred Dickens to end Pip and Estella’s love story for good, than being hung with: “I saw the shadow of no parting from her”. I felt that Dickens was forced to put a happier ending, but somehow did not want to explicitly make it a ‘they-lived-happily ever-after” tale-kind of ending. [spoiler ends]

Anyhow, I grant five stars for Great Expectations, it was a great moral lesson in a great story telling with aspects you can hope from a Victorian novel: romances, mystery, action, the gothic atmosphere of Miss Havisham's Satis House, and criticism to hypocrite society who over-praised wealth and gentlemanship.

I read this for: