Treasure Island Books: A Bookish Game

Pete from Classics Reader invented a fun bookish game called Treasure Island Books. It looks fun, so..let's play!

You are stuck on a ‘Treasure Island’ for 1 year, which you landed on due to a complication during a parasailing event. You walk through the island and find a treasure trove. Contained in the treasure are the books you will spend the next year with. They can be books to gain knowledge, information, understanding, spirituality or just to entertain, it’s completely up to you.

8 books you have read of your choice.

Any 8 books you wish to spend the next year with. Pick wisely, you’ll be spending a lot of time with them. In principle, the books you love the most or want to spend more time with.

My choice:

I could have easily picked 8 books from my Personal Canon, but I think I might as well consider what will happen if I were stuck (not deliberately) in an island for a year. I will be depressed for  being alone in a foreign place. So I guess, my choice of book will be a bit different from my Personal Canon.

The Book of Psalm

Instead of the entire Bible (which I would not have read in a year anyway), I'd pick Book of Psalm, because it's soothing, and offers a lot of consolations for my poor mental condition while being stuck in the island.

Germinal by Émile Zola

Because I just have to! It's my all time favorite book.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

When I feel weak and scared in the island, I will take courage from the strong Helen Graham, a woman who can bear all the burden in the world, and still stay positive and affectionate.

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

This is one of my comfort books. It's warm and sweet - a perfect book to read when I get so forlorn and depressed.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Since I would be celebrating Christmas alone in an Island, what would cheer me better than A Christmas Carol? I just need a good fire, and my imagination, and I'll be doing okay!

The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

I will need a hilarious book to make me laugh all the time. And would be better than Dickens' witty comical stories of The Pickwick Papers? A good laugh will lift up my spirit in a minute!

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

In times of homesick, I could read Rebecca, just to remind me to my mother (you need to read my review to know why).

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

The best book to transport you to another world, so as forgetting your own troubles, is definitely Alexandre Dumas' ! The intrigues and the full actions of The Count of Monte Cristo would be my best friend during my stay in the island!

1 book which you have never read before.

You know, all those books on your book shelf, that have been there for years? You get to take one. Which one do you want to read the most?

My choice:

The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather

Cather's soothing and tranquil writing would fit perfectly with my mental condition during my isolation in the island, don't you think?

1 ‘the complete works of’.

Now, this can add some volume to your treasure trove. Yes, pick 1 author who you get to take the complete works of with you. You don’t have to have read everything at this moment by the author, but enough to make you want to read everything they have over the next year.

My choice:

Agatha Christie's!

You would think I'd pick Zola, eh? But Zola's is not for a troubled mind (like mine if I'd got to be stuck in an island), but Agatha Christie's offers the best pastime. And her books are numerous - about 90s - which guarantee a never ending supply for the whole year of doing almost nothing but reading.

There it is! You want to play too? Just do your own list, and don't forget to mention/link to Pete's post, and pay his blog a visit! :)

Peril at End House by Agatha Christie

Poirot reunites with Hastings after their last adventure The Big Four (review to be following). They are enjoying a peaceful holiday in a Cornish resort (or so they thought), and Poirot is (again) on a sabbatical phase - declaring that his latest case would be his last, and to rouse his interest would be impossible (he acted this in a couple of times in the past, and this one isn't the last!) When mocked by Hastings, he then admitted that if a bullet should struck the wall near them, then it would be difficult to say no, as he's still a human being after all. Curiously, just then a pebble struck the terrace where they are sitting.

Nick Buckley, a young girl who lives in a house nearby, called End House, walked in and joined them, and found that there's a hole in her hat. You would, no doubt, guess what has really occurred - that the pebble is in fact a bullet, and that someone has shot Nick, but missed only an inch of her head. And so, this case was opened, quite unusually, without a corpse.

Nick's life is clearly in danger. But surprisingly, the missing shot was not the only attempt made against her. She has escaped three accidents before, each of which would have killed her. This news alerted Poirot, and he acted immediately to save Mademoiselle and to solve the case. His first instruction is that Nick (who lives alone in the house, being an orphan) should invite her cousin Maggie to stay with her. Poirot then runs his usual investigating method - talking with all the suspects (Nick's friends, cousin, neighbors, and household), checking on alibis. But from the beginning one thing is missing: the motive! There seems no apparent motive of killing Nick. Poirot employed his grey cells to produce a list of all "participant" involved in the case, but there's always a missing link.

In the meantime, another attempt was made, and this time one life has been sacrificed - Maggie's, not Nick's! Poirot bitterly cursed and blamed himself of his impotence to avoid death, and still... he failed to complete the puzzle. He evacuated Nick to a hospital, and cut off communication from anyone, and yet, Nick got poisoned from eating a chocolate. So, Poirot took an unprecedented step. He falsely pronounced that Nick is dead. Now that the murderer thinks he/she has achieved his/her goal, something is bound to come up to light, which would reveal something about the murderer.

And, yes! The X factor finally became clear - but not before a dramatic "play" produced by Poirot (a stan which he would use in latter cases), a deception, and one of the best plot twists from Agatha Christie, after the one in The Murder of Roger of Ackroyd.

Compared to many of Christie's works, Peril at End House is unique in some ways. It begins without a murder, only an attempt. Thus the detective could interview not only the suspects, but also the "victim". People involved in the case are not of a family, but mostly young people of Nick's circle, and Nick's cousin. So there's a youthful freshness about the scenes that reminds you that it happens in the jazz age. And it often made Poirot and Hastings felt old! :) Lastly, there is only one murder, yet five attempts have been made to one person without avail. Five!

This was certainly a reread for me, because I vaguely remember about the hole in the hat thing, however I was surprised that this has not been one of my favorite from Agatha Christie! The plot is interesting, yes, and if you are clever enough, you might have suspected something fishy from my last sentence on previous paragraph! However what interested me more is the psychological aspect. Poirot observed that since the crime has been committed very boldly, the motives must be unobvious. This is a conclusion from someone who understands much of crime psychology. It would be very interesting to analyze how the murderer must have thought and felt - before making the decision and on executing it.

In short, it's a unique story from Christie, and I loved it!

Rating: 5 to 5

The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe

I must say, this was one of the most difficult reads I have ever tackled. As a mystery enthusiast, I thought it would delight me, as The Mysteries of Udolpho has been praised as inspiration for many mystery writers in the centuries after. At first it looked like it. I loved to find that St. Aubert, Emily, and even Valancourt, were nature enthusiasts. I enjoyed reading the beautiful sceneries during their journey around the Alpines. But then, after the death of Mr. Saint-Aubert, and Emily must (according to Saint-Aubert's last wish) live with her aunt, things began to alternate from bad to worse, to bad, to even much worse; especially during her stay in the Castle of Udolpho - the home of the wicked Montoni, to whom Emily's aunt married not long after Emily's stay with her.

Misfortunes came flooding with every change, and everytime you think this one is the worst of all previous, something more wicked would come. At first, you could relate very much with Emily's misfortunes, but after a while you would feel dullness in both the heart and mind. Like something that terrified you so badly at first, but after some repetition, well... it's not so terrifying anymore in the end, you’d feel numbed.

It's doubly torturing because Emily, the heroine, is a calm and loving creature. That she must endure the selfishness, coldness, and shallowness of others, the disgust over Montoni's wickedness, her complete helpfulness to protect her own life and honor, not mentioning her superstitions (which was not unusual at that era), the gloomy atmosphere of a Castle Udolpho, and her fear lest her lover has betrayed her or even dead (which one is worse, anyway?) - why, I was almost surprised that any human being could get through all that safely!

Have you felt depressed already from reading my review? Well, beware that you don't read this book during your gloomiest mood!

It would have been a perfect Halloween read, if only Ann Ratcliffe hadn't thrown every ingredient of horror and evil at a single human being that it seems almost impossible to bear. Well, tired is what I felt after finishing the story. Ann is a great Gothic writer, but never again would I read The Mysteries of Udolpho!

Note: I have read this last year (in October), but just couldn’t spare enough time to write a proper review till now.

Final rating: 3 to 5

Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë

Agnes Grey is Anne Brontë's first novel - an autobiographical account of her views and experience as a governess. Although not as poignant and complicated as her second work - her magnum opus - The Tenant of Wildfell Hall; still, Agnes Grey is way deeper than Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights (sorry #TeamCharlotte and #TeamEmily!) - though perhaps less poignant.

Agnes is the youngest daughter of a clergyman with humble means. The story of how Mrs. Grey, despite of coming from a rich family, deliberately sacrificing her privilege, to live in a small parsonage with a humble husband, is very inspiring. Indeed, a woman of high morality and strong character is always a good mother. When Mr. Grey's financial investment failed, instead of moaning their misfortune and accusing the father, all the Grey women rolled their sleeves, and each found something to earn money. Agnes became a governess for a rich family: The Bloomsfield. Thus, in her 19 years of age, inexperienced, with all her life socially shut off in a rural village, Agnes left home for the first time in her life, to attend to her first job.

What a family, the Bloomfields is! Their rude, harsh, and shallow characters; with such a bully pack of children, is more than enough to dispel any respectable governess, even the experienced one. But Agnes, shy and meek she seemed to be, heroically bore all assaults while keep doing her best to impart goodness to her pupils. It's so ridiculous how Mrs. Bloomfield expected the governess to educate her children WITHOUT giving her any authority. This account was actually derived from Anne's own experience as a governess. That people like this ever existed! (-_-') It's remarkable how Agnes endured all that until she was finally dismissed (not of her fault) by the Bloomfields. But the dismissal is really Godsend, since those people are hopelessly incurable!

Agnes' second job with the Murrays is much better - at least they treated her more humanly. Even Rosalie Murray treated Agnes quite good - at least, in her selfish way. Then the story gets far more interesting when Mr. Weston, the young new curate, appeared on the radar, and... well, you know what is going to happen next.

On the whole, this is another quiet bildungsroman story about strong women; a soothing read, not too much conflict, and a perfect book for young women. It teaches us how family education is the most important foundation to shape our children's character; and that that education should be started from very early age, when they are still malleable. It also criticizes how 19th century society treated woman as man's slave in marriage. For 19th century woman, Anne Brontë was way more forward than her peers. It's a good proof of a great mother will likely produce great offspring.

Rating: 4 to 5

Persuasion by Jane Austen

The only Austen I have read so far is Sense and Sensibility - and I disliked it! So, it took me quite long to have a heart to take another. And following Ruth's suggestion, I finally picked Persuasion. Now I'm glad I've done it. Though still not my favorite, I can at least say I've finally found an Austen to like, LOL!

I have read the book many months ago, so I won't go into much detail now (which I've forgotten anyway). The main theme is love and marriage, and of course, the unwise act of persuasion in delicate matters, such as love and marriage. Our heroine, Anne Elliot, was engaged to a Captain Wentworth when she was 19 years old. However, her pretentious family saw it as unsuitable, as Wentworth did not fit, socially and financially, to the Elliots. Lady Russel, an aunt, who acted as a mother (who died earlier), and was very attached to Anne, persuaded Anne to broke the engagement, which she complied, despite of the couple's love for each other.

Seven years later, Anne was much more matured, and regretted that she ever complied with Lady Russel's persuasion against marrying a man she truly loved. Since the break up, Anne never found another man equal to her refined mind and principle. She also noticed how shallow, pretentious, and hypocritical the society she lived in, that she often felt out of place. Being an intelligent and introverted woman in 19th century, I can imagine how difficult it was to find a companion with whom she could have a fulfilling relationship. With the women, she would find them shallow; with the men, why, she couldn't be too free to avoid causing unnecessary rumors, and most of them didn't like to talk with "too intelligent" woman anyway. I can relate to Anne very well, as I, too, often experience similar condition, though not as acutely as Anne's.

This (seemingly) simple story opens layer upon layer of how complicated the 19th century society have treated marriage. Why two young people who loved each other could not decide their own faith, always perplex me. It seems that people were sure they knew what make others' happy, and felt obliged to decide and act upon it by themselves. What a nuisance!

Persuasion gives us a glimpse of this, so well crafted by Jane Austen. Anne Elliot is the embodiment of how a woman could be strong without being rebellious. She persevered in her love for Captain Wentworth, but at the same time she also regulated her action so as not hurting others' feeling - letting them learn their own mistakes. She fought (bad) persuasion by giving (good) example. There must have been many girls at that time who felt grateful with Austen's powerful lesson!

My rate: 4/5

The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie

Another non-detective crime story from our beloved Dame; and again, this one picks an intelligent, strong, determined young woman to be the leading heroine: Emily Trefusis. The collaboration between the police (Inspector Narracot) and young sleuths (Emily and a journalist named Charles Enderby)  might remind us much to Inspector Battle and Bundle's relationship in The Secret of Chimneys and Seven Dials Mystery. But Emily's character here is much more prominent than Bundle's mere function to add a youthful vigor into the story.

It all begins with a séance, or table-turning, which was originally done casually to cheer a cold winter afternoon. A group of people sat at a table, and began to play, what they thought was at that time, a foolish game. However, it quickly turned to worse, when the "spirit" revealed the death of a prominent character: Captain Trevelyan, at an exact hour: five and twenty minutes to five.

Major Burnaby, a retired army, is a close friend to Captain Trevelyan. Friday is his day of visiting his friend, but that day the snow was so thick, the road was impassable. However, feeling uneasy, Burnaby insisted on walking through the terrible blizzards to "check on" Trevelyan. And of course, Trevelyan was found dead, sandbagged at the head.

A nephew, a "weak" young man called James ‘Jim’ Pearson was arrested by the police, as he was near Exhampton (place of the crime) at the time of the crime, without proper alibi, and he has just borrowed money from his uncle (and was refused). Jim was engaged to Emily, and so that's how the girl got involved with the case (to prove the innocence of her beloved fiancée), helped by the journalist, who, soon, was also smitten by her.

Overall, Sittaford Mystery is a light, funny (at times), and enjoyable crime story with a romance touch. This is another typical "inside" murder - small rural village, retired army men, widows, boring existence with gossips as the center entertainment. Then add restless and reckless young people, bad financial investment which accumulates to debt, and, of course, a wealthy miser, and voila, that's it!

One element I loved the most, is the psychological aspect of the romance, which is rarely exposed in Christie's. Emily is loved by two men; in the end, which one will she choose? Along the story we got to know Charles as a cheerful, energetic, intelligent man. His keen journalistic instinct would be perfect when combined with Emily's logic and deduction skill. Partnered, they would be another Tommy and Tuppence! Everyone said it will be a perfect match. But, is it really? Like Tuppence, Emily is a domineering woman, the leader in a marriage. Charles knew this, but I think he won't feel happy to be under his wife's lead all the time. He is a dedicated professional, and he would love to strive farther in his career. No, as foolish as it seems, the ‘poor fool’ Jim is the most suitable husband for Emily, because they'd fit perfectly. The one needs to lead, the other needs to be led.

My final rate: 4 to 5

The House of Mirth Readalong Week #6: Book 2 Ch. 10 - end

=Rosedale isn't that bad after all

I can see now that, compared to the other men in Lily Bart's set, Rosedale isn't that bad. He had ambitions, yes, but at least he also possessed compassion towards Lily. He's the only one who still regarded Lily as a friend, while her former 'friends' all denounced her. That he could not relinquish his selfish ambition, it's in accordance with Wharton's theme of determinism - the Naturalists' formula. And it struck me also that Rosedale is actually very similar to Lily, in regards of their struggles between two passions.

=The battle of influences - which will triumph?

Chapter 11 reveals again Lily Bart's heroism in her persisted rejection of Rosedale to the end, despite of her longing to be freed from poverty. In the end, I should say that Lily's inheritance from her father, sharpened by Selden's republic of the spirit, has finally (slightly) triumphed over the influence of her mother's upbringing.

=Lily and Selden - is it possible?

Selden and Lily loved each other - theirs is the only relationship that is pure, without concession. So, why couldn't they be together? I think there's two reasons:

1. On Selden's part:

It's because Selden and Lily came from two different world. Selden was attracted to Lily, but he also 'judged' her as the member of her world. He couldn't marry her because he hated her crude passion for money. This is also Selden's personal struggle between two influences: his love for Lily, his longing to save her; and his critical view of her world. It's so difficult to put trust on something you have taught all your life to hate. So, when, after hearing so many rumors about Lily, Selden saw Lily in Gus Trenor house, how he supposed to think about this suspicious situation? How was he supposed to believe in Lily, when she herself was always swayed to the world she started to hate? No, it's almost impossible on Selden's part to be 100% percent sure of Lily. And Selden has been enjoying his life all along, why would he sacrifice it, when Lily herself rejected him twice (or thrice?) when he heroically proposed to marry her?

2. On Lily's part:

Her world was her habitat, so she clung to it to the end. That's why, though Selden's world was much attracted, and part of her longed to live in it, she couldn't uproot herself from her world.

Then, when her case started to look hopeless, I think it's also partly her pride that made her shrinking from Selden's humble offer altogether.

In the end, they are not destined to be together. If this were Victorian novel, things could be different. Selden perhaps, would brave himself to marry Lily at critical moment, and Lily would be touched, and relented, and... a happy ending. But, this is a Naturalist fiction, and we were not supposed to 'triumph' over the force of nature.

=Suicide or accident?

Should you even ask? Of course it's suicide. Every sentence in the last chapter leads to this conclusion. Lily was terribly unhappy for the time being, and in chapter 14 she has lost all hope. Suicidal person doesn't deliberately end his life just like that, because human instinct is always to survive, to cling to life. It is a mental process, which at the end, when he or she did not see any tiny spark at the end of the tunnel, then the most natural step is just added a little drop of the drug. It's a decision one takes when there's nothing to lose - death becomes more and more alluring. And so at the end, the mind gave up to the mental.

It always a devastating read, The House of Mirth is! But, what a beautiful vivid writing from Edith Wharton! I always nickname her 'the female Zola', and how appropriate it is!

I must thank Cleo @ Classics Carousel for hosting this readalong. It has been fun and wonderful, though I have not as actively participated as I have hoped, due to my works, but it's always amazing to read a piece of magnum opus like this with some friends. :)