April Wrap Up - Welcome May!

April has come and gone like a swirl. So many things had happened, it seemed. First half of the month there's the Easter week, then my Mom was hospitalized for 3 days for observation after a week of severe vertigo. Thank God she's alright, but I've had to catch up with some jobs and chores at work and at home, to compensate those three days. Not mentioning the mini-menopausal depression, urghh! Then the second half of April I had 11 days of holiday, hurrah! This month's random selection of reading reflected very much of my chaotic April!

📚 Books Read in April

The Ladies' Paradise by Émile Zola - a re-read
(started in March)
Read from: audiobook

The Stone of Chastity by Margery Sharp
(started in March)
Read from: e-book

Pigeon Pie by Nancy Mitford
Read from: e-book

N or M? by Agatha Christie - a re-read
Read from: audiobook

Some Tame Gazelle by Barbara Pym
Read from: e-book

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto (not reviewed yet)
Read from: e-book

The Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton (not reviewed yet)
(#1) The Enchanted Wood
(#2) The Magic Faraway Tree
(#3) The Folk if the Faraway Tree
Read from: audiobook

Chef Maurice and a Spot of Truffle by J.A. Lang (not reviewed yet)
Read from: e-book

El Dorado, A Kansas Recessional by Willa Cather (short story)
Read from: e-book


📚Reading Events Attended/Hosted

Zoladdiction 2023 (hosted by me)

I've planned to read 2 books, but managed only 1 book. My posts:
* an open letter to one of the characters in The Ladies' Paradise
* reviewing The Ladies' Paradise -a re-read
* character analysis of Denise Baudu from The Ladies Paradise
* answering The Émile Zola Tag

It's been fun! The proper wrap-up will be published tomorrow.


The 1940 Club (hosted by Simon @ Stuck in Books & Karen @ Kaggsy's Bookish Rambling)

I've somehow managed to read 2 books:
* The Stone of Chastity by Margery Sharp
* Pigeon Pie by Nancy Mitford
 

I've had so much fun, many thanks to Simon and Karen! Can't wait to the October's #1962Club!

📚 2023 Statistics

📊 Total books read so far: 19
📊 Total short stories read so far: 4
📊 Challenge progress:
* 2023 TBR Pile Challenge: 5
* 2023 Victorian Reading Challenge: 2
* 2023 Audiobook Challenge: 8


📚 What's happening in May

🔸️ Will be reading Willa Cather for my annual #CatherInMay. The book is: The Professor's House

🔸️ Will read the only F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel I haven't read: The Last Tycoon

🔸️ Will keep listening to the audiobook of Agatha Christie: An Autobiography

Some Tame Gazelle by Barbara Pym: A Review

"Who would change a comfortable life of spinsterhood in a country parish, which always had its pale curate to be cherished, for the unknown trials of matrimony?"

🔶️ Who, indeed? At least Harriet Bede, a spinster in her fifties, won't. Neither will her older sister, Belinda, also a spinster. They both live peacefully together in a small town in English countryside.

🔶️ Belinda is the quiet, submissive, unassuming one; while, of course, Harriet is her opposite - bold, loud, impulsive. In the usual fashion of a little parish, their existence revolve around the clerical world.

🔶️ Belinda has loved the Archdeacon Hoccleve since their student lives, but the pompous Henry Hoccleve married Agatha, a bishop's daughter, instead. While Harriet.. well, Harriet is always fond of young curates. She seems to never love any man, though regularly receives marriage proposal from Count Ricardo Bianco.

🔶️ There are three important events that set this story. First is the newly arrived curate, a Mr. Donne. As Harriet begins to dote upon him, rumors is circulating that he's to be engaged with Agatha Hoccleve's niece. Another one is when Agatha goes to a German spa. A librarian Doctor Farnell is staying with the Archdeacon, along with his friend, a Mr. Mold. The latter proposes to Harriet, but gets rejected.

🔶️ Then when Agatha returns, she brings a guest, a former acquaintance of the Bedes sisters, now a Bishop of Mbawawa. He, too, seems to pay attention to Harriet - or so Belinda thinks, otherwise why does he always find reason to come to their house?

🔶️ All these times Belinda is always worried lest Harriet accepts one of the proposals, then get married, and she would be left alone. Her own peaceful mind has been already a bit disturbed by Agatha's absent, and when dear Henry (the archdeacon) invites her for supper.

🔶️ All these harmless little incidents had quite stirred Belinda and Harriet's peaceful lives. After all, when one is fifty, one needs stability. A little excitement every now and then is welcomed - a new young curate for instance - but not more complicated than that, thank you!

🔶️ All in all, it is a heartwarming story, sometimes funny (not LOL funny, but enough to make you chuckling); and overall enjoyable, relaxing, and satisfying. Since getting to the age fifty, I started to feel the need of stability myself. Too much excitement is mentally tiring for me, and it tends to lead to depression. And so, I could relate very well to Belinda's feelings.

🔶️ I guess this charming book would be on my perpetual re-read list. Plus it is a perfect remedy for depression!

Rating: 4,5 / 5

N or M? by Agatha Christie: A Re-read from Audiobook

🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♀️ N or M? brings us back to the lovely detective couple: Tommy and Tuppence. We left them more than twenty years ago during WW1 in The Secret Adversary, and meet them again on the outbreak of another war, WW2. They are in middle age now, have married with three grown up children, who either serve in the war or in intelligent, and in what we call as 'mid-life crisis'. They wish to be actively involved in the intelligent world, full of action and danger, like they used to do brilliantly in the previous war.

🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♀️ And their wish came true! A British secret agent approached Tommy, asked him to go undercover to a hotel in the seaside Leahampton called Sans Souci, which was believed to be the camp of German spies and fifth columnists. They were male and female, whose initial were N and M. Tommy was selected because he has long retired from service, and therefore was unknown in the intelligent world. He was to depart secretly alone without Tuppence, though.

🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♀️ Of course Tuppence anticipated this, and went undercover herself anyway to Sans Souci to meet the astonished Tommy. We can't expect Tommy to counter-spying alone, right? Since Tuppence was always the brain of the two. So they stayed at Sans Souci as two strangers, old ordinary widowers.

🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♀️ They soon found out that the other residents seemed to be a group of harmless ordinary British middle classes. There was even cute little Betty Sprout, a 3 y.o. precocious child with her blubbering of "goosie goosie gander", which add to the inoffensiveness of the group. It's hard to believe that two German spies were among them. But they were!

🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♀️ Things soon got out of control. First someone's sneaked to Tuppence's bedroom, then Tommy inadvertently revealed the spy's identity, leading up to his disappearance. It's up to Tuppence now, along with their old friend Albert who came to help, to solve the mystery and rescue Tommy.

🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♀️ I didn't remember N or M? to be this fun. I guess because I have come to middle age along with them, that this story felt more relevant than before. At this phase, I prefer this one more than The Secret Adversary. It felt more real, more down to earth, and dealt more with human psychological side.

Rating: 4,5 / 5

Top Ten Tuesday: Audiobook Narrators

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and this week's prompt is...

Top Ten Audiobook Narrators

I have only found a fondness in listening to audiobooks only early this year. Thus, I've only known a handful of audiobook narrators. Here they are in the order of my encountering them:

David Suchet

My first audiobook is Agatha Christie's Sad Cypress, performed by none other than David Suchet himself! He was the perfect narrator for this particular book; or could it be perhaps, because it was my first experience? Anyway, I enjoyed Suchet's clear voice, sharp articulation, and he gave each character a unique and fitting personality by various intonation and accents. However, I sampled his narration of Evil Under the Sun the other day, and found him read it rather too fast.


Cherry Jones

Cherry Jones is the most perfect choice to narrate Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series. She did justice to every single book with such enthusiasm and earnestness that I felt like swept into the Ingallses' home when I read Little House in the Big Wood. Her voice is clear and soothing, with good articulation and perfect intonation for the story.


John Lee

I have attempted to listen to Ken Follett's World Without End a few months ago. It's been years since I've read  Pillars of the Earth. John Lee's narration was perfect for this story. His voice is crisp, with nice articulation, and consistent pace of narration. It was the book that I've had problem with; it's too violent for my taste in the first 100-ish pages, and I didn't think I would be able to listen to the remaining 900-ish; so I abandoned it!


B.J. Harrison

B.J. Harrison is by far my most favorite narrator. He was perfect in narrating von Arnim's The Enchanted April. Since I have listened and read the book simultaneously, I knew for sure that Harrison's narration enlivened many of the book's scenes. His voice is pleasant, soothing, with perfect undulation. Good news is, that he has narrated lots of books (which I've found in Scribd).


Leighton Pugh

I encountered Leighton Pugh when I listened to Zola's The Ladies' Paradise. At first the audio was quite difficult to enjoy, Pugh's voice is quite heavy, and his accent's sometimes rather thick. But I kept going on; and I'm glad I did, because once I was used to, it's easy to follow his narration. His French accent is flawless, and his pronunciation is nice.


Hugh Fraser

I think you'd guess easily whose books Hugh Fraser narrated for most - yep, Christie's! I first listened to him in N or M? And I was quite struggled as I've expected. Fraser's British accent is thick, and his reading pace is inconsistent. He could blurbing some words so fast in a sentence, that I didn't quite catch what he said, though I've adjusted the speed to the minimum 0,8x. It's rather unpleasant, but I guess I must adapt, for he narrated many of Christie's I've wanted to listen to.


Judith Boyd

I'm currently listening to Agatha Christie: An Autobiography, narrated by Judith Boyd. Her voice is soothing, and what I like most is her sharp articulation. Normally my audiobook speed setting is 0,8x. It's the most comfortable way to enjoy the audiobooks before sleep. But I made exception for Boyd's narration; her voice is so clear and her pace is steady, that I've adjusted the speed to 1x. One thing I can do without is her high pitching voice whenever she gets to an exciting passage. It's a bit unpleasant.


Kate Winslet

I have found a delightful audiobook series of Enid Blyton's The Faraway Tree, narrated by Kate Winslet. I always love Winslet's voice; her accent is so pleasant to listen to, and she has that sort of gleeful voice which ought to make you smile. I am currently listening to the third book right now, and have enjoying it so far. She would be one of my favorite narrators at the end, I'm sure!

I have been enjoying only those eight audiobooks so far, so the next two narrators are the ones I haven't got to listen to, but wish very much to:

Dan Stevens

Don't you think Dan Steven's is the sexiest male voice on earth? Or is it just me? 😋 I would love to listen to audiobooks that he's narrated. But so far, I haven't found one which I really want to read. Well, I'll be waiting patiently...


Tilda Swinton

Last but not least, back when I was doing a thorough reading of Moby Dick, I came across one chapter narrated by Tilda Swinton. And I remember wishing her to narrate the rest of the chapters. She has a clear voice and sharp articulation, that it made me, whose English is a second language, understood the whole sentence quite effortlessly. I wish to come across a good book narrated by her in near future!

Have you listened to these narrators? Who's your favorite? Or who would you like to narrate one of the books you wish to listen next?

El Dorado, A Kansas Recessional by Willa Cather: A Short Story #WCSSP2023

🌵If I must give this particular story a one-word review, it would be: swindle. Because that's what it is about. A poetical prose beautifully written by Willa Cather, about swindle.

🌵 Colonel Josiah Bywaters had lived peacefully in Virginia for years. Until one day, four years ago, his friend introduced him to a amiable young man called Apollo Gump. That's when his life was about to change completely.

🌵 This Apollo young man persuaded the Colonel to invest in Western land, but he rejected. Soon, however, the Colonel grew fond of the young man. They drank whiskey together, while Apollo told many stories about Kansas City, in particular a town called El Dorado: "the beauty of the location, the marvelous fertility of the surrounding country, the commercial and educational advantages of the town."

🌵 Soon enough the Colonel was persuaded, and after sold his business, left Virginia to move to El Dorado, along with some other men Apollo had also successfully persuaded.

🌵 El Dorado was practically owned by the Gumps. Every establishment was owned by one of Apollo's brothers; they were the banker, physician, architect, real estate agent, mayor, and so on. Apparently, El Dorado was founded by the Gumps, and now it was built by promise; promise that a railroad would be built, the waterworks would be put in, next spring. And Josiah was once more persuaded to invest his money on the land, while opening a grocery store.

🌵 When spring came, however, the Gump boys were summoned by their dying father. Excepting Apollo (he, too, later went away), they were all gone. And with them, all the funds - banking, real estate, etc. They realized then, that they were swindled.

🌵 All of them left El Dorado, but Josiah. He stubbornly refused to leave that deserted town, waiting to get his money back. Not even after other houses and buildings were torn down, and Josiah's store was the only building still intact. Would his patience bring fruitful result? Or would he be dying in the loneliness of the barren bluff?

🌵 I love this story! All the elements of what I love from Cather is here. Poetical prose, beautiful and poignant, vividly portrayal of the characters' struggles, all in a short story. And the ending is superb!

🌵 I also love how she described the landscape as a living creature:

"The river is a turbid, muddy little stream, that crawls along between naked bluffs, choked and split by sand bars, and with nothing whatever of that fabled haste to reach the sea. Though there can be little doubt that the Solomon is heartily disgusted with the country through which it flows, it makes no haste to quit it. Indeed, it is one of the most futile little streams under the sun, and never gets anywhere."

"Sometimes, in the dusk of night, when the winds were not usual and only the stars could hear, the dry little corn leaves whispered to each other that once, long ago, real yellow ears grew in the Solomon valley."

"Near the river was a solitary frame building, low and wide, with a high sham front, like most stores in kansas villages. Over the door was painted in faded letters, 'Josiah Bywaters, Dry Goods, Groceries and Notions.'"

🌵 Josiah himself is an inspiring character. His patience, his strong will to endure, not so much the poverty than, the loneliness. Many others in his place would have had fallen to pieces sooner than a year. But not Josiah. Maybe we can learn a bit from him - of his resilience, not his poor judgment - such as living life as if he'd live in his happy past. Josiah would always wear his best Sunday suit, and went for fishing - though there's scarcely any fish in that muddy river. These little things help him maintain his dignity, and ridiculous as it seems, I think it help him enduring his desolate situation. Do you agree?

Rating: 5 / 5

The Ladies' Paradise by Émile Zola: A Reread from Audiobook

👗The Ladies' Paradise (Au Bonheur des Dames) is one of my favorites from Zola. It is less "raw" than the others in Rougon-Macquart cycle, so obviously, more cheerful. In this second reading, I realized that this book is the one where Darwinism struggle for existence is most strongly applied.

👗 Ladies' Paradise is the first department store in Paris (inspired by Le Bon Marché). It was first founded by Madame Hédouin (told in previous novel in Rougon-Macquart novel - which I didn't review - Pot-Bouille), where Octave Mouret has worked as a salesman. He was a charming womanizer, and at the end of Pot-Bouille, he married the widowed Madame Hédouin.

👗 The Ladies' Paradise begins a few years after Madame Hédouin died, leaving the store to Mouret. Besides being charming, Mouret was, apparently, a visionary and innovative business man. Under his management, Ladies' Paradise doubled its capital in a short time. Mouret's key formula was by 'tickling' women's senses and greedy desires, which was achieved through colossal artistic displays, enormous mass gatherings, sensational promotions, and generous discounts.

👗 I could imagine how fascinating it was for the Parisian women. A glamorous building, the adrenaline rush seeing the crowds (let's get those silks before the others take all!), then the beautiful colorful arrangements which makes one buy what she doesn't need. And the cheap prices too! It's enough to lure any woman to buy impulsively.

👗Moreover, Mouret strategically placed relatable departments far away from each other. It makes one who needs a dress and a coat, for instance, after buying the dress, must pass furniture, haberdashery, and children departments, before she could reach coat department. It resulted that she might be tempted to buy also a lamp, buttons, and a cute jacket for her daughter, which she didn't plan at all.

👗 Mouret could run those schemes at all because he knew women's character perfectly. Or he thought he knew, until Denise Baudu, a plain country girl who's just arrived in Paris to work, entered his life. His life changed (for the better) when he fell in love with Denise. Now, Denise is an extraordinary character - I have written about her character - she's nothing like common working-class girl, and her dignity surpasses those of bourgeois ladies. Moreover, Denise is intelligent and as visionary as - but more kindhearted than - Mouret. I imagine, if they join forces in the management, the Ladies' Paradise would become a truly formidable establishment!

👗 However, while the Ladies' Paradise enjoys its phenomenal success, many conventional shop keepers in Paris suffered from huge loss. They lost their customers because they couldn't compete with the department store, and many ended up with bankruptcy, or even ruined. This is where the Darwinism struggle of existence theme becomes relevant. These bourgeois have been used to just provide the clothing items on their store and sit relaxed behind the counters; customers would automatically come through their doors. When a rival came, they were indignant; lamenting, even cursing, but did nothing. Some, perhaps, couldn't do anything to compete with Ladies' Paradise, but few of them weren't as hopeless as they've thought. Monsieur Bourras, the umbrella shop owner, for example, could have done something to rescue his business, as I have suggested in previous post. It was, indeed, the struggle of existence - only the fittest would win.

👗 For this second read, I listened from an audiobook, narrated by Leighton Pugh. I'm glad I've done that, because the listening has enhanced Zola's picturesque description of the Ladies' Paradise to another level. Reading from printed copy might have been a bit boring (Zola's descriptions can often be dragging on and on!) But by listening, it surprisingly provided a vivid portrays of the scenes. Far from boring, I enjoyed it imenesely like I were visiting the department store myself. It was very rewarding!

👗 Finally, there is the love story of Mouret and Denise - the only romantic story you would find from Zola's Rougon-Macquart! On the whole, it has been a very satisfying reading!

Rating: 5 / 5

Classic Character: Denise Baudu from The Ladies' Paradise (Émile Zola)

Denise Baudu's is perhaps one of the most wonderful character-developments in literature. She came from a small village in France, where she worked as shop assistant. Denise is about 18 y.o. when she first arrived in Paris as an orphan with two little brothers to take care of.

Despite her uncle's unceasing hatred towards the grand department store across the street, which ruined his and other shopkeepers around the block's businesses, Denise is fascinated and greatly attracted by this modern establishment.

She arrived at the Ladies' Paradise, on her first day to work, as a timid, skinny, unkempt country girl, with her worn wooden clogs and wild hair. The other staffs laughed at her. The humiliation and her bewilderment with metropolitan Paris made her failing at the job she must've been qualified, thanks to her former experience.

Her first meeting with Octave Mouret, the genius behind, and owner of, the Ladies Paradise, left unexpected effect on each of them. Denise admires Mouret's visionary genius but a bit afraid of him - at least that's what she thought she's felt. I think Denise has fallen in love with him from the first (and it's reciprocated, though Mouret, too, didn't realised at first)!

During the bullying and poverty phase, Denise shows her true quality. Her only friend, Pauline, shows her how easy to solve her problem of poverty: take a lover! Apparently it was a common thing for Parisian working-class girls to take a lover, who would buy them dinners, take them to nice places, and buy them dresses. But Denise vehemently rejects the idea. Denise, who appears to be meek, is actually a strong girl full with resilience and determination.

With those quality she succeeded to return to the Ladies' Paradise after her earlier dismissal (by people who dislike her). Not only return, but return triumphantly with promotion - although this is partly due to Mouret's support - but Denise really deserves to be Assistant Buyer.

Octave Mouret is a womanizer. But neither his charm nor his wealth could tear down Denise's determination - she always says 'No!' She loves Mouret, this she finally realizes, but she don't want to be a man's mistress.

I admire Denise's courage and resilience. She is disliked by her colleagues, and humiliated by Mouret's former mistress, but she bears them valiantly, never loses her integrity. She's still the amiable, humble but dignified, kindhearted girl from the country, though she is now a respectable manager! Not only that, Denise is a very intelligent girl. The Ladies Paradise keeps improving thanks to Denise's many feedbacks to Mouret. I can't blame Mouret for being obsessed with this skinny, plain girl, for she's single-handedly changed both Mouret and his employees' life for the better!

Denise's humiliation by Henriette

Denise Baudu is now officially my most favorite character from Zola's Rougon-Macquart universe.