April Prompt - A Classics Challenge

Well, I've been on hiatus, but I'm back.  I've read many good books these last few weeks, and I may or may not write about them, we'll see.  First, I wanted to continue where I had left off, so here's my post for the April prompt of the Classics Challenge.  The last classic I had read in April was The Scapegoat.  The questions are related to the book cover.  The book cover I had was:

What are your first impressions as you look at the cover?
The cover didn't really tell me anything.  I found this book at a used book sale and only picked it up because I liked Daphne Du Maurier.  But I didn't really have any impressions about the book itself because the cover isn't very informative.

Does the book cover have an aspect that reflects the character, setting, or plot of the novel?
No, I don't think so!

If you could have designed the book cover what would you have chosen?
I'm not sure...Maybe I would have had two identical men looking at each other somehow, because that definitely has to do with what the story is about.

The Scapegoat, by D. Du Maurier

This is another book I read as part of the Classics Challenge.  The only book I'd read by this author is Rebecca, so I wanted to try one of her other books.

A quick summary: John, an Englishman on vacation in France, runs into someone who looks exactly like him.  They have a few drinks together and the next morning, John realizes that the other man (Jean - not only do they look alike, they have similar names!) switched their clothes and belongings and left John there, basically stealing his identity and leaving John to pose as Jean.  So the rest of the book is about John trying to be Jean, figuring out who Jean is, and learning about his past.

I bought this book at a book sale almost a year ago, and it took me this long to read it partly because I wasn't too convinced about the premise.  Why would John simply accept the fact that someone else stole his identity?  Why would John feel like his only option was to pretend to be Jean?  But once I started reading, I was able to understand the character a lot more and why he would accept this.  I thought the author did a good job of making John a character you can identify with in many ways. 

I enjoyed this book very much! I will look up some other books by this author so I can read some more in the future.

March Prompt - A Classics Challenge

It's time for the next prompt! This month, we have to answer questions related to setting.

The classic I read was Lady Susan, by Jane Austen, and there are multiple settings, because there are different places Lady Susan lives/visits throughout the book.  But I would say the main one would be her brother-in-law's house, where most of the action takes place, so I will focus on that one.

How do you envision it?
I pictured one of those big houses I've seen in Jane Austen movie adaptations.  Maybe something like this:

Do you feel the setting is right? or was it a weak point of the author?
I think the setting was right. I don't think it was described very well, but it is where most of the story took place, and I thought it worked.

If this particular setting was changed how would it affect the course of the story?
The story would change very much! While we learn about Lady Susan's actions while visiting other places, the main plot is about what happens when she comes to visit this place, and how her visit affects everyone there.

Lady Susan, by J. Austen

I love Jane Austen! I have read her major six novels several times, but had never read Lady Susan. This book differs from her other books in several ways.  First, it's in letter format, so all we read are letters the characters send to each other.  This is interesting because you get to read about events from different perspectives. Second, Lady Susan, unlike Austen's other main characters, is not very likeable. If I had to describe her using one word, it would be manipulative. She wants to control people so that she gets her way in everything, and she doesn't care who she hurts in the process.

I enjoyed the book very much. I couldn't believe how manipulative Lady Susan was. But in the end, as in Austen's other novels, evil does not prevail (a characteristic I always enjoy in a novel - and real life!).

Getting to Know Thomas

Ever since I read James Martin's books, I was interested in reading something by Thomas Merton. I decided to start with The Seven Storey Mountain, his autobiography. In this book, Merton writes about his life from childhood to around the time he became a monk. After reading this book, I read No Man is an Island, which is a collection of essays on different topics. Both books were very good. They were not always easy to read, so I did not read these as fast as I thought I would, but it was definitely worth it. Merton is an example of how much God can do in and with a willing person. The more I read, the more I couldn't help being amazed at the beautiful person God turned Merton into.

I would definitely recommend these two books.

February Prompt - A Classics Challenge

This month, we have to talk about one of the characters we found interesting.  The latest classic I read was Excellent Women, by Barbara Pym, so I picked a character from this book.

I was intrigued by Everard Bone, even though I wouldn't consider him a main character.  I imagine Everard as a haughty, proud person who never smiles and is always looking down on you.  (I couldn't find a picture).

We're led to believe that Helena is in love with him (Helena is Mildred's new neighbor, and Mildred is the book's main character).  It's hard to answer some of the Challenge questions, because I feel we don't really know that much about Everard, but I'll do my best.

At first, I did not like him at all.  He seemed to me to be incredibly rude and haughty.  But then we start to learn a few things about him and I started to dislike him less.  I wouldn't say I ever completely liked him, but my opinion of him did improve a little bit as I read more.  That said, I don't think I would ever want to meet him.  I found him to be an interesting character mostly because I never knew what to expect from him.  Sometimes I had a certain idea about him and then learned it was actually the opposite.  So that made him interesting as a character, but I'm not so sure I would find him that interesting as an actual person.

A Red Herring without Mustard - by A. Bradley

This is the third Flavia de Luce mystery.  I had already read the first two, and thought it was time to find out what was new with Flavia.

A quick summary:  An old gypsy woman has been the victim of an attack.  She's left for dead when Flavia finds her.  Sometime later, Flavia finds a dead body.  In this book, Flavia goes about trying to find out who the attacker/murderer is.

For those who haven't read any of the Flavia de Luce mysteries, Flavia is an 11-year-old chemistry-loving girl.  Although the main character is a little girl, I find that the books are pretty adult, and Flavia is quite witty.  I enjoy reading these books.  Throughout the book, besides reading about the mystery, we also read about Flavia's constant feuding with her two older sisters and about the family's financial troubles.  We also read about Harriet, Flavia's mom, who died when Flavia was a baby.  There seems to be something somewhat unresolved about Harriet, so I expect we will continue to read about her in future novels.  Finally, there's Gladys.  Yes, Gladys is Flavia's bike, but the way Flavia talks about her, I feel like she is another character, which I find amusing.

This was a fun book to read, and a very welcome treat after having read the very serious Thinking, Fast and Slow.