Review: Manservant and Maidservant by Ivy Compton Burnett

Horace Lamb is a tyrant of a father, a bit of a Scrooge who forces his five children to wear rags and use little coal in the fire despite the fact that it's so cold outside their water freezes overnight. He gives them little food and has not time or patience for their naturally childish ways. His wife, Charlotte, has had enough and has a secret plan to marry his brother, Mortimer, and take the children away. After all the family money is hers and she is tired of watching her children suffer. She goes away for awhile, and in her absence a new tutor comes in. His family is terribly curious about the Lambs and insist they spend Christmas together. When Magadalen Doubleday falls for Mortimer Lamb, things begin to change, including Horace himself.

Manservant and Maidservant is told almost entirely through dialogue which became very exhausting for me to read. The characters seemed quite willing to constantly analyze their lives and interactions and while a few things do actually happen, it's mostly just dialogue upon dialogue. I found myself extremely reluctant to continue reading since I had to really force myself to pay attention. I did enjoy the character of Avery, the little boy, being a child he was quite cute and innocent, but most of the rest of the characters grated on my nerves.

I read the introduction to the book which explains that Compton-Burnett herself grew up in a cruel household and there are some people who find all twenty of her books to be the same. If that's the case, there's not a chance I'll be reading anymore. It's not that there weren't many clever or true things said in the book, it's just the process of reading it all was so tedious.

I suspect that some of you might like this more than I did. If you enjoy books that are sheer dialogue you might, or if you enjoy reading about everyday household interactions with some look at class thrown in you might also enjoy this. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

I did read this for both the Small Press spotlight series (never fear New York Review Book Classics I still love you) and the LOST Books Challenge.

LOST connection
This book is barely shown in fact, I give huge kudos to whoever figured out it was this book. In the season 4 series finale, Kate grabs a gun out of a drawer because she thinks someone is in Aaron's room. The book is in the drawer. I'm not exactly sure how this ties into LOST, perhaps the complicated family dynamics of the Lambs echoes the very many family issues in LOST. Horace's quest to remake himself is much like many of our LOSTies paths to redemption.

Rating: 3/5
Source of Book: Bought it
Publisher: New York Review Book Classics

Short Story Review: An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce

I chose to read this short story as part of the LOST books challenge, and am choosing to post my long overdue review today on the day of the season 5 finale. "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" first makes it appearance in Season 2 of LOST when John Locke is reading it in the hatch. It looks like Locke is reading a book.
I don't really understand where that book came from, because not only is this a short story, it's a really short story! But it's a good one, and introduces a plot twist that is believed to have later influenced some other great stories and films.

The story opens with a man about to be executed on a bridge by hanging. The opening scene sets up with the man's last thoughts and his contemplation of how he might escape this almost certain death. We then cut to the past, and details of how the man came to be on the bridge about to die come to light. This is also quite a short section and then we are back to the execution. However, when he falls to his death, he realizes he is not actually dead and swims to his escape. And so he is cleverly trying to escape and just reaching home when....well that's all I can say.

I read this story in about 15 minutes. I think I read it much too quickly, because I thought it was good, but forgot about it. Until later, when I was driving I started thinking about it again. I think this little story is actually quite effective and packs a little punch. But I feel it's hard to say much about it without spoiling it completely!

Relationship to LOST
Well, there's a few things. First, there's the format of the story. Present/past/present. Very much the way the story of LOST is told. Secondly, there is this gem of a line!
"The wood on either side was full of singular noises, among which--once, twice, and again--he distinctly heard whispers in an unknown tongue."
If that doesn't remind you of LOST, I don't know what would! :)

I really recommend taking the short amount of time it takes to read this story...I look forward to having more time to read Ambrose Bierce's stories.

Review: The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares

About the Book: Set on a mysterious island, Bioy's novella is a story of suspense and exploration, as well as a wonderfully unlikely romance, in which every detail is at once crystal clear and deeply mysterious. (Appears in the season four episode Eggtown of LOST)

My Review: I love that summary because it pretty much tells you nothing about the book! :) Or rather the novella. But let me tell you this is a very enjoyable little read. Enough so that even though I finished it rather quickly, I've still been thinking about it afterwards. It's the kind of read that's slightly unsettling and not with a lot of closure.

Our narrator is on an island by himself, hiding from the police. He isn't totally clear about where the island is, it seems there were people there previously who built some things on the island and then either disappeared or were killed by a sickness. He is trying to stay alive on the island and not succumb to any illnesses, when out of nowhere some people show up.

About the same time these people show up, our narrator observes other changes taking place on the island. For example, there are two suns. (he sometimes feels all the strange things he is experiencing is a result of his brain being fried) He also notices there is a very beautiful woman in the group and he falls in love with her even though they never speak.

What's going on on the island? Who are these people? Are they part of a plot from the police? Are they all really in an insane asylum? Maybe the island is actually purgatory. These are the theories considered before the very interesting revelation about what is truly going on on the island is revealed. I really enjoyed this little mysterious novella...I kept turning the pages wondering what was going on and as I said before I've been pondering it since.


Relationship to LOST
Where do I start? First of all with the obvious....the setting is a mysterious island in an unknown location. While our narrator is there, mysterious people show up. There is evidence of others having lived on the island before (the museum, swimming pool etc. like the Dharma stations) When pondering what is going on on the island he considers many theories fans have considered for LOST (insane asylum, purgatory, and aliens.) There's a huge collection of books left on the island. There is also a time element but I don't want to go too much into that for fear of spoiling the book. But perhaps what struck me more than anything was the following quote. I heard Darlton say that this year, instead of asking who is dead? We should be asking what does dead mean?

"I believe we lose immortality because we have not conquered our opposition to death; we keep insisting on the primary, rudimentary idea: that the whole body should be kept alive. We should seek to preserve only the part that has to do with consciousness."

I never would have heard of The Invention of Morel if I didn't watch LOST. So the goal of exposing people to cool books has been successful. I really enjoyed this one. You can buy it here.
Rating: 4/5

Get LOST in a Good Book!

One of the things I love about LOST is that it incorporates a history of literary love into the story. Books are in plentiful supply. Some characters have author names. Literary allusions are made in the titles of episodes. On top of that, and this is really important, there are no stereotypes as to who the bookish people are. In the character of Sawyer, we have a gorgeous conman who is a voracious reader. The beautiful doctor Juliet hosts a book club. The ringleader of the Others Ben has bookshelves full. And the books range from classics to Stephen King novels.

LOST intentionally promotes reading and books as being positive. Truthfully? That's incredibly rare in our society. Most of the time, people who love to read are portrayed as either being socially awkward know-it-alls or too brilliant to associate with commonfolk. It's just one more reason that I love LOST...it's delightful in and of itself and it tips its hat to the great stories of the past.

So for that reason, and because so many interesting books were on the list, I hosted the LOST books challenge last year. The challenge officially ends this Wednesday. I know one person finished it and another who at least worked on it, but I think most people gave up. I still like the idea of the LOST books challenge and so I'm going to try again. Here are the changes:

1) Round two of the LOST books challenge will launch this Wednesday January 21st and continue until the series finale in 2010. Participants can join at any time.

2) Once again, participants will be asked to choose at least five books off the list of books alluded to or mentioned on the show to complete by the time the series concludes in 2010. If participants did not complete the first challenge, they can use those same books again. Books can be crossed with any other challenge you like.

3) The LOST books challenge will have its own blog. Participants can cross post their reviews directly onto the blog. But to add to the fun, participants can post about anything related to LOST (except for spoilers)...recaps of the episodes, theories, etc. It will be sort of a fun place for book blogging Losties.

4) I promise to try to keep it fresh and interesting with mini-challenges and contests.

Please visit the dedicated challenge blog to sign-up and learn more.

I'm hoping for big participation. So...in honor of LOST coming back this week (yay!) and to drum up enthusiasm, anyone who signs up for the LOST books challenge by January 30th and posts about it on their blog will be eligible for a drawing to win season 3 of LOST on DVD.

LOST Books Challenge Reviews

I've scrapped the idea of hosting these once a month, so instead I'm putting up one Mr. Linky. I'll link to this post in my sidebar so you can find it easily.
Please add permalinks to your reviews so that we can all join in some LOST book nerdiness together. I'm putting together ONE prize package for one winner...someone who reads all the books on their list before the show starts again in February (chosen randomly). It's going to be full of, um, LOST goodies and also a gift certificate for a to be determined place. By the way, I want to do this again starting next May (when the show is on hiatus again) so if you missed it this time or want to give another go then, I hope you'll check back.

LOST Books Challenge First Review

Hi all participating in the LOST Books Challenge! If you've completed a review, submit your link below! From everyone who has finished one book and submitted a link, I'll draw a winner for a surprise prize! I will be hosting these each month...the next one will be September 20th. (due to Book Blogger Appreciation Week) Each month there will be a different prize up for grabs as an added incentive to get your books read and your reviews written!

Review: Bad Twin by Gary Troup (LOST Books Challenge)

I finished my first book for the LOST Books Challenge! Most of the books I chose are rather chunky, so when it came down to two days before hosting the first Mr. Linky I chose the slimmest one I had...Bad Twin.

About the Book: Paul Artisan, P.I. is a new version of an old breed -- a righter of wrongs, someone driven to get to the bottom of things. Too bad his usual cases are of the boring malpractice and fraud variety. Until now. His new gig turns on the disappearance of one of a pair of twins, adult scions of a rich but tragedy-prone family. The missing twin -- a charismatic poster-boy for irresponsibility -- has spent his life daring people to hate him, punishing himself endlessly for his screw-ups and misdeeds. The other twin -- Artisan's client -- is dutiful and resentful in equal measure, bewildered that his "other half" could have turned out so badly, and wracked by guilt at his inability to reform him. He has a more practical reason, as well, for wanting his brother found: their crazy father, in failing health and with guilty secrets of his own, will not divide the family fortune until both siblings are accounted for. But it isn't just a fortune that's at stake here. Truth itself is up for grabs, as the detective's discoveries seem to challenge everything we think we know about identity, and human nature, and family. As Artisan journeys across the globe to track down the bad twin, he seems to have moved into a mirror-world where friends and enemies have a way of looking very much alike. The P.I. may have his long-awaited chance to put his courage and ideals to the test, but if he doesn't get to the bottom of this case soon, it could very well cost him his life. Troup's long-awaited Bad Twin is a suspenseful novel that touches on many powerful themes, including the consequence of vengeance, the power of redemption, and where to turn when all seems lost.

My Review: This is the book that Hurley found from the plane that was in manuscript form. Sawyer later read it until Jack burned it before he got to the end. The author is a fictional character meant to have been on Oceanic 815. I wouldn't call it a brilliant piece of fiction, but it is really fun for the LOST fan.

There are quite a few little tie-ins and I would argue, overall philosophical explorations that relate to LOST. I won't point them all out here, because I know some of you chose this for your own challenge, but some old favorites like the Widmores and the Hanso Foundation are brought up.

The mystery itself is underwhelming, but the book is actually pretty engaging. That might be because I was looking for LOST references, though. ;) I actually liked a lot of the characters, particularly the dog. Overall, it was a fun read and I'm glad to have read it.

I feel like I cheated a little bit, because I have all the hefty books left to read, but hopefully next month I'll have something more substantial to report!

You can read about all tie-ins to the show here.

You can buy Bad Twin here.

Important Stuff!

Hard to believe, but tomorrow is the last day of the 40 Day Fast. We invite you to join in with us and take an action of love. You can still fast for the day as well, but we're hoping a lot of people will write a post on their blog about an action they've taken as a result of the fast. Over at Inspired to Action, we'll have a Mr. Linky set up so that you can join in the fun.

Harry
We're getting some more from the Harry Potter 'verse! All this Harry Potter goodness in two days is almost too much for my heart. In any case, The Tales of Beetle the Bard (the book originally hand-written and illustrated by J.K. herself) will be available December 4th. Merry Christmas! You can either purchase the standard edition for a mere 7.59 or the collector's edition for 100 dollars! Don't lose any sleep over that choice for sure! ;)

LOST
And don't forget to sign up to volunteer for the Dharma Iniative! (Yes, I'm a nerd) By the way, I'm thinking of extending the LOST books Challenge to January 31st. Is everyone cool with that? New episodes don't start until February and we'll need something to do.

That's all for now!

My Imaginary Nightstand

I don't actually have a nightstand! But I do have a towering pile of books next to my bed. I wanted to take a clever picture for this feature, but time got away from me, so here are some of the books I'll be tackling in the next week or so.

Searching for Spice by Megan DiMaria is about a woman who wants to have an affair with her husband! This is actually due for review tomorrow, so come back and see what I have to say about it! :)

Daphne by Justine Picardie This book already released across the ocean to great reviews by the Brit book bloggers. I've been dying to read it and was thrilled when I was sent an ARC. It's the story of Daphne du Maurier who wrote Rebecca, but also wrote The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte. I've always been a bit fascinated by the Brontes.

The Painter from Shanghai by Jennifer Cody Epstein. I have a great fondness for stories that take place in Asia and Julie at Booking Mama gave this one a great review.

And finally Watership Down by Richard Adams. I think. I need to complete a book for the LOST books challenge by the 15th and I think this is the one I'm going to tackle. (Unfortunately, I chose a bunch of really chunky books)

Head on over to 5 Minutes for Books to see what everyone else is reading!

But first tell me if you've read any of the books on my nightstand or what's on yours!

LOST Book Challenge Check-In

Many many thanks to those of you who helped spread the word about the challenge.

ABC obviously got a clue and started an official LOST book club! And yes, that's a message from me in the forum trying to drum up more interest. (I haven't got much traffic from it though) ;) And now Lostpedia might actually start discussions on books. Yay! More book love, I say. More LOST love.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I'll be hosting the first Mr. Linky on August 15th. So try to finish a book by then, so you can check in with a review! I look forward to hearing about everyone's progress. Uh-oh, that means I need to finish a book by then, too! :)

(thanks to Heather for pointing out the official LOST book club)

Spring Reading Thing Wrap-Up and my other Challenges/Weekly Geeks

Well, I didn't come anywhere close to finishing my list for the Spring Reading Thing, but I read a lot of books that weren't on it. So in short, my TBR pile is untouched, lol, as I read mostly books that came in for review. That does seem to be slowing down a bit right now, though, so maybe I can catch up on these before the Fall Reading Event. :)

Here's what I read off my list, linked to the review if I wrote it:
For Pete's Sake by Linda Windsor
Betrayed by JM Windle
Trouble the Water by Nicole Seitz
Embrace Me by Lisa Samson
Finding Hollywood Nobody by Lisa Samson
When Zeffie Got a Clue by Peggy Darty
The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
By Reason of Insanity by Randy Singer
Ruby Among Us by Tina Ann Forkner
The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson
Just Cause by Susan Page Davis

I, unfortunately, don't keep a list of the other books I've read, but there's probably at least 10 more.

Now, onto the 1% Well Read Challenge...I haven't read any of those books yet! My goal is to read one before July starts. I decided I'm going to participate in next week's Read-a-thon, so hopefully I can knock one out (maybe Graham Greene) then.

Lastly, there's the LOST Books Challenge that I myself am hosting. I haven't even fully settled on my list. So you can see how that's going. But if you're a fan of LOST, please consider joining! (and if you're a book lover you should be a fan of LOST ;)

LOST Books Challenge

Ok, having dipped my toes into the world of book challenges with my Read One Book Challenge, I've decided to host another one! (that one is going spendidly by the way, there's like 4 whole people signed up!)

One of the things you will notice if you watch LOST is that books are displayed everywhere and that characters are named after authors, philosophers, and characters in books. Sawyer is a voracious reader and the Others have a bookclub. If you're a nerd like me...it's a dream come true. This is quite intentional work from the creative team, in fact, on one of the DVD extras they basically said they want to send the message that books are cool.

Well God bless em.

So since we have to wait till 2009 for more LOST (the horror) I thought it would be fun to read some of the books featured or alluded to on the show. I'm somewhat distressed to report that I haven't read many of them, so I have MANY options. I hope you'll join in. In order to make this the most successful and fun challenge that it can be, I want lots of participants. Come on...you know you love LOST! And books! And me!

Here are the rules of the Challenge:

1) Check out this site, and this site and compile a list of 5 books and upwards that you want to read to complete this challenge. (If you know another book mentioned on the show or relating to the show, you can defend your choice in your post) Update: If you have not finished watching the show, please use this list, so as not to be spoiled!
2) Write a post on your blog announcing your intention to participate in the challenge, list the books you want to read, and invite your readers to do the same. Then come back here and add a direct link to your post to Mr. Linky. (not a general link to your url)
3) You are absolutely welcome to cross books from this challenge with books in other challenges.
4) You must complete the challenge by December 31st, 2008.
5) There will be prizes raffled for those who complete the challenge, I just haven't figured out what yet!
6) If you are not a blogger, you can email me your plan to participate and I'll make a post for you right here on my blog...see? I love you too!

Periodically, I'll host another Mr. Linky so you can record your progress and any insights you've learned about the show.

For the not so bookishly or Lostie inclined, I'll be announcing another challenge soon!

Grab the button code here!

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