Lady Chatterley's Lover

I expected passion and lust for life, but the book delivered the complete opposite. It documents Lady Chatterley's disillusionment with the world which she effectively makes up for with sex. The love is so impersonal and yet we are told it is rare and special. It gives little hope for a happy functioning relationship where one can actually talk with and get to know their partner. Smothering the plot, is a sense of doom at the modern world and man's impression upon the earth with its metal and coal and dirt. Reading it in 2013 I began to be almost insulted at the "slagging off" of modern life. I guess it was meaningful in the way that human's are ruining the earth and so on, but there was so little hope expressed in this novel. Positive notions were only really extended to Lady Chatterley and her lover; everything else was made to seem fake or trivial or uncivilized or unreal or plain ridiculous. I found the book much more of a commentary on society than a love story, which, for me, was a little disappointing, however interesting it was.

This sense of gloom was achieved extremely well and it impacted strongly upon me. I sometimes wonder if when an author so skillfully creates negative feelings that a reader dislikes reading a book or absolutely abhors a character, it is a good thing or not. I suppose if that is what they set out to achieve, then it is just a display of their writing talent.

So basically, if you know what to expect, this novel is interesting and definitely worth a read, but don't be foolish like me and expect a nice romantic novel!!

Happy Endings?

I used to think that happy endings were for fairytales and though I certainly preferred one, it was wrong to do so. However, particularly after reading 'Atonement' by Ian McEwan, I have changed my mind. I no longer think books with sad or inconclusive endings are any more profound than those that end happily (there are some exceptions where a happy ending would be all wrong). In 'Atonement' the narrator is a character in the story, but she is writing the events as a novel. At the end there is a section in first person from this narrator about her life outside the novel. She confesses to have given her sister and herself a happier ending in the book than in real life, and so it got me thinking about endings.

When I refer to a 'happy ending' it does not have to be love and marriage and happily ever after lets drive off and win the lottery, I just mean something with some optimism. One of my oldest arguments in favour of such an ending,  is that the author is in control. They are showing us a period of time and can extend or shorten that time to suit themselves, I'm convinced that if they carried on a story for long enough, or less convincingly, ended it earlier, a positive ending is always possible. Even if there is a zombie apocalypse and all life on earth is wiped out, you could fast forward to see new life born on the planet giving hope for a better world.  

Alternatively, just a sentence of optimism could turn around a novel. Perhaps a character reflects fondly on a past event or has an ounce of hope for the future. This could count as a compromise surely! Or maybe just a nod to the 'circle of life' could improve matters.

However, this could be construed as 'cheesy' or not reflecting the true nature of life. It could ruin the tone of a wholly depressing novel which is about a disillusionment with man. This I can understand. 

But what is it I want from an ending, and why do I so much want a happy one? I have read books with underlying melancholy tones and just to peter out with that flatness is, quite frankly, depressing. I read another book in which it flashed forward to the old age of the young women in the book. To see that her life had not improved much, or been what she hoped and that she had little chance in the future to change this, was also depressing (probably more realistic, but shh)! I think what I do want from an ending, even if it is a solidly bleak one, is a satisfying conclusion. Frankenstein, from what I remember, does not have a cheery ending, with the creature becoming bezzies with old Frankenstein and appologising for killing half of Frankie's friends and relations. However, there is some kind of perverse satisfaction to them chasing each other across the globe to the end. It works. And so, happy or sad or just vague, that is what I want, an ending that works.

What do you think? I would be really interested to here other views on this topic :)

Rebecca

(This contains more spoilers than usual, especially one in big capital letters which you might be best to avoid...)

This is the first novel I have read recently that I have 'devoured' even if the beginning dream sequence at a deserted Manderley did little to excite me, though I do think my delight in romances  helped. However, even for someone who enjoys a soppy old romance, I was torn in two by the character of Maxim.

The similarities with Jane Eyre are obvious, but I so much preferred Mr Rochester to Maxim. I think this is because Rochester is so attentive to Jane and you can understand his disdain for his wife, whereas Maxim is really distant and, in case anybody didn't notice, he KILLED his wife. It frustrated me how little weight was given to this horrifying fact and yet that is part of the author's technique. The idea of being compared to Rebecca has pervaded the narrator's life and tormented her so much, that to find out Maxim did not care for her is a huge relief, even, you know, if he happens to be a MURDERER!!! I suppose in order to translate the horror/shock of the attempted bigamy in Jane Eyre, for a more modern audience, Daphne du Maurier chose murder. 

There is some suspense throughout the book, the most creepy being an incident in Rebecca's preserved bedroom. The underwear that is still laid out on the bed, and the touching of her old clothes comes across as rather perverse. It was not pleasant, but that improved the novel by giving it this underlying unease. 

I was more than a little frustrated by the naivety of the narrator: it did not take me long to realise Rebecca's real character whereas it took her practically the whole book. Maybe this is intentional as it shows the reader how Rebecca's cruelty is outliving her death. However, in terms of character development, I found her a little annoying. The lack of a name is interesting too, much like 'Curley's wife' in 'Of Mice and Men' it emphasises her insignificance. In this case, the prominence of Rebecca, particularly her initials and her first name, contrast with the lack of a name, to show the feeling that she is simply inadequately replacing the previous Mrs de Winter. 

I would highly recommend this novel as it is really different to other books I have read. I would also recommend the film by Alfred Hitchcock, in which Laurence Olivier manages to soften out the faults of Maxim that I disliked originally (probably simply with that ridiculously cute moustache). 

The Importance of Being Earnest

I don't often laugh at books. They can be mildly amusing and cause my lips to turn a little upwards from there fixed concentration, but not often do I venture out into the world of noise and resort to laughter. Yet, reading this play, I did. 

Honestly, the ridiculous overblown supposedly profound statements of the characters are genuinely hilarious. Everyone goes on these strange tangents and argue about the most obscure details. It's almost like a Shakespearean battle of words. What's more, the plot is so neatly organised even in its apparent waywardness, that when everything comes together at the end it creates the most brilliantly funny conclusion.

The best thing is how the characters dare to be so absurd and shallow while putting on grand, arrogant facades. Sure, you don't care about them one bit, but for someone like me, who often finds comedy not as funny as it should be because when the man falls over the banana skin you wonder if he hurt himself, it really does help!

Really do give it a go, it's a really easy quick read, being a play, and I think would be a great sunny summer read (if we had some sun).