Book Review: The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Black Arrow. Robert Louis Stevenson. Adamant Media Corp. (2001) (First published 1883). 242 pages. Genre: Classic.

First Line: "On a certain afternoon, in the late springtime, the bell upon Tunstall Moat House was heard ringing at an unaccustomed hour."

Summary:  Young Dick Shelton has been in the care of Sir Daniel since the death of his father.  When Dick learns that Sir Daniel is a murderer and he might be next, he takes to the forest in an attempt to save his life.  There he is captured by a band of outlaws, but soon becomes their leader.  Sir Daniel's reputation precedes him and Dick has no trouble gaining followers for his cause. He realizes that he must go to battle against Sir Daniel in order to regain his fortune.  Along the way he must discern between friend and foe, survive a shipwreck and fight for his life. 

My thoughts:  If you are in the mood for adventure, chivalry, mystery and a little romance, then The Black Arrow is for you.

Dick Shelton knows that his father was murdered, but when he overhears talk that the murderer was Sir Daniel, the man who has been his guardian for several years, he feels betrayed.  He also realizes that Sir Daniel is plotting to kill him next.  So, he takes to the forest in an attempt to get as far away as he can.  But, there are outlaws in the forest and he is quickly captured.  Dick is brave and not afraid to fight.  But he is also a good judge of character.  He is willing to listen to what the outlaws have to say.  Along the way he has to steal and later feels remorse.  In fact, he tries to make amends for what he has done. 

There are lots of secrets, both in the castles and in the forest.  As soon as Dick thinks he has made a friend, he often just as soon finds himself fleeing once again.  

Robert Louis Stevenson has a great understanding of human nature and that definitely comes across in this story.  I especially noticed this in the character of Dick.  He is brave and willing to fight and lead others into battle, but he makes mistakes due to his lack of age and experience.  Throughout the story he grows and becomes more mature. 

This story was originally published as a serial in a magazine for boys.  Two years previously, Treasure Island was published in the same way.  Sometimes that can make the story drag a little.  However, The Black Arrow doesn't seem to have as much repetition as Treasure Island and that made the story move along well.

I thoroughly enjoyed this engaging work of historical fiction.

Quotes:

"Nay, I was not born yesterday.  I can see a church when it hath a steeple on it; and for my part, gossip Arblaster, methinks there is some sense in this young man."

"Well, Dick was not much of an inventor, and what he told was pretty much the tale of Ali Baba, with Shoreby and Tunstall Forest substituted for the East, and the treasures of the cavern rather exaggerated than diminished.  As the reader is aware, it is an excellent story, and has but one drawback - that it it not true; and so, as these three simple shipmen now heard it for the first time, their eyes stood out of their faces, and their mouths gaped like codfish at a fishmonger's. "

Book Review: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Gilead.  Marilynne Robinson.  Picador (2004). 247 pages.  Genre:  Historical Fiction.

First Line:  "I told you last night that I might be gone sometime, and you said, Where, and I said, To be with the Good Lord, and you said, Why, and I said, Because I'm old, and you said, I don't think you're old."

Summary:  John Ames married later in life for the second time after having lost his first wife and child.  He never thought he would marry again and he certainly never thought he would have a child.  But he did.  And now he is old and has heart problems.  His son is only 7 years old.  There are so many things he wants to tell his son and he fears he may never get a chance.  So he begins writing him a letter.  

The letter is meant to tell him about those who have gone before him.  It is also meant to tell him those things a father should tell his son.  Sometimes the letter describes what is happening while John is writing the letter.  The letter keeps coming back to the son of his good friend Reverend Boughton.  John Ames Boughton was named after John.  He is the Boughton's prodigal son.  But he has come back home for a visit after being away for many years.  John finds that he doesn't trust him and this comes across in what he says to him.  In the letter he wrestles with this.

My thoughts:  The style of Gilead is unique.  There are no chapters, just space between entries.  The book is one long letter written in stream of consciousness style.  As John Ames thinks of things he wants to tell his son he adds them to the letter.  There is something of a structure in that he will tell about what is going on in their lives on the particular day that he is writing.  He describes what he sees, what his son and wife are doing and who visited them or where they went.  There is also progress in the storyline with Reverend Boughton's son.   

John Ames is a pastor.  His father and grandfather were also pastors.  He wants to tell his son about them and also about what it is like be a pastor.  He wants to pass on his beliefs.  But he also lets his son see the struggles he goes through in his mind.  Struggles with thinking and doing the right things.  John Ames is very relatable and many of us can identify with what he is going through.  

The book is beautifully written.  It gives the reader a glimpse of Iowa in the 1950's, as well as earlier through John's telling of things that happened in the past.  I expected the story to be sad, but I really didn't find that to be the case.  It was beautiful and warm and full of humanity. 

Quotes:

"My parents told me stories about how he read everything he could put his hands on, memorized a whole book of Longfellow, copied maps of Europe and Asia and learned all the cities and rivers."

"But I've developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by far, than I learned anything useful from, except, of course, that some very tedious gentlemen have written books."

"People don't talk much now about the Spanish influenza, but that was a terrible thing, and it struck just at the time of the Great War, just when we were getting involved in it.  It killed soldiers by the thousands, healthy men in the prime of life, and then it spread into the rest of the population.  It was like a war, it really was.  One funeral after another, right here in Iowa.  We lost so many of the young people.  And we got off pretty lightly.  People came to church wearing masks, if they came at all.  They'd sit as far from each other as they could."

"But in fact one lapse of judgment can quickly create a situation in which only foolish choices are possible."

"Well, but you two are dancing around in your iridescent little downpour, whooping and stomping as sane people ought to do when they encounter a thing so miraculous as water."

"We know nothing about heaven, or very little, and I think Calvin is right to discourage curious speculations on things the Lord has not seen fit to reveal to us."

Book Review: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray.  Oscar Wilde.  Bantam Books (1982) (First published 1890). Genre:  Classic.

First Line: "The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the most delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn."

Summary: Lord Henry Wotton is visiting his friend, Basil Hallward.  Basil has been work on a portrait.  Lord Henry thinks it is the best work he has done and that he should sent it to Grosvenor to be put on exhibition.  Basil says he is going to do no such thing and won't tell Lord Henry why.  Lord Henry is rather wily and charming and is able to get out of Basil that he feels there is too much of himself in that painting.  He feels as though he would be putting his soul on display.  Basil says that when he first met Dorian Gray, 

"A curious sensation of terror came over me.  I knew I had come face to face with someone whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself."

Now Lord Henry is intrigued and insists on meeting Dorian Gray.  When he does, he finds him fascinating as well.  Dorian Gray loses his interest in friendship with Basil and thinks Lord Henry is the one who is more interesting and becomes strongly influenced by him.  Unfortunately, Lord Henry is rather careless when it comes to morality.  He says things like;

"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.  Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful."

and

"Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul."

and

"Beauty is the wonder of wonders.  It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances.  The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible... Yes, Mr. Gray, the gods have been good to you.  But what the gods give they quickly take away.  You have only a few years in which to live really, perfectly, and fully.  When your youth goes, your beauty will go with it, and then you will suddenly discover that there are no triumphs left for you, or have to content yourself with those mean triumphs that the memory of your past will make more bitter than defeats.  Every month as it wanes brings you nearer to something dreadful."

When Basil finishes the portrait of Dorian and allows him to see it he is at first delighted.  But as he remembers what Lord Henry said about his youth going away, he becomes sad and afraid.  He declares, "If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old!  For that - for that I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!"

Lord Henry brushes it off as a silly thing to say, while Basil is shocked and insists that Dorian should not talk that way.  But Dorian has now become obsessed by the desire to remain young and beautiful.  As the story progresses we see how this worship of youth and beauty completely consumes his  soul.  

My thoughts:  I didn't know much about this story before starting it and I think that was a good thing.  However, I almost gave up on it after about 50 pages.  It seemed strange and I wasn't sure where it was going.  But around 60 or 70 pages in, the story picks up and I could see where it was headed and wanted to know how it turned out.

Oscar Wilde writes great dialogue that is quite humorous at times.  This story does contain some humor in the character of Lord Henry, but there is not much humor as the story progresses.  It is a dark story in many ways.  The destruction of a soul is not pretty.  Oscar Wilde seemed to have some good insight into what a journey down this path might look like.  He keeps the story moving along and you never feel you are stuck under the heavy weight of darkness.

Throughout the story Wilde references so many other writers and works of literature, which was fun.  Oscar Wilde's writing is a delight to read.  Even though this is heavy subject matter, I am glad I persisted and finished the book.

Quotes:

"I am too fond of reading books to care to write them, Mr. Erskine."

"Some large blue china jars and parrot tulips were ranged on the mantelshelf, and through the small leaded panes of the window streamed the apricot-coloured light of a summer day in London."

"What is marriage? An irrevocable vow.  You mock at it for that. Ah! don't mock. It is an irrevocable vow that I want to take. Her trust makes me faithful, her belief makes me good."

"But the picture? What was he to say of that? It held the secret of his life, and told his story.  It had taught him to love his own beauty.  Would it teach him to loathe his own soul? Would he ever look at it again?"

Book Review: Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

Cannery Row.  Author:  John Steinbeck (1945). 181 pages. Genre:  Classic

First Lines:  "Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream.  Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries, and laboratories and flophouses."

Summary:  This is the story of a place, but also of the people who live and work there.  As we get to know the people who live there and how they came to be there, a plot develops.  Five of the men who share a house in the row, decide that it would be nice to throw a party for Doc, owner and operator of Western Biological Laboratory.  They feel he is a "hell of a nice fella" and that they should do something nice for him.  The trouble is, not one of them has a steady job and no money between them.  And everyone knows you have to have money to throw a party.  There is drink to buy and steak and what about decorations?  They hatch a plan to make some money.  But, unfortunately, things don't go as they had planned.  However, they won't be deterred.  Doc deserves a party and a party he will have.

My thoughts:  John Steinbeck is a master at creating memorable characters.  

Lee Chong, owner of the the grocery on the row, works from dawn to dusk and has most of the community in his debt.  He rarely collects from his clients, but if the bill becomes too large, he cuts off their credit.

The five men who share the house are; Mack, the leader and mentor of the group, Hazel, a young man of great strength; Eddie, the one who occasionally has work as a back up bartender; Hughie and Jones, who are just along for the ride.  Mack was able to convince Lee Chong to let the boys live in the abandoned house he owned by telling him that they would protect the house from break-in or fire.  Here is how they are described:

"...a little group of men who had in common no families, no money, and no ambitions beyond food, drink, and contentment."

Doc is the owner and operator of Western Biological Laboratory.  He spends his days collecting specimen and filling orders.  He is mysterious to the rest of the residents because in the evenings he buys two quarts of beer from Lee Chong's and returns to the lab to listen to music which can be heard along the row.  He is always alone, but never seems lonely.  He treats everyone as a human being.  

Dora runs the whore house with dignity.  She has standards and runs a "virtuous" club.  She is strict with her girls and then men who visit the house.  But she has a soft heart and is willing to help others when needed.

Not much happens in Cannery Row, but we come to know these characters and see the goodness in them despite their vices.  

Content note:  There is some language in the book, but it is minor.

Cannery Row around 1945

Photo by Pat Hathaway

Quotes:

"Hazel hated that, it meant casting about in his mind for an answer and casting about in Hazel's mind was like wandering alone in a deserted museum.  Hazel's mind was choked with uncatalogued exhibits."

"There is no term comparable to green thumbs to apply to such a mechanic, but there should be.  For there are men who can look, listen, tap, make an adjustment, and a machine works."

"It is the hour of the pearl -- the interval between day and night when time stops and examines itself."

Book Review: Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher

Winter Solstice

Author:  Rosamunde Pilcher

Publisher:  St. Martin's Press (2000)

504 pages

Genre:  Fiction

First Lines:  "Before Elfrida Phipps left London for good and moved to the country, she made a trip to the Battersea Dogs' Home, and returned with a canine companion.  It took a good -- and heart-rending -- half-hour of searching, but as soon as she saw him, sitting very close to the bars of his kennel and gazing up at her with dark and melting eyes, she knew that he was the one."

Summary:  Elfrida Phipps, a retired actress, has left London and moved into a cottage in the village of Dibton, Hampshire.  At first she is rather lonely, but Gloria Blundell welcomes her into her family and invites her for dinner regularly.  Elfrida begins to enjoy the rhythm of her life and her little cottage.  When tragedy strikes, Oscar Blundell asks for Elfrida's companionship as he must decide on a new course for his life.  She accompanies him to a home that he is part owner of in Scotland.  They have decided there will be no Christmas this year as it would be too painful.  Over the course of the next few weeks, the house becomes a home to three other people who have recently suffered personal tragedy.

My thoughts:  Years ago I read The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher and loved it.  I may have read another of her books, but somehow never got to reading anything more by her.  Recently I saw Winter Solstice recommended and thought I really must pick it up.  I am so glad I did.

Ms. Pilcher writes in a way that draws you into the story.  Each of the characters are imperfect people who have made their share of mistakes.  Each has been through personal tragedy.  The story illustrates the power of love and kindness in healing hearts.  Elfrida is a free-spirit, but she also knows the power of having a place to call home.  She is loving and kind, even if her homemaking skills are a little lacking.  She loves people and is quick to welcome someone into her home.

Home and family are major themes in the story.  The idea that a house is special because of the home and family life that was created there is important. Also, the lack of home and family life is deeply felt and longed for in those who don't have it.

"He found himself remembering Radley Hill, because the atmosphere of this ordinary London house, where Neil and Janey were raising their children, brought back secure and comforting memories of the place where Sam had spent his boyhood.  Always the welcome, the lighted fire, the scent from the kitchen of delicious and robust food.  Boots on the porch, tennis rackets littering the hall, the voices of youngsters who were his friends, the sound of their footsteps clattering down the stairs.  He wondered if he would ever achieve such a haven of family life."

While this is not Christian fiction, there is a beautiful faith thread woven through the story.  It ends with each character's story coming to a satisfying place.  I enjoyed reading this so much and look forward to reading more Rosamunde Pilcher.

Other quotes:

"Lucy had kept up the diary since the day she had received it.  It wasn't so much a diary as a notebook, because there were no dates, just lovely clean pages, which meant that you wrote the date yourself, and then the day's doings underneath.  Sometimes, there was little to record, but other days, if she had been to the cinema or to a concert with the rest of her class, there was quite a lot to remember, and she could use up two or three pages."

"In a way, Elfrida found this lack of decoration and clutter quite therapeutic.  Without pictures, knick-knacks, small bits of silver, and sets of decorative porcelain to divert the eye, it was possible to appreciate the lovely proportions of the room, the ornate cornice and the plaster rose in the centre of the ceiling, from which depended a charming Victorian chandelier."

"I'm fourteen now, and sometimes I feel I've done nothing except go to school.  It wouldn't be so bad if I had a brother or a sister.  'Specially a brother.  Because just being with women all the time can be dreadfully lowering.  They talk about such unimportant things.  Like clothes, or restaurants, or other people..."

Book Review: Persuasion by Jane Austen

Persuasion

Author:  Jane Austen

Publisher:  Sweet Water Press (2018) (first  published 1818)

260 pages

Genre:  Classic

First Line:  "Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch Hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage:  there he found occupation for an idle hour and consolation in a distressed one; there his faculties were roused into admiration and respect, by contemplating the limited remnant of the earliest patents;  there any unwelcome sensations, arising from domestic affairs, changed naturally into pity and contempt."

Anne Elliot is the daughter of Sir Walter Elliot.  She is the middle of three daughters.  Only the youngest daughter, Mary, has married and made a home away from Kellynch Hall.  

Eight years ago, Anne was betrothed to Captain Frederick Wentworth.  However, she was persuaded by Lady Russell, her friend and mother figure, that such a match was not in her best interest and broke off the engagement.  Soon afterward Captain Wentworth left the country.  Anne regretted the break up immediately.  She has never stopped loving him.  

Anne's father can no longer afford to pay for Kellynch Hall and decides to move the family to Bath.  It is decided that Kellynch Hall will be let to Admiral Croft and his wife, who happens to be the sister of Captain Wentworth.  Will Anne cross paths with Captain Wentworth?  Will he still have feelings for her?

My thoughts:  This is a short novel, but very well done.  I often find it takes several chapters before I can get into a Jane Austen novel.  The first few chapters often leave me feeling lost.  This one did as well, but once I got the hang of who all the characters were I found the chapters to be succinct and well paced.

I really like the character of Anne Elliot.  She stands in stark contrast to the other members of her family.  She is sensible, kind and often serving others. While her father and Elizabeth are quite vain and Mary is silly and excitable.  

Captain Wentworth is portrayed as a good, honest, caring man.  However, his behavior is confusing at times.  There is that tension often found in romance stories of neither party being able to tell the other how they feel.  But when he and Anne finally talk, Captain Wentworth explains his confusing behavior, which was satisfying.

Quotes:

"Captain Harville was no reader; but he had contrived excellent accommodations, and fashioned very pretty shelves, for a tolerable collection of well-bound volumes, the property of Captain Benwick."

"He was evidently a young man of considerable taste in reading, though principally in poetry; and besides the persuasion of having given him at least an evening's indulgence in the discussion of subjects, which his usual companions had probably no concern in, she had the hope of being of real use to him in some suggestions as to the duty and benefit of struggling against affliction, which had naturally grown out of their conversation."

"One man's ways may be as good as another's, but we all like our own best; and so you must judge for yourself, whether it would be better for you to go about the house or not."

"Everybody has their taste in noises as well as in other matters; and sounds are quite innoxious or most distressing, by their sort rather than their quantity."

"A submissive spirit might be patient, a strong understanding would supply resolution, but here was something more; here was that elasticity of mind, that disposition to be comforted, that power of turning readily from evil to good, and of finding employment which carried her out of herself, which was from nature alone."

"Here and there, human nature may be great in times of trial; but, generally speaking, it is its weakness and not its strength that appears in a sick-chamber:  it is selfishness and impatience, rather than generosity and fortitude, that one hears of."

"'They come on the Admiral's account.  He is thought to be gouty.'

'Gout and decrepitude!' said Sir Walter.  'Poor old gentleman!'"

"If I was wrong in yielding to persuasion once, remember that it was to persuasion exerted on the side of safety, not of risk."

Book Review: Fidelity by Wendell Berry

Fidelity:  Five Stories

Author:  Wendell Berry

Publisher:  Pantheon (1992)

208 pages

Genre:  Fiction, Short Stories

This is a collection of five short stories about members of the pillar families of Port William, Kentucky.  Wendell Berry's writing style creates an evocative picture of life in rural Kentucky.  A strong sense of family, community and love of the land comes through in each story.  This was my introduction to Wendell Berry and it left me wanting to read more of his writing.  

This collection includes the following stories:

Pray Without Ceasing:  Andy Catlett remembers his grandparents and the story of what happened to his great-grandfather.

A Jonquil for Mary Penn:  Mary Penn has a fever, but doesn't mention it to her husband.  She continues on with her daily work, remembering what a good man her husband is.

Making it Home:  Arthur Rowanberry returns home after the war.

Fidelity:  Burley Coulter is ill and dying.  His family comes together to give him the peace he would want in his last days. 

Are You All Right?:  Elton and Andy are worried about the Rowanberrys who live on the other side of the flooded river.

I loved the sense of belonging portrayed in these stories.  If I had to pick a favorite, I think it would be "A Jonquil for Mary Penn".  It was a sweet story of a husband and wife's love for one another.  Fidelity also stood out as a favorite.  It was amazing how the family pulled together without having to discuss anything.

If you love beautiful writing, stories about strong family connections and the beauty of the land I would recommend Wendell Berry's Fidelity: Five Stories.  It was a great introduction to his writing for me and I look forward to reading more in the future.

I read this for the "Collection of short stories" category in The Literary Life Podcast 20 for 2020 reading challenge.