I have returned home from my Asian Adventure and along with re-adjusting to east coast time, I’m back doing more reading. Here are my latest books.
Sometime ago, I read that the Wall Street Journal was starting an online book club. I was intrigued, but I was still working and didn’t think I had the time to commit to it. Now, Colm Toibin, one of my favorite authors, is moderating a 6 week discussion of Henry James’ novel, The Golden Bowl. I probably last read this novel in college, but vividly recall the Masterpiece Theater production of some years ago.
Now I’m reading it again, this time from the 1922 New York edition of James’ works given to me by my grandfather. This copy was published on good paper (probably acid-free or mostly so), is in good condition, and comprises two volumes, given its length. I have the added bonus of a folded sheet of lined yellow paper with my grandfather’s handwritten notes tucked in the front.
James’ sentences are lengthy with many phrases strung together by commas. I liked Toibin’s advice, in an article about his choice, to just read them and not worry about understanding every nuance. He also suggested reading at least 50 pages at a time without a break.
Online, a question for discussion is posed each week, and this week’s relates to the names of the characters, Adam Verver, Prince Amerigo, and Fanny Assingham, and their significance. I have long been a fan of Henry James and this online discussion provides motivation and discipline for my reading.
Elena Ferrante
In between short takes of James, I’m reading the first volume, My Brilliant Friend, of Italian novelist Elena Ferrante’s series about a lifelong friendship between two women. Ferrante has received a lot of publicity and much praise for her works and occasioned curiosity about her identity and even her sex. She was born in Naples and has written a number of successful novels, but uses a pseudonym. As her works have been translated and made available outside Italy, there has been greater speculation about her including an article last year in the New York Times.
The first volume is not an easy read, in my opinion, but I am determined to finish it. Set in a poor neighborhood, the childhood section is somewhat stream of consciousness with a raft of characters and could be said to mimic how a younger child’s mind recalls events. The second section, “Adolescence,” is more straightforwardly presented. Ferrante easily captures the capricious nature of childhood relationships; she likes me, she hates me, she feels superior; I admire her, but I want to best her, I want her to like me, etc. Onward, I go!
