Book Brief: The Street by Ann Petry

The Street by Ann Petry

The Street, originally published in 1946, is a lesser-known classic of the Harlem Renaissance. I'd never heard of it until Now Read This (the PBS News Hour book club) selected it as their May 2020 read. It's also the first novel written by a black American woman to sell more than a million copies. 

The main character is Lutie Johnson, a beautiful, young, black single mother. The story, set in Harlem, revolves around Lutie's daily struggles and frustrations as she strives to make a better life for herself and her son... while trying to protect them both from the dangers of "the street." 

I never got to this book in 2020, but knew I would eventually. This summer we are renting a house in Old Saybrook, CT. While researching the town, I found Ann Petry listed among notable residents. Petry's father, a pharmacist, opened the first pharmacy is Old Saybrook. Ann also became a pharmacist. In 1938 Petry left Old Saybrook to pursue a literary career in New York, published her novel in 1946, and, in an effort to shun publicity, returned to Old Saybrook in 1947. 

As many of you know, I am a retired hospital pharmacist so that connection, along with the location, made this the perfect time to finally read the book.

Even though The Street  was written in 1946, it has a surprisingly contemporary feel. The challenges Lutie  faces, especially the overt racism, seem insurmountable. As a result, a sense of frustration and hopelessness pervades the work. There is also anger. In fact, I've never read a novel that expresses anger at white people so directly. It's not surprising that this book hasn't been widely read over the years... perhaps it should be.

Rating: 

  but inching closer to 5 stars as I continue to think about it

Mixing it Up: Late June Mini-Reviews

Deciding what to read during a pandemic is not easy. Heavy issue novels just weren't working for me, but neither was anything too fluffy. I seem to have found a nice groove by mixing things up... an audio memoir, a short story collection, a classic, and a beach read.

Let's get right to my late June mini-reviews...

Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls

by T Kira Madden, narrated by the author

This beautifully written coming-of-age memoir, told through a series of short vignettes, is brutally honest, raw, gritty, and sad... yet somehow achingly tender, too. It's a memoir of trauma, loneliness, confusion, families, and forgiveness.

Madden grew up in a loving household in Boca Raton, FL, yet her parents continually battled alcohol and drug addiction. She was often left alone to deal with the constant barrage of pressures inflicted upon preteens/teens in our society.

Hearing the author narrate her own story was especially impactful. I'm glad I decided to listen!

You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld

I don't read many short story collections, but it may be time to start! This was one of the many books I grabbed off the library shelf just prior to the pandemic shutdown. It took several months to finally read it - wish I'd picked it up in April.

The stories, mostly about relationships, all managed to draw me in immediately. They show average people as they really are... which isn't always flattering. The writing is excellent - sharp and without an unnecessary word. I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite. Now it's time to try one of Sittenfeld's novels. Do you have a favorite to recommend?

Passing by Nella Larsen

This classic novella of the Harlem Renaissance was originally published in 1929.  It's a story of two childhood friends who reunite after many years. Irene is shocked to discover her friend, Clare, has been "passing" as white. Clare misses her old community and is eager to reestablish a connection, but must do so behind her husband's back. Irene, afraid of the consequences of such actions, is reluctant to rekindle their friendship. The conclusion of the book is startling, to say the least.

Larsen's writing seemed ponderous at times, but still completely readable. The reader is allowed into Irene's head enough to make it reminiscent of The Awakening, at least for me. Larsen's autobiographical first novel, Quicksand, is now on my reading list.

28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand

Elin Hilderbrand is the queen of the beach read and, now that summer is here, what better way to round out the month? Her latest novel is a Same Time, Next Year story spanning 27 years, 1993 to 2020. There isn't much more to say other than I loved it.... set aside a sunny weekend and give it a try.

Bring on July!

Back to the Classics Challenge 2020

One challenge. That's all I can commit to this year... and it's Back to the Classics 2020, sponsored by Karen at Books and Chocolate. I've been a member of The Classics Club since it's inception, completed my first list of 50 classics in 5 years, signed up for round two, and my classics reading inexplicably stopped. The 2019 Back to the Classics Challenge was a bust, but I'm going to give it another try.

Here are this year's categories, along with  a few possible selections:

1. 19th Century Classic
The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy

2. 20th Century Classic (originally published between 1900 and 1970).
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
Them by Joyce Carol Oates
The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins

3. Classic by a Woman Author
filling in this category won't be a problem ;-)

4. Classic in Translation
The Magic Mountain or Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas

5. Classic by a Person of Color
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

6. A Genre Classic
several authors in mind, but no specific titles:
Wilkie Collins
Daphne DuMaurier
Georgette Heyer

7. Classic with a Person's Name in the Title
Miss Marjoribanks by Mrs. Oliphant
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton (reread)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (reread)

8. Classic with a Place in the Title
Villette by Charlotte Brontë
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (reread)

9. Classic with Nature in the Title  
(so many possibilities here!)
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy
Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (a reread)

10. Classic About a Family
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

11. Abandoned Classic
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope

12. Classic Adaptation
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay


We'll see how this goes the second time around. Will you be reading classics this year? Did you join any challenges?

Back to the Classics Challenge 2019

While reviewing my reading list and statistics for 2018, I was struck by its haphazardness and began to wonder whether I'd carried the whole free-range reading idea a little too far. In addition, my classics reading is dramatically lower. I'll have more to say in my year-end posts, but for now it's clear that more structure is needed in 2019.

To that end, I have decided to take part in Back to the Classics Challenge 2019 hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate.  It's been years since I've participated in any reading challenge, but this sounds like a good one.

Karen says:

I hope to encourage readers and bloggers to tackle all the classic books we've never gotten around to reading. And at the end, one lucky winner will receive a $30 (US) gift of books from Amazon.com or The Book Depository! The rules and the prize are the same as last year, but I think I've come up with some fun new categories. 

If you're new to the challenge, here's how it works:
Complete six categories, and you'll get one entry in the drawing;
Complete nine categories, and you'll get two entries in the drawing;
Complete all twelve categories, and you'll get three entries in the drawing.

Here are the twelve categories and the book I've selected for each. My choices will probably change as the year progresses, but I understand that's allowed ;-)

The Categories:

1. 19th Century Classic: Rachel Ray  by Anthony Trollope

2. 20th Century Classic: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest  by Ken Kesey

3. Classic by a Female Author: Delta Wedding  by Eudora Welty

4. Classic in Translation: Grand Hotel  by Vicki Baum

5. Classic Comedy: Cold Comfort Farm  by Stella Gibbons

6. Classic Tragedy: The Return of the Native  by Thomas Hardy

7. Very Long Classic: Wives and Daughters  by Elizabeth Gaskell

8. Classic Novella: The Bunner Sisters  by Edith Wharton

9. Classic From the Americas (includes the Caribbean): The Grapes of Wrath  by John Steinbeck

10. Classic From Africa, Asia, or Oceania (includes Australia): Some Prefer Nettles  by  Junichiro Tanizaki

11. Classic From a Place You've Lived: The Beautiful and the Damned  by F. Scott Fitzgerald

12. Classic Play: Our Town  by Thornton Wilder


This challenge will help me make some much-needed progress with my second Classics Club list, too. Wish me luck!  Have you considered this challenge?

#PalliserParty: The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope

*There are no spoilers in this post.*

Five down and one to go! After finishing The Prime Minister, book five of six in the Palliser series, our #PalliserParty is nearing its final act. What a pleasure (and welcome escape from today's reality) to be back in Trollope's world.

Our old friend Plantagenate Palliser, or Planty Pal, is now the Duke of Omnium and Prime Minister of England. We were first introduced back in the Barsetshire series, but he plays a starring role here. An honorable, principled man, I've yet to truly warm up to him and, at this point, I'm expecting I never will. Other friends are here, too, including the Duke's wife, Glencora, and Phineas Finn and his second wife, the former Madame Max.

Ferdinand Lopez is, by far, the most intriguing new character in this novel... so loathsome and easy to despise. Trollope has outdone himself with this villain!

Trollope treats us to two parallel stories in The Prime Minister - one mostly political, the other more about life and love. The political story centers, of course, on the new Prime Minister and his coalition government, though it does has some touching moments as Trollope explores the deep understanding and respect between Plantagenet Palliser and his wife Glencora.

The other story features the not-to-be trusted newcomer, Ferdinand Lopez, and well-off Wharton and Fletcher families. Love and tragedy figure into this part of the story, as Lopez woos Emily Wharton. Against the wishes of both families, she chooses Lopez over Arthur Fletcher, setting the stage for much misery and suffering. The are brief intersections in the two stories.

Once again, Trollope has masterfully created real characters and real relationships. His novels deal with a variety of issues, many still relevant today.

The Prime Minister  advances the story of the Palliser family and I enjoyed it immensely. It is not, however, a novel to read if you are unfamiliar with the previous books in this series. I hope to read the final book, The Duke's Children, before the end of the year.

As always, thank you, Audrey, for reading with me. I hope we come up with a new project for 2019...

Rereading High School

It's the first day of school here in central New York... the perfect time to share a project that's been in the back of my mind for some time. What would it be like to reread some of the books assigned to me in back high school?

The seed for this idea was planted in 2012 when I reread The Old Man and the Sea  on a whim... you can read that post here. Last year's reread of Flowers for Algernon  turned out to be a highlight of my reading year. That made me wonder, once again, about other high school books I may not have fully understood or appreciated as a teenager. And naturally, a list was made.

High School Books I'd Like to Reread

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I reread this every decade.

Tender is the Night  by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I enjoyed it more than Gatsby back in the day. Would that still be the case? 

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Steinbeck is a favorite. I've reread many of his books over the years, but never this one.

The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck

A favorite from high school, but would likely have more of an impact now.

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

Not a favorite at the time...

Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe

I have little memory of this book beyond liking it. Recent visits to Asheville, NC have made me curious.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

I actively disliked this in 10th grade. Maybe it's time to give it another try? 

1984 by George Orwell

A reread is even more urgent given today's political climate.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Another book I was just lukewarm on decades ago, but may appreciate more as an adult.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

I've wanted to reread this for years and probably should have put it at the top of the list.

This list is a starting point. I'm not imposing any special parameters or deadlines and, since my high school years were so long ago, I can also add these titles to my Classics Club list! Have you ever revisited any of your high school reading assignments?




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Sanibel Sunday: 12/10/17

Good morning from chilly Sanibel, Florida! I had to turn the heat on this morning, but expect no sympathy from family and friends up north. It's been gloriously warm all week and these cooler temps will allow for longer walks and bike rides... and maybe even a little holiday baking.


Finished this week//

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

A little rain yesterday morning was my excuse to stay indoors and finish this amazing book. A 5-star reading experience and one of my favorite books of 2017, book clubs will have a field day with this novel. I'll be buying a copy or two for gift-giving this season.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

My second Jane Austen novel of the year and my first reread of Persuasion  in nearly 20 years - Jane only improves with age! Juliet Stevenson's narration, as always, was a treat for my ears. I'd forgotten how much I love this novel, and am thankful James' Jane Austen Read All-Along nudged me to pick it up again. It was a joy to come across some old favorite lines, though a "mature" heroine of twenty-eight seems ridiculously young to me these days ;-)

You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope...I have loved none but you.

Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story... the pen has been in their hands.


Current reading//

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

I've been contemplating a "Rereading High School" project for several years. I'm sure I missed the point of, and certainly did not fully appreciate, many of the books assigned back then. Last night I started reading a sample of this book and was pulled in right away. Looks like project begins now...


Listening to//

Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

by Erik Larson, narrated by Richard Davidson

I started this a day or two ago and am not fully invested yet, but I've enjoyed other Erik Larson books and am interested in weather. It should be a winner.


The week ahead//

I'll finish my Christmas shopping this week, we'll attend a neighborhood holiday gathering, then my BIL and his family fly in on Thursday. We'll overlap a few days before heading back up north for Christmas. It's going to be hard to face the snow and cold again...


How was your week? What are you reading?

This post will link to It's Monday, What Are You Reading? hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.

The Classics Club: My Second List

The Classics Club - List #2

With the first challenge complete, it's time to move on to round 2. The goal once again is to read 50 classics in 5 years... November 1, 2022?? The date seems unreal, but here we go.

I prefer reading from an evolving list, so there are more than 50 books here.


My Evolving List #2

Atwood, Margaret - The Handmaid's Tale (reread)
Austen, Jane - Persuasion (reread)
Balzac, Honore - Cousin Bete
Beston, Henry - The Outermost House: A Year of Life On The Great Beach of Cape Cod
Braddon, Mary Elizabeth - Lady Audley's Secret
Brittain, Vera - Testament of Youth
Bronte, Charlotte - Villette
Cather, Willa - A Lost Lady
Cather, Willa - Death Comes for the Archbishop
Cather, Willa - The Professor's House

Christie, Agatha - Murder On the Orient Express
Collins, Wilkie - No Name
Collins, Wilkie  - Jezebel's Daughter
Conrad, Joseph - Heart of Darkness
Dickens, Charles - David Copperfield
Dostoevsky, Fyodor - Crime and Punishment (Pevear and Volokhonsky translation)
Dumas, Alexandre - The Black Tulip
DuMaurier, Daphne - My Cousin Rachel
Faulkner, William - A Light in August
Fitzgerald, F. Scott - Tender is the Night (reread)

Fitzgerald, F.Scott  - The Beautiful and the Damned
Fontane, Theodor - Effi Briest
Forster, E.M. - Howards End (reread)
Galsworthy, John - The Forsyte Saga (reread first 3, finish series)
Gaskell, Elizabeth - Wives and Daughters
Gaskell, Elizabeth - Life of Charlotte Bronte
Gissing, George - The Odd Women
Hardy, Thomas  - The Return of the Native
Hemingway, Ernest - The Sun Also Rises
Ishiguro, Kazuo - The Remains of the Day

James, Henry - Portrit of a Lady (reread)
Keyes, Daniel - Flowers for Algernon (reread)
Larsen, Nella - Quicksand
Mann, Thomas, The Magic Mountain
Mann, Thomas - Buddenbrooks
Mitford, Nancy - The Pursuit of Love
Morrison, Toni - Sula
Oates, Joyce Carol - Them
Oliphant, Margaret  -  Miss Marjoribanks
Orwell, George - 1984

Powell, Anthony - A Dance to the Music of Time (first movement)
Pym, Barbara - A Few Green Leaves
Rølvaag, O. E. - Giants in the Earth
Stegner, Wallace - Crossing to Safety (reread)
Stegner, Wallace - The Spectator Bird
Steinbeck, John - The Grapes of Wrath (reread)
Tan, Amy - The Joy Luck Club
Tanizaki, Junichiro - Naomi
Tanizaki, Junichiro - Some Prefer Nettles
Thirkell, Angela  - Wild Strawberries, Barsetshire #2

Trollope, Anthony - Phineas Redux (Palliser #4)
Trollope, Anthony - The Prime Minister (Palliser #5)
Trollope, Anthony - The Duke's Children (Palliser #6)
Trollope, Anthony - Rachel Ray
Trollope, Anthony - The Way We Live Now
Trollope, Anthony - Miss Mackenzie
Taylor, Elizabeth - A Game of Hide and Seek
Updike, John - Rabbit, Run
Welty, Eudora - Delta Wedding
Wharton, Edith - The Bunner Sisters

Whipple, Dorothy - The Priory
Woolf, Virginia - A Room of Ones Own
Woolf, Virginia - To the Lighthouse
Woolf, Virginia - Night and Day
Zola, Emile - The Fortune of the Rougons (Les Rougon-Macquart #1)
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The Classics Club - COMPLETE!

Five years, fifty books...

When I joined The Classics Club back in April of 2012, my goal was to read fifty classics in five years. On October 10, 2017 I turned the last page of The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope, classic #50.  That's actually closer to five and a half years, but what a wondrous journey it has been. Along the way I discovered new authors and favorite books, learned more about classic literature in general and, even more importantly, connected with an incredible community of like-minded readers. I joined read-alongs, hosted a year-long Clarissa project with Terri, participated in Classics Club Spins, and even visited a famous literary site or two.

My 50 books:

Austen, Jane -  Emma (12/15)
Austen, Jane - Sense and Sensibility (7/17)
Bly, Nellie - Ten Days in a Mad-House (11/16)
Bowen, Elizabeth - The Hotel (11/14)
Brontë, Anne - The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (12/12)
Brontë Anne - Agnes Grey (10/16)
Brookner, Anita - Hotel du Lac (7/13)
Buck, Pearl S. - Imperial Woman (8/14)
Calvino, Italo - If on a Winter's Night a Traveler (11/13)
Capote, Truman  - Breakfast at Tiffany's (9/14)

Christie, Agatha - And Then There Were None (4/12)
Dreiser, Theodore - An American Tragedy (9/14)
Dreiser, Theodore  - Sister Carrie (1/15)
Eliot, George - Middlemarch (4/14)
Gaskell, Elizabeth - Cranford (6/16)
Gaskell, Elizabeth - North and South (8/12)
Greene, Graham - The End of the Affair (11/12)
Jackson, Shirley -  The Haunting of Hill House  (9/14)
James, Henry - The Turn of the Screw (10/16)
James, Henry - Washington Square (1/13)

James, Henry - What Maisie Knew (3/16)
Hardy, Thomas - Far From the Madding Crowd (5/15)
Hardy, Thomas - Tess of the d'Urbervilles (7/13)
Hemingway, Ernest - The Old Man and the Sea (9/12)
Markham, Beryl - West With the Night (5/16)
Maupassant, Guy de - The Horla (7/15)
Plath, Sylvia  - The Bell Jar (5/14)
Pym, Barbara - A Glass of Blessings (2/13)
Pym, Barbara - Some Tame Gazelle (5/13)
Sagan, Françoise  - Bonjour Tristesse (7/15)

Stewart, Mary - The Ivy Tree (9/13)
Strachey, Julia - Cheerful Weather for the Wedding (11/13)
Tanizaki, Junichiro - The Makioka Sisters (5/12)
Thackery, William Makepeace - Vanity Fair (3/13)
Thirkell, Angela - High Rising (4/13)
Thirkell, Angela - Christmas at High Rising (12/14)
Trollope, Anthony - The Warden (2/15)
Trollope, Anthony - Barchester Towers (3/15)
Trollope, Anthony - Doctor Thorne (5/15)
Trollope, Anthony - Framley Parsonage (7/15)

Trollope, Anthony - The Small House at Allington (10/15)
Trollope, Anthony - The Last Chronicle of Barset (11/15)
Trollope, Anthony - Can You Forgive Her? (3/17)
Trollope, Anthony - Phineas Finn (7/17)
Trollope, Anthony - The Eustace Diamonds (10/17)
Wharton, Edith - The Age of Innocence (9/13)
Whipple, Dorothy  - They Were Sisters (1/15)
Wilde, Oscar - The Picture of Dorian Gray (3/13)
Williams, John - Stoner (10/13)
Zola, Emile - Germinal (9/16)

Links to my reviews (and I use that term loosely!) may be found by clicking on the Classics Club tab under the header photo.


Overall Favorites//

• The Barsetshire Chronicles (all six of them!) by Anthony Trollope - read with Audrey and a few other friends
• Germinal by Emile Zola - a readalong with Care and Melissa
• Stoner by John Williams
• An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser - for a Classics Club Spin
• Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Far From the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy earned a spot on my list of favorite authors

An unexpected treasure//
The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki

Most anticipated//
An American Tragedy... it had been on my shelf for 35 years

Biggest fail//
Clarissa by Samuel Richardson - an epic fail of a year-long project I co-hosted. Several brave souls actually made it through and they're listed in my wrap-up post.

Longest// 
The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope - 890 pages

Shortest//
The Horla  by Guy de Maupassant - 79 pages

Most important lesson learned//
Classics are more fun with friends :)

A few observations//
 I fell for Trollope in a big way.
When it comes to reading the Russians, I tend to procrastinate.
I'm better at finishing classic series than contemporary series.
My original list of 50 became an evolving list, and that worked for me.
There are still SO many authors I want to try and SO many books I want to read.

Perhaps it's time to start a new list.
Stay tuned...

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October 16: It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It's Monday, and it's great to be reading again! My reading slump is finally over... now let's see if I can resurrect the blog.

Finished last week//

The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope

This 800 page tome is the third of Trollope's six Palliser novels and the first novel I have read since August. As usual, I approached it as a read/listen combination. Reading Trollope is always a treat, and I posted briefly about the book here.

The Eustace Diamonds is also my 50th classic since joining The Classics Club, so I have achieved my 50 classics in 5 years goal.  Technically it's closer to five and a half years, but still quite a milestone.

This probably deserves a separate post and I will do that within the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I need to decide whether to start on a new list... it's not like I'm going to stop reading classics ;-)




Current reading//

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

At last.  I enjoyed Rebecca  many years ago and have wanted to read more Du Maurier ever since. I'll see the new film version of My Cousin Rachel as soon as I'm finished. Very good so far.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Here's a book I felt compelled to purchase the day it was released, yet a year later am drawn to the audio version instead. Read by Nicholas Guy Smith, a new-to-me narrator, it is elegant, atmospheric, and seems perfectly suited to my mood. Towles earlier novel, Rules of Civility, was a favorite and he will be speaking at my Florida library in January. Fingers crossed I "win" seats in the ticket lottery!



 New to the TBR pile//

We visited our daughters earlier this month and no trip to NYC is complete without a visit to Book Culture, my new favorite indie bookstore. This time I selected two relatively short novels:

Troubling Love by Elena Ferrante - The four books in the Neapolitan series set me off on a mission to read Ferrante's entire backlist. Plus, I just love Europa Editions.

Some Prefer Nettles by Junichiro Tanizaki -  The Makioka Sisters is one of my favorite Classics Club discoveries, but have I have never come across any of Tanizaki's other novels in a bookstore... until now. Very excited about this find.

On the blog//
The Sunday Salon: I Finally Finished a Novel!


Coming soon//

Nonfiction November, one of my favorite blogging events of the year, is just around the corner. Get all the details here, then go mark your calendar and start selecting your books!


What are you reading this week?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.

The Sunday Salon: I Finally Finished a Novel!

It's mid-October, the leaves are changing, and I'm finally reading again!

The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope is the first novel I've read since August and I loved every page! My reading slump is finally over. The 800 pages never dragged, and I was always happy to pick up my kindle or pop in my earbuds. Trollope's characters and multiple plot lines kept me thoroughly entertained, as always.

Three-sentence summary (from goodreads):

Following the death of her husband Sir Florian, beautiful Lizzie Eustace mysteriously comes into possession of a hugely expensive diamond necklace. She maintains it was a gift from her husband, but the Eustace lawyers insist she give it up, and while her cousin Frank takes her side, her new lover Lord Fawn states that he will only marry her if the necklace is surrendered. As gossip and scandal intensify, Lizzie's truthfulness is thrown into doubt, and, in her desire to keep the jewels, she is driven to increasingly desperate acts. 

The third of the Palliser novels, "The Eustace Diamonds bears all the hallmarks of his later works, blending dark cynicism with humour and a keen perception of human nature." Politics doesn't play as large a role here as in the first two books... which was a plus for me. I think this novel would work as a stand-alone and might also be a good, though somewhat long, introduction to Trollope.

Thank you, Audrey, for being my #PalliserParty reading companion once again... sorry to race ahead toward the end, but I just couldn't put this one down!

My rating:

Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë

Agnes Grey 
by Anne Brontë
originally published in 1847
ebook, 221 pages

audiobook:
narrated by Emilia Fox
Audible Studios, 2008
6 hours and 27 minutes

Summary (from goodreads):
At age 19 Anne Brontë left home and worked as a governess for a few years before becoming a writer. Agnes Grey was an 1847 novel based on her experience as a governess. Bronte depicts the precarious position of a governess and how that can affect a young woman. Agnes was the daughter of a minister whose family was in financial difficulty. She has only a few choices for employment. Agnes experiences the difficulty of reining in spoiled children and how wealth can corrupt morals.

My thoughts:

Agnes Grey, the book I was dealt in the recent Classics Club spin, is a simple, straight-forward, and relatively short story based on the author's experience as a governess. Life as a governess was difficult for Agnes (Anne), whose family had recently fallen upon hard times. None of the women in this novel have a particularly easy time of it... a fact which made it easy for me to understand how Anne progressed from this story to The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, a book many consider to be the first feminist novel.

Agnes Grey is slightly predictable (nowhere near as exciting as 'Tenant'), and Agnes herself comes across as somewhat preachy and self-righteous, however this was still an enjoyable read overall. It also has one of the best closing lines I've come across:

"And now I think I have said sufficient."

A note on the audio:
Agnes Grey was a read/listen combination for me, and my first experience listening to Emilia Fox. Her accent is lovely, though initially I thought she spoke too quickly. However, I settled in before the end of the first chapter and ended up enjoying her narration very much.

My rating:

And the Number is...

The Classics Club Spin landed on number one, so I will read Agnes Grey by Ann Bronte. I loved The Tenant of Wildfell Hall  when I read it a few years ago, so am happy with this outcome. I'll get started right after I finish Amsterdam... and Commonwealth. It's a good thing I have until December first!

Which book did the spin select for you?

Another Classics Club Spin

The Classics Club Spin has been a huge success over the years and now it's time to play again - round 14! I've missed the last couple of spins, but since I have no classics commitments at the moment, it might be fun to choose my next one by chance.

The rules are the same, only the dates have been changed.

Here's how it works:
- Go to your blog.
- Pick twenty books that you’ve got left to read from your Classics Club list.
- Post that list, numbered 1-20, on your blog by next Monday. (10/3)
- Monday morning a number from 1-20 is announced. Go to the list of twenty books you posted, and select the book that corresponds to that number.
- The challenge is to read the book by December 1, 2016.

In the past I've come up with fun categories and themes, but this time it's purely alphabetical. Time is running short. The original purpose behind joining the The Classics Club was to challenge myself to read 50 classics in 5 years. My five year deadline is coming up in April... and I've read 43 so far. The pressure is on to 'finish strong'!

My Spin List

1. Bronte, Anne - Agnes Grey
2. Bronte, Charlotte - Villette
3. Cather, Willa - A Lost Lady
4. Collins, Wilkie  - Jezebel's Daughter
5. DuMaurier, Daphne - My Cousin Rachel
6. Forster, E.M. - Howards End (reread)
7. Gaskell, Elizabeth - Wives and Daughters
8. Hardy, Thomas  - The Return of the Native
9. Hemingway, Ernest - The Sun Also Rises
10. Keyes, Daniel - Flowers for Algernon (reread)
11. Mitford, Nancy - The Pursuit of Love
12. Powell, Anthony - A Dance to the Music of Time (first movement)
13. Pym, Barbara - A Few Green Leaves
14. Steinbeck, John - The Winter of Our Discontent (reread)
15. Tan, Amy - The Joy Luck Club
16. Taylor, Elizabeth - A Game of Hide and Seek
17. Trollope, Anthony - Miss Mackenzie
18. Whipple, Dorothy - The Priory
19. Zola, Emile - The Belly of Paris
20. Zola, Emile - The Fortune of the Rougons

Check back on Monday to see what I'll be reading...



UPDATE:
 The spin landed on number one, so I'll be reading Agnes Grey by Ann Bronte.