Book Review: The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings

Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Start Date: September 19th
Finish Date: September 28th

This review is going to be informal. I'm really glad that I gave Poe a second chance. I read many of his short stories and poems in middle and high school, but I didn't really appreciate them much until now.

Anyways, I want to cover a good portion of the stories I read (I'm going to leave the poems out of this review) by naming story superlatives.

Overall Favorite: "The Masque of the Red Death"

This is one Poe short story that I have always liked. I love the colorful description of the party rooms. The cover of this book edition was painted for this story and you can see the shrouded figure of the Red Death, the ebony clock, and all of the dead people strewn about on the floor. Fantastic visual.

Most Psychological: "William Wilson"

Personally, I wouldn't want to be followed around all life by... me. After all, you are your own best competitor as well as your own best critic.

Biggest Gore Factor: "The Black Cat"

Never become an alcoholic. Also, never mess with your pets folks in an alcoholic rage. They will come back to haunt you after you harm/kill them, and eat your spouse's corpse (whom you also killed) after you wall him/her up to cover your crime. This story also affirms the fact that I am a dog person.

Most Surprising: "The Gold Bug"

I seriously thought that the narrator's friend was going crazy after he was bit by the heavy gold bug found on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina. I was surprised to find out that the bug led him to buried pirate treasure, not insanity. It was refreshing to see happy endings in some of the stories, this one included.

Most Suspenseful: "The Pit and the Pendulum"

I forgot how much I liked this story in high school. I would never want to be in the narrator's position. The Spanish Inquisition is NOT one of those areas of history that I would like to live! Plus, contemplating jumping into that pit must have been awful, not to mention being bound to a table with a bunch of rats stealing your food while a razor sharp pendulum slowly descends to cut you into pieces.

Best Detective Story: "The Murders on the Rue Morgue" and "The Purloined Letter"

Although Monsieur Dupin is almost too smart and too good to be true, I enjoyed these reads and learning how all of the Parisian crimes were solved.

Most Creepy: "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar"

Maybe it's my fear of corpses, but having a dead person in a trance speak absolutely freaks me out. Don't even get me started about when they wake him up...

Overall, I really got into all of the stories. Poe has quite an imagination. As a child, I had a very vivid imagination which has now evolved into serious over thinking as an adult. I feel that Poe must have been the same way, only he was able to retain his imagination as an over thinker. His stories are perfect reads for people who spend a lot of time thinking, and not so much time talking. Although the talkers will like his stories as well, because they're great to relate to others. :)

My next read to complete Peril I is Dracula. Amanda and I plan on reading this at the same time, so I have to wait until Monday to start it. Hopefully, I can finish Orwell's 1984 over the next couple of days as it has remained 2/3 finished since the end of August.

Dear Edgar Allan Poe,

I'm terribly sorry that, up until this year, I didn't care much for you. Granted, I've always liked "The Masque of the Red Death," but beyond that, you bored me and I thought of you as way overrated. I apologize, but in high school, (the last time I read one of your stories) I thought about nothing more than boys, color guard, and one day being a famous news anchor (ha).

Better late than never though... I'm in the middle of a collection of your fantastic short stories. Not one has left me bored and each are the perfect amount of "scary." You have a way with words my dear. I am now a genuine fan and I might even skim some of your poems when I'm finished with the short stories, and that's saying something.

Sincerely,

An adoring fan

Book Review: Blood and Chocolate

Author: Annette Curtis Klause
Year Published: 1997
Start Date: September 15th
Finish Date: September 18th

I haven't read much on loups-garoux or werewolves as they are commonly known in English, excepting Professor Lupin and Jacob in the Twilight series. Being a huge YA literature fan, Blood and Chocolate leaves me slightly disappointed.

I don't know much about werewolves, but I feel a bit more well rounded, and not so vampire focused (I LOVE vampires), for once by completing this novel. I really enjoyed the wolfish aspects of the story. Vivian is a 15-16 year old werewolf who moves from West Virginia to the Maryland suburbs when a fire destroys her pack's inn. This fire also takes her father, the pack king's life. While living in the suburbs, the pack struggles to both not reveal their animal forms to the normal word, as well as not kill humans. This proves to be difficult in such a concentrated area pf people, and Vivian finds herself in a lot of trouble and gets wrapped up in a lot of misunderstandings. I rather enjoyed this aspect of the novel and Klause's descriptions of the pleasure of wolf transformation and running through the woods on full moon, as well as the brutal animal instincts that go along with being a werewolf.

While I enjoyed the wolf aspects, I loathed the love stories in this book. Vivian finds herself attracted to a human boy (who is a complete tool) and uses her convenient beauty and powers of seduction to lure this guy into a tangled web. Also, after fighting at a ritual (the males were determining a new pack leader after the death of Vivian's father) ceremony with other female wolves (protecting her mother), Vivian finds herself head female and under the watchful eyes of the new pack leader, Gabriel (she's now the Queen to his King). Perhaps the love aspects of this novel are supposed to represent the mind of a 16 year old and the passion of the animal, but I just found it over the top. I'm not exactly sure if 13 year olds (the reading level on Amazon says 9-12, yikes!) should be reading about implied rough sex. They don't need to infer that all 16 year olds dress provocatively to seduce others (so maybe they should too???). I can see, however, how high school girls would eat this book up. Blood and Chocolate is like a toned down romance novel with cool gore and fantasy elements.

I found myself just as annoyed with Vivian (at certain times) as I was with Bella (Twilight series) and Gemma (A Great and Terrible Beauty trilogy). This is something that I come to expect from YA novels, and I don't mind it normally. The story in Blood and Chocolate, though, wasn't as strong nor as convincing as the latter two novels, which made my annoyance with Vivian a bit stronger, even though she was essentially less dense and more self-assured than both Gemma and Bella combined. I also have to take into account when the book was written. YA was a relatively new genre in 1997 and not nearly as popular then as it is now (the Printz award was not established until 2000). Therefore, not too many people were writing novels aimed specifically at teens in 1997. There are obviously fantastic exceptions though, like the His Dark Materials trilogy, but I digress.

Overall, I'm glad that I checked out this book from the public library as opposed to purchasing it. The book was definitely a page turner, and I can see how it appeals to teens, but it's definitely not my favorite. I doubt that I will purchase it for our growing teen collection over here at the university either, as I don't see many teachers using it in their curricula.

Now, if I could just find a good zombie novel, I wouldn't feel so bad about being partial to vampires.

Onward to Poe...

Book Review: The Woman in White

Author: Wilkie Collins
Year Published: 1860
Start Date: September 1st
Finish Date: September 15th

The Woman in White has become a new favorite of mine. True to its sensationalist nature, the novel revolves around a dark secret harbored by select evil characters. Unfortunately (but it wouldn't be a story without this), the genuinely good characters become entangled with the sinister ones who guard the secret.

The story opens with the protagonist, Walter Hartwright, as he takes on a job as a drawing instructor for two sisters in Limmeridge House (Cumberland). Walking back to London after visiting with his mother and sister on the night before his departure, he encounters a mysterious and distressed woman dressed all in white who needs help with finding her way to London. In transit, she warns Walter against an unnamed Baronet who my or may not show up later in the novel. After she is on her way, Walter overhears men claiming that a woman has recently escaped the asylum. The story further develops once he arrives at Limmeridge House, and the mystery of the woman in white is revealed.

While the story itself is very interesting, I found myself concentrating a lot on the characters of the book, especially the not so good ones. While upon first glance Sir Percival Glyde appears to be most evil person in the novel, I found the Italian Count Fosco to be the most disturbing. His corpulent figure, piercing eyes, and his suave, genial exterior personality frightened me. While I was able to pinpoint his evil from the get go, (having read multiple passages on Professor Umbridge and having dealt with a good bit of passive-aggressiveness in my lifetime) I had a lot of difficulty predicting his personal objectives until they were revealed to me near the end of the book. His weird fascination and concern with Marian, whom I truly liked despite her representing Wilkie's obvious misogynistic feelings, also chilled me to the bone.

What I really enjoyed about this novel was that it was so easy to read. I would highly recommend this book for people who are reluctant to read the classics. I can totally see how The Moonstone (well if it is anything like The Woman in White, as it is currently on my TBR pile) and The Woman and White were so popular in their days. The pace of the novel was comfortable for me. I neither felt like I was given too many details to process before the next event occurred, nor did I feel the plot was too predictable, and therefore boring. Also, having multiple narrators helped me get a good sense of the characters and helped focus on time as a key element in the plot. If I had been reading this in it's true form back in 1860-1861, I would have been anxiously awaiting each new issue of All the Year Round.

Rest in Peace...

...to one of my favorite authors, Madeleine L'Engle.

Color Wheel

I usually stick with the same template on this blog. I like the vivid colors. But the blue just didn't represent September to me, so I changed the blog template color to orange, which happens to be one of my favorite colors (green being the ultimate favorite). Plus, orange fits the months of September through November, as green fits the months of March through May and blue fits June through August. This is all in my head of course. Pink will be a stretch to represent December through February, but the only time I really like the color of pink is at Christmas for some reason. Plus, Valentines (barf) Day is in February, so there is a connection.

Now that you all know my blog color schedule, (because I always have to do things in a regimented manner) you can look for a change of color in my blog as the seasons begin to change.

Well, unless some better, prettier template comes along.

The Woman in White Snowy Range

September has come alas! It may be 90 degrees outside, (and they're turning off the air conditioner at work... yipee) but I get the slightest hint of fall's arrival in the early morning and dusk. It could not come any more quickly.

I got back yesterday from a brief trip to Colorado. I had such a good time with Jon. Other than a beautiful trip to the snowy range, (destination: Lake Marie) we basically hung out, watched the progression of his house being built, took walks after a home made dinner, etc. It was nice.




Even the plane rides to and fro were very entertaining. I've finally settled into my The Woman in White to begin the R.I.P Challenge. Oh how I love this story so far! Sir Percival is currently being introduced, so I have a feeling that I'm about to witness some good ol' fashioned evil. I have to thank my friend Amanda for reintroducing me to the classics. They are honestly better when I can read them at my own pace and not be forced to identify every incidence of ambiguity, foreshadowing, and allusion. My Amazon wishlist is currently heavy with classics, and I intend to read every one of them at some point. More on The Woman in White when I finish!

I'm lucky that I have things to currently make me happy. I have friends going through some yucky personal and professional stuff, ill family members, etc. that I have been praying for/thinking about for weeks now. It's always something, and all I can do is hope that everybody gets through things in one piece.