{2014 TBR Pile Challenge: Review} THE PURLOINED LETTER by Edgar Allan Poe

ISBN #: 978-1492251279

Page Count: 36

Copyright: August 25, 2013

Originally Published: December 1844

Book Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

"The Purloined Letter" is a short story by American author Edgar Allan Poe. It is the third of his three detective stories featuring the fictional C. Auguste Dupin, the other two being "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt". These stories are considered to be important early forerunners of the modern detective story. It first appeared in the literary annual The Gift for 1845 (1844) and was soon reprinted in numerous journals and newspapers.

The unnamed narrator is discussing with the famous Parisian amateur detective C. Auguste Dupin some of his most celebrated cases when they are joined by the Prefect of the Police, a man known as G—. The Prefect has a case he would like to discuss with Dupin. A letter has been stolen from the boudoir of an unnamed female by the unscrupulous Minister D—. It is said to contain compromising information. Danton was in the room, saw the letter, and switched it for a letter of no importance. He has been blackmailing his victim. The Prefect makes two deductions with which Dupin does not disagree: 1.) The contents of the letter have not been revealed, as this would have led to certain circumstances that have not arisen. Therefore Minister D— still has the letter in his possession. 2.) The ability to produce the letter at a moment’s notice is almost as important as possession of the letter itself. Therefore he must have the letter close at hand. The Prefect says that he and his police detectives have searched the Ministerial hotel where D— stays and have found nothing. They checked behind the wallpaper and under the carpets. His men have examined the tables and chairs with microscopes and then probed the cushions with needles but have found no sign of interference; the letter is not hidden in these places. Dupin asks the Prefect if he knows what he is looking for and the Prefect reads off a minute description of the letter, which Dupin memorizes. The Prefect then bids them good day.

Mandy's Review:

I've called myself a fan of Poe's. I don't know that I can say that confidently now. I've heard of, and read, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," but I never knew it was part of a 3-story series featuring a fictional detective! How could I not have known that?! I hang my head in shame.

"The Purloined Letter" is an extremely quick read. For a short story, though, it has the intensity that is so familiar to Poe's works. The detail he's able to incorporate into the story is, of course, above par because, let's face it, it's Poe and he doesn't do much of anything sub-par.

I do wish there would've been just a little more action in this story. As it stands, it's mainly two to three gentlemen sitting down discussing what has happened. It can be kind of boring to read, but I'm willing to overlook it for one of my favorite authors.

{Review} What Maisie Knew by Henry James

ISBN #: 978-0143124634

Page Count: 320

Copyright: May 1, 2013

Publisher: Penguin Books; Reprint Edition

Book Summary:

(Taken from back cover)

After her parents' bitter divorce, young Maisie finds herself shuttled between her selfish mother Ida and her vain father Beale Farange, who value her only as a means for provoking each other. When both take lovers and remarry, Maisie - solitary, observant, and wise beyond her years - is drawn into an entangled adult world of intrigue and sexual betrayal, until she is at last able to cooperate in choosing her own future.

A subtle yet devastating tale of a crumbling relationship told from a child's-eye view, What Maisie Knew remains as relevant and vital today as it was when first published more than one hundred years ago.

Mandy's Review:

Divorce is difficult on the children involved, especially when the parents use the child(ren) as leverage in their disputes. Maisie is used by her parents. She'll live for a time with one parent becoming familiar with her routines and hearing all of the secrets being discussed. Then, when the parent Maisie is currently living with wants to irritate the other parent, they take Maisie to the other parent's residence. Nothing satisfies Maisie's parents more than to "dump" Maisie on one another knowing that it causes a disruption to their lives. Poor Maisie doesn't seem to have a loving parent to save her life. Throughout the entire story, Maisie is tossed back and forth between the two families. Nobody really seems to love Maisie, they only seem to love how she can be used.

I think I've realized that literary classics are not for me. It takes me a few chapters to even get involved in the story. By then, I'm able to look past the language and see the story for what it is. What Maisie Knew kept my interest for the first half of the book, but then the writing style overshadowed the story it was supposed to be telling. I struggled through the rest of the book. Just because it's not for me, though, I think that lovers of literary classics should give this story a try ... especially since there is a movie being made (has been made?) about it.


*A physical copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

** This is #792 on the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list.

2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge: Animal Farm by George Orwell

I chose Animal Farm by George Orwell as one of my 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge books. If you're curious as to the official rules and guidelines for this challenge, simply click here.

Fortunately, this book is also #564 on the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list, so that's another book on that particular list I can cross off!

Book Info:

ISBN #: 0-451-52466-7

Page Count: 128

Copyright: 1946

Publisher: Signet Classic

Book Summary:

(Taken from back cover)

This remarkable book has been described in many ways - as a masterpiece ... a fairy story ... a brilliant satire ... a frightening view of the future. A devastating attack on the pig-headed, gluttonous and avaricious rulers in an imaginary totalitarian state, it illuminates the range of human experience from love to hate, from comedy to tragedy.

Mandy's Review:

I vaguely remember reading this book while in the 7th or 8th grade, but I wanted to re-read it because I had forgotten the details of the story.

Essentially, there is a farm ran by humans. The animals are tired of the treatment by the humans and form a rebellion. They run the humans off the farm and take it over themselves, determined to have a better life on their own. They change the name of the farm from Manor Farm to Animal Farm as a representation of their new freedom.

Natural leaders form, commandments are made (then later modified), conspiracies, manipulations and bullying becomes a natural part of the animal's way of living. It's easy to see how Mr. Orwell's book could be compared to governmental rulers, in any country.

I rather enjoyed this book, but for the fantasy aspect of it instead of the political. It's easy to see how some animals would feel as those on Animal Farm did ... if animals could think, reason and act like humans can, that is. If you haven't read this classic in a while, I recommend giving it another go.

Aesop's Fables: Translated by S. A. Handford

Stats:

Ranking:  #1001 on the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list
ISBN #: 978-0-14-036984-7
Format: Paperback
Page Count:  212

About the Author:

(Taken from first page after front cover)

Aesop was a slave who lived in the early sixth century BC on the island of Samos, which lies off the coast of modern Turkey.  Aesop came originally from Thrace, which was in those days separate country, though it now forms part of Greece and Bulgaria.  After being enslaved, he went to work on Samos for a master called Iadmon.  That is all that is known for certain of his life, although a large number of legends grew up around him - including one which claims that he came back to life!

Summary:

(Taken from first page after front cover)

The particular quality of Aesop's fables is that they use the imaginary adventures of animals to make a moral point about human life.  The reader will be astonished at how familiar most of the stories are.  Some of them have even given phrases to the English language: we use 'sour grapes' as a synonym for 'envy', for example.  But the stories have the ability to seem familiar even if one has never come across them before, because they reflect common-sense and folk wisdom, which everyone in any culture learns from childhood onwards.

Review:

That a slave spoke fables in sixth century BC does not amaze me.  What does amaze and awe me is the fact that Aesop's fables are still being used by a wide range of people.  To this day, Aesop is still teaching and making people think about moral issues.

The summary was correct when it stated that the stories have the ability to seem familiar.  There were quite a few that when I finished reading them I'd stop and think, "I never knew that was where that saying came from."

The fables were easy to read.  Many of them were only a paragraph long.  The moral was written at the beginning or end of most of the fables.  The fables that did not have the moral so blatantly depicted were still easy to understand and comprehend.  You could almost read this book like you would a devotional ... one fable every morning to start your day so you can contemplate its meaning all day long.  Who knows ... perhaps it would slowly change the way a person thinks and sees the world.

Overall, I enjoyed reading these fables and being able to re-familiarize myself with the morals of each.  I can understand why this book made the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list.  I think everyone should get a copy and read a fable or two whenever they have a few minutes to spare each day.

Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor

This is ranked #418 on the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list.  In terms of books, I'm not sure why this made the list.  This is more of a story than a book.  It's only 15 pages long.  In terms of a must read before you die ... I definitely recommend people read this story.

I don't know if I could call myself an advocate for racial equality because I do not participate in any formal groups or anything, but I have a serious issue with people treating others differently just because of their skin color.  I grew up in the northern Midwest and moved to good ole southwest Georgia the summer before I turned 14.  The differences in culture were astronomically different.  Up north, there weren't very many African Americans walking around.  In Georgia ... that was the majority of what I saw ... and I loved it!!!

The differences between African Americans and Caucasians were amazing to me.  I soaked it up ... so much so that I became involved in quite a few interracial "relationships" ... much to the disappointment of my family.  But I didn't care, and I still don't.

I said all of that because it pertains to this story.  This story is about a southern lady whose son lives with her and has to ride the city bus with her to the Y for her reduction class (she needed to lose weight).  The time of the story was apparently not too long after African Americans had been given their rights as people (i.e. sit wherever they wanted to on the bus, go wherever they wanted, etc.). 

Julian's mom kept commenting it didn't matter how others saw you, but how you saw yourself that mattered.  As you read the story you realize that his mother still thought of herself as the "better-than-them" white woman.  An interaction with a hefty African American woman and her child brings Julian's mother to her senses and it is too much for her to bear.

I loved the message this story portrayed, but a part of me (a teensy-tiny part I might add) felt sorry for Julian's mother.  She was ignorantly oblivious to the fact that she was how she was.  Her incident with the African American woman destroyed everything she thought about herself, making her realize that, sometimes, it really does matter how others see you.

Please read this story.  I highly recommend it and would be interested in what you think of it.

Happy Reading! =)

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

This book is #276 on the 1001 Books To Read Before You Die list.  I recently read this book for my other blog, Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009, so I thought I would copy some of my thoughts and feelings from the summary I did on that blog.

This book was very up-and-down for me as a reader.  It started off slow, got a little better, became slow again and got better again at the end.  Now, whether the end went faster because I was ready to finish the daggum book or because it was actually intriguing, I can't really say.  All I know is that I am grateful to have finished it and will probably never read it again.

The book is a story spread out over an extended period of time.  It begins with a little girl and finishes with that little girl's granddaughter.  It is the life story of a family.  It explores the relationships between them all: good, bad, sad, happiness, abuse, anger ... everything.  It's also important to point out that it also covers this family's involvement of a political and governmental upheaval.  I don't recall that the country the story is based in was ever actually mentioned, but it was definitely of the Mexican/Latin persuasion.

I think the reason I found it boring was because of the military garble and the depiction of the uprising of the country's government.  Yes, I understand that's an important time in a country's existence, but .... it put me to sleep.  Thus my struggle in finishing it.

With the recommended reading level being Young Adult, I would say that I agree with that.  By the time a child reaches the Young Adult age (say around 13 or 14), they've pretty much heard or said everything that's written in this book language-wise and relation-wise.