The first book I have ever read on the Kindle, and the first by Charles Dickens that I have ever read! My friend (who has read every single classic known to man, but nothing else apart from Harry Potter and a few vampire books) said that I wasn't a proper Lit student until I'd read him, so I thought I better get a move on...and I absolutely loved this book.
In case you haven't read this particular book (or like me, are new to Dickens...I know...I feel rather embarassed admitting it) it is a historical novel, set in the 1780's - 90's, in the lead up and height of the French Revolution. The narrative is split between England and France, and follows a series of characters whose lives have intermingled - and mingled with the rise of the Revolution - over generations.
In the first part of the novel, (which opens with a delicious description of the turbulent social and political situations on both sides of the channel during the late 18thC) the wrongfully imprisoned Dr Manette is 'recalled to life' after confinement in the Bastille for eighteen years. He is reunited with his daughter Lucie, and goes with her to England to recover, accompanied by her and by Mr. Lorry, a banker and loyal friend. As the book continues, we learn about their life in London - Dr Manette's recovery, and the happy family life they lead. However, the build-up to the Revolution casts a grim shadow, and eventually Lucie's husband Charles makes his way to France in secret, to try and save a faithful servant from the Guillotine...
I loved this book. It took me a while to really get into it, but from the start I was carried along by Dickens' absolutely wondrous descriptions of the turbulent times, and the perfectly-conjured characters. I think perhaps the strength of his descriptive writing was the detail, but also the scope of the writer's view: suitably elaborate scenes of the wealth of the royal court in France, for example, contrasted with emotional, pitiful but unflinching details about the life of the peasantry; the comfortable old 'man of business' Mr Lorry, and the gentle respectability of the Manettes is juxtaposed with the character of Jerry Cruncher, an odd-jobsman who treats his poor wife appallingly, continuously suspecting her of 'flopping'; the character of Sidney Carton encompasses both the pathetic and the heroic. Dickens' pity for the peasantry of countryside and underfed, underprivileged poor of the city is palpable (and obviously informed by the social conditions at the time of writing), and yet the bloodthirstiness of the Revolution itself is recounted sensitively but horrifically. The great strength of the book - along with the lovely language and turn of phrase - is the way that it encompasses absolute opposites, and shows them in a pitying but balanced light.
In terms of the turn of phrase, Dickens writes beautifully, and I loved the touches of humour throughout the book. He writes sharply, critically, observantly, and touchingly. I also really enjoyed reading this on the Kindle. Although the free version that I downloaded had a few typos in it (less than 10, I reckon - not too bad), it was really useful to be able to look up unknown words immediately, without interrupting my reading of the text. I now know what a blunderbuss is, without having to go online or dig out a big fat dictionary.
I loved 'A Tale of Two Cities' so much, I want to read it again straight away, but am forcing myself onto pastures new. I read the final chapter again, however, and it affected me even more the second time. There are several famous quotes from this book that most people will know ('it was the best of times, it was the worst of times...'; 'it is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done...') but reading them in context turned these oft-quoted lines into some of the most emotional I can remember ever having read.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Three + Three: My Baby is Growing Wings...
Here I was in August, in Rosanne's wonderful studio. It was here also that the talented and lovely Marina Diamandis christened my poetry 'Floetry' - what an honour!
For those who don't know, the Three + Three project began when I wrote some poems after Rosanne Jedly's paintings. The idea emerged that she should reciprocate and that we should publish the results in a little pamphlet, as a kind of artistic dialogue.
Well, since then, a photographer friend, Patty Papageorgiou-Axford, and graphic designer Liz Jenkins have got involved, with Patty photographing Rosanne's paintings as well as contributing her own photographs and perspective, and Liz working on ideas for how to present the whole thing, as well as suggesting that the initial pamphlet be reworked as a Magazine....!!!!
Poet Paul Henry (published by Seren - his collected works 'The Brittle Sea' is wonderful, read it!) gave me some incredibly kind feedback on my poetry and on the whole project, which was a wonderful boost.
We've had positive responses from the local bookshop, Bookish, and hopefully we can get some sponsorship and maybe even a grant...suddenly the little collection of works that I started during a long lazy morning in my summer holiday has grown enormous wings and is taking off...I have no idea where it may land!
Part of me is feeling a bit possessive and control-freakish, but mostly this relinquishing of control is so exciting. Everyone has such amazing ideas for what started out as my 'baby' - eg. Patty's ideas for her own interpretations of my poems in photography, and even just the fact that everybody wants in! Fortunately we have a wonderful mix of creative and business brains.
I will keep you posted about Three + Three, this is turning out to be a really exciting journey and I can't wait to see where it will lead to!
Here are the websites of the wonderful people mentioned in this post:
Sunday, September 4, 2011
The Kindle...
Maybe I was a little harsh on Resistance, rereading the last post. All I will say however is that the whole plot happens in the last 25 pages. There was a surprising twist but to be honest, I wouldn't personally say that the book was worth reading to the end; despite the twist I felt like I'd wasted my time with it.
Any way, I now have a Kindle!
It was a gift, and I adore it. I am still reading paper books - buying books from the charity shop is still cheaper a lot of the time! - however I find that the Kindle has numerous benefits.
1) Very light and comfortable to hold, which is more than can be said for some books (thinking of the whopping Birds Without Wings, for example)
2) the screen really is all it's cracked up to be. Really strange at first but easy to read, even in bright sunlight
3) The ability to choose your own font size - as well as line spacing, etc. - is really nice. My eyes are fine, but even so, larger font is more comfortable to read and the Kindle makes this very easy.
4) The built in dictionaries mean that you can look up words in the text without losing your place or anything - just a click of a button. Finding this very useful when reading the classics - there's always a word or two that you just don't hear any more and it is great being able to look them up.
5) You can also highlight sections and bookmark them, which for a Lit student like me is really useful!
6) Free classics. Lots of books for under £2. The initial investment soon repays itself if you're a book worm.
7) It keeps your place for you. I'm finding this really useful for reading the classics, as some of them I find difficult without taking frequent breaks to rest my brain!
The only things I'll say against the Kindle and my experience of it so far is that I wish there was just a button on Amazon for buying all their free classics. Instead you have to go through and 'buy', for free, the ones you want, one by one.
Also, as yet the technology does not exist for it to be able to waft old-paper smell at you. I do miss this when I am holding my Kindle.
Took me a while to register it, and find out how to turn it off! But that is just me being technilliterate.
And finally, the Amazon-to-Kindle-download-your-books-system is called Whispernet, which makes me think of Newspeak and Thoughtcrime. The conspiracy theorist in me is very perturbed by this.
Anyway, that is my initial assessment of the Kindle. Now I'm off to do some reading, not sure whether it will be of the electronic or paper kind but either one will do!
Any way, I now have a Kindle!
It was a gift, and I adore it. I am still reading paper books - buying books from the charity shop is still cheaper a lot of the time! - however I find that the Kindle has numerous benefits.
1) Very light and comfortable to hold, which is more than can be said for some books (thinking of the whopping Birds Without Wings, for example)
2) the screen really is all it's cracked up to be. Really strange at first but easy to read, even in bright sunlight
3) The ability to choose your own font size - as well as line spacing, etc. - is really nice. My eyes are fine, but even so, larger font is more comfortable to read and the Kindle makes this very easy.
4) The built in dictionaries mean that you can look up words in the text without losing your place or anything - just a click of a button. Finding this very useful when reading the classics - there's always a word or two that you just don't hear any more and it is great being able to look them up.
5) You can also highlight sections and bookmark them, which for a Lit student like me is really useful!
6) Free classics. Lots of books for under £2. The initial investment soon repays itself if you're a book worm.
7) It keeps your place for you. I'm finding this really useful for reading the classics, as some of them I find difficult without taking frequent breaks to rest my brain!
The only things I'll say against the Kindle and my experience of it so far is that I wish there was just a button on Amazon for buying all their free classics. Instead you have to go through and 'buy', for free, the ones you want, one by one.
Also, as yet the technology does not exist for it to be able to waft old-paper smell at you. I do miss this when I am holding my Kindle.
Took me a while to register it, and find out how to turn it off! But that is just me being technilliterate.
And finally, the Amazon-to-Kindle-download-your-books-system is called Whispernet, which makes me think of Newspeak and Thoughtcrime. The conspiracy theorist in me is very perturbed by this.
Anyway, that is my initial assessment of the Kindle. Now I'm off to do some reading, not sure whether it will be of the electronic or paper kind but either one will do!
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