Review: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas is now the longest book I've ever read, coming in at 1,276 pages. It was definitely the most intimidating book on my TBR and I feel a huge sense of accomplishment having finished it. What can I say about this classic? Well, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

Many of you will know the basic outline of the book, Edmond Dantès is falsely imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. Envious of his success, a number of people collaborate to conspire against him for their own personal gain and when Dantès learns the identity and motivations of his conspirators, he sets out to destroy them.

In order of severity, our conspirators are:

Caderousse - envious neighbour wracked with guilt over the fact he didn't stop the plot
Fernand - in love with Dantès' fiancé Mercédès and guilty of delivering the letter
Danglars - ship's purser and colleague envious of Dantès' recent promotion to ship's captain and responsible for writing the letter accusing him of treason
Villefort - Deputy Crown Prosecutor, sends Dantès to prison without release in order to protect the identity of his Bonapartist father

Later escaping the prison after 14 years and finding a hidden treasure on the island of Monte Cristo thanks to a touching relationship with a fellow prisoner, Dantès completely re-invents himself and becomes an entirely different man. After purchasing the island and founding a chivalric commandership, he leaves his old identity behind and re-enters society as the Count of Monte Cristo.

The descriptions of Dantès' incarceration and meeting with his fellow prisoner Abbé Faria were some of my favourite chapters. Abbé becomes a cherished companion and father figure and eagerly shares his extensive knowledge of languages, science, philosophy, history and politics with Dantès who is transformed by the wisdom generously shared.

During this time we're given access to Dantès thoughts and feelings but after his escape, the reader is no longer privy to his plotting and planning to bring down his enemies. Regrettably we only see the effects of his master plan by joining a range of individual characters including the conspirators and those in their immediate orbit as events transpire.

Here's an example of Villefort reflecting on the fact that he is sacrificing Dantès to his own ambition in order to protect his father:

"Now, in the depths of that sick heart the first seeds of a mortal abscess began to spread." Page 86

Suggesting Villefort will carry remorse in his soul until death is heavy indeed, although later in the book when Dantès catches up with Villefort, he's thriving and far from suffering. In fact, all but Caderousse have succeeded in the time Dantès was imprisoned.

Largely told in a third-person omniscient point of view, when Dantès re-enters society he finds his conspirators much changed:

Caderousse - has lost his livelihood as a tailor and is living in poverty
Fernand - has married Mercédès and is now the Comte de Morcerf after a distinguished service in the military
Danglars - has married into a noble family and is now Baron Danglars, an influential banker in Paris
Villefort - is now Chief Crown Prosecutor, however he's hiding the secret of an illegitimate child

There's a lot of detail and many characters to keep track of. The section in Rome with the bandits went for way too long and really only served to give Dantès an introduction to Parisian society. Sometimes it felt as though we were glimpsing the society goings on purely for the author's entertainment. I did enjoy the witty dialogue between Danglars and Villefort in Paris, but I found myself hoping it was all leading somewhere and part of the bigger plan.

Believing he's God's instrument, Dantès sets out to bring them down one by one:

Caderousse - Dantès gives him a second chance but eventually his greed gets him killed
Fernand (Comte de Morcerf) - Dantès proves Fernand committed treason and he is subsequently disgraced. His wife (Mercédès) and son leave him and he commits suicide from the shame.
Danglars - Dantès manipulates the stockmarket, bankrupting and disgracing Danglars. Fleeing his home in Paris, he steals money to establish a new life in Rome. Kidnapped by bandits (friends of Dantès from earlier in the book), he's imprisoned and starved, forced to buy food and water until he has little money left and is a broken man.
Villefort - Dantès manipulates Villefort's wife (a poisoner) and she poisons several members of Villefort's household. Dantès then exposes Villefort's secret of an illegitimate child in court and Villefort realises his wife is the poisoner. After forcing her to kill herself he suffers a mental breakdown.

Dantès' thirst for revenge seems to wane as the book goes on and there are many insights I enjoyed like this one:

"Truly generous men are always ready to feel compassion when their enemy's misfortune exceeds the bounds of their hatred." Page 953

The author breaks the fourth wall occasionally with phrases like "as we mentioned earlier" or "we owe it to our readers" or "in the previous chapter". And I was surprised when the author referred to himself in Chapter 36: "The author of this story, who lived for five or six years in Italy..." I wasn't expecting to be addressed directly by the author in this manner but readily enjoyed it.

I'll admit Dantès' relationship with the slave girl completely creeped me out. She saw him both as a father figure and a lover - blurgh - so when he ended the novel with her I screwed up my face in distaste. It was fitting that his relationship with Mercédès was beyond repair but what's wrong with sailing into the sunset alone?

Published in 1844, I read the Penguin Classics hardback edition translated by Robin Buss, and when compared to the ebook edition available on Libby, it was a very readable translation. Originally published as a weekly serial in a French newspaper, Dumas was paid by the word (or the line) and the book is understandably quite long as a result.

Enriching this month long reading experience (it took me 33 days, reading 3% each day) was reading The Count of Monte Cristo with fellow book blogger Suzie Eisfelder. Discussing it as we went along, Suzie recorded her thoughts on our buddy read on her YouTube channel where she says: "I thank Tracey for making it possible for me to actually finish this book." You're very welcome Suzie and thanks for sticking with it!

Immediately after finishing, I thought The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas was going to be a five star read. But in the considerable time it's taken for me to write this review - and include all of the character arcs for my own future reference - I'm reconsidering. I'm now able to separate the detailed narrative from the sense of achievement and satisfaction having conquered this sizeable classic and I'm going to settle on 4 stars.

Overall, a very enjoyable buddy read of this classic which I followed up by watching the 1975 version of The Count of Monte Cristo starring Richard Chamberlain.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

There are so many classics I still haven't read and thankfully my bookish buddy Veronica from The Burgeoning Bookshelf bravely agreed to tackle Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe with me recently. We were both reading the Penguin clothbound edition and when I encountered a sentence 21 lines long within the first six pages - and looking further ahead saw zero chapter breaks - I knew I was in for a challenging read.

Published more than 300 years ago in 1719, this review is going to contain plot developments so if you're precious about having the plot of Robinson Crusoe spoiled you should give this review a miss. This book is about Robinson Crusoe and his adventures after being shipwrecked on an island. We get a surprising amount of backstory before the eventual shipwrecking but we're told on the title page that Crusoe spends 28 years alone on an un-inhabited island so how's that for a 300 year old spoiler from the author?

As a character, I wasn't a fan of Crusoe at all and I found him selfish and self-serving. The novel contains much internal reflection and thoughts about God and purpose and you could argue it was a spiritual story of sorts, although lacking a conclusion.

"Upon the whole, here was an undoubted testimony, that there was scarce any condition in the world so miserable, but there was something negative or something positive to be thankful for in it; and let this stand as a direction from the experience of the most miserable of all conditions in this world, that we may always find in it something to comfort our selves from, and to set in the description of good and evil, on the credit side of the accompt." Page 54

Crusoe has a good attitude in this regard and the ability to see the silver lining is an important life lesson still being learned today. There's also a heavy focus on gratitude, as this quote attests:

"It put me upon reflecting, how little repining there would be among mankind, at any condition of life, if people would rather compare their condition with those that are worse, in order to be thankful, than be always comparing them with those which are better, to assist their murmurings and complainings." Page 132

Naturally we have many sayings to this effect (the grass is always greener, there's always someone worse off than you, a bird in the hand etc.) but 300 years ago, I wonder if this sentiment was as well known as it is today.

However, I was most entertained when Crusoe was being industrious on the island. Scavenging everything he could from the shipwreck, he sets up a camp with defences, plans out his rations, ingeniously cultivates food sources and builds and makes almost anything. In the time he was alone, he dries grapes for raisins each season, builds pens for wild goats, sows corn and barley, weaves baskets and makes clothes, furniture and more.

The scariest part of the book by far was when Crusoe saw a footprint in the sand that wasn't his own. He was terrified and for the next two years worked to increase his defences while continuing to monitor his surroundings in fear.

Eventually we learn the footprint belongs to visiting 'savages' as Crusoe calls them - and again the reader needs to remember this was written 300 years ago - and he witnesses them killing and eating human prisoners. Embarking on a plan to rescue a prisoner was a grand idea, until Crusoe shares his ultimate purpose is not for a companion but to make one his slave.

"Besides, I fancied myself able to manage one, nay, two or three savages, if I had them so as to make them entirely slaves to me, to do whatever I should direct them, and to prevent their being able at any time to do me any hurt." Page 158

I found this abhorrent and was grinding my teeth in anger when Crusoe succeeds. He calls his freed captive Friday - for the day he was rescued - which I found terribly insulting. With all of that religious reflection, why didn't he choose to call the man Providence, Faith or Adam? He teaches Friday english and tells him his name is Master (eye roll). Friday is grateful to Crusoe for saving his life and swears fealty - in effect - for life.

Other similar rescues occur after this point, including Friday's father. Their reunion was an emotional moment, but he and a Spaniard return to the mainland in a canoe to rescue fellow Spaniards and plan to return to Crusoe's island and share in the plentiful provisions. In that time, a mutinied ship arrives, a battle of weapons and wits takes place, and Crusoe becomes the captain of sorts.

Without any hesitation, Crusoe decides to leave the island for good, completely setting aside his previous plan with Friday's father. I was infuriated that Crusoe has no qualms abandoning his previous agreement, instead believing a letter will suffice. He also doesn't acknowledge any reluctance by Friday to leave the island before his father has returned, knowing they may never see each other again.

When Crusoe reaches society, there was plenty about his business dealings but I was interested to hear how Friday was adjusting to the culture shock. Crusoe goes on to have a family, but did Friday want to return home or have a family of his own?

Alas we never find out because the protagonist is too selfish to care, taking pains to provide for a loyal old woman from his earlier life as a young man yet completely dismissive of his year's long companion. There's also no reflecting on God after his 'salvation' either. He just goes back to business and his affairs, ugh!

Having finished it, I'm shocked Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe has been recommended reading for children and students over the years. The internal reflections are dull and the cannibalism and murders make it way too violent for young readers. If the book started with his shipwreck and focussed purely on his labours, then it would be one hell of an adventure. Alas, we have this story instead and I didn't enjoy it.

Thanks to Veronica for the buddy read and the encouragement to get through this. It's now off my list, woohoo! (I'm publishing this review on a Friday in tribute to an exploited and overlooked character).

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: The Brothers Grimm 101 Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

I did it! It took me 10 weeks, but I finally read The Brothers Grimm 101 Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. I read the original Snow White and Sleeping Beauty tales and more besides. How do I feel about it? I feel proud of my reading achievement, but the writing style was unfamiliar and it was a somewhat draining reading experience. I was only able to read a few fairytales at a time before needing a break from all of the kings, princesses, curses and forests.

I was shocked to discover just how short some of the fairytales were, namely Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Cap; or as we now know it, Little Red Riding Hood. The brevity of these tales and the way in which they've gone on to inspire untold spin offs and interpretations - one of which, The Archive of Alternate Endings by Lindsey Drager, I just read - is quite remarkable.

As expected, there were some terrific opening lines, like this one from The Hare's Bride:

"There was once a woman and her daughter who lived in a pretty garden with cabbages; and a little hare came into it, and during the wintertime ate all the cabbages." Page 282 The Hare's Bride

I'm instantly 'into' the story with this kind of opening line, and an intro like this reminds me of the stellar fable at the beginning of The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott.

Blessed with some stellar opening lines, some of the fairytales had quite sudden, dreadful or unexpected endings. How's this one from The Mouse, The Bird, and the Sausage:

"Owing to his carelessness the wood caught fire, so that a conflagration ensued, the bird hastened to fetch water, and then the bucket dropped from his claws into the well, and he fell down with it, and could not recover himself, but had to drown there." Page 104 The Mouse, The Bird, and the Sausage

Some of the tales end with a sentiment like 'and they haven't been heard from since" or "where they live to this day." How about these though:

"And the mouth of the man who last told this story is still warm." Page 116 The Bremen Town-Musicians

"Then the children went home together, and were heartily delighted, and if they are not dead, they are living still." Page 204 Fledgling

Isn't that charming? This happy ending describes a wedding party:

"I wish you and I had been there too." Page 208 King Thrushbeard

This isn't the only time the authors break the fourth wall and address the reader directly either. When describing a scene whereby everyone present is collecting as many gold pieces as they can physically carry, comes a comment in brackets direct to the reader:

"(I can see in your face that you also would like to be there.)" Page 151 The Wishing Table, The Gold Ass, and the Cudgel in the Sack

I wonder if the brothers could have imagined readers enjoying their stories 200 years after publication. Reading The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs was a highlight of this collection, along with the classic Hansel and Gretel.

Now that I've read them, would I recommend Grimm's Fairytales to other readers? I actually don't think I would. Viewed through today's lenses, the lessons from these fairytales feel simplistic and out of touch: beauty and virtue is good, greed and envy is bad, being ugly is bad and good will always triumph. The fairytales aren't suitable for young children, and there's a lot of violence for children over the age of ten as well, with drownings, curses, amputations, poisonings, beheadings, hangings and all sorts of terrible endings. I actually think storytellers and children's authors from the last 50 years do an excellent job of providing educational and entertaining stories for young children and adults alike.

This collection has been worth reading and while I'm satisfied to have now read the original source material, the experience was enriched by reading it alongside three other book reviewers. Ashleigh (The Book Muse), Veronica (The Burgeoning Bookshelf) and Claire (Claire's Reads and Reviews) joined me for this Grimm's buddy read and Ashleigh lead our conversation based on her study of the subject matter at university. What a great buddy read!

What's your favourite fairytale? I think mine is Hansel and Gretel.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

I was on holiday recently and put the word out to see if there were any fellow Aussie reviewers who'd like to do a buddy read for The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It's always fun to read a classic with a buddy so you can chat about it, but it turned out many of us have had this book sitting on our shelves for far too long!

Joining me in the buddy read was: Veronica Joy - The Burgeoning Bookshelf,  Ashleigh Meikle - The Book Muse (with her Grandmother's copy), Claire - Claire's Reads and Reviews and Suzie Eisfelder - Suz's Space. We were also joined by Andrea and Liz over on GoodReads. Thanks to you all for joining me, it was loads of fun!

When reading The Secret Garden, a few words caught me by surprise, including the frequent use of the words 'fat' and 'ugly'. As I write this, the media is full of articles about the censorship of Roald Dahl's books. While it's a shock to see words you wouldn't ordinarily read in children's dialogue published today, it's a timely reminder that this book was published more than 100 years ago in 1911. I don't think publishers should be attempting to apply today's sensitivity standards retrospectively to a book published so long ago and I do hope The Secret Garden is safe from censorship in the future. That said, onto the book!

Precocious young Mary is orphaned in India and sent to live with her Uncle in his English mansion on the moor. Spoiled and sickly, Mary is a sour faced young brat who slowly starts to turn her lonely little life around. One of the first people Mary meets is the gardener Ben Weatherstaff, and the scenes between him and Mary in the beginning were sublime:

'Tha' an' me are a good bit alike,' he said. 'We was wove out of th' same cloth. We're neither of us goodlookin' an' we're both of us as sour as we look. We've got the same nasty tempers, both of us, I'll warrant.' Page 45

Published in 1911, Mary's story has gone on to become a children's classic, so I'm going to be reviewing this story in full, with spoilers. If you are sensitive to spoilers and have yet to read the book, and honestly believe you'll do so one day, and that you'll remember the spoilers in this review, and readily recall I was the one who did that to you, then please close this tab.

Misselthwaite Manor has more than a hundred rooms, all of which are out of bounds until Mary covertly discovers a young boy also living in the house. The big family secret is that Colin is ill and bed bound and vulnerable to the most terrible tantrums. The children are cousins and both have had a privileged and indulgent upbringing as only children while also experiencing loss. Colin's mother is dead and Mary has recently lost both of her parents. The coming together of Mary and Colin was my favourite part of the book.

Both characters realise they're lonely and decide to become friends, despite a few false starts. The children begin enjoying each other's company which is a surprise to them both.

"And they both began to laugh over nothing as children will when they are happy together. And they laughed so that in the end they were making as much noise as if they had been two ordinary, healthy, natural, two-year-old creatures - instead of a hard, little, unloving girl and a sickly boy who believed that he was going to die." Page 168

Colin is ill and believes he'll die, making everyone's life a misery until he befriends Mary and meets her friend Dickon. Mary tells Colin there's nothing wrong with him and convinces him to get out of bed and outside in a wheelchair to live life and experience nature. Mary has discovered a secret garden and together with Dickon, the trio seek to bring it back to life.

The secret garden of the title is the walled garden where Colin's mother died, after which it was locked and abandoned for 10 years until a robin shows Mary the door and the key. As the children overcome their vast differences in class to help bring the garden back to life, Mary blossoms into a thoughtful and caring young girl, and Colin grows to believe he will live and is determined to show everyone he can walk again!

The entire time this is going on, Colin's father (Mary's uncle) is away on business, and I was worried he would return any minute and go ballistic about the garden, which was off limits. This created a sense of dread as eventually household members discover the children's secret and join the plan for Colin's big reveal moment.

Dickon's mother is the Mrs Weasley of the book and Mary and Colin gravitate toward her generosity of spirit and maternal love in the same way a sunflower follows the sun.

It's clear to the reader that the driving force behind Colin's recovery is the relationships between each of the characters - which boils down to love - as well as the garden, but Colin refers to it all as 'magic'. The author seems to have combined the laws of attraction, the power of positivity, and worship of nature to produce the essence of the 'magic'. To ask for your heart's desire, you just need to chant in a prayer like fashion and all the characters pull together to aid in Colin's restoration.

The 'magic' becomes a symbol or marker for nature, love and faith that is immediately obvious to mature readers, but innocuous for young children in the same way The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis does. The young characters in the novel reminded me of Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter and if you loved that, then you'll definitely enjoy this.

I love a good makeover, and in The Secret Garden we have three! Mary's transformation is the first to begin, then the garden is discovered before change is afoot to restore it to its earlier magnificence. Colin's recovery is the most radiant of makeovers, as he goes from being a spoiled, hysterical hypochondriac who thinks he's dying to a confident and enthusiastic young man, respectful of his elders and kind to all staff with the desire to carry out scientific experiments and live life to the fullest!

If you're a fan of up-lit (uplifting literature), feel good stories about nature as medicine and the power of friendship then The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett will enchant you.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

This was my first time reading Jane Austen and if it wasn't for the buddy read organised and hosted by Theresa Smith, who knows when I would have made time to read Pride and Prejudice. What I discovered was a slow-burn 'enemies to lovers' literary romance novel. The prose was intellectually stimulating, full of satire and sarcasm and I enjoyed the clever put downs like this one.

"Sir William Lucas, and his daughter Maria, a good humoured girl, but as empty-headed as himself, had nothing to say that could be worth hearing, and were listened to with about as much delight as the rattle of the chaise." Page 154

These provided amusing moments however the novel is also slow going. I found it contained all of the expected observations on the class system, inheritance, love, marriage, lack of female agency and the power and control men have over their wives and families. What I wasn't expecting were the realisations about family and how we can find ourselves embarrassed and even ashamed by the ones we love the most.

The highlight of this classic for me was the witty and cutting dialogue between the characters throughout the novel; sometimes in the form of letters. It was easy to admire the vocabulary and turns of phrase and wish for the ability to converse just like that.

Reading Pride and Prejudice 200 years after its publication in 1813 is bound to highlight just how much has changed in the intervening years but how people are essentially the same. Now, when a woman is feeling low about an interaction with someone, she might plug in her earphones, put on her favourite Spotify playlist and go for a run or a drive so she can stew on the situation and ruminate some more. It's the same for Elizabeth Bennet, as we see in this example.

"Reflection must be reserved for solitary hours; whenever she was alone, she gave way to it as the greatest relief; and not a day went by without a solitary walk, in which she might indulge in all the delight of unpleasant recollections." Page 214

I purchased a lovely faux leather Penguin Classics edition of Pride and Prejudice for this buddy read and while I greatly enjoyed participating in the discussions and the knowledge gained from finally reading this classic, ultimately it felt like homework with scattered reading rewards throughout and a sense of accomplishment at the end.

Carpe Librum!

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

When I started reading The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, I was full of expectation and excited at the prospect of participating in another buddy read.

Almost immediately I was drawn in by the stories within stories, the fairytale vibe, the evocative writing and incredible imagery. The secret society, underground libraries and corridors full of books and manuscripts as far as the eye could see reminded me of past favourites, including Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. For these reasons and more I was certain I was in for a real treat and possibly a new favourite.

"Do you believe in the mystical, the fantastical, the improbable, or the impossible? Do you believe that things others dismiss as dreams and imagination actually exist? Do you believe in fairy tales?" Page 440

Strictly speaking, fantasy is usually outside of my comfort zone, and there were several story elements that seemed to go nowhere. However I had complete confidence the author would bring the threads together by the end somehow in an astonishingly impressive and rewarding way for the dedicated reader.

"I’m here to sail the Starless Sea and breathe the haunted air." Pg 234

The descriptive writing propelled me through the layers of story and I continued to sail the starless sea with our characters as they opened doors, collected keys, read stories, got lost and then found themselves again. Unfortunately the shine started to wear off at around the midway point for me.

"But most of the memories are stories. Pieces of them. Blind wanderers and star-crossed lovers, grand adventures and hidden treasures. Mad kings and cryptic witches." Page 89

The disparate stories and threads did come together in the end, but in a way I found unbelievable, unrealistic and a little confusing. If the structure of the novel had been based a little more in reality with less fantasy elements, this might have remained a 5 star read for me. Unfortunately it went down a path I'm unskilled at following, regardless of how determined I was to keep pace.

"We are all stardust and stories." Page 373

So, how do I rate a book with extraordinary and evocative writing, a world I desperately wanted to know more about but an ending that didn't deliver? If I give 5 stars for the writing and 3 stars for the story and ending, I think a 4 star rating overall sounds fair.

I wasn't alone in my disappointment, with many of the buddy readers having just finished The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and finding this one lacking the same magic (pun intended). It's very possible I might enjoy The Night Circus more than this, so I've added it to my TBR.

Carpe Librum!

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier

Photo Credit: Carpe Librum

Nothing much happens in A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier, so why did I fall in love with it? It's not the first time this has happened either. Stoner by John Williams is the slow moving story of an ordinary man and it was such an exquisite portrait of his life that it instantly became an all-time favourite of mine.

Violet Speedwell is the protagonist in A Single Thread and in 1932 she is reeling following the painful loss of her brother and fiance in WWI. Violet decides to leave home and try to make it on her own in Winchester. Life is tough for surplus women and Violet does her best to get by and carve out a life of joy for herself.

While admiring the architecture of the local cathedral, she comes across the work of a group of broderers and decides she'd like to make a kneeler. It will be a permanent reminder of her life when she too is gone.

I've often shared Violet's thoughts that when I die, there will be no lasting evidence I was ever here. One of the reasons I love looking at architecture, paintings and needlework is that I can wonder about the hands that painstakingly created these precious objects from the past and imagine the lives their creators lived. I'm sure the desire to create something that might just outlive me was a small part of the reason I started stitching in the first place. Creating a tangible gift for a loved one with your own hands is something special and Violet wants to do this too.

This combination of historical fiction and stitching - along with the unexpected inclusion of bell ringing - was a sure sign I was going to enjoy this novel.

Adding to my reading experience was the fact I suggested this book for a monthly book club on GoodReads called A Stitcher's Book Club. A couple of us read A Single Thread at the same time and I'm sure this added to my overall reading enjoyment.

Containing themes of family, duty, responsibility, post-war culture, grief and expectations of women in society, A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier was a real feel good read and I heartily enjoyed it.

For more, check out my review of The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier and Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier.

Carpe Librum!

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

This month it was my pleasure to co-host a buddy read with my bookish friend Theresa Smith. A number of eager bibliophiles joined us and together we read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Theresa created a space for us to discuss the novel via an online event on her book club Facebook page which elevated the buddy read to a 5 star reading experience for me. I won't be giving the book 5 stars though.

Rebecca was published in 1938, therefore this review is going to unashamedly contain spoilers, so beware.

It's clear from the prologue that our narrator is in some form of exile, haunted by what happened at Manderley several years ago. The narrator is a young female protagonist, and we begin when she is the paid companion of Mrs Van Hopper, on holiday in Monte Carlo. There she meets recently widowed Maxim de Winter and they strike up a friendship.

The age difference between the couple is significant and when Maxim proposes marriage it catches our protagonist off guard. Faced with the alternative of accompanying her employer to New York and continuing her life as a paid companion, she accepts Maxim's proposal and becomes Mrs de Winter. After their honeymoon they return to Maxim's ancestral home, the infamous Manderley.

Mrs Danvers is the stern housekeeper at Manderley and resents the arrival of the new Mrs de Winter. Maxim's late wife Rebecca still very much overshadows Manderley and our protagonist cowers at her memory. It's true she is nothing like Rebecca, who was renowned for her beauty, her accomplishments and bigger than life attitude. There is an underlying feeling of unease and unrest during this part of the novel that I enjoyed very much. Mrs de Winter is almost haunted by Rebecca and can feel her presence everywhere. I enjoyed these gothic elements immensely.

Our protagonist is shy, reserved and extremely sentimental. She continually daydreams, imagining the past, present and future in long internal monologues available to the reader. She lacks confidence, suffers from low self esteem and is constantly comparing herself to Rebecca and coming up short.

Our protagonist learns Rebecca took her boat out one night and was never seen again. Maxim identified her body washed up on the shore months later, and which now rests in the family crypt. However when a boat runs aground, the remains of Rebecca's yacht are discovered, along with a body locked in the cabin.

The body is Rebecca's and consequently Maxim confesses to our protagonist that he never loved Rebecca. He tells his new wife Rebecca manipulated people into loving her, however she was a bitterly cruel woman, unfaithful and vindictive, living behind the facade of a dutiful wife. He confesses that he was goaded to kill her after Rebecca told him she carried another man's baby and was going to force Maxim to raise it as the heir to Manderley.

We expect our protagonist to be horrified and repulsed to find her husband murdered his first wife, but her only reaction is relief! Her only care is relief that her husband never loved Rebecca and loves her instead. Ugh! This was the last straw for me and any respect I had left for our protagonist evaporated.

An inquiry is held and Rebecca's death is ruled a suicide. Rebecca's cousin and the ever faithful Mrs Danvers appear to disagree and suspect Maxim to be responsible for her death. On their way back from London, Maxim and Mrs de Winter find Manderley in flames and the novels ends.

Given the slow pace of the rest of the novel, the ending seemed sudden and left me with plenty of unanswered questions. Who started the fire? Was it Mrs Danvers, the cousin or both of them? Why would Mrs Danvers want to destroy Manderley when she loved it so much? Was anyone injured in the fire? What of Frank and the other house servants we came to care about? Were charges laid? Why did Maxim leave Manderley and exile himself and his wife overseas when his name had been cleared?

It seemed to me our narrator escaped one relationship as a paid companion in favour of another as Maxim's companion. Their union was an odd one, and the age difference wasn't the only concern. It seemed Maxim wanted any kind of company and she just wanted to be loved. There was no evidence of any physical love or meeting of the minds going on here.

The writing is flawless, descriptive and evocative, however many of the readers in the buddy read found it heavy going, as I did. Here's a charming example from Chapter 2, I just loved the phrase 'healthy irritation'.

How I blessed those solid, flannelled figures, for in a few minutes his face had settled back into repose, the colour had returned, and he was deriding the Surrey bowling in healthy irritation.

The fact that we never learn our protagonist's name was clever but simultaneously irritating. I'm presuming our narrator remained nameless to indicate she doesn't have a strong sense of self/identity, however the narrative achieves this quite comfortably. She only acquires an identity when she becomes Mrs de Winter. Throughout the novel, I began to form the opinion that this was an attempt by the author to demonstrate her writing superiority in a 'look what I can do' kind of way. And in writing this review, I began to appreciate how difficult this must have been.

Having read Rebecca I can now understand why it is an enduring classic. There's the writing of course, but the fact that one of the main characters was a murderer without being a villain must have been quite a shock at the time. This would have been a major twist of sorts, and learning Rebecca's true nature would have been another unexpected revelation to readers.

Nowadays, there are plenty of examples of an anti-hero or likeable villain, (You by Caroline Kepnes and Hangman by Jack Heath are the first to spring to mind) and a tonne of unreliable narrators mean we're less likely to be shocked by this kind of revelation now.

Having had time to let my thoughts settle, I believe my enjoyment reading Rebecca stemmed from co-hosting and participating in the buddy read. The ability to swap thoughts and share reactions created a reading kinship that was so much fun. (You can read Theresa's thoughts on Rebecca here). I also enjoyed the satisfaction and joy that comes from reading a classic you've been meaning to get to for years.

When I separate out the reading experience, I actually found the novel to be a solid three star read for me. I didn't like the protagonist, I wasn't shocked when we learned Maxim killed Rebecca and the ending left me with unanswered questions.

Of course, I can see how Manderley (which I later learned was based on a real property) has inspired the creation of a host of family estates, gothic mansions and manor houses in fiction since publication in 1938 and I understand why Rebecca has never been out of print. It's a modern classic and I suspect this won't change.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Carpe Librum!

Review: The Unfinished Journals of Elizabeth D by Nichole Bernier

* From Publisher for review *

I was lucky enough to read The Unfinished Journals of Elizabeth D by Nichole Bernier as part of an Allen & Unwin read-along hosted over at 1 Girl 2 Many Books.

Essentially it's the story Kate, who is grieving the loss of her friend Elizabeth (of the title) who kept a journal throughout her life, which was cut short after a plane crash, leaving her husband a widower with young children.

In her will, Elizabeth leaves her journals to Kate, mentioning that she will have the sensitivity to decide what to do with them.

I found the novel confronting in the beginning. As Kate was reflecting and processing her friend's passing, it was hard not to draw parallel comparisons to your own life and consequently forcing me as the reader to consider my own mortality. For this reason I found myself feeling rather depressed at times and reluctant to pick up the book.

What I did enjoy - whilst trying to bat aside that heavy feeling - was the sense or theme of identity Kate was battling or searching for within herself and only just discovering about her friend by reading Elizabeth's journals.

Two marriages are also observed between the pages of the novel and the pages of Elizabeth's journals, that sparked much discussion during the read-along. I enjoyed the fact that the two main female characters (Elizabeth & Kate) and their respective husbands weren't perfect, nor were they ever completely or fully characterised or revealed in the book. The author didn't spoon feed the reader every little tidbit and then tie a bow on it.

The reader was not given every journal entry we may have wished to have read (bummer) and although the 'big' answer to the mystery was provided at the end, subtle consequences and outcomes were left open. I appreciated this as it's more realistic and in keeping with life, although some readers prefer to have their novels delivered on a silver platter with every little thread tied up at the end. What type of reader are you? I loathe a completely ambiguous ending! 

I've also got to comment on the cover, I absolutely adored it!  It's not entirely a soft cover or hard cover but somewhere in between. The cover protrudes over the pages a little to protect them, and it's just a gorgeous and beautiful book to hold in your hands.

Since reading The Unfinished Journals of Elizabeth D, I have purchased a fountain pen in readiness to begin a travel journal. Was I influenced by Elizabeth or would I have done the same anyway? Who's to know... All in all, a good read.

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!