The Inheritance

This is a fun little novel by Louisa May Alcott. It's her first novel and was never published during her lifetime. It was a quick, fun read and didn't really raise any though provoking issues. Which is kind of nice sometimes.

Cat's Eye

This book made me think about two different things. Margaret Atwood is a master at telling stories simultaneously in the past and the present. Her books weave an event in the main character's present with the story of their life in the past. Her ability to do this has always made me wonder, when it comes time for the "critical" event in my life, what things from my past am I going to remember? What events have had the most influence on me? Obviously there's no way that I can remember everything about my life, so what events am I going to remember when I'm in my thirties, in my forties, etc? I guess that's why the Church is so adament about writing in journals and writing a personal history. Journaling is something I've always tried to be good at, but sometimes I wonder if I'm recording the right things. The important events usually get into my journal, but one day am I going to look back and wish I had recorded more of the mundane things? I just don't have the time though. If I had a couple hours to write in my journal every day I probably could record everything that I want to, but as it stands, I just don't have that kind of time.

The other thing this book really made me think about is past relationships. During the story Elaine (the main character) sleeps with her ex-husband. She's been happily re-married to someone else for several years, but she doesn't feel guilty about cheating on her husband. She says that she's not being unloyal to him, she's just being loyal to something that came before him. That really struck a chord with me, because it's something that I've really been trying to figure out lately. At what point can you be friends with an ex and really enjoy their company without reverting back to romantic tendencies.

My ex-boyfriend and I have started talking a lot lately, and I haven't quite decided how I feel about it. Sure I love talking to him, but whenever we start talking again I start to like him again. Our friendship since the break-up has been pretty on/off. We'll be friends for awhile, I'll start to like him, and then I'll tell him that I need some time. I don't really know how he feels about it... I don't really know how I'd feel if someone said something like that to me. In high school when this happened I'd just start a fight that the guy couldn't win so that I could hate him until I quit liking him. I figure that being honest is probably a lot more emotionally healthy for both of us, but I wonder how he feels about it.

Oryx and Crake

I think I stand in fairly good company when I say that I have a strange fascination with dystopian novels. 1984, Brave New World, The Handmaid's Tale... nothing could've prepared me for this one. Oryx and Crake is by Margaret Atwood, the same person who wrote The Handmaid's Tale, so it's interesting to see such a completely different view of what life could be like in the future. Although I guess this isn't really a dystopian novel. It's more of an anihilism of mankind followed immediately by an attempt to return to Eden and start over.

I was completely caught up in the story from page 1. Margaret Atwood is a very good story teller and loves to start out in the middle of the story and then give you just enough details about the past so that you understand then present. Unlike The Handmaid's Tale which tells about what society would be like if religious fanatics took over, Oryx and Crake tells the story of what would happen if science took over. What if we suddenly started achieving everything we were working for?

The scariest realization for me was when Crake tells Snowman (who's real name is Jimmy) that the drug companies are making the viruses that are killing so many people... and then when people are starting to get scared of an epedimic they release the vaccine which they created at the same time as the virus. What would happen if we suddenly did cure HIV/AIDS and cancer? What if we did cure the common cold and the flu? What if we had vaccines for everything that is currently plaguing the world? I don't think the drug companies would be okay with that. Unlike The Handmaid's Tale which I can think of as much more of a fantasy, Oryx and Crake hits home in a scary way. The world is a lot more likely to turn into one big science fair competition than a religious battle.

I think one of my favorite quotes from the book talks about how all war and violence and social disturbance is actually just caused by sexual frustration. No one can ever be happy sexually either because they're deprived, they're over indulging, or they're worried about their partner leaving them. Everyone wants to be younger not because they're afraid of dying, but because they're looking for that edge that will get them more sex.

So what is the solution? In this novel the solution is to create a new species which is based on homo sapiens but that is wired differently. They don't understand jealousy or hate, the women have a time when they're "in heat" (they're bottoms and abdomens turn blue to signal to men that they can mate) so that there is no sexual frustration. There are no families because no one knows who the father is (4 men have sex with one woman until her body signals that she's pregnant) so there is no inheritance. They don't need to farm or hunt because they just live off of grass and leaves and a berry or two. Basically, is a human mind with animal instincts. They are back in the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. These people walk around naked and are not ashamed of their nakedness because they don't know what clothing is or to be ashamed of their body.

I definitely don't agree with how the novel progresses, but Atwood brings up some points that are very well made. 1) If it sounds too good to be true it probably is. A world without disease cannot exist economically. 2) Don't put all your trust in the arm of the flesh. Don't worry about aging so much. 3) MONOGOMY! Don't lust after everyone in sight. Develop relationships with other people that are based on more than sex and that don't involve sex at all. I know it seems hard, but reach out to that cute guy/girl that you meet and only develop frienship with them... don't even think about dating them, kissing them, or having sex with them. Maybe we can avoid what she sees as the future.

Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

After 2 weeks of slogging through Vanity Fair it's nice to be able to have a quick read again. Reading these two books made me realize something though... Disney has severly changed this children's classic. It's one thing to know that they slightly changed the story of Pocahontas to make it more child friendly, but they COMPLETELY changed the story of Alice in Wonderland so that they could make it into one movie.

Despite my shock and horror as I realized that Disney had totally altered this children's classic I loved theset two books. In the preface it says that Alice in Wonderland marks a turning point in children'd literature because it's the first children's book that is written purely for entertainment purposes and not for any instructional purpose. I could feel that as I read it. I tried hard to make parallels between what I was reading and real like, and I just couldn't. I'm sure if I tried hard enough I could, but come on... it's summer... why would I do that?

So the moral of the story... make your children READ books before you let them watch the movie. Read the book for yourself before you watch the movie. And since ratings are starting to mean less and less... watch the movie yourself before you let your children watch it.

Vanity Fair

Where do I even begin? This book is 804 pages and narrates the lives of 2 women over a span of 15 years. It is HUGE!! It is not for the lighthearted because it is a very hard book to stay focused on. However, all that being said... I liked the book. I didn't love it, but I did like it.

I think the thing I noticed the most while reading ths book is how much I tend to identify with the main characters. Now Becky Sharpe is definitely not a respectable person by any means. She will sell anyone out just for a chance at their money or to raise her own social standing. I unfortunately found myself somewhat scheming about how best to meet the boys who would take me to the "ideal" position in society--at least in my view. I wouldn't say that I was anywhere near her level though. She would tear any marriage apart to advance her own standing in the world... I just reconnected with friends who I hadn't talked to in awhile.

Another thing I noticed was the play on values in this book. Amelia is set up to be the perfect woman... she is demure, well-bred, and she ends up marrying a man who is tremendously wealthy and loves her to death. Becky on the other hand has a hard life, she is always plotting and scheming how to get ahead only to be found out and cast from that society. No one ever knows how she feels about something because she will tell people very different things so she can achieve her desired ends. However... there is one thing that Becky has over Amelia--she can survive in any situation. Although they are both fairly destitute, Becky knows how to take advantage of a situation so that it works out in her best interest. While Amelia is half starving and selling everything she has (since she has no useful skills to employ herself with), Becky is taking the same amount of money and living in a grand house and has fine gown, and is even presented at Court. At the end of the story Amelia gets the amazing huband, the country house, and the genteel lifestyle, but unlike the Jane Austen story which would leave Becky destitute or in an unhappy marriage, Becky continues to live the life she wants. She fashions herself a Lady and lives in Europe with a footman and doing works of charity for the church as any other proper Lady would do.

So what is the moral of the story? Sometimes bad people thrive, but that doesn't mean that they win or that they're happy. Amelia has a clear consciounce and doesn't have to worry about making amends for anything, while Becky is always running from her past.