Howards End

First of all let me get this straight; I'm not exactly into classics. I mean they're ok and I enjoy them enough to make myself read at least one a year during the summer but they aren't my cup of tea.

Howards End is the house of Mrs Wilcox. The house, although vital to the book, is not used that often. And the book is based around three families; the Schlegle's, the Wilcox's (a rich capitalist family) and the Bast's (lower middle class). It is based around the Schlegle sisters, Margret and Helen who throughout the novel attempt to make the Wilcox's less prejudiced and to help the Bast's. So it comes as no surprised that they are portrayed very positively.

The novel reminds me of Lady Chatterley's Lover in style (I'm a third of the way through that at the moment). The ideas presented about gender and class also seem to be very similar, it wasn't surprising to find out that the author of Howards End defended Lady Chatterley.

I think that overall I would give it 3 stars. For such a great literary book that feels mean but then again there are parts that Forster could have really milked. At the end, something happens, which could have been incredibly exciting and perhaps even scandalous  Yet in comparison to the rest of the book it is incredibly rushed and makes me think that by the end Forster had given up on it. I just think that Forster could have really done something with it, made the book that one chapter longer, maybe not even. It would have made it better considering that exciting bit is so badly done and the characters have very little reaction to it which detracts from how believable they are in the novel and before that Forster had built it up really well.

So 3 stars I think, I'd be tempted by 2 but even I cannot be that harsh to what is undoubtedly a great piece of literature.

Hello

Hi, I'm Anne and it occurred to me I should probably say hi and introduce myself before I carry on with the reviews- I get carried away a bit. I'm sorry.

So a bit about me, I like to read. Sorry, understatement; I love to read. I've recently moved from England to France and I was actually having problems at my school library with running out of things to read that interest me. (I'm going to add that it was an amazing school library). Now I've started on my new school library with Bridget Jones's Diary being the first thing I read there.

I'm afraid you're going to have to please give me some time to sort everything out, as it says on the introduction bit on the sidebar I am hopeless with technology and it's going to take a while for me to get used to it all. I spent forever last night trying to find the settings and in the end I had to print screen for my friend to help me. And this is supposed to be the modern generation of technology.

Please do follow while I get everything set up, or come back again when things are less on their head.

Thanks for coming and taking time to read this. Have a good day.

Anne xx

Bridget Jones's Diary

Now I'm one of those incredibly difficult and annoying people that is very picky when it comes to so called funny books and not much will have me laughing out loud. Bridget Jones's Diary was one of those few.

“Resolution number one: Obviously will lose twenty pounds. Number two: Always put last night's panties in the laundry basket. Equally important, will find sensible boyfriend to go out with and not continue to form romantic attachments to any of the following: alcoholics, workaholics, commitment phobic's, peeping toms, megalomaniacs,  emotional fuckwits or perverts. And especially will not fantasize about a particular person who embodies all these things”

The novel is about a 30 something year old, singleton who lives in  London. The diary tells us about her year including her relationship with a certain Daniel Cleaver and her nonexistent skirt. Like any woman she has problems with her weigh, self image as well as her indulgence in cigarettes and alcohol. Her friends and family play an important part
in her life throughout the diary with her mother constantly trying to set her up to marry rich handsome men. Her friends are like her surrogate family in London and are always quick to meet up when life seems hard and eating the entire content of ones fridge seems inevitable.

It's a seriously laugh out loud book, although I wouldn't read it when you're supposed to be working; the loud bursts of laughter might be a bit of a give away! Another 5 stars I think; such a good book.

The Bell Jar- Plath

I think I genuinely scared my school librarian the day I asked her for a sad read and when she suggested the Bell Jar I told her that I wanted something sadder. In my defense it looked like a pretty innocuous book and there was no reference on the blurb to anything sad happening, at least in that edition there wasn't  It was only a few months later when, in the end, I came to reading it.
By the time I finished the book I understood why I had been threatened with pastoral care being gotten involved when I had asked for something worse. As a semi-autobiographical novel of Plath’s it was never going to be the most cheery read.

The Bell Jar is a story of a young girl, Esther, who has a breakdown. That's the short version. But you also hear about the lead up. It sounds like it is a depressing and sad read and, yes, I think that I would agree there but then again it also has some moments of light heartedness. Hearing about Doreen and 'Pollyanna', Esther's friends is definitely a good bit and Doreen is definitely a strong, amazing almost character. The type to do all the things you shouldn't and it really gives the book another dimension having such colorful friends.
Esther is such a strong character despite everything and to me that is so important. I know that sounds strange, especially as its about a breakdown to describe her as strong but I would say she is. Esther knows her mind yet she doesn't; she is like so many people who don't know what they want or how to achieve it and it freaks them out. And she changes and I love it. It is so boring in a book where the characters don't change or go anywhere and she does, she changes so so much and yet you can always believe that she is the same person.
It’s not just what happens in the book that makes it so good though, in a way it is the writing style that either brings it to life, yet I think that it’s a writing style that you are either going to love or hate. Because the book is semi-autobiographical the style again reminds me of an autobiography yet a hundred times better because it has that added detail and perhaps a sense of freedom; after all it was published under a pseudonym and as a novel so Plath could say what she wanted without feeling bad, but then again maybe it's just me.
I know that I haven't actually said much about what happens, but I don't want to give anything away and it's so hard not to especially with the famous life or should I say death of Sylvia Plath. All I'm going to say is I found the ending particularly poignant and ironic in a sad way given Plath's suicide some years later.

Read it, it's an amazing book and I love it, even if you aren't into that type of thing I'd say it's a form of classic and one of those books you have to read before you get much older. Dare I say 5 stars?