Pride and Prejudice

"The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of either merit or sense."

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, 1813

first words

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

the premise

Two young people of England's early 19th century landed gentry must overcome their own pride, false first impressions, and scandal to secure true love in a society driven by materialism and superficiality.

my thoughts

How my soul thrilled to this love story when I was a teenager!  I read it multiple times, once I finally got into the language of the period.  But then life got busy, and it sat on my bookshelf gathering dust.  So imagine my delight when I found I could still thrill to it as an adult, that there were whole passages I wanted to read over and over again, savoring them.  What's more, I could appreciate Austen's keen sense of humor and wry observation of human nature in a way I certainly wasn't able to as a teenager.  When I opened this book for the first time in more than a decade, I did not expect to be laughing out loud quite so often.  I didn't expect Mr. Bennett to emerge as my favorite character. 

And I found it a little astonishing that an entire class of people could have as their chief occupation in life visiting each other for weeks on end, reading, going for walks, attending balls and generally entertaining themselves.  Of course this wasn't so astonishing to my teenage self, since that was my main occupation as well.  But the adult me must confess to envying the Bennetts, Bingleys and Darcys their servants.  Oh to simply decide in the morning what's for dinner and have it show up on the well-appointed table at the appointed hour without lifting a finger! 

others' thoughts

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Re-reading

I've been on a re-reading kick lately.  Of course, from the few reviews I've managed to post on this blog it may be easy to assume that I usually re-read books, since two of the four are re-reads.  But it's actually something a rarely do.  Until lately.  I've discovered a certain adventure in reading over again a book I haven't read for ten years--it gives me a chance to meet myself as I used to be, to remember how a book affected me then and mark how I've changed by the way it affects me now.  Sometimes the experiences ends in disillusionment with a once-beloved book.  Sometimes I fall more deeply in love.

The next handful of reviews are all books I read ten or fifteen years ago, during my adolescence and early young adult years, and that I hadn't picked up since.  I'm behind, so the reviews will be brief (I'm always trying to convince myself that I can do "brief").  I hope you enjoy them.

What are some of your favorite books that have stood the test of time, that have grown with you?  Are there books you regularly re-read?  Any books that have been ruined for you by treading over words that should have remained in the sanctum of youthful memories?

Catcher in the Rye

"...I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around--nobody big, I mean--except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff--I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy."

Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

originally published July 1951 by Little, Brown

distinctions

national book award finalist, fiction, 1952
new york times bestseller, fiction, 1951
multiple "top 100" lists, including "most frequently challenged"

first words

"If you really want to hear all about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into, if you want to know the truth."

the premise

Holden Caulfield leaves his troubled academic career at a prestigious prep school and wanders around New York City for several days, trying to come to terms with losses in his life.

my thoughts

When I read this book in high school, I loved it.  I loved how real Holden was, and how perceptively he saw through the "phoniness" around him, how he recoiled from it and sought to protect the innocent.  So when my online book group chose it for our February read (yes, I'm more than a little behind here...), I was excited for an excuse to revisit this novel.

In some ways, I was disappointed.  Holden was every bit as real, but from my adult perspective, he was essentially a pathetic, emotionally disturbed kid, more to be pitied than admired.  I had to take his story in small doses because the tone and torrent of his narration was oppressive.  Of course, this is a mark of the genius of the author: Salinger has created a character whose narration has a visceral affect on the reader, a character whose voice is authentic beyond reproach.

Along with my changed perspective of Holden came an unexpected insight: I saw, as I hadn't seen in high school, that this novel isn't so much a diatribe against phoniness as it is a psychological grapple with profound loss, including the loss of innocence that growing up requires.  I also realized that, in a poignant way, this novel is essentially about family.

While I can't list Catcher in the Rye among my favorites, and I probably won't read it a third time, I am thoroughly impressed by the skill of the author, the way he creates such a real narrator, the way that narrator slowly but inevitably descends deeper into mental illness.  Perhaps for me the crowning achievement lies in the images Salinger pulls out at just the right moment, images that strike to the quick and linger in the mind, growing in import as the story progresses.

others' thoughts

Book Nut
The Book Nest
The Golden Road to Samarqand

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