Before I can get down to the nitty gritty of the book list, which some of my friends think does not look like much fun, I had to finish the book I was reading. A dear friend of mine recommended a series by Laurie R. King that starts with The Beekeeper's Apprentice. This series is about Sherlock Holmes in his "retirement" years when he actually is stumbled upon by a young girl named Mary Russell. Holmes begins training Russell, who is brilliant, and she becomes his assistant. I am several novels into the series now having just finished The Game. It was a good read, but ended abruptly. Not a smooth move, Laurie. What King did well in this book was show a strong woman, smart woman without making her witchy. Good role model for girls. I, like my friend Susan, have recommended this series to a lot of people. My daughter, for instance, just finished reading Beekeeper and really liked it.
About midnight-thirty last night, I woke up with a horrible case of indigestion. After a couple of tums, I settled into my chair and started THE LIST. The first selectio is The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy, which has a great story line. Hardy describes his characters in vivid detail; however, I will always see Ciaran Hinds as Michael Henchard from the BBC production, which I have seen a couple of times. The basic story line is that a young man, in a drunken stupor, auctions off his wife and small daughter and then lives to regret it. Just when you think you can predict Hardy, he takes a left turn and messes with your head. Obviously, the book is going to be better than the movie, because Hardy allows you into the minds of his characters whereas in the movie, you have to use their facial expressions and body language to figure out their thought process. Depending on the strength or weakness of the actor, you can lose a lot. At any rate, by the time Henchard awakens from his binge, he realizes the magnitude of his actions. Hardy also allows the reader to see the thought processes of Henchard's wife, Susan, who has been sold. Knowing the opportunities for a woman with a small child in rural England, Hardy makes Susan incredibly vulnerable when she walks out with the sailor who has purchased her. The book was published in 1886, and slavery had been abolished in England around the 1830's. The sale of a white woman and her female child in the 1880's would have been scandalous, but I believe that Hardy is making some statements about a woman's lot in society at this time. He did the same thing in Far from the Madding Crowd when he placed a woman in charge of a large sheep farm and made her the most economically important person in a small village. However, I am far from convinced that The Mayor of Casterbridge is a feminist statement - it has so much more to say than that. More thoughts later. I'm only on chapter 3.
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