Selected Stories

Oh. My. God. This was the densest book I think I've ever read, apart from his other book that I read, A Portrait Of A Lady. There is literally nothing else I can say about it, apart from the fact that it's almost impenetrable. And is quite well-written, but mainly just dense.

The man, the myth, the legend

OK, I admit it, the writing and storytelling is great, but I really did find it very difficult to get into, as there were large chunks of text three pages long, full of flowery language, the meaning of which is scanty and slightly pointless, and don't really need to be included. The actual stories are very basic, and more about the emotions of the characters rather than the actual exciting happenings of the story, and in that way they're made more dense. James takes the stance that emotions are very complex and so should be expressed so. Lordy Lord, does he ever.

Overall, this was a good book. Can't say much more about it really, but if you don't like dense and impenetrable literature, avoid this with a ten-foot barge pole. Next I'll be reading The Longest Journey, by E.M. Forster, so look out for more!

By The Pricking Of My Thumbs

This was a typical Christie, as far as murder mysteries go, but the detectives were the slightly lesser known Tommy and Tuppence (real name Prudence) Beresford. Although it was good, it lacked something that the Poirots and Marples all have. The story and twist were fantastic, but there was something wrong with the the actual plot, which was good, but not quite right in some way.

Right, so, to start off with the story, the setup of the mystery was very good. It all starts out with a visit to an old people's home to visit Tommy's aunt, where Tuppence meets a Mrs Lancaster, who makes a very odd comment: "Was it your poor child?" However, a couple of months afterwards, when the old people's home re-enters the Beresfords' lives, Mrs Lancaster has mysteriously disappeared, leaving no traceable address and relation. Tuppence, who is curious by nature, decides to go looking for Mrs Lancaster, but there are no leads to go on apart from a small picture of a house that Tuppence is sure she's seen before. So far, so good.

The twist, I definitely can't reveal, it's just too good! If you lot, like me, are nosy in the extreme and just can't wait to find out the end, you'll just have to read the book, because there's no WAY I'm giving this one away! 

The "something wrong" with this book is that there are two very obvious plot lines that, it's so obvious to see, will most definitely come together in some way or another. The first plot line is the one about the disappearance of Mrs Lancaster and Tuppence's quest to find her, but the second, fronted more by Tommy, is about the criminal activity of a Mr Eccles, a very legitimate solicitor, who always seems to be conveniently out of the way whenever any major criminal act, like a bank robbery, occurs. It isn't very clear how these two stories will connect up, but you're sure, from the very mention of the second story, that they will, somehow. From the offset, this doesn't seem quite right, and some of the particulars of the Mrs Lancaster story (which I couldn't possibly reveal) don't ring very clear or well, which is somewhat annoying in an Agatha Christie, as you expect it to be seamless in every way.

Anyway, apart from the irritating plot flaws, this was very, very good indeed! I'll be attempting to finish off the Henry James Selected Stories next, so keep your eyes peeled!

Little Dorrit

This. Is. Incredible. I genuinely loved every minute of it! I started it on holiday and although it isn't your typical holiday read, it was lovely to read it when I was in Italy, seeing as some of the story is set around where we were staying. All very exciting stuff...

Perhaps not Dickens's most comprehensible of works at some points, it is partly autobiographical; Dickens's father spent some years in the Marshalsea prison, and Dickens, at a very young age, had to start working in order to get money together to get him out. This clearly had a rather significant effect on Dickens, as he is very clear on the effect that the Marshalsea has on William Dorrit - it eventually drives him mad. There are constant references to the "shadow of the Marshalsea walls" that affects everything from the weather to the moods of the inmates.

I utterly adored Little Dorrit, or to call her by her proper name, Amy. Being the Child of the Marshalsea obviously means that she has strong connections with it, and so it is ever present in her personality and is at the forefront of her thoughts and actions. She is eternally sweet and unassuming, particularly towards her father, who she dotes on and who is very disapproving of her behaviour towards him in their new-found fortune. His pride and utter awareness of their new social standing makes him slightly repellant towards her. Such treatment of her makes him the most disgusting character in the book, maybe excepting his elder daughter Fanny. At one particularly poignant point during the story, William Dorrit is having a crisis and is reduced to tears over it. Amy, who consistently thinks of him, tries to comfort him, even though she herself is in emotional turmoil, and he takes no notice of her troubles and urges her to fix his problems. At that point, every nerve in my body was strained against William. Anyone who could mistreat dear Amy must be pure evil...

Apart from the Dorrit storyline, there is also a sub-storyline about Arthur Clennam and his prospects, and his mother's business dealings with a shady wrongdoer named Rigaud (or Lagnier, or Blandois) which adds colour and a darker feel to the slightly sugary and pity-mongering story of the Dorrits. The overall product is just fantastic; it makes for a bloody good read (yes, it's true, Dickens really could write a page-turner!) and I really would recommend it looking to read a book that appears to be intellectual, but is actually little more than an extended written soap opera...! Next I'll be reading By The Pricking Of My Thumbs, by Agatha Christie, so look out for the next post!