"There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away." (Emily Dickinson)
Share your thoughts; any and all are welcome.
Don't know what to say? Here are some ideas:
What made you laugh/cry/think
Lines you loved/hated/didn't understand
Characters or scenes you identified with
Something you disagreed with/embraced
Just one request: When you reference something in the book, please let us know where it is so we can all read along. Include the chapter number, page number, and the paragraph number. Like this: (C3, P245, G3).
Happy Reading!
BREATHING LESSONS by Anne Tyler
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD by Richard Yates
The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
The Ten Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer
Death in the Garden by Elizabeth Ironside
A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis
Daisy Miller by Henry James
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen
6 Robert Frost Poems (3 Group Assigned & You Pick 3)
War as I Knew It by George S. Patton Jr.
Secret Lives of First Ladies by Cormac O'Brian
2 comments:
I just finished Part 1 of Revolutionary Road. When it comes to affairs, why does it always seem like the other person realizes and tries to compensate too late? Maybe this is the essence of "agnorisis" (a greek drama concept when knowledge comes to late leading to tragedy). April's realization of making life "better" for her husband comes after his affair with Maureen.
I was bothered and saddened by the whole way the affair with Maureen developed... it gives an insider view of how his premeditated act was accomplished. And I think the reason why it bothers me so much is because this is so prevalent in our society.
A part that made me angry was toward the end of Part 1, when April is proposing the England plan. She is so quick to selflessly give Frank his seven years to "find himself." However, she does admit that "she is not being sweet! I'm not making any big altruistic sacrifice." I think this may be a bit of foreshadowing in that April is discontent with her "homemaker" lifestyle.
A part I found moving is how April can pinpoint the precise moment everything started falling apart: "It was back on Bethune Street ... when I first got pregnant with Jennifer and told you I was going to-- you know abort it, abort her. ... If only you'd given me what I deserved ... That's how we both got committed to this enormous, obscene delusion-- this idea that people have to resign from real life and 'settle down' when they have families. It's the great sentimental lie of the suburbs." They have alluded to their lifestyle before and not wanting to be like the Campbells, etc. However, if Frank's "essence" is being stifled in the suburbs, I don't see how moving to England is going to make it any better. They will still have family responsibilties.
A line that I enjoyed is in the same conversation. April says: "Don't you know? You're the most valuable and wonderful thing in the world. You're a man." To that his pride is restored and he realizes his vulnerability because of the tender and strong woman next to him. I think this passage shows the effects that respect and pride can do to a man. Frank now feels as though he can take on the world... and I think this is exactly what April wanted from him. To do enough to be able to change their world.
So far, the book is a bit depressing and it sits on my heart as a story true of many people. Therefore it is hard to view it as fiction, per se. I sense the reality of it and knowing that the movie is out, I hope it awakens marriages before they become so "stifled."
*Note: I am reading on my Kindle, so I am not able to give page number references... I hope I prefaced my quotes enough so that you can find their general area.
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