Alana Estelle

I almost added a Classics minor to my double majors in History and Sociology, until I realized that I’d have to learn both Latin and Ancient Greek. My course load wouldn’t allow it. However, that didn’t stop me from taking the equivalent of a full semester’s worth total in Ancient Greek and Roman civilization and warfare. 

I miss this classical material, until I thought, “What’s stopping me from diving back in?” So, I’m diving back in. I’ll revisit the obvious texts first: The Iliad and The Odyssey by, Homer before venturing to Ovid’s Metamorphoses. From there I think I’ll revisit the Greek playwrights Sophocles (Antigone is my favorite play), Euripides and Aeschylus. And one can’t discuss the Ancient Greeks without Plato, Plutarch, Aristotle and Socrates; there is a bounty of classical material. 

There is no “end date” for this self-project; I plan to take my time and just keep reading through as much classical literature as I can for probably the rest of my life. As I red through these texts, I also plan to refresh my memory on the common themes and literary devises common in ancient Greek and Roman text, the mythology (which is always fascinating), as well as looking up the Latin and Ancient Greek for words/phrases as needed. You can see in the photo that I have the Loeb Classical Library editions of The Iliad and The Odyssey with have the Ancient Greek parallel to the English translation. I’ll most likely use these editions as reading companions to the Penguin Classics editions. 

Do you have a literary project you’d like tackle? Also, if you have a favorite Ancient Greek or Roman text, please let me know; I’d love to add it to my list!

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What a unique piece of literature! I can see why it has such a following. Set in Vermont at a prestigious, fictional university, Hampden College, the reader becomes engrossed in this microcosm of 6 students, Ancient Greece and Rome, and a murder. 

TSH begins by telling the reader that 1 of the 6 main characters was murdered. What the reader is on the path to discover is “Why.” Tartt expertly gives the reader so many clues, some rather blatant, that it actually seems subtle; she’s hiding the truth in plain sight. This novel is packed with so much symbolism and imagery that it’s impossible to catch everything. 

“..a web of symbol, coincidence, premonition, omen. Everything, somehow, fit together; some sly and benevolent Providence was revealing itself by degrees and I felt myself trembling on the brink of a fabulous discovery, as though any morning it as all going to come together - my future, my past, the whole of my life - and I was going to sit up in bed like a thunderbolt and say oh! oh!”

If you have a background in ancient classical literature, you’ll really appreciate this novel; it’s packed with so many references to Ancient Greek and Roman texts, with the characters throwing in a bit of Latin, amongst their conversations. Is it a bit pretentious? Yes, but that’s the point. One gets the impression of reading a modern Greek tragedy, comedy and satire all in one. 

TSH can be read purely for entertainment, or one could take their time and analyze it for eternity. There is so much to pick apart; everything has meaning, every dog, reference to playing cards, crows, the weather etc. It’s almost as if the characters themselves are in a play, representing caricatures of Ancient Greek characters, at the mercy of the writer’s whims. There’s a heavy “backstage vs. onstage” theme. 

“Five minutes before Julian arrived, they might be slouched in the living room - curtains drawn, dinner simmering on the chafing dishes in the kitchen, everyone tugging at collars and dull-eyed with fatigue - but the instant the doorbell rang their spines would straighten, conversation would snap to life, the very wrinkles would fall from their clothes.”

TSH is making my miss the classes I took in Uni studying Ancient Greece and Rome and it’s whet my appetite for revisiting those texts and read others I didn’t get the chance to read. Tartt takes her time building the narrative and the atmosphere. It takes true skill to keep there reader eager for the next page, when she basically spoiled the major plot point within the first sentence. There is so much I can say about the first half of TSH alone, that there just isn’t enough space to do that. Hopefully I can get into more of the elements of the story in my final review; it’s just so rich and dense with clues that I’ve only scratched the surface. Highly enjoyable read thus far. 

“…he thought he could feel the blood flowing invisibly through the tiny veins and arteries, throbbing delicately and precariously from his fingertips through his body.”

Stoner by, John Williams has claimed one of the covetous slots as one of my favorite novels. Reading this story is like drifting in and out of dream; Stoner’s introverted and sad life is evocative and relatable, yet elusive. Williams’ prose is ethereal; direct and descriptive, but somehow languid. 

This is a novel about loneliness, introversion, depression, existentialism, and hope deferred. We’ve all experienced having a dream and then that hard, sinking feeling when life doesn’t measure up to our expectations.

“He had dreamed of a kind of integrity, of a purity that was entire; he had found compromise and the assaulting diversion of triviality. He had conceived wisdom, and at the end of the long years he had found ignorance. And what else? he thought. What else? What did you expect? he asked himself.”

This is a novel about how one becomes jaded, as life progresses; it’s inevitable. The more life one experiences, the more one has to face the grotesque. 

I cannot rave about Stoner enough and I can’t stop thinking about it. This is a novel about the average life; the seemingly unexceptional life that doesn’t leave a mark on the world, once it leaves. However, these nondescript souls are important; they tell the tale of the common threads of life we can all relate to: love, grief, death, hope, and feeling insignificant in a world that is out of our control. Stoner exemplifies the human condition.  This is a novel that should be read and then re-read through one’s life. It ages like fine wine. 

Rating: 5/5. 

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I now have three of the six novels that Vintage published in this new collection. I will inevitably obtain the other 3, but I’m not pressed right now. I’ll be starting with The Sea, The Sea this year, which won the Man Booker Prize in 1978. I’ve heard that The Sea, The Sea is a challenging read; complicated, a bit stream-of-conscious, dense and elusive. I love a good challenge and I’m excited to read an author that’s new to me. 

Have you read any of Iris Murdoch’s novels?

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I first read Stoner by, John Williams exactly seven years ago. I remember liking it then, but at the time I just kind of coasted through it without being blown away. I’m halfway through and I have to say that this novel is a force to behold. 

Stoner is a story about William Stoner, a man who forgoes being a farmer to pursue academia at the University of Missouri. He’s not a remarkable man; he’s ordinary, quiet and unassuming. Williams weaves together the story of Stoner’s life in a way that showcases how the mundane is important. 

 This is an existential novel; Stoner is on a path of self-discovery and his life as a student and then professor of literature is what defines him. However, Stoner’s existential crisis is that his internal brilliance does not fully manifest outwardly; he’s constantly experiencing a discord between himself and the world around him. Many times, he cannot get his physical body to respond to his mind. 

“…he heard his own flat voice reciting the materials he had prepared, and nothing of his own excitement came through that recitation.” 

I constantly feel Stoner’s loneliness and inability to truly connect with the people and the world around him. His marriage is a failure (Edith is infuriating), his relationship with his parents is shallow and even at the university, Stoner always seems to be looking in from the outside. 

Williams frequently alludes that Stoner’s shoulders continue to stoop, though he’s is not an old man. I love this image; it harkens back to Stoner’s existential crisis and how his physical and mental selves are not on one accord, just like how he can’t seem to fully connect with the world around him. 

William’s writing is stunning; simple yet evocative, with beautiful descriptions. The only way I can really describe what it’s like to his prose is to say that it’s like moving in slow motion; time seems to stand still and I get lost in Stoner’s world of introversion, academia and loneliness. I feel as if I can’t decipher Stoner from the physical world around me; I’m so engrossed in his reality and when I put the book aside, I realize that life has somehow occurred around me. Gorgeous. 

Stoner is already on the path to being one of my top reads of the year and it may be squeezing itself into my “Top Novels” list. 

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“…so that he saw her, touched the hem of her garment, was enough. Surely, in time, such deep love would beget love.” 

When I decided to read Mary Barton by, Elizabeth Gaskell, I expected to like it, however I did not expect to like it more than I like North & South. Mary Barton is a faster paced novel, especially in the second half, and is much more cinematic - there’s a wild chase and a murder trial that kept me turning the pages! Gaskell took a love triangle and the grievances of the working class and turned them into a novel rich with humor, sadness, socio-economic issues and intrigue. The characters are lively and distinct and we get a sense of Manchester and Liverpool in the mid-1800s. 

Gaskell highlights the plights of the poor; who are disgruntled and angry that the rich factory owners live in luxury, while their workers can barely afford to eat. However, hardship and grief are no respecter of persons; in fact it is the great equalizer of men. 

“Rich and poor, masters and men, were then brothers in the deep suffering of the heart…”

Gaskell also uses the subject of grief to show how life’s hardships impact one’s faith. How can one reconcile the Gospel with the hypocrisy of man? Gaskell marries these tensions with forgiveness and redemption. 

“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us.”

In my review on the first half of Mary Barton, I mentioned the strong socialist/communist overtones, which made sense, given that Mary Barton was published the same year as Marx’s The Communist Manifesto (1848). In the latter half, we get more balance; Gaskell skims over capitalism and free markets. She admits that it’s flawed, however once compassion is factored into the midst, both manufacturer and laborer can work together harmoniously. Labor laws were not yet in existence, so I find Gaskell’s commentary balanced, insightful and genuine. 

“God has given men feelings and passions which cannot be worked into the problem, because they are for ever changing and uncertain. God has made some weak; not in any way, but in all. One is weak in body, another in mind, another in steadiness of purpose, a fourth can’t tell right from wrong, and so on; or if he can tell the right, he wants strength to hold by it. Now, to my thinking, them that is strong in any of God’s gifts is meant to help the weak.”

Overall, Mary Barton was a joy to read and the second half was extraordinary. I’m surprised no one has made a screen adaptation of this yet - it would translate well. Also, since the was written before North & South, it seems as if Gaskell honed in on a few of the plot points in Mary Barton and explored them more deeply in North & South. 

Rating: 4/5

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I don’t know why, but I’m drawn to books about sea voyages and ships. There is something about a story taking place on a cramped ship, with nothing but the sea around that is fascinating to me. Perhaps it’s because it takes a lot of skill as a writer to make such a confined setting for a story engaging. 

Also, books about the sea usually come with epic covers; I mean, LOOK AT THESE COVERS! I’ve only read The Odyssey, out of these three books, but I do plan to read Moby Dick soon(ish). Sentiments about Moby Dick tends to fall into two categories: It’s the best thing they’ve ever read or it’s the most boring thing they’ve ever read, because who wants to read about a man chasing a whale for 700 pages? Fun fact, I used to live in New England and I got to go on a whaling ship. I somehow already feel nostalgic towards Moby. 

I decided to add We, the Drowned because, yes the cover is great, but I find the concept fascinating. I haven’t read any Danish authors yet and this one has been hailed as a modern European classic. I enjoy family sagas, historical fiction and stories about the sea, so this was an obvious book for me to add to my TBR.  

Are you intrigued by sea stories?

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After writing a “Halfway Review” of The Nightingale (which can be found on my Instagram) before posting my final thoughts, I decided to continue this type of post going. There are so many thoughts that go on in my head, as I read, that this will allow for me to be more thorough.

Mary Barton is Gaskell’s first novel, written as a way for her to cope with lost of her son. It’s evident that Gaskell was experiencing grief because it reads as it she is releasing a lot of personal emotions. The novel mainly centers around the beautiful Mary Barton, who is a poor working girl. Her beauty attracts the attention of a wealthy factory owner’s son. Her childhood friend, Jem, is also deeply in love with her. Mary’s youth and immaturity blinds her to who is actually the better man. 

However, this novel is not just a love triangle; Gaskell heavily emphasizes the disparities between rich and poor. Mary’s father, John, becomes increasingly bitter as he watches his friends and family suffer because they cannot afford to adequate food, shelter and clothing, while the factory owners are living in luxury. Gaskell creates sympathy for the poor and down-trodden, though at times I didn’t always agree with her perspective; she seems to ignore the concepts of free will and personal responsibility. The narrator directly calls John a Communist, which I find to be the most intriguing element of this story. The narrator doesn’t blatantly state if they agree with communism; there are some minor critiques, but it’s half-hearted. 

Mary Barton and Marx’s The Communist Manifesto were both published in 1848. A modern reader is able to see how Communism doesn’t work, and fun fact, Marx used the terms Communism and Socialism as synonyms. I’m curious to know if Gaskell would have been more critical, had she also had the hindsight to see how detrimental Communism is when it’s actually implemented. I’m also curious to know what texts Gaskell read that may have influenced this novel’s extremely socialist rhetoric. 

Overall, I’m greatly enjoying Mary Barton and I think I’m starting to prefer it to North & South. There’s a missing person, a love triangle, a court case and social commentary. I honestly have no idea how this is going to end. 

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I usually create a list of the specific books I want to read each year and then read strictly from that list; I will then add to the list as “spaces” open up. However, this year, I’m going to switch things up a bit and not read from a set list. I do have some books, authors, and genres I definitely want to get to this year, but again, I’m just going to “wing it” a bit more and see where I’m naturally led as the year develops. I’m also not going to set a specific number of books I want to read; I’ll just read what I’m able to and see what the total is at the end. 

I have seven books here, all of which I definitely want to read this year, but they also represent the various categories I’ll be gravitating towards. 

• The Brother’s Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky - This is the book that’s at the top of my list this year; it also represents continuing to read as many Classics as possible. 

• Outline, Rachel Cusk - I’ve been on the fence about reading the Outline Trilogy, as I’ve come across mixed reviews. I decided to just go for it! This also represents my goal to read more contemporary literary fiction. I have my eyes on Hamnet and ducks, Newburyport (if I can squeeze in another 1000 pager).

• Bleak House, Charles Dickens - Victorian Classics are my jam and I will continue reading them in 2021. Also, Bleak House is one of those massive novels I find intimidating, so I’ll be tackling it this year. 

• Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel - I love historical fiction and Wolf Hall is a must read for me in 2021. I’ll also be reading more historical fiction from Anya Seton and Rachel Weir.

• Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf - I’ve stayed away from Woolf in the past, thinking I wouldn’t “get her.” However, I’m very intrigued, so I’m starting with Mrs. Dalloway. This also represents reading more modern classics this year. I specifically have my eyes on Iris Murdoch, Evelyn Waugh, and more Barbara Pym and Elizabeth Taylor. 

• A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara - Ahhh, books that you’re mildly terrified to read because of the content. I don’t shy away from the tough/traumatic stuff so, here we are... This book also represents a discussion I want to have about realism in fiction, because people actually have experienced life to this degree. 

• The Secret History, Donna Tartt - I’ve had this book on my TBR for years (before I even knew it was a cult classic), but wasn’t sure if I wanted to really read it or not. I also want to read more dark academia/campus novels. 

Have you read, or do you plan to read any of these novels? What books are on your 2021 TBR?

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