DNF-The Keepers of the House

The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau
Open Road, 2012
Originally published 1964
226 pages
Adult; Fiction; Historical

Source: Received an e-copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I saw this while browsing on Netgalley and requested it as part of my campaign to read all of the Pulitzer Prize winners (as it stands I have read...5). This are supposed to be some of the best works of American fiction and I definitely want to be open to exploring that.  of course, it also tends to mean a change of pace from my usual reading diet of YA romance and dystopian. That can be good or bad.

In this case, I was just not connecting with the book at all. After reading the summary, I thought it could be really interesting with its examination of community as the book covers seven generations of the same family in the same small Southern town and racism, especially with the book coming out during the Civil Rights movement. Unfortunately I didn't see much of that in the first half of the book.

Instead I had stories about the beginning of the Howland family, death, an extravagant wedding, and how the Howland ended up taking his servant as a mistress. I was also very confused about what year it was (post-slavery, pre-WWI, I think). And, as a literary novel, there were a lot of descriptions especially of the swamps; I feel like there were pages of them.

I'm not saying I'll never give this book a try at a later date but it did not spark anything in me since the characters were flat and indistinguishable and the plot moved as slow as molasses. I need more excitement before I can invest in a book.

Overall: DNF-not the book for me.

The Age of Innocence

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Barnes and Noble, 1920
293 pages
Classic
4.5/5 stars
FITG Challenge

Source: Own

Thoughts: I put this on my list because I wanted to read the first Pulitzer winning-novel by a woman; after enjoying Old New York, a collection of four short stories, I had high hopes for this.  And they were mostly fulfilled.

I loved the pictures painted by Wharton; every detail seemed carefully chosen to convey the taste and wealth of the characters although I'm sure I didn't fully appreciate those details, given my 21st century sensibilities and understanding.  I loved being enmeshed in that world and slowly journeying through it toward completion.

The part I didn't like was the character Newland Archer.  He is torn between duty to his fiancee May Welland and passion for her cousin, the scandalous Countess Ellen Olenska who left her husband.  I was caught up in that and I supported his choice.  But I hated his musings on the innocence and conventionality of May-how was she to be different? I think that he is a stand-in for Wharton who was raised in that kind of environment but obviously had a sharp intellect of her own.  Over the course of the novel though, I grew annoyed with him.  I did not want to spend as much time with him as I did; I think I would have preferred this novel from a female point of view because Archer grated on me.

I would also like to see the movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer (j'adore her), and Winona Ryder.

Overall: Beautifully written; I definitely consider myself a fan of Wharton now.

Cover: Pretty gallery-I'm a big fan of the Barnes and Noble editions.

A Confederacy of Dunces

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Published 1981
338 pages
Classic; Pulitzer; Picaresque; FITG
4.5/5 stars

Source: Library

Summary: I've tried describing this before to my friends but I don't think I'm doing a very good job. Basically Ignatius J Reilly is a lazy eccentric who is forced to get a job leading to a series of adventures involving many Characters.

Thoughts: I was excited to read this because it's one of my dad's favorite books and he's recommended it to me before.  While I can appreciate its strong points, I don't think it's one of my favorites.  For one thing, I prefer a main character I love and would want to hang out with. Ignatius Reilly had many interesting characteristics but I would never want to meet him.  On the one hand, he's obsessed with the Middle Ages and thinks things would be better with an enlightened monarchy (I'm not saying he's wrong what with the way things are...)  He is very educated with a graduate degree and he speaks far beyond the comprehension of the people around, which is very funny to read.  On the other hand, he lies, he's selfish, and he's cruel to his mama among other offenses. So not someone I'd want to meet but someone who is a Character.

My favorite part of the book was how the disparate characters and earlier events tied together-I mean it's perfect.  It's not like crazy coincidences as Dickens does but instances that logically follow the previous events.  The part I didn't like was how intensely awkward some scenes were for me to read.  I could not have read this book all in one go because I had to take breaks and distance myself from what was happening.

It's been defined as a picaresque novel which I always associate with Don Quixote.  It's been a while since I've read that but I remember some of the occurrences escalating in a similar way so I can see it.  For example, Ignatius has a simple office job before he decides that he will organize the workers at a factory which almost leads to a riot.  It's amazing.

Overall: Intensely awkward at times, very funny at times with the perfect ending.

Cover: I found this cover weird at first but it actually makes perfect sense after reading the book.