Reflections on Books

I read The Great Gatsby for the first time the other day. I was not sure it was for the first time. The book is so iconic that many images are in the social narrative: the parties of that era, the callousness of society, Gatsby looking across the bay at the green light at the end of Daisy's dock. These are references we know without "knowing." Nonetheless, there is more to the story than these and it is good to have read it even at this late date.

The Remains of the Day won a Booker Award and I didn't even realize it was a book and not just a movie. *sigh* This one was a bit hard to get through just because Stephens is So dense that I wanted to shake him out of his complacency and lack of understanding. It is a fascinating view of societal transition after WWII. We have watched a lot of WWII documentaries recently and this added some depth to my understanding of that time in Britain.

Pride and Prejudice is an old friend. It gets read about twice a year followed by the viewing of the almost 6 hour A&E production starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. Or sometimes I watch the movie first and then read the book. I am always amazed at how modern script writers can take a book with very little place in it and create very natural places for people to say a particular piece of dialogue. Jane's famous first line, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." is given to Lizzie as the family returns from church where Mrs. Bennett has learned of the letting of Netherfield to Mr. Bingley. It is perfect timing in the perfect setting to leap the story forward even as it does at the very opening of the book.

Enjoy the books you read, whatever they are - and let me hear about them sometimes - with blessings