February & March 2008 Fiction Book Suggestions

[FannieB]

I would really enjoy a discussion about We Need To Talk About Kevin...so I'm behind that 100%.

As for the classics or "literature class" type picks, I wouldn't rule them out but I do question whether in general, we're looking to break out of that and explore some new dynamics, having "been there and done that" in most instances - by that I don't mean the specific titles, just that type of dynamic. There's so much more out there to discover!

I think it's important too, to remember to at least every now and again decide on something a bit light-hearted. Not "fluff" but something not too heavy - I don't have any good examples right now, lol, and I myself tend toward heavier fiction, but man, all it takes is a weeks worth of the 5 o'clock news and I've had enough Heavy. LOL

Happily rolling around in my piles of books,
FannieB

[yodha]

Now that it has come up, I would love to revisit Heart Of Darkness too! I read it more like a traveller's story in 2005, while noting that I would need at least one more read to get all the dark undertones.

This was the review I wrote after first reading it ...

Journey into a dark land

Heart Of Darkness by Joseph Conrad could very well be the darkest and most serious book I've read. The story is narrated by a fictional character named Marlow to the author and others resting on a yawl. Marlow talks of his past journey on a steamboat up a river in a dark continent to bring back an ivory trader named Kurtz whom everyone reveres for his achievements. He reaches the colonial station after a risky adventure through the tropical land and finds Kurtz in a near death state. Also, his image of greatness falls after Marlow discovers the real activities of Kurtz in his colonial trading post. He sees Kurtz as a reprehensible being. Kurtz dies a while later on the journey back downstream. His last words indicate his probable realization of the havoc he has caused in his life. Back in Europe, Marlow faces Kurtz's widow and gives her his last words.

This novella by Conrad draws inspiration from his actual journey on the Congo river in Africa. The narration from the start is strongly evocative of darkness. Everything from the descriptions of the European towns, the Congo river, the African continent, the color of the inhabitant savages, their ways of life, the colonies of the Europeans, the cannibalistic Africans who form a part of his steamboat crew and ultimately Kurtz himself. The language drips heavily with vividness. I almost felt like being in Marlow's shoes journeying slowly up the Congo through the primeval continent. Though Marlow grows to hate Kurtz, in the end he is forced to leave him with a good name in this world. Like Life Of Pi, this book feels great since it left me with more than one meaning of its narration. Is Conrad talking of the dark continent or the darkness inside us?

Heart Of Darkness is short (hence called a novella) at just 112 pages. I read the Penguin Classics version edited by Robert Hampson. It has Hampson's long and boring introduction which would interest only those studying the book rather than reading it. It also has Conrad's actual Congo Diary in which he noted the happenings of his actual journey in Africa. This book has a detailed notes section at the end of the story.

Published in 1902, the book is available now at Project Gutenberg freely for everyone.

It would be very interesting to see what different interpretations and faces of the novel other BookTalkers are able to discover!

[suescrafts]

I would be interested in reading Heart of Darkness or The Girls.

[George Ricker]

Add my name to those who favor reading Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

George

[bklvr]

I still think "Fire Bell in the Night" would appeal to all types of people. Anyone second it??

[Ophelia]

bklvr wrote:

"I still think "Fire Bell in the Night" would appeal to all types of people. Anyone second it?"


I can't give an opinion for the moment but I have ordered the book.
Keep in mind that we'll have to make two more selections after the current one.

[Theomanic]

I'm fine with any selection. I'm happy to buy whatever book is chosen. My only thing to contribute is I've already read "Heart of Darkness", though it was a long time ago.

[Chris OConnor]

Looks like we have quite a large group interested in reading and discussing Heart of Darkness. This stands to be an exciting book discussion if the majority of the members that said they'd read and discuss it actually do read and discuss it.

I'm struggling with something. When I run a search on http://www.Amazon.com for Heart of Darkness I'm finding a ton of different editions available. And you know I plan to put an image of the book and a link to http://www.Amazon.com up in the books block at the top of the forums page. I sure hope I luck out and select the right edition, not that any edition wouldn't deliver virtually the same experience for the reader.

Any of you reading this that sees my dilemma and wants to help me please go to http://www.Amazon.com, run a search for Heart of Darkness, and help me select the right edition for this discussion. I can swap out the image if I learn that I selected the wrong one, so don't be shy in correcting me. I truly don't know what to do right now, but I do want to get some edition of the book up there at the top so members and visitors have plenty of notice about our upcoming fiction selection. I'd like to have a large group participating in the talk, and I'm sure you all do too.

I'll post one of the book images and a link to where we can all buy that edition at Amazon.com right now. Let me know if I picked the same one you would pick!

[irishrosem]

Chris, I would recommend the Norton edition I had linked in my last post. As I said, it's annotated and includes a host of critical essays, and is under $12. Actually, I suggest if one doesn't want to buy an annotated edition, then it might just be best to read it free off Project Guttenberg. I already own two editions of Heart of Darkness, one granted is part of an anthology, and will probably buy the Norton just for the benefit of the collected essays, and the hope for different annotations. Anyway, that's my suggestion.

Regarding Persepolis...Though it's not the kind of book we typically select here, it seemed worth considering, especially since the movie version is coming out and Iran is in the news so much.

Yeah, I'm definitely interested in reading Persepolis too. But the problem is the publisher lists it as biography/autobiography, which wouldn't make it a good candidate for a fiction forum. Perhaps it should get serious consideration for the next available non-fiction slot.

Our book discussions here are often constrained by the fact that few people manage to read the book.

Actually, I'd argue that discussion is usually constrained because few people manage to talk about the books that they are reading. I think the vast majority of the books that booktalk has appointed as official quarterly reading are largely accessible to a wide audience. What seems more likely to me is that people are reading the books, at least the start, and aren't really engaged in conversation. So if they picked-up the book primarily to participate in conversation here, and that conversation is slow, they might not finish the book. Yes, I think we need to be certain to choose accessible books, but I think we also need to work at maintaining a thorough conversation about whatever book is chosen.

I would second the Girls by Lori Lansens.

With regard to The Girls, I'll be honest, after reading the short description, I was hesitant. It seemed possible that it would reek of sentimentality, if not descend into the macabre or carnivalesque. Which sure, could be interesting in its own right, but 350+ pages of that... But from most of the reviews that I'm reading, it isn't overly sentimental, with one of the twins always ready to offer pragmatic comments and sardonic wit to the story. I was also interested with the mention of absent characters, which is a literary element that always intrigues me.

In the end, I'd be willing to read The Girls, but am hesitant about the length of the book. I think we've found before that longer books don't tend to succeed at booktalk. And I have personally have found it both difficult and unfulfilling to talk about a book in piecemeal, as its read. I think, perhaps, it leads one to draw conclusions that aren't necessarily warranted. Of course, that doesn't mean one couldn't discuss the eloquence of a passage here, the development of some character there...but to draw quality conclusions about the narrative requires completion of the narrative. So, if we can get people to commit to reading the book in its entirety in relatively short order, I'd get behind The Girls. But if the intention is to read it piecemeal over two months, then I'd probably bow out.

[Ophelia]

Chris wrote:

As requested I have deleted the book images of the books we're swapping. We do want to pick the next 2 fiction books right away. I don't like seeing the blank book boxes up top.

Those question marks pics are just what we needed, here is one more problem neatly solved!