Diving into Tolstoy

Today is Leo Tolstoy's birthday 184 birthday! Okay, he really died at 82 and if a 182 year old man tried to talk to me I'd run for the nearest church, but that is beside the point. Since the internet was kind enough to point out Leo's birthday to me today it also brought something else to my attention -  the fact that I have never finished a Tolstoy novel!
In my world of floor length bookshelves and addiction to all things European this is practically a crime! In response my good friend Kirsten and I have decide to do a three month read-a-long of Anna Karenina in the hopes that having another person to talk with will make will make Russian high society more accessible. We start tomorrow, and with a pace that will have us finishing around Thanksgiving (and just after the Joe Wright/Keira Knightly movie comes out) I should be able to get through a few shorter books as well!


Are any of you excited for the new Anna Karenina movie or currently reading the book? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Reading!

Pride & Prejudice Read-a-Long Part 3

This is the summer I'm perpetually behind. Late for lunches, group outings, picking my brother up from school - so it only stands to reason that I'd chronically be posting my read-a-long updates a few days late.  I decided to go back to Misty's questions, since without them I ramble like a big ol' rambling...thing...yeah.

How could you not love him?

1. Discuss the whole of Lizzie's stay at Hunsford.  There are many great, famous moments in this stay, as well as memorable characters.  Discuss your highlights and low points (if any), your thoughts on characters like Lady Catherine and Col. Fitzwilliam, etc., as well as the new facets we see of the familiar characters
   
   I think Elizabeth's stay at Hunsford is my favorite part of the book. I may have said that about the ball in my last post, but I was wrong, this is totally my favorite. All of the characters in these chapters are really strong and memorable. Mr. Collins goes out of his way to be as proper (read:foolish) as possible around Lady Catherine, and since Elizabeth spends a lot of time observing Charlotte and sort of avoiding talking to Collin's his ridiculousness is easier to handle. Which brings me to the infamous Lady Catherine. To me, Lady Catherine is one of the funnier characters in Pride & Prejudice. Not in a haha funny way, but in a real life way. You know when you're sitting with someone who obviously thinks they know everything there is to know about life and more importantly, they know you're doing everything wrong? That's Lady Catherine, and she's hilarious to talk about behind her back. Sure, she's a witch with a capital B when you're with her, but she every encounter with her means you have a great story to tell at dinner parties!
   
2. Discuss Darcy's proposal.  Prompts: What are your feelings on this scene; what do you think of the behavior of both Darcy and Lizzie.  Contrast this to Lizzie's first proposal from Collins.  Is Lizzie's complete surprise believable, especially in light of Charlotte's prolonged insistence that Darcy feels something for Lizzie, and the slight hints Darcy drops prior to the proposal?
   
   First off, I love this proposal, even if I think it's really flawed and is not what I'd want to hear. I get it, Darcy knows Elizabeth is below him and that's why he's "Struggling" and fighting his own emotions and everything but THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU SAY WHEN YOU ARE PROFESSING YOUR UNDYING LOVE FOR SOMETHING. You say things like "you're perfect" and "I'd catch a grenade for you" ...okay, scratch that, it's just as bad, but still you don't tell the object of your affection that you could do better but you'll settle for her. Especially since Darcy's pretty garuded about his feelings. I totally buy that Elizabeth didn't realize how he felt. She'a already formed her opinion of him by this point and despite the fact that Charlotte thinks that he might like her she has no reason to believe his feelings would be strong enough to come over and sneak propose to her.
   
3. Lizzie has to this point turned down two proposals.  Share your thoughts on this from the perspective of the modern woman (presumably) you are, and from the perspective of a Regency gentlewoman.  Consider the reactions of the people in her life, especially Mrs Bennet, if they were to find out.  Also, consider her rejections from the males' perspectives.  Is Darcy (or even Collins) justified in being shocked to be rejected?
   
   I discussed this in my last post. I think it's very interesting that Austen chose to have Elizabeth turn down two socially acceptable proposals. As a modern woman I'm all for Elizabeth's independent streak, and if it happened today it really wouldn't be a huge deal (especially since Mr. Collin's is a buffoon)  but in the 1800's that would be a huge deal. Mrs. Bennet would have gone crazy if she found out Elizabeth turned down a second proposal, and she'd probably become the subject of town gossip.
   
   
4. Discuss Darcy's infamous letter.  Does/did it change your opinion of Darcy?  Lizzie feels she has acted "despicably" and regrets much of what she said; do you have reservations about any parts of it, things you still think Elizabeth should hold against him?  If you could question him or react to him, what would you say.  Consider writing your own response letter.
   
   I know when I first read Pride & Prejudice I had a really hard time liking Mr. Darcy until I read his letter and started to understand the man that is Darcy. He was right about the character of most of the Bennet family and his story of Wickham is very heartfelt and honest. True, if I had gotten that letter and he was telling me how he'd ruined my sisters life and how silly my family was I'd probably be pretty mad for a bit, but as an innocent bystander who has watched the Bennents be silly the entire book it's perfectly acceptable and makes Darcy more human.
   
   
5. In the first response post, we asked ourselves about our opinions of Darcy and Wickham.  Give your opinions of the two now.    Also, reevaluate your opinions of Collins and Bingley, our other 2 "eligible" men.
   
   My opinions of the four men are pretty straight forward. Darcy's cool, Wickham's irritating, Collin's is a buffoon and Bingley is a pretty boy.

I'm running out of time so I'll leave you with with that. Hope everyone's enjoying their reading!

Pride & Prejudice Read-a-Long Part 2

Keeping up with my I'm-not-in-school-so-scheduling-has-gone-out-the-window period that's been going on for the past couple weeks I bring you Part 2 of my thoughts of Pride & Prejudice for the Book Rats Jane in June Read-a-Long. Instead of answering the questions I decided I was just going to go over some of my broader thoughts of this section.

Oskar Wild is not as big a fan of Jane Austen as I am.

Now, if you'll remember back to Part 1, I was minding my own business reading Pride & Prejudice and BAM Elizabeth Bennett was just annoying the pants off of me. She was all judgmental and mean to Mr. Darcy, who was making me swoon with his timely placed eye comments and quiet disposition. I was very confused. I liked Elizabeth in my previous reads? She was the everyone! I was discouraged, I put my paperback down, went to the library, started On the Road and thought fondly about Colin Firth. I needed time. 

Okay, I didn't need that much time. I was back to P&P within a few days and found my feelings completely changed. Elizabeth was the love-able heroine I remembered from several years back. She was poised and confident and completely awesome! The ball at Netherfield left me cringing, but in a good way, since I know that not all hope is lost. I was also starting to appreciate the roles of the umm... sillier...characters. Lydia drives me up the wall, but she certainly has her purpose and while I can't stand Mr. Collin's I love how oblivious to real customs Austen made him.  Even Wickham's true character starts to show at the end of this section. Masterfully done, Jane, masterfully done. 

I was also really thinking about marriage during these chapters. Okay, that isn't a surprising fact. Mrs. Bennett is always talking about marriage. If you think about it, Jane was living in a time where you needed a husband to have any sort of comfortable living, otherwise you were a burden on your family and that sad person people talked about at balls who is now the crazy spinster down the lane. So what does Jane do? She has good ol' sensible Elizabeth turn down the marriage proposal that could keep her family in their home because Mr. Collins is crazy irritating. Wow. That's a huge gamble girl! I feel like the reason Pride & Prejudice has remained a favorite so long is that Elizabeth is more of a 21st century girl than a 19th century one. She has her own thoughts and opinions and doesn't want to end up in some forced, loveless marriage just because it's expected of her and I think that's awesome. It also lead me to believe there needs to be a Doctor Who episode where the Doctor visits Jane Austen and tells her about feminism and then whoever his companion is inspires Emma. 

Oh, last thing. I was right, the pages are starting to fall out of my crappy paperback, anyone have suggestions for good Pride & Prejudice editions?