Arukiyomi Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 I have a book blog called Arukiyomi where I've posted reviews of every book I've read since December 2006. I discovered Book Club Forum a few months ago and this place rocks. So, because I love you, I decided to post my reviews here as well... ... I should warn you though that I say it how I see it and the first review I'm going to post will give you a glimpse of that as it's probably the worst book I've ever blogged! Enjoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arukiyomi Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 0374 | The Mysteries of Udolpho | Ann Radcliffe Context: Started reading this on the last few days we had in Kokopo with its fabulous market – easily the best in PNG. REVIEW Boy that was awful. Awwwwwww. Ful. If you’ve read Vathek, or The Castle of Otranto which are far shorter and define the genre rather than merely elaborate on what is arguably already overelaborate literature, you can quite comfortably skip this and simply read the Wikipedia summary. I wish I had. One thing of note though in the Wikipedia article is that Austen satirised this in Northanger Abbey, a book I have yet to read. I have read other Austen though and I am familiar with many of her storylines. It seems to me that she borrows as much as she satirises. Pretty much all of Austen’s endings are taken straight out of Radcliffe’s copybook: the joy, the perfect weather, the double-wedding, the loose ends carefully tied up with pink ribbon, the perfect snapshot that will last forever. If I hadn’t killed myself somewhere towards the middle of Volume 4, Udolpho’s ending would have made me vomit. So, what’s the mystery? Well, Emily is taken away from all she adores in southern France to Italy and the Usher-like Udolpho. By the time you’ve got there, you’re already trying to juggle plenty of loose ends and supposedly unfathomable mysteries. But you’re only just getting started: eerie music, strange stories, rustlings in the bushes, figures flitting elusively through the shadows. And if that isn’t enough for you, there are also locked rooms, things hidden behind curtains, even blood and corpses. Yawn. Why was I bored? Well, you’ll find out that for everything that has given everyone the shivers for pages and pages there are very simple explanations. That’s right. I bet you’re as surprised as I was. And this is where Radcliffe needs to borrow from Austen’s copybook: at least Austen’s characters are rich and rewarding and some of the most enduring in literature. Radcliffe’s characters are so flat, they make a piece of paper look like the Oxford English Dictionary. None of them see the bleeding obvious. This is not Agatha Christie or even Wilkie Collins: the mysteries of Udolpho are really only mysteries to the characters. The reader is tempted to beat the text at their inability to see beyond their noses. Alright, I’ll admit, I’m being harsh. But I’ll only concede that if you concede that my harshness is entirely justified. For me, classic literature either defines the era (which as I stated in the opening paragraph had already been done) or transcends it (the only thing transcendental about Mysteries was the state I dreamed of in my attempt to escape it). Radcliffe is verbose, repetitive, predictable and probably the biggest snob I’ve never had the displeasure to meet. Apparently, all peasants do is sing, dance and make merry as they celebrate the joys of poverty and servitude. Okay, Radcliffe’s novel influenced others. But that’s a bit like saying that American Idol is a great idea because it influenced So You Think You Can Dance. Who cares? It’s just economically-motivated popular trash. This is an overblown novel and it seems that I’m not the only critic in history to think so. For me, written only 2 years later, Lewis’s The Monk is a much more mature tale (told by a much more immature writer incidentally) and one that is actually well-written. Skip this; read that. OPENING LINE On the pleasant banks of the Garonne, in the province of Gascony, stood, in the year 1584, the chateau of Monsieur St. Aubert 99TH PAGE QUOTE She passed a melancholy evening, during which the retrospect of all that had happened, since she had seen Valancourt, would rise to her imagination; and the scene of her father’s death appeared in tints as fresh, as if it had passed on the preceding day. She remembered particularly the earnest and solemn manner in which he had required her to destroy the manuscript papers, and, awakening from the lethargy, in which sorrow had held her, she was shocked to think she had not yet obeyed him, and determined, that another day should not reproach her with the neglect. CLOSING LINE And, if the weak hand, that has recorded this tale, has, by its scenes, beguiled the mourner of one hour of sorrow, or, by its moral, taught him to sustain it – the effort, however humble, has not been in vain, nor is the writer unrewarded. RATING Key: Legacy | Plot / toPic | Characterisation / faCts | Readability | Achievement | Style Read more about how I come up with my ratings Tags: 1001 books | adventure | betrayal | captivity | conflict | crime | death | families | fear | fiction | france | gothic | italy | marriage | murder | mystery | romance | rubbish books | travel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Ok, I am going to have to check out your other reviews now. Your spider web rating thing is interesting, but I could not quite make out how it worked as I have had a couple of beers and it looks like I might have to make an effort. I will come back tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Just spent some time looking through your book blog and it's fantastic. I'm very jealous of your stats and many lists. I also read up on how you rate your books and found it utterly fascinating - I've never seen anything like that before. Also, great review, definitely going to be avoiding this one it seems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 I didn't read the review because I have the book on my TBR list and I don't want to have any preconceived notions about the book beforehand, especially because you disliked it. However, I'm glad you've decided to start your own reading log on here, I'm looking forward to your future reviews! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauraloves Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Wow, just spent a little while looking over your blog and its fantastic! You have so many lists, I'll admit it, I'm a little jealous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arukiyomi Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 could not quite make out how it worked as I have had a couple of beers Just spent some time looking through your book blog and it's fantastic. Why! Thank you. I'm very jealous of your stats and many lists. Ah... but then I'm jealous of the fact that you have a life. I also read up on how you rate your books and found it utterly fascinating - I've never seen anything like that before. yeah... I decided to rethink the whole review thing a year or two ago. Haven't looked back. I didn't read the review because I have the book on my TBR list and I don't want to have any preconceived notions about the book beforehand, especially because you disliked it. sorry if I gave the game away Wow, just spent a little while looking over your blog and its fantastic! You have so many lists, I'll admit it, I'm a little jealous! ditto my comments to Ben above... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 sorry if I gave the game away Oh no, you didn't, but I just didn't want to take any chances No worries! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 What a beautiful presentation of books and reviews Arukiyomi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easy Reader Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 That is such a cool blog I love your book photos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andie P Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 (edited) What a great blog. Best of all the review for 'the worst book I have ever blogged!' It was a brilliant review despite the fact you didn't like it! I shall be popping over to your blog every now and then if you don't mind! I love anyone who likes a graph as much as I do!! Andie P x Edited May 30, 2012 by Andie P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bree Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I'm fascinated by your rating system. It's inspiring that you go the extra mile to be fair and thorough before passing judgement on a book. And I'm another one who'll be watching this thread with interest... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Yep, I just bookmarked your blog, you certainly take your book reading seriously! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I too, bookmarked your reading blog! p.s. I love the 1,001 book app too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arukiyomi Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 wow... I go away to celebrate my birthday and come back to so many lovely comments. Thanks everyone. I also found out that a book I've been working on for two years has finally been published. Now that's a birthday present! Don't worry Michelle, it's not a plug for it! I'm not expecting anyone here to buy it: it's a sociolinguistics textbook. http://www.lulu.com/shop/ken-decker/understanding-language-choices/ebook/product-20157782.html if your interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Congratulations!! That sounds very interesting and it must have taken a huge amount of research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauraloves Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Congratulations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delilah Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 You should be given a medal for finishing Udolpho! I read half and had to give it up! I like Gothic fiction and have tried to read the early texts. Recently I tried Bungay Castle by Elizabeth Bonhote but couldn't get past the wimpy female characters! I thought "The Castle of Otranto" was quite good. Now I'm giving "The Monk" a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arukiyomi Posted June 2, 2012 Author Share Posted June 2, 2012 Yeah, the Monk is probably my all time top recommended Gothic... for my review, see http://johnandsheena.co.uk/books/?p=124 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arukiyomi Posted June 2, 2012 Author Share Posted June 2, 2012 0375 | For the Term of His Natural Life | Marcus Clarke Context: Started selling off stuff in preparation for moving out. Someone bought the house we’re renting. Ah well, it was nice while it lasted… REVIEW This was an unexpected page-turner. I picked this up from the local high school who were selling off discarded library books. Why on earth they discarded this I cannot think. Not only is it part of the very limited pantheon of Australian classics (and we have lots of Australians here) with its great insight into early white Aussie history, it’s a very good read. Still, their loss = my gain. There’s a lot of the influence of Les Miserables meets The Count of Monte Cristo here (although I do say that having read neither of them). A man is arrested for a wrong he did not commit and, for the sake of others, conceals his identity. He is transported and suffers the most hideous betrayals so that the life you thought could get no worse, gets successively worse throughout the novel. Along the way, many profit at the expense of his misfortune. Some are regarded as criminal for this, others are deceived into being thought as worthy of esteem in their own right. And the full spectrum of religion is on view, from the repulsive hypocrisy of the so-called Rev Meekin to the only too self-aware Rev North. So, that’s the literary structure out of the way, which makes for a good story in itself. But what makes this a very good book are Clarke’s detailed descriptions of penal servitude and suffering. Many of the tales told of his characters are in fact based on true stories which my version referenced in an appendix. Some of them appear incredible and provide real life responses to critics I’ve read online who state that some of the story is perhaps a little too laden with serendipity. I did not find it so. The characters captivated me in much the same way that Golding’s Rites of Passage did recently. And the story kept me going chapter after chapter: some of the descriptions of the attempted escapes are very vivid with the landscape, probably the harshest gaoler of all, playing a significant part. The ending I thought absolutely appropriate. However, I did read that, for versions published in the US, it was cheered up a bit for those who, preferring the indescribably awful writing of Radcliffe, read in order to escape reality rather than try to come to terms with it. I don’t think Clarke would have approved based on the response of Rev. North at one point which I’ve reproduced as a quote below. So, in summary, this book surprised me with it’s rich detail and pace of its story telling. On top of that, I was also surprised by the way the novel connected with me personally. One of the most brutal places to be placed in the Macquarie Harbour penal settlement was none other than Grummet Island. I’ve searched the web in vain for how this tiny outcrop of rock got it’s name. I’d love to know: my surname is Grummitt. Also, at one point, Rev. North says “I never walk without a book.” Well, my word! If that isn’t a quote to illustrate the entire purpose of Arukiyomi, I don’t know what is. OPENING LINE In the breathless stillness of a tropical afternoon, when the air was hot and heavy, and the sky brazen and cloudless, the shadow of the Malabar lay solitary on the surface of the glittering sea. 99TH PAGE QUOTE Four times did the soldiers round the hatchway raise their muskets, and four times did they fear of wounding the men who had flung themselves upon the enraged giant compel them to restrain their fire. Gabbett, his stubbly hair on end, his bloodshot eyes glaring with fury, his great hand opening and shutting in the air, as though it grasped fro something to seize, turned himself about from side to side – now here, now there, bellowing like a wounded bull. His coarse shirt, rent from shoulder to flank, exposed the play of his huge muscles. He was bleeding from a cut on his forehead, and the blood, trickling down his face, mingled with the foam on his lips, and dropped sluggishly on his hairy breast. Each time that an assailant came within reach of the swinging cutlass, the ruffian’s form dilated with a fresh access of passion. QUOTES North, the drunkard and self-tormented, had a power of good, of which Meekin and the other knew nothing. Not merely were the men incompetent and self-indulgent, but they understood nothing of that frightful capacity for agony which is deep in the soul of every evil-doer. They might strike the rock as they chose with the sharpest-pointed machine-made pick of warranted Gospel manufacture, stamped with the approval of eminent divines of all ages, but the water of repentance and remorse would not gush for them. They possessed not the frail rod which alone was powerful to charm. They had no sympathy, no knowledge, no experience. He who would touch the hearts of men must have had his own heart seared. The missionaries of mankind have ever been great sinners before they earned the divine right to heal and bless. Their weakness was made their strength, and out of their own agony of repentance came the knowledge which made them masters and saviours of their kind. It was the agony of the Garden and the Cross that gave to the world’s Preacher His kingdom in the hearts of men. The crown of divinity is a crown of thorns. I never walk without a book. The story does not end satisfactorily. Balzac was too great a master of his art for that. In real life the curtain never falls on a comfortably finished drama. The play goes on eternally. CLOSING LINE The wretches who yet clung to the deck looked shuddering up into the bellying greenness, and knew that the end was come. RATING Key: Legacy | Plot / toPic | Characterisation / faCts | Readability | Achievement | Style Read more about how I come up with my ratings Tags: australia | captivity | class | colonialism | conflict | crime | death | endurance | escape | families | fiction | identity | love | marriage | murder | prisoners | religion | ships | suffering | uk | very good books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arukiyomi Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 (edited) ~ Edited July 8, 2012 by Arukiyomi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arukiyomi Posted July 8, 2012 Author Share Posted July 8, 2012 (edited) Click the pic to read my review of #367 The Book Thief Click the pic to read my review of #377 The Sorrows of Young Werther Edited July 8, 2012 by Arukiyomi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Is that a waterslide? Haha! I came so close to buying The Sorrows of Young Werther the other day, but I didn't like the cover and I knew I'd only end up replacing it one day, so I thought I'd pass. Aw, what a shame you didn't enjoy The Book Thief. I thought it was wonderful and unique. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arukiyomi Posted July 8, 2012 Author Share Posted July 8, 2012 yep a waterslide in the Papuan sun... great fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arukiyomi Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 (edited) Click the pic to read my review of #378 Teaching Cross-Culturally Click the pic to read my review of #379 New Guinea Diaries 1871-1883 Edited July 18, 2012 by Arukiyomi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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