For September, the Classics Club's question is slightly more difficult: from the reviews already published on the blog, pick the one that gets me excited to read the book in question, and offer a quote that will demonstrate this.
Why this is not easy? Because in all the reviews I read and the blogs I follow, I always find something that will intrigue me, something that will show a new aspect to a plot, that will shine light to a part of (simingly) lesser importance. Every time I read something, I'm bound to go and put yet another book in my TBR list...
For this meme, however, I will restrict myself to one blogger: Sarah, from Sarah reads too much. Sarah, in addition to a plethora of activities at home, is also involved in the Classics Club AND she hosts the Back to the Classics challenge (a great one for a newbie like me...). She is a seasoned reader, someone who knows her way around complex, diverse, dark - why, even difficult books at times, and I've come to regard her as a reviewer worth paying attention to. So, imagine my surprise when I read a post of hers like this:
Help me with Mrs. Dalloway! Please!!
(To her rescue came several bloggers, who provided comments - these I have not yet read)
Later on, when Sarah posted her review of Mrs. Dalloway, she started like this:
Reading Mrs. Dalloway involved learning a lesson that I didn't expect
and ended like this:
This was so far out of my comfort zone that I am going to need to be gentle to my mind for a bit
Now, some could may call this masochistic, but trust me - what better fun than to actually step outside your comfort zone? to challenge your intellectual ability? to change your thinking stream? In a nutshell: What better fun than to read a book, that you will remember forever (whether in the end you enjoy it or not).
I very much appreciated Sarah's review of Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, because she made me realise that this is a book I want to read - asap... I've already put it to the top of my TBR list!
Yes! You should read Mrs. Dalloway. And then reading Michael Cunningham's The Hours. Both of them are beautiful books.
ReplyDeletethanks for the support!
DeleteMrs. Dalloway (and The Hours) are two books that I've been avoiding like the plague. I've got this thing against Woolf ever since I tried reading To the Lighthouse. But perhaps, like you said, it's time again to step outside of my comfort zone and just give it a try.
ReplyDeleteI'll let you know of my endeavours...
DeleteAw, I'm so glad you enjoyed my Mrs. Dalloway adventure! It is definitely worth reading and I am so glad I did. Enough that I have more Woolf on my Club List! I'll be curious to see your experience with it. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm curious myself ;-)
DeleteAfter many years of avoiding Virginia Woolf I read Mrs Dalloway last month. It was nothing like I expected and I really enjoyed it. Hope you will too.
ReplyDeletethanks a lot!
DeleteOh, Virginia Woolf. My nemesis!
ReplyDeleteSomeday, I'll give her another shot. To the Lighthouse really turned me off, though.
Given that I've recently had two such cases of known writers who have put me off, I know the feeling... Nevertheless, we must persevere and meet our demons!
Delete