What's Next, Wednesday (20)

•  To play along share a book you've been looking forward to reading, whether it's new or has been on your reading list for a while.

I'm looking forward to...

The Beast in the Jungle by Henry James. Reading this for a class I'm taking. James is supposed to be a psychological master so I'm excited to dive into this novella this week. It all revolves around a young man who feels as if he's missing something in his life and a woman who promises to help watch for it. 

Teaser Tuesday (228)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm/Books and a Beat. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers



A Darker Shade of Sorcery (Kindle p.127 )
   - William Collins

Late in his room one night, he sat on his bed, palm outstretched as he concentrated on trying to make fire appear in his hands again

No matter how hard he tried, nothing happened.

As I Lay Dying

At the heart of this 1930 novel is the Bundren family's bizarre journey to Jefferson to bury Addie, their wife and mother. Faulkner lets each family member, including Addie, and others along the way tell their private responses to Addie's life.

*May Contain Spoilers*

William Faulkner has always been a favorite author of mine. Especially since I studied at a college with a center dedicated to his works and had a few professors who taught his work in class. As I Lay Dying is one of Faulkner's best works and it's uniqueness is fresh and inspiring. In this book he utilized stream of consciousness writing, giving his narrators freedom to be themselves. As the mother of the Bundren family dies, her husband and children plan to fulfill their promise of taking her to Jackson to be buried. 

Each character has a bit about them that readers can relate to. Though they also have their faults and make a number of mistakes. Looking at Addie first, the mother, readers see that she was never a real loving person. She didn't enjoy motherhood and after she had given her husband enough children, she decided that she was ready to die. Anse, the father, is manipulative and uses his status as a poor man to guilt his neighbors into helping him. I suppose he tries his best, but he's a bit too selfish to be a real likeable character. 

The children are the characters that readers will relate to the most. Cash and Darl are the oldest. Darl fought in the war and struggles to accept his mother's death. Throughout the novel, he slides into insanity, suffering from schizophrenia. Readers will sympathize with his devastating experience of loss and its effects. Cash craves his mother's approval. Readers witness this as he makes his mother's coffin, holding each board up, silently asking if it's good enough for her. He also has some bad luck, breaking his leg halfway through the journey. Readers will certainly feel for Cash as the family lacks the empathy to care for him. Jewel is Addie's son from an affair and has a lot of anger for his mother. It isn't clear whether he knows of his father, but it is hinted at. Readers will understand his anger and also connect a little with Addie because she thinks of Jewel as the only child made of love. 

Dewey-Dell is the only daughter of the Bundren family and she's in a heap of trouble. This adds more conflict to the story and comments on female oppression during that time period. Dewey-Dell is pregnant and doesn't want to have the child. Her boyfriend, Lafe, gives her money to have an abortion but she struggles to find a doctor that will help her. She ends up getting tricked into having a sexual encounter with a pharmacy worker. Readers will have their own opinions of Dewey-Dell, understanding her predicament or disliking her for her choices and wants. 

Vardaman is the youngest Bundren, not wanting to accept that his mother is dead. He mentally turns her into a fish and pretends she's still alive. His rejection of the situation is saddening and no one offers him an explanation for what happened. He receives little comfort from his family. 

As the Bundren family makes their way from their farm to Jackson, they encounter many setbacks and bad luck. As I Lay Dying has a few odd twists and turns that will puzzle readers, implying that there's more to the story than first appears. A surface reading of this novel will not provide the proper interpretation. A deeper look is required. Readers who enjoy analyzing classic literature will enjoy tackling this one as it offers many different interpretations. 

Rating: 3.5/5 Cups

Evelyn dear Fender

Isn’t believing you have a chance, even when you don’t, better than knowing you don’t when you don’t?

Evelyn Hatfield sets out to be the first to reach the mythological land of Methania. But before her epic journey can begin, she must first suffer high school jealousies, the apathy of conformity, and a pair of clueless parents--all while learning to sail.

Through chance, and a few innocent manipulations and half-truths, Evelyn finally sets sail for the distant horizon where she and her stowaway monkey, Bobo, do battle with their most fearsome enemy, the weather... and lose. Shipwrecked on a tiny island, 4,000 miles from home, she meets Fender Spigot, an equally shipwrecked explorer from Methania who, having never heard a language other than his own, gibber-jabbers his way into her heart.

Regardless of their communication issues, they manage to help each other escape the island—Evelyn, sailing east, and Fender, west—only to discover that absence makes the heart grow fonder. But how can they, again, find each other with such a monstrous ocean and a thousand misunderstandings between them?

*May Contain Spoilers*

Evelyn dear Fender, by Rodney Jones, is a novel of discovery, symmetry, and adventure. This novel takes place either in the future or on a planet similar to ours. Evelyn has heard stories all her life about explorers who tried to reach Methania, a fabled continent, never to be heard from again. Her dream: She wants to be the first explorer to find it and return. 

First off, the way this book is written is funny in itself. The language used is similar to how we use it, but there are some obvious differences right away. Words have evolved further and it takes a few chapters to get used to the substitutions Jones has made. Evelyn is the main character and when readers first see her, she's a young dreamer. As a few years pass, Evelyn becomes an intelligent, hopeful, courageous girl who suddenly remembers that she wanted to sail across the world. Readers will be able to relate their dream to Evelyn's and make a connection with her. They'll see how much Evelyn wants this to happen that she's willing to do anything for it, even commit herself to a deep denial that nothing could *really* go wrong. 

When Evelyn crashes into an island, after a big storm, Fender is formally introduced. Fender is from the opposite side of the world and speaks a very different language (same words, different meanings) than Evelyn. Of course, they both think the other is insane, at first. It's very interesting how Jones wrote this new language and included parenthetical translations for his readers. The words and translations give humor to a dire situation. Fender is sweet, brave, helpful, and even gets a chance to be heroic. As the two communicate, trying to escape the island, Evelyn and Fender fall in love. They both think that they need to return to the respective families, and not to spoil the end but they don't. :) 

With both characters so likeable it's easy to enjoy this fun, adventurous novel. I only really had one problem with it. On the way back from the island, Evelyn runs out of food and is slowly starving. I know this gives the book a sense of urgency and fear, but all I could think was 'She should have brought a fishing pole.' 

However, the main thing I want to discuss is the symmetry of the world. There's a map at the beginning of the book that helps but it's described as two continents with an "entwine" or "eye" in the middle. And each citizen on one continent has a soul mate on the opposite. Rodney Jones gave the story a good creative spin when he came up with this idea. Very unique and interesting. And readers will notice it as Evelyn and Fender are described similarly and their outlooks on life align. Evelyn dear Fender was such a fun novel to read full of interesting language and dangerous adventure. 

Rating: 4.5/5 Cups

Check out these novels also by Rodney Jones: