Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe

My sister recommended this book to me. I never read it in school, although it’s usually required. The book tells the story of pre-civil war South and the about the lives of slaves. It really touched me mostly because I’ve never thought about it in this way before. Even studying the civil war and slavery and how awful it was, I never really knew how horrible it was. I feel a lot wiser in understanding the deep tension between races.
Uncle Tom is the main character of this story. He starts off in a kind family in Kentucky. The Shelby’s love him dearly because of his honesty, but are forced to sell him due to heavy debts. Tom has to leave his wife and children and is sent “down river” where the hard plantation owners live. Fortunately Tom is sold to an indulgent owner named St. Clare. His daughter Eva has a particular fancy for Tom and wants him as her own. She is an only child and very dear to her father.
Eva is one of the best characters in the story. It’s hard to describe her. The most I can put into words is that she is an angel. She embodies a spirit of love to those around her and spreads her innocence and depth with others. Tom loves her greatly and it eases his pain of leaving home. Eva is only in the story for a short time due to her failing health.
After some unfortunate events in the life and death of St. Clare, Tom is sold at an auction to one of the harshest slave owners in the South. Legree is his name. He is so cruel to his slaves that it makes me sick. To know that there were really people like this man that nearly starved his people to death and made them work much harder than any person should. Tom’s death comes at the hands of this cruel master. It makes me angry because Tom was so good. He has the strongest faith in the Lord that I’ve read about in a secular book.
Another important slave family is that of Eliza and George and their little boy. The same family that first owned Tom, the Shelby’s, also owns Eliza and her son. The boy is sold at the same time as Tom and Eliza cannot bear it. She escapes before the trader comes and gets him. George escapes shortly after that, disguised as a Spanish noble. They are all of light skin due to the greed of white owners on their poor slave women. Each George and Eliza with her son succeeds in escaping to Canada. Their story is wonderful to hear and their success is a victory.
The plot of this story is to tell the world the atrocity of slavery. Most of the story is written to an audience that is either ignorant of the pain of slavery or is ignoring it and looking the other way. I don’t really know how to describe this book. It is very much an awareness story. Mostly relevant to the time it was written, but still powerful in its message.
The story of Tom is one that breaks my heart to know it really happened. I wonder what is going on now that I’m unaware of or am turning a blind eye to. This book can change a person. Usually I don’t get emotional about a book, but I do feel very strongly about this one. One part that really hit me hard was the strength of the faith of Tom. He really loved God so deeply. To see the suffering he went through, yet still trusted God, really challenged me. I see how easy my life is and how weak my faith is and I realize that it shouldn’t be so.
I think everyone should read this book. It may not affect them in the same way. But it is good to read a little part of American history and what has contributed to us a nation. This probably isn't a very good review, but is how I feel about this book right now.

Anna Karenina

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910)

I first chose this book because it is a known classic. Leo Tolstoy is one of those names known for writing great novels. This book truly is one of my favorites. What stands out to me the most is that the people in this novel are so believable.
The title of the book points out one main character, Anna Karenina. She was a complicated woman whose fall into adultery brought on her destruction. She married at a young age to a man much older than herself. She wasn’t necessarily unhappy in her marriage due to the love she had for her son. Her downfall came when she met a handsome young man, Count Vronsky that fell desperately in love with her. Their affair leads Anna into a madness that comes from her insecurity in her relationship with Vronsky. I don’t want to give away her ending, but it is quite troubling how one can end up from the stress of an affair.
The other most interesting character is Levin. He is a country landowner that struggles with big life questions. There are many characters that are influences in his life, his two brothers, his wife, his in-laws, his close friends. Each of them are intertwined together in this story in some for or another. I love the relationships between characters. It takes a great mind to bring them all together.
Levin’s wife, Kitty, is also a favorite of mine. She at first was in love with Vronsky. He was courting her and leading her on. Once Vronsky found Anna he ran to her and left Kitty broken hearted. Later Kitty accepted Levin’s proposal realizing that she really did love him. She is a dear sweet Christian woman that is very influential in Levin’s life. Their first year of marriage was a struggle, but they overcome and are very grateful for each other. Other influential characters include Kitty’s sister, Dolly, and her husband.
Its hard to state the type of book this is. Its not quite a romance or a tragedy. It tells of the dramatic lives of the aristocratic Russian population. There are many passages of the views on peasantry and movement toward a democratic nation. Some of it was a little over my head, but it was present in a concise and interesting way. It seems to be set in late 19th century, Tolstoy’s current time.
It was a wonderful read and kept moving. There wasn’t any unnecessary information and it didn’t lack anything either. I was thoroughly pleased with the pace of the book. The story line followed many characters and it’s hard to say what the exact purpose of the book was. In some ways it just shows the dynamics of people, but also it brought in some political views and influences. For some of the characters the book has a tragic ending, but for others it ends happily.
In all, I enjoyed this book very much. Even though the size of it is long and it sound like it would be difficult to follow the different characters, it ends up being perfectly put together. Tolstoy is a genius in writing. I recommend this book to anyone that loves reading.

A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

I started this book because I knew it was a classic. I’ve read many other Dickens novels and I liked them. Most of his tales are hard to read because they deal with difficult social situations. The hard issues in this story was based on the French Revolution. I didn’t realize how horrible the Revolution was until I read about the mass executions performed by the common people against the nobles. But that is another issue in itself.

The story starts with a certain doctor of the name of Manette. He is a French man that was wrongfully imprisoned for reasons found out late in the book. He is brought to England where his daughter, Lucie, helps to revive him back to his normal self. She eventually falls in love with a man that goes by the name of Charles Darnay. They live happily in England until a particular event causes Darnay to return to his home country of France. He is imprisoned on account that the Revolution has begun and he comes from noble birth. Lucie and her father follow him to France to try to get Darnay out of the hands of the Republic. Dr. Manette’s former imprisonment gives him a creditable standing and the people grant his request to free Darnay. Unfortunately there are people from Darnay’s past that are determined to see him executed because of his father’s ill doing. They arrest him again and bring him to trial. There is an interesting turn of events that bring all the characters in the book together at one place. The outcome is a good ending.

Choosing one main character is hard. It really centers around Dr. Manette, his daughter Lucie and her husband Charles Darnay. These three and their lives and adventure is focus of this story. I’m very interested in Darnay. He was a man born of noble birth. But after seeing and realizing how horrible the aristocrats treated the common people, he renounced his title and moved away. He understood the horrible condition that the country of France was in with the misuse of the common people. I admire him for that. His reason for returning to France was only to help a loyal servant from the hands of the Republic. Unfortunately the people didn’t understand him and just blame him for the horrible misdeeds of his forefathers. Another interesting character is Mrs. Defarge. She is one that denounces Darnay to the people, blaming him for the acts of his father. She is a strong, evil woman that takes a large part in pushing forward the Revolution. She is a symbol of the hate and anger of the people to the aristocrats.

This story was very believable since it was based on a historical event. I never realized how bad things were before the French Revolution and how much blood shed occurred to change things. Thousands of lives were executed in the Revolution. The unfair imprisonments of Manette and of Darnay were just parts of life in the changing system of France. Each character in itself was believable in their own way. Dickens has a very thorough of describing characters. After the first introduction of a person I feel like I know them.

The story is told in third person omniscient. That is my favorite style and also one of the most common. Dickens does a very good job narrating the story. During a lot of the reading I felt like I could hear him telling a story. It was much easier to read than some of his other novels. I didn’t think it was a dark and gloomy either, even though it contained heavy issues. The time period and location were key in the story. If the French Revolution wasn’t the center point I don’t believe it would have been a believable story. It was learning experience for me to read it. I’ve heard of the French Revolution and that it was a great change in the society of France, but I never understood the gravity of the situation.

I’m not sure there is one particular part of the story that was my favorite. I liked it was a whole. There isn’t anything that I didn’t like. The ending made me glad. I’ve read some endings that didn’t turn out the way I wanted. But this one did. I will recommend this book as my favorite of Dickens. I don’t know if it should be the first Dickens book to read, because it is different from his others, but it should be in the mix of his top books. It is definitely in my top books.

A Pair of Blue Eyes

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

I wanted to read this book because I love another Thomas Hardy book, The Mayor of Castorbridge, that I previously read. I wanted to read a book by an author that I already know I like. The story is of a young girl, Elfride Swancourt, that falls in love with the first man she gets to know, Steven Smith. She plans to secretly marry since her widowed father doesn’t approve of the marriage because Steven is from a lower class. But wisdom overtakes her and she decides against it. They promise one another’s love and Steven goes to India to save money and become wealthy enough to earn the father’s approval. In the meantime Elfride falls in love with another man, Henry Knight. There is a confusing turn of events leaving Elfride alone. The end turns tragically as the two lovers of Elfride race each other to win back her love.

Elfride, the main character, is one that is hard to understand. She is very passionate about her lovers, yet is torn between the two. Her commitment to the first is very strong for quite some awhile, but time and distance makes that love fade and she falls for another man. She believes that her attempt at elopement was a dreadfully wrong deed that ruins her honor. With this belief in mind she keeps it a secret from Knight and leads him to believe that she really did do something immoral. The misunderstanding brings about tragedy. She brings it upon herself with her false beliefs in her actions.

I can almost relate to Elfride in the beginning of the book. Her strong passion for Steven and desire to secretly marry, along with their separation for him to earn a living, are similar to my situation. But once she falls for another man and forsakes her first love, I lose the sympathy I had for her. Elfride’s lovers are very interesting people. As I read I want her to end up with Steven. He is handsome and works hard to make a living and loves her for who she is. Knight is a less emotional character and somewhat dry. I don’t like him very much. Elfride seems to change who she is to match what Knight desires. Part of the problem between them is that Knight wants a woman who has never loved before and Elfride tries to hide that she has loved.

The drama in this story could be somewhat believable. Not to such an extent as the eventual outcome, but I could see the misunderstandings and the broken hearts actually happening. The story is told third person omniscient. I like this point of view because I can know what all the characters are thinking and I know all the facts. This can take the suspense out of story, but in this case there are still striking turns of events that are surprising. The time and location help make the story more romantic. It’s set in nineteenth century England, a picturesque time for romance stories.

This story evokes a lot of emotions. I felt for Elfride in her first passions of love. I also felt angry and frustrated with the characters when they were stubborn or miscommunicated. I really liked when Elfride was sharing romantic moments with Steven. The beginning was my favorite part. I didn’t like how it ended. I won’t give it away. I had to read the last few pages a couple of times to make sure I understood what happened.

Even though the ending wasn’t the way I wanted it to be, I really enjoyed the story. When I read a book and I can’t put it down I’m a big fan. I definitely recommend this book to any one that loves a good romance.

Villette

Charlotte Bronte (1816-1865)

I started reading Villette one, it was recommended to me from a good friend and two, because I liked Charlotte Bronte’s other book, Jane Eyre. I thought Villette might be a dark tale filled with secrets and sadness. I was sadly disappointed. Villette didn’t live up to my expectations in that area. It was hardly what I expected at all.

The tale told in Villette is one of a young English girl that experiences untold hardships and makes her way to a little town in France to make a living as a school teacher. Lucy Snowe is very much a loner in this foreign town and this loneliness brings her to great despair. She meets up by odd chances with old acquaintances and for a time becomes happy again. She goes back and forth between her happiness and despair. There is a certain professor at her school with whom she has a very strange relationship with. Slowly she falls in love with him but that is all I can say. The ending is alright. I was a little disappointed in the explanations given, they were somewhat vague.

Lucy Snowe is a very solitary character. She is very reclusive and spends a lot of time alone. At times I think she is very brave. She travels to a foreign land and tries to teach English at a French school. But other times I see her as very weak and unable to take care of herself. She is given the weak woman stereotype of the day. A couple of times she has a nervous breakdown and I just want to yell at her to get it together. I can relate to her a little bit in her reclusiveness. But I don’t understand how she can be so weak.

There are many interesting characters in this book. Most are mysterious in their ways. The most interesting character after Lucy Snowe is M. Paul Emmanuel. I never really understood this character throughout the whole book. At first he seems to be very harsh and unforgiving. But later he is described as loved by all the students and teachers alike. So I believe now that I have completed the story, that he was a very strict teacher, but he was a good teacher. And for that everyone loved him. Each of the characters are very different from one another yet they each carry a mysterious aire about them. Most of the characters are connected to one another in some way.

The story is told from the point of view of Lucy Snowe. It is written in first person and so we as the reader is limited to the knowledge that she has. In this story it worked well to keep things unknown until the main character knows them. It keeps some suspense to the story. Personally it is not my favorite style. I like to know what the characters don’t know. Being that the story was told in first person, it was told completely in chronological order. There is no skipping around.

The location is part of what makes the story. Lucy is from England, had some troubles there, and went to find her fortune in France. She ends up at a school house and starts her life there. The language barrier is her first difficulty. Then she faces the loneliness of living in a boarding house alone when the children go off to their holiday. The little town that she is in is the perfect setting for her wanderings. The time period is fitting as well.

I thought this story would be sadder than it was. There were moments of sadness, some of mystery, some of suspense, but it almost didn’t move very much for me. At one point while I was reading, I wondered where this story was going. There isn’t a real big climax to it. Its just the story of a girl trying to make her way.

I can’t say that there was one thing I liked about this book. It wasn’t horrible to read, it just didn’t go anywhere. One thing I didn’t like was all the French phrases throughout the whole book. I enjoy a book more when I can understand everything they say.

The ending of the book was a little disappointing. It was very vague in the description. I don’t want to give it away, but it did upset me that there was no explanation. I like happy endings were there are rainbows and ponies. This book doesn’t tell me what happens. It’s a little frustrating.

My lasting impression of this book is that its not my favorite. I’m glad I read it so now I can say I’ve read two Charlotte Bronte books. But I’m not going to strongly recommend it. I didn’t feel strong emotions when I read it. And I like to feel for my characters. I do think that a lot of women would like this book. There is a bit of romance, but its more subtle than most desire it to be. I think people could relate to at least one of the characters in this book. There is a wide variety and they are all unique. So I would give this a middle rating. Not my favorite, but I could see that some would love it.

Les Miserables

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

I started this book because I knew it was a classic book. I’ve seen the movie and was touched by the message that it brought and was sure that the book would give more detail and convey a better story. I was correct in assuming this. Les Miserables tells the story of a convict that finds a new life after being forgiven by a Bishop. Jean Valjean, the convict, takes care of an orphan girl, Cosette, gives generously of his money to the poor, as he hides from the police since he escaped from the galleys. He ends in aiding a young gentleman that becomes the suitor of Cosette, and leads them to marriage. Jean Valjean is rejected by the young man after he finds that he was a convict, until the true story of the Jean’s generosity is made known by an interesting twist of events. Forgiveness is eventually given and the young people are happy in ending up together.

The character Jean Valjean was interesting to follow. At sometimes he made me frustrated because I didn’t understand why he would be so hard. But as I read I understood that his hardness came from his unfair treatment by those that knew him to be an ex-convict. It was impossible for one that was released from the galleys to do anything. Jean Valjean learned forgiveness from the Bishop that he first encounters and from then on lives by kindness and mercy. His heart is softened toward the needy and he does everything in his power to help those around him. I’m not sure that I could relate to him very well. He was a very secretive in all he did. I could almost relate to Cosette because she was a young woman and she falls in love. Of course my heart goes out to the love story that is entwined in this book. She is very innocent and chaste. In some ways I want to relate to her because of her innocence.

Marius was one of the characters that was really interesting to me. I don’t quite understand him and he brings curiosity to my mind. He rejected his grandfather because of his political views, but ended being a little wishy-washy when it came to standing up to his peers about it. The characters were each believable in their own way. This book really tells of the decay of society in France after the revolution. The poor were truly destitute and there was no way out. Children ran in the street barefoot during the winter and died of starvation. The characters represented different levels of society and what each thought of the other.

The point of view is that of an observer. He knows everything that is happening and the true story. The characters are limited in their knowledge and are sometimes mislead by others or their own ideas. The view that I had as a reader brought me into the story knowing that some characters were wrong in their judgments and I felt angry or grieved or frustrated by them. It gave me emotions that I could put into the story.

The location is what makes this story true. The time period is also equally important. It is based on the post-napoleon France where the country is trying to recover from civil war and tension is still very strong between the people and the government. There is a bit of history given in some of the chapters and it adds to the realistic scene this story sets. I didn’t know very much about the French Revolution before and was interested in learning more. A little of it was over my head, but I got the gist of the story. And since it was presented in the midst of this fictional story it helped me to understand how it really was for the people at that time. Even though this story switched between different characters it was still chronological to the events. There was some back stepping when it told the historical events, but this helped set up the platform for the ongoing story.

This story brought on all different emotions as I read it. I was angry at Jean Valjean for taking advantage of the Bishop and his family when they showed him kindness. And angry again when the Bishop forgave him. As Jean Valjean’s character developed I sympathized with him in his hardships. I felt joy when he was able to escape from the police and hid with Cosette in a convent. There was excitement when Jean Valjean followed Marius into the barricade to save him and bring him back to Cosette. There was pity on the poor family that had to stoop to thievery and deceit to feed themselves.

My favorite part of this book is the ending. I don’t want to give it away, but all the kindness that Jean Valjean gave and the selflessness that he lived is appreciated and seen for what it was. He truly lived for his Cosette and her happiness and it was realized in the end. The little things that he did that reached those around him were recognized and it ended well.

The saddest thing about this book was reading about the children that would starve and not be taken care of. I don’t like to read about the mistreatment of children and how they suffer. It makes me glad that society has come a long way from that, but at the same time there are places were children still suffer like they did in France long ago. I don’t like facing that reality because it makes me uncomfortable. But I know see the truth of what those children had to face.

I really enjoyed this book. I finished it in a week because it kept me so interested. I read of the wonderful kindness and mercy that one person can have can effect the rest of someone else’s life. The bishop’s kindness brought about many blessings on others because it showed Jean Valjean to live a new life. This book is a ten. I would recommend it to everyone.

Robinson Crusoe

Daniel Defoe (unknown-1731) – Well, this book starts off very boring. I almost didn’t continue reading it. The first couple of chapters did not grab my attention at all. Part of the struggle I had was the writing style. It’s written entirely in first person with very little dialogue. That is just not a style that I am fond of. The story line was not one of too much excitement. A man was trapped on an island. And it told of his despair while on that island. The beginning of the book was a bit of back ground to how he got to this island. It wasn’t very descriptive and rushed through. I didn’t realize that it was a background to the story for quite some time. I thought the whole book was going to be rushed as well. To some degree there was a rush to the plot and not in a keep the book moving kind of way. It seemed to skip some parts mostly to keep it from being too long. After getting through the intro and on toward what life was like for him on a deserted island it did get a little more interesting. One thing that was surprising to me was the amount of theology included within this book. Crusoe happened to have a bible among the things he rescued off of his ship and proceeded to become a strong Christian. He shares his struggles and how he learns from the bible about God and how to be a true follower. It was interesting to read because most books I read have people that are nominally Christians but don’t really live it. This man lived it and was passionate. He even witnessed to one of the natives that he eventually saved from others and kept as a servant. In the end he is saved by a ship and a captain that he saves from a mutiny. In short, it is an ok read. The beginning is boring but it picks up as you go and becomes a little more interesting. At least enough to get through it.