The Day of the Locust: A Review

 

The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West is a novel about Hollywood and it’s corrupting touch on the lives of those in the far reaches of the film industry.

The novel focuses on Tod Hackett and his extreme lust for Faye Greener. He seems to hang on her every notion and constantly befriends her other suitors to gain further access to Faye. She declines his advances in the way a messy teenager would [which makes sense because she is one] and continues to use and abuse the suitors who are completely enamored with her.

With many twists and turns, this novel is almost a slap in the face to American culture at that time, especially Hollywood with it’s love of false glamour and it’s obsession with vanity.

Although the characters were, at times, completely unbearable to me, I still found the novel to be a quick read. It kept me interested through the end, which is a rare find.

A Farewell to Arms: A Review

What a novel!!!

This is one of the easier to read books on the Modern Library’s list, but don’t let that fool you, it is WELL worth a read. Based in WWI, this novel follows Frederic Henry, an American in the Italian Army. There are a lot of psuedo-gory moments during the war scenes in the novel, but the story mostly focuses on Henry’s romance with Catherine, a British nurse.

Without ruining any part of the novel, all I can say is that their relationship is an odd one and says a lot about the state of romance during WWI.

As with most of the recent reads, I would definitely suggest this to anyone looking for a quick read involving war, romance, and a little bit of the oddities that make up human nature. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie: A Review

Oh, Miss Jean Brodie…

She is a woman “in the prime of her life.” Or so she continually tells her class of young ladies at an Edinburgh school. Miss Jean Brodie is a teacher to remember with her inappropriate stories of her personal life and her inability to follow a real curriculum, but my oh my, what an intriguing character.

The novel is written through the eyes of her six favorite girls, known as The Brodie set. It follows them as they mature through their high school years and their relationships with Miss Brodie evolve.

In the hopes of not giving anything away, suffice it to say that The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a compelling novel by Muriel Spark! It’s a quick read at a short couple hundred pages, but well worth your while!

It’s empowering to read a novel from the ’60’s focusing on female sexuality and the growth that occurs during puberty. Definitely worth a read for all my lady readers out there!

Kim: A Review

Kim is a novel about a young beggar boy in Lahore [in what used to be India]. He meets a Lama who takes him on a spiritual journey to find Buddha’s river from the story of the arrow, in order to be wiped clear of his sins.

And that’s all I’m telling you about the plot. I don’t want to give anything away.

This novel really grabbed me right from the get-go. I can’t fully explain what was so endearing about Kim, or why I cared so much about his journey, thoughts, and experiences… all I can say is that I was completely enamored with Kipling’s writing style and his character development. It definitely caught me by surprise.

Kim also portrays the country of India [when it included Pakistan and Bangladesh] and it’s diverse cultural and religious entities during this time period. Kipling’s novel continues to be in the forefront of my mind; needless to say, I am completely smitten with this work and would definitely recommend it to any and all readers out there.

Honestly, I was a bit reserved at the beginning of this novel, unsure as to whether I would like it. Sheltering Sky  by Paul Bowles was a similar novel about a foreign countries culture and I simply did not enjoy Bowles’ work, thus my reserve with Kim. That reserve was completely unfounded and I can’t wait to finish the Modern Library’s top 100 novels list so that I can read more of Rudyard Kipling, including The Jungle Book!