About Her
Elle E. is 26 and teaches in a state overrun by the spawn of yuppies. Therefore she is a full-time heretic much afflicted by spleen.
the colour green, reading, scribes and orators, ruffs, cuffs, Machiavellian villains and vindictive heroes.
Previously...
What I'm Reading Now
The Graduate
Charles Webb
'For twenty-one years I have been shuffling back and forth between classrooms and libraries. Now you tell me what the hell it's got me.' A brilliantly sordid tale of a young man's search for identity and a portrayal of the worst-behaved yet most sympathetic anti-hero of the day.
Reviewed
Touché
Agnes Catherine Poirier
Rating 
We know all about the rift between England and France and why they hate each other's guts so much yada yada, but do we really? This book is quite an interesting read, light, bright and sparkly. Thankfully, the author usually gets authoritative when it's France and not Britain. We don't want a French trying to prove she knows more about the 'dour' British than themselves.
The Other Queen
Philippa Gregory
Rating 
Surely, Philippa Gregory loathes Elizabeth as much as I do. Heh. Bess of Hardwick is not as likeable as the imprisoned queen but it is an easy matter to sympathise with her predicament. Overall characterizations are weak and the plot is repetitive. However, it is still a readable book what with the brave Scot, the bitchy Tudor, the indefatigable spymaster William Cecil and the Talbots trying to put up a brave front.
The Virago Book of Ghost Stories
Richard Dalby (Ed.)
Rating 
Out of 31 ghost stories, I liked a mere 7. None of the stories are frightening and all are penned by female authors. I don't know if that's the reason behind the rather sedate 'thrills' on offer here. Margaret Oliphant's
The Open Door is the best in the collection.
The Independence of Miss Mary Bennett
Colleen McCollough
Rating
Wondered about the 'ever after' in Lizzie and Darcy's marriage? McCollough constructs quite a believable state of affairs between almost everyone's favourite Austen couple - and you might not find it to your liking. Still, that's about the only thing I enjoyed in what proves to be a far-fetched plot centered around the no longer plain (but of course!) Mary Bennett. If you like your Dickens, you might just be able to appreciate the barrage of coincidences found in this book.
A Classical Education - The stuff you wish you'd been taught at school
Caroline Taggart
Rating
I can't stop myself from picking up titles such as this. It's one of the books for people who like to bluff their way through the classics.
Personal Days
Ed Park
Rating
If you've worked in an office environment before, you'll be able to identify the situations in this novel. The characters might seem typical but they certainly strike a chord. Especially astute is the examination of the prospect of getting the sack. They want to get fired (to pursue something more 'worthwhile') but hate their boss's guts anyway when it actually happens. That's real life... Heh.
Harry Potter & the Half-blood Prince
David Yates
Rating 
Utterly forgettable. The worst in the franchise. I've decided I shall not be watching the last movie when it hits the theatre - I see no good coming out of a Yates film. Give me HP movie #3 anytime.
Blogroll
Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 12:19 PM
Title: Vile Bodies
Author: Evelyn Waugh
Genre: Fiction, 20th century classics
Publication: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition (3 Feb 2000)
Paperback: 256 pages
ISBN: 0141182873
Endcap: 2.5/5
The good things first. The cover is absolutely stunning. It's an original illustration from Vanity Fair, 1928. The novel starts out funny, quaint jazz age, English upper crust funny. Every English aristocrat knows the other. Miss Runcible is too, too ridiculous. And the minor characters like the Drunk Major and Father Rothschild are usually amusing to the reader. However, the novel's 'protagonist', Adam Symes, and his girlfriend, Nina Blount, are thoroughly boring. I understand that the rich are supposed to be thoroughly bored with their lives but to subject me, the reader, to their boredom is unpardonable. I felt very let down.
Somehow or other, the novel feels extremely dated. I love reading classics and I like history and all that, but as long as it's relevant. I don't think Vile Bodies deserves a spot in the modern classics. It is sometimes a chore to get through a page of inane chatter - I suppose that's the whole point of the book. People had not one thing to do except fall from chandeliers and kill themselves before they turn 30 or pretend sophistication when they're unbelievably wet behind the ears. It's a wonder what Holden Caulfield would do were he unleashed into the society of the Bright Young Things...
