The Misanthrope by Moliere

Well, I seem to be having issues uploading pictures lately.  Blake has been buying a lot of plays and other works that are classics/well known.  I have decided to try and catch up with my literary reading so that I have at least read what the AP English students are/have read.  Some are going to be tough to get through and I may not get motivated to read all of them.  However, our summer reading program through our local library is allowing adults to participate this year and be entered into a drawing so this may motivate me a bit more.  No idea what the prize will be, but I tend to have decent luck winning things and enjoy the pleasure of knowing that I am a winner!

To the review...  The Misanthrope is a short play, however, it is not easy to read like some other plays I have recently read, but easier than Dr. Faustus which I tried to start reading today and put it down after the first page.  Too much like Shakespeare, which makes sense since Shakespeare was inspired by Marlowe's writing.  The actual plot and events of the play are simple and not really entertaining.  Just a bunch of discussions between multiple men who are in love with the same woman.  Our main character, Alceste, is so in love with Celimene and very jealous of the other suitors.  He is also very frank and honest with everyone to the point that many are offended and advise him that he should at least keep his mouth shut at times instead of being so brutal.  He actually ends up in court for offending another suitor of Celimene.

I found the interactions between the actors interesting.  Each talks openly about the faults of others, but while in their midst they are dear friends.  They even have a discussion on how a quiet person can be described as a bore or pure of heart depending on how attracted and fond the other person is of them.  Is it better to be completely honest with someone and tell them their poem is horrible, or is it better to come up with some compliment on how the poems rhymes without saying that it really is not that great?  How honest should we be with others?  This is a great conversation to discuss and has so many possibilities.

Paris: The Novel by Edward Rutherford

Sorry this picture is blurry.  I am having a hard time getting the picture to load correctly tonight.  So my latest book is PARIS: The Novel by Edward Rutherford.  It was hard to start this book and continue with it much like Devil in the White City, however I am glad I kept going.  By the end of the book you love characters you did not like at the beginning while at the same time feel bad for and hate other characters you may have enjoyed at the beginning.

Unlike Devil in the White City, this book follows historical events with fictional characters.  There are not a lot of facts about Paris, however, you get a feel for how the French live their lives and are very patriotic.  There are multiple families that we follow through many generations.  Each from a different social class.  You can understand how aristocrats felt and acted compared to poorer people from different parts of the city.  We see daughters get thrown out of their family and disowned for dishonoring their family and see how even family members look down on other relatives who do not live their life in a socially acceptable manner.  Marriages happen based on class, not love.

We are taken through Paris during both World Wars, revolution, the building of the Eiffel Tower, and the reign of different kings.  I enjoyed getting a better understanding of the history of Paris in a very simple way.  My only complaint, especially at the beginning, is keeping track of what year the story is in and what part of Paris due to the unfamiliar names and bouncing from present to past to future and back again.  It gets a little confusing at times but is fun to see how all the characters at some point have interactions with one another.