#15 - "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf

I finished To the Lighthouse today.  It's the third shortest book I've read so far, but took almost twice as long as any other.  I blame summer weather, golf courses, the Stampede and beer on patios.  The real reason it took so long however, was a combination of the aformentioned things and that I really didn't like it.

The problem I had with this novel is the style in which it was written.  Instead of describing actions or using dialogue, most of the book consists of describing different characters' thoughts and emotions.  The book also jumps from one character to another, making it very difficult to follow.  One review I found even said that plot was secondary to philosophical introspection.  I don't even know what that means, other than I'm not going to like it.  How am I supposed to follow a book that doesn't really have a plot, or even any descriptions for that matter.

Throughout the entire novel, I never really had a feel for any of the characters or settings and was unable to picture them in my mind.  I guess the good thing is, if I ever see the movie, I won't be dissapointed with the casting.  "That actor filled the blank face I had in my mind perfectly!" I'll exclaim leaving the theatre, or more likely from the couch.

The plot, a term I use very loosely, centered around a family's desire to visit a lighthouse in Scotland in 1910, and then their actual visit to the same lighthouse in 1920; after half the family had died.  I don't know if lighthouses were a lot bigger attraction a hundred years ago, but I don't see myself itching to visit one for ten years.  Anyway, a bunch of stuff happens in the middle, or rather nothing happens, but all the characters think about how nothing happened.  They all seem to wonder why they couldn't have visited the lighthouse ten years earlier.  Of course, they could hvae, as the trip only involves a thirty minute boat ride, but they didn't because the father thought it might rain.  That's really the reason they didn't go.  I'm not kidding.  But after ten years, the remaining family members were able to risk rain, and visit the lighthouse.  The book however ends just as they arrive, so we never even find out what's so great about the goddamn thing.

I have to wonder what's wrong with me.  This book received high praise from Time Magazine when it was first released in 1927, and again when The List was put together.  Perhaps I'll mature, with regards to literature, as I continue reading the list, but again, I didn't like this book.  Only Naked Lunch surpassed it in...un-readability.

I visited the library today, and picked up two more books, I, Claudius and Lucky Jim.  Both continue my trend of not knowing anything about the book before I read it.  I, Claudius was mentioned in a episode of "Cheers" I saw recently though, as Frasier exclaimed "We can go upstairs, I have all twelve episodes of I, Claudius on tape!", much to Sam's chagrin.  I like to think that I have more sophisticated reading tastes than Sam Malone, but only time will tell.

As for fines, it turns out I incurred $1.05 on both To the Lighthouse and The Power and the Glory.  That brings my fine total to $5.90.  And if you were wondering, I returned both those books today, which means I've been renewing Power all this time, even though I finished reading it almost two months ago.  It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I wanted to conserve fuel, and not drive to the library twice.  Let's go with that.


You can read the original Time Magazine review from May 30, 1927 right here.

#14 - "The Power and the Glory" by Graham Greene

I was able to finish The Power and the Glory last night, making that four books in June.  Actually, I finished the book at about 2:00AM, but I'm going to consider that being finished in June.

I found the first few chapters of this book very difficult to immerse myself in.  I don't know if I'm just not that smart or what, but I found the beginning to be quite confusing.  At one point, I wondered if I had missed a page or something.  Or perhaps I had drifted off, where your brain is elsewhere, but your eyes continue to scan across the page.  I hadn't felt this lost since reading Light in August.

Eventually, things began to come together and the pieces started falling into place, but I still can't get over how confusing I found this at the start.  Is it supposed to be read that way?  Or am I finding it difficult to get into any book after just having finished a different one?  When I had started Atonement, I still had the Lambert family from The Corrections in my head, and found any new character to be almost a distraction to my involvement with them.  I have to learn to do a better job of wiping the slate clean, and remembering I'm reading a new book.

The Power and the Glory is the story of an unnamed priest, wandering the Mexican countryside to avoid prosecution. Set in the 1930's in Mexico, while the government was in the process of suppressing religion, making worship illegal and executing any religious figures including priests and bishops, the story follows an unnamed priest as he roams the countryside trying to avoid prosecution.

As the nameless priest moves from village to village, being chased by a Lieutenant and his posse, he slowly feels the pinch of the law, as they move in closer and closer, surrounding the priest.  While he is a self-described "whiskey priest", basically a drunk and a bad priest, he is still devoted to his faith.  Unable to resist the urge to quench the people's thirst for religious guidance, he must decide whether or not to sacrifice his own freedom to enhance the lives of the people he encounters.

The story did gain momentum, and in the end, I was quite engrossed with the fate of the priest.  As the posse slowly moves in, and he resigns himself to his demise, I felt myself felling compassion for not only the man, but also the religion; something I'm not known for.

While I enjoyed the read, it doesn't really stick out in my mind, and I wouldn't be picking it for my favorite books yet.  In fact, this will find itself closer to the bottom, along with Naked Lunch and Light in August.

My next book will be To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf.  Again, I know nothing about it, other than Elizabeth Taylor was in a movie called "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"  I'll assume the two have something in common.

His recognizances, his fines, his double vouchers,

I hit the library yesterday and picked up what will end up being numbers 14 and 15 on The List.  First off is The Power and the Glory  by Graham Greene.  (The British author, not the Canadian actor).  It was written in 1939, which meets my requirements of reading an older book (after my last two were from this decade), but I don't know anything else about it.  It looks pretty short, so maybe I'll be able to finish it in a couple of days, which would be amazing considering it took me a month to read some of these books, and I could finish four books in June alone.

The other book I picked up was To the Lighthouse  by Virginia Woolf, also an 'older' book, having been published in 1927.  Again, I don't know anything about it, other than I've heard of the movie "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf", starring Elizabeth Taylor.

As an aside, I did return Atonement a couple of days late, making it the second book I've incurred fines on.  However, it was only seventy cents, bringing my total to $3.85.