1001 Book Update - Heart of Darkness

The other day I finished the book I was currently reading on the subway to work. My commute each way is about an hour...long I know but it gives me time to read. So I thought I'd swing by the library and grab a short novel for the ride home.

Back in high school I was supposed to read Joseph Conrad's book, Lord Jim, but never did. I kind of feel guilty about that one. So I grabbed this slim book which has two of his short books. Surprisingly, I really liked them. The Secret Sharer was a bit more easier to read than Heart of Darkness.

The introduction was really interesting though. I did not know Joseph Conrad...a great "English" writer was really Polish. His name is really Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski. Wow, huh? That and he didn't really learn the English language until he was twenty. His books, well at least these two, have real moral and psychological undertones. I love that.

Heart of Darkness
Published in 1902, Heart of Darkness begins the story on a ship leaving London. Marlow, one of the English passengers on the ship tells a story of when he was a Captain of a boat in the Congo doing Ivory trading. He is given the task of going down the Congo River to retrieve a fellow ivory trader, Kurtz, who has quite the reputation in the region.

While the writing is very very wordy (the introduction even notes that), the imagery is very strong. He depicts the horrible conditions of the slaves in the area. And when he finally does meet Kurtz, the absolute lack of humanity in him is just...well plain scary. And that's when it gets sort of into the psychological aspect of the story. I mean Kurtz is a horrible trader who will do anything to get more ivory. I mean the guy has heads on stakes around his place. Just as a warning. But Kurtz has presence. Just pure evil genius. And Marlow actually starts to admire him. Not admire what he does or did but just the genius of it all. It really confronts that idea of the ability of everyone to be or do evil. Kind of like in World War II...how do regular people end up doing horrific things? Even the title of the story, Heart of Darkness is a psychological twist. Africa used to be called the "Dark Continent" but it's really about the darkness of the human heart.

The Secret Sharer
This short story, published in 1910, was a bit more straight forward than Heart of Darkness but still pretty good. The story is about a newbie Captain of a ship. He really hasn't gotten to know his crew or his ship. While he on watch during the night, he finds a naked man hanging onto the ladder of his ship in the water. He takes the man on board, hides him in his cabin, and learns his story. The man is named Leggatt and is from the ship, Sephora, which is nearby. During a horrible storm, Leggatt, in a fit of rage, killed a fellow shipmate because Leggatt thought the shipmate was being lax in his duties. He escaped punishment by diving in the water, feigning drowning and hiding.

So the Captain actually sides with this guy! He hides him, lies to his crew, and lies to the Sephora Captain. He even goes as far as to call this guy "his other self"...I mean he really identifies more with this murderer than with anyone else. Kind of crazy.

Conclusion:

I'll have to read more Joseph Conrad. I love the psychological/moral twist in these stories. They really make me ponder things long after I've read them. And I love that Joseph Conrad actually went to these places since he worked in the French and British Merchant Navies. It makes me wonder how much of his stories he took from real life...which is kind of scary.

Made in the U.S.A. - Billie Letts

I recently read Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts after I read her book Shoot the Moon (my review). I won this book from Bookshipper in a huge 14 book giveaway from Hachette Books (my post on that). Isn't the cover gorgeous! And yes, catching fireflies does come up at some point in the book.

Anyway, the book was pretty good. I liked Shoot the Moon better but it does keep you engrossed and I finished it in about a day and a half.

Here's the plot:

Fifteen year-old Luttie and her brother eleven year-old brother Fate have a problem. Their mother died years ago. Their dad went to Vegas a year ago and left them with his ex-girlfriend, Floy, and they haven't heard from him since. Floy just keeled over from a heart attack at Walmart and child services just doesn't seem appealing.

What are two kids to do? Logical answer is to steal/borrow Floy's car, dig up as much cash as they can, and head to Vegas to find their father.

Uh oh.

Here's the thing. Luttie is not a very likeable character. From the very beginning she's a compulsive stealer. And she's bitter, rude, and selfish. Even to her little brother. But oh Fate is so adorable. He's one of those brilliant sweet kids who spout random facts and has no friends. Now these type of kids can either be annoying or cute...and he's the second type. So I kept rooting that they'd be ok.

But Vegas has a dark side. I know that because I lived there and saw it. And those parts of the book are just heart-wrenching. Be warned...violence, child pornography, and all those Vegas underbelly stuff. At one point I was almost angry at Billie Letts for not saving them sooner...like "just don't write it and they'll be ok" or "where's their saving angel already!?!".

And then it gets better. And there's fireflies.

My only beef is that it sort of wraps up a little to quickly and nicely at the end...especially Luttie's story.

But it's still a pretty good story...especially since the book had me yelling at the author here and there!

**BIG NOTE: I will be giving away this hardback copy of Billie Letts novel along with a paperback copy of her novel Shoot the Moon. Comment on this review for an extra chance to win!

Housing Works Fair

Happy Friday everyone! It's raining (again) here in the City but hopefully this weekend will be nice and sunny.

For all you in the NYC area, Housing Works is having a street fair tomorrow. You might remember my jaunt last year to the street fair and the haul I got. Seriously...dollar books people...and records, CDs, clothes, etc. Love it

AND Housing Works is an amazing place. 100% of profits go to aid the homeless and those with AIDS. How amazing is that.

And I'm posting this photo I took last year in the bookstore just because I love it. I swear that lady posed just for me (or I'd like to think she did).

Shoot the Moon - Billie Letts

A while back I won a paperback copy of Billie Letts novel, Shoot the Moon, from Bree at The Things We Read. I figured this seemed like the perfect book to kick off summer. It's been a little rainy and dreary here in NYC so I needed a dose of summer reading.

And this was the perfect summer reading book. I whizzed through it in a day. Seriously. I mean it's not the best book ever but it's a great feel-good mystery story.

Here's the plot:

Small town Oklahoma, 1972: 18 year old single mom found stabbed to death and her 10 month old son, Nicky Jack, is missing. Unsolved case.

About 30 years later, a man shows up in town saying he just found out he was adopted. He wants to confront his biological mom and ask why he was put up for adoption. Problem? He claims he is Nicky Jack.

So there's a great little mystery here. Why was his mom murdered? Who did it? Is he really Nicky Jack? Who was the father? Etc. Etc. Etc.

But I really liked the characters. It's written through the perspective of Mark, a.k.a. Nicky Jack, and I really liked him. And he stays with his Aunt and Cousin who are just great characters. And what I really liked was how Nicky Jack tries to figure out who his mom was...and interspersed with the story are excerpts of his mom's diary she kept through high school. So it makes her a real character and her death that more personal.

Funny thing about Billie Letts' novels, well the three I am familiar with, are they 1) have some setting in Oklahoma and 2) involve a Wal-mart somewhere in the story

If you've never read a Billie Letts novel you may be familiar with one of her books, Where the Heart Is, that was turned into a movie. I normally would have never watched that movie but it has Natalie Portman and Ashley Judd in it. And I actually did think it was a kind of cute movie.

***BIG NOTE: I will be giving away this copy of Billie Letts novel along with a hardback copy of her novel Made in the U.S.A. in a day or two. Comment on this review for an extra chance to win!

Misc Tuesday Stuff

I am a bit behind on my posts but promise to update you on the BEA. Had a fabulous time on Saturday and met a few cool bloggers. It was like meeting celebrities, really! So I'll get my few photos uploaded and update you on everything.

In the meantime, check out this awesome post from Cake Wrecks...delicious cakes based on children stories. You'll have to check the post out yourself to see all the cool designs but here's one from one of my all-time favorite children's books (our copy was so worn the first couple of pages were missing):

100+ Challenge Update

I was reminded by the Urban Bachelorette's post that I need to post an update on my 100+ Reading Challenge progress.

So far this year I've read FORTY books. Woo hoo! Sadly I am WAY behind in posting reviews. That's ok...I will get around to doing it. I've read some awesome books.

Here's my list for May:

Photographing Fairies - Steve Szilagyi
The Red Leather Diary - Lily Koppel
The Sugar Queen - Sarah Addison Allen

The Gargoyle - Andrew Davidson

When You are Engulfed in Flames - David Sedaris

Daphne: A Novel - Justine Picardie

Einstein's Dreams - Alan Lightman

Night Music - Harrison Gradwell Slater

Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

Great Gatsby!

You're The Great Gatsby!

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Having grown up in immense wealth and privilege, the world is truly at
your doorstep. Instead of reveling in this life of luxury, however, you spend most of
your time mooning over a failed romance. The object of your affection is all but
worthless--a frivolous liar--but it matters not to you. You can paint any image of the
past you want and make it seem real. If you were a color of fishing boat light, you
would be green.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.