1697 written, 1704 published
Jonathan Swift
The Battle of the Books
C
A companion piece to A Tale of a Tub, which in fact has digressions on this "Ancients vs. Moderns" literary argument. It may be because I've only read Dryden and Aphra Behn of the "moderns," but much of the satire falls flat three centuries later. I kept flashing back to that Merrie Melodies cartoon Have You Got Any Castles?, where a fight breaks out among book characters. (It's the one with the House of Seven Clark Gables.)
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
A Tale of a Tub
1697 written, 1704 published, The Modern Library (Random House) edition of this and the other Swift works from 1931
Jonathan Swift
A Tale of a Tub
Original price not shown, bought used (obviously) for $2.25
Spine broken
C
Heavy-handed fable about various churches (symbolised by brothers Peter, Martin, and Jack), has its moments but almost completely derailed by unfunny digressions.
Jonathan Swift
A Tale of a Tub
Original price not shown, bought used (obviously) for $2.25
Spine broken
C
Heavy-handed fable about various churches (symbolised by brothers Peter, Martin, and Jack), has its moments but almost completely derailed by unfunny digressions.
Don Quixote
1605 for Part I, 1615 for Part II, Signet Classic edition 1964
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, translated by Walter Sarkie
Don Quixote of La Mancha
Original price not shown, bought used for unknown
Pretty bad condition, not surprising given the age of this paperback and my frequent rereads (at least every 5 years)
B+
Still funny and fresh after four centuries, this meandering set of adventures takes two memorable main characters and a lot of good supporting characters around late Renaissance Spain. Both a satire of and a tribute to chivalry, it manages to make even book-burning entertaining. I could've done with less about whipping, although as it turns out, the trees suffer more than the people. The attitudes to the Turks, Moriscos, and Sancho Panza's imaginary black subjects are regrettable but could be worse given the time. A pleasant surprise are the number of clever women, notably Dorotea. This translation is smooth and accessible, although when one phrase was footnoted as equivalent to "our 'wigs on the green,'" I had to shrug. (It means roughly "a fight's breaking out.")
Due to the difference in calendars in England and the Continent at that time, Cervantes and Shakespeare both died on April 23, 1616. But Cervantes was still at the top of his game a year before he went, while Shakespeare had peaked back in the 1590s.
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, translated by Walter Sarkie
Don Quixote of La Mancha
Original price not shown, bought used for unknown
Pretty bad condition, not surprising given the age of this paperback and my frequent rereads (at least every 5 years)
B+
Still funny and fresh after four centuries, this meandering set of adventures takes two memorable main characters and a lot of good supporting characters around late Renaissance Spain. Both a satire of and a tribute to chivalry, it manages to make even book-burning entertaining. I could've done with less about whipping, although as it turns out, the trees suffer more than the people. The attitudes to the Turks, Moriscos, and Sancho Panza's imaginary black subjects are regrettable but could be worse given the time. A pleasant surprise are the number of clever women, notably Dorotea. This translation is smooth and accessible, although when one phrase was footnoted as equivalent to "our 'wigs on the green,'" I had to shrug. (It means roughly "a fight's breaking out.")
Due to the difference in calendars in England and the Continent at that time, Cervantes and Shakespeare both died on April 23, 1616. But Cervantes was still at the top of his game a year before he went, while Shakespeare had peaked back in the 1590s.
Henry VIII
1613
William Shakespeare
Henry VIII
C-
As in Antony and Cleopatra, WS has a talent for making vibrant historical figures flat and uninteresting onstage. Almost 80 years after her death, was there a reason to strip Anne Boleyn of her vivid personality? Even Henry comes across more vividly in every book I've ever read him in than he does here. Ironically, pious, demure Katherine of Aragon steals the scenes she's in. Also LOL at the way the last scene works in praise not only for Elizabeth I but for her successor James I. (You'd think Henry might be annoyed by a prediction that his daughter will not only be the ruler but die a virgin, considering all his succession issues.)
Overall, this collection of Shakespeare averages out to a C. I'll hold on to it, but I'll probably continue to read it through only once every 20 years.
William Shakespeare
Henry VIII
C-
As in Antony and Cleopatra, WS has a talent for making vibrant historical figures flat and uninteresting onstage. Almost 80 years after her death, was there a reason to strip Anne Boleyn of her vivid personality? Even Henry comes across more vividly in every book I've ever read him in than he does here. Ironically, pious, demure Katherine of Aragon steals the scenes she's in. Also LOL at the way the last scene works in praise not only for Elizabeth I but for her successor James I. (You'd think Henry might be annoyed by a prediction that his daughter will not only be the ruler but die a virgin, considering all his succession issues.)
Overall, this collection of Shakespeare averages out to a C. I'll hold on to it, but I'll probably continue to read it through only once every 20 years.
Monday, November 28, 2011
The Tempest
1610-1611
Shakespeare
The Tempest
B
The penultimate of WS's surviving plays (until Cardenio and The Two Noble Kinsmen turn up) is his first good play in about a decade (since Hamlet). Interesting characters and setting, memorable quotes (including "brave new world"), and the themes of reconciliation, young love, and of course getting monsters drunk, all blend well. Weaknesses: perhaps too many subplots and more needless cameos by the gods. (Ires, Ceres, and Juno here, while Cymbeline brought in Jupiter. At least As You Like It gave Hymen some good lines.)
Shakespeare
The Tempest
B
The penultimate of WS's surviving plays (until Cardenio and The Two Noble Kinsmen turn up) is his first good play in about a decade (since Hamlet). Interesting characters and setting, memorable quotes (including "brave new world"), and the themes of reconciliation, young love, and of course getting monsters drunk, all blend well. Weaknesses: perhaps too many subplots and more needless cameos by the gods. (Ires, Ceres, and Juno here, while Cymbeline brought in Jupiter. At least As You Like It gave Hymen some good lines.)
Cymbeline
1610-1611
Shakespeare
Cymbeline
D
The title character's daughter, Princess Imogen, goes through a series of unfortunate events, but with none of Lemony Snicket's wit. The title is sort of fun to sing to the tune of Chuck Berry's "Maybellene."
Shakespeare
Cymbeline
D
The title character's daughter, Princess Imogen, goes through a series of unfortunate events, but with none of Lemony Snicket's wit. The title is sort of fun to sing to the tune of Chuck Berry's "Maybellene."
Friday, November 25, 2011
The Winter's Tale
1594-1611
Shakespeare
The Winter's Tale
C-
While certainly a continuation of Shakespeare's midlife slump, this is a definite improvement over the somewhat similar Pericles (a king's wife and daughter disappear for about fifteen years, presumed dead), even if Leontes is a jealous idiot for half the play. Credit goes to the comic relief: Autolycus the pedlar, the Shepherd, and the latter's son the Clown. Also, things aren't quite so far-fetched and there's a lot less distasteful material. And, yes, this is the play that J. K. Rowling took Hermione Granger's first name from, as well as being the drama with the wonderful stage direction "Exit, pursued by a bear." Plus, there's a certain d-word that will make you blink in surprise in Act IV, scene iv.
Shakespeare
The Winter's Tale
C-
While certainly a continuation of Shakespeare's midlife slump, this is a definite improvement over the somewhat similar Pericles (a king's wife and daughter disappear for about fifteen years, presumed dead), even if Leontes is a jealous idiot for half the play. Credit goes to the comic relief: Autolycus the pedlar, the Shepherd, and the latter's son the Clown. Also, things aren't quite so far-fetched and there's a lot less distasteful material. And, yes, this is the play that J. K. Rowling took Hermione Granger's first name from, as well as being the drama with the wonderful stage direction "Exit, pursued by a bear." Plus, there's a certain d-word that will make you blink in surprise in Act IV, scene iv.
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