The Song of the Lark

Song of the Lark

By Willa Cather

Published 1915

Free on Kindle

I previously wrote about another novel by Willa Cather (1873-1947), The Professor’s House, and cover her history a bit more in that one. She is one of the best American novelists, considered in the top 10 and won the Pulitzer Prize for  One of Ours in 1922, a novel set in World War 1.

The Song of the Lark was written in 1915 and the story takes place in 1890s Colorado. The area is still being settled and there are many different groups of people living together during the frontier days. The story follows a young musician, Thea Kronberg, as she develops as an artists.

Novels that follow a character from early youth to adulthood are called Bildungsroman, a German term meaning a “novel of education.” Other notable Bildungsromans are A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and my favorite novel Of Human Bondage. See my post.

I have started work on my Master’s Thesis and I am writing about The Song of the Lark using a postcolonial theory lens to analyze characters. The idea for this paper came about because of readings I was doing for an American literature class on Modernism. Thats the early 20th century. I was reading the book when I started to get a real positive portrayal of the Mexican characters. This stood out because I had finished a previous novel, Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, where the Mexican characters were portrayed or described very negatively. I kept reading the novel and got a more complex approach, in that some of the white characters insult the Mexican characters and other are looked down upon for being friends with them. I thought that Cather was doing something interesting with the race relations in the novel and wanted to explore that a bit more.  I wanted to do an analysis of the characters so that I could understand more about what was going on with them and what Cather was saying implicitly and through the narration.

Cather is a very skilled writer and can put two sentences together to give meaning and complicate ideas without having to say anything. She did not want to be limited in her interpretation so she leaves things unsaid, using silence to leave open the many possible interpretations of the text.

The Song of the Lark is the latest novel I have read by Cather and is currently my favorite. This is the second book in her “Prairie Trilogy,” following O Pioneers! and preceding My Antonia. Both of which are free in ebook. Download some samples and start reading some of the best American Literature.

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The Turn of the Screw

The Turn of the Screw
By Henry James
First published in 1898

The Turn of the Screw is a novella that was published in serial form in Collier’s Weekly. The story is divided into a prologue and twenty four chapters. The story begins on a Christmas eve with people sitting around a fire telling ghost stories. After a lackluster ghost story the narrator introduces the story of a governess who is watching over two children who are haunted by apparitions! The novella is a quick read and will keep you reading long into the night!

We are studying this story in a Critical Approaches to Literature class that I am taking. The definition of critical is not passing judgement but as a way to interpret and analyze literature. We are applying different theoretical frameworks to interpret literature. The more well known theories are psychoanalysis and new criticism. Even if you don't know the theories you may have heard of the terminology associated with them like close reading, and symbolism. I tend to interpret literature in the classical way, that is incorporating the authors history and historical context of the text. That also influences the way I normally present these blog post. I tend to give a brief bio of the author or things I think are significant to the text. Also, some of the text discussed here are a hundred or even a few hundred years old and I tend to interpret them from the context they were written in. See my King Lear post and Tom Sawyer post. That said, I am trying a little something different with this one.

The Turn of the Screw - Free

The Turn of the Screw: A Case Study in Contemporary Criticism (Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism) - $13.64 This is the version we are using in class. Has many great essays on the book using different approaches. unfortunately it is not available in eBook format.

The Turn of the Screw is a framed story. The story is being narrated on a cold winter night while people are taking turns telling ghost stories. The person telling the story is recalling the story from the written account he got from the Governess who experienced and wrote it down. How does the framing of the story affect the story? The story could have been the written account from the governess herself. Why does Henry James chose to tell the story in this way?

Because the story is being told from memory, the question of the reliability of the narrator is raised. Is the written account reliable? It is written from the first person account and telling of supernatural events; is the governess telling what she saw or is she delusional? Is the ghost story teller relaying all the facts or is he elaborating on the story for effect?

These are some of the questions that come up while doing a narratological reading of the story. Narratology is looking at how the structure of the narrative affects the interpretation of the story. This is a great story to do this type of interpretation. The novella is written by the author who is telling a story. He frames it as a ghost story in the story he wrote. Also, the author is writing in a genre, and the conventions of the genre affect the way the story is told and what has to be included.

The critical approach to literature can help in understanding the story in a more profound way. The author wrote the story for the entertainment of the reader, and the reader can get a deeper understanding by critically thinking about what they are reading. Spending time thinking about the story can help the reader remember the story better. From personal experience, the stories I tend to forget are ones I did not spend time thinking about. Asking simple questions like “why the author chose to start the story in a certain way” can lead to a more in depth reading experience. I read for pleasure but I also like to learn from what I read. Our culture is becoming increasing more reliant on sound bytes and information overload. Spending time reading and thinking about reading is important. I don't just want to read to get through a novel, I want to enjoy the experience and I can do that by thinking about what I am reading as well as while I am reading. Thinking about the choices that authors make in starting novels or in organizing the chapters, helps the readers to become an active reader. 

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Anna Karenina

Leo Tolstoy
Anna Karenina - Free
First Published in 1877

Anna Karenina is a novel by Leo Tolstoy. The novel was originally published in serial form from 1873 to 1877. This is a highly regarded book and one that I personally love. It has grown in popularity in recent years and is widely regarded as a flawless book. The new movie version looks really good with Keira Knightley as Anna Karenina and Jude Law as her husband Count Alexei Karenin.

Anna Karenina is a classic novel dealing with the grand themes of adultery, forgiveness, death and social change in 19th century Russia. Tolstoy loved to write and it shows in this 800 plus page book. His War and Peace is over 1000 pages but with the magic of the Kindle, the weight of the book disappears.

The novel starts out with some immortal words.

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

The novel is split into eight parts with each part containing 20 to 30 chapters. Because the novel was originally serialized, you can read each chapter as a standalone within a greater work. Tolstoy managed to write a 800 page page-turner. A feat that is highly praised by many including William Faulkner who called it “the best ever written.” Read the book before you go out and see the movie because like I always say, the books are always better than the movies! The novel has been made into at least 12 different movie versions.

Download the book and see what is changed or left out in the new movie version.

Anna Karenina - Free The Constance Garnett translation.
Anna Karenina - $0.99 A nicely formatted version with a table of contents.
Anna Karenina (Maude Translation) - $2.99 The highly praised Maude translation.

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Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes
Don Quixote
First Published in 1605

Many of the books discussed before on this blog have been on “Best Books” lists including Things Fall Apart, The Epic of Gilgamesh, Crime and Punishment, The Odyssey, and King Lear. There is one book that is consistently ranked high on all the best books’ lists and was voted “best literary work ever written,” Don Quixote.

Don Quixote is a parody of the knighthood tales that were popular at the time.

PARODY n. a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing.

Miguel de Cervantes published the first part in 1605 and the second part ten years later in 1615. The work was originally written in Spanish and has been translated into many languages including a great number of different English translations. An interesting fact is that Don Quixote is the second most popular printed work, behind the Bible.

Don Quixote is a middle aged country man who decides to set off on adventures to save the world. Being influenced by the many tales of knighthood and the chivalric code that he has been reading, he begins his adventures. He gets himself knighted and finds himself a noble squire, Sancho Panza. Don Quixote is a man out of time trying to live by the code that has long been forgotten.

The first part of the book is silly and makes fun of many tales of knighthood. The second part is more serious and deals with philosophical issues of deception. There are several free versions of the book in the kindle store.

Don Quixote - Free
The History of Don Quixote, Volume 1, Complete - Free
Don Quixote (Modern Library) - $9.99
Don Quijote (Spanish Edition) - Free

If there is one book that is considered a must read for most people, it has to be Don Quixote. The book was an instant success and has remained popular for more than 400 years! I am reading this book in English and I will try to read it in Spanish when I am done. If your kindle has text-to-speech, you can have it read the greatest novel to you while you drive back and forth from work!

Check out our Facebook Page and Like us to keep up to date on the latest Kindle Literature news. You can share this post or any others on your social media of choice and bookmark the site for future post. You can also grab the RSS feed or try a   free 2 week trial*  on your Kindle to have the posts delivered directly to your Kindle. Follow me on twitter @seframos. Happy Reading.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Mark Twain
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Free
Published 1876

Mark Twain was a humorist and satirist who achieved worldwide acclaim while still alive. For more on Mark Twain see my post on his Biography and Autobiography.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is one of Mark Twain's most famous novels. The book follows Tom Sawyer and his friends growing up in a town next to the Mississippi river and all the adventures they experience. The characters are loosely based on Mark Twain’s childhood and his friends. Tom Sawyer was written as a children’s novel and Mark Twain uses this as a means to express his social commentary. Using a child’s innocence and simplicity he is able to point out the sometimes childish and irrational norms of society.

“Often, the less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it.”

Seeing the world through a child's worldview, Twain is able to point out that society does not always operate on logical and wise principles.

“Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it -- namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.”

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Even while pointing out a flaw of society, Twain manages to insert humor into his book. Mark Twain was appealing to the child in his readers and what better way than to remind us of the fun we had as children. We never laugh as much as we did when we were young.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a tribute to childhood. Mark Twain uses the book to introduce characters and themes that he will explore further in the sequel to Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Mark Twain was a great American writer who added depths of meaning to a great American novel. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer can be enjoyed by children and adults alike.





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Crime and Punishment

Fyodor Dostoyevsky 1876

Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Crime and Punishment - Free
First Published in 1866

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (also Dostoevsky) was a Russian writers who lived from 1821 to 1881. He is widely regarded as one of the best writers and psychologist in literature. His novels portray the psychology of characters living in troubled times.

Crime and Punishment takes place in Russia and follows a former student, Roskolnikov, through some tough times. He is very poor and is driven to commit a terrible crime with which he must suffer the aftermath. Dostoyevsky was a master of psychology and he paints a haunting picture of the criminal psyche. Roskolnikov must live with his conscience after the crime and becomes hollow version of himself.

Through desperation Roskolnikov commits a crime that forever changes him. He tries to rationalize his actions and ultimately fails to make sense of it all. The story follows his descent and the consequences that not only he has to live with but his family as well.

Dostoyevsky shows us a troubled Russia that is plagued with poverty and class warfare. Dostoyevsky was himself imprisoned for years and seems to try to show us some of his desperation through Roskolnikov.

Crime and Punishment is one of the best novels from one of the best writers. It is a classic in every sense of the word. Roskolnikov is a well developed character that you can empathize with and that will live on long after you finish the novel. This is a book with the power to change the way you view the world.

Check out our Facebook Page and Like us to keep up to date on the latest Kindle Literature news. You can share this post or any others on your social media of choice and bookmark the site for future post. You can also grab the RSS feed or try a  free 2 week trial* on your Kindle to have the posts delivered directly to your Kindle. Follow me on twitter @seframos. Happy Reading.

The Red Badge of Courage

Stephen Crane
The Red Badge of Courage -Free
1895

August 2004 Iraq, I'm second from the left.

The Red Badge of Courage is a war novel set in the American Civil War. Stephen Crane penned this masterpiece at the young age of twenty four. Even though Crane never fought in the Civil War he interviewed many veterans to gain an understanding and an insight into the psyche of soldiers in battle. The novel deals with the themes of heroism and cowardice through the eyes of a soldier.

Crane tells the story of Henry Fleming dealing with the ideals of heroism. Fleming is a young man called to service by his country. He enlist and is soon disenchanted with military life and the monotony of it. What he is experiencing and what he expected are very different things. As word begins to spread of their impending battle he begins to question his courage.

The youth was in a little trance of astonishment. So they were at last going to fight. On the morrow, perhaps, there would be a battle, and he would be in it. For a time he was obliged to labor to make himself believe. He could not accept with assurance an omen that he was about to mingle in one of those great affairs of the earth.

Henry Fleming’s courage holds at first and through subsequent battles the chaos of war wins out. The lines break and he does not know which way to go. In the disarray Fleming loses his regiment. The young soldier is left to deal the shame of cowardice. He soon begins to envy those that are killed and wounded.

At times he regarded the wounded soldiers in an envious way. He conceived persons with torn bodies to be peculiarly happy. He wished that he, too, had a wound, a red badge of courage.

The dead and injured are lucky because they do not have to live with his shame. He manages to find himself and his courage and tries to prove his heroism once more. Fleming goes through great feats to prove to himself and his peers that he is not a coward.

Stephen Crane has a great style of writing. What makes is great is the realistic battle scenes juxtaposed with the psychological depth of a character dealing with the themes of heroism and cowardice. He shows us why soldiers fight, what drives a soldier to heroism. What really matters in the grand scheme of things.

The Red Badge of Courage is the best book I read last year. It is a war novel that deals with human emotions and the indifference of nature. The novel was first published in 1895 and has never been out of print. It is available for free in the Kindle Store. Download a sample or the entire book and add it to your reading list. This is a masterpiece of American literature.

There are many lists out there that tell you what you should read. With this blog, I hope to show why those books are important and why you should read them. Crane shows us that we do things not for our country but for the love and respect of the people that make up our country. By presenting the psychology of a soldier in battle, Crane makes us think about why we do things. Would you die for your family, friends or country? What is important to you?

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The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Free
1891

Photograph taken in 1882 by Napoleon Sarony.

The Picture of Dorian Gray was first published as a story in 1890. Wilde later added more chapters and amended the story to produce the novel version. Wilde was known for his wit and wordplay. 

A gentleman is one who never hurts anyone’s feelings unintentionally.

He was a leading playwright in London in the 1890’s. Dorian Gray was criticized for its homosexual allusions. Wilde was tried and imprisoned for gross indecency attributed to his homosexual behavior. He was sentenced to two years hard labor. He was a very controversial figure in London society and after his imprisonment he moved away to the European mainland. 

Wilde was critical of the penal system after his release publishing poems and writing letters to newspapers. He never fully recovered from injuries sustained in prison and died an early death a few years later at 46.

Ballad of Reading Gaol -Free

The Ballad of Reading Gaol (pronounced redding jail) is the main poem critical of the penal system and calling for reform, written by Oscar Wilde.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a story set in England following the main character Dorian Gray. He is having his portrait painted by a friend of his, Basil, and having a lively witty discussion. After the portrait is finished Dorian laments that he will grow old and lose his looks.

How sad it is!’ murmured Dorian Gray, with his eyes still fixed upon his own portrait. ‘How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. It will never be older than this particular day of June. . . . If it were only the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that – for that – I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!’

Be careful what you wish for! Dorian’s Faustian wish comes true and he falls for a life of hedonistic pleasures. He becomes quite reckless never worrying about growing old or causing harm. Dorian loses his youthful charisma and comes to be disliked by his former friends. 

This story has been adapted into numerous film versions, Dorian Gray Films, including a 2010 version with Colin Firth. The character of Dorian Gray is also in the film, A League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), as a literary superhero. 

The wit and the dialogues are very interesting and funny. The story is very good from beginning to end with a great ending that will keep you thinking long after you have read it. Oscar Wilde was a true master story teller. This is one of my favorite stories by him and the one that made me read his other works. 

I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.

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Please share this post or any others on your social media of choice and bookmark the site for future post. You can also grab the RSS feed or try a   free 2 week trial*  on your kindle to have the posts delivered directly to you. Follow me on twitter @seframos. Happy Reading.