Edith WHARTON : Ethan Frome

Ethan Frome works his unproductive farm and struggles to maintain a bearable existence with his difficult, suspicious and hypochondriac wife, Zeena. But when Zeena's vivacious cousin enters their household as a hired girl, Ethan finds himself obsessed with her and with the possibilities for happiness she comes to represent.

This will probably deserve the award of "Most depressing book of the year" - I know we're only in January but I'm pretty sure of myself. I read it before (because I'd seen the film with Liam Neeson) and only remembered that there was a tragic love story inside, but I didn't remember to what extent !

I didn't like the beginning, I felt it was unnecessary and too long for too little uninteresting information. When the story by itself finally started, I appreciated the writing style of the author, how she set the narrative, the description of the landscape and weather, the details on the life of people who weren't rich, how the lack of money could influence their lives. I could feel how these characters were trapped in their lives with no hope for escape. The ending... is just dreadful. For the characters. For my good spirits ! The conclusion, however, helped me understand the introduction, but I still believe it was too long.

Technically, I have nothing else to reproach the story. The author's writing style is excellent, I just felt like it was drama for the sake of drama, even if I know that worse things happened "in real life". I've read The age of innocence by Edith Wharton, I'll probably re-read it, read her other novels, but I'll never, never ! open this book again !

MISHIMA Yukio : Dojoji - Review in French and English

De l'univers des geishas aux rites sacrificiels des samouraïs, de la cérémonie du thé à la boutique d'un antiquaire, Mishima explore toutes les facettes d'un Japon mythique, entre légende et tradition. D'une nouvelle à l'autre, les situations tendrement ironiques côtoient les drames les plus tragiques : que ce soit la jolie danseuse qui remet du rouge à lèvres après avoir renoncé à se défigurer avec de l'acide en souvenir de son amant, Masako, désespérée, qui voit son rêve le plus cher lui échapper, ou l'épouse qui se saisit du poignard avec lequel son mari vient de se transpercer la gorge... (Nouvelles extraites du recueil "La mort en été".)

This collection contains 4 short stories from "Death in midsummer and other short stories" : Dojoji, The seven bridges, Patriotism and The pearl.

From all these, "Patriotism" stands out with its graphic yet beautiful depiction of seppuku, the passion of both husband and wife, and is terribly impressive when you know Mishima chose this way to die - he knew perfectly what to expect !

The only novel I have previously read by Mishima was "Thirst for love" and I didn't really like it. I thought several short stories would be an easy attempt at something else and this time, I loved them, even if they left me unsettled.

The first is a sort of play with a theme that was somehow disturbing but ended in a relatively down to earth way - I won't spoil.

The second dealt about tradition in a modern world, with intense relationships between the women, it read like a cruel fable.

The third was Patriotism, mentionned above, it will leave me a lasting impression !

The last one was lighter and funnier, but the relationships between those women were also studied carefully.

Those stories were beautifully written and would be a good introduction to Mishima, like the Little Black Penguin collection does (or doesn't, in Nietzsche's case), for example.

Ce recueil contient les 4 histoires suivantes :Dojoji, Les 7 ponts, Patriotisme et La perle. 

Patriotisme est la plus frappante, qui décrit superbement et en détail le seppuku, la passion entre un mari et une femme, elle est impressionnante quand on sait que Mishima a choisi cette façon de mourir - il savait parfaitement à quoi s'attendre !

Le seul autre roman que j'ai lu était "Une soif d'amour" et j'avoue ne pas avoir apprécié. J'ai pensé qu'une autre tentative avec ce petit recueil serait parfait et ce fut le cas.

La première histoire était une courte pièce avec un thème... surprenant mais qui se terminait d'une manière très terre à terre.

La deuxième traitait de tradition dans un monde moderne et se lisait comme une fable cruelle avec les relations tendues entre les protagonistes.

La troisième était patriotisme, dont j'ai déjà parlé, et dont je me souviendrai longtemps !

La dernière était plus légère et amusante, avec des relations tendues entre les femmes qui y figuraient. 

L'écriture de ces histoires était belle et ce recueuil serait une bonne introduction à qui n'a jamais lu Mishima.

My week in books (not only) #54 - The Sunday Post - The Sunday Salon

 

 

 

Hello, I'm linking back to The sunday post held by Kim, The Caffeinated Reviewer and The sunday salon held by Deb at Readerbuzz. Click on the links to access their posts and discover plenty of great bloggers who are dying to share their book reviews, and other things, with you ! 

 

 *°*° BLOG UPDATES °*°* 

 

I'm linking back to The Sunday Post for the last time, not because I don't appreciate it (I really do and Kim does a great work) but it has become so huge - almost 70 subscribers - that it's getting difficult for me to follow. It often takes me several days to visit them all. Once I'm back at work, it will probably be impossible. But I wish to thank Kim for the warm and supportive community she has created over the years and wish her continuing success ! There are so many bloggers I wouldn't know if it weren't for her :)

I also unsuscribed from the "Comment 4 comment" challenge because thinking about it, I don't think commenting just for the sake of commenting, as it sometimes happens, is worth it and also because I have this problem with whatever it is on my computer that prevents me from signing up with my Google account (Badger again, probably). At least, I can comment with Twitter... However, I'm still working on solving this and building that blog roll. The time it will give me will allow me to comment on a more regular basis - and read more ! Less comments, better quality, more regular - I hope. These days, I can only catch up once a week, when I can ! Anyway, my spread sheet with blog addresses and names is almost ready.

 

 *°*° LIFE UPDATES °*°* 

 

My eldest daughter is not enjoying homeschooling. It's been almost a year since she didn't go back to Paris to study Korean and when she seems a bit depressed, since I'm working from home for the time being, I take her out walking or we watch things together to cheer her up. She's been away almost one week last summer to visit a friend in Brittany and a couple of days last week in Paris to visit another friend, that's all. She practically sees noone and goes nowhere. There has been a study on French students recently after several suicides and their morale isn't good, so she's my priority. I don't think she's in danger, mind you, I just don't like to see her that way.

 

This week, I watched one episode of Hercule Poirot, then :

 

Star Trek Beyond - I love those new Star Trek films !

and also All creatures great and small

 I both loved them ! Different styles :)

 *°*° LAST WEEK °*°* 

 I posted about my commenting problem

with a heartfelt thank you to Mareli for her quick help, that problem is solved ! 

 

A review of a delightful non-fiction by Elizabeth von Arnim

perfect for our situation and this time of year

I finally posted my review of Wilkie Collins's The dead secret 

(read for The Classics Club)

Review of a re-read I absolutely enjoyed

I posted about my healthy morning routine in the bathroom

 

  *°*° BOOKS READ °*°* 

For my Japanese literature challenge, 

I wasn't in the mood for this type of book : I struggled then DNFed

 

Not my fault, but the collection's : DNF

 

 *°*° CURRENTLY READING °*°* 

 

 

For my Brontë challenge, Kate's Brontë challenge and the Classics club challenge

I have the weird feeling I'm reading a retelling of her The professor

 with a few changes

 

For my physical TBR clear out, I had read it previously in middle school

 *°*° BOOK HAUL °*°*  

Nothing, nada, niente : I was so wise I totally deserve chocolate

 *°*° ON YOUTUBE °*°*  

 

A video from the Brontë Parsonage on the occasion of Anne's 201th birthday

Ink painting of cats - impressive !

 

A visit of Agatha Christie's Greenway House in Devon,

it's in French but just take a look at her library - she owned 4500 books !!!
 

If you have more time, this video celebrates 

the 100 years of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple
 

 *°*° ON THE NET °*°*  

 I didn't have the time to peruse my Bloglovin' feed...

For a better life : morning routine part 1

 

I won't lie, you'll probably think I'm weird, but bear with me, I took a lot of my morning tips from ayurveda and it works for me.

 

When I wake up in the morning, my first reflex is to stretch myself as much as I can in the bed. Then, whether it's a work day or not, I head to the bathroom to wake myself up completely and peacefully. 

 

• The first, most effective and agreeable thing I do, is spray my face and my ears with rose water, because :

- rose water is antibacterial ;

- it hydrates my skin (even if the best way to do it is to drink water) ;
- it fights the morning puffy eyes ;

- but my real reason is that it's refreshing and relaxing because it smells so wonderfully good ! Of course, rose water is not mandatory, I love lavender too for example, or cornflower or orange blossom, there is a great choice of plants that you can prefer for their scent or their different impact on the skin.

• Then I brush my hair thoroughly : it's good for the hair and it starts the blood circulation pumping under my thus massaged scalp. Another way to wake up.
  

• Next comes the cleaning of the nose : I used to have chronicle throat and nose diseases years ago, before I turned vegan and healthier. I sometimes couldn't speak (so practical when you're working with the public), I had colds that lasted months, I had sinusitis with raging migraines. Now  I clean my nose with a spray of salt water : in winter to prevent colds, in summer to clean from the dust and pollution. I know I can do it otherwise, with this tool pictured below, but I just can't make it. Maybe I'll master the technique later, but I'm struggling for the time being, so good ole nose spray it is, one nostril after the other (have a handkerchief ready).
  

• My fourth move is to clean my tongue with a tea spoon (ayurveda), to avoid having it whitened with toxins that were generated by the body during the night. There are special tools to do this, but honestly,  your kitchen spoon will do the trick perfectly. You don't need to scrub forcefully.
  

• Fifth thing : cleaning my ears. I don't need to do it everyday, but I sleep with (washable) ear plugs at night and I don't want to use cotton swabs that not only you have to throw away once you've used them, but also push the earwax back in the ears instead of removing it. I'll show my tool on the picture below with my "usual suspects" : it's organic, washable, reusable and can end its life in compost.
  

• Sixth and last step, for which I use oil. You can use different oils, of course, depending on your type of skin, but they are usually sold in small bottles and high prices, organic or not. Years ago, I bought a sunflower cooking oil (organic, very cheap, local and all that) that my companion didn't like the taste of. Rather than waste it, I now use it regularly in the bathroom as a moisturizer, combined with aloe vera gel (organic, as pure as possible - mine is 98%). The aloe vera is also very good for the skin and helps it assimilate the oil without leaving grease traces all over your clothes ! The skin is soft, hydrated, you feel the difference instantly, especially if you brush your skin after you shower. To use the oil more easily, I don't use the big bottle but put it in a small previously used oil bottle with a pump. I first pump a small amount of oil into my hand and use it to coat the inside of my nostrils with my small finger. Then I pump aloe with the remaining oil,  mix it all and use the result as a daily cream. It hydrates and protects my skin against heat and cold. Because it's relaxing and I really love the perfume of lavender, I also put one drop of lavender essential oil in the small bottle, but be careful when using essential oil, a very small amount is sufficient and all oils cannot be applied on the skin directly.
  

The usual suspects - from left to right, the bottles :

- the rose water

- the small oil pump (cleaned and recycled from its former use)

- the salt water nose spray

- the aloe vera gel

From left to right, lying on the dresser :

- the ear cleaner

- the tea spoon !

It's a long post, so I'll stop it here, that's all for the morning bathroom routine. If you have any question, don't hesitate ! Once again, this is what works for me, it might not be the same for you - suggestions, suggestions, nothing more. 

Do you have a morning routine too ? Would you care to share ? There's always something to be learned :)

Agatha CHRISTIE : The murder of Roger Ackroyd

Mrs. Ferrars poisoned her husband... But no one suspected her except her blackmailer... until she committed suicide, leaving a letter to the man she loved.
Roger Ackroyd never finished reading it, for the blackmailer had turned to a new crime, murder. And no one suspected him either... no one but Hercule Poirot.

 

This is a re-read, I remembered perfectly who the murderer was so this time, instead of reaching the end and gasping and wondering how could I ever have missed that, I thoroughly enjoyed watching how Agatha Christie avoided the big reveal. What more can I say ? This is so charmingly British ? Poirot is so deliciously friendly (except when he mentions Hastings at the beginning, ouch !) ? There are, as usual, so many suspects with a perfect motive ? Caroline is such a funny gossip ? 

This novel is simply delightful, I enjoyed myself immensely !

Wilkie COLLINS : The dead secret

On her deathbed, Mrs Treverton, the wife of the wealthy Captain Treverton, dictates a confession to her maid, Sarah Leeson, to pass to her husband and makes her swear that she will never destroy the letter or let it leave Porthgenna Tower. Leeson, however, hides the letter and flees, and Captain Treverton dies without ever discovering the secret. However, his daughter Rosamund discovers there is a secret locked up in the mysterious Myrtle Room, and sets her mind to discover what it is.

 

You see, I was a bit anxious before starting to read this novel. I previously read The moonstone, my first Wilkie Collins, and had mixed feelings about it : among the various narrators of the story, some were awfully funny and quaint yet others were really formulaic. Then I read The haunted hotel for a group read and didn't care much about it - fortunately, it was short. So The dead secret was a really good surprise, I really enjoyed it very much ! Some characters in there were Dickensian (Treverton and Shrowl - who could have been called Scowl), Mr Phippen and his health, the stewart at Porthgenna (I could almost hear him talk disdainfully), uncle Joseph was delightful, the young lady and her blind husband were lively, adorable and felt real, the servants were fun to read about, the only person I liked less was Rosamund. 

 

The secret isn't hard to guess, it's not the main interest here, the characters are. The whole of them are a joy to read, well, except poor Rosamund who is really melodramatic. I pitied her yet I could hardly stand her in real life. I'm very happy to have read this book, it turned out better than I expected !  

 

Quotes :

 

"Miss Sturch never laughed, and never cried, but took the safe middle course of smiling perpetually. She smiled when she came down on a morning in January, and said it was very cold. She smiled when she came down on a morning in July, and said it was very hot.(...) If Shakespeare had come back to life again, and had called at the vicarage at six o'clock on Saturday evening, to explain to Miss Sturch exactly what his views were in composing the tragedy of Hamlet, she would have smiled and said it was extremely interesting, until the striking of seven o'cock ; at which time she would have left him in the middle of a sentence to superintend the husemaid in the verification of the washing-book."

 

"Timon of Athens retreated from an ungrateful world to a cavern by the sea-shore, vented his misanthropy in magnificent poetry, and enjoyed the honour of being called "My Lord".  Timon of London took refuge from his species in a detached house at Bayswater - expressed his sentiments in shabby prose - and was only addressed as "Mr Treverton". The one point of resemblance which it is possible to set agains these points of contrast between the two Timons consisted in this : that their misanthropy was, at least, genuine. Both were incorrigible haters of mankind."

Elizabeth Von ARNIM : The solitary summer

This delightful companion to the famous Elizabeth and Her German Garden is a witty, lyrical account of a rejuvenating summer. Descriptions of magnificent larkspurs and burning nasturtiums give way to those of cooling forest walks--and of clambering up the mud bank when the miller is not in view. Rainy days prompt a little philanthropy, until the sun returns the gardener to the refuge of her beloved plants. Yet the months are not as solitary as she'd planned : there's the Man of Wrath to pacify and the April, May and June babies to amuse.

 

Sometimes, you have trouble rating a book. Is the recollection of a rich aristocratic woman of a summer spent in her garden with her books worth 5 stars ? There is no riveting plot, nothing really happens and her life sometimes feels unreal.

 

However, Elizabeth von Arnim knows how to share her deep abiding love for her garden, for her books, those she loves to read again and again and those that won't remain on her shelves for long. She writes delightfully about soldiers billeted in her home (= invading her privacy) and how she has to entertain them, the gardeners who happen on her when she wants to remain alone and quiet, the strange customs of the villagers, but mostly, she writes of how impossible it is for her to spend one day without her garden, in all seasons. The plants she chose, the struggle it was to make them grow, the fails, the wild flowers, wild gardens, the scents, the colours, and mostly the peace and happiness she finds there, the beauty she enjoys. 

 

She was a woman who didn't have much to do during the day but play a little with her children, dine with her family, entertain accointances, read, write, enjoy her gardens, so her life doesn't have much in common with mine. Yet I love the way she writes : she communicates her passions effortlessly, like she's not even trying, with tongue in cheek humour, just like Ella Fitzgerald sang so wonderfully with apparently so little effort on her behalf. She was kind and took pleasure in little things, she enjoyed quiet and beauty. Re-reading this in winter, while it is cold and damp and there is hardly any flower in sight is like a balm on my spirit, it suffused me with a warmth that put a smile on my face during all these pages  *happy sigh*...

 

"He was a good man, for he loved his garden" - that is the epitaph I would have put on his monument, because it gives one a far clearer sense of his goodness and explains it better than any amount of sonorous Latinities. How could he be anything but good since he loved a garden - that divine filter that filters all the grossness out of us, and leaves us, each time we hav been in it, clearer, and purer, and more harmless ?"

 

On German novels and the German love of food :

"Any story-book or novel you take up is full of feeling descriptions of what everybody ate and drank, and there are a great many more meals than kisses ; so that the novel-reader who expects a love-tale finds with disgust that he is put off with menus."

Technical problem to comment, help !

 

 

When I link to The Sunday Post and The Sunday Salon every week, my first objective for the week coming next is to leave a comment to every blogger who subscribed there too. It takes a lot of time (almost 70 subscribers), which is not easy when you have a mostly stay at home family (thanks Covid) and your computer is in the main room because you can't put it anywhere else. My computer is also used by my two daughters and I lately try to liven up my eldest daughter, a student who hasn't been to college since last year (Covid again). She hasn't seen her friends much, hasn't been out much and needs cheering up.

So imagine what it feels like when on one blog, two blogs, three blogs, I can't leave those comments ! The first one was on Athira's "Reading on a rainy day" (a blog powered by Blogger), then on Tressa's "Wishful endings", then Sandy's "Somewhere only we know" (Blogger again) and Tracy at "Cornerfolds" ! I commented on their blogs before, the problem is that when I look at their post, the place to comment is absolutely nowhere ! I thought I would wait a day or two, people would comment, the place would appear ? No. Not normal. I use Firefox as a navigator.

At the same time, when I try to comment on other blogs (where I can see that comment section) using my Google account,  there is a picture saying that it's connecting, except it's still connecting 10mn later, so I have to use my Twitter account. As long as I can comment, well, it's not really bad, but I wonder if it's linked.

Am I a complete computer dummy ? Am I missing something ? Do you have the same problem ? I recently installed Badger on Firefox but I don't see how it would have anything to do with that ? If you encounter the same problem or if you have any idea, I'd be grateful for some help !

End of the day update : thanks to Mareli, I know I have problems with Disqus (I have been subscribing there for years) and Atom. I'm working on it.