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Saturday, April 25, 2009
Speaking of Group Readings…
Bill’s allusion to last summer’s Adam Bede reading prompts me to say that I have been contemplating doing something similar again this summer. I thought overall the format was successful: it was organized and yet open-ended in terms of what we could talk about, and the simple post+comments approach seemed congenial, at least to those who visibly participated. (Overall there were more than 250 comments posted across the whole thread; though the majority of those came from just a few people, it was nice to see contributions from quite a few people who don’t routinely post or comment here, too.) The choice of a slightly lesser-known novel by a major novelist also struck me as a successful approach, as the work was not so familiar that we felt we were belaboring the obvious, but not so obscure that we couldn’t pretty readily find useful contexts or, if we wanted, criticism, to enrich our thinking about it. Finally, but not incidentally, I didn’t find the event a difficult thing to set up, as the onus was never on me to run or steer the discussion. The upshot of this is that if I organize another group reading, I would do everything more or less the same way, though if you feel strongly that something should be different, you can comment here or individually. The one idea I had for a slight change was to extend our reach a bit by having a couple of weeks after we’ve worked through the novel in which we would read a small selection of critical material about it.
Although Adam Bede was not initially my own suggestion last year, there turned out to be some advantage to me as I set things up that we were working in “my” period--so the cost of my being the organizer again would be that we would do another Victorian novel. My nominee for the main text is Charlotte Bronte’s Villette, which differs quite substantially from Adam Bede (and from Jane Eyre). I am open to other suggestions, but Villette (which I know only moderately well myself) seems like something that would be at once an engaging read and give us plenty to talk about. I’d thought about Hardy, maybe The Mayor of Casterbridge, but Hardy’s awfully depressing to read in the summer (though Villette is no laugh-a-thon, to be honest). Anyway, if there’s no swell of enthusiasm either for another reading group in general or for Villette in particular, of course, I’ll reconsider. If there seems to be interest, on the other hand, I was thinking we might start things up around the same time we did last year, early June.
Comments
Well, Villette, huh? Include me in your reading group, at least tentatively. You may get feedback that includes suggestions for a book other than Bronte’s. As for myself, I would have thought Austen’s Northanger Abbey would be a rollicking good read for the summer reading group (even with the novel’s shortcomings), but Austen’s gothic tongue-in-cheek romp may be too unpolished for your purposes.
On that note, I’ve been wrestling with coming up with one novel--that’s my limit--for an Introduction to Literature course this summer. So, let me pick your brain, so to speak, and ask you: If you could teach only one novel to an Intro to Lit course, which would you choose?
I’d say go ahead. Most of the people who express interest in reading something for a book event don’t end up actually reading the book; mostly you get the same steady commenters, with a couple of new people. So you might as well choose whatever you like.
I have to say I’ve taught Villette so many times that (though it is a great book) my heart sinks a little at the prospect of working through it in immense detail all over again. I daresay that’s just me. If it’s just me I’ll withdraw my snarly head back under the bridge gracefully and everybody else can trip-trap-trot over to the lovely pasture on the far side. But I’d be tempted to at least try and put in a steer towards something else ... how about something French? A Zola, a Balzac? How about a James? Any takers for something like that?
I’m up for Villette.
If you’re looking for other suggestions in the “lesser known work by well known author” category, I just finished The Antiquary by Walter Scott. Good fun.
I thought of Bronte because I imagined there might be some popular appeal, and on Villette more particularly because--unlike Adam--I have taught it only a couple of times, years ago, and in seminars rather than lectures. I know my way around it a bit, then, but haven’t given it close consideration for a long time. Finding a Victorian novel that is not very well known to some quantity of the local Victorianists may be a futile effort. But as I said, I’m not completely fixated on Villette.
The Balzac posts at Wuthering Expectations this year certainly piqued my interest, though with French authors I’m certainly out of my comfort zone--I wouldn’t know where to start, I’d have to guess at good places to divvy up the reading, etc. On the other hand, given the relatively loose format we used, the success of the thing doesn’t really depend on my having any expertise in or around the book we choose.
James is an interesting thought. I have a very difficult time reading James; I managed to read The Golden Bowl with the help of a summer reading group once some years back, when I had to read it for a research project and needed, um, prompting and encouragement. I wonder if choosing James would restrict general interest in participating, or if at any rate late James is to be avoided--but maybe the problem is just with me. I’d be game for Portrait of a Lady, but to the more Jamesian among us, that is no doubt too pedestrian a choice.
I’ve been thinking more about James. What about What Maisie Knew?
But now I’m thinking Scott would be fun too…
As I’ve never heard of Villette before (I knew she wrote other stuff), it sounds great.
I feel sheepish about getting in the way of a Villette reading event (it would be a very good thing). But to say: I’d love to do What Maisie Knew.
Doesn’t matter to me. Having read nothing, I’ll read anything.
I do sort of wish I could use the influence of accumulated Valve verbiage in order to get people to do James Branch Cabell’s The Silver Stallion at some point, though. I will leave it to people’s imaginations whether “influence” in this sense means that they like lots of comments and wish to reward the writer thereof or are annoyed by lots of comments and wish to dissuade the writer thereof from writing more. Cabell would be closest to Scott’s area of expertise, though.
I went to borrow a copy of What Maisie Knew from my most Jamesian colleague, just to see what it looks like, and he muttered warning things about its being representative of “James’s late style”... I’m leaning back towards Villette. I suppose the reality here is that the choice of reading will determine the audience or participants; it isn’t realistic to try to choose the reading to suit “the” readership here, which is so varied and impalpable.
James is so very ... long. French something or other might be fun, as would some Scott.
And what about some of the other women writers of that time? _Evelina_? _Mary Barton_? _The Coquette_?
Just catching up on last year’s Adam Bede group, after responding to an “Austen vs. Eliot” question, so it’s great to see a new choice being made.
Based on my own recent scribblings, my own first recommendation would be Henry Esmond. It seems like a rich person’s (as opposed to poor man’s) Adam Bede--a readable, significant novel that isn’t quite on the main highway. Pendennis is a little longer and probably a bridge too far.
I’m guessing that one of the attractions of the group is to stay in Prof. Maitzen’s area of expertise, while looking for books she’s visited less often. Not the easiest thing to find.
I read The Bostonians last fall, which seems an interesting, out of the way James. And I was directed from that to read The Blithedale Romance, on which it is based. And I’m struck, reviewing Adam Bede, at the similarities. If Bostonians is based on Blithedale, then Adam Bede is certainly highly aware of it. It’s a four-hander: Hollingsworth/Coverdale--Adam/Arthur; Zenobia/Priscilla--Hetty/Dinah. The advantage/disadvantage of those is that I’ve already read them, but it’s a recommendation.
If you want more along similar lines to Adam Bede and another woman author, maybe The Country Doctor by Sarah Orne Jewett. The bridge too far in this case would be Annie Fields’ Asphodel.
But Villette is good for me--never read it! Off to go read last year’s effort, and lots more. Looks great.
What Maisie Knew is not even 300 pages. It’s not so very long.
I’m all for every book mentioned so far except possibly The Coquette which I fear is not, what do you call it, very good, although how would I know.
"What Maisie Knew is not even 300 pages. It’s not so very long.”
Long is not always measured in pages…
Thanks to everyone for all of this input. I’ll take these ideas and reactions away and brood over them. Perhaps there should be two ‘events.’ One could be like the Adam Bede event, with a more user-friendly text (Scott or Bronte, probably--FWIW, I enjoy Mary Barton and teach it often, but consider it aesthetically second-rate [ditto for Evelina], and since we’re going to put a fair amount of pressure on our book, I think we should start with some confidence that our efforts will be rewarded). The other could be an “everybody who wants to read What Maisie Knew should do so by some roughly specified point this summer and report the experience on their own blogs, and then a collection of links could be posted here” event.
Please don’t do Villette, it’s horrible - even worse than Jane Eyre!
What about some Dickens? ‘Great Expectations’, perhaps?
I’m up for anything-- except Hardy!
Why not Hardy? I can understand disliking a book but an author’s entire output? Even supposing one had read it all the man is so diverse!
You can’t understand disliking a particular author?
I’ve read his major novels, and found they dragged in a way that I found unappealing and which does not urge me toward a rereading.
Perhaps one day I’ll be more ready for him, but that day has yet to come!
’I’ve read his major novels, and found they dragged in a way that I found unappealing and which does not urge me toward a rereading.’
... and his poems? Short stories? Don’t dismiss him too soon.
The reason I said it’s difficult for me to accept dismissing an author is because I did just that, with Hardy in fact. When I started my Masters I said I didn’t like Hardy and my professor said I wasn’t qualified to say that since I hadn’t read enough of his work - he was right!
Your professor made a good point! But I wasn’t dismissing Hardy outright-- just the novels. (Rohan is talking about finding a novel to read.)