classic Archives

Dragon Seed

A Story of the Nanjing Massacre Author: Pearl S. Buck Ling Tan is in love with his land, as any 1930s Chinese farmer would be. He has a good life, a good family, a connection with his land and village that is sustaining. True, there are rumors of war, but what does it matter to ordinary people who “rules” the country? Farming and village life will go on as before. Taxes will be sent to a different entity. Nothing will change. Lao Er, Ling Tan’s second son, and his wife, Jade, know better. As members of the younger generation, both are [...]

Frances Carden2023-03-21T18:17:50-07:00March 21st, 2023|Tags: classic, history, Nanjing, Nanjing massacre, Pearl S. Buck, read, reading, wwii|

Barchester Towers

Drawing Room Drama and Religious Reactions Author: Anthony Trollope In Trollope’s second installment in The Chronicles of Barsetshire, the little town of Barsetshire is alive with drawing room intrigue, this time set along the lines of respectable holy war. The long-lived Bishop of Barchester has recently vacated his post and this life, resulting in a scramble for primacy among the backstabbing candidates. This results in a brand-new bishop, the lamentable (and viciously hen-pecked) Dr. Proudie, who is disgustingly low church and comes with his sidekick and supporter, the Reverend Slope. As Slope fights Mrs. Proudie for the right to rule the [...]

Frances Carden2022-12-20T08:42:00-07:00December 12th, 2022|Tags: book review, Chronicles of Barsetshire, classic, read, reading, reviews, trollope|

Age of Innocence

A So-So Classic with Unlikable Characters Author: Edith Wharton Newland Archer, former lover of a married woman, has sown his wild oats. He is ready to settle down, yet he hopes that his new wife, May Well, will be open to his ideas. Despite having chosen May and wooed her for her societal prestige, her cosseted goodness, her forced innocence, he has ideas about the liberation of a woman’s mind. He is at war with himself – with what he says he wants and what he really wants. But he realizes none of this. Enter the Countess Olenska, a distant relative [...]

Frances Carden2022-09-26T18:27:42-07:00September 26th, 2022|Tags: book review, classic, read, reading|