Summary: Following the stream-of-consciousness of a few different characters, this is mostly the story of Romy Hall, who is serving two consecutive life sentences in the California State prison system. Kushner’s story slips back and forth between the now and the past, so the reader slowly learns about how Ms. Hall ended up where she did. It is a gritty, realistic book that gives a fairly accurate view (as I’ve heard from prison inmates) of what women’s prison is like.

My Thoughts: I started listening to this right after it made the Booker Prize shortlist. Although I understand perfectly why it made the shortlist (the writing style is superb), I wasn’t overly impressed with the story.  Don’t get me wrong…I had emotional investment in Ms. Hall, and felt the other characters were realistic and well-written. And I think Kushner achieved exactly what she set out to do: flawlessly executing the stream-of-consciousness style. I was just in the mood for a story with more plot. But this book wasn’t about plot. It was a book about character and setting. And the characters and setting were superbly written. So I will still give the book 4 stars, even though it wasn’t what I was in the mood for.

 

Summary: Offred lives in a dystopic world in which the society she knew fell apart and was replaced by a militaristic, uber-religious, man-controlled culture. She has been taken as a “handmaid” – a new form of the Biblical consort with whom married men of wealth can have children if their own wives can not conceive. (That is, of course, the men believe that the problem of conception is with the woman and not with the man.) When people around her begin to act in ways that the new culture will not abide, she must make a choice of whom to trust.

My Thoughts: This is my first Atwood book, and I’m very impressed. Yes, ok, it’s not for people who dislike books that make you uncomfortable. But if you’re in the right mood, this was thoughtful feminist writing full of symbolism. Atwood is a real pro at subtley-but-somehow-harshly making a point. I know, it sounds like making such a point is impossible, but somehow Atwood managed. I am eager to read more of her books.

 

 

Spoilers Below

I am currently on a project outlined by Susan Wise Bauer in her book The Educated Mind. In it, she provides a list of questions to ask while you’re reading a book. Although this is not one of the books in her list, I think it is worthy of asking those questions.

👽What is the most central life-changing event?

This “central life-changing event” usually takes place at the beginning of the book, according to Susan Wise Bauer…and understandably so. But in this case, the book takes place with a lot of flashbacks. I’d say the revolution that overturned society would be the central life changing event for Offred. It is because of this that she lost her job, her husband, and her child. It is because of this that she was forced into handmaidenhood.

It is easy to confuse the reader with too many flashbacks that inform the reader (possibly a little late) what happened to bring the character to her current spot. However, Atwood did an amazing job, and I applaud her seamless work of giving us just as much information as we need, but still leaving mystery and not forcing information into the narrative unrealistically. This takes talent. I could easily believe that Offred really was writing the story with the understanding that her audience would know the background of the revolution and the norms of her society. Facts were not forced upon us, they were casually, and naturally, dropped.

👽What does the central character want? What is standing in his or her way? What strategy is pursued to overcome this block?

Now this is a hard question. Offred wants a lot of things, and some of them conflict. She wants life to be back the way it was before the revolution. She also, more realistically, wants to be safe – and therefore to get pregnant. But she also wants to live her life, which is why she dares to do things that endanger her. She wants to be unique in a world where even her name is taken away from her.

How do you even list all the things a character like Offred wants? Some of the things she wants are specific to her character, but I think Atwood meant her to represent every woman who has ever felt oppressed. In which case she wants freedom. She wants to speak out. She wants equality. She wants to be an individual who is valued. It is because of these more subtle desires of Offred that I can say Atwood can be harsh but subtle at the same time.

👽Who is telling you this story? Is this person reliable?

Offred is telling this story, but who Offred is has become a question at the end of the book. Is she reliable? Well, yes and no, I think. I think she is honestly relaying what is in her heart at any given point in the narrative, but she also has a constricted view of what is going on in the world. She is not allowed to see the mechanizations of society or of the people around her from her current position, so she has to relay things only as she perceives them and perhaps not as they are.

👽 Does the end have a resolution or a logical exhaustion?

In the end, the story is artfully left open to interpretation. Did she escape? Was she caught and punished? We don’t know. But this, I think, was the best ending that could happen given the overall meaning of the book. Since Offred represents the wants and needs of all women in the world, and some women are eventually liberated and some continue to be oppressed, there is only one way to end the story – by leaving it open.

 

 

 

Well, it’s been a productive couple of weeks, and I even got a little bit of reading done! I started the process of informing the school district that we were looking into getting IEPs for the kids. We may be jumping the gun a bit on M, whose impulse control issues have greatly increased this year (we’re still working on the attention aspect), but D still has pretty bad anxiety attacks when attempting to compose written work. I noticed that when she types, the anxiety is nonexistent. (I asked her if she felt better typing, and she said “no,” but that’s not what I was seeing.) The school counselor was a bit reluctant for M, but seemed willing to start a process for D.

Yesterday, the family all headed out to the Minnesota Ren Fest, and we had a great time. (We’re having our “adult” trip next weekend, so we can do stuff besides watch the kids on rides.) Then, at 10:30pm, I picked up my nephew, J, from Valleyfair. As I was driving through Savage, a cop with flashing lights zoomed by. As I entered Shakopee, two more zoomed by. I said to myself “they better not be headed towards Valleyfair!” Sure enough. As I turned through the entrance gate to Valleyfair, two more cop cars zoomed in. My final estimate is that there were about 30 squad cars there, from 5 different cities. There was also a police helicopter circling with it’s light shining down on us. Shortly after I arrived, they shut off the entrance so that the worried parents had to line up at the gate (pretty much pulled over on the shoulder of the highway) to pick up their kids. I was “lucky” to have arrived before they shut down the gate, so I got to sit in the mess and listen to all the rumors. Which were – several fights, stampedes, a stabbing, and a gunshot. (It turned out to be several fights and stampedes. No one was injured.) I was stuck there over an hour as I waited for J’s friends to be picked up – you know, I thought I’d try some adulting and stick around until they were all safe. But as J and I got in our car at the end of the ordeal, a cop came up to us and told us rudely it was time to “move on.” Really? Would he have rather I abandoned a bunch of teens for HIM to watch over? I’m sure most of the cops there were wonderful people, but that left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Currently Reading

Still working on The Hate U Give and Hillbilly Elegy. I decided to pick up The Mars Room when it made the Booker Prjze shortlist. I was torn between it and The Overstory. But I’ll start with the short one first.

Completed

 

 

 

Hi! I’m on family vacation in Oregon and having a delightful time. So far, I went to the beach, met some blogging friends in Portland, bought some books, and drove to the top of a mountain while the non-pregnant family members hiked. M was dragging by the end of the hike, but he made it up, and he got to ride in the car on the way down. He looks pretty proud of himself at the summit up there in the picture.

Next week, school starts and I will have more opportunity to read and keep up on my blogging. Last month I got behind on both because I was finally recovered from pneumonia and spent a lot of time cleaning and watching the kids.

Exercise this week:

I walked about 3 miles on Tuesday, did a lot of standing and strolling on a beach on Wednesday, and did a lot of standing and strolling at a mountain summit on Saturday. This doesn’t sound like much…but it’s a huge step up from nothing. Now that the kids will be in school, I hope to add a walk to most days. 😁

Currently Reading

The Hate U Give is for a bookclub meeting in October. I still need to finish some heavier books that I decided not to bring on the trip. Gulliver’s Travels is my current Well Educated Mind project book.

Completed

These are audiobooks that we have listened to on our intra-Oregon drives.

Acquired

The bottom three are mine, top four are Aaron’s.

I’ll participate in Readers Imbibing in Peril this year.

The purpose of the R.I.P. Challenge is to enjoy books that could be classified as:

I will challenge myself with:

Peril the first:
Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (our very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be Stephen King or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Shirley Jackson or Tananarive Due…or anyone in between.

I will work on the Sherlock Holmes series, by Arthur Conan Doyle and the trilogy The Passage, by Justin Cronin.

Peril of the Short Story:

I will read one short story a week from The Weird, edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer.

Peril on the Screen:

I will watch as much of the TV show Grimm as I see fit.

Well, it’s been an eventful week. I had a bit of a reading slump last week, but I’m starting to recover. I was also able to get some house cleaning done, and am motivated to take a walk today, as I have no kids to watch. It’ll be my first walk in quite a while, and I’m looking forward to it.

Last week we went on a spontaneous trip to Wisconsin Dells. We camped at Jellystone Camping Resort (which was overcrowded and loud) and headed off to the huge water park Noah’s Ark the next day. M and D loved Noah’s Ark, though M didn’t want to ride any of the slides, and spent most of the time in the wave pool; which was fine by me, since I’m pregnant and couldn’t ride the slides, anyway. This is the first time the kids have ever been camping (besides in their backyard), so it was a bit of an adventure.

The big event this week is that my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. It’s not a huge surprise, since her memory has been bad for a while – what was surprising is to find out she had been diagnosed since February, and I never knew. I guess my sister and I are going to have to watch her medical situation a lot more closely.

Above is a picture from my niece L’s 3rd birthday party. They grow so fast!

Currently Reading

Completed

On the road trip, we listened to the first two books in the How to Train Your Dragon series, while D read along in the actual book. She was thrilled to be “reading” as fast as she was, and I think that it is a good lesson in speed reading above her reading level. And comprehension is still good, since she’s listening at the same time.

Acquired

 

 

 

Summary: In this allegorical novel, a pilgrim named Christian travels a journey in which he loses the heavy weight of his sins, is tempted to sin again, and eventually reaches paradise.

My thoughts: I’m not sure why this is the most printed book in English, other than the Bible. I love allegory generally, but this allegory beat you over the head with obviousness. Everyone and everything was given a name (like Christian) that said explicitly what the character or impediment represented. The story itself was interesting enough, I suppose, as a concept, I just wish it were more subtle. This is also not a book for non-Christians, unless they are reading for the sake of learning about classic literature.

This is my analysis using the method proposed by Susan Wise Bauer in The Educated Mind. It will contain spoilers. 

👽What is the most central life-changing event?

Meeting with Evangelist after discovering the prophecy that his city would be destroyed by fire was the life-changing event which lead Christian on his journey. Evangelist told Christian what path to follow to lead to paradise.

👽Am I transported? Do I see, feel, and hear this other world?

Not really. It all felt a little flat because of the obviousness of the allegory.

👽Can I sympathize with the people who live there? Do I understand their wants and desires and problems? Or am I left unmoved?

Yes, I understood exactly what was wanted by each character, as they were named after their characteristics.

👽Is this a fable or a chronicle?

This novel is a fable. It represents a spiritual journey rather than actual events.

👽What does the central character want? What is standing in his or her way? What strategy is pursued to overcome this block?

Christian would like to reach paradise, but it often led astray by temptation and hardships.

👽Who is telling you this story? Is this person reliable?

The story is third person limited. It told exactly what was happening to Christian (allegorically), but did not tell the thoughts of the other characters.

👽Where is the story set?

The story is set in a fantastic land which Christian has to traverse in order to reach paradise. It is filled with both glorious and horrible things. It is a universe that cares deeply about Christian, whether its motivations are to lead him astray or to encourage him to reach paradise.

👽Images and metaphors: Are there any repeated images? If so, is this a metaphor, and if so, what does it represent?

I’d say the most repeated image is the cross and the savior – but every character and impediment that Christian comes across is a metaphor.

👽 Does the end have a resolution or a logical exhaustion?

Christian eventually reaches paradise, which is the resolution to his problems.

👽Do you sympathize with the characters? Which ones, and why? Did the author choose characteristics to make a statement about the human condition?

I guess I sympathized with the character in the sense that I would not like to burn in Hell. 🙂 Yes, every character and impediment in the story made a statement about the human condition. The human condition was represented as destined for destruction unless a straight and narrow path were followed to the safety of paradise.

👽Does the author’s technique give you a clue as to her argument: her take on the human condition? 

Oh yes, it does. The human condition is pounded into the story with hammer and ax.

👽Is the novel self-reflective?

Yes. This story represented the struggles that Bunyan went through in his younger years (and expected to go through in his later years). At first, he struggled to see the goodness of God, but eventually repented his feelings of sin and moved on to a life that he hoped would lead to paradise.

👽Is there an argument in this book? If so, do you agree?

The argument to the book is that if you don’t follow a straight and narrow path, you will not be led to paradise. As a Christian, I believe it is true for myself, but I do not judge those who follow other religions or no religion at all. That is their choice, and I believe that, for the most part, that choice is right for them.

 

Posting this a bit early in the week since I didn’t get one last week, and (mostly) I wanted to get a picture posted so it had a url I could use elsewhere. 🙂

The past week and a half have been mostly uneventful. I have not had much time to read, and I am concerned that will continue for the rest of the summer, but reading will perk up again once the kids are back in school. There was some drama here and there, but nothing worth mentioning in a public place. My garden is getting overrun by weeds again, but the tomatoes and peppers are coming along beautifully. Now that I am feeling well again, I’m hoping to catch up on weeding.

I had another appointment for the unborn baby, and he is cooking up quite nicely as well. 🙂

This Saturday, I have my first Twin Cities Classics Club meeting – a group I started myself on Meetup. We will be discussing Fahrenheit 451. Wish me luck in my discussion- leading

Currently Reading

Completed

 

 

In Chapter 6, Kugel writes about Abraham leaving his homeland, as ordered by God. He is said, in the Bible, to be blessed.

Ancient Interpretation

The question the ancient interpreters asked is why was Abraham so special? They figured he must have stopped worshiping the gods of his homeland and begun to worship the one true God. He was therefore the first monotheist (in their view – modern scholars believe that Zoroastrianism was actually the first monotheistic religion). But why did he stop worshiping the other gods. Possibly because he realized that the other gods made so little sense. Why was a year 365.25 days instead of a nice round number (as was known in Mesopotamia at the time)? Certainly a god would have chosen a more round number.

One ancient interpreter, Philo (c. 20BCE 0 c. 50BCE ), believed that Abraham also had an allegorical meaning: that he symbolizes any soul looking for God.

Modern Interpretation

Modern interpreters are having trouble agreeing whether Abraham really existed or not. Many scholars believe that Abraham is an etiological explanation for why the Jews are entitled to the Promised Land. But there is archaeological evidence that the cities that Abraham traveled through did, actually exist.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

In chapter 5, Kugel describes the very short section of the Bible concerning the tower of Babel. In this story, the descendants of Noah decided to build a great city with a tall tower. At this time, they all spoke the same language. For some reason unexplained, God took insult at this, and destroyed the tower, halting the building of the city. He scattered the people around the world, confounding their language so that they could no longer understand people from different regions of the world.

Ancient Interpretation: Interpreters of ancient times thought that the purpose of this story was the Tower of Babel itself. That this is a story of human hubris, in which the people were trying to reach heaven by building such a tall tower.

Modern Interpretation: People of modern times look back at the ziggurats of ancient Mesopotamia – how they were built of materials that would easily crumble with time. They figured ancient people saw these ruins and wrote the story of Babel to explain them. They also have an etiological interpretation in which this story explains how so many languages developed from one prototypical language.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4