Cat Diary (5)

This is an occasional Sunday feature where my cat, pardon, Her Majesty the Cat, offers her more or less gracious insight into our lives.

I skipped a week again, didn’t I? Well, last week was uneventful and lazy. The summer is slowly coming in, though with storms, so I just relaxed a bit and had plenty of well-deserved rest.

This week hasn’t been so relaxing, however. I somehow got fleas. Grrrr! Hate fleas. Those nasty parasites! Pepca takes care of giving me anti-fleas drops regularly, but it still happens once or twice a year. So, she had to give me a bath.

I felt just like this poor fellow (my sympathies, buddy):

 Pepca found this over at Yvonne from Socrates’ Book Review Blog who found the picture here.

Okay, being more of a mild behaviour, I probably didn’t have that killer look. I did meow a lot, of course. Imagine yourself getting soaked through five layers of winter clothing, than shampooed, and rubbed, and then soaked again. That is how a cat feels when having a bath!

I think I should get a special prize for the best cat behaviour when bathing, because I did not scratch Pepca even once.

And a special cat Oscar for patience goes to:

Breaking Dawn Part 1 Trailer (And Some Overdue Thoughts on The Saga)

I saw Breaking Dawn Part 1 trailer a few days ago and I don’t know whether I should look forward to the film or be afraid of what will come out of it. I have reread the saga recently in the expectation of the film, regaining my vision of things and I am afraid the film will disappoint me.

Breaking Dawn is my favourite book of The Twilight Saga. I love how it all comes together in the end. However, I did not like the films very much. Twilight was okay, but every following film seemed worse, mostly because of bad acting. All right, and the casting fiasco right at the beginning.

I know I read somewhere when it all started that Pattison was chosen because of the chemistry with Stewart, but it does not really show in the films. I can stomach Bella, but they could choose a much better Edward (I hope no one is offended, I do think Pattison has a good potential as an actor as can be seen in, for example, Remember Me (2010)). As far as the casting is concerned I pretty much agree with Gina at Fantasy Casting, you can read her opinion about the matter HERE.

Now, back to the Edward issue. I admit, as far as The Twilight Saga films are concerned, Pattison has three strong points which I like to call: bad Edward, mad Edward, and sad Edward. The later tops it all, I don’t think anyone could make that embittered suffering expression the way he does it. I think he can really make use of it in Breaking Dawn.

The trailer does not reveal much, so I will just have to wait and see the film. I will definitely go and see it, out of curiosity. But, I am keeping my expectations moderate. 

Booking Through Thursday – Own or Borrow?

 

All things being equal (money, space, etc), would you rather own copies of the books you read? Or borrow them?

Considering all the things are not equal, I borrow most of the books I read. I buy only the books I really love and the books which I know I will keep rereading. Sometimes, it happens that I first read a borrowed book and then I love it so much that I go and buy it.

However, if money and space were not the issue, I would be buying much more books I do now. I enjoy to be surrounded by the books I love.

It is quite a coincidence, this week's question comes right as I am on the lookout for some additional bookshelves (which would suffice for next few years, I think).

Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon

SUMMARY (from Goodreads): The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon – when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach – an "outlander" – in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life...and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

MY OPINION:

I cannot believe it took publishers in Slovenia twenty years from its first release to discover Outlander. However, better late than never, as this is one of the best historical fiction books I have ever read. The translator could do better rendering the Scottish accent, but overall the translation is good and reads as smoothly as I imagine the original writing does.

It took me about a hundred pages to really get into the book, but once I did, I could hardly stop reading for the remaining eight hundred pages or so. Despite being an enormously thick book, Outlander is a fast read.

Gabaldon’s setting is amazing, her descriptions take the reader right to Scotland and its stunning nature, castles and villages. Her writing is noticeably well-researched from historical data, weapons and fighting techniques to medicine, clothing and culture. A little bit of magic just adds to the atmosphere of the eighteen century she so vividly recreates.

The characters in Outlander, not only the main protagonists, but also minor characters, are well-developed and multidimensional, which enriches the book further. Claire is an exceptionally strong female character. She appears a little dry in the beginning, because she is an analytical, rational person due to her being a nurse. This very attribute makes her not only able to survive, but also thrive a little, in such a harsh world she is thrown in. Only a person who has experienced the horror of World War Two is able to cope with the harshness of the world two centuries earlier and adopt to the position of women at the time. Her medical and historical knowledge helps her, too, naturally.

However, Claire is also a compassionate and romantic person. She is a free spirit and she enjoys her adventure. Claire is the kind of person who wants to make the best of her situation while waiting for the opportunity to get out of whichever predicament she finds herself in. Claire is also a very loyal person. She is always trying to do what she is supposed to do. Her persistence to find her way back to her husband seems a little strange since their relationship did not seem to work well, because they did not have a lot in common and Frank seemed somewhat inconsiderate towards Claire and her feelings. Claire’s sense of loyalty is admirable and it takes a lot for her to change her feelings.

Frank being a scholarly and quite dull personage, Jamie is the very opposite of him. Jamie is a fierce warrior who would do anything to protect the people he loves. He has a strong sense of honour and always keeps his word. He is an open-minded person, which is an absolute necessity for his relationship with Claire. Speaking of it, I liked it that their relationship was a slowly growing and well founded one. Claire and Jamie are a great couple and their love is based on mutual understanding, trust and many things they have in common. 

The chief villain in the book, Jonathan Randall, is one of the most terrifying villains ever. Sauron, take a bow. It is a big difference between a sinister mythological force and a tangible evil of a human being. Randall is a cruel, sadistic man, bent on ruining Jamie and there are no limits to his pursuing of his goal. However, Gabaldon makes Randall a complex personality, giving his psychopathic behaviour a background and reasons, so I could not help myself feeling sorry for him for a moment or two. 

Gabaldon’s approach to love scenes is very subtle, which is nice for a change, but she does not spare the reader with violence. Her descriptions of violence and subsequent injuries are graphic, forcing the reader to face the horror and the characters’ feelings. 

There is no pretence about historical reality in Outlander. Gabaldon presents human nature authentically. Alongside reading, one realises that human nature has not changed over the centuries. The world may have changed its appearance, but the essence remains the same.

RECOMMENDATION: Outlander is definitely not a book for everyone. However, for the people who enjoy a mix of history and love together with a pinch of magic and can stomach violent scenes, this book is a must-read. 

Random Magic Tour: Pirates! Little Pirate Prize Winner

The winner of Pirateology: Guidebook and Model Set is Kiwi Ivashkov. Congratulations! 

Sasha Soren will send you the prize.

P.S. Sorry for late announcement. Yesterday just rushed past me.

The Stranger by Albert Camus

SUMMARY: After his mother’s funeral, Meursault, a young French-Algerian starts a relationship with a former office clerk and gets involved with a local pimp’s business which results in him committing a murder. The trial evolves around trivial events instead of focusing on the crime.

MY OPINION:

The Stranger was a part of my high school compulsory reading requirements. I read it then, found it dull, did not understand it and, consequently, hated it. Rereading it now, with some more perspective to life, I can finally see its value.

This book is about being different. Mersault is the stranger, because he is a stranger among the people around him. His life is aimless, so he becomes apathetic, not feeling anything, although he is good at observing other people’s feelings. He recognises when people feel happy, sad or angry, but he cannot feel anything but indifference to everything, despite being aware what he should feel according to propriety.

Society finds his behaviour morally unacceptable. Therefore, when he is tried for murder, he is really tried for his demeanour and for his lack of emotions. Meursault is not a likeable character, but he can be given credit for his integrity. Perhaps it is not something he can control, but he sticks to who he is. He knows what he is supposed to do, how he could help his case, but he refuses to employ false pretence to save himself.

Meursault’s strangeness seems absurd, and so does his clinging to his strangeness. However, what is the most absurd is that in a way people are all strangers to other people, and yet they are ready to judge each other for it. I think this is the true focus of The Stranger.

RECOMMENDATION: The Stranger is a book for everyone who wants to read something which makes one think about human emotions, morality, and being different. 

Book Blogger Hop, June 3 – 6, 2011

Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books. It is a great way of discovering new blogs and meeting fellow book bloggers, talking about books and authors, and sharing our love for literature.

 

This week’s question is: “Share your favorite post from the last month and tell us why it’s close to your heart!”

MY ANSWER:

My favourite post from last month was Songs from the Sea feature I did for Random Magic Tour: Pirates! I learned a lot about sea shanties while doing the research and had so much fun listening through all the many songs. I was also so happy that my readers found it fun and interesting. 

Ready for the First Battle

This is my May follow-up post for LOTR Read-Along hosted by Lorren at The Story Girl. It includes SPOILERS.

Well, there we are, crisscrossing Rohan, getting ready to take down Saruman. Just a little short ride to Helm’s Deep, where we encamp, then let them come and get us, if they can. After all, Helm’s Deep has never been conquered when defended by Men. Ha!

All, right, now seriously. I haven’t read as much of the Two Towers as I had hoped to (but I have read whole lot of other things, of course). I have come through Chapter Six of Book Three and the Rohirrim host is riding to Helm’s Deep to meet the armies of Isengard.

Last month, Lorren suggested a few interesting discussion points considering Gandalf and his rebirth, the Ents, and the Rohirrim and their culture. I decided to make a few comments on each of those points in this post.

Gandalf is widely recognised among Tolkien researchers as one of Christ-like figures in The LOTR (others being Frodo and Aragorn). As Christ, Gandalf dies and resurrects. The Gandalf before death is more human-like and weaker than the one after. He is sent back for a short while with new powers to help the peoples standing against Sauron.

Gandalf, formerly the Grey – that is the average, indefinable figure – is now the White, a clearly defined opponent to the Black. As Christ, Gandalf has to endure his own Calvary in order to later reveal his power. Gandalf is not recognised by his companions when they meet again in Fangorn, which is similar to Christ not being recognised by his disciples on the way to Emmaus. These parallels have probably come very naturally to Tolkien, since he was a devout Catholic indeed.

Tolkien was much disillusioned by the Industrial Revolution and its effects on nature as well as on people. He gave nature its own voice through the Ents. Ents are giant tree-shepherds who walk and talk. They represent a sheer force of nature. Nature is impartial, it does not take sides in wars or favour nations, and it can be benevolent and cruel to everyone alike. Therefore, Treebeard is on nobody’s side, because nobody is on his side. Yet, nature can be destructive to those who do not respect it, as it can be seen in the fall of Isengard.

The first people who find themselves at war in The LOTR are the Rohirrim, the people living on the wide plains of Rohan and at the foot of the White Mountains. They are horse-masters, they love their horses as much as their families. Rohirrim are great warriors, “proud and wilful, but they are true-hearted, generous in thought and deed; bold but not cruel, wise but unlearned, writing no books but singing many songs.” They are friends of the people of Gondor. “They do not lie, and therefore they are not easily deceived.” Though simple on the outside, the Rohirrim have rich tradition both spiritually and materially (the king’s hall is thatched with gold).

I think I have read somewhere that Tolkien shaped the Rohirrim after the traits of Germanic and partly perhaps Slavic tribal tradition. This is reflected in Germanic sounding names, such as Herugrim and Mundburg, whereas Meduseld sounds Slavic. Living in a Slavic country with a strong Germanic tradition, I feel quite close to the Rohirrim and their life.

Overall, Rohirrim are an interesting people, so are the Ents, and I really enjoy reading about them, as I discover something new each time. But this is generally the case with The LOTR. No matter how many times you read it, you can still discover something new to think about.