Appointment in Samarra

Finished June 3

Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara

This novel, written in 1934, is set in 1931, and was the first novel by O'Hara. It is considered a modern classic. The main character is Julien English, a manager of a Cadillac dealership in the town of Gibbsville, Pennsylvania. He has been married to his wife Caroline for five years, and has recently turned thirty. We know that he had a previous relationship, that wasn't public, with a Polish immigrant woman named Mary. 

Julien's father is a doctor in town and Julien has always been somewhat of a disappointment to his father, from his antics as a boy to his lack of ambition as a man. Julien and his wife are active socially, belonging to clubs and part of a friend group that parties regularly. It is the Christmas season and we see Julien begin a series of self-destructive incidents that compromise his friendships, his position in society, and even his marriage. They start with throwing a drink in the face of a friend and important business associate.

There are issues of mental health, infidelity, and economic difficulties as the Depression has begun in the country. We see things from Julien's perspective, but also from others such as his wife Caroline's, has salesman, and some of his friends. 

The title comes from an ancient Mesopotamian tale about a man who tries to escape death but can't. It speaks to the inevitability of Julien's self-destruction. 

An interesting psychological read. 

Sense and Sensibility

Finished January 16
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, read by Wanda McCaddon

This is a classic that somehow I'd never got around to reading. I picked this copy up at a library conference a couple of years back and really enjoyed the MP3, having the whole book on one CD made it easy.
And it even includes an ebook version of the book, useful for going back and checking on stuff (like when you are writing reviews ;-) ).
The novel follows the Dashwoods, and begins as old Mr. Dashwood passes away. The old man had never married, and had recently had his nephew Henry Dashwood's family living with him, as Henry was who was the intended heir. They were not only living with him in hopes but also through genuine goodwill and the relationship was happy on all sides. But the old man had more recently taken a shine to Henry's son by his first marriage, and his young grandson by him, and surprised all by leaving the estate to them, giving Henry only a life interest. Unfortunately for Henry's more recently family he didn't outlive his old uncle by many months, leaving his second wife and his daughters with little financial cushion to keep them up. The son, John Dashwood soon arrived with his family and showed little of the goodwill and generosity of his father, giving little real support to his stepmother and half-sisters, although perhaps he may have done more but for his wife's attitude towards sharing, which was to not do it unless compelled.
Luckily for Mrs. Dashwood and her three daughters, a cousin some distance away offered them a cottage on his estate for a modest rent and once the removed themselves there, involved them to a large degree in his social life.
The book's title is a play on the two aspects of character, sense and sensibility, and which of the characters has what amount of each quality. The majority of the novel follows the two eldest daughters Elinor and Marianne. Elinor has both qualities with sense ruling her reactions to situations and causing her to show less of the other quality, sensibility, to others at first glance. Elinor is a young woman who watches the people around her and takes a cautionary approach to situations, who is always polite and reasonable and knows that she must on occasion be polite even when she doesn't feel that way. Marianne, while not without sense, shows more of her sensibility, with passion leading her in all her reactions. She is quick to state her impressions and reacts emotionally and often without thinking what others must infer from those actions.
The book illustrates class, honor, and the interaction of characters with many different motivations. I really enjoyed it.

British Fiction

Finished December 31
Arlington Park by Rachel Cusk
This book is set over a single day in Arlington Park, a suburb of London. The men work, many of them in London, and the women look after children and may work part-time. This follows the lives of several women whose lives interconnect, and shows how they think and feel and behave. It starts with Juliet, a part-time teacher who feels a slave to her children and husband. Also included are Amanda who does housework obsessively and feels utterly alone; Solly, who has foreign lodgers that infuse her with feelings that she hadn't acknowledged before; Maisie, who has begun to notice the loss of the sense of direction and purpose to her life; and Christine, who has aspired to the life she now has and yet feels undone by it still.
This is a fascinating book of how our realities don't always live up to our dreams and how the struggles of everyday life are influenced by our mindset and supports.