BOOK: Ukridge by P.G. Wodehouse

Ukridge by P.G. Wodehouse, 255 pages

unread authors; decades: 1920s

While more famous for his Jeeves and Bertie characters, Ukridge is another of Wodehouse's humorous characters cavorting in the early part of the 20th century in England. I picked this one solely to complete the decades challenge; I hated the thought of only missing the 1920s to get 8 in a row and complete the challenge. I put this on order at the library and they had to bring it up form the basement storage. Turns out to be probably from the 1920s itself, if I judge by the dates stamped in the back of this book on the old fashioned card, beginning in 1938.


Ukridge appears to be a series of short stories put together into his adventures in money making. Ever the optimist, Ukridge rolls around town looking to make easy money and instead, getting himself and his friends into scrapes. Nothing ever works out the way he hopes, but to his friend, the narrator, maddeningly, Ukridge usually ends up smelling like a rose.


Amusing little read but not my particular brand of laugh out loud funny. I recognize the classicness of the stories, and fans of British humor and P.G. Wodehouse will be delighted. And I finished the last challenge of 2008 that I hoped to.

BOOK: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, 189 pages

1% Well Read; Decades Challenge: 1930s; unread author

I am putting this one down half read. It's not that I hate it, it's just that I don't care. It has put me in a reading funk in that I was trying to finish it, but could hardly read it and I wouldn't start another book since I wanted to get through this one. I read Montmorency in one evening when I picked it up for a change, which told me that I just was not going to finish Their Eyes Were Watching God. I slogged as far as I could (90 pages) hoping I would get into it, but alas, no.

Like many of you, I find it hard to stop reading a book. This one is a classics for pete's sake. But, I stopped after Janie's second husband died. The book starts with the end, so I know how it ends. I found it too hard to read the accent phonetically- it slowed me down too much and when I slowed down, I didn't care for the story. Some books expose you to a life different from your own experience and it is a good thing, but I really couldn't relate. I wasn't feeling Janie's emotions enough to want to find out what happened to her. I think the book is somewhat detached in that way so it can demonstrate and record the experience of African Americans after slavery. I've been reading some analysis of it and other book reviews, so I understand the significance of parts and the jist of the plot, ie, I think I could pass a test on it in school if I needed to .

I'm still counting it in my challenges as it took up a week of my reading life and I was exposed to a new author and it was from the decade of the 1930s. Whew, that feels good to make that decision. Next book please.

BOOK: The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence

The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence

2nd Canadian Book Challenge; decades: 1960s

Laurence won the Governor General's Award for her novel The Diviners and that main character gets a slight mention here; both books are part of the Manawaka series (oh the wonderful things you can discover at librarything.)

Hagar Currie Shipley is an old woman coming to terms with her life. Her not-favorite son is arranging to have her put in an old age home, and she is looking back at her life, the decisions and actions that have shaped her, and the people who died before her. She's not a nice lady, she'd be what I might call a tough old bird. Lots of pride, concerned with what people think, but not aware enough of herself to realize that. Life wasn't easy on the prairies in the first part of the 20th century, but Hagar didn't make anything easier for herself. Pride was my wilderness, and the demon that led me there was fear.(page 292) She is so judgmental to everyone and thing around her that she forgot to just live and enjoy her life.

Laurence has described the aging process amazingly and I could easily believe this book was written very recently. The stone angel was the grave marker of her mother and is mentioned throughout the book and was a last minute, yet perfect title for the book as mentioned in the afterword by Adele Wiseman. This type of book, the old person looking back on their life, is a common theme in literature, but this book is very well done, and is not one to be missed. I just recently read The Stone Diaries and it is pretty easy to compare the two, even the titles sound the same! I think I liked this one a bit better. I'll definitely be looking for The Diviners.

BOOK: The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields

The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields

2nd Canadian Book Challenge; Book Awards II: Pulitzer 1995; decades: 1990s; 1% well read challenge

And the question arises: what is the story of a life? A chronicle of fact or a skillfully wrought impressison? (p. 340)

And that is what I am left with after reading this book, the 'autobiography' of Daisy Stone Goodwill-Flett. Her life spans the 20th century, born in 1905 in Canada and died 1990s in Florida. There were unusual point of views taken and at times, the reader is left wondering if Daisy is writing her story or not. Each chapter documents an era in her life - Birth, Childhood, Marriage, Love, Work, Sorrow, Ease, Illness and Decline, Death.

It amazed me how much I could learn about Daisy and at the same time, know nothing at all about her thoughts, beliefs and dreams. Perhaps it was more of a biography from the points of view of her family and friends, disconnecting from her emotional self and seeing only their perspectives of Daisy. I loved the section with photographs of the characters and kept referring to them as I read. I liked Daisy's story and the way it was written and I imagine it would make a great book club read, with so much unsaid in the book to discuss.

BOOK: The Awakening by Kate Chopin

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

decades challenge (1890s), novella challenge

Imagine life one hundred years ago for the well off woman. She would leave her father and be married, hopefully an advantageous marriage with good money prospects, and then produce children. She would preside over a home, with servants and maids, with no real task other than to be there. For the husband (keep the house nice, keep up proper appearances), for the children (who the nanny truly looked after, so maybe just a kiss goodnight) and for society (the rounds of visitations, the appearances above all else.) Who is she? How would she know when she spends her time in service of others? She may dabble in painting or singing, but it must not interfere with the family.

When Kate Chopin wrote this book in 1899, this would have been a scandalous event. She proposed that women were basically sleeping, not meeting their full potential. Edna Pontellier is the woman we follow as she begins to open her eyes, awaken as she discovers who she is. Southern Louisiana is the setting as Edna is living a very Victorian lifestyle. One summer at the shore, she meets Robert and all these emotions are woken up.

I liked this little classic. It was easily readable, one of my biggest complaints about some 'classics'. Obviously, life is very different now, but to see how women were subjugated and how far we have come in one hundred years was insightful. We still face that dilemma of learning who we are and what our role is, but now we have so many more options. Edna was very brave to continue on her journey, to stand up to her husband. I was surprised she wasn't just put into an insane asylum to deal with her revolt, but her options were so limited.

If you've read and reviewed this book, let me know in the comments. We can link up.

BOOK: The Call of the Wild by Jack London

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Canadian Book Challenge: Yukon entry; decades challenge: 1900s; novella challenge (172 pages)

Well, I was pleasantly surprised with this book. John Mutford recommended it to me for the Canadian challenge as I was having difficulty finding a Yukon book. It was written by an American, Jack London, but it was set in the north, including Yukon, during the gold rush of the late 1800s.

It's a simple story but written well. Buck is a dog who was essentially kidnapped from the good life in San Fransisco and taken north, where dogs were needed to work the trails. Buck begins of process of returning to the wild, gradually. There is an element of Black Beauty here, as Buck is passed from one bad situation to a worse one, but he becomes strong and a leader among dogs, as he heeds his call to the wild.

The writing was simple but readable, something I don't always expect from a classic novel. I really liked it and will try the other famous London book, White Fang.

BOOK: The Remains of the Day by Kazou Ishiguro

The Remains of the Day by Kazou Ishiguro

1989 Booker Winner, 1980s decade, Man Booker Challenge

I haven't seen the movie, but I would like to now. This quiet book is the memoirs of Stevens, proper butler to Darlington Hall from the 1930s to his present day 1956. Ishiguro has written an amazing book in that this is a character study of the main character, told in first person narrative, and the man has no inner thoughts, a completely flat character. It is completely sad how removed from himself he is without even realizing it. But the book is genius.

Stevens has lived his whole life as a butler and he is very invested in being the best butler, to the point that he has no relationships with anyone - his father, Miss Kenton, or anyone. He doesn't think critically about any decisions of his boss, who, it comes out, was quite the Nazi sympathizer before World War 2.

Later in life, he seems to feel that bantering is a skill he should acquire, as part of his repertoire of a good butler. But bantering doesn't come easily to him. This is typical of his interactions with other people. It is particularly sad when he retells events with Miss Kenton, the housekeeper. He keeps his emotions so bottled up, under the guise of professionalism, that he cannot even offer condolences or talk of anything that is not to do with the job.

Ishiguro offers a view of life in the upper classes in England, and what life may have been like 'on the job'. And he does such a great job of exposing Stevens character without saying anything, especially the parts that Stevens isn't even aware of. Ishiguro is on my list of potential favorite authors now, with two books (Never Let Me Go) that have impressed me.

CHALLENGE: Decades Challenge 2008

Is it really time to think of 2008 already? I guess it is, as people are beginning to make their reading plans for next year. This is a nice one to do, and doesn't involve many more books than are already planned for with the Pulitzer Project and Reading the Bookers, two ongoing projects. I also like that it is flexible and can be changed along the way. 3M, hostess extraordinaire, is great like that.

The Decades Challenge Rules:
1. Read a minimum of 8 books in 8 consecutive decades in ‘08.
2. Books published in the 2000’s do not count.
3. Titles may be cross-posted with any other challenge.
4. You may change your list at any time.

My list looks something like this, as of now:

1990s - The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields (Pulitzer)
1980s - Remains of the Day by Kazou Ishiguru (Booker)
1970s - The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier (YAC)
1960s - The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence (2nd Canadian)
1950s - Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (African)
1940s - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (Chunkster)
1930s - Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
1920s - Ukridge - P.G. Wodehouse
1910s -
1900s - The Call of the Wild by Jack London (Canadian)
1890s - The Awakening by Kate Chopin (Southern )

If you think this looks like fun, come on over to The Decades Blog and join the fun. There are lists and lists of suggestions, by decade. I managed 13 decades this year. If I manage to complete reading Les Miserables at livejournal in our group daily read-along, - it will take a full year, I'd be at the 1860s and I'm sure I'd try to find a few to take me back to that point. It would be shame to get that far back with a humongous read and not have it count for something.