This and That #1

So, I waited too long to write a post about short stories, and now I can't write about them anymore because it has been too long since I read them. I would reread them but I seriously do not have time with school going on and all the things that I have to read. But let me suggest the following:

The Enormous Radio by John Cheever
Roman Fever by Edith Wharton
How to be an Other Woman by Lorrie Moore

These are fantastic writings. Check them out.

I'm doing an independent study on modern and contemporary American drama. I just finished reading Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive, a superb play about a young girl becoming a woman while having a sexual affair with her uncle in law. It raises questions about the nature of pedophilia and statutory rape, and gives a very interesting take on a character that we might have otherwise condemned.

I also read Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, which is depressing to read, especially during the time where our economy is fucked. But it is a great play. The characters are multi-dimensional and very intriguing to study. What I love about Arthur Miller is that his works (the 4 that I have read) all have timeless qualities. These are the plays that readers and audiences will always be able to relate to. He is very Shakespearean in that way.

The Classics

For many reasons I think everybody should read the classics. But the term "classic" itself is pretty problematic. It's just as problematic as the term "masterpiece." How should something be defined as a classic? I don't think there's one right answer. In any case, I have read several works this summer that I consider to be classical. And here they are:



Macbeth by William Shakespeare. I have read and loved many of Shakespeare's plays. Macbeth, however, wasn't one of them. I thought it was far from being one of his best. But to be fair, I much prefer his comedies to tragedies.



To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. I thought this one was beautifully written. I was completely enamored by it. Woolf is famous for playing around with streams of consciousness, and for being the suicidal genius portrayed by Nicole Kidman in The Hours. It took me a bit of effort to get into the text, but once I was there I never wanted to leave.



A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen. Ibsen is one of the masters of drama, and a revolutionary one of his time. This particular work discussed the inequality of gender roles with complex characters.



The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This one has definitely become one of my favorite novels. Sometimes you read something and it feels as if it was written for you and you enjoy every page of it. This is one of those novels for me.



The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. This is a gothic novel. I thought the plot was thin, the characters not well developed, and the writing style unpolished. Like Shelly's Frankenstein--which I also don't like--this novella seems to indulge in its spooky elements and ignore the other aspects that would make the work a good work of literature like, I don't know, plot and characters? Needless to say I did not like this one.



Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. I thought it was beautifully written, almost like music. It moves so subtly and has this melancholic tone all the way throughout. I simply loved it. I also recommend Wharton's short story called Roman Fever.