Author

Publisher: Viking, 1938

Genre: Classic Fiction

Format: Hardcover

Source: Public library

My Rating: A+

For the last two weeks a group of bloggers, sponsored by the The Classic Circuit, has joined together to honor the writing of John Steinbeck. I’m happy to be a part of that group. Over the years I’ve read and enjoyed most of Steinbeck’s novels. I couldn’t recall reading his short stories so I signed up for this particular collection.

The title, The Long Valley, refers to the Salinas Valley in central California. This is where Steinbeck was born (1902) and raised. In this twelve-story collection the Salinas Valley was a major component in all but one of the stories. Steinbeck featured the people, the geography, the culture and possibly some of the events of this farm and ranching area

I was amazed at how much the landscape and geography of the Salinas Valley permeates the book. Nearly every story includes true-to-life descriptions of the world surrounding the characters. Here’s an example from the story titled “Flight.”

“. . . on the wild coast, the Torres family had their farm, a few sloping acres above a cliff that dropped to the brown reefs and to the hissing white waters of the ocean. Behind the farm the stone mountains stood up against the sky. The farm buildings huddled like little clinging aphids on the mountain skirts, crouched low to the ground as though the wind might blow them into the sea.

Can’t you just see what the place looked like from his words?  In The Long Valley, Steinbeck also created great characters. Each story reflects a different group of people that I believe Steinbeck must have known from years of living in Salinas Valley. Just from the first few stories, here is a sample of the great characters:

• Elisa Allen is a rancher’s wife with a gift for making things grow. She is especially proud of her showy chrysanthemums. And then a tinker man in a wagon came by . . .
• Mary Teller also has a gift for gardening. She could visualize the perfect garden and then she made it happen.
• There is also lazy Pepe who must flee into the mountains to try to save his life
• Dr. Phillips operates a lab in Monterrey. It’s filled with snakes and rats and other creatures. One day a young woman comes and wants to own one of the snakes.

The stories reflect the time of their writing – the 1930s – the Depression Years. It’s not that the stories are bleak or sad, but they do reflect those lean times. My favorite story is only four pages long and certainly reminded me of how things were for ordinary working people. The story is called “Breakfast.” I don’t know this for fact, but I believe Steinbeck must have had this experience like this. Here’s the first paragraph:

“This thing fills me with pleasure. I don’t know why, I can see it in the smallest detail. I find myself recalling it again and again, each time bringing more detail out of a sunken memory, remembering brings the curious warm pleasure.

Okay, that was a real teaser. The “thing” he’s referring to is breakfast – a very simple, meager one, but told so beautifully that I tasted it, smelled it, and saw the participants. I could hear their happiness, too.

Let me just mention two more stories. “The Murder” is a story of a rancher and his wife. She’s beautiful and a good housekeeper but not much of a companion. All I can say is that someone is murdered. I didn’t see it coming in spite of the  story’s title. It’s an award-winning tale and is well-known. Another popular story is the three-part “Red Pony”. These stories feature the young son of a rancher, the animals and people on the ranch.

I’d love to tell you about every one of these stories but that would spoil it for you. I urge you to find The Long Valley and read just one of these rich stories. It’s a wonderful way to get the flavor of John Steinbeck, especially if he is a new author for you. Of course, I’m betting you can’t read just one.

In addition to reading The Long Valley for the Classic Circuit’s Steinbeck Tour, I also read it for the Classic Bribe. For more information on these programs, press the buttons below.

Why all the questions about Classic Books?

Because — my friend and fellow Quirky Girl, Molly (Bumbles),  is challenging me/us to read a Classic Book this summer. Actually, as you can see in the button above, she’s bribing us to read a Classic. Molly cut her reading teeth on the Classics. She loves them so much she wants everyone to read them.

And, I’m game to join in. I’d love it if you would come along too. Complete instructions about Molly’s challenge/bribe can be found by clicking the button above or the one in the right sidebar.

The last few days I’ve been thinking about which Classic I want to read. I’m positive I’m not going to read one of those boring things that makes my eyes cross. I’d rather ease into it with my favorite genres: mystery, romance, and food books.

How do I find some Classic Books?

There are so many good lists available online. All I had to do was Google ‘Classic Books’ and I had 514,000,000 places to go. Of course, every local librarian could also help with suggestions.

On my Kindle I already have a few good Classics: Woman In White by Wilkie Collins and The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I also have Emma by Jane Austen, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, and several books by Louisa May Alcott. All my Kindle Classics were either free or just a few dollars.

Online, I saw a Classics List at the Cincinnati Public Library website that suggested Tony Morrison’s Beloved. I’ve been wanting to read that. Barnes & Noble has been pushing an inexpensive line of Classic Books the last few years. Used and independent book stores are also great sources for Classic Books.

Those are just a few resources for Classic Books. All we have to do is pick one and read it before Labor Day. But — Think about how much smarter we’ll feel by the end of the summer. Doesn’t that inspire you?  Actually, I’m already feeling rather smart. I’ve used the words Classic Book fifteen times in this post and that’s fourteen more than any other post I’ve written. I think I’m ready.

So, come on. Go visit Molly and join in with me on The Classic Bribe.

Set in the 1930s, Gaudy Night is the story of Harriet Vane and her beau, Lord Peter Wimsey. Harriet has become famous as a writer of detective fiction. She agrees to attend a reunion, a “Gaudy”, at her old college at Oxford.

While at the school Harriet learns the school has been experiencing some nasty problems. Someone is sending cruel messages, defaming the campus buildings, and other acts of vandalism.

The professors are sure it is someone within the all-girl college. The director asks Harriet to help them solve this mystery. They believe that, since Harriet has experience writing about detectives, she can use her detective skills to solve the mystery.

Harriet agreed to stay at the college for a few months under the guise of doing research. She chats with the professors, the students and staff, carefully sifting through information. There doesn’t seem to be a motive. But then the vandalism escalates and Harriet finds herself in danger.

Meanwhile, Lord Peter Wimsey has been out of the country on government business. (He works for the foreign office.) On his return, he drives to the college, to check on Harriet. [Wimsey is in love with Harriet and wants her to marry him, but Harriet has been putting him off.] Now that Peter has come to the college Harriet asks him to help her find a solution to all the problems.

Of course, Peter and Harriet solve the mystery, and Harriet grows a bit more fond of Peter. It was a satisfying story and was also a very well written mystery. It was both smart and sophisticated. There was no murder involved which was refreshing. There was still plenty of intrigue to keep any mystery buff satisfied. I loved the dialogue and the descriptions of the school and the various characters. It definitely had that 1930s feel to it.

I checked a copy of the book out from the library and, I swear, it was the original book from 1936. The cover was plain gray with black binding where it had been repaired. Every page laid flat and looked worn. It even had that “old book” smell. The best part was the library envelope in the front of the book with inserts with the dates the book has been checked out. That really added to the whole Golden Age experience.

The library also had a copy of the video made by Warner Brothers. It featured Edward Petherbridge as Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Walter played the part of Harriet Vane. The costumes and the setting added significantly to the book. If your library carries the video, I’d suggest viewing the video in addition to reading the novel.

I hope you’ll visit more of the blogs who are featuring the Golden Age of Fiction. Today is just the second day of the tour so you have plenty of time to catch the whole tour. The complete schedule is at Golden Age of Fiction.

This post fulfills several of my challenges: Mystery and Thrillers, Read the Book, See the Movie, Awesome Authors, and the 1930s Challenge.

I chose to feature Ethel Waters because back in the late 1950′s I actually saw Ethel Waters perform – live – several times. Every Monday night in Pasadena, California, ‘Phil Kerr Presents’ featured some of the best performers in gospel music. Her signature song at those shows was His Eye Is On The Sparrow. There was never a dry eye in the place when she sang that song. The words to the chorus:

I sing because I’m happy

I sing because I’m free

His eye is on the sparrow

And I know He watches me

Although I’d seen her on television (as Beulah), I honestly thought she was best known as a gospel singer. I was unaware of her background or the rest of the story. So I picked up her autobiography, His Eye Is On The Sparrow (1951). It’s quite the story.

Ethel Waters’ childhood was defined by extreme poverty – both materially and emotionally. Here’s how she tells it in the opening lines of her autobiography:

I never was a child. I never was coddled, or liked, or understood by my family. I never felt I belonged. I was always an outsider. I was born out of wedlock, but that had nothing to do with all this. To people like mine a thing like that just didn’t mean much. Nobody brought me up.

Ethel’s mother was raped when she was 12. After Ethel was born she wanted no reminder of that painful event. Ethel’s grandmother took responsibility for Ethel but her job kept her absent all but one day a week. Ethel was left with whomever among the aunts and other relatives were home. As she grew, she took care of herself. Because she was always hungry, she learned to be one of the best thieves in the neighborhood. She grew up to be strong and tough.

There was only one constant in young Ethel’s life which brought her both joy and her future livelihood – singing. Singing the blues was “one emotional outlet [her] people always had when they had the blues.” Everyone sang. Instead of telling Ethel stories, they sang.

Ethel never thought about earning a living as a singer but one night, on a dare, she sang at a club. In the audience were two professionals who had a small vaudeville unit. They liked her and hired her to travel with them and play in theaters all around the east coast and the south. Ethel’s specialty was singing the blues, but she could sing popular ballads as well as jazz..

When Ethel went to Harlem she thought it would be just for a few weeks. Although it was only a short distance from her home in the Philadelphia area, New York -

“was the Big Time as no other American city has ever been. The greatest act in colored show business had long made Harlem their home and favorite stamping ground. When other performers had spoken to me about Harlem their eyes had filled with excitement and a dreamy wonder. I didn’t know whether I could make good in such a place.”

But Ethel did make good. She went on to make records, act and sing on Broadway, make movies and TV shows. She had some dry spells especially when she hit her forties. Many thought she was a has-been. But Ethel Waters had resilience and an extremely strong inner faith. Whether she was up or down, she always read her scriptures and kept on praying. The words to the song, His Eye Is On The Sparrow, was the theme song of her life.

The book was excellent (an A). I borrowed it from the library and I could tell it has been well loved by thousands of readers. Each page lays flat as if it’s a spiral bound book. It’s been read that much. Check your library for it or buy the paperback at Amazon. [The hardcover is now $81.95]

There is an old video clip on You-Tube of Ethel Waters singing His Eye Is On The Sparrow. She was at a Billy Graham crusade in 1975, just two years before her death. Her voice was still strong and there was such a warm glow on her face. If you’d like to see that video, click here.

Harlem Stomp: A Cultural History Of The Harlem Renaissance

by Laban Carrickn Hill

Little, Brown & Company, 2003

My Rating: A

Summary from the Book Jacket: The Harlem Renaissance was one of the most exciting and important periods (late 1910′s to 1930′s) in American cultural history. Determined to make a new start for themselves at the dawn of the twentieth century, many African Americans joined the “Great Migration” and headed to the North. For those who landed in the hotbed of Harlem, New York, it was a time of intellectual, artistic, literary, and of polictical blossoming. Influential African-American artists and activists took center stage as their burgeoning creativity captured the attention of the world.

My evaluation: According to the Library Journal, this book is a Young Adult and is suitable for Grade 7 and up. Well, I’m way past the 7th grade but the book was perfect for me. It was jammed full of short historical clips, loads of pictures, drawings, paintings, posters, and so forth. It was a pleasant way to learn the history of this time period.

Harlem Stomp was also about more than just history. It featured the authors, artists, intellectuals, and activists that were an important part of this era. And, the author also covered some of the issues of the time. It never felt like a young adult book. It was very sophisticated.

For students who want to study further, there is an excellent bibliography at the end. It also has a good index. I’m grateful to Harlem Stomp for helping me understand this important part of our cultural history.

Source: I borrowed this book from the public library. It s also available at Amazon.

It is my pleasure to welcom Edith Wharton to my blog by way of the Classics Circuit. January has been designated as the month to read Ms.Wharton’s works and tell others about them. I chose to read one of her non-fiction pieces, The Writing of Fiction. As a reader, I’m interested in knowing how various writers look at their art. My objective is a better appreciation for and an understanding of the stories I spend so much time with.

The Writing of Fiction is a series of essays about the author’s craft. She begins with a general discussion on the writing of fiction and then moves to several essays on short stories, more essays on constructing a novel, a good discussion on character and situation and concludes with a section on Marcel Proust.

I’m not going to cover all of the points in these essays. Rather I’d like to share some of the highlights I found interesting, plus share some quotes from the book so you will have a little taste for her writing.

I found her discussion of the difference between the short story and novels to be most interesting. According to Ms. Wharton, a novel, because of its length, allows for the development of characters and can better show the passing of time. The writer of the short story should emphasize what she calls, the situation or predicament.

The chief technical difference between the short story and the novel may therefore be summed up by saying that situation is the main concern of the short story, character of the novel; and it follows that the effect produced by the short story depends almost entirely on its form, or presentation.

Short stories must be vivid and grab the reader from the very beginning. Good novels do the same but they have the luxury of length to develop the various aspects of the story to a great depth.

. . . the typical novel usually deals with the gradual unfolding of a succession of events divided by intervals of time, and in which many people, in addition to the principal characters, play more or less subordinate parts. No need now to take in sail and clear the decks; the novelist must carry as much canvas and as many passengers as his subject requires and his seamanship permits.

I could keep going in my comments and quotes of this slim little volume. It served my original objective of learning how this particular writer viewed her craft. It took me quite a few pages before I got into the rhythm and style of her writing. It was worth hanging in there until I understood her writing. One thing Ms. Wharton did was to filled me with a desire to read more short stories.

I hope you’ll fix other stops on the Edith Wharton tour. You can find the schedule here.

The Writing of Fiction

by Edith Wharton

Simon & Schuster, 1925

Rating: A

Check your public library for a copy of this book. Copies are also available at Amazon

[Source: I purchased this book. Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Associate.]

Cranford is the story of life in a small village in England in the 1850′s. It’s an unusual book in that it does not follow the traditional plot line of “young, single woman meets young, single man,” etc. The entire story is centered around the lives of middle-aged and older spinsters and widows.

The village appears to be dominated by the women, with an occasional male character thrown in for interest. It’s not a story about power struggles but the women do have all sorts of norms and rules in this insulated community. For example, a woman must call on another woman between certain afternoon hours and stay for only fifteen minutes. The women must be careful what topics are discussed and what clothes are worn. Most everyone would fall into the genteel but impoverished category but they must keep up appearances. They will do without new clothes for years and eat very frugally in order to afford at least one servant. They all pride themselves on their thriftiness but consider it quite vulgar to discuss money.

The other unusual aspect of the story is that there is very little plot. It’s all about the people in the village. The narrator is a frequent visitor to the village and she simply tells us what she has heard from others and also what she has observed and experienced. She is very fond of Miss Matty and Miss Pole and tells us quite a bit about them. I also found the village of Cranford itself to be a character in itself.

I don’t want you to think this is a dull tale of village life in the nineteenth century. It’s far from that. It’s actually very humorous. The author’s writing had me smiling and sometimes laughing through most of the book. There are also other tales that brought a tear or two to my eye. I found the people very heartwarming.

There is a made for TV movie version of Cranford. It’s actually a BBC mini-series available on dvd. It’s very good. I saw it long before I read the book. The only caution is that it is based on some of the characters in Cranford but does not tightly follow the book version. The movie still carries the humor and sweetness of the book. I’m glad I saw the movie first because it gave me a personal image of characters as I read the book. I definitely saw Judy Dench as I read about Miss Matty.

I’m so glad I joined the Classics Circuit and read this book. I find it very refreshing to read about the classics on a wide variety of blogs. It’s just as good, if not better, than reading about the latest book releases from book tour companies. I encourage you to check out the Classics Circuit, visit some of the other sites on the Elizabeth Gaskell tour, and perhaps sign up yourself to be a future tour host.

Source: Public Library and then I purchased a copy for my own library.