King Solomon's Ring

King Solomon's Ring: New Light on Animals' Ways by Konrad Lorenz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Humorous and earnest. I really enjoyed Lorenz's adventures with and observations of the animals in his life. I think that for his time (post-WWI and pre-WWII), he was very interested in animal welfare. The book is only dated in that some of the attitudes have shifted toward favoring animal rights and that DNA has changed the study of some animals (like dogs/wolves). Very enjoyable read!

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Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (Freud)

Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality by Sigmund Freud
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Again, I find some ideas that were probably ahead of his time (just a handful), others that just demonstrate the scientific state of the study of human & child development - both physically and psychologically - of Freud's time that make me wonder how his theories would change if he were writing today, and then there's others that I suspect stem from the culture of the time/place he's writing in that make me roll my eyes. Reading with the cultural bias of my physical and cultural background, methinks he & the whole Western culture of the time (late 19th to early 20th century) were waaaay too obsessed with masturbation & its supposed ill-effects on one's psychological well-being.

Recommended for those interested in psychology or gender studies, otherwise, I'd probably go with a more general book about Freud and his ideas.

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O, Pioneers!

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I think what I like about Cather's novels is their 19th century characters confronting the turn of the century and it's upcoming shift into "modernity." Changes in season that have always existed mirror changes in technology and values. How the characters interpret or confront those changes are really the interesting part in her stories. I also respect that while Cather admires the pioneer people (often, but not always Scandanavian immigrants) none are portrayed as perfect. All her characters are flawed in some way and even the "happy endings" are more accurately described "not as tragic as it could've been." It makes them hard to read because they bring out the pessimist in me & I am relieved at the end that few of the things that I imagine happening really do.

I think that with so many of the characteristics of modernist novels, that these are a good choice for introducing those concepts to high school readers since it does have an overall plot, chapters, punctuation, etc... that make others (Woolf, Joyce, among others) more difficult for teens to approach. That being said, these novels are not for everyone. I think having a Midwestern youth helps me a bit, but isn't necessary for appreciation.

And for my skeptical friends, she does kill several characters during the course of the novel.



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Manon Lescaut

Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prévost
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book was all right. I found it a little difficult to sustain my disbelief that the narrator of the story, Chevalier, would stand by such a flighty, inconstant, gold-digger. She must've been really something, I guess - some kind of Helen of Troy. Anyway, though she never speaks for herself (her words always come through the filter of her lover, the narrator), she dies at the end while the narrator survives to become an upstanding guy again after having lived in sin so long. While I can appreciate the author not wanting to seem too scandalous in his day, the double standard of behavior is annoying. Unless you like reading classics/romances from the 18th century, this will probably only irritate you. :D

I like this kind of book and it irritated me. (Whiny main characters - especially male ones - irritate me). This would be a good book to explore in a course about transgressive women in the novel over the course of time. Otherwise, if you aren't a fan of 18th century (1700s) literature, I'd skip it and read something different.

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My Heartbeat

My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I liked that the book was really less about sex and sexuality than about how we "know" those around us - especially those closest to us. How are we really communicating with those we love? I think that this way of exploring identity and sexual identity is much more subtle and thoughtful than what I'd expected.

I also didn't mind that the characters read/discussed classic literature - I read some of that on my own too as a teenager (not the ones mentioned in this book, but others). For somebody looking for clear boundaries, this is not that book - it's more of a reminder that we are all works in progress & that's fine. :) We're only in trouble when we don't realize it.



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Joseph's Yard

Joseph's Yard by Charles Keeping

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


The text is right over the illustrations, which in this case, makes the book difficult to read. If it were longer, it'd cause headaches. :( Some preachy stories are likeable. This one was not & some of the illustrations were creepy. I'd pick a different book to teach similar themes about love and caring for something/someone without smothering/stifling.



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