The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

from goodreads

2.5 stars

Classics are a funny breed of book. It seems when you read them either you love them or you hate them. Very rarely do you fall in between, though it does happen on occasion.

Usually when I look back on the classics I have read I feel a great love and happiness come over me. I love thinking of sweet Jane Eyre and my heart still aches for her sadness but then rejoices at the happiness of her life. I remember the first time I read Great Expectations. I can still remember my exact location when I was reading the final revelations at the end of the book of the connection between the characters. (It was in the back of our car and we were driving back from Owen Sound and we were just passing the turn to Haliburton that is found in the little blip on the map called Tory Hill.)

I don't know what it is about classics that speak to us so much. Is it the wordiness? Is it the fact that they have stood the test of time and these are the books that we still know about in today's day and age? I don't know. Perhaps it is the difference in the language. The need to actually think about what the author was trying to say that makes them so enjoyable, or unenjoyable, to read.

All I know is I haven't read nearly as many classics as I wish to and I am looking forward to reading more.

Synopsis

This book follows the life of Dorian Gray. He is young and impressionable. He has his portrait painted and when he sees the beauty of it he makes a wish. He wishes that he would remain beautiful and young and that the portrait would age. As his life unfolds he begins to realize that that was not just some idle wish.

My Thoughts

I so wanted to like this book more than I did.

The actual story line was great and interesting and some of the social issues of the time that were dealt with were rather intriguing. Yet the execution of the story just wasn't there.

I found the monotonous and contradicting monologues rather tedious. I think you have to be in the right mood for the ridiculous and I was not in the mood when I was reading this. I also found the pages and pages of descriptions of embroidery and jewels almost unbearable. I almost quit reading then and there. During the monologues and descriptions I will admit that my eyes glazed over a bit and I did quite a bit of skimming. I know that you shouldn't skim but it was the only way I could get through it.

If the book was just the story of the painting and Dorian it would have been so great. When there was action happening in the book I loved it and couldn't wait to figure out what was going to happen. If only Mr. Wilde could have stuck to that type of narrative instead of having to put in his "witty" banter and descriptions, because the idea behind the book was quite awesome.

So all in all, I guess I am sort of glad that I read it but I was left unimpressed. It could have been so much more than just a "when is it over" book.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

from goodreads

2.5 stars

The other day on Facebook one of my friends posted her results for one of those online quizzes. This quiz was about art work and asked if you could match the name with the popular piece of art. I decided to take it, not because I know a lot of art, but just to see how well I would do. Amazingly I got 10 out of 10. This is due impart to the pieces actually being popular and the fact that it was multiple choice so I was able to deduce the title and honestly a bunch of luck.

This got me thinking to what we consider great art. What makes a piece great? What makes it not so great. Is there an actual method to deduce art or is it subjective? Is there a way to classify great art, or is just a crap shoot?

The same could be said about books. Is there a methodology that we could use to deduce what is the pentultimate book? I wish there was then we wouldn't have to read bad ones. But it is good that there isn't. Every author is so different and every reader is so different. Our life history can influence our choice of reading material. Yet, when the right book meets the right reader at just the right time magic happens. Though it can be rare it is beautiful when it does.

Synopsis

This book follows a boy and then man named Theo Decker. In his early teens he is in a bomb attack that kills his mother. This sets off a chain of events that takes Theo into the upper crust of New York's social scene, then to the dredges of Las Vegas and then back to New York and the high end antique scene. The glue that holds his scattered world together is a painting, a painting that acts like a compass in his whirlwind life.

My Thoughts

I don't know what to think about this book. It is a real head scratcher that's for sure. The language and descriptions used were awesome. Though at times the story felt a bit wordy, yet the wordiness added a richness to it, sometimes. The length was quite something at 771 pages. I think that page number will stick with me.

The story at times kept me thoroughly engaged. The beginning section was quite intriguing and I was thinking that this was going to be a really awesome read. I also liked the section when he moves back to New York. It again piqued my interest.

But then when he goes to Las Vegas, and after awhile in New York, it just seemed to drag on and on. I wished the Las Vegas part had been cut down a bit. While I understand why it was necessary as part of the story, I wished it had been severely edited. To see someone waste and risk their lives with so much drug abuse was horrible. And the gross negligence of Theo's father, despicable. It's like why force Theo to go to Las Vegas when he had a more stable environment where he was.

So, I can't give it a full solid three, as there were many times I wanted to give up. I'm not sure why I kept going. I guess the blurb on the flap made me think that it would be getting really exciting. I think if there was a bit more action and a bit less drug use described it would have made for a more interesting read as the drug culture doesn't interest me at all.

The use of art and getting a glimpse into the antique world was also interesting. I guess that is the thing that was neat about this book. You got a glimpse into worlds and interests you might not normally get to see. It has piqued my interest in learning more about art, but that's about it.

When I finished the story I felt relief of it being done and that's about it. There are some books that stick with you for a while and you think about what you read or about the characters. This is not one of those books. Whenever I happen to think about it I just think of the gross parental neglect shown in Las Vegas and the waste that can happen when there is not a parental figure that shows a genuine interest. It is sad.

For what it is worth, The Goldfinch won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Sometimes I don't understand books that win prizes. Perhaps I am just not as deep and in tune with the art form as I need to be. Clearly other people liked it more than I. I guess this book just wasn't my thing.

Fancy Nancy: Aspiring Artist by Jane O'Connor Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser

from goodreads

5 stars

It always amazing me how startlingly similar my girls can be but then how completely different they can be. Both girls like crafts, building things in the back yard, riding their bikes and helping in the kitchen. Where they differ is in their fashion sense.

My oldest doesn't care what she wears. As long as things are covering her body she's fine. It almost seems the more the outfit clashes the better it is.

My middle child on the other hand is very much the fashionista. At least once a week she has a melt down over what shorts or skirt she should wear with a top. Or, what is fancy or not. She will come out of her room some days and ask "Hey mom! Do I look fashion?" To which I answer "oh yes, very fashion." She will even pose and swish her hair around.

How they became so different in their fashion sense I will never know. I myself I am in the middle. I like to look o.k. but I don't worry about looking too fancy. My only worry is that if a five year old can have a fashion meltdown what will she be like when she is older?

Synopsis

This is one book of a series of Fancy Nancy Books. In this book Nancy decides she is going to be an artist. Each day she decides to try a new medium of art and learns about real artists as well.

My Thoughts

This is one popular series that I actually like. There are some books in the series that aren't as clever as others but on the whole it is a well done series. I love how Nancy uses "fancy" words and describes their meaning, thus broadening the children's vocabulary. I love how she wants to speak in french. I also love how sometimes Nancy gets into sticky situations or awkward social situations, but how she resolves it in a way that make everyone happy. She apologizes when she needs to, she makes things right when she needs to, and she shows love when she needs to.

This book was great. I loved how it introduces the children to different artists and art forms. It shows them watercolour, mosaic, abstract, etc. It was also fun to see what things Nancy did or saw for inspiration.

The illustrations in this book are so fun and make everything so fancy. The illustrator definitely captures what each little girl would consider to be fancy. My girls spend hours just looking at the pictures and seeing all the different things they could use to make their rooms more fancy. Each corner of the illustrations has something that become a feast for the eyes. I also like how she shows it doesn't take a lot to make something fancy.

The only thing I don't like about the these books is my fancy daughter now has new ideas of what we have to do to become fancy! I think I will have to buy stock in frilly toothpicks and glitter!

Perfect Square by Michael Hall

from goodreads

5 stars

I like math. In fact, I'm pretty good at math. Adding a long list of numbers without a calculator does not phase me in the slightest. Heck, calculus is pretty awesome. As long as it is high school level and I don't have to understand why it works, I just have to know that it does. Yet, despite this non-abhorrence to math I am an artsy at heart. My major was in history and I would much rather be researching in archives and have my backpack full of books then take a university level math course or science class. Writing lab reports, blah. Give me an essay any day, well a history essay at least.

I married a mathy though. He is one of the weird ones that actually enjoys statistics. (Most people I know hated the stats courses they took.) When we were first married I went and sat in on one of his math lectures. The prof was proving that a circle was a circle. He used all this complicated mumbo jumbo and did indeed prove that a circle was a circle. In my head I'm like, why don't you just use your eyes. If it is round and looks fairly uniform it is probably a circle. When I told my husband that he did not seem as impressed with my astute powers of observation as I was. Oh well. Thank goodness for diversity, it keeps circle proving professors employed.

Synopsis

A square, as perfect as it is, is so much more than a square. In this book watch as it becomes a fountain, a garden and so much more.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed reading this book. My kids really enjoyed reading this book. They would look at it on their own, each choosing their favourite picture. They were excited to show me which picture they chose and telling me why it was their favourite.

I loved how they used the square shape in so many different ways to create so many beautiful pictures. Who knew just by scrunching a square or tearing a square and adding a few lines you can make the square into something totally different. I also liked the textures and colours that were used in the collages. It enhanced the visual appeal of the book.

It was really interesting how the author was able to make what seemed like random pictures into something cohesive in the end. They linked together seamlessly in a way that made complete sense and gave a real sense of completion to the book. It wasn't just a book of pictures made from a square just to do it. There was actual thought and a story to go with it.

This is one book that any artsy and mathy could love. It would appeal to a wide variety of children, boys or girls. And that is something that doesn't always happen.