Sundries

Oct. 27th, 2024 05:03 pm
lunabee34: (cool lesbians by jjjean65)
[personal profile] lunabee34
1. We got Margaret settled into the assisted living facility on Monday, and she's done so well. By the end of that first day, she already had a gaggle of friends she was hanging out with, and they have activities all day long. She's so busy, we all have trouble catching her on the phone.

I think all of us had been waiting on tenterhooks and scared that she'd react poorly, but thankfully she didn't.

One down, one to go!

2. I don't know if y'all remember a few years ago when we hit a bear on the highway and totaled our car. Last week, Fiona and I were driving down the highway, and we saw a little bear cub frolicking on the side of the road at the exact spot where we had the accident. It freaked me out because where baby is, mama is not far behind. But we escaped unscathed this time.

3. I didn't post any real details about this book in the review, but I'd love to discuss this book!

FingersmithFingersmith by Sarah Waters

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is absolutely masterful. I love a good Neo-Victorian, and this is the best one I've read maybe ever. The writing is beautiful, the focus on all the details that ground a reader in the 19th century (slang, dress, the grime) is amazing, and the sense of place (London, the asylum, the countryside forty miles from London) are all exquisitely drawn.

I love how twisty and turny this novel is. I don't want to say too much about the plot for fear of ruining it, but there's such an excellent payoff in the third act.

Highly, highly recommended.



View all my reviews

4. I'd love to discuss this one with anyone who's read it, too.

McTeague: A Story Of San FranciscoMcTeague: A Story Of San Francisco by Frank Norris

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is a book in which deeply unpleasant things happen to deeply unpleasant people. The characters (and the narrative itself) are racist and sexist; child abuse goes unremarked and treated as a matter of course. Domestic violence, alcohol abuse, and murder feature prominently.

And, yet, Norris is a compelling writer. His descriptions of San Francisco and later of the desert are vividly written. His portrait of an unorthodox romance between two elderly characters is an oasis of sweetness amidst all the horror.

I enjoyed parts of this book but will not read it again.



View all my reviews

Date: 2024-10-27 09:18 pm (UTC)
hermionesviolin: (andro)
From: [personal profile] hermionesviolin
Have you seen The Handmaiden? It's a South Korean film (2016) which is inspired by the Sarah Waters book.

Date: 2024-10-28 12:05 am (UTC)
likeadeuce: (Default)
From: [personal profile] likeadeuce
The Handmaiden is so fascinating. . . There are things I didn't like about it as an adaptation (the focus on how evil the men are makes the women less interesting than they are in the novel, I think) but the cultural translation is so fascinating.

Date: 2024-10-28 02:55 am (UTC)
minoanmiss: Nubian Minoan Lady (Nubian Minoan Lady)
From: [personal profile] minoanmiss

points upwards This.

Date: 2024-10-27 09:32 pm (UTC)
kore: (Default)
From: [personal profile] kore
I was somehow totally unspoiled for Fingersmith and actually screamed "YOU BITCH" at the book when it came to that devastating twist.

Date: 2024-10-27 09:54 pm (UTC)
jackandahat: A brown otter, no text. (Default)
From: [personal profile] jackandahat
Glad to hear things are going well with Margaret, that's good news.

Date: 2024-10-27 11:34 pm (UTC)
aurumcalendula: gold, blue, orange, and purple shapes on a black background (Default)
From: [personal profile] aurumcalendula
Fingersmith is really good!

Date: 2024-10-28 12:09 am (UTC)
likeadeuce: (Default)
From: [personal profile] likeadeuce
I love 'Fingersmith' (also 'The Paying Guest' if you're interested in more Waters).

I know I read McTeague in a grad school class and I mostly remember the dental horror and the scenes in the desert that seemed like a pre-cursor to a scene I recall from loony toons... The most menorable thing is that I read this for a survey course on realism and at some I commented on how clever it had been for the professor to specifically select books that focused on money and he was like -?? Not on purpose!

Turns out that's just what realism is!

Date: 2024-10-28 12:27 am (UTC)
corvidology: ([EMO] FANTASTIC)
From: [personal profile] corvidology
Lovely to hear Margaret is settling in so well as it's always so unpredictable who it will work for and who it won't.

Date: 2024-10-28 01:57 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] timespirt
"HUGS"

Glad it's working out hon. Your mom in-law should be fine. Bet she will like to play bingo.

Date: 2024-10-28 03:30 am (UTC)
musyc: Silver flute resting diagonally across sheet music (Default)
From: [personal profile] musyc
we saw a little bear cub frolicking on the side of the road at the exact spot where we had the accident

Ohhhhhhhhhhh, I can imagine how that started the old heartrate to racing. Glad there wasn't a repeat!

Date: 2024-10-28 11:17 am (UTC)
amejisuto: (Default)
From: [personal profile] amejisuto
I'm glad Margaret settled in well. Hopefully, it will go as well next time!

So happy you just saw cubs, and didn't hit a bear again!

Date: 2024-10-31 12:32 pm (UTC)
amejisuto: (HW- Happy Halloween Witch Shoes by rainb)
From: [personal profile] amejisuto
Yeah, no. That would be bad.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Date: 2024-11-01 11:16 pm (UTC)
amejisuto: (HW- Evil Pumpkin by pixel_bits)
From: [personal profile] amejisuto
It was good! Thanks, darling!

Date: 2024-10-28 11:33 am (UTC)
callmesandyk: (Way down)
From: [personal profile] callmesandyk
I'm glad things went well with Margaret! Yay!

Date: 2024-10-28 03:31 pm (UTC)
spikedluv: (summer: sunflowers by candi)
From: [personal profile] spikedluv
I'm glad the move to assisted living went well and she's already made friends! (I'm presuming this is your m-i-l?)

And yay for not hitting a bear! o_O *g* (Though I'm sorry it made you anxious.)

Date: 2024-10-29 12:59 am (UTC)
umadoshi: (autumn - carved pumpkins (wilde_hearts))
From: [personal profile] umadoshi
I think all of us had been waiting on tenterhooks and scared that she'd react poorly, but thankfully she didn't.

This is so great to hear!

Date: 2024-10-31 12:45 am (UTC)
scintilla10: stack of well-read books; text: "I love to read" (Stock readerly - ilovetoread booksbooksb)
From: [personal profile] scintilla10
So good to hear that Margaret is settling in. That must be relieving to you all.

Ahh, I love Fingersmith! It blew me away when I first read it. It's the type of book that you kind of long for the experience of reading again unspoiled. <33

Date: 2024-11-01 01:38 am (UTC)
princessofgeeks: (Default)
From: [personal profile] princessofgeeks
I enjoyed Fingersmith a lot. It was the kind of book that gave me a huge hangover and I didn't see the twist coming AT ALL.

I've never read anything else quite like it.

Date: 2024-11-01 12:03 pm (UTC)
princessofgeeks: (Default)
From: [personal profile] princessofgeeks
Neglected to put in my comment how glad I am for you all that M likes the assisted living place!!! OMG that is huge. Will Tom be able to move in with her there eventually? Is it more like an apartment that she has, or a room?

WISHING YOU ALL THE BEST

Date: 2024-11-02 01:32 pm (UTC)
princessofgeeks: (Default)
From: [personal profile] princessofgeeks
I am so glad that the house can get on the market soon. That is good news.

ALL THE HUGS

In other news, two days in a row now I have exercised and eaten right. Go me!

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lunabee34

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