Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Ocean’s 11 by Dewey Gram
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
The Man of Property by John Galsworthy
Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody
The Accidental Buddhist by Dinty W. Moore
In Chancery by John Galsworthy
To Let by John Galsworthy
The White Monkey by John Galsworthy
The Silver Spoon by John Galsworthy
Swan Song by John Galsworthy
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
Stone Tables by Orson Scott Card
Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier
Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling
The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier
The Last World by Christoph Ransmayr
Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
At this time, I joined a small book club which was basically an excuse for some girlfriends of mine to get together and drink wine. It didn’t last very long as we continually found it difficult to actually read the assigned book that we took turns selecting. I don’t believe it ever got to my turn to select a book. This is the reason that I ended up reading The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. I disliked it intensely and still have an aversion to her work today. It masquerades as well-researched historical fiction, but it’s mostly garbage.
But on the flip side of that coin, we have Tracy Chevalier who writes excellent historical fiction. I read Girl with a Pearl Earrings after seeing the film and liking it immensely. I read Gone with the Wind in high school and that may have been my first introduction to historical fiction, but I remember Tracy Chevalier’s works being the thing that cemented my love for the genre. And this is the book that started my fascination with literature that intersects with art history which is a huge component of my current work in progress.
“It took a contemplative period film to bring me to this novel, and it took this work of fiction to bring me to an appreciation of art history and the work of the old masters. I had never studied art history academically, and had little experience of museums and little or no knowledge of any period of art. This book got me interested in the old Dutch masters, the lives they led, and the works they left behind, which spurred me on to learn about other eras and styles of painting. I can now spot a Caravaggio a mile off and know that it’s a Caravaggio, not an essential life skill perhaps, but one I’m happy to have. I cringed when in that Keanu Reeves movie Equilibrium, they show a mob setting fire to The Mona Lisa, the flames causing corners of the canvass curling up around the famous smirk. I cringed, not because of the depiction of the destruction of a priceless work of art, but because the film-makers had gotten it so wrong. The Mona Lisa is painted on a wood panel, not a canvass. That’s the kind of thing I know now that I might never have learned had it not been for this novel. ”
Everyone was talking about Wicked by Gregory Maguire in 2004, so I picked it up expecting to like it. I didn’t. I’m not sure why I dislike Gregory Maguire and Philippa Gregory so much, since they are widely beloved by millions of readers, but I do. And I’m pretty sure Wicked is one of those rare “movie/musical was better than the book” cases.
Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody was an assigned reading for a class on American History. I remember disliking the class due to some conflict with the professor about my writing style, and resenting the huge reading load. There were 6 novel-length books assigned all about the Civil Rights movement, and I didn’t read all of them. The ones I did read, I learned a lot from. Up until that point, I hadn’t learned much about the American Civil Rights movement, and reading first-hand accounts of people involved in SNCC, the Freedom Riders, and reading graphic descriptions of the death of Emmett Till were eye-opening.
The Accidental Buddhist by Dinty W. Moore was a continuation of my exploration of Eastern religions. I don’t think it was an assigned reading, though I had taken an introductory class that covered Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Janeism, and other religions. I think I continued to be interested in Eastern religions due to my deep love of The Wasteland wherein T.S. Elliot quotes The Upanishads. And, of course, this was post 9-11, so I was trying to understand the perspective of Muslims.
When I read John Galsworthy’s epic family drama, The Forsyte Saga, the newest mini series adaptation had recently aired on PBS.
I love costume dramas! But I also love to read classic literature. So, of course, this was a natural fit for me. I have very vivid memories of the mini-series adaptation, but don’t really remember much about the books. I remember liking them, but they must not have made much of an impact.
I keep thinking I should re-read them.
The Birth of Venus may have been a book club pick, but it’s an art historical fiction, so it’s possible I picked it up on my own. It’s typical of the genre, but not great. I didn’t care for it that much despite it ticking all the boxes for things I usually really love.
I have literally no memory of reading The Last World by Christoph Ransmayr. It’s supposed to be an important work, but either I didn’t finish reading it or it made zero impression on me.
Quicksilver was a HUGE time sink, and I read it on the recommendation of my friend who had suggested Heart of Darkness. I did make it through the bloated volume, but did not continue on reading the series. I didn’t connect enough with the characters to sustain an interest, and I felt like the interweaving perspectives were too spaced out. Overall, it could have been tightened up on several fronts and been better for it.