Wanting
Posted: 2017/12/27 Filed under: Book Reviews, Fiction, Lust To Go | Tags: 2017, book lust iii, book review, charles dickens, december, Fiction, John Franklin, Richard Flanagan Leave a commentFlanagan, Richard. Wanting. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2008.
Reason read: the Tasmania Food Fest occurs in December.
Set in 1839, real-life Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin has arrived for a governor’s position for the penal colony of Van Diemen’s Land. There, he and his wife, Lady Jane, fall in love with a spunky live-wire of a native Aboriginal child they call Mathinna. To the Franklins, Methinna is a grand experiment: to see if they can “civilize” the girl through Christianity. Viewed as a savage without reason, they want to tame her into their kind of submission. Leapfrogging ahead in time, Sir John Franklin and his crew have disappeared in the Arctic. Tales of cannibalism embarrass Lady Jane enough for her to approach Charles Dickens to tell a different story.
Through both timelines the emotion of wanting is explored. Sir John Franklin wanted to tame Mathinna. Later, he wanted to tame the Northwest Passage. Lady Jane wanted Methinna as the child she could not have herself and later, when her husband disappeared, she wanted to clear his name of the rumored savagery. How ironic. Dickens, in competition with other writers of the day like Thackeray, reveled in Franklin’s story and wanted a recognition he has never had before.
Author fact: Flanagan also wrote Gould’s Book of Fish, The Sound of One Hand Clapping, The Unknown Terrorist, and Death of a River Guide among others. These four listed are on my list.
Book trivia: Wanting is a short novel, only 252 pages long.
Nancy said: the angle of Lady Jane Franklin employing Charles Dickens to tell her husband’s tale was “deftly explored” in Richard Flanagan’s Wanting (p 232).
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “To the Ends of the Earth: North and South (the Arctic)” (p 230).
December Whatnot
Posted: 2017/12/01 Filed under: Early Review, Fiction, NonFiction | Tags: Alex Garland, childrens book, Connie Willis, Cornell Woolrich, Dorothy Gilman, Early Review, Erin Taylor, Fiction, Grant Faulkner, Larry Brown, librarything, Mark Salzman, mystery, Nero Wolfe, Noel Streatfeild, NonFiction, Rex Stout, Richard Flanagan, Running, russia, science fiction, series, southern, Thailand, Tod Davies, Tom Bissell, yoga Leave a commentHere’s something of a shocker. I am running a 5k during the first week of December! Actually, it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise because I mentioned signing up for it in the last post…just yesterday. But. But! But, enough about the first week of December. Let’s talk about the last week of December! I am looking forward to a week off from work with nothing to do except read, read, read. Another opportunity to gorge on books is a six hour car ride when I won’t be driving. A perfect opportunity to finished a shorter book! And speaking of books, Here is the list:
Fiction:
- God Lives in St. Petersburg and Other Stories by Tom Bissell ~ in honor of a day in December as being one of the coldest days in Russian history.
- Fay by Larry Brown ~ in honor of December being Southern Literature Month.
Fearless Treasureby Noel Streatfeild in honor of Streatfeild’s birth month. Actually, no library would lend Fearless Treasure without charging an ILL fee so I am reading Ballet Shoes instead. Good thing I wasn’t looking forward to reading fantasy!- Wanting by Richard Flanagan ~ in honor of Tasmania’s taste fest which happens in December. To be honest, I don’t know how I made this connection.
- The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis ~ in honor of Willis being born in December. Confessional: this is a huge book so I started it a little early (AB & print).
- The Beach by Alex Garland in honor of Thailand’s Constitution Day observance in December.
Nonfiction:
- Iron and Silk by Mark Salzman ~ in honor of Mark Salzman’s birth month being in December.
- Nero Wolf at West Thirty Fourth Street: the life and times of America’s Largest Private Detective by William S. Baring-Gold ~ in honor of Rex Stout’s birth month.
Series continuations:
- Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Buddha by Dorothy Gilman ~ to continue the series started in September in honor of Grandparents’ month.
Early Review for LibraryThing:
- I was supposed to receive Jam Today by Tod Davies last month but hasn’t arrived yet. Maybe I’ll get it this month.
- I am also suppose to receive Pep Talk for Writers by Grant Faulkner by Dec 29th, 2017. We’ll see about that!
For fun:
- Hit Reset: Revolutionary Yoga for Athletes by Erin Taylor ~ because I’m still trying keep running.
If there is time:
- Between the Assassinations by Avavind Adiga ~in honor of Vivah Panchami
- Black Alibi by Cornell Woolrich ~ in honor of Woolrich’s birth month
