Books

Notes from Underground

Bitter, spiteful, unreliable narrator absolutely drags rationality, determinism, and himself. 

This is not a fun book. I did not enjoy reading it. The first half isn’t even a story, just a screed. The second half is a brutal portrait of the narrator as the worst kind of person.

I’d be prepared to forgive all that if not for the fact that it didn’t even surface any especially novel or plausible ideas. 

If you liked Crime and Punishment, this might appeal to you. But if you, like me, find yourself looking for Dostoevsky titles because you loved The Brothers Karamazov, look elsewhere.

Ethan Frome

Ethan falls in love with Mattie, the cousin of his miserable wife, to disastrous results. 

It’s a lovely, tender, tight little book. It’s faithful and fair to both the strict social norms of its setting and the feelings that provide the impetus for their transgression. 

While Ethan’s wife Zeena is a bit less complex than Ethan and Mattie, her unflattering portrait is perhaps the most memorable of all. But across the board the character development is terrific. 

You also get an uncommonly strong sense of place from the book. If you’ve ever experienced the northeastern United States in the winter, it’ll make you reach for your warmest coat. 

It’s the opposite of flashy. It lacks the garish gestures that characterize modern romance stories, and it ends in tragedy. But despite all that, in its understated way, it’s one of the most romantic books I’ve ever read. Despite all the physical and emotional frigidity, it’s kinda hot. 

Highly recommended.

The Farcaster formerly known as Kchamp. Books, beats, bodybuilding, bright ideas and beautiful things.

katherinechampagne.com

I’ll DM you in a sec 😂 I don’t want to spoil the ending for people. 

You are reporting on quite a few books I read as a kid neither here nor there. The Pearl was one of them too, and I wish I never read that because it kept me off Steinbeck for too long. I wasn’t mature enough as a reader for that one at the time it was given to me I don’t think

Would you be willing to share publicly? If not would you please DM me? I had a surprisingly large reaction to this book and weirdly it made me think of you also. I would love to hear your thoughts

Read this as a kid. 12, maybe? The “transgression” as you call it BURNED in my brain for my entire life. Dying not to say more but all my thoughts on it would give it away