I've almost got my "Christmas" put away, and begin to feel that a return to routine isn't far off. I have mixed feelings about that, as I will miss the holidays, but need routine. I'm sure most of you can relate on some level.
SO.....I'm ready now to get back into "Reading With Grandma" and hope you are too! I haven't asked Grandma about it, but I think I will suggest to her that we read Jane Eyre in January and February, commenting on it the first part of March. If she has different ideas I'll edit this post to reflect that.
We're looking forward NOW to your comments on The Actor and The Housewife.
When Julie explained in an earlier post why she suggested The Actor and The Housewife she also quoted Shannon Hale as saying: I hope that readers want to talk about it. I have a lovely dream of groups of readers, women especially, sitting around and talking, heatedly sometimes, questioning the actions of the characters, debating some of the questions raised, what the characters did or didn't do, and the way I chose to tell the story. I hope there are lots of questions, debates, and listening too. And I hope that activity is fun.
We can't all be together in Grandma's living room to discuss this book, but I'm sure that if we could we would have a lively discussion. So post your comments accordingly, not limiting yourself to one comment only.
Grandma's Comments: I enjoyed reading this book but have mixed feelings about it. It seemed too busy – too many things happening that weren't real to me. I did like the ending and will enjoy reading more books by Shannon Hale.
Aunt Louise's Comments: I think Shannon Hale is a good contemporary writer. But some of her humor–and there was a lot of it in the book–was over my head, making me feel a bit out of touch. But that's okay. What I really struggled with was their relationship, and wondered if it was even possible for me to have that kind of a "best friend" other than my eternal companion. And if I did–even if it was another woman–I wouldn't be on the phone with them daily, etc., etc., etc. It's not my style. But I liked the ending! Maybe I should say I was relieved by the ending, and felt that any other ending would have been a compromise. For me, the very best part of the book, and the only thing I underlined, was the way she felt about "The Kiss". I don't have the book any more, it's either with Adrienne or Grandma. If I think of it, I'll include the direct quote later on. It was great!
I enjoyed reading this book and got through it fairly quickly, but I think that was just because I was anxious to see how it would turn out. Very interesting idea, especially since she is LDS. It made me squirm throughout the entire book because I didn't feel right about her relationship with Felix, but I kept trying to justify it. I chuckled to myself in many places and actually cried while riding the stationary bike at the gym when her husband dies. Pathetic. Very entertaining read and I'd be open to reading more Shannon Hale, but not more about lds women having men best friends. :) I read "The Princess Academy" by her and remember really liking it, and I'm interested in reading "The Goose Girl", but they are both young adult fiction, just fyi.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy Shannon Hale's writing style. She has a great way of pulling you into the story and feeling emotions towards the characters. I don't think I've ever picked up one of her books and not been drawn into the story almost immediately.
ReplyDeleteThat said, The Actor and the Housewife was difficult for me to read. The way it was written, I empathized with Becky and her struggles for juggling her marriage and her friendship with Felix, although I completely disagree with the entire situation. I don't really like it when I'm led to feel like it's ok in certain situations to behave inappropriately. In my world, it wasn't ok for her to be best friends with Felix--- despite the fact that we were beat over the head constantly with the fact that she was so completely in love with her husband. I also don't believe that outside of the world of fiction that a husband would ever come to grips with their friendship. The fact that she went to her bishop and the bishop later called to say he 'changed his mind' is laughable. And, despite everything else, Mike being alright with her going to visit Felix in New York by herself was really ridiculous. Maybe if it weren't written from an LDS perspective it would have been more palatable because I wouldn't hold her to higher standards. Then again, the whole plot would have been quite silly if it weren't written in that perspective.
Not having talked to anyone before I read the book, I found out that I am in the really large minority of people that LOVED the ending. I get so sick of the predictable stories (wasn't Mike's death predictable within the first couple of pages?) that I was literally rolling my eyes throughout the book. When Becky and Felix flew off in the helicopter at the end, I was ready to throw my book across the room in frustration. To have it end the way it did was so refreshing!
I'm glad that I read the book even though I didn't necessarily agree with it!
Ditto to everything that Tori said! The question I think the book raises is whether or not it is okay to have male friends after you are married. In this case I think the answer is, no! No woman would be okay with her husband hanging out with another woman that was IN LOVE with him, so why should it be okay for Becky to continue an intimate friendship with Felix? All in all, I found myself laughing a few times and rolling my eyes more times, but it's good to read books that aren't necessarily one's own "style." So I appreciated the challenge.
ReplyDeleteI found this book a challenge to read also. We get most of the story from Becky's perspective, who just wants to have a best friend, but the deeper you get in the book the more obvious (to everyone but Becky?) it becomes that Felix is interested in more than that. I didn't particularly enjoy the book, but I did enjoy reading The Princess Academy and The Book of a Thousand Days. Sometimes I prefer the young adult or juvenile books because they leave out some of the stuff I wish wasn't included in some "adult" books.
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