The Invisible Bridge Discussion Schedule!

Hey all, sorry it took me longer to get the schedule up for the December Group Read, The Invisible Bridge.  We won't start discussing until Dec. 9th.

Here is our schedule...

Discussion 1 - Chapters 1-14 - December 9th
Discussion 2 - Chapters 15-25 December 16th
Discussion 3 - Chapters 26-33 December 23rd
Discussion 4 - Chapters 34- Epilogue December 30th

If you would be interested in doing a guest post for one of these, let me know! Thanks and happy reading!

December Group Read is...

The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer!

Julie Orringer’s astonishing first novel—eagerly awaited since the publication of her heralded best-selling short-story
collection, How to Breathe Underwater —is a grand love story and an epic tale of three brothers whose lives are torn apart by war.

Paris, 1937. Andras Lévi, a Hungarian Jewish architecture student, arrives from Budapest with a scholarship, a single suitcase, and a mysterious letter he has promised to deliver to C. Morgenstern on the rue de Sévigné. As he becomes involved with the letter’s recipient, his elder brother takes up medical studies in Modena, their younger brother leaves school for the stage—and Europe’s unfolding tragedy sends each of their lives into terrifying uncertainty. From the Hungarian village of Konyár to the grand opera houses of Budapest and Paris, from the lonely chill of Andras’s garret to the enduring passion he discovers on the rue de Sévigné, from the despair of a Carpathian winter to an unimaginable life in forced labor camps and beyond, The Invisible Bridge tells the unforgettable story of brothers bound by history and love, of a marriage tested by disaster, of a Jewish family’s struggle against annihilation, and of the dangerous power of art in a time of war


I'm excited to read this one! I do not have the discussions broke out because it is not available at my library til mid December so I had to order it on amazon and won't have it til Monday.  Will update you all on the discussion dates as soon as possible! We won't have a discussion next Friday, December 2nd.  The first discussion will be on the 9th!

Who is reading with us? Anyone interested in a guest post?

Discussion Questions for The Awakening..

Well, with the lack of comments on my review, I am hoping that some at least read a little about it so we can have a discussion. I sense that it wasn't a fan favorite! :)

1. What is important about the title?

2. How does Chopin reveal character in The Awakening?

3. Is Edna consistent in her actions? Is she a fully developed character? How? Why?

4. Would you recommend this novel? Why or why not?

My answers will be in the comments!!! Add any other questions you want to add...

Remember to vote for the January Group Read!

Review: The Awakening by Kate Chopin

When I look past the fact that I was not a fan of Chopin's writing style, I will say the message and subject were good.

The Awakening is the story of Edna Pontieller, who is a New Orleans wife in the late 1800s. The book opens in the summer on Grande Isle, a resort for wealthy New Orleans families. Edna doesn't seem to connect with or belong with the others besides Madame Ratignolle, Mademoiselle Resiz and Robert. Robert had the reputation of picking a married lady and "befriending her" over the summer for some harmless flirting. This summer he picked Edna. Edna enjoyed the attention Robert gives her and slowly starts drifting from her husband. There are moments that she openly defies his wishes and then wonders if she always did what he said, and realizes that she has.

Madame Ratignolle is the vision of what the perfect mother and wife of the late 1800s should be. She is everything Edna had been before she was "awakened." Mademoiselle Reisz represents what Edna could become if she left her husband and children.

Her summer of discovery and fun ends when Robert abruptly leaves Grande Isle to go to Mexico for a "business adventure." Edna is heartbroken. The summer finishes and they return to New Orleans. However, back in New Orleans Edna is no longer the Edna that Mr. Pontieller married. This Edna does what she wants and casts away jobs/visiting that she oversaw as Mrs. Pontieller. Her husband worries about her and thinks she is mentally unstable. A doctor friend tries to reassure him that she is not and to just give her space.

Edna has a real push to independence when her husband is called away on business and her mother-in-law takes her two boys. She spends her days wandering, painting, visiting Mademoiselle Reisz, and entertaining Alcee Arobin. She decides she needs to separate herself from her large stately house and downsize into the "pigeon-house." So, yes she basically decides hey I am going to move out of my house and oh I will write my husband that is away on business a letter and it will be all fine and dandy. That is when I started questioning her mental capacity.

Edna is visiting Mademoiselle Reisz one day, when Robert appears. He is back from his "business adventure." He walks her home and they skirt around uncomfortable inappropriate topics until they are interrupted. Edna doesn't see him for many days until she runs into him and they get to talking. All the feelings are out in the open and it seems like all the cards are falling into place and they will be together. Edna is called away and when she returns, Robert is gone.

This sends Edna who is already emotionally fragile into a huge tailspin.

I do have an issue with her relationship with Arobin. If she is in love with Robert like she proclaims, then that was stupid and in no way acting in way to get him. However, if she is just unhappy and latching on to anything (which I think is the case) than fine. But, to go on and on about her love for Robert and then to that and THEN be soo upset when he says "good-bye." Uh no. Crazy. And perhaps this is when I have to remember this was the late 1800s and she was just beginning to assert "independence" and had no idea how to act in independently.

Anyway, I think I will settle on this being okay. Not something I'd re-read or gush about it. What do you all think? Comments? Questions? Start something up in the comments!

Second Thoughts on The Awakening

FYI, the following will probably contain some spoilers. It has info based on the first 196 pages (large print edition). Read at your own risk. :) I finished the book after I wrote this but did not include all my thoughts on it.

New Words...

Blagueur – joker

Lorgnette – eyeglasses that are held to the eyes with a long handle

Unbelievable quote ---”Do I have to think of everything? ---- as Leonce says when he’s in a bad humor. I don’t blame him; he’d never be in a bad humor if it weren’t for me.” (pg. 77)

Whaaat??? Holy battered woman syndrome. He only hits me because I deserve it????

I also quite enjoyed when Edna’s husband went to the doctor and was concerned she was mentally unbalanced because she was standing up for herself and doing what she wanted. And that her own father tells her husband to manage his wife by force. Eeesh.

Something I don’t understand about Edna is the fact that she just decides to move into the other house and acts like it is no big deal and her husband will be fine with it and what not. It’s like the most natural thing in the world. I am currently on page 196 and she is hosting a dinner party as her last hooray at the house.

My current thoughts --- Like the book, but still not sold on the writing style. I really don’t like being TOLD what people think, how about you let it show up in the writing, not spell it out. I like the random French thrown in, but I don’t really know what it all means, so if I care I have to mark it and look it up later, so that is annoying.

What do you think of Edna’s plan to take up residence in the new house? What about Alcee Arobin? What do you think of THAT drama? I quite like Mademoiselle Reisz. She is a nice enabler for Edna. Any questions? Comments? Start discussing in the comments.

The Awakening first thoughts...

I am currently at Chapter 8 and have already marked a few parts that I wanted to comment on. My initial reactions are, it's okay and I think I am at a point where it is starting to pick up. I am not quite a fan of the style of writing, where the author tells you how/what the character is as opposed to "showing." I don't want to be told the character is engaging or whatever. SHOW it to me.

The first quote that I marked that I wanted to share is this..

"They were women who idolizeed their children, worshipped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themsleves as individuals and grow wings as ministering angels." pg. 22

I've never understood this. I can't imagine living life like that. No matter what I am my own person. Obviously, I do not have children but I am married and I am not all about taking care of my husband all the time.

"In short, Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an indvidual to the world within and about her." (pg 33)

Is it bad that my thought was, IT'S ABOUT TIME.. ;)

"The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding he body in its soft, close embrace." (pg. 34)

This was just a beautiful line. I like how Chopin descibes the sea as seductive. It summed up how I feel near the ocean. It's beauitful, easy to stare at and erase all worries.

A new word...

This word I had to look up because I had no idea.
befurbelowed - Furbelows are are flounces or elaborate trim on a dress or skirt. Befurbelowed means to be dressed up in particulary fancy cloth

Anyone else have any quotes they've marked so far? Who has started reading? What do you think? Any questions? Comments.. Anything at all.. start a discussion in the comments! :)

December's Group Read is...

The Awakening by Kate Chopin!! I just got this from the library last week and it is next on my list after I finish the tear inducing Things I Want My Daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble.

From the Book Jacket: Edna Pontellier is once again spending the summer with her husband and children at Grande Isle, a resort for wealthy New Orleans families. But this summer is very different for Mrs. Pontellier.
The sultry nights, the hypnotic, gentle lapping of the waves on the beach, the intoxicating scent of the breezes off the Gulf -- these all combine to bring strength to Edna's inner self, the person inside who she has too long stifled for her husband, family, and society.
Slowly, through that fateful summer, Edna changes. Her husband doesn't understand why more and more his wife is letting her housemaking duties slip and is increasingly rebellious. Edna herself is unable to fully explain what is happening to her, but she knows that she can no longer be untrue to herself.

Goodreads.com Description: This story of a woman's struggle with oppressive social structures received much public contempt at its first release; put aside because of initial controversy, the novel gained popularity in the 1960s, some six decades after its first publication, and has since remained a favorite of many readers. Chopin's depiction of a married woman, bound to her family and with no way to assert a fulfilling life of her own, has become a foundation for feminism and a classic account of gender crises in the late Victorian era.

Looks good.. cannot wait to start!!!

Poll

The Poll is up for the December Group Read. It will be open until 11:59 on November 30th. I will announce the winner Tuesday, December 1st.

If you read Pride & Prejudice and want any more discussion questions, or want to post a review at your site that would be great. If anyone wants to do another guest post for it, I am up for that as well.

Let me know what you want, and I can make another post of discussion questions for P & P.

Happy Black Friday!!!

December Blogger Book Club suggestions..

I have enjoyed reading our first to selections I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass and (still finishing) Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. The first is probably not a book I would have picked to read on my own and the second is one I wanted to discuss with others. :)

So any suggestions for December? Is there a holiday themed book you've always wanted to read? Another classic that is itchy to be read? Or a newer book you've wanted to tackle?

Leave suggestions in the comments until Thursday afternoon and on Friday I will put up a poll for Decembers group read with the winner decided by Monday evening and announced Tuesday, December 1st.

Get suggesting.. :)