Jamaica Inn is a dark book.
Okay, in that sentence book = first five chapters.
But still.
The book begins with the main character, Mary's, mother dying after a six month illness. Since her father passed away years before, she's left an orphan. Off she goes to live with her aunt at a remote lodging-house called Jamaica Inn.
Mary remembered her aunt as a jovial woman fond of frivolities.
That was before her aunt married an abusive, crazy, ape-like man. Now she's skittering creature afraid of everything. Mary finds herself trapped in this drafty old inn with a terrifying Uncle.
The one redeeming quality is Mary's attitude. She takes everything in stride, isn't entirely cowed by Uncle Joss, and takes to exploring the moors.
I'm not sure this is going to be a book I'm going to finish. It's hard to describe, but there's something missing in the writing style. Don't get me wrong, there are moments of great prose and the characters are real enough, but the story itself isn't engaging.
Then again, who knows? Maybe come October 31st I'll be reporting that I loved "Jamaica Inn," just like I did with "Gone With the Wind."
That's it. I can't do it. I just can't.
I can't read another word of Lorna Doone. This is worse than Pride & Prejudice. No lie.
Check out the first sentence of this book...
"If anybody cares to read a simple tale told simply, I, John Ridd, of the parish of Oare, in the country of Somerset, yeoman and churchwarden, have seen and had a share in some doings of this neighborhood, which I will try to set down in order, God sparing my life and memory."
...So, what do you think? Just a word of caution: the entire book is written like this. I can understand, completely, why Lorna Doone is now out of print. I got to the 56th page (I think), and I have given up. It's too painful to read. Especially after the amazingness that is Gone With the Wind.
John Ridd is an annoying main character, the writing is very lackluster, and the characters speak in a challenging dialect. When Ridd's father was killed, I had no sympathy for him, and I'm a very caring person. It was that bad.
I'll still do an end-of-the-month post for Lorna Doone, but it will just be a link referring readers back here. I've sealed the I'm-not-reading-anymore deal by returning the book back to the library.
Count June's Classic as an epic, epic failure.
Alas!
Wow.
Okay, so guess what? 1,037 pages later...
I finished "Gone With the Wind." Surprised? Me too! Last update I swore I wouldn't finish it. But then last weekend happened. I planned to spend the day editing. Instead I read "Gone With the Wind" for almost twelve hours. I hit Scarlett and Melanie's flight from Atlanta as the Yankees closed in--and I couldn't stop.
There were moments that I didn't like Scarlett. I mean, let's be honest. She's really selfish. And because of that she misses a lot of things. And by a lot of things... I mean a lot. But I still enjoyed her as a character. She wasn't afraid to get things done
.
And the chemistry between Scarlett and Rhett? Goodness! I could stand Scarlett being cold in her marriage to Charles and Frank. She didn't love them. But I couldn't stand her when she didn't realize that Rhett Butler was achingly in love with her! Okay, I also didn't like how she treated her children.
But mostly Rhett.
Oh, Rhett and Scarlett! There's so much to say about them. But it all comes down to one thing: COMMUNICATION. These two were so prideful that they failed to communicate their love for eachother. Which led to Rhett's famous line at the end...
Speaking of the end, everything went crazy around page 990. People were dying, realizations were made, hearts were breaking... In regard to "hearts," I don't think it's over. Not by a long shot. Scarlett, as she herself claimed, has gotten any man she sets her sights on. Even though Rhett has left her, he doesn't stand a chance!
Rhett & Scarlett Butler Forever.
Also, fun fact. Did you know that there's a sequel to "Gone With the Wind?" All right, Margaret Mitchell didn't write it, but her estate paid another writer to pen it. The title is "Scarlett."
And I've already requested it from the library.
I want to go back to November 2015 (when I was preparing the Classics Challenge list) and talk some sense into Younger Emily. These 500+ page books are ridiculous!
You can guess my progress with Gone With the Wind from the above. Although I'm not halfway through the book (page 296, in fact), I'm really enjoying it. Margaret Mitchell is amazing at characterization. From Scarlett to Rhett to Charlie... They all seem like real people with real faults. Except for the perfect Melanie Wilkes!
Interestingly enough, although Scarlett is extremely selfish and contemptuous, I find myself liking and sympathizing with her (for now). Especially that ill-advised marriage when she was sixteen. An important lesson to teenagers--listen to your parents! If Scarlett had considered her mother's advise, her life might've gone in a different direction!
As for my favorite character... This should come as no surprise. Rhett Butler. He is such an interesting "gentleman." I put that in quotes because no one in the south considers him a gentleman. Which is probably why I like him, alas.
And least favorite... Scarlett's father, Gerald. I like everything about him except his selfish absent-mindedness (I suppose Scarlet got this trait from him). If he had done his duty as a father and paid attention to his daughter, she might've avoided her unhappy marriage to Charlie which skewed her entire life.
Can you tell this marriage disturbed me?
Though I'm almost 100% sure that I won't finish Gone With the Wind, I'm going to keep reading and hopefully pick it back up once my Classics Challenge is over.
Meanwhile, watching the movie is in my near future.
"Life's under no obligation to give us what we expect." ~Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Mitchell, writer and journalist, was an American southerner through and through. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Mitchell spent her childhood writing adventure stories and using cardboard as makeshift covers. Her talents extended to drama where, in high school, she directed and acted in plays she wrote.
Mitchell married in 1922 to Berrien Kinard Upshaw, breaking our Classics Challenge's trend of umarried female writers. Unfortunately, Berrien left for the midwest four months later and was never heard from again. But that didn't stop Mitchell from falling in love a second time! In 1925, Mitchell married Robert March (who did not go out west, in case you were wondering).
During the period from 1922 to 1925, Mitchell was an active journalist, penning over 130 articles. Until...
A broken ankle cut Mitchell's journalist career short. At the time, Mitchell must have been heartbroken, but if weren't for that broken ankle, we wouldn't have the book (and movie adaptation) so many readers love today.
That's right! While recovering from her broken ankle, Mitchell wrote "Gone With the Wind." The novel was an overnight success, the film based on her novel debuting three years later.
Sadly, "Gone With the Wind" was Mitchell's single literary work. During WWII, Mitchell served in the Red Cross and was unable to write. In 1949, she was struck by a car while crossing the street.
She died five days later at the age of forty-eight.
Writerly Things to Learn from Margaret Mitchell:
1. Writing is in the blood. Just like Margaret, writers talk about how they've been writing stories since childhood. (I too can claim this. I just pray my earliest works are never published. I'm looking at you, Sailor Moon fanfiction) Which means, no matter how frustrating writing can be, we're called to it. Basically, we can't escape the words. Sorry.
2. Your next book could be your biggest hit. "Gone With the Wind" started from very humble beginnings. In fact, Margaret Mitchell penned it on an old sewing table. Yet it went on to become a Pulitzer Award success.
3. Write your own way. Know-it-alls (myself included) tout theories on the best way to write. Feel free to ignore them! Mitchell wrote the last chapter of "GWTW" first and then the others randomly!
4. Always, always edit your work. Once "GWTW" was finished, Mitchell didn't start sending out copies. She did lots and lots of tweaking. Scenes were cut or rephrased and characters' names were tweaked. Bet you didn't know our beloved Scarlett started out as Pansy! Imagine how different the book would've been with a snobby, full-of-herself southern belle with the name Pansy!
