"'The night,' Joe said. 'Tastes too good. You live by day, you play by their rules. So we live by night and play by ours. But, D? We don't really have any rules.'"
-from the novel
This book was chosen for our Page Turners group partly because it was a "book bundle" (several copies available in a set) and partly because the author attended college in our home state of Florida. I must say it is far different than any we have read. The language was strong and the violence was intense with more graphic sex than we are used to seeing. I am giving the book a 4; it was pretty well written, a definite page-turner but not really enjoyable. If this were a movie, you could close your eyes at the bloody, sadistic parts but, of course, that's impossible with a book! A fellow reader described Live by Night as more of a "guy book" and I agree.
Joe Coughlin is the wayward son of a Boston police captain, a self-described outlaw as opposed to a gangster. He gets mixed up with crime boss Maso Pescatore while in the Charlestown Penitentiary. When they are both released, Maso sends Joe to Ybor City in Tampa to run his illegal businesses, rum running and others. It isn't long before Joe finds he has become a gangster. (Outlaws do illegal things, gangsters kill!)
Part I was set in Boston, 1926-1929 but I particularly liked Part II where the action moved to Tampa, FL, 1929-1933. I knew about the cigar industry in Tampa and Henry Plant's Tampa Bay Hotel, called "Plant's Palace" but I didn't know that Ybor City was named for Vicente Ybor, a cigar magnate. I really didn't realize the racism of that time and place, though I should have. There was serious prejudice against blacks and Cubans and a dangerous presence of the KKK. By Part III, Joe is working in Cuba.
Joe was not a respectable citizen but I found myself rooting for him when he found his true love and stood up, at great risk, to the Boss as he refused to kill his longtime friend and right-hand-man. There certainly are plenty of characters to hate in the novel. I look forward to hearing what our group members think about the book tomorrow so I will be back.
-----------------------------------
Park Lake Page Turners met this morning, always an enjoyable occasion. The average rating for Live by Night was 3.4, no 5's and no 1's. There was plenty to discuss, in fact with 18 questions from the publisher found on litlovers.com, more than we could get around to. Some talk centered around main character Joe and his seeming to have some good in him which he kept hidden much of the time. We found it interesting to speculate about his upbringing, particularly the loss of his mother, and how he became an outlaw. Being Floridians, we liked the Tampa setting with Ybor City in the forefront because many of us have been there. We pretty much agreed that Graciela was a refreshing character amidst so many heartless criminals and we thought she brought out the best in Joe. To say much more would possibly spoil the plot so I will sign off here.
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Emma A Modern Retelling by Alexander McCall Smith
"Emma looked at Miss Taylor. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes. Jane hated her; that had been spelled out to her. Frank took the view that she had grossly complicated his life through her indiscretion. Harriet regarded her as a rival, and Philip no doubt blamed her for his downfall and disgrace. Nobody, it seemed, liked her---apart from her father, and possibly George, and even then he had been cross about her rudeness to Miss Bates, even if he later gave her credit for trying to make amends. All of these people, she thought, could so easily see me as an enemy."
Emma's revelations, from the novel
I was not familiar with the original Emma written by Jane Austen so after reading this novel, I found the following on Wikipedia:
"Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance. The novel was first published in December 1815. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian-Regency England; she also creates a lively comedy of manners among her characters. Before she began the novel, Austen wrote, 'I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.' In the first sentence she introduces the title character as 'Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich.' Emma is spoiled, headstrong, and self-satisfied; she greatly overestimates her own matchmaking abilities; she is blind to the dangers of meddling in other people's lives; and her imagination and perceptions often lead her astray."
Except for the modern day setting, this describes Smith's Emma quite well. I was especially struck by "comedy of manners" and by Austen's intention that the reader wouldn't much like the heroine at the start. This updated Emma does seem very self-centered and a bit snobbish but by the end, this reader somehow ended up rooting for her. My quote at the beginning of the post comes from near the end of the novel when Emma discovers some unflattering facts about herself, partly due to the ever-so-wise, Miss Taylor, her former governess. By choosing this quote I thought I could pique your interest in the plot without any actual "spoilers."
I found this version of Emma to be quite entertaining---light reading, to be sure, but with some challenging vocabulary thrown in from time to time. I will rate it a 4 and recommend it to ladies, particularly.
Emma's revelations, from the novel
I was not familiar with the original Emma written by Jane Austen so after reading this novel, I found the following on Wikipedia:
"Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance. The novel was first published in December 1815. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian-Regency England; she also creates a lively comedy of manners among her characters. Before she began the novel, Austen wrote, 'I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.' In the first sentence she introduces the title character as 'Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich.' Emma is spoiled, headstrong, and self-satisfied; she greatly overestimates her own matchmaking abilities; she is blind to the dangers of meddling in other people's lives; and her imagination and perceptions often lead her astray."
Except for the modern day setting, this describes Smith's Emma quite well. I was especially struck by "comedy of manners" and by Austen's intention that the reader wouldn't much like the heroine at the start. This updated Emma does seem very self-centered and a bit snobbish but by the end, this reader somehow ended up rooting for her. My quote at the beginning of the post comes from near the end of the novel when Emma discovers some unflattering facts about herself, partly due to the ever-so-wise, Miss Taylor, her former governess. By choosing this quote I thought I could pique your interest in the plot without any actual "spoilers."
I found this version of Emma to be quite entertaining---light reading, to be sure, but with some challenging vocabulary thrown in from time to time. I will rate it a 4 and recommend it to ladies, particularly.
Saturday, July 16, 2016
The Great Santini by Pat Conroy
"From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli,
We will fight our country's battles on land, on air, on sea.
First to fight for right and freedom, and to keep our honor clean,
We are proud to claim the title of United States Marines."
-from the Marines' Hymn
I have recently discovered Pat Conroy and love his writing but I must say this novel was not entirely enjoyable. In its 536 pages there were some touching moments and some humor but a lot of physical and verbal abuse to get through. I will rate it a 4.
Ben Meecham is the oldest son of Lt. Col. Bull Meecham, a Marine fighter pilot,"The Great Santini." He is at best rigid and dictatorial in his parenting and at worst, cruel and abusive. These qualities are most often visited on Ben, a gifted athlete who also has many of the softer qualities of his mother---kindness, compassion, the love of words. The entire book is really the family story in the year 1962.
In reading the biography from the author's website, I learned some interesting things related to the author and this novel:
".... the Conroys moved to Atlanta, where Pat wrote his novel, The Great Santini, published in 1976, and later made into a film starring Robert Duvall, that explored the conflicts of the author's childhood, particularly his ambivalent love for his violent and abusive father. The publication of a book that so painfully exposed his family's secret brought Conroy a period of tremendous personal desolation. This crisis resulted not only in his divorce, but the divorce of his parents; his mother presented a copy of The Great Santini to the judge as "evidence" in divorce proceedings against his father."
I guess the plot seemed very real because much of the story was autobiographical. I certainly gained an appreciation for not being born a "Marine brat"! Also I didn't know there was a movie. Now I have to decide if I really want to see it. I do have a copy of The Death of Santini that I look forward to reading soon.
We will fight our country's battles on land, on air, on sea.
First to fight for right and freedom, and to keep our honor clean,
We are proud to claim the title of United States Marines."
-from the Marines' Hymn
I have recently discovered Pat Conroy and love his writing but I must say this novel was not entirely enjoyable. In its 536 pages there were some touching moments and some humor but a lot of physical and verbal abuse to get through. I will rate it a 4.
Ben Meecham is the oldest son of Lt. Col. Bull Meecham, a Marine fighter pilot,"The Great Santini." He is at best rigid and dictatorial in his parenting and at worst, cruel and abusive. These qualities are most often visited on Ben, a gifted athlete who also has many of the softer qualities of his mother---kindness, compassion, the love of words. The entire book is really the family story in the year 1962.
In reading the biography from the author's website, I learned some interesting things related to the author and this novel:
".... the Conroys moved to Atlanta, where Pat wrote his novel, The Great Santini, published in 1976, and later made into a film starring Robert Duvall, that explored the conflicts of the author's childhood, particularly his ambivalent love for his violent and abusive father. The publication of a book that so painfully exposed his family's secret brought Conroy a period of tremendous personal desolation. This crisis resulted not only in his divorce, but the divorce of his parents; his mother presented a copy of The Great Santini to the judge as "evidence" in divorce proceedings against his father."
I guess the plot seemed very real because much of the story was autobiographical. I certainly gained an appreciation for not being born a "Marine brat"! Also I didn't know there was a movie. Now I have to decide if I really want to see it. I do have a copy of The Death of Santini that I look forward to reading soon.
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