Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2021!

It’s the final week of Novellas in November and the focus is on classic literature.

Animal Farm by George Orwell, first published in 1945, is an allegorical novella, of the Russian Revolution and the rise of the Soviet Union. It tells the story of a farm where the animals rebel against the farmer, Mr Jones, and throw him off the land. They hope to create a society where they are all equal, free and happy. Ultimately, the farm ends up in a state that is as bad, if not worse than it was before, under the dictatorship of a pig named Napoleon. It begins as the old boar Major tells the animals about his dream of overthrowing the human race when the produce of their labour would then be their own and he incites them to rebel. In the story that follows the Major is based on Marx, Farmer Jones on the Tsar, the pigs Napoleon and Snowball are based on Stalin and Trotsky respectively. Their revolution began by declaring that all animals are equal and ended with the added phrase but some animals are more equal than others.

This is one of those classics that I knew the story roughly, but had not read the book, until this month. I was surprised, although I shouldn’t have been, at the violence of the deaths in it and the pathos of Boxer’s story. Boxer, a cart horse is described as an enormous beast. He is hardworking, but naive and ignorant, struggling to learn the alphabet, representing the Russian working class who helped oust the Tsar. He is shown as the farm’s most dedicated and loyal worker – convinced that ‘Napoleon is always right‘, but eventually he is betrayed by him.

It is a deceptively easy read that can be read on two levels either as a simple fairy tale style story – initially Animal Farm had a subtitle, A Fairy Story – or as a satire against Stalin. It is thought provoking and moving.

I’ve read several short classics since I began writing this blog. These are some of my favourites:

Lady Susan, The Watsons and Sanditon by Jane Austen. Lady Susan is a finished novella, whereas The Watsons and Sanditon are two unfinished fragments. I loved these stories. Told in a series of letters, Lady Susan is the  story of an unscrupulous widow who plans to force her daughter into a marriage against her wishes. Lady Susan is an attractive and entertaining and totally wicked character, who nevertheless almost manages to fool people for some of the time at least. She is also trying to captivate her sister-in-law’s brother, whilst still holding on to the affections of a previous lover.

The Thirty Nine Steps by John Buchan, a fast moving action-story, beginning with an international conspiracy, involving anarchists, financiers and German spies. Richard Hannay, having found Scudder, murdered in his London flat, fears for his life and goes on the run, chased by villains in a series of exciting episodes, culminating in the discovery of the location of the ‘thirty-nine steps’. Hannay is a remarkable character, resourceful, and a master of disguise. As well as fleeing for his life he is searching for Scudder’s notebook, which contains clues to the international conspiracy.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote, a quick read and very entertaining. The narrator is not named, although Holly Golightly calls him ‘Fred’ after her brother. He’s a writer and at the beginning of the book he is reminiscing about Holly with Joe Bell, who ran a bar around the corner on Lexington Avenue. They hadn’t seen or heard from Holly  for over two years. She used to live in the apartment below Fred’s in a brownstone in the East Seventies in New York. Her past is almost as unknown as her present whereabouts. She’s a free spirit, charming and carefree, but craves attention.

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. Even though Ethan Frome is a tragedy there is light to contrast the darkness, and there is love and hope set against repression and misery. It’s a book where I hoped the ending would be a happy one, although I knew it couldn’t be. Trapped in an unhappy marriage, Ethan’s life had changed when his father died and he had had to give up his studies to work on the farm. His wife Zeena had always been ill and needing help in the house, which was why her cousin Mattie came to live with them. At first it worked out quite well, but Ethan couldn’t shrug off a sense of dread.

It’s time for another Classics Club Spin You create a post that lists twenty books of your choice that remain “to be read” on your Classics Club list. This is your Spin List. You have to read one of these twenty books by the end of the spin period. On Sunday 22 November, the Classics Club will post a number from 1 through 20. I’ve just made it as the result hasn’t been posted yet! The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that numb er on your Spin List by 30th January, 2021.

I have just 7 books left on my list, so I’ve repeated the list twice (minus the 7th book for second repeat).

1. The Riddle of the Third Mile by Colin Dexter
2. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
3. Parade’s End by Ford Maddox Ford
4. The Big Sleep by Raymond Challoner
5. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
6. Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope
7. Orlando by Virginia Woolf
8. The Riddle of the Third Mile by Colin Dexter
9. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
10. Parade’s End by Ford Maddox Ford
11. The Big Sleep by Raymond Challoner
12. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
13. Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope
14. Orlando by Virginia Woolf
15. The Riddle of the Third Mile by Colin Dexter
16. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
17. Parade’s End by Ford Maddox Ford
18. The Big Sleep by Raymond Challoner
19. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
20. Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollop

It’s time for another  Classics Club Spin. By 27 November compile a Spin List of twenty ‘chunkster’ books that remain “to be read” on your Classics Club list.

On Tuesday 27th November, the Classics Club will post a number from 1 through 20. The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that number on your Spin List, by 31st January, 2019.

I have only 18 unread books left on my list – and not all of them are ‘chunksters’! So, I’ve repeated two titles (that are ‘chunksters’) to make the numbers up to 20 – Parade’s End and Little Dorrit.

1. Greenmantle by John Buchan
2. The Riddle of the Third Mile by Colin Dexter
3. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
4. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
5. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
6. Parade’s End by Ford Maddox Ford
7. The Forsyte Saga (1) : The Man of Property by John Galsworthy
8. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
9. The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
10. Ruling Passion by Reginald Hill
11. Three Man in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome
12. Parade’s End by Ford Madox Ford
13. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
14. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
15. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
16. Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L Sayers
17. The Shadow Puppet by Georges Simenon
18. The Saint- Fiacre Affair by Georges Simenon
19. Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck
20. The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey

I don’t mind which one I get especially as there is more time than usual for a Spin and I hope to read them all at some time.

I saw this on Reading, Writing, Working, Playing‘s blog and thought I’d do my own version, based on books I’ve read in 2017. It’s another way at looking back at the books.

• In high school I was: The One That Got Away (Annabel Kantaria)
• People might be surprised Sometimes I Lie  (Alice Feeney)
• I will never be: An Artist of the Floating World (Kazuo Ishiguro)
• My fantasy job is: (at) The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (Arundhati Roy)
• At the end of a long day I need: Fingers in the Sparkle Jar (Chris Packham)
• I hate it when: The Devil Rides Out (Dennis Wheatley)
• Wish I had: (the) Missing Pieces (Heather Gudenkauf)
• My family reunions are: Extraordinary People (Peter May)
• At a party you’d find me with: The Man Who Climbs Trees (James Aldred)
• I’ve never been to: Birdcage Walk (Helen Dunmore)
• A happy day includes: A Dedicated Man (Peter Robinson)
• Motto I live by: Don’t Let Go (Harlan Coben)
• On my bucket list is:  How to Stop Time (Matt Haig)
• In my next life, I want to have: The  Waters of Eternal Youth ( Donna Leon)

What’s your Year in Books been like? Do let me know.