288. The Garden Party

The Garden Party
Katherine Mansfield
1922
Around 12 pages

This was an easy one to knock out, as it is only 12 pages and readily available online. I was blown away by how impressive this was, considering the word count. Take it from somebody who has written many bad short stories. There's really nowhere to hide.

The Sheridan family is getting ready for a garden party. Mrs. Sheridan has ordered an absurd amount of lilies, and her daughter Laura chides her for her interference. Laura and her sister Jose learn from the workmen that a man died outside their gate this morning. Laura believes the party should be called off, but nobody in her family agrees. 

This is a particularly fascinating story when you consider the setting, when death was at everybody's front gate. But if comedy is the refusal to cry, then throwing a garden party is a refusal to die. And maybe an excuse to ignore the problems of the working class. 

Katherine Mansfield had a tragically short life, and could have penned so many other classics. Why do all my heroes die so horribly?

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

The names of the characters Jose, Laurie, and Meg may be a reference to Little Women.

First published in the Saturday Westminster Gazette in three parts.

Mansfield was good friends with Virginia Woolf and D.H. Lawrence.

UP NEXT: Amok by Stefan Zweig. 

287. The Enormous Room

The Enormous Room
E.E. Cummings
1922
Around 230 pages

I keep meaning to read more poetry and plays, but how can I when there are so many good novels in the world? But I've enjoyed the few poems by Cummings I've come across. I am lover of simplicity, even if grammatical errors make my heart hurt.

This is an autobiographical novel that details Cummings' capture in France during World War I. During the war, Cummings worked as an ambulance driver. His colleague, William Slater Brown, was arrested by the French authorities because he expressed anti-war sentiments in his letters. Cummings was loyal to his friend when questioned about it (what a baller), so Cummings was arrested as well. He then spent four months in prison, where he predictably met some colorful characters.

I've been reading some plus-sized books lately, so it was nice to pick up something concise like this. It's fascinating how many famous writers from this time were actively involved in these global conflicts. We are able to have firsthand accounts of the biggest wars ever fought, written by masterful craftsmen. This isn't true of present day, which I guess is a good thing, since normies aren't getting drafted.

I would add more Cummings to my reading list, but I don't think it can take the strain.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

F. Scott Fitzgerald said of the book "Of all the work by young men who have sprung up since 1920 one book survives—The Enormous Room by E.E. Cummings... Those few who cause books to live have not been able to endure the thought of its mortality."

UP NEXT: The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield. This is a shawty.

286. Jacob's Room

Jacob's Room
Virginia Woolf
1922
Around 300 pages

I believe the above image will appear in my nightmares tonight, so I had to share my horror with others. You're welcome. 

Virginia Woolf is definitely growing more experimental with her works, so it is becoming increasingly difficult for me to write a plot summary. We follow the life of Jacob, although the story is mainly told through the perspectives of the women in life, including the upper class Clara Durrant, and an art student he was an affair with. 

The shift from a traditional novel structure to modernism could have been a disaster for Woolf, but she is in her element here and as usual, delivers breath-taking sentences. The stream of consciousness style really bonds you to the author. And when an author had such a tragic life, it's hard not to feel a little heartbroken reading this.

I think this was deleted in later editions. I get it, she is a bit over represented. Still well worth reading.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Woolf's third novel. The previous two were also on the List. 

UP NEXT: The Enormous Room by E.E. Cummings. I never knew he was a novelist.

285. Siddhartha

Siddhartha
Herman Hesse
1922
Around 150 pages

This is perhaps the most puzzling of my high school reading assignments. At least The Catcher in the Rye and Romeo and Juliet deal with adolescent angst. This book deals with a different kind of angst that I'm not sure the average teenager relates to. But they also made us read Antigone, so I guess accessibility wasn't on the top of their list.

The story takes place in the ancient kingdom of Kapilavastu. Siddhartha begins a quest for spiritual illumination. He fasts, meditates, dispenses with all of his worldly possessions, and meets the Enlightened One. Although Siddhartha's friend Govinda is eager to join the Buddha's order, Siddhartha takes umbrage with the Buddha's philosophy, which doesn't account for the individuality of a person. He decides to carry on his journey for self discovery alone. 

I preferred Hesse's earlier work, Rosshalde, which I suppose doesn't deal with as large of questions. But I think that's okay, sometimes when a book tries to take on too much, it ends up being a mess (e.g. Cloud Atlas). I'm not saying this was a cluster, but his other novel was definitely easier to read.

I agree with Siddhartha that the path to meaning or truth needs to be traveled alone. But I didn't really enjoy him much as a character. He's not entirely human, or at least, he doesn't want to be. Still, Hesse is a good writer and it's a short novel.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

The word Siddhartha is made up of two Sanskrit words: "Siddha" (achieved) and "artha" (what was searched for).

Inspired the Nick Drake song "River Man."

Set during the time of the Gautama Buddha.

UP NEXT: Jacob's Room by Virginia Woolf.