The Index

Well, not exactly. I, too, though, like to categorize the books that I read. I will starting a list of books, rated with my own star system. Some of you may have noticed already that I use a star system on my reading list books, which I never took the time to explain. I'm updating this system.

Books will be ranked on a level of one to five stars. I will also employ plus and minus signs, and half and quarter stars. Here's the lowdown:

Literary Quality & Coffee Table Placement: STARS

- Less than one star means not to even waste your time. Don't even let it near your coffee table. It reads like a Dan Quayle speech.

- One star: The book has minimal value, such as perhaps improving vocabulary or providing mere diversion. It doesn't look good on a coffee-table. It might be worth reading simply to be familiar with popular fiction, or to know what stupid people read nowadays.

- Two stars: I do not really recommend the book per se, and find it to be of generally poor quality. It will have a better story or commentary than a one-star book, but not be much better written. It might be kept on a coffee table for conversation with in-laws only, and should be taken off when important people come over. It deserves a drinking-mug ring stain on the dust-cover if it is to be left on the table.

- Three stars: The book is well written, with above average skill. The story quality is engaging or the commentary relevent. It may be laid on a coffee table, but never stood up. It can be left there when important people come over, but four- and five-star books ought to be stacked on top of it.


- Four stars: This is a very good book. It is written with great skill, and has an exceptional story or message. It should be discussed over wine. It should generally stand up on the coffee table, towards the center, unless trumped by a five-star book more recently enjoyed, or when very important people come over; then it should be laid down.

- Five stars: Masterfully written, this is a superb book. It justly can be called a classic. It deserves pride of place in a collection, and on any coffee table. It should never be laid down except to top a stack of other good books (three- or four-stars only). It must be stood up when the most important people come over, and spoken about, preferably while enjoying cigars and port.

Half-stars and quarter-stars will be used to more subtly differentiate between works. They don't really matter. They're posers.

Moral Quality & Spiritual Content: PLUS or MINUS SIGN

This scale is more simple. One to three plus signs (+) will be given to a work to denotate whether it has a great moral message or not. No plus or minus means that the work is not offensive, but not very edifying either. Minus signs (-) denote a certain amount of moral objection to the work, again on a scale from one to three.

NB: This scale is not completely separate from the star system. Do not expect to find a five-star book with a minus sign next to it. If you want to argue aesthetic philosophy, we can do that another time, but I'm for holding that it simply won't work to have a book that can be said to be artistically beautiful while taking shots at moral truth. The system is separate, however, insofar as the plus and minus scale is its own, and should not be seen as a mathematical "plus" or "minus" to the rating of one to five stars. In that way, this scale stands independant.

Additional Considerations: NIGHTSTAND PLACEMENT

Unfortunately, the star scale can not be easily applied to the question of whether the book ought to occupy a nightstand and in what way. This is because nightstands bring other circumstantial things into consideration, such as a reader's state in life. Generally speaking, a married person should not have above a three-star book on his or her nightstand. A single person can get away with a four-star book being there. No one should have a five-star book there, because reading a great book in bed is disrespectful and bad kharma. This does not apply to the Bible, however, for special reasons which I think are obvious. If the book is a "throw-around" copy of a coffee-table book, such as the one you read in college with the spine all broken and highlighter markings, then that may except the book from the rule as well.


So there you have it - my rating system. I have updated my rating of Dickens to reflect these modifications. I will be posting in the near future a website, or perhaps a blog post, with the beginnings of a list. Stay tuned. Happy reading!

BOOK CLUB POST # 8Book the Third - Chap. 13-END

The deadline for the novel was yesterday. Since I get the sense that people may be behind, I will hold my closing commentary off for a little while longer. A few things to pay attention to as you come to the end of the novel:

General Note
- Pay attention to the voice of the novel throughout this section. Dickens noticeably changes to active voice, present tense in certain parts, reverting to "story tense" in others. Many critics simply see this as a narrative tool for suspense, and it certainly has that effect. However, I think there is more there - because along with the vocal change, the point-of-view shifts somewhat as well. In the first section, one almost swears that the point-of-view is Lorry, but that is not quite it. It's a presence very closely associated with Lorry in any event. In the later section, there's a more omniscient voice than anywhere else in the novel. This is significant: Dickens has taken on a historical persona in his narration thus far. I suggest - and welcome debate - that the voice is associated with God's Spirit, motivating the lives of these people. He remains thus with the "actors" when speaking in this voice - with Lorry and with Carton. And particularly in the last section, when the voice tells us what Carton is thinking...

Just an idea. I've never come across it in any scholarship. Any thoughts?

Chapter Thirteen
- Dickens' acting career gave him a wonderful sense of drama. Try to picture the scene between Syndney Carton and Charles Darnay taking place inside the prison: it's a very cool scene.

Chapter Fourteen
- This chapter's importance is easily overlooked. Yet it is a powerful scene, and one of great significance to the themes central to the novel. Try to imagine the two women, standing opposite one another, speaking each in her own language. Recall the beginning of the novel, where Dickens set up the book by noting that "every man is equal" insofar as each is a profound mystery to any other. This chapter may be seen as a microcosm of the whole book. The conflict, the humor, the alienation, the personification of each of the two cities, and the love which overpowers even the greatest evil: it's all there. It's a great chapter - probably my favorite.

Chapter Fifteen
- Note the hour of the day.
- Let this chapter soak in. Really sit with it, and reflect upon it. As powerful as it is to begin with, it's like anything good that gains flavor and taste over time. I sometimes pick up the book and reread this one chapter when I'm feeling down, or just the monologue at the end. It's a great passage to spiritualize.


That is all for now. I'll be posting a conclusion segment soon. It'll be good to finally approach the novel systematically, rather than chronologically. I wanted to avoid spoilers, but following the time of the story's development can really frustrate any attempt at honest criticism and analysis.

If you're still working through, keep pushing. It's worth it in the end!

Windows to my soul

Your Eyes Should Be Hazel

Your eyes reflect: Intellect and sensuality What's hidden behind your eyes: Subtle manipulation

What Color Should Your Eyes Be?

Hrm. My eyes definately aren't hazel, though, however much they ought to be. What they are, I'm afraid, is a bit of a conundrum. I don't have any pictures that show them well, or I'd post one and open polling. One of the most interesting - and I think accurate - descriptions I've received so far is "stormy-night-at-sea."

Nota Bene

Some minor editing going on here at the blog. I've updated my sub-title line for a better description, in the hopes of many getting a bit more web-search traffic. I've also adjusted the "staff" listing to the right to be a little more accurate. Ahem. And I've updated my reading list.

That is all.

BOOK CLUB POST # 7Book the Third - Chap. 8-12

The deadline for the novel was yesterday. Since I get the sense that people may be behind, I will hold my closing commentary off for a little while longer. A few things to pay attention to as you come to the end of the novel:

General Note
- Pay attention to the voice of the novel throughout this section. Dickens noticeably changes to active voice, present tense in certain parts, reverting to "story tense" in others. Many critics simply see this as a narrative tool for suspense, and it certainly has that effect. However, I think there is more there - because along with the vocal change, the point-of-view shifts somewhat as well. In the first section, one almost swears that the point-of-view is Lorry, but that is not quite it. It's a presence very closely associated with Lorry in any event. In the later section, there's a more omniscient voice than anywhere else in the novel. This is significant: Dickens has taken on a historical persona in his narration thus far. I suggest - and welcome debate - that the voice is associated with God's Spirit, motivating the lives of these people. He remains thus with the "actors" when speaking in this voice - with Lorry and with Carton. And particularly in the last section, when the voice tells us what Carton is thinking...

Just an idea. I've never come across it in any scholarship. Any thoughts?

Chapter Thirteen
- Dickens' acting career gave him a wonderful sense of drama. Try to picture the scene between Syndney Carton and Charles Darnay taking place inside the prison: it's a very cool scene.

Chapter Fourteen
- This chapter's importance is easily overlooked. Yet it is a powerful scene, and one of great significance to the themes central to the novel. Try to imagine the two women, standing opposite one another, speaking each in her own language. Recall the beginning of the novel, where Dickens set up the book by noting that "every man is equal" insofar as each is a profound mystery to any other. This chapter may be seen as a microcosm of the whole book. The conflict, the humor, the alienation, the personification of each of the two cities, and the love which overpowers even the greatest evil: it's all there. It's a great chapter - probably my favorite.

Chapter Fifteen
- Note the hour of the day.
- Let this chapter soak in. Really sit with it, and reflect upon it. As powerful as it is to begin with, it's like anything good that gains flavor and taste over time. I sometimes pick up the book and reread this one chapter when I'm feeling down, or just the monologue at the end. It's a great passage to spiritualize.


UPDATE

My final notes on the text.

- Where the narrative changes in voice near the end, becoming a more omniscient, yet also somehow more "involved" voice, it is noticably related to the character of Mr. Lorry. It was Mr. Lorry who brought the work of Providence into the action of the novel, and it was he who was charged with the task of recalling someone to life. I suggest that Dickens does have a religious message in the end of the book, and is taking steps to ensure the reception of this theme by his audience.

- Carton has by the end of the novel "opened up" - notice the pun in the man's name. He has become a Christ figure and a very moving, dynamic one at that. He is one of the most superbly written and formed characters in all of literature, in my opinion.

- The conflict between the two women is my favorite scene in the entire book. Miss Pross is quite an impressive character. Her English womanhood is probably a personification of the country of England itself, which is usually identified in feminine terms

My final assessment of the work is merely a restatement of my working premise. The book is about the movement of Providence, and the guiding force of Divine Love as it motivated people's lives and makes itself manifest in their various actions. I would not hesitate to call this a great Catholic book because of its reflectiveness, its dealing with the themes of forgiveness and resurrection. The character of Jerry Cruncher, ironically, may be considered central to the work. One might not think so in a first read, but try to go back and take a second look at the work. The more I read the novel, the more convinced I become that Jerry's transformation throughout the action of the book is a sort of thematic presentation sort of like underscoring in a musical piece. It subtly reintroduces the central points and drives them home in an unassuming way.

Thanks to all who have participated, or at least read along (on the blog). Next book coming soon!

I won't call her names...

Apropos a discussion over at JimmyAkin.Org, I just want to say I'm disgusted by Lindsay Lohan's new album cover, which portrays her nude, with a rosary strung around her:



If I did buy her music, I'd stop... but I don't, so I'll just be angry.

Photoshop Fun

Draw your own inferences from the relationship depicted in the photograph...

BOOK CLUB POST # 6Book the Third - Chap. 1-7

As promised, the Book the Third: The Track of a Storm races compared to the other books. Dickens does a lot of set up in his writing and tends to have a gallup to the finish, which makes the end of his books often the most enjoyable and readable parts. It also makes discussion seem a bit excessive and belaboring the point sometimes. So we won't do as much for this part. Just sit back, read, and enjoy the master as he weaves the final strands of his wild tale together...

Discussion Points/Questions

Chapter One

Open for discussion. I would simply ask the reader to recall in this, and every chapter following, how nearly every element that Dickens employs henceforth has been in some way shaded or foreshadowed in theme or in content. This journey ought to seem very similar to Lorry's, in Book One. Aye.

Chapter Two

Open for discussion. Defarge is a bit of a complex character; a little pitiable, really.

Chapter Three

Also open for discussion. What an awesome scene, though - Lucie Manette meeting Mme. Defarge. I shudder just thinking about it! God, that woman is despicable...

Chapter Four

1) The following quote it worth talking about: "For the first time the Doctor felt, now, that his suffering was strength and power." (p. 268) Kind of obvious: strength in suffering. There's a thread of martyrdom and Christ-like love that has begun earlier, and will begin to be stitched more heavily throughout the remaining chapters.

2) Who was the wife of the King who Dickens mentions having been killed? (p. 271 - mere trivia) Marie A.

3) Also worth discussion: The guillotine "was the sign of the regeneration of the human race. It superceded the Cross." (p 271) Hrm. Heresy, blasphemy, it shows the degredation of the French people. Yet, Dickens, the genius, is also hinting ironically at something... you'll see.

Chapter Five

1) Anything significant about the time of day that Lucie holds vigil beneath her husband's window? 3 o'clock hour - hour of the Passion.

2) Any guesses as to who is Lorry's mysterious visitor at the chapter's end? (p. 278)I'm not telling... but we find out in the next section.

Chapter Six

1) Any comments on this quote? "[Dr. Manette] happy in the return he had made [Lucie], he was recompensed for his suffering, he was proud of his strength... [saying]'I have saved him.'" It wasn't quite enough. Though I don't think Dickens means a sinful pride; yet he seems to say that eighteen years of hellish imprisonment isn't suffering enough. What more is there?

Chapter Seven

BONUS: Dickens was an actor, and employed many very dramatic techniques in his writing. The drama of this chapter is unmatched, except at the book's finale. There is a dramatic usage in this chapter of an element from very much earlier on in the book - a symbolic element, turned literal. Identify the moment of drama, and the corresponding foreshadowed element of story, and win the prize (illud est, my respect). Boo. No guesses yet, eh? I'll spoil it. The answer is footsteps. The footsteps at the house in London have finally become literal, on the stair of the French house where the family holds vigil.

BOOK CLUB POST # 5Book the Second - Chap. 19-24

Fires and storms. Discussion points follow.
See Discussion #4 for updates.

Discussion Points/Questions

Chapter Nineteen

Open for discussion.

I think that Lorry's suggestion to destroy the shoemaker's bench is very neat if considered in relation to the spiritual life and how one distances himself from habits and circumstances of sin. Think of the Act of Contrition in which we promise to "avoid the near occasions of sin."

Chapter Twenty

More painting of Sydney Carton's character...

Chapter Twenty-One

1) Notably, this is the first chapter in which the action is shifted between locations. Throughout the rest of the book, chapters have remained reserved to a place. What may Dickens signify by this nuance? All the threads are beginning to be tied together.

2) Feel free to comment on Dickens vivid descriptions of the heated battle at the Bastille. Were they effective? I think so.

3) Explain Defarge's actions inside of 105 North Tower. He was looking for something. Maybe found something, in the chimney?

Chapter Twenty-Two

1) This chapter hardly forwards the plot of the novel, but does wonders for Dickens' thematic develop. Comment upon the character named "The Vengeance," the murder of Foulon, and the following passage:

Fathers and mothers who had had their full in the worst of the day, played gently with their meagre children; and lovers, with such a world around them and before them, loved and hoped.

Man's depravity and fickleness. The relationship of a son-in-law with Foulon is somewhat mentionable...

Chapter Twenty-Three

Open for discussion. No comments.

Chapter Twenty-Four

* NOTE: The setting of this part of the novel is announced as three years later. That would make the year approximately 1793. This year is significant. Anyone know why? Death of Marie Antoinette, and the beginning of the "reign of terror," a period of rampant execution and bloodlust.

1) The title of the chapter is "Drawn to the Loadstone Rock." The obscure reference is from the Arabian Nights. The story about a sailor inexplicably drawn to doom brings two things to mind - duty, and a vague notion of "fate."

Note that everyone is driven by some sense of duty: Lorry to Telsons; Darnay to his mother's death-wish and the innocents of France; Lucie to Dr. Manette; Dr. Manette to Lucie; Carton to Lucie; Miss Pross to Lucie; Mr. Cruncher to Lorry; et cetera. Reminded that the novel is about alienation, love, and redemption, comment about the forces drawing all of these people together. The will of God, and the idea that losing life we gain it; living for others is living for Christ, and life in Christ is true life.

Comment also upon the "coincidence" of Darnay's being in Telson's at the time of the discussion of the letter to the Marquis. Again, the will of God.

General note

Although many Dickens scholars would cringe to hear it (but I think Chesterton might agree with me), I feel that this novel contains many themes that are not only uniquely Christian, but leaning towards a Catholic understanding.

I recommend reflecting heavily upon what has been read so far before starting into Book Three, and moving on especially mindful of the religious undertones and overtones of the work.

Our Lady of Perpetual Succour... Pray for Us

As an native of a town called Minersville, of Irish-Catholic descent, and a member of the military, my heart goes out to the victims and families affected by the mine disaster in West Virginia, and to all our servicemen in Iraq and elsewhere abroad. May grace be given to all these, and anyone else who places himself in danger for the benefit of others, for perseverance, protection, and faith throughout all.

God in the Dock

The ancient man approached God as the accused person approaches his judge. For the modern man the roles are reversed. He is judge; God is in the dock.

C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock

From CNN:

I started this lawsuit because I wanted to deal the final blow against the Church, the bearer of obscurantism and regression...

So says the plaintiff in a new Italian court case set to decide whether Jesus Christ really existed and whether the Catholic Church could be criminally culpable for teaching that He did.

My mind is reeling a bit too much from the stupidity of this case to really parse the whole article. The plaintiff, a militant atheist named Luigi Cascioli, sounds like a real nutjob. He has apparently written a book called The Fable of Christ which I'm half tempted to pick up.

The article makes it sound like the case is pretty much an open-shut one. The judge has apparently tried to dismiss it several times already, and it is in a process of appeals.

I'm only blogging it because when I heard it, the essay by CS Lewis whose title is the namesake of this post leapt into my mind. It's a good read, and a short one, in a collection of many other fine works. Another popular quote from the essay, which came to mind, is this one:

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

The "dictatorship of relativism" is a reality. Things done even in this nation in the name of "plurality" and equality, the entire bent of modern society, is to relativise and dilute truth until it can't even be said to exist. As Chesterton points out, a person who says that there are no dogmas is the worst kind and least forgiving of all dogmatists. And that is the way our world is headed. Tyranically, the leaders we elect try to make it so that everyone can be right, with the ultimate effect that no one can be.

Of course, we know that the Church stands outside of this system. But we're on the opposite front in a war. We are the bearer and guardian of Revelation, it is an exclusive type of Revelation, like it or not. Our truth is the only truth. It is the fullness of the truth. Others may have bits and pieces. But none have anything that we do not; all lack something that we have. This is controversial... it is a "hard saying." But there is no one else to whom one may go. And it is the Church's job to proclaim this saying, no matter what the effect. This current case in a Western nation might still be radical and improbable; but wait a few decades. There may come a time when into the West trickles the lethal doctrine that doctrine is lethal. And then the Church may be a sign of contradiction in a criminal sense, and God literally may be in the dock.

Breaths of Fresh Air

Apropos of a discussion I was having yesterday with a priest friend is this post over at Ragemonkey that says the US hierarchy is in for a little shakeup in short time.

Just worthy of note. That is all.

BOOK CLUB POST # 4Book the Second - Chap. 14-18

The plot thickens. Again, no general commentary, simply discussion points. My own responses, in red, have been added to Discussion #3.

Discussion Points/Questions

Chapter Fourteen

1) When did we meet the character Roger Cly? He was one of Darnay's accusers.

2) The chapter seems almost gratuitous, but it creates an important "atmosphere" for the novel... what do you think is its significance? Death is an important theme. It haunts the characters of the novels, like it does young Jerry. The chapter also highlights the need for genuine "resurrection."

3) Now we know why Jerry Cruncher so fears the idea of the final resurrection of the body - he is a "resurrection man" - he digs up bodies and sells their parts for scientific experiments. Comment upon the following: the trade; its being called "fishing"; Jerry's introduction for the first time by his Christian name (Jeremiah); and the sport of chasing innocent people in which the rioters engage. Some thoughts:

Jerry is a perverse sort of "fisher of men." Sitting on his stool outside of Telsons, watching the world go by, he is characterized ironically very much like the Prophet Jeremiah, who was not heeded until after his death. Jeremiah was a prophet of judgement; Jerry, a "resurrection man," has often commented what a bad lot he'd have if "recalling to life" were in fashion. Perhaps that statement is intended to have a prophetic import by Dickens: many more than Jerry will be in bad shape when "recalling to life" comes to fashion.


Chapter Fifteen

1) The tall man who murdered the Marquis (Gaspard, called Jacques) was part of an underground movement, all of whose members, led by Defarge in Saint-Antoine, are named Jacques. How does this movement keep its records of enemy names? In Mme. Defarge's knitted shrouds.

2) Comment upon the scene in Versailles when King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette parade in front of the peasants. No comment. Hah.

Chapter Sixteen

1) What is Mme. Defarge's response to hearing that Lucie Manette has married the new Marquis D'Evremonde (Charles Darnay)? She knits Darnay into her register.

2) Characterize Mme. Defarge. There is one literary figure, archetypal, with whom she very easily can be compared... who is that character? Her passtime of knitting also has a literary precedent... can you identify it? The literary character with whom Mme. Defarge is comparable is Lady Macbeth, particularly in her handling of the knife and her influence upon her husband.

Mme. Defarge's knitting "as steadfast as Fate itself," is associated with the Fates themselves, who, in Greek mythology, were three sisters weaving the cloth of human life.

Chapter Seventeen

Open for discussion/comment.

Chapter Eighteen

1) What transpired in the conversation between Darnay and Manette on the morning of the wedding? We find out later for sure that Darnay revealed his real name to Manette.

General note
All of the currents of the novel are running in one direction. The themes are of death, oppression, imprisonment, isolation. The novel is about contrasts and separations. Dickens juxtaposes people against one another throughout the novel. Carton and Stryver are the notable example at this point, but there is more to come. Throughout all, though, there is a "golden thread." Lucie Manette symbolizes a them of LOVE. Love cuts through the darknesses of the novel - it interrupts Mr. Lorry's constant businesslike attitude - it causes Mrs. Cruncher to "go flopping on her knees" and abide with beatings - it allows Dr. Manette to give away his beloved daughter in marriage. Make note of these contrasting themes. There is a need for light, for freedom, for unity, for resurrection, for salvation everywhere in the book. The answer, Dickens seems to be implying, is love. Pay attention to how this implication develops.