Book Awards Reading Challenge

In the Heart of the Sea
by Nathaniel Philbrick
278 pages

Like the Donner Party, the men of the Essex could have avoided disaster, but this does not diminish the extent of the men's sufferings, or their bravery andextraordinary discipline.

I'm not a fan of non-fiction generally. It takes me twice as long to read it than fiction and it is usually boring to boot. At least that is what I used to say. I am slowly being drawn to it as I come across well written, interesting books, like this one. It still took me twice as long to read it but it was certainly not boring.

In the Heart of the Sea is the story of the whaleship Essex, the tale that was the inspiration for Moby Dick. The Essex was a Nantucket whaleship that was attacked by a whale. After it sank, the crew of 20 men lived in three small whaleboats, slowly starving to death, then sustaining themselves on the bodies of their dying shipmates. They were 93 days at sea before the 8 surviving crew members were rescued.

Read the rest of my ample review here.

These are all the award winners I read from June to December 2007.

Adam of the Road (Newbery '43)

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (Newbery '56)

The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor(National Book '72)

The Bronze Bow (Newbery '62)

The Age of Innocence(Pulitzer '21)

To Kill a Mockingbird(Pulitzer '61)

Shen of the Sea (Newbery '26)

Beowulf (Costa/Whitbread '99)

The line on the bottom of the front cover says "A beautiful and majestic fictional panorama." And it's true. This may be one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. Which is not to say pleasant. The subject matter, adult themes and the violence of war, are certainly difficult to get through at times. But they are all a necessary part of the journey.

You can read the rest of my review here.

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
251 pages
First Sentence:

Nat lay very still in the dark, trying to stay awake until his big brother, Hab, went to sleep.

Thus begins the story of Mr. Bowditch, the young American who wrote the definitive book of navigation during the time of President Washington. Nathaniel Bowditch was recognized as a math whiz at a very young age but was pulled out of school when he was 12 to serve an indentureship because the family was too poor to feed so many mouths. Along the way he was given some great advice that helped him to continue in his personal studies. He taught himself Latin, then French, then Spanish. He learned the particulars of navigation and then taught it to his crew aboard ship, making note of how he had to explain it so as to be understood by men with little or no education. He knew from experience that education gave men the ability to transcend their family backgrounds and current poverty. It was free but it gave endless benefits. Mr. Bowditch led a hard life but he never let it discourage him from continuing his own self education or helping those around him to improve their lives.

On the back cover of the book is this excerpt:

When Jean Lee Latham was told she couldn't possibly write an interestingbiography about a "human calculating machine,' she set out to do just that. She studied mathematics, astronomy, oceanography and seamanship beginning at the Junior High School level and "working up to Bowditch." ... Carry On, Mr. Bowditch further proves a contention of hers that a mathematician can be human and interesting.

This story was interesting and fun. It was positive and encouraging. I'm sure these were some of the qualities that made it the Newbery Winner in 1956. I very much enjoyed it and recommend it for anyone 10 and older.

I write her name with honor, for all the truth and all the craft with which she shows man's fall and his dishonor.

-Thomas Merton, about O'Connor

It's taken me a couple of months to get through this thick book of short stories. Some of them a hard to digest; not because they are so terrible but because some of them lack a clear plot. The opening story, The Geranium, left me feeling that perhaps some pages were missing from the book. Several stories run this way. I suppose we sometimes get so used to being hit over the head with a lesson about humanity it a jarring way that when we see the mundane showing us a much sutler lesson it is more difficult to find it.

It is said that one of the most remarkable things about O'Connor's work is that she was so young but had such a clear idea of how people worked and lived and thought. She drew very detailed portraits of her characters. To the reader they are very real. We know these people in our own families and friends, casual acquaintances, people we run into in the street.

Some readers are put off by the frequent use of a common racial slur. O'Connor uses the common language of the South from between 1946 till her death in 1964. Another trait of many of her stories is the elderly parent/adult child relationship. Often the parents believe their children are worthless no-goods and the children are angry and spiteful. Clearly no one is listening to anyone else or looking out for each other.

All of the stories are interesting to think on. I think all of them can gain more significance by knowing more about the author's background and life. I plan to read Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose in the near future.

I've posted my review of The Bronze Bow, the Newbery Award winner for 1962 at Educating Petunia. I really liked this book.

The Age of Innocence
by Edith Wharton
321 pages
First Sentence:

On a January evening of the early seventies, Christine Nilsson was singing Faust
at the Academy of Music in New York.

It's a bit of a boring introduction sentence, especially since the book is neither about Christine Nilsson or the Academy of Music, but Edith Wharton likes to display "pop NY culture" in her novels, perhaps as a way of saying, "Hey, I'm one of one Old NY. I know your trends and tastes." Edith Wharton was born into New York's elite. And she despised it and what it represented.

Our story opens with the formal announcement of the engagement of Newland Archer and his beloved, May Welland, and the introduction of a would be scandal, May's cousin Countess Ellen Olenska's recent fleeing from her dastardly husband. We never find out what exactly her husband has done but it is common knowledge that he is a scoundrel and she had every right to leave to protect herself. While everyone concedes that Ellen is not to blame, society has a hard time accepting her boldness in desiring a divorce(to leave is all right but to divorce is not allowed). As Ellen is completely different than Newland's native Old New York he soon falls madly in love with her. He then must chose between love and duty.

I can't say much about Wharton's ideology without giving away the plot. The ending was a little puzzling at first(as seems to be her trademark) but with a little analysis it becomes a story that is rich with moral guidance. After reading some of Hermione Lee's thick biography about Wharton I can see that she may have been writing these novels to speak to herself as much as society. She struggled in a loveless marriage for many many years before divorcing. There was at least one man to whom she was extremely close to both before the divorce and after. There was also an affair at one point. Edith's life was very unsatisfying and depressing except for her writing.

(This review is slightly modified from the review on my blog. I removed the more personal final paragraphs that don't have much to do with the review.)

To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
281 pages
First sentence:

When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the
elbow.

Somehow I missed having to read this book in high school. It has been reviewed to death lately with the Southern Reading Challenge this summer. And with so many glowing reviews I didn't think I could pass up reading it for myself any longer. I chose it for the Book Awards Reading Challenge. When Robin recommended listening to Sissy Spacek read it on CD I took her up on it.

As pretty much everybody now knows, this is the enlightening story of "Scout" Finch, growing up in Maycomb, Alabama. It starts out at a leisurely pace, describing the summer antics of Scout, her older brother Jem, and a neighbor boy Dill, as they imagine the mysterious Boo Radley in the creepy, rundown Radley Place down the street. We become familiar with Scout's precocious ways and her propensity to find trouble. As the intrigue of Boo wears off, a new interest takes it's place: the trial of Tom Robinson. Scout, and the reader, learn a lot about the mindset of Maycomb County in general, and Atticus Finch specifically, in regards to humanity, honor, and right and wrong.

I can see why everyone lauds Atticus Finch so greatly. He is a man of integrity and compassion. Scout is easy to sympathise with. Jem's character is being influenced strongly by his experiences and his growing respect for his father. It is truly a beautifully written story. I love how a vast and rich vocabulary is combined with the local undeveloped dialect of the south. And I especially love the ending.

I am disappointed that there are no other books written by this Pulitzer Prize winner. And I'm curious as to what prompted her to write this book in the first place. I would highly recommend this title to anyone. It will be a candidate for a future summer reread.

Beowulf
Translated by Seamus Heaney
215 pages
First sentence:"So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness."

Beowulf is the ancient tale of the terrorizing of the Danes by Grendel, the heinous beast, and the hero, Beowulf, who travels in defense of the Dane kingdom. This translation is poetic yet masculine to the core. I read along to the sound-recording read by the author, which was a pleasure. Mr. Heaney's accent was certainly a plus. But I warn those who may try to listen while they read, this book-on-tape is comprised "unabridged sections" of the original. That means that every so often a sentence or 2 are skipped. And several times a page or 2(or 3) are completely removed. I had to stop the tape and read these to be able to find where the story had jumped to. Most of the time the section skipped over was reflective of past battles and didn't have anything to do with the storyline.

I was familiar with the story already but had never read the entire book, which is not long or difficult at all. Though the book is over 200 pages, all the left-hand pages are written in Old English while the right-hand pages are in Modern English; so you're actually reading only about 100 pages, broken down in poetic stanzas. The language is full of emotion. The characters, while we would consider them arrogant and boastful, for it's original time period they would appear courageous and noble, or cowardly and spiteful, depending on the individual.

I enjoyed my reading time. It is clear why this translation won the Whitbread Award. The author is also the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature for 1995. I have to agree with this assessment:

"for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles
and the living past."

I read this in preparation for 9th grade Lit. in the fall. The story is violent and a bit graphic but any older child who loves adventure will listen to this story with pleasure. If they can tolerate the Lord of the Rings then this one will be no trouble. Just don't try to pronounce the names.

Thanks 3M for this challenge! I am so excited about reading these books. If I just made a list of books I'd like to read it would be way too long so I only listed the books that are on my shelves. Well, except one. Of course, I reserve the right to change my list at any time, for any reason, yada yada yada.

1. Beloved by Toni Morrison-Pulitzer
2. Beowulf by Seamus Heaney-Costa/Whitbread
3. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke-Hugo
4. On Beauty by Zadie Smith-Orange
5. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton-Pulitzer
6. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder-Pulitzer
7. The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor-National
8. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck-Pulitzer
9. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck-Pulitzer
10. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway-Pulitzer
11. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro-Booker
12. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee-Pulitzer

I also have 4 more books to be read for the Newbery Award Challenge.

1. Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray
2. Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie Crisman
3. The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli
4. The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

That makes 16 books I'm striving to read in the next 12 months, along with my other non-challenge reading. Slow and steady will get me to the end.