How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Dad's present is a hardcover copy of The Age of Innocence. It's by Edith Wharton, who also wrote Ethan Frome, which I have been trying to read all summer. It is required reading for incoming ninth graders at Cedar Hill, where I will start school in two weeks. I have read the first thirteen pages of Ethan Frome five times. It is boring beyond belief. Dad says if I have to read a book by Edith Wharton, then The Age of Innocence is the one to read. (2.17)
This is a sweet gesture coming from her father. Dude has pretty high standards, and it's clear that he wants her to enjoy Edith Wharton, so he gives her a book that he considers better (and perhaps easier) than Ethan Frome.
Quote #2
James and Link are reading A Tale of Two Cities and are racing to see who will finish first. James will win because he skips any part of a book that bores him, whereas Link is devoted to each page. (2.35)
Skipping parts that bore you is an abomination, and James should be sentenced to a year of reading Tolkien's Silmarillion. Just kidding, you do you, James. But really, if it weren't important, the author wouldn't have written it. Most of the time, at least.
Quote #3
"It's hard to find a happy ending in a good book,' Dad says.
"What, only bad books have happy endings?" Link asks.
"You're simplifying," Dad says to him, and to me he says, "A good book is a reflection of some kind of truth." (3.23-25)
See, the problem here is how vague "good" is as a descriptor. You can find happy endings in many enjoyable books, and you can find them in many quality books as well. But Dad's implication is that a "good" book is one that challenges you to find the truth that is reflected in the story—and for some reason he doesn't think happy endings can be true. Hmm…
Quote #4
I brace myself for another why, but amazingly enough Dad laughs and unearths a copy of Jane Eyre from the chaotic shelves in his study.
"It's romantic drivel with a happy ending," he says, "but the characters should be unhappy enough for you." (4.38-39)
There's something about Victorian angst that really appeals to Ellen, so her dad is right for thinking she'll like Jane Eyre. However, we think it's a bit unfair to Charlotte Brontë to call it romantic drivel.
Quote #5
I am immediately obsessed with these characters and love them. The James character in Jane Eyre is named Mr. Rochester. This is the best book I have ever read. Ever. I don't know how this will have a happy ending, but it might involve a ghost. The house where Mr. Rochester lives is definitely haunted. (4.39)
Romantic lead that reminds her of her crush? Check. Unhappy characters? Check. Ghost? Bonus check. We've got ourselves a compelling read, folks.
Quote #6
I want to finally finish reading Jane Eyre before Mom and I go shopping. It's unbelievably good. Happy ending, unhappy characters whom I like, and parties with fires, fortunetellers, and last minute guests. I wonder if James would ever love me the way Mr. Rochester loves Jane.
(5.1)
When you're reading about romance, sometimes it's really hard not to fantasize about real life people behaving the same way as the main character's love interest. But it can be dangerous to develop expectations that are too high because sometimes what makes the romantic lead so compelling is their utter perfection. There is only one Mr. Darcy, and in real life we'd probably find him irreparably snooty. (#justkidding #Darcyforever #teamDarcy #Firthfanatics)
Quote #7
"Do you think I should give him some of the books I've read?"
"I thought you had stopped, Ellen. Reading is not going to explain Link to you."
"Maybe he doesn't know that it's not a big deal to be gay."
"It's a big enough deal," James says. "My parents make me see a shrink because they're worried I'm gay."
(7.43-46)
It's sweet but a bit naïve to think that the books (which, remember, even Ellen didn't think had the answers she was looking for) would solve all of Link's problems. If he is truly struggling with his sexual identity, then sure, maybe the books might help him gain a little perspective (he's not the first conflicted guy to deal with these things, after all), but the ones she's found probably don't really fit the bill.
Quote #8
"I've noticed you're reading Tess of the d'Urbervilles," Dad says. "How are you finding it?"
Tess of the d'Urbervilles is the novel by Thomas Hardy which James and Link hated. It is totally incomprehensible. So far, Tess has been raped, married, and abandoned. In order to know as little as that, I have had to read almost every page twice. In addition to laying out his plot, Hardy is busy making points about religion, politics, and class warfare. I don't know what the points are. Just that they are being made and I am missing them."The book has its rewards," I say, which is not a lie. I don't like reading it, but an unmistakable self-satisfaction occurs every time I figure out the plot.
(16.2-3)
Sometimes reading a book that is just a bit too mature for you can turn you off it entirely, which is tragic, in our opinion. What Ellen needs is a really good English teacher (Or a Shmoopologist) to help guide her through Hardy's intricacies, because Tess is a darn good book.
Quote #9
"My English teacher spent the whole semester making us read books and plays that she never wanted to discuss properly. Thinking for her was a waste of time."
Dad asks for examples, and I give him a little tirade about reading Ethan Frome and then never talking about repressed sexual desire. The absurdity of reading The Crucible and acting like it can only be about Communists in the 1950s.
"It is about Communists in the 1950s," Dad says as if he is going to have to explain McCarthyism to me.
"That's how it was written," I say, "but there's no reason why it can't be read with the plight of gay people coming to mind." (16.12-15)
Do we think that Ellen is saying this just to get a rise out of her dad? Obviously, anyone can interpret works of literature in their own way (that's what makes it so much fun), and the idea of a "witch hunt" out to persecute gay people isn't that far off.
Quote #10
"What is this about?" I ask Dad one night, picking up volume two. It is so long I cannot imagine that there is an end that can be described as either happy or true.
"A lost world," he says. "A life just out of reach."
This is fitting, since I think his finishing it will remain forever out of reach. I would venture that its length and difficulty are why he is reading it in the first place. But of course I don't know if that is, in fact, true. Dad learned French, Latin, and Italian in college, but he taught himself German. Was it to read this book? Why not read a three-volume book in French? I leave the study. Suppose he answered all my questions. I still wouldn't discover what the quality is of his mind's heartbeat. Which is what I am really asking with my questions about his reading habits. (17.44-46)
Dad's dogged determination to read a book that is so difficult is fascinating. Is he doing it to prove a point? To stimulate his brain and somehow avoid the stagnancy of parenthood? Is it a form of punishment? Ellen's right in thinking that if she could just figure out his motivations, she would know her father much better.