18th century travels and a note on modern movies

Ok, this is going to be one of those classics that I just briefly note. Here it goes:

Title: Gulliver's Travels
Author: Jonathan Swift
My start date: 7/26/10
My finish date: 8/6/10
Book count: 36/100

First of all, don't let the long length of time that I took to read this work fool you. It is not at all long. However, I was attempting to read this will helping my grandmother move from Arkansas to California and crossing the desert, my least favorite place. I was so exhausted each day that I could only read a few dozen pages, if that. So, first note on this experience: reading Swift is not a half-hearted type of activity. As mentioned many blogs ago, my academic focus is 18th century fiction. This should be right up my alley. However I found it immensely difficult due to my inability to deeply engage at any given time. Writers of this period, and Swift in particular, can get rather dry in their writing as they were very interested in making the work extraoridnarily ordinary and believable. Thus these works often include extended passages in which they detail minutia. Let's just say that if you are already tired, this might as well be counting sheep.

Reading this work tired didn't allow me the focus to appreciate Swift's famous talent for sarcasm and satire. Swift was incredibly witty and, while I did catch many of the hidden swipes at his society, others were missed in my sleepy haze. What a pity. By the time I got to the section in which horses rule the world (a section which, as a passionate equestrian I figured I was bound to love) I was just so ready to be done with it I couldn't muster up the right amound of appreciation. Argh.

Oh well, next time.

Also, just a quick note on modern film. Although I love that modern film makes loving and comical use of classical works, it is pure coincidence that my first to classical works (well, first of this project) happen to be two which are the inspiration for upcoming films. Of course, mere happenstance aside, I am now very curious to see how Hollywood treats Hawthorne in Easy A and how Jack Black manages the lead in Gulliver's Travels. All the more fun having recently read the books.

Ok, on to a few more recent works!

Happy Reading!
Sarah