Amor Towles Interview and Rebecca Wrap Up
Hello Readers,
I hope you are all having a lovely and surprisingly warm Saturday. We are having some forced outdoor time before the rain starts while Dad is replacing our front door. All that to say I am getting this newsletter out a bit later in the day than normal, but all for a good cause.
I wanted to share a funny moment earlier today (during the aforementioned forced outdoor time) when two of my smaller children were playing “Moms” and they were organizing a book club for themselves. They were tucking their babies into bed and trying to get out the door on time saying, “have a good sleep, I have to go to book club.” I thought this was hilarious, but I am also delighted that my very young kids think that Book Club is an essential part of being a mom.
We put up our twinkle lights and some Advent decorations yesterday while playing instrumental Christmas/Advent music and I sat down to read A Gentleman in Moscow and thought, “yes, this is exactly how I pictured reading this book in December” So, I hope you are all having a similarly seasonal reading experience. If you haven’t started yet, you still have time. It reads very fast and there is an audio option as well!
Final Thoughts on Rebecca (maybe)
I hope you all enjoyed reading Rebecca and hopefully discussing it with your group. Anyone who has heard me talk about it knows that I had a perfect Fall reading experience binging the last 300 pages in one weekend, which is probably exactly how du Maurier imagined readers would experience it. While it is absolutely a page turner, I also think it is a deep book and I have a lot of lingering thoughts that I will maybe someday get into an essay of sorts. But until then I wanted to leave you with this quote from My Cousin Rachel:
“Now, when a murderer pays the penalty for his crime, he does so up at Bodmin, after a fair trial…That is, if the law convicts him, before his own conscience kills him.”
This book was published 13 years after Rebecca and I wonder if du Maurier was thinking about Maxim when she wrote it.
What to read next?
I started My Cousin Rachel over Thanksgiving Break and decided to save it for one of my Christmas Break page turners.
I have also heard that Jamaica Inn is good and it is one of her more well know ones. I might try that next if I’m still itching to read more du Maurier (and I think I will be).
If you have any other Daphne du Maurier recommendations please post them in the comments!
Amor Towles On Writing
I listened to this EconTalk Interview with Amor Towles about A Gentleman in Moscow. It is mainly about A Gentleman in Moscow, but also about writing and reading itself and I highly recommend. I did make sure to listen with a mind to spoilers and I promise there are no major spoilers in the interview if you’d like to listen before you finish! As I am reading I am thinking a lot about his writing process and what he thinks about writing in general. I hope you enjoy!
The Amor Towles Website is full of helpful information:
Favorite Quotes so far
“But the Count hadn’t the temperament for revenge; he hadn’t the imagination for epics; and he certainly hadn’t the fanciful ego to dream of empires restored. No. His model for maturating his circumstances would be a different sort of captive altogether…Like Robinson Crusoe stranded on the Isle of Despair, the Count would maintain his resolve by committing to the business of practicalities…all the while keeping (his) eyes trained for sails on the horizon and footprints in the sand” (29)
“And when that celestial chime sounds, perhaps a mirror will suddenly serve its truer purpose- revealing to a man not who is imagines himself to be, but who he has become.” (37)
“The principle here is that a new generation owes a measure of thanks to every member of the previous generation. Our elders planted fields and fought in wars; they advanced the arts and sciences, and generally made sacrifices on our behalf. So by their efforts, however humble, they have earned a measure of our gratitude and respect.” - The Count (50)
“But I have no intention of thanking people for things I never asked for in the first place.” - Nina (53)
“In the time that Nina had been in the hotel, the walls had not grown inward, they had grown outward, expanding in scope and intricacy. In her first weeks, the building had grown to encompass the life of two city blocks. In her first months, it had grown to encompass half of Moscow. If she lived in the hotel long enough, it would encompass all of Russia.” (57)
“For is a room that exists under the governance, authority, and intent of others seems smaller than it is, then a room that exists in secret can, regardless of its dimensions, seem as vast as one cares to imagine.” (64)
I hope you are all enjoying this book as much as I am. I am happily surprised each time I pick it up how well he is weaving his story together by seemingly unrelated events and musings. But, like Marina being promoted was “a trustworthy seam…being sewn within the walls of the hotel” likewise Amor Towles is “sewing” his story together beautifully.
Random things I’ve enjoyed on the internet this week
The joke 8 minutes in is something that all of us book lovers will think is funny so I wanted to pass it along!
A Few Reminders
Next up in January is Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
What I’m reading for Advent: Shadow and Light by Tsh Oxenreider
If you found your way here and are not part of an in person book club, welcome! We would love you to read along with us. But, in person literary community is a beautiful thing. So please contact me if you’d like to join or start a group!
If you are part of a group, but you’re not on our Slack page, please contact me. That is where people share thoughts and logistics for each in person group.
And here all all the old lists (if you need to ask for any books for Christmas or need some good books to read over the holiday breaks coming up)
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