Unless

by Carol Shields | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0007137699 Global Overview for this book
Registered by bookfrogster of Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom on 3/17/2004
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6 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by bookfrogster from Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom on Wednesday, March 17, 2004
This is a story about a woman trying to understand why her daughter has dropped out of college to sit in the street with a sign reading "Goodness". I loved Reta's letters written in response to magazine and newspaper articles. You'll have to read this to find out what happens.

Journal Entry 2 by bookfrogster from Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom on Sunday, May 2, 2004
Releasing this as part of a UK book ray. Names so far listed below. PM me if you'd like to take part.

alans-daughter
kittiwake
nyassa
tabyorky

Released on Saturday, May 08, 2004 at South Clerk Street Post Office in Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom.

Released into the hands of my local friendly post office. Going as part of a ray to alans-daughter. Happy reading.

Journal Entry 4 by alans-daughter from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire United Kingdom on Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Bookray. Arrived this morning, thank you. Will read, report and forward, ASAP.

Journal Entry 5 by alans-daughter from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire United Kingdom on Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Well, I did enjoy this book, but ...
It's strange, I can't find anything to really criticise about the book but it just doesn't connect emotionally somehow. At an intelectual level it was clever and funny and I could sympathise with the characters, but not on an emotional level. I found that with "Larry's Party" too. It must be me because CS gets so much praise. Don't let me put any future readers off as it is well worth reading. I will be interested to see what other people think.

Journal Entry 6 by kittiwake on Friday, May 28, 2004
Arrived today.

Journal Entry 7 by kittiwake on Sunday, June 6, 2004
Half-way through this book, I was bored and about to give up on it.

"The examined life has had altogether too much good publicity. Introversion is piercingly dull in its circularity and lack of air."
The narrator may have said this, but unfortunately she didn't practise what she preached; there was rather too much description of what was going on in Reta's head for my taste and nothing actually happened.

But I gave it a second chance and it did improve. There was more information about what happened to Nora and how the rest of the family had reacted to it, Reta's new editor may have been annoying but at least his presence made the story perk up a bit, and the letters Reta wrote to men in her frustration at the invisibility of women in today's world were the best bit of all.

Not really my cup of tea though.

Journal Entry 8 by nyassa from Deal, Kent United Kingdom on Tuesday, June 8, 2004
Arrived safely today, thank you kittiwake, and thanks also for the postcard. It's probably going to be a week before I start it because I have just begun another ring book.

Journal Entry 9 by nyassa from Deal, Kent United Kingdom on Thursday, July 1, 2004
Finally on its way to tabyorky. I'm sorry for the delay, my email service has been down for over a week, so I couldn't get tabyorky's address which was sitting in my inbox! I would have asked again but they kept promising it would be fixed "later today".

As for the book itself, I enjoyed it. It wasn't as challenging as I was expecting but neither was it in any way a page turner. I found myself wanting to hear more about Danielle Westerman or Norah and less about the book Reta is writing, though it was interesting to witness the processes of book writing. The understated humour very much appealed to me.

Thank you bookfrogster for starting this ray.

Journal Entry 10 by tabyorky from Doncaster, South Yorkshire United Kingdom on Saturday, July 3, 2004
Received in the post today - thanks nyassa.

Journal Entry 11 by tabyorky from Doncaster, South Yorkshire United Kingdom on Sunday, March 13, 2005
Started reading this book.

Journal Entry 12 by tabyorky from Doncaster, South Yorkshire United Kingdom on Tuesday, March 15, 2005
It was an ok book to read and quite a quick read.

Journal Entry 13 by tabyorky from Doncaster, South Yorkshire United Kingdom on Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Posted book by surface mail as part of a book relay to Lisa-B today.

Journal Entry 14 by Lisa-B on Saturday, April 23, 2005
Received today. I liked "The Stone Diaries" a lot, so I am looking forward to "Unless" too.

Journal Entry 15 by Lisa-B on Monday, October 17, 2005
"The chapter headings of Carol Shields's new novel take the form of prepositions and conjunctions - Notwithstanding, Despite, Whatever, etc. The word "But" is not among them, though it's one she has met, in open deprecation or as a silent parenthesis, when her books are reviewed. Her best-known books - Happenstance, The Stone Diaries, Larry's Party, The Republic of Love - are known for their accessibility (but not for their wisdom); are praised for their exquisite touch (but not for their risk-taking); or are said to do domestic ordinariness wonderfully (but not wider social issues).

Women novelists are used to such gentle belittlements. Jane Austen suffered them too, and Carol Shields, whose most recent book was a short biography of Austen, has learned to live with them, leaving the "Big Bow-Wow strain" to the boys and quietly getting on with what she does best. But she'd have to be saintly not to feel slighted, or subtly injured, by the suggestion that she's a suburban miniaturist. And even a saint might want to question the underlying assumption here (male = great/major, female = good/minor). Her new book makes plain that she isn't as quiescent as it appears. The old civility is still there, just about. But Unless is her angriest book to date - a study in awakening and the belated loss of innocence......." from a review at http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/generalfiction/0,6121,690977,00.html

I think Carol Shields's prose is brilliant!

Journal Entry 16 by Lisa-B on Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Being offered as part of the "Canadian Reads" Book Relay at bookrelay.com.

Update on Oct.22
Unless has been accepted by cats-eye and mailed today.

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