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Originally Posted by issybird
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Again, I didn't mind the racism as part of the story, but the book itself just isn't very good. We're not talking Merchant of Venice territory here. Alice, ironically, reads to me like typical book club fare of half a decade ago; it's dated and I don't think it deserves to be read as literature, although it has some interest as sociology. Books and most other matters of art and taste seem to go through a trajectory--current to dated. The issue is whether it emerges as classic or just period or is entirely forgotten. At best, Alice is period and it's good enough of that ilk. The story holds your attention.
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Yes, I agree about the 'book club fare'. I read tons of it as a child and it brought me back to those days with its prejudices, morals and restrictions.
But I liked to read the uncomplicated, heroic story of Jean; she succeeded in all she did, married a nice guy, 'happy endings' and all that.
I wouldn't have chosen it to buy though, as I have a restricted budget for books.....
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Originally Posted by caleb72
Tend to agree with this. For me it was the story not the writing that pleased me. Before reading I had it tagged in my collection as Classics, Drama. After reading I removed the Classics and in no way felt compelled to add the tag Literary. Drama is fine for this novel.  |
Romance is an good tag, I think. The book can perhaps be called 'classic' in the sense that it is typically a product of the fifties. It is not a challenge for me read, as is often the case with classics, but rather a 'journey back in time'.
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Originally Posted by WT Sharpe
I look at racism in books written prior to the Civil Rights movement in the 60s very differently than I do racism in books written since. The phrase "consciousness-raising" was used extensively in the 60s to describe the process of enlightening the unaware and awakening the sleepers. Many people simply never had taken the time to challenge the assumptions with which they had been raised, which is hardly surprising as people generally don't change their learned ways of thinking and acting until something or someone first makes them aware that a change is needed.
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I know I took that racism for granted, and only began to question and reject it when I was a teenager and educated myself about it (Uncle Tom's cabin and To kill a mockingbird were the books I read).