Back to the Classics Challenge Complete!

Done and done! The Back to the Classics Challenge is finally complete! A huge thanks to Karen of Books and Chocolate for hosting this year! The Painted Veil was probably my favorite of the whole bunch.

Here’s the complete list of the books I read and my reviews:

1) 19th Century Classic: The Warden by Anthony Trollope (Finished
March 2014)
2) 20th Century Classic: In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck (Finished Aug. 2014)
3) Classic in Translation: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (Finished Nov. 2014)
4) Classic By Woman Author: The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan (Finished Jan. 2014)
5) Classic by an Author Who's New To Me: An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser (Finished Non. 2014)
6) Wartime Novel: The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper (Finished Dec. 2014)

Optional Categories:
1) Classic American Novel: The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington (Finished March 2014)
2) Historical Novel: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (Finished April 2014)
3) Classic Mystery Novel: Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers (Finished Jan. 2014)
4) Classic Book That's Been Adapted as a Movie: The Painted Veil by W Somerset Maugham (Finished May 2014)
5) Extra Fun Category: Write a Review of the Movie adapted from Optional Category #4 (The Painted Veil)

I completed all 11 categories and so I will have 3 entries in the final giveaway!

2014 TBR Pile Challenge Complete!

I only took on two reading challenges this year. One is the Back to the Classics Challenge and the other is the TBR Pile Challenge. I've finally completed my TBR list for the year! I read both books on my alternates list and only missed one from my original list. Thanks again to Adam at Roof Beam Reader for continuing to host this all year!

My favorite from the list were The Lotus Eaters, Doc, Blankets, and Tooth and Claw. I struggled with a couple of them, but as always, I love this challenge because it gets me reading books that I've been meaning to read for years!   

Here’s my list for 2014:

1) Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (finished January 2014)

2) The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli (finished May 2014)

3) The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (finished March 2014)

4) One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (finished Feb. 2014)

5) Dune by Frank Herbert (finished May 2014)

6) Positively Fifth Street by James McManus

7) The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer (finished May 2014)

8) Blankets by Craig Thompson (finished April 2014)

9) Kiwi Tracks by Andrew Stevenson (finished August 2014)

10) Doc by Mary Doria Russell (finished May 2014)

11) Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton (finished January 2014)

12) The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin by Gordon S. Wood (finished Jan. 2014)

 

ALTERNATES:

1) In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck (finished August 2014)

2) Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery (finished March 2014)

Photo by moi and from Adam's blog.

In Dubious Battle

In Dubious Battle

by John Steinbeck

★★★☆

 

In my experience there are two kinds of Steinbeck novels. There are the character-driven stories that are often entertaining (think Cannery Row) and there are the moral tragedies where big lessons are learned (think Grapes of Wrath and The Pearl.) This definitely falls into the latter category. Two men join a group of apple pickers in the 1930s with the goal of getting them to strike for better wages.

 

Mac and Jim are the men behind the cause, recruiting the local leader, London, to gain the trust of the workers. Jim is new to the world of unions, but not to injustice. He is naive at first, but grows stronger as he focuses on his purpose. The battle escalates and the belief that the men perpetuate is that the ends justifies the means, no matter who is hurt along the way. The men, who are actually fighting for the cause, are often the manipulated pawns of bigger men with bigger goals. The character of the Doctor gave some interesting perspective to the motivation behind Mac’s work.

 

It's good; the writing is crisp and vivid. But I feel like it's a precursor to greater work. The partnership and friendship that grows between Jim and Mac is better personified between George and Lennie in "Of Mice and Men." The strike for higher wages and the struggle for a better life for the workers are better demonstrated in "The Grapes of Wrath." In Dubious Battle is a good story and a tragic one, but it didn't dig quite as deep for me.

 

BOTTOM LINE: It’s not my favorite Steinbeck, but he’s written so many that I love. As with his other work this story gives a voice to an often overlooked group of people and I think it would have been particularly powerful during the time in which it was originally released.

 

“There’s no better way to make men part of a movement than to have them give something to it."

 

“It seems to me that a man has engaged in a blind and fearful struggle out of a past he can’t remember, into a future he can’t foresee nor understand. And man has met and defeated every obstacle, every enemy except one. He cannot win over himself.”

Back to the Classics 2014

The Back to the Classics Challenge is always a favorite of mine and this year it has a new host! Karen of Books and Chocolate has taken over hosting duties and picked some great categories for us. Below are all of the categories along with my selections. You can see the complete list of details in Karen's post here.

1) 19th Century Classic: The Warden by Anthony Trollope (Finished
March 2014)
2) 20th Century Classic: In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck (Finished Aug. 2014)
3) Classic in Translation: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (Finished Nov. 2014)
4) Classic By Woman Author: The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan (Finished Jan. 2014)
5) Classic by an Author Who's New To Me: An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser (Finished Non. 2014)
6) Wartime Novel: The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper (Finished Dec. 2014)


Optional Categories:
1) Classic American Novel: The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington (Finished March 2014)
2) Historical Novel: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (Finished April 2014)

3) Classic Mystery Novel: Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers (Finished Jan. 2014)
4) Classic Book That's Been Adapted as a Movie: The Painted Veil by W Somerset Maugham (Finished May 2014)
5) Extra Fun Category: Write a Review of the Movie adapted from Optional Category #4 (The Painted Veil)