He was asleep in a short time and he dreamed of Africa when he was a boy and the long golden beaches and the white beaches, so white they hurt your eyes, and the high capes and the great brown mountains…. He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength, nor of his wife.  He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach.  They played like young cats in the dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy.  He never dreamed about the boy. Santiago is an old fisherman living…

In Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. tells the semi autobiographical story of Billy Pilgrim, a man who has come unstuck in time. Much of Billy’s time is spent during World War II.  As an new soldier, Billy is sent to the front, where he is captured at the Battle of the Bulge by the Germans, and sent to Dresden as a P.O.W.  Billy is not prepared for war, had just gotten through his training when his father died.  He was furloughed home for the funeral, and is sent to the front so quickly after his return that he is wearing dress shoes in combat.  Because he travels through time, he understands…

“Herein lies one key to the problem. If women were convinced that a day off or an hour of solitude was a reasonable ambition, they would find a way of attaining it. As it is, they feel so unjustified in their demand that they rarely make the attempt. One has only to look at those women who actually have the economic means or the time and energy for solitude yet do not use it, to realize that the problem is not solely economic. It is more a question of inner convictions than of outer pressures, though, of course, the th outer pressures are there and make it more difficult. As…

“A last difference about that morning was the way her world seemed layered in three different parts, all the twelve years of the old Frankie, the present day itself, and the future ahead when the three of them would be together in all the many distant places.” Frankie Addams is the bored twelve-year-old protagonist of Carson McCullers’ novel, The Member of the Wedding.  Frankie’s boredom comes from the invisible prison walls that she feels trap her in her mundane existence.  Though World War II rages on in the world outside, there is no part in it for her.  She cannot go overseas and fight, she cannot even donate blood in…

MizB over at MizB Challenges You is hosting 5 different challenges this year, one of which is the Casual Classics Challenge.  I’ve been looking for some motivation and accountability to inspire me to read “Mrs.  Dalloway”, in case I decide to read “The Hours”.  Do you find my life pathetic when you read that sentence?  I sorta do, but also, I suspect that those of you who read book blogs and participate in challenges probably understand.  The rules of this challenge are quite casual, which is nice.  The goal is to read 4 Classics in 2009.  That’s it.  And the definition of Classics* is pretty loose, too.  Any book written…