So as I mentioned in the previous post, I fully anticipated The Lady of the Lake to be a slog to get through because narrative poems (or poetry of any kind really), is 100% not my jam. However, I enjoyed reading The Lady of the Lake far more than I ever would have expected. I would have to whisper it out loud to myself while reading to ensure that I was capturing the rhyme schemes, which I probably wouldn't have gotten if I was just reading it silently to myself. And I think that may have contributed to my additional enjoyment.
The story is made up of 6 cantos and is about opposing Scottish clansmen preparing for a battle. Intertwined with this is the young maiden, Ellen, betrothed to/in love with Malcom, but being proposed to by James Fitz-James (one of the valiant fighters). But Ellen's father has been exiled and is an enemy of Fitz-James and she cannot accept his proposal. There are 2 different bards who accompany Ellen and the opposing clan warrior, Roderick Dhu, who spontaneously break into storytelling songs along the way.
This book made me feel like I was reading some ancient bit of Scottish folklore (even though it was published in 1810). It's hard to explain, but it felt like this was something that every Scottish school child would have read as part of their normal education of their own history, and I felt kind of special having this unique insight (I have zero reason to believe that any of this is true, but that's just how I felt). I did have to read an overview online of each of the cantos before diving in because the language was so florid and in some ways, antiquated. But it helped significantly with general comprehension while reading. I was fully transported to the Scottish highlands, as many of the descriptions of the terrain were quite lovely and detailed. And there was a fun little twist at the end that I did not see coming. So while I was very much dreading reading this, I was surprised by it in the end. I wonder if there's some kind of saying about that....
Next up is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. I had actually started reading this before I finished The Lady of the Lake, which I never do (I do not like reading 2 different books at once; it's important to me to fully focus on the one that I have in my hand). However, I tried to read each of the cantos in one sitting which would take me close to an hour, and we had gone to stay with friends of ours for a weekend where I knew I wouldn't have that large of a block of time to whisper a Scottish lyrical ballad to myself. So instead I brought my next book and started just a bit.
I am officially without a job; I have, however, accepted an offer and start mid-May. So I have 7 of my 9 work-free weeks remaining. I have a list of to-dos while I'm unemployed (super exciting things like stuff around the house, taxes, getting my windshield fixed), but it's very likely that most of my mornings will be whittled away by laying in bed reading books. Sounds kind of amazing right??
208 to go.
