"Under Cosmopolitanism, If It Comes, We Shall Receive No Help From The Earth. Trees And Meadows And Mountains Will Only Be A Spectacle, And The Binding Force That They Once Exercised On Character Must Be Entrusted To Love Alone. May Love Be Equal To The Task!"

I bought Howard's End from a used book store here in Detroit (John King Books, which I've discussed previously) and the previous owner actually had the passage marked that makes up the title of today's post. I would have saved the page anyway because those words did strike me as a central theme/conflict of the book, but it was good to see that another reader of the same text however long ago had the same feeling about the words as I did, enough to mark them down.

I was absolutely not expecting to like Howard's End as much as I did, but I could not put it down. I know I've mentioned before that I have a love of books that take place in mansions so maybe that was part of the draw (although, while the title of the book is taken from the estate owned by the Wilcox family, very little of the novel actually takes place there). And I do have a strong fondness for Downton Abbey, which takes place in the same time period, in the same place, with many of the same themes, which also was likely a big draw. But even then, I guess through the process of reading the books on this list, I'm discovering that I seem to like period pieces set in England that tell stories of family histories, with maybe a little bit of romance thrown in there too. Go figure. 

Howard's End tells the story of the two Schlegel sisters, making their way through early 1900s London society. Both of their parents are deceased, but the girls (along with their brother) have still created remarkable lives for themselves filled with art, literature, intellect, and a fondness for reaching out to those less fortunate than themselves, making them somewhat unique amongst other women of their own set. They encounter the Wilcox family while travelling abroad and are invited to visit at Howard's End, which the one sister Helen, takes them up on. 

From there Helen has a thing for their son Paul which does not result in a good situation for either party (or for either family). After Paul disavows any feelings for Helen and ships off to his military posting, the families generally go their separate ways, but seem to constantly cross paths over the next few years. After becoming a widower, the patriarch of the family, Henry, proposes marriage to the other Schlegel sister, Margaret, much to the dismay of his children. Conflicts ensue, as Henry and Margaret have such very different views of and approaches to the world and even more scandal ensnares the families when it comes to money, property, and infidelity. 

The biggest theme that this book seemed to present was the changing tide of England at the turn of the century and reading the book now, over 100 years later, it's interesting to see how things have panned out in regards to things posited in the novel (for example, discussing whether the country would fully shift away from provincial living to cities, if impermanence/rebuilding would continue to occur, the increased use of automobiles, etc). All of the things that Forster seemed to not be a fan of have certainly come to fruition (and then some!), but I always find it fascinating when writers are keenly observant of societal  changes and build their novels around them (see Main Street by Sinclair Lewis as another example that I recently read). Who's to say whether it is good or bad, but either way, progress has moved on and obviously, things are not the same at all (there are even a couple passages arguing against giving women the right to vote, indicating that women should be skilled enough to convince their husbands who they should vote for <<insert eye roll emoji here>>). 

As mentioned, I quite enjoyed the book and I cannot WAIT to watch the movie...maybe sometime this week. I have 3 other EM Forster novels on my lists and I just got a lot more excited to read them if they're anything like Howard's End. 

Shifting gears, up next is Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. I know this probably seems like a book that I should have read many many moons ago in school (middle school? When do kids actually read this?) but somehow it slipped my curriculum. I'm hoping it will be a quick, adventuresome read! 206 to go!

"Ours Isn't The Kind Of Brotherhood I Would Wish On Other Men, But We Are Blessed With A Single, Simple Gift: In These Rare Moments Of Happiness, We Can Share Joy As Passionately And Single-Mindedly As We Do Hatred"

I sure loved that quote used as the title of this post when I read it. It seems so accurate of families in general - you can have so much drama and fighting but then also share joy and good times together in a way that is specific and unique to your tribe. 

Wells Tower is a tremendously talented writer, there's no doubt about that. Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned is a collection of 9 of his short stories (one of which was the story included in the New Yorker Fiction Podcast, entitled Leopard, that first introduced me to him). His descriptions of even the most straight-forward, simple details are so eloquent and unique; some funny, some heartbreaking, some belonging to the very observant eye who expands on a moment. The stories are very broad in topic (ranging from traveling carnivals, to a young man dealing with his father's dementia, to pillaging of Nordic warriors) which I loved. Oftentimes when I read a collection of short stories by one author, after a while they all seem to have the same feel to them as far as topics being similar and vibe of the writing being the same (see post about Dorothy Parker as an example). And Tower's writing is 100% NOT that. I think if I had even been introduced to all of these stories separately and not told they were the same writer, I wouldn't be certain that they were (a few I would have grouped together but some others, definitely not). So if you're looking for short stories that are exquisitely written and that deliver such subtle messages and themes on life, here ya go. I'm kind of bummed that there doesn't appear to be much else available from him.

But back to the book lists I go. On to Howard's End by E.M. Forster. I've never seen the movie, but I'll add it to the ever-growing list of movies I'd like to watch based on books I've read recently (see The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Sophie's Choice, and on and on). This book was part of the haul during our used book shopping spree mid-pandemic last year. I'm making my way through them and trying to quench the very overwhelming desire to go to a bookstore and buy more books. The struggle is real.   

"The Black Female Is Assaulted In Her Tender Years By All Those Common Forces Of Nature At The Same Time That She Is Caught In The Tripartite Crossfire Of Masculine Prejudice, White Illogical Hate And Black Lack Of Power"

I have a box on the top shelf of my hallway closet that I have just shuffled from one apartment to another every time I have moved. Inside is a taped up green and yellow cardboard box. I haven't bothered to open the box for years, just schlepping it from one location to the next. While I've been between jobs, I created a to do list for myself which includes cleaning out my front closet (ya'll, there is so much random shit in there that needs a permanent home that doesn't involve cascading out of the closet every time I open it...vacuum attachments, rope, dozens of bags, linens, dog food, sleeping bag, etc). 

I finally got to ticking this task off my list and during the process,  I finally opened the mystery box to discover that it contained TONS AND TONS of notes that my friends had written back in high school. And instead of progressing with the closet cleaning, I sat on the floor of my hallway for hours reading through them. And one friend had written a note on the back of her Honor's English syllabus. I was delighted to find that one of the books included in their reading curriculum that year was I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. How strange it is that 24 years later, at the exact time, I was reading the same book.

And honestly, I wish that I had the opportunity to read this book back in high school (I often wonder how different my perceptions and opinions would be had I been exposed to different types of literature earlier in life, but that's a post for another time). Because I feel like it certainly would have opened my eyes to the incredible challenges and horrific racism experienced not just by blacks in the south in the 1930s/40s but everywhere. At all times. 

The novels tells the story of Marguerite (Maya), a young black girl growing up in Stamps, Arkansas, from the age of ~4 of 5 to 17 years old. She and her brother Bailey are sent to Arkansas from California by their parents after their separation to live with their grandmother and uncle. Their grandmother owns the only store in town that provides provisions to blacks. The segregation in Stamps is so complete, that Maya doesn't even really see whitefolks at all. During this time, Maya experiences the full extent of racism, including a night where they have to hide her uncle in the storage bins of the store because a black man had gotten into trouble with a white woman (even though it wasn't the uncle), a moment when the po'whitetrash kids mock her grandmother on the front porch of the store without even the slightest response from her grandma, a situation where Maya goes to work for a white woman who insists on calling her Mary because it's easier to say than Marguerite, and a time when the white dentist in town won't treat her even though her grandma loaned him money during the Depression. (Side note: the part about the white woman calling her by a different name infuriated me, mostly because THIS SHIT STILL HAPPENS ALL THE TIME. I mean, aren't there tons of stories in the news right now of people of all races being required to have their names modified for the convenience of white people? Thandiwe Newton just announced that the spelling of her name was changed early in her career and now she's reclaiming her original spelling. And every Asian American experiencing racism seems to have a story of an "English" name being required. So 90 years later and we haven't changed a damn thing). 

For a short period of time, Maya and Bailey are sent to St Louis to live with their mother. While there, Maya is sexually abused and raped by her stepfather and had a confused, complicated understanding of what happened (there felt like a lot of similarities here to Bastard Out of Carolina as far as the fear of admitting to adults what happened). Their mother eventually sends the kids back to Stamps, not knowing how to deal with Maya's trauma. After years living back in Stamps, their mother moves to Oakland California and the children go to live with her and Maya has an opportunity to spend a summer with her father in Los Angeles. Their time living in California remarkably changes both Maya and Bailey (Maya abandons her father and his uptight fiancé and lives as a runaway in a junkyard for a month, Bailey falls in with a rough crowd and has a white prostitute girlfriend).

It kind of felt like each chapter of this book was a small vignette that contributed to the whole of who these characters were. For example, there was a chapter where, after returning to Stamps, Maya was not speaking at all and one of the more well-to-do black women in town takes her under her wing, gives her books to read, and makes her feel like a valued person again. And there was another chapter where a revival tent comes to town and blacks of all religions attend and identify with the preacher's message that whites wouldn't be accepted into the kingdom of heaven for their awful treatment of blacks. Every bit of these stories became the fabric of who there were and the essence of the challenges faced in regards to being poor, not having access to adequate education or jobs, and the pervasive racism that prevented any ability to improve their circumstances. Once living in San Francisco, only with dogged determination, Maya becomes the first black street car conductor, which honestly felt like the only marginal victory against the constant oppression of racism. 

The book is said to be autobiographical (and I literally just figured out the connection with the name "Maya" as I started typing it here), which makes me believe that Maya Angelou is even more of a national treasure. Given that this book was published in 1970 amidst assassinations and civil rights protests, the courage to share her upbringing and history is so admirable. And I'm glad to know that even in my white, suburban, upper middle class high school, this book is being taught because it needs to be. Understanding the history and experiences of blacks in America is paramount to not repeating the same behaviors and actively preventing it from happening again. Empathizing with the struggles of others will make you see things in a different light and (hopefully) choose to act in a different way. I am grateful for the opportunity to have read this novel. 

Changing topics...back in January, I participated in a writing contest where the writers are assigned a specific genre, activity, and character and you have 8 days to write a 2500 short story. I've done different variations of this contest over the years where the length and assigned topics vary. For this story, I was not a happy camper. It was a romantic comedy and had to include skydiving and a cheerleader. I just didn't like my character development, it felt too formulaic, and I felt like I rushed the ending, making it feel forced and cheesy. I struggled the entire 8 days and wasn't even going to finish the story or submit. But I forced myself to. And I kind of forgot that the results were going to be provided this week - if you rank in top 5 in your group (out of about 30 writers in each group) you move on to the next round where you'll get new assignments. I just about fell off the couch yesterday when I saw the results and I CAME IN FIRST PLACE IN MY GROUP!! Like legit crazy shocked. Which just goes to show you -- DO NOT GIVE UP. The only way you can lose is if you quit. 

But what does this have to do with the books you're reading, you ask? Well I had planned to keep plugging away at my lists, but instead I picked up a book I've had on the shelf for a minute, Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower. It's a book of short stories, and I figured I could use some inspiration before having to write another story this weekend. I first heard a story by Wells Tower in The New Yorker Fiction Podcast and just loved everything about the story - his style of writing, the unique detailed descriptions of small minutiae. I did just read a short story collection last year with Dorothy Parker and wasn't planning on picking another one up for a while, but here we are. I have a feeling I'm going to fly right through this one.

So on I progress, 3 1/2 weeks into my 9 week sojourn from employment. I'd like to say I'm being productive. And if sitting in a comfy spot, drinking coffee, and reading is productive, then yes. Yes I am being very productive. 

207 to go.