Classics Challenge - The Way of a Pilgrim

This is a very unique little book. It's written by an annonymous peasant turned hermit/pilgrim who travels around Russia in the 19th century, growing in his faith and prayer life and meeting some interesting people along the way. 

A good friend is Orthodox and in my striving to understand her world a bit more, I learned about the Jesus Prayer which I have come to adore. This story talks quite a bit about that prayer as well as the idea of praying without ceasing. I am still not sure if the author is telling his story but just remaining anonymous or if someone has written this story like a sort of Orthodox Pilgrim's Progrress (without all the allergory) as a lesson. I think the former but I would not be shocked to find out its the later either. It's can be a bit confusing but overall a very interesting read that makes one think a lot about what a life of prayer and  devotion to Christ can and should look. 

I found my copy online and can't seem to find the link anymore so I don't know what specific translation I read but since I don't speak Russian, I can be confident that I did read A translation :-) 

The Way of the Pilgrim is my Classic in Translation selection for the Back to the Classics challenge.  

Classics Challenge - Ruth

North and South is one of my very favorite books. I've read it probably 7+ time.  Wives and Daughters is delightful (and heartbreaking that it never got a full ending but I digress). And vignette style books aren't my favorite but Cranford was still worth a read (and probably a re-read). But somehow the other Ruth Gaskell books have stayed on my to-read list. I think its because I had heard they were all sad. Which is kinda silly because someone could easily make the case that North and South is sad but I don't feel that way at all. It's such a comfort read for me despite the death count. 

Ruth is similar in that if you describe the plot  - young girl becomes fallen woman, struggles, etc...yeah, it sounds pretty depressing. But it really isn't. 

As a character, Ruth does seem a bit too good to be true in the later part of her life but I understand why. And the rest of the Gaskell's characters are great. It's just so well written. Ruth won't ever be North and South and if you are new to Gaskell I definitely recommend starting there but Ruth has encouraged me to keep going and finish up all the Gaskells I can get my hands on. 

Ruth is my Classic by a Woman Author for the Back to the Classics Challenge

Classic Challenge - The Enchanted April

I read this earlier this year with the Literary Life Podcast and the timing was perfect because I was doing the preliminary planning for our trip to Italy. Now that trip is fully planned and booked and we're heading out in just a few weeks. Our will be quite a bit different from the ladies in The Enchanted April - a lot more walking and museums and less sitting amongst flowers and sunshine, but I'm still pretty excited about it!

This one was interesting for me. As a family, we love to travel so I really enjoyed the ideas about beauty and how its worth seeking. Some of the scenes (like them trying to get to the house that first day and all the nervousness involved - so familiar! so funny! How much do I understand those feelings of being out of my element and thinking "what have we done!"...they normally end well and I'm glad we made the leap. But sometimes you do just end up taking a wrong turn out of a church and have to quickly walk through  a parking because the nice Norwegian ruffians are clearly waiting with rolled up sleeves and needles ready for the (thankfully oblivious) kids to be gone before proceeding - true story! And at least one gave me a head nod saying they were waiting. Scandinavians are so polite). 

Anyway, I loved the characters at times, especially our four main ladies, and the way they interacted, especially at the beginning. And the description of Italy were delightful. But I also had a hard time connecting with it at times, especially towards the end. As the story progress, it felt more like a fairy tale (which is good otherwise I'd probably be a lot more annoyed at the husbands and the ending) but that also meant I was sorta distanced from the story. I knew it would end well and I read on because I was interested to see how the author would get us there but I wasn't really invested in any of the women or their stories anymore.  So it was well written and thought provoking but I don't think I'll ever read it again. 

The Enchanted April is my Classic Set in a Place I'd like to Visit in the Back to the Classics Challenge. 

Classics Challenge - The Cutters

Goodness, I haven't written a single review for the Back to the Classics Challenge. It's not that I haven't been reading, I have! This has been one of my best reading years in a long time, both in terms of numbers and quality of books. In fact, I think I have read all but one category already (and I'm working on that last one - Ben Hur is just long!). So I've just gotten extremely behind in the writing part. So expect more of these to follow shortly! 

But I'll start with one of my favorite reads of the year - Bess Streeter Aldrich's The Cutters. Now A Lantern in Her Hand was making the homeschool mom rounds on my goodread list but I didn't have access to it as first so I grabbed this one by her. I have since read A Lantern in her hand and its delightful and arguable the better written book but I just enjoyed The Cutters so much.  

Here's the thing. It doesn't have much of a plot, it's sentimental to the point of bordering on sappy and its dated. There are a few lines that would NOT be published today and if I actually had a hard copy i would could just sharpie out, I would...BUT I loved it so much. At the beginning of the book, Nell has been married 15 years as has 4 kids. The older 3 have names but for for much of the book, the youngest is just called "the baby." And she's me. Me in a different century but me (and yes, Jude may be 4 but we are making a family effort to not call or treat him like "the baby" anymore. That sometimes feels like a losting batter but eventually it will stick, right?)...and I like the idea that mothers throughout time have the same thoughts and problems and silliness ideas I do, whatever century they are mothing in. And sappy or not, the last chapter made me cry. I've recommended it several times to other people lately. I've heard Mother Mason is similar so I need go track that one down now too. 

The Cutters is my Wildcard selection for the Back to the Classics Challenge