Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

This is the thread for the November 2023 buddy read of Big Sur Trilogy: Part I - The Stranger.

Just started this one and got through the first chapter. It was one buttkicking chapter! This book has trigger warnings and that it is written by a women, I find fascinating. Of note in the first chapter is the characterization and the lovely but dangerous Big Sur setting. If anyone is looking for a western page turner, join in.

I will be reading this book this month but not sure of timing yet.

Terry wrote: "I will be reading this book this month but not sure of timing yet."

I am pacing myself so I won't be too far into it when you start.

Sam, I started today and read 2 chapters.

Hope you are finding it interesting. I am only at the beginning og Part Two.

I am finding it interesting and easy reading. I was put off by Zande’s behavior, but the story is interesting. As a native Californian, I am fascinated by the historical details of life on Big Sur back then. I have driven Highway 1 many times, although many years back. I found time to make a lot of progress through the book today, so as I wrote this post, I am almost through Part 2.

I love Big Sur and I feel the novel captures it well so far. Zande is so unlikeable, my main motivation for reading is to try and figure why the author would choose him as the narrator and then follow through a situation that seems impossible to resolve. The novel was originally written in 1942 so there may be an interest in bring the pair together despite unresolvable differences that mirrored the world situation at the time. I absolutely love the period regional prose and character traits that are also regional and still identifiable in people I had met in the years I spent in the region in the 70's. I wish we had a couple more participants to share views. The novel has multiple memorable scenes so far for me and I will maybe comment on one or two next time.

Sam, I finished the book and wrote my review before reading your last post. We had the same reaction to the author’s choice of protagonist.

Notwithstanding that, I also liked reading about the California central coast. My most fond memory was as a passenger on Highway 1 on a clear night, when the moon was full and bright over the ocean, and lighting up the rolling waves. It was magical. This book brought back that and other memories of Big Sur.

Thanks for bringing this book to my attention. I am going to continue to read the series, although I will take a break. I hope I like Blaze better than her father.

I loved certain aspects of the writing but thought the later action scenes weak and felt the tension between Hannah and Zande never satisfactorily resolved. But the way the author worked that mostly unspoken tension throughout most of the novel was superb. For me the highlight was the barbecue (including the difficulties leading up to it) and that the novel never reached that height again. I am still left wondering why the author chose to draw Zande as such a despicable character. One reason might be the acceptance by all of that type of character in film and literature of the time. The novel was published in 1942 so the influences at the time of writing would be Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Cary Grant and all were abusive of women to some degree onscreen as were many others. There was also the possibility that the author was overcompensating to show her character was not unmanly, a trait worse than the sexist abusiveness at the time, or for be a female writer of a Western. She may have also planned more confrontation between Hannah and Zande and then changed her mind perhaps from inpu from the publisher. The novel seems rushed after the barbecue. I don't know why she drew Zande that way but I found that those two extremely memorable characters will remain with me a long time. I rarely review any more but I would probably round up to four stars for the characters and the capturing of the exquisite Big Sur setting both in nature and in the depiction of the barbecue. I was immediately brought back to memories of some nights at Nepenthe around the outside fireplace while reading. Hell of a location. I will also read the second novel but the third was finished by someone else and I will have to see after Blaze. I hope NYRB gets the rights to The Stranger though. It deserves more than to be forgotten. Thanks for joining me.

Yes, Sam, the relationship between Zande and Hannah was not satisfactorily resolved for me. Perhaps the next book may show further growth. I will return to the Trilogy but need to read some other books first. I will be passing these books on to my brother who lives in Fortuna, way further north up the coast.

The descriptions of the coastal countryside were very good, as well as just generally the times and ways of life. Big Sur was indeed an isolated place, isolated by its rugged geography. My ancestors were pioneers on both sides, all sides really, and came to California from the east, northeast and southeast. I still wonder at how they all made it there.

I only knew Nepenthe by reputation, having never been there. My experience of Big Sur was mostly a driving one, but once I visited someone who lived there in a redwood treehouse. This was 1968 and there was a certain amount of smoking home grown involved. I am not too sure exactly where that was, but I think it may have been near the state park. Later, I got to know Carmel to the north, and then further south, I visited San Simeon to see its architecture, a pretty amazing place. From Santa Cruz to Santa Barbara, the central coast is all very beautiful and unlike a lot of California, its geography has helped to preserve it.