If you're like I was when bored out of my wits in high school English, you may have poopooed the readings of classic stories. I admit, I had many other fun things in mind and chose not to read the tales written by Alexander Dumas, Mary Shelley, Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Oscar Wilde, etc.
 |
| Lake Geneva in Geneva, Switzerland Photo by Mary Vee |
Not until Covid secluded us in our dwellings did I search my library app for a classic. One that would entertain me while I walked in the woods, on a rural street, on an empty city sidewalk.
To my surprise, these tales not only interested me but also stirred a deeper intensity in communicating my characters' journey.
And so, I am inviting you to open the door of your imagination for a new reading experience.
First, join the followers in the column to the right a little ways down. This way the new post will be sent directly to your email. It's a simple one step, just put in your email address. Go ahead, I'll wait.
Next, feel free to suggest which classic you would like me to present in future posts.
The book I finished only minutes ago was Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The entire book. Not a condensed version or annotated version or a children's version.
 |
| Fortunately for me, we had clear skies when I visited. Photo by Mary Vee |
How I will entice you to read this story: Mary Shelley, a young nineteen-year-old went to Geneva with Percy Shelley, and three others to summer. The constant rains and gloomy skies kept them in their rented villas most of the time. One night, when the skies cleared, they sat around a bonfire and to pass the time, they challenged each other to create and tell a ghost story. Mary's idea so intrigued the others, they encouraged her to write the story for publication.
Seriously? Frankenstein created at the beautiful setting in the photo? Wow! That impressed me.
What is this amazing story about: Frankenstein is rescued from floating ice by a ship's captain and tells his story. When very young he had a thirst for scientific knowledge. He longed to create a being that would be his friend. The resulting creature was so hideous in appearance Frankenstein left it and returned to his family. The creature, an intelligent, feeling thing also longed for friendship. It set out to find Frankenstein but when rejected a second time, he begged his creator to make a female creature like it. Frankenstein agreed until he came to his senses. What happened next will cause you to stay up late into the night reading.
 |
| This little house wedged between two apartment buildings in Geneva also impressed me. Photo by Mary Vee |
What impressed me terribly (as in good) about the writing was how well Shelley climbed into the head of a man devastated by what he had made. I wondered how any female at any age could so accurately (at least it seemed to me, but I'm guessing because I am a female) convey the struggles and resulting choices made by Frankenstein. Guess what? I discovered how she did it.
Want to know?
Her husband, Percy, was also an author. He edited her book. Ahhhhhh. So that's how.
I found I can use books like Frankenstein to learn how to express a man's emotion regarding greed, thirst for superiority, arrogance, defeatism, distraught, regret, sorrow and so much more.
Here is an excerpt from my current work titled The Oliver Project:
Cy sat at his desk staring at the piles of bills, orders, backorders, inventory, and other paperwork not wanting to do any of it. Until a few years ago, Christmas had been his favorite holiday.
Without his beloved Carly around, he couldn’t piece together a molecule of motivation to put up display specials or arrange a book signing. If Jimmy hadn’t thought to make the holiday strawberry green tea special, there wouldn’t have been one. He’d even forgotten to turn on the festive music for shoppers.
There was no excuse, and the numbers verified his lack of attention to the business. Customers picked up on the negative vibe like a thunderstorm at a baseball game. The book they wanted wasn’t on the shelf. Nothing interested them. Even the coffee shop holiday tea didn’t lure them to stay. They grumbled and soon left with empty hands. Unless he found a way to destroy the beast plaguing him, he’d lose the store.
Carly's beautiful eyes and lips blinked in his memory. How he loved her kisses. Had there been no one in the building, he would have broken down in sobs, again. Death, the evil one, had stolen the only woman he ever loved.
Join me next week for my next classic tale.
Its a 20-20 year!
Who would have known a virus would have thrown the world
onto a crazy roller coaster ride!
Hold on. We can get through this
Sometimes--a good book helps:
Who would have known a virus would have thrown the world
onto a crazy roller coaster ride!
Hold on. We can get through this
Sometimes--a good book helps:
Mary Vee loves to travel to places like New York City and Paris and infuse these amazing places in her stories. Mary is an award-winning author and writes for her king.
Visit Mary at her Website, Blog, and her ministry blog to families: God Loves Kids. Or chat on Facebook or Twitter
Comments