Review: Man's Search for Meaning

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The first part discusses his life in a concentration camp, while the second discusses psychology, and how Meaning gives purpose in life.

Both parts are extremely poignant and educational. I didn't think I'd find much new in either section, given how long ago it was written, but I was wrong on both counts.

Well worth the read.


https://4201mass.blogspot.com/

View all my reviews

Review: Pages from the Goncourt Journals

Pages from the Goncourt Journals by Edmond de Goncourt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The ultimate gossip rag of the second half of the 19th century Parisian literary circles. The brothers (and later just Edmond) Concourt dish it out and namedrop over the decades, talking about Flaubert, Maupassant, Zola, Gautier, Daudet, Degas, Rodin, Saint-Beuve, Mdme George Sand, Victor Hugo, Dumas, etc. etc. And if you don’t recognize some of those names don’t worry. It doesn’t detract from the gossip and the pettiness, which makes this book great.

I bookmarked several excellent anecdotes, including:
the empress taking several paintings out “on loan” from the Louvre to hang on her walls, wishing to impress the Queen of England, but having the Queen recognize them from the Louvre (p. 120)
The story of Prince Napoleon drinking holy water by mistake on his wedding night and getting sick (p. 142, 5 November 1862)
The Chinese envoy saying “You are young, you Westerners. You hardly have any history to speak of” (p. 195 , 9 November 1871)
The initial impressions of Degas (p. 206 ,13 February 1874)
The fact that Balzac did not wish to ejaculate since he was afraid of losing cerebral matter. (p. 216, 3 June 1875)
Manet had an “ugly, cracked voice” (p. 239)
His outrage that someone had quit a job via the new contraption called a Telephone! (p. 269)
His impressions of Oscar Wilde (p. 285)

View all my reviews

Review: Naval Surgeon In Yi Korea: The Journal Of George W. Woods

Naval Surgeon In Yi Korea: The Journal Of George W. Woods by Fred C. Bohm
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love these types of books, and for his time Woods seems to be pretty reliable and kept a very detailed journal. He seems to be quite enthralled with Korea and its people (again, given the times). 

Some of my highlights:

"I have never been so surprised at any sight as I was at the beauty, symmetry, and one might say grandeur, of this gateway, as well as with the artistic construction of both gateway and wall" (p.36, in reference to Namdaemun (South gate)? 

"She (Mrs. Foote) and Mrs. Mohlendorff are the only European ladies who have ever been in Seoul, and yet they have never met" (p. 43. Apparently there was some feud between their husbands?)

"After curfew, no man must go into the street, but women are allowed to wander until 1 a.m." (p. 52)

"The Colonel informed me - a Corean compliment - that I looked much older than 46" (P. 58)

"tea houses do not exist, because the people do not drink tea, as a rule" (p. 67)

"This is the sort of pageantry I like to see, something that in a few years will belong to the past, when the King will move like other civilised potentates and perhaps forget his ancestors, as our sceptical sovereigns have forgotten their religious duties" (p. 97, regarding a royal procession)

View all my reviews

Review: The Diary of Benjamin Reynolds: The Journal of a Voyage 'Round Cape Horn from Philadelphia to Chile and Back Again Via Rio de Janiero in 1840-41

The Diary of Benjamin Reynolds: The Journal of a Voyage 'Round Cape Horn from Philadelphia to Chile and Back Again Via Rio de Janiero in 1840-41 by Benjamin Reynolds
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Knowing that the author (compiler) pretty much literally found this man's diary in an attic, and that it was an acquaintance of her great grandfather, and married a great-great aunt of hers (can that be right??) makes this more interesting than it otherwise would have been. I had hoped this diary would describe life in Valparaiso and/or Rio, or even just life on the ship, more in-depth. I guess there were some details about life on the ship, but not really for the "terra firma" stops. We hear about his days and activities, but little much else about the people, cities and locations. 

Still, an enjoyable glimpse into a real man's journey to South America in 1840. 

View all my reviews