Sunday, August 23, 2009

Next selection: The Little Prince

For this next year, we're adopting a "members choice" format. We'll take turns selecting books, and if anyone draws a blank, they can take a look at our running list of Books We Want To Read Before We Die. We're also hoping to add to our membership.

Slow Reader went first, and had a ready selection in The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. This tiny book -- only 83 pages! -- can be found in the children's section of libraries. It's also on the shelf at Schuler's. I believe it can even be read online.

But it's thought-provoking and sweet. As one web reviewer said, "The Little Prince appears to be a simple childrens tale, some would say that it is actually a profound and deeply moving tale, written in riddles and laced with philosopy and poetic metaphor." We hope it attracts new members, and encourages old ones to get back to the group.

I found some study notes here.

Gaudy Night discussion

Dorothy Sayers' romance mysteries -- Strong Poison, Have His Carcase, Gaudy Night, and Busman's Honeymoon -- while delightful, did not engender much discussion. Or maybe we were just not in the mood. Gaudy Night, our main focus, does have plenty of philosophical material in it. The female characters repeatedly discuss the merits of academic life versus marriage. Women of the 1920s and 30s couldn't "have it all." The dons also dissected Harriet's relationship with Lord Peter Wimsey, and debated the aristocracy, while Harriet grappled with these issues on a more personal level. The book does, of course, come to a gratifying conclusion.

The subject of community cropped up again in our thoughts. Characters liken the women's college where the story takes place to a cloister. While the level of commitment a nun makes isn't expected of female academics, the women do study and teach in an enclosure as nearly cut off from society as the abbey of Brede. Outsiders are rare, and visits controlled. Male academics from other Oxford colleges perform services similar to that of the Bishop in House of Brede, offering a "blessing" on a new library.

Next to community life in House of Brede and to "the membership" in Wendell Berry's books, academic life in Gaudy Night pales by comparison. Competition has replaced community. There are friendships (alliances), and if one woman succeeds it helps the college, but the price is fellowship. There's no spiritual bond, no purpose higher than academic acheivement and advancement. Little effort is made to foster grace, compassion, patience, sharing, humility, etc. It's a hollow world.