Joseph Andrews, Pt. 2, Henry Fielding

Joseph Andrews, volume the second, was a bit of a let down from the humorous escapades and roaring good parody of the first volume. The second volume felt much more puritanical and preachy than the first, which to my sensibilities was not very enjoyable. The female love interest became less and less enjoyable as the reader got to know her, as she was little more than a helpless virgin trying to cling onto her purity long enough to marry Joseph so he could get her in the sack ('cause, you know, no one respectable would marry a rape victim back then). The parson was equal parts absent-minded professor, puritanical religious nut, and violent brawler in defense of his friends, which was at times an ungainly mix of characteristics. Some of the plot twists seemed like they may have been parodies mocking the unbelievable plots of the time; if they weren't then they were just poor plotting on the part of the author.

I do feel that most likely with more background and history in the literature of the era, specifically the cheap stuff that did not outlast the times (the paperback garbage of the day, so to speak), then perhaps the parody and humor of the second volume would have made sense to me. As it was, I just found it a bit dusty, preachy, boring, unbelievable, and occasionally offensive. I would give the second volume a two-and-a-half out of five, at best.

Review of "Savy Auntie" by Melanie Notkin

Savy Auntie is both a phrase and a movement, both begun by author Melanie Notkin, that gives a place and meaning to a growing demographic of men and women; the childless and child-free that still want to love the kids in their lives. Melanie Notkin is careful to include Moms with kids in her Savy Auntie description, but I personally feel that the Savy Auntie (or uncle) moniker is much more needed for those of us who cannot fit into the cultural boxes of mother/father.

As for the book, Savy Auntie, it wasn't quite what I expected, though in some ways it was probably more than I anticipated. The book is essentially a condensed guide to "parenting" condensed because as an auntie/uncle you don't need to know as much as a parent does. It guides the reader through infancy, toddler/kindergarten, and beyond, with tips and tricks for those who want to be very involved in a child's life without being a parent. As someone who is not an auntie yet, but an older sister (and child-free), I didn't find the book to have much relevancy to this stage in my life, and as the oldest of six kids I found much of the information to be "old hat" anyway. But it was still a very engaging read, and most likely an invaluable resource for those first-time aunties and uncles who are nervous and don't know what to do; never fear! Melanie has the answers for you!

I would give the book a four out of five. The only additional thing I would have liked to see would have been more focus on relating to older kids/teenagers, as that has more relevance to my life right now than babies and toddlers. But an excellent resource and great inspiration and encouragement for those who want to love kids but not have them!

Joseph Andrews Pt. 1 by Henry Fielding

Joseph Andrews is, for those of you who know your history of western literature (specifically American and British) is sort of a parody answer to the novel Pamela by Samuel Richardson. According to the author, the style of the prose was also greating inspired by Cervantes Don Quixote. But enough about history, let's get down to the juicy bits.

This book was a surprisingly quick read, for an older bit of literature (disclaimer; I've been told I'm a surprisingly quick reader). The story, though obviously meant to be comic and over the top in many places, moved quickly enough to keep me interested and turning the pages. There were a few places where I wasn't sure if the author was intending to send-up the over-the-top morals of his day or defend them (and there was one whole chapter of sermonizing by one of the characters that I skipped over) but the plot itself was engaging. The main character was, to me, not at all relatable, but as it was comedy and parody that worked okay anyway.

There were points where, as a modern feminist, I was a little uncomfortable with the surface moral of the book (which often implied that women are all just walking vaginas out to entrap a man). I wasn't quite sure if this was poking fun at the morals of Pamela (which suggested that man are all walking dicks and women must be careful not to be entrapped) or if the writer perhaps believed it to a degree. But, setting that aside, the story was enjoyable, at points laugh out loud funny, and an interesting bit of history trivia to add to my internal database. I would give the book a 3.5 out of 5.