The War of the Worlds (H.G. Wells, 1898)

Read somewhat in anticipation of Spielberg movie starring Tom Cruise released June 2005.

I enjoyed it more the first time I read it, decades ago.

Never did see the movie, the reviews were not good.

Sentimental Education (Gustave Flaubert, 1869)

"Based on Flaubert’s own youthful passion for an older woman, Sentimental Education was described by its author as "the moral history of the men of my generation."

It follows the amorous adventures of Frederic Moreau, a law student who, returning home to Normandy from Paris, notices Mme Arnoux, a slender, dark woman several years older than himself. It is the beginning of an infatuation that will last a lifetime. He befriends her husband, an influential businessman, and as their paths cross and re-cross over the years, Mme Arnoux remains the constant, unattainable love of Moreau’s life.

Blending love story, historical authenticity, and satire, Sentimental Education is one of the great French novels of the nineteenth century.”

He also hangs out with “the Marshal,” and the widow of a wealthy banker; also a girl from his hometown. Also hangs out with friends, including deLorrier. Historical context = 1848 revolutionary atmosphere, founding of the Second Empire.

Listened to this in a "books on tape" format.

East of Eden (John Steinbeck, 1952)

Trask family:  father is Civil War fraud; Adam goes into army, returns, ends up in Salinas; Charles is violent, stays on farm, dies there.  Adam’s children (Charles’) with Cathy = Aron, Caleb.  Cathy/Kate: user, eventually commits suicide.  Hamilton family:  Samuel as elder; wife is religious/hard-nosed; multiple children.  Lee:  Chinese housekeeper etc., central character.  Abra – falls in love with Aron and Caleb in turn.  Caleb dual nature; through Lee’s intervention, receives Adam’s blessing (“thou mayest”) after Adam has a stroke following Aron getting killed in WWI (after enlisting because Caleb showed him his mother).  Read at La Camarilla.