Monthly Archives: July 2010

Alexander’s Bridge by Willa Cather

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This was the first book which Willa Cather had published and although I quite enjoyed it, I think I can safely say that she definitely improved with practice.

It’s the story of Bartley Alexander who is a famous bridge builder. He is married to Winifred who is a supportive wife and gives him respectability and a comfortable home life.

He is having what would nowadays be called a mid-life crisis, in other words he just wants to have his cake and eat it. When he meets up with Hilda,who is an Irish actress and an old flame of his, he can’t help being seduced by her and the more Bohemian life-style which she leads. She represents freedom, glamour and Europe.

The book has a very Calvinistic ending, in that you must pay for your sins in this world. It’s also obviously modelled on Edith Wharton’s writing.

I hope to read all of Willa Cather’s books eventually, it should be interesting to see how her style developed.

Closely Observed Trains by Bohumil Hrabal

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My husband recommended that I read this book recently and I must admit that it quickly jumped to the top of my book queue, simply because it is a very slim volume at just 91 pages. The temptation to tick it off quickly was just too much for me.

It is set in 1945 and the 18 year old Milos Hrma is an apprentice on the State Railway. He is finding life difficult to cope with and has already attempted suicide by slashing his wrists. He was driven to such despair when his first attempt at sex was a flop and he is now obsessed with proving himself to be a real man.

The closely observed trains are German ones and they have to be kept punctual otherwise the railway workers will have to answer to the Gestapo.

I know it doesn’t seem like it, but this is quite a funny book in parts and Milos is such a likeable character, you really want things to work out for him.

This was my first foray into Czech literature and I’ll be reading more, whenever I can find some.