classics – BookBunnies

Midnight reviews Augustus by John Williams

Today Midnight, the mysterious and reclusive black bunny of the family, decided that it was time for another appearance because he had read a good book and wanted to share his thoughts on it with the readers of the book bunnies blog. (Also Marshmallow is still working hard on her college applications.) Below is Midnight’s review of Augustus, a historical novel by John Williams, that was published originally in 1972 and that received the National Book Award for Fiction in 1973. Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: It is so neat to have you join us today Midnight!

Midnight: I am filling in because Marshmallow is busy working on college applications.

S: But you also have a good book you want to talk to us about, yes?

M: Indeed. A friend of mine recommended several books to me recently and this is the first one I have completed.

S: That sounds great! You seem to have enjoyed this a lot. Hopefully you will appreciate the other ones too.

M: One may hope.

S: Okay, so tell us a bit about Augustus.

M: It’s historical fiction. But it is written not in third person but rather through letters written between many characters, of greater or lesser importance, at the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Empire. The focus overall is on Octavius, later to be known as Augustus Caesar. We read letters from his friends, associates, and relatives, and toward the end, even from the man himself.

S: I didn’t know this was an epistolary novel, written in letters! That is really cool. And all of them are fictional, right? I know many of the main events should be historical, but the book has so many details, a lot should be the author’s creation.

M: That is my understanding. My memory of those events is hazy, since I was only a young rabbit at the time-

S: Wait, what do you mean? The events retold in the book are supposed to have happened at least two thousand years ago.

M: I can tell this makes you uncomfortable. Let’s move on.

S: Okay….

Midnight is reading Augustus by John Williams. — Midnight is reading *Augustus* by John Williams.

S: So tell us a bit more about the book. It is written in the form of a series of letters. But it is also split into three books, right?

M: Perhaps it is better to describe them as a series of letters, because we don’t get responses to letters. We read stories from one side sometimes. One of the great strengths of the book is that Williams gives each character their own distinct voice and style.

S: That is impressive.

M: And the letters are organized into three books, yes. The first book is about his childhood and his rise to power. The second is about him already an emperor, tackling the challenge of finding an appropriate successor. One issue that constantly arises is that Augustus lived so long that most of his friends passed away long before he did. His preferred successors predeceased him, leaving him to settle for Tiberius, whom he did not care for. The third book is really a single long letter, from Augustus to a friend, reflecting upon his life and his reign.

S: Then there is an epilogue.

M: Yes, that is supposedly written forty-one years later, by Philippus of Athens, Augustus’s last doctor, who was a young man back then. The letter is directed to Seneca. Philippus looks back on the long reign of Augustus, the subsequent harshness of Tiberius, the cruelty of his successor, Caligula, and the ineptness of Claudius. Having read Graves’s I Claudius and Claudius the God, I tend to have a softer view of Claudius than Williams’ Philippus.

S: Oh, maybe you will tell us about those books some day.

M: Maybe I will. In any case Philippus might not be the greatest judge of men, since he speaks hopefully about the newly crowned emperor Nero.

S: And we all know now that Nero did not turn out to be a great emperor!

M: Those were dark times. It is still difficult for me to talk about them.

S: Wait, are you implying that you were around during Nero’s time?

M: Let’s get back to the book, shall we?

S: Okay, sure. Whatever you say.

M: Much of the latter half of the book consists of journal entries of Julia, Augustus’s daughter, written in exile.

S: And Julia is a real person, right?

M: Yes, definitely. Let’s say he loved his daughter very much, but political realities in the circles that she frequented put him in a bad situation. I don’t want to spoil the book.

S: That is kind of interesting. All these people lived and died many centuries ago and their stories are actually all written down. But this book somehow manages to make them come alive so that you want to know what will happen next.

M: Right. But any student of history will know that Augustus’s story goes on for a long time and most of the people around at the start of the book are dead well before the end. While Augustus starts as a teenager, he ends up as an old man, who seems out of place, or maybe somebody whom time has passed by.

S: That is deep Midnight. I also noticed that the book has an introduction written by Daniel Mendelsohn. Did you read it too?

M: I have. It basically contextualizes the book, and says a bit about Williams and his other books.

S: But it seems one can definitely read the book without the introduction.

M: Sure.

S: So this was overall a good book and you seem to have enjoyed it. We can wrap up our review now, I think.

M: Yeah.

S: Okay, then. What would you like to tell our readers as we close this off?

M: I know that this little black bunny does not have quite the following that Marshmallow and Caramel do, and I’m sure their fans will be happy to know that Marshmallow will be back once she finishes some of her college applications.

S: Aw, we love having you over, too, Midnight!

M: To that, and to the readers, I say: Vale! as we used to say…

Midnight enjoyed reading Augustus by John Williams, and bids readers farewell, until such a time as he deems it fit to grace the world with his august presence. — Midnight enjoyed reading *Augustus* by John Williams, and bids readers farewell, until such a time as he deems it fit to grace the world with his august presence.

Caramel reviews Night of the Moonjellies by Mark Shasha

Today Caramel is reviewing a beautiful book by Mark Shasha: Night of the Moonjellies, originally published in 1992. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, for your last review before we take some time off for the summer, you chose to talk about this book.

Caramel: Well, you told me that summer officially starts on June 21 this year and told me we should talk about a summer book. I thought this would work well.

S: Yeah, this is a very nice picture book about the summer season.

C: Apparently, it is not even fully fiction! This book is about the author’s life. He is telling us things that have or might have happened when he was a kid.

S: Yeah, it might be a bit nostalgic then. Do you know what nostalgic means?

C: Yeah, it means a thing that evokes a sense of remembering a good thing?

S: Yeah, there is a feeling of sadness, about missing the past. The book is about a time that the author experienced as a child. So it is something he remembers fondly, from his past.

C: That makes sense. The book is about his family when he was growing up in Connecticut. His grandma, his uncle, his aunt, all his family are running a hot dog stand together, and he finds a moon jellyfish on the beach, and his grandma tells him to put it in a bag with water, so it doesn’t die. And then he tells us about his day. They make food for customers, and it is really busy.

S: And the boy is always helping out and kind of cheerful, right?

C: Yeah, he seems like a nice kid. And he seems like he really enjoys working together with his family and helping them out. All of them know what they need to do and they do it.

Caramel is reading Night of the Moonjellies by Mark Shasha. — Caramel is reading *Night of the Moonjellies* by Mark Shasha.

S: Cool! But the book is titled “Night of the Moonjellies” so eventually we should get to the night, right?

C: Yeah, at night his grandma takes him on a kind fisherman’s boat, and they release the moon jellyfish, and they see the ocean glow from the jellies; they make the night sea sparkle and look so pretty.

S: Yes! I think that how the jellies came together to make the ocean so pretty is kind of like how the boy and his family worked all day together in harmony to make something good happen.

C: Yeah. I didn’t think of that, but it makes sense.

S: Kind of like, my family and I, together we make something neat, and the jellies, they make something neat with their families, too.

C: Yeah, I can see that. But I think even without making a connection like that, I am sure the sea must have looked awesome!

S: Yeah, one would probably not forget such a sight.

C: Yeah, if I saw such a thing, it would be so cool! I’d definitely remember it forever, too.

S: Do you remember something like that? Have you ever seen something in nature that awed you? That moved you so deeply?

C: No, I don’t think so, but it would have been cool.

S: Actually I remember you seeing something and being that awed. Some years ago, we were in Japan. We were so lucky to be there during the cherry blossom season. And you were a tiny little bunny, but your awe, your thrill, your joy were all so visible.

C: Oh, wait, I do remember that, how did I not remember that?

S: Well, maybe you were trying to think of experiences on the ocean. Or anything during the summer. The cherry blossoms were very much in the spring. And they were so beautiful! You definitely remember them now, right?

C: Yep. That’s why I think I didn’t come up with it immediately. But yeah, the cherry blossoms were so beautiful..

S: We don’t get to have too many such experiences. Sometimes beautiful things just happen and we don’t see them. We are too busy, too distracted. But when they do happen and you witness them, it is important to take note. I hope you will always remember the cherry blossoms.

C: Yeah, I will try. I’ll try to never forget.

S: Okay, Caramel, so do you think this is a good time to wrap up our review?

C: Sure.

S: So what do you want to say to our readers then?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Night of the Moonjellies by Mark Shasha and is totally ready for the summer! — Caramel enjoyed reading *Night of the Moonjellies* by Mark Shasha and is totally ready for the summer!

Marshmallow reviews The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Today Marshmallow reviews a classic, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, originally published in 1925.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like reading celebrated classics, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Nick Carraway is a man from the Midwest who came to New York City to work in the bond business. Living in West Egg (a peninsula home to the newly rich), Nick regularly visits his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan, both of whom reside in East Egg (the peninsula across the water from West Egg where the wealthy, “old money” families live). As an outsider to the East Coast’s culture, he views himself as an honest, open-minded man with a perspective free of bias and judgement. His next door neighbor is a mysterious man who remains shadowed in uncertainty though.

This man is the titular Gatsby. He hosts extravagant parties with hundreds of guests, many of whom aren’t invited to be there but show up nonetheless. His house is beautiful, hinting unsubtly at how great his wealth must be. His origins are the focus of much speculation, but–because nobody is particularly close to him–no one is really able to discern much. Gatsby is somewhat like the Wizard of Oz: idolized in a distant, cryptic way with an impenetrable past but a present power that seems to know no bounds.

As Nick eventually gets closer to this new neighbor, he learns that there are indeed limits to his powers. Gatsby is infatuated with Daisy Buchanan, whose house is just alluringly across the water from his own. They had a passionate romance five years ago, but she agreed to marry Tom while Gatsby was at Oxford after the first World War. In a way, this reveals a tinge of superficiality within her. Yet, she is still as perfect as ever for Gatsby, who views her as the pinnacle of womanhood, grace, charm, beauty, wealth, and achievement. He wants nothing more than for her to openly declare to Tom that she never loved him. After all, Tom is busy having an affair with a middle-to-lower class woman in the “Valley of Ashes” (a much less wealthy part of the city).

Amidst this chaotic mess, Nick positions himself as the objective narrator watching the ideals of America degrade in the lap of luxury. Regarded as “the great American novel,” The Great Gatsby similarly casts itself as the defining text of its era, quietly revealing the reality of the 1920s Jazz Age and how America reached both new heights and horrific lows during that unforgettable time.

Marshmallow is reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. — Marshmallow is reading *The Great Gatsby* by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Marshmallow’s Review: This is perhaps one of the best classics to read for younger bunnies. Even though it was written a whole century ago, I found the style to be the most comprehensible and understandable from the very start. Fitzgerald has a very clear style of prose and surprisingly lacks the extravagant descriptions that often characterize most ‘great works’ of literature. This was both a blessing and a curse in a way. I liked how pleasant it felt to understand the language of this book so easily, but it definitely left more to the imagination than most books. I suppose that might have been better in the long run though because I still had a very abstract yet meaningful image of the setting within my head by the end of the book.

Of course, the setting and time period are undeniably discernible from the dialogue and character behavior; certain characters (e.g. Tom Buchanan, Nick Carraway) describe events and people in ways that are not acceptable today. However, if one is mindful, this is not a major distraction; I find it interesting though how this reveals imperfections in Fitzgerald’s prose, much like how Carraway’s narration is frequently brought into question by literary critics. The main focus of the book is on examining America during that period and specifically within the context of the American Dream. And today, a century later, there are still a lot of things this book can tell us about the United States.

There are so many wonderful, online resources that go into a heartening level of detail and depth. Reading this book slowly is definitely a must; reading it slowly and then checking in with what others have synthesized from it is even better! Each of the characters have such depth and nuance, gently accumulated over the years through different perspectives and lenses. I personally doubt that Fitzgerald intended for everything to be viewed the way it has been. While I think the claim that Nick is gay might have merit, for example, I cannot confirm 100% that Fitzgerald meant for him to be so. Other interpretations (such as the common claim that Daisy represents the allure of wealth, Nick Carraway serves to contrast Midwestern ideals with the supposedly morally bankrupt East, etc.) are similarly interesting and worth investigating. Such research after or during the reading of this book is imperative, and I feel doing this deeper dive has expanded my understanding and appreciation of this book in more than one dimension.

Overall, I really enjoyed unfolding different aspects of this book. Even though it is quite a short book (taking up less than two hundred pages in the edition I read), the sheer amount of detail and depth there is to uncover is a joy in its own right. It might take some time, but it is worth it.

I would recommend The Great Gatsby to almost everyone; it lacks the sexual content, confusing verbiage, and obfuscatory abstractness that often bars youth and the general public from enjoying what is deemed as great literature. With The Great Gatsby, the only thing that determines your ability to appreciate the first “American novel” is your willingness to.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Great Gatsby* by F. Scott Fitzgerald 100%.

Caramel reviews Harold at the North Pole by Crockett Johnson

Many years ago, in the very early days of this blog Caramel reviewed a classic, Harold and the Purple Crayon, by Crockett Johnson. Today he is talking to Sprinkles about a sequel of sorts, Harold at the North Pole, published originally in 1957.

Sprinkles: I was so excited to find this little book last week! So even though it is a Christmas book and we are nowhere close to Christmas, I thought it would be fun to talk about it today.

Caramel: Yup. And I agreed. Because who doesn’t want to talk about Santa Claus and snow and Christmas gifts?

S: I know, right? I mean we just couldn’t wait till December.. Anyways, our readers probably remember Harold, the little boy in blue overalls who creates the world around him with his ginormous purple crayon.

C: Yeah, I would expect so. You and I talked about Harold and the Purple Crayon all the way back in 2020, so if they don’t remember, they can just read our old post.

S: Yep. That was right around the time the pandemic really took off!

C: Yeah, the pandemic was around that time, which was pretty terrible. But the book was really good. And later, we also saw the live-action movie, which was actually pretty good.

S: Yeah, I remember watching it with you and liking it. It seems like the critics didn’t like it much, but we enjoyed it.

C: Yup, we did. Maybe you can put a link to the trailer in the post?

S: Sure. Here is the trailer of the movie:

Harold and The Purple Crayon: official trailer, from YouTube.

C: Thanks. It was fun to watch.

S: So let us get back to Harold at the North Pole.

C: Sure. So this is about Harold, the very same little boy, But in the cover this time he is wearing green overalls, and a red hat. Very Christmas-y!

S: Yeah, he is not in his blue overalls any more, but you are right, the red-green fits the holiday season very well. And the crayon is still purple, right?

C: Yup. So this time, Harold wants to find a Christmas tree before Santa can visit his home. So he goes out and tries to find a tree. Along the way he finds himself at the North Pole and ends up helping Santa. He also helps draw up Santa’s reindeer and a sleigh full of presents. And finally he gets back home and settles down near a fireplace to wait for Santa.

S: Yep. That sounds about right.

C: Actually I think it kind of sounds a bit eerie. The boy is always alone, and there is nobody and nothing around him until he draws them. It is almost like a scary dream.

Caramel is reading Harold at the North Pole by Crockett Johnson. — Caramel is reading *Harold at the North Pole* by Crockett Johnson.

S: Wait, if you read it like that, then it does not come across like a cute, warm, and fuzzy story.

C: No, it doesn’t. And when you look back at the first book, that also could be the same, with Harold all alone, making stuff up as he goes around living all alone. Abandoned.

S: Hmm, yes, I can see that. But it is not really the real world that he is in, is it? He is not all alone in a scary way really. I think maybe we are in Harold’s imaginary world, as he is recreating the world. The transitions from home, to the northern woods, to the North Pole, back home would be dizzying if real. But they are not. Harold just flows smoothly from one place to the other, as smoothly as he can draw something.

C: Or actually he does not flow anywhere and the places just smoothly flow around him as he draws them. Yes, I know, it is not really about a little child all alone in a scary way, but I just wanted to say it would be kind of weird if this were real.

S: I guess that is why the movie version made the situation so weird. Nobody would believe the grown-up Harold.

C: I wouldn’t. But you know, if the crayon were real, it would be really cool! And dangerous! All those bad people who were after the crayon in the movie, it totally makes sense, because the crayon is so powerful if you can create reality all by drawing something.

S: Yes.

C: So okay, the books are really sweet, they are not scary at all. I just wanted to say they are also a bit weird, but when read in their own story world, they are really sweet. And I think any little bunny would enjoy imagining themselves with a purple crayon and trying to figure out what they would draw with it and going into adventures with it and so on.

S: Yeah, for sure. So what would you draw with it if you had the purple crayon?

C: I would draw the seventeenth book of Wings of Fire; lock in Sutherland!

S: Not sure it works that way, Caramel…

C: Dang it. Still, lock in Sutherland, I love those books, come out with more, please.

S: Okay, maybe she will some day. She has to go forth with the new story arc she started in the sixteenth book anyways. But so you wouldn’t draw anything else? I could draw an ice cream machine that makes ice cream for me, a bubble bath, a beautiful sunset, a comfy big chair, and lots of books and bookshelves around it where I could read.. I can go on forever!

C: Well, Sprinkles, we do have lots of books and bookshelves in our house, and there is a comfy chair nearby too.

S: Yes, I know we are lucky. And maybe the things Harold draws are also kind of homelike, like a fireplace, and an armchair to sit on, and his home is also a regular home, just comfy.

C: Like our home. Our home is comfy too.

S: True… Okay, so overall what did you think of this book?

C: It is cute. It would even make sense to a young person who has not read the original book, but if the young person liked that first book, they would definitely enjoy reading this around the holidays. It would make a good Christmas gift.

S: Yeah, it is kind of surreal, but young bunnies can get into surreal stories very quickly.

C: Yeah, just ignore the probable psychological implications of why Harold has no parents, friends or any other people near him. Then it makes perfect sense.

S: You’re kidding, right? No young person would be worried reading this. Many picture books about young people don’t have other actors in them.

C: Of course, yeah, it’s not scary, it’s a nice story. It is just that parents should probably be ready if their young bunny asks them these kinds of questions. It is about fun and imagination and not abandonment. Just in case, ya know.

S: Hmm, I think you have an overactive imagination sometimes Caramel.

C: Sometimes? I am offended. I have a perfectly normal imagination. And always.

S: Okay, sorry, didn’t mean it that way. You do have a big imagination.

C: The book is about Harold going north to find a Christmas tree, and then he finds himself at the north pole, and then he draws Santa and the whole Santa workshop, and then helps him make presents, then goes home, and realizes he forgot to find a tree, so he makes one. I think Crockett Johnson has an overactive imagination.

S: Yes I definitely agree. And it all makes the book suitably fun for the holidays. Which are about seven months away…

C: But it is never too early to dream of Christmas!

S: And it is actually time for some dreams. Bedtime, Caramel?

C: Yup. I think it is right about my bedtime.

S: So then let us wrap this up. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved revisiting Harold while reading Harold at the North Pole by Crockett Johnson and hopes that many others will enjoy it this next Christmas or any other time of the year. — Caramel loved revisiting Harold while reading *Harold at the North Pole* by Crockett Johnson and hopes that many others will enjoy it this next Christmas or any other time of the year.