The Late George Apley Did not really enjoy it, but it is my fault

 The Late George Apley

Did not really enjoy it, but it is my fault

You can bet this book is really good.

But then I missed on all that…not totally, but most of it.

Having said that, a spoiler is in order for I am just thinking about this book here and what it meant to me.

But the lines that will be posted here do not have much, if anything to do with The Late George Apley.

I went to about 54% and gave up, not on account of any failure of the book, writing this seems preposterous-

-          Look at me as I give verdicts on books that are established classics…

It is not a question of quality, like in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance- quality is a complicated concept, which can sometimes be simplified and taken to mean some kind of Zen or the Way, Dao.

These notes express only an Impression, a subjective opinion referring to the temperature outside, the stress of the coming autumn and more…

It just happens that one book which is universally enjoyed falls on my deaf ears at times, while another that has been mildly accepted exhilarates me.

It just happened with Alice Adams, finished yesterday and found somewhat lagging on the net- on goodreads it had a 3.6 rating.

This goes to prove how fickle the tastes of amateur readers can be, as opposed to the professionals who criticize on a rational basis.

Both Alice Adams and George Apley have the same rating, but one was like a chef d’oeuvre for me and the latter just mild entertainment.

There would be a conclusion even from just passing through a bit more than half of The Late George Apley-

-          Better try and find Flow and Carpe Diem

If one book is not offering an extraordinary experience, after one that offered a climax, what is the point of engaging it anyway?

From what I could gather, there are some poignant characters, interesting events and a novel way of writing about them.

I just did not engage with the story…

I remember bits and pieces from the novel, but enough to see that the story is good and the hero could be empathized with.

There are even some good lessons from the little I could hold on to- there is a character that talks elegantly about a few issues

-          The servants should not be called with this name because we are after all serving…

-          Even if he is rich and can employ people to serve, this man is to be commended for his noble attitude

-          He goes on to say that he has to serve more, for the Creator gives all of us a job to do, to serve

When George Apley reaches Harvard, I had a little movement on the scale measuring my poor interest.

But it waned quickly.

Then there was the matter of establishing the baby boy’s name, with the families of the husband and wife arguing.

They stopped talking to each other, with each side sure that the boy looks like ancestors on their side and proud of that.

The name of the descendant was appropriated in turns by one family and the other, in a funny way, but even this failed to entice me to stay on board.

It is my failure, but did not like what I have read from this book and it could also be partly Alice Adams’ fault

It is called Regression to the mean-

After having an exceptionally good time with a book –or something else- one is bound to get back to a median