Well I have done it again. Too many library holds have arrived before I was ready to balance them all. Currently was reading the nonfiction Strangers by Belle Burden as a buddy read with Susan at The Cue Card and just finished it yesterday. Review upcoming on this one.
My latest classic finished is The Scapegoat by Daphne DuMaurier. I was hoping to read at least three more from my list before the end of the year. It's a balancing act with all the library books I am getting, wanting to get to them all.
What a story. A nice English history professor named John, vacationing in Le Mans, is considering his life and how to change it when he meets a Frenchman named Jean. This man Jean holds an artistocratic title, is almost a twin in physical resemblance to English John but their ethics and personalities are quite different. Jean is a true scoundrel. They may look identical but there is a vast difference in their morals and lifestyle.
"We did not speak: we went on staring at one another. I had heard of these things happening, of people who meet casually and turn out to be long-lost cousins, or twins parted at birth; and the idea is amusing, or perhaps fraught with tragedy, like the Man in the Iron Mask."
After getting John drunk Jean absconds with English John's identity papers, money and possessions. He goes to England to assume John's life. Upon awakening from a drunken sleep, John feels he can not contact the police with zero proof of his true identity so he assumes Jean's identity and heads for the chateau. Well...of course, that makes sense.
John walks into a family situation where no one expects him to be good or kind. Remember, Jean was/is a scoundrel and left a wake of misery behind. It was interesting to see John with his decent values change the dynamics of that family's situation, repairing relationships and financial dealings. The end leaves one wondering which path these two men will take. Jean will never change, but I don't think John will either.
Linking with:
Joy for British Isles Friday
I haven't read this one but it sounds interesting. Du Maurier does love a moral bit of twistiness! I think library holds plot against us just to see what we'll do when they all show up together.
ReplyDeleteKatherine, Du Maurier does do twistty...this one was a short read and a good one. I'm used to more of the female lead characters in her books but this one worked!
DeleteNew to me. Interesting theory.
ReplyDeleteMystica, like Tale of Two Cities.
DeleteI haven't heard of Du Maurier's Scapegoat but it sounds pretty good. Do John & Jean run into each other again at the end? You're doing good work on your classics list. Hopefully we can read Out of Africa or Reading Lolita in Tehran ... maybe in a couple weeks. I'm like you I have several books coming in at the library each week ... need to read faster. Enjoy your next reads.
ReplyDeleteSusan, yes, they do run into one another. Tense scene and it was really a good read. I was hoping to keep to a certain number of classics a year to get to my 5 year goal. I wouldn't mind wrapping it up sooner though.
DeleteI'm down for Tehran or Africa coming up. I think I can accomplish one of those before I am on my trip. It's almost a certainty I won't be reading much at all when I am in NE. Reading faster is always a plan for me but...life happens!
Have a blast in Mexico.
My mom was an avid Daphne du Maurier fan, but I don't remember anything at all about this book. The books my mom read all had female protagonists.
ReplyDeleteI've been having awful troubles with Blogger---I couldn't log into my email or my blog. Ugh. I hope you haven't been suffering.
Deb, the ones I have read by Du Maurier usually featured female characters in the lead but this was different. Not a long book and it was a good one.
DeleteI've not had trouble with Blogger lately but I don't sign out of the blog. I am usually signed in on my tablet. Hope you get things rsolved soon. that's frustrating.
What a great premise for a story. I don't think I've heard of this book before.
ReplyDelete