#18: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Stevenson, Robert Louis: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York: AMS Press, 1974. Print. 108 pages.
-
SETTING: 19th century London, England.
- 
SUMMARY: Confusion arises as the prominent and popular physician, Dr. Henry Jekyll, suddenly becomes reclusive and paranoid, leading his colleagues to surmise that something diabolical is amiss.  The prime culprit suspected of causing this character change is Mr. Edward Hyde, Dr. Jekyll's strange and mysterious beneficiary to all his assets upon his death. 
-
FAVORITE QUOTE: "Rather, as there was something abnormal and misbegotten in the very essence of the creature that now faced me - something seizing, surprising, and revolting - this fresh disparity seemed but to fit in with and to reinforce it; so that to my interest in the man's nature and character, there was added a curiosity as to his origin, his life, his fortune and status in the world." - page 422-23.
-
The League of Extraordinary Men is one of my favorite movies, primarily because it brings a group of my favorite literary figures together to tell an incredibly entertaining story (Dorian Gray from The Picture of Dorian Gray, Captain Nemo from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Mina Harker from Dracula, and Tom Sawyer from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer).  Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde is another one of the main characters in this movie, so I was really excited when I saw this book was included in the three part Robert Louis Stevenson compilation I picked up at the undergraduate library on campus.  I already knew the main story line, but I was interested to see how RLS presents it.  After reading The Dynamiter, I went in with high hopes.  Were my expectations met?  READ ON!
-
Things I liked about this book:

1. IT'S AN AWESOME STORY.  Awesome, awesome, awesome.  Awesome.
2. The motivation behind Dr. Jekyll's decision to create Mr. Hyde.  Possibility this next part will ruin the story for those who haven't read it, so don't continue reading this paragraph if you're willing to give this story a read!  OK, here we go: Dr. Jekyll is a very nice, well-mannered, all around good guy.  After spending his entire life living as a straight edge, he decides he is tired of the do-good lifestyle and wants to bring out his evil side.  However, he's determined to do so in a manner that will preserve the community's polished impression of him.  In comes crazy experiments to create an elixir that literally bring out the evil, an entirely separate character he names "Edward Hyde."  Although at first glance this seems like a totally mental idea, upon further reflection I realized that I can somewhat understand what drove Dr. Jekyll to become Mr. Hyde.  We all have moments where we decide to not act on a certain notion or desire because our outward persona and the impression people have of us won't match the action.  It sometimes takes a great deal of courage to let go of those inhibitions and  just act without having to consider how the action will be perceived by the greater community.  Dr. Jekyll's method of dealing with this is obviously based off of an extreme thought and goes horribly wrong, and his desire to bring out a totally evil side is crazy, but I get the core motivation that leads him to transform into Mr. Hyde. 
3. Organized really well.  Again, RLS is fantastic at presenting his stories in a methodological manner.  
4. Hyde is a completely separate person.  Jekyll can't influence Hyde's actions, and vice versa.  This total separation of character is what causes both Jekyll's and Hyde's ultimate demise.  
5. Jekyll's account of how he could feel Hyde slowly taking over.

Thing I didn't like about this book:

1. An explanation wasn't given behind why/how Jekyll picked the name "Edward Hyde" for his alternative personality.  I would have had fun reading about that.

-
I enjoyed this story very much!  As you can see, there aren't many things I didn't like about this book. It's concise and to the point, without unnecessary embellishments that don't add to the overall story.  I've also come away with what I consider to be an important point: don't change your personality based off of what others think or expect, otherwise there's a huge possibility you'll go super crazy later in life, doing irrational things to soothe your regrets regarding everything you didn't do.  I can't assess if this is what RLS hoped the reader would take away after reading this story, but I think it's a good and useful point.  

On a different point, I'm ready for a different genre now, so I won't be reading the third story in the compilation.  I'm definitely glad I gave Robert Louis Stevenson's other works a try.  I'm impressed with his writing style, and will definitely give his other pieces a read when I'm again in the 19th century British literature mood, which will likely be very soon.
-
Recommend?  YES!

#5a. The Happiness Trap (Revisited)

Since first reading this book 4 months ago, I've implemented many of the ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) principles and have found that I am an even happier, healthier, and productive individual.  I have a better grasp of how I should react to whatever emotion decides to cross my path on any given day, it has become habit to make every action meaningful and mindful, and I've become even more content with life.  I spent the last two days skimming through the main points of this book, and because I still think it's a fantastic resource, I've decided to advertise it a second time :]

I've been feeling somewhat burned out recently, and with this, my brain also decided to amplify other issues which weren't a big deal up until yesterday, mainly how much I miss home, my family and friends, and, most of all, my old life in Los Angeles.  I decided I needed a quick "Happiness Trap" refresher, and it's done the trick!  True, the feelings of longing for home and the familiar haven't disappeared, but I've accepted their presence and, as soon as I've posted this, will redirect my thoughts and energy to chiseling away at my ever growing mountain of school work, instead of brooding, which is what I've been doing for the past two days.

SO, if you haven't read this book, I still recommend you put in the time to do so!!!  Who couldn't use a few extra pointers on how to better lead a mindful and meaningful life?  

Here's the link to the review I wrote in May:

http://artemisiaeupraxia.blogspot.com/2012/05/5-happiness-trap.html

Happy reading!

#17: The Dynamiter

Stevenson, Robert Louis: The Dynamiter. New York: AMS Press, 1974. Print. 334 pages.
-
SETTING: 19th century London, England.
-
SUMMARY: Three young men, bored and broke, decide to take on the next adventure that crosses each of their paths.
-
FAVORITE QUOTE: "He was younger than the others; and in a somewhat meaningless and altogether English way, he was a handsome lad." - Page 23
-
As predicted, school is eating up my life.  After averaging a book a week when I was living in Los Angeles and commuting to school, this change to barely making a book a month is sad!  Of course, there's no where else I'd rather be blah blah blah, but I do miss reading often.  This book was a random pick from the undergraduate library on campus (Finally took a trip there!).  It's actually part of a three piece collection of works by Robert Louis Stevenson (RLS), so if my current literature mood stays intact, the next two reviews will be pieces by RLS as well.  Since it was my first visit to the undergrad library, I was trying to orient myself and figure out which aisles had my type of books.  I was actually hoping to find Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, but they didn't have it :(  RLS was right next door, and I remembered liking Treasure Island so I figured I'd give another one of his books a try.  
-
Things I liked about this book:

1. It's super well organized.  This book is basically a collection of short stories that are intertwined.  It relates the three adventures experienced by the three male protagonists, and does so in a way that I've never seen before.  Each friend has an independent adventure, but all three adventures are connected and in a sequential order.  The second adventure ties in very neatly with the first, and the third with the first two.  RLS definitely mapped this one out well, and I'm definitely not adequately expressing how impressed I was by the organization.  Let me make another attempt: I was THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS impressed.
2. RLS collaborated with his wife to write this book!
3. The ending- the third friend marries the woman who conned the first two.  
4. Clara Luxmore, the female con artist.  She's evil and all, but that woman definitely has some skills in the art of lying and knowing exactly how to play to people's egos, especially men.

Thing I didn't like about this book:

1. Kind of slow at times.  I found my mind wandering and had to reread a few pages.

Thing I found amusing about this book:

1. RLS makes the three male protagonists really stupid and naive.  I couldn't help but feel sorry for them at times, while other moments left me shaking my head in a slow, pendular motion.

-
This book was a fun read, but apart from how amazed I was by the way it was organized, it wasn't anything extraordinary.  I wasn't particularly hooked to any parts, nor were there any great cliffhangers that made me keep reading.  I'd often stop reading the book in the middle of a paragraph, and had no trouble picking up where I had left off.  But RLS is an excellent writer, so it was worth the time to read this book.
-
Recommend?  Yes!  Only because I feel like you should read books by RLS.  He was good at what he did.  Also, he spent his last few years of life in Samoa, and actually put much effort into adopting Samoan culture, which speaks volumes about his personality (Yes, I sometimes pick books based on the fact that I think the author is/was awesome).