The Longest Journey

The Longest Journey by E.M. Forster

As I was reading this book, it seemed to be focussing on a starving artist who was having trouble getting his work noticed. There was plenty of commentary on boarding schools vs. day schools and the evolution of schools for the poor to be ones catering to the wealthy. There were also people reaching untimely deaths. Then I read the summary on wikipedia and realized there must have been a lot that I missed. Some of can be subtle. I reread a part where the main character dies trying to save someone from getting run over by the train. These type of "key" life points pass by quickly without much foreshadowing or follow up. It is easy to miss the plot as the book focuses more on character development.

The Machine Stops

The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster

When I tried to find reference to this library version, the only version by this narrator was on LibriVox. I had not been too fond of other recordings. The narration quality is all over the place. However, the most annoying part is the "This is a librivox recording" interjection that appears way too often and distracts from the story. This library person, though by the same narrator did not have the annoying interjections. Perhaps it was just repackaged. Or maybe it was a new recording by the same narrator.  (The version on Librivox does have the interjections.) I may try to find additional recordings on Librivox for some of the old books. 

As for the book itself, it is a short story about a future world where the machine controls all. It feels a bit like the world of The Matrix or Wall-E. Most people are happy to let the machine take care of everything. However, some are concerned with the lack of independence. Eventually the machine breaks down and nobody can fix it. It poses a scary tale of what happens when we become too dependent on machines.

A Passage to India

Passage to India feels like "Jane Austen goes to India". Some Brits are concerned about their manners and society. There is a wedding planned, but the girl is not too enthusiastic. Then some women go on a trip to some caves, an Indian is unjustly accused of accosting a woman. He is later set free, and Indians take that as an opportunity to be more Indian.

It is clearly India from a British perspective. The pacing is rather slow, with a tone of condescending respect for the Indians. For fans of the Bronte/Jane Austen type of stuff, this would probably be a good book. For me, however, it was not my cup of tea.