Where were we?

Tuesday night was my first class of the new semester. I told a few people that I was really burnt out on YA, which was partially true, although I think the real truth (as evidenced by today and yesterday, my first sick days of the year) is that I was just straight-up burnt out. Run down. In serious need of a mental and physical BREAK. That said, I was also needed a little break from YA and books in general, which is why it has taken me the better part of two weeks to muddle through Markus Zusak's The Book Thief (I'm still not finished, but the end is nigh). My time has instead been spent at work or burning through three seasons of Downton Abbey. 

So instead of talking about all the books I've read since How I Live Now, which I will get to later (maybe tomorrow), let me instead apologize for abandoning this space and talk about two books that I haven't read recently but have been thinking about, particularly in conjunction with Downton Abbey (and a little bit with my Tuesday night class).

First is L.M. Montgomery's Rilla of Ingleside. I started this blog off by talking a lot about Montgomery, but never got to this book. The reason I've been thinking about it is because it is the only book I can remember reading that takes place during World War I (just like Downton's second series). Because it has a similar level of soapiness as well, I just keep imagining that somewhere along the way, Walter or Jem might have met up with Matthew, Thomas, or William in some trench in France. Silly. Anyway, I also wonder why this is the only book I've read about WWI, especially when I've read countless fictional accounts of WWII. 

So, the other book I've been thinking about is E.M. Forster's Maurice. Again, it takes place around the same time (Forster wrote it in 1914, although it wasn't published until much later) and in the same place and treats on some of the same themes as Downton; namely, being gay in a time and place that wasn't going to allow it, at least not without putting up a fight. I can't help wondering if Maurice came up in the creation of the character of Thomas, though even if it didn't, I can't help associating him and his plight with Maurice's (and hoping, even though he's kind of a bastard, that he'll get a similarly happy ending). 

In relation to class, I can't help wondering if Maurice should be classified as a young adult novel. Certainly, it follows Maurice's young adulthood. (One of our many assignments is to compare a pre-1980 YA novel's treatment of a theme with a more contemporary work - it would be pretty cool to compare a 1914 view of homosexuality with something later.)

Next time, we talk about books I've read recently. I promise.