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briandice's review
3.0
Go with me on this.
It’s the year 2060. We have our flying cars, vat-grown replacement organs and Kim Kardashian’s Skanky Grannies reality TV – but you know what we don’t have? Anybody that remembers The Great Gatsby. Not the book, not the movies – nothing. That seems like an almost impossibility, right? Having finished Ramona, and then reading about the success of this novel and its almost complete obscurity in 2014, I’m not so sure.
This is a romance novel, no doubt about it – my first foray into that genre. Helen Hunt Jackson’s book was pulled on my random selection of the 500 Great Books by Women, and despite that I can now say that romance novels aren’t my thing, I’m very glad I read it. Racial discrimination against Native Americans (first by Mexicans, and then by white Americans) is a theme played large against the backdrop of the love story that moves the action of the book – and it is what HHJ does with the oppression of the natives of Southern California that is the best part of the story.
Written in 1884, Ramona has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and has never been out of print. It has been adapted into a film four times and an outdoor play based upon the novel has been in production since 1923. The book’s impact on southern California was significant – as the railroads into that area began to open in the early 1900s, fans of the novel traveled across the country to visit the land of Ramona. HHJ’s depiction of the mission-era SoCal environment is beautifully written; you can almost smell the sage and trail dust.
Have you ever heard of this book? I hadn’t, nor had any of my well-read friends. It is an important work – I really hope people continue to read it and it doesn’t go the way of 2060 Gatsby.
It’s the year 2060. We have our flying cars, vat-grown replacement organs and Kim Kardashian’s Skanky Grannies reality TV – but you know what we don’t have? Anybody that remembers The Great Gatsby. Not the book, not the movies – nothing. That seems like an almost impossibility, right? Having finished Ramona, and then reading about the success of this novel and its almost complete obscurity in 2014, I’m not so sure.
This is a romance novel, no doubt about it – my first foray into that genre. Helen Hunt Jackson’s book was pulled on my random selection of the 500 Great Books by Women, and despite that I can now say that romance novels aren’t my thing, I’m very glad I read it. Racial discrimination against Native Americans (first by Mexicans, and then by white Americans) is a theme played large against the backdrop of the love story that moves the action of the book – and it is what HHJ does with the oppression of the natives of Southern California that is the best part of the story.
Written in 1884, Ramona has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and has never been out of print. It has been adapted into a film four times and an outdoor play based upon the novel has been in production since 1923. The book’s impact on southern California was significant – as the railroads into that area began to open in the early 1900s, fans of the novel traveled across the country to visit the land of Ramona. HHJ’s depiction of the mission-era SoCal environment is beautifully written; you can almost smell the sage and trail dust.
Have you ever heard of this book? I hadn’t, nor had any of my well-read friends. It is an important work – I really hope people continue to read it and it doesn’t go the way of 2060 Gatsby.
3rd book read of 500 Great Books by Women
celib120's review
3.0
Liked:
- how characters were introduced; their personalities and goals explained
- the first half of story; It's a love story (Favorite part)
- shows racism from nearly every character
- the small moments that highlight Ramona's and Alessandro's difficulties
- how the story jumps from different characters to show the life without Ramona; expands the world
- Ramona, Senora Monero, Felipe, Alessandro, and Aunt Ri's character
Disliked:
- the transition from the ranch to traveling dragged (E.g. Alessandro getting Ramona's horse, traveling on the side of a mountain)
- the ending was too long
- (Personal Problem) Aunt Ri was hard to understand
Personal Note:
- Aunt Ri is a true friend and overall an awesome person.
- I don't remember what happened to the dog.
- how characters were introduced; their personalities and goals explained
- the first half of story; It's a love story (Favorite part)
- shows racism from nearly every character
- the small moments that highlight Ramona's and Alessandro's difficulties
- how the story jumps from different characters to show the life without Ramona; expands the world
- Ramona, Senora Monero, Felipe, Alessandro, and Aunt Ri's character
Disliked:
- the transition from the ranch to traveling dragged (E.g. Alessandro getting Ramona's horse, traveling on the side of a mountain)
- the ending was too long
- (Personal Problem) Aunt Ri was hard to understand
Personal Note:
- Aunt Ri is a true friend and overall an awesome person.
- I don't remember what happened to the dog.
brookepalmer796's review
2.0
I had a hard time with this book. The political issues overpowered character development and plot which made the whole book slow and a little boring.
ramonamead's review against another edition
5.0
I'd never heard of this book until I saw a copy in a thrift store a few years ago. I bought it only because the title is my name and had no real intention of reading it. A couple months ago, I found a different, edition and the cover intriguing so I figured I'd give it a shot.
I went with the audio book because both copies I have are old. The narration was emotional and brought the story to life. I think it may have been a bit dense if I'd tackled a physical copy.
I was utterly impressed with this book from start to end. First of all, this does NOT feel like it was written in 1884. The writing is wordy at times, but atet doesn't prevent the story from flowing nicely. It's an epic account of life for the Mexicans and Native Americans who inhabited California before and after the Americans arrived and conquered the land. Because it was written at the time of these events, and not now looking back as historical fiction, it was incredibly powerful and informing. I was not aware of some of the things that took place during that time.
This is a love story, although it wasn't intended to be that. It's a story of survival, prejudices, and societal expectations.
I went with the audio book because both copies I have are old. The narration was emotional and brought the story to life. I think it may have been a bit dense if I'd tackled a physical copy.
I was utterly impressed with this book from start to end. First of all, this does NOT feel like it was written in 1884. The writing is wordy at times, but atet doesn't prevent the story from flowing nicely. It's an epic account of life for the Mexicans and Native Americans who inhabited California before and after the Americans arrived and conquered the land. Because it was written at the time of these events, and not now looking back as historical fiction, it was incredibly powerful and informing. I was not aware of some of the things that took place during that time.
This is a love story, although it wasn't intended to be that. It's a story of survival, prejudices, and societal expectations.
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