Sister Carrie Wrap Up #CarrieAlong

Thoughts by Theodore Dreiser, Bantam Classic 1984 (orig 1900), 400 pages.

From E.L.Doctorow’s Introduction:

And so in 1899, Theodore Dreiser, age twenty-eight, wrote the title “Sister Carrie” on a piece of paper, and having no idea what it meant, proceeded to compose the book to find out.

Love when I find authors who just write and let stories and characters reveal themselves.

EDITED for quick blurb as to what this is about; stolen word for word from Jill. Link to her review can be found later in this post.

The basic story goes like this: small town girl moves to big city. Finds a menial job, hates it. Gets picked up by a charming salesman, he buys her shiny things, she shacks up with him, the afore-mentioned ass shows up and wants some of that, they plan to runaway together, she finds out he’s married, he kidnaps her and so they still end up running away together, he stops buying her shiny things, he loses his job and stays home in his tatty clothes all day, she becomes an actress, dumps his ass, and buys her own shiny things. Rocking chair. The end.

Trish tweets: “boo!!! … Finished #CarrieAlong on plane. Did not like ending! So unhappy. :( ”

Unhappy? You expected HAPPY?! 

My response: “I took it more contemplative and “far away”. Guess now I will have to do a post. :). #CarrieAlong”

So, I didn’t expect happy. I expected RUIN and SHAME. Well, we don’t quite get that. Ruin, yes: for Mr. Hurstwood. No shame. More like “Shit happens.” Shrug.

The Introduction is fabulous, by the way*. He states, (and Trish? this might explain the theme that runs through it all)

“Longing, the hope for fulfillment is the one unwavering passion of the world’s commerce. Dreiser is of two minds about this passion. To a populace firmly in the grip of material existence, the desire for something more is a destructive energy that can never be exhausted; it is doom. Hurstwood, whose success as manager of  high-class drinking establishments is not sufficient, fixes his further ambition on Carrie, and is ruined. But the desire of something more, the longing for fulfillment, is also hope, and therefore innocence, a sort of redemption. Carrie at the top of her profession, is left looking for something more, and though we understand she will never find it – no more than Hurstwood has, her recognition that she in unfulfilled is the closest thing to grace in the Dreiser theology.”

When I say that I took it “far away”, I meant that I could imagine this on film where the camera zooms out and away from Carrie in her rocking chair to view the entire city, the whole globe spinning away in the ‘longing’ and never finding contentment. This race to achieve and accumulate more more MORE is what is immoral.

I was SO GLAD that Dreiser drops in an update on Mrs. Hurstwood and her success on her material gains goal and I found it humorous that Drouet was still oblivious and yet successful. (He didn’t ‘grow’ but could still dine and dress the fashion.)

I couldn’t get past the pronunciation of Drouet every time I had to read it in my head. Drew – eh?  Of course, I can’t help but think of the chipmonks every time I say Theodore. In my head.

The Mr. Ames guy was odd. I get it and I’m sure there is a word for this kind of literary device for dropping in a character to move the story along and be significant but not a major player in the story. But it was odd.

Aw, heck. Carrie was a twit and she annoyed me to NO end. Really, dearheart?  Imagining Carrie’s thoughts: “Oh golly, Mr. Drouet is starting to bore me but I suppose I should be grateful for what nice things he is buying me…”

Word in the Intro states that Mr. Dreiser’s wife and editor tried to totally excise ALL references to any sexuality in book. I would say they succeeded. This was another interesting amusing bit that maybe what was not being mentioned was or was NOT important…  Nothing at all was said! It felt weird that it wasn’t’ intentionally left out but just ‘not there’.

And where the heck is Carrie’s mother? Where is Carrie’s idea that perhaps, something about this plan or LACK of plan might not be a good idea? la di da…    Um wait. Mr. Hurstwood is MARRIED?!?!  why the hell would this little problem bug Carrie so much when all the other little problems barely make a blip of a conscious thought of possible catastrophe?

The story of Carrie is hardly one of right and wrong, is it? Certainly, it’s not presented as a simple morality tale. Was Dreiser judging the basest of desires to be that we can’t be content or that we are too greedy and selfish and maybe we should try to be kinder along the way?

Also interesting to me is that the Introduction states that Family gets a pretty cynical view in this book, too. I would say he was cynical about a lot of things.

AND….  you may have seen my tweet about Dreiser and how he just might subscribe to the Law of Attraction. Or at least to how I understand the explanations of money as energy concept. “When each individual realizes for himself that this thing primarily stands for and should only be accepted as a moral due – that it should be paid out as honestly stored energy, and not as a usurped privilege – man of our social, religious and political trouble will have permanently passed.” Is it our THOUGHTS about what money is or isn’t that is the problem?

Finally, are the descriptions of the “HAVEs” and “HAVE NOTs” any different now versus then? Don’t young girls run off to the big city now and get sucked into a life of depravity just to have lovely trinkets? Too simple, right? Wouldn’t Carrie just be a terrific reality TV star… Um, no. Not sure she would have enough mindless babble for the cameras. But do you think this could EASILY be remade into a film set in today’s world?

Who is ready to watch the 1952 film?  I want to see if for the costumes…

I think this book would be an excellent book club choice.

PIE MENTION on page 125: “he stopped with a mouthful of pie poised on a fork before her face.”

Four stars! 

REVIEW ROUNDUP:
Literary Odyssey
Jill’s Somewhere in a Book
Behold the Stars  <–fabulous and thorough review!!
Trish/TriniCapini’s Love Laughter Insanity
(yours? let me know)

Counts for the What’s in a Name 8 Challenge for family relationship category.

* Who wants my copy of this book – I’ll send it?

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East of Eden

Thoughts  by John Steinbeck, Penguin Books 2002 (orig 1952), 601 pages, Tradeback AND Audiobook (narrated by Richard Poe, 25’28”)

So GOOD. Amazing work of fiction. Thank you Estella for suggesting I read along! 

Page 255 – “What is there to understand? Just read it. If the Lord God wanted you to understand it He’d have given you to understand or He’d have set it down different.” (Amen Liz!)

Five slices of pie.

Five juicy perfectly-pastried slices of plum pie. With home-made vanilla ice cream from a hand-crank ice cream maker. Why plum? because something about this book reminds me of sandhill plums. I couldn’t find any reference to the possibility of these kinds of plums being found in Salinas Valley CA but who cares. I apparently found (or recorded) only one reference to pie in this amazing work of fiction. (TSBOOToTaOBtRBYDB!)

Page 494 – “I am so cowardly. I will not put my finger in any human pie.” (Lee – one of the BEST characters EVER. Samuel is close second.)

Page 509 – “That smart little son of a bitch – wrong word – must not call him that.” (Cathy – one of the most despicable characters EVER. Just whoa.)

If you like epics and stories of good versus evil with some startlingly clear and wise statements about humanity that don’t beat you on the head but just suggest, then you will appreciate this story. It has everything and Steinbeck achieves this masterfully.

Thoroughly enjoyable on all of my what-I-love-about-fiction buttons.

NOT intimidating. In fact, I am not sure what symbols I missed. Steinbeck LOVES his symbolism, doesn’t he? Oh well.

What I love about reading, especially with historical glimpses into the human condition, is that I get to realize that times have always been NUTS, people have always had its crazies and its wonders, and NOW isn’t anything special or more crazy worse or whatever. Olden days weren’t nicer or better or anything. Life is messy. And we’ve been on this path for a long, long time.

Page 494 – “Laughter comes later, like wisdom teeth, and laughter at yourself comes last of all in a mad race with death,…”

TSBOOToTaOBtRBYDB = This Should Be One of the One Thousand and One Books to Read Before You Die Books.

BEST WORDS EVER!  “Bumptiousness” – page 215

I still have no interest in reading The Grapes of Wrath even though it won the Pulitzer. You can’t make me.

But I’ll agree to think about it.

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A Good American

Thoughts by Alex George, Amy Einhorn Books 2012, 400 pages, eBook

FIRST sentence:  Always, there was music.

What’s it ABOUT? This is an epic tale of an immigrant couple from Germany who land in the fictitious town of Beatrice Missouri. They have children who have children, run a business, sing some songs and all is told from a grandson’s perspective. We ultimately are charmed, saddened and cheered by the experience.

What’s GOOD: Wow and yikes?! – my description sounds way more boring than the book really is so bear with me! It is light and yet poignant at times, funny most of the times, except when it’s not and a very good general fiction tale about the generations living in the middle of American and embracing American themes. I laughed and cried and those are two good things to remember about a book experience.

Here’s what goodreads says:

An uplifting novel about the families we create and the places we call home.

What’s maybe NOT:  While Nancy thought the end of the book’s coming-of-age ‘feel’ was not her favorite part, I actually thought the ending sections pulled it all together and charmed me to appreciate the entire tale. I was beginning to worry somewhere in the middle that it was becoming a meandering list of who’s who in the family but the grandson’s adventures and realizations about his family’s motivations linked the stories and situations. I was moved by it all, in the end.

FINAL thoughts:  I was swayed in a good way for this book because I have enjoyed reading Mr. George’s tweets. I was swayed in a positive way to love this book because it is set in Missouri and Missouri is one of my most favorite states. I am of German heritage though I do not have any fun stories such as this to tell of my ancestors. I was delighted that the town was named Beatrice because I have Loved Ones living in a town of that name (but not in MO). I enjoyed this book; it had humor and adventure and love. It made me laugh and had scenes that brought tears to my eyes.

RATING: A solid four slice of pie kind of book. Apparently ‘pie’ didn’t make my notes from the book. WHa?!

Other REVIEW/s:  Nancy the BookFool gives an excellent critique.

WORDS
splenetic p.258 – bad-tempered; spiteful
amatory p.320 – relating to or induced by sexual love or desire

 My apologies to the author for tweeting the title incorrectly. YIKES. I blame it on the format. As much as I like the storage convenience of eBooks, I much prefer physical books to electronic versions.

 

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The Yearling

Thoughts  by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Aladdin Classics 2001 (orig 1938), 509 pages, tradeback

 

I read this because it won the Pulitzer Prize Letters and Drama Award for Novel 1939.

I read this because the author and I are both alumnae of the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta.

I read this for the Classics Challenge: An American Classic.

This book might also satisfy the TIME category of What’s in a Name 7, if I want to ‘double-dip’.

The blurb in goodreads:  Young Jody adopts an orphaned fawn he calls Flag and makes it a part of his family and his best friend. But life in the Florida backwoods is harsh, and so, as his family fights off wolves, bears, and even alligators, and faces failure in their tenuous subsistence farming, Jody must finally part with his dear animal friend.

Have you read it?

This is becoming one of those books that I appreciate reading more now that I’ve finished than when I was in the middle of it. It is just growing on me the more I contemplate the experience.

It is a classic, it is certainly Americana, it is a coming of age story, it is hard-scrabble & rough-living. Dialogue is in vernacular. A glimpse into a life that no longer exists.

I will likely think of this book every time a bear sighting makes the news (or my Facebook page). I think what makes this most sad for me is that kids rarely now can have such an experience to run off by themselves and enjoy nature.

I did not cry.

I am amazed this book isn’t on the 1001 Books to Read Before I Die.

Also, I couldn’t have found a more interesting contrast with my current read The Omnivore’s Dilemma if I had tried! Both discuss food and food source.

Rating: Four slices of pie. Sour Orange Pie – unfortunately, I may never have the chance to make this myself but apparently it is on the menu at The Yearling restaurant in Cross Creek Florida.

WORD
p. 444 – swivet – a fluster or panic.

 

 

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Venetia

Thoughts  Venetia by Georgette Heyer (1958,375) **** 16 Kindle eBook

A delightful read! Very much fun. My second regency era romance of the year and my first ever book by Georgette Heyer. I blame thank Aarti for the recommendation. (<—- Read her insightful review.)

Venetia is a feisty girl with much to admire in her goals & aspirations, her wits and personality, and her worldview – despite her lack of travel experience. Golly, she’s never even been to London! She was wonderful to cheer for; she had courage and conviction.

Plot: Girl worthy of having her dreams come true, must manage the best she can because her Father wouldn’t let her do anything. He dies and she still can’t seem to get any opportunities. She has a few suitors but of course, they don’t suit her at all. THEN!  rascally neighbor returns home and she must actually talk with him despite how bad it looks for a young nice unbetrothed maiden to do so – it’s just not done! He has a very bad reputation for nasty carryings-on, etc and then some. THEN!!  She’s kicked out of her house by a most loathsome situation that was hells-bells wrong – her brother deserved a scolding but he never showed his face to take it. Lots of side stories and past histories of young men running off with older ladies that maybe should have warned me but I was still surprised all the way through, every little twist and turn. Saw it coming but certainly NOT how it played out. Very fun. To the authoress, Ms. Heyer, I say “well-done. Thank you.” I enjoyed this very much.

“Perhaps you have friends already who laugh when you do,’ she said diffidently. “I haven’t and it’s important, I think – more important than sympathy in affliction, which you might easily find in someone you positively disliked.’

‘But to share a sense of the ridiculous prohibits dislike – yes, that’s true. And rare! My God, how rare! Do they stare at you, our worthy neighbours, when you laugh?”

Rating:  Four slices of pie and lots and lots of real whipped cream. (licked off of the body part of your choosing. hey! this IS a romance after all. Just to see if anyone really reads these all the way through. Actually not quite that kind of bodice-ripper romance but the mention of such is joked about; again, to my surprise.)

I didn’t know anything about Heyer until fairly recently, thanks to enthusiastic book bloggers, of course. Do you enjoy a fun and witty romance, now and then? Anyone have another to recommend me?

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They Called Her Styrene

Thoughts by Ed Ruscha, Phaidon Press 2000, 608 pages

This book was in our suite at the Cosmopolitan Hotel Las Vegas. The place had another coffee table book called 30,000 Years of Art. I wish I could have had more time there to read that one, too. Nice place; I recommend it.

So, what Mr. Ruscha does and is known for, is taking a word or phrase and making it art. I photo’d a few that caught my eye.

I don’t think I realized it, but I seem to have chosen words with a science-y theme.

IDLE  and THE QUESTION – not sure why this amused me. Maybe because I was on vacation.

I was really hoping to run into a page that said PIE. Had to settle for this:

You can imagine this didn’t take me long to read. AND since it was Vegas, I had an incredible view of the Bellagio fountains and the Eiffel Tower, and the book was ART – thus, how cultured am I? — had to give this the coveted FIVE SLICER. Five beautiful slices of Banana Cream Pie. Because… well, because pudding.

The view: (ignore the rooftops and parking lots! I never seemed to have my camera when the fountains were playing.)

“Sometimes found words are the most pure because they have nothing to do with you. I take things as I find them.  A lot of these things come from the noise of everyday life.”   – Ed Ruscha

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ED RUSCHA provided by this link to Wikipedia.

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Copley in Amsterdam

The highlight of Copley’s visit?  Meeting Judith!  Judith of Leeswammes’ Blog:  Books, Books, and Books

She has a great photo of Copley sitting atop a few books…  She gave me The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin (I was MOST excited for this – what a treat!) and First You Try Everything by Jane McCafferty which we joked might be perfect for my celebrating my 25th wedding anniversary this year. I gave her Stewart O’Nan’s Songs for the Missing. I haven’t actually read this myself but have been meaning to for years now. Anything by O’Nan, truthfully. I have another copy so I’m trying to set up a readalong. Anyone else interested?

After the yummiest risotto, we had pie; a lemon pie along the type of a key lime from Florida. 

We talked a lot about books, as you might expect. And we talked about biscuits and other interesting cultural differences. But mostly about books.

And when the boys were let out from work meetings, we toured.

 View from our room at the Moevenpick Hotel, looking mostly northwest.  View lookingsouthwest?  Amsterdam Station. Canal scene.  Street scene.  A lovely canal street cafe scene. The famous Seven Bridges shot.  We had dinner at the restaurant on the top of this old oil rig.  Watch out for the bicycles!  The Flower Market.  The Rijksmuseum.  Where we saw this famous Rembrandt painting The Nightwatch.   An Old Amsterdam Sandwich (featuring rocket and cornichons but I think it had a different spelling… Means pickles. Rocket is arugula.)  At the Heineken Experience.  A mosiac sofa.

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The Mermaid of Brooklyn

Thoughts  The Mermaid of Brooklyn by Amy Shearn, A Touchstone Book Published by Simon & Schuster 2013, 339 pages

For THE BOOKIES, my local book club

First Sentence:  “Before I died the first time, my husband left me broke and alone with our two tiny children and it made me feel very depressed, etc.”

What’s it ABOUT:  This is a story of a young mother, abandoned and sleep-deprived, who either slips off a bridge or attempts suicide and has her body invaded by the soul of a mermaid. With the help of her new friend-inside-her-head, she finds the strength she never knew she had to thrive and not just get by. But then the mermaid leaves her and her husband comes home and all is well with the world. I guess.

That’s what I got out of it anyway.

What’s GOOD:  It has its funny comic moments. I think I chuckled a few times.

What’s NOT so good:  The teaser in the opening sentence sets up an expectation but the subsequent pages never build up any drama; eventually I started to get bored and wanted the story to ‘get on with it already’. The mermaid’s abrupt departure is not satisfying. When someone at club stated that our poor young mother was a whiner, she was defended with a right to whine since she was exhausted and was taking care of too little exhausting kids and had no help. I suppose I would whine, too, so I’ll concede.

FINAL thoughts: The club was split;  no one expressed over-the-top loving it but some did think it an enjoyable nice read;  a few of us either didn’t finish, didn’t like the character or was plain not impressed. We actually had an interesting discussion debating the book; we spent more time talking about this book than most.

The mermaid is also rather ambiguous – was she ‘real’?  Or … not? Interestingly enough — I *did* think this part was kind of cool — our protagonist studied Slavic folklore and Russian literature and this story element was quite effective and felt authentic. I didn’t realize mermaids were of Slavic origin.

“I lived for that twilight time when Betty snuggled up and prompted me, “Tell the fishy.” Then my oft-mocked master’s degree in Russian folklore (it sounded good at the time) got its moment to shine. “Yes,” I told Betty, working a comb through a post-bath snarl. “Once there was a fish-woman who lived at the bottom of the river. Every night she came out and danced in the meadow by the light of the moon.”

As another goodreads reviewer noted, “this book has an audience that will enjoy it immensely; I’m just not in that audience.” (thanks Jessica!)

Rating:  Two slices of pie.

Words
RANUNCULUS – p.332 – noun. A temperate plant of a genus that includes the buttercups and water crowfoots, typically having yellow or white bowl-shaped flowers and lobed or toothedleaves. • Genus Ranunculus, family Ranunculaceae: many species, including several garden ornamentals.

“We sat at her dining room table, where a mason jar of sunny ranunculus held court amid a gathering of puzzle pieces. I pressed my hands to the side of the jar, hoping the goodness of the flowers could heal me.”

The next book up for club: The Witch of Little Italy  by Suzanne Palmieri. Anyone read it? (not due until August)

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Life After Life

“Oh Sylvie,” Hugh said sadly. “Where is your heart?”

Thoughts  Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, Reagan Arthur Books 2013, 544 pages eBook

For the Dock C Book Club “Beginning of the Season” Selection

I didn’t know anything about this one when a friend suggested that we read it together. I committed it to our informal book club* of readers on the boat dock and dived right in.

It’s pretty obvious from the first quotes that it will have a Groundhog Day feel to it – but not that kind of funny. This book is not a comedy even though it isn’t all dark and dramatic, either. I thought it a terrific read.

“What if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: “This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more” … Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: “You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine.” 

- Neitzshe, The Gay Science

The quote above was the in the Introduction to the story. I must have reread this a few times and the beginning of the book a few times more before I allowed myself to settle in and enjoy the ride. Because it did take a bit of concentration – a ‘paying of attention’, especially of the dates for they repeat often. The title 11 February 1910 is used a LOT. But settle in, I did. And I was unable to or grumbly about the times I had to interrupt my reading to do other things. I wanted to read this in one sitting if I could. It helped get me back to a rhythm of reading that I had been missing in the few weeks prior.

“To have so little self-doubt, she thought, what a thing that must be.”

From the Wiki page on Joseph Goebbels; Adolf Hitler with one of Goebbels’ daughters.

Ursula Todd is a sensible character and I really liked her. I cried with her; I cheered for her. If one can wish for rest for a fictional character, I’d do that, too.

Five slices of pie. Meat pies, pork pies, plum pies and mince.

“They bought meat pies and fried potatoes and apple turnovers and ate them sitting on a rug on the sand with backs against the rocks.”

“Ursula made an abstemious** cottage pie, followed by baked apples and custard.”

I think I will be reading more Kate Atkinson. Any suggestions?

“Ursula was left to stare at the floral wallpaper. She had never noticed before that the flowers were wisteria, the same flower that grew on the arch over the back porch. This must be what in literature was referred to as “deflowering,” she thought. It had always sounded like a rather pretty word.”  

HHH

PLEASE CLICK OVER TO the BOOK FOOL’s review cuz it is awesome and will tell you much more about this cool book…

* My Dock C Book Club has never officially met to discuss a book. Yet. We’ve read The Reliable Wife and Gone Girl.

** abstemious – marked by restraint, especially in the consumption of food or alcohol; also : reflecting such restraint.

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The Dinner (eBook & Audio)

[Updated a few hours after posting when I thought of something I meant to add…]

Thoughts  The Dinner by Herman Koch, Hogarth · Imprint of Crown Publishing Group Ltd / Random House 2013 (orig 2009), Translated from the Dutch by Sam Garrett, 304 pages eBook

 AudioGo 2013, Narrated by Clive Mantle, 8 Hours 55 Minutes

For the PARTY category of What’s in a Name 6 Challenge.

Three words:  Disturbing, Alarming, Haughty (not sure a book can be haughty but the main character/narrator certainly could be described as ‘blatantly and disdainfully proud’.)

When Marie told me via Twitter that this is a ‘tough read’ and ‘is disturbing’, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. And when I had heard comparisons to Gone Girl, I was most intrigued. I loved Gone Girl!

Well, this one I did NOT love. Yes, it IS disturbing. The narrator of the story (not the narrator of the audio!  The fictional character) is condescending and thoroughly unlikable. He comes across very angry, in a way that you know he admires himself on how well he keeps himself in control.

Yea, well. I didn’t like him.

So it was hard to like the book. I would not say I enjoyed it. In fact, for some parts, I felt physically ill.

None of the characters have much going for them, in my opinion.

(Marie’s review is excellent, by the way. She says it is ‘masterfully written’. In fact, she argues for ONE sympathetic character and I will grant her the explanation as valid.)

As for the audio… Narrator is British and did an excellent job. He certainly was able to sound haughty and condescending. I wasn’t too impressed with one of his female voices but it was near the end of the book when I noticed it. Whispersync only worked about half the time, but it IS cool to bounce back and forth from audio to print and be immediately at the spot where you left off. I went back and forth a LOT. Sometimes, the audio was too slow for the pace of the story, if that makes sense. I kept wanting Mr. Lohman (did we ever get his first name? Serge’s brother, Claire’s husband, Michel’s father) to STOP thinking outloud and tell me what is GOING ON.

This book counts as one that happens on ONE DAY. I’m sort of collecting them.

I wrestled with giving it a two stars but also wavered with 4 stars precisely because I do think a book that provokes me so much has something powerful to credit. So I compromised with three. Three slices of CREAM pie. With blackberries, since a dessert in the story provokes one of the characters to push it away.

“Even if this head were to be pelted with rotten eggs, the smile had to remain intact. Even behind the remains of a cream pie pressed into his face by an angry activist, the smile could never, ever fade from the voters’ view.”  -p.33, 12%

Also, another reason this book hit me a bit hard was due to a post I read (and reposted) on Facebook and linked here from the blog source:  Accidental Devotional’s “The Day I Taught How Not to Rape”. Thank you Jeanne for sharing.

The post talks about how we think teenagers should KNOW about respect. And sex. And what is rape. And all the other things we think nice responsible people should  know. And this book also addresses this exact question of whether or not teenagers are CHILDREN or ADULTS. We want to assume they ‘know better'; how do we handle these tough situations when they do not ‘know better’.

WORDS
p.63 – CHANSONS – song, specifically a music-hall or cabaret song
p.64 – FRÈRE – French for ‘brother’ (figured it out from context but like to make sure)
p.76 – SLIP DE BAIN – French for ‘swim suit’
p.285 – EXCRESCENCES – disfiguring, extraneous or unwanted marks or parts

Question for my Dutch friends – The audio says something that the book wouldn’t clarify but it translated as GAS CAN. It sounded like JELLY can. Explain? Thanks!  ***THANKS Laurie! The answer is JERRYCAN. I am a much more visual learner and really needed to see how the word was spelled so I could accurately hear it. NOW I get it!

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