Cat's Cradle: The narrator is Jonah. Jonah plans to write a book about what all the important people in the world were doing when the bomb was dropping after Hiroshima. He starts to do research and gets in contact with the youngest child of Felix, the man that helped to create the weapon. Newt, this young son, was little when the bomb was dropped but can recall looking up to his father and idealizing him. Newt says his brother has been missing for many years and that his sister has information for Jonah as well. The information gets him no where and he cannot come into contact with the sister, Angela. JOnah ends up getting a freelance writting job in the same company Felix worked in and begins questioning locals in the area about the family. Most people said they were an odd bunch and didn't socialize much with others. Many said it was sad and almost 'inhuman' the way that Felix was obsessed with science. It got in the way of his life because it WAS his life. Science was the main pillar in his path and because of this he lacked basic human emotion.
Not long after being in Ilium, this writting company, Jonah gets an assignment to go to one of the poorest countries and write about his experience. While Jonah is here he finds out frank, another member of this family, is working to become a member of their government. The ruler of the island, "Papa" Monzano, has a beatiful daughter that Jonah falls for but soon after finds out that she is engaged to be married soon and his heart is crushed. Jonah starts to learn of the island's religion, Bokonoism, that was created by people to give the island hope. Jonah gets to his hotel and finds he is the only guest. Which surprises his because despite the island is beautiful in its own way. While there, the hotel owner explains bits and pieces of Bokonoism to Jonah so that he can grasp it better. I haven't finished it, but it's pretty good so far. one of those books where there doesn't seem to really be a climax, but well written.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Silence is so freaking loud
Halley is the main character and the Someone Like You starts out with her coming home from summer camp and finding out that her best friend lost her boyfriend in a motorcycle accident right before school starts. Once going back to school Halley find out that Scarlett, her best friend, is carrying her dead boyfriends child. On top of this news, Halley is involved with the school bad boy, Scarlett's dead boyfriend's best friend. Scarlett right away wants to get an abortion because she's so young but Halley and her bad boy man, Macon, talk her out of it saying it's what she has left of her boyfriend. Halley is almost killed in an accident because Macon is driving so fast and because of this she stops talking to him. Scarlett starts getting close to this nerdy boy with a good heart and they go to prom together. While at prom Scarlett goes into labor and a lot of the student population follows her to the hospital.
This book is such a sappy love story it's almost sickening. I am not into these chick-lit, pop-lit novels but I have to admit, this was a really good story. If you're into these types of books then I highly recommend it!
This book is such a sappy love story it's almost sickening. I am not into these chick-lit, pop-lit novels but I have to admit, this was a really good story. If you're into these types of books then I highly recommend it!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
The Wild Things
I bought this book in Chicago a year ago but never read it. I bought it because it was on sale and I thought it would be interesting. It's crazy how the author, Dave Eggers transforms a nine sentence, childrens' story by Maurice Sendak, into a 300 or so page book.
Max is a dangerous, rebellious boy and constantly finds himself in trouble. he doesn't like to be bossed around and he established that resentment for authority at a young age. His sister frustrates him and one day he snapped because she "left him to die" so he covered her whole room in water. Everything drenched in water, soaking wet. Max feels as though he doesn't belong in this place he calls home and doesn't feel as though anyone loves him anymore. He runs away, through the woods, over a creek, and finds a land where he can live among monsters. He fits in with them because he is a monster himself. He is crowned king and they look up to him. He does his best to make them happy but feels as though they will never be satisfied and he fears his fate.
Max is a dangerous, rebellious boy and constantly finds himself in trouble. he doesn't like to be bossed around and he established that resentment for authority at a young age. His sister frustrates him and one day he snapped because she "left him to die" so he covered her whole room in water. Everything drenched in water, soaking wet. Max feels as though he doesn't belong in this place he calls home and doesn't feel as though anyone loves him anymore. He runs away, through the woods, over a creek, and finds a land where he can live among monsters. He fits in with them because he is a monster himself. He is crowned king and they look up to him. He does his best to make them happy but feels as though they will never be satisfied and he fears his fate.
Song of the Sparrow
This book is generally a book of medieval love and war. The main character, Elaine, also known as the Lady of Shalott, is the only woman in a camp full of male warriors. Though she is female, she plays a very important role in the battles. She has learned the art of healing and is very useful in healing the warriors with herbal remedies. As the only girl in camp, she also plays a role in fixing the clothing if damaged. She has the knowledge to sow the cloths back together. She yearns for a female companion to connect to but she is content being with the men. Especially Lancelot whom she considers to be her hero.
Finally another female appears on camp named Guinevere. Elaine is ecstatic to have a female companion but Immediately find out she is rude and snobbish. Brought there to marry Arthur, Guinevere feels no need to help around the camp and this causes Elaine to resent this beautiful young girl.
The men go into battle and Elaine tags along as always but is captured. Guinevere tries to save her and the females must put their differences aside and fend for themselves and fight for their lives while helping each other.
This book was well written but isn't my type at all. I let a younger girl recommend it to me because that was one of my summer reading goals. The part I did like was the style of writing and the way the author made it seem as though it was a continuous poem. If you're into King Arthur-esque, poetic books, this is for you.
Finally another female appears on camp named Guinevere. Elaine is ecstatic to have a female companion but Immediately find out she is rude and snobbish. Brought there to marry Arthur, Guinevere feels no need to help around the camp and this causes Elaine to resent this beautiful young girl.
The men go into battle and Elaine tags along as always but is captured. Guinevere tries to save her and the females must put their differences aside and fend for themselves and fight for their lives while helping each other.
This book was well written but isn't my type at all. I let a younger girl recommend it to me because that was one of my summer reading goals. The part I did like was the style of writing and the way the author made it seem as though it was a continuous poem. If you're into King Arthur-esque, poetic books, this is for you.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Prose
“I felt like lying down by the side of the trail and remembering it all. The woods do that to you, they always look familiar, long lost, like the face of a long-dead relative, like an old dream, like a piece of forgotten song drifting across the water, most of all like golden eternities of past childhood or past manhood and all the living and the dying and the heartbreak that went on a million years ago and the clouds as they pass overhead seem to testify (by their own lonesome familiarity) to this feeling.”
― Jack Kerouac, Dharma Bums
― Jack Kerouac, Dharma Bums
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
The Virgin Suicides
I finished this book over spring break but I just keep forgetting to make a post about it.
The virgin suicides almost has a greek tragedy type feel. From everything you know about greek tragedies and just from the title alone, it'd be assumed that this book is depressing, but it's actually a bit enlightening. It's the 70's and an eclectic group of boys are highly affected by the are five Lisbon sisters. The girls live in a very strict household and no one understands how the highschool math teacher, and Mrs.Lisbon could've possibly made such beautiful girls. They have such grace and poise about them as they float down the school they've attended their whole short lives. The youngest one at age thirteen, first tries to kill herself by slitting her wrists in the bath but lives. She finally commits suicide by throwing herself out of the second story window onto their iron fence which pierces through her heart. Because of this the boys try to actually communicate with the girls whom they had always been intimidated by. The girls are up for no conversations and respecfully tell them "you don't have to talk to us." The highschool brings awareness of teen suicides and passes out green pamplets to the whole school and offers up an option to talk with a concilor, which the girls do. The school finds out the councilor actually has no schooling so she flees, being the only one that knows about the Lisbon girl's mysterious lives. Lux, the youngest child now, is chrismatic and is kind of the bad ass in the group. The msot popular guy in school, who is usually always chased by girls, tries to pursue Lux and after much convencing, the Lisbon parents allow the girls to go to the homecoming dance. After the dance the girls get home safely but Lux is no where so be found. She shows up in the wee hours of the morning, still a little tipsy from sharing drinks with her date. The house goes on crack down. The girls are taken out of school and Mr.Lisbon, going crazy from his youngest daughters death, is fired from his job since he is unable to teach well. The boys communicate to the Lisbon sisters with lights through their windows and little cards being passed back and forth. The girls call the boys on the phone and play music from their record player and the boys play rock and roll back to them (since rock and roll had been abolished in their establishment). The boys want to take the girls for a drive with their parents car and the girls agree. Lux invites them into the house telling them to be quiet since her parents are sleeping. She says they should take her parents car and that she'll be waiting for them in the garage. The boys go down into the basement and see a sister hanging by a rope around her neck from the cieling, they run up the stairs, scared to death, and trip over another sister dead from pills. The run out of the house and later find out the other sister stuck her head in the oven and Lux, waiting in the garage, killed herself with the carbon monoxide of the runing car. The boys, even 20 years later can't figure out the mystery of the girls saying they had all the pieces of the puzzle, but no way of going about putting it together. They take the photo albums out of the trash that the parents through out along with the rest od the house, leaving everything to be sold ina garage sale. Though the boys can never tell them, they love the girls. and miss them dearly.
The virgin suicides almost has a greek tragedy type feel. From everything you know about greek tragedies and just from the title alone, it'd be assumed that this book is depressing, but it's actually a bit enlightening. It's the 70's and an eclectic group of boys are highly affected by the are five Lisbon sisters. The girls live in a very strict household and no one understands how the highschool math teacher, and Mrs.Lisbon could've possibly made such beautiful girls. They have such grace and poise about them as they float down the school they've attended their whole short lives. The youngest one at age thirteen, first tries to kill herself by slitting her wrists in the bath but lives. She finally commits suicide by throwing herself out of the second story window onto their iron fence which pierces through her heart. Because of this the boys try to actually communicate with the girls whom they had always been intimidated by. The girls are up for no conversations and respecfully tell them "you don't have to talk to us." The highschool brings awareness of teen suicides and passes out green pamplets to the whole school and offers up an option to talk with a concilor, which the girls do. The school finds out the councilor actually has no schooling so she flees, being the only one that knows about the Lisbon girl's mysterious lives. Lux, the youngest child now, is chrismatic and is kind of the bad ass in the group. The msot popular guy in school, who is usually always chased by girls, tries to pursue Lux and after much convencing, the Lisbon parents allow the girls to go to the homecoming dance. After the dance the girls get home safely but Lux is no where so be found. She shows up in the wee hours of the morning, still a little tipsy from sharing drinks with her date. The house goes on crack down. The girls are taken out of school and Mr.Lisbon, going crazy from his youngest daughters death, is fired from his job since he is unable to teach well. The boys communicate to the Lisbon sisters with lights through their windows and little cards being passed back and forth. The girls call the boys on the phone and play music from their record player and the boys play rock and roll back to them (since rock and roll had been abolished in their establishment). The boys want to take the girls for a drive with their parents car and the girls agree. Lux invites them into the house telling them to be quiet since her parents are sleeping. She says they should take her parents car and that she'll be waiting for them in the garage. The boys go down into the basement and see a sister hanging by a rope around her neck from the cieling, they run up the stairs, scared to death, and trip over another sister dead from pills. The run out of the house and later find out the other sister stuck her head in the oven and Lux, waiting in the garage, killed herself with the carbon monoxide of the runing car. The boys, even 20 years later can't figure out the mystery of the girls saying they had all the pieces of the puzzle, but no way of going about putting it together. They take the photo albums out of the trash that the parents through out along with the rest od the house, leaving everything to be sold ina garage sale. Though the boys can never tell them, they love the girls. and miss them dearly.
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