Book blogging (mostly)
Archive for May, 2010
Please stand by
May 31st
I apologize if you tried to access the blog/book database in the last few days. I was on vacation (which of course means lots of time to read) and I didn’t immediately realize the site had gone down. Then, once I did discover the problem, I wasn’t in any position to fix it. So, hopefully the issue was temporary and the site won’t be interrupted for so long again any time soon.
With that said I finished 2 books while at the beach and should have at least those 2 posts up this week. Okay, non-book relate post over!
Unwind
May 25th
I learned about Unwind from a coworker whose son was reading it for school. Apparently there was some controversy among the parents. Having just finished Don Quixote I figured this would be great light reading to bridge the gap before vacation. While easy to read, this definitely wasn’t exactly the light reading I had expected.
Unwind is set in a dystopian future in which America has fought its second civil war. Only this time, the fighting was over abortion. The war eventually ended with the signing of the Bill of Life. According to this document all life was protected from conception to the age of 13. From 13 to 18 a parent could choose to retroactively unwind their children. Unwind follows the story of 3 children who are set to be Unwound.
Unwind is full of interesting ideas and deals with the difficult subject of abortion with subtlety. However, the writing itself is just mediocre. It is worth reading if you want to start a discussion on abortion with a teen, but probably not otherwise.
In fact, the most interesting thing for me in regards to Unwind was finding the parallels between it and Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal (an essay in which Swift satirically encourages the Irish to eat their children in order to alleviate poverty). I would say more here, but I don’t want to spoil anything if you are interested in reading Unwind. Feel free to check out the last 2 paragraphs of my database entry for the details, though.
What suprised me the most, however, was that this would be picked for school reading. What do you think – is this appropriate high school reading?
Full database entry on Unwind. Beware spoilers.
P.S. I wrote this on my iPhone so please forgive any typos or weird formatting.
Don Quixote – First Part
May 17th
Okay, I confess I cheated; I decided to read only the First Part of Don Quixote. This part, at 459 pages, is technically a complete book in its own right. It was published in 1605, 10 years before the second part that makes up the other half of the copy you see depicted to the left. I will get around to the rest of it eventually but, honestly, I just needed a break.
I feel bad saying I needed a break because I really enjoyed Don Quixote. If you read my First Line post on Don Quixote you know I was having a blast halfway through the first part. It was funny, intelligent, modern, and creative.
At about 300 pages in, however, Cervantes decides to interrupt what could have easily been the most interesting and entertaining part of the book with two complete novellas. Seriously, he interrupts the action to tell two complete stories that deal with characters and plot that are entirely unrelated to Don Quixote. To be fair, these stories are good, but at this point in the main novel I’m reading, I honestly just don’t care what happens to these other characters. I want to get back to Sancho and Don Quixote, not read about The Man Who Was Recklessly Curious.
This post sounds a little negative, but only because I said so many positive things previously. Fortunately, all of those positives are still true and, as a result, Don Quixote is still a recommended read. However, I can completely understand why an abridged version would remove the two novellas that come so late in the work. In fact, I would go so far as to say, if you do decide to read Don Quixote, skip the novellas and finish the main story. Then, because they are good enough in their own right to warrant it, go back and read each novella. I know it’s a little vain to think that I can suggest a better way to enjoy a book than the author, but I really think your experience will be far superior if you separate the actual Don Quixote story from the two novellas.
“That’s the way,” said Sancho, “I’ve heard it said in sermons, we should love Our Lord: for Himself alone, not because we hope for glory or are afraid of punishment. But I’d rather love and serve Him for what He can do” (263).
Full database entry on Don Quixote. Beware spoilers.
The Book of Three (Audio)
May 10th
I can’t exactly remember who or what referred me to The Book of Three. All I know is a few weeks ago I received a “the book you placed on hold is now available” email from the library and so I went and picked it up.
The Book of Three tells the story of a young assistant pig-keeper named Taran who lives in a mythical realm known as Prydain. If you have seen the movie “The Black Cauldron” you have seen a movie loosely based on this book. (Interesting note – the second book in this trilogy is actually called The Black Cauldron, but the movie of the same title is based on the first book. Go figure). Anyways, Taran has to recover his lost pig, but ends up having a grand adventure along the way.
The story is your classic hero quest, but what makes this book so good is the plethora of interesting characters. From the sassy and hilarious Eilonwy, to the pathological liar/bard/king Fflewddur Fflam, The Book of Three is absolutely bursting with entertainment. By the end, the story was just a means for placing these great characters into situations in which they could interact with each other. That isn’t to say the story was boring, but the dialogue was by far the star of the show.
I highly recommend this (the narrator is excellent on the audio book, but I’m sure actually reading it would be just as good) to anyone who enjoys lighthearted fantasy. Personally, I can’t wait to read the next book in the series if for no other reason than to see what everyone is up to next.
First Line: Don Quixote
May 5th
You might not be aware of this, but Don Quixote is a massive book. As a result I will probably be doing multiple posts about it so that this blog doesn’t screech to a halt while I work my way through it. Note: I’m reading the Edith Grossman translation. Also, I am already about 240 pages into the book, so this discussion is being informed by more than a blind reading of the first line.
“Somewhere in La Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, a gentleman lived not long ago, one of those who has a lance and ancient shield on a shelf and keeps a skinny nag and a greyhound for racing” (1).
First of all, I love the irony of Cervantes writing a 900+ page book about Don Quixote, but being unwilling to remember where in La Mancha he comes from. Not just because it’s inherently humorous, but also because it shows, immediately, the tone we can expect from the entire book. Though this may be a classic work of fiction, it is not a dry, dusty tome that we must put upon a shelf and venerate from a distance. It is a book that is meant to be engaged and enjoyed. Cervantes is telling us, with the very first line of the book, that we should have fun reading about the most famous knight errant of all time. And, 240 pages later, he’s done everything he can so far to reinforce this initial impression.
I also enjoy this first line because of how clearly Cervantes’s voice comes through. This intrigued me initially, but I didn’t realize how important it would become until I read more. I don’t want to spoil anything but Cervantes is more than just the author and narrator – he is, to some extent, also a character in Don Quixote. The extent to which the fourth wall has been broken in this book is surprising (and wonderful). What is just as impressive, though, is that this is clearly evident from the opening line of the book, if you take the time to consider the implications of its tone and style.
I was originally intimated by the thought of reading a classic like Don Quixote. I’m happy to report, however, that this opening line eased me into the book smoothly and pleasantly. If you haven’t read this classic either, I’m curious – what are your thoughts on this opener?