I read this one last year (2010) but I had two pages of the afterword that I hadn't finished and I just finished it.
I can't say I completely liked this book. I think that H. G. Wells really captures the chaos and reactions that people would've had if something like this really happened on Earth. I liked the realism and the way the narrator spoke to the reader.
I'm not exactly sure what it was, but I think perhaps sci-fi isn't a particular genre that I like and I felt like for a classic, it should've had more meat to it than it did. The only real themes that I got were of panic, chaos and the sanctity of life. As humans became a lesser species, all of a sudden, human life isn't worth much. Yet I felt like H. G. Wells did pose the question - is human life really worth all that much? Why is it that some people are spared and others aren't? Some live purely because of luck. It really made life seem hopeless. Or perhaps just pointless.
I think that what I didn't like about the novel was that the text wasn't really engaging. It was somewhat engaging (to the point where I eventually finished it) but it wasn't to the point where I just couldn't put it down. The movement of the plot was good enough that I wanted to know what happened next. I think because the plot was set up precisely to show how chaotic and aimless everything becomes in light of such attacks but I guess because there was no direction, it was hard for me to become completely engaged in the text. You know what I think it was? I think it was the fact that even though the narrative was in the first person, there was still less "showing" and more "telling." What I mean is that instead of "A single tear trickled down her face when she found out he no longer loved her." it was "She was really sad that her boyfriend told her that he didn't love her." I guess since the narrative was more detached it was harder to really sympathize with the narrator.
At any rate, I had a mediocre response to this book that supposed to be so pivotal to science fiction as a genre. I suppose as a forerunner fiction novel, it isn't terrible.
I don't think I'd recommend this novel to other people - it is an easy read but I just didn't think it was AWESOME.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Magicians by Lev Grossman
This was one of those books that for the first time in a while, I had difficulty putting down. I was excited to see what happened next and I really liked the way the book played out.
I'm always one for happy endings that have a semblance of reality. I feel like this particular book had too much of a realistic ending in that people die, someone gets hurt and everyone has to live with the consequences of their actions. I suppose it all makes sense and all but I sort of wish things would have ended differently. I hate it when main characters die, especially ones that I like.
Originally, I didn't like the book as much because I felt like the pacing was too fast - there were entire years that were condensed into a chapter (or was it just several pages?) and things were fast-forwarding way too quickly. It felt like there was a lot Grossman wanted to do/say but he didn't want to turn his book into another Harry Potter series. Perhaps it was just me. Maybe he skipped all the 'boring' details. I wanted to relish in that world a little more.
Although time-wise things were going very fast, I felt like there was too much 'setting' up and perhaps not as much conflict? I think that the realism factor made the story so compelling, but if you think about it from purely the point of view of a plot, you can tell something is brewing for the first 2/3 of the book but you really don't know what. This wasn't the type of suspenseful buildup where you're really curious as to what's going to happen next as much as there's a desultory nature to the way even the characters don't know what they're supposed to do.
However, I thought the ending was pretty cool with how a lot of the questions were resolved with Jane Chatwin. It really brought the story together and the whole idea of "resetting" time to try to get a better "answer" so to speak still only came up with something less than a perfect ending. I think that the realism factor really played well in that sense. In life, it's true - nothing comes out exactly perfect and that's how life just is. But at the same time I thought it was depressing and I generally don't like depressing books because they depress me.
One complaint that I would have besides the pacing is the characters themselves. I mean perhaps I feel like college students aren't that immature and maybe they are but I kept thinking that even as college students, they were still in high school. The fact that when Quentin is in school, he's technically supposed to be in college didn't really process for me. I almost feel like if the setting was in a high school, it would be more fitting. I just felt like their maturity level was too low to be college students. There seemed to be this impression that most of the students didn't know what they wanted to do after they graduated and that there was this emptiness in being a magician. There was nothing to do it seemed.
In the end, the book gave me a lot to think about, which is always a good thing. There were elements in the book that I may not have liked but I feel like those points actually contributed to the novel rather than detracted from it. As for recommendations - I would recommend the novel to non-readers because it is pretty accessible and the pacing is decent enough to keep a non-reader engaged. I'm not sure if I'd ever read it again because I know the ending and I know that I'll probably get depressed after reading it. However, I feel like there may be more to the book than meets the eye so I may come back to it waaaay down the line when I'm bored or something.
I'm always one for happy endings that have a semblance of reality. I feel like this particular book had too much of a realistic ending in that people die, someone gets hurt and everyone has to live with the consequences of their actions. I suppose it all makes sense and all but I sort of wish things would have ended differently. I hate it when main characters die, especially ones that I like.
Originally, I didn't like the book as much because I felt like the pacing was too fast - there were entire years that were condensed into a chapter (or was it just several pages?) and things were fast-forwarding way too quickly. It felt like there was a lot Grossman wanted to do/say but he didn't want to turn his book into another Harry Potter series. Perhaps it was just me. Maybe he skipped all the 'boring' details. I wanted to relish in that world a little more.
Although time-wise things were going very fast, I felt like there was too much 'setting' up and perhaps not as much conflict? I think that the realism factor made the story so compelling, but if you think about it from purely the point of view of a plot, you can tell something is brewing for the first 2/3 of the book but you really don't know what. This wasn't the type of suspenseful buildup where you're really curious as to what's going to happen next as much as there's a desultory nature to the way even the characters don't know what they're supposed to do.
However, I thought the ending was pretty cool with how a lot of the questions were resolved with Jane Chatwin. It really brought the story together and the whole idea of "resetting" time to try to get a better "answer" so to speak still only came up with something less than a perfect ending. I think that the realism factor really played well in that sense. In life, it's true - nothing comes out exactly perfect and that's how life just is. But at the same time I thought it was depressing and I generally don't like depressing books because they depress me.
One complaint that I would have besides the pacing is the characters themselves. I mean perhaps I feel like college students aren't that immature and maybe they are but I kept thinking that even as college students, they were still in high school. The fact that when Quentin is in school, he's technically supposed to be in college didn't really process for me. I almost feel like if the setting was in a high school, it would be more fitting. I just felt like their maturity level was too low to be college students. There seemed to be this impression that most of the students didn't know what they wanted to do after they graduated and that there was this emptiness in being a magician. There was nothing to do it seemed.
In the end, the book gave me a lot to think about, which is always a good thing. There were elements in the book that I may not have liked but I feel like those points actually contributed to the novel rather than detracted from it. As for recommendations - I would recommend the novel to non-readers because it is pretty accessible and the pacing is decent enough to keep a non-reader engaged. I'm not sure if I'd ever read it again because I know the ending and I know that I'll probably get depressed after reading it. However, I feel like there may be more to the book than meets the eye so I may come back to it waaaay down the line when I'm bored or something.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
G by John Berger
I read this a while back but I forgot to write about it. Hopefully I'll be able to do a proper analysis given that there's probably a lot that I forgot.
I think this book won the Booker T Prize or something prestigious and I noticed (at least with the two books I read that were Nobel Prize winners) that there was a more academic aspect (in that I suppose these books are the types that you heavily analyze and more likely than not, you'll study the book in some kind of literature class). However, with this book, I wasn't sure about the academic aspect, which was interesting.
Really the only thing I remember about this novel is that despite all the big events that were going on (the first flight *almost* over the Alps, World War I (I think?)), G is completely distant from all the movements that are going on. It seems that all he cares for is women and in a way freedom. He does it in a way that makes people angry and I thought that was interesting. It made his character interesting.
As far as the writing style goes, I'm not sure if I liked it because it was a little detached so the characters, although there was a lot behind who they were, they seemed almost two-dimensional. But I could be remembering the book incorrectly. None of the characters really struck me (or at least made a lasting impression on me since I can't remember anyone except for G and his father) and the plot itself was interesting but not completely engaging.
Perhaps I need to go back and read this novel. I would hesitate to recommend this novel to anyone because eeh~ I don't remember much about it and it just didn't seem that good. It has been a while since I read it so perhaps I need to skim through it again to see if there's anything I missed.
I think this book won the Booker T Prize or something prestigious and I noticed (at least with the two books I read that were Nobel Prize winners) that there was a more academic aspect (in that I suppose these books are the types that you heavily analyze and more likely than not, you'll study the book in some kind of literature class). However, with this book, I wasn't sure about the academic aspect, which was interesting.
Really the only thing I remember about this novel is that despite all the big events that were going on (the first flight *almost* over the Alps, World War I (I think?)), G is completely distant from all the movements that are going on. It seems that all he cares for is women and in a way freedom. He does it in a way that makes people angry and I thought that was interesting. It made his character interesting.
As far as the writing style goes, I'm not sure if I liked it because it was a little detached so the characters, although there was a lot behind who they were, they seemed almost two-dimensional. But I could be remembering the book incorrectly. None of the characters really struck me (or at least made a lasting impression on me since I can't remember anyone except for G and his father) and the plot itself was interesting but not completely engaging.
Perhaps I need to go back and read this novel. I would hesitate to recommend this novel to anyone because eeh~ I don't remember much about it and it just didn't seem that good. It has been a while since I read it so perhaps I need to skim through it again to see if there's anything I missed.
Messenger by Lois Lowry
I liked how this book was an extension of The Giver. It gives an indirect afterword (or whatever it's called) into what happened to Jonas and Gabe after they left the community. There'a apparently another book called Gathering Blue that is similarly an extension of this book as well.
As for overall impressions, this is the second book in a row where a couple doesn't end up getting together! I don't know if I'm necessarily looking for romance but I just think it's sad when a budding love ends in sadness, not because of age or relationship conflicts or anything like that, but because of death. It's one of those irrevocable, there's-nothing-to-do-but-mourn kind of endings where you almost hope that the person who died will miraculously come back to life to continue the love story. At any rate, that was rather disappointing.
That aside, I felt like the book was well-written though not as compelling as The Giver (if I had to make a comparison). I did like the overall flow but perhaps because it is geared towards a younger audience and I read it right after I read The Elegance of the Hedgehog, I felt like the writing was almost too simple. I think that it was intentional but in some ways I think it took away from the book aesthetically (or artistically or whatever you want to call it). I think that this is perhaps what took away from the work as a whole because Lowry could've weaved in more themes or motifs or something but she was left with just the obvious because I felt like she was trying to dumb down her language for her audience. I don't know though because I know my gauge is kind of skewed right now.
At any rate, I found it to be an enjoyable quick read (finished it in like a day) and because it had more depth than some random action novel (Percy Jackson comes to mind), I was definitely able to relish in the writing a bit more. That aside, I would hesitate to pick this novel up again because there weren't as many ideological aspects (like the moral/point of the story if there was one was so glaringly obvious that I don't feel like there's that much more the book could offer).
I feel like there could've been more character development through actions rather than telling (something that I learned in a creative writing class :P) and the plot could've had a little more depth. I don't know I felt like perhaps the plot and characters were too linear.
I don't know if I would recommend this book because The Giver is such a better book and this one I feel just has a really lukewarm quality to it.
As for overall impressions, this is the second book in a row where a couple doesn't end up getting together! I don't know if I'm necessarily looking for romance but I just think it's sad when a budding love ends in sadness, not because of age or relationship conflicts or anything like that, but because of death. It's one of those irrevocable, there's-nothing-to-do-but-mourn kind of endings where you almost hope that the person who died will miraculously come back to life to continue the love story. At any rate, that was rather disappointing.
That aside, I felt like the book was well-written though not as compelling as The Giver (if I had to make a comparison). I did like the overall flow but perhaps because it is geared towards a younger audience and I read it right after I read The Elegance of the Hedgehog, I felt like the writing was almost too simple. I think that it was intentional but in some ways I think it took away from the book aesthetically (or artistically or whatever you want to call it). I think that this is perhaps what took away from the work as a whole because Lowry could've weaved in more themes or motifs or something but she was left with just the obvious because I felt like she was trying to dumb down her language for her audience. I don't know though because I know my gauge is kind of skewed right now.
At any rate, I found it to be an enjoyable quick read (finished it in like a day) and because it had more depth than some random action novel (Percy Jackson comes to mind), I was definitely able to relish in the writing a bit more. That aside, I would hesitate to pick this novel up again because there weren't as many ideological aspects (like the moral/point of the story if there was one was so glaringly obvious that I don't feel like there's that much more the book could offer).
I feel like there could've been more character development through actions rather than telling (something that I learned in a creative writing class :P) and the plot could've had a little more depth. I don't know I felt like perhaps the plot and characters were too linear.
I don't know if I would recommend this book because The Giver is such a better book and this one I feel just has a really lukewarm quality to it.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
I think that this is probably my favorite novel. It is pretty academic and there's a lot that I don't agree with in terms of philosophy and themes and like the ideological aspects of the characters, but I think that that's precisely why I like it. It gives me a lot to think about and it challenges what I consider to be good and right in the world. However, I do have one complaint: my goodness what the heck is up with the ending? Really.
[DISCLAIMER]
Obviously I'm going to give away the ending. Please stop reading if you don't want me to spoil the book for you.
[END DISCLAIMER]
Okay, so I'm going to have my rant about the ending and then I'm going to go ahead with what I liked about the novel. Why the heck did Barbery kill off Madame Michal/Renee? Really? Why? I mean I was seriously looking forward to her relationship with Kakuro and for her to suddenly be offed by a dry cleaning vehicle. Really? Like what the heck? Why the sudden death?
Okay to be fair, I think the flow of the novel and just the way it led up to her death, it makes sense and honestly was a pretty decent choice just in terms of supporting the themes of Beauty and the transience of life and all that but WHYYYYYYYY?? I think that I was so firmly attached to Renee that for her to have been suddenly killed off (yes, killed off by the author) like that was a huge disappointment in the novel.
I guess while I was reading the novel, I had had this hope that somehow everything would work out and the meaninglessness that Paloma and Renee thought was life would somehow change to this renewed respect for beauty and love through their relationship. BLAH. That was probably my biggest disappointment. I mean it is a pessimistic novel so I suppose there's going to be some discordance with me and the novel but still! I can't believe Barbery killed off Renee. She was way too cool to be killed in such a crude manner. My goodness.
*edit* 2013.06.23: So I recently watched the movie and Renee's death made a lot more sense. Basically, it needed to happen in order for Paloma to gain closure in that suicidal phase of her life. Renee died while she was in love, she died loving and to Paloma, was a beautiful way for dying. Paloma was planning on dying hating the world and feeling a sense of pointlessness of continue to be a part of it and she didn't want to do that after seeing Renee's death. That's why Renee had to be killed off. It makes so much more sense now.
But I still would've liked to see Renee get together with Kakuro Ozu and have a good life with him....
Okay moving on.
So I felt like there were inconsistencies in the philosophies of Paloma and Renee but I think those flaws were intentionally put there because in the end, they decide that they were wrong (to a certain extent).
The only other complaint I would have about this novel is that in the beginning of the novel, there was one point where I couldn't fully "hear" Renee and Paloma's distinct voices. Instead I heard something in between and that was the author talking.
I feel like there was more of the author and sometimes a little too much so. I mean I wouldn't say it's a bad thing, but it didn't really contribute to the novel.
So I think that this kind of novel is the kind of novel I would want to study in depth. There's just so much philosophy and just so much food for thought that I could probably read this book over and over again and just not get enough.
I like the language and tone that Barbery used - she uses "harder" language or really just bigger vocabulary words and the way she chooses to arrange the words and the way she describes even the most mundane made the mundane seem significant. And most of the time it was. I liked how she would bring back different motifs like the camellias though I sort of wish she (he?) would've brought the idea of consonance back more. I don't know. I must say though, it was extremely well written and it had all the components that I would ever want in a novel.
It had two characters that were nit-picky about grammar. That's awesome. Barbery spends several pages talking about the misuse of a comma and brings this motif back time and time again. Some might say it's pretentious, I say it's genius.
The language and syntax was hard enough to challenge me, but it as accessible enough for me to understand what was going on. Just the thought processes that each character goes through I felt really enhanced my appreciation for beauty.
I really liked the theme of Beauty and the seeking of Beauty in life. There was a weighing of whether or not life was worth Beauty and that ending conclusion that Beauty is worth living for was just so well put together. I also liked how the sources of Beauty were both classical and modern. It's kind of like that quote "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." where Beauty is felt individually, yet collectively many can feel the same type of Beauty.
The ideologies that Paloma and Renee go through are fascinating too. Just their thought processes make them interesting people. It made me want to learn French so I could have a conversation with the author. I think I might pick it up. We'll see.
It had Japanese culture. I understood some of the references and that just made me feel cool. :D
Overall, I would have to say I really really enjoyed this novel and is definitely one of my top novels. However, I was rather disappointed at the ending though I will acknowledge that it was fitting.
Regardless, I definitely want to read this again and properly analyze this novel.
As for recommending it to others, I'd hesitate because it is somewhat on the academic side and for friends who don't like seemingly superfluous language and friends who don't like thinking about like... random philosophical things may not like it. But, I think this is one of my favorite novels.
[DISCLAIMER]
Obviously I'm going to give away the ending. Please stop reading if you don't want me to spoil the book for you.
[END DISCLAIMER]
Okay, so I'm going to have my rant about the ending and then I'm going to go ahead with what I liked about the novel. Why the heck did Barbery kill off Madame Michal/Renee? Really? Why? I mean I was seriously looking forward to her relationship with Kakuro and for her to suddenly be offed by a dry cleaning vehicle. Really? Like what the heck? Why the sudden death?
Okay to be fair, I think the flow of the novel and just the way it led up to her death, it makes sense and honestly was a pretty decent choice just in terms of supporting the themes of Beauty and the transience of life and all that but WHYYYYYYYY?? I think that I was so firmly attached to Renee that for her to have been suddenly killed off (yes, killed off by the author) like that was a huge disappointment in the novel.
I guess while I was reading the novel, I had had this hope that somehow everything would work out and the meaninglessness that Paloma and Renee thought was life would somehow change to this renewed respect for beauty and love through their relationship. BLAH. That was probably my biggest disappointment. I mean it is a pessimistic novel so I suppose there's going to be some discordance with me and the novel but still! I can't believe Barbery killed off Renee. She was way too cool to be killed in such a crude manner. My goodness.
*edit* 2013.06.23: So I recently watched the movie and Renee's death made a lot more sense. Basically, it needed to happen in order for Paloma to gain closure in that suicidal phase of her life. Renee died while she was in love, she died loving and to Paloma, was a beautiful way for dying. Paloma was planning on dying hating the world and feeling a sense of pointlessness of continue to be a part of it and she didn't want to do that after seeing Renee's death. That's why Renee had to be killed off. It makes so much more sense now.
But I still would've liked to see Renee get together with Kakuro Ozu and have a good life with him....
Okay moving on.
So I felt like there were inconsistencies in the philosophies of Paloma and Renee but I think those flaws were intentionally put there because in the end, they decide that they were wrong (to a certain extent).
The only other complaint I would have about this novel is that in the beginning of the novel, there was one point where I couldn't fully "hear" Renee and Paloma's distinct voices. Instead I heard something in between and that was the author talking.
I feel like there was more of the author and sometimes a little too much so. I mean I wouldn't say it's a bad thing, but it didn't really contribute to the novel.
So I think that this kind of novel is the kind of novel I would want to study in depth. There's just so much philosophy and just so much food for thought that I could probably read this book over and over again and just not get enough.
I like the language and tone that Barbery used - she uses "harder" language or really just bigger vocabulary words and the way she chooses to arrange the words and the way she describes even the most mundane made the mundane seem significant. And most of the time it was. I liked how she would bring back different motifs like the camellias though I sort of wish she (he?) would've brought the idea of consonance back more. I don't know. I must say though, it was extremely well written and it had all the components that I would ever want in a novel.
It had two characters that were nit-picky about grammar. That's awesome. Barbery spends several pages talking about the misuse of a comma and brings this motif back time and time again. Some might say it's pretentious, I say it's genius.
The language and syntax was hard enough to challenge me, but it as accessible enough for me to understand what was going on. Just the thought processes that each character goes through I felt really enhanced my appreciation for beauty.
I really liked the theme of Beauty and the seeking of Beauty in life. There was a weighing of whether or not life was worth Beauty and that ending conclusion that Beauty is worth living for was just so well put together. I also liked how the sources of Beauty were both classical and modern. It's kind of like that quote "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." where Beauty is felt individually, yet collectively many can feel the same type of Beauty.
The ideologies that Paloma and Renee go through are fascinating too. Just their thought processes make them interesting people. It made me want to learn French so I could have a conversation with the author. I think I might pick it up. We'll see.
It had Japanese culture. I understood some of the references and that just made me feel cool. :D
Overall, I would have to say I really really enjoyed this novel and is definitely one of my top novels. However, I was rather disappointed at the ending though I will acknowledge that it was fitting.
Regardless, I definitely want to read this again and properly analyze this novel.
As for recommending it to others, I'd hesitate because it is somewhat on the academic side and for friends who don't like seemingly superfluous language and friends who don't like thinking about like... random philosophical things may not like it. But, I think this is one of my favorite novels.
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