My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk

So there are a bunch of books I need to update with but we'll start with this one.

This book got a nobel prize and I realized that a lot of these books receive these prizes because they're artfully written - not only because the plot is engaging, but the underlying themes are so well woven into the fabric of the plot as well as the style of writing. Honestly, with this novel, it was harder for me to really get into it because a lot of the cultural and religious references were lost on me (like Shirin (I hope I got the name right..) and the whole love story thing - I feel like it would've been more powerful if I had understood it.). I feel like the book would've been a lot better if the illustrations were a part of the book - nowadays, I feel like a lot of books have taken on that trend of putting a drawing or two to help illustrate the writer's point and I think that in this book, it would've enhanced the reader's experience. At the same time though, I'm wondering whether or not it would've taken away from the quality of writing... The book itself was so well-written that I feel like to a certain extent, the illustrations would've made the writing less powerful.

I liked how it was a mystery but the actual plot progression didn't revolve solely around unraveling the mystery. There were multiple storylines almost going on and I think that's what made the book interesting. I also really liked how Pamuk used the multiple narrative voices. He was able to manipulate them so well stylistically that you really heard and felt the characters' personalities. He really gave them a third dimension by doing that - all the characters were given life because of his narrative style.

At one point, I remember in one of the chapters towards the end of the novel, the murderer goes "Can you tell who I am?" and it was precisely at the moment when I was trying to figure out who it was because Master Osman had just given descriptions of Butterfly, Stork and Olive. It was almost as if Pamuk predicted what the reader would be thinking and I really thought that was a brilliant little tug to keep the reader interested.

As for recommending this book - it is a little heavier for non-readers, but for people who like reading, regardless of what genre, I think I would recommend it because it is so multi-faceted that it would appeal to a wider range of readers than most other books.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Books 2-5 by Rick Riordan

So I think that I like action books. I always thought I liked more academic reads (which I do sometimes) but I also realized I like Harry Potter-esque type books too. The rest of the series (I literally finished them in like a week to a week and a half) was really good! Again, there definitely wasn't much beyond the plot but it was good! I mean I guess comparatively to Harry Potter (since both are on the side of fantasy), Harry Potter had more depth - perhaps more 3-dimensional characters but the action and just the way the plot tied together was really good~

There was definitely blatant messages about saving the environment and saving earth and there weren't any plot inconsistencies (I hate that) so overall I'd have to say it was well thought out, although again, I can't say much for depth. I didn't read the book with the intent of getting much out of it anyway, so in the end, it was quite satisfying. Now I want to go watch the movie (though I think I heard that it flopped).

Definitely recommend to a non-reader though I suppose it depends on what kind of genre that particular non-reader likes.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

I think that the type of books that I read is pretty diverse. This book is obviously tailored towards children and I think there are Harry Potter-esque resonances but I found the book to be a good quick read. The language was simple and I liked the plot because it kept on moving. There were also little jabs at how humans ruin the environment, which I thought was pretty interesting.

Obviously there was nothing beyond the plot in this book (or at least I didn't see anything) and I think that the information was meant to be somewhat educational (which also led to some of the conversations being a little contrived) but all in all a good, simple read. I want to get the rest of the series to see what happens next.

Also, I think I read the film version so I think the text may have been watered down (not that it was bad, just very straightforward and simple - which is good).

Anyway, I would recommend this book to non-readers who like action and want something easy to read.

The Surrendered by Chang-Rae Lee

I think Chang-Rae Lee is a beautiful writer. It makes me wonder where he is in the story and whether or not he's just taking on a persona. He's really good at it though. I'm not sure if it's just the books I read or if it is an increasing trend towards stepping away from the chronological story (not just from him but from a multitude of other writers - though the scope of literature I read isn't all that wide), but I think that I like this a lot better. With the story all out of order, I feel like you get the important bits of information delivered at the right time to give you the right impact. Lee keeps bringing back these poignant albeit gruesome images of the past and I think that it really reinforces the horror of war and what people have to live with after the fact. Sometimes, books will try to fluff up war and leave out the gory details but he doesn't just talk about the really gruesome and grotesque but takes it to the next level with the depravity that the civilians had to go through as a result of war (women trading sex for food, soldiers on both sides taking advantage of the anarchy in the country, etc.).

Beyond that, I feel like this book really talks about displacement and in a way, fitting in or that desire to want to fit in, yet not. It also talks about broken dreams and the fragility of life. In some ways though, I feel like he overplayed death. I feel like the fact that Nick was killed off - yes I think that Lee killed him off was a little overdone. The same with Dora - I feel like she should've been abandoned, not run over but I think it was a clean way to transition to the next stages of the book. Perhaps for me, it was too clean. The way there was really no hope for Hector in the end - although I think was somewhat fitting for his name as a Greek god (something about how in the end, everything that Hector builds up ends up in ruins), the fact that there was no hope and future for him at all almost seemed contrived.

Overall though, I think that the book was beautifully written - balancing out the academic aspects with an engaging plot.

When it comes down to it though, I do have one complaint. I think it was chapter 13 or something when it started talking about June and Hector's relationship (I don't remember the context unfortunately so I'm not really going to be much help beyond the chapter reference), Lee repeats the relationship the type of relationship that June had with Hector as well as her actions. It seems (and I could be wrong) that this is where he started the novel and either whoever was helping him edit it didn't pick up on it or he didn't bother editing out this bit so there was some seemingly unnecessary repetition. I could be wrong though and there may be some kind of thought/intent behind this, but when I read it, it just seemed like the beginning of what an author would start to write and then Lee framed the rest of his story around it. I didn't like that.

I would recommend this book to people who like reading, but don't necessary like the academic books. I don't think I'd recommend this book to non-readers because I feel like it may be too heavy (both literally - it's a longer novel - and figuratively) and depressing (but some people like that).

[edit]

I forgot to mention that I also think that given when this book came out, Lee may be quietly saying that North and South Korea shouldn't go to war (given the recent events with North and South Korea). However, he very well may have started this novel years ago which would render my point moot.

Hotel Du Lac by Anita Brookner

In terms of substance, there probably were a lot of underlying themes and what not, but I feel like this book lacked substance. I can't really put my finger to it, but I just felt like there was a sort of detachment throughout the whole novel - whether it was intentionally to mimic the numbness of the main character or not, I'm not sure.

However, it has been some time since I read it and since I'm writing this so it could just very well be that I've forgotten.

Perhaps I'll have to skim it again to refresh myself.

But basically seeing as how I can only remember parts of the plot and none of the meatier bits, I feel like it wasn't that good of a read. Perhaps I'm simply being too critical though.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Jazz Age Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This is a collection of short stories and I will try to comment on all of them, but I haven't finished them all so I will probably update this sporadically if I ever get back to them.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Honestly, I was disappointed in this story. Because it was turned into a movie, I was hoping that the story itself would have some depth (which I think the introduction implied that it did), the depth was really superficial. Perhaps it's because the introduction summed up the themes so neatly that I expected more, but the plot was really simple and although I didn't completely agree with all of it, for what Fitzgerald was trying to accomplish (a statement about the times and about youth versus age and wisdom), I think he did a pretty decent job. In the end though, I had wished there was something more.

The Offshore Pirate

This was a cute little story about deception and illusion. I thought that this was nice though again, I felt like it was a little superficial. There didn't really seem to be any substance than that dreamy quality of a transient world that was soon shattered by the "real" world. However, I did like the characters he created. I really liked Ardita because of how different she was. There was also the underlying idea of one's perception of oneself versus how others perceive them (Ardita thought she had all men wrapped around her finger but there were implications that this was not the case). All in all a decent read but somewhat lacking in substance.

The Ice Palace

This one was about how people are unable to change and perhaps a statement about how the North and South don't get along and the differing values between how to live one's life. Also about how one's perception of oneself is different than reality. This story could also be viewed as a cultural clash between the North and the South and how difficult it is to overcome these differences. Sally Carrol thought she was meant for more but ends up that she wasn't. However, I found her character to be a little frustrating because she struck me as close-minded ("well the people in the south aren't like this blah blah blah") but perhaps not. The idea of love not being enough for her to stay at the place was also interesting and the parallel of ice and the coldness of the Northerners to Sally Carrol was also pretty interesting. I can see how the introduction mentions that Fitzgerald had potential (which he apparently uses in his later work).

Head and Shoulders

This one has the whole idea of role reversal and lost dreams. I felt bad for Horace in the end because he meets his role model in philosophy who ends up coming to meet his wife. No one seems to realize Horace's intellect and potential and I almost feel like he wasted it away. Perhaps that was Fitzgerald's point. The irony is a sad one and if Horace's pride doesn't get in the way it should be fine, but these types of things happen to so many men that they become defeated and broken and unhappy with where they are in their lives (and then it becomes the oh-so-familiar midlife crisis). At any rate, it was an interesting read and definitely got its point across.

The Cut-Glass Bowl

Although this story was a little morbid, I really liked the way the story played out. The parallel between the bowl and Evylyn was really good and almost Portrait of Dorian Gray-esque. Obviously her soul wasn't locked in the bowl but just how both came to the same end and how one pays for the mistakes they make in sometimes the direst ways I thought was pretty interesting. In the end, it paints a pretty dark picture of of the world but perhaps it is also an honest picture for most people unless they realize it and try to do something about it (though Fitzgerald doesn't give any implications of this).

Anyway there should be more to come. (hopefully)

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

I had read one of his other novels a year or so ago (Me Talk Pretty One Day) and had really liked it.

This too was an engaging read although I felt like the different anecdotes and chapters were somewhat choppy in the way the novel flowed. Obviously it isn't your typical novel with a linear plot, which was fine, but some of the transitions between the chapters I felt were really abrupt.

There was definitely this underlying idea of how sometimes the very things that we judge/laugh at others for, we're just as guilty of the same things. I liked that. I also liked how although he talks about more difficult issues (i.e. death), the way he maneuvers around it in a matter-of-fact but not cold way was really well done. He was remember these people that affected him yet, it wasn't focused around the death of the person and it wasn't morbid and although it was somewhat funny, I felt like he really was able to have it be a happy reminiscing rather than a lamentation of a person's death or a fluffed up version of person because they were dead.

I don't think I'd pick this novel up again though because it isn't really academic (nor is it meant to be) though perhaps if I were in the mood for some good, funny reading that I knew wouldn't disappoint, I'd maybe pick it up again.

I would recommend this to most readers because of the way some of his illustrations are creative yet so aptly put and it's an easy read. There's also more to the book than meets the eye, but even if these points are missed, it doesn't retract too much from enjoying the book.