I read this title for Banned Books Week and also because I needed a ‘Z’ author. It’s an older book, written in 1968, so the content may have been a little more shocking back then, but really, I’m as conservative as they come, and I don’t have a problem with it at all. Yes, there is defiance of authority and alcohol reference, but with what our kids have to deal with in today’s world, this book is very mild in comparison. It’s actually a very poignant book.
I always like stories that show how strong bonds can be made with those you don’t expect — especially if you don’t have those strong bonds in your own family life. After John and Lorraine meet 50-ish Mr. Pignati, the three of them start spending more and more time together. At first the teenagers are a little embarassed by Mr. Pignati, who has a childlikeness to him, but soon the threesome are fast friends. Sadly, it’s the teenagers’ own immaturity that ends up threatening the friendship. Recommended.
I have always thought that the human heart is a little like the ocean, subject to tides, that joy rises in it in a steady flow, singing of waves, good fortune, and bliss; but afterward, when the high sea withdraws, it leaves an utter desolation in our sight. So it was with me that day.
Written in French by Gabrielle Roy and translated by Joyce Marshall, The Road Past Altamont captures a sweet young girl’s thoughts and feelings perfectly. I also enjoyed Roy’s descriptions of the vastness of the Manitoba prairie.
The book is really four interconnected stories more than a novel. The first story, “My Almighty Grandmother,” tells of Christine’s love and awe of her matriarch. The second story, “The Old Man and the Child,” is about Christine’s relationship with an elderly neighbor and their visit to Lake Winnipeg. This one was my favorite as I found so much sweetness in the pair’s friendship. In “The Move,” Christine discovers that not everyone lives as she does, and in “The Road Past Altamont,” an adult Christine deals with her mother’s increasing age and unrealized dreams.
I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy Willa Cather or L.M. Montgomery. I would definitely read another book by Gabrielle Roy.
Have you ever seen the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey and wondered what the heck was going on? The book by Arthur C. Clarke explains everything. I’m so relieved! I feel so enlightened that I now know what’s happening in the movie. I had to watch it immediately online through Netflix after finishing the book. I love the book, and I love the movie even more now. If you think I’m going to give away the book’s secrets, you’re mistaken. You’ll have to read it and see for yourself. I will say that it has a bit in common with one of my former favorite tv shows, Stargate SG-1. That was surprising, and the only hint I’ll give.
1968, 236 pp. Rating:
This was one of only two books I was able to read for Carl’s Sci-Fi Experience. I really wanted to read more, but unexpectedly getting quite a few ARCs from LibraryThing and other sources thwarted my sci-fi plans. I do hope to read more sci-fi this year, and I definitely hope Carl hosts another Experience next year.
This autobiographical novel by Sylvia Plath certainly gives insight about her mental illness. It’s a fascinating peek into the author’s troubled mind.
Esther Greenwood (a thinly veiled Sylvia) is bright and appears to have it all, but why and where did her life go wrong? It seemingly begins when she is rejected for a writing class at the same time she is having relationship problems. Her downward spiral is swift. Esther demands much of herself and of others, and when perfection is not attainable, she cannot accept it. Although she is then admitted to a mental hospital, the book (unlike the author’s real life) eventually has a hopeful ending.
This book was a quick read, and I know I will be reading it again at some point as it is very compelling. I’ve twice seen the movie Sylvia starring Gwyneth Paltrow, and I definitely believe it added to my appreciation of the book.
A quote from the book:
The one thing I was good at was winning scholarships and prizes, and that era was coming to an end.
I felt like a racehorse in a world without racetracks or a champion college footballer suddenly confronted by Wall Street and a business suit, his days of glory shrunk to a little gold cup on his mantel with a date engraved on it like the date on a tombstone.
I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story.
From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was EeGee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn’t quite make out.
I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn’t make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.
Based on a true story about the persecution and torture of Japanese Christians and foreign missionaries in 1600s Japan, Silence is a powerful book about faith (and doubt), truth, and the human spirit. What will make one person stay true to his faith, even under unspeakable torture, while another one does not? Why is God silent during suffering? These are the questions the book raises, and some would say it gives no clear answers. It is easy to say from our comfortable Western homes that we would never deny God under duress. But the Bible states that even Peter, a much loved disciple, denied Christ. What does it truly mean to stay faithful to God?
Repeating the prayer again and again he tried wildly to distract his attention; but the prayer could not tranquilize his agonized heart. ‘Lord, why are you silent? Why are you always silent…?’
This book powerfully affected me, and I’ve already sought out more books by this Japanese Christian author.
It has been announced that Martin Scorsese will be making this into a movie slated for 2010.
The Wide Sargasso Sea is listed in the top 100 novels by the Modern Library. I wouldn’t go that far, but I did enjoy it. A warning though–some fans of Jane Eyre may hate it. Most members of my face to face book group felt like it ruined their idea of Mr. Rochester’s character. I felt the same way when I read March by Geraldine Brooks earlier this year. Little Women is a favorite book of mine, and I didn’t like how Mr. and Mrs. March were portrayed in Brooks’ story at all.
However, in this book, we learn how Mr. Rochester became the dark, brooding figure in Jane Eyre. We not only feel sorry for him, though, we also feel sorry for Bertha as well. At least I did. We learn how and why she had a mental breakdown. We learn that both she and Mr. Rochester are victims. While I won’t go so far as to integrate this story into my feelings about and fondness for Jane Eyre, I am able to take this as a separate story altogether and appreciate it.
I’m glad you enjoyed this one; it’s been on my TBRs for a while, but I don’t want to read it without rereading Jane Eyre, first.March was on my wish list till I read a few reviews and then I removed it. I didn’t like the idea of how Mr. March was portrayed; I thought it would have completely spoiled my image of him from Little Women.
"For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? (1 Peter 3:12-13, ESV)
I read this title for Banned Books Week and also because I needed a ‘Z’ author. It’s an older book, written in 1968, so the content may have been a little more shocking back then, but really, I’m as conservative as they come, and I don’t have a problem with it at all. Yes, there is defiance of authority and alcohol reference, but with what our kids have to deal with in today’s world, this book is very mild in comparison. It’s actually a very poignant book.
I have always thought that the human heart is a little like the ocean, subject to tides, that joy rises in it in a steady flow, singing of waves, good fortune, and bliss; but afterward, when the high sea withdraws, it leaves an utter desolation in our sight. So it was with me that day.
Have you ever seen the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey and wondered what the heck was going on? The book by Arthur C. Clarke explains everything. I’m so relieved! I feel so enlightened that I now know what’s happening in the movie. I had to watch it immediately online through Netflix after finishing the book. I love the book, and I love the movie even more now. If you think I’m going to give away the book’s secrets, you’re mistaken. You’ll have to read it and see for yourself. I will say that it has a bit in common with one of my former favorite tv shows, Stargate SG-1. That was surprising, and the only hint I’ll give.
This was one of only two books I was able to read for Carl’s Sci-Fi Experience. I really wanted to read more, but unexpectedly getting quite a few ARCs from LibraryThing and other sources thwarted my sci-fi plans. I do hope to read more sci-fi this year, and I definitely hope Carl hosts another Experience next year.
This autobiographical novel by Sylvia Plath certainly gives insight about her mental illness. It’s a fascinating peek into the author’s troubled mind.
Based on a true story about the persecution and torture of Japanese Christians and foreign missionaries in 1600s Japan, Silence is a powerful book about faith (and doubt), truth, and the human spirit. What will make one person stay true to his faith, even under unspeakable torture, while another one does not? Why is God silent during suffering? These are the questions the book raises, and some would say it gives no clear answers. It is easy to say from our comfortable Western homes that we would never deny God under duress. But the Bible states that even Peter, a much loved disciple, denied Christ. What does it truly mean to stay faithful to God?
