June 13, 2008
Review, What to Read
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Slaughterhouse five is a classic book that everyone seems to have a bit of trouble understanding fully. Fertile ground for English Lit students, it seems to leave half the LibraryThing reviewers a bit stumped.
“So it goes.“
Who says I should read it?
“Having fought in the Second World War, been imprisoned, seen thousands dead, and witnessed the devastating fire-bombing of Dresden, the author has produced from his experiences a representation of the literal result of all such [rigid] authority being simultaneously let go“ 1001 Books you Must Read Before You Die
“… Vonnegut’s deeply satirical 1969 novel explores the human condition through the medium of science fiction. … Despite its bleak message, Slaughterhous-five is a deeply, if very blackly, funny novel. The direct style of writing leaves the reader free to get to grips with both the non-linear story and the results of Vonnegut’s brilliant imagination.“ 501 Must-Read Books
My Review of Slaughterhouse Five
I enjoyed the unexpectedness of this novel. It is an exploration of time and death, but approached in a completely non-linear way. Appearances of aliens and time-travel are floated into the story, as if anticipated. The main character, Billy Pilgrim, is a World War II veteran who travels in time. His story is combined with that of the author, who experienced the bombing of Dresden at the end of the war. Fragments of the story are contrasted with each other, and Billy experiences aliens and time-travel as no more absurd than what he experienced in the war.
The author also highlights the permeance of death in our society. He does this by using a catch-phrase, which quickly becomes annoying. However, the irritation acts like a bell to wake you up and remind you what is going on. I thought it was a slick trick, and one I keep mulling over in my mind.
Unfortunately, this book became a bit annoying in places. I think that time-travel stories have a tendency to flag future events. I guess this is a technique to aid the continuity of the story, but it drove me mad.
I haven’t read any other books by this author, and I am not sure that this convinces me to search them out. I suppose the books was short and quick to read, which is better than slogging through a phone book and realising you are not sure whether you liked it.
Did it deserve the recommendation?
I guess so. Although I didn’t love this book, and probably won’t read it again, the story did resonate with me. I think that I will probably think about it a lot for the next couple of days. It was worth having read.
Please note: this was previously published on my blogger blog, which I have deleted. I didn’t want to lose this review, so I have transported it here. Apologies if you have already read it.
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1001 books, book review, books, 501 books, literature
June 13, 2008
Uncategorized
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Edna O’Brien’s In the Forest is a fictionalization of the murder of a young child and his mother in Ireland by a very disturbed young man. Apparently, the book created a huge furore at the time as the crime was very well-covered in the press. I came to read it because it is on the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list.
O’Brien has created a tale of a dysfunctional, sociopathic young man, Michen O’Kane, who is institutionalized at an early age. His behaviour deteriorates regardless of what treatment he receives and he eventually escapes to plague his home county with destructive jaunts of madness. He meets outsider, EIly, who lives with her son, Mattie, and they become a touchstone of normal relationship for him, and eventually get swept into his whirlwind.
I really enjoyed the upward swing of this book - the travels with Michen as he grew into a cracked young man. I didn’t really bond with Eily, which made it hard to keep reading as enthusiastically. Also, I found it very hard to pick Mattie’s age, which meant he was very ghost-like for me. I don’t think he was consistent as a character, which made scenes with Eily jar, and made her less believable as well.
This novel is really dark in timbre, but not particularly gruesome. I love that a book can be so emotionally disturbing, without containing shocking descriptions. Instead, the mood of the novel and explanation of events is built of the emotions of the villagers. O’Kane was not bluntly shown to be evil, but a sense of dread was built around him by the fear of others. (People will probably disagree with this, as he did do some pretty awful things)
This is one of the 1001 books that I enjoyed, although it certainly left me disturbed. In some sense, the unreality of Michen’s thought processes distances it from my life. Although I know that people can be insane (in fact, I’ve met some of them), the foreignness of his thoughts prevents him from invading my life. This book didn’t keep me up at night. However, it is a lot more than the “social-worker” justification of murder that I thought it would be. Even despite the glitch with Mattie’s character, definitely worth reading.
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book review, books, 1001 books
June 13, 2008
What to Read
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Everyone I know who reads is a sucker for books about books. I am particularly susceptible. People who have read this blog will know I am a list-maker and list-breaker, so these books fuel my own little pathologies. There is nothing like feeling that there are so many books out there that you will never get a chance to read – it induces a frenzy of buying.
“Being a reader is sort of like being President, except reading involves fewer state dinners, usually. You have this agenda you want to get through, but you get distracted by life events, e.g. books arriving in the mail/World War II, and you are temporarily deflected from your chosen path.” Nick Hornby.
Nick Hornby’s Polysyllabic Spree is delightful. It is a collection of columns he wrote for the Believer magazine. He talks about his buying and reading habits. He (not surprisingly) has a better bought:read ratio than I do. There is a great section where he talks about the abundance of good novels published today, and the sad reality that our lives are too short to take advantage. I suppose I have to come to terms with that.
My tactic to deal with this is to buy any good books that I find regardless. If they are clagging up my shelves at home I will read them at some point, or something like that. But I was much reassured by the fact that Nick Hornby (man of culture and standing) had not read David Copperfield. I have not read any Dickens, despite them all sitting on my shelves, and it reassures me that others also haven’t read at least some of them!
“..The truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or their desire for more.” Gabriel Zaid, So Many Books.
Other books on books I have read recently include:
- So many books, so little time explores how books you read are linked with what is happening in your real life. The author talks about how some books can flop if read at the wrong time, and average books can shine when you are in the right mood. The author is a book reviewer and involved in the publishing industry. Unfortunately, this really comes across in her manner, and it seems unlikely that she would ever admit to not having read one of the major classics.
- Book Lust (Nancy Pearl) is the treasure trove of books about books. It even has a section recommending books about books. From this one, more than any other, I ended up with a huge list of recommendations. I will read way outside my genres based Nancy Pearl’s recommendations. Check out more lists at the Nancy Pearl website.
- For a refreshing Australian take, can recommend Anthony Marshall’s book about running Alice’s Bookshop in Carlton, Trafficking in Used books. I bought it years ago at a second hand bookshop (of course). I keep it at our farm, which acts as our holiday house. It is just the sort of thing I feel like reading when I am locked in the warm farmhouse and it is foggy outside. It is not so much a book about books, but a book about second-hand book sellers, which is fascinating. Again, not a novel so much as a series of columns, but well worth collecting together.
If my suggestions don’t excite you, try this list on Sarah’s Books.
Books about books are great to revitalise your reading habit. I was due to start “the Last Temptation” this weekend, and reading about book-fairs and shop-theft and pricing inspired me again. Enjoying Last Temptation now. Expect a book review soon.
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