Veil of Roses ~ Fitzgerald
While the plot is familiar (boy meets girl, an obstacle stands in the way of their relationship, but love prevails in the end), it is told from a point of view that is unique in American literature: that of a young Iranian woman. The political and religious elements of the story are presented in perfect measure; honest but not sensationalized. Tamila is an endearing character that I quickly fell in love with, and continued to admire as the story unfolded and more details of her repressive life in Iran become apparent. I enjoyed experiencing Tami embrace her new found freedom, and marvel at the American culture, which gave me, an American reader, a fresh view on my own everyday life.
Veil of Roses was a quick, entertaining read; it grabbed my attention immediately and held it. I would categorize it as "chick-lit", however, it is more thought-provoking than most "chick-lit" novels; it left me with a desire to learn more about the Persian culture.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Rasputin's Daughter ~ Alexander
Alexander's book is set in the period of the Russian revolutions and the fall of the Romanovs but the emphasis is on Rasputin -- the much-hated madman who "cured" Alexei Romanov and, it is believed, played a key part in bringing about the downfall of Russia.
The story is told through the words of Rasputin's oldest daughter and allows us to see him in a different light; his flaws are not glossed over, but a "good" side of him emerges. We also learn about the various plots to kill him.
This also was a quick, entertaining read. The quality of the writing is fair.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
In Cold Blood ~ Capote
I loved, loved this book! I found it touching, horrifying, and saddening. Capote is a master at taking you into the minds of the killers and forcing you to take a different view of criminals; it left me wondering of ways in which we could take better care of those who are on the fringes of society.
For me this was one of those rare books I could not put down and hated to finish.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
The Bell Jar ~ Plath
Facinating, well written novel on the study of psychology. The Bell Jar tells the story of a young Esther Greenwood at the beginning of her mental decline. She first recognizes its oncoming during a summer of interning at a magazine company in New York City. Trying to fit in with the other interns, as well as dealing with boys and co-workers prove to be a struggle at times for her. Later, when the real depression and suicidal thoughts set in, we are invited into a dark and scary world, one created realistically and honestly by Plath.
I am so glad I read this book...it is one of my favorites.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
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6 comments:
Capote is truly a master. I haven't read In Cold Blood yet (although it is on my bookshelf, and I hope to get to it soon), but I have read a few short stories by Capote. One, called Handcarved Coffins (also about a serial killer), is gripping.
Was it hard to make it through The Bell Jar? That's one that I've always felt I should read, but I've always put it off because it seems so heavy.
no, i did not find the bell jar difficult to get through. plath brings you through her mental decline gradually...like it must have been for her going through it. It added depth to my understanding of the human experience.
although i would not say this is a "feel good" book, it is a definite must read.
Great reviews. I love that we all have such varied interests. I haven't read any of these authors.
To be honest, I've avoided Capote. I always thought he was a bit strange, dark even. I love Dostoevsky, so I can't claim darkness as an excuse for not reading a book. But Dostoevsky writes about redemption. Is the book overwhelmingly dark? One reviewer describes In Cold Blood as "journalism written with the language and structure of literature." Maybe I'll have to read In Cold Blood, if only to study his form.
The Bell Jar sounds far too sad!
ok...so capote is strange; actually, i find him fascinating.
the book is not light reading. i did find it dark...but enlightening as well. capote is so great at creating, through his deliberate style, an intimacy between the reader and the murderers. this intimacy humanizes dick and perry; makes them even likeable. that is disturbing, horrifying... but forces one to take another look at the nature of good & evil and crime & punishment.
i forgot to add bell jar, like in cold blood, give the reader an opportunity to experience, or take a look into, a life (human condition) many mostly likely would not be exposed to otherwise. for that reason, i feel, these books are important; they teach us about others and about ourselves.
On Dostoyevsky -- As Jayme knows (and Jim), Dostoyevsky can make you enter the mind of his characters. He even makes you feel epilepsy! Feel sympathy for a psychopath, who just beat an old pawnbroker's brains out. He makes you understand the need for redemption and the solidarity we each have in our common humanity --the reality that we are born, we die, we love, and we all sin. So, as Isaiah said in Ch. 53: we all, like sheep, have gone astray (we are all the same in the need for redemption and love). Camus does the same in The Plague, and just as powerfully. The one thing that we must not do is to break our human solidarity by destroying or harming other human beings, no matter how awful they might be acting. To do that is the ultimate blasphemy (although Camus, being agnostic, didn't put it as blasphemy). To breach our common humanity is the ultimate sin. It tears us away from what makes us human. It is the ultimate self-destruction. Read The Plague (Camus), Crime & Punishment (Dostoyevsky), the Idiot (Dostoyevsky). Actually, after law school, I read each of Dostoyevsky's novels -- all his works -- in the order that he wrote them. It was an amazing experience to see him move from being a nihilistic, athiestic revolutionary to his conversion to a believer in Christ (hence, his theme of redemption), after having had his religious experience (in Siberia, where he had been sent, after being pardoned by the Czar -- actually, spared the firing squad as he stood in front of it).
Sorry to go on, but Camus, Dostoyevsky, and Capote get me worked up.
and so it goes,
Dad/Chris
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