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more book thoughts
Feb. 26th, 2003 11:27 amA Year Down Under by Richard Peck
In the midst of the depression 15 year old Mary Alice has to spend a year with her grandmother in the country while her Mother and Father save enough money for her to return to Chicago. A Year Down Under is the sequel to A Long Way From Chicago. Since the last book 2 years have passed. Joey is in the Civilian Conservatoin Corps planting trees, and Mary Alice is in high school. This book covers much of the same ground as it's predecessor. As the book begins Mary Alice fears and dislikes Grandma. By the end, she is emulating her and does not want to leave.
Each chapter in this book provides just enough information to be a self contained story. could be looked at as a story unto itself. Just enough information is provided to enjoy it as a self contained story. But, the book, as a whole tells it's own tale. Adding up the pieces of each chapter to create to a larger connected story. I like this technique. It's almost a trick. Eating dinner in small pieces, until you look down and see that it is all gone.
The situations, descriptions, characters and language immerse the story in the time period. There is never a feeling that you are reading a story that is supposed to take place during this period of American history. Instead, it feels as if you are listening to a girl tell a story about her childhood. Remembering the tales, and how she felt. I think this book would be appropriate for advanced younger readers like 8 or 9 up to 13 or so.
The BFG by Roald Dahl
A sweet funny story about an outcast giant who meets up with a little orphan girl, who is something of an outcast herself. All of the Dahl stories that I have read have been sweet. There is always a dark nature somewhere in the story. Giants eating little kids, nasty contest winners, farmers wanting to eat the fox. But, at the base of each story. There is a relationship that is clearly strong and filled with adoration and love. These relationships are what makes the dark parts of the story palatable.
The giant is given a fun language that the little girl is forced to decipher. At first, he seems slow witted. But, as time goes, you can see that he isn't in the least bit slow. Just different. The giant collects dreams. He allows the little girl to listen to some of them, They are delightful stories within the story. This book would probably be best enjoyed by kids aged 8 to around 12.
The Autograph Man by Zadie Smith
The prologue for The Autograph Man is so far different than the book it almost feels like false advertising. Alex Li Tandem is a twelve year old boy who is best friends with his father. He feels little need for friends his own age. On his mother's insistence his father is taking Alex and two friends to a wrestling match. At this match Alex makes a friend called Joseph; Joseph introduces Alex to what will become his life's calling - autographs. That's not the only life changing event that happens to Alex at the match. His father, who has a sickness he has been hiding from his family and denying from himself, falls among a mad crush of people with noone to help him.
The prologue ends with the Father falling. The first chapter starts with an adult Alex waking up in a drug induced hazy hangover. Alex remembers only raw snippets of the last week. He is trying to piece together where he is, and where he has come from. His disorder is mirrored by our confusion as we try to piece together what happened at the end of the prologue and how it relates to the current time in the novel.
The change of time isn't the only difference between the prologue and the first chapter. The style is different. The prologue was tight; each sentence seemed to give out a vital piece of information. Meanderings existed, but they seemed important to describe the situation and the character's surroundings. It was an important chapter. It foreshadowed, without telling too much. It gave us glimpses of characters we wish we could know better. We are allowed to know the father for such a short period of time. He was a character that was easy to like and identify with. Then. Snap he is gone. That provides us the acces we need to understand how strong everyone's feelings for the Father are. Not just Alex's.
The effectiveness of the prologue. It's ability to say so much in such a small amount of space both helped the book and hurt it. After that prologue, the rest of the book seemed so slow. Taking four paragraphs to get to a point that would have taken two or three words in that prologue. This comparison hurts the rest of the book. The further I read, the less I compared and the more I became immersed in the present day of the characters I was introduced to earlier.
Throughtout the novel pop-culture is an important facet. The main character's obession with a star from the past. The book he is writing which is page after page of things that are goyish versus things that are Jewish, which is based on a Lenny Bruce act. These pieces of pop culture are both celebrated and shown to be absurdly overvalued.
The second half of the book took a turn I didn't imagine. A turn that I didn't know what to think of at first. It, along with the entire story, was tied up in a satisfactory manner. The book doesn't live up to the greatness I was hoping for from the prologue, but it was better than I expected from the first chapter.
The League of Frightened Men
The Rubber Band
by Rex Stout.
I can see no reason to do seperate reviews of the Nero Wolfe books. Not that they aren't great. It's just that- they are very similar to one another. The quality is high. The characteriization is tip top. And the stories are engaging. But, they still follow the same formula. I liked both of these.
The League of Frightened Men is my favorite Wolfe story so far. It has a collection of interesting fun characters, and a fun story. My favorite part of the Rubber Band is the way he figures out the answer to the case. Silly, but enjoyable.
In the midst of the depression 15 year old Mary Alice has to spend a year with her grandmother in the country while her Mother and Father save enough money for her to return to Chicago. A Year Down Under is the sequel to A Long Way From Chicago. Since the last book 2 years have passed. Joey is in the Civilian Conservatoin Corps planting trees, and Mary Alice is in high school. This book covers much of the same ground as it's predecessor. As the book begins Mary Alice fears and dislikes Grandma. By the end, she is emulating her and does not want to leave.
Each chapter in this book provides just enough information to be a self contained story. could be looked at as a story unto itself. Just enough information is provided to enjoy it as a self contained story. But, the book, as a whole tells it's own tale. Adding up the pieces of each chapter to create to a larger connected story. I like this technique. It's almost a trick. Eating dinner in small pieces, until you look down and see that it is all gone.
The situations, descriptions, characters and language immerse the story in the time period. There is never a feeling that you are reading a story that is supposed to take place during this period of American history. Instead, it feels as if you are listening to a girl tell a story about her childhood. Remembering the tales, and how she felt. I think this book would be appropriate for advanced younger readers like 8 or 9 up to 13 or so.
The BFG by Roald Dahl
A sweet funny story about an outcast giant who meets up with a little orphan girl, who is something of an outcast herself. All of the Dahl stories that I have read have been sweet. There is always a dark nature somewhere in the story. Giants eating little kids, nasty contest winners, farmers wanting to eat the fox. But, at the base of each story. There is a relationship that is clearly strong and filled with adoration and love. These relationships are what makes the dark parts of the story palatable.
The giant is given a fun language that the little girl is forced to decipher. At first, he seems slow witted. But, as time goes, you can see that he isn't in the least bit slow. Just different. The giant collects dreams. He allows the little girl to listen to some of them, They are delightful stories within the story. This book would probably be best enjoyed by kids aged 8 to around 12.
The Autograph Man by Zadie Smith
The prologue for The Autograph Man is so far different than the book it almost feels like false advertising. Alex Li Tandem is a twelve year old boy who is best friends with his father. He feels little need for friends his own age. On his mother's insistence his father is taking Alex and two friends to a wrestling match. At this match Alex makes a friend called Joseph; Joseph introduces Alex to what will become his life's calling - autographs. That's not the only life changing event that happens to Alex at the match. His father, who has a sickness he has been hiding from his family and denying from himself, falls among a mad crush of people with noone to help him.
The prologue ends with the Father falling. The first chapter starts with an adult Alex waking up in a drug induced hazy hangover. Alex remembers only raw snippets of the last week. He is trying to piece together where he is, and where he has come from. His disorder is mirrored by our confusion as we try to piece together what happened at the end of the prologue and how it relates to the current time in the novel.
The change of time isn't the only difference between the prologue and the first chapter. The style is different. The prologue was tight; each sentence seemed to give out a vital piece of information. Meanderings existed, but they seemed important to describe the situation and the character's surroundings. It was an important chapter. It foreshadowed, without telling too much. It gave us glimpses of characters we wish we could know better. We are allowed to know the father for such a short period of time. He was a character that was easy to like and identify with. Then. Snap he is gone. That provides us the acces we need to understand how strong everyone's feelings for the Father are. Not just Alex's.
The effectiveness of the prologue. It's ability to say so much in such a small amount of space both helped the book and hurt it. After that prologue, the rest of the book seemed so slow. Taking four paragraphs to get to a point that would have taken two or three words in that prologue. This comparison hurts the rest of the book. The further I read, the less I compared and the more I became immersed in the present day of the characters I was introduced to earlier.
Throughtout the novel pop-culture is an important facet. The main character's obession with a star from the past. The book he is writing which is page after page of things that are goyish versus things that are Jewish, which is based on a Lenny Bruce act. These pieces of pop culture are both celebrated and shown to be absurdly overvalued.
The second half of the book took a turn I didn't imagine. A turn that I didn't know what to think of at first. It, along with the entire story, was tied up in a satisfactory manner. The book doesn't live up to the greatness I was hoping for from the prologue, but it was better than I expected from the first chapter.
The League of Frightened Men
The Rubber Band
by Rex Stout.
I can see no reason to do seperate reviews of the Nero Wolfe books. Not that they aren't great. It's just that- they are very similar to one another. The quality is high. The characteriization is tip top. And the stories are engaging. But, they still follow the same formula. I liked both of these.
The League of Frightened Men is my favorite Wolfe story so far. It has a collection of interesting fun characters, and a fun story. My favorite part of the Rubber Band is the way he figures out the answer to the case. Silly, but enjoyable.
