Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen was lackluster and shallow. When a book carries a lot of hype and gets a motion picture attached to it (which lets be honest, not an entirely unique distinction these days from good old "brain dead for original ideas" Hollywood), the expectations are much higher. However, with such novels as The Help, Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and a variety of other high profile reads that completely 100% live up to their hype, I don't think it too unfair to expect some sort of magnificence.

Water for Elephants was not only painfully short of anything approaching magnificent, it was haphazard and unbelievable. The character development... well... "wasn't" as far as the protagonists go. I found the young Jacob cowardly and a little... how shall I say it... dim. He was as interesting as a cardboard box and nearly as pliable. "Old" Jacob I preferred much more and would've liked to spend more time with him in his deteriorating state. Marlena, oh heaven help me Marlena. I prefer novels with strong women characters; particularly if they're going to be the heroine of the novel. This doesn't mean they can't have flaws, no no, but it DOES mean they need to have some depth, inner strength, and for heavens sake half a brain for me to bear reading interacting with them. And if they're going to begin their journey as dim-witted, throw us a bone and at least have her develop in some small way. As I got to know Marlena (which took all but two pages), I was surprised that this character was written BY a woman. That's not to say male authors write overall weak woman characters, on the contrary, but I do find most women authors write very strong woman characters...strongER. The constant portrayal of Marlena as dim-witted, forever child-like, and emotionally co-dependent caused my eyes to almost get stuck rolled up in my head. She went beyond unlikable to annoying. I've never appreciated the forever helpless victim role and I guess that's why the damsel in distress motif has never appealed to me.

The characters I liked most were the "sidenotes" - Walter the little person and his dog Queenie, Camel, and even the antagonist August were much more interesting, dynamic characters and I cared much more about them than the two portagonists combined. In fact, my favorite character was Rosie the clever elephant.

The setting was magical and well-researched, but the story sucked even the romance of a traveling Circus dry. Semi-entertaining and I didn't consider not finishing it because I enjoyed the side characters enough to soldier through - but I wouldn't say this novel remotely lived up to the hype. I watched the movie afterwards - and will say skip the book on this one and watch the movie. Yep. You heard me... ME... say that. I'll take bleary eyed slack jawed Robert Pattenson over the whimpering Marlena any day.

My assessment - meh. Take it or leave it.

Oh PS: It was incredibly, INCREDIBLY sexually explicit in some parts, and that's just not something I stomach well. No, I don't stomach that well at all. The animal abuse was also a little too much for me as well... and I watch Zombie movies!

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide - Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Most of us read to be entertained, and if we learn something along the way, it's considered doubley beneficial. The familiar saying, "knowledge is power" can apply to reading since many a great mind inevitably envelopes themselves in good books. You think of the wisest person you know, and I bet they are avid readers too. Reading is the key to the door of knowing. Why do you think graduate school is so hard? It's reading and reading and more reading so you can write and read and synthesize. It's because you learn through reading.

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, allows readers to take another step away from the bliss of ignorance, and enter a harsh, cruel, very real living and breathing world where women are oppressed, raped, beaten, discouraged, and considered a comparable commodity to that of pigs and goats. Half the Sky explores the oppression of women today, in the "progressiveness" of the 21st Century, and objectively examines tried and failed, tried and true, and still trying methods to address the oppression of women in developing countries. From prioritizing women's health, to sex trafficking of young girls, to maternal mortality rates, this deeply moving and passionate read serves to inform and inspire. It is a call for change as well as conversation. It is, in essence, a wake-up call to the most pervasive of human rights violations: the continual oppression of women and girls every single day. By utilizing longitudinal research, international statistics, and the deeply moving personal stories of the women who face and have experienced oppression in their own lives, the authors demonstrate how the key to the economic and educational viability of any country is unleashing the potential of women.

I highly recommend this read to anyone with a mother, grandmother, daughter, wife, aunt, sister, and/or best friend. Knowledge is power and reading is the key to that knowledge. Read this book and then take action. At the end of this novel, there are many resources and organizations you can cater to your own passions and desires to help eliminate the oppression of women. What is learning really unless it moves us to action? Pick a cause... make a difference.

A very suitable read.

Peace Like a River - Leif Enger

A beautiful, lyrical novel that speaks to faith, loyalty, love, and the miracles in our daily lives, I highly recommend this book.

We read Peace Like a River by Leif Enger for February book club and thoroughly enjoyed it. The writing was poetic and simple. Enger utilizes language in its truest form, making every word count as the story of the Land family graciously unfolds. Written through the perspective of 11 year old Reuben Land, who struggles with debilitating asthma his whole life; he offers a unique and maturing perspective on the gift of life. He also suspects that his father, Jeremiah Land, is touched by God and can bring forth miracles which only Reuben seems to notice. I find this ability to see his father’s humility before God that gives his father the ability to perform miracles both small and large, Reuben’s most endearing quality. Though surrounded by others when these many miracles occur as the family searches for Davy, their brother who has killed two individuals both as a hero and as a murderer, across the unforgiving Badlands of North Dakota, he seems to be the only one to not only “see” them but acknowledge them with the awe and gratitude deserving to an omniscient being who is leading them gently along. Reuben is most like his father in that respect, humble and submissive, recognizing that all good things are a gift. However, Reuben is resentful at times of his father’s abilities, particularly when he heals the pot-marked face of the Superintendent of the school who has belittled, degraded, and then publically fired Jeremiah. Reuben allows his heart to question why his father would heal such a hateful man, when his own son struggles for breath every day; that same breath that Jeremiah commanded enter Reubens lungs the day of his birth. However, Reuben comes to realize that part of the miracles his father performs is just as much about the “when” as it is the what and who. The beauty of this realization is that Jeremiah’s final miracle is the same miracle he performed when Reuben was born; the gift of breath, the gift of life, the gift of sacrifice, and the gift of love. I feel only Reuben, who understands those gifts, could truly see and appreciate this final miracle.

 Many of the reviews of this novel I read refer to Jeremiah Lands abilities and Reuben’s witnessing of them as “magic.” I feel this term is wrongly chosen, as miracles and magic serve two very different purposes and have two very different connotations. For me, magic is trickery or paranormal ability to manipulate objects or defy the laws of nature. Magic requires power but not belief.  Miracles on the other hand function on faith. One must first believe that the power to defy the laws of nature exist and humbly submit to the source of that power before the miracle can not only be performed but witnessed and acknowledged. This is true in the everyday miracles of our everyday lives. Are we so consumed with our own selfish pursuits and desires that we are blinded to the miracles happening around us? Swede, Reuben’s sister, has a humbling experience when Reuben discusses with her his witness of their father’s god giving abilities and refers to the saddle given to Swede by Davy. Initially, it had a tear in the horn, but after Reuben’s father handles it, the tear is completely gone. It is healed. Swede had noticed the tear, but never noticed the healing until Reuben pointed it out.

This story is heroic, tragic, lovely, and inspiring. Both the reader and Reuben must face an internal struggle of loyalty and rightness when the family sets out to find their fugitive brother, Davy. Deep inside, you want Davy to be justified because he is a good man, but you also know that what he did was wrong given the circumstance and lack of remorse. Reconciling these two conflicting values proves difficult for both the reader and Reuben. However, as the story develops and you begin to understand Reuben, Jeremiah, Davy and little Swede as demonstrations of human emotion and the overwhelming need for something to believe in, you also begin to understand the contrasts not only between good and evil, right and wrong, but those gray areas inbetween; the justice and the mercy. The necessity of the law and the need for acceptance and forgiveness. Bad things happen to good people, good people can make bad decisions, and accepting that the sun shines on both the right and the wrong; it rains on both the wicked and righteous.

I found this novel inspiring, thought provoking, at times hilarious, and forever endearing. A very suitable read. 

What Dreams May Come - Richard Matheson

After finishing the book, I was very curious what sort of reviews it would get. I am still trying to decide how much I liked it. I think most of my qualms lie within my own belief system and what sort of characters I like to read.

What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson is about the death and afterlife of Chris Nielson, a writer, husband, and father. Chris is killed in an automobile accident and whisked away to what many would refer to as "heaven." What I DID like about the book is the in-depth research that went into creating an afterlife that could reconcile many beliefs about an afterlife into one place. I felt that was ingenious and was impressed at how Matheson coalesced all of these concepts into one reality, "if you want it to be a reality." I started to envision my own piece of heaven and how I might construct my paradisaical realms. It was an interesting thought to explore. Of course, where there is a heaven, there is also a hell, and Chris, through his unbreakable connection with his grieving wife, can not only feel her suffering, but has the lingering impression that something is wrong. It's when Albert, his guardian angel, tells him that his wife, Ann, has committed suicide and now must remain in a limbonic hell for the 24 years she was supposed to continue living, that Chris decides to descend to this lower level and seek her out. I struggled with the logic of this to an extent. If time is not "time" in this heavenly realm, and if Chris risks not only losing himself but prolonging their separation by descending to this lower level, I wonder why he couldn't wait the 24 years when Ann would be allowed to join him once again. Yes, I understand the grief that she will have to suffer for those 24 years, but Albert explains that that is the key to her ultimate progression. That to learn the lessons that are sometimes the hardest to learn, and to make recompense for the poor decisions we've made, the road back is less than ideal. How else do we learn from past mistakes if not by facing the consequences of those choices and accepting that by choosing how we did, we also chose the outcome. This 24 years was meant to help Ann recognize and progress to the level where Chris ended up.

In many respects, the movie made more sense to me than the book. This is one such instance. In the movie, Chris (Robin Williams) is told that Ann will be in this limbonic self-imposed hell for eternity and THAT seems a more tragic and disheartening scenario than risking longer separation for having to wait only 24 years. 24 years compared with eternity puts it in better perspective for me, at any rate. At least, it adds greater justification and urgency to Chris's decision to "save" his wife from hell i.e. from her decision to commit suicide and the consequences of that choice.

I also really struggled with the character of Ann in the book and this is where my personal bias may come into play. In the novel, Ann is constantly painted as very weak of character, child-like, naive, extremely co-dependent, and incapable. This bothered me a lot. I like strong women characters and/or women who have some independence and inner strength that helps them cope with life. Don't misunderstand me. We all have flaws, weaknesses, tragedies, and vulnerabilities that we struggle to cope with, but Ann didn't seem to cope at all, rather, to merely survive. And even in the end, she couldn't do that. She had lost her husband and throughout the novel, Matheson attempts to take this already incomprehensible grief and magnify it through Ann's inability to live as a whole person without her husband present. Passing these two off as "soul-mates" was not justification enough for me for Ann to take her own life when she still had 4 children and other family alive who were also grieving and struggling. I would never attempt to diminish the incredible loss and grief that would overcome someone if their spouse passed away so quickly; particularly if, like Ann, you didn't believe in an afterlife. But it seems that her response to Chris's passing was typical of her characters inability to have some perspective, pull up her big girl panties, and face life as it is; good and bad. I found her character incredibly weak-willed and it frustrated me how Chris always referred to her as a little girl constantly in need of saving. I felt that she made her self a greater victim than she actually was. There are scenario's that are thrust upon her that she cannot control - but through her pessimism, childishness, and extreme co-dependency, I felt she overly victimized herself and for me, made her a very frustrating character and difficult for me to want Chris to "save." Her stubbornness and pessimism also blinded her to belief that there was life after death and she refused to allow the consideration to even exist. Many times, when faced with the death of someone close to us, it opens the door to greater possibilities. For Ann, she chose to remain blind and therefore, encompass herself in a shroud of "wo is me."  I found her very self-centered in many respects.

In the movie version, however, Ann's grief at Chris's passing is compounded by the loss of their only 2 children (vs. 4 in the book) not 4 years earlier. Now THIS sort of trauma, for me, brings Ann's suffering to a level I feel justifies it being "unbearable" to the point of considering death. She literally lost everything within 5 short years and regardless of your feelings about suicide, can understand her excruciating grief and desire to remove it from herself even by desperate measures such as suicide. In this I don't justify the act of suicide nor do I attempt to pass judgement on those who choose that path. That is not for any of us to decide; however, what I'm saying is that the Ann in the movie couldn't be blamed for languishing in that sorrowful darkness and wanting it to end. Thus, this made Chris's quest more acceptable and made the audience sympathize and even understand Ann's struggle more.

I also thought the end if the novel was a little far-fetched not to mention compounding the issue once again. Now instead of waiting the requisite 24 years of separation that would've not only allowed Ann to understand her choice and progress, they have to be reborn, find each other again, and live another lifetime in the hope that their decisions will be such that they end up in the same place. Likewise, it seems Ann's reincarnation was made "easier" so that she could have a better chance at making it to the same realm as Chris previously had. How is this progression if she is back-tracking? Is this to say her first lifetime was clearly a mistake and she was too weak-willed to overcome her trials in that life and so, instead, she gets a second chance by being reborn into less difficult circumstances? The novel does mention she will have a sleep disorder because of her choice to take her own life with sleeping pills and she will be born in India; but to more loving parents in a more ideal circumstance, setting her up to meet Chris, the heroic doctor that will, once again, save her.

Perhaps I'm missing the point. That this novel is a love story before anything else. A love that transcends death and hell and separation. But one of the characters intricate in this story, Ann, was not someone I loved or even liked; that I couldn't even bring myself to pity, so it was difficult for me to urge Chris on when I felt the quest was continuing to hinder an already weak-willed character. I also felt through the 4 pages of him thanking her and apologizing to her for various scenario's in their life, started to be a laundry list of what a woman should be; most of them I didn't ever really see in this character at all.  

Clearly I've had a lot to say about this novel which clearly marks it as a decent book for discussion. I would give this book perhaps a generous 3 of 5 stars overall. However, from the reviews I've read, most give it 5 out of 5 stars. Most of my qualms with the book are likely my own personal annoyances rather than over-arching bias. So, read at your own risk. That's my recommendation ;)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky

Reminiscent of such "coming of age" classics as "Catcher in the Rye" and to some extent, "The Bell Jar", "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky is about Charlie, a first year high school student, attempting to navigate teenage angst through drugs, sex, mix-tapes, Rocky Horror Picture Show, and his own self-imposed expectations as he attempts to "participate" in his life by integrating into the lives of his friends and family. Charlie also must deal with heavier issues such as the suicide of his friend,  Michael, his own childhood traumas, homosexuality, relationships, and abortion. All of these themes are explored through Charlie's letters he titles as "Dear Friend,".

Set in the mid-90's, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and felt it tapped into many experiences through the voice of one character and his circle of friends and family. There is something in this novel that everyone can relate to and at the very least, propels your mind backwards to those now blurry days of yester-year, reliving your own coming of age experiences. I particularly enjoyed Charlie's tenderness and love for his family. So many novels focus on the traumas of family dysfunction and tragedy; this novel has its own family dysfunctions, but at the center of their flaws and vulnerabilities they love each other and they stick by each other. And his parents aren't divorced. How's that for unique fiction, am I right?

SPOILER
I was also caught off guard when Charlie's childhood trauma is finally established. Throughout the novel you know that his emotional state of being is slightly skewed, all be it, held at the fringes of his present reality. You chalk it up as simply being an awkward kid attempting to navigate life as its handed to him. However, you then begin to realize that the deeply effected emotional tragedies he has suffered haven't been fully experienced nor are they the symptoms of typical teenage problems. I felt this was present in the fact he's always bursting into tears. At first, his regular crying comes off as him merely being a tender and sensitive soul, but throughout the novel you begin to suspect that there is something always lingering about him, trying to shove him into dealing with the burdens he carries around with him everyday but won't fully acknowledge. On top of his friend's suicide, you discover that he was molested by his Aunt at a young age and that trauma has kept him from being emotionally or socially connected for most of his life. At the urging of his English teacher, Bill, to "participate" Charlie's journey to reconciling his emotions is finally achieved when he is forced to face his emotions alone. He has a mental breakdown. On the upside, it is then that he can start truly healing and becoming a whole and "participating" individual. He can finally take those priceless moments where he's felt "infinite" and apply it throughout his existence.

A very suitable read!

Room - Emma Donoghue

Room by Emma Donoghue was our January Book Club read and I found it beautiful, shocking, riveting, and thought provoking. Five-year-old Jack has spent his whole life in an eleven-by-eleven foot space he fondly refers to as Room. There's also Rug, TV, and Plant. These are Jack's friends, but as he's getting bigger, he's naturally becoming more curious.

His mother, Ma, has been locked in this room since she was 19. She was kidnapped off of a college campus by Old Nick. A man she did not know. And he has held her captive in a backyard shed for 7 years. This story of a mother's love for her young child is both heart wrenching and desperate. She knows that her time in Room may be drawing to an end and that they cannot be contained much longer.

Overall I enjoyed the novel. Written completely from the perspective of Jack, it took a couple of chapters to get used to his thought processes and perceptions. There was some inconsistency in his speaking aptitude, utilizing "boing boing... and commentary" in the same sentence, for example, and I started to wonder where the story was taking place; i.e. I got the impression it was taking place in the United Kingdom because of some of the jargon. You find out they are, in fact, in an American city somewhere later in the story. I read later that the author is from Ireland which accounted for some of the cultural jargon. I also wondered if the author felt the book could be a movie at some point (because what book ISN'T a movie these days?) and wrote herself in as the Irish nurse. Just a thought.

*SPOILER ALERT*
The story was also not what I expected in the end either. I expected the entire story to take place in Room and the climax and finale would be their eventual escape. Though the escape happened, it was only mid-way through the novel and I was curious how Donoghue would continue with the story post-Room. It was this part of the story I found most intriguing. For example: Jack's difficulty with depth perception, light, sunshine, and simply coping with the idea that the world was not contained in a Room with Sunday Treat and hiding at nights from Old Nick was an interesting adjustment to be a part of. That TV was both real and imaginary, and that his cognitive development in many ways was sound but in other ways, in the very metaphysical type of ways, difficult and frustrating to cope with at times. Even Ma, who knew what the outside was like, had to readjust in her own way after being held captive for so long.  Of course it is also a very dark and sickening commentary on the psychotic behavior and fanaticism of individuals who assert such utter control and subordination over another human being. Though most of the gory details were assumed because you are viewing the situation through Jack's experience, knowing that such things happen today and that these monsters exist in this world is distressing to say the very least.

In the end, it was the journey back to the world for Ma, and the discovery of the world for Jack, that made this novel unique and worthwhile.

A suitable read.

Z for Zachariah - Robert C. O'Brien

For Book Club in the month of December, we decided to opt-out of actually reading a novel considering the holidays tendency to take up a great deal of discretionary time with various holiday activities, and instead had Bookmus Festivus. Bookmus Festivus is a gathering of Book Clubbers, delicious food, and of course, a book exchange suitable for any bookphiles Holiday celebration. I received the above book during said exchange and was MUCH pleased. Okay... truth be told I STOLE this book from Jaime who got it first, but hey, thems the breaks in the all mighty book exchange rules. So stolen! Mwha!

Z for Zachariah is a YA fiction novel reminiscent of such classics as The Hatchet. It's about a young girl, Ann, who has been left behind after a nuclear war has ravaged the world. Within the confines of the little piece of valley that has survived the fallout, she is completely alone. Then one day, a man wearing a radioactive retardant suit stumbles upon her dwelling and Ann is both weary and excited at the prospect of not being the last person on earth. However, it seems that there are worse things than being the only one left alive.

These sorts of novels are my hands down favorite; i.e. stories of survival, resourcefulness, the amazing ability of humans to adapt and carry on, and of course, the commentary on the nature of human goodness or propensity for evil when the whole world goes to shi*. I always wondered what sort of person I would in an "end of the world" scenario; when all societal constraints are demolished and you have only your inner moral compass to direct your actions. Would I be the person who shot the other guy in the leg to escape the hoard of Zombies descending upon us (eh? eh? Are YOU a Shane?), or would I be the woman who lets the Zombies overtake me so my friends and family could escape? Can we reconcile our moral constraints with survival of the fittest? Because inevitably, our "what we SHOULD do" will come in particularly stark contrast with the "what we MUST do" to survive. Would you give up your moral and ethical constraints to live on one more day? Would you lay your humanity on the alter of survival? Is it more important to live in the gray zone or die holding to some societal precept of "rightness" that went up in a mushroom cloud? I know what you'll say sitting there on your comfortable couch or at your warm desk on your lunch break. But when it comes down to it... what sort of person would you really end up being? How far would you go to survive?

 Intended for the young adult reader, I love this novel because it can explore these themes and questions in a simple and graspable way. However, the ending is a bit sudden. I wanted it to keep going and perhaps there could have been a trilogy in the works had not the author passed away. In fact, he died with this book unfinished and it was his wife and daughter who pieced together the final chapters from his notes. I think someone could take the ending of this book and run with it for another two books easily. Hmmm... maybe someone SHOULD do that. Yes, precious, perhaps they should...

A suitable read for any of you who enjoys a good survival story.