Well I finished it, and I'm really not quite sure what to say. I'm sure there was some kind of symbolism or allusion in the last few pages, but if there was, I sure didn't catch it. Plot-wise, it made me pretty angry. It's one of those books with a very vague ending that really doesn't resolve any of the problems that the book created, and that just ticks me off. Why couldn't the book just end with Montag spreading the value of books throughout the city and everyone realizing how stupid they were? I guess it's because that would make the book too concrete and leave less room for discussion about the book. Isn't it true that most of the most popular books are very vague and have loads of ambiguity? I think so.
I really enjoyed the first half of the book, and I also enjoyed the majority of the second half. Unfortunately, Bradbury must have done something to change the book in the last 10-15 pages. I don't know what it was, but I didn't like it. He still wrote the same way with a bunch of figurative language and detail, but there was something missing...
I still enjoyed the character of Montag and how he was continually fighting an inner battle, and as terrible as this sounds, I was almost cheering when the city was blown up and Mildred died. That's one thing that Bradbury did right: Kill off the stupid people.
Overall, I enjoyed the book for the most part, which is all I can ask for. It gave me some entertainment unlike some other books we've read (That's right, I'm looking at you Color of Water), and for that I say thank you Ray Bradbury. At least this is the last book we have to read. Right? Please tell me I'm right.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Fahrenheit 451 (part uno)
93 pages in (119 actually. I read ahead. Oops.) and I'm really enjoying Fahrenheit 451 so far. It's similar to Life of Pi in that the main character seems deeply disturbed and is continuously waging inner warfare in order to weed out his demons, which makes the book all the better. The way the future is portrayed is actually quite frightening, because it depicts the way that society is headed in a startlingly accurate manner. Bradbury does a fantastic job of avoiding straight narration, rather using conversation and deep description to bring the story along. In all honesty, the plot isn't a very developed one, from what I've read, but Bradbury still manages to spice the story up in a way that makes it enjoyable. In addition, the book has moments that are utterly hilarious. For instance, Captain Beatty's spiel on page 61 about tricking the average citizens into believing they're valuable and informed was hysterical. I thought that actually quite notable, in that it shared a characteristic with the book itself, in that the book is predominantly dark and cryptic but has sporadic flashes of fire, and the funny moments represent that fire. Loose connection? Undoubtedly.
As much as I like the book, I hate Mildred. She seems to represent the average people in this futuristic society, but she's SO STUPID. The more she became involved, the more I hated her. She represents that which I hate in real people: stupidity, at the highest of levels. The quick death of Clarisse bothered me a little bit, but after continuing to read, I kind of forgot about her, which is probably what Bradbury wanted the reader to do. Making the readers share traits with characters in the books, in this case disregard and short memory, is an immeasurable skill that few writers seem to have.
Overall I'm enjoying Fahrenheit 451, and having already read ahead a little bit, I will continue to like it. It's my favorite book out of the few we've read so far, and I hope the end is just as good as the beginning.
As much as I like the book, I hate Mildred. She seems to represent the average people in this futuristic society, but she's SO STUPID. The more she became involved, the more I hated her. She represents that which I hate in real people: stupidity, at the highest of levels. The quick death of Clarisse bothered me a little bit, but after continuing to read, I kind of forgot about her, which is probably what Bradbury wanted the reader to do. Making the readers share traits with characters in the books, in this case disregard and short memory, is an immeasurable skill that few writers seem to have.
Overall I'm enjoying Fahrenheit 451, and having already read ahead a little bit, I will continue to like it. It's my favorite book out of the few we've read so far, and I hope the end is just as good as the beginning.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Life of Pi (part quatro)
To say I was baffled by the end of The Life of Pi would be an understatement. For starters, Pi's entire personality changed, for the better in my opinion, from that of a bipolar doomsayer to that of a bitterly humorous parasite. Of course, being alone with a tiger for 227 days may have had a little to do with that... Then there was the whole dual story predicament where Pi retold his story in a gruesome, human-affiliated way. This seemed not only hideous and disgusting, but extremely symbolic and meaningful. I think it represented the author's belief that introducing humans to a situation changes it for the worse, a belief that Mr. Robert Sutton shares. And finally, I have one final question: What exactly did Pi have under his blanket at the hospital? It must have been pretty gross considering what he kept pulling out of there.
Pi's religious belief seemed to fade in this last part, not to say that it wasn't there, it was just mentioned less and less as it went on. Another observation I made was that the two interviewers were jerks. Pi just got off the Pacific Ocean after 227 days, and they just treated him like a mentally incapable/useless person. Another thing that bothered me was the departure of Richard Parker. RP was my favorite character throughout this book (Out of a big field might I add: Him or Pi? Hmm, which to choose...), and he just dropped off like Boromir from the Lord of the Rings.
My final thoughts on The Life of Pi are that it's a novel that shares many traits with its protagonist: At times exciting and funny, yet at others exhaustingly repetitive and tiringly austere. I enjoyed it for the most part, excluding the dreadful parts of course, and I'll have mostly fond memories as I think about it in years to come.
Pi's religious belief seemed to fade in this last part, not to say that it wasn't there, it was just mentioned less and less as it went on. Another observation I made was that the two interviewers were jerks. Pi just got off the Pacific Ocean after 227 days, and they just treated him like a mentally incapable/useless person. Another thing that bothered me was the departure of Richard Parker. RP was my favorite character throughout this book (Out of a big field might I add: Him or Pi? Hmm, which to choose...), and he just dropped off like Boromir from the Lord of the Rings.
My final thoughts on The Life of Pi are that it's a novel that shares many traits with its protagonist: At times exciting and funny, yet at others exhaustingly repetitive and tiringly austere. I enjoyed it for the most part, excluding the dreadful parts of course, and I'll have mostly fond memories as I think about it in years to come.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Life of Pi (part tres)
As the pages continue to turn, so Pi continues his fateful journey to his ultimate destination: Canada. All joking aside, Pi has really become an interesting person in my eyes. Sure, he seems to be slightly bipolar, at times feeling like the king of the world (or lifeboat), and then sporadically turning around and dooming himself psychologically. Evidently, these are the types of characteristics one picks up as they lounge on a lifeboat with a 450 pound Bengal tiger for long periods of time.
Martell has also continued to impress me with his mastery of the written word. I challenge the reader to find another author (other than the late Robert Jordan) that can write more than 5 pages about a guy living on a boat in the Pacific Ocean with a tiger. Monotony should be prevalent, only it isn't. Martell, somehow, continues to create words out of nowhere, and for that, he has my respect. The only thing left is to finish the book, which at this point seems a little challenging. Darn you Calculus.
Martell has also continued to impress me with his mastery of the written word. I challenge the reader to find another author (other than the late Robert Jordan) that can write more than 5 pages about a guy living on a boat in the Pacific Ocean with a tiger. Monotony should be prevalent, only it isn't. Martell, somehow, continues to create words out of nowhere, and for that, he has my respect. The only thing left is to finish the book, which at this point seems a little challenging. Darn you Calculus.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Life of Pi (part dos)
(This would have been posted last night but my internet was out because of the weather.)
The second part of Martel's book started off in probably the best possible way: "The ship sank". Having had some previous knowledge of the plot and story of the book, I knew what was to come, but the conciseness of this statement complemented Martel's prior use of simplicity to explain very deeply controversial and complicated subjects. Throughout this part, Pi's devotion to faith, all of them, is further portrayed through various ways, and the story itself really takes off. The redundancy I so despised in the first part has fantastically disappeared, and the result is a vastly improved read.
Martel has continually played to his strengths, chiefly with regards to aiming for brevity and simplicity, while also appealing to his reader’s emotions (Pathos for you curious-minded souls). I enjoyed the first part, and I was pleasantly stunned by the excellence of the second part, and now I look forward to reaching the end of Martel’s brilliant work.
The second part of Martel's book started off in probably the best possible way: "The ship sank". Having had some previous knowledge of the plot and story of the book, I knew what was to come, but the conciseness of this statement complemented Martel's prior use of simplicity to explain very deeply controversial and complicated subjects. Throughout this part, Pi's devotion to faith, all of them, is further portrayed through various ways, and the story itself really takes off. The redundancy I so despised in the first part has fantastically disappeared, and the result is a vastly improved read.
Martel has continually played to his strengths, chiefly with regards to aiming for brevity and simplicity, while also appealing to his reader’s emotions (Pathos for you curious-minded souls). I enjoyed the first part, and I was pleasantly stunned by the excellence of the second part, and now I look forward to reaching the end of Martel’s brilliant work.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Life of Pi (Part uno)
The thing that struck me most was the fact that Martel's writing showed, it didn't tell. Immediately I knew that that was going to allow me to enjoy the book. As of right now, the book is fairly enjoyable. I've found myself laughing at parts, like when Pi and his parents were confronted by "the three wise men", and I've also seen some different views on religion in general. I've always thought that religion was basically set in stone, that there was one belief, and then there was another, but the way that Pi discovers religion, 3 at once actually, and that he discovers them all in the same way through different manners is very intriguing. The simplicity with which he approached it was astounding.
I was bothered slightly, however, by the large lists that he dove into in the beginning chapters. It seemed like he was rambling on and on about random animals that, to me at least, seemed to have little or no relevance to the story at all. A few anecdotes seem slightly dragged out, as though they were intended to draw curiosity but really only served to bore. Overall, though, I'd have to say I'm really enjoying Life of Pi, and I look forward to getting into the (hopefully) good part.
I was bothered slightly, however, by the large lists that he dove into in the beginning chapters. It seemed like he was rambling on and on about random animals that, to me at least, seemed to have little or no relevance to the story at all. A few anecdotes seem slightly dragged out, as though they were intended to draw curiosity but really only served to bore. Overall, though, I'd have to say I'm really enjoying Life of Pi, and I look forward to getting into the (hopefully) good part.
Monday, February 28, 2011
The Color of Water (part tres)
First things first, I have to get this off my chest. I might be the only one thinking this, but it has gotten on my nerves for as long as I can remember. Why, pray tell, do poor people have so many children when they clearly can't afford it? The way that Ruth talks about having children it's as if they just pop out whenever they feel like it. But now that that's out of the way, I have to actually talk about the book itself, which I frankly enjoyed. Despite his rough start, McBride managed to eventually find solid ground on which to end the book and his incessant whining, pleasantly giving the book a respectful conclusion. Although I have already stated my immense confusion and distaste for poor people who reproduce at ridiculous rates, I came to respect Ruth and actually wish that I could have met her. Every day I hear of stories of people who pushed through adversity, but her story just seems to top them all. Basically, older Ruth is much more impressive than younger Ruth, primarily because she seems much more human, as though she actually had some idea of the world around her rather than living in a state of induced obliviousness.
Overall I would have to say this probably won't be a book I'll make a priority to remember. Sure, it was a good read, and yes, it did paint an accurate vision of the prejudice in the older US via a firsthand account, but I just feel like it was a little too 'needy'. Throughout the whole book McBride seemed to expect people to feel sorry for him and every other black person in the world, which is understandable, but at the same time, a bit outlandish. Despite a shaky beginning, I managed to gain tidbits of knowledge and understanding from The Color of Water.
Overall I would have to say this probably won't be a book I'll make a priority to remember. Sure, it was a good read, and yes, it did paint an accurate vision of the prejudice in the older US via a firsthand account, but I just feel like it was a little too 'needy'. Throughout the whole book McBride seemed to expect people to feel sorry for him and every other black person in the world, which is understandable, but at the same time, a bit outlandish. Despite a shaky beginning, I managed to gain tidbits of knowledge and understanding from The Color of Water.
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