I picked up this book because I really enjoy reading stories from World War 2 and that whole time period. I was also really struck by the quote on the front "A shocking, profoundly moving, and morally challenging story." The blurb on the back talks about two stories, a young Jewish girl who is taken with her family in a round-up by the French police on behalf of the Gestapo and the other of a female journalist investigating the round-up sixty years later. What makes the story that much more heart-rending is the fact that this little girl, in an effort to save her little brother, locks him in a secret cupboard promising to release him when they return.
Knowing what we know now about Gestapo round-ups and the eventual fate of the European Jews, you can probably guess at the outcome for the young boy. But what really made this book so great for me was what happened after all of that. Julia, the journalist, finds connections between her life and that of Sarah, the young girl who left her brother behind and it begins to raise questions for her. Questions about responsibility and obligation to others, questions about morality of actions and consequence of choices. I think that was what really left such an impression on me.
Reading fiction about World War 2, I would like to think that I would have been numbered among those who were brave enough to stand up and oppose the madness going on around them. I would like to think that I would have the ability to recognize wrong, even when it is being portrayed as the right, and the fortitude to defend what I know to be true and good. But as I say that, I look at the risks that these people took and the consequences if they were found out and I really don't know if I would have it in me to make the choices they did. They raise that question in this book, "Even if you don't actively do anything wrong, is sitting by and watching it happen just as wrong?"
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
light reading
With the best of intentions, I started to read "Anna Karenina." I got about 15 pages in and then got caught up in the craziness of getting ready for our trip to Utah for Jordan's wedding. Tolstoy is not something to be reading after a long and exhausting day so I went back to the bookshelf for something a little less mentally taxing. I chose "The Falcon at the Portal" by Elizabeth Peters, one of the books in her Amelia Peabody series. It is one of my favorite series ever! Amelia Peabody is an archaeologist in the early 1900's and she and her family have a tendency to get into all sorts of trouble while excavating pyramids. I love this series because Amelia is a character I LOVE!!! She is sassy, smart, and hilarious. This is one of the books I would almost love to see made into a movie. I say almost because, generally, after I see a movie based on a book I come away thinking "the book was better." I would love to see Amelia's adventures on screen, but I would hate for anyone to mess with the near-perfection that she is.
Now that I have finished "The Falcon at the Portal", I HAVE to keep reading to see what happens (even though I already know what happens as I have read the series at least 3 times already). If you are looking for a fun read, I completely recommend the series. Start with "Crocodile on the Sandbank" and prepare to be hooked!
Now that I have finished "The Falcon at the Portal", I HAVE to keep reading to see what happens (even though I already know what happens as I have read the series at least 3 times already). If you are looking for a fun read, I completely recommend the series. Start with "Crocodile on the Sandbank" and prepare to be hooked!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The Namesake
Last night I sacrificed sleep to finish the last pages of "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri (I love when I find a book that gets me so involved that I can't put it down; any chance I can get to sneak in a couple pages, I'll take it!) I picked this book up because it was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and I had heard good things about it, and it lived up to the high expectations I had for it.
Quick rundown: A young couple move to America from Calcutta and begin their life, trying to hold on to their culture and yet assimilate into American life. They have a family and name their child Gogol (there is a whole back story to how he got his name), which he comes to hate. He subsequently attempts to distance himself from everything associated with his name by changing it, and as a result, his parents and heritage. In the end, he finds that he really can't escape who he is and where he has come from.
So it all comes back to the age-old question; nurture or nature? Which figures more prominently in deciding the type of person you will be and the direction your life will take. Looking at me and my siblings, I see a huge argument for nature. Even though we were all raised in the same environment, we are all very different people. True, there are some attributes that we can look at and say "Oh, that is Dad" or "That is so Mom" (I am ALL my mother!), there are other things about each of us that are unique to us. But then I look around at other people and see evidence for nurture. My mom is a special ed/resource room teacher and we have discussed the possibility that some of her students wouldn't be in her class if they had a different home environment. How can you expect a child to excel in academics when there isn't a single book in the home?
Because this is a book about immigrants in America, there is a lot of discussion about culture and whether it is better to live as you did in the previous country or completely assimilate into American culture. I think the family in this novel shows a pretty typical picture of immigrant families; the parents cling to the old lifestyle and customs while the next generation attempts to "fit in." This has been such a hot-button issue with the illegal-immigration and language questions floating around in politics. I love that America is an open country where people from all over can come and bring their differences to add to the mix. However, that being said, I also believe that an effort should be made to become a part of the American culture, i.e. learning the language.
I really enjoyed the way this book was written and want to go look for others she has written. I love when I take a chance and it pays off!
Quick rundown: A young couple move to America from Calcutta and begin their life, trying to hold on to their culture and yet assimilate into American life. They have a family and name their child Gogol (there is a whole back story to how he got his name), which he comes to hate. He subsequently attempts to distance himself from everything associated with his name by changing it, and as a result, his parents and heritage. In the end, he finds that he really can't escape who he is and where he has come from.
So it all comes back to the age-old question; nurture or nature? Which figures more prominently in deciding the type of person you will be and the direction your life will take. Looking at me and my siblings, I see a huge argument for nature. Even though we were all raised in the same environment, we are all very different people. True, there are some attributes that we can look at and say "Oh, that is Dad" or "That is so Mom" (I am ALL my mother!), there are other things about each of us that are unique to us. But then I look around at other people and see evidence for nurture. My mom is a special ed/resource room teacher and we have discussed the possibility that some of her students wouldn't be in her class if they had a different home environment. How can you expect a child to excel in academics when there isn't a single book in the home?
Because this is a book about immigrants in America, there is a lot of discussion about culture and whether it is better to live as you did in the previous country or completely assimilate into American culture. I think the family in this novel shows a pretty typical picture of immigrant families; the parents cling to the old lifestyle and customs while the next generation attempts to "fit in." This has been such a hot-button issue with the illegal-immigration and language questions floating around in politics. I love that America is an open country where people from all over can come and bring their differences to add to the mix. However, that being said, I also believe that an effort should be made to become a part of the American culture, i.e. learning the language.
I really enjoyed the way this book was written and want to go look for others she has written. I love when I take a chance and it pays off!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Exodus
"This was no army of mortals. These were the ancient Hebrews! These were the faces of Dan and Reuben and Judah and Ephraim! These were Samsons and Deborahs and Joabs and Sauls. It was the army of Israel and no force on earth could stop them for the power of God was within them!"
While I was on vacation for the Fourth of July, I finished "Exodus" by Leon Uris. This is the story of the creation of Israel after World War 2 and the struggle the Jews faced in gaining a land of their own.
It was coincidental that I finished this book over the Fourth of July weekend, but it really drove home the concept of freedom to me. Our family went to the beach with both sets of parents and Jeremy's brother's family and while we were there we got into a discussion about Obama and all the changes he is making in the way our country operates (and not necessarily for the better in my opinion, but that's a story for another post). Our country is amazing in the freedom it offers its citizens (and even those who are not citizens). Nowhere else on earth do people have the opportunities and advantages that we do. There have been people who have fought long and hard for those freedoms we enjoy, but by and large they are just given to us by virtue of being in the country. As I read this book about a people who have had to fight for every ounce of freedom, respect and advantage they have, I could not imagine living in a world where I had to fight for everything I had and it could all be taken away in an instant.
Being about Jewish people right after WW II, there are passages about their experiences and suffering during the war. With every paragraph I had the same feeling that I always do when reading about the Holocaust and things related. How can people possibly do such atrocious things to each other? I just cannot understand how people can look at someone else and believe with their whole being that the other person is so inferior that they deserve to be hurt in unimaginable ways? That was a time when evil was so prevelant and allowed to have such free reign.
I have read other books by Leon Uris (I highly recommend Mila 18 and QB VII) and have others on my "to read" list. I love the characters he creates and he balances history with fiction really seamlessly.
While I was on vacation for the Fourth of July, I finished "Exodus" by Leon Uris. This is the story of the creation of Israel after World War 2 and the struggle the Jews faced in gaining a land of their own.
It was coincidental that I finished this book over the Fourth of July weekend, but it really drove home the concept of freedom to me. Our family went to the beach with both sets of parents and Jeremy's brother's family and while we were there we got into a discussion about Obama and all the changes he is making in the way our country operates (and not necessarily for the better in my opinion, but that's a story for another post). Our country is amazing in the freedom it offers its citizens (and even those who are not citizens). Nowhere else on earth do people have the opportunities and advantages that we do. There have been people who have fought long and hard for those freedoms we enjoy, but by and large they are just given to us by virtue of being in the country. As I read this book about a people who have had to fight for every ounce of freedom, respect and advantage they have, I could not imagine living in a world where I had to fight for everything I had and it could all be taken away in an instant.
Being about Jewish people right after WW II, there are passages about their experiences and suffering during the war. With every paragraph I had the same feeling that I always do when reading about the Holocaust and things related. How can people possibly do such atrocious things to each other? I just cannot understand how people can look at someone else and believe with their whole being that the other person is so inferior that they deserve to be hurt in unimaginable ways? That was a time when evil was so prevelant and allowed to have such free reign.
I have read other books by Leon Uris (I highly recommend Mila 18 and QB VII) and have others on my "to read" list. I love the characters he creates and he balances history with fiction really seamlessly.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Why another blog?
I love to read. As my various interests have changed and evolved through the years, this is one that remains the same; this is the reason why I chose to become an English major (not a perverse and unexplainable lover of grammar, I promise!). One thing I really miss about my college English classes was talking about what I read with other people. Sure, I tell my mom what I am reading (and generally swap/steal books from her on a regular basis) and every once in a while Jeremy will ask what my latest book is about, but I miss really getting into the nitty-gritty stuff of a book. Not necessarily the technical stuff like foreshadowing and point-of-view and symbolism and everything, but what I think about the book, the impact (or lack therof) it is making on my life and on me as a person.
The other reason for this blog is for me to have a record of what I have read. It's something of a journal for me to look back and remember books I loved, those I hated and everything in between.
With all that being said, I can promise that not every book on here will be of great literary merit. I often think that I should spend my time reading books like "Anna Karenina" or "Grapes of Wrath", but those books don't lend themselves very well to being read while blowdrying hair or while my toddler is watching "Phineas and Ferb". So more often than not I read the "junk food" books. This is not to demean those books AT ALL, I enjoy reading them. But just like eating junk food all the time, after a while you start to crave something more substantial and I'll take on something a little more challenging. Enjoy the mix!
Feel free to comment; I would love to hear what you are reading and what you think about what I have said! I apologize in advance for all the book nerdiness that I am sure will crop up now and again.
The other reason for this blog is for me to have a record of what I have read. It's something of a journal for me to look back and remember books I loved, those I hated and everything in between.
With all that being said, I can promise that not every book on here will be of great literary merit. I often think that I should spend my time reading books like "Anna Karenina" or "Grapes of Wrath", but those books don't lend themselves very well to being read while blowdrying hair or while my toddler is watching "Phineas and Ferb". So more often than not I read the "junk food" books. This is not to demean those books AT ALL, I enjoy reading them. But just like eating junk food all the time, after a while you start to crave something more substantial and I'll take on something a little more challenging. Enjoy the mix!
Feel free to comment; I would love to hear what you are reading and what you think about what I have said! I apologize in advance for all the book nerdiness that I am sure will crop up now and again.
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