Book Review: The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

The Blind Assassin

By: Margaret Atwood

Pub. Date: August 2001

Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Format: Paperback , 544pp

ISBN-13: 9780385720953

ISBN: 0385720955

Source: Personal Copy

Synopsis:

The Blind Assassin opens with these simple, resonant words: "Ten days after the war ended, my sister Larua drove a car off a bridge." They are spoken by Iris Chase Griffen, sole surviving descendant of a once rich and influential Ontario family, whose terse account of her sister's death in 1945 is followed by an inquest report proclaiming the death accidental. But just as the reader expects to settle into Laura's story, Atwood introduces a novel-within-a-novel. Entitled The Blind Assassin, it is a science fiction story improvised by two unnamed lovers who meet in digy backstreet rooms. When we return to Iris, it is through a 1947 newspaper article announcing the discovery of a sailboat carrying the dead body of her husband, a distinguished industrialist.

What makes this novel Margaret Atwood's strongest and most profoundly entertaining is the way in which the three wonderfully rich stories weave together, gradually revealing through their interplay the secrets surrounding the entire Chase family- and most particularly the fascinating and tangled lives of the two sisters. The Blind Assassin is a brilliant and enthralling book by a writer at the top of her form.

My Review:

This is the second Margaret Atwood book that I've read. The first was Alias Grace.  I liked Alias Grace  a lot but I really liked The Blind Assassin... especially towards the end.

I found The Blind Assassin a little difficult to get into right from the beginning because the characters seemed distant and cold and the narrative kept changing. The Blind Assassin is a story-within-a-story-within-a-story. That's right, there are three stories in The Blind Assassin, so you really get your money's worth for this one book :)

The Blind Assassin is mostly Iris Chase Griffen's reminiscence of her past. Iris was the daughter of an important businessman, who had little time for his children. Iris had a younger sister, Laura, who she felt responsible for taking of during their childhood. The dynamics of Chase sisters childhood is a sad story of a neglect and detached emotional relationships.

Within Iris's present and her past, the reader is also given excerpts of a book, The Blind Assassin. Personally, I loved The Blind Assassin excerpts. They were very imaginative. Once I got a bearing of the different stories, I really got into each of them and wanted to know how it turned out for all of the characters. I won't say more because I don't want to give away any of the endings.

By the end of the book, I just felt pity for all of the characters and their lives. I wanted them to have much more than they had gotten in life. The Blind Assassin is a beautifully narrated book that is emotional and poignant.


My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Book Review: The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett

• The Man Who Loved Books Too Much
• By: Allison Hoover Barlett
• Pub. Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Riverhead Books
• Format: Hardcover , 288pp
• ISBN-13: 9781594488917
• ISBN: 1594488916

Synopsis:

Rare-book theft is even more widespread than fine-art theft. Most thieves, of course, steal for profit. John Charles Gilkey steals purely for the love of books. In an attempt to understand him better, journalist Allison Hoover Bartlett plunged herself into the world of book lust and discovered just how dangerous it can be.

Gilkey is an obsessed, unrepentant book thief who has stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of rare books from book fairs, stores, and libraries around the country. Ken Sanders is the self-appointed "bibliodick" (book dealer with a penchant for detective work) driven to catch him. Bartlett befriended both outlandish characters and found herself caught in the middle of efforts to recover hidden treasure. With a mixture of suspense, insight, and humor, she has woven this entertaining cat-and-mouse chase into a narrative that not only reveals exactly how Gilkey pulled off his dirtiest crimes, where he stashed the loot, and how Sanders ultimately caught him but also explores the romance of books, the lure to collect them, and the temptation to steal them. Immersing the reader in a rich, wide world of literary obsession, Bartlett looks at the history of book passion, collection, and theft through the ages, to examine the craving that makes some people willing to stop at nothing to possess the books they love

My Review:

I loved this book. And why not? It's a book about the love of books! Right from the beginning I felt like the author was describing many of my own feelings about books, for example, here is a quote about the importance of books in one's life:

I could tell I was the first to open it. For several days I lived in Wilbur’s world, and the only thing as sad as Charlotte’s death, maybe even sadder, was that I had come to the end of the book. I valued that half-dream state of being lost in a book so much that I limited the number of pages I let myself read each day in order to put of the inevitable end, my banishment from that world. I still do this. It doesn’t make sense, though, because the pleasure of that world does not really end for good. You can always start over on page one-and you can remember. Whenever I have spotted my old Charlotte’s Web (on my son’s shelf, then my daughter’s), I have recalled how it came to me. It’s a personal record of one chapter of my life, just as other chapters have other books I associate with them. The pattern continues; my daughter returned from camp last summer with her copy of Motherless Brooklyn in a state approaching ruin. She told me she’d dropped it into a creek, but couldn’t bear to leave it behind, even after she’d finished it. This book’s body inextricably linked to her experience of reading it. I hope that she continues to hold on to it, because as long as she does, its wavy expanded pages will remind her of the hot day she read it with her feet in the water-and of the fourteen year-old she was at the time. A book is much more than a delivery vehicle for its contents, and from my perspective, this fair was a concentrated celebration of that fact. (page 20-1)

I still remember when I got some of my early books. I convinced my mom in fifth grade to buy the first Harry Potter book for me at the book fair when she went in for the parent-teacher conference. Then, in sixth grade, I used my own money to buy The Lord of the Rings at the book fair in school. I still remember the exact room and how I stood there debating what book I wanted to get. I still have that copy, it's cover is completely taped on and it looks like it could disintegrate at any moment (I carried it for a long time- it takes a sixth grader a long time to finish LOTR!) but I can't get rid of it. I had to buy a new copy last year for a class that I took but I still couldn't get rid of my first copy. It's special. It's part of my childhood and introduction to a life-long passion for books. I still get a rush of excitement when I get a new book in the mail. I'm sure I have a big release of dopamine and probably some serotonin and norepinephrine- which is probably why I keep buying them. It's addicting! And fun.

The whole book isn't just about the love of books though. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much focuses on rare books and those who collect, sell, and steal them. Sprinkled with many little anecdotes of book thievery in the past, it mostly chronicles John Gilkey's passion and theft of many, many rare books. The author interviews John many times trying to understand his psychology behind his theft. He doesn't sell the books so it's not financially related, rather, Gilkey seeks to show a certain character and intelligence and pride through owning rare and amazing books. Bartlett also interviews many collectors and sellers of antique and rare books. This book gives a glimpse into the psychology of many book connoisseurs, which is fascinating.


The only part that I did not like was when the author's part in the Gilkey's story became a little ethically questionable and so the author questioned her role but then the book ended. I thought that it was fine that she brought her own role into the book, but then it ended before she had a resolution for her questioning.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars   

Book Review: The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted by Bridget Asher

Synopsis:

Still mourning the loss of her husband, Heidi travels with her young, obsessive-compulsive son and her intolerably jaded teenage niece to spend the summer in the south of France. As three generations collide, they'll journey through love, loss, and healing.

My Review:

I think The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted is a beautifully written book with wonderful characters. I connected to the story so much that I had a hard time reading it because I didn't want to know if anything bad was going to happen. I didn't want the characters to hurt anymore or experience any more grief in their lives.

The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted is about a woman's travel to south France to a house that has been in her family for many years and is purported to work great love miracles. Heidi, the brokenhearted woman, lost her husband two years earlier due to a car accident which left Heidi and a single mom of a little boy, Abbot. Heidi brings Abbot and her niece with her to France.

While in France, Heidi connects with her son and niece, as well as the neighbor's son- who she has known since childhood. The Provence Cure shows the joy that come from grief as well as the grief that can come from joy and love. It depicts that pain of losing loved ones and the happiness of a family that comes together.

I loved this story and recommend it to anyone looking for a sentimental story with beautiful themes.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars



Book Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Synopsis:

It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Narrated by Death, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young foster girl living outside of Munich in Nazi Germany. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she discovers something she can't resist- books. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever they are to be found.
With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, Liesel learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids, as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement



My Review:

I really enjoyed this book. For two main reasons: it's about the love and power of books during hard times and the perspective of the narrator.  I seem to be on a WWII/word lover book spree right now. I recently finished up The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and The Postmistress that had similar messages.

The Book Thief is about a young girl, Liesel, in Germany who witnesses tragedies of the war. She is given up by her mother to a foster family because her mother couldn't afford to feed or care for her. Liesel sees her brother die, helps to harbour a Jew in the basement of her foster family's house, and experiences the bombing of her town. Leisel's story is told, interestingly, through the character Death. Death tells the story about his experiences of carrying souls away when people die during WWII, especially when he is near Liesel and breaks his habit of ignoring alive people so that he can watch her.

Death is an interesting narrator. He often gave away the ending for the characters but it didn't matter, because as he says, "Mystery bores me. It chores me. I know what happens and so do you. It's the machinations that wheel us there that aggravate, perplex, interest, and astound us" (page 243). Here, Death says that we already know what happens in the end of this story, much like we can almost always guess the ending to any story (think of your typical chick-flick movie that just recycles the exact same plot), but it's okay because it is how you get to the ending that makes the story interesting and exciting. Even though Death gave away how the characters survived or died in the war, I wanted to read more because I wanted to know how those characters reached the end of this story. I thought this was a very interesting way to write the story and I'm glad Zusak included the above quote by Death because it put the story into perspective and reminded us that Death already knew everything since he was looking back to tell us about Liesel.

The one thing I didn't like about The Book Thief was some of the formatting. In the beginning of each chapter, Zusak put together a bunch of nouns to say what the next section of the book included. I thought that was a little weird and off-putting. I just wanted to read the story, not pretend I was responsible for getting everything together for the set of a play or something. It was definitely something new and didn't bother me that much, but I could have done without it.

The Book Thief was a beautiful and tragic story that was told in a new way (through Death). I recommend this book because of the story and because it was told in a unique way.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Book Review: The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

Synopsis:

The conclusion of the saga that began with The Magician's Nephew.

NARNIA...where you must say good-bye...and where the adventure begin again.

The Unicorn says that humans are brought to Narnia when Narnia is stirred and upset. And Narnia is in trouble now: A false Aslan roams the land. Narnia's only hope is that Eustace and Jill, old friends to Narnia, will be able to find the true Aslan and restore peace to the land. Their task is a difficult one because, as the Centaur says, "The stars never lie, but Men and Beasts do." Who is the real Aslan and who is the imposter? (Image and synopsis from goodreads.com)

My Review:

I loved this conclusion to the Chronicles of Narnia!

The theme to this story was definitely the positive aspects of death, i.e.- reaching Heaven and life with God.

The story opens with a talking ape, Shift, and donkey, Puzzle. The ape convinces the donkey to wear a lion skin, which Shift then uses to convince Narnians is actually Aslan returned. Shift pretends to speak for Aslan and makes Narnians work for him.

Tirian, the last King of Narnia, and Jewel, his friend a unicorn, hear of the trouble going on and the appearance of Aslan, so they go forth to learn more. They are both captured by Shift and aren't rescued until Jill Pole and Eustace Scrubb show up again from our world to help save Narnia.

The eventually discover that the Aslan figure is an imposter. Adventure and fighting ensues.

Eventually, Eustace, Jill, Tirian, Jewel, Puzzle, and the other believers of Aslan in Narnia cross into the real Narnia since the Narnia they knew was coming to an end. The read Narnia is part of Aslan's world, or Heaven. Jill and Eustace, we are led to believe, also died in their world in a train crash, but everyone is ecstatic to be in Aslan's world with everyone who came before them. Aslan's world is a wonderful place to be.

The Last Battle is definitely a way to teach kids that dying andgoing to Heaven is not scary or terrible. C.S. Lewis, through The Chronicles of Narnia, has created a version of the Christian religion that is easy for kids to understand and love. The adventures of the characters, from both Narnia and our world, are exciting and would keep kid's attentions. I think this conclusion is appropriate and an excellent end of the series.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars



Book Review: The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

Synopsis:

King Caspian has grown old and sad in the ten years since the disappearance of his only son. With time running out, Jill and Eustace embark on a perilous quest to find the Prince and bring back tranquility to the magical land of Narnia.

Journeying to the wild lands of the north, the friends and their companion Puddleglum battle mighty storms and encounter a race of giants who like nothing better than a tasty snack of human children. Searching deep underground in the grim land of the Earthmen, they encounter the wicked Green Lady who has evil plans to overthrow King Caspian and become Queen of Narnia.

My Review:

The Silver Chair is the sixth out of seven books in the Chronicles of Narnia series. While I had been getting bored with Narnia in the fifth book, due to a lackluster plot, that changed with this book. I found The Silver Chair to be highly enjoyable with a great plot and more developed characters.

In The Silver Chair, Eustace, from book the fifth book, and his schoolmate Jill are pulled out of their world in a progressive boarding school, to the magical world of Narnia. Jill is given specific instructions from Aslan, the lion god of Narnia, and the children's mission is assigned- they must find the son of the King of Narnia who disappeared ten years ago.

Along the way, Eustace and Jill meet a new character, Puddleglum, a Marsh-wiggle. Puddleglum is my favorite character in this book, I love his downcast thoughts and sayings which contrast to his brave and optimistic actions. I found him to be very enjoyable and funny.

Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum also explore a new part of  Narnia that the reader has not known before. Unlike the end of the world, which was a rather mediocre place in the last book, the Underworld north of Narnia was much compelling.

As with the rest of the series, Christian morals abound in The Silver Chair. This book expounds the importance of following the Lord's edicts to the best of your ability and even if you fail early on, you must keep trying and the pervasiveness and everlasting role of evil, as shown through the capture of the King's son. Narnia cannot be free of all evil, but it should be resisted and fought with all of your ability.

The Silver Chair brought me back into the land of Narnia and I look forward to reading the final installment in the Chronicles of Narnia, The Last Battle.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars



Book Review: The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

Synopsis:

When Shasta discovers he is not Arsheesh's son and therefore does not belong in the cruel land of Calormen, he joins forces with Bree the talking horse and flees north towards Narnia, where freedom reigns.

And so begins their hazardous journey, fraught with mystery and danger. Calormen's capital city of Tashbaan must be crossed, a harsh desert endured, the high mountains of Archenland climbed, their enemies overcome. For the young Shasta it is an adventure beyond his wildest dreams and one destined to change his life forever. (Image and synopsis from goodreads.com)

My Review:

This series keeps getting better and better! The Horse and His Boy is the third book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. Narnia is a magical land that can be accessed from our world only occasionally, and only by a few. While 4 children become kings and queens in Narnia, another boy's story in the land near Narnia begins. Shasta was found by a peasant man when he was an infant and raised by him, but he finds himself as a child being urged by a talking horse to leave his life and head for Narnia- the free land.

Shasta meets up with others on his journey and the adventure begins! The Horse and His Boy has more action and adventure than the first two books in the series. I enjoyed the action and Shasta's story. My favorite character though, which has been true through all of the books so far, is the narrator. I love the openness of the narrator, especially as he interjects his own thoughts and ideas. The omnipresent narrator is his own character and will always remind the reader that the story is being told through him, which I find enjoyable... and funny.

Once again, these books are great for children since they're not long, written simply, and full of strong children characters that display good morals for living anywhere.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Book Review: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Synopsis:

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was published in 1950, and it was the book that first introduced readers to the World of Narnia. Years later, in 1955, Lewis wrote a prequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, entitled The Magician's Nephew. While The Magician's Nephew was the sixth Narnia book to be written, many readers prefer to begin the series with The Magician's Nephew. (Image and synopsis from goodreads.com)

My Review:

A renewed childhood favorite! Now I remember why I liked this book. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is one of C.S. Lewis' most popular works. It tells the story of four children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, who find their way into Narnia, a magical land, and have their own adventure of good versus evil.

Following the tradition set in The Magician's Nephew (the first book in the Chronicle of Narnia series), Lewis uses many Christian references in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Aslan, the Jesus-like lion saviour who sacrifices himself just as Jesus did to save humankind, Edmund betrays his fellow companions just like Judas, although Edmund is ultimately able to redeem himself, and the stone table which suggests the stone tablets that Moses brought down from the mountain bearing the Ten Commandments.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has it all for children- adventure, magic, children characters to relate to, and good morals. Even at the of age 21, I enjoyed this book thoroughly.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars



Book Review: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Synopsis:

At last, Ayn Rand's masterpiece is available to her millions of loyal readers in trade paperback.

With this acclaimed work and its immortal query, "Who is John Galt?", Ayn Rand found the perfect artistic form to express her vision of existence. Atlas Shrugged made Rand not only one of the most popular novelists of the century, but one of its most influential thinkers.

Atlas Shrugged is the astounding story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world--and did. Tremendous in scope, breathtaking in its suspense, Atlas Shrugged stretches the boundaries further than any book you have ever read. It is a mystery, not about the murder of a man's body, but about the murder--and rebirth--of man's spirit.

* Atlas Shrugged is the "second most influential book for Americans today" after the Bible, according to a joint survey conducted by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club (Image and synopsis from amazon.com).



My Review:

The premise of this book is an interesting idea... what if the movers and the shakers of the world stopped moving and shaking? Well, what if? While I think some of Rand's points are extreme and she idealizes corporate figures and demeans the common worker for the sake of making her point, I do think she makes some excellent arguements and is definitely worthwhile reading.

Dagny Taggart runs Taggart Transcontinental, the largest railroad company in the U.S., in reality, although not in name.  Her brother Jim Taggart is the president of the company, while Dagny is Vice-President in Charge of Operations. Through her skills, intelligence, and hard work, Dangny manages to keep her railroad running in spite of the opposition and hatred of business found in Washington D.C.

The government is run by 'social'- minded people who care more for the human need than the greed of corporations.  This government continues to spew  out orders, directives, and laws that eliminate any freedom that businesses had, including the freedom to fire workers who are incompetent or not needed!

Along the way, we find the lost city of Atlantis. But I won't say anymore about that! :)

Atlas Shrugged is a political coming of age novel.  Not a coming of age in the sense of a character moving from childhood to adulthood but from ignorance to full acceptance of a political, spiritual, and realistic philosophy. Dagny must mature and grow to accept the philosophy that has ruled her life without her knowing it. 

While Atlas Shrugged is a long novel, it is compelling and keeps moving.  However, I must admit that I did skip one part towards the end, it was basically a reiteration of Rand's philosophy- which only the most dense reader would not have already recognized in the novel, so I saw no point to spend my reading time on 60 pages of what I had already learned. 

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars