You are currently browsing the monthly archive for November 2006.
It has been a little while between posts and I’m very sorry. The reason it has taken me awhile is that I have been doing my final exams. I also have to announce that I passed all my exams and I am now the proud owner of a Bachelor of Science. Anyway, enough about that lets get back to the books.
I decided to read ‘Angels and Demons’ after my Aunty gave it to me for a Christmas present. While everyone was caught up in the ‘ Da Vinci Code’ craze I was lucky enough to read the first book in the Robert Langdon series.
From the first moment I picked up this book I could not stop reading it. It begins with a murder and ends in a whirlwind of no stop action.
The book traces the age-old debate between evolution, creationism, the role of science and the opposing nature of religion. An argument everyone has an opinion on and one people rarely agree on.
The characters were captivating and each has there own agenda and chequered past. The character of Robert Langdon is best described as “Harrison Ford in tweed”, I have no idea who said that but it sums him up nicely. He has brains with the balls to back it up.
One thing I love about the Dan Brown books is that he manages to weave facts with fiction to create a story that you find plausible and you believe it for the truth. Many times reading the book, I wonder whether or not the Illuminati were real and if so where I can meet them. Although they are thugs in the book I was still intrigued by their secret society.
The only thing I found a little disappointing about this book and the series is that after I had read it and the ‘Da Vinci Code’ I found the plots to be very similar. Though they say stick with what you know. I hope that the supposed sequel to the ‘Da Vinci Code’ is slightly different.
A few months ago a second hand bookshop opened up down at our corner shops. I was so excited, now I didn’t have to catch a bus to the big shopping centre to get my literary fix. I was even more excited when I found out that all the books were $2.50. What a bargain! ‘The Blind Assassin’ was the first book I bought. I had wanted to read this book for a while but there were always others. I could not pass on this opportunity, the price was unbeatable and I could then cross number 61 off my list.
‘The Blind Assassin’ follows the societal life of the Chase sisters. Both Iris and Laura are born into “old money” and with that come certain obligations and life lessons. With these privileges also comes pain, the emotional death of your father, growing up with a single parent and living through World War II. All three provide extra hardships for emotionally delicate and isolated young women.
Laura Chase is a ghostly presence in the book. She was always considered a “special” child. Iris is the older one, (I can relate with that) and therefore is in charge and accountable for everything her younger sister does. It is this accountability and the need to look after her family that leads Iris to making one of the biggest mistakes of her life.
This is an interesting story written around the book that Laura wrote within this book (another confusing one like ‘The Bride Stripped Bare’). The characters are unique but at the same time there are aspects that you can relate to. From the first pages I was absorbed. I was engaged with the rambling through the family history and watching the past influence the present.
This book won the 2000 Booker Prize and I can understand why. It is an intricate tale of an old woman trying to set the story straight and reveal the past to the future generation.
I can’t recall the exact reason for why I read this book. Maybe it was because I saw it on a bedside table in the hotel or did it first grab my attention on the list? I think I may have seen someone talking about it on TV, but whatever the reason was (pity I can’t remember), I was lucky to find it because it’s a fascinating story.
‘Mao’s Last Dancer’ as the name suggests is set in China during the reign of Chairman Mao. It tracks the life of an ordinary child (Li Cunxin) who is plucked from poverty and thrust into the spotlight as an elite ballet dancer in Madame Mao’s dance company. Through this opportunity Li Cunxin is able to break free from the communist confines and live a life only dreamed of in his childhood.
This story gives you a glimpse into communist China, a view rarely seen. It is also provides an insight into the hours of practice, dedication and excruciating pain it takes to be a ballet dancer (I winced when I read the part where the children had to bend over and tear their hamstring muscles).
It is amazing how one brief moment in time can set you on a path that will lead down a very different road. One moment you are looking out the window, when suddenly your teacher singles you out. From this moment you leave your home and family to begin dancing. I wonder how many times Li Cunxin gives thanks for that single defining moment?
After reading this book I started thinking have I maybe missed some moments where I was at a crossroad? Where one decision could have set me on a path that I should have taken? I have now decided I will keep my eyes open to these opportunities and not a let and opening pass by. Maybe everyone should think like this. This is an inspirational story that makes you wonder where your life will take you.
