The Shadow of the Wind

The Shadow of the Wind by Ruiz Zafón took me by surprise. I was hesitant at first to read this book because it was originally written in Spanish, and I was afraid the some of the meaning would be lost in the translation. Fortunately I was proven wrong. It is a beautifully written story filled with love, tragedy, mystery, obsession and literature. Zafón's writing style is both descriptive and passionate. He has the ability to describe the physical and emotional scene and tone in just a few simple sentences, without bogging the down the flow with too many superfluous words.

This novel focuses on a young man living in post-civil war Barcelona, Daniel. One day, Daniel's father takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Daniel is allowed to pick one book, out of thousands, that he will cherish and keep safe for as long as he lives. Little does he know that by choosing his book, Daniel becomes wrapped up in a tragic and long forgotten story that consumes Daniel and sets the course for his life.

 

The Shadow of the Wind constantly kept me guessing. Once you think you've figured out the plot, Zafón throws an intense twist into the mix, throwing you off the trail. Unfortunately, I accidentally ruined the main mystery for myself by reading a review that gave it away.  Despite reading a spoiler the book was still enjoyable and kept me guessing until the end. My only major qualm is with the epilogue. The tone throughout  is distinctly dark, Gothic and at times frightening, which in my opinion sets it apart. Meanwhile, the epilogue digressed from the Gothic theme entirely, giving an almost annoyingly cheerful close to the book. The cliche happy ending does not balance with the rest of the novel at all, which makes me question whether Zafón was perhaps pressured into it by his publisher so as to appeal to the masses. 

Apparently Zafón has written a sequel of sorts to The Shadow of the Wind called The Angel's Game, which I will definitely be reading in the future. Hopefully it is as intriguing as it's predecessor, but better balanced in tone.

After the Falls

Wow, it's been a while since my last post.  I can't use the lame excuse that I didn't have time to post. I read 3 books, so obviously I had time for something. After spending the past month or so staring at a computer screen for my various classes, I had to give my eyes a much needed rest. But now I am done with school (horray!) and it's the summer which means I have extra time to spend reading! But first I need to catch up on my blogging. So here it goes...

After the Falls by Catherine Gildiner is the second installment of her childhood and young adult memoirs. The book begins in the early 60's, Cathy has turned 13 and her family has moved to Buffalo. Cathy's family has decided that she needs to go to a school with more opportunities.  In reality, Cathy's father's pharmacy is going out of business and the house that they lived in doesn't really belong to them. The book follows her experiences over a 10 year strectch. She reveals stories about her family life, which was slowly deteriorating due to her father's brain tumor. Her first years in college, where she realizes that she doesn't fit it with the traditional co-ed stereotype. She becomes wrapped up in the hippie and equality movements. Finally she meets who she thinks is the man of her dreams. Until the day she realizes it is all a lie. Although her experiences jade her, she's tries and sometimes fails, to never give up hope.


Her previous book, Too Close to the Falls, begins with Cathy believing the world is a perfect place. Towards the end she rudely comes to the realization that the world is not what it appears to be, and that society attempts to hide the ugly truth. After the Falls picks up on the disenchanted theme and carries it throughout. As we follow her teenage years, Cathy peels back the various masks that have been placed in her way and she is faced with the truth. Often times the truth seems too much for her to bear and it threatens to break her apart. At the same time she is often surprised by the few people who really are good, and that aren't hiding something dark within themselves.

Honestly, a brief review cannot do this book justice. It evoked so many emotions in me; laughter, happiness, hope, revulsion, sadness and grief.  Cathy's stories and experiences growing up resonate within me, and I find myself comparing her revelations with my own. Even though this book was written about a era which is over 30 years past, her story can still be applied and compared to what many young woman experience now.

Looking back at this post I realize that I made this book sound really depressing. Although there are some very depressing situations, there are happy and encouraging stories sprinkled in as well. If you want a story that is funny, surprising, thought provoking and relate-able I recommend  After the Falls.

Too Close to the Falls

Lately I have been really into reading memoirs. I am so used to reading fiction that I always seem to figure out what is going to happen in the plot, before it actually happens. The lack of imagination that some writers have blows my mind at times. Yet the great thing about memoirs are that they are totally unpredictable. The stories told do not follow the usual plot themes of the average novel, making each memoir unique and memorable. At the same time it can be difficult reading because you want so badly for something to turn out OK or for the story to come full circle, and often times they do not.

Too Close to the Falls follows the life of Cathy McClure while growing up in Lewiston, New York, in the 1950's. In the beginning Cathy is 4-years-old and the book ends with her as 11-years-old. Cathy is the only child of her strange and lovable middle aged parents. Her mother is nothing like the quintessential 50's housewife, she doesn't clean or cook, and the family eats out for every meal. "Mother was convinced that it was important never to learn to cook or type or you'd be requested to do both against your will forever." Cathy's father is a pharmacist who owns the town drug store. Cathy, unlike other children her age, starts working at her fathers pharmacy, full time, at the age of 4. Today Cathy would have been diagnosed with ADHD, but in the 50's it was believed that she had too much excess energy. The doctor thought it would be in Cathy's best interest if she started working so as to expend that energy. Cathy helps deliver medications with the pharmacists delivery man Roy. Roy cannot read so Cathy is in charge of reading the map and the list of medications, while Roy drives the van.

A majority of the book depicts the experiences Cathy had driving around Lewiston and the neighboring towns delivering drugs with Roy. The encounters that Cathy and Roy have while delivering medications are all at once incredible, funny and sometimes deeply saddening. Because of her exposure to the world, Cathy understands human nature better than people triple her age. Although some of the situations she finds herself in, she does not fully understand the full meaning of what is happening to her.

The last portion of the book transitions into her teenage years. It is at this point in her life that Cathy quickly learns that the world is not completely black and white in regards to religion, 'morals' and what is right and wrong. Unfortunately, the loss of her innocence comes at a high price.

At times I found some of Cathy's stories to be hard to believe. Many of the memories from her childhood are extremely detailed, leading me to think that maybe she embellished a few. Yet regardless as to how valid or accurate her stories are, I still enjoyed them immensely. Cathy's life is definitely one in a million, and it's not everyday that you stumble upon a book like this.

A Red Herring Without Mustard

A Red Herring Without Mustard is the third book in the Flavia de Leuce mystery series. Normally, I don't read mystery novels, but my mom highly recommended this series to me. I gave it a try and I'm in literature love.

The plot takes place in 1950's era England, in the small town of Bishop Lacey. Flavia is an 11-year-old girl who lives with her emotionally distant, stamp enthusiast father, Colonel de Leuc , two cruel older sisters Ophelia (Feely) and Daphne (Daffy) and her loyal, yet sometimes 'foggy' grounds keeper, Dogger. Flavia's mother, Harriet,died when Flavia was just a baby in a tragic mountain climbing accident. Unlike other girls her age, Flavia loves chemistry and spends a majority of her time in a lab built by one of her ancestors in the family mansion, Buckshaw. Flavia's favorite pastime is recreating poisons used by histories most infamous poisoners.

Flavia's macabre and dry sense of humor makes for an extremely entertaining read. She has the ability to make any seemingly disturbing situation into something that is quite humorous, if not a bit disconserting. Although Flavia is a child, the plot of the book is definitely not for children. In fact, Flavia's narrative makes her sound more of an adult than a majority of the adult characters.

The Red Herring concerns a series of gruesome murders occuring throughout the town. The murders appear be related, but you can never be sure because the plot takes many twists that are intended to be misleading (get it...'red herring'...duh). Flavia becomes intimately involved with each of the murders in town, leaving her with the more knowledge of the deaths than anyone else has. Her ability to outsmart and out think the bumbling adults that surround her, allows me to forget that she is in fact only 11-years-old. We are only reminded of her actual age when she comes face to face with death, and only then are we shown the little girl that she truly is. The plot itself is complicated in nature and I don't want to give anything away, so it's up to you to find out.

My one complaint about this book is that I read it as soon as it was published, so now I have to wait  forever for the next installment! Also, on a side note I am all about crazy internet fads, so I started a Tumblr blog (sorry for cheating on you blogger). My Tumblr blog is pretty simple, it's just some of my favorite quotes from the books I've been reading recently. There are some really good ones from The Red Herring Without Mustard, so check it out! thebananalise.tumblr.com

More bookshelf fun!

Instead of writing my next book review like I should be, I am posting this awesome video. I think that this video goes hand-in-hand with my previous bookshelf porn post. Watch and enjoy! Hopefully I can get my next post out soon...

Eldest

I'm the kind of person who tries to avoid literature fads for as long as possible. I always pass by the displays in the bookstore that hold all of the 'it books' and turn up my nose. I scoff at the fans who devote themselves entirely to the series and usually make fun of the plot (vampires and werewolves? wtf?). Then a few years later once the hype has died down, I crack. I try to resist, I really do, but my own personal taboo against reading these books over takes my pride and I give in to the guilty pleasure. Usually, I secretly buy and read the books, whilst trying to avoid public places so people don't judge me. I tend to mutilate the book, in a feeble attempt to hide the cover from other people.

 The Inheritance Cycle is one of these situations. About a year ago I read the first book in the series, Eragon, and was mildly impressed. I think what initially drew me in was the fact that the author was only 16 when he wrote the first book. Once I have read the first book in the series I feel like I have to read the other books, it's some weird obssessive-compulsive thing. I was hesitant to read the second book, Eldest. I try not to read reviews beforehand because I find that they instill a bias in my own reading, but for Eldest I decided to read them anyways. A lot of people really liked it (mostly 14-year-old boys) and a lot of people weren't impressed (everyone else above the age of 14). Needless to say, I wasn't expecting much.

I wouldn't say that Eldest is a great work of literature. It is a YA fantasy novel that is better than most. Definitely a purely entertaining read, not much symbolism or depth. Although, half the time I felt like I was studying for the verbal part of the SAT. Paolini loves obscure adjectives. I have never seen the word 'cacophonous' used so many times in one book before. He also promotes the pursuit of scholarly endeavors within the plot, which seems really out of place and condescending. 

If you have read Eragon, you know that Paolini's writing style isn't the most complex or mature, but with Eldest he has definitely evolved as a writer. In Eldest, there are multiple perspectives which gives the story much more complexity and allows you to get more involved in the story.  I am not a huge fan of the main character (Eragon), so I was happy that we get to see the story unfold from other perspectives, such as his cousin, Roran. If you aren't familiar with the series, the story takes place in the country of Alagaësia where a evil omnipotent king named Galbatorix rules over the people whom he repeatedly enslaves and abuses. Galbatorix is a semi-immortal being who was previously a Dragon Rider but murdered his fellow riders so as to rule Alagaësia himself. Since Galbatorix murdered all of the other riders and almost all of the dragons, no one can stand against him. As a safety Galbatorix has kept three dragon eggs for himself so that he can maintain control over the dragon race. Fortunately for our protagonist, one of the eggs is stolen by a rebel group (the Varden) and, through a series of events, comes into Eragon's possession. As I am sure you can figure out, the egg hatches for him and he becomes the only other dragon rider in the empire. From there on the story becomes very predictable in nature, so I wont bore you with any more details. Basically, if you know anything about Campbell's monomyth (hero cycle) theory, you can figure out the entire plot. Eldest follows Eragon further on his journey to become the dragon rider to defeat Galbatorix. In retrospect the most memorable narratives of the book were the chapters from Roran's point of view. Unlike most of the characters, Roran is not definitively good or bad. Instead, he struggles with the consequences of the murders he must commit in order to rescue his fiance and keep an entire village alive in the face of great odds.

OK, time to wrap up this obnoxiously long post. Overall this book is exactly what you would think any YA fantasy novel would be. The only difference between this book and all of the other books in this genre is the writing. Although Paolini's writing isn't very well developed, he shows promise for improvement and maybe some really impressive work in the future. This is a good book to read if you are looking for a simple guilty pleasure that doesn't involve vampire, werewolf and dumb-girl love triangles. Also, you may learn some new fancy words you can impress your friends with. If you don't know what cacophonous means, look it up and try using it more than once in your entire life. Easier said than done.

Bookshelf Obsession

Well, I am still chugging along through a very thick book. Although it is not a very difficult read, the shear length is the challenge (approx 900 pages). I've been told by some friends and family members that if I picked shorter books I would complete the challenge faster. I don't know why but that just seems like cheating to me. If I am going to read I am going to READ. Hopefully I can crank it out in a week or two, but until then here's a random post to keep you entertained.

So in my constant pursuit of procrastination I stumbled upon this blog with these amazing photos of bookshelves. I know, what is so great about bookshelves? What could be so exciting about that? Well I love books so it just makes sense that I love the shelves they rest on. I say the bigger and more dramatic the better. Right now I have a $30 shelf that I purchased from Target this past summer. Now don't get me wrong, I like my bookshelf and it does the trick. Yet I still yearn for a shelf as dramatic as some of the images I found today. Until the day I can afford to hire an amazing carpenter to build my $20,000 bookshelf masterpiece I will just be content with drooling at pictures of said shelves. If anyone else shares my weird bookshelf fetish here is a link to the blog post I found the photos on:
Apartment Therapy -- Bookshelf Envy

Also, I just uncovered another tumblr photo blog called Bookshelf Porn. Yes, you heard me right, porn. I bet you never thought you'd ever see those two words in the same sentence. This site may be even better than the earlier Bookshelf Envy article. You have to see some of these amazing shelves, they are more like works of art than actual shelves.

Bookshelf Wall (Courtesy of bookshelfporn.com)

I want this shelf. Wait, no. I need this shelf! (Courtesy of apartmenttherapy.com)