Room - Emma Donoghue

Now that I'm five...

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jumped. Jack is Mister five. And now that he's five... He is old enough to know the truth. That his world isn't real.

Are you ready to enter Jack's room? At first, you can't tell what exactly is wrong. It's just an unsettled feeling that creeps into your gut. There's something wrong with this innocent kid... It's coded in his not-quite-English version of talk where everything's been given a new name under his own set of rules. Even the walls have names, because they're his friends. Everything in the room is his friend. Even the wardrobe where he sleeps at night when the man comes to go to bed with his Ma. In his head, Jack counts the bed creaks until they stop and he can fall asleep.

This is a story of survival. Of what a mother will endure for her son. Of what a child can do to save his mother. Of what people are capable of...both brave and sinister. It is both disturbing and heartfelt. When you figure out what's going on, you won't be able to put the book down.

Blankets - Craig Thompson

Sometimes... I get lost in other people's stories. Like they aren't stories, really, but my own memories drifting disconnected between cups of coffee. I can't exactly put a time and place on it, but i know it happened. Craig Thompson captures the imagination and triggers personal memories to attach his floating images. His artwork is hauntingly familiar. The tender moments console just as the painful ones elicit sighs and cringes.

"Sometimes, upon waking, the residual dream can be more appealing than reality.
And one is reluctant to give it up. Fore a while, you feel like a ghost.
Not fully materialized and unable to manipulate your surroundings.
Or else it is that dream that haunts you.
You wait with promise of the next dream."

One thing a graphic novel can accomplish in a way that a well-written book cannot is a certain type of perspective; the perspective of a fading memory. Shifting images reveal the flux of concave and convex memories and their connections with the present. As time advances, the pages are fluid with their progressing dreams/expectation/fears/doubts/hopes, but when they are together, they are alone and sacred as the forest. That is the place they can always go back to.

"And the fallen snow welcomes the falling snow with a whispered hush."

The Great Gatsby - F. S. Fitzgerald

Spurred by the upcoming motion picture, I read this without any prior knowledge of what I would find inside. Which is exactly how it was meant to be read. I was arrested by the beautiful way Fitzgerald lays out his language like a path to be followed. Re-reading paragraphs because they were pleasing in the way they fit together. And then I stumbled upon his surprising, incongruous adjectives that all at once seem perfect.

For instance... his phrases paint precise pictures, such as, "her grey, sunstained eyes"; "one emotion after another crept into her face like objects into a slowly developing picture"; "for Dan Cody sober knew what lavish doings Dan Cody drunk would be about"; and "we drove on toward death through the cooling twilight." All these things gave me a knowledgeable feeling of what had happened before the scenes, and of what would inevitably occur.

Something is to be said for precise language, in that you cannot possibly describe everything, but if you select one aspect to portray entirely, it paints a picture in the mind in which everything else falls into place. I enjoyed the poetry and the plot. It is no wonder The Great Gatsby was named by the Modern Library as the second best English-language novel of the 20th century--a time, according to the New York Times, where "gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession." I plan to read more of Fitzgerlad soon.

The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka

"As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect."

This is the first sentence of The Metamorphosis of Gregor Samsa. The next few pages casually account that he notices the overcast weather, examines the appendages of his new body, and considers how he will get to work now that he is changed... Immediately his fate is accepted. Nothing is done. No one screams. All of which drive the reader mad. How many pages can you hold your breath before you realize the story will keep on like this? Will no one worry or investigate how or why he has transformed? His family quietly and courteously charge to feed and water and clean up after their insect son. This acceptance and alteration of the family dynamic becomes more bizarre than the occurrence itself. It is frustrating. The redefinition of humanity is the true metamorphosis.

But I will not tell you how it ends. You must ask Kafka himself what lies behind that closed bedroom door.

Fifty Shades of Grey - E.L. James

Well, it's complicated...




On one hand, you have a porno. Let me be clear, this book is extremely, graphically, bizarrely sexual.
On the other hand, you have an interesting, believable story that demonstrates how a sweet, naive girl can get sucked into the dark, dangerous, alluring world of S&M with the promise of saving the lost and tortured soul of the man she loves. So... Complicated.

I'm undecided as to whether or not I can recommend this book. Aside from the ethical/porno debate, I found myself skipping and skimming, trying to outread my boredom with repetitive sex scenes. How many times will the ill-fated lovers hitch their breaths with the sudden realization that they must consume one another yet again? I'm not sure why it was at the top of New York Time's book list. But yet, I did just stay up until 3am to finish it... It is worth noting that this story began as Vampire fan fiction.

So... Read it if it doesn't offend you. It may provide insight into a new, sexy, freaky culture... Or maybe open up a few interesting conversations. Because even though I've never experienced anything close to this, I do relate to the characters. I understand the desire to make a relationship work when you see the evidence stacked up in the cons column. And I empathize with characters who lose themselves and have to find their own way (much like real life relationships). Regardless, I don't think I'll start reading fan ficts.

Journey to the Center of the Earth - Jules Verne

Wherever fortune clears a way, Thither our ready footsteps stray.

If you somehow missed reading this classic piece of literature when you were growing up (like I did), then you might go your whole life never knowing its mystery and adventure. Happily, fortune has a way of finding you. And so began my trek through the layers of the Earth's crust. Immediately, I discovered that this book is surprisingly readable, despite the usage of seven-syllable words which frequently digress from English. What I mean is this: you can pick up where you left off, even a chapter at a time at lunch or between errands, and quickly get sucked into the drama, surprise, and sense of adventure again and again. It takes you away from the waiting room you're sitting in and throws you into a topsyturvy wonderwhirl of escape. Unpredictable! Risky! Creative... A must read.

Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert

Eat Pray Love and latte

   Please, don't judge a book by its movie.

     If you do, you may think that Elizabeth Gilbert's novel is about a midlifecrisisy woman who just wants someone to love. You'd miss the depression, the search for truth, the self-discovery, the God. In short, you'd miss the point. (Which is exactly what the movie did).

     I saw the previews and did not feel any inclination to read the book. Then my friend vouched that it might change my life, while physically placing it  in my hands. This makes it very hard not to read. In the end, I loved it so much that I immediately read it again, which is something I've never done before and wouldn't recommend as a general practice... except for when a book is changing your life and you need to write some of this stuff down.

     Eat, Pray, Love is honest and humorous, which you kind of have to be if you're talking about depression, emptiness, failed relationships, the desire to love, the desire for peace and acceptance, etc. She describes Depression and Loneliness as two thugs who follow her around bullying her and stinking up her new place of solace with cigar smoke. After pouring her life and purpose into others, she realizes that she is the only person who will save her from complete sorrow. Thus, she goes on a literal journey of self-discovery. Traveling through Italy, India, and Indonesia, she dedicates time to focus on her body, spirit, and heart (hence, the title). This is how she finds balance. And she kindly provides the insights she learns about herself and the human spirit with us as she goes.

     Found within are examples of the kind of friend I want to be (Iva), and counter-intuitive truisms that add illumination to life's pitfall-type-questions that make us stumble. Like, what do I do after I've lost my soul mate? And, how do I find peace when I feel guilty every day? This book has helped me to  relax my anxieties and muster up some compassion for myself... Which is a lovely thing for a book to be able to do.

     Yes, I recommend Eat, Pray, Love for those who struggle with God, guilt, loneliness, or any other matter of the human condition. Or even if you just want a good story, Gilbert's writing style is very entertaining and heartfelt. I even have guy friends who were happily surprised that this isn't just a chic book. Eat, Pray, Love is for anyone who is on a personal journey of changing or renewing their life.