For J Horror I decided to read Lullaby, while I was reading it I really didn’t understand how it would relate to this weeks topic. But after the discussion in class I’m able to relate it.
I got a great sense of isolation from this genre, which Chuck Palahniuk captures beautifully in Lullaby. Every character in this book has been isolated from the world, especially the two biggest characters in this book, which is Helen and Streator. They both lost their family’s through the lullaby and are just trying to live on. Both live by themselves, don’t have any friends because they hate almost everyone they know. And of course they fall in love with each other, that kind of satisfies some of the loneliness in their lives, but even together they are a very isolated couple. And its not like they have the ability to have kids or anything since Helen turns into a man in the end.
Then there’s Mona and her boyfriend, who are isolated by their views of the world, especially in the end when they get the book they become Jesus and May, trying to make the world a better place in their own weird ways. There are a whole bunch of other characters in there that I can discuss, like the guy Streator gets tips from, and his boss, whom he kills with the culling song, but I could go on forever about that. That’s why I love this book though, because it was planned out in all of its finest detail. Every single character is so well rounded and has its own story. I could imagine their faces and the way they talked and acted.
Its a very dark book, like most of Palahniuk’s books, but he’s able to turns it into a satire. Yet it still poses a lot of stuff to think about, it makes you question humanity and the way everything is today because Palahniuk just makes fun of everything and everyone. Makes them seem stupid and makes the reader not want to be one of those people.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
A Clockwork Orange
One of my favorite parts in this book is the language, I had to reread some of the beginning to understand it, but I got the just of it. The book is filled with so much violence, yet it’s almost sugar coated with this playful slang. Which, for some reason,
makes it even worse, yet easier to take it all in.
As I already mentioned, there’s a lot of violence in this book, but it’s never explained why, there’s no reason for the violence. Is it just a way to pass time? It’s probably more the thrill that the protagonist gets from bloody violence that is the motivation to for all of it. I’m not sure if all his droogies feel the same way about it though, it feels more like they like the power side of it, that becomes clear after Dim and George make it clear that they are dissatisfied with Alex being the leader of the group, also, Dim and George become policemen whom have more authority and power. So they probably liked that aspect from it. Then there’s Pete, who would be most like Alex, even though he’s not as violent, there still is no real reason for the violence he commits, and in the end of the book, he and Alex leave their violent past behind and become active members of society.
Then there’s the chaplain. who poses the question of what good really is. If a man chooses to be bad better then a man who is forced to be good. Which is exactly what happens to the protagonist, at first he is forced to be good because of the Ludovico program, he can’t even enjoy his favorite type of music anymore and that drives him to try and commit suicide, but then when he turns normal again and meets his old friend Pete, he decides he wants to follow his role and change his life around.
There isn’t a book like A clockwork anywhere, it took me a while to get the used to the slang, but it just added to the whole experience. It raised more questions then I could talk about in this review, like where to draw the line for violence, what to do with someone who is just a bad person and if forcing him to be good would be a good idea or not.
makes it even worse, yet easier to take it all in.
As I already mentioned, there’s a lot of violence in this book, but it’s never explained why, there’s no reason for the violence. Is it just a way to pass time? It’s probably more the thrill that the protagonist gets from bloody violence that is the motivation to for all of it. I’m not sure if all his droogies feel the same way about it though, it feels more like they like the power side of it, that becomes clear after Dim and George make it clear that they are dissatisfied with Alex being the leader of the group, also, Dim and George become policemen whom have more authority and power. So they probably liked that aspect from it. Then there’s Pete, who would be most like Alex, even though he’s not as violent, there still is no real reason for the violence he commits, and in the end of the book, he and Alex leave their violent past behind and become active members of society.
Then there’s the chaplain. who poses the question of what good really is. If a man chooses to be bad better then a man who is forced to be good. Which is exactly what happens to the protagonist, at first he is forced to be good because of the Ludovico program, he can’t even enjoy his favorite type of music anymore and that drives him to try and commit suicide, but then when he turns normal again and meets his old friend Pete, he decides he wants to follow his role and change his life around.
There isn’t a book like A clockwork anywhere, it took me a while to get the used to the slang, but it just added to the whole experience. It raised more questions then I could talk about in this review, like where to draw the line for violence, what to do with someone who is just a bad person and if forcing him to be good would be a good idea or not.
My future?
’s the beginning of 2029. I’m 39, and my car won’t start. My old little Volkswagen that I have had for quite some time now. Because I refuse to buy any other car. I’m a respected freelance illustrator. I have lived all over the place but decided at age 30 to settle down and live with my husband. I have two kids and we live in a cottage my husband built, completely sustaining ourselves on our own terms. For entertainment I read, crochet and paint, probably listen to music and watch a movie once in a while.
Now It’s 2050, I’m living in the south of franc with my husband that is hopefully still alive and hasn’t left me yet. I’m a very traditional old lady, complaining about all the new technology, I’m still doing all my paintings in oils and because of that I’m kind of crazy.
My life partner will yell at me to make him a sandwich, and I’ll yell back at him to make his own sandwich. By now I have had to buy another car because my Volkswagen has probably exploded. But I still would have bought another Volkswagen. My past time would be gardening and hopefully I will have enough money by now that I don’t have to be a full time illustrator. I’d still be working but not as hard as when I was 30.
By 2100 I’ll probably be dead, my kids will be very old, and my grandchildren (if any) will be doomed. Unless people start changing their habits now which is probably never going to happen the world will be over populated, everything is industrial, there are so many toxins in the air people have to wear gasmasks. There is trash everywhere, landfills are overfilled, because of all the landfills all the earth is polluted so that it is really difficult to grow anything anymore.
Now It’s 2050, I’m living in the south of franc with my husband that is hopefully still alive and hasn’t left me yet. I’m a very traditional old lady, complaining about all the new technology, I’m still doing all my paintings in oils and because of that I’m kind of crazy.
My life partner will yell at me to make him a sandwich, and I’ll yell back at him to make his own sandwich. By now I have had to buy another car because my Volkswagen has probably exploded. But I still would have bought another Volkswagen. My past time would be gardening and hopefully I will have enough money by now that I don’t have to be a full time illustrator. I’d still be working but not as hard as when I was 30.
By 2100 I’ll probably be dead, my kids will be very old, and my grandchildren (if any) will be doomed. Unless people start changing their habits now which is probably never going to happen the world will be over populated, everything is industrial, there are so many toxins in the air people have to wear gasmasks. There is trash everywhere, landfills are overfilled, because of all the landfills all the earth is polluted so that it is really difficult to grow anything anymore.
The Glass Slip-Up
This story is a very interesting take on Cinderella. You can tell that this story is written a later, and not a tale told from generation to generation. It really doesn’t have that old feel to it. It’s more modern.
It’s written from the prince’s point of view, after they got married and he actually got to know Cinderella. It’s a very interesting take on the story because the prince doesn’t really converse with Cinderella all to much before they get married. So he didn’t get to know her, he just knew she’s pretty.
Even as the reader you only get Cinderella’s viewpoint of things, you don’t really know why her stepmother locked her up. The author did a good job with noticing that.
I started relating this story to the Shrek movies, since both do have much in common, they’re more realistic then the original story’s, like the fairy godmother in both of them are very sneaky, selfish individuals and the princesses that are beautiful are stupid.
The Glass-slip up was enjoyable, I liked the take on the tale and the unexpected ending. It amused me.
It’s written from the prince’s point of view, after they got married and he actually got to know Cinderella. It’s a very interesting take on the story because the prince doesn’t really converse with Cinderella all to much before they get married. So he didn’t get to know her, he just knew she’s pretty.
Even as the reader you only get Cinderella’s viewpoint of things, you don’t really know why her stepmother locked her up. The author did a good job with noticing that.
I started relating this story to the Shrek movies, since both do have much in common, they’re more realistic then the original story’s, like the fairy godmother in both of them are very sneaky, selfish individuals and the princesses that are beautiful are stupid.
The Glass-slip up was enjoyable, I liked the take on the tale and the unexpected ending. It amused me.
Solaris
Solaris, a very interesting novel. It’s only 172 pages long, yet it takes forever to read.
It’s one of those novels that are really hard to get into. When I first started reading it, it seemed really boring. And I didn’t even know what was going on.
After a while though, when the plot starts to unravel it gets more interesting.
In the first quarter of the book it seemed that this story was going to lean more towards a horror sci-fi novel. It really scared the crap out of me. You have the main character, Kelvin, who goes to this planet, Solaris. And the first thing he notices that one of his co- workers committed suicide on the station. The way everything is described just gave the story a really creepy setting. Then you get the unknown visitors, that come out of nowhere and you don’t even know who or what they are.
Then on top of that, when Kelvin reads the books about Solaris and it talks about all the strange appearances in the ocean.
After Kelvin’s stranger “Rheya” tries to commit suicide the story turns into that of musing on human nature, and life itself. The fact that “Rheya” who is technically an alien being, acts and thinks like a human, she is also convinced she’s a human, but has some inhuman characteristics. The book gives some hints of this when it seems she killed herself, but her body healed all the way. And when she rips of a locked metal door off its hinges to get to Kelvin. It raises some questions like what really makes us human?
The only downside of the book was all the scientific language when Kelvin was researching Solaris. I had no clue what was being talked about. And towards the end I just skipped some of it. I just couldn’t get through it because my vocabulary isn’t that broad.
For the rest though, Solaris is a good book, even though it was hard to read, I didn’t want to stop reading it because it was so interesting.
It’s one of those novels that are really hard to get into. When I first started reading it, it seemed really boring. And I didn’t even know what was going on.
After a while though, when the plot starts to unravel it gets more interesting.
In the first quarter of the book it seemed that this story was going to lean more towards a horror sci-fi novel. It really scared the crap out of me. You have the main character, Kelvin, who goes to this planet, Solaris. And the first thing he notices that one of his co- workers committed suicide on the station. The way everything is described just gave the story a really creepy setting. Then you get the unknown visitors, that come out of nowhere and you don’t even know who or what they are.
Then on top of that, when Kelvin reads the books about Solaris and it talks about all the strange appearances in the ocean.
After Kelvin’s stranger “Rheya” tries to commit suicide the story turns into that of musing on human nature, and life itself. The fact that “Rheya” who is technically an alien being, acts and thinks like a human, she is also convinced she’s a human, but has some inhuman characteristics. The book gives some hints of this when it seems she killed herself, but her body healed all the way. And when she rips of a locked metal door off its hinges to get to Kelvin. It raises some questions like what really makes us human?
The only downside of the book was all the scientific language when Kelvin was researching Solaris. I had no clue what was being talked about. And towards the end I just skipped some of it. I just couldn’t get through it because my vocabulary isn’t that broad.
For the rest though, Solaris is a good book, even though it was hard to read, I didn’t want to stop reading it because it was so interesting.
A Scanner Darkly
In this book Phillip K. Dick really captures the world of druggies, there are many themes in this novel that closely relate to that. Big ongoing themes in the story are paranoia, the confusion of reality and fantasy and conspiracies.
There is a lot of blurriness in this novel, I found myself vaguely confuses at some times which is probably what the author tried to do. It was just the way it was written that made the book seem like one big blur, which helped me relate to the protagonist, especially towards the end of the book, he became very confused to what was real or not, because of his drug use. And in the beginning, when Jerry thinks there are bugs everywhere. When in reality there are no bugs at all and his brain just made them up.
Also all the strange theories they come up with (which are all crap) and they think all of it’s true.
Another big theme in this book, and a trademark of Philip K. Dick is paranoia, which really comes together with the blurriness and confusion, because if you don’t know what’s going on, you get paranoid and think everything is out to get you. Everyone in this book has that way of thinking. And you start to to, because you don’t really know who is who anymore. I got that since the beginning of the story, but it got worse towards the end. Especially when the protagonists two roles come apart and he can’t tell them apart anymore. And the fact that the protagonist has three different names throughout the book doesn’t really help the confusion either.
It was a good book, for the first time I liked the confusion and vagueness, it really went well with the story and the themes also really interested me.
There is a lot of blurriness in this novel, I found myself vaguely confuses at some times which is probably what the author tried to do. It was just the way it was written that made the book seem like one big blur, which helped me relate to the protagonist, especially towards the end of the book, he became very confused to what was real or not, because of his drug use. And in the beginning, when Jerry thinks there are bugs everywhere. When in reality there are no bugs at all and his brain just made them up.
Also all the strange theories they come up with (which are all crap) and they think all of it’s true.
Another big theme in this book, and a trademark of Philip K. Dick is paranoia, which really comes together with the blurriness and confusion, because if you don’t know what’s going on, you get paranoid and think everything is out to get you. Everyone in this book has that way of thinking. And you start to to, because you don’t really know who is who anymore. I got that since the beginning of the story, but it got worse towards the end. Especially when the protagonists two roles come apart and he can’t tell them apart anymore. And the fact that the protagonist has three different names throughout the book doesn’t really help the confusion either.
It was a good book, for the first time I liked the confusion and vagueness, it really went well with the story and the themes also really interested me.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Phillip K. Dick
It seems that the author likes to write about normal people, and put them in strange situations. He doesn’t really pay attention to really develop his characters though. You don’t know a lot about them or their backgrounds. You just kind of get thrown into the story, which confused me in the beginning because I had no idea of what was going on.
The writing actually feels very realistic due to the fact that he puts these normal everyday people in these realistic futures. For example, the story I read was about the machine operated factory’s that were taking over the world. It was a very long story so I wasn’t able to read all of it. I was only 5 pages away from finishing it though.
But anyways,
the reason it seems like it could actually happen is because the author uses actual machinery from today. He just technically advances it a bit more so that its futuristic. And when we talked about his different stories, it seemed to me that the recurring underlying theme is that everything is out to get the main persona. Which makes sense, because the author is quite paranoid. That’s pretty much what I got from this tale. And I do find his writing quite interesting, its not to hard to read, yet it gets confusing at times. I’m thinking of reading a scanner darkly. I have watched the movie, but didn’t really pay attention to it, sooo that will probably be the next novel I’ll read.
The writing actually feels very realistic due to the fact that he puts these normal everyday people in these realistic futures. For example, the story I read was about the machine operated factory’s that were taking over the world. It was a very long story so I wasn’t able to read all of it. I was only 5 pages away from finishing it though.
But anyways,
the reason it seems like it could actually happen is because the author uses actual machinery from today. He just technically advances it a bit more so that its futuristic. And when we talked about his different stories, it seemed to me that the recurring underlying theme is that everything is out to get the main persona. Which makes sense, because the author is quite paranoid. That’s pretty much what I got from this tale. And I do find his writing quite interesting, its not to hard to read, yet it gets confusing at times. I’m thinking of reading a scanner darkly. I have watched the movie, but didn’t really pay attention to it, sooo that will probably be the next novel I’ll read.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
J Horror?
For J horror I decided to read Lullaby. At first I didn’t really understand how this book related to the genre but after class I do kind of see why. So in J horror there is a sense of isolation. Its all about the characters in the story and for some reason you feel the loneliness around them.
That’s exactly how it is in Lullaby, with two characters in particular, Carl Streator a journalist who mainly covers stories on crib death and Helen Hoover Boyle, a real estate agent who sells haunted houses, and keeps reselling them because no one wants to live in them. Both of them lost their spouses and child, and are all alone in the world. They both are also very different from everyone else around them which also gives you that isolated feeling.
The story is very funny in a quite gruesome king of way. Mr. Streator finds out that all these crib deaths aren’t an accident at all, they are actually caused by a culling song that has gotten its way into a children’s poems book. The same song he killed his wife and child with and the same song Helen killed hers with. Yet, that doesn’t stop him from killing everyone that annoys him with the song. Yet he does it in a funny, lighthearted kind of way. I don’t even know how Palahniuk does it, but he writhes these very heavy yet light hearted novels. They just have a lot of content and really make you think about stuff. But, anyways Mr. Streator, Helen. Mona and her Boyfriend ( Mona being Helens secretary) go on a mission to destroy every page the culling song is on and then finds the big book that its in ( it has all these other spells in it.). Mr. Sreator wants to destroy this book and prevent it from getting into the wrong hands. And Helen wants to keep it for herself and do “good” with it. So throughout most of the story they both hate each other. But after a while, Mr. Streator gets used to having Mona and Helen around ( he really doesn’t like Mona’s boyfriend, I find him quite the ass myself.). He realizes he’s in love with her.
My favorite part, as with all Chuck Palahniuk’s books is the ending. Its always such a surprise, you really never know what will happen. But, of course Mona and her boyfriend find out about the book and want to steal it from Helen and Carl. Because of one of the spells in the book Helen takes on the body of a man, Mona’s boyfriend kills Helens body so she’s stuck as a man her entire life. Carl is still in love with her, and together they go after Mona and her boyfriend because they stole the book from her.
Mona and her boyfriend don’t really have any dangerous spells in the book because Helen destroyed the culling song. And Mona’s boyfriend gets know as the road kill Jesus,
who brings road kill back to life. And Mona becomes the flying virgin Mary in Mexico.
It’s a pretty hilarious ending.
That’s exactly how it is in Lullaby, with two characters in particular, Carl Streator a journalist who mainly covers stories on crib death and Helen Hoover Boyle, a real estate agent who sells haunted houses, and keeps reselling them because no one wants to live in them. Both of them lost their spouses and child, and are all alone in the world. They both are also very different from everyone else around them which also gives you that isolated feeling.
The story is very funny in a quite gruesome king of way. Mr. Streator finds out that all these crib deaths aren’t an accident at all, they are actually caused by a culling song that has gotten its way into a children’s poems book. The same song he killed his wife and child with and the same song Helen killed hers with. Yet, that doesn’t stop him from killing everyone that annoys him with the song. Yet he does it in a funny, lighthearted kind of way. I don’t even know how Palahniuk does it, but he writhes these very heavy yet light hearted novels. They just have a lot of content and really make you think about stuff. But, anyways Mr. Streator, Helen. Mona and her Boyfriend ( Mona being Helens secretary) go on a mission to destroy every page the culling song is on and then finds the big book that its in ( it has all these other spells in it.). Mr. Sreator wants to destroy this book and prevent it from getting into the wrong hands. And Helen wants to keep it for herself and do “good” with it. So throughout most of the story they both hate each other. But after a while, Mr. Streator gets used to having Mona and Helen around ( he really doesn’t like Mona’s boyfriend, I find him quite the ass myself.). He realizes he’s in love with her.
My favorite part, as with all Chuck Palahniuk’s books is the ending. Its always such a surprise, you really never know what will happen. But, of course Mona and her boyfriend find out about the book and want to steal it from Helen and Carl. Because of one of the spells in the book Helen takes on the body of a man, Mona’s boyfriend kills Helens body so she’s stuck as a man her entire life. Carl is still in love with her, and together they go after Mona and her boyfriend because they stole the book from her.
Mona and her boyfriend don’t really have any dangerous spells in the book because Helen destroyed the culling song. And Mona’s boyfriend gets know as the road kill Jesus,
who brings road kill back to life. And Mona becomes the flying virgin Mary in Mexico.
It’s a pretty hilarious ending.
Zombies!
I found that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a great way to get teenagers and young adults to read Jane Austen. Because the majority of the book was her original work
with some zombie action added to it. All of the fancyness and romance was still there.
It’s just a bit more exiting.
It’s funny that this book was on the reading list because a week before I took this class I picked it up in the bookstore and really wanted to read it. Now I got to read it for homework. I never really read the original book, and reading this version of it made me
want to read it, because it seems that I would still like it without all the zombies. One part that I really liked about it was how very classy and agreeable the story was, everyone seemed very concerned about what other people thought and are still trying to marry off their daughters when there could be zombies attacking at any second. Its like they couldn’t get their priorities straight. For example, when Elizabeth’s sister falls ill and she went to see her. When she came inside the house with her clothing dirty and torn because she had gotten attacked by zombies. No one was happy that she survived the attack, but they were insulted that she wasn’t appropriate looking.
Zombies have always been pretty interesting. I think the reason that they are so popular in today’s culture is because everything has become so ordinary, especially for younger people. We all need to go to school and go to a really good college, and become someone. There is a lot expected of us. Especially by our family. So I think all of us would think it would be so great if a zombie apocalypse would happen. Everything that would matter then is survival of the strongest. Its something exiting, something new. A drastic change. Its something that we can fantasize about without the fear of having it actually happen. Because there is no way that actually could happen. And its not like zombies have any intelligence. Its not like Aliens whereas, If they come and take over the world, then we would have less chance because they are smarter. Zombies however, would just roam around in search for more brains. All you’d have to do is shoot them.
That’s why I think it’s so funny that the characters (except for Elizabeth, her sisters and her father) still go on with daily life. Its like they are ignoring the fact that there is a zombie plague going around. And they are just in their same old ways, going to balls and trying to be the most envied person there. It seems like everyone is staying old fashioned, and the Bennets , except for their mother are more modern.
with some zombie action added to it. All of the fancyness and romance was still there.
It’s just a bit more exiting.
It’s funny that this book was on the reading list because a week before I took this class I picked it up in the bookstore and really wanted to read it. Now I got to read it for homework. I never really read the original book, and reading this version of it made me
want to read it, because it seems that I would still like it without all the zombies. One part that I really liked about it was how very classy and agreeable the story was, everyone seemed very concerned about what other people thought and are still trying to marry off their daughters when there could be zombies attacking at any second. Its like they couldn’t get their priorities straight. For example, when Elizabeth’s sister falls ill and she went to see her. When she came inside the house with her clothing dirty and torn because she had gotten attacked by zombies. No one was happy that she survived the attack, but they were insulted that she wasn’t appropriate looking.
Zombies have always been pretty interesting. I think the reason that they are so popular in today’s culture is because everything has become so ordinary, especially for younger people. We all need to go to school and go to a really good college, and become someone. There is a lot expected of us. Especially by our family. So I think all of us would think it would be so great if a zombie apocalypse would happen. Everything that would matter then is survival of the strongest. Its something exiting, something new. A drastic change. Its something that we can fantasize about without the fear of having it actually happen. Because there is no way that actually could happen. And its not like zombies have any intelligence. Its not like Aliens whereas, If they come and take over the world, then we would have less chance because they are smarter. Zombies however, would just roam around in search for more brains. All you’d have to do is shoot them.
That’s why I think it’s so funny that the characters (except for Elizabeth, her sisters and her father) still go on with daily life. Its like they are ignoring the fact that there is a zombie plague going around. And they are just in their same old ways, going to balls and trying to be the most envied person there. It seems like everyone is staying old fashioned, and the Bennets , except for their mother are more modern.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
So I finally finished reading Interview with the vampire, my first thought about it was that it takes a looooong time to read it. The book itself doesn’t really look that intimidating, but after reading it for 3 hours straight and realizing you haven’t gotten through a quarter of the book yet you know it’ll take a while for it to finish.
It is worth it though, the whole reason this book takes so long for it to be read is because the writing is so intricate. Everything is explained in it’s fullest detail and is very nicely written.
Anne Rice’s writing makes almost everyone’s writing seem very simply written, except for Tolkien’s writing. After I finished this book I could read another book in about two days.
I should probably talk a little about the story instead of going on about how long it is.
The characters are really nicely developed. This is one of the things that really got me into the book. I think the most interesting character was Claudia, you really got to see her grow up in this book, not physically but mentally. First she was really cute, but she did get pretty scary and unpredictable when her mind grew up. And even though she was the smallest one of them all, she still was the most beautiful and terrifying of her kind.
It even made me scared of her. I felt really bad for her to have to be tiny or the rest of her life.
Through the entire book, every vampire seemed like it was missing something, and will be missing that thing through their entire existence. It seems like they are going through a never ending search, with Lestat it’s company, because he is terribly lonely. He’s looking for someone with the same frame of mind as his, the same way of thinking.
Claudia, is looking for femininity, because she will always stay small she has to show her
matured ness in other ways then her form. In a way she’ll never really get what she wants, because she will never be able to look like any of the other girls that are her mental age.
The whole story is very interesting, and is very appealing to the senses. The way Anne Rice describes all the scenes like New Orleans, Germany and Paris. Its like you’re truly with them. It enables you to really get sucked into the book and feel what’s going on. You can feel the tension between Lestat and Claudia when Claudia planning to kill him, and you know it wasn’t a good thing when she did. That somehow it was going to have really bad consequences.
I love how Claudia, in the later chapters, starts acting like a child when she’s scared. Her mind is so fully developed, yet when she feels like she’s in danger she turns into a little child. Like when Lestat “arose” from the dead. And they where following her.
She was acting like a kid. But as soon as danger is over she’s that twisted grownup and is
contemplating how she really should have killed Lestat.
Well, I think you can guess who my favorite and most observed character is.
It is worth it though, the whole reason this book takes so long for it to be read is because the writing is so intricate. Everything is explained in it’s fullest detail and is very nicely written.
Anne Rice’s writing makes almost everyone’s writing seem very simply written, except for Tolkien’s writing. After I finished this book I could read another book in about two days.
I should probably talk a little about the story instead of going on about how long it is.
The characters are really nicely developed. This is one of the things that really got me into the book. I think the most interesting character was Claudia, you really got to see her grow up in this book, not physically but mentally. First she was really cute, but she did get pretty scary and unpredictable when her mind grew up. And even though she was the smallest one of them all, she still was the most beautiful and terrifying of her kind.
It even made me scared of her. I felt really bad for her to have to be tiny or the rest of her life.
Through the entire book, every vampire seemed like it was missing something, and will be missing that thing through their entire existence. It seems like they are going through a never ending search, with Lestat it’s company, because he is terribly lonely. He’s looking for someone with the same frame of mind as his, the same way of thinking.
Claudia, is looking for femininity, because she will always stay small she has to show her
matured ness in other ways then her form. In a way she’ll never really get what she wants, because she will never be able to look like any of the other girls that are her mental age.
The whole story is very interesting, and is very appealing to the senses. The way Anne Rice describes all the scenes like New Orleans, Germany and Paris. Its like you’re truly with them. It enables you to really get sucked into the book and feel what’s going on. You can feel the tension between Lestat and Claudia when Claudia planning to kill him, and you know it wasn’t a good thing when she did. That somehow it was going to have really bad consequences.
I love how Claudia, in the later chapters, starts acting like a child when she’s scared. Her mind is so fully developed, yet when she feels like she’s in danger she turns into a little child. Like when Lestat “arose” from the dead. And they where following her.
She was acting like a kid. But as soon as danger is over she’s that twisted grownup and is
contemplating how she really should have killed Lestat.
Well, I think you can guess who my favorite and most observed character is.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Fantasy Literature List
mythical creatures
hero
horse
Catalyst – father
reason to fight/Unable to run away
journey/quest
Setting
World mythos/background story
Enemies/feuding families-races
Enchanted forest
Magic
Wizards
Talking animals/impossible business
swords
Chain mail
wands
dwarfs
darkness
Manda And Ernon
hero
horse
Catalyst – father
reason to fight/Unable to run away
journey/quest
Setting
World mythos/background story
Enemies/feuding families-races
Enchanted forest
Magic
Wizards
Talking animals/impossible business
swords
Chain mail
wands
dwarfs
darkness
Manda And Ernon
Frankenstein
I remember having to read Frankenstein in High School. And I never really got why no one liked this book. It was kind of hard to get into in the beginning with all the letters and what not. But after you get into it its pretty easy to follow. I just really feel bad for Dr. Frankenstien. But then, you also get the story from the monsters viewpoint, which was very interesting. He basically had to grow up all by himself, without anyone to teach him. He basically was an orphan, a kid rejected by his father, rejected by basically anyone who he came in contact with, even after he learned how to speak, he still didn’t even get the chance to explain himself before he gets assaulted. Which really shows you how the monster really isn’t bad by nature, it was just all these series of events that made him bitter and hateful towards mankind. Even Frankenstein, after hearing his story didn’t want to help him, just because of his appearance.
There’s one thing that I didn’t really get about Dr. Frankenstein, is how he didn’t realize that the monster was going to kill his wife and not him, I mean, it was really obvious because the monster was always killing the ones he loved and never really went after him, I don’t know how he didn’t see a pattern in that, or not even thought about possibility that his precious wife was in danger, after all what’s worse then losing someone you really love. That would be the worst thing that could happen to anyone.
Death probably wouldn’t be as bad as that.
But that’s about all I have to say about this book. I wouldn’t really read it out of free will,but i still enjoyed it.
There’s one thing that I didn’t really get about Dr. Frankenstein, is how he didn’t realize that the monster was going to kill his wife and not him, I mean, it was really obvious because the monster was always killing the ones he loved and never really went after him, I don’t know how he didn’t see a pattern in that, or not even thought about possibility that his precious wife was in danger, after all what’s worse then losing someone you really love. That would be the worst thing that could happen to anyone.
Death probably wouldn’t be as bad as that.
But that’s about all I have to say about this book. I wouldn’t really read it out of free will,but i still enjoyed it.
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