Okay so I know that I said I may not post in a while yesterday, but Hubs is at school and I have the day off so I figured I should at least do a Wednesday's read.
The theme for today is, "Books I have a love/hate relationship with".
The following books are all fairly popular titles that I heard enough good things about, so I decided to give them a try. All of the books had parts that I loved and parts that I hated. But were the parts that I loved good enough to outweigh that parts that I hated? I like to think so, and I do not regret reading any of these books. Just because I have a different opinion from the author of how a characters life should turn out doesn't make it wrong, just different, and difference of opinion is what makes life(and books) so interesting.
I also learned something about myself through reading these books that I think I need to change a little. The parts that I hated in most of the books were the parts where things turned ugly for a character that I loved, and they didn't get a perfect resolution. But isn't that more realistic then in most books where most things turn out unbelievably perfect? I am not saying that happy endings are bad, I LOVE happy endings! I just think that I need to have better respect for authors who don't do "happy endings" . I think there is something pretty bold in writing a harsh and realistic life for a fictional character that people grow to love.
I still read to get a little escape from reality and I love to read about happy times, love stories, and destiny, but there is also something beautiful and powerful about those books that are a little bit tragic and painful, because that is how many of the characters grow and find out who they really are.
Here are some of those books.
As always no real spoilers, because I hate spoilers in book reviews.
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.
This is a book about Susie Salmon, a young teen who is murdered by a neighbor. Her murder takes place at the beginning of the book and is quite harsh. It is not necessarily too graphic, but it is so sad and brutal that it was pretty hard to read. Once you jump that hurdle, you join Susie in the "in between". She basically watches her family and friends and murderer in the aftermath of her death and in the years to come. Again there were parts that I loved, and parts I hated.
I loved how some of the characters developed and how they grew, but I disliked the story line that dealt with her mother, and there was a a weird but kind of lovely part at the end that I still have mixed feelings about. Some people were really bothered at how the murderer ended up but I didn't really mind it that much. It seemed to me that not only was it realistic but also ironic. I did enjoy this book, maybe I didn't love it, but it was interesting and lovely and painful and sweet. So who knows maybe you will love it.
The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards.
It begins in the 60's with a young doctor and his wife who is pregnant and in labor. They rush to his office and to his surprise delivers twins. A healthy boy and a girl. He sees right away that the girl has downs syndrome and makes a decision that will affect them all for the rest of their lives. I was fascinated by this book from the very beginning, the story was so interesting and the characters were very real. Unfortunately for me, towards the middle of the book some of the characters started off on paths that I wasn't too thrilled about. I will say that this is not a book about unhappy endings, but with a messy middle and broken people who make bad decisions. I was also not a huge fan of the writing style. The over describing and other things were a little annoying. I didn't dislike it though. It was captivating and tragic, but also very beautiful and heartwarming. And although I disagree with some of the plot turns I never stopped reading and never stopped being interested. Getting from point A to Point B was worth some of the mess along the way.
The Uglies, Pretties and Specials by Scott Westerfeld.
I loved "Uglies", I really liked "Pretties", and I am totally undecided on "Specials". This series posed an interesting question, I did not enjoy how a lot of things turned out in the end for one reason or another, but does that take away the love of the first two books? I don't think so. The first two books in the series are really awesome, I guess I just had expectations that were not fulfilled in the end and it kinda broke my heart. I did read something on the authors website about some of the decisions he made, and it did make more sense...but still. I do recommend this series because it is creative and unique and the first books are good enough that it makes a bad final book worth it.
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger.
This book was more love then hate, but there were still some things I didn't like about it. This book is about a set of twin sisters who inherit a flat in London from their aunt after she dies, only they never knew they had an aunt. The flat overlooks the Highgate Cemetery in London and the mood of the whole book is that of the cemetery. This book is a ghost story (with real ghosts), a love story, a coming of age story. It is kind of spooky, kind of funny, kind of lovely, kind of tragic and very fascinating. It has some unexpected turns and it is really unlike anything I have ever read. I really enjoyed this book, but I added it to this list since it is a list of books that aren't all warm and fuzzy, and there were a few odd parts. Some of the best parts though are about a character named Martin who lives upstairs, never leaves his flat, and is completely overcome by his OCD habits. I know that this book is not for everyone, but just typing up this quick blurb reminds me of how much I liked it. It also helps that my copy of the book is personalized and autographed by the author.
I am going to also make note of another book that I really have a love/hate with, and that is the other novel my Ms. Niffenegger, "The Time Travelers Wife."
Have you guys heard of this book? Just kidding I think everyone has since it has been on the bestsellers list for like 5 years. I will just say that I think the story line is fascinating and clever and romantic and heartbreaking all at the same time. I think it is a love story but also a very sad story. That part I love. I had a difficult time with the language and the sexual content and basically the crudeness that overwhelmed parts of the story. If it was not for that I would've liked it a lot better. "Her Fearful Symmetry "on the other hand had very little language and minor sexual content. And yes I am one of the VERY rare people who have read both and actually prefers HFS of TTTW.
So there you have it. I know that I wrote way too much but now you have my opinion on some of those books that you may have heard about, may have seen, and were maybe thinking of reading. In the end, I think it is rare to find a book that is so bad that I actually regret reading it, but there are a handful of books that I enjoyed, but they have their flaws along the way. These are the books that have amazing highs and bad lows but in the end, I am glad that I read them.
Leave me a comment if you have read any of these books and agree or disagree.
I am sure some of you have loved and hated some of these books.
