The Lovely Bones. The book AND the movie.

"Reading is a means of thinking with another person's mind; it forces you to stretch your own."
~Charles Scribner, Jr.

As you may have seen from a photo in my Christmas post, I read The Lovely Bones over the holidays. I figure, now is as good a time as any to post my review.

Set in the 1970s, the book is narrated by Susie Salmon, a young teenage girl who announces in the first sentence of the book that she was murdered. We also soon find out that she was brutally raped prior to the murder, but I don't think Susie ever says the word "rape," except for once later in the book, not even referring to her own experience.

Susie narrates from her own version of heaven, but since she, herself, has not yet come to terms with her own death, she spends the majority of her days watching her family and friends grieve, wishing to console them. She follows their daily activities, hoping for a chance to let them know she is okay. She also follows her killer, a neighbor, who she simply knew as Mr. Harvey, learning the deep ugly truth about this quiet, solitary man.

Susie, not yet ready to let go of her life, lives the milestone moments of life vicariously through her younger sister. She watches her father's never-ceasing struggle to find her killer and discover what really happened to her the night she was murdered. She watches her baby brother grow up, her mother estrange herself from the family, and her grandmother move in to help run the household. Susie might learn more about life than her 14-year old mind really wanted to know.

The book was certainly intriguing. The rape and murder told in the first chapter held my attention and left me wanting to know how it all ended, hoping for justice. Seeing the scene and the years following from the eyes of a 14-year old who knew what happened, was interesting, but at times frustrating. I wanted the detective and her family to figure things out more quickly. I wanted the rapist -- who, we find out, is in fact a serial rapist and killer -- to be caught, be humiliated, to suffer, and die. I guess I just needed to be patient...

Shortly after I read the book, Katie and I went to see the movie version, which came out in mid-January. As you know, generally I dislike reading a book before seeing the movie (if there is one) because I'm usually disappointed by the movie. I prefer to end the whole experience with the part I enjoy the most -- the book. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how well the movie portrayed even the most minute of details from the book. Certainly some things were left out and a couple of minor things were changed, but overall, it may have been the best adaptation of a book I've ever seen. (At least, that I can think of, right now.) I thought they did an excellent job bringing the story to life.

The actors were well cast. Stanley Tucci was convincingly creepy as Mr. Harvey, which I found a impressive since earlier in 2009, he was so wonderfully charming as Julia Child's husband in Julie & Julia. Though Mark Wahlberg would not have been my first choice for Susie's father, he did a fine job. And by the end of the movie, Susan Sarandon also won me over as the grandmother.

Alice Sebold's gripping story seems, somehow, delicate when told from Susie's more innocent 14-year old point of view. The pain and grief, which are requisite in a story like this and ever-present, ultimately evolve into hope. Sebold's writing is lovely, yet appropriately disturbing, and Peter Jackson's skill in film adaptation is to be praised.

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Mama's Bank Account.

"You meet one of the nicest families imaginable; a family that should restore or reinforce your faith in human nature, and give you a great many chuckles in the bargain."

~Philadelphia Inquirer

Today, while at home trying to nurse my scratchy, hoarse, bass voice, I finished reading a delightful little book called Mama's Bank Account written by Kathryn Forbes. I picked this book up from a book exchange shelf at the gym. I'm always looking for books worth reading on that shelf, and this one captured my interest as I read the back cover:

There is no mother in fiction more resourceful, uncorruptible, and endearing than the Mama of these charming adventures about an immigrant Norwegian family living in San Francisco. It is Mama who knows how to deal with the doctor's avaricious wife when Papa needs an operation. It is Mama who finds recompense when the roomer leaves without paying the rent. It is Mama who discovers a way to keep her children from growing up afraid, with a mysterious bank account.

Sounded like the perfect light read I needed after finishing the whole Twilight series. (Yes, I finished Eclipse and Breaking Dawn several weeks ago. All before the opening of the movie New Moon. I told you... I got sucked in!) Plus, I'm in the middle of studying for finals and finishing final term papers and projects. I needed an easy, but enjoyable read to distract me every now and then. This was just the book.

Of course, the fact that this family lived in San Francisco and Mama truly loved the City helped capture and keep my interest. I could easily relate when they spoke of the cosmopolitan life they lived.

The story is told as a series of recollections through oldest daughter Katrin's eyes, but focuses on Mama's interactions with the family, friends, and neighbors. Mama is tough, determined, resourceful, proud yet humble, feisty, strong, loyal, loving, optimistic, and happy. She and Papa are good, honest, hard-working people determined to make a good life for themselves and their children in San Francisco in the 1920s. The story focuses on their simple aspirations and dreams, as well as their struggles and sorrows. Mama reminds us of the significance of living of good values and in essence, how your love of family can move you to do things you may have thought impossible. Optimistic even through hard times, Mama ends many of the chapters saying, "Is good. Is good."

The book has such a warm quality, that reminds you of the importance of family and the powerful effect good honest values can have on your life. Plus, Mama loves San Francisco. A woman after my own heart.

New Moon. I did it.

"Option three: Edward loved me. The bond forged between us was not one that could be broken by absence, distance, or time. And no matter how much more special or beautiful or brilliant or perfect than me he might be, he was as irreversibly altered as I was. As I would always belong to him, so would he always be mine."
~Bella Swan, New Moon, Chapter 24, p.527

So, I did it.

I read New Moon.

I know, I know.
I'm getting more and more sucked into this whole Twilight business.

AND I read it before the movie.
Now I'll be annoyed with the movie.
Oh well.
It's done.

But I must say Stephenie Meyer's writing got a little better... or maybe I just got used to her style. I'm not sure which. The first half of the book was a little slow, and I found myself peeking every so often at a random page toward the end of the book, just to see if I could quickly see any words (or names) that would give me an idea of what was going to be happening. I know, I'm awful! I don't normally do that, but I guess I was just anxious for the story.

Normally, I'm a really slow reader, but this time there were several times that I found myself having read an entire page in, like, four seconds. Then, realizing that I missed a few lines here and there between dialogue and being the detailed person that I am, I had to go back and re-read. I think her writing was insignificant enough to me that I was just fueled by knowing the story. When I re-read that which I'd skimmed over, I found that I hadn't missed much. Just a gesture or a thought here and there.

New Moon's obvious parallel to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a little hokey to me. We're just waiting for them to play out history's greatest romantic tragedy. Okay, so a lot of the book is hokey. I mean please. This is all about vampires and werewolfs and their "deep" relationships with humans. But that aside, keeping the Romeo and Juliet theme throughout the book helps Stephenie Meyer build some much needed serious tension for the climax because the reader can see the tragedy just waiting to happen.

Despite any and all hokey-ness, I'm still a girl and I still love Edward! I'm definitely TEAM EDWARD. I just am. He's great. He's 110 years old or something, which means he's had a lot of time to develop into the "perfect" boyfriend for Bella. He does say a lot of things "perfectly" and does a lot of "perfect" things. (sigh) A girl can dream, right? Even if he IS a vampire.

Yes, I did stay up until 1am last night reading.

Yes, I AM going to see the movie.

Yes, I will read the next book in the saga,
but I've GOT to read something else first!

Oh, and Happy Halloween!

Twilight. I got sucked in.

"When you have Twilight in your hands, every long period of time feels like a gift."
~Katie

So, I know that my sidebar says that A Thousand Splendid Suns is currently on my nightstand, and that IS true, but I actually just finished reading Twilight. I know, I know... the hype just "sucked" me in. I couldn't resist. (Catch the double meaning?) I just wanted to be part of the conversation.

I saw the movie a long time ago, but let me tell you a little something about myself... I have a keen ability to forget the details of a movie, so much so, that sometimes I even forget how it ends or that I've seen the movie at all. I know. It's weird. Sometimes, it's really annoying, but other times it comes in handy. I can see a movie for the second time, like it's the first. But best of all, when I want to read the book after I've already seen the movie, the story doesn't completely leave me, but I tend to forget just enough that it makes reading the book a brand new adventure!

I have to admit that in spite of Stephenie Meyer's sub-par writing, the book Twilight definitely kept me intrigued. At first (in the first 150 pages), although I was into it, I couldn't help being distracted by the terribly sub-standard prose. It just felt like I was reading a rough draft by a high school student who was trying so hard to "show not tell," but totally overdoing it at points. Then there were the times that I had to go back and read something over again because she didn't make any sense, and reading it the second time didn't really help. And the over-use of flowery adjectives to describe the Cullens (the vampire family) and their vampirical features was really starting to bug me.

But soon after I began to seriously wonder if she wrote with a thesaurus by her side, choosing words at random, I began to be entrenched in the drama of her story! I'm a girl, what can you expect? Her impractical, yet dreamy story, akin to Romeo & Juliet in the I-want-you-but-I-can't-have-you-but-I-really-want-you-so-we-will-find-a-way feeling, threaded throughout the book, could easily draw in even the mildly romantic reader. And I admit, I was hooked.

And, Edward is (to adopt a word she used to describe him way too many times -- not enough thesaurus use on this one) glorious. Yes, he's wonderful. But I must remind myself that he had about 90 years to perfect his courting style, though he said he hadn't had a romantic interest since he became a vampire... Still, he had a lot of time to observe and learn. And he learned well. His manner made Bella's heart race, and at times (I must admit), mine as well.

So there you have it. I've been converted. To the story, at least, and that's saying a lot, seeing as I don't really like fantasy stuff at all. Her writing better improve with New Moon, though. I'm not trying to be totally down on her. After all, she has become a millionaire because of that writing. She seems like a very nice person, and even modest, stating on her website that she knows that the beginning of the book isn't the strongest part. I'm happy that her dream became a success. Kudos to her!

And now to see New Moon in a month! Most people like to see the movie version AFTER they've read the book, so that the movie characters don't take away from the pictures they can dream up in their heads. I, however, feel the opposite. I often enjoy reading the book after I see the movie because I almost always like the book better, and I want to end with the most satisfying version.

So what do you think I should do? Read first or wait until the Thanksgiving holiday, AFTER I've seen the movie? :)

The Kite Runner.

“A powerful book…no frills, no nonsense, just hard, spare prose…an intimate account of family and friendship, betrayal and salvation that requires no atlas or translation to engage and enlighten us. Parts of The Kite Runner are raw and excruciating to read, yet the book in its entirety is lovingly written.”

~The Washington Post Book World

You may have noticed that The Kite Runner has been "currently on my nightstand" (on the right sidebar) for quite some time. It's true. It, along with a few other books, has had a spot on my nightstand for awhile. At long last, I found the time to finish it recently.

Title: The Kite Runner
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Pages: 371
Published: 2004

Generally, I enjoy nonfiction over fiction, but this was an exception. The characters, while fictional, were in a sense very real, telling stories about Afghanistan's history, its culture, its religion, its prejudices, and its wars. Beginning during the last peaceful years of the monarchy in Afghanistan, The Kite Runner paints the picture of the life of Amir, an upper-class Pashtun/Sunni boy, and his friendship with the son of his father's Hazara/Shi'a servant, Hassan. Although their friendship is quite close in the early years, Amir feels conflicted and cannot look past their differences to see the friendship for what it really is, a true friendship. Amir allows their relationship to be filled with elements of a master/servant relationship. Despite this dynamic, and the constant reminder that Pashtun heritage is far more preferred, Hassan will do anything for Amir “a thousand times over.”

The Kite Runner drew me into a world that was nearly completely foreign to me: Afghanistan, its culture, its history, its values. Amazing, it was, to read how peaceful and "normal" Kabul seemed in the days before the Russians invaded and the war took over. The devastation Amir encountered when he returned to Kabul reminded me how destructive war can really be. The overwhelming thoughts I had throughout the book were those of the power of love, forgiveness, friendship, and loyalty.

A few of my favorite lines:

-- After Amir tells General Taheri, a family friend who later becomes his father-in-law, that he is a writer of fiction, General Taheri says, "Ah, a storyteller. Well, people need stories to divert them at difficult times like this." p 139

--Hassan's mother left him as a baby, but returns when he is married with a child. Hassan and his wife welcome her, nurse her back to health, and catch up on lost years. But apparently he never asked his mother where she had been or why she had left, and she never told. "I guess some stories do not need telling." p 211

--After paying an unthinkable price of $75/night for a run down, dirty hotel room, to a man with three little girls clinging to his legs, Amir says he didn't mind the price. "Exploitation to finance a beach house in Hawaii was one thing. Doing it to feed your kids was another." p 265

--Upon watching how quickly Sohrab, Hassan's son, fell asleep following a traumatic episode, Amir writes, "I waited, rocked him until his breathing slowed and his body slackened. I remembered something I had read somewhere a long time ago: That's how children deal with terror. They fall asleep." p 342

The Kite Runner made me wince, laugh, smile, cry, and sigh over and over again. I tend to be drawn to books documenting the hardships people endure in life. I'm not sure why; maybe, it helps me to feel grateful for what I have. Also, I am inspired, time and time again, by the resilience and determination people drum up in times of adversity, and the way trials can shape one's character. This book was no exception. It was powerful. Now on to A Thousand Splendid Suns!