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| Name : | Bev A. |
My Reviews
Edith's Story was a good book, not an excellent one. She, in my opinion, never suffered as did other Jewish people during the Second World War. Yes, she lost her father, mother, brother, and grandmother. However, she never had to see the atrocities of the death camps. The whole first half of the book centers on Edith's life (via her diary entries) and how she was having one party after another and was in love with one boy after another. She learned some harsh facts as the war progressed, but she, again, in my opinion, never truly suffered as did other people. She never went hungry and was VERY lucky in being taken into the family that she was with. I found the side notes regarding the actual camps and holocaust history to more interesting than the prattlings of a 14-year-old child. It is definitely not the best Holocaust book I've read, but I would recommend it as it does have a different perspective than the other autobiographies of that era.
C. S. Lewis has done a remarkable job with this tale. I look forward to reading the rest of the Narnia novels. While meant to be a children's book, it is as equally as fascinating for any adult. It held my attention from start to finish.
Life and how it is handled by family and friends. Gary, Gary Paul, and Kevin all have the strongest issues to work out. Hardship is an every day way of life for people. A question was raised as to whether we saw the father, Gary, as a Messiah figure. Definitely not for me. If any one a Messiah figure, it was Gary David, even in going so far at the end of being stripped of his clothes as Christ was. Even after Gary David's tragic death, life goes on.
Having read Anne Rice's vampire series, I was eager to discover how she approached Christianity in her writing, and she does so with finesse. The development of young Jesus throughout her book is artfully driven by setting the book in the first person with all of the encumbent experiences and observations of a young child. When Christ understands the truth of his existence, knows something of the pain and suffering he is to undergo, it is an emotional passage. When Mary and Joseph find Jesus in the temple, and come to take him home, it is my favorite excerpt. At the last chapter, I wanted to pick up the next book and continue on. I look forward to Anne's next chapter in Christ's life.
Mary Oliver portrays the essence of nature at its very "primitive." Her visual imagery is outstanding and makes you taste the blackberries and the honey (even the bee's body). This is a book I would have every club read.
Joan Didion's journey through the year following her husband's death is insightful, giving her readers a synopsis of coping with the grief of such a painful loss. Her research into the different views, definitions, explanations, hypotheses, etc. regarding the coping mechanisms following death, and, more importantly, the distinction between the active process of grief versus the passive acceptance of mourning, was the aspect of the book I enjoyed (if that is the correct word) the most. The loss of the one person with whom she could share everything and her realization of the stark truth that he was no longer there to enjoy even the smallest detail of her life was eloquently described by Joan Didion. In combining her journalist's research methods and her novelist's skill, she has effectively given us a tool that can be used by all who have (or will, as it is inevitable) lose someone close to them. My favorite excerpt from the book is the one in which her husband gives her his last birthday present, his reaffirmation, and love, of her writing abilities, "Don't ever tell me again you can't write. That's my birthday present to you." What a wonderful gift! Thank you, Joan Didion.
Kathleen Norris takes the reader through the liturgical year, enlightening and deepening one's beliefs, giving the reader concrete images with which to work. "Cloister Walk" is a must read that cannot be breezed through. It should be read as a meditative aid and kept on one's bedside table, to be picked up nightly and contemplated thoroughly. For those struggling with their faith in God (and man), Miss Norris provides a spiritual resource and a journey well worth traveling.
Arnold Simon has effectively given us the history of WWII based upon "players" lives. The history of WWII is personalized, giving the reader an opportunity to view the war based upon individuals, not events. Most of us know of WWII only in what we have read in history books. Mr. Simon takes that history and masterfully blends it with his characters. This is a gripping story of how ordinary people were forever changed because of the events of WWI and its aftermath, the indignation of the German people and their desperation to regain their country's honor, and how Hitler's charisma and his insidious lies infected his followers and brought about the horrors of Nazism and the Holocaust.
I am an avid reader of all vampire stories, and I am beyond my young adult years by many months. Stephenie Meyer's book was a welcomed addition to the vampire genre. Be aware, though, this is more a story about love that happens to be about a vampire, not a vampire book that has the typical seduction, though the vampire lure is definitely there! Her explanations of certain "facts" about vampires open up all kinds of possibilities. I've got all three of her books and can't wait to read the second.
The Thirteenth Tale had a great beginning and caught my attention right from the start. It is mysterious and fascinating! A great fireside read! Could not wait to get to the end to find out everything!
Unnecessary.
Her book weaves a masterful story that enlightens the reader of a little known piece of American history and provides another thoroughly entertaining story that is impossible to stop reading!
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