Review: The Book Thief

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In my system books deserve five stars for many different reasons, some for their writing style, for their wisdom, others for giving me good feelings or making me happy. Then there are books like this one, this book is on a completely different level.

If you are thinking right now "well, here is another person who read a famous popular book and now she is going to blabber about how amazing and groundbreaking it is...." This is not the case, I went into this book with the idea that I will find it okay, like most of the over hyped books that I read after absolutely everyone has read. This idea stayed with me for the most of part one, but after that, everything changed. This book literally changed me in a way not many books have done before. Even my body could not handle it, lumps in my throat, nausea, pain in my stomach and heart. Many times, I just had to put the book down and take a break, take a few deep breaths so I could continue, sometimes I took breaks for a few hours. That is how exhausting this book is. And the strangest thing is that you can't exactly explain why, you can't tell why you became so involved and attached to these characters. It happens so suddenly and fast that you do not even know about it. The events and the character information are like a folded paper that you open bit by bit each time you open a bit you discover some piece of information.

The narration was masterful, yes it annoyed me so much when he revealed some of the events that would happen in the end of the book, sending my heart spinning into my stomach, but it was so good in building anticipation. So good that even though you sometimes know exactly what is going to happen, it does not keep you from reacting so strongly. I can honestly say that this book received the most tears I ever gave to a book, I cried while reading a book only once before, but it was nothing compared to this time. For some people it was The Fault in Our Stars or Harry Potter, both books I love deeply, but they did not receive my tears.

What amazes me also is that the writer of this book, he was not there in 1939-1945, he did not live at that time, he did not live at that place. But the way he wrote the story was as if he was there seeing it, it was crystal clear!!

This is the second World War Two book that I read, The Machine Gunners being the first, And don't get me wrong, Robert Westall's picture felt authentic and you could tell that it was a place and time that the man lived, which is true for Robert Westall. But Markus Zusak gave me an even more breathtaking picture, a picture that move me in such a profound way, and he didn't even live at that time! Now if this isn't genius story telling I don't know what is.

 I repeat again, this book is not happy, it will not make you feel good. It is heart breaking, heart wrenching, and exhausting. It has been four days since I finished this book, but I still feel a lump in my throat and a pain in my stomach, and whenever I think I've forgotten my eyes fall on the book and the pain starts again. I hope that writing these words will help me.

Note on the movie: I watched thinking it will make me sadder than the book, because I will actually be seeing the events in front of my eyes. Yes, I got the sad ending but before the ending it was such a FUN journey, I laughed so much. The movie was very well done and you should not just read the book, the movie is another beautiful experience, with many beautiful feelings to give you that differ from the book. I seriously did not expect to laugh this much when watching the movie, I was expecting to cry throughout but I didn't and to me that shows how genius the filmmakers are.

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Review of The Ninny by Anton Chekhov

Taking advantage of nice people has become the social norm these days. For this reason, parents today have given up on raising their children to be nice, but there still remain some exceptions. Yulia Vasilyevna is one of those few exceptions. She is one of the main characters in Anton Chekhov's short story "The Ninny". The main theme this story speaks about is how many people are taken advantage of these days.

The story begins with the master of the house meeting with the governess of his children, Yulia Vasilyevna, to discuss her paycheck. He then begins to list wrong accusations at the governess, all the while subtracting money from her salary, until her money is reduced from eighty rubles to eleven. The interesting thing is that Yulia barely spoke throughout the whole ordeal, tears sitting still in her eyes, and when he handed her the money, she took it and uttered a single word of thank you.

The ending to the story was quite surprising, because it turned out that the master was acting all the time, trying to test her patience. He was outraged when the governess thanked him, and when he asked" is it possible that there is anyone in this world who is so spineless?" she replied back with an embarrassed smile.

The message that is conveyed in this story is a very profound and contemporary one. There will always be people around the world that prefer to take the safe side and not stand up, even if their rights are taken. It is a question that we always ask ourselves, whether we want to stay quiet and get through life peacefully, or if we would prefer to abide by the saying "if you do not be a wolf you will be eaten by wolves".

 

 

To read the story:  http://albalearning.com/audiolibros/chejov/poquita-en.html

 

 

Review: James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Crossing

James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Crossing by G. Norman Lippert

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Rarely has it been that a book became extremely gripping and addictive, that things like sleeping and eating are rendered unimportant. All that is important is reading on to know what will come next. It is even less often that this book is fan made, for there is a large chance that the characters and events will not be portrayed in the way that the original author imagined them. However, I find that James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Crossing is an exception. The book had the same addictive feel of the original Harry Potter series even though G.Norman Lippert's writing style was different than J.K.Rowling, but I must say that this feeling decreased in some parts of the book. I couldn't help feeling a surge of pride and anger whenever I read a detail that was different from the original series, which I think clouded my judgment about Lippert's writing. I must say that this book had more clear themes than the original series; some themes were even political which made the book all the more interesting to read. The writer also provided a different look into the lives and personalities of old characters that we had known so well, like Neville and Harry, and while some details may disappoint passionate readers, I found them very interesting.
Throughout the novel, James goes through a journey of self discovery, trying to find his place and afraid of falling in his father's shadow. I believe that the same thing goes for G.Norman Lippert. As long as he is writing in the world of Harry Potter, he will be in the shadow of the writer who created this world. I also believe that with his great writing skill and an amazing idea, G.Norman Lippert may indeed fly and become as famous as J.K.Rowling.

P.S.
In some parts of the book, James felt like a spoiled kid. I must admit that an orphan main character is more appealing.




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A Short Story

First Breath

The green bud is closed upon itself. A humming bird flies along and pecks it with its beak. It trembles slightly. The bird stops in midflight, feeling that the bud was different from others. Suddenly, in front of the bird's very eyes, the green petals start to peel away, revealing fiery red colored petals that were tinted with streaks of orange and yellow. But to the astonishment of the humming bird and the other animals who had gathered around, a girl was emerging from amidst the opening petals, her eyes closed and her hands raised to the sky. Her hair fell down to her delicate shoulders and was the color of the dark tree trunks that surrounded her flower. She was covered in a dress that was the same color as the flower that held her, and the fabric seemed to merge into the deep petals of the flower. A nearby deer came to take a look as the flower finally opened to its fullest. The humming bird came closer, curious to greet this newcomer. The girl's hands were now relaxing and moving down as she began to feel the prickles of life in her limbs. Slowly, she opened her hazel green eyes, and exhaled her first breath.