8130 pages to date
17 . World Without End by Ken Follet 1024 pages
I had already read his first book of this series, Pillars of the Earth, and had really enjoyed it, so I thought I should give this one a go. Again, this book was entertaining with some great characters, but I feel that this book lacked the drive that Pillars of the Earth had. PotE really had a driving force behind it, which was the building of the cathedral, but World Without End just seemed to drag on for 1000+ pages without a real reason behind it. I mean, don't get me wrong...I found this book highly entertaining, it just doesn't really compare to it's predecessor.
Editorial Review from Amazon.com:
In 1989 Ken Follett astonished the literary world with The Pillars of the Earth, a sweeping epic novel set in twelfth-century England centered on the building of a cathedral and many of the hundreds of lives it affected. Critics were overwhelmed--"it will hold you, fascinate you, surround you" (Chicago Tribune)--and readers everywhere hoped for a sequel.
World Without End takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, two centuries after the townspeople finished building the exquisite Gothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth. The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge, but this sequel stands on its own. This time the men and women of an extraordinary cast of characters find themselves at a crossroad of new ideas--about medicine, commerce, architecture, and justice. In a world where proponents of the old ways fiercely battle those with progressive minds, the intrigue and tension quickly reach a boiling point against the devastating backdrop of the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the human race--the Black Death.
Three years in the writing, and nearly eighteen years since its predecessor, World Without End breathes new life into the epic historical novel and once again shows that Ken Follett is a masterful author writing at the top of his craft.
18. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 576 pages
I loved loved LOVED this book. Its the story of wartime Germany and follows a young girl Leisel, as she is separated from her mother and put into a foster home. The characters in this story are so incredibly well wraught and beautiful from the feisty Rudy the the kind hearted Papa to the intelligent and sorrowful Max and even to crabby Mama. Leisel is a character so full of beauty and warmth, yet she doesn't even know how much she impacts others lives. I was listening to this book on my ipod, and as I was jogging and listening to it one day, the book came to an end, and I found myself sobbing in the middle of the street. The ending is so incredibly sad, but in a good way, I didn't even feel embarrased to be crying over it.
From the Washington Post:
The narrator of The Book Thief is many things -- sardonic, wry, darkly humorous, compassionate -- but not especially proud. As author Marcus Zusak channels him, Death -- who doesn't carry a scythe but gets a kick out of the idea -- is as afraid of humans as humans are of him.
Knopf is blitz-marketing this 550-page book set in Nazi Germany as a young-adult novel, though it was published in the author's native Australia for grown-ups. (Zusak, 30, has written several books for kids, including the award-winning I Am the Messenger.) The book's length, subject matter and approach might give early teen readers pause, but those who can get beyond the rather confusing first pages will find an absorbing and searing narrative.
Death meets the book thief, a 9-year-old girl named Liesel Meminger, when he comes to take her little brother, and she becomes an enduring force in his life, despite his efforts to resist her. "I traveled the globe . . . handing souls to the conveyor belt of eternity," Death writes. "I warned myself that I should keep a good distance from the burial of Liesel Meminger's brother. I did not heed my advice." As Death lingers at the burial, he watches the girl, who can't yet read, steal a gravedigger's instruction manual. Thus Liesel is touched first by Death, then by words, as if she knows she'll need their comfort during the hardships ahead.
And there are plenty to come. Liesel's father has already been carted off for being a communist and soon her mother disappears, too, leaving her in the care of foster parents: the accordion-playing, silver-eyed Hans Hubermann and his wife, Rosa, who has a face like "creased-up cardboard." Liesel's new family lives on the unfortunately named Himmel (Heaven) Street, in a small town on the outskirts of Munich populated by vivid characters: from the blond-haired boy who relates to Jesse Owens to the mayor's wife who hides from despair in her library. They are, for the most part, foul-spoken but good-hearted folks, some of whom have the strength to stand up to the Nazis in small but telling ways.
Stolen books form the spine of the story. Though Liesel's foster father realizes the subject matter isn't ideal, he uses "The Grave Digger's Handbook" to teach her to read. "If I die anytime soon, you make sure they bury me right," he tells her, and she solemnly agrees. Reading opens new worlds to her; soon she is looking for other material for distraction. She rescues a book from a pile being burned by the Nazis, then begins stealing more books from the mayor's wife. After a Jewish fist-fighter hides behind a copy of Mein Kampf as he makes his way to the relative safety of the Hubermanns' basement, he then literally whitewashes the pages to create his own book for Liesel, which sustains her through her darkest times. Other books come in handy as diversions during bombing raids or hedges against grief. And it is the book she is writing herself that, ultimately, will save Liesel's life.
Death recounts all this mostly dispassionately -- you can tell he almost hates to be involved. His language is spare but evocative, and he's fond of emphasizing points with bold type and centered pronouncements, just to make sure you get them (how almost endearing that is, that Death feels a need to emphasize anything). "A NICE THOUGHT," Death will suddenly announce, or "A KEY WORD." He's also full of deft descriptions: "Pimples were gathered in peer groups on his face."
Death, like Liesel, has a way with words. And he recognizes them not only for the good they can do, but for the evil as well. What would Hitler have been, after all, without words? As this book reminds us, what would any of us be?
Now I'm in the middle of Guns, Germs and Steel with is incredibly interesting, but a little bit slow (it is used as a textbook after all!) and I'm listening to Eat, Pray, Love on my iPod. I like this one...it's well written and easy to listen to, but I have a few qualms about it, which I'll recap in another post.
Next on my list is a book written by the first elected official in South Africa to announce that he was HIV positive as well as a book titled Sometimes My Heart Goes Numb written by Dr. Charles Garfield, who is the developer of the Shanti model (I know work partially for Shanti, as well as volunteer my time with them). The book is little vingettes about 27 exceptional caregivers, and what makes them so great at what the do.
It's nice to not be in school and be able to do this...although I should be taking a class this fall. I think it's better than I didn't, since I have a chance to settle into my new city and have fun with friends before delving back into the world of academia.
until next time...
I had already read his first book of this series, Pillars of the Earth, and had really enjoyed it, so I thought I should give this one a go. Again, this book was entertaining with some great characters, but I feel that this book lacked the drive that Pillars of the Earth had. PotE really had a driving force behind it, which was the building of the cathedral, but World Without End just seemed to drag on for 1000+ pages without a real reason behind it. I mean, don't get me wrong...I found this book highly entertaining, it just doesn't really compare to it's predecessor.
Editorial Review from Amazon.com:
In 1989 Ken Follett astonished the literary world with The Pillars of the Earth, a sweeping epic novel set in twelfth-century England centered on the building of a cathedral and many of the hundreds of lives it affected. Critics were overwhelmed--"it will hold you, fascinate you, surround you" (Chicago Tribune)--and readers everywhere hoped for a sequel.
World Without End takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, two centuries after the townspeople finished building the exquisite Gothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth. The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge, but this sequel stands on its own. This time the men and women of an extraordinary cast of characters find themselves at a crossroad of new ideas--about medicine, commerce, architecture, and justice. In a world where proponents of the old ways fiercely battle those with progressive minds, the intrigue and tension quickly reach a boiling point against the devastating backdrop of the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the human race--the Black Death.
Three years in the writing, and nearly eighteen years since its predecessor, World Without End breathes new life into the epic historical novel and once again shows that Ken Follett is a masterful author writing at the top of his craft.
18. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 576 pages
I loved loved LOVED this book. Its the story of wartime Germany and follows a young girl Leisel, as she is separated from her mother and put into a foster home. The characters in this story are so incredibly well wraught and beautiful from the feisty Rudy the the kind hearted Papa to the intelligent and sorrowful Max and even to crabby Mama. Leisel is a character so full of beauty and warmth, yet she doesn't even know how much she impacts others lives. I was listening to this book on my ipod, and as I was jogging and listening to it one day, the book came to an end, and I found myself sobbing in the middle of the street. The ending is so incredibly sad, but in a good way, I didn't even feel embarrased to be crying over it.
From the Washington Post:
The narrator of The Book Thief is many things -- sardonic, wry, darkly humorous, compassionate -- but not especially proud. As author Marcus Zusak channels him, Death -- who doesn't carry a scythe but gets a kick out of the idea -- is as afraid of humans as humans are of him.
Knopf is blitz-marketing this 550-page book set in Nazi Germany as a young-adult novel, though it was published in the author's native Australia for grown-ups. (Zusak, 30, has written several books for kids, including the award-winning I Am the Messenger.) The book's length, subject matter and approach might give early teen readers pause, but those who can get beyond the rather confusing first pages will find an absorbing and searing narrative.
Death meets the book thief, a 9-year-old girl named Liesel Meminger, when he comes to take her little brother, and she becomes an enduring force in his life, despite his efforts to resist her. "I traveled the globe . . . handing souls to the conveyor belt of eternity," Death writes. "I warned myself that I should keep a good distance from the burial of Liesel Meminger's brother. I did not heed my advice." As Death lingers at the burial, he watches the girl, who can't yet read, steal a gravedigger's instruction manual. Thus Liesel is touched first by Death, then by words, as if she knows she'll need their comfort during the hardships ahead.
And there are plenty to come. Liesel's father has already been carted off for being a communist and soon her mother disappears, too, leaving her in the care of foster parents: the accordion-playing, silver-eyed Hans Hubermann and his wife, Rosa, who has a face like "creased-up cardboard." Liesel's new family lives on the unfortunately named Himmel (Heaven) Street, in a small town on the outskirts of Munich populated by vivid characters: from the blond-haired boy who relates to Jesse Owens to the mayor's wife who hides from despair in her library. They are, for the most part, foul-spoken but good-hearted folks, some of whom have the strength to stand up to the Nazis in small but telling ways.
Stolen books form the spine of the story. Though Liesel's foster father realizes the subject matter isn't ideal, he uses "The Grave Digger's Handbook" to teach her to read. "If I die anytime soon, you make sure they bury me right," he tells her, and she solemnly agrees. Reading opens new worlds to her; soon she is looking for other material for distraction. She rescues a book from a pile being burned by the Nazis, then begins stealing more books from the mayor's wife. After a Jewish fist-fighter hides behind a copy of Mein Kampf as he makes his way to the relative safety of the Hubermanns' basement, he then literally whitewashes the pages to create his own book for Liesel, which sustains her through her darkest times. Other books come in handy as diversions during bombing raids or hedges against grief. And it is the book she is writing herself that, ultimately, will save Liesel's life.
Death recounts all this mostly dispassionately -- you can tell he almost hates to be involved. His language is spare but evocative, and he's fond of emphasizing points with bold type and centered pronouncements, just to make sure you get them (how almost endearing that is, that Death feels a need to emphasize anything). "A NICE THOUGHT," Death will suddenly announce, or "A KEY WORD." He's also full of deft descriptions: "Pimples were gathered in peer groups on his face."
Death, like Liesel, has a way with words. And he recognizes them not only for the good they can do, but for the evil as well. What would Hitler have been, after all, without words? As this book reminds us, what would any of us be?
Now I'm in the middle of Guns, Germs and Steel with is incredibly interesting, but a little bit slow (it is used as a textbook after all!) and I'm listening to Eat, Pray, Love on my iPod. I like this one...it's well written and easy to listen to, but I have a few qualms about it, which I'll recap in another post.
Next on my list is a book written by the first elected official in South Africa to announce that he was HIV positive as well as a book titled Sometimes My Heart Goes Numb written by Dr. Charles Garfield, who is the developer of the Shanti model (I know work partially for Shanti, as well as volunteer my time with them). The book is little vingettes about 27 exceptional caregivers, and what makes them so great at what the do.
It's nice to not be in school and be able to do this...although I should be taking a class this fall. I think it's better than I didn't, since I have a chance to settle into my new city and have fun with friends before delving back into the world of academia.
until next time...