Ok, I've read 1984 a few years ago, but my British Lit class demanded it be brought to light once again. So after pillaging the room in our house full of multiple genres of books, 1984 has resurfaced, to my enjoyment. George Orwell can have the socks he oh-so-cleverly knocked off of my feet...they're to small anyway. Of course, answering many redundant questions *does* take some of the charm, if a dystopian Big Brother has much 'charm' per say, I still come away with a smile on my face and an innate fear of posters. Mainly those with faces, containing a mustache, plastered over their entirety.
Just a question: Does Big Brother (BB) make it a point to make sure every place you go smells weird?? We have an apartment that smells like boiled cabbage, gin that smells like a penguin after an oil spill, and Parsons (who smells like sweat 24 hrs. a day...truly a scientific miracle). Sorry, just *had* to ask. But it looks pretty effective at making people depressed. So kudos BB, have fun making perfumes with such titles as: Processed Cigarette Smoke, Three Day Old Sock, Julia's Scarf, Inside of Oil Can, and Acidic Beer. Sounds like it'll be a hit!
Winston, the lovable fatalist he is, is a curious combination of vulgarness and amicable 'lone-wolf'ness. I have no idea how to go about becoming an 'amicable lone wolf', but hey, it works for my evil purposes of entertainment. Julia is amusing, as always, but shows a surprising burst of intelligence now and then. Winston practically asks to be caught by the end, but Julia still manages to hold out on defeatism till the actual day of capture. Congrats, dear. Despite my love for insatiable old men who fear what they may say at night because a camera of any kind sits near their bed, and women who rival modern feminists in their love of sex, my favorite character is O'Brien. Is a friend or Big Brother's BFF? Who knows, they may eat popcorn and watch scary movies together on the weekends.
"'Do you remember writing in your diary,' He said, "that it did not matter whether I was a friend or an enemy, since I was at least a person who understood you and could be talked to?'" And really, it doesn't matter, O'Brien is a legendary character because he is perceived as a friend and an enemy all at once. This is how Winston comes (que scary music) over to the dark side, so to speak. If you actually fear rodents, such as rats, and even if you don't, Room 101 is still worthy of pause. It has always made me wonder what they did/threatened to do to Julia, as she never reacted to anything like Winston did to the rats. Maybe they painted her toenails a disturbing shade of green while giving her a perm. We may never know.
The last scene, where Winston sits in the Chestnut Tree Cafe, is also amazingly awesome and tragic. "Under the spreading chestnut tree I sold you and you sold me" is connected to the three men who were killed after being taken to the Ministry of Love (miniluv), Winston remembers hearing this song play on the telescreen and one of the men started crying. In the last scene he thinks he hears this song, then traces 2+2=5 on the table. I love George Orwell. Julia, having accidentally met Winston after they were both released, is now officially a (fill in the blank with a word meaning: "a malicious, unpleasant, selfish person, esp. a woman"). Whatever they did, it worked. So, after finally finishing my favorite British dystopian book (it matters not that there are few to choose from) again, I have to conclude that it is full of philosophical pondering...and a grievously long excerpt from the book (from Goldstein and the Brotherhood). But it's still worth reading : )
ENDING POINTS:
+ Characters you can love, but still make fun of in your spare time...if you ever get *that* bored
+ A plot that actually carries over and still surprises you, even though the end is obvious from the beginning
+ Glorious descriptions of random happenings
- Aforementioned crazy long reading from the book
- Orwell goes pretty in-depth into human nature and the workings of BB/The Party
- Ending, while completely awesome, will ruin the day of delicate minds who can't understand the irony of an unhappy ending
Monday, October 19, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes..." -MacBeth, Shakespeare
Not only is the title of this book one of my all time favorites (who doesn't like Shakespeare?), but this author also wrote Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury has created a very amusing tale about two boys and a carnival. Sound like fun? Think again. While carnivals and scary stories may only make you think of evil clowns or uncanny psychics, 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' will give you a new worry to indulge.
Bradbury finds a way to pack in all the great creepy things we hope *not* to see at town functions without you even noticing. If your one of those people who let themselves get sucked into a good story, then you will love 'Something Wicked...' (hey, it's a long title!). While the language style is somewhat philosophical/fanciful, it adds depth to the dark folktale-in-the-making story being told. The characters are believable, if not a little surprising, and the carnival workers/freaks/owners are amazingly creative. I expected a simple story about kids getting scared to death by some evil fair, but instead got a unique classic that I can easily recommend to anyone who needs a little thrill.
As long as you have no desire to question the workings of this story you will enjoy it thoroughly. Why does a smile and laughter conquer evil? Why does a seemingly quiet and depressed man suddenly find courage to help his son? Why does a carnival go around with their magical carousel taking people after ruining their lives? Why would hugging someone evil kill them? Like a psychiatrist I will answer these questions with a new question -who cares? It really doesn't matter because the story is so incredible it all makes sense. It seems completely logical that the blind witch can kill you with her muttering. It also feels right when someone named 'Mr. Dark' is covered in tattoos depicting the faces/general image of all his victims. It just makes sense when you read chapter after chapter of haunting descriptions by Bradbury. The blackness of the night when all the carnival people show up, the glow of Mr. Electrico when he is revived by electricity, the music played by the carousel, and the smile carved into a bullet all draws the eager reader into this magical and strange world where anything can (and will) happen.
This book also explores human nature, our weaknesses, and the strength of friendship. Our two main characters, Will's father not included till later in the story, have been friends for years and contrast each other in many symbolic ways. Jim Nightshade, the dark and brooding boy born on Halloween, is drawn to the promise of adulthood the carnival can give. Will Halloway, the blonde angel boy born on All Saint's Day (ironic?), on the other hand, wants to stay as far away as possible after seeing one of the carnival owners take a ride into the past by becoming twelve again. I really don't blame him, but where's the story in someone hiding in their attic for three or four days till a carnival leaves town? I didn't think so.
Even if most of the characters from the carnival, and some of the action scenes, are far fetched, it all adds to the fairytale nightmare effect the book gives off. The rooftop battle between Will and the Dust Witch might just make your heart do a few extra beats, so might the library scene near the end of the book. But why spoil the surprise? I will merely say the ending was satisfactory and just as random as the rest of the book : )
Ending Points:
+ Fairytale like language, even though it takes a few pages to get used to it...
+ Random and sufficiently creepy plot twists
+ Memorable characters, both good and evil, that rival other classics
- It actually *does* take a little bit to get used to this writing style, and there were a few grammatical mistakes I got hung up on, but they were few and the story more than makes up for it
- It may annoy some that Jim continuously wants to go back to the carousel...even after it is grouped with the evil people, and that no one ever finds Miss Foley
Bradbury finds a way to pack in all the great creepy things we hope *not* to see at town functions without you even noticing. If your one of those people who let themselves get sucked into a good story, then you will love 'Something Wicked...' (hey, it's a long title!). While the language style is somewhat philosophical/fanciful, it adds depth to the dark folktale-in-the-making story being told. The characters are believable, if not a little surprising, and the carnival workers/freaks/owners are amazingly creative. I expected a simple story about kids getting scared to death by some evil fair, but instead got a unique classic that I can easily recommend to anyone who needs a little thrill.
As long as you have no desire to question the workings of this story you will enjoy it thoroughly. Why does a smile and laughter conquer evil? Why does a seemingly quiet and depressed man suddenly find courage to help his son? Why does a carnival go around with their magical carousel taking people after ruining their lives? Why would hugging someone evil kill them? Like a psychiatrist I will answer these questions with a new question -who cares? It really doesn't matter because the story is so incredible it all makes sense. It seems completely logical that the blind witch can kill you with her muttering. It also feels right when someone named 'Mr. Dark' is covered in tattoos depicting the faces/general image of all his victims. It just makes sense when you read chapter after chapter of haunting descriptions by Bradbury. The blackness of the night when all the carnival people show up, the glow of Mr. Electrico when he is revived by electricity, the music played by the carousel, and the smile carved into a bullet all draws the eager reader into this magical and strange world where anything can (and will) happen.
This book also explores human nature, our weaknesses, and the strength of friendship. Our two main characters, Will's father not included till later in the story, have been friends for years and contrast each other in many symbolic ways. Jim Nightshade, the dark and brooding boy born on Halloween, is drawn to the promise of adulthood the carnival can give. Will Halloway, the blonde angel boy born on All Saint's Day (ironic?), on the other hand, wants to stay as far away as possible after seeing one of the carnival owners take a ride into the past by becoming twelve again. I really don't blame him, but where's the story in someone hiding in their attic for three or four days till a carnival leaves town? I didn't think so.
Even if most of the characters from the carnival, and some of the action scenes, are far fetched, it all adds to the fairytale nightmare effect the book gives off. The rooftop battle between Will and the Dust Witch might just make your heart do a few extra beats, so might the library scene near the end of the book. But why spoil the surprise? I will merely say the ending was satisfactory and just as random as the rest of the book : )
Ending Points:
+ Fairytale like language, even though it takes a few pages to get used to it...
+ Random and sufficiently creepy plot twists
+ Memorable characters, both good and evil, that rival other classics
- It actually *does* take a little bit to get used to this writing style, and there were a few grammatical mistakes I got hung up on, but they were few and the story more than makes up for it
- It may annoy some that Jim continuously wants to go back to the carousel...even after it is grouped with the evil people, and that no one ever finds Miss Foley
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Rosemary's Baby - Not what I expected...
After being told by many (three) people that 'Rosemary's Baby' was a good/scary book I decided to raid my local library to see for myself. I've never seen the movie, but books are usually better anyway, unfortunately at this point it may have actually been worth watching instead. I was looking forward to creepy happenings, think 'Poltergeist', and maybe a few demonic possession scenes, but no. Nothing. The only weird thing that happens is when Rosemary gets pregnant in the nightmare/ceremony/whatever where the stalker old people stand around naked holding black candles...which, while worthy of nightmares in itself, is *not* cool for a scary book. Or any book for that matter. Other than the weird nightmare scene its just a whole bunch of old people convincing a gullible pregnant person not to ask questions. She innocently agrees and endure about seven months of non-stop pain. Sadly, she basically believes everything anyone tells her till the last month or so of her pregnancy, which is when she finds out how many people are in the cult. No witch coven extends *that* far. How could ONE coven (cult) take over an entire city of people? Hutch (Rosemary's outside father-figure who is suspicious of the cult people) dies, which is practically the high point of the book, but even that is glossed over and ignored for the most part. You would think someone would notice random people who say there's a cult dying off. You would also assume that would make someone wonder, 'Hmmmm maybe they were right and this really *is* some coven of witch people'. At the end, when you finally get the promise of action and conflict, Rosemary gets sucked into the cult-people's group and everything ends very anticlimactically. The author builds up this whole ending sequence by having her sneak through a secret passage holding a butcher knife ready to kill A) the demon spawn and B) the nutjobs who got her pregnant with the aforementioned evil child, but then she sees the baby and drinks some tea (which is implied to be cursed or something) and decides to just be the baby's mother. She sits there and rocks the baby in it's emo basket and the book ends. Nobody dies, nobody does anything. *sigh*
Ending points:
+ Creepy Idea
+ Semi-good last chapter
+ Good plot twists/Character Reveals
- No actually scary scenes
- Lack of Action
- You may be endlessly frustrated with the level of gullibility Rosemary shows throughout the book
Ending points:
+ Creepy Idea
+ Semi-good last chapter
+ Good plot twists/Character Reveals
- No actually scary scenes
- Lack of Action
- You may be endlessly frustrated with the level of gullibility Rosemary shows throughout the book
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