Now, here is something I am really sick of: trilogies or series.

Guess what all you budding writers out there? Not every book is meant to be more than one, maybe two books. Need some examples? Okay, Twilight. Two books tops, New Moon and Eclipse were clearly bridge books and don’t even get me started on the editing in Breaking Dawn. Hunger Games: two books tops, maybe even one long one. The Passage…what? How could there be more than one. the first one wasn’t long enough?

It seems to me that no one knows how to write stories in just one volume anymore, and if I open one more book that turns out to be the first in an “exciting new series”, I will not be pleased.

I am really only just getting into this whole world of blogging about books, so it is exciting to learn about all these challenges and the people who share my goals!

I joined the Book Chick City challenge which you can find here: http://networkedblogs.com/gfL2T

Join me! 100 books, we can do it!

Keeping Faith

Plot: In Keeping Faith, Picoult tackles the topic of religion. In the midst of a emotionally devastating divorce, Mariah White’s seven year old daughter Faith begins to speak to G-d. And all though they are non-practicing Jews in a broken interfaith family, Faith begins to have the stigmata. Famous atheist Ian Fletcher, the anti-Billy Graham, sets out to prove that Faith is a fraud, and sets off a gripping custody case.

I think that “Keeping Faith” has some of my favorite Picoult characters. Each character is complex and damaged in ways that are very easy to relate to. And while the stage Picoult sets them on is surreal, their personalities and reactions are very realistic.

Mariah is the needy house wife and stay at home mommy who must learn to survive on her own. Mariah does not become ridiculously strong over night; Picoult develops her slowly. While I felt she still ended a little weak, I found it a very sincere portrayal. Ian is damaged goods with situational atheism. Picoult loves to write these cynical cranky male characters who just want to be loved, and Ian Fletcher is one of my favorites, right next to Jordan McAfee from The Pact, 19 Minutes and Salem Falls. Colin, Mariah’s ex-husband, makes a deliberate mistake that may cost him the love of his daughter. You hate Colin for what he did, but completely understand his broken heart. Millie, Mariah’s mother, is the loving and sassy mother who provides perfectly times comic relief and emotional support.

The crux of the book is religion, and here the author plays it safe. She does not attack religion, nor does she make any blatant arguments. She offers no alternative or conclusions. In fact, her approach may be too subtle, but she does not make the book untouchable by tackling the topic. She writes a perspective that is very palatable, even if it does get a little lost in a series of miracles and a little romance.

Keeping Faith is one of my new favorite Picoult novels.

Grade: B

Rating: 16+ for adult situations

Death has always been a fascination of mine. When I was a child I was labeled: odd, macabre, morbid even. Think Vada Sultenfuss in the movie My Girl. It seems being preoccupied with death works well with my Victorian fascination. But somehow I managed to grow up normal, but my interest in death didn’t subside. Death is a deeply symbolic act in literature, and specific character deaths always serve some great purpose on the part of the author. Sometimes I would cry, sometimes I would be heartbroken, and sometimes I would just ask “Why?” The following list is made up of the most profound literary deaths I have experienced in my reading career.

They aren’t the most famous ones, nor are they the most obvious ones (did no one see Dumbledore’s death coming?), but to me, they were the most meaningful.

While I was researching this, I found this great page on Wikipedia about of famous epitaphs:

Spoilers: If you have not read the following books and would still like to, don’t read the rest of my post:  Tuck Everlasting, The House of Mirth, Lord of the Rings, Animal Farm, Tess of the D’Ubervilles, The Stand, Interview with the Vampire, or Cold Mountain

Winne in Tuck Everlasting
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babitt is a classic fantasy children’s novel about a very special family, with a very special secret. The Tuck Family is immortal, but they hide from the world, so that no one should find out. The Tuck’s secret immortality is the crux of the entire plot, and Winnie’s death, just two years before they come back, is jarring. She is a child when she meets them, and her death, presumably of old age, is a poignant contrast to their lives.

Lily in The House of Mirth
Lily Bart is a tragic figure who is defeated by not only her own stubbornness, but also by society’s stubborn hypocrisy. Her death at the end of “The House of Mirth” is awful for two reasons. 1) Selden was just around the corner from admitting his love to her and changing her circumstances and 2) because it may have just been an accident.

Gandalf & Boromir in The Lord of the Rings
Never were such noble deaths as these two in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. It is, after all, an epic.

Boxer in Animal Farm
Boxer is the loyal and steadfast horse from Animal Farm. His motto of “I will work harder” resonated deeply to a kid brought up with a Protestant work ethic. His betrayal and death was a sharp kick to my literary gut. “I will work harder” doesn’t always keep us out of the glue factory.

Tess in Tess of the D’Ubervilles
I hate you Angel Clare. That is all.

Nick in The Stand
Nick is the most likable and sympathetic character in The Stand. Deaf from brith, he survives a brutal beating in the beginning of the novel, befriends the dim Tom Cullen, and becomes a leader in the the Free Zone of the book. He overcomes the odds, and gives the readers someone to really root for. So the fact that King kills him was seriously devastating to me, and when I re-read it, I almost always skip that part, because just thinking about it makes me upset. If Nick had lived, Randall Flagg would not have gotten away…and so it goes.

Claudia in Interview with a Vampire
“She wanders alone through the night, A child with eyes burning bright, She extends her arms for an embrace a tiny smile, Her ruby lips on her doll- like face.” Lyrics from “The Dog” by The Damned
An immortal woman, cursed to roam the world trapped in the body of a child. Claudia is a pivotal character in “Interview with the Vampire.” Her role and death in the novel serve to show that even for those who relish in it, immortality isn’t perfect.

Inman in Cold Mountain
The man just survived the Civil War, and traveling half way across the country to get to his dearest love, Ada. He is a man who longs for happiness, and it is only hope that drives him. It was just awful how he dies so soon after being reunited with her.

Dobby from Harry Potter
“Harry Potter mustn’t be angry with Dobby. Dobby did it for the best – ”
I love you Dobby, and I am not ashamed to admit I cried like a baby when you died! Dobby loves Harry Potter!

In her recent novel “Fallen Grace”, we meet Grace Parkes in 1861 London. Suffering from a tragic life, Grace is burdened with not only her survival but also with the care of her simple older sister Lily. They are orphans who must fend for themselves on the mean streets of Victorian London (pretty much my favorite place). A series of misfortunes, which I won’t give away, leave Grace sprinting over nearly impossible hurtles, from destitution to being taken advantage of by a family of wicked crooks.

Hooper contrives a fairly simple plot, which a keen reader will have figured out well before half way through the book. Still, her rich descriptions of Victorian London and it’s obsession with death and mourning, keeps the book engaging. Grace is almost a two dimensional character, but a few key scenes save her from being completely flat. Unfortunately, most of these scenes came very near to the end of the novel. In fact, most of the life of the book (besides the atmosphere) comes near the end. There were a decent number of character who didn’t seem to fit or have a real purpose, until it was revealed their only purpose was to move the action of the plot.

Overall, the book relies on a lot of contrived plot devices (a.k.a. coincidence). On the other hand, the atmosphere and historical content is amazing.

Grade: C+/B-

Books aren’t rated because there aren’t visuals. After a long argument with my husband and my friend whitefrodude, they held the position that if you read a book, and it starts to become inappropriate, you can just put it down. I argued that inappropriate language or scenes can just “pop” up with little warning. They insisted there had to be enough warning to skip or stop reading. I maintained that sometimes there isn’t. I could not determine if this is because I read too fast, or have read a larger quantity of books than they have.

This Book has been Rated R

Whichever the case, I have decided upon a “rating” system that would satisfy me. I propose that books have a rating system similar to television. This book is rated 13+, This book is rated 8+, This book is rated 21+. That way, I at least know what to expect and, based on my sensitivity, if I should bother buying it.

During our argument, whitefrodude mentioned that he did not approve of banning books for their content. I concurred, but, going back to Water for Elephants which was taken off the reading list in a New Hampshire high school, I do believe in limiting their availability to a certain audience. For example, I don’t think an overly explicit book with questionable literary content should be on a mandatory reading list in school. I don’t care if it is on the bookshelf at your local bookstore, but don’t make my kid read it.

On the other hand, I do think that certain books have questionable content (i.e. Huckleberry Finn’s use of the “N” word) which can illuminate a chapter in history for us. Mark Twain was using Huck’s racism and overbearing attitude towards Jim to demonstrate the plight of African-Americans in our society at the time. In addition, the “N” word was an acceptable adjective for an African-American. To ban or edit this book on this merit alone, re-writes a very important chapter of American history in an inappropriate manner. But the explicit moments in Water For Elephants add nothing to our understanding of Depression Era America, and therefore have no place in our children’s curriculum.

I waited too long. It was an announcement that shook my little world on Sunday morning. Baz Luhrman is going to adapt “The Great Gatsby”…in 3D…in Australia…with Leonardo DiCaprio. I am completely conflicted. For those of you who know me, you know that I am obsessed with this novel, and it is one of my life dream’s to write the ultimate adaptation a la Emma Thompson/Sense & Sensibility. So, I am going to break down how I feel about this.

Baz Luhrmann : I love Baz. I did not love Australia. Now while his track record should lead me to believe that he could suceced with this project, Gatsby is a very tricky project. Unlike many great novels, it does not lend itself to an easy adaptation, Gatsby is intense, introspective, and internal. and many have failed trying. Luhrmann could pull it off, but does he have the insight to make it innovative and his own? I am hopeful.

DiCaprio as Gatbsy: I am a huge fan of DiCaprio. I mean come on, I was 13 when Titanic came out, and watched Rome & Juliet at 14, how could I not be a fan? But no, seriously, I have loved pretty much everything he has been in, he is an amazing and intense actor. It’s the intense part that makes me nervous. Gatsby is a character filled with a kind of grim hope. He is a romantic until the end. DiCaprio is not an actor that lends himself to hope, usually more to despair.

Robert Redford received average reviews for his interpretation of Jay Gatsby in 1974

3D: What? The novel is not strikingly visual, so what are they going to do? The green light, T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes…and then what? I am definitely not a fan of this part.

Nick: Casting of Nick is really the lynch pin to the whole piece, much more so than Gatsby. Nick is our narrator, our arbitor, our compass. With out Nick, the whole piece falls apart. Please cast Nick well!

Music: Luhrmann is exceptionally musical, and I think that is a big plus. In order to bring life to this novel, you have to go all or nothing, and music may just be the key to that (i.e. Sense & Sensibility and Clueless).

Overall, I am now filled with a grim hope. Will it be good? Will it be awful? With this bag, it has a potential of being any or all of these things.