A Confederacy of Dunces by John F. Toole
Coming Soon
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows JK Rowling 9/10 |
What can I say about the seventh book in the series? If you're going to read it, you will. The only reason to read the seventh is if you read the first six, and if you read that far you'll continue.
I finished Deathly Hallows in a day - I started just before 9 a.m. and finished a little after 7 p.m. This 10 hour reading spree (well, less. I took a few breaks throughout the day) wasn't because it was the best book I'd ever read...I think I just wanted to read.
It's ironic that, after my criticism of the fantasy genre with Faith of the Fallen, I return in the next post to state how much I enjoy a different fantasy book. Frankly, Deathly Hallows is a fantasy I can enjoy - the plot is not focused on the startling difference of the fantasy world with long descriptions of the environment, it's simply focused on events and characters who happen to be in an alternate world.
The Harry Potter series is not just a book for children, though it's mostly appropriate for them. If you enjoy reading and a good story...well, then, you've probably already read them. If you haven't, what are you waiting for?
Faith of the Fallen
Faith of the Fallen Terry Goodkind 7/10 |  |
Faith of the Fallen is the sixth or seventh in a series of fantasy books entitled "The Sword of Truth". I hadn't read any of the preceding books and was thus coming into things a little blindly, but the book was rife with detailed explanations of events that I can only imagine were covered even more specifically in the books where they originally occurred.
To be blunt, Faith of the Fallen is merely a rehash. It's a rehash of Ayn Rand and the Objectivist philosophy, only it's written by a less talented and less knowledgeable writer. I hate to be cruel for fear that Mr. Goodkind will someday stumble upon my blog and be deeply insulted, but I can only be honest. Faith of the Fallen is an obvious attempt to retell the story Rand told in The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged in a new scenario. He does a fairly good job, but simply due to subject matter he'll always be compared to Rand, and it's simply not a favorable comparison.
Rand had not only a better understanding of Objectivism, she had a clearer storytelling method and a more believable set of characters and character progression. If you want to read a novel to find out about Objectivism, I would recommend any of Rand's books over Faith of the Fallen unless you had a strong predilection to the fantasy genre.
Faith of the Fallen wasn't just about it's Randian hero and his battle against the quasi-communistic "New World" forces - it had other story elements to appeal to the fantasy enthusiast. Goodkind is a master of his alternate universe, and he is skilled in portraying a believable fantasy world, and then drawing us into accepting it.
All things said, I'm generally not a fan of the fantasy genre. My review has a negative slant for this reason. My understanding is that Goodkind's Sword of Truth series appeals to a wide audience. Choose your reading appropriately.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Becoming Human
Becoming Human Ian Tattersall 9/10 |
Not much of a review is required for this excellent book on the history of human evolution. What can I say other than it was impartial, informative, and overall simply well-written. Tattersall runs us through the evolution of mankind from the earliest known fossils to modern homo sapiens, explaining the probable capabilities of each and the definite achievements. He doesn't get bogged down, as some philosophers seem to do, on the exact definition of words - most notably, the exact definition of language. He defines it in a (admittedly ethnocentric) fashion, and then proceeds to explain when (and how) in the evolutionary cycle we likely developed this capacity. Yes, one can argue that "grunts and pointing" are a language of sorts, but there's no reason to be caught up in the details that are really just (ironically) a problem of language.
Much of the book is written similarly - he clearly describes what he expects a word to mean, and moves on. Perhaps the only reason this is so refreshing is that I've spent so much time in the philosophy world that I've forgotten how people can simply be practical, non-hair-splitting writers who focus on what's important rather than on meaningless issues of definition.
If you're interested in a readable and concise history of human evolution (including a fair evaluation of its questions and shortcomings), this is an excellent book to read.
Disgrace
Disgrace J.M. Coetzee 9.5/10 |
Disgrace is a masterpiece. The 200 pages are sparsely written, terse and trying. One can hardly muster sympathy for the apathetic and unprincipled protagonist (Lurie) as his distanced, uninvolved life is slowly stripped from him. Disgrace is the story of a man who had almost nothing, and loses that.
Lurie lives a solitary, passionless life as a professor of communications at a Cape Town, South Africa university. "Because he has no respect for the material he teaches, he makes no impression on his students...Their indifference galls him more than he will admit." Lurie merely goes through the motions of life, living without purpose and only moderated joy.
Characters in disgrace are believable and complex - from his lesbian daughter living alone in the countryside to Bev Shaw, the animal lover whose veterinary clinics primary responsibility is the disposal of unwanted animals. The irritatingly indifferent Lurie changes only in miniscule measures - measures unknown and unnoticed by the stalwart professor who repeatedly claims that at his age, it's too late for change, too late for growth.
Lurie loses everything and rebuilds himself in the African countryside, but it's clear that nothing has really changed. Lurie is different now, but the world is the same and the political environment that has brought about the society he's a part of doesn't change simply because we grow. Even his relationships are established - the roles each member plays are established and too firm-set to change. Disgrace is not an uplifting book, but is excellently written and intriguing...and that's what I look for in a book.
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