A Zoo on the Ocean

There are some books that were just meant to be movies.  Life of Pi by Yann Martel is one such novel. Now I read this book for a book club I run at the library, but prior to having read it, I watched the movie. I know! Shock and awe! Luckily, there was enough space between seeing the movie and reading the book that I didn't do the whole “well that was nothing like what I saw in the movie”. This is such a vibrant and visual book that it made a stunning and accurate movie.

Life of Pi is the extraordinary story of Pi. It begins with his childhood in India, where his father owns a zoo. Pi is an eccentric, wise, and vivacious young boy who takes a keen interest in religion. He is born Hindu, but picks up Islam and Christianity along the way, finding faith and comfort in all three. The real adventure starts when Pi and his family decide to sell the zoo and move to Canada. On the trip across the ocean, the ship sinks leaving Pi on a life boat with a chimp, hyena, zebra, and Bengali tiger. What follows is the story of Pi’s survival at sea with a wild tiger and how he carries on.

Many have found this book to be a survival story, a great book of storytelling, and a book about faith. I found it unique in that it combines all three. It has elements of a Biblical tale in the extraordinary circumstances that take place, yet even when Pi questions his beliefs, he remains faithful. Of course, the most obvious element of the story is that of survival on the Pacific Ocean with a wild animal. Pi’s ability to tame Richard Parker, the tiger, and find hope in his presence is the story that makes for good Hollywood filming. There were times during this second section that I skimmed through  because you can only read about fishing so much before it gets repetitive.

I enjoyed this story. I thought the framing of it was interesting with a young man relating his encounter with the older Pi as he tells his story. Most people can find something they like about this book, whether it be the adventure story, faith in the face of adversity, animals and nature, or a storyteller’s tale. If you've seen the movie, the book is quite similar, but I suppose I should say the book is always better…

Pubescent Mythological/Historical Figures

Helen of Troy is a character who has a lot of drama behind her name. Some see her as a romantic figure, others as selfish. I’ll hold my opinions on that subject. While searching for good books to book talk for 6^th graders, I came across Nobody’s Princess by Esther Friesner. This is a young adult story about a young Helen of Sparta, the future Queen of Sparta, and the cause of ever so much trouble.

Helen grows up as a pretty girl. Everyone says so and although she does not know what pretty is she accepts it. However, when Helen turns 12/13 she starts changing. Her hormones kick in and she becomes awkward (I don’t miss those times). She is no longer sure of herself and she certainly does not want to practice the womanly arts of weaving and sewing. Helen wants to redefine herself and become her own person. She wants to learn to fight, ride, and run like her brothers, but a girl isn't supposed to do those things! But Helen is crafty and determined. Surely she can find a way to learn what she wants and have the adventures she’s always dreamed of!

This was a fast paced story. The action kept moving and I wanted to continue reading. Helen is a spirited young woman and I enjoyed her as a character for the most part. She is determined and knows what she wants. She always finds a way to get what she’s after, perhaps a foreshadowing of the woman she will become.

The other characters played minor roles throughout the tale and it was nice to see some variance. I didn’t like that every character who seemed to enjoy or practice the womanly arts was kind of a bitch, but women who hunted or adventure like men are totally awesome. I mean I get what the author is going for with “not being your average girl”, but it annoys me that every time a girl is “different” she’s masculine or enjoys something only men are supposed to do.

An aspect of the story I truly enjoyed was seeing how the gods and goddesses were worshiped. The author had her characters making sacrifices, praying, and worshiping different gods/goddesses throughout the text. It was great to get to see this in context. It was interesting to see what the characters actually thought about their deities and who would be prayed to/worshiped depending on the task/season.

I got through this book quickly and enjoyed it. It was a fun read, but it wasn't spectacular. If you like mythology and historical fiction this is right up your alley. 

Into the Wild

For book club, it was my month to choose our reading material. I decided to read something I’ve been meaning to read for a while and just hadn’t gotten around to. On top of that, I wanted to give my co-readers a choice. I needed at least two books with similar plots or themes. That’s when I decided on Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air and Into the Wild. Both by the same author, on my ‘need to read’ shelf, and adventure writing, I thought they’d be different than other books we read.

Into the Wild is a book that stirs up opinions. God knows it did in book club. Chris McCandless just graduated from Emery and decided to go on his very own Odyssey out to the west of the United States. The year is 1992 and Chris didn’t tell anyone where he was going, opting to be like his favorite writers and spend time in the wild away from civilization. His ultimate goal: make it to Alaska, the last wilderness and live off the land. Along the way, he made friends, had near death experiences, and lived his idealized life. Unfortunately, there’s a reason it’s an idealized life. Chris was found outside of Fairbanks, Alaska dead. In Krakauer’s book, we follow Chris around the country and get to know him the best we can.

I hesitantly picked up this book. All I could think of was, this kid is a dumb ass. Who burns their money, deserts their family, and goes into Alaska with very little knowledge of how to live off the land? He deserved what he got for his arrogance. But then I started reading about McCandless. I started understanding his longing for nature, the unknown, testing his limits, and a life altering trip. I envied his ability to have a philosophy that he lived by, truly live by. His ideas were romantic, and as Krakauer points out, not always based on truth in the case of The Call of the Wild, but there was something innocent and beautiful in his ideals. I connected with McCandless. Although I’m not going to hike around the country, I understood the longing to get out of modern society with all its distractions and reconnect with the beauty and overwhelming power of nature.

The book brought up great discussion points from communing with nature, ideals, the power of fiction, youth and stupidity, and somehow sex (it always seems to creep in there, that’s what she said).

I highly recommend this book to the adventure seeker or nature lover. Maybe you will hate McCandless for being a selfish kid. Maybe you’ll love the idea of traveling without expectation or limits. It was surprising how much I enjoyed this book while still having reservations about the main character. If you’ve seen the movie, give the book a try. I’ve heard they paint two different pictures.

If you liked this book and want others like it here are my suggestions:

• A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
• Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
• A Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins
• The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Catastrophe on Everest

Jon Krakauer is a writer and adventure seeker. In his book, Into Thin Air he chronicles his expedition to climb Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, for a magazine story and the tragic events that follow.

Krakauer pumped this book out months after the catastrophic events that killed eight climbers as a seeming way to work out his survivor’s remorse and get the story out before it became muffled due to time. He works through what went wrong, who died, and gives a detailed account of what happened. He interviewed those who were there and who knew or heard what happened to get as much perspective as possible. But at 26,000+ feet, judgment and brain function go out the window and huge mistakes are made, as we see in this book.

The book can be disturbing because of details and decisions made throughout the ascent and descent. The hardest part of reading this book, from my perspective, are the mistakes made. Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and decision making at sea level where oxygen is plentiful makes all the difference, but when Krakauer talks about leaving people to die, I had objections.

Krakauer’s writing was detailed and the reader gets the idea of what climbing Everest is like: not fun! For most of the book, all I could think was “why?”. I understand wanting to chase your dreams, but when they lead up a mountain full of fatalities where there is a “death zone” (any altitude above 26,000 feet where oxygen is at a third of what it is at sea level), it just seems silly. Man will always push himself to the limit, explore, discover the undiscovered, but to me, climbing Everest seems like either a bucket list assignment or something to brag about. Not worth it in my ever so humble opinion.

When it comes down to it, this was a good book. You get the sense for the distress, inability to make clear decisions, and strain the climbers went through. I felt for Krakauer to a fault. In the book, you read his insecurities and distress over decisions that were made, but at the same time, I had a hard time understanding these decisions. Morals seem to fly out the window at the top of the mountain and people in need are literally stepped over for the sake of a triumphant moment.

If you’re into adventure/travel books, this is a good one. Here are some others you might enjoy:

• Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
• Dark Summit: The true story of Everest’s most controversial season by Nick Heil
• The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger

Return to Fairyland

I cannot believe I forgot to post this from back in October/November, so here ya go!

While perusing the children’s section, I ran across The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherine M. Valente, the sequel to The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. I immediately locked into its purple allure with the familiar cover design and long title. It was stunning that I had not been informed there was a sequel to Valente’s book! Luckily, it just came out.

September is swept back to Fairyland where things are amiss. Magic is rationed because all the shadows of fairyland’s creatures are being taken to Fairyland Below and the shadows hold the magic of a being. September’s quest this time around is to get the shadows back to Fairyland so that magic might once again return. The problem is that the Queen of Fairyland Below is Halloween, September’s shadow! Shadows are the dark side of a person. The yearnings and contained attitudes and personality that the human person does not show. After failing to convince the shadows to go back to being 2 dimensional slaves of their human counterparts, September must find the prince of Fairyland and wake him from an enchanted sleep so he can take power back from Halloween. Along the way, September discovers all sorts of inhabitants of Fairyland Below, and some somewhat familiar faces.

As in the first book, Valente writes beautifully. I often wonder at this being a children’s book. Although the subject material seems childish, the writing and content are sophisticated and philosophical. It is deep and thought out with themes of family, love, self-awareness, coming-of-age, and so much more. The characters are intricate and it often reminded me of Alice in Wonderland with riddles and strange ways of saying things or getting to a point. The vocabulary is advanced as are the ideas presented. Sure a ten year old could read this, but an adult could read it too and get a lot out of it. This is a great example of a book that you would read when you’re young and reread when you’re older, just to find hidden meanings and new ideas.

I preferred Fairyland Below to Circumnavigated actually. I think the plot of this one ran a bit smoother. Maybe I just enjoyed it more, but either way, this is a fantastic book. As September is getting older, she’s dealing growing up, finding an occupation, and a place for herself. This theme runs throughout the book and lends to part of the coming-of-age aspect of this read. However, it does not slap you in the face like some coming-of-age novels, with overly referenced teenage angst and troubles or morals. This is a novel that lets its reader puzzle on meaning and interpretation.

This is fantasy, as you can tell by the title, because it deals with a pretend world, so it was just up my alley. If you have not read the first book, you need to in order to understand the plot and characters fully in this book. I highly suggest giving this book a read. 

Falling Stars

A star falls from the sky and puts action into motion in Neil Gaiman's adult fairy tale, Stardust. You see, in Faery, a star is not just a lump of heavenly rock, but a woman. Tracking this woman are a witch, brothers seeking their birth right, and a love sick young man. Faery is a place where trees can be helpful or harmful, and magic and strange creatures lurk around corners.

The novel moved quickly. Adventures were not drawn out and characters were not overly complicated. Although I felt each character had much more to say and do in their time, Gaiman did not spend much time getting into the complexity of each person. He did a good job of holding a balance between giving details and keeping the plot moving. I felt he could have gone into more depth, but I was happy for a shorter read that took me through the fantastical land of Faery. There was one scene, when a unicorn is murdered, that was a little disturbing and went into more detail than necessary.

I listened to the book and thought it was a well done reading. Gaiman was the narrator and I’m always intrigued and somewhat put on guard when the author reads their own work. Some authors don’t know when to give control over to an actor who will read it better, but Gaiman was wonderful. He has a lovely voice and read the book well. I would recommend listening to this if you enjoy books on tape.

Overall, I would recommend this to a reader who enjoys fantasy novels. It felt like a Young Adult novel, but it did brush on more adult language and scenarios at points, so I’d say this is aimed at ages 15-adult. It was not one of my all-time favorite reads, but it was fun and easy. If you enjoy Neil Gaiman’s writing, I would suggest you try The Graveyard Book which is about a boy raised by ghosts. If you enjoy adult fairy tales and magic, I would suggest author Patricia Wrede. She writes alternative fairy tales along with books about magic in an alternative pioneer setting. 

Alice + Dorothy=Septmeber

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making by Catherynne Valente. Wow what a title!! Have fun tripping over that one. I love fairy stories and fantasies, so when I heard about this novel and saw the cover art, I knew I had to read it.

September is a young girl from Omaha who one day gets swept up by the Green Wind and the Leopard of Little Breezes and brought to Fairyland. Once there, she meets a variety of creatures and sets off on adventures to retrieve a spoon for Goodbye the witch. She meets her beloved Wyvern and together they make their way to Pandemonium, Fairyland's capital. September learns about the Marquess, the ruler of this land who has made all sorts of rules and brought bureaucracy to the land. In an instant, the girl September is supposed to detest, the Marquess, sends September on a quest to the Autumn lands to retrieve a sword. From here, September discovers more about the land and things living here. She loses and gains alliances and gets altogether wrapped up in the politics and happenings.

The writing reminded me a lot of Alice in Wonderland with language being played with and corrected and all sorts of things that are silly in our world being taken seriously in Fairyland. The adventure is much like The Wizard of Oz with a little girl getting caught up in the happenings of a world she knows nothing about and forming friendships along the way. But September is her own character. A well meaning girl trying to help those around her. I thought this was going to be a light and fluffy read. Although it's about Fairyland, there are some deep moments and the plot is not as happy and frolicsome as expected. Nothing in the story is dark or ominous, but there is a lot more going on under the surface than a sweet little fairy story. The main themes in this novel have to do with friendship and responsibility. Although September is young, she is a mature girl. She knows how to take care of herself and she knows what is right to do even when there's an easy way out.

As with Alice in Wonderland, I found myself getting a bit bored at times. There's a good amount of talking and wondering about what's happening, which can be a bit tiresome after a while. Things must be explained, but that is normal with world-building books. The first in the series must lay the land for the upcoming books. This is the first in a planned series of books.

I would put this in the young adult section. Although the name and subject matter speak to a juvenile audience, I think it would be difficult for a young crowd to understand all the talk and stay attentive to the story. Certainly a good read, but for those who are open to more descriptive writing. Fairyland will stick in my mind for a while, and I see myself picking up the next book in the series whenever it makes its way to shelves.