Life Of Pi.1

I am enthralled by this novel. I cannot put it down. For the last few years, everyone who has read it and knows me has told me I "had to" read this novel and I said "yeah yeah ill get to it". Well now the time has come. And let me say- I am so glad. This is literally the only novel to date, in my present memory, that has made me think incredibly deeply about life, human nature, what it all means, and how we should go about living it... while making me laugh aloud at the same exact time. Martel seems to have a philosophic mindset with a splash of irony and a shake of situational humor all in the character of a young and mighty headstrong Indian boy with a first-year French vocab word for a name. Life is so philosophical, just trying to figure out how to live from day to day requires one to tap into his inner Derrida or Hobbes (lets leave out the Nietzscheans, thats a whole other blog). However, life is also laugh out loud funny with moments of bitter and sweet sweet irony. This novel sums it all up in a seemingly quaint story, with monumental lessons to teach.

Going After Cacciato.4

This novel, I believe, is a buildungsroman in a backwards kind of way. I believe this novel "starts" (in a linear sense) with the characters in a lost, almost wandering kind of mindset. There was no direction other than the straight lines to no where that were walked day by day by each solider in Vietnam. However, by the end of this novel, I believe the soldiers have digressed into a seeing of reality- of their harsh reality. Like being in a hell with fog, and then suddenly the fog lifts itself away and everything terrible and horrible is seen clearly. However, the characters aren't scared or in pain, they are simply knowledgable. And it is that knowledge that brings about their coming of age, their ah-ha moment within the novel. See life for what it is, and not simply living in a ditch of wandering despair sounds terrible, but in this novel is a way in which the men can come to psychological and physical terms with the horror before them. They are able to now cope with problems, however harsh their coping mechanisms are, when before they were only able to see as far as the barrel of their guns could take them.

Going After Cacciato.3

Dr O'Brien's class was enlightening, uplifting, and most importantly, captured my interest into this novel even more so than it had previously. Having read this book with my cousin, Charlie, a Vietnam vet and a post-war junkie, I saw the rough, hard-edged, nothing good in life side of Vietnam though these books. I saw the desperation and the utter sense of lost that permeated every father and son's mind. However, through Dr O'Brien, I was able to see something else through the stories he told, hes testimony though the war, and now what he has done with his life. His story was inspiring in a bright way, seeing God through the terror and the lost. Using and relying on God through the fear and the pain. Having heard both stories of the war first hand has given me not only a sense of the war and the novel itself, but also of life and the inner workings of human beings themselves.

Going After Cacciato.1

Tim O'Brien is one of my favorite authors. And to my surprise, I was not disappointed with the only novel of his I have not read. I do wonder, however, just how much of these novels is able to transcend pages? My cousin was in Vietnam and he has torn through all of O'Briens novels with the speed of lightening because he calls them "books that bring back bad memories in a good way". Because of the poignancy behind his statement, and the strength of the emotions behind the statement, I just wonder- can I possibly, in any small way, truly understand anything about this novel? Is there a heart behind a man that transcends situation, space, and time? Or did Vietnam really change the insides of man, change their being so much, that the heart is unrecognizable through all of the pain?

Room With A View. 2

Lucy gets married. On the verge of engagement myself, I read this book, finally, in a new light. My parents love my boyfriend. They love everything about him. Except for the fact that they think he is going to take me away to Germany, his home country, never to return me to my 'home', Texas. His culture has permeated mine and mine, his. I see this very much like the dilemma Lucy faces, as she struggles with the problem of which man to marry (what drama!) and which to kick to the curb. She sees Cecil, the 'sure thing', as someone of her equal, perhaps even a step up, someone who can give her what she wants, and more important, what she is used to. Marrying him would cause no stir in social circles nor would it cause as many whispers in drawing rooms. However, with George, a man not of her equal, from another class which might as well make him as different as a German and a Texan, Lucy must then worry about her status of life from here on out. What will change? Will George take her off to some far off land where she speaks very little of the language, where her vegetarian self will never again see a plate without having to psyche herself out before eating? Or is a life with fire and passion, reckless abandon, is that the life Lucy wants below her Victorian frill and lace? Lucy must face the waves that come with either side: a life without passion and love or a life without respectability and 'the finer things'?

Room With A View.1

Being a Forester nerd myself, I have to admit that this book always leaves me contemplating the rules and regulations of high society. Is it really ok to take the Emersons' rooms? What exactly is the deal with Baedecker? The character of Lucy has always been an interesting place to start, in my brain, as she is stuck between what she wants and where she should be, what is it right and proper for her to do. I think that the biggest moment, the biggest chance for change, and yet, somehow always the biggest letdown, for me, no matter her change, comes directly from Lucy herself. In every Forester novel there is a big letdown for me, someone who I always have the big hopes for, the character that I see maybe even a bit of myself in perhaps, and the, once again, the big let down. It will be interesting to evaluate this book based purely on itself and in light of its 'quest' or 'building out and growing up' aspects. For now, I will sit back and read A Room With A View, once again, with high hopes for a character who never fails to let me down.

Harry Potter: A Buildungsroman

I truly believe Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to be a buildungsroman, simply because Harry is shown, even just in the last book, to grow exponentially- starting at a little boy with a big job to do and big shoes to fill, and ending with Harry resigning himself to his duty and perhaps to his death, and giving everything he has (granted sometimes this isn't much, but it gets the job done, no matter). He relies on his friends around him which gives him strength, but it is in his understanding of himself and his past- his parents stories, the true nature of Snape and Dumbledore- that give him the resolve and pure ability to finish off what he was put on the world to do. He takes on exactly what every adult is asked to do- their job in the world they were put on Earth to do- and yet he does it at 17. Because of this tremendous growing up and the acceptance of his mission, Harry Potter is indeed a buildungsroman, perhaps, at times, in disguise.

HarryPotter.1

I find the way in which Voldemort and Harry have a connection very interesting in regards to the development not only of Harry in his life, but of the plot as well. This connection is the epitome of good vs evil, with Harry trying all he can to get away from the evil of Voldemort, except the only thing he can actually do in order to close this connection- occlumency. He is urged by everyone around him, especially Hermione the expert, but is unable- or rather, unwilling- to practice this to save his mind. However, this is very important as very critical plot information is derived from this connection as Harry can see what Voldemort is doing and who his is doing it to. This not only gives Harry information as to the whereabouts of his foe, but also affects his mind in such a way that he is often taken aback and unable to carry on ‘normal’ daily happenings because of these distractions. This connection, an almost working together of good and evil, are the main crux of this story and it coincides with the life and previous actions of Harry himself, not one to follow the rules, however, when given the chance between right and wrong, Harry most generally chooses the choice with the best ending. In working through this connection while still allowing the information, the connection, to flow freely, Harry not only is given important information as to how to defeat Voldemort, but he is also strengthened and readied for the task ahead through the mental struggle.