Gruen, Sara: Ape House. New York: Random House, 2010. Print. 303 pages.
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SETTING: The Great Ape Language Lab in Kansas City (a fictional institution inspired by the real Great Ape Trust in Des Moines, Iowa) and the fictional town of Lizard, New Mexico.
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SUMMARY: An explosion at the Great Ape Language Lab seriously injures Isabel Duncan, a researcher at the lab and the individual the six bonobos at the lab trust the most. Journalist John Thigpen finds himself captured by the story not only because of its journalistic potential, but also because of his keen interest in better understanding the beautiful and yet very strange (at least to him) relationship between Isabel and the bonobos.
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FAVORITE QUOTE: "It had not escaped John that the bonobos had managed to acquire human language, but that humans had not crossed over in the other direction." - Chapter 27, page 215.
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I read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen a few years ago and remember absolutely loving it! I meant to watch the movie when it was in theaters, but it somehow slipped by and I keep forgetting to rent it. Doesn't matter very much, I guess, considering the book is always better! Anyhow, I saw this book at the library and because it's by Sara Gruen and I liked the cover art, I decided I'd probably enjoy it at least a little bit :P.
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Things I liked about this book:
- An interesting read! I finished this novel very quickly.
- It's about animal rights and the ethical treatment of animals.
- It inspired me to do my own research on the great apes. Any book that wants me to learn more about the subject at hand is great.
- Going along with #3-- the author definitely wrote a successful book. At least, she did with people who responded to the book in a similar way as me. The point of this novel is to raise awareness about nonhuman great apes (humans are a subcategory of the great apes) having basic human rights. This was a topic I had never even thought about before, and this book got me thinking about it!
Things I didn't like about this book:
- There isn't enough character development.
- The story could have been developed much better! While reading the novel, I got the feeling that the author was rushing to finish the manuscript and forgot to think about key parts of the plot. There are holes throughout the story while reading it, and it would have been great if they could somehow magically get filled.
- The side storyline with John Thigpen and his wife definitely felt underdeveloped and like it was haphazardly thrown in.
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Although the storyline is a little lacking, this novel is great! I applaud the author for going on this journey. A novel is hard enough to write, but having a greater purpose behind writing the novel must have made it even more difficult. I definitely enjoyed Water for Elephants more, probably because it had a magical feel to it, but Ape House will definitely receive an equally hearty recommendation to read. I've decided I need to do a better job about educating myself on the topics of animal research and animal rights so I can develop my own stance on the many subcategories that fall below the two. I also really like the quote I chose as my "favorite quote" from the novel. It really makes you think...
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Recommend? Yes! Also read Water for Elephants.
Christie, Agatha: Cat Among the Pigeons. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 1959. Print. 297 pages.
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SETTING: Majority of the novel takes place at the Meadowbank School for Girls (fictional institution) in England, but significant parts also occur in Ramat, an incredibly wealthy country in the Middle East.
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SUMMARY: The murders of teachers at the prestigious Meadowbank School for Girls are believed to be tied to the earlier death of the Prince of Ramat and a set of missing jewels worth three-quarters of a million pounds (assuming this is the 1950s value; worth multiple millions in today's currency, at the very least).
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FAVORITE QUOTE: "Miss Johnson had had a sizable dollop of brandy administered to her to pull her together after her discovery of the body. The result was a slightly added loquacity." - Chapter 8, page 111.
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I thought I had read all the Hercule Poirot mysteries by Agatha Christie because I read the Hercule Poirot Casebook, but I idiotically failed to pay attention to the fact that those are a collection of 50 Poirot short stories Christie wrote, and not a collection of all of her novels featuring Poirot. In retrospect, that was a VERY stupid thing to miss, seeing as I had read some of her Poirot novels before, and they were all definitely lengthier than any of the individual stories in the Casebook. Anyhow, I'm glad I was mistaken because Poirot is my favorite detective in Christie's mystery novels, and it's great to know I haven't exhausted all of the Poirot novels in existence. I checked this book out of the local library in my hometown yesterday and finished it yesterday. Yes, that should be an indication of how much I love Agatha Christie's work. I eagerly fly through them in a single day if given the time! And, might I add, it's fantastic having so much time on hand! Winter break is AWESOME.
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Things I liked about this book:
- Agatha Christie!!! One of my favorite authors. Hands down.
- Hercule Poirot!!! One of my favorite detectives. Hands down.
- The espionage element of the book.
- Parts of the book take place internationally. Christie's novels are great because they take you to different parts of the world.
- Julia Upjohn's character. She's one of the few sharp pupils introduced from the School.
- What they end up doing with the stash of jewels. The story concludes nicely :)
Things I didn't like about this book:
- Poirot is not brought into the novel early enough. I really love his character, and was patiently waiting for him to pop up, and he did so in the last quarter or so of the novel. I was disappointed by that! The more Poirot, the better.
- The storyline was a bit too simple. Would have enjoyed a more complex mystery.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It's a very quick and satisfying read, and Christie delivered, as usual. I LOVE AGATHA CHRISTIE. I did a book report on her in 4th or 5th grade after my mother introduced me to one of her novels, and I've been in love with her books ever since. When I'm looking for a comfortable read that'll take me to a fantastical place, Christie's books are my first go to.
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Recommend? YES! I love all Hercule Poirot mysteries by Agatha Christie, so a definite, hearty YES!
Butler, Octavia: Kindred. Boston: Beacon Press, 2003. Print. 264 pages.
SETTING: 1976, over a period of a few weeks (about early June to July), in Altadena, California, and 1800s Maryland.
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SUMMARY: Dana Franklin finds herself unwillingly transported back in time to different years in the antebellum South (between the early and mid 1800s). She discovers that each time she is transported, it is so she can save Rufus Wyelin from some stupid act he has done that has placed him in a perilous, life-or-death situation.
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FAVORITE QUOTE: “Repressive societies always seemed to understand the danger of ‘wrong’ ideas.” - page 141.
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This book was generously lent to me by a classmate after I placed out a call for a novel. Lucky, though, that a good novel came my way (versus a book that would end up feeling like a waste of time) because I was actually willing to take up any book. As stated to the left in the little blurb box, I like having a book with me at all times; it's a security blanket that makes me happy. :D <-- like that. I actually finished this novel about a month ago, but, as usual, I had no time to update until... today! Happy blog reading!
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Things I liked about this book:
- The storyline. I've never read anything like this. The author does a beautiful job creating a very emotional read. The main character's journey of going from 1970s California, during the civil rights movement, back to the 1800s South and having to deal with slavery, and become a slave herself in order to survive, is pretty crazy!
- The time travel aspect of the novel.
- That the author is brave enough to undertake the creation of such a story.
- Takes place in Southern California, my home!
Things I didn't like about this book:
- The dialogue. I would have enjoyed the dialogue more if it was more complex and intricate. Then again, I think this novel is written for high schoolers/freshmen undergrads, and the focus is probably the storyline and not the complexity of the dialogue.
- The story felt somewhat incomplete, like it was a compilation of half ideas that the author could have spent much more time on. Certain scenes should have had more detail and certain themes could have been delved into more deeply.
- The ending is definitely not satisfying.
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After a very long time, I found myself having to stop in the middle of reading a novel because I was becoming too emotionally invested. Overall, I think this book could have been written much better, but the theme of the novel and the storyline are, again, very daring and I applaud the author for creating such a piece.
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Recommend? Yes! It's a quick read and definitely worth the time.
