Christie, Agatha: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. New York: Berkeley Books, 2004. Print. 358 pages.
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SETTING: King's Abbott, England (a fictional village).
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SUMMARY: The deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Ferrars approximately one year apart (evidence pending, they are believed to be a murder and suicide, respectively) have brought more intrigue and life to the little village of King's Abbott than it has ever felt before. However the death of Roger Ackroyd, a wealthy individual known to have had a romance with Mrs. Ferrars after her husband's death, brings the famous detective Hercule Poirot out of his newfound retirement to solve this baffling case. Dr. James Sheppard, a friend to all of the recently deceased, serves as our narrator and Poirot's unofficial assistant.
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FAVORITE QUOTE: "'Now that you remind me of the fact, it is true that there is one more thing. It would be unwise on your part to attempt to silence me as you silenced Mr. Ackroyd. That kind of business does not succeed against Hercule Poirot, you understand.'" - Chapter 26, page 353.
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First off, HAPPY SPRING!!! The weather in DC is finally beautiful and the birds are chirping, even on the gloomy days (like today)!
I gave this book to a friend as a present, but seeing as he was not going to read it anytime soon, I quickly took the chance to borrow it. I've been looking for a lighthearted, quick read, and this was a most convenient acquirement! Not to mention it took me approximately six hours over two days to finish the book (it's very short and the font is fairly large), so I don't feel too bad taking it away from his company. Before heading to my likes and dislikes of this novel, I have one thing to say: This is THE MOST BRILLIANT NOVEL I HAVE READ IN MY LIFE THUS FAR. And I'm not saying this from my biased stance of loving all things Christie. This book is just fabulous.
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Things I liked about this book:
- The narrator. He will blow your mind into the depths of space, and open it up all at the same time. But not until the very end of the novel, mind you, so you'll have to be patient while reading. I don't want to give away too much, so apologies if this is vague. I will forever be thankful for having read this novel because it gave me an entirely different perspective on narrators, narration, and who to trust when being told a story.
- It is a great display of how storytellers have the ultimate power to manipulate what is being related to the listener(s). Speech, sentence formation, grammar, etc. are dangerous tools in the right hands. Enough can be said without giving anything away at all, while just the right words can put you on the entirely wrong track. Again, absolutely brilliant.
- Hercule Poirot. He is my favorite out of all of Christie's detectives.
- The ending. IT IS GREAT.
- Poirot's characteristic step-by-step method of revealing the criminal at the end of the novel. It never gets tiring.
Things I didn't like about this book:
- The unnecessarily long Mahjong scene. It could have been cut in half, maybe even one-third.
- Not necessarily something I didn't like about the book, but Mrs. Ackroyd (Roger Ackroyd's sister-in-law) is incredibly incredibly incredibly annoying. I wanted her to go away every time she started speaking.
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I LOVED THIS NOVEL! Hands down my favorite mystery out of all of the Christie novels I have read. I always enjoy her novels, but I can't ever remember being this excited and so ready to recommend one of her novels to others as I am right now. It's been a long time since I've finished a book with a new perspective on how to read books, and I loved that it is a great reminder of the importance of being a critical reader. As a reader, you must always analyze and be skeptical of every word you read, even in fiction. True, it can be argued that fiction is fiction and thus not reality, but we learn a lot about our reality from fiction (at least I do), so why not look at it with the most critical eye possible? You'll finish the book having learned more, and, as Poirot says, your "little gray cells" will probably thank you for it. And you'll hopefully find yourself a tad bit smarter as a result.
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Recommend? YES!!! Very short and quick read, so no excuses will fly!
Mantel, Hilary: Wolf Hall. New York: Picador, 2010. Print. 604 pages.
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SETTING: 1500 to 1535 England, during the reign of Henry VIII.
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SUMMARY: Thomas Cromwell, born to a low-class family with an abusive, alcoholic father, finds himself working his way up the bureaucratic and bourgeois ladders in 16th century England. His hard work, dedication, and friendly charm raise him to the status of King Henry VIII's right-hand man, a dangerous position to have at the time.
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FAVORITE QUOTE: I couldn't decide between the following two:
- "For what's the point of breeding children, if each generation does not improve on what went before?" - Part 1, Chapter 3, page 40
- "'And look, Gregory, it's all very well planning what you will do in six months, what you will do in a year, but it's no good at all if you don't have a plan for tomorrow.'" - Part 6, Chapter 1, page 519
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This novel was a gift from a very dear friend who quickly picked up on my favorite genres! The Tudor period, particularly the reign of Henry VIII, has always fascinated me, so much so that the first time I went to England as a teenager, I made sure to take a trip to Hampton Court Palace, one of Henry VIII's many homes. The palace has an incredibly rich history, and I encourage you to give Wikipedia a quick browse through at your convenience and read up on it (there are obviously better sources, but who can deny the convenience of Wiki?). The palace itself is wonderful, but the gardens are where the true beauty lies. It was absolutely breathtaking, and if I ever find myself in a home with a garden and landscape with even a fraction of Hampton Court's garden's magnificence, it will be a true accomplishment.
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Things I liked about this book:
- TUDOR PERIOD! (And no, I haven't watched The Tudor's yet. Shocking! I know. But I will get hooked so I've been cautious and waiting for a time when I will have a few days to do nothing but dedicate endless hours to watching all four seasons.)
- The narration. It's in third person via Thomas Cromwell, but it reads like a 1st person narration in the sense that you really feel all of Cromwell's emotions and are left with a thorough understanding of his thoughts.
- The history. I am by no means an expert in this field, but the story stayed very true to everything that I have learned thus far about the Tudor period and Henry VIII.
- Piggy-backing on #3: I learned a lot of new historical information. It's always great to finish a book having learned something new.
- Gives a true picture of how quickly loyalties changed during that time, and leaves the reader with an appreciation for the fact that this fickleness of stance is not always the result of loose morals and beliefs. Rather, not doing so would lead to ostracism, and most likely death. As is still the case in modern society, staying on the "good" and popular side of any issue would result in ease, benefits, and a comfortable life, even if the good and popular side is blatantly wrong and corrupt. Sticking to values and thoughts that are against the mainstream would only lead to trouble.
The only thing I didn't like about this book:
- Tooooooooo many characters! I had a hard time keeping a few names straight, mostly because all the characters were named Mary, Jane, Thomas, John, or Richard -__- Of course, this isn't the author's fault (it's not like she can go back in time and rechristen all of her characters), and, to her credit, the author does give a list of all the characters, organized by house, at the beginning of the book. Still, it's a pain in the patookas to keep referring back to the list while reading. There were multiple times where I just made an assumption as to which Mary was being referred to (and I think I was usually right...).
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I love love love love love love love books from this time period. A lot of my summer 2011 was spent reading books taking place in 16th century England, and I forgot just how much I enjoyed them! This book is a trilogy, and so a new project has been added to this upcoming summer: read the other two books! I'm already excited :D
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Recommend? Yes!
Picoult, Jodi: My Sister's Keeper. New York: Pocket Books, 2004. Print. 500 pages.
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SETTING: Upper Darby, a fictional town in Rhode Island, in the year 2004.
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SUMMARY: 13-year-old Anna Fitzgerald was specifically conceived to be a perfectly matched blood and bone marrow donor for her terminally ill sister, Kate. When faced with having to donate a kidney to Kate, Anna decides to take legal action against her parents to become an emancipated minor.
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FAVORITE QUOTE: "It is that someone had to go, and Anna took my place." - Epilogue, page 498.
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After an entire 6 weeks, I finally picked up a book!!!! Since beginning this wonderful love affair with books, I can't remember going longer than one week without reading at least a chapter of a novel. And here an entire 6 weeks have passed, and I cannot begin to describe how much joy just holding a novel has brought me today! I actually started reading this book last December and only had the epilogue to go, but life stepped in before I could finish. I picked this book up from a second-hand bookshop I found in DC (finally got myself to one!), and it has a surprisingly great collection with fantastic deals. This one cost me an entire quarter :)
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Things I liked about this book:
- The way it's organized. The story is presented from the perspective of multiple characters as first-person narratives. Each character gets multiple chapters of their own to describe their side of the story, so the reader is presented with a comprehensive view of the thoughts and emotions felt by each character.
- The story line. It's interesting and fresh, and a type of story that I haven't ever encountered before.
- The emotions! The story just pulls you in and tears at your heart. And it almost made me cry!
- It gave me a new perspective on parenting, and life in general. The story made me think about the concept of fairness in life, and the importance of being open-minded regarding others' situations before judging or criticizing them for their decisions.
Things I didn't like about this book:
- The weak character development. With the length of the book and the way it is organized, I expected to know much more about the characters than I did by the time I finished the novel.
- Sara, Anna and Kate's mother. This isn't a fault with the book or story line, but I disliked Sara's character very much because I was biased towards Anna (as I'm sure many readers were), and it made me upset that Anna's life was the way it was.
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I have decided I will never ever ever ever ever read a novel with a similar story line. Never. Again. I can't say I disliked the novel because it had many great qualities, but the horrible emotions that I faced while reading it were a bit too much for my liking. There's already enough pain and suffering in reality, and, for me at least, books are meant as an escape from the everyday dealings of life. So with that in mind, I'd rather not escape to a land of grief, sorrow, and death with no happy ending (at least in my opinion this book did not end happily).
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Recommend? Maybe. But most likely not.
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!
