But I failed to review the last three Reading Challenge books I read, so here we go.
A book set in a different country: The Rent Collector by Camron Wright
My rating: 4 out of 5
Survival for Ki Lim and Sang Ly is a daily battle at Stung Meanchey, the largest municipal waste dump in all of Cambodia. They make their living scavenging recyclables from the trash. Life would be hard enough without the worry for their chronically ill child, Nisay, and the added expense of medicines that are not working. Just when things seem worst, Sang Ly learns a secret about the bad-tempered rent collector who comes demanding money--a secret that sets in motion a tide that will change the life of everyone it sweeps past. The Rent Collector is a story of hope, of one woman's journey to save her son and another woman's chance at redemption.This was a great book. Even without the pictures of the real-life people at the end of the book, you can tell that the author has actually been to this place in Cambodia and really knows the people. Having lived in a third-world country myself, it felt very authentic. For those who haven't ever experienced a third-world way of living, this book will open your eyes to both suffering and making happiness wherever and however one can.
Of course, my favorite thing about this book was that it was all about the empowerment that comes from learning how to read. I loved that Sang Ly wanted to read because she thought it would help her son have a better life (which is true--education is important) but what really ended up happening was that she learned to appreciate literature for the magic and wonder that it brings to every life--even a life lived in Cambodia's largest municipal waste dump.
The only thing I didn't like about it was that the voice felt American. After reading A Thousand Splendid Suns a short time ago, I was very aware of the word choices and tones that set the voices of other cultures apart from ours. Sang Ly never used American slang or anything--and I never once forgot we were in Cambodia--but something about the way she spoke made her seem American. I don't really know how to describe it. It's the kind of thing I would have loved to research and write a paper about at BYU, but I don't have time to explore that now.
Overall, this is a great book. I think everyone should read it not only to get a glimpse of third-world living, but also so that it can inspire you to read many more books in the future.
A book written by an author with your same initials: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
(Okay, my initials are C.M.S., but I couldn't find an author with those, so I just shortened it to C.S.)
My rating: 5 out of 5
A masterpiece of satire, this classic has entertained and enlightened readers the world over with its sly and ironic portrayal of human life from the vantage point of Screwtape, a senior tempter in the service of "Our Father Below." At once wildly comic, deadly serious, and strikingly original, C. S. Lewis gives us the correspondence of the worldly-wise old devil to his nephew Wormwood, a novice demon in charge of securing the damnation of an ordinary young man. The Screwtape Letters is the most engaging and humorous account of temptation—and triumph over it—ever written.I'd skim-read this book in high school before, but this was the first time I really sat down and read The Screwtape Letters cover to cover, and now that I'm older and have made so many mistakes in my life, it really resonated with me.
This is another one of those books where I just want to hand it out to everyone and say, "YOU NEED TO READ THIS!" C.S. Lewis really got it. He'd been there. He had that rare gift of discernment where when he felt tempted, he actually knew exactly what was going on and why.
I mean, evil spirits probably don't write letters or even have uncle-nephew relationships, but everything that Screwtape wrote about temptation hit home with me. I realized how many times I'd given in to weakness for the stupidest reasons, and how even the smallest acts of greediness and pride have drawn me farther away from my Savior. Seeing the seriousness of sin portrayed in a satirical way inspired me to resist those tendencies in myself, which was exactly what C.S. Lewis intended.
There were so many things that I loved about this book, that if I'd gone through it with a highlighter to mark all my favorite parts, almost everything would be highlighted. I'll definitely read it again, and I hope you'll all pick it up too if you haven't already.
A book turned into a TV show: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
My rating: 5 out of 5
When her father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience, Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the north of England. Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton, Margaret becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of the local mill workers and develops a passionate sense of social justice. This is intensified by her tempestuous relationship with the mill-owner and self-made man, John Thornton, as their fierce opposition over his treatment of his employees masks a deeper attraction. In North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell skillfully fuses individual feeling with social concern, and in Margaret Hale creates one of the most original heroines of Victorian literature.The BBC "North & South" miniseries has long been one of my favorites. My grandma first introduced it to me when I was a sophomore in college. It was four hours long and I was an early bird back then, so we had to watch it over the course of two nights. I was instantly in love with the story. Not only did it have one of the greatest romances ever, but I loved how much it focused on the social and economical turmoil. I also loved that it was a miniseries, not a movie, because it covered all topics very well and made the ending so much more satisfying.
Anyways, when "a book that's been turned into a TV show" was on my list, I immediately chose North and South. I was so excited to read all the internal dialogue that the miniseries had to leave out, and I wasn't disappointed. The miniseries did a good job of representing the book, but it did leave out a lot. As much as I loved the miniseries, I love the book much better.
It was a hard read, though. It was written in the 1850s, so the language is not only British but archaic British. Most books I can read lightly--listening to music at the same time or half-listening to a conversation going on in the room. Not so with this book. I had to bunker down and pay full attention to the words to comprehend it all and really appreciate the story.
But it's worth the concentrated effort, and if you've seen the miniseries and think you love Mr. Thornton, then be prepared to REALLY love Mr. Thornton in the book. Margaret, too, was a much more sympathetic character, and every other character has more depth and clearer motivations.
If you love Pride and Prejudice or Jane Eyre, then I think you'll love this one too.
No comments:
Post a Comment