The Screwtape Letters

The Screwtape Letters

by C.S. Lewis

CREEPY.

And deliciously heinous.

Personally, I liked C.S. Lewis' use of voice and rhetoric in this little book than I did in all seven of the Chronicles of Narnia; at least in my mind, this work is a much greater triumph for Lewis as both a writer and a Christian. Not only does he capture the very core of the struggles of Christians everywhere, he does so in a way that the reader can understand and instantly empathize with.

The entire book is a series of letters written by a certain Screwtape, who is, so to speak, a senior demon instructing his nephew Wormwood on how best to capture a human soul and drag it down to hell. The imagery in this simpl summary might sound a bit graphic, and perhaps even blasphemous, but C.S. Lewis reveals the ultimate art of overcoming Satan--by knowing exactly what to expect of those little red-horned critters.

The human being tempted by Wormwood is an ordinary man, whose weak faith and fragile relationship with his mother provide a delicious amount of morsels for the two devils to devour. But of course, we also see that throughout the story God is there (dubbed "the Enemy" in Screwtape's language), constantly fending off the devil's temptations and calling the human's soul back to the light. As the story progresses, Screwtape begins to feel more and more frustrated with the repeated failures of this incompetent Wormwood, and finally consumes the junior devil in the last chapter as punishment for letting the human soul enter into eternal life in heaven.

C.S. Lewis captures the viewpoint of the devil beautifully, so much so that many times as I read this book I had to remind myself that this was not actually the devil himself writing it, but merely a man's imagination. And there are a wealth of lessons to be learned in the letters of Screwtape, about anything from silly temptations to boredom and apathy in life, all the way to love relationships and church membership. The author starts off each letter by describing how the devil would go about making the man go astray, and then he offers a simply way to avoid it or thwart such efforts: "The humans will not be able to see that to avoid doing such and such they only need to do this" or "You may wonder how the humans may fail to realize to simply a solution to their problems. Trust me, my dear Wormwood, they will never find it."

Something along those lines.

In every paragraph, the hatred and contempt the devil holds for humans is made obvious, almost as much as his hatred and fear of the Lord Almighty. We can see the powerlessness of the devil in the face of God's light, and that, more than anything, is the thing about this book that makes it so edifying and encouraging to struggling Christians.

Even if you're not a Christian, this book is worth a read; one of my favorite parts was when Screwtape discussed some devils who were even more powerful than himself: he described them as beings "much lower down in the Lowerarchy."

Isn't that so creative? Doesn't that just capture the spiritual world and lay it down before the reader's eyes?

An absolutely delightful and unforgettable book.

The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling

The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling

by Henry Fielding

This remains forevermore one of the books that took me the longest time to read. 

On and off, on and off, I probably picked this book up more times than I actually opened it to read the words inside.

I'm still not sure why I stalled so much in getting to the final chapter; all I can say is that I started this book nearly 2 years ago, let it down for a year or so, then picked it up again from the beginning all over and finally finished it last week.

It wasn't that the book wasn't good; on the contrary, the book had everything that a novel needs to fit the equation of a well-written work: solid narration, a diversity of characters, a simple story that speaks to mankind, drama, love, and a satisfying amount of humor from the author himself. But I didn't get into it. Not at all, at least until the plot really started unwinding down the road (past the first half of the book). 

Maybe it was the unapproachable thickness of the book that made me afraid to pick it back up once I put it down...I am still an early high schooler after all. With my attention span being wittled away by 30-second TV commercials and online Facebook posts, small wonder I can't hold on to a book for more than a few hours at the most.

Anyway, the author tells the story of the life of a certain Tom Jones, who was found as a baby in the room of an esteemed esquire called Allsworthy. Although the origins of the baby remains a mystery, the good man decides to take in Tom Jones as his own son, and the boy lives a happy life until he reaches adulthood. Then comes the trouble--He falls in love with a girl named Sophia Western who lives next door.  But of course, like all dramatic novels, both families don't approve of the marriage on the grounds of his unclear history (basically, the argument stands that the circumstances of his birth leave a bit to be desired). This, coupled with some clever accusations from Allsworthy's nephew, Tom Jones is kicked out of the house. Most of the book consists of his adventures on his way to, and at, London, his various heroisms and misdeeds (for indeed, Tom Jones is far from perfect), and ends with a surprising twist and a happily ever after.

I simply loved the author's personal voice in this story; although Fielding keeps a strictly 3rd-person position, he doesn't hesitate to address 'the reader' directly. He gives voice to his own opinions about the situation, often insisting that his job as a 'historian' compels him to write only the truth of what really happened. It seems a good way to avoid criticism, as well as a nice narrative tool to throw sarcastic comments without discrediting the events in themselves.

"Yo, reader! I know you're thinking this is a really touching scene between Boy A and Girl B, but let me interrupt that for a second to remind you that romance is overrated." 

Moments like these bring me great joy as the reader. Cheesy scenes become interesting, and classic moments become hilarious.

I might have a bit of a complaint about the characters. Tom Jones seems way too loose with the women he meets along the way for me to be convinced that his heart is fully set on Sophia. Yes, I can deal with a main character's imperfections, but perhaps the author took them a tad bit too far? Or maybe it's the times in which this book was written? Perhaps it was considered OK, even proper, for a man to have experience with more than a few women. 

I don't know, maybe it's supposed to show character or some crap.

But that blatant about-face from undying love for Sophia to any other beauty that crosses his path...it doesn't sit well with a female reader like me. Plus, he's a bit generic for the most part. Not very memorable at all. The circumstances surrounding him intrigue me, not the man himself. What do I think of him as a whole? A paper-cut male figure who has made the cover of a pretty good plot. It feels like I'm watching a bad actor act out himself.

 Also, I would like to question the perfection of Sophia herself, who despite knowing of Tom's unfaithfulness, still chooses to forgive and love him without that much of a fight. Sure, she avoids him and pretends to be mad at him, but it feels pretty obvious to the reader that her love for him hasn't cooled down one bit. She's pretty much a sure-fire win, and it almost feels like she's being made into some sort of prize. A not very hard-to-get Princess Peach, of sorts. And I never did appreciate that pink Nintendo princess' characterization very much.

But putting those little details aside, a fine piece of work overall. It might seem a bit hard to get into in the beginning, but once you get used to the author's use of extended metaphors and narrative fun, there really is no novel quite like this one. I'd recommend it to anyone who is looking for an old-fashioned style that doesn't put you to sleep. 

Well, scratch that. I think I did fall asleep reading this once. 

But the plot is pretty good, and the narrative voice receives all my love! Take a look before dismissing it as a classic Romeo and Juliet rip-off.

Captain Blood

Captain Blood

by Rafael Sabatini

A stereotypically romantic adventure plot with a dashing main character and a fast-paced action sequence, as all pirate-themed books tend to be. Although it was, as I said, stereotypical, I found a heavy satisfaction from reading it precisely because it was such a classic book. These days many author like to differ from the ordinary, exploring controversial and never-before-seen kinds of ideas in an effort to escape the 'norm.' I feel that this kind of defiance against 'ordinary' novels has actually made ordinary novels obscure, making it quite an arduous task to find a book that is composed of all the elements that define a classic novel.

I myself am not objected to such books as Ayn Rynd and Dostoevsky that try to explore society and the inner mind and all that...but really, what have people got against good adventure books such as Captain Blood? I found it refreshing to watch as Peter Blood outwitted and defeated his enemies, both by strength and by wit, without one of those strange plot twists that almost certainly spell an end for all main characters under the pen of some cynical author. Here in this short novel, I found an author willling to let his character win everything: the girl of his dreams, the life that he wanted, and the humiliation and defeat of his enemies as an added bonus.

Hooray for successful heroes!

They are in short supply these days.

The only thing that dampened my pleasure was the incredulity of Peter Blood's character. I mean, he's too perfect! Not only is he a gentleman and a confident leader, he also sports an excellent command of French, English, Spanish, the practice of medicine, and an unmatched prowess in naval battles out at sea. On top of that, he's also a formidable fighter with the rapier and displays an excellent sense of fashion.

Really, this guy is just asking to be made the pirate captain of the Caribbean seas. He probably outshines even Jack Sparrow in terms of ability alone (except for the fact that nobody can own Jack Sparrow. Jack Sparrow caps his own piratical talents with an awesome personality). That's how suited Peter Blood is for his role in the book. I felt that Sabatini strained his authority a bit here as the supreme maker --no man can be that amazingly gifted at a job they are simply thrust into by a course of uncontrollable events. Sabatini defined Blood to be so, but it has a touch of unreality to it that made me unable to completely fall into the world of Captain Blood.

But while that factor persists throughout the book, I still can't deny that I enjoyed reading it. A short, sweet read that leaves the reader confident in a happy ending and Blood's own capabilities to produce that end, Captain Blood provides an adventurous tale fit to describe a pirate's stormy life.

Tarzan

Tarzan

by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Cheesy, but light. More like Swiss cheese rather than cheddar. 

But gotta give the book some excuse. It was written way back when, before Macho Muscle Men and Beautiful Blondes in Distress became a plague to avoid in the literary field. You've got Tarzan all strong and handsome, and you've got Jane whom you only have to remember as the one who gets saved by Tarzan every time. They're typical, but only because we've seen it so many times. Who knows? Maybe for Burroughs' original audience, this stuff was super cool and hip.

Besides, ignoring all the cliches, Burroughs' detailed descriptions alone were enough to impress me . . . the jungle in which Tarzan lives, the wild animals and the savage cannibals he encounters, and the 'civilized' Europeans who show him a whole new world out there. It all feels so real as I turn the pages of his book. The characters? Sure, they feel a bit limited in character growth and all that good stuff. And yeah, if we're talking absolute reality, Tarzan probably would've died in his first month out in the wilds with an ape as a mother.

But psha. We all know we're not looking for a great philosophical discovery about the human existence here (And then again, maybe if you look really really hard you can find some statements about man, beasthood, the nature of man, blah blah blah). It's all about taking this ridiculous idea of an ape man and making it seem like it could actually happen.

And believe me, this is the kind of book where you know that this can never ever ever happen! . . . but you believe it can happen anyway.

It got pretty real, in a sense that it didn't gloss over any of the disgusting jungle sanitary conditions, or the wild jungle beasts that do not befriend you on sight like so many cartoon, bipedal creatures are prone to do. While Burroughs doesn't forget to add fantastical elements to the story to give it a bit of flavor, he explains the events of the story in such a logical sequence, and with such flawless reasoning, that I could almost swear that it's possible in real life to survive in the jungle like Tarzan did.

I'm sure everyone is familiar, or has at least heard about, the Disney movie Tarzan. I'd just like to take this moment to declare: the book is 100% better, for sure. While the apes in the Disney version are perfectly human-like and interact with Tarzan as intellectual characters, the apes in the book are clearly 'beasts,' with a prominent instinct for survival and very little communication skills. I personally felt that this added to the realism of the story, and didn't hinder the plot sequence at all. Likewise, the violent tendencies of the cannibal tribe serves to heighten the tensions as the story reaches its climax, and makes the reader think, "go on, Tarzan. Beat them all up till kingdom comes." The jungle animals and the jungle natives both help characterize Tarzan as a clever, brave, and noteworthy main character.

Well, perhaps a little too much. He just comes off as this perfect dude. Or as perfect as someone raised by animals can be.

I felt that the author does the opposite for Jane. She comes off as imperfect, even though she was raised in civilized society. She can drink tea, be pretty and white, be, uh, beautiful, but that doesn't count for much when gigantic pythons are about to swallow her whole. In fact, she's just plain weak.

WEAK.

But you get the feeling that's her allotted role. Poor gal. She gets attacked--she freezes. She gets kidnapped--she faints dead away. She sees her rescuer--she's scared out of her wits. She's surrounded by fire--she doesn't know what to do. All because her character's got to wait for good old Tarzan to swing to her rescue (actually, most of the time he doesn't swing on vines. He sneaks through the undergrowth or overhang, uses bows and arrows, spears, tricks, all sorts of things. I mean, if you take a minute to think about it, what kind of idiot would enter an enemy encampment swinging from a vine, yelling "AHHHHH" at the top of their lungs? Spear fodder, that's what that is. The book's Tarzan shows a bit more aptitude than that).

Her entirely 2-dimensional personality can get on the nerves of the 21st-century female audience, but I say, deal with it. It's a well-written narrative, and I think that counts for something. Even if the author had meant to diss his female readers, I still don't see how that makes this a bad piece of literature in terms of quality.

Overall the book brings me to satisfaction.

I found myself fully emmersed in the world that Burroughs created, breathlessly following the crazy adventures that Tarzan encounters. I was even a bit relieved that the book was a bit short, since I couldn't make myself put it down and was really worried that I'd have to stay up all night to finish it (as it was, I finished it in a couple of hours). I'd reccomend it to anyone with a couple hours to spare...and even to people without a couple hours to spare. It will make you want to read all of its sequels . . . and there are a lot of them.

Happy reading!

America's Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines

America's Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines

by Gail Collins

This title would definitely throw off some of the male reading population out there. But really, don't be scared. It's not all about extreme feminists who hate the system of marriage and hate the American forefathers even more.

Anyway, this was a book I read for my English class in high school. 

It presented over 600 pages of history, history, history.....luckily, I also got to use it for a US history extra credit assignment, so I felt somewhat consoled in the somewhat grueling process.

You know the feeling--even if it's a book you would normally enjoy, somehow thinking of it as an 'assignment' instantly turns off your interest.

well, in any case, I finished reading it, made an awesome PowerPoint presentation on it with cool animation effects, wrote up a make-believe history test based on the book for the lousy 5 points of extra credit . . . a well-spent month, I guess?

The book begins way back in the colonial era of America and describes the experiences of some of the first women to come to the New World. It tells the women's stories one woman at a time, spanning the ages with a series of short personal biographies that each provide a different perspective of the lives of the female American population.

The author (who is, yes, female) makes it easy to see how the experiences of women changed over time (for example, she makes it a point to describe the evolving fashion styles of women, from bonnets and hoop skirts to high heels and mini skirts) and continuously introduces a wide spectrum of characters who experienced American society and history first hand. Very, very first-hand. I mean, I thought sometimes there was a lot of unnecessary details here (like the mini skirt). I'm just glad she kept it within publishable boundaries.

Gail Collins is an author who knows exactly when her readers will be bored...and can throw in a bit of humor each time she thinks she hears a snore. The quotes she chooses to include are often inciteful and funny, and some of the information she gives can really surprise a lot of people (did you know that sanitation was considered unimportant until the latter 1800s?). Even though it is historical nonfiction, the author really does well in bringing out her own voice and pulling the audience into her world.

It isn't a light read, but it isn't particularly heavy either. It's worth a shot to read it when you have some time, but I would recommend it more to the female readers rather than the male readers, simply because girls can better understand some of the hardships and daily dilemmas that the characters in the book go through.

The Discovery of Heaven

The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch



The reason I picked up this book at a second-hand bookstore, despite the copious amounts of dust stuck in between the pages, was because the opening lines seemed so unreal.

These two unnamed 'beings' are having a serious conversation, and it isn't very hard to figure out that the two are not of this world. They start talking about the possibilities of the DNA, the millions of years of planning, preparing, prophesying, etc.....and the perfect 'being' who would be born as a result of their grand master plot. And so the story revolves around a couple of characters who are irrevocably linked together, and whose relationships create that 'ultimate being' that the two unnamed characters talked about.

I feel that there is some great philosophical meaning in this book...

but if there was, I unfortunately was not smart enough to figure it out.

At first I thought it would be an interesting read, but the story seemingly jumps all over the place, making it hard to find the motivation to keep reading.

More importantly, I found myself very unhappy about the ending.

My favorite character dies, the mother of the 'ultimate being' also dies, the 'ultimate being' himself that the whole story was leading up to suddenly just disappears (poof), and the fate of the remaining characters (who were all those mediocre characters who I didn't pay much attention to) are left to the readers' imagination.

Really, I was left turning over the last pages of the book saying, "that's it?" And this after reading through 300+ pages of the thing.

Maybe it was the author's hidden intention to get rid of all the brilliant characters (well, some might argue that Onno is also brilliant, but I found his social skills to be convincingly lacking), but as a reader I can't help being disappointed when likeable characters die. Call me a shallow reader who can't appreciate true literature at its best; I want my favorite poeple to survive the story, if you please.

What made me finish the book, despite the inexplicable and sudden plethora of deaths, were the spontaneous bursts of in-depth criticisms and assumptions about society, war, people, fate, and the world ...  I found these very refreshing to read. I especially enjoyed Max's monologue right before the meteor hits him and wipes him out of existence within one sentence. Though I don't get all of it, I could just hear the gears in his brain going haywire over all those abstract theories.

Would I read this book again? No.

Would I reccomend it to other people? Probably not.

Will there be some people who like this book? Sure.

It all depends on your taste in books.

As for me, though I like to say I'm pretty broad in my range, this book didn't manage to hook me like so many others have.

The Fountainhead

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

A highly sophisticated read.

If you didn't know that already, you know it now. 

If you've only ever read Atlas Shrugged, go against the trend and read this book first!

It's been about 6 months since I turned the last page of this book, and I have to say that I will never forget the name Howard Roark. Ever.

Rand's characterization of each of her characters is so vivid and detailed that they all seem to breath LIFE through their minutely described nostrils. Yet at the same time they all exude a sense of unreality, and I determined early on that these personalities couldn't possibly exist in real life. Howard Roark is more confident than any man can ever be, Dominique Francon possesses more passion than any woman could ever contain in her heart, and Ellsworth Toohey is too perfect in the eyes of the world.....no one can live like these people. They'd grow white hairs and explode past the limits of the Earth long before they reached adulthood.

The only one that could perhaps genuinely exist is Peter Keating, and unfortunately, he's the worst character in the book....by the author's intention as well as my interpretation. Actually, I found myself wondering if Keating is really as bad as Rand blatantly makes him out to be. It's not his fault that he doesn't have the guts to live his life to the fullest. There are many, many people in the world (myself included) who simply don't have that confidence to break away from the norm and pursue a never-ending dream full of uncertainty, ecstasy, and despair.

Rand was probably addressing all those people (again, myself included) when she wrote this book.

"Wake up!" or "Look at what the world is really like!" or even "Throw this society to the dogs!"

These kinds of exclamations seemed to pop up at me out of the printed letters of The Fountainhead.

No, I'm not offended.

But I know a lot of people who might be when they read this book.

And I also know a lot of people who will shout, "Yes! Huzzah! Finally, someone who understands the reality of life! Sign me up for the end-of-the-world campaign!"

Yes, this is the type of book that brings about a storm of controversies....and may or may not effect the world in a large way. I can only hope that no one takes this book to its extreme meaning and decides to do something about it. If ever a person were to try living out these principles, well, everything except the individual would collapse.

Then the individual would die. 

Not by a long shot is our world or anyone in it ready to take on this challenge.

Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne

They were such a cute pair of books that even after several years, I remember the little details that made me smile in spite of myself.

For instance, the scene where Piglet and Pooh are chasing around their own footprints in the snow while wondering just what kind of monster they might be tracking....it was simply adorable.

I actually saw the movies that made A.A. Milne so famous before I ever knew that Pooh bear existed in prose form. I was singing along with Pooh's "Rumbly in My Tumbly" from the original movie long before I picked up the novels.

Perhaps it was because I never expected Winnie the Pooh and all his friends to have been born out of a book that these two volumes endeared themselves all the more to me. Imagine....Piglet and Tigger and Rabbit and Eeyore, those characters who permeated my childhood memories, were actually based off books!

And I love books!

Needless to say, as soon as I found out, I purchased the entire Winnie the Pooh set and read through it all in nearly one sitting.

Some might think these books are just for little kids who have nothing better to read. For those snot-nosed 2nd graders who aren't smart enough for the Harry Potter series (which, by the way, is not true. I don't think anyone ever falls below the intelligence requirement for J.K. Rowling's works. No disrespect). But this isn't a problem of intelligence. I feel that these are good for the wrinkles in my brain, by providing a nice little break from those sophisticated works of Dostoevsky and Machiavelli and such.

I mean, who wants to read heavily-laden books full of philosophy and history all the time? Your brain will wrinkle so fast it'll be shriveled up by the time you're thirty.

We need to loosen up a bit once in a while.

For those who want to smile, or for those who wish to meet some characters that will be remembered for a lifetime, or even for those who want to revisit their forgotten childhood days, Winnie the Pooh and his animal friends (and Christopher Robin) will speak out to you in every little line of these two books.

An Introduction?

Well, here's to my new blog.

Not that I have the time to ever post anything up here on a regular basis, but I figured having one of these won't be too bad of an idea.

Maybe I'll use it to ramble about some of the books I've read over the years (my history teacher was fervently recommending that we do so.....but I won't be posting about those 700-page nonfiction books he likes to bash on a monthly basis, so don't worry).

I'm not really hoping for any friends or followers or whatever this site calls you all, but if you feel an unexplainable urge to drop a comment or two...hey, don't let me stop you.

The author within me welcomes every and all types of criticisms and compliments!

That's all my rambling for now.

Have a nice day!