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July 15
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Chris
gave
 
to:
Women: A Novel (Paperback)
by Charles Bukowski
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Chris said:
" When I first picked up this book I read it from the back. I was negatively surprised because I had heard really good things from my friends about how good a writer he was. They usually have good judgment so I decided to give it a second shot t...more
When I first picked up this book I read it from the back. I was negatively surprised because I had heard really good things from my friends about how good a writer he was. They usually have good judgment so I decided to give it a second shot the next day. I'm glad I did. I started from the beginning and finished the book content that I had not wasted my time.
I just read a bunch of reviews and I could not help being amused by the negative responses. Probably because they were all the same. They judged the content and not the writing. And that's fine. But then judge the book and not the writer. I'm not a huge fan of the content myself but I can realize the talent he possessed. In my opinion he touched upon the rawness, vulnerability, strength and weakness which exist in humans. One aspect of this work which struck me is that Bukowski does not pigeon hole his characters but draws upon the many diverse ways in which we all live.
I found a lot of the content monotonous yet considering he based two hundred some pages on mostly sexual encounters and insanity he did a good job of keeping the reader entertained.
...less
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Chris
gave
to:
Kim (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
by Rudyard Kipling
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Chris said:
" I like this book. From the very beginning I was hooked. I don't have the largest vocabulary so I often found myself not fully understanding sentences but I would just figure things out or move on. For some reason I passed on using a dictionary...more
I like this book. From the very beginning I was hooked. I don't have the largest vocabulary so I often found myself not fully understanding sentences but I would just figure things out or move on. For some reason I passed on using a dictionary. It has been a while since I read a work that was not modern so I enjoyed seeing terms and phrases that wee either unfamiliar or ones that I have not heard in a while.
I love the line "Attached to the Wheel of Things." and it is as evident in our society as it is amongst the people in this story. The relationship that Kim has with the monk was wonderful to see because it struck me as the type which spurs growth on a spiritual and emotional level. It is one that is not found, unfortunately, too often in our society without one having to join a specific group, religion or ideology.
Kipling painted this text with fascinating and wonderful detail. Very vivid and colorful. The dialogue was a lot of fun to read and I found myself, briefly, wishing to be an orphaned white child in late 19’Th century India. That has to be hard to do and I think Kipling did it well.
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Chris
gave
to:
Breakfast with Buddha (Hardcover)
by Roland Merullo
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Chris said:
"Entertaining book. It's easy to like the Rinpoche for his kindness, strength and childlike innocence.
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New comment on Chris's review of
Seasons on Harris: A Year in Scotland's Outer Hebrides
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Chris
gave
to:
The Alchemist (Plus)
by Paulo Coelho (Goodreads author!)
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Chris
marked as to-read:
Kim (Penguin Classics)
by Rudyard Kipling
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Chris
gave
to:
Seasons on Harris: A Year in Scotland's Outer Hebrides (Hardcover)
by David Yeadon
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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March 22
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Chris
read and liked
Adam's
review of No Country for Old Men:
""You can't go to war without G-d." So says Cormac McCarthy. The concept that G-d has a vested interest in war is as ancient as war itself. Fore did G-d not say to the Israelites as they prepared to enter Canaan: "My terror I send be...more
"You can't go to war without G-d." So says Cormac McCarthy. The concept that G-d has a vested interest in war is as ancient as war itself. Fore did G-d not say to the Israelites as they prepared to enter Canaan: "My terror I send before thee, and I have put to death all the people among whom thou comest, and I have given the neck of all thine enemies unto thee. (EX 23:27)." It is not only in Judaism that a deity steps to the plate in the eternal struggle between men. In the Greek classic "The Iliad" Athena, Ares, and Aphrodite play as prominent (if not more so) a role in deciding the battle's fate as Odysseus, Hector, Achilles, or a large wooden horse. It is not news that before facing the uncertainty, which lies latent in war, man looks to find an ally in G-d.
However, what if G-d does not take a hand in war? How does one go into battle w/o a principle and fundamental faith? A very good and pertinent question-especially with the mindset behind our current military involvement. When man looks at his destiny outside of what G-d’s providence has determined for him, a very strange and scary existence takes shape. While I have no doubt many a soldier has pondered over this, it was Napoleon Bonaparte (emerging from the Enlightenment, where fundamental theological beliefs were called into question) who succinctly summarized this concept: "God is on the side with the most artillery." Thus implying that, indeed, we form our destiny. We create the reality of our lives. This is a terrifying concept for the soldier venturing into the chaotic expanse of the battlefield. Fore, if the buck stops with me, maybe the bullet will too.
But, it is not just in the midst battle where one feels lost without a Divine Providence. The struggle of everyday’s existence can be combat in itself. As the Russian playwright Chekhov says: “Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.” The choices we may make on a day to day basis carry a significant weight when they alone form our tomorrow. It is this notion that McCarthy drives across in this saga of how life’s yesterdays yields to make today. Chance does not bring you to the bed of a cheap motel where you stare at a neon illuminated ceiling. Nor does bad luck put you at the working end of a silenced .22. It is the choices you make that chisel your sculpture of reality from the blankness of the broad, granite world. When one looks with an incisive eye, the destiny of decisions can be made clear. However, an insightful eye is rare. For this reason McCarthy employs Carla Jean’s grandmother in the archetypal role of the old (often sick and/or crazy) soothsayer (it is not by chance she is referred to as an “old woman” on p. 202 when she makes the inference that she deserves no credit for predicting the course Moss and Carla Jean’s relationship would take-the course of events where clear as day).
Many are unwilling to accept the notion that G-d is not laying a path for us; as is the case for the retired Sheriff Deputy Ellis. He waits his entire life for the arrival of G-d. He never comes. When the reader meets Ellis he is old, sick, and alone. Maybe this is the existence that waits those who spend their life waiting for a destiny, rather than creating one.
Ultimately, this novel weaves a tale of masculine brawniness in a world where destiny is created-not found. It is a harsh and cold world where scruples of sensitivity have no place. It is a border town world, where life bends only in the direction we are willing, and able to take it.
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New comment on Adam's review of
No Country for Old Men
(see all 5 comments)
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October 09
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Chris
gave
to:
The Prince of the Marshes: And Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq (Paperback)
by Rory Stewart
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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