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July 23
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Annalisa
gave
 
to:
Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, Book 1)
by Orson Scott Card
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended for: book club
read in July, 2008
Annalisa said:
"Science fiction is not my thing. So it was with some trepidation that I opened my book club choice for the month, ready to endure another Stars Wars inspired knock off. And most of the book I had my head set on 3 stars, writing my review in the back ...more
Science fiction is not my thing. So it was with some trepidation that I opened my book club choice for the month, ready to endure another Stars Wars inspired knock off. And most of the book I had my head set on 3 stars, writing my review in the back of my mind: sure the story was interesting because it's about the psychology of child manipulation but the battle games lost me, both in interest and sometimes even understanding. It's sci fi. I liked the filler but not the meat. But then I finished the book and had a change of heart.
In this story, earth is preparing for a third invasion from an alien planet by training children from infancy for battle. (Card named the aliens "buggers" which I wonder if he knew the profane use of the word elsewhere in the world or if he was playing off that definition.) Even though the book was written in the early age computer technology and before internet, Card smartly realized its importance in the future. I was not disappointed with his vision of a crowded earth population run by government treaties and reliant on computer and science technology and internet networking. It still seems appropriate instead of dated.
It's written from the perspective of a 6-year-old boy unsure of whom he can trust when the other students hate him and the teachers use him. Most of the book you're watching this boy genius grow up, battle his inner demons as he struggles to differentiate himself from his cruel brother, somehow keep his kindness while training to be a killer, and figure out whether or not he wants to be the hope of the world. Is heroism worth the cost of these children's souls? Do the ends of a saved world justify the means of so many children losing their childhood?
And all that growing up is done in one battle stimulation after the next. I wasn't sure if it was truly long in the middle or if my patience wore thin because I have none for sci fi. But since the men testing Ender kept changing the rules and pushing him to his limits to see how he would react, even though the mass of the book is his training games it kept me turning pages wondering what would happen to Ender. He didn't trust the teachers so you know something was up they weren't disclosing.
The whole book heads toward one particular outcome, but near the end an alternate solution is presented. I wasn't sure how Card would end the battle without disappointing me. I didn't want to see Ender as a heartless killer, but I didn't want him to be gullible or soft either. I didn't want the ultimate message to be a cop out nor did I just want a Hollywood ending where the enemy is always just bad without value and earth saves the day at the last minute.
And what about the end of the war? When you've spent every waking and even sleeping hour preparing for a mission, what do you do with the rest of your life? There is nothing Ender could do that would give him back his life or even make him feel purposeful. Or so I thought. I was sure I would be disappointed with the end and yet I wasn't. In the end, Card gave me all of what I wanted. The mission Ender embarks upon at the end of the book almost justifies the emotional torture and certainly gives the side of Ender you want to see bloom a chance to heal his soul. It makes him a bigger hero than the mission thrust upon him does. It is because of the ending that I decided I really did like the book.
For those of you who have read here are some questions I wondered:
When Valentine states there could be worse men in power than Peter, I could not imagine who could be worse. All he cared about is power and would do anything to get it. He wanted to kill his brother when he was a boy of six. He tortured animals, a sign of a serial killer. What could be worse? I suppose stupidity? As long as he held power he would take care of the world in order to maintain it.
The competition, to the point of murderous rage and jealous, seemed over the top for me. Sure they are fighting for world glory, placed in a strange stimulus environment, and chosen for their genius and ability to fight, but the homogeneously violent children seemed apt on pulling down the superior like crabs in a bucket. Could children truly act so viciously toward one another? The saving grace is his toon leader who introduces the doubt of why they should play puppet to the school leaders and play the games at all.
I can't conceive society humble enough to admit they needed the recklessness and empathy of children instead of leaving it to adult maturity. The trick aspect of the battles since children are easily to mold and manipulate saved me from being entirely against their methods. But I don't think they needed to completely alienate Ender in order from him to succeed. Play on his empathy; make him want to succeed to please. Don't destroy all that is good in the boy to use him and then leave him meaningless in life.
The self-defense murders bothered me. I know he was cornered and wanted to protect himself from further attacks and he didn't understand the extent of the pain he caused, but I still felt a truly compassionate child would not have it in him to hurt someone that badly. I wasn't sure how to feel about it.
My biggest complaint: I didn't understand the little doctor destroying everything but the recreation of the game surviving. We watch the planet disintegrate and resemble into an unidentifiable mass but this whole layout survives intact? Despite the technicalities, I did appreciate Ender's opportunity for redemption, to do what he thought ethical for the alien planet. Him going in as a peace mediator and stopping the third invasion would have left the story flat, where this way he realistically couldn't get out of being used as a military hero, but still got to find his own solution for coexistence, use his brilliance and empathy for his true mission in life.
I didn't buy the aliens not understanding there was intelligent life on earth because we don't dream each other's dreams, particularly since they are supposed to be quick learners. Mankind discovered their presence pre-attack and organized a defensive fleet. How can that not be intelligent? If there were only one attack I could buy into it, but not with two. I guess it goes back to your definition of intelligence. ...less
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July 15
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Annalisa
gave
to:
Peace Like a River (Paperback)
by Leif Enger
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended to Annalisa by:
Amy
read in July, 2008
Annalisa said:
"Almost more Swede's "Life in the Dakotas" than a story, most of the novel is a well-painted picture of life in North Dakotas for a religious family in the '60s. I wasn't exactly sure what the book was about until the end, but I just enjoyed...more
Almost more Swede's "Life in the Dakotas" than a story, most of the novel is a well-painted picture of life in North Dakotas for a religious family in the '60s. I wasn't exactly sure what the book was about until the end, but I just enjoyed the scenery. And the beautifully written scenes needed to be strong to get you to the end because of the ambivalent direction. There were moments when I wondered where the adventure was leading me, as in what the point of the novel was, and even a few where my interest was waning. But I knew all the loose ends would tie up and I'd be left with a good story and a thoughtful message and then it would all make sense. Enger did not disappoint.
We are left with much to ponder from this novel, even from the onset. When is self defense murder in your heart and when is it protection of your family? How is a legal system depended on intent ever supposed to accurately decipher a man's (or woman's) heart? Is it better to let misdeed continue, even escalate, than retaliate? Or do you wait until a ticking time bomb explodes and then feel guilty you did not intervene? I didn't realize until this very moment that both of those scenarios play out for the same character. Even gun control and hunting issues, particularly with minors, wandered through my head. And what of other people's misfortunes? When is it appropriate to intervene and risk your own happiness? And when do you let the path of others' lives fall naturally?
There are plenty of religious questions to contemplate as well. Do you believe in miracles? I for one wanted to find scientific explanations for 11-year-old witness accounts and then felt guilty to not show more faith. Why are miracles, or even faith, or luck, more predominant for some people than others? Why must some suffer burdens of life and others escape consequences of their own actions? I do not have a problem with the message that life is not fair because eternal justice is not metered on earth time. Even what we consider "suffering" is necessary for personal progression. It's not punishment. We have our reward in character strength and they have their reward in character destruction.
There is also a message of God working in mysterious ways. This family sets out on this journey to salvage one family member and ends up changing gears for a different family member. Davy wasn't the cause of the journey, but neon signs guiding them to a different purpose, and with some foresight, that purpose was very much needed. Oftentimes our lives are that way and we must listen to those redirectional signs.
What I did almost have a problem with was the message of sacrifice. Not that I find it unnecessary, but I wasn't sure this particular sacrifice (the one in the climax) required so much. I didn't find this miracle any more taxing than the others, and quite similar to the superintendent's, so why does Enger have to throw in a different outcome for a poignant message? Then again, I had that same moment of disbelief when the dad walked off the truck. Plus I am not a worker of miracles and I do not know the cost of their power. So I let it go, because I did find the whole scene incredibly beautiful, and you had to know that miracle was coming. And it had to be something big or it would have taken place already.
I enjoyed the characters and their relationship with each other: I respected the father's patience, faith, humility, and the way he let his children learn for themselves instead of micro-managing their growth. I enjoyed the moments in the novel where Ruben called himself out on his pride and said he didn't want to go into details. As the narrator, I loved how Enger made him humanly weak and painfully aware of his shortcomings, and for that I found him incredibly strong, even during his pity party when I wondered why he hadn't played the prodigal son's brother more often. Confident, articulate Swede: such a vibrant character. I loved her poetry and how her fictitious outlaw retold and forecasted events for her own outlaw brother.
Davy was the one character I struggled with: his charismatic control vs his unrepentant darkness. At times he scared me (what was he capable of?) and I still do not know whether I liked him or not. He reacted completely opposite to danger first with planned violent extremes and secondly with impulsive disastrous stupidity. While both were courageous, they contradicted and neither solution made me respect him. I am not sure he was worthy of this cross-country rescue, but could understand his family's desire for reunion. I kept wondering what the conversation between father and son would be. Did he intend to encourage his surrender or aid his escape? It didn't really matter to me whether he was caught or not. Both endings would not have surprised me and somehow disappointed me. Do we encourage running from the law or watch a family pay for not wanting to be victims? I wondered what message Enger was leaning toward, but it turns out that was not the point of the book after all. A well-written, thought-provoking, moving novel....less
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Annalisa
gave
to:
I Am the Messenger (Paperback)
by Markus Zusak
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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recommended to Annalisa by:
amy m
recommended for: older youth, as in not really youth anymore
read in July, 2008
Annalisa said:
"I can't seem to get enough Zusak. Once again his language is magic. Instead of falling into the "he (or she) said" pitfall, the dialogue takes on the action of the predominant emotion. If he wants to reach for a friend, the words reach. Zus...more
I can't seem to get enough Zusak. Once again his language is magic. Instead of falling into the "he (or she) said" pitfall, the dialogue takes on the action of the predominant emotion. If he wants to reach for a friend, the words reach. Zusak pulls the words lingering on the edge of your brain as the perfect summary of the description as if you'd written them yourself. And the way he breaks his sentences to evoke more emotion with pauses is poetic. Plus it makes his stories delectably quick to read. The perfect combination of length and pause.
Here we have an ordinary 19-year-old taxi driver who is going nowhere with his life and has no plans to ever make something of himself either. When Ed inadvertently foils a bank robbery, he is praised as a local hero. Some people have it in them to make a stand, to be more than ordinary. That's when the assignments come. Written on the ace of diamonds are three addresses. Ed must figure out who is in need of help at these locations and what he can do to touch their lives.
As Ed engulfs himself into these strangers' lives he learns to care for them personally and insightfully discovers a message for them that will alter their lives. Sometimes the messages are easy to deliver, other times they require all he can muster to give. But always he finds the courage to follow through. And his answers are never what I would expect.
"There are countless saints who have nothing to do with church and almost no knowledge of God. But they say God walks with those people without them ever knowing it." As we follow Ed through his journey from "just another stupid person" to messenger, we see him grow emotionally as the assignments touch him deeper. In touching other people's lives he finds the purpose in his, his way of being great.
At one point he says he thought he was doing one of these people a favor but "I realize it's the opposite. I'm the privileged one." Is that not how it always is? We don't want to get involved with helping other people, even developing new friendships, because it require something from us. But what we fail to realize is what we get out of it is more than what we put in it. The effort to connect with people instead of drift through each other's lives is always worth it. This book could almost be church worthy if it weren't for the swearing and sex.
It took me a second read through the twist at the end to make the connection. If you don't understand who the random stranger sitting on his couch is, give it a second read because it adds to the purpose of the novel. I think the tool was more surreal when Vonnegut used it, but here its purpose is to bring home the powerful message of the last card and so intense in its own way.
We are left with our own challenge. We find our own names on an ace and we can take this message as ours: that anyone, no matter how ordinary can be great, and put it to practice in our own lives. Or we can discard our aces and go back to going through the motions. ...less
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Annalisa
marked as to-read:
Because of Winn-Dixie (Paperback)
by Kate DiCamillo
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Annalisa
marked as to-read:
Sarah, Plain and Tall (Paperback)
by Patricia MacLachlan
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Annalisa
marked as to-read:
Saturday (Paperback)
by Ian McEwan
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Legacy Ranch Book Club
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