Jessie's profile

35 ratings | 5 reviews
avg rating: 3.74

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Jessie is currently reading

	07/26 Jessie gave to: The Autumn of the Patriarch (P.S.) by Gabriel García Márquez bookshelves: currently-reading	my rating:
	recommended to Jessie by: me! recommended for: ryan golden read in July, 2008 Jessie said: "on the whole, the novel is impressive. i can't imagine what it took for him to write this whole thing the way that he did. most of the sentences run for ten pages, moving from one point-of-view to another without warning, from dreams to real-life (ma...more " add a comment
	06/15 Jessie gave to: Their Eyes Were Watching God (Paperback) by Zora Neale Hurston bookshelves: currently-reading	my rating:
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	06/15 Jessie is currently reading: Don Quixote (Penguin Classics) by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra bookshelves: currently-reading	my rating:
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July 26

Jessie gave

to:
The Autumn of the Patriarch (P.S.)
by Gabriel García Márquez
bookshelves: currently-reading

my rating:

recommended to Jessie by: me!
recommended for: ryan golden
read in July, 2008

Jessie said: "on the whole, the novel is impressive. i can't imagine what it took for him to write this whole thing the way that he did. most of the sentences run for ten pages, moving from one point-of-view to another without warning, from dreams to real-life (ma...more on the whole, the novel is impressive. i can't imagine what it took for him to write this whole thing the way that he did. most of the sentences run for ten pages, moving from one point-of-view to another without warning, from dreams to real-life (maybe?)action. at the beginning of each chapter, we are reminded that the patriarch of the novel's title is dead, but we are quickly taken back to years before his death and pushed through memories of the years leading up to his first fake and then real death. it certainly makes your head spin, and it's difficult to read less than 40 pages at a time without completely losing track of what the hell is going on.

his technique of using one event as the touchstone from which he begins each section of the book, in this one the death of the patriarch, is common for marquez, but this stream-of-consciousness style of writing is not. what makes it more intriguing is how any given sentence switches from the 1st- to the 3rd-person point-of-view, and is usually delivered by at least 3 different characters. factor in that the characters telling the story are sometimes extremely minor and therefore hard to keep track of and you become quite dizzy.

all of this said, however, the style works with the subject matter. the main character doubles as both protagonist and antagonist, and marquez does such a good job of winning the reader's sympathy for him that by the time he is filling a crate full of children with concrete in order to more easily dispose of them in the ocean, we have forgotten that he is a monster, that we hate him. the narrative style makes it clear that marquez does this on purpose. knowing what is known about him politically (he has infamously opposed numerous latin american leaders throughout history) combined with what is known about him as a deeply romantic humanitarian, all of this makes sense. his dictator is painted on one hand as horrific, maniacal, and frighteningly self-absorbed and on the other hand as troubled, insecure, and confused by his own power.

i struggled with this one, in part because it didn't do what his other books do for me. approaching it with that expectation was a bad idea, though. i usually read "100 years of solitude" every summer, and i have found marquez to be a perfect travel companion, particularly if i'm going into mexico; his stories are always dreamlike with such a strong dose of reality added to the characters and relationships that i enjoy his books the same way i enjoy a good drug experience. this story was not a comment on human relationships, however, as much as it was on the nature of leadership and the vulnerability of those being lead. all in all, i'd say it's definitely worth picking up, but be sure you've got some time to commit to digesting it properly. ...less "

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New comment on Ryan's review of Dreadnought

Jessie wrote: "on a scale of 1-10, how approachable is this book for someone with ADD? "

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Jessie read and liked Ryan's review of Dreadnought:

"Somewhat classical in its approach--great persons, great events, great battles--but I find it interesting only because I've been looking for a good European history read for some time, and I know very little about any of the subjects in this book.
...more "

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June 19

Jessie gave

to:
Bonjour Tristesse (Paperback)
by Françoise Sagan

my rating:

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Jessie gave

to:
Eggs (Hardcover)
by Jerry Spinelli

my rating:

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June 15

New comment on Jessie's review of Their Eyes Were Watching God

Jessie wrote: "first paragraph:

"ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. for some they come in ...more "

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Jessie gave

to:
Their Eyes Were Watching God (Paperback)
by Zora Neale Hurston
bookshelves: currently-reading

my rating:

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Jessie is currently reading:
Don Quixote (Penguin Classics)
by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
bookshelves: currently-reading

my rating:

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New comment on Jessie's review of I Don't Believe in Atheists

Jessie wrote: "p.s. i will say, though, that this author specifically attacks that section of the loud and abrasive...more "

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