false 2 40 32 true 5785834 read 1 true 1834618 currently-reading 7 true 1834617 to-read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22622734 Shortcomings (Hardcover) by Adrian Tomine
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21980500 365 Days: A Diary by Julie Doucet (Hardcover) by Julie Doucet
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22622508 Guards! Guards! (Discworld, #8) by Terry Pratchett
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22546978 No Country for Old Men (Paperback) by Cormac McCarthy
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22474660 A Case of Exploding Mangoes (Hardcover) by Mohammed Hanif
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21606619 Incognegro (Hardcover) by Mat Johnson
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]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/15285311 to: The Bell Jar (Paperback) by Sylvia Plath
The danger of reading Sylvia Plath is to have the tragic circumstances which formatted her death precede her work. However, when considering The Bell Jar it is extremely difficult to separate the two, especially considering the semi-autobiographical nature of the novel. Echoing her own experience through that of her protagonist Esther Greenwood, The Bell Jar is the life of a young, talented English major who attempts to cope with a society which expects her sensitive, gifted self to set herself into preordained roles, causing her to break down as her identity becomes suppressed. The novel chronicles Esther's slow descent into a profound depressive state, marked by a growing sardonic dislike of the world and repeated suicide attempts.

Atop the novel's feminist values is the most palpable account of depression I have ever read. Plath's poetic prowess is charged to spectacular levels, and the attributes she endows people, objects and situations with are touching, cutting, impressionistic, and soul-splitting, but beautiful without reproach. The world of a person in such as state has never been more disturbing, clear, or human.

It is within this ensemble which lies truly the gift of The Bell Jar: a novel of rich, living language which conveys with stunning imagery the darkest slants our spirits can bend to. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20534860 to: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress: A Novel (Paperback) by Dai Sijie
Taking place at the height of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, two privileged fresh-out-of-high-school youths are sent into a rural, mountainside village for “re-education,” in which they are expected to lose their bourgeois ways by learning life in a harsh, impoverished community. Through the discovery of a forbidden stash of classic Western novels and the romantic liaison developed with a beautiful seamstress girl, their story becomes a fable of the unwavering strength of the human spirit in the face of complete darkness. Placed in an environment which is supposed to “break” them, the novels nourish their souls and give them faith in the beauty, wonder, and simplicity of life.

Being a semi-autobiographical novel, we are presented with the opportunity to peek into a China which was wrestling against itself, defying the reality of a changing social landscape and evolving global trends. Shards of modernity puncture the musty, oppressive veil, with the conclusion of the novel setting the ultimate message that society will change through the will of individuals, no matter how oppressed they may be.

It’s a very textured and impressionistic book which is easily gobbled up. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20012183 The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book 1) by Philip Pullman
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20012154 The Color of Magic (Discworld, #1) by Terry Pratchett
bookshelves: to-read
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