LDS Ladies Book Club discussion
This topic is about
Unbroken
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Book Clubs - general/business
>
Unbroken, Another July Group Read
date
newest »
newest »
I found a copy at lib2go so I'll be listening to it while I clean and quilt.
I'm reading it! Getting it from the library today :)
I have been reading it since I got it a week ago! It is an amazing story!! I can't wait to discuss it!! Let me know as soon as you have a few chapters behind you so we can start!!!
I have read it and am ready to discuss!
I just finished the book, and it is amazing!!! I fell in love with Zamperini and his zest for life! Such a good book!
I am reading it. I am in Chapter 7. Struggling to keep going though... but all the comments that state it is good, keep me plugging away...Now I stopped reading at page 180 - I cannot endure man's inhumanity to man, why do I need to read about it?? - and started skimming again at page 309...
I have also read Unbroken. My sister recommended it last year.
Where is everyone at in Unbroken?! Who is ready to discuss?!
I am about 100 pages from the end! I'll probably be ready next week.
I'll be ready whenever everyone else is as I read it a couple of months ago for another book club I'm in.
Well it looks like we can discuss Louis' pre-war life! My favorite part was his clepto tendencies, even when faced with Nazi guards! I can't believe his gumption to steal that flag right in front of them!! LolWhat was your favorite of Louis' pre-war experiences?!
I liked that he seemed, even as a child, to have no fear of almost anything. I envy that.
>Beth A. wrote: "We will discuss Unbroken starting July 14. Roll Call:
Who's reading it?" I finished it, waiting for the discussions. I attempted this book 2 other times and was bored/un-engaged with the entire first part, so I quit. Many friends and book club members raved about it so I gave it a try again for this group. So glad I did...I ended up LOVING it!
I found it interesting that he really didn't like running at the beginning, that he found it boring. To go from that to competing in the Olympics is amazing!
Hi everyone, I hope it's okay to just jump in here. I'm Rachel. Nice to meet you all (shake hands, etc.) I like how the author really probed Louis' character. She could have just shown him as the prankster kid who was always getting hauled into the principal's office, but she also showed that he got frustrated and yearned for attention and dragged his bedding outside to be alone when he felt badly. I also loved that the author traced his impish nature to his mother with that story about her dressing up and going trick-or-treating and getting into a fight. I have a feeling that if I did that my kids would never get over the embarrassment. Maybe I should do it.
I finally finished it :)Rachel, I also liked that that the author didn't oversimplify the characters and the situations. She shows the good and the bad, all with a straightforward mostly neutral tone.
I finished a few days ago! I'm excited to talk about it!
It's been a while since I read the book. I will be interesting in reading what everyone thought of the book. My sister recommended it.
So what does everyone think? What was your overall impression of the book?
It was amazing, that a kid who was such a pranster, could end up surviving such an ordeal in the ocean.
I loved this book... I finished it a while ago, and yet I still think about him and all he went through! Before i say more, i want to know... Has everyone in this discussion read the whole book? I don't want to accidentally spoil it for anyone...
I loved the book. I think it gave a true vision of what he went through and how it affected him. It was very well written and kept my attention. My husband also read it and he did not like it at all. I was surprised as I thought he would like it. We had a very good discussion about why I liked it and he didn't. It was very eye opening the way we looked at it so differently.
That is so surprising to me! How could he not like it? What were his reasons?
Maurine, He had a very hard time with the suffering and the torture that they went through, especially knowing that it was true. He even had nightmares about it. He did not serve in any wars because of his hearing loss. He can hear, but does have difficulty. I kept telling him he didn't have to finish it, but he did. He said that of all the books I have recommended to him, that was to worst. I was very surprised as I thought he would really like it, as I did.
Oh no! Poor guy... I can see that... It was very disturbing all that those poor young men went through! I understand now... It gave me comfort to see all the many times that God intervened in his life... Almost like he was allowing him to go through those things to prepare him for a greater cause in life... What am amazing man he became because of what he went through! I'm so grateful to know his story... It will forever stay with me.
I agree with you Maurine. I saw how the Lord intervened in his life. It is a beautiful book and like you, it is now a part of me and will stay with me forever.
Throughout my reading, I was just appalled that human beings can be so extremely cruel. And for Louis and Phil to endure 47 days on the ocean only to be captured and put through another few YEARS of torture is just unfathomable. My heart broke for those men who suffered so much. While I was reading how some of the Japanese guards got away with their crimes (like the Bird) I felt myself overcome with anger - how could they not be brought to justice?? But as I read of Louie's transformation after the war and how he forgave his captors, I was very touched. His example of forgiveness is truly inspiring and shows how forgiveness can change your life.
Great comment Kara. Thanks.
I think Kara's comment is why so many people 'enjoyed'the book. Not that learning of the suffering is enjoyable but that the awful lows makes the good reasoned choices more exquisite, and unforgettable. However, I am with Darryl's husband and for one, didn't need/want to feel/know the details of inhumane treatment.
I agree with you, Kara... It is precisely his ability to forgive all those years of punishment that strikes the strongest chord in my heart! It was learning how his anger and rightly justified hatred of those who hurt him did nothing to punish those at fault, but did everything to punish him over and over again...Even though he had been freed from his captors, he was still shackled to his hatred... And It wasn't until he finally forgave them that he was finally free!!! What a beautiful story... I think it was necessary for the reader to hear the details of the horrors he experienced so that we could truly sympathize with him as he went through his experience of holding in to his hatred and then letting it go. It was wonderfully written!
Thank you for putting my feelings into words Maurine. The true beauty of the book is how it is written. He was such a wonderful example of someone who truly could forgive. It isn't easy as the book brings out. But it is so worth it when you do. I have grown so much. I really appreciate all your comments. This is super!
I loved this book so much. Did anyone else wish there was more information about Phil and Cici after the war?
I did... I also wished for the side-by-side story of Louis and Phil to continue... It seemed to be that way while they were together, but once they separated, we hardly heard of Phil... I wished she could have told what horrors Phil was going through while Louis was going through his horrors... And I would have liked to continue hearing about his after-war recovery Ina side-by-side manner as well... But that's just me...It's interesting that Phil mentioned always taking the backseat when their story was told, like no one was interested in his side of the story... I believe it also said that he was glad that this time around his story was told with somewhat more importance... I would've loved more.
Yeah, Phil and Cici seemed like such genuinely good people; I wanted to know how his homecoming went and how his war experiences affected their relationship.
There's a wonderful old movie called "The Best Years of Our Lives" about three soldiers coming home from WWII and all that they go through trying to readjust to life. One of the actors was really a soldier in the war who lost both of his hands. He had never been in a movie before, but he won an Academy Award for his performance. If you want more Unbroken flavor, see if your library has it. I've probably watched it six or seven times. It also has the sweetest love scene Hollywood ever came up with.
There's a wonderful old movie called "The Best Years of Our Lives" about three soldiers coming home from WWII and all that they go through trying to readjust to life. One of the actors was really a soldier in the war who lost both of his hands. He had never been in a movie before, but he won an Academy Award for his performance. If you want more Unbroken flavor, see if your library has it. I've probably watched it six or seven times. It also has the sweetest love scene Hollywood ever came up with.
Cool! Ill go check that out! Thanks!
I love that movie too.
Rachel wrote: "Yeah, Phil and Cici seemed like such genuinely good people; I wanted to know how his homecoming went and how his war experiences affected their relationship.There's a wonderful old movie called "..."
In case anyone was wondering, Netflix has the movie. I just added it to my queue...it sounds great.
The most inspiring things about this true story is the ability Louis had to SURVIVE against all odds and then to THRIVE against all odds. The life raft experience was incredibly powerful for me, imagining myself and what I would do, and where the 'hope' would come from to go on each day. Then the POW experiences made the life raft look like a vacation. It was difficult for me to read the violence and inhumanity, I don't handle that stuff well, and it was very emotionally unsettling for several days. I almost stopped reading there, but the redemption that I knew was coming kept me engaged. I love the enduring love of his wife in the face of such dark circumstances, and I cried streams of tears through his conversion from that darkness to light. In my opinion, the ability to forgive that grew out of that conversion can only be described as a miracle. I did not expect the ending to be so uplifting and hope filled. All of humanity could benefit from this story~ I LOVED it!
Debbie, I agree whole-heartedly!
I love how you said it, Debbie. It might be the most powerful forgiveness story I've ever heard.
I struggled with the inhumanity. It seems that there has been such a focus on the Nazi's and the Holocost. I was made more aware of Japan's role. It also got me thinking about the work camps that followed for the Japanese Americans. War is brutal and it's effect last far longer than the last battle on the frontline. I see similarities in our society today. How the Islamic community in the USA is stereo-typed even when some have no connection to the terrorist. I am grateful for my belief in God and that we are all his children despite where we grew up.
Cherlyn, I also struggled with all the terrible torture and I was depressed for a few days until I got through it.. But I'm so glad I read it, it really made me realize all of the amazing stories of men who fought their hardest and had incredible stories that they didn't get a chance to tell. I'll be happy to listen to them tell their stories one day.. Another one that shocked me is between shades of grey, which it looks like you guys might have read already. So many innocent lives were lost in the shadows. It seems impossible to ever recover from that kind of terror, but Louis did! And he grew BECAUSE of it. It is an incredible story.
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Roll Call:
Who's reading it?