The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins

By: Lyndsay Humphrey

In The Hunger Games, a post-apocalyptic world created by Suzanne Collins, fighting for your life is not just a reality, it’s televised entertainment. After the end of the world, a few are left to create a new humanity. The Capitol is the government that rises when society begins to rebuild, and they form 13 districts that are under constant surveillance. After a failed uprising, the people of the districts have forever been punished and reminded of what little power they have over their own lives.

Katniss Everdeen is a 16-year-old who lives in district 12, the poorest district of them all. She is no stranger to harsh conditions, and after the death of her beloved father, she must assume the role of sole caregiver to her younger sister and sick mother. She becomes the sole breadwinner and hunter, but, with little to hunt, they often go to bed starving. Although these conditions are normal, there is something that the people of district 12 dread more than starvation: the Hunger Games.

Once a year, the Capitol goes to each district and, through a name drawing, select a boy and a girl both between the ages of 12 and 18. Once they are selected, they are thrown into what would best be described as gladiator games. When Katniss’ sister Prim is chosen, Katniss immediately takes her place and is placed into the Hunger Games.

This story is about how barbaric humanity can become if we let the wrong people assume power. It is also a true testament to the power of unconditional love and a pure heart. The Hunger Games is suspenseful and its well written. Collins creates a world that is all too easy to imagine. This book was recommended to me and I’m happy to pass along a strong recommendation. Read this!

Book Review: Nineteen Minutes

By: Jodi Picoult

Nineteen Minutes begins with a disturbing suicide note from a killer to his mother. In a quiet town in New Hampshire, school shootings were just awful stories on the nightly news–it could never happen to them…that is, until it does. In just nineteen minutes, Peter Houghton heinously slaughters ten people, 9 students and one teacher. Of course, he is a monster, how could anyone kill that many innocent people? But, Picoult raises the question, were the students really innocent: how can a child just wake up one day and decide to kill others without any provocation at all?

The novel follows the perspective of a few very important people that are affected by the shooting, including a childhood friend of Peter’s, a judge presiding over the case, a detective, and Peter’s own mother. The most challenging character to read about is Peter. Reader’s get glimpses of Peter’s tortured life, all of his resentment and hatred towards others, including his own mother. Picoult puts us into a place that we don’t really want to see; in our minds Peter is a monster, deserving of no sympathy. But trust me when I say that by the end of this novel you hurt not only for the victims but also for the “monster.”

Nineteen Minutes explores the aftermath of such an event. It describes how people either pull together or push apart when they are hurting. It explores if a mother’s unconditional love could survive such an act, could marriages and the town survive what happened. It also answers the intruding questions: should the blame ever be put on the students? Should the reasons for the shooting ever be explored or just pushed under the table? Picoult fearlessly delves into each character without hesitation, giving each a voice. This book is one that will haunt you forever–but more importantly, it will change the way you view people for the rest of your life, however long that might be.

The Pilot’s Wife, by Anita Shreve

Lyndsay Humphrey

What if the person that you thought you knew better than anyone turned out to have a life that you had no idea about? In The Pilot’s Wife, by Anita Shreve, we follow Kathryn, who loses her husband, a Pilot, while he is flying over Ireland. When the Union knocks on her door in the middle of the night, she almost cannot believe what is happening.  The next few days of her life are a total whirlwind in which we see the first steps of grieving.

The loss of her husband is the worst thing that Kathryn can imagine until she finds out what the press is speculating.   Parts of the plane were retrieved, they found the voice recorder of the last few minutes of the flight before it exploded. From that, the press speculates that the crash was caused by pilot’s error. This implicates Kathryn’s husband, held responsible for the crash that killed over 100 people. The novel follows Kathryn while she tries to find the reason for the crash and, on the way, finds that Jack had a life that she didn’t know about.

The Pilot’s Wife is a novel that has mysteries around every corner. We learn that two people could live in the same house, but both are in two different worlds. Shreve highlights every facet of the human emotion through Kathryn, who goes from sadness to confusion to anger and everywhere in between.  It has the most original storyline that I have read in a while and Shreve writes with an undeniable honesty that grabs readers down to the very core. We know every thought of Kathryn, who develops huge doubts about her husband and who he was. The Pilot’s Wife is a beautifully complicated story about what happens when our world–our lives–are ripped out from under us.  It is about the strength of the human heart.

By Robert McElligott

Platitudes, by Trey Ellis, is a daunting novel to review; finding the words to describe a body of work so important and meaningful is not an easy charge. Platitudes is the embodiment of a post-modern novel, both in form and function; it features dual narratives perforated by pictures, an aptitude test, a restaurant menu, etc., and the novel’s function is almost too complex to epitomize here. Regardless, the novel reaches almost unfathomable depths in respect to literature and social politics; Ellis deconstructs many popular notions, like machismo and “authentic blackness,” that are so embedded in American culture.

The novel’s function may be somewhat confrontational but the novel itself is not; Ellis created something so light-hearted and humorous it almost demands affection. The story is split between two narratives; one narrative is a story-in-progress about poor, pubescent Earle Tyner and his quest for love and manhood. The second narrative is of the writer of Earle’s story, Dewayne Wellington, and his troubles with writing about Earle.

The novel deals heavily with what it means to be both African and American; Ellis pits stereotype vs. anti-stereotype to reveal how damaging the idea of “authentic blackness” can be to African-American culture. The novel accomplishes so much with two parallel narratives, but, remarkably, it remains very accessible to most anyone.

The novels accessibility can be attributed to Ellis’ style of writing; it’s so smooth and fluid the reader can breeze through half the novel without realizing it. Beyond the style, the story of Earle is fiercely humorous; there is nothing quite as awkward or comical as a boy going through puberty, and Ellis gives us front row seats to the gritty humanity of Earle Tyner’s inner most thoughts as he tries pick up girls out his league, out of his sport even. But the novel isn’t all comical anguish; the ending is warm and loving, providing the answers to all the social problems it approaches.

All things considered, Platitudes is an interesting, fun-loving novel that is worth reading at least twice.

Who gets more sympathy, the cheater or the cheated? In most cases, hands down, our sympathy vote goes to the poor girl who got cheated on. We offer up our advice and bash the ass hole stupid enough to screw things up with such a wonderful person. However, in Emily Griffin’s novel, Something Borrowed, we find our natural instinct to defend the victim simply vanishes.

Within the first two chapters readers are given a look into the complicated relationship between long-time best friends, Rachel and Darcy. The differences between the girls are evident from the get-go, and readers find themselves wondering how the girls are even acquaintances, let alone best friends. Rachel is a hard working attorney, who at the age of thirty finds herself alone and unhappy. While Darcy is in P.R. and is oblivious to anything outside of her own world, and her upcoming wedding, to the catch of the century, Dex.

On the surface it seems like a fun, gossipy novel filled with superficial drama and meaningless tiffs between best friends. Readers are in for a great shock when at the end of the first chapter we find out that Rachel, a woman who has never done a bad thing in her life, sleeps with her best friend’s fiancé.

The rest of the novel is about the rollercoaster ride that Rachel is on, deciding if she should tell Darcy or live the rest of her life in quilt. It only gets more complicated when Rachel and Dex develop actual feelings toward eachother and a one-night stand could turn out to be the end of one relationship and the start to another. Un unpredictable plot and the unusual pull to root for the bad guy keeps readers devotion to figuring out what the outcome will be!

by Lyndsay Humphrey

Most people have probably heard of Jodi Picoult through the recent movie, My Sister’s Keeper, which was a film version of one of Picoult’s most well known novels. Starred with great “A” list actors, the movie did pretty well for itself. However celebrated, this novel has made Picoult an author that people may not take very seriously but I would strongly disagree to that consensus.

While I will not write that Picoult is the modern day Hemmingway or Nabokov, her story- telling is a gift, and her writing truly does transport you into a whole different world and into the characters lives. The book that I read for this week is called Vanishing Acts. The story, like all of Picoult’s novels, displays the thoughts and emotions of each character creating a story that never has a dull moment.

Vanishing Acts is a novel that I stumbled upon over Christmas break and decided that I better fit in a good easy read before school started and it was back to Shakespeare and Donne. So I picked this novel randomly out of a large stack of books that I had stolen from my mother. This was not the first or the second or even the third novel of Picoult’s that I have read, but there continues to be something addictive in each one of her novels that keeps you coming back time and again. Vanishing Acts was no different.

The story is about a search and rescue detective named Delia. She is engaged to her daughter’s dad, a boy she has known since childhood. Delia’s life seems comparably normal to those around her, and while her job keeps her away from her daughter a lot, she seems to balance well. Delia lives with her father, who seems to be an amazing man, a supportive father and loving grandfather. The only information that we know about Delia’s mother is that she died when she was very young and that her father has raised her on his own. As we find out very soon into the novel, Delia’s father has not been honest with Delia most of her life: he has been living a double life.

Delia is under the impression that all is well in her world. She is ready to get married and become a family; she has a great career and a father that is supportive. This all changes in an instant when the police show up at Delia’s house and announce that they are there to arrest her father. Clearly this is a shock; Delia’s father is a model citizen and could never be involved in anything illegal.

I will not ruin the book, because the reason for the arrest is the most important part of the novel. I can tell you that Jodi Picoult once again grabs reader’s attention with a unique storyline that you never see coming. The story is a tangled web that the reader learns about along with each character. It is a quick read so you can just take a break from school and instead of turning on another episode of CSI you can read this book, which is far better.

Book Review

Incognegro- by Mat Johnson

Robert McElligott

Incognegro is a graphic novel and noir murder-mystery that travels well beyond any formula or template. The plot is deftly embedded in American history while the subject matter stays true to the African-American literary tradition of genuine truth and refuting dogma. The main character, Zane Pinchback, is an urbane Harlem journalist who has the ability to “pass” as white and does so in order to travel to the South and expose hate crimes. This ability is not fantasy or some super power you find in so many other graphic novels and comics– it’s historically accurate.

Pinchback’s ability is not caused by some genetic anomaly either; he is a product of malfeasant rape. Mat Johnson brilliantly defines Zane’s circumstance toward the novel’s beginning: “American Negroes are a mulatto people; I’m just an extreme example. A walking reminder.” He uses his mixed heritage to undermine the cause of it; he saunters around Mississippi pretending to be a KKK member to save victims. To combat hate crimes, lynchings, and commonplace racism, he writes exposés in Harlem under the pseudonym Incognegro– using information as a weapon.

Mat Johnson is a professor of creative writing at the University of Houston, and his scholarship shows. This story is richly rendered and incredibly related to American history and his personal biography. Johnson himself is half black and half white. The author’s note explains that during his childhood, his mixed heritage was a burden in the height of the Black Power era. He fantasized about a time and place where an ability to be black or white would be useful. Later in college he discovered the former head of the NAACP, Walter White, was a pale skinned African-American that traveled to the South investigating lynchings; here Johnson’s story began to find its roots.

To add some context, I prefer novels to provide a landscape to cultivate thought; in short, most of these tend the reader toward sensing utter depression and inescapable social situations from psychologically (perhaps) impossible types of characters, with drama that even soaps couldn’t develop throughout their lifespan on television. In short, I’ve been reading the Russians: Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy. So I thought I’d read an Englishman, Thomas Hardy, as a breather between bouts of aforesaid Russian craziness (brilliance).

Tess is rugged. The setting is the English countryside, poverty, and milkmaids. Though Tess doesn’t encounter the impossible kind of misfortune so reminiscent of Russian authors, especially Dostoevsky, her management of the encounters with disaster which she undergoes capitulates her into travesty nearly further than can be found in the Russians themselves.

Starkly in the middle of Tess, I found myself wondering if there would be an ounce of redemption, whether for Tess or for the reader, and I continued to wonder that thought until the last few chapters of the book, where I, as a reader, began to sense some relief. Yet, this relief should not be taken lightly; it in itself is a rough sort of complacence.

The problem is that books we read tend to have descriptions on the back—I guess to entice us into reading them. So, on the back of the book, I read the single word “murder,” which left me bewildered; I had merely glanced at the writing and hadn’t meant to read it, so I didn’t finish. That notion that murder was lurking somewhere in the book wasn’t surprising, but when the murder occurs is quite surprising, simply for the fact that it occurs so very late.

The read was enjoyable, and the ending attainable, but Tess is not for the weary. She is difficult for the modern reader to identify with, simply because she is so steadfast, unshakeable even, instead of changing constantly (like Americans) and believing she has every right to assert herself as does the modern woman. But, if you fancy any of the above, or you’re a romantic of sorts, Tess is a character you’ll feel for and a book you’ll regret not reading.

Every now and then a reviewer uses the words “every now and then” to start a review, which is usually followed by a glimmering review of a very artsy, but very bad book. With this book, though, it is completely appropriate. To say that every now and then a story collection comes along that will, in the end, change the way we read short stories is entirely appropriate. The last time this happened was, perhaps, King’s “Night Shift.” Before that, pick any Ray Bradbury collection.

But Gaiman’s collection is both and more put into one. “Smoke and Mirrors” is an absolute masterpiece and seems like it would satisfy almost any avid reader’s tastes. There is humor, social commentary, poetry of all kinds and even a few examples of remarkably tasteful erotica included in this timeless collection. The dark side of the reader is revealed in a reassuring and, at the same time, frightening way.

Reading Gaiman is not mere recreation, it is experience. It is not bogged down by “trying to make a point,” despite the points it does make on the reader. It is simply telling a story, and the reader takes it as he or she wishes. This, in the end, is the essence of writing, and Gaiman has mastered it perfectly.

The stories are diverse: humor and dark, poetry and prose, with some stories undoubtedly stronger than others.  However, no matter which story you read one thing remains constant, Gaiman’s superb ability in the art of storytelling.

In “Chivalry,” a woman finds the Holy Grail in a secondhand shop, and Galahad must trade something for it that will look just as good on her mantle.

Demons take over London in “Cold Colors,” because the devil has learned how to network and God can’t get “saintware” up and running.

“Snow, Glass, Apples” is not your grandmother’s Snow White, and Gaiman himself states that he hopes the reader will not read the original fairytale the same way ever again. He succeeds. This story is worth the price of the book alone.

Ever wonder how Christmas is in the Gaiman household? “Nicholas Was…” shows it is dark, haunting, and achingly beautiful. Possibly my favorite, despite its (sadly) short length.

“The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories” — the longest and one of the best stories hands down in this book. Neil takes the big hypodermic needle of writing and instead of sucking the life right out of what could have been a boring story, injects it with a subtle shadow and oodles of glitter. The intriguing world behind these pages is indeed smoke and mirrors, just a step or a word or a story away from our own.

Every now and then a story collection comes along that will, in the end, change literature. Here and now, that collection is “Smoke and Mirrors.” Neil Gaiman shows us just what can be done by a master illusionist who knows how to use the tools of his trade to perfection. Some people may tell you that illusions are only smoke and mirrors and not magic, but perhaps they’ve never come under the spell of a real wizard.

]]> http://maroonweekly.com/2009/12/smoke-and-mirrors-short-fiction-and-illusions-by-neil-gaiman/feed/ 0 http://maroonweekly.com/2009/11/book-review-the-electric-kool-aid-acid-test/ http://maroonweekly.com/2009/11/book-review-the-electric-kool-aid-acid-test/#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:06:09 +0000 Maroon Weekly http://maroonweekly.com/?p=911 The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
“Can YOU pass the acid test?”

By Sara Muessel

Let me preface this review by saying I was not alive in the 60’s, and I never talked to my parents about their experiences, yet through this book, I feel as though I shared in the madness that were the Acid Tests.

Yes, it’s the story of The Merry Pranksters: the day-glo bus riding pioneers of what would become ‘psychedelic’ culture. But the tale rolls from the analytical pen of conservative journalist Tom Wolfe, and the story that’s really told is massively at odds with the book’s garishly optimistic cover art.

Originally setting out to investigate the ‘fugitive author’ Ken Kesey, who in the mid-sixties was on the run from the FBI for narcotics offences, Wolfe is soon drawn into the world of Kesey and his disciples, The Merry Pranksters. To use their own words, he gets ‘on the bus’.

It’s that very sense of being ‘drawn in’ to something that becomes the major focus of the book. Wolfe, the New York critic-out-of-water tells the Prankster’s tale in their own words. Compiled from a combination of interviews, first hand investigation, and thumbing through The Prankster Tapes (they recorded almost everything they ever did, on a day-to-day basis, either on tape or film), the book offers a rare brand of journalism, in that it’s immersive and subjective, while at the same time remaining critical. He tells the tale with exactly the kind of disjointed euphoria these proto-hippies must have felt.

Apart from the subject matter, this book is as well written as you could imagine. Somehow, Wolfe captures the experiences of Ken Kesey and his gang of Merry Pranksters with his writing style. His use of the ellipses (…), run on sentences, and his insightful commentary actually puts the reader into this experience. Wolfe puts the story out there in a way that is honest and fair; he shows not just the idealism, but also the grime and the violence and the difficulties of rebellion against the norm and the inherent dangers in basing a movement on a mind altering drug.

It might be easy to reject the story as a tale of mistaken adventures of the past, but only out of context from the things which came next. The garden that Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters planted was set in very fertile ground. This group changed portions of the world forever. From their ideas came the rave scene, the flash mob scene, the multimedia party scene, psychedelic art, and more. The experience itself is a whirlwind journey across the US, in a cloud of pot-smoke, a rush of speed and a series of mescaline and LSD induced hallucinations. All the while, this seemingly nonsensical journey is carefully laid out as only Wolfe could have done. To read a book about 15 men and women that travel the nation not knowing right from left, Wolfe explains everything in stunning imagery and intense detail.

Whether or not you approve or liked the hippies movement, and even if you are offended by drug related subject matter, you should read this book. As a purely literary work and as a story of the acid movement and a historical look at the 60’s, there’s none better.

Now you must decide if, “You’re on the bus…or off the bus.”