What a poignant novel!
Can the horrors of war or any traumatic experience be glossed over to live a "normal" life?
Silvana, Aurek, and Janusz were told they were lucky. They lived through the horrors of WWII in Poland and were fortunate enough to find one another to live a "normal" life in a small English village. Each person tries to adjust to this new life, but it's a struggle, especially for Silvana and Janusz who have secrets, which might destroy the lives they are trying to rebuild. No matter how well Janusz speaks English or how beautiful their English garden might be, they can't truly escape from the horrors of their experiences and losses until they are honest with each other.
~Spoiler Alert~
Silvana's secret hit me hard. I don't know what it's like to lose a child in a war, but I know what it's like to experience that kind of loss. I suffered several miscarriages between my 1st and 2nd children, and during that time, I was a walking festering wound. Hurt by the sight of every baby or pregnant woman I saw. And I already had one child. I don't know what it would have been like to lose my only child then find a lost child wandering in the woods. Though that baby was in desperate need of care, I think Silvana was in even more serious condition. I'm not sure if she would have survived the war without another baby to keep her going. No wonder Silvana and Aurek were so attached to each other.
Though Tony's character didn't get as many pages dedicated to him as Janusz and Silvana, I saw him as an empathetic character. He also suffered a devastating loss, and he was trying, in his twisted way, to cope with it as well as he could. I think he knew Silvana wasn't Lucy, but he couldn't let an opportunity to have Lucy with him a little longer pass. Though it wasn't fair to Silvana, I could understand why Tony would do those things. He did try to stay away. To leave her alone and live her life with Janusz, but at the end, I think this was something all of them, Janusz, Silvana, and Tony, had to go through.
This book was very thought provoking for me and made me ask a lot of questions about what I'd do if I found myself in situations Janusz and Silvana found themselves during the war.
This book also made me ask - what struggles do soldiers who return from wars go through to adjust to the normalcy of an American life? What horrors are they trying to gloss over and quickly adjust, pretending with their families that everything is OK when it's not. And how long does it take to live a "normal" life, again?
Though this book is a little on the slow side, I enjoyed the pace and the unfolding of their lives. I would recommend this book.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Friday, July 10, 2015
Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H. Balson
Wow! Deeply.... I don't know what the right word is....
Satisfying. Disturbing. Touching. Poignant.
I've always been interested in Holocaust-related books, because I've been fascinated by what drove the people to act the way they did, be it a Nazi SS officer, a German soldier, a non-Jewish person living in the Nazi-occupied countries, a partisan, a Jewish person living among the populace in fear, or a Jewish prisoner in the camps. What motivated them? To stay? To keep quiet? To turn a blind eye? To take action? Was it as simple as just finding ways to survive one more day?
What would you do if you knew the person whom you hold responsible for the deaths of your dearest family members was thriving in the same city as a wealthy benefactor of the people? Not only that, he pretends to be a part of the very group of people he stole from, persecuted and murdered? Would you do everything you could to bring that person to justice? Or let him be because revenge is a double-edged sword? To grab and wield it, you'd have to hurt yourself, too. Maybe even more than the target? Would you still do it?
What would you do?
~ Spoiler Alert ~
Ben Solomon knew what he had to do. Just as his would never forget the faces of his beloved parents and sister, he would never forget his face.
Ben knew the respected civic leader and a wealthy philanthropist Elliot Rosenzweig was the former Nazi SS officer named Otto Piatek, the Butcher of Zamosc. How? Once, they were raised together as brothers by Ben's parents who took pity on the abandoned Polish boy. Otto's parents picked Solomon's family because they were good, kind, and wealthy people.
With the starting of World War II, Otto started off behaving the way one would expect someone in his circumstances to behave - showing gratitude, consideration and willingness to assist his adoptive family in any way he could. However, as time passes and he rises in the ranks of the very organization Ben's father asked him to join to become an undercover agent of sorts, his transformation into the monster he ended up being began.
What I found fascinating is Otto/Elliot character. Though Ben is the protagonist and the main character, the transformation of Otto/Elliot is the mystery that drive the events in the book.
Otto's parents were hardly likable people. His father was a drunkard who couldn't hold a job and abandoned Otto to Ben's parents. His mother had run away from them before his father left him at Solomon's home. They did come to fetch Otto after a couple of years, but Otto refused to leave the Solomon household. For six years, Otto lived with the Solomons as a member of the family.
When the WWII erupted, Otto's father was involved with the Nazi's in Poland, and Otto's mother was working for Reinhard Heydrich. As the situation in Poland worsened, Ben's father persuaded Otto to work for the Nazis to gather information for the Jewish population. It seemed to go as planned, at least in the beginning.
Now, what fascinated me is the question of nature vs. nurture.
Was Otto destined to be the Butcher of Zamosc from the beginning?
Or at least the Butcher of some other place?
That his DNA was riddled with flaws that would always create a monster at the end?
According to the book, when Otto lived with the Solomons, he was treated equally with Ben and his younger sister. Ben and Otto shared a room together for six years. When his parents first came for him, he refused to go and defiantly proclaimed that the Solomons were his family. But what happened the second time?
There's a Korean saying - Blood doesn't lie, inferring that nature will overcome nurture (a son of a murderer will commit murder, etc.). The scary part of this book was that Otto wasn't an intentionally cruel or horrible person in the beginning, but he was a selfish man. The amalgam of his small, weak flaws resulted in a monster who did so much harm with his inactions as much as his actions.
But there's also another saying - if you don't know the person, look at those who are close to the person, and you'll get a pretty good idea of his character. It might have been such that with his selfish nature, he was greatly influenced by his peers, other Nazi soldiers, and officers. Over time, Otto began to sympathize with the way his peers saw the world rather than what he should have known in his heart. He should never repay love and kindness with anything other than love and kindness.
Either way, this book will stay with me for a long time.
I would recommend this book to WWII history lover.
P.S. - There are some parts in the book that I find incredulous, but it didn't take away the appreciation for the book.
Satisfying. Disturbing. Touching. Poignant.
I've always been interested in Holocaust-related books, because I've been fascinated by what drove the people to act the way they did, be it a Nazi SS officer, a German soldier, a non-Jewish person living in the Nazi-occupied countries, a partisan, a Jewish person living among the populace in fear, or a Jewish prisoner in the camps. What motivated them? To stay? To keep quiet? To turn a blind eye? To take action? Was it as simple as just finding ways to survive one more day?
What would you do if you knew the person whom you hold responsible for the deaths of your dearest family members was thriving in the same city as a wealthy benefactor of the people? Not only that, he pretends to be a part of the very group of people he stole from, persecuted and murdered? Would you do everything you could to bring that person to justice? Or let him be because revenge is a double-edged sword? To grab and wield it, you'd have to hurt yourself, too. Maybe even more than the target? Would you still do it?
What would you do?
~ Spoiler Alert ~
Ben Solomon knew what he had to do. Just as his would never forget the faces of his beloved parents and sister, he would never forget his face.
Ben knew the respected civic leader and a wealthy philanthropist Elliot Rosenzweig was the former Nazi SS officer named Otto Piatek, the Butcher of Zamosc. How? Once, they were raised together as brothers by Ben's parents who took pity on the abandoned Polish boy. Otto's parents picked Solomon's family because they were good, kind, and wealthy people.
With the starting of World War II, Otto started off behaving the way one would expect someone in his circumstances to behave - showing gratitude, consideration and willingness to assist his adoptive family in any way he could. However, as time passes and he rises in the ranks of the very organization Ben's father asked him to join to become an undercover agent of sorts, his transformation into the monster he ended up being began.
What I found fascinating is Otto/Elliot character. Though Ben is the protagonist and the main character, the transformation of Otto/Elliot is the mystery that drive the events in the book.
Otto's parents were hardly likable people. His father was a drunkard who couldn't hold a job and abandoned Otto to Ben's parents. His mother had run away from them before his father left him at Solomon's home. They did come to fetch Otto after a couple of years, but Otto refused to leave the Solomon household. For six years, Otto lived with the Solomons as a member of the family.
When the WWII erupted, Otto's father was involved with the Nazi's in Poland, and Otto's mother was working for Reinhard Heydrich. As the situation in Poland worsened, Ben's father persuaded Otto to work for the Nazis to gather information for the Jewish population. It seemed to go as planned, at least in the beginning.
Now, what fascinated me is the question of nature vs. nurture.
Was Otto destined to be the Butcher of Zamosc from the beginning?
Or at least the Butcher of some other place?
That his DNA was riddled with flaws that would always create a monster at the end?
According to the book, when Otto lived with the Solomons, he was treated equally with Ben and his younger sister. Ben and Otto shared a room together for six years. When his parents first came for him, he refused to go and defiantly proclaimed that the Solomons were his family. But what happened the second time?
There's a Korean saying - Blood doesn't lie, inferring that nature will overcome nurture (a son of a murderer will commit murder, etc.). The scary part of this book was that Otto wasn't an intentionally cruel or horrible person in the beginning, but he was a selfish man. The amalgam of his small, weak flaws resulted in a monster who did so much harm with his inactions as much as his actions.
But there's also another saying - if you don't know the person, look at those who are close to the person, and you'll get a pretty good idea of his character. It might have been such that with his selfish nature, he was greatly influenced by his peers, other Nazi soldiers, and officers. Over time, Otto began to sympathize with the way his peers saw the world rather than what he should have known in his heart. He should never repay love and kindness with anything other than love and kindness.
Either way, this book will stay with me for a long time.
I would recommend this book to WWII history lover.
P.S. - There are some parts in the book that I find incredulous, but it didn't take away the appreciation for the book.
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Maid by Kimberly Cutter
We know the story. How it starts and how it ends. So, why bothering reading another book about Joan of Arc?
Well, this book superbly fills in the periods between the historically documented events.
~Spoiler Alert ~
This is a story of Jehanne whose beloved older sister is raped and murdered by the English. Their father grieved the death of his favorite child like a madman - screaming, sobbing at the sky, and hurling himself against trees. When he finally returned home, he slept. For a year.
When his father came out of this grief-stricken lethargy, he became clairvoyant. He saw terrible things about Jehanne's future in his dreams, and they horrified him. Jehanne suffered beatings at his hands before, but after her sister's death, she could not walk for a week after one of his savage beatings.
The more he tried to control her life, the more defiant she became, in little ways he couldn't directly detect. Then the final straw came when he arranged a marriage for Jehanne. After having watched the wretched lives of women around her, Jehanne would rather die than get married and lead a miserable life with a husband who would beat her.
She decided she'd rather die.
About the same time, her voices came to her. The voices told her to do things that were impossible for a peasant, let alone a peasant girl to accomplish. She was instructed to raise an army and to drive the English from France. She must lead the Dauphin to Reims to be crowned. How was she to accomplish all this?
Well, she started by teaching herself to ride and fight. Then she raised her army by persuading one important man at a time. The courage to face the entrenched enemy and the tenacity to stay with the struggle when she was betrayed by the very man she was trying to crown king of France was inspiring.
How did she do it? Or the better question is, why did she do it? Why didn't she just walk away? Others have. Other knights and men have abandoned their struggle and went back to their homes, why not Jehanne?
She knew she would die. She had an inkling of how painful her death would be, but she stayed the course, even after it seemed as if her voices abandoned her, too. But as soon as she followed God's instructions, the voices came back. Finally, she was able to face her horrific death with comfort and peace.
I can't imagine what it would like to have your greatest fear or joy (depending on how you look at it) come to life. I don't think it'll be a blessing to hear voices in my head, even if they tell me they are angels. How do I know they're who they say they are?
I'd like to believe Jehanne was very human. That she felt all the joys, sorrows, humiliation, rejection, and rage that anyone would feel under the circumstance, but she marched forward and followed God's will.
But I kept thinking - why didn't she just walk away?
Or could she walk away, even if she wanted to?
Did she have anything to walk away to?
Had she walked away and returned home, what would await her?
I think she'd be a ruined woman - situated uncomfortably somewhere between a saint and a whore. Ruined either way. Who'd want to bed a saint? That would be blasphemy, right? And remember, she wore men's clothing and intermingled with them freely. Either she'd have to get married and she'd rather die than marry. Or she might be locked away in a convent for the rest of her life. Maybe a horrific, heroic death was better than slow, spiritual death by physical, emotional, and mental abuse. Bodily death would follow in time. Maybe too slowly.
I recommend this book because it won't let me go. I keep thinking about it, even several weeks after reading it.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
The Year of the Horse by Oliver Chin
I don't usually review children's books on this blog, but this one caught my eye.
I'm quite interested in Asian-American literature, especially for children, and I was very happy to come across this one.
My son took a free graphic novel class at the local library recently, and I bought this book from his instructor.
The title misled me somewhat in that I expected a more traditional tale of Chinese Zodiac focusing on the Horse. But it's not.
It's about a boy named Tom and a filly named Hannah who are trying to figure out what their place on the farm is and what they'll be when they grow up. What I love about this books isn't what I thought I'd love - the Asian -American aspect of it. What I love about this books is that all the animals have their place on the farm, and they are happy and proud of what they contribute.
But wait! There is a problem.
A royal messenger (a rooster) brought a "request" from the Governor, and he is asking for a painting from Lao Shi. But she is old, and she can't take it to him herself. Quickly, Tom volunteers to help, and they set off to find someone to go with him.
After an extensive search, they think Hannah might be the perfect candidate for this trip. Before they go on this adventure, they practice working together by listening and learning from one another.
Finally, Lao Shi finishes her painting, and Tom and Hannah are off to deliver the painting. On their journey, they leap over a snake, tiptoe past a sleeping tiger, and kept themselves dry in a cave during a rainstorm while a dragon circled in the sky.
When they arrive at the capital and deliver the painting, Tom and Hannah are treated to a wonderful dinner. But they want to come back home quickly; they miss their families.
They enjoy their return trip, and when they arrive, everyone is happy to see them. Tom and Hannah continue to play together, but they also remember a very important lesson.
They learned that they could "blaze their own trail."
So, I hope the children who read this book will be inspired to blaze their own trails.
P.S. - There are twelve animals in the Chinese Zodiac, and there are other books written by the same author. Others are just as whimsical and fun to read.
I'm quite interested in Asian-American literature, especially for children, and I was very happy to come across this one.
My son took a free graphic novel class at the local library recently, and I bought this book from his instructor.
The title misled me somewhat in that I expected a more traditional tale of Chinese Zodiac focusing on the Horse. But it's not.
It's about a boy named Tom and a filly named Hannah who are trying to figure out what their place on the farm is and what they'll be when they grow up. What I love about this books isn't what I thought I'd love - the Asian -American aspect of it. What I love about this books is that all the animals have their place on the farm, and they are happy and proud of what they contribute.
But wait! There is a problem.
A royal messenger (a rooster) brought a "request" from the Governor, and he is asking for a painting from Lao Shi. But she is old, and she can't take it to him herself. Quickly, Tom volunteers to help, and they set off to find someone to go with him.
After an extensive search, they think Hannah might be the perfect candidate for this trip. Before they go on this adventure, they practice working together by listening and learning from one another.
Finally, Lao Shi finishes her painting, and Tom and Hannah are off to deliver the painting. On their journey, they leap over a snake, tiptoe past a sleeping tiger, and kept themselves dry in a cave during a rainstorm while a dragon circled in the sky.
When they arrive at the capital and deliver the painting, Tom and Hannah are treated to a wonderful dinner. But they want to come back home quickly; they miss their families.
They enjoy their return trip, and when they arrive, everyone is happy to see them. Tom and Hannah continue to play together, but they also remember a very important lesson.
They learned that they could "blaze their own trail."
So, I hope the children who read this book will be inspired to blaze their own trails.
P.S. - There are twelve animals in the Chinese Zodiac, and there are other books written by the same author. Others are just as whimsical and fun to read.
Monday, June 15, 2015
Help Your Kids with Computer Coding by DK Books
I'm more of a fiction reader, but this book is so good about opening the doors to what could be a very intimidating subject that I decided to write a review about this book. This book was also featured on my Kto6Science blog.
There are four books in this series I saw at Costco, and I had planned to feature them all together. But as I read through them more thoroughly, I realized that each of them is worthy of its own post. So, here I am starting with this one.
I've heard a lot about coding, and when I saw it at Costco while back, I thought I'd pick it up. I don't know much about coding, and I thought this might be a good book for all of us (my daughter and me) to get started.
One thing I REALLY like about this book is that it seems so friendly. Technical books can be quite intimidating, yet this one is quite friendly with a lot of graphics and explanations. As I said, I don't know much about coding, so this was a good fit for me. But if you know a little more, I'm not sure how you'd feel about this book. You might think it's too easy.
This book is broken into roughly four sections.
The first section is about Scratch (an MIT developed coding language).
My daughter and I worked on installing it and working on a project together last year when she was in 2nd grade. Sure, we had our share of glitches (typos for small fingers), but it was fairly painless to follow the book & program something to see it work.
The second section is about Python. Python is a text-based programming language (the type I'm familiar with). Dare I date myself and tell you that my first computer language was...Fortran?
OK. I haven't coded in Python, yet, but one thing I love about this book is that it gives you equivalent commands in both Python (left hand light blue column) and Scratch (right hand more colorful column). So, if you've coded with Scratch already, it would be easier for you to understand what you're doing in Python (theoretically speaking).
This third section is a brief introduction to what's inside a computer.
The last section is about programming in the real world.
I bought this book from Costco for $11.95 last year, but a couple of weeks ago, when I went to Costco, I saw it there, again. So, if you have a Costco in your neighborhood (and who doesn't), you might want to pick one up. It's a great deal at the sticker price of $19.95 (especially when you think about how much you have to pay for a week of programming classes).
Enjoy!
I've heard a lot about coding, and when I saw it at Costco while back, I thought I'd pick it up. I don't know much about coding, and I thought this might be a good book for all of us (my daughter and me) to get started.
One thing I REALLY like about this book is that it seems so friendly. Technical books can be quite intimidating, yet this one is quite friendly with a lot of graphics and explanations. As I said, I don't know much about coding, so this was a good fit for me. But if you know a little more, I'm not sure how you'd feel about this book. You might think it's too easy.
This book is broken into roughly four sections.
The first section is about Scratch (an MIT developed coding language).
My daughter and I worked on installing it and working on a project together last year when she was in 2nd grade. Sure, we had our share of glitches (typos for small fingers), but it was fairly painless to follow the book & program something to see it work.
The second section is about Python. Python is a text-based programming language (the type I'm familiar with). Dare I date myself and tell you that my first computer language was...Fortran?
OK. I haven't coded in Python, yet, but one thing I love about this book is that it gives you equivalent commands in both Python (left hand light blue column) and Scratch (right hand more colorful column). So, if you've coded with Scratch already, it would be easier for you to understand what you're doing in Python (theoretically speaking).
This third section is a brief introduction to what's inside a computer.
The last section is about programming in the real world.
I bought this book from Costco for $11.95 last year, but a couple of weeks ago, when I went to Costco, I saw it there, again. So, if you have a Costco in your neighborhood (and who doesn't), you might want to pick one up. It's a great deal at the sticker price of $19.95 (especially when you think about how much you have to pay for a week of programming classes).
Enjoy!
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
This book surprised me in a couple of ways.
I'm pretty good at guessing the ending of the book. Maybe it's because I'm a writer, but I can consistently guess the ending. However, I had no idea how this book would end, and even a few tendrils of ideas I had, nothing worked out the way I thought it might.
The book rating on the back cover said Ages 10 and Up, but I'm not sure I agree with that. There is a certain viciousness in this book that startled and shocked me. I didn't expect it from such a young character. Although a lot of books have Ages so and up, usually the kids who are at least 2 or 3 years younger start to read up to the age rating. At that point, I feel that this book is not appropriate for kids who are younger than 10. AND I wouldn't let my daughter read it until she's about 11 or 12.
HOWEVER, I enjoyed this book, and I'd like to recommend it to anyone who likes a good action/adventure. That is anyone older than 10, but probably 12.
Spoiler Alert~
Ender lives in a dangerous world where the Aliens nicknamed "buggers" have invaded the earth twice already. Every Earthlings' life is predicated by the impending third bugger invasion.
In this world of limited resources and impending doom, Ender is also a dreaded "third." In a world where there is two-child-per-family policy, being a "third" itself is a reason for derision. He is picked on by his classmates, and he is harassed by his older brother who resents him for being more talented and capable of meeting the demands of military training.
But he is a cunning, ruthless, military genius, and he is sent to Battle School to hone his strategic and tactical skills pitted against other brilliant students of Battle School. There, he excels once again by coming up with mock battle plans that surprise and impress his superiors. His team never loses a battle, no matter how it is outnumbered and disadvantaged. His successes in Battle School convince his teachers to Command School, skipping several years of additional training.
In Command School, he is isolated from the rest and interacts mostly with his mentor, the previous conflict's war hero, Mazer. He spends most of his time fighting buggers in simulation, and he is depressed by the endless simulations and isolated existence.
For his "final" test, Ender's fleet is outnumbered by the buggers by a lot, and he sacrifices most of his fighters to launch a weapon that destroyed the entire bugger planet. Ender thinks this act of rebellion will get him kicked out of Command School. Instead, he learns that the "simulations" weren't simulations. In fact, they represented the actual international fleet, buggers' fleet, and buggers' home world. Ender has won the bugger war for the humanity.
Winning the bugger war has opened a bigger can of worms on Earth where various powers fight amongst themselves for the control. Due to his capabilities, he cannot return to Earth. He decides to become a colonist on one of the buggers' worlds. There he learns that bugger invasions were based on misunderstandings and mistakes, and he finds a dormant egg of the bugger queen. In the end, he and his sister board a starship to search for a safe world to establish another bugger colony.
I skipped a big chunk of plot that involves his brother and sister, but I wanted to concentrate on Ender. I really enjoyed the strategy and tactics Ender used to win his mock battles in Battle School and Command School; however, I had problems with what finally led to Ender's entry into Battle School and Command School. His brutal beating of a classmate bully lands him not in jail, but in coveted Battle School. And when he is ambushed, he responds with overwhelming force, and it gets him promoted to Command School. In both cases, his opponents are dead. It's this rewarding of his ruthlessness that I find objectionable.
However, I did enjoy the book, and I think I would recommend the book to those who enjoy action or sci-fi.
PS - I also read Ender's Shadow, and the same brutality, cunning, and ruthlessness are threaded in this book for a main character who is even younger (starts out at 4), and I just couldn't recommend the book. And I didn't enjoy it. It was too much, but I finished, hoping that things would change. It didn't.
I'm pretty good at guessing the ending of the book. Maybe it's because I'm a writer, but I can consistently guess the ending. However, I had no idea how this book would end, and even a few tendrils of ideas I had, nothing worked out the way I thought it might.
The book rating on the back cover said Ages 10 and Up, but I'm not sure I agree with that. There is a certain viciousness in this book that startled and shocked me. I didn't expect it from such a young character. Although a lot of books have Ages so and up, usually the kids who are at least 2 or 3 years younger start to read up to the age rating. At that point, I feel that this book is not appropriate for kids who are younger than 10. AND I wouldn't let my daughter read it until she's about 11 or 12.
HOWEVER, I enjoyed this book, and I'd like to recommend it to anyone who likes a good action/adventure. That is anyone older than 10, but probably 12.
Spoiler Alert~
Ender lives in a dangerous world where the Aliens nicknamed "buggers" have invaded the earth twice already. Every Earthlings' life is predicated by the impending third bugger invasion.
In this world of limited resources and impending doom, Ender is also a dreaded "third." In a world where there is two-child-per-family policy, being a "third" itself is a reason for derision. He is picked on by his classmates, and he is harassed by his older brother who resents him for being more talented and capable of meeting the demands of military training.
But he is a cunning, ruthless, military genius, and he is sent to Battle School to hone his strategic and tactical skills pitted against other brilliant students of Battle School. There, he excels once again by coming up with mock battle plans that surprise and impress his superiors. His team never loses a battle, no matter how it is outnumbered and disadvantaged. His successes in Battle School convince his teachers to Command School, skipping several years of additional training.
In Command School, he is isolated from the rest and interacts mostly with his mentor, the previous conflict's war hero, Mazer. He spends most of his time fighting buggers in simulation, and he is depressed by the endless simulations and isolated existence.
For his "final" test, Ender's fleet is outnumbered by the buggers by a lot, and he sacrifices most of his fighters to launch a weapon that destroyed the entire bugger planet. Ender thinks this act of rebellion will get him kicked out of Command School. Instead, he learns that the "simulations" weren't simulations. In fact, they represented the actual international fleet, buggers' fleet, and buggers' home world. Ender has won the bugger war for the humanity.
Winning the bugger war has opened a bigger can of worms on Earth where various powers fight amongst themselves for the control. Due to his capabilities, he cannot return to Earth. He decides to become a colonist on one of the buggers' worlds. There he learns that bugger invasions were based on misunderstandings and mistakes, and he finds a dormant egg of the bugger queen. In the end, he and his sister board a starship to search for a safe world to establish another bugger colony.
I skipped a big chunk of plot that involves his brother and sister, but I wanted to concentrate on Ender. I really enjoyed the strategy and tactics Ender used to win his mock battles in Battle School and Command School; however, I had problems with what finally led to Ender's entry into Battle School and Command School. His brutal beating of a classmate bully lands him not in jail, but in coveted Battle School. And when he is ambushed, he responds with overwhelming force, and it gets him promoted to Command School. In both cases, his opponents are dead. It's this rewarding of his ruthlessness that I find objectionable.
However, I did enjoy the book, and I think I would recommend the book to those who enjoy action or sci-fi.
PS - I also read Ender's Shadow, and the same brutality, cunning, and ruthlessness are threaded in this book for a main character who is even younger (starts out at 4), and I just couldn't recommend the book. And I didn't enjoy it. It was too much, but I finished, hoping that things would change. It didn't.
Friday, January 9, 2015
Micro by Michael Crichton & Richard Preston
"In 2008, the famous naturalist David Attenborough expressed concern that modern schoolchildren could not identify common plants and insects found in nature, although previous generations identified them without hesitation.
It was ironic that this should be happening at a time when there was in the West an ever greater concern for the environment, and ever more ambitious steps proposed to protect it.
Indoctrinating children in proper environmental thought was a hallmark of the green movement, and so children were being instructed to protect something about which they knew nothing at all."
I agree with Michael Crichton - we should know or strive to know about things we try to protect.
Though we go camping, and my children play outside quite often, we don't know the names of the plants and trees growing in the nearby park. I guess this is something I should work to change.
When I read a book, especially fiction, I want it to do one thing for me. Just one. Take me to a place or time where I would learn something new. Michael Crichton's books have consistently done that for me, and it saddens me to know that he passed away few years back.
This book follows similar Michael Crichton patterns - where main characters' survival is at stake against a form of advanced technology, surprising ways the complex of nature responds to external stimuli, and the fact that technological advances can be seen as a double-edged sword without a hilt to wield it.
~Spoiler Alert~
The president of Nanigen is interested in hiring promising graduate students and invites seven promising Ph.D. students from the east coast to check out his facility in Hawaii. There one of the grad students learns that the president murdered his brother who had been working at Nanigen as a director. To cover up his crime more completely, he shrinks the grad students and abandons them in the middle of the rain forest in Hawaii. Now, the students must fight the elements, natural predators, and the advanced micro technology that is available in the Nanigen president's arsenal to survive.
The thing I enjoyed most about the book was the minute details of nature seen from the micro inhabitants, rather than larger human view. The surface tension on a raindrop or what the forest floor would feel like to microscopic creatures were awesome. You realize that laws of nature act differently at micro levels and that in itself presents a problem to micro-sized humans.
I have always enjoyed reading Michael Crichton's books, and I'm going to miss him in my reading life very much.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes a good read.
It was ironic that this should be happening at a time when there was in the West an ever greater concern for the environment, and ever more ambitious steps proposed to protect it.
Indoctrinating children in proper environmental thought was a hallmark of the green movement, and so children were being instructed to protect something about which they knew nothing at all."
I agree with Michael Crichton - we should know or strive to know about things we try to protect.
Though we go camping, and my children play outside quite often, we don't know the names of the plants and trees growing in the nearby park. I guess this is something I should work to change.
When I read a book, especially fiction, I want it to do one thing for me. Just one. Take me to a place or time where I would learn something new. Michael Crichton's books have consistently done that for me, and it saddens me to know that he passed away few years back.
This book follows similar Michael Crichton patterns - where main characters' survival is at stake against a form of advanced technology, surprising ways the complex of nature responds to external stimuli, and the fact that technological advances can be seen as a double-edged sword without a hilt to wield it.
~Spoiler Alert~
The president of Nanigen is interested in hiring promising graduate students and invites seven promising Ph.D. students from the east coast to check out his facility in Hawaii. There one of the grad students learns that the president murdered his brother who had been working at Nanigen as a director. To cover up his crime more completely, he shrinks the grad students and abandons them in the middle of the rain forest in Hawaii. Now, the students must fight the elements, natural predators, and the advanced micro technology that is available in the Nanigen president's arsenal to survive.
The thing I enjoyed most about the book was the minute details of nature seen from the micro inhabitants, rather than larger human view. The surface tension on a raindrop or what the forest floor would feel like to microscopic creatures were awesome. You realize that laws of nature act differently at micro levels and that in itself presents a problem to micro-sized humans.
I have always enjoyed reading Michael Crichton's books, and I'm going to miss him in my reading life very much.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes a good read.
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