liibooks

THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT

2011-02-11T11:15:00.000-08:00

by John Steinbeck

This is the third book I’ve read written by John Steinbeck and as I expected it was a truly great story. Ethan is middle age man, working as a clerk at the grocery store. He comes from a wealthy family, but all the family money was lost. What’s left is only pride, a good family name with high expectations from his wife and children that he will become rich again.

The Author shows Ethan’s life with no real hopes of getting back to the wealth and respect he once had. In the beginning of the book Ethan seems to be an easy going lighthearted person, then the last 100 pages shows something completely different. The pressure of the idea of regaining his previous status in society makes Ethan do things he never thought he would do.

I enjoyed this novel from the very first pages till the end. It was details what made this story for me. Steinbeck is a master in examination person’s deepest thoughts and secrets. I have loved every book written by this author. This is not a book you will read in one or two evenings. It requires some time in order to really enjoy and appreciate the deepness of this novel.

The Red and The Black

2010-11-11T13:19:00.000-08:00

by Stendhal

The story takes place in 1830 France, where Julien Sorel, a carpenter’s son, is dreaming of a better life. Julien is studying to become a priest, but secretly he is obsessed with Napoleon’s ideas.

One day Julien was sent to work at the house of the wealthy de Renâl family as a tutor. Julien falls in love with his Mr. de Renâl’s wife. Everything gets complicated when the maid makes rumors about the affair in the small town and embarrasses M. de Renâl. So Julien is sent away from their house to avoid the scandal. It is heartbreaking for her to do so because she loves Julien and can’t imagine being apart from him, but they don’t have any other choice.

I don’t want to spoil the story by telling anything more of it. It’s a great book and Stendhal is a very important author of 19^th century classic literature. His writings have inspired such authors as Balzac and Zola. This is definitely not an easy read. “The Red and the Black” plot is about many things like love, politics, society and it has some unexpected twists in the end. The language in this novel makes it a difficult read, but when you are ready to see the beauty of the story through complicated language and politics of 19^th century France, only then can you see the true beauty of this book.

Cancer Ward

2010-10-04T13:51:00.000-07:00

by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn

This novel takes place around the early 1950’s in post Stalinist Soviet Union Uzbekistan. It’s about people who have cancer and about their lives after the diagnosis. The story begins at the hospital in a small cancer ward where they go through therapy. Each of the characters is facing their own fears, worries and regrets. One of them is a wealthy man, named Rusanov; he thinks that he can win the fight with cancer because of his connections and money. He is more worried and scared about the possible revenge from a man he helped to put in jail many years ago during Stalin’s Great Purge. Many people were killed during that time; others have been arrested and then sent to the labor camps. One of them, Oleg Kostoglotov, is also here in the ward. He has spent years working hard in the labor camp while all his life passed by and now he has cancer. So during the months that he has spent in the hospital, he falls in love with one of the nurses and now feels a strong desire to live, not just give up. Another young man is using all of the time he has left to read and learn, because he wants to do something that will stay after his death. He wants something that will be important to other people and will make him stay alive in their memories.

From the title of the book you might think that it’s a depressing story, but it’s not. Sometimes it was sad, but there is also lot of joy in this book. It’s not just a story about the people and their illnesses; it was an allegory about Soviet Union as well, you can see it clearly in the sentence where Kostoglotov says: “A man dies from a tumor, so how can a country survive with growths like labor camps and exiles?” I had no preconceived expectations for this book when I started to read it, but after only a few pages, I knew I would love it. The book is very deep and emotional, and exquisitely written. The characters in the book were so detailed and alive, their emotions so vivid, that sometimes you feel like they are your own. Solzhenitsyn has written a true masterpiece. If you are looking for something very special then this is the book for you.

Astrid and Veronika

2010-09-30T22:18:00.001-07:00

by Linda Olsson

This novel is about two women, Astrid, who is in her 80’s, living all of her life in a village in Sweden and Veronika, a young woman, who after a personal tragedy in New Zeeland, is looking for peace in the same Swedish village. The older woman is living a very secluded life, not going out of the house much and doesn’t communicate with anyone; the people from the village called her a “witch”.

When Veronika moves into the house next door, she notices that there are no signs of life in the house. The next day she goes for a walk and sees an old woman standing by the window and watching her. Days pass by but she never meets her neighbor. One day Veronika gets ill and doesn’t go out for a few days. Meanwhile Astrid, who has been watching the young woman since the first day, starts to get worried that something bad has happened with her. It takes all her courage to walk over to Veronika’s house and knock on the door. From that day forward a friendship starts between the two women.

This was the author’s first book. Even though the plot of this story seemed promising, it was written awkwardly. There are no dialogues between the women, only monologues and it didn’t convince me about the existence of their friendship. Olsson’s aim was to write a touching story about a beautiful and extraordinary healing friendship, but instead I felt the book that was more annoying than moving. However I can see the beauty of her story in this book, I just wish it was better written. I can’t really recommend this novel, but I am still looking forward to read another book by Olsson. I am pretty sure it will be better than “Astrid and Veronika”.

Naomi

2010-09-30T22:17:00.000-07:00

By Junichiro Tanizaki

The story is set in Japan in the 1920’s. Joji is a 28 years old man, who falls in love with a waitress named Naomi, who is only 14 years old. When they start living together, Joji is planning to make her the ideal woman for him. He is paying for her education, buying her new clothes and taking her to the movies and concerts. Joji is very fond of European culture and with time Naomi also finds western culture more appealing than Japanese. Naomi’s personality starts to develop in an unexpected way, she becomes like a beautiful devil to Joji. She starts attending dancing classes and spends more and more time with her friends. Joji is very surprised when he discovers that she has only men friends from the dancing class. He gets suspicious and after a while he finds out that Naomi is cheating on him. They break up, but after few days Joji is ready to take her back, because he cannot live without her. She doesn’t want to even hear about getting back together with him, so she teases and humiliates him in every possible way, but he doesn’t stop begging her to come back to him. Even when he discovers that she has become a prostitute, he doesn’t stop loving her. Finally she is ready to live with him again, but with new rules. She wants them to have a relationship where both of them are free to see other people. In the beginning Joji hesitates to accept this offer as this is not how he imagined their life together, but after some time he agrees.

This novel made Tanizaki one of the most important writers in Japan. The book is saturated with obsession, eroticism and the contrast of Japanese and western cultures. It is captivating story, when you are reading it, everything around you disappears and suddenly you think you are living in post World War I Tokyo. I can’t stop wondering about authors like Tanizaki who can make a book, written in 1924, seem like it was written today. The language he uses is so modern that it was easy to read and to follow the weird love story between Joji and Naomi. This is a great book, especially if you are interested in Asian culture.

The house of paper

2010-09-30T22:15:00.000-07:00

By Carlos Maria Dominguez

It is a story about books. It begins with the death of a woman, who has had a car accident and in her hands is a book that she had just purchased – Emily Dickinson’s poems. Her name was Bluma Lennon; she was a professor of Latin American literature at Cambridge University. Several months after her death, a package that was addressed to her, arrives from Argentina. In the package is a book, covered with cement and has a weird inscription on the first page. So Bluma’s ex-lover goes to Buenos Aires to find the sender. When he arrives in Buenos Aires he discovers that Carlos Brauer, who was the sender, has disappeared without a trace.

The book is a mystery about Carlos Brauer, who has led a weird life. He was a real book addict; he had a precious library with lots of valuable books. Brauer spent all of his money buying books and had nothing left to make a proper storage place for all of them. He even sold his car to make more room in his garage to store more books, but soon even that was not enough. The last thing that his friend, who was also a bibliophile, heard was that Carlos had moved to Uruguay with all his books. There he built a house using them like a bricks.

I was completely in love with this book. It tells a story about people who are obsessed and dedicated to books. It was about reading and building valuable book libraries. One of my favorite quotes from this novel is: "It is often much harder to get rid of books than to acquire them. They stick to us in that pact of need and oblivion we make with them, witnesses to a moment in our lives we will never see again." This is so true at least for me, I can’t get rid of my books. I can’t even give them away, I need to own them. Sometimes I read a good book that I have borrowed from somebody and I feel like I need to have it forever and I buy it, even though I know I won’t ever read it again. It’s like, Dominguez says, building a life and saving moments of time that you don’t want to forget, books can help you to remember. This is a must read for every true book lover.

Fur Elise

2010-09-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

By Magda Szabo

The book is an author’s memoir, set in Hungary at the beginning of the 20^th century. Magda was an only child whose parents raised her with the understanding that one day she would be a famous writer. Her father loved culture, literature and art. So he started educating her before she even started to attend school. He taught her Latin. Magda was surrounded by the love of her parents, when one day her father comes home with a little blond girl named Cecilia in his arms. She was orphaned when both of her parents were shot as they all tried to leave the country. When Magda sees Cecilia in her father’s arms she becomes angry and jealous, screaming to her father to bring back the little girl. This book was dedicated to that girl, who now is Magda’s sister. As time passed she begins to love her sister, always protecting and caring for her. Cecilia was very musical with an amazing voice and a talented dancer. The story is about the tragic life of Cecilia. She fell in love with a boy from her dancing class who also fell in love with her. They knew they never could be together as the young boy, also an orphan, had been “bought” by the town’s richest man. In exchange for the support that allowed him to study medicine he promised to marry his ugly daughter. Since they both knew their love had no future, Cecilia decides to marry a famous musician from Italy. She was only 18 at the time and her husband was 52. She married in order to escape from her lost love. All she really wanted was to be far away from her true love. Tragically she died only two years later.

Magda Szabo is a famous Hungarian writer who was 90 years old when she wrote this book. I enjoyed her novel “Abigail”, it was so vividly written, that I was sure I would like this book too. Unfortunately this is not one of her best books; I found the story hard to follow. This is the first of two her memoir books she wrote, but I’m not sure if I will read the second one. I was disappointed after reading this book, not because the story, but the way it was written. Szabo is a good author and I’m sure I will find one of her earlier books I will enjoy as much as I did “Abigail”.

A Christmas Carol

2010-09-12T17:42:00.000-07:00

by Charles Dickens

This is one of my favorite books of all time. Everyone has heard about this story, even if you haven’t read it. The following lines will help you to remember it.

The story is about Ebenezer Scrooge, a grumpy old man, who on the Christmas night is visited by 3 ghosts, who guide him through the past, present and the Christmas Yet to Come. In one night Scrooge’s life and attitude towards Christmas is changed forever.

As I mentioned before, this is the most widely known Dickens book and doesn’t need for introducing with its story anymore. This novella is loved not only by Dickens fans, but every other reader. The story is deeply moving and is very special to me; I like to read it every year at Christmas time to remind myself about the most important things in life. I have also seen the movie version of this story, but the book is so much better. I think it’s richer, deeper and funnier. It’s a wonderful Christmas tale, even if it was written in 1843, it’s timeless. It’s a book for everyone of every age; it will make you a better person.

Of Mice and Men

2010-09-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

by John Steinbeck

George and Lennie, two migrant workers are on their way to start a new job. George is small, dark man and Lennie is his opposite, he is a big man and you can see he is a little slow. As it comes clear later Lennie has a mental disability and George is in charge of him. George often complains about being responsible for Lennie and says it would be easier without him, but you can feel that even if George says things like that he truly loves Lennie and cares about him. Lennie likes to pet soft things, but often he accidently kills them; he doesn’t realize how strong he is.

Both men share a common dream about having their own house, a piece of land that they could take care of; they are dreaming about working for themselves and being free of worrying about another job. When they finally arrive at the farm, George is so worried that because of Lennie they could miss out on the job that he convinces Lennie to let him do all the talking. George, to avoid any questions, tells their new boss that he and Lennie are cousins travelling together. First evening talking with the other workers they find out about the boss’s son Curley, who is a newlywed and very jealous of his wife. George gets feeling that this man could cause them problems and he asks Lennie not to talk to him. Curley is in a bad mood that evening and is walking around searching for his wife so when he can’t find her, he starts a fight with Lennie. Curley gets hurt in the fight, but when he gets home he tells them that he got his arm crushed in a piece of machinery.

On the next day George confesses to Slim, another worker, that he and Lennie are just friends not cousins and that they lost a job because of Lennie’s obsession about touching soft things. He tried to touch a woman’s dress and was accused of rape. Slim, has a dog who has puppies and he agrees to give one of them to Lennie.

One evening, a man with one arm missing, named Candy, hears a conversation between George and Lennie about building a house and buying some land. So he offers them his life savings and in return asks them to make him part of their plan. Now there are three of them and it seems less like a dream and more like reality. So now they begin planning how to make their dream come true as soon as possible. That night almost all the men from the farm go to the local brothel. At the farm stays Lennie, Candy, Mr. Crook and Curley’s wife. She sees the cut on Lennie’s face and realizes that he was the one who hurt her husband and this thought amuses her. The next day Lennie accidently kills his puppy in the barn, when in walks Curley’s wife who tries to calm him down. She confesses that her life with Curley is a mistake and she wishes she would have followed her dream to become a movie star. Lennie tells her that he liked to pet soft things and she offers to let him feel her hair. He grabs her hair strongly, she screams, Lennie tries to calm her down, but he breaks her neck accidently.

The story starts out sweet when the author talks about the friendship between Lennie and George, but then it turns out really shocking. It’s a short story, but very intense. I didn’t expect so many different emotions from a book this thin. The author makes you live the whole spectrum of emotions from being touched in the beginning about George taking care of Lennie, to feeling excited about their dream almost coming true then feeling disappointed even angry about Curley’s behavior finally shocked in the end of the book. The last part was unforgettable; it was so disturbing for me that I couldn’t stop thinking about this novel for days after finishing it. It was such a weird mix between cruelty and sweetness, but it’s definitely worth reading.

A Prayer for Owen Meany

2010-09-09T07:39:00.000-07:00

by John Irving

This is a beautiful story about John Wheelwright and his best friend Owen Meany. The book is divided in two parts. The first part is about the boys’ growing up in Gravesend, New Hampshire. The second part is about the present that in the book was 1980.

Owen is a small, underdeveloped boy with “wrecked voice” and weirdly luminous skin. He is very fond of John’s mother who adores Owen. She even convinces his parents to let him attend the elite Gravesend’s Academy. John, who lives with his mom and grandmother, doesn’t know who his father is, but hopes that one day his mom will tell him. All his hopes are shattered one day when Owen kills her accidently with a baseball. However John and Owen still remain close friends even after this tragic event. Owen believes that everything in life happens for a reason and that his faith in God will help John to find his father.

After John’s mom died, Owen wins the role of baby Jesus and the Christmas ghost in a Christmas play at the amateur theater. Owen shocks everyone in the middle of one of the performances, when he sees his parents in the audience; he demands that they leave… He was very good as a scary Christmas ghost in A Christmas Carol, but on the final night of the performance he sees a vision; a vision of his own gravestone with the date of his death. He is convinced that the vision will become true. As Time passes he sees other visions which give more and more details of his own death. Owen starts to believe that he is an instrument of God.

When the boys were old enough they begin attending Gravesend’s Academy. Owen was an odd boy who was physically fragile, but reading the book you can see how strong he was mentally. You can easily imagine that Owen would be the boy that everybody makes fun of, but instead you find he was somewhat of an authority for all the other boys at the school. He had a column, called “The Voice”, in the school’s paper, but shortly before graduating he was expelled for helping students making fake IDs out of their draft cards.

This was a weird story, funny and sad; extremely vividly written. John Irving is a master of words. This novel is his most autobiographical. He, like John in the book, lived in New Hampshire, didn’t know his real father and even his stepfather was a professor at the University. This was my first book from Irving’s works and it’s still my favorite. The author is such a talented story teller that in one page he makes you laugh and in the next page he can make you cry. This was an amazing book, I know it’s a favorite of many people; you can’t go wrong by choosing this novel. This is a thick book (over 600 pages), but it’s fast, easy and very enjoyable an unforgettable read. This is one of those books that you don’t want to end.

The Story of the Trapp family singers (The Sound of Music)

2010-09-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

by Maria Augusta Trapp

Maria tells a seemingly light and optimistic story about the Trapp family life in Austria before the war and their immigration to the US during the war. She describes about her family learning English, trying to be part of a new country, their ups and downs with concerts. She talks about learning to survive during tough times when they didn’t have any concerts to play and about the many new friends they found in the USA.

Even with all the bad things that happen to them she was still able to describe it optimism. When they were living in Austria and lost all their money, she even told her husband how happy she was about that. Only now after they lost it all, could they see the true character of their children. Maria’s American friends told her that she must remember that they are now poor, Maria answered: “we are not poor, we just don’t have money.” She was right; people like the Trapp family can never be poor.

This book is so sweet and the Trapp family was so loving and warm hearted with each other, almost too good to be true. It seemed more like a fairy tale than a true story to me. This is a great read for days when you feel sad or just need to be cheered up.

Amsterdam

2010-09-09T07:26:00.000-07:00

by Ian McEwan

One cold winter day three men meet at Molly’s funeral. All of them were her ex-lovers; Vernon is a newspaper editor, Clive is a composer and Julian is an important person in London’s government. Vernon and Clive are old friends and the next day after the funeral they make a pact that they would rather kill each other, than suffer like Molly did at the end of her life. The story guides you through Clive’s and Vernon’s friendship and their moral values. Each of them will make decisions that never should have been made; their friendship will be changed forever. Julian will fight for his good reputation only to be destroyed by Vernon’s tabloid.

This was a fast read. As it usual is with McEwan I didn’t enjoy the novel in the beginning, but in the end I liked it. This was an odd story about friendship, love, jealousy, betrayal, sex, moral standards, politics and press. Everything gets twisted more and more with every page you read. This is not his best work, but worth reading anyway, especially if you are a fan of McEwan. If you can appreciate the beauty of a well written novel, you won’t be disappointed.

Enduring Love

2010-09-02T10:57:00.000-07:00

by Ian McEwan

The story starts with a perfect morning in England. Joe Rose and his girlfriend Clarissa are having a picnic in the park when they see a hot air balloon with a little boy in the basket and an old man running after the balloon trying to stop it from flying away. For a few seconds Joe is watching them and then he starts running towards the old man to help him. At the same time some other men were getting there to help them. In the end the boy is saved, but the old man is killed.

What they don’t know is that this day will change their lives forever. That evening one of the men, Parry, who helped to save a little boy, was calling to the Joe’s and Clarissa’s flat. From that evening on the story turns into Parry’s obsession with Joe. The further it goes the more complicated it gets. For no reason Joe starts lying to Clarissa about the phone calls, like it wasn’t anything important. Later he starts getting messages from Parry on his voice mail, but he always deletes them, not knowing why; he thinks he will protect Clarissa from something he doesn’t realize yet. When Parry’s shadowing is out of control, Joe finally confesses to Clarissa about everything that is happening. He hopes they would find a solution out of that, but it’s too late; Clarissa doesn’t believe him. She thinks that Joe is having some sort of mental problem and that he made up the story about Parry chasing him. It’s heartbreaking for Joe to realize that he has lost Clarissa, who used to be so close to him. Now she is a good wishing stranger, who believes he is seriously sick. Everything that happened in the park and after is now like a wall between them…

This book was captivating. A little slow, but intense at the same time. McEwan takes the event of the balloon and reexamines it; the whole story is built around this one event. He makes you think how destructive love can be.

Ian McEwan is an author I always struggle with. Every book I have read written by him leaves me with different feelings – I like, I love, I’m amazed by his writings yet on other hand I don’t understand him. There are moments I absolutely hate the book and think I will never read anything from this author again, but in the end I always know that next time I see his name in a bookstore, I will pick one of his books again.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

2010-08-31T22:08:00.000-07:00

by Charles Dickens

The story is about a boy, named Pip, who is raised by his evil sister and Joe her kindhearted husband. They lived in poverty. So when Miss Havisham a rich eccentric woman asks Pip to come to her house just to see him playing and offers some money for it, his family is more than willing to fulfill Miss Havisham’s wish. She is disillusioned in love; her beautiful stepdaughter, who was raised to break men’s hearts, is selfish and unable to love anyone. She is a cold-hearted master manipulator. So when Pip sees the girl for the first time he falls in love with her. He doesn’t hope that she will love him back because he is poor and uneducated, he doesn’t think he is good enough for her. About the same time there were two escaped convicts from the jail and Pip happens to meet one of them named Magwitch. Pip was frightened after such a meeting and was forced into helping Magwitch to get some food. After Pip helps him, a few days later he finds out that Magwitch is back in jail again. Years later after trying to forget this encounter, an attorney appears at his family’s house. He introduces himself as the legal representative of a wealthy person who wants to remain anonymous. That person wants to make a gentleman out of Pip, by educate him and leaving him a fortune. Everyone in Pip’s family is thankful and excited, but wondering who that person could be. The only person they can think of is Miss Havisham, but what a shock when they discover who that person is…

This is quite a thick book, so I needed some time to get the courage to start reading it. I had heard it could be long and boring, but was happy to find it enjoyable and easy to read. I know many people might disagree with me on that, but I think Dickens lovers will appreciate this great novel.

1984 (NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR)

2010-08-31T22:06:00.000-07:00

by George Orwell
This is a frightening and depressing vision of the world with no freedom to do what you like or speak about any subject with anyone you wish, not even the freedom to think…

War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength

That was the slogan of the Party.

Winston Smith is a man, living in Oceania a totalitarian country. The Party has incredible power on the people living there. They are like robots that do whatever the Party and Big Brother wants them to do. No one dares to disagree with the Party. They are watched by the police day and night who control their every thought; they are betrayed by their families and loved ones. They are forced to believe, agree and obey, and love their leader - Big Brother. Winston Smith is watching all this nonsense around him. The past can be changed and no one would notice it, he feels like he is the only one person who can see the reality. He wishes he could find other like minded people to join against the Party. He meets Julia, a girl at work who hates the Party as much as he does. So both of them join a group of people, whose leader is Emmanuel Goldstein, the enemy of Big Brother. After seven years in that group, Winston and Julia are betrayed by O’Brien, the man they trusted and believed was against the Party as well. O’Brien’s men arrest them and torture them in the most horrific ways. It’s all because the Party doesn’t just kill their enemies, they change them…

I loved “Animal Farm” by George Orwell, so I couldn’t wait to read 1984. I must say this is one of the scariest and most powerful books I have ever read. There was many times I wanted to stop, it was so negative and depressing, especially all those descriptions of O’Brien torturing Winston. I couldn’t imagine there could be so much cruelty in one book… This book will stay on your mind all the time you are reading it and will change the way you think. It really makes you appreciate the world we are living in. This is not a book for everyone.

The Cider House Rules

2010-08-28T21:32:00.000-07:00

by John Irving

Dr. Wilbur Larch is the founder and director of an orphanage in the town of St. Cloud. Orphanage is not only a place where all abandoned kids live; it’s a place in Maine, where women from all over the state are coming to deliver babies or to get an abortion, that was illegal at the time. Dr. Larch has dedicated all of his life to make this choice possible – to deliver the baby or to perform an abortion. Homer Wells is Dr. Larch’s favorite orphan, who was never adopted. Well actually he was adopted several times, but they always brought him back to an orphanage. So at one point he was too old to be adopted; nobody would want to adopt a 10 years old boy. They prefer babies, so Homer grows up spending most of his time at the hospital with Dr. Larch helping him. So after a while Dr. Larch discovers Homer’s talent in medicine and dreams that the boy would stay on at the orphanage after he retired. One day a young beautiful couple in a nice car stops by an orphanage. All the children hope they are here to adopt one of them and they are very disappointed when they find out that the young woman is only here to have an abortion. They are even more disappointed when the couple becomes close friends with Homer and decide to take him home with them. They didn’t adopt him because he was the same age as them. They just brought him to work for the summer at the apple farm. This was the first time for Homer to have some real friends, traveling so far from home even seeing the ocean… On that day when he leaves it’s obvious to Dr. Wilbur Larch that Homer will not be coming back…

This is a thick book; a little over a 1000 pages, but don’t worry about the amount of pages, it is well worth the time. When I was reading it, I felt like I really knew the characters. John Irving is a great author who makes his characters alive and the book unforgettable.

Jane Eyre

2010-08-28T18:06:00.000-07:00

by Charlotte Bronte

It is a beautiful love story of Jane, an unattractive governess, and Edward Rochester, the man who owns the house Jane is working in. Jane is an orphan, growing up in her aunt’s house, who dislikes her. Once Jane was old enough, she was sent to a school, far away from home, where she studied and later worked as a teacher. She was comfortable, but she didn’t feel like this was how she wanted to spend the rest of her life. So she found a job as a governess for a little French girl. Finally Jane was truly happy, she enjoyed every day at her new job. She loved her work and all the people in the house were so nice even Mr. Rochester loved to spend time with her. So after a while they became very good friends. Everything was so good, that Jane couldn’t imagine leaving his house any time soon. So when sometimes during the night weird things would happen in the house… One night she had heard the sound of a woman screaming with a devils voice… Another night she even saved Mr. Rochester’s life from burning alive in his own bed. Jane was more than sure that the woman who had started the fire. So Jane was very surprised when Mr. Rochester told her not to talk to anyone about her suspicions… As the time passed Jane and Edward became closer and closer. Even if there were many misunderstandings and tears, one day Edward proposed to Jane. She couldn’t imagine being any happier. So when the wedding day came Jane and Mr. Rochester were in the church when something unexpected and shocking happened…

This is one of my favorite books that I found thanks to another great book - “The Cider House rules”. In that book a boy in an orphan house was reading “Jane Eyre” and “David Copperfield” to the other children. He thought “Jane Eyre” was one of the greatest novels ever written even though he had read only two books in his life. I was curious to see if he was right and that “Jane Eyre” was really that good… so as soon as I finished “The Cider House rules” I started “Jane Eyre” and YES, it really was THAT good! There is such a wide spectrum of emotions in this book. Jane seems to be so strong and yet so fragile in the same time. Edward Rochester was an arrogant, rude almost cruel, yet so touching, sweet and loving with Jane. I think this is a book that everyone would enjoy. Anyone who appreciates the classics, love stories or simply well written books will simple love this book, it’s excellent!!!

Animal Farm

2010-08-26T20:44:00.000-07:00

by George Orwell

One night all animals at the farm had a meeting. That night a vision about new better living is given to the animals by a pig named Major. They were being mistreated by Mr. Jones, working hard and badly fed. All the animals would be equal, not working too hard; they would have a day off and a better food. Everyone saw it like a great idea and so the animals overtook the farm. Their leaders were two pigs, Napoleon and Snowball. For some time all was well, every animal was content with the changes, but then, after a while they noticed that they were working as hard as before, food was not enough except for the pigs. So when the animals spoke up, they got the answer from the pigs that it’s all right and most likely your memory is bad. ..

I don’t want to give away too much of the story, but it is funny, sad and rich with allegories, a truly brilliant fairy tale for adults. It is a short read; you can read it in a couple of hours. Classics, that everyone should read!

Stories of Anton Chekhov

2010-08-25T21:28:00.000-07:00

I read this book in Latvian; it seems there must be a little different selection of stories in the English version. My book had 15 short stories. Here are my favorite ones:

“A Boring story”

A story of a dying professor’s self analysis. Chekhov doesn’t waist words in any of his stories, but still the characters in this book are so vivid and realistic. In this story the professor spends his days thinking about his famous name, which doesn’t help him any more now that he is slowly dying. The author shows the relationship between the professor, his family and his step-daughter Katia. The people who used to be his closest are now changed. He didn’t even notice when it happened, it’s like living with strangers. He shares a house with them, but is still lonely. A sad, but beautiful story.

“The Man in a Case”

Belikov is a teacher of Greek. He is hiding himself in heavy, thick clothes and wearing rubber galoshes even on the hottest days of summer. Everyone in the school, including his colleges, is afraid of him. He strictly follows all of the rules and in his opinion – what’s not allowed is strictly prohibited. He is hiding his thoughts behind a wall of never ending rules. He is like a shadow that everyone tries to avoid. The day of his funeral is considered a good day for all of his coworkers and students. They all feel relieved that no one is watching them anymore.

“The Lady with the little dog”

Gurov is a married man who loves to spend his time with other women. As fast as he gets excited and passionate about every new encounter he gets bored just as fast. He has never been in love. Then he meets Ann, the lady with the little dog. The story between them begins as usual for him and looks like it will end like that as well. Ann is also married, but she is shy and an old-fashion woman. She falls in love with Gurov, and so does he, though he doesn’t realize it at the time.

This is the most famous story of Anton Chekhov. A heartbreaking story about impossible love.

I enjoyed the book from the very first pages till the end. The author paints a perfect picture of 19th century Russia. Chekhov is one of my new favorite authors now and I will look forward to read more of his stories and plays. I can recommend this author to all those who enjoyed works of Dostoyevsky or Bulgakov.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

2010-08-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

by Khaled Hosseini

Mariam is just five years old when she hears the word harami for the first time. She is harami an illegitimate child. She lived in poverty with her mother while her father a wealthy man, lived with his wife and kids in a big house. He was visiting Mariam and she adored her father and was always happiest when they were together. The only thing she dreamed about was to be with him always. So one day she decides to visit her father in his house. From there all the tragic things start in her life. Because she has gone to see her father, her mother kills herself. Now Mariam has no place to stay, so Jalil, her father, takes her to his house. She was only fifteen when Jalil told her that she was going to marry Rasheed – an older man from Kabul. They got married and all is well until they discover that Mariam can’t have children, from that day Rasheed changes, he is unhappy about everything she does, he ignores her, doesn’t talk to her, if he does he yells at her and beats her. Mariam has come to accept it, but then Rasheed brings home an orphan named Laila, a young beautiful girl, who was hurt when a bomb hit her house. Rasheed and Mariam are taking care of her until she recovers. When she finally gets well, Rasheed asks her to marry him. He adores her and is always sweet to her so when Laila gets pregnant, he’s happier than he ever. Now Mariam is suffering even more as he gets more and more rude with her. In his mind he is fair to both of them and explains it like this: “if Mariam was a car she would be a Volga, but Laila would be a Benz. A brand-new, first class, shiny Benz”. A Few days later everything changes in Laila’s life forever…

This is my first book by Khaled Hosseini, but it won’t be my last. The author himself is from Afghanistan and all the things he writes about were really shocking to me, especially about all the women in Afghanistan. How abused and submissive they are, I couldn’t stop feeling their pain. The story was deeply moving, with unexpected twists, surprises and heartbreaking. An unforgettable book.

Memoirs of a Geisha

2010-08-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

by Arthur Golden

The story starts out in 20th century Japan, where a young girl named Sayuri, who’s only 9 years old, is sold by her father to a geisha house. As her childhood passes away she works hard to pay back her purchase price. She learns all the things that a geisha should know. The author shows both sides of a geisha’s life – the good one and the sad one. She is an idol and a slave at the same time.

The story is so absorbing that at times it seems so true and realistic. You almost forget that it’s fiction, it’s so well written. An absolutely amazing book! Everyone who enjoys historical fiction will love this one as well.

The remains of the day

2010-08-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

by Kazuo Ishiguro

The book is about Stevens a butler in Lord Darlington’s house. When Mr. Darlington dies, the house is sold to an American gentleman who spends most of his time in America. He suggests to Stevens that he should take a few days off. Stevens decides to travel around England for 6 days. During this journey he spends most of his time to remember the good old days.

As I started reading this book I thought it might be a boring one, instead it turned out to be an emotional and heartbreaking journey for me as well. You will not find a lot of action in this book. I would say it’s a sad story of what didn’t happened. What really makes this book a great read is how well detailed Steven’s personality, emotions and thoughts are described. Every sentence is simply perfect. Definitely must read for those who don’t mind a slower pace.

The five people you meet in heaven

2010-08-23T12:50:00.001-07:00

by Mitch Albom

The book begins with the end of Eddie’s life. He was a grumpy old man, who lived, but didn’t see the sense of his own life, he felt like it was a waist. Eddie dies trying to save a little girl’s life. When he “wakes up” he finds himself in heaven where he meets 5 different people who were important in his life. Not all of them he knew, but each of them had affected his life and he had changed their destinies without even knowing it.

It’s an unusual explanation about the afterlife, sweet and moving, it will make you think and cry. A fairy tale you want to believe in.

Tim

2010-08-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

by Colleen McCullough

This is a beautiful story of unconditional love.

Tim is an incredibly attractive 25 year old man with the mind of a child. From the very first pages the author makes you fall in love with Tim because of his warm heart and simply outspoken personality. Mary Horton is a woman in her 40ies, living a secluded life and spending most of her time at work. Every day is the same for her until the day she meets Tim. He lightens her up and changes her life completely. It’s exciting to follow how the relationship develops between them, from a simple friendship and Mary’s wish to help him into true love. They are so different that many people (even Tim’s sister) disapprove and are unable to understand their love. Even the author says: They are the world’s most unique couple.

There are so many beautiful romantic love stories written, but this one is very special and deserves to be read.

Eat, Pray, Love

2010-08-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

by Elizabeth Gilbert

In this book Elizabeth Gilbert tells a true story about finding herself. After a difficult divorce, she decides to take a year off from everything: her life, her work, her ex-husband and her boyfriend. She just wanted some time only for herself. Time to do what she always wanted to do but didn’t for one reason or another. She travels to three countries: Italy, to learn Italian, enjoy good food and the simple pleasure of doing nothing at all. Next on to India, to spend 3 month in her guru ashram learning to calm down her mind and heal her soul. Then off to Bali, where she finds balance and true love.

I had an on again off again relationship with this book. At first I wasn’t very impressed, yet by the time I finished the book I could honestly say it was worth the read.