Book #8 Week #8, In Zanesville by Jo Ann Beard

In Zanesville is a coming of age novel. The narrator is a fourteen year old nameless girl growing up in the 1970's. It took me almost the whole book to realize she has no name after I racked my brain for 10 minutes trying to remember what it was. I think this move was brilliant, it gives the reader a chance to place them self in the story.

Jo Ann Beard does a wonderful job recreating the awkwardness and embarrassment of youth while staying very real. Our narrator has an interesting home life that really rang true with me, her mother can be harsh and stressed out and her father is an alcoholic. The book opens up with a house fire. The narrator is babysitting with her best friend Felicia, six kids between them, at the home of a biker couple. While trying to wrangle all the kids and pets to safety neither girl calls the fire department because it is soooo embarrassing. And off we go! The two friends are doing what we all did; trying to grow up and cope with changes in our friendships as the strain of boys and gossip and cliques come into play.

I rather enjoyed In Zanesville. It reminded me of my youth and while it got a bit heavy at times it was never too heavy. Now I am really interested to read Jo Ann Beard's other book a collection of essays entitled Boys of my Youth.

Book #7 Week #7, Fool by Christopher Moore

This weeks book is Fool by Christopher Moore. This book is about Pocket and his sidekick the dimwitted Drool. Pocket is a jester in King Lear's court. He is more than just any old jester really as the King kept him on because he is the only one that can make the young Princess Cordelia smile.

You know a book is going to be good when it comes with a warning! Here is the warning from Fool:

“WARNING
This is a bawdy tale. Herein you will find gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity, as well as non-traditional grammar, split infinitives, and the odd wank. If that sort of thing bothers you, then gentle reader pass by, for we endeavor only to entertain, not to offend. That said, if that’s the sort of thing you think you might enjoy, then you have happened upon the perfect story!”

That pretty much sums it up. I found this book to be hilarious and it follows the story of King Lear pretty well: The aging King asks his three daughters to tell him how much they love him, the youngest Cordelia says she has no words to explain her love so the King disowns her and splits up the kingdom between the other two daughters. Not long after he realizes this is a mistake and starts going crazy, the eldest daughters fight amongst themselves always wanting more. Shakespeare is known for writing tragedies and King Lear is no exception but not in Christopher Moore's version, at least the end anyway, Fool manages to have a happy ending not one in which everyone dies!

I really liked Fool but I really like Christopher Moore. I know he is not everyone's cup of tea but give it a shot sometime!

Book #6 Week #6, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama

This week's book was The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama. I was at the library recently (big surprise there huh!) and was looking for another book by Gail Tsukiyama that I've heard good things about but the library did not have it. I spotted this one on the shelf though and decided to take it home instead without even knowing what it was about or reading the summary. Can't say I was surprised to find the story takes place during World War II, ever since reading The Bronze Horseman I have found myself unconsciously surrounded by anything World War II related.

This tale focuses on two brothers, Hiroshi and Kenji, orphaned and being raised by their maternal grandparents. Their young lives are filled with much love and hope as Hiroshi aspires to be a great sumo wrestler and Kenji discovers himself and his path in the world. By the end we get to see two little boys grow into men.

But Hiroshi and Kenji are not the only important characters here. The author does a wonderful job at switching between characters throughout the book. There are the grandparents, Fumiko and Yoshio, the master of the sumo stable Tanaka-oyakata and his daughters Haru and Aki, and Kenji's sensei Akira Yoshiwara. At first I worried all these different branches, splitting off the story between so many characters wouldn't work and something would be lost along the way, but it worked and it worked beautifully.

I found this story riveting. Two boys growing up in a ancient culture that is unexpectedly rocked by a modern war. Now they must find a way to make it in a changing world and hold on to the past at the same time. By the time I finished this book I was bawling my eyes out but I want more! Truthfully I think the ending place of this tale was a good one but I still really want to know what happened after the fact. I don't know much about Gail Tsukiyama writing so I will be researching her and seeing if she ever picked up Hiroshi and Kenji's story again but I won't hold my breath.

My favorite quote: "To be noble,. . .was to account for the life you lived, to always account for your mistakes, and to have dignity and worth."

Book #5 Week #5, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

This week's book was Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. At 165 pages it was more like a short story than anything else which worked out okay since I was pretty sick all week.

This story was written in 1953 and takes place "in the future" but we are never told exactly when that means. The story centers on a firefighter named Guy Montag. In a world when homes are fireproof it is the firefighters job to start fires. What?? Yes, books are illegal in this future and when a tip comes in that some citizen is breaking the law the firefighters swoop in, in the middle of the night and burn the books, building and all. Little do the other firefighters know that Montag has been saving books from the fire and hiding them at home, in fact Montag himself doesn't know what is compelling him to do this.

In this world people are destined to be the same as everyone else, independent thought and questioning is a thing of the past. The people seem vacant and uncaring under a mask of complacence and happiness. However there is a lot of violence, especially among the young people, televisions now take up entire walls and are interactive, drivers reach extreme speeds on the street looking to feel something.

Guy Montag is very much complacent just like everyone else until he meets seventeen year old Clarisse McClellan. Clarisse is unlike anyone he has ever met, she is full of life, wonder and questions, lots of questions. Suddenly the veil begins to lift from Montag's eyes and he finds himself in a very strange world and in a heap of trouble.

In the end I really liked the premise of Fahrenheit 451 but I found it a little difficult to read at times. I am not sure if it was the writing style at the time or if this was Ray Bradbury's own style of writing but the detail in such simple moments was a little hmm much maybe? I found this book very thought provoking, can the government ever succeeded in controlling the masses so well? Will individuals every give up free thought? All in all it was a good quick read if you have only a little time to spare.

One of my favorite quotes from Fahrenheit 451 "Let you alone! That's all very well, but how can I leave myself alone? We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?".