Monday, June 21, 2010

A Wrinkle In Time

When I first noticed that A Wrinkle In Time was on the syllabus, I was interested to see how a children’s novel would fit in with the other books in the text. Having already read it in elementary school, I was curious to see if I enjoyed it any better the second time around. As a child, I never enjoyed books by Madeleine L'Engle. This time around my opinion, unfortunately, hasn’t changed.

Throughout the entire novel I just wanted to be finished. It can’t put my finger on exactly what bothers me about this book. The writing style, as to be expected, is simple. But that didn’t bother me. The story line was rather creative, but I found the explanations for the supernatural to be rather vague. In a time of the supernatural taking over popularity in tv shows, movies and novels maybe the fact that every little detail wasn’t clearly explained I became frustrated. I would say it isn’t as important because it’s a children’s novel, but realistically that isn’t fair because there are other children’s books that break down every little thing to ensure all readers are entertained by the story.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Never Let Me Go

I found this novel to be the most relatable of those read in the course thus far. While reading this novel, I felt like I was sitting down for a coffee with an old friend and reminiscing over childhood stories and important events throughout our lives. That style is effective for me because I feel involved with the story, and it makes me eager to read.

The characters weren’t heroic, or unusual at first glance. They experienced regret and wished to fix the mistakes that had been made in their childhood. The three main characters do not feel like they fit into society, and band together and attempt to create some normalcy in their otherwise abnormal life.

The Guardian review gave high praise of Ishiguro’s novel, saying,

"This extraordinary and, in the end, rather frighteningly clever novel isn't about cloning, or being a clone, at all. It's about why we don't explode, why we don't just wake up one day and go sobbing and crying down the street, kicking everything to pieces out of the raw, infuriating, completely personal sense of our lives never having been what they could have been."


I agree with this statement. Never Let Me Go creates characters that the reader is sympathetic to. Most readers know of someone who is irritable and irritating like Ruth, decent and caring Tommy with his outbursts of unexplained rage, or Kathy, who is sensible and sympathetic. The reader becomes intensely involved in their lives and cares about the outcome. That involvement, doubled with the topics of struggle and regret creates a story that keeps the reader in their toes and edge of their seats.