Life of Pi

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Piscine Molitor Patel decides his name will be Pi once his classmates begin to pronounce his name as pissing. He is not quiet so decisive when it comes to choosing a religion. He is a practicing Hindu, Christian and Muslim by the age of 16. He's a very likable boy.

His father owns a zoo. But politics cause him to uproot his family to take them to America. On the way the ship sinks. Pi had gone investigating in the middle of the night and wound up in a lifeboat by himself for a while. But it's not long before he is joined by a few fleeing animals. But very shortly the tiger has made meals out of the others. Now Pi must fight for survival not only against the ocean, but also against the tiger.

Life of Pi is a delightful book. Pi uses his fathers teaching along with his religious views to make sense of his situation. He sees God in everything and it helps keep his spirit up while he waits for rescue.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz

2008 Pulitzer Prize

Oscar is a nerd. He's fat. He lives in the typical teen-age boy's genre of sci fi, fantasy and comics. And his biggest goal in life is to loose his virginity.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is the story of a Dominican family who are living in the US. Oscar's mother was the daughter of a rich man who fell afoul of the dictator Trujillo. The family fortunes were lost and a safer home was sought in the US.

The book skips around in time telling the story of Beli's life in the DR and her children's, Oscar and Lola in New Jersey. It's language is flowing with alot of Spanglish scattered in. Even the footnotes are interesting and sometimes funny.

Humboldt's Gift

Humboldt's Gift
Saul Bellow 1976 Nobel Laureate

1976 Pulitzer Prize

Charles Citrine is a young man who loves literature. He sets off to New York City and meets the great poet Von Humboldt Fleisher. But in the early 20th century the fate of poetry is bleak. Humboldt's gifts are no longer being appreciated. But Charlie has success writing for the stage and the cinema. Humboldt thinks he has sold out his art.

After Humboldt's death, Charlie learns Humboldt has left him something in his will. The book is set in a four month time frame, but while Charlie tries to retrieve his legacy he reminisces about the past and the paths he and Humboldt took.

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

"Fahrenheit 451" is the story of the awakening of Guy Montag. He's a fireman in a society where a fireman's job is to burn houses and the books in them. Slowly Montag becomes curious about why people would defy the law to keep the forbidden items. People are expected to spend their time in front of the television walls.

Montag accidentally reads a line in a book during a burning. Soon he has several books hidden in his house. And he meets an old man and a young girl who gives him the courage to think...something that is frowned upon.

The Grapes of Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

1940 Pulitzer Prize

The Great Plains were hit with major dust storms during the early 1930's. The Dust Bowl was caused by drought and farm mismanagement. Combined with the beginning of the Great Depression, farming families were unable to hold onto their land. Around 500,000 people were forced to leave their homes and go in search of work. The Grapes of Wrath follows the Joad family as they try to find a new place for themselves.

As the book opens, Tom Joad has just been released from prison for killing a man in a bar fight. He returns to his family's farm to find everyone gone. A passing neighbor tells him the family is at Uncle John's but will soon be leaving. Handbills advertising for pickers for California fruit have been distributed and people are heading west.

So after selling what they can't talk with them, the Joad family goes west. Thirteen people, 1 dog and everything they have left on one truck. But once on the road they find people from everywhere are doing the same. And some are returning because there are too many people and not enough jobs. Giant farm conglomerates are paying slave wages. They've built company stores with exorbitant prices. They have the police arresting anyone who even whispers "union". And if a profit can't be made, crops are destroyed rather than giving them to the starving migrants.

Steibeck tells the story of one family trying to survive. But he also writes sections about the era in general. These help explain how conditions got so bad and what should have been dome to ease the hardships the migrants faced.

I loved this book. It was incredible. Of Mice and Men is my favorite book. Looks like I'm destined to be a Steinbeck fan.

Booking Through Thursday-Trends

Booking Through Thursday

Have your book-tastes changed over the years? More fiction? Less? Books that are darker and more serious? Lighter and more frivolous? Challenging? Easy? How-to books over novels? Mysteries over Romance?


My tastes have definitely changed. During my teenage years I read romance. When I got tired of those I switched to nonfiction. Now I'm on a classic kick. But I'm building a TBR pile of modern novels I plan to attack once I finish the challenges I've joined. I guess these days anything goes.

Madame Bovary

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Madame Bovary is a bored housewife. A farmers daughter educated in a convent, Emma married the first man she met whim she returned home. Charles Bovary is an uninspiring, unambitious health official for the village/

After Charles assists the Marquis d'Andervilliers, the Bovary's are invited to a ball. Emma thinks they've "arrived". But there is no invitation the next year and Emma becomes depressed. Charles moves her to another town thinking she needs a change of scenery. She meets a law student, Léon Dupris, and the two are attracted but nothing happens. So Léon leaves to continue his studies.

Rich landowner Rodolphe Boulanger meets Emma and decides to seduce her. They carry on an affair for several years, but slowly Emma decides this is not enough.She and Rodolphe decide to run away together. But Rodolphe sends her a Dear John at the last minute. Depression and illness hit Emma again.

After her recovery, she meets Léon again. They begin the affair they missed the first time they met. But, as usual with Emma, this is eventually not enough.

First published in 1857, Madame Bovary caused quite a stir. Considered obscene, it was put on trial the following year. With all the publicity, the book went on to be a bestseller.

There are few likable characters in the book but it's still a great read.