39 - Push

Push by Sapphire

Knopf Doubleday, 1997

192 pages
Date completed: July 18, 2010


This novel does exactly what its title promises: it pushes. Pushes at social boundaries, at language limitations, at readers' comfort levels, and at the invisibility of those who live lives like that of Precious Jones. Bravo.

Precious is an illiterate, vulnerable teenager who has been abused by her mother and is pregnant with the second child she will bear for her father. Although she has attended school for her entire life, she has been waved through her classes year after year, and at sixteen still cannot read or write. Although she yearns for deeper understanding and equal footing with those around her, Precious has not been given the tools or attention she needs in order to thrive. Luckily, her school principal recommends Precious attend an alternative school where she is able, finally, to learn.

Many have criticized the graphic nature of the novel's descriptions of sexual violence, arguing that these passages are difficult to read and uncomfortable to be exposed to. While I do agree that the passages elicit discomfort, I applaud Sapphire for throwing convention to the wind and for giving Precious a voice that feels completely authentic and honest. To Precious, the sexual and physical abuse she has endured from her parents throughout her entire life are simply facts. She has never known anything better, and she has certainly never known a life of comfort and safety. In fact, she does not even realize until halfway through her narrative that what her father has done to her is considered rape. The way in which she bluntly describes sexual encounters with her father are natural for her character and background (she has not been trained to write in a manner which waters down the truth; on the contrary, her writing teacher, Ms. Rain, has always encouraged Precious to tell it like it is). I could not be more enthusiastic that Sapphire has given voice to a teen like Precious without giving way to traditional ways of writing about horrific acts.

The more attention paid to subject matter like this, the better. People like myself who have grown up in more privileged lifestyles find it uncomfortable to occupy the shoes of the battered and less fortunate, but I think this is essential to mental growth. Stepping outside of my comfort zone has been the best thing I've done (literary-wise) in months. Precious's strength, perseverance, and determination to gain literacy, independence, and control of her life show that no matter what the adversity, it is possible to move forward. In the face of constant abuse, Precious opens herself to knowledge and love, and her journey will never cease to amaze and inspire me.

38 - Nine Stories

Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger

Date completed: July 9, 2010

Review coming soon!

37 - The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

Little, Brown, 2010

192 pages

Date completed: July 5, 2010

I read this novella, which has been referred to as "the short fifth fail of Stephenie Meyer," solely because it was online for free for a month after its publication. In fact, I waited until the last minute to decide I wanted to read it, and thus finished it about 30 minutes before it was taken off the internet. I know that you're all surprised now, because I was such a Twilight pusher when I first read the series. But after the good sparkly feeling wore off and I did a reread, I realized exactly how abusive a relationship exists between Bella and Edward (...and Bella and Jacob...and Bella and just about every other male character in the series).

But I won't get into that. The purpose of this post is to review the novella, not discuss my beefs with Twilight. So here goes; I'll make it short.

Bree Tanner is, at least, a more interesting character than Bella in that she can think for herself. Although eventually she becomes infatuated with a vampire named Diego (and ultimately dies because she tries to save him from destruction), she starts off as an intelligent being. Her story is mostly interesting, and it opens up a few unknown plotlines from the regular Twilight series. Otherwise, there isn't much to say. Meyer's horrible grasp of the English language prevails, and the novella will probably just fade out of my memory soon, since it had basically no impact on me. The ending was clear throughout the entire novella: Bree dies. Basically, this just follows a short time before her death, and not much happens of significance. The end.

36 - Armageddon in Retrospect

Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut

Putnam, 2008

233 pages

Date completed: June 29, 2010

Kurt Vonnegut never fails to amaze me. Not only was Mark Vonnegut's introduction to this posthumous collection fantastic, but the collection itself, which includes several short stories, a letter, a speech, and samples of Vonnegut's artwork, does not fall short of the high expectations I've come to associate with KurtVonnegut's work. Although nearly all of the material was centered on, or inspired by, Vonnegut's experiences in World War II, he uses the material in a variety of ways so that it never grows stale or dull.

The short stories in particular caught my attention, perhaps because this was my first exposure to Vonnegut's shorter pieces. I'm much more accustomed to his novels, which include frequent mini-epiphanies followed by page breaks that slow me down by making me think deeply. The stories, on the other hand, flow mostly without any interruption except, in some cases, separation into a few parts. The rhythm of these stories is much less choppy and creates a much clearer story arc than I'm used to when reading Vonnegut-- not that I'm trying to say that the stories are better than his novels, of course. The reading experience was just shockingly different.

I was delighted by this collection, and whizzed through it quickly. I really want to read more Vonnegut (eventually, I want to read everything he's published), but I like that I can absorb each piece slowly. I love that I still have so much Vonnegut to discover. My conclusion is simple: read this collection.

35 - The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

Voice, 2009

371 pages

Date completed: June 17, 2010

This novel follows Connie, a PhD candidate at Harvard whose mother recruits her to clean out her grandmother's long-abandoned home in Massachussetts during the summer. Swathed in ivy and completely hidden from the road, the house has begun to deteriorate after many years of being unoccupied...Connie certainly has her work cut out for her. Before long, she is swept up in a historical goose chase as she attempts to track down Deliverance Dane's book of magic.

I thoroughly enjoyed the read, especially since the language was so relaxed. The plot was engaging, which made for quick reading. I really liked the academic aspects, too, of which there were a myriad-- Connie visits a great deal of libraries and historical places in order to do research, her grandmother's house is full of artifacts, and Connie herself is a scholar by trade.

I don't have many complaints about this book. I did think that the ending was really ridiculous-- I won't be specific since I don't want to post spoilers, but let's just say that Connie treats a valuable historical document in a way that a true scholar NEVER would, especially a scholar of history. I also thought it was a little interesting that a novel so grounded in fact at the beginning becomes so magical by the end-- but I guess that mirrors Connie's inner transformation.

Overall, this was a great book. I wasn't surprised that I liked it, since it's got classic Leslie flags embedded within: academia, magic/fantasy, books, history...what can I say? It's a perfect summer read.

Sorry that this is a bit of a crappy review. It's been a month since I read the book, and am just jotting down what I remember. Reviews are more in-depth when I write them immediately after I finish a book.

34 - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Norton, 1998

416 pages

Date completed: June 11, 2010

I managed to avoid reading Huckleberry Finn all throughout high school by switching between advanced English classes and regular English classes. I'd tried reading it on my own, but just couldn't get into it. All these years later, I have finally plodded through the entire novel...but I was far from impressed.

The novel started off engaging and interesting; however, I soon found myself growing weary of the episodic plot. It seems as though Twain had no idea what he wanted to write about or where the plot was going, and so he just meandered from episode to episode until he reached a solid plot point: Huck encountering Jim on the island, which begins their journey together.

I felt a lot for some of these characters-- Huck, for example, is worse than orphaned. His abusive father, Pap Finn, is an alcoholic slimeball who shows up in Huck's life only when it is convenient: in this case, because he finds out that Huck acquired a lot of money at the end of Tom Sawyer. And if there is one type of character Twain knows how to write, it's definitely the horrible white person. Twain characterizes Pap with such disgusting precision that his appearances on the pages of this novel are actually startling.

On the other hand, I felt like the plot dragged and snagged far too often. The side stories were too frequent and long; the chapters about Huck's time with the duke and the king were particularly painful to sludge through.

One thing I cannot forgive Twain for, however, is sacrificing Jim's story for Huck's. Jim, a runaway slave, relies on Huck to help him escape from his mistress. However, rather than simply crossing the Mississippi River into the safe territory of Missouri, Twain writes an entirely different story for Jim. Instead of traveling north, Huck and Jim miss the mouth of the Missouri River and continue south on the Mississippi-- straight into the deep South. In fact, they travel straight toward the heart of slave country. Although Huckleberry Finn is often hailed as a breakthrough anti-slavery novel, I just can't see it that way. Twain sacrifices Jim's freedom in order to remain in his own familiar territory (Twain was a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River prior to his writing career)-- the Mississippi and the South. Although Jim does acquire his freedom in the end, I find Twain's means of bestowing that freedom upon Jim skewed at best.

33 - Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Norton, 2002

432 pages

Date completed: June 8, 2010

I was mainly drawn to this novel for a reason I am somewhat ashamed to admit: lately, I feel as though I need to read more so-called “classics.” I realize that “classic” is just a label created by society and foisted upon random books that seem worthy of attention to certain people, but nevertheless, the pressure to read them feels monumental, especially in relation to my recent graduation.

Overall, my reading of Wuthering Heights proved to be very frustrating, mostly because the characters irritated me to no end. None of them seemed redeemable in any way: Catherine is selfish and spiteful, Heathcliff is abusive, Nelly is a sullen spy who serves her own ends; the list could continue for many paragraphs. Each character either dumbfounded or annoyed me with his or her actions throughout the novel: I was in awe that anyone would want to read about people who are so blatantly evil to one another. I don’t mean that in a naïve way: it just grew tiresome to read, over and over, about the ways in which these characters messed up one another’s lives. Since I hated the characters so much, I did not sympathize with them at all.

I did notice that despite my hatred for the characters, for some reason I was quite drawn into the book. I had trouble putting it down sometimes, and was very interested in what would happen next. It seems that despite all of the book’s negative qualities, there is something that is appealing about it, although I have no idea what that might be. This was an interesting revelation for me—I have never, upon close examination, been unable to identify the reasons that I am attracted to a certain book. Wuthering Heights, on the other hand, has stumped me. Perhaps I was just interested in discovering what further abuses the characters could possibly come up with to torture one another.

32 - Columbine

Columbine by Dave Cullen

Twelve Books, 2009

417 pages

Date completed: May 25, 2010

Columbine by Dave Cullen is without a doubt the most disturbing book I have ever read, but in the most compelling way possible. Wow. I chose it because I was so young when the attacks occurred, and so I didn’t know much about them and wanted to be better informed. Cullen’s account of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebolds’ shooting spree in Columbine High School was certainly worthwhile. Cullen, a journalist who has been involved with the Columbine shooting case since the day it occurred, provides a thorough account of the shootings, the aftermath of the attack, the killers, and their motives. Utilizing police reports, interviews with survivors and investigators, the papers and videos of Harris and Klebold, and the research of other journalists, Cullen compiles a detailed and compelling account of April 20, 1999.

Cullen states that it is important to document and understand the Columbine attack in order to prevent future attacks. His depiction definitely succeeds in capturing the spirit of the event—often, I was so freaked out by what I was reading (phrases such as “Eric and Dylan planned to be dead shortly after the weekend” and “Danny[‘s body] lay out on that sidewalk for twenty-eight hours” (103) come to mind) that I had to stop reading. Obviously Cullen is purposely sensational sometimes in order to make his point, but it was nevertheless difficult to wrap my head around the fact that the attack really happened, and so reading this in large doses was not always possible for me. I had to stop reading it after around 8 or 9 p.m., since if I didn't, I got nightmares.

The more I read the book, the more unsettling it became. I learned a lot from the reading that I had never known previously: chilling facts surfaced constantly, such as the fact while planning their attack, Harris and Klebold intended for it to be more of a massacre. Although they ended up killing thirteen people in addition to themselves, they originally had a three-stage plan: first, massive bombs would explode in crowded hubs throughout the school, destroying part of the building and killing at least 800 people; then Harris and Klebold would stand at the school’s two most popular entrances with machine guns in order to slaughter escaping survivors; and finally, they had rigged their cars with massive explosives designed to decimate the police and journalists swarming the school after their suicides. I had had no idea that the attack was meant so grisly (not that it wasn’t horrifying anyway—a simple Google search of “Dylan Klebold” immediately yields a photograph of Harris and Klebold dead on the Columbine library floor, with blood splattered and pooled under the gaping gunshot wounds in their heads).

One really interesting aspect of the book was that it explored the many assumptions and stereotypes associated with both Columbine and with school shootings in general. People tend to assume that Harris and Klebold fit the generic stereotype of school shooters—that they were Goth, trenchcoat-wearing, anti-Christian outcasts whose intention was to take revenge on the popular students and jocks at their school. In reality, there is no established "school shooter profile." Harris and Klebold were both relatively popular in the sense that they both had a great deal of friends, and Harris was quite the ladies’ man. Klebold was deeply faithful, and neither Harris nor Klebold were Goth, although they did wear trenchcoats to conceal their weapons during the attack.

The other prevalent rumor is the one surrounding Cassie Bernall, the girl who was reportedly shot to death after admitting that she believed in God. This, too, proved to be a rumor, and never actually occurred: people assumed that Cassie’s faith must have played a role in her death, and since the assumption that the shooters were anti-Christian was already in place, the result is a rumor that combines the previous two assumptions to insinuate that Cassie was a martyr. It doesn't help that an exchange similar to the alleged conversation with Cassie actually did occur between Klebold and another girl, Valeen Schnurr.

Overall, Cullen’s book covers all of the bases, providing everything from a play-by-play of the shootings and their aftermath to an extensive portrait of Harris and Klebolds’ personalities, childhoods, journals, and videotapes. Cullen provides a stunning portrait of a disaster that shocked America, and I loved reading it. The book was quite disturbing, but so was the Columbine massacre, and I think it would be difficult to hear about any such disaster without feeling an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and loss. This type of book is informative and, to me, important and even essential to understanding disaster and living through it. I respect Cullen’s book for its integrity and for its success in covering every angle of the Columbine massacre. What a powerful book.

31 - Nickel and Dimed

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

Owl Books, 2001

230 pages

Date completed: May 11, 2010

I have mixed feelings about this book. Ehrenreich, who leaves her comfortable life as a writer in order to go undercover as a minimum-wage earner in three different states, sets out to attempt to discover whether it is truly possible to survive on minimum wage.

While this is certainly an interesting premise, I never really felt like it was valid. If she runs into trouble, Ehrenreich can always fall back on her old life: a high-paying job, full bank account, home, car, etc. I know that this wasn't necessarily meant to be seen as completely without fault, so I won't complain about it too much about it.

Ehrenreich spends time as a waitress in Key West, FL; a maid and nursing home food aide in Portland, Maine; and a Wal-Mart employee in Minneapolis, MN. In each scenario, she tries to make ends meet in the most frugal ways possible: she lives in the cheapest housing she can find that is also safe, takes as many jobs as she can, buys the cheapest food she can find, and does not splurge on anything.

The result is that eventually, everything in Ehrenreich's world becomes a question of worth. Her time, her energy, and even other people are mentally weighed by Ehrenreich on a balance scale as she ultimately attempts to judge whether these minimum-wage earners are completely wasting their lives.

Overall, the book was easy to get through and interesting to read. I won't profess to be well-versed in economics (though I did scrape by and pass my micro/macro AP tests years ago!), so I apologize if my reactions seem shallow because of this. It wasn't my favorite read, but it was nevertheless refreshing to read about a journalist placing herself directly into the field. Despite any fallacies in Ehrenreich's plans, the premise was commendable, and I think she succeeded in proving her point: that it is impossible for some people to survive making only minimum wage.

30 - Uncle Tom's Cabin

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Barnes & Noble, 2005

454 pages

Date completed: May 3, 2010

I was inspired to read Harriet Beecher Stowe’s infamous abolitionist novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin after reading an article in which Jane Smiley compared it to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, stating that Uncle Tom’s Cabin should be considered the foremost anti-slavery novel in Huckleberry Finn’s stead. I was intrigued because I agreed with Smiley’s perspective that Twain’s novel failed the anti-slavery movement due to its neglect of the desires of the runaway slave Jim; however, I was unable to fully comprehend the article because I had not yet read Stowe’s novel. Therefore, after reading Smiley’s ruminations, I immediately added Uncle Tom’s Cabin to my reading list.

As I began to read, I was impressed by the readability of Stowe’s novel. I had expected it to be far more complex and dull (and thus harder to get through), but was pleasantly surprised by its easy-to-follow storyline and style. Despite the novel’s hulking size, I was able to finish it easily within the week. Uncle Tom’s Cabin also frequently amazed me with regard to its content. Not only did Stowe write this from a completely abolitionist standpoint, but she also creates a great deal of strong female characters who are unable to stand up to men. Characters such as Mrs. Shelby and Mrs. Bird are unafraid of voicing their true opinions to their husbands (even when those opinions clash with their husbands’ opinions), while Miss Ophelia is independent, opinionated, and educated. I was surprised to find even more radical (in terms of the 1850s) views than I had expected.

I think that Stowe’s setup was quite clever. Rather than portraying slaves who are forced to endure the cruelties of a harsh master from the very beginning, she subverts this expectation and eases the reader into the system slowly, starting the novel in a home in which slaves are treated with kindness and respect. Stowe creates an atmosphere that will appeal to her audience by first setting up a particular scene (for example, the pleasant evening in Uncle Tom and Aunt Chloe’s cabin), intimately portraying the characters and their interactions, and then ripping the peaceful atmosphere apart (as is shown when Tom is sold to Haley). This technique, which begins in comfort and spirals downward, was, in my opinion, very effective. I found myself feeling even more pity for the characters than I might have if the story had begun in the throes of misery.

This left me thinking often of Stowe’s original readers in the 1850s. Although many of the people reading the novel were undoubtedly abolitionists to begin with, Stowe had to craft her novel extremely carefully so as not to be so radical that she would lose readers from the very beginning. I can definitely see why the novel was such a success and why it was able to raise so many relevant concerns regarding slavery.

One thing that annoys me about the novel is that certain characters seem far too good to be true. Uncle Tom and Eva St. Clare both seem ridiculously idealized, which made them unrealistic. I understand that their trustworthiness and innocence is important to the novel’s plot in that the innocent child, Eva, is able to look past racial differences and imagine a world of equality, whereas Tom demonstrates that slaves can be deeply faithful and trustworthy people. However, because I felt that they were completely unrealistic, it was hard for me to muster up much emotion for them or feel too sorry when they died, although this was mostly true of Eva’s death—I'm so tired of reading about perfect, all-knowing nineteenth-century children who spend their entire deathbed scenes preaching about religion and goodness.

Overall, however, Stowe’s novel was thoroughly enjoyable. I feel as though it is an important novel to have read due to its historical relevance, and I enjoyed imagining that relevance as I was reading. From the hypocrisy of the slaveowners (Augustine St. Clare who detests the system of slavery yet continues to buy slaves) to the horrors of slave traders and the destruction of families, Uncle Tom’s Cabin was worthy of appreciation on multiple levels. Although it is melodramatic at times, I enjoyed it not only for the historical significance which originally led me to it, but also for its well thought out elements and general appeal.