Quote of the Week #12

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” 

Oscar Wilde

Warm Bodies

The Premise:

R is a young man going through a life crisis - he's a zombie, with no name (he only remembers its initial), no memories and no pulse. However, he seems to be a bit different from his fellow Dead; he craves for something more than just eating other people's brains.

Everything changes when he meets Julie, a girl from the City that, for some reason that he can't quite understand, he decides to save.  A tense yet tender relationship begins between them; Julie brings a new perspective to R's life and he begins to crave a new life, a new chance to breathe and to feel again.

My Thoughts:

I've never been a fan of zombies stories - I don't even watch Walking Dead - and even though Warm Bodies is a zombie book, it seemed to be an exception from what I already knew.

I really enjoyed Isaac Marion's writing style; it was descriptive enough but not to the point of boring you with too many details and even though the dialogues were sometimes pretty basic and simple, you could definitely sense that there was a lot more to them. When R and M talked, they didn't exchange that many words between them- their talking abilities are somewhat limited - but there was definitely a certain complexity and depth to their considerations.  

As for the characters, my favorites were, by far, R and M.  M was witty, sometimes charming - which seems odd for a zombie - and I loved the fact that he was a lady's man, even though he was dead. I loved him and how cheeky he sometimes was. On the other hand, R is adorable. He understands that he's different from the other zombies he lives with and he raises a lot of questions about he's existence and what's going on with the world; I was actually surprised with the eloquence and profoundness of his thoughts - even though he lacked the ability to form long sentences, in his mind he seemed to have no limits. His relationship with Julie was really sweet and I liked the fact that there was a certain naivety to it. He grew a lot during the story and I think that the most interesting thing about him was his determination to change and to be a part of the solution to what is going on in the world.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book because I had never read something like this before. I liked the fact that it showed us a different kind of zombies; in this story, it's sometimes hard to believe that R and M are zombies because there's a lot more to them than just groaning, dragging their decaying bodies and eating people's brains. The only think that, in my opinion, was a little weak was the ending; it was good but I wanted something more unexpected and with a bit more spunk to it. It also left me with some questions ("How did all of this begin and when? Why are thinks changing all of the sudden?" etc,) so I really hope that in the next books of the series I find the answers I need to fully understand what's going on.

I give this book 4,5 stars. It's not your typical story about zombies -it has a lot of great moments that will sometimes make you laugh or think and characters that are surprisingly endearing and not what you would normally expected from a book about zombies.

Reading Challenge Update #2

As you may already know, this year I've decided to take part in two reading challenges: the A-Z challenge and another one where I would try to read most (if not all) of the books that are currently sitting on my bookshelves. So here is my update for the month of February:

• A-Z Challenge - I've managed to read 3 books from my list (check out the list here) and they were The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien (review here), 1Q84 book 3 by Haruki Murakami and L A Confidential by James Ellroy (which, technically, I've finished today).

• Books from my bookshelves challenge -  This month I read 4 books that had been sitting on my bookshelves for a while and they were The Hobbit, 1Q84 book 3, LA Confidential and Giant's Bread by Mary Westmacott (review here). I'm really happy that I surpassed my quota this month, even though I didn't enjoy all of the books that I've read. This challenge was created by Sheila from http://deliberatereader.com

Read in February

 I had never read anything by J D Salinger before so I bought this book because I thought it would be a great way to know more about this author and his writing style before reading some of his other books.

I have to say, the third book in Haruki Murakami's 1Q84 "saga" disappointed me; it was too slow and it was constantly changing between different periods of time. I really enjoyed the ending, though. 

 

Short story written by a Portuguese author. It's interesting but after finishing it I was asking for more! It seems like a chapter from a book and it raises a lot of questions that are left unanswered.

Quote of the Week # 11

“Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

 

Dylan Thomas

The Hobbit

Even though I bought this book last summer, I've only read it this month and since I had already seen the movie, I'll take this opportunity not only to review the novel but also to let you guys know what I thought about the movie as well.

The Premise

The Hobbit (also known as The Hobbit, or There and Back Again) follows the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who lived a quiet life until a great wizard, Gandalf, comes to his house and asks him to take part on a great journey. He will join a group of dwarves whose greatest desire is to defeat Smaug - a terrible dragon - that has taken over their land and their treasure. Their quest won't be easy and they will face unknown dangers.

My thoughts

First of all, let me just say that I was blown away by the fact that J R R Tolkien used to tell this story to his kids before they went sleep! Lucky kids!

I have to admit, my expectations were high so I was a bit afraid I would be disappointed by the book, but fortunately that didn't happen. The world created by Tolkien is amazing - it's magical and spellbinding - and the level of detail he putted into it blew my mind.

As for the characters I have to say my favorite one was Bilbo Baggins. He grew a lot throughout the story and he really surprised me, because he went from being this scared little hobbit who wasn't really sure he would be up for the job, to someone who was respected by others and who looked to no means to make sure his friends would safely arrive at their destination. What I most admired about him was his honor, his kindness and his sense of justice - they were instrumental during this journey and they earned him the respect from the others.

However there were some things that disappointed me a little. I didn't like how some lines of the plot were dealt with by the author; there were parts where I was hoping for something really epic, instead of an expeditious solution, even if it was unexpected. I also think that even though the descriptions weren't long and boring, there were some parts that, for me, dragged for a while; my mind would just go some place else and I wouldn't pay that much attention. Another thing that I have to point out is the lack of information about most of the dwarves that went on this journey with Bilbo - I wanted to know more about them and not just about Thorin.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book. It's a gripping tale that really grabbed my attention and kept me reading in hopes of discovering what would happen next. Like I've said before, the world building in this book is amazing and Bilbo Baggins is so endearing that makes us hope that he and his friends arrive safely at their destination. Really enjoyed this book and, hopefully, I'll start reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy this year.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.

The Movie

Generally I prefer to watch the movies after reading the book, but this time I made an exception. I was really curious about it and I wanted to see how the world created by J R R Tolkien and his characters had been portrayed in Peter Jackson's adaptation of the novel. The  whole setting is just breathtaking - I was mesmerized! And Martin Freeman, as Bilbo Baggins, is superb; he was the best choice for the part - after watching the movie, I  actually think he was the only one who could have pull off this role the way he did. It was good to see him do something different from what he normally does.

After reading the book I can say that this a good adaptation and it goes into a lot more detail than I would have expected. I would also give 4 out of 5 stars.

Giant's Bread

This was the second novel by Mary Westmacott that I've read; you can check out the review for Unfinished Portrait here.

The Premise

Vernon Deyre is a sensitive and brilliant musician, even a genius. However, his sheltered childhood in the home he loves didn't prepare him to his life as an adult and to the difficult choices that he will have to make to create his great masterpiece. He will learn that there is a high price to be paid for his talent and that sacrifices have to be made in order to be successful.

My thoughts

The book focuses on Vernon but also on the lives of a small group of characters that help us see Vernon from different perspectives. I have to say, neither of them was particularly interesting; they came across as almost one dimensional and I couldn't shake the feeling that what we saw from them was all we were going go get. 

I'll admit, my expectations regarding this book were low; Unfinished Portrait had proven to be a disappointment and I thought that probably this one would have the same fate. Fortunately I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. Even though I wasn't as invested in this book as I usually am, there were enough elements to spark my interest in the novel. The ending was, by far, my favorite part because it really took me by surprise – it was completely unexpected!

I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, especially if you're used to Agatha Christie's style as a mystery/crime writer but if you're thinking about trying something from Mary Westmacott then I would suggest starting with this one.

3 out of 5 stars