Night by Elie Wiesel

     The picture to the left is the cover of a 3-in-1 collection of Elie Wiesel’s Night Trilogy. Night, the first of the trilogy, is a memoir. Elie Wiesel, a holocaust survivor, tells of his time at Auschwitz. From his home, to the ghetto, to the camps and the separation of his family… he and his father had only each other to help each other survive.

I will never understand the depths of human cruelty. Wiesel’s account will leave you feeling almost as if you were there. His words are simple and straightforward, but they have such an impact. I have no words to even begin to express my feelings when reading this. Is this a classic? Most definitely. This book captures a moment in time when men showed ultimate evil, and yet others showed ultimate strength – surrounded by death, knowing that the same fate would soon be their own. It is most definitely a classic, though I (and I’m sure Elie Wiesel) wish history had never given it the opportunity to be so. I will always consider this to be one of my top five, must read books.

I have removed accuracy from the rating. As Wiesel’s personal account I have no way to verify, yet absolutely no reason to doubt, that his words are true.

1) Is it understandable? = 5
2) Presentation of Information = 5
3) Accuracy
4) Quality of Writing = 5
5) Overall Enjoyability = 5

Average of  score 5
Overall grade = A

For more on Elie Wiesel and his humanitarian work, please go to his foundation’s website.

Where to buy the book: CBD | Amazon | B&N

This was book 52 in my 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge.

This was book 12 in my Classics challenge.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

     In what is probably Charles Dickens’ best known work we meet Ebenezer Scrooge, a rich old miser who loves money more than anything else. One Christmas Eve night he is visited by the ghost of his old business partner, Jacob Marley, who has been dead for seven years. Marley tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits in hopes that he will not be doomed in death. Scrooge is taken on a journey through past, present, and future Christmases… but will he learn anything?

This is what a true classic looks like. The ideas of this story stand against the test of time. They are as true today as they where when they were written over a century ago. This story is so effective in its telling that film after film has been made of this story, the most recent being Disney’s animated version (which I highly recommend, by the way). Every home should have a copy of this book.

1) Overall Plot = 5
2) Characters = 5
3) Flow/Pace of the story = 5
4) Is the story easy to follow? = 5
5) Overall Enjoyability = 5

Average of  score 5
Overall grade = A

Where to buy the book: CBD | Amazon | B&N

This was book 50 in my 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge.

This was book 11 in my Classics challenge.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

     Esther is a college student who has won an internship in New York city working for fashion magazine. The story follows the events of this trip, told by Esther herself. A few highs, lots of lows, and everything in between.

What’s funny about this novel, for me, is that I remembered liking it a lot more when I read it in highschool… I guess I was going through my deep, introspective, “Do we really exist, or is this all in our minds?” phase. I can’t say I enjoyed it at all this time around. This is an autobiographical novel, and though it is a fictional work it does chronicle the author’s own mental breakdown and suicide attempt. It is mostly dark and Esther’s behavior is sometimes manic. She is also somewhat obsessed with the idea of sex (and men) though she has never been intimate with anyone. There is no real plot to the story, it’s mostly just a retelling of events which jumps back and forth in time, as events cause Esther to remember things from the past. This may be a good novel to read as a study of a depressed, suicidal mind (Sylvia Plath did eventually succeed in killing herself), but I wouldn’t say that it has the entertainment value a novel should have.

1) Overall Plot = 1
2) Characters = 2
3) Flow/Pace of the story = 2
4) Is the story easy to follow? = 3.5
5) Overall Enjoyability = 1

Average of  score 1.9
Overall grade = D

Where to buy the book: Amazon | B&N

This was book 46 in my 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge.

This was book 8 in my Classics challenge.

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

     The story of Oliver Twist tells of the struggles of a young orphan boy in the streets of London. It follows him from his birth, to his labeling as a trouble-maker when he dares to ask for more food, being sold as an apprentice, accused of attempted murder, running away and getting caught up with a gang of thieves, and to what could be his salvation if his old life doesn’t follow him. Dickens explores both sides of the human spectrum, from ultimate kindness to ultimate cruelty.

The characters in this story are vivid, making the horrors of the tale even more terrible. Dickens probably didn’t realize when he wrote this almost two centuries ago that it would capture the human condition in such an honest way that Oliver Twist would become a classic to be read again and again. Being set in England in the 1800′s, the language is very different from modern novels, especially during pieces of longer narration. The dialog, however, even with its old english slang, is easily understood.

1) Overall Plot = 5
2) Characters = 5
3) Flow/Pace of the story = 4
4) Is the story easy to follow? = 4.5
5) Overall Enjoyability = 4.5

Average of  score 4.6
Overall grade = A

Where to buy the book: CBD | Amazon | B&N

This was book 44 in my 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge.

This was book 6 in my Classics challenge.

 

Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky

     A nameless narrator tells us about his life. “I am a sick man… I am a spiteful man. An unattractive man. I think that my liver hurts.” As he continues we find that he is cynical and bitter. Today he might be diagnosed as bipolar. In the first part of the novel we find out the narrator’s views of himself and the world. The second part of the novel consists of ”notes” from the narrator that describe certain events of his life. Throughout his tales there are times you may feel draw to him or feel sorry for him, but then he’ll do or say something mean or spiteful (as he himself claims to be) and all pity washes away for a bit.

     The entire novel is one big contradiction. The narrator himself is a giant paradox. He claims to feel superior to everyone, and sometimes even acts the part, but most often we can see that he feels largely inferior to everyone around him… and he hates everyone for it. He despises himself, but punishes everyone else for his shortcomings. He speaks certainly that he is writing only for himself and that no one will ever read his notes, yet he constantly addresses the readers directly. I think there have been many interpretations of this novel, and all will have a hint of truth to them. I believe that what you pull away from this novel will depend on the type of person you are, and where you are in your own life.  You may see pieces of yourself in the man from underground. You will definitely see things in him you hope to never see in yourself. But I think everyone will come away with something different, and everyone should read this one… at least once.

1) Overall Plot = 4
2) Characters = 4
3) Flow/Pace of the story = 4
4) Is the story easy to follow? = 4
5) Overall Enjoyability = 4.5

Average score of  4.1

Overall grade = B

You can buy the book here:  Amazon | B&N

This was book 20 in my 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge.

This was book 3 in my Classics challenge.

Classics Challenge 2011

So, I’ve decided to do another book challenge that can crossover with the 52 Books challenge. This is the Classics challenge, and the idea is to read classic novels/books. There are different levels in this challenge, but I’ve chosen to go for the Bachelor’s Degree by reading 12 classics (1 per month).

This challenge is hosted by Stiletto Storytime.