2010, Book 9: The Stranger

Let me start out by saying that the fact that it took me 11 days to read this book should not, in any way, be a reflection of the book. I have been out of sorts lately, as far as reading goes, and not reading as much as I normally do.

That being said, The Stranger is a wonderful, short read. However, it is not a light read. It is just as heavy as any book three times its size. This Camus novel is about a man who goes to the beach with some friends and gets intertwined with some goings on and ultimately pulled into a murder.

The story is told from the perspective of Monsieur Meursault, who is the main character. It begins with him attending the funeral of his mother. He initially appears to be somewhat aloof. The reader can tell that he cares but may be shocked at the types of feelings that he has. I, as a reader, found his feelings easy to relate to because I have a tendency to set the difficult thoughts aside and think of other things. I think that every one's minds work differently and for some reason, mine works similarly to that of the main character in The Stranger.

As the story progresses the Monsieur reveals his relationship with a woman, forms a new friendship with another man who is a tenant in his building, and discusses his relationships with the people he encounters daily and with his job. This is all done in order to help the reader better understand the man and to lead up to the mess that he gets himself into.

Camus forges a tale that leaves the reader guessing and thinking. On one hand, as a reader, there is a bond with the main character and a desire to fight for him and to be on his side. On the other hand, there are doubt and character flaws that may lead the reader to be tempted to side with (what I will call) the opposition. Either way, The Stranger is the type of novel that leads its readers to question their own morals.

I found myself wondering what I would have done. I wondered how I would have reacted and what would have been going through my head. I wondered what other people that I know, who have gone through what Monsieur Meursault went through were thinking. I believe that Camus had this purpose in mind when he crafted this novel. It is truly a masterpiece of modern literature and one that I am proud to have read.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read something short but not light. It is not at all a light read. I would also recommend it to anyone who was looking to read the type of book that can generate a discussion, and not the light, casual type.

2010, Book 8: Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang

If you have followed my blog previously, you know that this was not my first walk with Chelsea Handler. I've read her other two books and I was very excited to open up her third novel. I even had it on pre-order before it was actually available. I watch "Chelsea Lately," and I am seeing her live this coming weekend. So, I guess it is safe to say that I am a fan of Chelsea Handler. And now I can say with certainty that I am a fan of her third book as well.

Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang did not disappoint in the slightest. It was hilarious from beginning to end. In fact, I read it this weekend while on vacation with my sister. I used nap time as my own personal time to read and unwind and I think my sister was getting a little annoyed with my laughing constantly while she tried to nap.

I think that one of the things that makes Chelsea Handler's books so appealing is that, if you have watched her show, you can practically hear her and see her telling these stories. It is not hard at all to visualize her doing the things she does in her book and to imagine what it must have been like when all of the hilarity actually went down.

Whether she is telling her boyfriend some outrageous lie and actually getting him to believe it or convincing her friend that he caused her a serious injury, reading about Chelsea's life is a lot of fun. I would imagine that it is more fun to live but since reading it is a close second, I truly hope that this is not the last opportunity that she gives us to experience her escapades.

I would recommend Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang to anyone looking for a fun, light read with a lot of personality. It is by no means tough to read or follow and unless you have a very G-rated sense of humor, you will definitely find it hilarious. I cannot think of a single person that I would not recommend this book to. It's great and it is 100% worth the small amount of time it will take you to read.

2010, Book 7: Typical American

What is a typical American? Is it possible that an American would answer that question differently than an immigrant? Is it possible for an immigrant to become a typical American? Is there such a thing as a typical American? I was thinking that some of these questions would be answered by Gish Jen in her novel Typical American. Some of them were and some of them weren't, but it was an enjoyable, albeit laborious, experience all the same.

This was the second book that was assigned to me for class and I enjoyed it much more than the first. It should be noted to anyone who thinks that they may want to read it that it is a bit surreal at times, so if that is not your thing then this would not be the book for you.

Gish Jen weaves a superb tale about a Chinese immigrant named Ralph who comes to the U.S. as a young man to complete graduate school. His initial intention is to finish school and then return to China, but life had different plans for Ralph and he stays. He is eventually joined by his sister and he also eventually marries another Chinese immigrant named Helen.

Ralph and his family begin their assimilation into American culture by making fun of and laughing over what they believe to be "typical American" qualities and traits. As the story plays out, Ralph and family gradually come to realize that they are becoming typical Americans in some ways and already are typical Americans in others. They start out experiencing life as immigrants and eventually land up having genuinely American experiences. Some of the experiences are joyous and some of them are sad. Throughout the novel they are sometimes subject to typical American treatment and even toward the end, they are sometimes still treated as immigrants.

The story of Ralph and his family is not light reading, even though Typical American is not a very long book. It is a wonderful portrayal of how a family of immigrants can become typical Americans but still never truly shed their identity as immigrants (especially in the eyes of American natives). It also gives a wonderful portrayal of how an extremely intelligent immigrant can be undervalued in American society simply because he or she is an immigrant.

As a whole, I think Typical American is a great novel that most readers would enjoy. However, the style Gish Jen uses to write can be difficult to follow and the story does get a bit surreal, as stated previously. If those are not things that hinder you as a read, I would recommend picking up a copy of Typical American. It is anything but typical as a novel, and that's the truth.

2010, Book 6: Cat's Cradle

"See the Cat? See the cradle?" I didn't and I am pretty sure that was the point of Kurt Vonnegut's well written, clever, and funny satire about the human race, religion, and the end of the world. One of the main character makes his points by asking, "See the cat? See the cradle?" and by the end of the book, I realized that that was really the point. We as people, when it comes to politics, religion, and relationships frequently cannot see the cat or the cradle. We weave such tangled webs and much of it is illusory or leads to no real, visible end.

This was my first experience with Kurt Vonnegut's writing although I have always heard wonderful things about him and I always knew that some day out paths would cross. I am really happy that they finally have. Vonnegut writes the novel from the perspective of a character who remains unnamed throughout the entire novel. The character is a writer who initially embarks on a mission to write a non-fiction book about the day that the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. He asks for people associated with the creation of the bomb to share their memories of what happened on that day.

One of the "fathers" of the bomb was a man named Dr. Hoenikker. He is now deceased so the author writes to his youngest son to ask about his recollections of that day and of his father. During the course of his research, he winds up heavily intertwined with Dr. Hoenikker's family, one of his last and most dangerous inventions, and the religion and government of a small nation run by a dictator. He also sees himself and the new circle in which he is so heavily intertwined bring about the end of the world.

Vonnegut weaves a very elaborate story. He also creates a religion and he manages to gracefully intertwine historical facts with his fictional story. This serves to make the story extremely believeable and helps to make it feel true from beginning to end. The reader begins to want to learn more about this fictional country, fictional religion, and the fictional science that brings about the apocalypse. It's also unbelieveably easy to read for a story with such an elaborate plot and concept. The chapters are short and th language is simple. Kurt Vonnegut writes like a real person and he also manages to keep his characters very real. This book is a must read for any person who sees themself as a "reader." I truly believe that every well rounded reader should pick of this work of art.

2010, Book 5: Funny in Farsi

Funny in Farsi was assigned to me for a class that I am currently taking. Since I generally enjoy almost everything that I read, I decided that for my purpose of reading 100 books in the year 2010, I would include any assigned reading (excepting short stories and text book reading) that is given to me.

However, I can say that Funny in Farsi took me much longer to read than it should have. It is supposed to be a very light, easy read however it just wasn't my kind of book and it was really hard for me to get into reading. For one thing, I thought that the stories started to get a little bit redundant. She poked fun at basically the same things throughout the entire novel. Her mother and father, their accents, the silly things that they did because they were not familiar with American culture, etc. It got boring and it got predictable about halfway through. I also didn't like that her memoir talked mostly about her father and mother. As a reader, I did not get to know very much about Firoozeh Dumas. I couldn't tell you a thing about her personality, aside from the fact that she is somewhat condescending to her parents.

There is also a positive side to Funny in Farsi, despite the fact that it was not my favorite read so far this year. The immigrant experience detailed by Firoozeh Dumas is unique. She was young enough to assimilate well to the culture, while her parents were not able to do so as easily. She therefore offers a view of two different immigrant experiences. She also did not come from a family that was very poor or that was persecuted. Her family simply immigrated because her father, who was an educated man, had a good job offer and though that it would be nice to live the American dream. Firoozeh also married a French immigrant, which adds some spice and makes her story even more unique. She is witty and sharp and comes off as being a genuinely nice person.

In short, just because Funny in Farsi was not the kind of book that I generally love, does not mean that I am going to give it a bad review. It was a good book and I anticipate that a great many people will very much enjoy it. It is unique, funny, and well written. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a lighter, more simplistic reading experience.