4/29

The Book: Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

ISBN: 978-0-679-73218-1

Music: Rural Alberta Advantage

Company:

Pages: 225-303

The Lead In: Going to try and just finish this thing today.

The 411 on the 55: So all along Bon was Henry and Judith's brother. Apparently Mr. Sutpen had been messing around with the help. This explains both his knowledge of Bon's background and his intense fight against the marriage. Bon's mother had done her best to train him to punish Sutpen from birth. It was her plan for revenge that brought him into contact with Henry in college and led him to Judith.

The story meanders through telling from multiple memories and characters. Quentin wrestles with his own past and imagine countless conversations between Henry, Bon, and the rest of the bunch. Finally the story ends with Quentin and a relative returning to the ruined Sutpen Hundred to find the extremely old Henry and a former slave living in the dilapidated mansion secretly. Henry is dying and when they try to bring medical treatment to help him, the former slave sets the house on fire, killing the remaining Sutpen.

The 20/20: This book was certainly not an enjoyable read. I found the narrative confusing and complicated. The story seems to have a moral, pointing out the complicated nature of African American and white relations in the Old South. It seems that it also emphasizes the punishment on an entire family tree for the sins of the father (fathering a child with a black woman). I didn't like it much, sort of let down, as I have always enjoyed Faulkner. Better luck next time, I guess.

Line of the Day: "...by that time he had learned that there were three things and no more: breathing, pleasure, darkness." pg. 240

Fact on the Fiction: Faulkner did a lot of work in Hollywood, including the screenplay for the movie, The Big Sleep.

4/28

The Book: Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

ISBN: 978-0-679-73218-1

Music: Rural Alberta Advantage

Company:

Pages: 168- 224

The Lead In: Again my reading was interrupted tonight, this time by a friend leaving town in the morning. Five turned into ten, then twenty, etc.

The 411 on the 55: No better this time. So Bon is dead, but it turns out there is all sort of white/black lovin' going on. Everyone is a halfer and its really throwing the social order out of wack. That's about all I understood from today's reading.

Line of the Day: "Jesus, the South is fine, isn't it. It's better than theatre, isn't it. It's better than Ben Hur, ins't it. Now wonder you have to come away now and then, isn't it." pg 176

Fact on the Fiction: No facts today. Ung.

4/27

The Book: Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

ISBN: 978-0-679-73218-1

Music:

Company:

Pages: 112-167

The Lead In: Soccer on in the background, not helping my focus.

The 411 on the 55: The story shifts from the straight on narrative to a much more muddled personal style of the old lady. Its confusing and I was lost the entire night. Hopefully it will clear up tomorrow. Needless to say, this is a bad post.

Line of the Day: "Aye, grief goes, fades; we know that - but ask the tear ducts if they have forgotten how to weep." pg 116

Fact on the Fiction: Faulkner is often considered the biggest influence on one of my favorite modern writers, Cormac McCarthy.

The Book: Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

ISBN: 978-0-679-73218-1

Music: -

Company: Sleeping Wife

Pages: 56-111

The Lead In: Sometimes timing is everything when it comes to reading. I read a bit before work today, thinking I would wipe the rest of 55 during my lunch break. Sadly, when lunch came, I was wore out and ended up staring into space/napping during my thirty minutes. Luckily, no work tomorrow so I had time to stay up a bit later and finish my reading/writing.

The 411 on the 55: Thomas Sutpen has it made with his sweet plantation, flock of slaves, and wife of good reputation. Granted the town hates him and sees him as an outsider who doesn't deserve respect or honor, so there's that. He has two children, Henry and Judith. They grow up to be respectable (as they can be, victims of their father's hubris) young adults and Henry heads off to Oxford Mississippi to attend college.

At Oxford, Henry is a hillbilly compared with the other dandies in his classes. He chooses one of these dandies as his model, Bon. He writes about, dotes on, brags about, tags after Bon. Its almost a crush in its extent. Bon falls for Judith during one of his visits to Sutpen's Hundred and Judith feels the same. Thomas Sutpen has his doubts. He travels to Oxford and digs up dirt on Bon: a black wife and child. Obviously this will not do. Though he is slow to come around to the truth, Henry faces this fact and tells Bon he cannot marry his sister. Bon claims otherwise and Henry shoots him.

Line of the Day: "He has been too successful, you see; his was that solitude of contempt and distrust which success brings to him who gained it because he was strong instead of merely lucky." pg. 82

Fact on the Fiction: The title refers to the Biblical story of Absalom, a son of David who rebelled against his father and who was killed by David's general, Joab, in violation of David's order to deal gently with his son. Another parallel to the Biblical story is that Absalom had his half-brother executed for raping Tamar, his sister. Faulkner's novel substitutes a seduction for rape. Wikipedia

4/25

The Book: Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

ISBN: 978-0-679-73218-1

Music: High Violet by The National

Company: None

Pages: 1-55

The Lead In: Spurred by a podcast version of a Civil War Yale lecture series, I picked this book off the shelf and decided to give it a shot. Faulkner is really tagged as "the" quintessential Southern writer.

The 411 on the 55: This book seems to be like most of Faulkner's work: fractured people living fucked up lives in a humbled and bruised American South. The story begins as an older woman telling a young man, soon to be off to Yale, the story of their family and the trouble brought in by a particular patriarch, Thomas Sutpen.

I think the most important aspect of the American South, as emphasized in Faulkner's writing, is the concept of honor. The Yale lecture mentioned this and even in the first 55 of this novel it is clear. Sutpen rides into town without a history, name or much money. He brings with him a group of wild slaves (apparently different from the rest the town has seen) and a basket of gold he uses to buy land, The Sutpen Hundred (square miles). He builds plantation, furnishes it, then marries the daughter of a poor, but well-respected, member of the town. The old woman telling the story is this woman's sister.

Line of the Day: "He wasn't a gentleman. He wasn't even a gentleman." pg. 9

Fact on the Fiction: Faulkner's Acceptance Speech for his Nobel Prize in 1950.

1/20

The Book: Serendipities by Umberto Eco

Finished this book last night. A little on the brighter side of the spectrum. Eco's work on language, 5 essays concerning its roots, is almost master's homework. The work is, at times, very interesting and mind-blowing. His focus on the pre-Tower of Babel language was especially fascinating, bringing to light multiple authors and inventors I had never heard of prior to the essay. But, at just as many times, the book is as clear as mud. Eco is brilliant, a master of language, and I am not. I imagine it would be like trying to discuss the subject with him, it would be boring for both he and I, simply because we are moving on different levels.

However, don't let that last comment make you fearful. Read the book and try to grasp what he is saying. Stretching your mind is the only way to strengthen it. Push your limits, read this book.

12/21

The Book: The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco

ISBN: 0-15-603037-3

Where: Home

When: 11p-12a

Music:

Company: The Family

Pages: 112-157

The Lead In: This book is dragging a bit. Just being honest there. Eco has a tendency to ramble a bit, which I like at times, but, because he does it constantly, it begins to grate a bit on the nerves.

The 411 on the 55: The focus shifts to the past again. Roberto falls in love with a whore. Well, or so the book hints at. She is, for sure, a peasant and beneath his class. He goes to his friend for help on writing a love letter to her, but he chickens out and doesn't give it to her. His fear of rejection strangles his words in his throat and he moves on, painfully in love. Even worse, he catches the plague and is dragged off to either die or recover in a convent.

And survive he does. The war is ended by a peace treaty and, the end of this story (on the boat), is now in the future.

Line of the Day: "In a brief period of time Roberto lost father, beloved, health, friend, and probably the war." pg 141

Fact on the Fiction: Apparently many people are still interested in siege warfare, medieval style. Medieval

12/20

The Book: The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco

ISBN: 0-15-603037-3

Where: Home

When: 10-10:45p

Music:

Company: The Family

Pages: 56-

The Lead In: It was interesting to discover that Eco is considered a medievalist. The concept seems strange and sort of backwards, being so much of an expert and proponent of the a period often called The Dark Ages. Why would anyone enjoy or appreciate that time period? Sure, from a historical perspective, I can see the validity, but as a practical world view, it seems laughable.

The 411 on the 55: Roberto is convinced there is someone else on his new-found boat, and it might be his dead brother! Well, he admits that is unrealistic, but it keeps coming up in his mind with each bump or creak of the ship. To avoid that thought, he delves back into his memory of the siege of a castle he occupied during his war days.

Early in today's reading, Roberto's father dies crashing into the enemy lines alone. He had felt his family's honor was besmirched and acted accordingly (?). After his death, Roberto finds two friends to cope. One, a soldier, is anti-God, anti-church, anti-romanticism. He is a logical and determined soldier, not swayed by the common motivations of his day. The other is a priest, leading to the obvious clash with the other of Roberto's friends. But even this priest dabbles in philosophy, principally Aristotle.

Line of the Day: "What we honor as prudence in our elders is simply panic in action." pg 83

Fact on the Fiction: Casale, the town that is the center of Roberto's memory, is a real city near Eco's hometown of Alessandria. Wikipedia

12/19

The Book: The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco

ISBN: 0-15-603037-3

Where: Home

When: 9-10am

Music:

Company: The Family

Pages: 1-55

The Lead In: I earlier read one of Eco's books, The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, and enjoyed his style and story. His books certainly have neat covers, which attracts the eye and begs for purchase. Sissy bought me this one as part of our Christmas book exchange. Looking forward to it.

The 411 on the 55: The book opens as an academic narrator discusses the writings of a Roberto Griva from the 1600s. The style is almost that of a lecture or scholarly paper, referring to outside facts and admitting to contextual assumptions being made. It's an interesting approach to a novel.

Regardless of the style, Roberto has been swept from his ship and is lost sea, unable to swim, but tied to a door. He is several days in this condition until one day he bumps into another ship. He climbs aboard to discover food, water, clothing, everything he needs to survive, but the ship is completely empty. He finds the captain's log, but has trouble reading it due to it being written in Flemish. As he lives within the empty ship he explores it and finds plants growing in the hull, birds within cages, apparently this ship was exploring a new land and bringing back samples.

Much of today's reading is also his memories of fighting in battle in Europe between Spain and France. It was here that his ability to see was greatly damaged, causing him to often hide within the ship during daytime, the sun too bright for his weak eyes.

Line of the Day: "But I could say, rather, that while he lived a life of shadows, he recalled a story of violent deeds performed in broad daylight, so that the sun-filled days of the siege, which his memory restored to him, would compensate for this dim roaming." pg 45

Fact on the Fiction: Eco is considered one of the world's leading medievalists. Medievalism is the system of belief and practice characteristic of the middle ages, or devotion to elements of that period, which has been expressed in areas such as architecture, literature, music, art, philosophy, scholarship and various vehicles of popular culture. Wikipedia

12/18

The Book: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

ISBN: 978-0-7679-1937-1

Where: Home

When: 10p-12a

Music:

Company: The Family

Pages: 112-268

The Lead In: Because of Christmas retail crap at the store, reading has been spotty the last week. Finally, I settled down and hammered out Bryson's memoir.

The 411 on the 55: The rest of the bok was a tour of the 50s. The things that were good and bad are listed and laid out for the reader. Sure there was hope and optimism, but there was also racism, nuclear hysteria, and communist bating. Bryson was fair with both sides of the coin. It's difficult to sum up or even define what the reading was about other than saying it was a bunch of facts, stories and tidbits about the era and Bryson's life.

The 20/20: This book was a fun read for someone like me. I am the type of person who yearns for the past and the way things used to be done. Bryson pulls back the curtains on the 50s in Iowa and allows the reader to go back and grow up again. It's beautiful and flawed. At times, the book reads a little cranky, complaining about "progress" and the changes time has brought to his hometown. Overall, though, the book is like a time capsule that breathes, a trip into the past, a beautiful thing.

Line of the Day: "What a wonderful world it was. We won't see its like again, I'm afraid." pg 268

Fact on the Fiction:

12/13

The Book: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

ISBN: 978-0-7679-1937-1

Where: Home

When: 8-9p

Music:

Company: The Family

Pages: 56-111

The Lead In: There are some who might complain about the rose-colored-glasses approach of Bryson to Iowa, his family, and the 50's. He certainly seems to gloss the negatives and enhance the positives; however, I think he does this with a purpose. The 50's were an era (as he points out in the book) that was thrilled with everything and confident that this era was the best of all possible eras. I think Bryson is channelling that spirit and view on life. It's a thematic approach, a mood setter, and well-done.

The 411 on the 55: I enjoyed today's reading. Especially his description of his trip to Disney Land. I too had a similar experience with my dad and a trip to one of Disney's theme parks. It amazed me. No history, no geology, no mathematics, just fun for kids. It was amazing. I'm sure he was bored as hell.

His family story, covered today, was interesting as well. His parents both being writers for the newspaper. Their mutual passion for words and writing, the dynamic between them, his father's field (sports) contrasted with his mother's (home decor). Good relationships are built in the margins between pages, no matter how diverse the subjects, the pages are still bound together. It's pretty, in a 50's sort of way.

Line of the Day: "I killed morons. I still do." pg 63

Fact on the Fiction: Awesome story: "My greatest moment as a human being was one day I got to sit in the Cubs clubhouse where Ernie Banks was autographing baseballs and I got to hand them to him. He had a box of baseballs he was signing and he obviously didn't need my help but he let me hand him the balls." ESPN

12/12

12/12

The Book: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

ISBN: 978-0-7679-1937-1

Where: Home

When: 2-3p

Music: Saeglopur by Sigur Ros

Company: Alone

Pages: 1-55

The Lead In: Anyone who has ever asked for a book recommendation from me knows how much I love Bill Bryson and the books he has put out. He is, without a doubt, my favorite non-fiction writer of all time. Fiction is not as easy to choose, if you are wondering, probably put Cormac McCarthy on top for the time being. Anyway, Bryson has written some of my favorite books including his travel classic A Walk in the Woods which most people know him for. This book is the story of his childhood, and I am excited.

The 411 on the 55: Bill Bryson's story begins with his description of his hometown Des Moines, Iowa. I have always struggled with the pronunciation of the name, just because it seems like a ridiculous combination of terms:Iowa and Des Moines. Anyway, the story of baby Billy Bryson begins in the baby boom as so many other kids' did. With the population surge of the post war GI's the country was full of kids.

Bryson discusses his youth with hilarity. One of his stories concerns hitting his head against a wall while playing football. He stands up only to discover his head is showering blood everywhere. He rushes home and his parents try to blot the blood with "dirty towels and red clothes (so they wont stain)". He blacks out and his parents let him sleep for three hours. It's a hoot.

Line of the Day: "Swearing to God was the ultimate act. If you swore to God and it turned out you were wrong, even by accident, even just a little, you still had to go to hell. That was just the rule and God didn't bend that rule for anybody." pg 42

Fact on the Fiction: In 2004, Bryson won the Aventis Prize for his book A Short History of Nearly Everything. wikipedia

12/11

12/11

The Book: Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

ISBN: 978-0-7432-6004-6

Where: Doctor's Office

When: 12-2p

Music:

Company: Angry people

Pages: 125-255

The Lead In: I think the theory of assassination as lionizing its victims is an interesting theory. Lincoln, killed on Good Friday, has benefited (historically anyway) from the reaction to his death. Many people hated his handling of the Civil War, however, his death really brought the world around to his side. It's interesting. We can also thank assassination for giving us President Teddy Roosevelt, just for the record.

Is he smiling at the shooter?

The 411 on the 55: The first section was Lincoln, the second Garfield. She points out how uninteresting Garfield is, condensing his career as a politician to one paragraph. The story she tells of his murderer Charlie Guiteau is way more interesting. Apparently he was an absolute maniac, didn't save him from the noose though.

The last section is on McKinley's death, in comparison to the other two Presidents covered, really got a short shrift. She motors right through his death. Of course, my favorite part is the mention of TR (my favorite president, by far) and some of his crazy-ass exploits. What a man!

Line(s) of the Day: "History is one war after another with a bunch of murders and natural disasters in between." pg 208

"If there is a recurring theme in Garfield's diaries it's this: I'd rather be reading." pg 134

The 20/20: Vowell's work is an impressive amount of history, sandwiched between sarcasm and slapstick. It's infinitely readable and, almost certainly, will lead to more reading of her work. Assassination Vacation is my kind of reading, describing the kind of visits I would make. It's a great read and a fun look at some unfunny events.

Fact on the Fiction: The abridged audiobook for this book has an amazing cast of voices including Conan O'Brien, Stephen King, Jon Stewart, and Dave Eggers. Wikipedia

12/10

12/10

The Book: Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

ISBN: 978-0-7432-6004-6

Where: Home

When:

Music:

Company: Alone

Pages: 1-124

The Lead In: What has always caught my eye with Vowell's books are the covers. They are interesting looking and I kept picking them up yet never buying them. No longer.

The 411 on the 55: This book is apparently the study of the Presidential assassinations in U.S. history. The book began with a funny take on Lincoln's death and the events that led up to it. What amazing about this book is the ability of Vowell to mix humor with the serious and semi-macabre aspects of Ford's Theatre. She's funny, witty, down-right disrespectful at times, and yet still manages to communicate all the important facts of the event. It's amazing and amusing. More as we go.

Line of the Day: "Somewhere on the road between museum displays of Lincoln's skull fragments and the ceramic tiles on which Garfield was gunned down and McKinley's bloodstained pj's it occurred to me that there is a name for travel embarked upon with the agenda of venerating relics: pilgrimage." pg 9

Fact on the Fiction: Vowell gave her voice to the animated character Violet in the Pixar movie The Incredibles. imdb

Reading Time Again

If anyone is still reading this...

Reading will recommence tomorrow morn. See you here.

55pages.

Day One Hundred and Fifty-Three

9/2

The Book: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

ISBN: 978-1-59448-329-5

Suggested By: Ed Vela

Where: Home

When: 9A

Music: Shuffle

Company: Alone

Pages: 180-235 (55)

The Lead In: I wonder if there is a disconnect between myself and the text due to cultural and racial issues. It’s not that I don’t like the book, I’m just not sure its that great.

The 411 on the 55: Junior’s story continues. Oscar gets the hots for a hot gothic chick, who eventually breaks his heart by nailing some skinny punk guy. Oscar is downcast and unhappy. After Junior decides to move out of the room they share, Oscar commits suicide. Well, attempts to. He lands in a bush and saves his life. After recovering his health and moving back to school, Junior moves back in with him.

The next section focuses on the roots of Oscar and Lola’s family in the D.R. Abelard, the grandfather of Oscar, is a doctor living under Trujillo. He has a beautiful daughter, Jacquelyn (that would make her Oscar and Lola’s aunt?), and is determined to keep her out of Trujillo’s bed. Apparently at this time, Trujillo nailed every hot chick in the D.R. It works for a while, but eventually he is arrested.

Line of the Day: “But you know exactly what kind of world we live in. It ain’t no fucking Middle-earth.” pg 194

Fact on the Fiction: While nationalist Hispanic imagery has had a constraining effect on how Dominicans view the Taíno past, there are also unofficial alternate expressions that resist the dominant discourses. For example, many Dominicans claim that it is bad luck (fuku) to say the name Christopher Columbus aloud and that La Isabella, one of the first Spanish settlements on the north coast of the island, is haunted by Spanish ghosts. These may be considered signs of struggle against dominant history and rejections of official ways of speaking about the legitimated glory of the Spanish past. KACIKE

Day One Hundred and Fifty-Two

9/1

The Book: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

ISBN: 978-1-59448-329-5

Suggested By: Ed Vela

Where: Home

When: 8:30-9P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 124-179 (55)

The Lead In: Reading is never easy, especially when Church decides it is time to jump against my elbow every third sentence. Doesn’t she understand the importance of this task? 55pages a day, damnit!

The 411 on the 55: Ok, not Oscar’s dad. Beli (Oscar’s mom) fell for one of Trujillo’s gangsters. She gets pregnant and is convinced he will marry her. Sadly there is a fly in the ointment, he is already married...to Trujillo’s sister. This does not end well. Beli is beaten so badly by Tujillo’s thugs that she ends up losing the baby and almost her life. But she lives on, and is sent to New York to start over again.

A new chapter, Junior, a friend of Lola’s (Oscar’s sister). He falls for her in college but she is already with someone. So to show his commitment to her, when she leaves for Spain, he volunteers to move into Oscar’s dorm room to keep him company. Once there, he decides to “fix” Oscar’s life by making him jog and work out. This goes well for a short time until Oscar decides he has had enough and tells Junior to back off. Their relationship turns icy and Oscar goes back to being a lazy, anime-watching dork.

Line of the Day: “It was night and the lights of Nueva York were everywhere.” pg 165

Fact on the Fiction: The median age of the Dominican Republic is 24, compared to the U.S. at 36. On a side note, if you have the time, go to the CIA Worldfact book site. Amazing site full of a huge amount of information on every country of the world. CIA

Day One Hundred and Fifty-One

8/31

The Book: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

ISBN: 978-1-59448-329-5

Suggested By: Ed Vela

Where: Home

When: 7-8P

Music: None

Company: Alone, except for Church jumping on the edge of the couch

Pages: 68-123 (55)

The Lead In: Ok, this is turning into a generational tale, which is interesting because I just read 100 Year of Solitude (another generational tale, also by an “ethnic” writer). Not sure what I think about this book now.

The 411 on the 55: I realize that yesterday I used the phrase “sack of crap” twice and to describe two different people. I will attempt to be more eloquent and intelligent in my analysis.

Oscar Wao’s sister is stuck. Ran away from home, she finally breaks down and calls her brother, Oscar, to steal money from their mother and bring it to her. He does, but also brings along her mother. She fights with her mom, but gives in and heads back home. As a way to fix her issues, her mother (who I cannot point out enough, is a horrible horrible parent) ships her to live with her family in the D.R. And she does seem to sort her mind out, coming to grips with who she is.

And now a chapter on Oscar’s mother. She is a really dark girl (skin tone, I mean) and is mocked at the private school that she is sent to. Regardless of the mockery, she is extremely prideful and arrogant. She is very much in love with a boy, Pujols (not Albert, sadly) but he has no time for her. Then over one summer, she gets a big rack (36DDD). Suddenly, he can’t get enough of her. They are caught having sex in the closet of the school. He is sent to military school and she is kicked out. She becomes a waitress and seems to adjust better to life. One night, in a club, she meets Oscar’s dad, one of Trujillo’s cronies.

Line of the Day: “No amount of wishful thinking was changing the cold hard fact that she was a teenage girl live in the Dominican Republic of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina, the Dictatingest Dictator who ever Dictated.” pg 80

Fact on the Fiction: Trujillo’s cult of personality in the D.R. “Statues of "El Jefe" were mass produced and erected across the Republic, and bridges and public buildings were named in his honor. The nation's newspapers now had praise for Trujillo as part of the front page, and license plates included the slogan "Viva Trujillo!" An electric sign was erected in Ciudad Trujillo so that "Dios y Trujillo" could be seen at night as well as in the day. Eventually, even churches were required to post the slogan, "Dios en cielo, Trujillo en tierra" (God in Heaven, Trujillo on Earth).” Wikipedia

Day One Hundred and Fifty

8/30

The Book: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

ISBN: 978-1-59448-329-5

Suggested By: Ed Vela

Where: Home

When: 5-6P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 12-67 (55)

The Lead In: Excited about this book. Ed recommended it with glee. If you know Ed, you know the glee I am talking about.

The 411 on the 55: Oscar Wao is a fat sack of crap. He loves comic books, fantasy novels, D&D, stereotypical nerd. Can’t get with a chick, and when he thinks he is a bout to, he finds out she is back with her old boyfriend who has a large member, so to speak. Oscar is incredibly unhappy with his life. His mother is bossy and doesn’t understand him not being like every other guy. His sister is punky and off to college. At the end of today’s reading, Oscar is off to college where again, he doesn’t fit in.

The second “chapter” of today’s reading tells the story of Oscar’s sister. Her struggles with her mother’s dominating personality lead her to run off and live with a boyfriend. Once there, she realizes he is a sack of crap and is unhappy with her situation as well.

Line of the Day: “Jesus Christ, he whispered. I’m a Morlock.” pg 30

Fact on the Fiction: This book won a Pulitzer. Wikipedia

Day One Hundred and Forty-Nine

8/29

The Book: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

ISBN: 0-812-55070-6

Suggested By: Audrey Scott

Where: Home

When: 6-630P

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 278-324 (55)

The Lead In: I was poisoned. After finding out some of the less appealing aspects of the author, I didn’t enjoy the book as much. I have to say, the ending was weird....Well, more on that next.

The 411 on the 55: On the asteroid training base, Ender has to play complicated games fighting against his trainer, a veteran of the original bugger wars. With his crew of friends, Ender wins each battle, but is losing his health as the wars continue. Losing sleep, blacking out, losing the desire to eat, finally he is brought in for the last battle. And, oh, you guess it? He wins.

And guess what? It was actually real battles he was fighting, he was commanding ships already at the bugger universe. They are all wiped out, hooray, Ender is the best.

The resolution? Ender’s brother is now running the show on Earth, using his persona, Locke, that he created in writing on the Nets. Valentine bails on him and joins Ender at the asteroid. Because all the buggers are dead, their worlds are available for colonization and humans are rolling out, including Valentine, who talks Ender into it, as well.

Once on the bugger world, Ender is traveling around, discovers a building built out of his memories, by the buggers. There he is greeted with a large bunch of memories not his own. Flooded with memories of the buggers, and given a pupa to protect (to eventually release on a future bugger world), he writes a book about the bugger race. It becomes a religion and influences people all across the universe, the end.

The 20/20: So the book was marginal at best. I didn’t enjoy the ending, I felt that it was a bit underwhelming. It should have ended with Ender killing the buggers. Instead it dragged on for 30 pages of heart-tugging (or at least attempted heart-tugging) about buggers. I would have like the book better had it ended with Ender losing and the buggers ruling Earth. Now that would be a twist!

Line of the Day: “And always Ender carried with hi a dry white cocoon, looking for the world where the hive-queen could awaken and thrive in peace.” pg 324 Cheese.

Fact on the Fiction: You know, you read something like, “Ender’s Game is in the top 100 novels of all-time” and you think “Really?” After going to the link you find it was all voted on by “regular” people rather than experts and Ayn Rand and L Ron Hubbard take up has 7 of the top 10 ten spots. Spare me. Do check out the Board’s list, though. MLA