This is the book description, taken straight off of Amazon:
With the publication of her first novel, THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER,
Carson McCullers, all of twenty-three, became a literary sensation. With
its profound sense of moral isolation and its compassionate glimpses
into its characters' inner lives, the novel is considered McCullers'
finest work, an enduring masterpiece first published by Houghton Mifflin
in 1940. At its center is the deaf-mute John Singer, who becomes the
confidant for various types of misfits in a Georgia mill town during the
1930s. Each one yearns for escape from small town life. When Singer's
mute companion goes insane, Singer moves into the Kelly house, where
Mick Kelly, the book's heroine (and loosely based on McCullers), finds
solace in her music. Wonderfully attuned to the spiritual isolation that
underlies the human condition, and with a deft sense for racial
tensions in the South, McCullers spins a haunting, unforgettable story
that gives voice to the rejected, the forgotten, and the mistreated --
and, through Mick Kelly, gives voice to the quiet, intensely personal
search for beauty.
Richard Wright praised Carson McCullers for
her ability "to rise above the pressures of her environment and embrace
white and black humanity in one sweep of apprehension and tenderness."
She writes "with a sweep and certainty that are overwhelming," said the
NEW YORK TIMES. McCullers became an overnight literary sensation, but
her novel has endured, just as timely and powerful today as when it was
first published. THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER is Carson McCullers at her
most compassionate, endearing best.
I think it's beautifully written, and McCullers covers such a wide range of topics masterfully - family dynamics, friendship, loneliness, isolation, politics, racism, etc. When I was reading, I felt like I was really there. I could almost see Mick's face when she was listening to the radio, feel how intensely lonely Singer was without Antonapoulos, sense how much Benedict worked for the "strong true purpose" and oh, man, there are a few shockers in this book that definitely make you read on!
Perhaps what stood out to me the most is the sense of isolation in this small town. John Singer is a a mute who Mick, Jake and Benedict all feel understand them in a way that no one else can. He listens to them talk at length and they put him on a pedestal, see him as incredibly wise man of great understanding.
Isn't there something sad about the fact that they believe Singer understands them in a way that no one else does when Singer is unable to talk back? Granted, he is able to respond - he can write, and he does at several points - but mostly, he just listens.
It's sad and yet there's something hopeful (maybe even redemptive) about it, I think. I've been going back and forth in my head about whether this is a reason for optimism or pessimism, that the characters feel less isolated when they talk to Singer when it could be seen as them isolating themselves even further - they're confiding to someone who can't - or rather, doesn't - fully participate as an equal in the conversation. Furthermore, while the three people feel so understood by Singer...they never really ask him about himself. They may worship him, but they only see him as the listener. Though they may be curious about his life, they don't ask about his innermost feelings and such. They are interested in Singer mainly because he plays the role of good listener.
Who listens to Singer? Who understands Singer? It could be argued that Antonapoulos does, but it's unclear exactly how much understanding Antonapoulos possesses. Perhaps the tragedy of the book is that no one completely escapes their isolation, no one really understands anybody else. Singer, the figure of great understanding, is so isolated and lonely, even with the three people who come to see him and talk to him. But I suppose it could be seen optimistically - that even those who lack the ability to speak to speak have the ability to connect with others, relieving isolation.
Has anyone else read this book?
This is the first one I've read by McCullers, and I plan on reading more of her work.
Showing posts with label book reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book reviews. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Feeling Known
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/magazine/george-saunders-just-wrote-the-best-book-youll-read-this-year.html?pagewanted=3&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130106&_r=0
So I've never actually written anything George Saunders has written. But now I'm adding him to my list.
"One thing is that you read them and you feel known, if that makes any sense. Or, possibly even woollier, you feel as if he understands humanity in a way that no one else quite does, and you’re comforted by it."
I think that is one of the essential functions of art, of books. We all hunger, deep down, for some sense of connection. The feeling that we are not alone in feeling whatever it is that we are feeling at the moment - lost, maybe. Confused and scared and maybe even despairing.
The fact that someone you have never met and probably never will can lift you out of that self-pitying stupor through a line in a book or a phrase in a song and make you "feel known" is a certain type of magic.
To feeling known.
So I've never actually written anything George Saunders has written. But now I'm adding him to my list.
"One thing is that you read them and you feel known, if that makes any sense. Or, possibly even woollier, you feel as if he understands humanity in a way that no one else quite does, and you’re comforted by it."
I think that is one of the essential functions of art, of books. We all hunger, deep down, for some sense of connection. The feeling that we are not alone in feeling whatever it is that we are feeling at the moment - lost, maybe. Confused and scared and maybe even despairing.
The fact that someone you have never met and probably never will can lift you out of that self-pitying stupor through a line in a book or a phrase in a song and make you "feel known" is a certain type of magic.
To feeling known.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Dear Enemy (by Jean Webster) Review
Dear Enemy is Sallie McBride's (if you read Daddy Long-Legs, you'll remember that Sallie was Judy's friend and roommate) story. She has graduated from college and is living the life of a well-to-do socialite when Judy offers her the position of superintendent of the John Grier Home.
Sallie accepts. She is a determined, feisty, funny heroine and her letters reflect that spirit. In the beginning, she takes the job partially because Gordon, her boyfriend, laughs at the very idea of her running an orphan asylum, but it turns into something more. Sallie has these big ideas she wants to implement, ranging from the food to the dresses to fresh air.
Sallie is optimistic, but there are definitely trying times. She deals with problems from trustees who don't think she's very well-qualified to staff not used to change to someone giving her dog Singapore a haircut.She learns so much about managing things and opens her heart up to the orphans and of course, she changes and learns along the way.
Dear Enemy delves much more deeply into asylum life and orphans and running an institution. I enjoyed reading about Sallie's attempts to brighten up the children's lives, and her sparring with the "enemy," the doctor who recommends scientific texts in order to provide her with the scientific knowledge that befits an orphan asylum superintendent. There's a scene that really reminds me of Jane Eyre (you'll know exactly what I mean if you read it).
The novel is in letter format, like Daddy Long-Legs. I found Dear Enemy to be charming and witty and entertaining as well, but I wasn't as big a fan as I was of Daddy Long-Legs. Anyway, it's a pretty inspiring story - but not preach-y.
Sallie accepts. She is a determined, feisty, funny heroine and her letters reflect that spirit. In the beginning, she takes the job partially because Gordon, her boyfriend, laughs at the very idea of her running an orphan asylum, but it turns into something more. Sallie has these big ideas she wants to implement, ranging from the food to the dresses to fresh air.
Sallie is optimistic, but there are definitely trying times. She deals with problems from trustees who don't think she's very well-qualified to staff not used to change to someone giving her dog Singapore a haircut.She learns so much about managing things and opens her heart up to the orphans and of course, she changes and learns along the way.
Dear Enemy delves much more deeply into asylum life and orphans and running an institution. I enjoyed reading about Sallie's attempts to brighten up the children's lives, and her sparring with the "enemy," the doctor who recommends scientific texts in order to provide her with the scientific knowledge that befits an orphan asylum superintendent. There's a scene that really reminds me of Jane Eyre (you'll know exactly what I mean if you read it).
The novel is in letter format, like Daddy Long-Legs. I found Dear Enemy to be charming and witty and entertaining as well, but I wasn't as big a fan as I was of Daddy Long-Legs. Anyway, it's a pretty inspiring story - but not preach-y.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
The Story Girl (by L.M. Montgomery) Review
I loved the Anne of Green Gables books when I was younger. (Actually, I'm thinking about re-reading them.) Anyway, this book by the same author caught my attention. Supposedly, this was actually L.M. Montgomery's favorite of the books she'd written.
The Story Girl isn't really related to Anne, but the tone is similar. Nature's beauty is extravagantly praised and you just wish you could see the sunset and their scenic views and the charming brooks and everything. I laughed and laughed at the characters' antics - trying to keep their New Year's resolutions and such. (Mainly Dan, who said the funniest things. He and Felicity had a few disagreements, to put it mildly.)
The Story Girl is Sara Carlisle, and she enjoys telling stories to her cousins and really everybody else. This is one year in their lives. They have adventures and come up with their own newspaper (or was it a magazine?). Certain chapters are the newspaper/magazine in its entirety and it's hilarious reading their writing and then the characters' responses...especially Dan, I must say).
It's a pretty easy read (probably written for the same age group as the Anne books were). Mostly, it's comforting (I seem to be looking for that in books recently) and extremely entertaining. Sometimes I think I should be reading more Great Literature, you know, Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky and Dickens...but I don't crave those books like I crave these books. (I should probably still try.)
If you're looking for something charming and simple and not very demanding, something to make you laugh (and your heart to ache a little), this is the book. Especially for people who loved the Anne of Green Gables books.
(Oh, and I started Dear Enemy by Jean Webster today. It's the sequel of sorts to Daddy Long-Legs. I'll probably review it next week.)
Does anyone have book suggestions, specifically for books similar to Daddy Long-Legs and The Story Girl? I'd be interested to hear what everyone else likes to read.
To stories and reading and book suggestions.
The Story Girl isn't really related to Anne, but the tone is similar. Nature's beauty is extravagantly praised and you just wish you could see the sunset and their scenic views and the charming brooks and everything. I laughed and laughed at the characters' antics - trying to keep their New Year's resolutions and such. (Mainly Dan, who said the funniest things. He and Felicity had a few disagreements, to put it mildly.)
The Story Girl is Sara Carlisle, and she enjoys telling stories to her cousins and really everybody else. This is one year in their lives. They have adventures and come up with their own newspaper (or was it a magazine?). Certain chapters are the newspaper/magazine in its entirety and it's hilarious reading their writing and then the characters' responses...especially Dan, I must say).
It's a pretty easy read (probably written for the same age group as the Anne books were). Mostly, it's comforting (I seem to be looking for that in books recently) and extremely entertaining. Sometimes I think I should be reading more Great Literature, you know, Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky and Dickens...but I don't crave those books like I crave these books. (I should probably still try.)
If you're looking for something charming and simple and not very demanding, something to make you laugh (and your heart to ache a little), this is the book. Especially for people who loved the Anne of Green Gables books.
(Oh, and I started Dear Enemy by Jean Webster today. It's the sequel of sorts to Daddy Long-Legs. I'll probably review it next week.)
Does anyone have book suggestions, specifically for books similar to Daddy Long-Legs and The Story Girl? I'd be interested to hear what everyone else likes to read.
To stories and reading and book suggestions.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Daddy-Long-Legs (by Jean Webster) Review
The book is mostly written in letter format, so I thought I'd review it in the same format.
Dear Reader,
I loved this book. I really did. It was charming and sweet and witty. Very heartwarming. Another book to curl up with when you could use a little cheering up (I seem to be especially fond of these books).
Judy Abbott is an orphan who is unexpectedly given the opportunity to attend college. Her mysterious benefactor only has one requirement, that she writes a letter to him once a month updating him on her progress. Judy is quite the correspondent - she writes much more often than once a month and she really fills Daddy-Long-Legs (her nickname for the benefactor, since she only caught a glimpse of his long legs) in on her days at college.
The letters are funny and irreverent and just delightful to read, but there is a more serious side to Judy, too. She gets downright philosophical sometimes. She writes in one letter,
"It isn't the great big pleasures that count the most; it's making a great deal out of the little ones - I've discovered the true secret of happiness, Daddy, and that is to live in the now. Not to be for ever regretting the past, or anticipating the future; but to get the most that you can out of this very instant...Most people don't live; they just race. They are trying to reach some goal far away on the horizon, and in the heat of the going they get so breathless and panting that they lose all sight of the beautiful, tranquil country they are passing through; and then the first thing they know, they are old and worn out, and it doesn't make any difference whether they've reached the goal or no. I've decided to sit down by the way and pile up a lot of little happinesses."
Don't you think that's wise? I'm very interested in the whole idea of happiness, what it means, how to attain it, if there is any such thing, etc. And I think gratitude is an essential component of happiness. Sometimes the little things - a new book or bottle of nail polish or a letter in the mail - are everything. And if you think about it, little moments comprise so much more of life than big things. How often do birthdays and graduations and weddings and those milestone events occur (not that they can't be perfectly wonderful)? And how often can you borrow a book or paint your nails or write something? Take a walk and look at the stars? So if you want to be happy more often, perhaps appreciating the little things would help.
Anyway, I highly recommend this book. It's become one of my favorites, I think (although it's hard to play favorites with books). If you have ever read any books from the Anne of Green Gables series or the Betsy-Tacy series (two of my very favorites) and loved them, this book is in the same vein.
Affectionately yours,
Eva
Dear Reader,
I loved this book. I really did. It was charming and sweet and witty. Very heartwarming. Another book to curl up with when you could use a little cheering up (I seem to be especially fond of these books).
Judy Abbott is an orphan who is unexpectedly given the opportunity to attend college. Her mysterious benefactor only has one requirement, that she writes a letter to him once a month updating him on her progress. Judy is quite the correspondent - she writes much more often than once a month and she really fills Daddy-Long-Legs (her nickname for the benefactor, since she only caught a glimpse of his long legs) in on her days at college.
The letters are funny and irreverent and just delightful to read, but there is a more serious side to Judy, too. She gets downright philosophical sometimes. She writes in one letter,
"It isn't the great big pleasures that count the most; it's making a great deal out of the little ones - I've discovered the true secret of happiness, Daddy, and that is to live in the now. Not to be for ever regretting the past, or anticipating the future; but to get the most that you can out of this very instant...Most people don't live; they just race. They are trying to reach some goal far away on the horizon, and in the heat of the going they get so breathless and panting that they lose all sight of the beautiful, tranquil country they are passing through; and then the first thing they know, they are old and worn out, and it doesn't make any difference whether they've reached the goal or no. I've decided to sit down by the way and pile up a lot of little happinesses."
Don't you think that's wise? I'm very interested in the whole idea of happiness, what it means, how to attain it, if there is any such thing, etc. And I think gratitude is an essential component of happiness. Sometimes the little things - a new book or bottle of nail polish or a letter in the mail - are everything. And if you think about it, little moments comprise so much more of life than big things. How often do birthdays and graduations and weddings and those milestone events occur (not that they can't be perfectly wonderful)? And how often can you borrow a book or paint your nails or write something? Take a walk and look at the stars? So if you want to be happy more often, perhaps appreciating the little things would help.
Anyway, I highly recommend this book. It's become one of my favorites, I think (although it's hard to play favorites with books). If you have ever read any books from the Anne of Green Gables series or the Betsy-Tacy series (two of my very favorites) and loved them, this book is in the same vein.
Affectionately yours,
Eva
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten Review
Overall, this book was an easy, quick read. It's a collection of brief essays, all heartwarming and reaffirming the goodness of human nature. Plus, the essays are funny. If you're feeling kind of blue, this is a nice little pick-me-up.
The topics touch on daily life ("the daily ordinariness of life") - everything from laundry, chicken-fried steak, crayons, visits to the zoo, neighbors to flight. It might make you appreciate ordinary moments more deeply. I felt more optimistic after finishing this book.
The author, Robert Fulghum, has written other books that I'm curious about and am adding to my reading list.
Some of my favorite quotes:
"Every person passing through this life will unknowingly leave something and take something away. Most of this "something" cannot be seen or heard or numbered. It does not show up in a census. But nothing counts without it." (119)
"Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A Beauty Bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air...And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination." (52)
On Beethoven and his Ninth Symphony, which he composed when he was deaf: "Out of all that sorrow and trouble, out of all that frustration and disappointment, out of all that deep and permanent silence, came all that majesty - that outpouring of JOY and exaltation! He defied his fate with jubilation!" (113)
To appreciating ordinary moments more deeply, to crayons, and to music.
The topics touch on daily life ("the daily ordinariness of life") - everything from laundry, chicken-fried steak, crayons, visits to the zoo, neighbors to flight. It might make you appreciate ordinary moments more deeply. I felt more optimistic after finishing this book.
The author, Robert Fulghum, has written other books that I'm curious about and am adding to my reading list.
Some of my favorite quotes:
"Every person passing through this life will unknowingly leave something and take something away. Most of this "something" cannot be seen or heard or numbered. It does not show up in a census. But nothing counts without it." (119)
"Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A Beauty Bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air...And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination." (52)
On Beethoven and his Ninth Symphony, which he composed when he was deaf: "Out of all that sorrow and trouble, out of all that frustration and disappointment, out of all that deep and permanent silence, came all that majesty - that outpouring of JOY and exaltation! He defied his fate with jubilation!" (113)
To appreciating ordinary moments more deeply, to crayons, and to music.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Catcher in the Rye Review
I read this for the first time as a high school junior. I don't remember liking the book very much. All I remembered is how Holden hated phoniness, and something about a carousel, maybe.
I can't say that this is now my favorite book or anything, but I liked it more this time around. I guess the first thing is just the whole tone of the book. It's so conversational and it feels natural, not forced at all. And I relate more to Holden - he seems so lost. He's looking for something, but he doesn't know what. He only knows that the world he lives in isn't the world he really wants. He's drinking and meeting people and going out and talking, but having so much trouble connecting to them. He feels depressed so much of the time.
There's this one part where he's talking to a former teacher of his. They have maybe the most profound conversation in the book.
“But what I mean is, lots of time you don’t know what interests you most till you start talking about something that doesn’t interest you most. I mean you can’t help it sometimes.”
― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
I like this quote because it seems true to me about life in general. You have to experiment and maybe do a lot of "wrong" things until you get to the right thing. Maybe the thing that's most important is that you start at all. You have no idea where you are or what you want? Fine, just start with one little thing. When was the last time you felt happy? What were you doing? Or try something you've never tried before.
One more quote. Holden's talking to his younger sister Phoebe.
I can't say that this is now my favorite book or anything, but I liked it more this time around. I guess the first thing is just the whole tone of the book. It's so conversational and it feels natural, not forced at all. And I relate more to Holden - he seems so lost. He's looking for something, but he doesn't know what. He only knows that the world he lives in isn't the world he really wants. He's drinking and meeting people and going out and talking, but having so much trouble connecting to them. He feels depressed so much of the time.
There's this one part where he's talking to a former teacher of his. They have maybe the most profound conversation in the book.
“But what I mean is, lots of time you don’t know what interests you most till you start talking about something that doesn’t interest you most. I mean you can’t help it sometimes.”
― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
I like this quote because it seems true to me about life in general. You have to experiment and maybe do a lot of "wrong" things until you get to the right thing. Maybe the thing that's most important is that you start at all. You have no idea where you are or what you want? Fine, just start with one little thing. When was the last time you felt happy? What were you doing? Or try something you've never tried before.
One more quote. Holden's talking to his younger sister Phoebe.
“Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game
in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and
nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on
the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch
everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running
and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from
somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the
catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only
thing I'd really like to be.”
― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
It's beautiful and impossible and terribly, terribly sweet, don't you think? It sounds like Holden wants to help and maybe save (as much as you can save others, anyway) kids. In one alternate universe ending, maybe he'd be a school counselor or something. (I don't know how well he'd do with bureaucracy and all...but actually, I think maybe he'd be understanding with the kids.)
I like that Salinger never answers the question (too easy, right?), but I'm curious nevertheless. I can see him as a temp, bouncing around from position to position, drinking and smoking and reading all the time and still searching for something, whatever it is. I can also see him as a writer, like his brother D.B. Maybe not a commercial success, but he'd be doing something he believed in. Or maybe he does leave everyone and everything he knows and goes out west to work on a ranch or something. Who do you think Holden would grow up to be?
To getting to the things that interest you most.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
P.S. Additional Thoughts on Man's Search for Meaning
Oh, and maybe Frankl's main point is this: that man is driven by the search for meaning, for purpose. I find that uplifting.
You know all those conversations about whether humans are innately good or innately bad? I go back and forth. I read about horrible things happening in the world, but then there are also people trying to do good. Dedicating their whole lives to it, in some cases. Right now, I believe that people are born with the potential for good as well as the potential for bad. Their parents, their environments, etc. shape them to a certain extent of course, but then they also choose. They make the decision to do whatever it is.
Since I graduated and started working last year, I've been thinking about meaning a lot more. I agree with Frankl, that humans are driven by the search for meaning and purpose (as well as you know, food and shelter and all that). I'm searching for my meaning, my purpose.
I definitely haven't found it yet. I don't even think I'm close. I think I'm still pretty much at the beginning of it, actually. It doesn't really matter where you are, though. You know that line about how it's not the destination, but the journey? Cliched and corny as it is, it's true. So it doesn't matter how young or old you are, how far you think you may be from where you need to go...just start. Search.
And hey, look out the window once in a while. Enjoy the scenery.
You know all those conversations about whether humans are innately good or innately bad? I go back and forth. I read about horrible things happening in the world, but then there are also people trying to do good. Dedicating their whole lives to it, in some cases. Right now, I believe that people are born with the potential for good as well as the potential for bad. Their parents, their environments, etc. shape them to a certain extent of course, but then they also choose. They make the decision to do whatever it is.
Since I graduated and started working last year, I've been thinking about meaning a lot more. I agree with Frankl, that humans are driven by the search for meaning and purpose (as well as you know, food and shelter and all that). I'm searching for my meaning, my purpose.
I definitely haven't found it yet. I don't even think I'm close. I think I'm still pretty much at the beginning of it, actually. It doesn't really matter where you are, though. You know that line about how it's not the destination, but the journey? Cliched and corny as it is, it's true. So it doesn't matter how young or old you are, how far you think you may be from where you need to go...just start. Search.
And hey, look out the window once in a while. Enjoy the scenery.
Man's Search for Meaning Review (and of course, a few quotes)
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.
-Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
I read this book a few months ago, mostly during breaks at work. There I was, not exactly thrilled about being at work, and then I would travel back in time (15 minutes at a time) to the 1940's, to Auschwitz. To being a prisoner at Auschwitz.
I was stunned by this book. Frankl managed to make life in a concentration camp meaningful. How many people have so much, and yet live their lives dissatisfied? I told myself that if Frankl could make his concentration camp experiences meaningful, surely I could endure work in higher spirits.
I was struck by that quote, how a person always has the freedom "to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." There is so much we don't know, so much we can't control in life. But we can control our attitude, how we react. It might not sound like very much. But it can be everything.
Frankl made it through the concentration camp partially because he knew he had a book manuscript to finish. He had a higher purpose. He had to make it through the concentration camp so he could fulfill his destiny. And you know what? He did.
"If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete."
-Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
I'm an agnostic. I'm not sure exactly what I believe. But I'm inspired by this quote. It's logical, too, isn't it? I don't know what the meaning of suffering is, but to believe that there is a meaning to it can help.
"human life, under any circumstances, never ceases to have a meaning, and that this infinite meaning of life includes suffering and dying, privation and death."
-Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
Even if you don't feel like your life has meaning (I think everyone feels this way at least a few times), it does. I can't explain it to you. Maybe no one can. It's yours to make, yours to discover. It's a great, great privilege (as well as a challenge and a responsibility), don't you think?
To choosing your own attitude, your own way, especially in the times it seems like you can't.
-Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
I read this book a few months ago, mostly during breaks at work. There I was, not exactly thrilled about being at work, and then I would travel back in time (15 minutes at a time) to the 1940's, to Auschwitz. To being a prisoner at Auschwitz.
I was stunned by this book. Frankl managed to make life in a concentration camp meaningful. How many people have so much, and yet live their lives dissatisfied? I told myself that if Frankl could make his concentration camp experiences meaningful, surely I could endure work in higher spirits.
I was struck by that quote, how a person always has the freedom "to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." There is so much we don't know, so much we can't control in life. But we can control our attitude, how we react. It might not sound like very much. But it can be everything.
Frankl made it through the concentration camp partially because he knew he had a book manuscript to finish. He had a higher purpose. He had to make it through the concentration camp so he could fulfill his destiny. And you know what? He did.
"If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete."
-Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
I'm an agnostic. I'm not sure exactly what I believe. But I'm inspired by this quote. It's logical, too, isn't it? I don't know what the meaning of suffering is, but to believe that there is a meaning to it can help.
"human life, under any circumstances, never ceases to have a meaning, and that this infinite meaning of life includes suffering and dying, privation and death."
-Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
Even if you don't feel like your life has meaning (I think everyone feels this way at least a few times), it does. I can't explain it to you. Maybe no one can. It's yours to make, yours to discover. It's a great, great privilege (as well as a challenge and a responsibility), don't you think?
To choosing your own attitude, your own way, especially in the times it seems like you can't.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares Review
Sisterhood Everlasting (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants #5) by Ann Brashares
This book made me incredibly nostalgic. I remembered being in middle school and high school reading this series, and seeing the movies with friends. (And of course, crying.)
I didn't re-read the other books before reading this one and it's been a few years, but I did remember the characters. I will say there's a completely unexpected twist in the book, but I don't want to give it away. I have mixed feelings overall. I did love this book, but part of me almost wishes Ann Brashares hadn't written it. I felt like she left the characters in a pretty good place in the fourth book. It's always kind of difficult to see fictional characters you're fond of grown up. (Like I could really have done without the epilogue in the last Harry Potter.)
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