Another One Bites The Dust

Bye-bye 1984...

It was difficult to get into this book, but after the fist 20 pages I really wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen. Poor Winston! Towards the end of the book, when Winston is reading The Book for the Brotherhood, that was a little boring. I really wanted to skip those pages - sometimes there was just TOO MUCH information. And the ending... what an ending. Not sure how I felt about that. Overall, I'm glad I read it.

And I get to cross it off my 100 Greatest Novels List.

41. Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe

Let me just start by saying... hallelujah, I finished! I had a difficult time reading this book... It took me three weeks to read it - that's a long time for me! Especially considering that it was only 250 pages long!

Robinson Crusoe is born into middle class society. His parents continue to tell him he is fortunate, yet Robinson is unhappy with his "mediocre" life. He informs his parents he wants to sail the seas and his father warns him against this, saying that only misfortune can come of his plans. Headstrong and stubborn, Robinson sets off from England and within sight of the shore, the boat sinks. Still Robinson does not learn. On another of his journeys his ship is overran by pirates and he is taken captive. After a few years of slavery he escapes and makes his way to Brazil. Here he creates a prosperous plantation for himself - and still he is not content. One of his colleagues suggests the purchase of slaves for the betterment of their plantations, an idea to which Robinson jumps. He sets off on another voyage and this time his ship is caught in a huge storm and wrecked. All of his shipmates are drowned and Robinson is marooned on an uninhabited island. The majority of the story follows his life on the island and the adventures he experiences.

I had a lot of high expectations when I started reading this book. I was let down. The beginning was incredibly boring. I was so tired of hearing Robinson complain about his station in life and all the travels he undertook before his being stranded on the island. Then there were a lot of parts while he was on the island where he complained about his situation... I understand that that would be a fairly horrible experience, but I can imagine that myself... I don't need to read page after page about how Robinson felt. Then there was the ending. It was so odd. I felt that it didn't tie in with the rest of the book at all. It was just too convenient how he got off the island, then was rich, and then they spent the last chunk of the book on his trekking across the Pyrenees mountains... it was weird. I think it would have been a better book if they left that part out.

I loved Friday. What a great character. So sweet, so innocent, so trusting... I loved how he was so true to Robinson and would do anything for him. I'm glad he found his father again, but thought it was strange that he would just leave him behind after being reunited. I really enjoyed reading about all the ways Robinson survived: his planting crops with the left over seed, sun drying grapes into raisins, domesticating the wild goats on the island... what a smart man. I honestly don't think I would survive as well as he did - hopefully I never get shipwrecked!

Rating: 3.25/5

40. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Set in the mythical town of Macondo, One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the Buendia family. Over the period of one hundred years, the Buendia family (whose predecessor is Jose Arcadio) experiences the rise and fall of their beloved home town. Jose Arcadio and his wife Ursula are the leaders of an expedition that travels to the unpopulated swamps far beyond the reach of any civilization to create the town of Macondo. The story continues through their children, their children's children and so on through six generations of the Buendia family.

This is the September book club selection for my family, so I don't want to give too much away. I really enjoyed this book. There were so many fanciful and unbelievable stories and experiences that the Buendia family members went through - you know they can't be true but you find yourself wanting to believe them because they help bring the lovable characters of the Buendia family to life. Garcia Marquez did a wonderful job weaving fantasy with real life. When asked how he came up with the writing style for One Hundred Years of Solitude, Garcia Marquez wrote:

The tone that I eventually used in One Hundred Years of Solitude was
based on the way my grandmother used to tell stories. She told things that
sounded supernatural and fantastic, but she told them with complete naturalness
. . . What was most important was the expression she had on her face. She
did not change her expressions at all when telling her stories . . . In previous
attempts to write, I tried to tell the story without believing in it. I
discovered that what I had to do was believe in them myself and write them with
the same expression with which my grandmother told them: with a brick face."

I had a hard time putting this book down. I kept wondering what would happen to each member of the Buendia family. Garcia Marquez really pulled me in with his writing style and I really enjoyed this book.

Rating: 4/5

26. Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë

After the death of his loving guardian, Heathcliff is left to the care of his guardian's son, Hindley. Jealous of the attentions given to Heathcliff by his father, Hindley mistreats Heathcliff and the two become bitter enemies. Hindley's sister and Heathcliff's playmate, Catherine, is the only one to come to Heathcliff's defense. A strange form of love bonds the two for life, but through unforeseen events they are separated and Heathcliff disappears. Many years pass before Heathcliff returns, and many changes have occurred as well. More vindictive and malevolent then ever, Heathcliff starts down a path of destruction, vowing to repay those who have mistreated him.


Wuthering Heights is considered to be "an unpolished and devastating epic of childhood playmates who grow into soul mates, widely regarded as the most original tale of thwarted desire and heartbreak in the English language. (Goodreads.com)" I believe that description hits the nail right on the head. It was an eerily disturbing tale of scorned love and how far a man will go to take revenge on those who have wronged him. It was hard to imagine that somebody would go to those lengths for "love" - pretty crazy if you asked me! It was very disturbing at times, but I found that those times were the hardest times to put the book down! I could not wait to find out what happened to the Earnshaws, Lintons and Heathcliffs and really enjoyed the ending.


Rating: 4/5