One of the best books I've read this year. This memoir about fanaticism, family and our capacity for change is impossible to put down. One of the best books I've read this year. This memoir about fanaticism, family and our capacity for change is impossible to put down. ...more
Truly an incredible story, made even better by a master of storytelling. What Louis Zamperini went through is unbelievable, but somehow I have to beliTruly an incredible story, made even better by a master of storytelling. What Louis Zamperini went through is unbelievable, but somehow I have to believe it.
I don't really want to see the movie because the many of the hardships Zamperini endured are so horrible and brutal that I have no desire to see them played out on screen (plus I hear the movie's just bad). But this book is just breathtaking. It'll change the way you see WWII, unless you're a WWII buff who already knows everything, in which case it'll just give you a more complete, fleshed-out picture. But being a few years out of high school now, I had either forgotten or never learned the true extent of the toll WWII took.
I don't really know what to think about some of the almost absurdly awful things that happen throughout the book, causing some to question how true this book really was. Like, that Zamperini got punched in the face over 200 times and somehow didn't sustain lasting brain damage. Or that he found God and was suddenly able to give up alcohol, cure his PTSD and become "blissful" with his wife all in one go. Memory and trauma are strange things. But the skeleton of the story remains. Zamperini did survive a plane crash. He did live on a floating raft for more than 40 days. He was in POW camps that have been described by hundreds as crushing, brutal places. The documents hold this stuff up. The most lurid details may be in dispute, but no matter what, Zamperini definitely survived more than most of us could ever dream, and come out of it a better person. And the book is still a damn good yarn.
I don't know. I'm able to let the doubt go. I understand why it might bother some, but it definitely didn't ruin the book for me. Tomorrow I'm going to take a closer look at Hillenbrand's notes and see what her research looks like....more
Wow. I love Tana French, but the end of this book was just... well, it was tough.
French has a habit of making you love her characters, despite their nWow. I love Tana French, but the end of this book was just... well, it was tough.
French has a habit of making you love her characters, despite their numerous flaws. Then she tears their lives apart.
This book was especially heartbreaking. It was also terrifying; much scarier than her other books. Over the past week I've been reading it each night before I go to bed, and I've been having some pretty weird dreams. French paints a picture of creeping insanity, slowly eating away at what seems like the picture-perfect family. It's chilling. And it's really cool that French is able to scare me so much.
Reading French's writing is always a joy, and sometimes you have to take a moment to linger on some amazing metaphor she came up with. I loved the book - it was big and complicated and moving. But if you're looking for French without getting your heart and your sense of security shattered, go with The Likeness....more
I finished this in about four nights of intensive reading, and I absolutely agree that this book is incredible. The book chronicles the murder of a yoI finished this in about four nights of intensive reading, and I absolutely agree that this book is incredible. The book chronicles the murder of a young British woman, Lucie Blackman, and the subsequent investigation into her death. It's riveting true crime, but it also delves into much deeper issues: The institutions in Japan that made this murder possible, societal expectations of those in mourning, and the complex ways grief unfolds after a tragedy.
Parry has a deep understanding of Japan after living and reporting there for years, and his knowledge exposes and avoids prejudices in the case that could easily trap a less experienced reporter. He knows that while Japanese culture differs greatly from Western culture, that doesn't mean that they are sexually repressed or more prone to violence. He sees that the low crime rate in Japan is not due to a gifted police force but simply to people who commit less crimes, and the inept handling of Lucie's murder stemmed from police who had just never seen this type of situation. He knows enough about the hostessing culture to see that Lucie should not be considered stupid or careless to have traveled with a stranger to his apartment - the situation unfolded naturally; many girls had done the same in the past, and many girls would do the same in the future.
Parry's understanding of human nature and societal norms also raises the book above the level of average true crime. Many have faulted Lucie's father, Tim, for his seeming "enjoyment" of the hunt for his daughter's killer. He seemed to lack the public bereavement people are *supposed* to display after losing a child. While this initially turned people against him, it was later, when he accepted money from Lucie's killer, that cemented hatred from the public. Parry reminds us that most people are in no position to judge him -- people deal with grief in different ways, and no one knows until they have experienced such a level of loss what they will actually do.
If you love true crime, this book is an excellent addition to the genre. If you don't love true crime, this is still absolutely worth reading. Parry is deeply knowledgeable and never judgmental, and his sense of suspense and pacing is masterful. The book is a human story above all else - a monumental tragedy, and the already broken family that had to somehow live with her death. The scariest part is that the killer carried out the same crime on SO MANY girls, and it just so happened that Lucie was the one who died. It truly could have happened to any of those girls, and it's not so hard to imagine myself in the same situation....more
I finished this book in less than a week, even though it's about 500 pages long. I bought it on the first day it came out since I read the other two bI finished this book in less than a week, even though it's about 500 pages long. I bought it on the first day it came out since I read the other two books about the Jeffrey MacDonald Case (Fatal Vision and The Journalist and the Murderer) earlier in the summer and the case is still fresh in my mind.
This is a super quick read and a MUST if you've read in any detail about the MacDonald case. Everything you think you know about the case will be overturned. If you've read Fatal Vision, prepare to be slowly convinced that MacDonald's guilt is not nearly as certain as that book makes it seem. I started A Wilderness of Error pretty secure in my conviction that MacDonald was guilty, and while I'm still not convinced he's innocent I do think his trial was unfair and the investigation was botched from the beginning.
Wilderness of Error is nowhere near as literary and grippingly well-written as Fatal Vision, nor as eye-rollingly painful as The Journalist and the Murderer. Errol Morris thinks both books are misguided products of opportunism, laziness and sometimes just pure idiocy, and he mostly sticks to the facts. The book goes so quickly because only about half the book is Morris's actual writing; the rest is comprised of interview transcripts and direct quotes from evidentiary materials. He is for the most part presenting the evidence in its purest form and leaving the reader to decide what to think.
I say "for the most part" because Morris does introduce his own opinion. He has to - in order for the reader to understand all the confusing pieces of evidence he's pulled together from all corners of the case, he has to interpret it for us. He makes some claims that I don't find completely credible, like that Ken Mica was lying to himself and everybody else when he said that the woman he saw on the street was not Helena Stoeckley. I also think he gave undue weight to the statements of some witnesses who cast doubt on the characters of anti-MacDonald people, such as the Kassabs, while not giving any space to the people who don't like MacDonald. He says that the main problem with the MacDonald case is that the authorities decided within days that MacDonald had done it because they didn't like him, and after that no amount of evidence to the contrary could sway them. However, he prints a good amount of defamatory statements against the Kassabs and the members of the investigation team and the prosecution, without going the other way.
I understand that this may have been his intention -- he may have decided that enough had been said about MacDonald's guilt and he would look at it solely from the other side. But I still thought he wasn't being completely fair.
It was interesting that Morris avoided going into detail about MacDonald's personality and motivations in life. He only spent a few pages talking about his own conversation with MacDonald, and offered almost no commentary on it - just an excerpt from the transcript. The only discussion of MacDonald's personality revolved around other people's perceptions of it and how those colored the handling of the hard fact and evidence in the case. I thought that was a fresh and important take, but so much of the case centers on MacDonald's personality that I would have at least liked to know what Morris himself thought of him.
I appreciated that Morris hated Janet Malcolm's The Journalist and the Murderer as much as I did, for the exact same reasons (in fact, the exact same PASSAGE - check out my review to see). Malcolm makes a completely incoherent argument to begin with, but when she refused to read the evidence she lost all her credibility in my eyes.
This is an excellent investigation and absolutely worth your time if you already have an interest in the MacDonald case. I have no idea what my experience would have been like had I not already read Fatal Vision and The Journalist and the Murderer. It probably would have been really confusing. The Journalist and the Murderer is not worth reading, but I think Fatal Vision includes a lot of good background on the case, even though it will leave you with a biased (and possibly completely wrong) leaning toward MacDonald's guilt. Maybe at least read the Wikipedia entry on the case before delving into this one.
Finally, I agree with Morris on one point. I think I still believe Jeffrey MacDonald is guilty because the alternative is too horrible to contemplate - a man who has spent his life since February 17, 1970, when he was 26 years old, imprisoned (physically, emotionally, through public opinion) for a crime he did not commit....more
Wow. What a book. I'm really glad I read it, because I had been wondering about Scientology for a long time. This book is very well reported and well Wow. What a book. I'm really glad I read it, because I had been wondering about Scientology for a long time. This book is very well reported and well written, and while I need to take a closer look at the notes I applaud Janet Reitman on her work. Especially after about what the church has done to anyone trying to expose them, I find Reitman writing this book incredibly courageous.
I think it was important for me to get a sense of just how un-religious Scientology is as an organization. You can't attain the highest levels of Scientologist "enlightenment" without paying through the nose, and this is a religion that is not based on love. Now, plenty of religions do a terrible job adhering to their central tenants, but at least they claim to be all about loving and helping one another. That's not what Scientology is about. Reading this book, I got kind of a creeping feeling of dread. I was horrified at the amount of people Scientology was able to keep in its clutches for years and years.
I can't believe some of the human rights abuses that took place within the church, for which no one will ever be held accountable because of Scientology's incredible ability to harass and litigate until they get what they want.
This was my true crime book of the summer - I've been trying to get through the classics of the genre, but you really can't read more than one of thesThis was my true crime book of the summer - I've been trying to get through the classics of the genre, but you really can't read more than one of these at a time. Last summer I read Helter Skelter, and a few years ago I read In Cold Blood. I tried to read The Executioner's Song, but couldn't get through more than 100 pages or something. For another time, maybe.
But ANYWAY. Fatal Vision is an incredible book. It's exhaustively detailed and clocks in at 684 pages, but I read it pretty fast, even just on my commute to and from work each day. As the reader, you learn about Jeffrey MacDonald's life before and after the murders, his presumed innocence, the damning physical evidence against him, the many hearings and trials and indictments, and finally how the author, Joe McGinniss, became convinced of MacDonald's guilt.
While MacDonald sued McGinniss for defaming him, there really is no page saying, MACDONALD IS GUILTY. THAT'S IT. BELIEVE IT. McGinniss says explicitly at the end that that's what HE believes (and I think you'd be pretty dense not to agree with him), but there's definitely room to draw your own conclusions.
As a human, I loved the detail about all the people involved in the case. As a journalism student, I found McGinniss's tales of the struggle to report this story heartbreaking and invaluable.
The only criticism I have of this book is that it can get a little repetitive. Because the case was heard so many times as it went through the army, then the grand jury, then the trial, then the 4th circuit (sorry if I forgot one), and because McGinniss wants to be as exhaustive as possible, he repeats the same evidence many, many times. This is good because it drives the points home (I would have no problem explaining to a friend in detail why MacDonald is guilty), but after a while I was like, okay, I know about the holes in the pajama top matching up with Colette's wounds.
I love this book and I think any fan of mystery, true crime or just really good reporting would feel the same. It will stay with me for a very long time, and I'm happy about that....more
I loved this book. I had high expectations for it from the beginning because I love Tana French, but The Likeness blew me away. I read In The Woods anI loved this book. I had high expectations for it from the beginning because I love Tana French, but The Likeness blew me away. I read In The Woods and Faithful Place before this, and Cassie is in general just a much more likable character than Rob or Frank. She is flawed, but I felt so much more empathy for her and so was thrilled when she got the happy ending she deserved. French's writing was, as usual, absolutely and breathtakingly beautiful; there were times while reading it on my commute that I wanted to take note of an especially perfect sentence or description, but I couldn't stop reading long enough to do so. That's what I love so much about Tana French books - the gorgeous prose is combined with an intensely riveting story.
I knew going in that the book was going to have a pretty unbelievable plot, but that didn't really phase me. After all, it's fiction. I think this is my favorite Tana French book so far. It's a book that you can sink into and stay for a while, and that's a great feeling. I think I'll read it again, just for the writing....more
I absolutely fell in love with Tana French's writing after In The Woods, but Faithful Place is even better. I couldn't put it down (luckily I finishedI absolutely fell in love with Tana French's writing after In The Woods, but Faithful Place is even better. I couldn't put it down (luckily I finished 3 final papers before I started it) and I was completely satisfied. The plot and characters were so riveting and the story so well told.
That being said, French has a gift for making her main characters unlikable to the point of being off-putting. I thought Francis was more likable than the main character from In the Woods, but still super annoying at points. Luckily, these characters are always surrounded by excellent supporting characters. That's why I can't wait to read French's third book, The Likeness. That one's about Cassie, the wonderful partner of the protagonist from In the Woods. I hope she's still awesome when she's a Tana French main character!...more
As an aspiring journalist, this book forced me to think about what it means to make a difference in the world through journalism. You don't just get tAs an aspiring journalist, this book forced me to think about what it means to make a difference in the world through journalism. You don't just get to write an amazing story and feel good about it. You have to make sacrifices, weigh countless ethical decisions, and risk pissing people off and hurting people you care about.
Interesting. I thought this book was a little gross at times and a little sad at times and a little "What the heck is going ON?" at times. But it was Interesting. I thought this book was a little gross at times and a little sad at times and a little "What the heck is going ON?" at times. But it was good. It was definitely an intelligent read, and I enjoyed it. Overuse of the c-word, and though I guess a happy ending was too much to ask for I still wanted one. A good read.
One issue I had was that I couldn't for the life of me figure out how Glen Duncan really feels about women. That bothers me....more
I've had mixed experiences with Lauren Myracle's books. I loved Peace, Love and Baby Ducks; Thirteen; and the first two internet books. I hated RhymesI've had mixed experiences with Lauren Myracle's books. I loved Peace, Love and Baby Ducks; Thirteen; and the first two internet books. I hated Rhymes With Witches. Myracle is a chameleon, and this book proves it.
This book is fantastic for a few reasons. First of all, it's a great, riveting story in an atmospheric setting. The characters are likable and real. Cat, who has qualities that could easily make her an obnoxious, holier-than-thou narrator, was someone I could root for.
I read in a now-infamous Wall Street Journal editorial that this book was too depressing and dark for kids to read. I completely disagree. While this book deals with really tough issues (sexual and physical abuse, poverty, sexuality, drugs, prejudice and hate crimes) Myracle always keeps the book hopeful. I liked that there was no long, drawn out period at the beginning where Cat was withdrawn and alone. She found her inner fire at the beginning, which made me want to keep reading. There is ample redemption in this book, and I think it's a great start for a kid who wants to start reading more mature books with more realistic, difficult subject matter.
Yay for Myracle! A lot of people probably think of Myracle as a frivolous writer because of the Internet Girls series, but I'm hoping this book will cause those people to start taking her seriously. Even a book written in Instant Messages can be powerful and real, and that's why Myracle's a great YA author and a great author, period. She takes adolescents seriously and that's why she's one of my favorite YA writers....more
This book is depressing, thought-provoking and fascinating. Don't read it if you're not ready to be thinking about the same book for a long time.
I hadThis book is depressing, thought-provoking and fascinating. Don't read it if you're not ready to be thinking about the same book for a long time.
I had the same problem as a lot of others who read the book-- I found Hannah annoying. I didn't think her reasons for killing herself were unrealistic or unbelievable. I understood very well how she got to that point.
Here's the premise: Hannah Baker kills herself, but leaves behind a set of audio tapes containing the stories of 13 people-- 13 people who drove Hannah to suicide by doing bad things to her.
Hannah was very teenager (I'm an honest-to-God-flesh-and-blood teenager, so I know). Everything bad that happened to her--THE END OF THE WORLD. Every mean thing that happened in her general vicinity-- WHY WAS EVERYONE OUT TO GET HER??? Her pain-- BOTTOMLESS. Her in general-- SO. FREAKING. MISUNDERSTOOD.
Then, after accusing every person on the list of absolutely RUINING HER LIFE, she goes and decides to ruin their lives by telling them that they made her kill herself. Nice, Hannah. Nice. You are DEFINITELY the only victim here.
That being said, I think the author did a great job with this book. He didn't make Hannah a saint because he wanted the reader to really think-- What mistakes did Hannah make? What could she have done instead of committing suicide? What are the effects of our actions, however small? And he makes us teenagers see ourselves and our warped view of the world in Hannah.
Even if Hannah wasn't justified in her whole tape-scheme, she does remind us that every action has repercussions. We should treat each other well. We don't all have to like each other, but we should all be kind to one another. But kindness should be a two-way street, and Hannah would have done well to remember that....more
I felt so incredibly close to the characters in this book. French kept me guessing the whole time and when I finished, I was emotionally drained. I haI felt so incredibly close to the characters in this book. French kept me guessing the whole time and when I finished, I was emotionally drained. I haven't been this into a book in a long time....more
Absolutely incredible. Well-written, engrossing, horrifying and enlightening. I read this for a project in my international relations class. At first Absolutely incredible. Well-written, engrossing, horrifying and enlightening. I read this for a project in my international relations class. At first I was upset that I had chosen it because I had so little time to read it, but now I'm so glad I did. It's one of those books that changed my outlook on history and reminded me why I love learning so much....more
Amazing, amazing, amazing. That's what I say about this book. It's beautifully written and SO compelling-- I read the whole thing in a week despite inAmazing, amazing, amazing. That's what I say about this book. It's beautifully written and SO compelling-- I read the whole thing in a week despite incredible amounts of homework and other crap. Capote was a fantastic investigative journalist, clearly. This book is so sad, so disturbing, and so haunting, yet I don't regret reading it one bit....more
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