Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Update
Hello my lovely bookworms. I would like to apologize for not posting any blogs for the past few weeks. School and work have been piling on. However with midterms almost over, I'll finally have time to post some book review. There are some book reviews on the way, however the format of the reviews will be different. Also I'll try other kinds of blog posts. One I am working on is adaptation reaction where I write a blog post reacting to a movie adaptation of a book I read and give its pros and cons. Also there will be some top ten lists. And some book related posts on the way. I hope you are all still here and stay tuned.
Monday, March 13, 2017
Book Review: Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
It looks like dystopian fiction is a major trend in young adult fiction now huh? With books like Maze Runner, Divergent, and The Hunger Games, teenagers have been introduced to fine concepts of dystopia, even if they refused to read 1984 or Anthem in their English class. What if I told you they were all rip-offs!?!? Okay that's too harsh, but lets be fair, none of them would even exist if it wasn't for Koushun Takami's controversial novel, Battle Royale. To me this book is the original Hunger Games.
Anyway, Koushun Takami wrote this book in 1999 and was published in his home country of Japan. Let me also point out this is a one hit wonder in the world of literature. This book acted as both a political statement to the Japanese government, as well as the most violent book I ever read involving teenagers killing eachother (the Hunger Games have NOTHING compared to this book). Almost immediately after it was published it was banned in Japan and only recently has it surfaced here in the States!!! However Japanese culture is very prominent in this book so bare with me.
The book follows a 15 year-old named Shuya who, along with his I think 9th grade class, *I don't know the education system is different in Japan,)\ is randomly selected to participate in a contest called Battle Royale. The rules are simple: Kill eachother until the last one standing within 72 hours. The winner gets a lifelong pension from the government. There are a lot of unfair rules to the game, every teen has to wear a collar around their neck, this acts as a tracking device and a detonator. Every few hours or say one quadrant of the island is closed off, and if you aren't out of that zone in time, or try to force the collar off, it will detonate. Shuya teams up with Noriko, a girl who has a crush on him, and Kawada, a transfer who has a very interesting past which I won't give away do to spoilers. They must survive in this battle while everyone, some of them who are close friends are killing eachother around them.
One of the things I liked about the book, which really impressed me, was the character development. Takami was actually able to give every student (all 42 of them!) a personality. We get a look into all of their pasts, we get to know some things about them, and as well a glimpse into their psyche, the only downside to it, and spoiler, most of them are killed off almost immediately after we get to know them. Some of them do get their own story arch and they are emotional and sometimes disturbing. You really get the feeling that these are real teenagers in a scary situation.
There is a level of paranoia throughout the book, as classmates constantly question who to trust, who not to trust, constantly checking their backs and constantly acknowledging that anyone can turn on them at any given moment. Some of them give into the paranoia with friends turning on friends.
Takami also did a good job with exploring the world he created, being shown through flashbacks with the characters. It wasn't in depth, but I guess this flaws gets a get out of jail free card since we are given it through the perspectives of the characters, who are in fact teenagers with very little knowledge of their government.
If there were any flaws I found in the book it was the text itself. There were a few awkward wording here and there, which probably is a result of the translation from Japanese to English.
To me, Battle Royale was very unsettling. Books like the Hunger Games and Divergent owe a lot to this book. Takami wasn't afraid to express his feelings and attitudes towards politics with this book. Which is probably where the controversy came from. But ten years later, it has built a passionate fanbase.....STEPHEN KING, loves it, and even recommended it on his 2010 summer reading list. I personally love this book, it was emotional, disturbing, and even uplifting.
It certainly broke ground in the dystopian genre as we know it today, and it does provoke alot of though. That, along with the well written prose, complex characters and a page turning thrillride of a story earns this book Five exploding neck braces out of Five.
But like always...these are just my opinions. Have you read the book? Comment below, go get the book, give me feed back and hopefully you enjoy it!!!
P.S. TAKE THAT HUNGER GAMES MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
I don't usually mention film adaptations of books I've read because I'd rather you read the book then watch the movie but I will break my rule here and also recommend the film adaptation of Battle Royale. It was directed in the authors native country of Japan and was the final film directed by Kinji Fukasaku. It remains the highest-grossing foreign film
Anyway, Koushun Takami wrote this book in 1999 and was published in his home country of Japan. Let me also point out this is a one hit wonder in the world of literature. This book acted as both a political statement to the Japanese government, as well as the most violent book I ever read involving teenagers killing eachother (the Hunger Games have NOTHING compared to this book). Almost immediately after it was published it was banned in Japan and only recently has it surfaced here in the States!!! However Japanese culture is very prominent in this book so bare with me.
The book follows a 15 year-old named Shuya who, along with his I think 9th grade class, *I don't know the education system is different in Japan,)\ is randomly selected to participate in a contest called Battle Royale. The rules are simple: Kill eachother until the last one standing within 72 hours. The winner gets a lifelong pension from the government. There are a lot of unfair rules to the game, every teen has to wear a collar around their neck, this acts as a tracking device and a detonator. Every few hours or say one quadrant of the island is closed off, and if you aren't out of that zone in time, or try to force the collar off, it will detonate. Shuya teams up with Noriko, a girl who has a crush on him, and Kawada, a transfer who has a very interesting past which I won't give away do to spoilers. They must survive in this battle while everyone, some of them who are close friends are killing eachother around them.
One of the things I liked about the book, which really impressed me, was the character development. Takami was actually able to give every student (all 42 of them!) a personality. We get a look into all of their pasts, we get to know some things about them, and as well a glimpse into their psyche, the only downside to it, and spoiler, most of them are killed off almost immediately after we get to know them. Some of them do get their own story arch and they are emotional and sometimes disturbing. You really get the feeling that these are real teenagers in a scary situation.
There is a level of paranoia throughout the book, as classmates constantly question who to trust, who not to trust, constantly checking their backs and constantly acknowledging that anyone can turn on them at any given moment. Some of them give into the paranoia with friends turning on friends.
Takami also did a good job with exploring the world he created, being shown through flashbacks with the characters. It wasn't in depth, but I guess this flaws gets a get out of jail free card since we are given it through the perspectives of the characters, who are in fact teenagers with very little knowledge of their government.
If there were any flaws I found in the book it was the text itself. There were a few awkward wording here and there, which probably is a result of the translation from Japanese to English.
To me, Battle Royale was very unsettling. Books like the Hunger Games and Divergent owe a lot to this book. Takami wasn't afraid to express his feelings and attitudes towards politics with this book. Which is probably where the controversy came from. But ten years later, it has built a passionate fanbase.....STEPHEN KING, loves it, and even recommended it on his 2010 summer reading list. I personally love this book, it was emotional, disturbing, and even uplifting.
It certainly broke ground in the dystopian genre as we know it today, and it does provoke alot of though. That, along with the well written prose, complex characters and a page turning thrillride of a story earns this book Five exploding neck braces out of Five.
But like always...these are just my opinions. Have you read the book? Comment below, go get the book, give me feed back and hopefully you enjoy it!!!
P.S. TAKE THAT HUNGER GAMES MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
I don't usually mention film adaptations of books I've read because I'd rather you read the book then watch the movie but I will break my rule here and also recommend the film adaptation of Battle Royale. It was directed in the authors native country of Japan and was the final film directed by Kinji Fukasaku. It remains the highest-grossing foreign film
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Book Review: The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber
Michel Faber has to be one of the most ground-breaking authors of the 21st century. He is widely known for his 2002 book, The Crimson Petal and the White, which was also made into a TV miniseries! He has also written many short stories surround this hit book, as well as Under The Skin, The Fire Gospel, One Hundred and Nintey Nine Steps, The Courage Consort and The Book of Strange New Things.
The Book of Strange New Things was written in 2014 and according to Faber, it may be the last book he ever writes. And boy did I have quite an interesting experience with this book.
Now to the story....
Peter is a 33 year old Christian minister, who is chosen by USIC to take a journey to a distant earth-like planet called Oasis. His purpose is to teach the inhabitants about Christianity, the natives or "the Oasians" as they are called, have already gone through 2 previous pastors, both of which disappeared under unknown circumstances. During his stay on Oasis, he gets to know the Oasians and makes a friend, Alex Grainger, the USIC's pharmacist, The oasians have their own language, and in the text they are written out in symbol's clearly so the reader is unable to understand. They also can't use "T"s or S's in their vocabulary, so these symbols substitute the letters for possible reasons to the structure of their vocal chorts. This is interesting because we don't know the type of sounds they make, leaving it up to the reader to imagine the noises they make, however it is possible that humans are capable of learning the language since Peter begins speaking their language, but once again, we don't know how it actually sounds. They are also naturally stoic creatures, and are almost genderless that Peter seems to rely on his own intuition to distinguish who's female and who's male.
Also, during Peter's stay, he exchanges messages with his wife back on Earth. While they exchange how much they miss each other and love each other, there is also something darker happening. With every message that Bea sends, it describes something that's been happening back on earth. It starts out small with some certain goods not in stock at the local supermarket, but then it escalates. Bea begins to describe natural disasters creating destruction and death on massive scales, economic discomfort, political decline and violence breaking out in the streets and how hard she is trying to get by without her husband. There is no given explanation to it, but its hinted at why all the people that work for USIC don't seem in a rush to go back home. Peter tries his best to give Bea all the comfort he can while he's away, but he begins to spend time with the Oaisans more and more, and communicating with his wife less and less.
This is where I found myself hating Peter a few times. He seems so dedicated to teaching the Oaisans about God he seems to forget he has a wife sometimes. In the first three chapters of the book, its made very clear that Peter and Bea really love each other, There is alot of depth given to their relationship throughout the book, talking about how Peter was a drug addict who met Bea who was a nurse in a hospital he was treated at. Upon getting married, he turned his life around and became a Christian minister, and he seems very passionate about it, which seems to work against him. Throughout the first half of the book, Peter attempts to comfort Bea by reminding her to pray to God and other religious advice, something Bea seems to get annoyed with. It all takes a major turn when Bea finally claims to have no more faith and on top of that, she is pregnant with Peter's child.
*SKIP THIS TO AVOID SPOILERS*
The ending of the book was probably the most bitter-sweet-at-the-same-time-emptiest ending I've ever read. Peter finally decides he wants to go back to Earth, which is now dying, to be with his wife and child. However, before he leaves, Bea sends him a message not to return to Earth because it will comfort her to know he is okay, and to make sure he doesn't come back. she is moving house. But Peter, who seems to have lost his faith in God, still chooses to go back. And it really is left up to us to decide whether Peter and Bea reunite or not. This ending was hopeful, but at the same time, it isn't. It made everything Peter was doing seem pointless. He goes to a planet to teach the natives about God and yet he looses his own faith, so what is the whole point of teaching Christianity? And does he ever find his wife? I personelly don't believe he does, but by how he is written, I don't think he ever gave up hope. That's really just my opinion.
*SKIP THIS TO AVOID SPOILERS*
I began to wonder how Faber can write such a deep but at the same time, an empty story. Then I did my research. Michel Faber wrote this book while his wife, Eva, was dying of cancer. This leads me to believe that the deteriorating relationship between Bea and Peter is sort of an allegory to the author and his wife. Peter loves Bea, and Bea loves Peter. In the book it's made clear they barely spent long periods of time apart, and the distance, gets between them during Peter's stay on Oasis. As Peter and Bea begin to grow distant, so does Peter and his Christian faith. He constantly tries to remind himself that God has a plan, but he can't bring himself to accept everything that is happening to his wife back on earth, even if it means abandoning his mission. By how this conflict is conveyed in the book, its almost like it is out the control of the characters, Peter is to dedicated to his Christian values, and Bea is so lost her loneliness that the turmoil happening on earth begins to effect her. Its almost like God is doing it himself, kind of like how you slowly loose someone you love to a disease they can't fight.
Now the book has its own share of flaws. Many of the other characters were really just there for the background, coming into the spotlight just to show how Peter interacts with the other members of USIC. However, Alex Grainger, gets her own character growth. She starts out like everyone else, seemingly stoic, focused only on her own self-interests and doesn't care much for the Oaisans or Peter's work. As the book progresses, we learn more about Alex and she seems to be a person suppressing her emotions for the sake of everyone around her. When Peter comes along, she seeks comfort with him, and they grow a special bond which almost seems romantic.
Actually most of the members of the USIC don't seem to care much about the Oasians, even acknowledging them as freaks, The only other contact the humans and the Oaisans ever make is when they exchange medical supplies for food surplus. The food on Oasis is made solely from a white flower, and its harvested and seasoned to resemble and taste like foods from Earth. It's never explained in full detail and adds a level of mystery to the Oaisans. Even at the end of the book we still know very little about them. What we do know is that they have a very fragile anatomy, anything as simple as a bruise can cause severe damage. They seem very welcoming and are clearly facinated with Christianity, with a few of them refusing to follow it, but every community has their atheists right? I know many of the humans at USIC are.
The book was very well written, advancing the plot when it had to and taking time to embellish the world it created. Aside from Peter, Alex and possibly Bea, I really wish the other characters were flushed out a bit more. But that's forgivable. The book is very thought provoking and I think whether you are religious or not you will enjoy it. With ideas of faith and dedication to the person you love always being addressed, the book acts as a very interesting character study of Peter. The book has other suprises which I have not discussed which can make the story all the more interesting. This is why I am giving the book 4 cute little deadly fanged creatures out of 5.
The Book of Strange New Things was written in 2014 and according to Faber, it may be the last book he ever writes. And boy did I have quite an interesting experience with this book.
Now to the story....
Peter is a 33 year old Christian minister, who is chosen by USIC to take a journey to a distant earth-like planet called Oasis. His purpose is to teach the inhabitants about Christianity, the natives or "the Oasians" as they are called, have already gone through 2 previous pastors, both of which disappeared under unknown circumstances. During his stay on Oasis, he gets to know the Oasians and makes a friend, Alex Grainger, the USIC's pharmacist, The oasians have their own language, and in the text they are written out in symbol's clearly so the reader is unable to understand. They also can't use "T"s or S's in their vocabulary, so these symbols substitute the letters for possible reasons to the structure of their vocal chorts. This is interesting because we don't know the type of sounds they make, leaving it up to the reader to imagine the noises they make, however it is possible that humans are capable of learning the language since Peter begins speaking their language, but once again, we don't know how it actually sounds. They are also naturally stoic creatures, and are almost genderless that Peter seems to rely on his own intuition to distinguish who's female and who's male.
Also, during Peter's stay, he exchanges messages with his wife back on Earth. While they exchange how much they miss each other and love each other, there is also something darker happening. With every message that Bea sends, it describes something that's been happening back on earth. It starts out small with some certain goods not in stock at the local supermarket, but then it escalates. Bea begins to describe natural disasters creating destruction and death on massive scales, economic discomfort, political decline and violence breaking out in the streets and how hard she is trying to get by without her husband. There is no given explanation to it, but its hinted at why all the people that work for USIC don't seem in a rush to go back home. Peter tries his best to give Bea all the comfort he can while he's away, but he begins to spend time with the Oaisans more and more, and communicating with his wife less and less.
This is where I found myself hating Peter a few times. He seems so dedicated to teaching the Oaisans about God he seems to forget he has a wife sometimes. In the first three chapters of the book, its made very clear that Peter and Bea really love each other, There is alot of depth given to their relationship throughout the book, talking about how Peter was a drug addict who met Bea who was a nurse in a hospital he was treated at. Upon getting married, he turned his life around and became a Christian minister, and he seems very passionate about it, which seems to work against him. Throughout the first half of the book, Peter attempts to comfort Bea by reminding her to pray to God and other religious advice, something Bea seems to get annoyed with. It all takes a major turn when Bea finally claims to have no more faith and on top of that, she is pregnant with Peter's child.
*SKIP THIS TO AVOID SPOILERS*
The ending of the book was probably the most bitter-sweet-at-the-same-time-emptiest ending I've ever read. Peter finally decides he wants to go back to Earth, which is now dying, to be with his wife and child. However, before he leaves, Bea sends him a message not to return to Earth because it will comfort her to know he is okay, and to make sure he doesn't come back. she is moving house. But Peter, who seems to have lost his faith in God, still chooses to go back. And it really is left up to us to decide whether Peter and Bea reunite or not. This ending was hopeful, but at the same time, it isn't. It made everything Peter was doing seem pointless. He goes to a planet to teach the natives about God and yet he looses his own faith, so what is the whole point of teaching Christianity? And does he ever find his wife? I personelly don't believe he does, but by how he is written, I don't think he ever gave up hope. That's really just my opinion.
*SKIP THIS TO AVOID SPOILERS*
I began to wonder how Faber can write such a deep but at the same time, an empty story. Then I did my research. Michel Faber wrote this book while his wife, Eva, was dying of cancer. This leads me to believe that the deteriorating relationship between Bea and Peter is sort of an allegory to the author and his wife. Peter loves Bea, and Bea loves Peter. In the book it's made clear they barely spent long periods of time apart, and the distance, gets between them during Peter's stay on Oasis. As Peter and Bea begin to grow distant, so does Peter and his Christian faith. He constantly tries to remind himself that God has a plan, but he can't bring himself to accept everything that is happening to his wife back on earth, even if it means abandoning his mission. By how this conflict is conveyed in the book, its almost like it is out the control of the characters, Peter is to dedicated to his Christian values, and Bea is so lost her loneliness that the turmoil happening on earth begins to effect her. Its almost like God is doing it himself, kind of like how you slowly loose someone you love to a disease they can't fight.
Now the book has its own share of flaws. Many of the other characters were really just there for the background, coming into the spotlight just to show how Peter interacts with the other members of USIC. However, Alex Grainger, gets her own character growth. She starts out like everyone else, seemingly stoic, focused only on her own self-interests and doesn't care much for the Oaisans or Peter's work. As the book progresses, we learn more about Alex and she seems to be a person suppressing her emotions for the sake of everyone around her. When Peter comes along, she seeks comfort with him, and they grow a special bond which almost seems romantic.
Actually most of the members of the USIC don't seem to care much about the Oasians, even acknowledging them as freaks, The only other contact the humans and the Oaisans ever make is when they exchange medical supplies for food surplus. The food on Oasis is made solely from a white flower, and its harvested and seasoned to resemble and taste like foods from Earth. It's never explained in full detail and adds a level of mystery to the Oaisans. Even at the end of the book we still know very little about them. What we do know is that they have a very fragile anatomy, anything as simple as a bruise can cause severe damage. They seem very welcoming and are clearly facinated with Christianity, with a few of them refusing to follow it, but every community has their atheists right? I know many of the humans at USIC are.
The book was very well written, advancing the plot when it had to and taking time to embellish the world it created. Aside from Peter, Alex and possibly Bea, I really wish the other characters were flushed out a bit more. But that's forgivable. The book is very thought provoking and I think whether you are religious or not you will enjoy it. With ideas of faith and dedication to the person you love always being addressed, the book acts as a very interesting character study of Peter. The book has other suprises which I have not discussed which can make the story all the more interesting. This is why I am giving the book 4 cute little deadly fanged creatures out of 5.
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