Farewell to Matyora

Title: Farewell to Matyora

Author: Valentin Rasputin

Pages: 227

Genre: Fiction

Letter Grade: C+

Synopsis: This book is a sanctioned piece of Soviet literature. It was published in the Brezhnev (post-Stalin) era and portrays how a Soviet village is destroyed because of a large hydroelectric dam project. The book describes how the older people in the village struggle to change and adapt and how the younger villagers are much more willing to give up their village and move to a new, larger village. The book provides an argument that the Soviets can only be spiritually regenerated by returning to and embracing the old way of life.

My Review: I found this book to be a pretty easy read, but I did not find it all that interesting. The book is full of symbolism and metaphors. The book seems to be lacking a climax and most of the story is simply filler. I'll be reselling this book on half.com.

From the Book: "(p. 92) "So don't live to be that old," Darya said with sudden anger. "Know your limit," and she stopped, lowering her voice, realizing that it is not given for man to know his time. "Is it for one's sins that God keeps you alive beyond your time? Oh, they must be terrible sins for that...Where do you collect them? Man must live only as long as he serves a purpose.""

What Should You Read Next?

Here's a fun website that I stumbled across recently. It's called what should I read next? It's web address is http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/. I haven't had a chance to try it out too much, but it looks pretty good so far. I put a permanent link to this site on my sidebar for your easy access.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Title: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Author: Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Pages: 139

Genre: Historical Fiction

Letter Grade: B+

Synopsis: As the title so simply states, this book chronicles one cold, January day in the life of Ivan Denisovich Shukhov. Shukhov is in a Stalinist work camp in Siberia. He was sent there because he escaped from the Germans as a prisoner of war and returned to the Russians (i.e. no concrete reason, just like most of the people in the camp). The book is a single narrative and has no chapters. Although this book clearly chronicles one of the "good days", it still makes you shudder that people were forced into such awful conditions. In many ways, this book is a satire of "Socialist Realism", which is the concept of what Soviet art (including literature) should be. This book shows how Shukhov is a model prisoner, yet still receives no special treatment. He is generally kind to others, while still looking out for his own good.

My Review: I quite enjoyed this book. It was a quick read and realatively easy to understand. Most of us know very little about the forced labor camps and the purges under Stalin. While this book does not deal with the purges, it shows very effectively how men were placed in these camps without reason. It is a vivid depiction of humanity under extreme duress. Disclaimer: This book had quite a bit of foul language, supposedly included as a knock against Socialist Realism.

From the Book: "(p. 134 - Shokhov talking to a Baptist prisoner, Alyosha) But, Ivan Deisovich it's because you pray too rarely, and badly at that.Without really trying. That's why your prayers stay unanswered. One must never stop praying. If you have real faith you tell a mountain to move and it will move..."

"(p. 101 - Walking back to the camp after a hard day's work) Now we could take things easy. Everyone was elated. As elated as a rabbit when it finds it can still terrify a frog."

Sofia Petrovna

Title: Sofia Petrovna

Author: Lydia Chukovskaya

Pages: 120

Genre: Historical Fiction

Letter Grade: A-

Synopsis: This book is a fictional account of the Stalin's great purge. The main character of the book is Sofia Petrovna, a workingwoman trying to be the best Communist that she could be. Her son, Kolya was a great Communist. He was a member of the Young Komsomols and an ingenious inventor. Regardless of all this, he was arrested because somebody had fingered him as a terrorist or something (he wasn't of course). This book chronicles how Sofia Petrovna would wait in line day after day after day trying to learn more about the whereabouts of her son and trying to find out why he was arrested. Eventually he was sentenced to 10 years in a labor camp. Sofia Petrovna never believes that her son is guilty, she also never believes that anybody else who has been arrested is innocent.This is a story of a mother's naivety.

Review: This was a good book. It was a quick read and easy to understand. It is a testimonial to just how messed up the Soviet Union was at the time of these purges. It can be compared to the McCarthy scares of the 1950's but on a much much greater level. Nobody knows exactly how many people dies during the purges. Most believe that more than 6 million were killed. This book is a reminder of the cruelty of those times and the lives that it destroyed.

From the Book: "(p. 72 Spoken by Kolya's friend Alik to Sofia Petrovna) "We've been put on the blacklist, as I understand it. Scoundrels! Where the hell did so many swine come from all of the sudden?" said Alik."

In Cold Blood

Title: In Cold Blood

Author: Truman Capote

Pages: 343

Genre: Non-fiction

Letter Grade: B+

Synopsis: This is the story of the brutal killing of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas. The murders took place on November 15, 1959. The killers had entered the Clutter home and tied up all four members of the family. They were shot with a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. The only clues that were left were two bloody bootprints. No motive could be found. This is the story of the deaths of the Clutter family and their killers, Richard Hickock and Perry Smith.

My Review: It was hard to believe that this book was a non-fiction book. The story is incredible and the details that Mr. Capote was able to turn up are astounding. The book was somewhat disturbing. Hickock and Perry (the killers) show no emotion for what they did and its hard to believe that humans can be so detached yet so conscious of the crimes they commit. There were a few slow spots but most of the book was exciting and unexpected - even though you already know the outcome.

From the Book: (pg. 55, Spoken by Dick to Perry less than an hour before they arrived at the Clutters) Perry gripped the edge of the washbasin and hauled himself to a standing postion. His legs trembled; the pain in his knees made him perspire. He wiped his face with a paper towel. he unlocked the door and said, "O.K. Let's go."

Envy

Title: Envy

Author: Yuri Olesha

Pages: 128

Genre: Socialist Fiction

Letter Grade: B

Synopsis: The main character, Nikolai Kavalerov, is taken in by Andrei Babichev - who is a very important person in the food industry of their city. Kavalerov is an aimless drifter and is often drunk. Babichev tries to help Kavalerov make a better life for himself but Kavalerov is so self-centered and deluded about his own worth that he even begins to hate Babichev. Kavalerov dreams of being important and envies Babichev to no end. Kavalerov gets himself kicked out of Babichev's apartment and he teams up with Andrei Babichev's brother, Ivan. Together they plot to kill Andrei but this comes to nothing. Eventually Ivan and Kavalerov end up living a life of indifference.

My Review: I had to read this book for a class but I was lucky because this book was very interesting. It was actually banned from being published in the Soviet Union for many years because the main character (Kavalerov) was not a good example of the 'new Communist man'. Another problem that they had with the book was that the reader would sympathize with Kavalerov. You do begin to like Kavalerov but you also begin to feel sorry for him and it's very easy to see how worthless he has become. The book reads very quickly and is almost humorous at times.

Favorite Passage: Forthcoming...

Cement

Title: Cement

Author: Fyodor Gladkov

Pages: 311

Genre: Socialist Propaganda

Letter Grade: B

Synopsis: This was one of the very first books to be published in the Soviet Union after the revolution. It is the story about a small industrial city and how they struggle to get the cement factory running again. The main character in the story is Gleb, who recently returned from fighting in the army. He returns to find his wife totally changed. Gleb takes the reins upon himself to work very hard to get the factory going. He and his wife are both members of the Communist party. Gleb and his wife Dasha are now equals in their social lives and in their working lives. The book chronicles their stuggles to adapt to this new situation.

My Review: I obviously had to read this book for school. It turned out to be better than I expected. The book was written (indirectly) as propoganda for the Communist party. It shows how honourable work and labor is to the country. I grew to really like Gleb and a few of the other characters but I also learned to be very grateful that I do not live in a Communist society.

Favorite Passage: (p. 232, talking about Communists who are not 'true' Communists because they think that they are better than others) "It was difficult for him to speak, as he had an unusually large tongue; there was too little room for it in his mouth, and in conversation it peeped out like a slug. Suskin could not get his words out; they stuck in his mouth and splashed about in the saliva with his tongue, suffering from their inability to escape."

Lord of the Flies

Title: Lord of the Flies

Author: William Golding

Pages: 208

Genre: Fiction

Letter Grade: A

Synopsis: The Lord of the Flies is a novel about a groups of young boys who are stranded on a deserted tropical island after a plane wreck. There are three kinds of boys in this novel. The first group are those who follow Ralph. He was the first leader elected no the island and represents democracy and order. The main character of the book, Piggy, is a part of Ralph's group. Piggy is the clearest thinking and most adult-like character in the book. This group shrinks as the book progresses. The second group of boys were the choir-boys. They originally went along with Ralph as the leader but found it more exciting to be with Jack and to go hunting with him. Eventually Jack takes over this group of boys and they begin to turn into evil savages. Roger, one of the boys in the group is expecially devilish and delights in harming other living creatures. The third group of boys on the island are the 'littluns', about whom the book talks little. The novel focuses on how the two groups develop and how Ralph's group is focused on being rescued while the boys in Jack's group live without planning for the future. The book follows the boys as many of them transition from being civilized to utterly barbaric.

My Review: This book can be a hard one to stomach. It is a fascinating, thought-provoking social commentary on how quickly we humans can change for the worse. The book is chock-full of symbolism and allegory. One of the main themes of the book is when Simon (who is good, clean and possibly symbolic of a Christ figure) has spent time in nature thinking when he comes upon the pig's head on a stick. The head is covered in flies and seem to almost be moving. SImon imagines the head talking to him. The head confirms to him that the beast on the island (that everybody is afraid of) really comes from within. He knew this all along and when he staggers out of the forest to tell the other boys about what he has learned, he finds them in the midst of their hunting dance celebrating a recent kill. The boys, thinking him to be the beast, attack and kill him. The book leaves an impression and gets you thinking about how you would act under similar circumstances. Most of us probably don't see us as a part of Jack's group, but do we really know?

1776

Title: 1776

Author: David McCullough

Pages: 294 (plus notes)

Genre: History, non-fiction

Letter Grade: A

Synopsis: This is the story of the American Revolution. The book actually begins in October 1775. It mainly tells the story of the Continental Army and their struggles. It paints a vivid picture of George Washington and the leader that he was. The American Patriots Nathanael Greene and Henry Knox also play a large role in the story of the revolution. The roles of the British Commander, Sir William Howe, his armies and the Hessian mercenaries are also related vividly and dramatically. Although the war didn't end until 1783, many of the most important battles were fought during 1776. This was not a good year for the Americans. They lost virtually every battle and saw very little success. The year did end on a good note though and gave the Americans momentum heading into the new year.

My Review: The book begins rather slowly as it is laying the framework for the rest of the book. Once the war begins though, it is hard to put this book down. If I didn't know the ending already, I would never believe how it would turn out. McCullough has an incredible talent to bring the stories to life. From accounts of people that were there he paints a picture so vivid that you know what is going on on both sides of the lines and what the generals were thinking. He takes very little literary freedom. My only complaint is that the book ends at the end of 1776 and doesn't continue on until present day. If history books were written like this, history would be everybody's favorite subject.

Map of Bones

Title: Map of Bones

Author: James Rollins

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 448

Letter Grade: A-

Synopsis: The book begins with a group of hooded men that invade midnight mass at a cathedral in Cologne, Germany. Rather than steal the golden coffin for which the cathedarl is famous, they take the relics from inside the sarcophagus and leave the golden coffin. The relics are supposedly the bones of the three wise men. This crime brings together a small American Sigma force team a Vatican historian and a Roman Carabinieri lieutenant. They go on a chase after the medieval Dragon Court which is still operating in the Catholic Church. They find out that the bones of the magi are not bones at all but a special monatomic gold that allows them to have special powers. The Dragon Court has stolen the bones because they are trying to bring about Armageddon.

My Review: I really liked this book. In many ways it is similar to the Da Vinci Code. I think that I liked this book just as much. Both books have a group of people chasing a secret ancient society and trying to solve a puzzle that has baffled people for hundreds of years. Amazingly, the main characters in both books are able to solve the puzzles in a matter of days. The people in Map of Bones are realistic and the dialogue is intriguing. The plot is clever and makes the book very hard to put down.

The Historian

Title: The Historian

Author: Elizabeth Kostova

Genre: Thriller, set in Europe throughout the 20th century

Pages: 656

Rating (Letter Grade): A

Synopsis: The book begins in 1972 when a young girl finds a strange book in her father's library. The pages of the book have been cut out and there is a woodcut of a dragon inside along with a bunch of letters. The girl asks her father about the woodcut and letters and begins to learn about her fathers involvement in a search for his former mentor who disappeared soon after he made it known that he thought that Vlad the Impaler (Dracula) was still alive. The girl also begins to learn more and more about her long dead mother because she was also involved in the search.

My Review: I thought that it would be acceptable to start with my favorite book. This book is very similar to the Da Vinci Code in that the characters of the book are on an international wild goose chase. There are three seperate plot lines - one of the mentor in the 1930's, one of the father in the 1950's and the main storyline with the daughter in the 1970's. The story is very well told and there are twists and turns around every corner. A very suspenseful book indeed!

Tyler's Booklist!

I've decided to start up a new blog about books that I've read. You'll see that I'm pretty fickle when it comes to reviewing books. I'm not too picky and I would just as soon as give everything an A+ rating. I'm not a very good critic is what it really comes down to.

I've got to give my props to Ben and Jenn Iverson and their fantastic booklist. I've been trying to come up with a good way to showcase the books I like (or even dislike) and the way that they have been doing it is great. You can check their booklist out here.

Feel free to comment on any book that I've posted about or to make suggestions on books that I should read.