Novels

Some novels I have read in our Lit Circles include The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Atonement by Ian McEwan. If you’re into an emotional, compelling, historical fiction, then The Kite Runner is for you. But, if you’re into a dramatic novel filled with romance and war, then Atonement is for you.

THE KITE RUNNER

The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir, a young Pushtun boy from Kabul, whose closest friend is Hassan, a young Hazara servant of Amir’s father. The story takes place in a series of major events pertaining to Afghanistan. It takes place from the fall of  Afghanistan’s monarchy because of the Soviet invasion , the fleeing of Paskistanis to the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime.

What I like about the novel is how Amir desperately tries to gain Baba’s attention and affection from chapters one to nine. This leads to many significant events that occur in the passage, Amir’s guilt, Baba’s and Amir’s relationship, and Hassan’s undying loyalty towards Amir. Amir’s desperation to gain Baba’s affection and his compensation to Baba for the death of his mother is evident before and during the kite competition. Eventually, this obsessive desperation triggers Amir’s jealously, guilt, and regret towards Hassan. In chapter seven, Amir believes that in order to win Baba’s heart, he must win the kite competition and bring the blue kite back. Following up to Amir’s and Hassan’s big win, Hassan then gets raped. Even though Hassan knows that something bad will happen to him if he doesn’t give up the blue kite to Assef, he still lives up to his loyalty and would rather sacrifice himself for the betterment of Amir. Amir’s desperation leads to him not stopping or helping Hassan during the rape. Amir’s conceitedness is then shown when he values his own well-being over the serious incident that happens to Hassan, a loyal friend towards Amir. Because of this incident, it leads to my disliking of Amir. At the end of chapter nine, when Hassan leaves, I believe Amir begins to regret what he has done to Hassan and Amir will forever feel this regret unless he compensates for his unethical actions.

Another thing that I love about The Kite Runner is how Hosseini shows the imperfect father-son relationship between Baba and Amir by including Hassan in their relationship. Throughout the passage, it is evident that Baba treats Hassan differently from Amir. Before Amir and Hassan win the kite contest, Baba is ashamed of Amir because of his lack of interest and talent in athletics and his lack of standing up for himself. On the other hand, Hassan does stand up for himself when he is taunted in the streets. In a way, I believe that Hassan is like the son Baba wishes he has, a son who can stand up for himself. I like how Hassan is included in Baba’s and Amir’s relationship with each other because it’s makes it easier for the audience to see that Baba and Amir do not have an ideal father-son relationship by comparing it to the decent or better relationship that Baba and Hassan have.

ATONEMENT

Atonement tells the story of a young girl (an aspiring writer) who makes a terrible mistake that will have major effects on the lives of her loved ones. As a result, she spends most of her life seeking atonement.

In the novel Atonement, by Ian McEwan, I like how Briony misunderstands the adult world and quickly assumes without knowing the full truth. In chapter 13, Briony commits a crime that leads into her committing a crime that will rip her family apart. Briony’s assumption or interpretation of Cecilia’s and Robbie’s relationship leads her to believe that she must protect her sister from a so-called maniac. Briony’s protection of her sister results in a crime that she later will regret and will yearn for forgiveness from her sister. I believe that Briony decides to act on this crime not only because she wants to protect her sister but also because she wants her sister and her to be closer. However, the complete opposite happens and I believe that Briony lives a life of isolation and loneliness because her sister isn’t able to forgive her and her family for the crime Briony commits.

Lastly, I like how Briony’s way of saying things changes at the time she commits the crime and it forces her imagination to turn into reality, not only for her, but for the other house guests as well. On page 231 the novel reads, “You saw him then.” “I know it was him.”  “Let’s forget about what you know. You’re saying you saw him.” “Just as you see me.” “Yes.” “You saw him with your own eyes.” “Yes. I saw him. I saw him.” At first, it is clear that the officer does not take Briony seriously because after she says, “I know it was him,” the officer asks the question again just to make it completely clear to Briony the difference between knowing something and seeing something. After Briony realises her accusation is not taken seriously, she begins to say, “I saw him. I saw him.” This change from I know him to I saw him turns her imagination into reality for not only her but everyone around her.

MUST READ BOOKS

1) The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games tells the story of  16 year old, Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world in a country called Panem. The Capitol rules over the whole of Panem. Panem is divided into 12 districts. Each year, The Capitol holds the annual hunger games, in which one male and one female are chosen by lottery from each district to fight in a televised last-man-standing type battle. I recommend readers to read this book because of its very intriguing and exciting plot. The novel has so many cliffhangers, so whenever I would want to drop the book down, I couldn’t because I really wanted to know what was going to happen next.

2)Lord of the Flies

The Lord of the Flies tells the story of young English school boys who have crash-landed on an island and are forced to face life without the supervision of adults and without the presence of civilization. With the idea of there being a beast on the island, most of the boys take on a murderous and savage-like lifestyle.  The Lord of the Flies is a must-read book because of its themes and its use of characterization to convey these themes to the audience. Some themes include the innate evil of man, the loss of innocence, and the breakdown of social order.

3)Uglies

Uglies is a science fiction, dystopian novel, telling the story of a young girl named Tally Youngblood who lives in a futuristic world in which upon reaching the age of 16, everyone must be turned “pretty” by the use of extreme cosmetic surgery. Throughout the novel, we learn that not only will being “pretty” change your looks, but also your personality. Uglies is a must-read book because of its focus on the common changes in teenagers and its theme of uniformity and the effects of war.

4)The Kite Runner

5)The House of the Scorpion

The House of the Scorpion tells the story of Matteo Alacrán who is a clone of a 143 year old drug lord named El Patrón. Over time, Matt learns that he is in fact a clone and was only made so that El Patron could use his body parts to survive when he needed it. I recommend The House of the Scorpion because it is a pretty fast-paced book that takes you through new adventures each chapter. The description of characters and landscape  makes the book a joy to read. It is a very exciting novel taking you through the decisions and journey of Matteo Alacrán’s life.

6)Touching Spirit Bear

Touching Spirit Bear tells the story of a boy named Cole, who lives a troubled life with an alcoholic and abusive father and a mother who stands by and does nothing about it. Later on in the novel, Cole is then sentenced to jail and must be tried as an adult for his crimes, Cole tries to look for different ways he can pay for his crime. His parole officer Edward Harvey suggest that he try Circle Justice, a Native American method. Cole is sentenced to an island for one year by himself to try to change and heal. I recommend this book because it talks about issues that are evident in many teen-aged lives and how they can be resolved and overcome through a different remedy that isn’t common in the western culture.

WORKS CITED:

Images courtesy of Photobucket

“The House of the Scorpion.” Google Books. Google, n.d. Web. 10 June 2012.                  <http://books.google.ca/books/about/The_House_of_the_Scorpion.html?                     id=IlPjkfZLwUkC>.

“Uglies.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 Oct. 2012. Web. 10 June 2012.                  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uglies&gt;.