The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston

I have been reading The Woman Warrior for a long time now, simply because I only read a little at a time and I am reading other books simultaneously. The interest in this book lies mainly in its cultural perspective. The narrator writes from a Chinese perspective and incorporates many aspects of Chinese culture into her writing. It has been difficult for me to get absorbed into his book because of the fact that some of the chapters are written in a Chinese folk tale style. They have a lot of symbolism and the writing style is very complex and hard to understand at times. The perspective switches between chapters, from a folk style to a modern style. There are some parts that seems to be memoirs of the author, yet others are stories she has made up herself, and some are stories told to her by her mother. Each chapter is from a new perspective, and it is up to the reader to discover which new direction Kingston is taking. It has definitely been a challenge, but I have recently used Spark Notes to better understand the format of the book and what is referring to who. By now gaining this basic understanding, I can better appreciate the rich language and try to interpret the underlying details and messages. I would suggest this book if you are up for a challenge and are interested in Chinese culture.

Heart of Darkness

      Right now I am reading Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. This novel is very difficult in that it uses a very advanced level of grammar, which makes it complicated to follow at times. What I like about this novel, despite my difficulty in decoding some parts, is that it uses such rich and flowing language as to almost imitate poetry. The subject of the novel is a European man's descent into the heart of Africa as a steamboat captain, and his discovery of the harsh and dark condition of the land. The African natives are being abused and forced into work for the European companies. The conditions for the European workers are crude too, with a lack of supplies and danger always being present. The story focuses on the images of the land and what the narrator sees when he is there. Little to no focus is put on details of events or everyday activities like eating meals. I get to experience the land from the narrator's point of view. I feel his uneasiness, and his disgust at times. I feel the dreariness of the land settling into me, I feel the need to get out, to fix my steamboat as the narrator needs to do. The general plot, if looked at without reading the actual story, is rather boring and uneventful so far. The feeling and the tone are what have kept me interested. I feel as if there will be a change soon, some sort of climax to steer the storyline elsewhere. I'll keep you updated.

Looking For Alaska

I recently finished Looking for Alaska by John Green. I'd say it is very unlike anything I have read in the past. The basic plot of the story tells of a high school boy who leaves his public school in Florida to attend a boarding school in Alabama in hope of finding adventure. What he does find is a promiscuous, intelligent, and good-looking girl named Alaska. He finds new friends named the Colonel, Takumi, and Laura, all whom plot with him mischievous adventures and help him pass Pre-Calc. He finds the excitement he is looking for, but ultimately experiences an event that will change him forever.
   First, the things I like about the book: The themes of teenage freedom and finding oneself are my favorite parts of the story. The book addresses the issues of growing up, the effects of the past on the present, and the popular teenage theme of "fitting in." I like that the characters are highly intelligent, yet know how to have fun and take risks for the sake of an adventure. I like how the story is such a carefully laid out combination of comedy and drama and mystery, all coming down to the most wonderfully written conclusion.
  Next, the cons: Well, UGH. There was a pretty large section in the book where a mystery was laid out. This mystery, although completely unsolvable to all of the characters involved, had a very obvious solution. I found myself wanting to scream at the page of fictional characters, each and every time they found a fairly obvious clue and STILL could not figure out the answer to their little mystery. But its a good possibility that this issue I came across will not occur with other readers, so maybe disregard this.The only other con I can think of is that their were some...well...inappropriate scenes. But I'm almost positive that these will not be on the con list for most readers....
   So, I'd definitely say that the pros outweigh the cons. This is a well-written novel that has a fantastic perspective on the ideas of teenage spirit and "the great unknown." I think its a great piece of literature for anyone, but especially teenagers, to read. So...yeah...read it.

-Aimee Erickson