Armchair BEA - Giveaways and Literature
We take a break from official discussions on Thursday to allow participants to hop around the web and enter blogger-hosted giveaways! Start planning your giveaway now!
The genre of discussion is general literary fiction. Which works of art have changed your life? Be creative and make a list outlining books featuring specific subjects (i.e., animals, recommended prize-winners, outstanding authors, etc.).
This is a hard one. General Literary fiction? Hmmm.
I do like dramas and general fiction that make me think and feel. Of Mice and Men was a great book for this. I was stunned by this classic and the unusual look it took at trying to get ahead for America. Rather than what we're taught in school, this book and author held the viewpoint that not everyone can climb up and the sadness of that life is the hope that they could.
Catcher in the Rye was a bit hard for me to start because of the writing style and the interior long paragraphs of mental rambling. Once I got into it, though, the emotion - wow, the intense emotion. I fell in love with the young male protagonist's personality. He was foul mouthed and troubled, but he was a compassionate, lonely, and sweet person trying to find himself in a hard world.
The Lovely Bones was heart-wrenchingly sad. I think I cried every single chapter of that book. Being a mother myself, the scenes with the grieving parents especially touched me as painful. I think I will always remember that book. The author did an excellent job summarizing all that is tragic about a child's death and life lost.
Flowers for Algernon was an exceptional book. I remember seeing the movie with my mom when I was younger and being touched by the story. I built the book up in my mind and when I finally read it, I wasn't let down at all. It was an extremely impactual look at human nature and playing God with science, the sickness of society toward those who are different, and the inner need of all to be accepted and loved. Such a powerful, philosophical book.
Boy's Life by Robert McCammon - read it if you haven't. Brilliant stuff. It's famous for a reason. Wow. It's a wonderful book displaying the youth of growing up, the bonds of friendship, encountering tragedy, life and wonder. Had one of the saddest death scenes I've read.
