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Sometimes a reader is graced with what I like to call:
The right book at the right time.
LIFE OF PI is that book.
If you are in the appetite for a plot driven tale of survival you will find that here.
And if you hunger for a spiritual journey revealing the inner workings of human nature... that's also available at this banquet of fiction.
I read a few reviews of LIFE OF PI... and I am thinking that some of the reviewers did not read the whole book.
Truly.
What a shame.
I love books like this one.
You are taken on a journey, you enter the world of the author, and putting the book down is difficult because you do not want to leave that world.
And the best is yet to come...
I found this to be one of those books that changed me.
His words resonated in my soul.
In a few sentences, Martel gave voice to things I sensed in my life, but could not place into words.
When we read for something beyond mere entertainment...
isn't that what we hunger for?
A chance to see life from a new point of view.
To feel renewed.
A book that will follow you after you have finished it.
A book that MUST stay with you on your bookshelf.
LIFE OF PI is my silent friend now, on a shelf of honor in my book collection.
A new friend who will be there with me on this life's journey...
ready to speak to my heart any time I lift it from the shelf, open the pages, and invite the author to speak to me, yet again.
***********************************************
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Yann Martel
Here is an excellent resource about the birth of this novel written by Yann Martel (and just fascinating in general to any writer about the process of preparing oneself to create a work of fiction). If you plan on reading LIFE OF PI, read the author's notes AFTER completing the book:
http://www.powells.com/fromtheauthor/martel.html
One of the joys of teaching is being able to revisit with fresh eyes the joys of childhood.
I spent my childhood living in the wonderful world of books.
So returning to that life as a teacher was great fun.
During the summer of 1994, I took up tutoring some children as I prepared for graduate school and a career change.
One student was getting ready for a local private high school. So I got to read the school's assigned summer reading list.
How young and foolish I was!
I knew nothing of the author but, commenced to plough my way through this book attempting to help my struggling student make the connections in order to "gel" with this book.
Maybe I should have started with the book's author?
Esther Forbes grew up in a family of six children. That in and of itself is enough to create a few creative kids out of the bunch. You have to really work at getting your parents' attention when you are part of a large family.
Esther Forbes struggled throughout her years with poor eyesight and dyslexia.
And she took up being an author with all of that to overcome!
Good thing she was persistent.
She was persistent enough to be awarded the John Newbery Medal for most distinguished contribution of the year to children's literature. (1943).
This book was published within two years after Pearl Harbor.
An author witnessing one war, while contemplating the war that birthed this nation into what it has become today.
I have to wonder if September 11th will give birth to some authors who can provide insight to children about the realities of war?
I wish I had been introduced to Johnny Tremain as a youth.
History was dull... full of facts and figures with no life.
The passion that grew in me for history arrived in my first years of college under the tutelage of a magnificent professor who made the flat facts on the page jump into exciting life. He could paint a portrait with his words. The people on the page were living, breathing, and often quite entertaining people. People like us, people we would love to meet.
Esther Forbes is good at painting word portraits too.
And so I really enjoyed her work.
How did that student of mine do?
Well, not so enthralled by the whole Johnny Tremaine thing, but did well enough to pass the intake requirements.
I had wanted to be a beacon of light leading that child into the excitement of learning for learning's sake... but, that's so hard to do. We both finished the summer, though, happy. The child got the admission and I found a renewed friendship with children's novels.
Ignite the child within yourself, and pop into this book to remember the joys of juvenile historical fiction.
Author Biography
: Worcester Area Writers - Esther Forbes - Bio
Study Guide: SparkNotes: Johnny Tremain
Film:
Johnny Tremain (1957)
Author, Philip K. Dick is best known for his substantial body of work in the science fiction genre.
I became acquainted with DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP by viewing (several times) the now cult classic sci-fi film, BLADE RUNNER.
Philip K. Dick has the talent for addressing and questioning the dualities of our existence.
Born a twin, his sibling tragically died six weeks after their birth. This event and the emotional challenges of growing up in a conflicted family created the backdrop Dick's work.
He did not consider himself so much a story teller as one who utilized plots to express his ideas.
The dilemma presented in "Electric Sheep" which was translated onto the big screen in Blade Runner is:
Can androids be human?
The story explores how we humans treat species separate from ourselves. Enslaving androids who look, act and on some levels feel like humans... could this be right?
Read the story to find out.
Don't just rely on the film... "Electric Sheep" will take you on a page turning journey that veers from the script of Blade Runner.
You will see the core concepts that have influenced so many current science fiction films. TOTAL RECALL and MINORITY REPORT (starring Tom Cruise) are both based on Dick's work.
KERNEL OF WISDOM FROM THE BOOK:
"He thought too about his need for a real animal; within him an actual hatred once manifested itself towards his electric sheep, which he had to tend, had to care about, as if it lived. The tyranny of an object, he thought. It doesn't know I exist."
(p.37, Blade Runner :Do Andoids Dream of Electric Sheep, a novel by Philip K. Dick, copyright 1968)
PLOT SUMMARY: Philip K. Dick - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
STUDY GUIDE: Study Guide for Philip K. Dick: Blade Runner (1968)
FILM: Blade Runner (1982)
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