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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
This has to be the best book I've read this year. I love how the story creates sub plots about the history of each character. The way it weaves individuals, who unite while staying separate makes me wonder of the our relationships in the real world. There is never the good or the bad- the right or the wrong. There is always amalgamation, and hence confusion. There is bewilderment, and our need to rationalize and set things in order. And through all that we meet, greet and say good-bye. All this, I found in the words of Anil's Ghost.
This book, is one I am sure will reveal something new to me every time I re-read it.
This book, is one I am sure will reveal something new to me every time I re-read it.
I had a really hard time finishing this story. I found it fragmentary with little to recommend the characters or the setting.
Started: April 13, 2105
Finished: April 21, 2015
Stars: 3/5
For starters, I had to read this book for my critical methods literature class whose theme is colonialism. I have read colonial themed lit since November and to say I'm little burnt out on imperialism, is an understatement. Because of this, I wasn't really looking forward to reading it.
So the first 30 pages of the book felt like torture and I was bored. And really really confused.
This book is not linear at all. It's like four different timelines and cut into little fragments throughout the book. It was really interesting to read and also slightly challenging. I had to figure out when what I was reading was taking place and who it was and all these different variables and it was cool!
The tone of the book is really detached. All of the characters are trying to distance themselves from part of their past or feelings or anything really. They all try to get lost in their work and to top it all off, they're trying to solve this mystery around a dead body that is possible linked to the government. There is so much going on in this book and it keeps you hooked on the semi-fictional world Ondaatje creates.
I loved reading about Sri Lanka and their different customs and cultures.
This book was sad though. There were so many issues that the characters were dealing with and the war itself set a somber mood for the story.
The ending was satisfying while still being like a cliffhanger. You felt a sense of closure at the end of the book, but you didn't actually get it. I wanted to know what happened! How the characters were doing at the end! Or maybe five years down the road! But the tone of the last chapter was hopeful. So you had this peace settle over you once you finished it. It was an odd feeling.
In retrospect, I really loved it. The characters are strong and well developed despite the fragments that Ondaatje gave us of their characters and backgrounds. It was a mystery in two aspects: one for the actual crime and the other for the characters and their connections and pasts. It was great.
read more at: http://earthtomacy.blogspot.com/
Finished: April 21, 2015
Stars: 3/5
For starters, I had to read this book for my critical methods literature class whose theme is colonialism. I have read colonial themed lit since November and to say I'm little burnt out on imperialism, is an understatement. Because of this, I wasn't really looking forward to reading it.
So the first 30 pages of the book felt like torture and I was bored. And really really confused.
This book is not linear at all. It's like four different timelines and cut into little fragments throughout the book. It was really interesting to read and also slightly challenging. I had to figure out when what I was reading was taking place and who it was and all these different variables and it was cool!
The tone of the book is really detached. All of the characters are trying to distance themselves from part of their past or feelings or anything really. They all try to get lost in their work and to top it all off, they're trying to solve this mystery around a dead body that is possible linked to the government. There is so much going on in this book and it keeps you hooked on the semi-fictional world Ondaatje creates.
I loved reading about Sri Lanka and their different customs and cultures.
This book was sad though. There were so many issues that the characters were dealing with and the war itself set a somber mood for the story.
The ending was satisfying while still being like a cliffhanger. You felt a sense of closure at the end of the book, but you didn't actually get it. I wanted to know what happened! How the characters were doing at the end! Or maybe five years down the road! But the tone of the last chapter was hopeful. So you had this peace settle over you once you finished it. It was an odd feeling.
In retrospect, I really loved it. The characters are strong and well developed despite the fragments that Ondaatje gave us of their characters and backgrounds. It was a mystery in two aspects: one for the actual crime and the other for the characters and their connections and pasts. It was great.
read more at: http://earthtomacy.blogspot.com/
3 Stars.
It started out as a complicated and fragmented plot structure. For the first hundred pages or so, it kept switching between past and present, conversations and memories, all within the same chapter. It was hard to keep up.
It gets better, post 150 pages. It picks up pace, however there are very few civil war, LTTE- Sinhalese references. The evidence is there, stories about the popular politicians are very easily identified as well, but Gamini is the only one through whom you get an insight into the turbulence in Sri Lanka.
But, this book really hit its mark in the end. You aren't left confused, or clueless. The plot comes a full circle.
I have mixed feelings about this book though, but because I really admired the smooth writing style, and easy way of explaining, I liked it. It's worth a shot.
It started out as a complicated and fragmented plot structure. For the first hundred pages or so, it kept switching between past and present, conversations and memories, all within the same chapter. It was hard to keep up.
It gets better, post 150 pages. It picks up pace, however there are very few civil war, LTTE- Sinhalese references. The evidence is there, stories about the popular politicians are very easily identified as well, but Gamini is the only one through whom you get an insight into the turbulence in Sri Lanka.
But, this book really hit its mark in the end. You aren't left confused, or clueless. The plot comes a full circle.
I have mixed feelings about this book though, but because I really admired the smooth writing style, and easy way of explaining, I liked it. It's worth a shot.
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3 STARS
"Anil’s Ghost transports us to Sri Lanka, a country steeped in centuries of tradition, now forced into the late twentieth century by the ravages of civil war. Into this maelstrom steps Anil Tissera, a young woman born in Sri Lanka, educated in England and America, who returns to her homeland as a forensic anthropologist sent by an international human rights group to discover the source of the organized campaigns of murder engulfing the island. What follows is a story about love, about family, about identity, about the unknown enemy, about the quest to unlock the hidden past–a story propelled by a riveting mystery." (From Amazon)
A little over my head so at times it made it difficult to read but is beautifully written.
"Anil’s Ghost transports us to Sri Lanka, a country steeped in centuries of tradition, now forced into the late twentieth century by the ravages of civil war. Into this maelstrom steps Anil Tissera, a young woman born in Sri Lanka, educated in England and America, who returns to her homeland as a forensic anthropologist sent by an international human rights group to discover the source of the organized campaigns of murder engulfing the island. What follows is a story about love, about family, about identity, about the unknown enemy, about the quest to unlock the hidden past–a story propelled by a riveting mystery." (From Amazon)
A little over my head so at times it made it difficult to read but is beautifully written.
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Another book for Dr. Mann's class.
I read this as I was going through heartbreak. I'm not sure I have much to say about it. My lover is gone.
Here are a few quotes I liked, though:
"We need parents when we're old too"
"What is that quality in us? Do you think? That makes us cause our own rain and smoke?"
"So these stone bodies rising out of the earth, their faces high in the sky, often were the only human aspect a farmer would witness in his landscape during the day. They gazed over the stillness, over the buzz-scream of cicadas which were invisible in the parched grass. They brought a permanence to brief lives."
I read this as I was going through heartbreak. I'm not sure I have much to say about it. My lover is gone.
Here are a few quotes I liked, though:
"We need parents when we're old too"
"What is that quality in us? Do you think? That makes us cause our own rain and smoke?"
"So these stone bodies rising out of the earth, their faces high in the sky, often were the only human aspect a farmer would witness in his landscape during the day. They gazed over the stillness, over the buzz-scream of cicadas which were invisible in the parched grass. They brought a permanence to brief lives."
A slow start, but in the last 20 pages I began to like it and join all the dots together. Although, I did count down the page numbers. This book will be interesting to study for English extension Crime writing.