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dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Such a beautiful and poignant novel on friendship, innocence, and loss. There’s not much else I can say other than I adored this novel. Everything—the characters, the atmosphere, the descriptions—were so poetic and heartbreakingly real.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Homophobia, War
Very well written, although I didn't really care about any of the characters or what happened to them. The only character I felt sympathetic to was Leper.
Also recommended: [book: A Prayer for Owen Meany] by John Irving.
Also recommended: [book: A Prayer for Owen Meany] by John Irving.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
slow-paced
challenging
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have had a copy of this book on my bookshelf for a while now, and I figured I should probably either read it, or get rid of it. In retrospect, getting rid of it may have been a better idea. Apparently my boyfriend had to read this book in high school, and I am eternally grateful that I did not. It's not an absolutely terrible book, but including it on a mandatory reading list for adolescents seems unwarranted. I guess I am in the minority here since the book was a bestseller for 30 years and won John Knowles a bunch of awards, but I just don't get it, and neither do any of my friends that I know of who had to read it in high school.
The narrator is a kid named Gene, at an all boys school in New England. I can't tell you much about Gene, other than that he has poor impulse control. His teen angst is the driving force of the book, and while I can imagine why it would be angst-causing to be sixteen in depths of World War II, my sympathy only goes so far. We learn almost nothing about Gene's backstory, or the backgrounds of any of the other boys - even Phineas, the boy Gene alternates between being obsessed with and trying to ruin forever. Why is Gene so evil? Who knows? The first section of the book, before the first big event that alters Gene and Phineas' lives forever, was believeable. After that, not so much.
I suppose my big issue with the book is that I never saw much of a point. Are we supposed to come to some realization about our own inner demons? I didn't. Is this supposed to be about repressed homosexuality (one of my roommates proposed this theory?) I didn't see it. Is the book trying to say that life is inherently violent, and the war is just a justification? The connection seems tenuous at best. Basically, I spent a ton of time trying to come up with reasons this book matters, and I got nowhere. It just seemed senseless, especially the conclusion. I didn't want to give up on this book, because some of the images are beautifully written and the atmosphere can be very compelling. But in the end it led nowhere, at least for me.
The narrator is a kid named Gene, at an all boys school in New England. I can't tell you much about Gene, other than that he has poor impulse control. His teen angst is the driving force of the book, and while I can imagine why it would be angst-causing to be sixteen in depths of World War II, my sympathy only goes so far. We learn almost nothing about Gene's backstory, or the backgrounds of any of the other boys - even Phineas, the boy Gene alternates between being obsessed with and trying to ruin forever. Why is Gene so evil? Who knows? The first section of the book, before the first big event that alters Gene and Phineas' lives forever, was believeable. After that, not so much.
I suppose my big issue with the book is that I never saw much of a point. Are we supposed to come to some realization about our own inner demons? I didn't. Is this supposed to be about repressed homosexuality (one of my roommates proposed this theory?) I didn't see it. Is the book trying to say that life is inherently violent, and the war is just a justification? The connection seems tenuous at best. Basically, I spent a ton of time trying to come up with reasons this book matters, and I got nowhere. It just seemed senseless, especially the conclusion. I didn't want to give up on this book, because some of the images are beautifully written and the atmosphere can be very compelling. But in the end it led nowhere, at least for me.
Sure, there were some interesting things said about the effects of war and the draft on boys and about how awful it is to view other people as enemies, but unfortunately this book did bore me to tears.
Now, this book is largely considered a classic and some people may love it; I will always, always associate it with my sophomore year of high school English—aka the year from hell, both school-wise and personally, with the teacher from hell of this very subject—when we read it and had to do the usual quizzes, timed writing, and paper on it, and will hate it for that very reason alone.
I also hate it because of that actual book itself, too. Gene makes my least favorite MCs list.
Maybe one day I'll reread it and see if I still hate it, but there are so many other beautiful things to read instead, so probably not.
I also hate it because of that actual book itself, too. Gene makes my least favorite MCs list.
Maybe one day I'll reread it and see if I still hate it, but there are so many other beautiful things to read instead, so probably not.