Let's be honest here. I may as well tell you that I have never writen a blog before. Until a few days ago the thought never even occured to me . So I guess I'll start out by talking about something I know A LOT about: books. Sounds pretty boring, huh? And I must admit some books are boring. But some books are great. More than great life changing even. While reading a book you can go anywhere and be anyone. It's kind of like a super power... but without the spider bite or nuclear waste. Hopefully.
One of the most annoying things in the world is when you are really into a book and someone comes up to you and asks, "Whatcha reading?". My standard answer is always something along the lines of "a book. Duh!" So to make up for all the times I gave people who were really interested in what book I currently had my nose stuck in that answer, I have decided it to talk about it here. At least for this week...
So what am I reading? Well, I just recently finished reaing "Revolutionary Road" by Richard Yates. This book (or at least the story)recieved a lot of attention when it was made into a movie starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio in their first movie since "Titanic". They both said they were looking to work together on something as dramaticly different as possible. And I have to say that in most ways they found it in Revolutionary Road".
I really enjoyed reading this novel. The characterization was really brilliant and Frank and April Wheeler seemed quite real to me. Richard Yates has a way of quietly bringing things to your attention instead of hitting you over the head with them. I also found the contrast between the deep theme(discontent with the life you lead) and the light, bright feeling of the 1950's interesting. Despite the deep theme of the book I never felt bogged down by it. Perhaps this is because the charaters seemed so vivid.
I think the big lesson to be learned from "Revolutionary Road" is know thyself. AKA Figure out if you actually want to get married and have kids before you go ahead and do it. Overall I think that everyone should read this book because it's a real thinker and makes you reflect on your own life and descions...
And that's what I'm reading!
3 comments:
Breanne, I am so glad someone is going to do some book reviews on their blog! I saw the movie "Revolutionary Road", and I found it really emotional. Was the book hard to read? not in terms of reading level, but in terms of emotion?
Like you, I have a great passion for books and reading. I have read more novels than I would've thought existed in the ENTIRE world, and oh man, have I ever came across some a m a z i n g books!! I read and watched "Revolutionary Road" as well, and the book was definitely better than the movie.. ^
And I agree with you when it comes to the point of the novel, but then again, are we ever fully ready to take those big steps? As for actually wanting to get married? In the time that the novel is set, marriage and having children were things heavily pressured on by society. Nowadays, we see a lot more life long single men and women who couldn't be happier with a pet as their sole lover. Also, some things we do in life appear easy, but then when we actually take the leap of faith and find out it sucks or that it is more than a walk in the park, then we feel trapped or isolated. Parenting is a classic example of this; seems like fun to have a little life to hold and love, but who wants to spend their nights trying to shut up a baby?
I think that not only do we need to know ourselves, but we also need to take the time to think out and think through our actions and their consequences, taking into consideration of course that some decisions will have a greater impact than others. With easily relatable characters like the Wheelers, we can soon see how easily the American Dream crashed and burned without thought or hesitancy from them (being the characters) It also shows how you need to really live life, don't just settle into a stagnant circle of boredom.
i love reading too :) was the revolutionary road hard to get into?
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