The Alchemist

There were several things that I liked about The Alchemist, but overall, I just couldn't give myself over to it and in the end, I just...well...it fell flat for me.

The Things I Liked:

1. I am constantly amazed at how authors come up with their stories. Seriously, the creativity is amazing and this book had me at times thinking, Wow. I didn't expect that turn, etc.

2. I love a happy ending, so I'm glad Santiago was able to find his Personal Legend

3. While there were many things that annoyed me about the book, I found myself sometimes teary-eyed thinking, *sniff* "That is so true!" There was a lot of wisdom and quotable things in the book.

The Things I Disliked:

1. My biggest bugaboo about the book was that it did indeed have a lot of truth in it...only to be mingled with the philosophies of men. And considering how popular this book is (my book touted that it was the most translated book on the planet!!), it only then continues to confuse people about the REAL reason we are here on this earth. So, my faith in what I feel to be true took umbrage with the book.

For example, after a certain point, this just sounded like one long promotion for "The Secret," about how "the universe" is working to do everything "it" can to help you succeed in getting your "Personal Legend." Whereas "the universe" is never defined as the Lord, He never gets the real credit for what takes place. See, I wanted Santiago to go back to the church and discover that the "real" treasure that he was unable to initially see WAS the Divinity of God, who is capable of giving prophetic dreams, or placing opposition in our path (ie: the soilder at the pyramids) or windstorms, etc. etc. But that didn't happen.

In fact, one of the quotes that I rolled my eyes at is this:

"...there is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It's your mission on earth."

Again, another example where it took elements of truth and then distorts the fact that "the soul of the universe" was something MORE. To me, that MORE is the knowledge that we lived premortally and first heard the plan of salvation. We KNEW then what our mission was on earth, but then we come to earth and the veil makes it so we have to "find our personal legend" again...but that legend isn't finding buried treasure in the literal sand, or fame or even wisdom or what we "really want" materially. It is learning the simple things like faith and repentance so that we can go back and live with our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ, which is what all of our souls truly cry for...a return to home, because that is where true happiness, where our true "Personal Legend" wants to lead us.

So, I guess the book for me was like having all the ingredients for a great and elegant dessert, but after a few bites, you realize that it wasn't as good as you wanted it to be. It probably also made me realize I need to do more member missionary work if I feel this strongly about it.

UPDATE: I just got done listening to the first session on Sunday of General Conference and all I can say is that President Dieter F. Uchtdorf talk basically said everything I wish I could have said without being so clumsy about it.

The Alchemist - loved it

I kept on pronouncing this book (in my mind) the achelmist before I found out what an Alchemist actually is. Now I'll never say it wrong in my head or out loud again. This was such a great read. You gotta love how short it was in length too. ;)

My friend recommended this book to me more than a year ago. I finally had a chance to read it, along with you all, and found that my dear friend could have written this book herself. All the advice she gives me and all the positive perspective she has on life, is portrayed in this simple story.

Some people know themselves early on. Some of us are still figuring out who we are and what we are striving for in life. Finding your purpose in life isn't the only key. One has to love them self enough to make good choices and feel content in any given situation. There have been many a time I have said, "It's just not supposed to be" or "I'm not good enough." This friend has said in those times, "Gina, you are acting like the world is against you and that isn't the case!" The universe isn't fighting us. The universe is actually cheering for us! If we want something badly enough, a higher power can help us achieve our goal.

This lesson is a great reminder no matter what your religion!

"When you are loved, you can do anything in creation. When you are loved, there's no need at all to understand what's happening, because everything happens within you, and even men can turn themselves into the wind. As long as the wind helps, of course." pg. 147

And here are a couple quotes that hit me very deeply as an LDS woman:

"The wise men understood that this natural world is only an image and a copy of paradise. The existence of this world is simply a guarantee that there exists a world that is perfect. God created the world so that, through its visible objects, men could understand his spiritual teachings and the marvels of his wisdom. That's what I mean by action." pg 127

"Remember what I told you: the world is only the visible aspect of God. And that what alchemy does is to bring spiritual perfection into contact with the material plane." pg 142

The Alchemist

Ladies,

My initial reaction to The Alchemist was this is "psycho-babel," (not a particularly positive response). I felt like Coelho was "ever searching, but never coming to the truth." There were passages that sounded Christian/Mormon/Biblical (Urim & Thumim; Melchizedek; paying 1/10; where your treasure is, there will your heart be also, etc.) mixed in with ideas from ancient philosophers and cultures (the "ideal is created before the real," the pyramids of Egypt/Giza are miraculous, "beginner's luck and the victor's test," magic, true love conquers all, living in the "now," etc.). It was a fun plot line, but I didn't feel like reading it would lead me to truth, change my life, or give me deeply valuable or personally applicable insights.

Then I read the author's biography at the end of the book. I was stunned by the passion he had for writing and the great lengths he was willing to go to achieve his dream. I did additional research on Wikipedia just to see if his parents really put him in a mental institution where he underwent shock therapy for years because they couldn't accept that he wanted to be a writer. Rod suggested that perhaps he was gay and that's why his parents' reaction was so severe. However, that is not the case. He has been married to the same woman for over 20 years.

I have been trying to make some sense out of his parents' reaction. The understanding came through family. My husband, Rod, has a brother who is an artist. His life has been incredibly difficult. Rod's father once told us, "If any of your kids want to be an artist, hold their head under water until they change their minds." He was only half joking; he blamed being an artist for causing so much pain to his son. I can't believe how compassionate Coelho's response was to his parents. He said they weren't trying to hurt him; they were trying to SAVE him.

Coehlo was also kidnapped and tortured because of his political beliefs! With this background knowledge, "The Alchemist" becomes in many ways an autobiography. When I look at it this way, it becomes a much different experience. Survival/perserverance becomes the theme and the most significant part of the the story for me . . . continuing on against all odds; learning and growing from each experience. I'm glad I read it. :)

3 Bags

I was disappointed as well by the conclusion of the book. She set up that great discovery of the other man's body by Ham and George, and didn't tie up the loose ends. We heard about the video tape, but that was the end of that. She was also so vague about George, his relationship with the pious lady, his wife, the other woman, and his daughter. I suppose that since the sheep didn't understand the complexity of human relationships, that the author didn't feel the need to explain in more depth. I was also depressed by the lack of human happiness in the book. The book was full of unhappy marriage, drug abuse, unfulfilled dreams, etc. Where's "la joie de vivre"?
On the flip side, I did appreciate a lot of the humor. There were times that I laughed out loud over what one of the sheep said, or the conclusions that they came to. I was planning to quote a few examples, but I already passed the book along. It was a fun book to read, but not a real page turner for me.

I did have the little jumping sheep at the bottom of my page. Very cute.

Three Bags Full

It’s been awhile since I read the book as well, so I’ve forgotten many of the details. Three Bags Full had so much potential. I mean, a detective story where sheep are your detectives? How unique is that? However, I think it fell short. I’ll explain why later.

The names the author gave all the characters (both sheep and humans) were very interesting:
Miss Maple for the older, female sheep – quite the nod to Miss Marple…Agatha Christie’s famous detective.
Ham was an interesting name for a butcher.
Othello as the black ram. Interesting choices, just to list a few.

The author, by necessity, gave the sheep human attributes – like the need to be counted: “All the sheep were afraid of being missed out of the count, because then they might disappear,” pg. 67. I think it’s a human need to “count,” to matter, to be important to someone.

I think the book lost some steam somewhere in the middle – it was just too long. The novelty of the sheep detectives wore off with some of the minutiae in the book.

SPOILER ALERT
But here’s where I really think the book fell short. What started off as a murder mystery ended as a suicide. I think that was a cop out – rather than have the sheep actually uncover a murderer (which I think would have been very interesting. How would you feel as a murderer to be found out by a bunch of sheep), the victim killed himself. I just think it was too easy.

Anyway, did anyone else have the sheep drawings at the bottom corner of the right-hand page? When you thumb quickly through the book you get a jumping sheep? That was kind of fun.

Three Bags full

Spoiler alert: don't read if you haven't finished the book.


I read it about a month ago sooo... I don't remember it well enough to do too indepth of a review. I enjoyed it. I liked the perspective of the sheep and their understanding of people. I thought the names were a nice twist - They lived in Glennkill and George Glenn was killed (not sure if those are the exact names but it was something similar). I wished for a little more background on the humans. Because we only heard things mostly through the sheep whole stories were missing. George and Ham fought over Kate- George won but stayed good friends with Ham and yet their seemed to be some tension there still... It didn't quite add up. Ham still pined over Kate. Kate was clueless about everything. George had a child with a married woman somewhere else? And Beth and George were really in love with each other but George couldn't take pining and stressing over the "Evil" in the village. Things didn't quite add up for me and the way he died took all of the mystery out of the novel for me. I would have liked it better if he had been murdered. (is that kind of sick and twisted? oh well...)

That being said it was a fun and interesting read. It went quickly and had some nice twists. I liked when Mopple was lost in the fog- that was an interesting part of the book. I liked the wolf in sheeps clothing (the sheep for food shepard). I liked the twin sheep that reappeared and the adopted sheep from the circus. Their were some cool analogies in the book. There was a good amount of suspense and the author had an interesting way of feeding us info.

Sorry I can't be more in depth. Maybe I will remember more as I read your reviews? Thanks for the fun read!

WW - Loved it

This was a great pick. I was leary at first. I don't usually read young adult books. I wouldn't have read Twilight if you gals didn't suggest it. That said, if Wednesday Wars had a sequal I'd read it.

All of you have done well with your reviews. Once again I feel at a loss to say anything new. I'll just post my favorite quotes throughout the book.

Holling said it so perfectly about this time of year... I always wish for snow and this is how I will express it from now on:

"It's the kind of month where you're grateful for every single glimpse of the sun, or ay sign of blue sky above the clouds, because you're not sure that they're there anymore. And if you can't have sun or blue sky, then you wish it would snow and cover all the gray world with a sparkling white so bright that your eye can't take it in."

I liked this next quote because it shows how wise Holling is at an early age... not always trusting a surge of happiness, but describing it's bliss so perfectly:

"Life got brighter, and somehow, the world suddenly got brighter, too. You know how this is? Your walking along, and then the sun comes out from behind a cloud, and the birds start to sing, and the air is suddenly warm, and it's like the whole world is happy because you are happy. It's a great feeling. But never trust it..."

And then he remembered the death threats for cream puffs. DANG!

And this bit here describes perfectly of why I don't get up in the morning to exercise or even shower.

"It was cold and a little foggy - the kind of foggy that goes all through you, so that everything feels wet, and the cold starts to seep under your skin, and all you can think about is the warm bed that you left to do this to yourself, and you're wishing you had on your thermal underwear, and you're wondering why anyone would want to do this to themselves..."

This was just deep for a 7th grader. Something to remember.

"For it so falls out, that what we have we prize not to the worth whiles we enjoy it; but being lacked and lost, why, then we rack the value, then we find the virtue that possession would not show us while it was ours."

That's all Ladies... looking forward to this next read.

Wednesday Wars

This book had an old-school feel to it. Meaning, it reminded me more of Judy Blume's young adult novels (set in the '40s to '70s) than the modern Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants or Twilight series. This had to do in part with the setting (1968 Long Island) but also with the character of Holling himself, the role of Shakespeare's works, names, and the role of women.

Holling Hoodhood as a character was not tormented by ADHD, addicted parents, low self-esteem, a dark crippling secret or overwhelming brilliance. He was just a self aware kid in the 7th grade. Those challenges he did face (lack of money for cream puffs, embarrassment over wearing tights, being faster than the 8th-graders) were explained away (as Holling notes) by the situation of his age and grade: "Mr. Goldman, it's been a long time since you were in seventh grade" (78). 

Holling had a positive, humorous outlook on the "trials" he did encounter: "So I did it. I got through the whole dress rehearsal playing Ariel the Fairy while wearing bright yellow tights with white feathers on the ... well, I might as well say it — butt. There. On my butt! White feathers waving on my butt!" (78). 
He did not cower when embarrassed by the photo of flying Ariel the Fairy dotted the school walls. Instead, he channeled MacBeth: "... there was a flash of inspiration and ambition" (102).

So, while Holling had his weaknesses, he was not fragile. He knew himself, he had friends, and in the end, he stood up to his father. At age 13. Some men never do this.

Something else that gave this book an old-school feel to me was all the Shakespeare. The author dug into the classics for this one. Not only was Holling reading the plays and quoting from them, but touches of Shakespeare's lines ran through the narrative: "Still, it was  a June day to be blithe and bonny in" (243) when referring to the camping.

The author also played around with language. Holling is marked down on papers for using run-on sentences. Then we, the reader, see run-on sentences galore when Holling has hold of the narrative. 

Another old-school moment comes with the names. This might be old-school in the sense that it reminded me of how I used to refer to people. Holling always referred to Doug Swieteck's brother as exactly that. No first name. Teachers and coaches had only last names. His friends had first names only. Holling's father always wanted to know Holling's friends' first and last names.His father was his father, his mother his mother, and his sister his sister; the change came at the very end of the book, when we learn his sister is named Heather. This shows his growing closer to her, using her name.  

Finally, it's important to discuss the role of women in this novel. Holling's mother was a shadow. She acted as a sounding board in Chapter 1 when Holling complained about Mrs. Baker. That's it. She was not unique, she hid from us, like she hid her smoking from her husband. On the other end of the scale is Mrs. Baker. Independent. Brave. Giving. Challenging. Confident. She did not hide. She was a strong female role model in an age when women's roles were changing. Look at Holling's sister. She was angry and frustrated that Holling was being considered to inherit the family business. She challenged her father about her clothes, hair, education. Thank God for women like Mrs. Baker and for those like Heather, struggling for the cause of women's changing roles. If nothing changes, nothing changes.

To end, I just want to point out to Katie that Pete Seeger rocks; I'm not the only one who thinks so (108).

Oops!

Sorry for that post. It was meant to go to www.zoopeters.blogspot.com, my personal blog. Mea culpa.

Note to self: pay attention!!!

I loved Wednesday Wars too

I loved the self centered 12 year old perspective. I loved his sense of self and what was right and wrong. I loved the description of the saddest sound in the world coming from Mrs. Brigio and how he incorporated that into himself and who he was.

This book had a perfect balance of funny ironic and sad tragic stories. I hated his parents and loved Hupfer's parents. His dad was self-centered beyond acceptable behavior. I hope Holling grows up and works for Kowalski and assocciates instead. I was glad that Holling had good adult examples in his life.

I loved the way that the historical time period and shakespeare stories were intermixed with his life. What an amazingly crazy year in history! and I loved his Romeo and Juliet romance with Meryl Lee. I love that through all the pain and turmoil his faith in miracles was restored and despite his father's poor example he learned how to be a man from Shakespeare and other examples.

fun book! Thanks for the suggestion.

Wednesday Wars

This book spoke to me on so many levels, I hardly know where to begin, but I think I'll start on a personal level. The setting is 1967-68 . . . my senior year in high school. I LIVED these events. I couldn't believe how quickly this book took me back. I was reading it on a plane to Utah and came to the part about the 5,000 Marines in Vietnam and suddenly realized they were talking about Khesanh!!! Rod's brother was there! I started to cry uncontrollably. I couldn't believe that Rod could be SLEEPING right next to me! I almost slugged him! Khesanh has had such an impact on our family. We have all felt some small part of the pain Rod's brother has experienced for the past 40 years as a result of the seige: PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)!

Second, it spoke to me on a professional level. I teach 7th grade. Every day I live with student/teacher, student/student, and student/family relationships. I had the great privilege of teaching my students during the 2008 presidential election and seeing their passion for the issues and their desire to have an impact on their world. I also had the challenge of keeping the little piranhas from eating each other for lunch!! 7th graders can be heroically kind and devastatingly cruel! I usually spend half an hour or more venting to Rod at the end of a day. Some of my students' lives are a train wreck. Others seem to have a glorious future ahead of them (no Perfect Houses, I hope). I pray that I will have an impact on some of them such as Mrs. Baker had on Holling.

Third, it spoke to me as a parent. I was ready to choke Holling's parents. I was appalled at the emotional distance between the parents and children in this family. I was so grateful that, at least, Holling had Danny's parents on his side. Rod and I have had several discussions as a result of this book. I know his parents didn't go to many of his basketball games and my parents weren't driven or focused on engineering our success through extra-curricular activities, etc. On some level, I think they sent us (at least the older kids in my family) to school and figured the experts would teach us what we needed to know. However, I know my parents would have done ANYTHING in their power (and did) to rescue a wayward child. I thought the implication that Holling's father was somehow trapped by his upbringing and that Holling, by understanding his father, wouldn't have to follow the same path was very compassionate and helped heal the hurts he experienced. (It also made me feel more forgiving.)

Fourth, it spoke to me as an English major. The use of Shakespeare's plays to develop Holling's self-awareness was masterful. I loved the literature, the allusions, the way the selections fit so perfectly with what was going on in Holling's life. It was such a well-written story. No wonder it received a Newberry Award!

Fifth, it was fun! The humor of the rats, the cream puffs, the Ariel costume . . . I couldn't help laughing out loud :) (Who knows what the other passengers thought!)

Laurenda, Thanks for a great pick. I told Rod he HAS to read it.

The Wednesday Wars

I wish I'd written my review right after I read the book, because I LOVED IT SO MUCH! But now, weeks have passed and, what do I remember? "I LOVED IT SO MUCH!" I want to buy it for my personal collection, I loved it so much.

The basic story is about 7th grader Holling Hoodhood (what a riot that last name is) coming of age during the Vietnam War. He is the only Presbyterian in his class, and all his Catholic and Jewish friends leave on Wednesday afternoons for religion classes, so he's stuck with his teacher who assigns him to read Shakespeare. The result is a tale so gentle, so moving and so hilarious. We get to learn all about relationships, interwoven with bits of wisdom from Shakespeare. My favorite is the development of Holling's relationship with his sister (so poignant!); his relationship with his teacher Mrs. Baker (a main theme in the book) is so true to life. I remember as a young student being seriously surprised to see one of my teachers at the grocery store. Holling's relationship is like this with Mrs. Baker. Initially, he views her stereotypically as a "mean" teacher who hates his guts. By the end of the book, we see her as a person--someone who has history and emotional angst all of her own, and compassion and tenderness and bravery. And we see first love bloom. How great IS Meryl Lee? So great. I wish I had a Coke right now. :)

Some of my favorite parts? The "swearing". LOVED that. Wish I could remember some of them....OH well. And The Rats. Ohhhhhh, the rats. And how appropriately triumphant was it that the one teacher who left with a nervous breakdown came back as the principal and took care of the rats and was the hero of the 7th Grade Camp Overnighter? It kinda sums up how life can be.

Also, I loved it when Holling was pounding the chalkboard erasers and that huge cloud of dust covered the delicious puff pastries--how funny was the whole puff pastry thing? I mean, his fellow students hounding him for them, which lead him to become a thespian! And the consequences of that? And I loved that he embraced the role because he FELT it, even if it meant he had yellow feathers on his rear? And the rats (did I mention the rats?). And the tender scene where his friend gives Mickey Mantle back the signed ball??? And the strawberries? And, my favorite, where Holling cashes in his prize to pick up his sister (his second "saving" of her), after learning how to run, really run, from Mrs. Baker? These things touched my heart and tickled my funny bone. I was sad when this book ended because it was sooooo good. But I also closed the covers of it very contented.

So, if you haven't read it, it's so worth it. It truly is a feel good book.

The Wednesday Wars - Katie's view of the world

I don’t have my book with me – but I’m sure I had awesome things underlined as well as amazing insights written in the margins. Alas, we’ll all just have to survive without my insights. ☺

I LOVED this book. I thought the perspective of the young boy (12-year-old?) was spot on, maybe a little too insightful, but nevertheless correct. Human nature makes us very self-centered – not always selfish, but self-centered. When faced with a friend/co-worker/family member who is in a bad mood, who hasn’t thought, “what did I do to make them this way?” The person’s mood may have nothing to do with us (and it probably doesn’t) but that doesn’t stop us from thinking that we did something. And Holling Hoodhood is no different.

This was a book about relationships – relationships between Holling and his teacher, between Holling and his sister, between Holling and the world around him. But the book also developed relationships between people in the world surrounding Holling. For example, the relationship between the lunch lady (?) and the Vietnamese girl was very touching. I cried when the lunch lady “overlooked” the girl when passing out treats (or something). I also cried when they came to terms with each other later in the book. I can’t even imagine how hard it would have been to be a young Vietnamese child in the United States during the Vietnam War.

This really sucks not to have the book in front of me. Anyway, I was quite impressed with Holling’s friend who returned the autographed baseball to – Mickey Mantle? – after the “hero” refused to sign Holling’s ball. Is that an accurate portrayal of the baseball player? Was he really that much of a jerk?

Thanks, Laurenda, for choosing this book.

Dear Abbey

Northanger Abbey shares a lot with other Jane Austen novels: It is partly set in Bath. Women are chasing men; men are chasing women. There is a scoundrel in the character of John Thorpe. The story ends in a wedding. What this early novels lacks, though, is a mature and perceptive heroine, one along the lines of an Anne Elliot, Eleanor Dashwood, or Elizabeth Bennett. These young women were grown up. They knew their own minds, knew the right path (and took it), and could discern dishonesty and lack of scruples in others. 

Catherine Morland stands out because she is so unlike Austen's other heroines. She looks to others for what's right or wrong. She fancies a respectable man to be a murderer. Obviously, Austen was younger when she wrote Catherine. This was one of her early attempts, so some tolerance can be granted. At least Catherine is still likable. She's fun, honest, open-minded. But reading her story is like reading a young woman's romance novel or a teenager's journal. That's not the worst thing in the world. But Jane Austen has fed us readers on filet mignon with her other novels. This one is like eating cotton candy. It's sweet as it goes down, but it soon disappears and is forgotten.

Of course, Austen may have been playing a joke on her readers. The whole novel may have been one big tongue-in-cheek joke on the Gothic romance genre: dark secrets, old houses (abbeys), dashing men. She just wrapped the joke up in a saccharin love story to make it more interesting. No doubt Austen herself was a perceptive woman with her own sense of humor. She makes fun of social classes in all her novels. Why not make fun of an entire genre in this one? In any case, readers are lucky Austen herself matured enough to write more solid female leads. Without them, Catherine would stand as Austen's lone heroine, and frankly, she couldn't take the heat.

Northanger Abbey

Sorry I haven't written about this. I actually finished the book a day or two before the reviews were "due," and I wrote about it on my personal blog and then promptly forgot to put anything on the actual book club blook (I have no idea where that word came from, and I thought it too funny to change it. It totally should be "blog". This is, without a doubt, a sign of sleep deprivation...this actually might explain why I haven't blogged about Northanger Abbey yet! lol).

ANYWAY!!!! Finished the book while rocking my new baby and I have to say, you can tell this was written early in Austen's career. It was very very wordy. She sooooo needed a good editor! And I should know, because that's how I write and think. Many college term papers came back with pretty much that same complaint.

That being said, what a fun book. I love that Catherine and Henry seemed to like each other from the start and, yes, had some bumps in their relationship, but for the most part, remained on good terms through the entire book. I have to say, though, that the ending reminded me of a Louis L'Amour book...you have drama, story, romance and conflict, only to be resolved in the last few pages of the last chapter. I mean, seriously, Catherine and Henry were able to find happiness and get permission to marry even though Henry's father was a complete JERK (how scandalous that he turned Catherine out of his house like that, really!)! Thankfully, Henry's sister was able to marry well (!) to some guy we had never even heard about until the paragraph where it was revealed they had married (again, !!!!). But I'm a sucker for a happy ending, so I was actually fine with it. I'm just saying.

I did learn some interesting things. One, that gratuitous swearing/gossip by a suitor is a turnoff, regardless of the century. I'm glad Catherine agreed. Secondly, when the people went to Bath, England, known for it's restorative waters, they literally went to the Pump Rooms to DRINK THE WATER. Ohhhhhhh. I was wondering what the heck they were doing walking around in circles in the recent BBC/PBS version of Northanger Abbey, while periodically stopping to take a beverage break. Now I know.

I love Jane Austen, but I had yet to read this particular novel. Now I have and I'm glad for it. Wonderful choice. :)