Vic Xiong Xiong itibaren 1, North Marshall, NC, Birleşik Devletler
I'm not sure I've ever felt so emotionally conflicted after reading a book - I can't think of one off-hand, anyway. I feel heartbroken, and honestly, a little emotionally drained. This is not a book for those who like happy endings and neat, tidy resolutions. This book was tough to get into. Ms. Shriver's writing style is very pretty, but extremely wordy. However, contrary to another reviewer's thoughts on this book, I was able to get through this book without the aid of a dictionary, and I think most people who are reasonably well-read would be able to as well. I eventually became used to the writing style, and the pages flew by after that. I feel that the rampant hate-on for Eva among both fans and critics of this book, confirms that, when children "misbehave", society's knee-jerk reaction is still to blame the mother. Eva's self-flagellation is evident throughout the novel - "I was a terrible mother" - but what was it about her that left her labelled a terrible mother? Her less-than-ideal reasons behind deciding to have a child? Because she didn't feel that obligatory immediate attachment to her son? Because she became unglued as a result of her baby's incessant crying (having experienced an extremely colicky baby myself, I will admit to sympathising with her there)? Because she couldn't bring herself to like her inherently unlikeable son (although, for her part, she did try)? This book's ambiguity on the subject is genius. Was Kevin born evil, or would the outcome have changed had he been born to a more loving mother? My instinct is to say no, although I initially wondered if Eva's insistence that her son didn't like her wasn't in her head, perhaps the influence of postpartum depression. The further the novel went on though, the more I had the sense that Kevin was just intrinsically bad. I guess it's up to the individual reader to decide for him or herself.
My favorite book ever. I've read this book almost every winter since 1982 and I rarely read books twice. Lots of symbolism of good vs evil and light vs dark. But a good darn story where a kid is more than he seems and saves the day.
Absolutely a beautiful written tale. I saw the movie in 2005 but for some reason never read the novel. I had a friend recently mention to me that this was her favorite book and that the movie didn't capture the true nature of Sayuri's story. She was right and I'm so glad that I finally ready Memoirs of a Geisha.
Im just got to say 2 words... loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!