Review: ACROSS THE WAY: MEADOWS by Eber & Wein Publishing

 Rating: 3.5/5 stars

This is a poetry collection that probably won’t be read by anyone except the people whose poems are in the book. I read it only because I own a copy, and I own a copy only because one of my poems is printed in this book.

I love poetry on its own, but I hardly ever read whole books of poetry. It’s exhausting to read 300 pages of poems in place of a novel.

This is an amateur poetry collection. As such, there were poems that I didn’t care for, poems that sounded superficial, and there were poems that I quite enjoyed, poems that were full of deep emotion. There were also plenty of poems in dire need of editing, but it is clear the publisher printed the poems “as-is” without correcting even basic spelling and punctuation mistakes.

Even though this book’s title is Meadows, the subjects in this book are unrestrained, covering any number of topics possible. Lots of poems were very personal, some talked about family and relationships, and many had religious elements, while others seemed so abstract that I couldn’t make sense of them.

This collection goes to show that any person can create art through their experiences. It proves that many many people (probably every person out there, honestly) struggle with very personal issues that leave deep imprints on their lives. No one is alone in their sadness or trials, and that’s the most important thing I learned while reading this book.

My favorite part of this collection was the stories from select authors about their poems. I liked reading about the inspiration behind the poems. Here are the poems I liked best from Meadows:
“Everything,” 25
“Life in a Hyphen,” 61
“Evil Spirit,” 73
“Wonder,” 112
“Sad Eyes of the Beautiful Hot Dog Stand Girl,” 130
“Wording,” 243

Review: LILAC GIRLS by Martha Hall Kelly

Rating: 4/5 stars

Lilac Girls is a mostly true account following three women during World War Two.
—Caroline, 37, American, volunteer at the French Consulate in New York City
—Kasia, 17, Polish, prisoner at Ravensbrück concentration camp
—Herta, early 20s, German, doctor at Ravensbrück concentration camp
I feel like this book mostly tells Kasia’s story, but it features perspectives from Caroline and Herta, two people who had profound impacts on Kasia’s life. The stories of these three women intersect to create something heartbreaking but also beautiful. Before reading this book, I didn’t know anything about Ravensbrück, the all-female concentration camp, but now I’ve been provided with an intimate view of what life was like inside.

Something I liked about this book was that the chapters alternated points of view, and each chapter ended in such a way that I had to know what happened next, but the next chapter was usually from a different character’s perspective. Written this way, the narrative propelled the reader through the story and really created an engaging plotline throughout.

I love historical fiction, and it’s been awhile since I’ve read a WWII story, but this one reminded me how brutal that time was. This book is gritty at times and takes the reader right to the heart of the concentration camp life at Ravensbrück and the medical experiments performed there. Many times it was hard to read, but I also couldn’t stop reading because I was so engrossed in it. I cannot express enough how grateful I am to not have lived through that. I know I wouldn’t have survived, and I feel sick just reading about it.

For the first eighty pages or so, I really struggled to keep the characters and the story straight. There are a lot of side characters. There are also a lot of words in German or Polish with no English alternative or definition provided, so I often became confused during those sentences about what had transpired. For example, matka means mother in Polish, but for about half the book, I thought it was Kasia’s mother’s actual name (it was capitalized in the book). These few reasons are why I am giving this book four stars instead of five. I think it is very deserving of five stars, but my rating is based on personal enjoyment, and my struggle in the beginning leads me to give this four stars.

I cannot believe this is Martha Hall Kelly’s first book. The writing was amazing and captivating, the editing extremely thorough. (Being an editor myself, I usually find at least one error or plot hole in every book, but I cannot remember any from this book.) I know she did about ten years of research for this story, which is an astonishing feat unto itself. I can only hope that one day I’ll be as devoted to a topic as she was to telling these women’s stories. Here is a wonderful short video of Kelly talking about how she became interested in the story she tells in Lilac Girls, and it showcases some places that inspired her and pictures of the real people featured in the book.

Everyone needs to read books like this one at some point in their lives: actual accounts of the horrors of war (this book is technically fiction, but it is based on true events and features many real people as its characters). Every time I read a story about the war, specifically what it was like to be a prisoner in a concentration camp, I shiver with utter horror at the thought that humans could treat other humans that way. Absolutely unfathomable to me. I am beyond grateful that I did not have to endure the torture and experimentation that the girls in this book did. It’s very difficult to read about but also very eye-opening how blessed we are today, and it really makes me appreciate the life I have. Even on my hardest days, I would prefer to live them a hundred times over than live one day as a prisoner during the war. The women in this story really suffered through a lot but probably grew exponentially more than I ever will because of those experiences. I highly recommend Lilac Girls, in part because of the imprint it will leave on you when you finish.

Would You Rather: Book Edition

Would you rather . . .

1. Read only series or only standalones?
read only standalones

2. Buy all your books at a bookstore or online?
buy all my books at a bookstore

3. All books become movies or tv shows?
all books become tv shows

4. Reread your least favourite book yearly or never be able to read your favourite book again?
never be able to read my favourite book again

5. Be a professional book reviewer or a professional author?
both, but if I had to choose, a professional book reviewer

6. Read only your 20 favourite books or only never-before-read books for the rest of your life?
read only never-before-read books

7. Be a librarian or a bookseller?
be a librarian

8. Read only your favourite genre or every genre but your favourite genre?
read only my favourite genre

9. Ready only physical books or only ebooks or only audiobooks?
read only physical books

10. Receive an unlimited number of free books for life or live inside your favourite book?
receive an unlimited number of free books for life

11. Own only as many books as you can physically carry or own enough books to cover every wall in your house?
own only as many books as I can physically carry

12. Read only the most popular books or read only books that no one you know has read so you can't discuss them?
read only books no one I know has read 

13. Read the last chapter before starting any new book or never read the last chapter of a book?
read the last chapter before starting any new book

14. Read only one book a year and remember everything or read a hundred books a year but remember nothing?
read a hundred books a year but remember nothing

15. Read a book with a cliffhanger ending or read a book with a heartbreaking ending?
read a book with a cliffhanger ending

16. Have a book's ending spoiled or never know how it ends?
have the ending spoiled

17. Read a book that's missing the middle chapter or read a book that's missing the first and last chapters?
read a book that's missing the middle chapter

18. Love a book everyone hates or hate a book everyone loves?
hate a book everyone loves

19. Have your favourite book made into a bad movie or never made into a movie?
have my favourite book made into a bad movie

20. Have to wait five years for the final book in your favourite series or read it now but have to read major spoilers beforehand?
read it now but have to read major spoilers beforehand

Review: BITTERBLUE by Kristin Cashore

Rating: 5/5 stars

Read my updated 2021 reread review here. 

Bitterblue is the best book in this series by far. After we left Princess Bitterblue in Graceling, I was curious to see how her future would turn out now that Leck isn't at the helm of her life. I'm glad she got her own story, and I can't believe I almost didn't read this book because I didn't love the last two. This book is worlds better than the other two, and Cashore's writing has significantly improved since book one. Although Bitterblue follows characters introduced in Graceling and features cameos from characters in Fire, I do think it could be read as a standalone, or as a sequel to Graceling, omitting Fire. I will say having the knowledge from Fire definitely added to my reading experience of this book, but it is not pertinent to read that book prior to Bitterblue.

I loved the characters in this story. Bitterblue is lovely (I actually like her more than Katsa), and it was so nice to see how she's matured since her childhood in Graceling. Moreso, I loved the evolution and progression of her character and strengths from the beginning of this book to the end. Cashore has a talent for writing really strong female leads that have great arcs of character development throughout the story, being tested in many ways but always emerging triumphant and stronger in the end. Of all the characters in this book, I think I liked Sapphire the most (and his name is pure gold). He was unpleasant at times, but I continued rooting for him and I loved when he showed up in scenes. He, too, goes through some nice moral changes as the story progresses.

My very favourite scene in this whole book is when Bitterblue walks into the courthouse while Saf is on trial. I listened to that part of the book on audio, and I was laughing so much at how ironically funny it was. Simply charming.

One thing I wish we were given more details about was the romance. Bitterblue and Sapphire had a kind of relationship that could have been more intimate than we saw it, but we don't know what happened to them after the story ended. Bitterblue also seemed fond of Giddon, but their relationship was always only platonic. I could see it turning into something more in the future, but we readers won't know what happens with Bitterblue's possible suitors because the story was left open-ended with this matter.

In Bitterblue, the use of ciphers and codes and secret messages is paramount to the story. I've always been interested in that kind of thing but never had an aptitude for it, so I enjoy reading about it in books from time to time, watching the characters figure out the puzzles piece by piece. Each new message that Bitterblue deciphers or each code that she had to break had me completely enthralled with how detailed they were, how complex they were to solve. And their prevalence goes to show that Bitterblue really couldn't trust anyone. Truly, I had no idea who was on her side and who was putting on a facade. People were changing their allegiances in the middle of the book, discovered to be an enemy but then ended up being an ally, and vice versa. That is one thing Cashore did really well in this book: she had me completely unable to trust any of the characters. Even the main characters that were most present in the story were under scrutiny from Bitterblue, and I can't imagine that strain on her as an emerging queen. Luckily, all answers were elucidated by the end of the book.

I did think it was weird, for how focused on characterization Cashore is in her writing, that we never got to meet the spies. Bitterblue mentions her spies quite a bit, and at first I thought that was a pretense for her guards, that her "spies" were actually herself and Saf and Teddy. But then I realized she actually does have spies, but we never got to meet them or know their names. I found that a bit strange with how much this book revolves around secrets and the acquisition of information.

I like that this book heavily relied on politics, but they didn't control the story like they did in Fire. In Fire, the politics were the story, and the plot became very dry and boring. But in Bitterblue, the politics enhanced the story, and that was so much more enjoyable to me. I think politics are crucial to any good fantasy that takes place in a medieval setting with castles and rulers, but I find that they can make or break my interest in the story.

Overall, Bitterblue was an excellent conclusion to an otherwise ordinary trilogy. Cashore's writing has developed greatly since her debut novel, and I believe she will continue to grow even stronger in that skill as time goes on. She writes great characters and interesting political plotlines with shocking revelations throughout. This story was long, but it didn't feel that long because every bit of it was entertaining. One neat thing about this book in particular is the considerable amount of bonus content at the end, which really enhances the reading experience. We have beautiful drawings of the three bridges in Bitterblue City, detailed maps of different parts of the castle and the land, a character list with helpful descriptions, and Cashore's writing process for Bitterblue, which was actually very eye-opening. She wrote two complete first drafts of the story over the course of many years to get all the details of the plot where she wanted them to be. While that would have been a grueling rewriting process, I know that Bitterblue was only better for it in the end.

Review: FIRE by Kristin Cashore

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

After hearing so much that Fire was better than Graceling, I was looking forward to reading it. However, I must be of the minority because I didn’t care much for Fire. I found it to be quite slow with a generic plotline, no subplots, and generally unlikeable characters.

The story of Fire is one you’ve heard many times before: there is unrest in the kingdom, and rebels threaten to kill the king and take his place, so the king’s armies have to fight to defend the throne in a largescale battle in the end. This story takes place about thirty-five years before Graceling in a different land with different characters, so the books don’t have to be read in order. In fact, I think reading Fire first would actually make more sense, seeing as it’s the prequel.

First off, let’s talk about our protagonist, Fire, who reminded me too much of another protagonist I just read about. Katsa and Fire are both strong female leads, but their similarities are more than coincidental; in fact, I was getting frustrated with how much Fire seemed to be based on Katsa. I love strong female characters, but there’s more than one way to write them, and Cashore seemed to fill in the mold with both of these women. Both Katsa and Fire have a superhuman ability, Katsa having the Grace of fighting and Fire having the ability to control people’s thoughts. Both women are well-known in their land for their uniqueness and therefore must be protected from those who wish to do them harm because many men seek to hurt each of them. Both are very closely related to the royal line. Both dote “feminist” qualities and refuse to ever be married even though they each have a lover who they care for dearly and they enjoy the presence of children. Both are viewed as fierce but are actually quite gentle in character. I liked Katsa in Graceling, but I was too irritated with Fire to really care much about her.

Almost all the characters in Fire were so awful that it made for quite the disappointing reading experience. I disliked Leck so much in book one that I wasn’t happy to see him again in book two. I liked getting his backstory in the prologue, but that scene really would have been more impactful in Graceling. Fire’s romantic partner, Archer, is a vile, insufferable man, and I hated him. What a wanker. I don’t know why Fire ever liked him or how she was able to degrade herself to sleep with him for so long. I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a love interest as strongly as I did Archer. Our secondary love interest, Prince Brigan, is so boring, although he is worlds better than Archer as far as character goes. He’s a typical prince with no memorable qualities, and I’ll probably forget about him by next week. Honestly, there are so many unlikeable characters in this book that I just couldn’t wait to finish reading it. I wanted to be done with all of them. The only person I actually liked was the little girl Hanna, and she hardly made any appearances in the story.

Another aspect of the book I didn’t like was the amount of infidelity. I was honestly just disgusted. The only purpose of it was to “further the suspense” by revealing that so-and-so is actually this person’s father, or that character is actually related to this other character. With how often this happened in this book, I’m pretty sure everyone’s related to everyone at this point.

All the big revelations had no bearing on me because I just didn’t care about the characters or where the plot was going. Honestly, Fire could have died and I wouldn’t have been surprised or upset. Life happens. As it is, the book passed quite slowly for me. I had to resort to the audiobook for most of the story because I couldn’t force myself to pick up the physical copy and read. I will say that the narrator did a good job on the audiobook; it was the story itself that I didn’t like.

For some reason, the concept of “monsters” in this land just didn’t sit right with me. It sounded way too immature to be in a young adult book; it’s a concept that would fit better in a children’s story. In the Dells, monsters look just like regular people or animals, but they are brightly colored. For example, you could have a purple rabbit or a blue horse or a green lion. Fire herself is a human monster, as seen by her flame-colored hair. But these creatures don’t act any different from regular humans or regular animals; the only difference is their color. How does that make them monsters?

This book was so heavy on the politics that they became the story. It is easy to guess, very early on, where the plot is going and how it will end. Most of the plot was consumed with war plans and strategies, questioning prisoners, Fire sitting around in the castle. I like political intrigue in my fantasy books, but I don’t like a book that’s entirely based on the politics. There was basically no other story happening.

Overall, I didn’t really care for Fire, and I thought it was too similar to Graceling but a lot weaker. I’m going to give Bitterblue a try because I’m hoping that the story will wrap up nicely with our original characters that I liked much better, but this book really didn’t feel necessary at all.

Review: GRACELING by Kristin Cashore

Rating: 4/5 stars

In the world of the Seven Kingdoms, some people are born with exceptional skills called Graces. These people are called Gracelings, who can have any kind of skill ranging from cooking to fighting to mind reading to eating rocks without getting sick. Our protagonist Katsa is Graced with killing with her bare hands. Because of her competence, she is forced to work for the king, who is also her uncle. He uses her as his personal assassin, sent to deal with anyone that wrongs him across the land. But Katsa is tired of hurting innocent people and listening to his every demand. She decides to team up with Po, a Graced prince from a different kingdom, to do the world some good and escape from her conniving uncle.

The first third of Graceling was pretty slow, not a lot of action or plot happening. I’m actually a bit disappointed that I didn’t enjoy this book more in the beginning. It had been sitting unread on my shelf for nearly ten years, and maybe that wait had hyped it up too much for me. Thankfully, however, once I got a fair way into the story, my outlook turned around and I really started to enjoy it more.

Cashore’s writing was a bit lackluster in this book. Some of her descriptions were clumsy, and lots of the characters’ thoughts were repeated. I actually thought I was rereading earlier pages at times because the words used were almost exactly the same as what was said a few pages back. This made me a little frustrated because I thought the prose could have been a lot more cohesive than it was. This book actually helped me to discover something about myself when it comes to books: even if the storyline is awesome and the world-building is plentiful and the characters are likable, I won’t enjoy the book if the writing is below average and doesn’t flow well. I’ve enjoyed books before with exquisite writing but unforgettable characters and a slow plot. However, books that have all the right elements but lack in quality writing are just hard for me to get through. I thought Graceling would be like this during the whole book, but it was only the beginning that was a struggle. The first third of the book was three stars, the middle third was four stars, and the last third was five stars with a fantastic ending. The writing gradually improved as the story progressed, and I slowly started gaining interest in what was happening.

This book actually felt like an adult fantasy novel in some ways. I know that’s a weird description, but let me explain. What I mean is the level of depth that is put into the world building and character development, and the direction the plot goes, are all things I would expect out of an adult fantasy rather than a young adult fantasy. The only difference is the characters are young here, hence the young adult genre. I guess what I’m trying to say is that this book felt mature, and I liked that. Sometimes young adult fantasies can feel trite or childish, but this one didn’t to me.

I loved the characters in this book. I think my favourite was Bitterblue. When introduced, she was quiet and submissive, but by the end she was strong-willed and she learned to carry herself with confidence. I love to see character arcs like that. Katsa also had a nice progression throughout the story. She discovers her true worth and decides she will not let anyone control her. I loved how she was able to overcome that trial and stay true to herself. And Po was equally as awesome! We need more guys like him in literature. Likewise, Katsa and Po are a great hero/heroine duo. They had a nice friendship that I admired, but what I didn’t care for was the instalove in the beginning. I normally don’t mind, or sometimes even enjoy, a quick romance in books, but in this book, it felt a bit forced. Katsa was angry at Po one day shortly after meeting him, and the very next day she’s riding out of town alone with him, staring into his eyes. This seems sudden, and it’s very obvious where their relationship is going. I would have liked to see more in-between time when their feelings develop. This book is long; there was time for that. Luckily, though, by the end, their relationship had developed and was tested and felt genuine.

I did feel while reading this book like the plot was suffering a bit in the middle of the story. Particularly when they’re in the mountains, I didn’t have a clear idea of what the end goal was. It felt like Katsa and Po had a problem and wanted to fix it, but they had no idea how to do that so they were running from it with no plans beyond just getting away from the situation. That all changed when they arrived at the island, though, and the plot kicked back into full gear. Despite the huge amp up in tension at this point, the resolution felt too rushed for me. I was on edge from the second they arrived on the island, but a few pages later the big conflict was solved, too quickly and easily it seemed. I expected more action and a not-so-simple solution, but it was entertaining to read nonetheless.

Overall, Graceling is an interesting fantasy story with a unique “magic” system (the Graces). It has great characters, especially some strong female leads. Although it started out slow, it only got better and better, and I’m so glad I finished the story. I can’t wait to see where the companion books take me in the rest of the series because I know it will be an awesome journey.

Review: AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES by John Green

Rating: 4/5 stars

Colin has dated nineteen girls, and all have them have been named Katherine. But Colin is tired of getting dumped by Katherines, so he takes a post-graduation road trip with his friend Hassan down to Gutshot, Tennessee, a small town in the middle of nowhere, to escape from all the Katherines in his hometown. Here, Colin is able to look back on his nineteen relationships and, being the child prodigy and general smartypants that he is, Colin devises a theorem to determine the length of a relationship, hoping to use it to be able to predict future relationships to avoid getting dumped again.

This story was wonderfully adorable, and I really enjoyed it. I didn't love it like I loved The Fault In Our Stars and Paper Towns, but I still had a really good time reading it. And it was funny! I was actually laughing out loud at parts.

My favourite part was all the math aspects this book contained. There were diagrams, graphs, equations, and lots of footnotes. This sounds complex, but it wasn't. The book is tailored toward any audience, not just those math-loving people out there (of which I am one). Even though there's no way to actually predict the length of a relationship, Colin's theorem seemed so realistic and believable in the story, and I loved that.

I also really enjoyed all the characters in An Abundance of Katherines. Colin could be whiny at times, but I loved how he was so full of knowledge and just wanted to share all that knowledge with people. I was genuinely interested in what he had to say because I love random tidbits of information, but Hassan was always shutting him down. Granted, he was just trying to help Colin be less "socially awkward," but I thought it was rude sometimes. Otherwise, Hassan was a really neat friend. His character is mostly what made the book funny. As for Lindsey, I liked her a lot too. I'm glad she had the realization about herself that she did at the end of the book. All the characters go through some trials and come out stronger on the other side, and that was nice to see in young adult literature.

Overall, any contemporary reader or John Green fan is sure to love this book. Despite the title alluding to many Katherines in the story, there is not actually that much direct romance in this book. There were, however, many of good messages and morals in this book, and the ending is very satisfying.

"He always had books. Books are the ultimate Dumpees: put them down and they'll wait for you forever; pay attention to them and they always love you back." 

Review: BEATRICE AND VIRGIL by Yann Martel

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

I feel as if this book is a study on taxidermy, but I know it’s not, despite the huge amount of information I learned about taxidermy while reading this. It’s actually about animals and their suffering.

This story is about an author named Henry who receives a letter from a taxidermist who says he needs Henry’s help. Henry travels across town to meet the taxidermist in his shop and becomes engrossed in all his works of taxidermy, finding particular interest in a howler monkey named Virgil that’s perched atop a donkey named Beatrice. The taxidermist presents to Henry a manuscript of a stage play that he wrote, featuring Beatrice and Virgil as its two main characters. The entire novel is spent discussing the play, the taxidermist reading excerpts, and Henry giving critiques and talking about its meaning.

It seems like the play is the actual story, and the narration surrounding the play is Martel telling the readers, through Henry, why the play is symbolic and meaningful, while the actual novel itself lacks meaning. The best part of this book is the play, the parts of it that we readers get to experience. I do NOT mean all the talking about the play, but the actual play itself that I like. It’s the kind of play that could be a work of literature on its own (maybe). (For some reason, the play reminds me of Waiting for Godot, probably intentionally, because Martel does make a reference to Beckett in the book.)

Although most of the writing in the actual book was bland, the passages from the play were lyrical, full of imagery and symbolism. There were sentences of beautiful description, metaphors akin to those in Life of Pi. At one point, we are given a seven-page description of a pear, and it was delightful. The writing style remains similar to what I expected to see from Yann Martel, and that is the main reason I read this book: Life of Pi is one of my favourites, a masterpiece of literature that I will always treasure. Surely an author that creates a work as ethereal as that one will continue to write books that tantalize my senses, but that was not really the case with most of Beatrice and Virgil. It probably doesn’t help that I wasn’t overly interested in the premise of this book and picked it up purely because of the author.

While I did like the play, I didn’t want to spend the whole book reading it and reading about it. It was interesting, but its prevalence caused the book to have no plot and become bogged down in the middle because I just kept waiting for the plot to jump out and start going. One of the problems with this play in Beatrice and Virgil is that, while it is full of symbolism that is deeply meaningful, Martel struggles to communicate why the symbolism is important and what the actual meaning is. I just felt like he tried too hard to write a book to the caliber of Life of Pi, but the book itself wasn’t even what was indicative of his writing style, it was the play in the book.

This novel does a lot of literary things that I’m having trouble explaining. The story from Henry turns into the story from the taxidermist, which turns into the story from Henry again. Not literally but figuratively, and it’s very interesting how all facets of the novel link together to create meaning. I love how the story comes full circle in the end, connecting the taxidermist’s play to Henry’s novel that he tried to publish at the beginning of the story. This is the kind of book I would have liked to read in school so I could ink out all the meaning and get my thoughts to be coherent about it. I’m thinking about many aspects of this book, all related, but I can’t create a picture with them in my head.  (My entire description of this book is becoming very convoluted; I’m sorry.) I think this is the kind of book I need to read twice to really grasp all that it’s trying to communicate with me, but alas, I don’t really want to reread it.

Martel mentions many works of literature in this book, real works by other famous authors, moderns and classics alike. I’m sure if I had read all those pieces of literature prior to reading this book, I would have a deeper grasp of the story and all its nuances of meaning. The only story I was even remotely familiar with was Dante’s Divine Comedy. Beatrice and Virgil were named after characters from Dante’s work (I’m glad the author mentioned the reasoning behind those names and how they relate to The Divine Comedy because I think the reason is significant to the story). Also, the taxidermist makes a comment about traveling through Dante’s Inferno. This comment held significance in the story because the fate of all the characters at the end relates to that idea. I don’t mind when authors reference other authors’ works in their books, but a book needs to be able to be understood on its own without the reader having any knowledge of other books. The references should merely enhance the reading experience, not be the support that an entire book is built on.

I wonder if Beatrice and Virgil is a fictional memoir of Martel in some way. I’ve noticed a number of subtle parallels between protagonist Henry and author Yann Martel. Henry’s son’s name is Theo, and Martel’s son’s name is also Theo. In Beatrice and Virgil, Henry wrote his debut novel about animals and it was a wild success, just like Life of Pi was for Martel. Now Henry is trying to publish his sophomore novel about the Holocaust and the all editors think it stinks. I’m wondering if, like Henry, Martel tried to publish a novel/nonfiction essay about the Holocaust and the idea didn’t work for his publishers, so he wrote this book instead, a book that addresses the Holocaust from an entirely new, subdued perspective. On the surface, this story is primarily about animals, but in the crevices of the story, we see the suffering of animals and the effect it has on them; this is not unlike the effect of the Holocaust on everyone involved. This idea of Martel portraying himself in this work is all purely hypothetical, but with so many parallels that already exist between protagonist Henry and author Yann Martel, I’m wondering if there are more similarities than meet the eye.

A note on the cover: I wasn’t particularly fond of the cover at first, but now after having read the book, I appreciate how relevant it is to the play in the story. Every aspect of the cover is mentioned in the play, and I’m glad to see the cover art remain true to the story.

Ultimately, I’m glad I read this book, but I was right in my assumption that it wouldn’t live up to Life of Pi. It was an odd sort of story that was enjoyable at times and dragged at others. It was full of potential and deep meaning but failed to fully communicate its importance to the audience. I will probably continue to read Yann Martel’s work in the future, but I will also probably continue to be disappointed with it.

“If you are pitched into misery, remember that your days on this earth are counted and you might as well make the best of those you have left.”