Gina's Book #14: The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

So this book is the first of the Chronicles of Narnia series, a fact some of you may know, and some of you might not.  I bought a boxed set of the series several years ago and I had been surprised at first, because I'd always thought The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was the beginning. I think this is because that is the most popular book, and also all the of movies I know of that have been based of the series begin there.

In any case, this is my favorite out of all seven books. Now to be fair, this series was written for children so there are probably people who would not enjoy reading them. I however love all the books and find them charming and funny, especially this one.

The story starts out introducing us to Polly and Diggory, two children who become neighbors and begin to get into mischief and go on adventures together. In a botched attempt to explore an abandoned flat down the way, they end up coming across Diggory's evil uncle in his private office. Uncle Andrew is an aspiring magician who has been yearning to try out some of his magic, but has had no human subjects to do this with (he of course does not want to subjugate himself to any possible danger).  Having the two children in his attic, he tricks them into trying on his "magic rings" which transport them to an "in between place" that they can use to travel to different worlds. From here I will just quickly summarize and say that the children do explore a different world, wake up the evil witch, and eventually end up in Narnia as a way to get rid of her. The last part of the book is all about Aslan and how Narnia was created, setting up the back drop for the later novels.

Something that does intrigue me about the copy I have of this book, is that the cover portrays the evil witch Jadis.  I would have thought they would choose Polly and Diggory, Aslan, or Narnia.

Polly, Diggory, and many of the other characters are, in my opinion, hilarious, and always say funny things. I also love the writing style and words that are used. I'm going to include some of my favorite parts:

• Talking about Diggory: "The face of the strange boy was very grubby. It could hardly have been grubbier if he had first rubbed his hands in the earth, and then had a good cry, and then dried his face with his hands. As a matter of fact, that was very nearly what he had been doing.

• Talking about Polly:"She had brought up bits of old packing cases and the seats of broken kitchen chairs, and things of that sort, and spread them across from rafter to rafter so as to make a bit of floor. Here she kept a cash-box containing various treasures, and a story she was writing, and usually a few apples."

• Convo between Polly and Diggory as they are hatching the plot to explore the abandoned flat:

           "Then we could get the length of the whole row of houses."

           "So we could," said Polly, "And oh, I say!"

           "What?"

           "We could get into the other houses."

           "Yes, and get taken up for burglars! No thanks."

           "Don't be so jolly clever."

• Diggory talking to Uncle Andrew: "By gum," said Diggory, "Don't I just wish I was big enough to punch your head!"

• Aslan creating Narnia: "Narnia, Narnia, Narnia, awake.  Love. Think. Speak. Be walking trees. Be talking beasts. Be divine waters."

• Narrator talking about Uncle Andrew:"Now the trouble with trying to make yourself stupider is that you often succeed."

Jamie's Book #20: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

This book caught me by surprise. I found myself really disliking the first half or so. It starts off by painting a very depressing but somewhat realistic picture of a married couple who have fallen out of love. The wife goes missing and the husband becomes the prime suspect. It feels like a bad tv show on Investigate Discovery.... until about half way through. Then everything gets flipped upside down and you are left thinking, "whaaaat the h???" At that point, the depressing beginning makes sense and feels worthwhile. I ended up really liking it. Overall, a 7.5/10.

Jamie’s Book # 18: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The fact that shocks me most about Frankenstein is that Mary Shelley began writing it when she was only 18 years old. The second fact that surprised me the first time I read it was that Frankenstein is the name of the man who creates the monster, not the monster itself.

In the novel, Victor Frankenstein is a wealthy young man who believes he is meant to do something great with his life. At his university, he is first ridiculed by his professors for his interest in outdated philosophers and alchemists, but quickly learns and excels in the modern sciences and earns the respect of his peers and mentors alike. While at school, he discovers the secret to creating life. To him, it is so plain he is shocked he is the first to figure it out.

From there, he spends the next few years making his theory a reality. On the day he succeeds and brings his experiment to life, he realizes it was all a great mistake. The first time his creation takes breath, he runs out of the house and hides in his courtyard all night.  The monster is described as “an 8-foot-tall, hideously ugly creation, with translucent yellowish skin pulled so taut over the body that it "barely disguised the workings of the vessels and muscles underneath"; watery, glowing eyes, flowing black hair, black lips, and prominent white teeth.”

For the sake of trying to keep this somewhat short, suffice it to say everything goes downhill for Frankenstein from here. The monster is born basically an overgrown infant, left to fend for himself in a world that despises him simply for the way he looks. He experiences great hardship and loss, and blames it all (rightfully so) on Frankenstein. He seeks revenge, and I guess I will stop here so I don’t give everything away for those who haven’t read it!

A few thoughts:

-Must be nice to go to school for years on end without having to worry about money and never needing to work a real job your whole life, Frankenstein

-Frankenstein is a coward up until the last, when he has lost everything and has nothing to do but chase the monster halfway across the world

-Rich people had a lot of opportunities to have nervous breakdowns and spend months in bed recovering

-Honesty is the best policy. Frankenstein should have fessed up from the start.

-I feel really sad for the monster, who had potential to do good

Anyway, I rate this an 8/10. It’s worth a read just to get the real story straight!

 

Jamie's Book # 17: 1984 by George Orwell

This was the second time I read 1984. The first time depressed me, but I was prepared for the second read through and found a greater appreciation for this classic. Another dystopian novel, 1984 reveals a society where the past can be rewritten, privacy no longer exists, and every day is lived to serve "The Party." The main character, Winston Smith, has managed to escape The Party's brainwashing and lives everyday as a lie. He plays the part expected of him, but hates every second of it. This all changes when he meets Julia and the two begin a secret affair as an act of rebellion. The affair transforms to love over time and gives them both something to real to fight for. The more I reflect on this book, the more it grows on me. I'm surprising myself and giving it a 9/10.