Book review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by Stephen Chbosky
(my own photo)

Summer is a really good chance for me to catch up on reading that I've been meaning to do throughout the year.  I've been meaning to read this book for quite a while.  I'll admit that this was partially due to the movie, even though I haven't seen it yet.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower focuses on Charlie, who goes into his Freshman year of high school shortly after his friend commits suicide.  During the course of the year, he makes new friends, and goes through several rights of passage traditionally associated with the teenage years.

I really liked the book; I thought that it dealt with a lot of different aspects of growing up, and it didn't shy away from more complicated or darker aspects of adolescence.  That being said I would definitely say that it is for older readers, because it deals with a good few mature themes.

The epistolary structure and the writing style gave the novel a really interesting voice.


Chance of finding it in my imaginary bookstore? 85%

Book review: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
(my own photo)

"There is a force that wants you to realize your destiny..."

A shepherd called Santiago keeps on having the same dream; a child takes him to the Pyramids and tells him that he will find treasure there.  He goes on a quest to find the treasure, but gets more than he bargained for along the way.

There were several aspects of the novel that I really enjoyed.   The plot moved at a nice pace, and I thought that the story and writing style managed to keep me engaged throughout.

That being said, I did have a few issues with this novel.  This book has a really clear message about fate, destiny and interconnection. I personally don't agree with it, but that isn't my main problem. Coelho seems to be a fan of "telling" his message, as opposed to "showing" it.  I think that the message would have been far more compelling if he had chosen to write about it differently, especially since he starts to "tell" his message in no uncertain terms really early on in the novel.  Maybe this doesn't bother other people as much.

Another issue I had with this book was the fact that so many characters were so fatalistic.  Maybe this is just my personal experience, but people are rarely completely willing to accept that destiny will decide everything, and that they should just go along with it.  Even people who are generally deterministic still try to control their futures, even if it is just an instinctive desire to preserve life. Some of the characters, particularly the more peripheral ones, didn't seem fully-rounded to me.

Chance of finding it in my imaginary bookstore? 60%

Top 4 Reasons Why I Don’t Like Little Women

I have a confession to make; I read Little Women, and I really didn't like it.  Here are some reasons why.

spoiler alert

Book review: A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

A Room with a View by E.M. Forester
(my own photo)

At the beginning of the summer, I set myself the admittedly slightly unrealistic goal of reading fifty books.  Now that the holidays are almost officially over, I can say with confidence that I'm not going to achieve that goal.  However, I did manage to read a lot of really great books, some of which I have been meaning to read for ages, and this is one of them.

A Room with a View is the story of Lucy Honeychurch, who travels to Florence chaperoned by her cousin, Charlotte.  When they complain about the fact that their room in the hotel doesn't have a view of the river, Mr. Emerson and his son George offer to swap places with them.  While Mr. Emerson sees it as a gesture of kindness, it is not seen as the "proper" thing to do.  Lucy has many interesting experiences while in Italy, including getting lost while sight-seeing, witnessing a murder, and going into the surrounding hills.  This holiday shapes her perspective on the world and her future actions.

Overall, it was an incredible book.  I thought that the characters were all very memorable and varied.  The relationship between Lucy and George was really romantic and I thought that it was beautiful.

While it didn't really have the satirical edge of Jane Austen, the social commentary was still really effective.  Sadly, too many of the issues that Forester discusses are still relevant today.

In conclusion, this novel is amazing in so many different ways, it has stood the test of time for all the right reasons.

Chances of finding it in my imaginary bookstore? 95%

Book review: The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

The Five People You Meet in Heaven
(my own photo)

It was late, the bookshop was closing, and I had to make a decision; would I buy Pyramids or The Five People You Meet in Heaven?  Even though I love Terry Pratchett, I'm glad I chose The Five People You Meet in Heaven.

This book is centered around Eddie, a war veteran who works in an amusement park.  After he dies, he goes to a version of the afterlife where he meets five different people, all of whom help him come to terms with his life and death.

The premise was really intriguing, and very well executed.

I thought that all of the characters were really well-written. They all had a great deal of depth, despite the fact that many of them appear only briefly.  I found the protagonist, Eddie, sympathetic and relatable.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a truly riveting read; I finished most of it in the course of one afternoon.

One could argue that the book contains a few coincidences that seem too improbable to be true, but I would argue that this is intentional.  Our lives are full of strange coincidences, whether we realize it or not, and all of our actions have a profound effect on others, many of whom we don't know.

Chances of finding it in my imaginary bookstore: 95%