I am Legend by Richard Matheson

I am Legend by Richard Matheson

"Normalcy was a majority concept, the standard of many and not the standard of just one man"

If a disease turned the majority of people into vampires- would being a vampire become the normal? If you were the only human being left- would you be abnormal compared to all the vampires?

Normally I'm not into vampire books (too much Twilight when I was younger) but this book is different. It's my favourite genre of book- dystopia so I suppose it's better than a love story. After my philosophy teacher told me to read it during one of his tangents- I couldn't find a reason not to. I'm not sure why he wanted us to read it but I loved the film so there was no real reason why I wouldn't like this. And it's only 160 pages long. However the shortest books always somehow take me longer to read. It took me a while to get into it, whilst also reading it alongside Volpone and King Lear- impossible. Despite this, once I got into it I finished the second half in one evening.

This vampire book is different because it's not cheesy although it does coincide with the main ideas about vampires- developing on from Bram Stoker's Dracula. The stake. The garlic. The crosses. Only coming out at night. They're all in there.

When you read the title you may think of the movie with Will Smith in. Yes it has the same title and they're both about vampires- they are the only two similarities between the two. I hate it when films do that. However it is a great film just in its own right. I knew the book and the film were very different before I started the book so I wasn't wrongly led but I was shocked how different they both are. In the film, Will Smith's dog plays quite a big part in it but in the book there's a dog for about 10 pages. I know that annoyed me too. Sorry I love any animal in a book so this really annoyed me but it did get me hooked into the book. 🐶

The main character Robert Neville thinks he is the last man on earth and lives to survive on his own. During the day, he hunts for food and he hunts the vampires trying to find a cure. Robert Neville is a clever man and has protected his house and himself in any way possible from the vampires. In his house, he lives a usual lifestyle as he tries to carry on as usual but as a reader you wonder what he's waiting for. However at night he is trapped inside his house as they come to hunt him.

Robert Neville lost his wife to the disease that turns people into vampires and since he has not come into contact with anyone. Will he? He has lost all social skills but can he overcome this?


Thank you for reading. I hope it didn't take you as long as it took me to read this book. I hope you enjoyed it.

Volpone by Ben Jonson

Volpone by Ben Jonson

Finally I have finished Volpone by Ben Jonson which means my compulsory reading for the Christmas holidays is done! (Only 4 days in). That definitely feels good. I'm still not completely sure how I finished Volpone and King Lear but I did. I'm having to read Volpone as it is another text I need to learn for my A2 exam. Ahhhhh! - more quotes to learn. The play was easy to understand on its own but I'm not entirely sure how I will link it with the poet, William Blake but we will have to find out.   

 

It has taken me a while to read Volpone which tells you something- I didn't find it that gripping. Sorry. I was really looking forward to it as one of the main threads of this play is animals and how their animalistic characters link to their humanistic manners. I was excited because somehow I am able to get animals in all my essays- mini task myself during A-Levels- as if they're not hard enough already.

 

There doesn't seem to be any hero in this play as all the characters are selfish and self driven but not for the right reasons. Volpone, who has no legitimate heirs, pretends to be ill and dying so people bring him gifts to persuade him that they are the best heir to put in his will. However none of them are suitable heirs because none of them respect Volpone in the right way.

 

Volpone, the main character, is sly and manipulative in how he orders people around. He treats people (including his 3 dancers- Nano (a dwarf), Androgyno (a hermaphrodite) and Castrone (an eunuch) and his servant Mosca like objects and money as the most valuable thing in the world. Volpone comes across as a character who has got his priorities mixed up but this is the reason why Ben Jonson created him as the main character.

 

Corbaccio (a raven), Corvino (a crow) and Voltore (a vulture) believe they are all rightful heirs and continuously bring gifts to flatter Volpone (a fox) who is helped by his servant Mosca to collect jewels and valuable gifts. However (unrealistically) none of them wonder if this is a scam but if any of them are onto something either Mosca or Volpone will make up something to divert their attention.

 

The only rightful characters in the play, Celia (Corvino's wife) and Bonario (Corbaccio's son) are wrongly accused of being adulterers. Although Celia is the one who is nearly raped and Bonario is the one who is disinherited from his family, they still end up worse for the majority of the play and you begin to doubt what is actually right. The point of these characters, shows how those who have status and links are the ones who thrive in society. I know the play is a true reflection of society but I think that's why I don't love it. It's too real.

 

I hope you have enjoyed my latest book review and I hope you all have a nice Christmas. 

King Lear by William Shakespeare

King Lear by William Shakespeare

 

Hey everyone,

Now I've finished my plan for my English Literature coursework, it's on to prepping for the exam. For our exam we are doing King Lear and I have finally finished my first read through of it. Sorry I haven't written a blog for a couple of weeks but I'm having to read Volpone and King Lear at the same time- not easy texts.

One of my mum's favourite playwrights, I knew my knowledge of it would be scrutinised. One of her party tricks is to be able to recognise any line of Shakespeare from any play and tell you which one it comes from. I don't think I'll ever be able to do that but I do need to quote in the exam.

It is a great tragedy by the famous William Shakespeare and it does make you think. My teacher asked whether I'm enjoying it and I'm not entirely sure yet. I love the characters but every single one seems to overreact in this alternate reality. Cordelia seems too love interested to be real compared to her harsh sisters who seem heartless until they find Edmund who they fight over. You feel sorry for Regan and Goneril whilst at the same time grateful that they are getting what they deserve until the final scene.

My favourite character has to be the Fool for no particular reason that I can explain apart from the fact she makes no sense. Possibly, after having read Fight Club, I see the Fool as King Lear's alternate conscience but whatever part she plays I think the Fool is the best.

However I did surprise myself how much I could understand. I haven't read Shakespeare for so long but once you start looking for the one line in each section that has no metaphorical elements, it all starts to make sense. Yes the language was difficult but once you have a dictionary by your side, they are no longer a problem. I did find myself wanting to analyse the language development in King Lear but I knew I needed to concentrate on the plot during my first read through. Although writing down the plot summary did become tedious, it developed my understanding of the text immensely.

I did see the play before I started reading the play which really helped with my understanding of who the characters were and the basic plot but reading the play brought so many new things alive that I'd missed in the live performance. The play I went to see did stay very closely with the actual text which has helped me make greater links.

Thanks,
Hope you enjoyed my latest blog even though I will probably look back and be embarrassed by my initial interpretations. Oh well, it's out there now...

Grimm's Cinderella Review

For my English language A2 coursework I need to investigate the language used in some texts. So as a great fairytale fan I decided to compare the language used in the original Grimm's Fairytales version of Cinderella and a modern version of the same book. I love any film version of Cinderella so I thought it was only right to investigate it for my A-levels.

The original Grimm's Fairytales were written in the 1800s and in German! Don't worry I'm not analysing it in German. There's a reason why I dropped that at AS. The original name of Cinderella was Aschenputtel. The English translation of this is Cinderella (obviously) which means the cinders and ashes she sleeps in are as much her name as Ella (her birth name). I don't know about you but I didn't realise that even though it's so obvious.

The original is nothing like Disney's version apart from the name. Disney changed it so much to fit the opposite audience the Grimm's brothers wrote it for. I definitely won't be reading the Grimm's version to my kids.
I knew how graphic the original was but it doesn't prepare you for actually reading it.

There's no Fairy Godmother. I'm not sure where Disney got that idea from. It's a tree in the original. However it is the tree grown from a branch her mother gave her before she died and Cinderella grew and watered it with her tears. It's sad that Disney didn't put that little detail in but I can understand why. I wasn't sure whether a talking tree or a Fairy Godmother was more believable for little children. However they still both come to the rescue to save Cinderella.

The old version is definitely not child friendly and neither is the language used. Sorry. There's me thinking too much about my investigation.

The end is not just about the stepsisters squeezing their feet into the silver slipper but THEY CUT PART OF THEIR FEET OFF to fit in! That's a bit too far. The stepsisters are still just as evil in the original, if not more as they are described to be "angry because they would have liked to have scolded her." Their evilness has been toned down a tiny bit.

For some reason I thought birds pecked out the stepsisters eyes too but in this version they didn't. I'm glad because it was gruesome enough.

The story still holds the important moral that however hard life will get, it can change. Life will get better and if it's not better then it's not the end.

I hope you enjoyed this review and id love to hear any comments or book suggestions.

Forgotten by Cat Patrick

 

I've forgotten what's it all about. Just kidding. No that's what the book is about. Sorry that's an awful opening but I just thought in linked... No. Ok ignore that and let's carry on.

I looked at the book and believed I could finish it in half term but as had term whizzed by I didn't have any time to do anything but study. And unfortunately this dystopian novel can't count as context for my literature coursework.

It's such an interesting concept that London, the main character, can only remember her future and not her past. Imagine that? Every night she has to write down everything on notes so she can revise them before school. This weird concept is so unique that I kept asking myself too many questions which meant I couldn't enjoy the book. Wouldn't she 'remember' exam questions? And if she doesn't remember her past, how can she remember how to communicate and not freak out every morning? How can she get through school? I find it hard enough to remember work from the week before and homework or just before the exam. See I'm doing it again. Once you get past all this you can really enjoy this book. Just go in with an open mind.

I'm not sure what I thought the book would be about but I'm glad I read it. Normally I don't like books about love and all that stuff but this one had an interesting fall back where every morning, London forgets everything about her boyfriend, Luke. She has to revise all these notes about her boyfriend so she doesn't wake up believing he is a stranger. He doesn't give up on her though. Her neurology problem seems to bring them closer together.

This dystopian novel isn't like any other book I've read. Usually you can link ideas in the book to other books but I couldn't find any at all. I'm always jealous of authors original plots. And there's another one!

There's another book to the sequence called Revived which I'm not sure how that will go but I will let you know soon. I think with this series, I don't so much enjoy it but I'm intrigued by the idea.

I'm so stressed!!!!!

Stressed?!

Hey guys, Don't worry, you haven't entered some weird diary of mine. I thought I'd deviate from a book review because I've had a lot of work to do which means not so much reading. It's got to November and everyone is starting to stress about too many things; UCAS, coursework, upcoming exams, A-levels, new courses, starting university. And what does this mean? Stress! There's no need to though.

Everyone knows at least someone who is stressed. You might even be stressed yourself. Don't! This should not be the case. Don’t let stress keep you away from school or class otherwise it's won. Don't drop out of university just because you're stressed otherwise it has won. Stress should not be something that stops you from doing something but something you can learn from. I accept that stress cannot go away overnight but there are ways to deal with it.

First of all, you need to ask yourself…

What’s really going on?

Instead of saying “I’m so stressed” which we all say way too much, you need to ask yourself the following questions when faced with a stressful situation:

Ø  People pleasing- Are you trying to please too many people? Are you saying yes to too many things?

Ø  Pats on the back- Do you want people to congratulate you on your clothes, makeup?

Ø  Performance evaluation- Do you think you’re irreplaceable?

Ø  Possessions- Are you living for imamate objects? Grades.

Ø  Poor planning- Did you plan it badly?

Ø  Power- Do you like being stressed because it makes you feel important? Do you then feel in control?

Ø  Perfectionism- Do you push yourself too hard and tell yourself that you cannot make any mistakes?

 

 

Matthew 6 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

 

I hope this has helped as many people as much as it has helped me have a new realistic approach to difficult situations. I'd love to know if this has helped you so please leave a comment and I will get back to you.

A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry

Hi everyone. Hope you're all still enjoying my blog. I am still trawling through my A2 recommended war reading list for English Literature. I saw this title and all that was running through my mind was the song A Long Long Way to Tripperary so I felt I had to read the book as I kept singing the song over and over again. This was a brilliant short book which I was able to read in a couple of days. I wasn't able to put it down. However it was still full of so much detail. Even though it was very graphic at times it was still very fast paced. I definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to get into war books. It's a great quick read that is easy to keep hold of. It combined the reality of war with the hardship of family relationships. It is not a classic war novel but it is still brilliant. 

It starts of with the birth of so many young men whose parents cherish them. However it highlights the fact that they are unaware that in 18 years time they will be fighting for their country. You can only guess what the ending of the book is which greatly contradicts the beginning but you still have to read on. Willie Dunne is an ordinary Irish boy who signs up to the army. He goes through so many Captains and each time he loses more and more of a relationship with them. It shows the true hardship of war. The book also demonstrates the reality of love relationships torn apart by war. It is not the most saddest book but it still pulls those strings. 

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. 

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

What a weird book! I wasn’t expecting that ending but even until the last page I had no idea how it would end. Sorry I haven’t written for what feels like ages but it took me quite a while to read this as I’ve had so much other work to do. Ok so it is used as a GCSE text for boys and I found it hard. Maybe that’s because I’m not a boy and I’m in my second year of A-Levels. Not particularly helping my case, am I? Anyhow, the book… I’m not sure what I was expecting but not what I got. I was 10 pages in when some guy in my form asked our form tutor a question that gave the whole ending away so I’ll try not to give it away for you. I hate it when people do that but this is going to be hard. It’s a nice easy read which I definitely recommend. It teaches the importance of rules in society and if there’s no rules, then chaos will break out…

I love both reading and writing dystopias and I’m always intrigued to find out how it ends because how will a futuristic disastrous society end. No one knows and that’s the whole point. I always struggle to find a worthy, gripping ending to my dystopia novels. The end to this one isn’t the best but it somehow still grips you and leaves you in shock.

The novel’s title in itself is a metaphor for society being like a group of flies which ironically is called a “business” of flies. Society in itself is a whole business co-operation which depends on everyone working together and following set rules. “The Lord” is Ralph, who thinks he is everyone’s soul faith but everyone starts to divert away from this and starts to have faith in themselves. This causes just a little bit of an uproar. Ralph is voted chief and throughout the book, this causes upheaval.

A simple conch, it took me ages to work out what that is too, regulates civilisation on the island but it soon becomes the object that destroys the unity on the island. I suppose this reflects the true reality of society because we depend on so many things and so many people to control society. It’s a surprise that what happened on this island doesn’t happen in society. You’ll have to read it to find out what I mean by that.

You build up a relationship with all the characters and when the slightest thing happens you panic. The characters will all reflect someone that you know or that is one of your close friends. You start to wonder how it would plan out if it was a bunch of people you know that are thrown onto an island. For a reason unexplained, a bunch of young boys are thrown onto an island with no rules and no adults. They have to survive on their own.

I definitely recommend this book if you have the time where you can focus and reflect on how it imitates not just the society in 1954 but also the society of today in 2015.

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

 

 

What happens after death? Where do we go after death? Where do our souls go? Is the afterlife physical or mental? This book has a very unique idea of what happens after death and it kept me gripped for the entire book. It made me cry and it made me question my own beliefs about the afterlife. The main character Liz is only a teenager when she dies and she is looking forward to going to university and living the rest of her life but she goes to Elsewhere where she meets her Grandmother who died just before Liz was born. Obviously it is traumatic for Liz but she makes friends and falls in love but she cannot grasp the idea of Elsewhere. What happens to all the pets? They all go here too.Liz is not so distanced from her living family as you think she might is. She watches her family from the watch towers but it is dangerous as the more she watches them, the more she wants to return to her family and the more she misses them. The idea of the book is that after death you get younger before returning back to earth as a baby.

It is a thought provoking book that gives you hope for all the people who you may know who have passed away unexpectedly. I could never think of Zevin's idea for a book and I really respect her for it. I recommend it to anyone wanting to get into reading because it will get you hooked and if you loved this book, you must try the Lovely Bones. It is a very interesting interpretation of death which is a taboo topic that no one knows anything about. Death is usually talked about from the point of view of the bereaved left behind but this book considers it from the point of view of the dead.

Another World by Pat Barker

I read this book in preparation for my English literature coursework where I was planning to do mentality after the war. Yes it did mention the degradation of the mind because of war but that was not its main purpose. And yes it was quite a good book. The book freaked me out. I should have interpreted from the cover that it was about ghosts but sometimes you try to deny the cover. I know they say "Don't judge a book by the cover" but you should have a look because it may have nothing to do with what you think but it was a thrilling book. I could not put it town as it kept me gripped from the moment I picked it up. However it is mainly a book about how the present intertwines with the past. I definitely recommend it but start reading it with an open mind. 

It is about an everyday family of a step brother, step sister, toddler and a child on the way and parents who move into an old house. The family is so ordinary which makes it hit home and many people can relate to them. Even if you don't want to. As they start re-decorating they find things they never wanted to unearth. I recommend that you definitely read it but don't read it in the dark! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

A Farewell to Arms

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

I was lucky enough to be allowed to borrow my father’s copy of his favourite book: A Farewell to Arms. The book is about an ambulance driver who falls in love with a nurse and the struggle of love in a time of great chaos. It is partly autobiography which adds the reality of war and real experiences to this book. Hemingway himself was an ambulance driver during World War 1.

“I remember thinking at the time that it was the end of the world”

This quote is half truth about Hemingway’s opinion on war and the trauma during it. In the book Lieutenant Frederic Henry is struck by a mortar shell which also struck Hemingway himself. This book is an explosion of the caught up feelings that Hemingway felt during the war. I loved the book even though it frustrated me so much and made me cry because I gained such a great relationship with all the characters in such a short book. I remember when I had finished the book my mum phoned and I just cried. I am making her read it now to let her comprehend why I was so distraught. I hope you read it too and I’d love to know what you think in the comments.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Captain Corelli's Mandolin

This book is so confusing to begin with; it has so many narratives but they all intertwine with each other by the end with a side of tears. I read the end on a heaving public bus. I will not be doing that again.

It questions true love of a young age but it also shows that one must listen to their heart. It is a test of true friendship but also the difference between friendship and love. The book is full of twists and one tragedy after another. 

You build such a relationship with the characters despite there being so many. You begin to know them as real people that you have known all your life. I saw myself in the main character Pelagia who had a traditional Greek life. It is an amazing exploration of the Greek life during the World War. 

It was another one of my mum's favourite books and has now become one of mine. Both my parents recommended it and as it would help with my English Literature coursework I felt that I was obliged to read it. Therefore if you are debating whether or not to read it then there should be no more questioning. You have to read it. 

Atonement

Atonement

For my English Literature coursework I have to choose a work of literature on war so hence why a lot of these book reviews will be on war. It is not usually the kind of book I like to go for but I'm always interested in trying something new.
It's one of my mums favourite books. I could tell as soon as I opened up the first page and the spine of the book was slightly torn. I had evidence my mum had loved this book.
Set in the First World War, childhood friends misinterpret one single act which builds up lies and the loss of Robbie's future which was Cambridge University. The book is written in the third person but in three parts with each persons own view of want happened. The book is tense as each time you read the scene again you notice the flaws which the other person imposed to be there. Briony Tallis loves to write books and plays and sometimes gets caught up between realities and fiction. Her cousin is raped and Brionry swears it was Robbie as he hadn't sent Brionry's sister a sexual message. This part of the novel demonstrates that young children are innocent of the adult matters. Robbie is wrongly committed and has the option to join the army or go to prison.
The middle part of the novel is about his journey through war and graphic descriptions of the reality of war.
The third part is based on the Briony Tallis becoming a nurse to help wounded soldiers. Each part of this novel is equally weighted which demonstrates that war had great affects on everyone.
This novel dips into every genre; love, war and action. Anyone can enjoy this novel as it includes nearly everything you may be interested in.