I'm going to start doing a lot of reviews for this site, so I thought I'd store all the hyperlinks as a kind of portfolio of the reviews I have written so you can check them out. I'll add additional reviews as they appear on the website.
She stirred from her seemingly eternal slumber, confused as to how she fell unconscious and confused as to who she actually was, or why she was wherever she was. "You're alive," spoke the voice, the source of which was slowly coming into focus from Brittany's mind, though not of substantial enough a figure to determine what this strange creature actually was. "I have come to save you from certain death". The biscuit man grabbed Britanny by the hand, though such aggressive intentions proved unfounded, as his arm snapped off cleanly as he tried pulling Brittany towards him. "That's the fourth time that has happened this week" spoke the gentle voice without the slightest hint of frustration. "I see" said the little blonde girl. "Where exactly am I, mr...". "Well I'm not exactly a mr.... You're on Pebble Beach. This is the only place of it's kind in the universe; the only place priveledged to have anything of any substantial value whatsoever". Confused, and slightly bewildered as to why she was wherever she was, Britanny got up from the sandy ground and looked around. All was peaceful and tranquil, much like any beach on earth. The surf made a hypnotic crash as it hit the sandy surface of the beach; much like any beach on earth. The sun shone brightly through the dispersed pure white clouds; much like... you get the idea. This beach really did look like it could be anywhere else on earth, except one minor difference. The only horizon in sight was the beach and the sea, though not in the conventional way any deserted island would. It was infinite, the beach went on just as long as the sea did and the sea went on just as long as the beach. There were no buildings, no billboards advertising the latest barely visible mobile phones, no vapor trails in the sky from recently passed planes, excreting gallons of prehistoric animal remains into the atmosphere which humans rely on so much. All that was present was the sand, sea, sky and these two beings gripped by each other's presence, no matter how innocently sinister the scene may be to outside witnesses. "Well I'm from a place called Earth" said the girl. "We have places like this, but other things too, like buildings, billboards, airplanes as well as loads of other things." "I know, I've been gazing at your planet from afar for a great number of years. Tell me, why does your planet's inhabitants occupy itself with such trivial indulgences like the things you described?". This answer to this question seemed obvious to Brittany. She had grown accustomed to these basic human indulgences and saw them not just as priveldges, but as the next step of the evolutionary chain. Though, of course, she didn't know she knew this exactly. "These things make our lives easier and more enjoyable. Science blessed us with these things, they're kind of like the next step of human kind, helping us to put in our position as the dominant species, something we need to survive." The little girl felt really clever; she felt like she explained this reasoning with such valour that when she awoke, great banquets would be held for her and everyone would love her for fighting humanity's corner so well. "If science has helped you progress, why are there so many wars, so much bloodshed, such great wounds inflicted on your planets resources, so much poverty?... It seems to me that this thing you call science has pulled you back, not pushed you forward." The little girl stood there dumbfounded. Fear and a sense of reality came upon her. She did not want to grow up in such a place as described by the gingerbread person. Her parent's watched their beloved daughter by the side of her hospital bed, crushed by what their daughter had become asethetically and by the instinctive thought that they could have done something about the near fatal accident. "May I stay here forever?" she enquired to the gingerbread person. And she stayed on Pebble Beach forever more.
Hey I know quite a lot of people here have read and appreciate the book so I thought i'd post up a review of the b ook I did for an English project for you all to crit or whatever.
Enjoy.
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Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
Andrew Parkinson
First published in 1969, this modern classic tells the tale of Billy Pilgrim (a semi-autobiographical alter ego of author Kurt Vonnegut) and the events of his life. After a planecrash, Pilgrim time travels to past and future events in his life from his childhood to death after suffering a skull fracture. The book focuses predominantly on his time as a World War 2 prisoner of war in Dresden before and during the little publicised but highly deadly Dresden bombings by the American Air Force where over 80,000 people died (more so than the bombing of Hiroshima).
The main theme of the novel is the exploration of the human process of mourning and coping with death. Vonnegut repeats the words "So it goes." after every death in the book; from a prisoner of war being sent to the firing squad in Germany to a bottle of Champaigne losing it's bubbles. The repetition of this phrase after every anecdote on death can be fairly bewildering at first, but once it's purpose to emphasise the death around Billy and human beings in general is realised, it is highly effective as a tool to emphasise the mourning but can also be used in a very witty way ("The American's clothes were meanwhile passing through the poison gas. Fleas and bacteria were dying by the billions. So it goes.") which helps prevent the book from becoming too morose.
“It’s light hearted take on death… can be taken into the audience’s own lives, a major factor to it’s past and most certain future success,”
The book also explores human behaviour in dystopian environments such as the prisoner of war camp in Czechoslovakia (like the British troops dominance over the camp) and even a human zoo in the alien planet of Tralfamador after Billy “goes back in time” to an alien abduction he experienced after the war. It is events like this and other events in the book that question Billy’s state of mind after he fractures his skull.
Despite the vast array of themes and environments compressed into such a short book and in such a strange order due to Billy’s traveling between different times of his life, the book itself never becomes messy and manages to keep it’s ideas relevant throughout the entire book. The last couple of chapters are particularly satisfying as it answers questions raised in earlier chapters (such as the fate of the man sent to the firing squad for stealing a teapot) and the previous chapters close very nicely indeed. It’s light hearted take on death is particularly interesting and refreshing as death is not seen as something to mourn over, but as a moment that never changes. This can be taken into the audience’s own lives, a major factor to it’s past and most certain future success,
Also, it’s very informal language style makes the novel accesable to people of all ages and backgrounds and is even studied in some American schools and colleges (somewhat controversially due to it’s sexual and violent content). Kurt Vonnegut has arguably created a modern classic with Slaughterhouse 5 and is one which future generations may enjoy and take something out to use in their own lifestyles.
5/5
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I might post more book reviews up if people enjoy this one and are interested in hearing about new books.
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SealCubMassacre's blogs, last updated : July 4, 2008
