Lost in a Book

Okay, I have been lost in many a book, I just haven’t kept up with this page. I just finished reading All the Lovely Bad Ones: a Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn, and it is going to make for a wonderful trailer. I’m currently reading A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers, and I have to read And the Shadows Took Him by Daniel Chacon. I say ‘have to’ because it is the book we are discussing next week for the Gateway City Booklovers Club.

 tla-2007-004.jpgThe Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

I first came across The Invention of Hugo Cabret at my Scholastic book fair and I couldn’t put it down. Although I didn’t buy it or read it at the time, for the duration of the fair I couldn’t help but return to it time and time again. Then as now I’m not crazy about the cover but everything else about it is enthralling. At last years TLA, I had the great fortune to hear Brian Selznick speak about how the story of Hugo Cabret came to fruition. I also had the great fortune to wait patiently with the throngs of other admirers to get Selznick’s autograph and photo. Rest assured that as soon as my library copy comes in I will shamelessly display my photo with the book. Okay, I rather stand with him than the book.

The Book Thief

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak***A BOOK***AND ITS CONTENTS***
Germany WWII –the Fuhrer
The story of 9 year old Liesel Meminger,Rudy, the boy she should have kissed when she had the chance,Hans Hubermann who taught her the words,Rosa Hubermann who really did love her despite the words and,a Jew, hidden in the basement, who made use of the words.The story of a book thief,that begins and ends with death, and is told through the eyes, and words of Death. 

Zusak weaves a poignant story of a young foster girl’s life during the 1940’s in Nazi Germany. As the narrator of her story, Death is literally everywhere, telling her story through his detached albeit sometimes empathetic eyes. He begins the story with the death of her brother and the thievery of her first book. Despite the story’s somber topic the characters will draw you in and win your heart. The way in which each of Zusak’s characters, including Death, copes with their adverse happenings is nothing less than extraordinary. True to life, death comes to us unexpectedly and despite his warnings you will still be surprised and somewhat jarred by the book’s ending. Expect the unexpected.

I happened upon Zusak’s book at this past
ALA conference because I have a friend (who shall remain anonymous) who is smitten with him and had to have his autograph with accompanying photo. I must admit he was quite charming and the line to get his autograph was of rock star proportions.  It pays to be first in line; you get nice long dedications, wonderful photos, and conversation. I can’t wait to read my other book – I am the Messenger.

The Arrival

The Arrival by Tan, Shaun.

The Arrival is a beautiful wordless rendition of an immigrant’s arrival into a new land. The journey begins as a man packs his belongings and says his goodbyes to his wife and daughter leaving them in the frightening shadows of dragon’s tails that cast themselves on the cities buildings, an ominous representation of a dangerous place. As he journeys with others to the new land you see the passage of time told wonderfully by the images, shown like s slide show, of the sky. On his arrival you see through his eyes the magnificent city that awaits him and welcomes him, not with the Statue of Liberty, but with a statue of two figures one with suitcase in tow and the other extending a hand to welcome him. The story is several immigration stories within one. As he accustoms himself to his new surroundings he meets immigrants who help him along the way and who in turn tell him their stories of escaping oppression.  

Having spent the summer in New York and having visited Ellis Island during my stay, I can appreciate this story in a way that perhaps I couldn’t have otherwise, especially unnerving to me was the part where he undergoes a series of tests to be granted citizenship and you see the confusion and desperation on his face, sad reminder of all those immigrants who couldn’t possibly have passed those tests and were turned away and sent back.

The surrealistic way Tan depicts the city even to us seems strange and odd at first, but then you realize that must be the way an immigrant must have seen it upon arrival – strange and odd, no doubt the way we would see China or perhaps Russia if we had no inkling of there existence. The pets of each immigrant are reminiscent of those of Hieronymous Bosch, turbulent and fantastical, perhaps allegorical, again a reminder of the differences in culture. The story in wordless format seems all so appropriate. How would you communicate if you couldn’t speak the language? Through signs and pointing and showing pictures – visually, the way an immigrant must have. The sepia tones of the drawings allude to the old world feeling, and the cracks on the images give off the sense of old photographs and slides. Shaun Tan’s Arrival is a beautiful addition to any library and a wonderful recommendation for units on
Ellis Island and immigration. (Best Books for Young Adults)

Town Boy

Town Boy by Lat

Malaysia in the 1960’s serves as the backdrop for the rural turned town boy Mat, as he discovers himself in the bustling city of
Ipoh. With the help of his new friend Frankie, Mat learns to live in the mainstream, and that means listening to music, playing in the band, fostering his passion for art and a girl named Normah. His day to day life while seemingly normal is anything but mundane purely because of the delightful setting – a far cry from what we are accustomed to.

Town Boy is an engaging coming of age vision, and a lesson in culture, told through Lat’s whimsical sketchings and bound in a modern day comic book. Once you get past the quirkiness of the drawings (think Beavis and Butthead as Malaysians) you will be captivated by Mat’s simplicity and want to finish Town Boy in one fell swoop. In addition to being a great add-on to a library’s graphic novel collection, it will appeal to reluctant readers as well. Town Boy – not just for boys. (Best Books for Young Adults)

American Born ChineseIn Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel – American Born Chinese, three seemingly distinct stories fuse together in the most unexpected way to become one. Because there are no hints to future connections readers will be nicely surprised at the overlap in the end. First told is the ancient fable of Monkey King who is determined to become master of all disciplines so that he may enter the party of the Gods. Monkey King soon finds out that while he is king amongst his peers, his being a monkey excludes him from becoming a Deity amongst the other Gods. Second is the story of Jin Wang who longs to fit in to his new all white school and experiences the ostracism often accompanied by being the only one of your race in a school. Last is the story of Danny, a popular blond haired, blue-eyed high school boy who is constantly embarrassed by the stereotypical antics of his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee. The common thread in American Born Chinese is the way the characters find themselves uncomfortable in their own skin and decide to spend their energies transforming themselves, to the extent of destroying their identities and denying their heritage.

One thought on “Lost in a Book

  1. You are truly a genuine literary person. Thanks for inspiring and the good reads you have suggested. A.Perales

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