The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories by Robert Louis Stevenson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A timeless story about the dual natures of man, about how hard it can be to deny ourselves pleasure, even when we are sure it will ruin us. Dr. Jekyll seems to have found the perfect way to enjoy his debauchery without the problem of recognition, blame, or even guilt. Yet in the end, the consequences catch up to him, and the desperation of not being able to control himself or his fate becomes a horror story.
It is a succinct, well-told story, much shorter than I thought. I bought the Barnes and Nobles classic and they had quite an elaborate critical study at the beginning (which I would save and read after the story, since it gives everything away)and several more stories by Stevenson which I enjoyed just as much. I found it interesting that he wrote so much about people pretending to be someone they're not. Sometimes it leads to ruin, or near-ruin, and other times, they use their double personalities to bring justice and order.

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The Great Divorce

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This allegory about what hevean might be like was thought-provoking. I especially like the thought that it is us and our own refusal to give up our sins that keeps us from the love of God--that God would love for us all to be with him, but we are unwilling to give up grudges, vanities, or habits to be with him. I also liked the idea that as we give up those things, things that we thought made us who we are, we actually become bigger and more substantial. But I actually felt a little hopeless at the end of it...if those people can't make it in to hevean for such small transgressions, it feels hopeless for me. Thank goodness it's not C.S. Lewis making the final judgement! The foreward by Lewis was actually my favorite part of the book--I underlined most of it.

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The Hiding Place

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I did not want to read this book. An inspirational book about a concentration camp? And quite frankly the cover does nothing for the book. But it didn't take long before I was fully vested into the life of Corrie Ten Boom, her sister, and her father. I realize memory can gloss over the details, but I found their lives of charity and love for God and others incredibly inspiring. The miracles that occured because of their faith and devotion were amazing. I would recommend this book to everyone. It will change the way you look at your life.

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The Wonder Boys

Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I have a sort of literary crush on Michael Chabon. The first novel I read of his was Kavalier and Clay and loved it. Then I read most of this subsequent novels and thought he was amazing. But stepping back in time...well, let's just say this novel hints at the great writer Chabon is about to become--you can even see the evolution of ideas for his future novels--but he's not quite there yet. His main characters are interesting, but not likeable. The plot is far fetched but entertaining. And in the end his main character learns...that he should not smoke so much pot. The thing I really missed was the way Chabon commands the English language to tell a story that is entirely its own universe. That gift is only nascent here. I did like the observations about authors, how they have doppelgangers that give them something to write about but are their own worst enemy, and how authors go through their life and nights sleepwalking, living out the stories in their heads.



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Gilead

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


As I was carrying this book around forever trying to finish it, I told everyone it was eh, ok. It was a story without much of a plot, just a lot of ruminations about religion, faith, forgiveness, and it was murder to get through. But then I finished it and I thought there were a few good quotes that I wanted to re-read, and I ended up reading the whole thing again. The whole thing. It isn't a book that excites you, it definitely is not a page turner, but the letter by a dying priest to his young son born in his old age is full of gems of wisdom. The themes of the prodigal son resonate throughout--what it means to be a son in need of forgiveness, what it means to be a loving father, what it means to be the righteous son feeling unjustly looked over. In the end, it culminates into a beautiful story of what it means to love and to live. If you can barely get through it the first time, read it again.



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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a great telling of the story of Henrietta Lacks, who went to Johns Hopkins for cervical cancer treatment and while there had her cells biopsied. Her cancer cells became a perpetually growing medium, a boon to medical research forever after. Skloot explains how her cells became immortal, how they helped science, and the story behind the woman who died while her cells lived on. There are a hundred issues that the story raises, questions of black rights, of rights of patients over their own tissues, of how experiementing on humans became regulated. Skloot touches on all these, but I wish she could have devlved in even deeper. Toward the end, Skloot inserts herself too much for my taste and talks about her relationship with Deborah, Henrietta's daughter. That material is for Skloots memoir--give us more of those fascinating cells!



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Peace Like a River

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This was a book club read, and although I wouldn't have chosen it I didn't hate it. I liked that it reminded me of all the miracles that happen all around us, we just have to take notice of them. I even liked that though the father could heal his enemies and walk on air and even greater miracles, he could not make his son, Davy, think like he did. That the ability of choice is so sacred not even the most holy among us can bend our will to theirs. I did not like that the father found his spirituality and then promptly stopped going to college to become a doctor and instead became a janitor--why do "good" people feel like they must be poor? Wouldn't he have been more useful as a dr.? I didn't like that the father's headaches were never addressed. Did the miracles have a physical effect or was it just to show that he wouldn't/couldn't use the power on himself? And I didn't like the way it ended, that Davy went from being a great older brother to a fugitive that wouldn't turn himself in, that the climax fell flat, and that Rueben ended up marrying his "sister". Sorry, but that was wierd.



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