7. Between a Rock and a Hard Place (Aron Ralston)
Pleasure: 3/10 Stars
Utility: 5/10 Stars
This is the first (and I hope last) time I've ever said this: the movie is better than the book. The story of what happened to Ralston in the Horseshoe Canyon of Moab, UT is a fascinating one. But instead of simply relating the events surrounding his amputation he turns the book into an autobiography. And the tone of the writing came across in many places as an extended ego trip. Several times in the first few chapters I found myself thinking "Aron, I really couldn't care less about when you climbed Mount McKinley or when you saw the Grand Canyon for the first time." I'm sure they were significant moments for him but, as he himself says, even photographs failed to capture the experience itself which is only available to those who have actually done it and gone through the pain and exhilaration. I also often felt that so much of the writing was dragged down by unnecessary detail. It reminded me of when, as a child, I was trying to recount a story to my parents that I'd seen in a movie or TV show but instead of giving a general idea of the broad themes, I got bogged down with excess verbiage. Some portions were literally blow by blow explanations of exactly what was happening and I just found myself thinking "Come on! Get on with the story of you cutting your hand off!"
One thing I would like to mention is the occasional theme of sensationalism. Aron is definitely a sensationalist and constantly needs to be stretching himself and expanding his horizons and chasing these wild experiences. Thoughts of Madame Bovary kept surfacing in my head and I thought to check out Ralston's page on Wikipedia. My suspicions were immediately confirmed. The poor guy really doesn't have a fun personal life. He's experienced the pain of divorce and, at one point, was arrested for, although never charged with, domestic abuse. The book gives the impression that, in Ralston's mind, every moment not spent chasing sensational experiences in the outdoors is a wasted moment. The following selection stood out as particularly revealing of his outlook on life:
"I thrive on stimulation and action, and aside from the litany of physical duress, my entrapment has brought the additional psychological curse of being unable to fully occupy my mind. I feel engaged at moments, even an hour at a time, but I can't help dwelling on the monotony of this motionlessness. If dehydration and hypothermia don't take me in the next couple of days, boredom may well dull my instincts and quash my will to live. A question haunts me: How weary will I get before suicide seems the only excitement that could relieve the ennui?"
The thought crossed my mind that Ralston will likely never know the joys of being married to one person for decades or of contributing something truly significant to a small community of people. It seems that life for him has largely become about simply living his dreams and doing those things that make him feel as alive as possible. Such an existence, while having a superficial layering of friendships to stave off feelings of isolation, must be a lonely one from time to time. It is in those moments of monotony that simple, mundane joys fill our hearts and we can be happier than we ever thought we could be.
28 March 2014
16 March 2014
Review of The Call of the Wild
6. The Call of the Wild (Jack London)
Pleasure: 8/10 Stars
Utility: 2/10 Stars
Jack London has created a mythical figure in this book. This is the first of the so-called "classics" that I *really* enjoyed reading. I think most of that can be attributed to the fact that there was a lot more action and less dialogue than previous books. The story follows Buck, a homely mix between a St. Bernard and Scotch Collie, who is a family pet of Judge Miller in central California. One of the judge's employees kidnaps Buck and sells him to pay off his gambling debts. Buck is shipped northward toward the Canadian border where he is trained to be a working dog. The majority of the story follows his difficult journey and his gradual return to the primordial instincts of the wolves. What London does in this story, though, is paint one of the most majestic portraits of an animal that anyone could read. He paints in broad strokes the rich soul of Buck as it transitions from the pampered life he enjoyed on the farm to the brutal wilds of the Canadian wilderness. Through the intense suffering of his journey, Buck takes on new dimensions and experiences greater joys and passions than he ever would have known had he stayed on Judge Miller's farm. By the end of the book, the once pampered family pet becomes the stuff of legends throughout the mining camps of the Yukon and the fear of many Indians who have inadvertently gotten on his wrong side. If you haven't read this book yet, I highly recommend doing so! It's not even very long!
Pleasure: 8/10 Stars
Utility: 2/10 Stars
Jack London has created a mythical figure in this book. This is the first of the so-called "classics" that I *really* enjoyed reading. I think most of that can be attributed to the fact that there was a lot more action and less dialogue than previous books. The story follows Buck, a homely mix between a St. Bernard and Scotch Collie, who is a family pet of Judge Miller in central California. One of the judge's employees kidnaps Buck and sells him to pay off his gambling debts. Buck is shipped northward toward the Canadian border where he is trained to be a working dog. The majority of the story follows his difficult journey and his gradual return to the primordial instincts of the wolves. What London does in this story, though, is paint one of the most majestic portraits of an animal that anyone could read. He paints in broad strokes the rich soul of Buck as it transitions from the pampered life he enjoyed on the farm to the brutal wilds of the Canadian wilderness. Through the intense suffering of his journey, Buck takes on new dimensions and experiences greater joys and passions than he ever would have known had he stayed on Judge Miller's farm. By the end of the book, the once pampered family pet becomes the stuff of legends throughout the mining camps of the Yukon and the fear of many Indians who have inadvertently gotten on his wrong side. If you haven't read this book yet, I highly recommend doing so! It's not even very long!
12 March 2014
Review of Madame Bovary
5. Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert)
Pleasure: 7/10 Stars
Utility: 6/10
This is a harrowing book. Going into it, I had a good idea of the main theme of the novel (a warning about chasing after sensationalism) but I didn't realize what a stark warning it was. Don't read this book if you're prone to bi-polar disorder! The story opens following the life of Mr. Charles Bovary, a simple minded country doctor who takes great delight in the simple pleasures life has to offer. Eventually, however, he marries Emma (the Madame Bovary of the title), a fickle young woman prone to flights of fancy and idealistic tendencies. The story begins to focus on her and her perpetual dissatisfaction with the mundane, day to day life that is all Charles can offer her. Over the course of the novel she enters a couple of different affairs in an attempt to make her life more interesting. I knew going in that these tendencies must end in a disaster for her but what I did not realize was that she finally destroyed the lives of both her husband and daughter. I saw in this story the sordid tendencies of my own heart and how they wreak havoc not only on my own joy and peace but on the lives of so many others as well. And in Charles I saw a clumsy portrait of Christ. He loves Emma deeply and in his eyes she can do no wrong. It's only at the end of the book that he discovers her affairs and it destroys him. That's why the utility rating is so high. In my mind, this is a story designed to teach one simple lesson: People chase drama because our lives don't live up to a certain ideal that they have for how life is supposed to work. And as we chase it, we don't realize we are bringing destruction down on ourselves, all our friends and family, and (very most importantly) we wound the One who loves us more than words can describe, Jesus.
Pleasure: 7/10 Stars
Utility: 6/10
This is a harrowing book. Going into it, I had a good idea of the main theme of the novel (a warning about chasing after sensationalism) but I didn't realize what a stark warning it was. Don't read this book if you're prone to bi-polar disorder! The story opens following the life of Mr. Charles Bovary, a simple minded country doctor who takes great delight in the simple pleasures life has to offer. Eventually, however, he marries Emma (the Madame Bovary of the title), a fickle young woman prone to flights of fancy and idealistic tendencies. The story begins to focus on her and her perpetual dissatisfaction with the mundane, day to day life that is all Charles can offer her. Over the course of the novel she enters a couple of different affairs in an attempt to make her life more interesting. I knew going in that these tendencies must end in a disaster for her but what I did not realize was that she finally destroyed the lives of both her husband and daughter. I saw in this story the sordid tendencies of my own heart and how they wreak havoc not only on my own joy and peace but on the lives of so many others as well. And in Charles I saw a clumsy portrait of Christ. He loves Emma deeply and in his eyes she can do no wrong. It's only at the end of the book that he discovers her affairs and it destroys him. That's why the utility rating is so high. In my mind, this is a story designed to teach one simple lesson: People chase drama because our lives don't live up to a certain ideal that they have for how life is supposed to work. And as we chase it, we don't realize we are bringing destruction down on ourselves, all our friends and family, and (very most importantly) we wound the One who loves us more than words can describe, Jesus.
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