November 23, 2009
Ken Keseys book One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a story about a mental hospital and exercise of power.
Randle McMurphy is a rebel, who comes to the mental hospital. He has lied that he isn’t normal and that he has mental issues, becouse he thinks that in mental hospital will be easyer to survive than in prison. He comes to the hospital and starts to protest against the rules. (more…)
November 22, 2009
Book review:
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto is a story of love, loss, the complexity of human relationships, and, not surprisingly, kitchens. I think the book was an easy read and it was nice to concentrate on other peoples’ problems rather than my own for a change. 😀 😀 😀 😀
Character analysis:
The whole book circles around a young Japanese woman in her twenties, Mikage Sakurai, and the story is in a diary-like first person narrative from her point of view. In the beginning of the book she had just lost the last person in her family, her grandmother, which of course makes her depressed. She also has trauma from losing her parents at a young age.
She becomes a tenant at the Tanabe household and creates a close bond with both the mother (former father) Eriko and the son Yuichi. When Eriko dies, she, once again, has to deal with the grief of death in the family. About her death she says: “When my parents died I was still a child. When my grandfather died, I had a boyfriend. When my grandmother died I was left all alone. But never have I felt so alone as I did now.”
Mikage as a person is a bit clingy, but she has all the reason to considering the rate of people kicking off around her. She’s also rather unsure about herself and her actions, but can also be feisty and impulsive when needed. Remember the way she drives miles, climbs over a fence and through a hotel window and accidentally cuts her leg all because the girl simply felt like having to share some especially delicious take-away katsudon with Yuichi? If that isn’t out of the blue, I sure can’t say what is.
I think she outwards is quite a cheerful, easy-going and open-minded person, who makes friends with the right kind of people for her. The open-mindedness really shows with the transgender mother figure and that strange kitchen… well, not fetish, but rather an obsession. Well, who cares, we all draw our comfort from something.
In the cases of both the Tanabes she goes from friendship to love, for Eriko Mikage goes from depressed to who-cares-I-still-have-the-memories throughout the story. The angst she felt in the beginning did come back during the sad period after Eriko’s death but the young woman learnt to hold her head up high and to take life as it comes. Her route goes via the happy family to the loving relationship with Yuichi. She loves Eriko as a mother figure and Yuichi as a potential (later real) boyfriend.
There sure is character development in the book, mostly because literature in Japan does not emphasize the plot as much as the characters’ inner feelings and mental growth. This may sometimes leave the plots thin but if one is looking for round characters and philosophy, this is the place to look for it.
Bibliography:
Banana Yoshimoto: Kitchen. London 1993.
November 20, 2009
book review
The book is an excellent and fun. And l really liked. the main character is crazy, so that is why i said he is schizophrenia.
Character analysis
The bookOne flew over the cuckoo`s nest, narrate a story about some people living in a menal institute. Mc murphy is one of the main character of the novel. Mc murphy is aloud readheaded gambler that does what ever he likes when ever he wantsto. Mr Rachaid is the head nurse in the waid. Mc murphy is kind of the boss of everybody in the ward. M murphy wasn`t happy with way things happened in the ward, so he wanted to make a difference. he tried to and they started to behave like him, wake up late, say i do what ever they felt like change some of the rules. Most of the patients liked him for that. In the begining some of the patients living in the ward thought Mc murphy was kind and thoughtful. They later realized that since Mc murphy came, they have lost alot of money. And also that Mc murphy did most of the things he did becauce he finds itdifficult to obey orders.
Mcmurphy did some stupid things like callenging the head nurse on several occeations during the afrernoon meetings and making fun of her. And he also used lots of curse words on several occations like“Goddammit“. Mc murphy was not actually cazy, he got in to the mental institute because he wanted to had two options go to jail or go to a nuthouse , so he chose the nuthouse. When he found out that the nurse is the one to decide on how long he gets to stay at the nutehouse. He wanted to change his behaviour but he couldn`t.
challenging words
brave=rohkea
basin= lavuaari
fleecy= villainen
chrapper= huussi
vulgar= alatyylinen
scheme= diagrammi
winking= vilkuttaa
pathetic= liikuttava
stunted= kitukasvuinen
encircle= ympäröidä
hostile= vihamielinen
November 20, 2009
Book review
Despite the flat characters, the idea of this novel is quite fascinating, and reading about other’s love and sufferings is always interesting. I’d say this book grabs your interest once you get the idea of the timetraveling. Ô.o : ) : )
November 20, 2009
A farewell to Arms is a novel written by Ernest Hemingway. The story is about the war during the World War I and it tells a story of Tenente. I found this book interesting and it describes very pleasantly the war by a soldier’s view. I liked this book very much, although some paragraphs were surprisingly long. The way the author describes things is great, for example, the scenery is portrayed smoothly.
November 11, 2009
Book review
Good, but a little weird 🙂 The writing style of this book was a little weird but still quite easy to read. The way some characters spoke was challenging to understand because they spoke “old English”.
November 11, 2009
Book Review
I found the book Odd Thomas very interesting. It was quite easy to read but sometimes sentences were complicated. Mainly it was easy to keep up with plot and the book was worth to read. 🙂 🙂
Character Analysis
The book ‘Odd Thomas’ begings the main character Odd Thomas telling about himself. He’s a twenty-year-old man who lives in a fictional town of Pico Mundo in California.
He describes himself unusual person but he doesn’t tell straight why he is so ‘odd’. Later the reader finds out that Odd can see dead people. When a suspicious-looking and followed by ghosts-guy arrives to the Pico Mundo grill (Odd’s workplace) Odd is convinced that something terrible will happen in town and the inhabitants are in danger including his lover Stormy Lwellyn. Odd has to find a way how to save them.
Odd is intelligent and inventive person. He is also brave and he have the courage to take risks for example finding out what’s going on with Fungus Man (the guy followed by ghosts). First he gives kind of hard image of himself but there is also a sensitive side in him which comes out when theres Stormy in question. I also found him very humane although he’s able to see dead people and that is like daily stuff to him. He also has ironic comments sometimes which made book funnier from time to time.
I think that in the future Odd’s life will be messed again by ghosts.
Challenging Words
acquaintance =tuttu
lieu = paikka
refrigerator = jääkaappi
perplexity = vaikeus
compartment = vaunuosasto
reincarnation = jälleensyntyminen
sullen = tuittupäinen
inebriation = humalatila
conspiratorial = juonitteleva
immeasurable = mittaamaton
Bibliography
Koontz Dean, 2003, Odd Thomas, Hammersmith, London
November 11, 2009
Character Analysis
The Catcher in the Rye (1951) is a book written by J.D. Salinger. It’s a story about Holden Caulfield who’s kicked out from Pencey Prep school. It’s already the fourth school he has been kicked out. So, he goes to New York and thinks what to do with his life.
Now I’m going to tell you about Ward Stradlater who was Holden’s roommate at Pencey. He’s kind of minor character and Holden doesn’t like him, but you can’t say Stradlater is the antagonist , because Holden doesn’t like nearly anyone.
Stradlater is kind of player. I mean, he plays with girls. Stradlater skinny, but he has broad shoulders. He has very good build, and he admits it himself too. Even Holden admits that! Stradlater looks always right ’cause he likes to fix himself up, and many thinks that he’s very handsome. All most all girls adore him and he gets nearly every girl he wants. Every night he has a different girl. In brief, Stradlater is gorgeus outside, but inside a real bastard.
Stradlater’s motives to do what he does is that he thinks he’s so good-looking that he has to try all girls because he has a chance to do that. In one episode of the book, Stradlater and Holden are fighting. The reason is that Stradlater Has had a date with Holden’s old friend Jane Gallagher. Holden stocks Stradlater, who of course stocks him back. Holden loses the fight, and thinks Stradlater is bastard. I think that Stradlater stocked just because he wanted to self-defense himself.
Last thing that books tells about Stradlater is when he stays in Pencey and Holden goes to New York. Story doesn’t tell more but you can guess that maybe he just continued he’s studying at pencey and maybe he get a new roommate.
In future I see that Ward Stradlater is little relaxed and he has stopped girls hunting. maybe he has a wife, children? Good profession is quite sure, because altough he’s very interested in girls, he’s hard-studier.
Mindmap of Stradlater
http://www.mindmeister.com/maps/show/34472510
Book review
In my opinion this book was great. First I tought that this book seemed very boring, but when I started to read I couldn’t stop that. Maybe the best thing was that I read it in English, because people in New York speak English with their own slang in it. It could have sound ridiculous when Holden and all have speaked Helsinki’s slang in 50’s New York. And understood nearly all that I read, maybe all TV soap operas have helped me in that.
I think that especially boys should read this. Book speaks about all boys problems and toughs which are topical still although we are not in the 50’s. But book helps girls too. By reading this book, you could learn lot of boys’ complicated mind.
Okey, book is little depressing and realistic, but sometimes people need to thinks about those kind of questions like “who am I?” and “what should I do now or in future?” that kind of questions book’s main character Holden thinks when he’s kicked out from school. Actually, I liked when Holden didn’t do like nothing but he tought so much that the book should have been longer, if there were more episodes in he’s life.
Challenging words
buzz: kutsua joku paikalle summerilla
dough: raha
halitosis: pahanhajuinen hengitys
lobby: aula, eteinen
lousy: surkea, kurja
phony: teeskentelijä, epärehellinen, teennäinen
pheumonia: keuhkokuume
rubberneck: pysähtyä töllistelemään
shrug: kohauttaa olkapäitään
sonuvabitch: ”hutsun jälkeläinen”
If you want to know more about this book, watch this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye
Unfortenately, there is no film made about this book, so I couldn’t put a link of film trailer.
More books written by J.D. Salinger
Nine stories (1953)
Franny and Zooey (1961)
Raise high the Roof-Beam (1955)
Seymour: An Introduction (1959)
November 11, 2009
Book review
This book is very interesting and marvellous 🙂
Do you want to know more about this film or book? All you have to do is just read the book or watch the film.
November 11, 2009
Paulo Coelhos book “The Alchemist” is a story about a boy, Santiago. Santiago is a shepherd and he lives in Andalusia with his sheep. In the book Santiago dreams about the treasure, which is in Afrika. He has seen the same dream a few times and he wants to start finding the treasure. He goes to Afrika after speaking with the king about his little trip. The king says that Santiago should go and find the treasure. When Santiago gets there, to Afrika, he gets robbed and there is no treasure. Where is it then or does it even exist?
Santiago is the main character of the book. He is quite pensive and he thinks a lot of things. Santiago is independent for his age and very brave, because he ventured to go to Afrika alone find some treasure, which may not even be there. Santiagos parents wanted that Santiago would have been a priest, but himself he wanted to be a shepherd and then he came one. One reason to that Santiago went to Afrika could have been that he likes to travel, because he says one time in the book that he like to travel.
The main character, Santiago, did the right choice, when he decide to find the treasure, which he dreamed of. Santiago behave friendly and quite normal with other characters, but mostly he do everything alone by him self in the book.
 | Ms Leino on Love Conquers All? |
| Ms Leino on schizophrenia character |
| Ms Leino on The Alchemist |
| Ms Leino on Santiago’s treasure |
| Ms Leino on How hard could teenagers life… |
Literature Lunatics 