Books...

"A book is the proof that humans are capable of working magic" - Carl Sagan

I have had quite the adventures over the past few weeks, I've lived through angry old poets, 16 year old mass murderers, human cockroaches and possibly life's biggest questions.

"The Pleasures Of The Damned" by Charles Bukowski - is a huge collection of poems he wrote from 1951 to 1993. It was definitely something different, very vulgar and graphic and most of them probably not age appropriate. He seems to me very much like a drunken old man, angry at himself just for the sake of being something and lived with the mind of a boy. He often made me very mad, some of the poetry which he writes seems only to be understood by him, at times I wonder if even he understands. However while I was lost in my occasional anger due to his vagueness I suddenly realized, if that was the reaction he was striving for, for if it was, he definitely succeeded. There where however a sufficient amount of poems, which were truly beautiful and alive.

"We Need To Talk About Kevin" by Lionel Shriver - was absolutely epic. The whole story is told through letters that Eva sends to her husband Franklin. I found it a little hard to get into at first as this 'Eva' started to annoy me, however once I get about 100 pages into it, it was so absorbing I could not put it down. Eva writes about Kevin's upbringing, and his peculiar behavior as a child and teenager. She continuously refers to thursday, the reader already knows that something along the lines of murder is going to happen, and when it does, it is funnily enough put in such a blunt way. It is a very powerful plot, and even though I have not had a child that murdered half of his English class and his teacher (don't worry I won't kill you), I found the story very easy to relate with, on some weird level. I seriously recommend this books, however I am not sure if I want to read anything else by this author, for in a way I found that the plot of the story was more powerful than her writing.

After reading giraffe, and figured I should give Kafka a go, and so I did. I read a compilation of short stories by Kafka, and of course, Metamorphosis. I much say it was extremely likable, and very funny indeed. I found the story line very interesting, first thing you know a man wakes up, and then out of the blue, plot twist the mas is actually a cockroach! Hilarious and slightly pathetic! I look forward to read more of his works in the near future.

"The Stranger" by Albert Camus - a short, yet vastly compelling story. I loved the weirdness of the plot, and the concept of reacting differently to what society would think. The main character seemed a rather empty soul, even emotionless at times. Camus explores, the meaninglessness and worthlessness of human life. This book is really something special.

Another, very philosophical book, which I happened to read during the break was "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" By Milan Kundera. This was, a slap in the face really. The first thing that really struck me was the german proverb "Einmal ist Keinmal", meaning what happened only once may not have happened at all. By these words one of the main characters Tomas, wondered; if I only live once, then why live at all. Kundera explores the philosophy of lightness and weight throughout the book. He refers to lightness being the acceptance of the lack of meaningfulness in life, and living in the momentary beauty, the two characters, Tomas and Sabrina are characters of lightness. However Tereza, is defied by weight, for she cannot cope with the unbearable lightness of being. And Franz, defies all events in his life as heavy, therefore leading him to a quick and unnecessary death. This books, I must characterize as heavy, it was felt heavy in my hands and heavy to heart. I don't know whether I regret reading it or whether I appreciate it. I feel this was probably the wrong time to read it, as often what I read affect my mood and trail of thought (not that I am going to go all Kevin on my English class or anything). Maybe I'll read it again, when I'm a little wiser.