The Children of Men by PD James

Title: The Children of Men

Author: PD James (English, 1920-2014)
Originally published: 1992

Page count: 241

Dates read: 5/20/23-5/28/23

2023 book goal progress: 11 out of 23

May Mindful Readers' Family Bookclub 

Read my other book reviews for my 2023 goals HERE.




Description on back of book:
The human race has become infertile, and the last generation to be born is now adult. Civilization itself is crumbling and suicide and despair become commonplace. Oxford historian Theodore Faron, apathetic toward a future without a future, spends most of his time reminiscing. Then he is approached by Julian, a bright, attractive woman who wants him to help get her an audience with his cousin, the powerful Warden of England. She and her band of unlikely revolutionaries may just awaken his desire to live... and they may also hold the key to survival for the human race.

First sentence:
"Early this morning, 1 January 2021, three minutes after midnight, the last human being to be born on earth was killed in a pub brawl in a suburb of Buenos Aires, aged twenty-five years, two months, and twelve days."

Favorite quotes:
"If from infancy, you treat children as gods, they are liable in adulthood to act as devils."

"There was some dignity and much safety in the self-selected role of spectator, but, faced with some abominations, many had no option but to step onto the stage."

"The world is changed not by the self-regarding, but by men and women prepared to make fools of themselves."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 4.9/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 5
Atmosphere   - 6
Writing Style - 3
Plot                - 4
Intrigue          - 6
Logic             - 5
Enjoyment     - 5
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

This was a pretty bad book. It was boring and I didn't feel connected with any of the characters. The concept seemed really interesting, but the story was told horribly. It had an advanced vocabulary and even simple words were British, so, being an American, I didn't know some of the words. For having the main character be an Oxford professor, there was no Oxford comma and other grammar seemed weird. The ending was unsatisfactory and didn't really have a resolution. I don't recommend this book.

Book to movie review:

They created new characters, removed others, and even combined some. The general overarching storyline is the same, but there are some significant plot changes along the way. I'd say the movie is better, but it's still pretty mediocre. It's not worth your time.

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let PD James have the last words:

" 'Do I believe in God? No, it's too late for me. I believe in Julian's strength and courage and in my own skill. But if he gets us through this maybe I'll change my mind, see if I can't get something going with Him.'

'I don't think He bargains.'

'Oh, yes He does. I may not be religious, but I know my Bible. My mother saw to that. He bargains alright. He's supposed to be just. If He wants belief, He'd better provide some evidence.'

'That He exists?'

'That He cares.' "

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

Title: The Wise Man's Fear (Kingkiller Chronicle #2)

Author: Patrick Rothfuss (American, 1973- )
Originally published: 2011

Page count: 1,107

Dates read: 4/10/23-4/23/23; 5/2/23-5/17/23

2023 book goal progress: 10 out of 23

Author Challenge: Patrick Rothfuss

Read my other book reviews for my 2023 goals HERE.




Description on back of book:
"There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man."

My name is Kvothe. You may have heard of me.

So begins the tale of a hero told from his own point of view - a story unequal in fantasy literature. Now, in day two of the Kingkiller Chronicle, Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.

First sentences:
"Dawn was coming. The Waystone Inn lay in silence, and it was a silence of three parts."

Favorite quotes:
"We love what we love. Reason does not enter into it. In many ways, unwise love is the truest love. Anyone can love a thing because. That's as easy as putting a penny in your pocket. But to love something despite. To know the flaws and love them too. That is rare and pure and perfect."

"It's the questions we can't answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question and he'll look for his own answers. That way, when he finds the answers, they'll be precious to him. The harder the question, the harder we hunt. The harder we hunt, the more we learn."

"Stories don't need to be new to bring you joy. Some stories are like familiar friends. Some are dependable as bread."

"A story is like a nut. A fool will swallow it whole and choke. A fool will throw it away, thinking it of little worth. But a wise woman finds a way to crack the shell and eat the meat inside."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 7.3/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 8
Atmosphere   - 8
Writing Style - 7
Plot                - 7
Intrigue          - 7
Logic             - 6
Enjoyment     - 8
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

I like this series a lot! I wish the books were half their length, though - they're super long. I wish the author hadn't written that Kvothe was supposed to tell his story in three days - and that each day he told his story, would be a single book.

I have very mixed feelings about Felurian, who is a Fae seductress (akin to a siren/mermaid - without any fins). I think femme fatales that focus on sex and seduction are a very overused trope and just annoy me. Women can be clever and get what they want in so many other ways instead. I can't help but think that they're there in stories more for the pleasure of men than to represent a strong female character. I'm not the biggest fan of Denna (his main love interest), but I think Felurian is even worse than her. I wish he had stumbled into the land of the Fae and come across Felurian along the way instead of her magically seducing him.

Unlike Felurian, who I hated at first and then slightly liked; I loved the Adem culture and then came to slightly dislike it. The Adem are a people of highly secretive mercenaries (based on a Tai-Chi-esque martial arts). They are viewed as an extremely equal society... then you see they're actually quite matriarchal, which was nice.... until you realize they're very sexist. Women are better at all things and men don't have anything to really live their life for. It was really neat to learn about a vastly different culture than ours, but disturbing to see how even a seemingly utopia has its pitfalls and blindspots.

Sometimes it feels like the story arcs jump around a bit - Rothfuss probably feels he needs to jam as much as possible into each book because he only has 3 books to tell the entire tale. He's created a narrative for much more than 3 books and I wish he would move away from that. In case you're wondering - the third book is not out yet, with no idea when it will be - and it's been 12 years. Anyway, it's an incredible book, but it sometimes feels disjointed and rushed - despite its length.

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Patrick Rothfuss have the last words... but first a preface for the quote.

In real life, whilst I'm not reading fantasy, I'm a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant. Speech teachers are known for working on a person's pronunciation - lisps, stutters, gliding (replacing 'l' or 'r' with 'w'), and other articulation/fluency disorders. We actually work on much more than just that including language (grammar, syntax, vocab, etc), voice (pitch, volume, vocal hygiene, etc), swallowing (I don't do this as an assistant), and pragmatics (social skills).

Social skills encompass A LOT: understanding emotions (what it looks like, how to react, how to calm yourself down, etc), knowing how to have a conversation (how much to talk, asking follow-up questions, staying on topic, etc), respect/empathy (understanding different relationships, what it means to be a friend, etc), problem-solving, perspective taking, expected vs. unexpected behaviors, and much more.

Another topic of social skills is nonverbal communication, which includes facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, and tone of voice. The Adem culture has a VERY different form of nonverbal communication than we do. Instead of facial expressions to signify emotions, they use a complex hand gesture form of communication. The Adem keep blank faces in public and use their hand gestures to signify emotions. Eye contact is also considered rude since your eyes are meant to be watching a person's hands. 

As Kvothe learns this new way of communicating, he makes the below statement.  When he says the gestures are not as simple as facial expressions - he means the gesture interpretations are more specific, so there are more signs to learn than we have facial expressions. The thing is, each of our facial expressions has its own intricacies and can be interpreted differently depending on the context - so, in my opinion, facial expressions are more complex than Ademic gestures. Nonetheless, I very much related to his below statement.

"In the hours that followed, I learned that Ademic hand gestures did not actually represent facial expressions. It was nothing so simple as that. For example, a smile can mean you're amused, happy, grateful, or satisfied. You can smile to comfort someone. You can smile because you're content or because you're in love.  A grimace or a grin looks similar to a smile, but they mean entirely different things.

Imagine teaching someone how to smile. Imagine trying to describe what different smiles mean and when, precisely, to use them in conversation. It's harder than learning to walk."

(Fun Fact: I don't have to imagine. As I've already said - that's literally part of my job. In addition to other facial expressions, I'm currently teaching one of my students the definition/use/emotion of a smile, grin, grimace, smirk, and sneer.)

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Title: Death on the Nile

Author: Agatha Christie (English, 1890-1976)
Originally published: 1937

Page count: 214

Dates read: 4/23/23-5/2/23

2023 book goal progress: 9 out of 23

April Mindful Readers' Family Bookclub 

Read my other book reviews for my 2023 goals HERE.




Description on back of book:
The Scene: An exotic cruise in the land of the ancient Pharaohs.

The Victim: She made such a lovely bride. Alas, a tiny bullet interrupted what seemed to be the perfect honeymoon.

The Suspects: The boat was crawling with them, including the ex-fiance of the groom and the groom himself who has a couple million motives ($) motives for murder.

First sentence:
"Linnet Ridgeway! That's her!"

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 6.4/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 6
Atmosphere   - 5
Writing Style - 7
Plot                - 7
Intrigue          - 8
Logic             - 6
Enjoyment     - 6
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

This is a Hercule Poirot novel and I had high hopes. Unfortunately, this story moved very slowly. There were so many characters, I had to take notes to keep them straight. Poirot also asked a lot of leading questions and occasionally spoke French, which annoyed me. I also had a suspicion of who it was all along and I was correct. It's always a boost to feel clever and solve the mystery, but I prefer being surprised with an unexpected twist. To be fair, there is a big twist in the end, but I guess I've read so many mysteries that I can read between the lines. I suggest Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd over this one.

Book to movie review:

I'd say the movie is better than the book, but the movie is pretty mediocre.

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Agatha Christie have the last words:

"Love can be a very frightening thing. That is why most great love stories are tragedies."