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A Reader's reviews
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-08-23 06:50:44 for Here is New York.
(Language: English)
 
This book encompasses everything I feel about New York--written by a far more eloquent New Yorker than myself, of course. EB White took the words I could never express and put them to paper in a way that makes me more than a little homesick. This is required reading for every New Yorker or lover of prose. Although I can't express how much I love New York (and can't wait to return to it), we are truly lucky that EB White can.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-08-23 06:31:35 for A Farewell to Arms.
(Language: English)
I'm amazed by the negativity about this book, so maybe I can convert someone, because this book changed my life, so I wouldn't want anyone to miss out! I read more than basically anybody I know, and this is still by far the saddest, most touching, most romantic book I have EVER read. I first read it the summer before my junior year of high school, and I have read it maybe thirty times already in the ensuing four years. And every single time I read it, I feel like I'm going to vomit, because I know what's coming. Like I said, I've read hundreds of books, but this is the only book that has ever made me physically ill. It's THAT powerful. I don't get the bad reviews, but most people I know go crazy over Nicholas Sparks, and I'd rather gauge my eyeballs out with a spork than read him, so maybe people today just aren't used to this type of romance--and as for Hemingway's style...well, I really hate people who say everyone else is wrong and they're right, but COME ON! It's Hemingway! He's not for everybody, but in my eyes, the man is a God--he doesn't need huge winding passages to convey emotion. In fact, the ending to this book is, in my opinion, the most powerful ending to a book ever written, mostly due to the fact that it IS so simple. It really does feel like you've been punched in the stomach, because Henry's grief is so implicit just beneath the understated surface. He's a broken man. For all of you complaining about this book, I guess you just don't get it. Not to be rude, but saying this book lacks emotion is like saying Hitler was a loving man. Give it another read! Maybe since it doesn't glorify war, it doesn't read well for our generation, since we're so used to these non-stop action war books. I don't know! But this book is a masterpiece. If it seems dull or emotionless, or you hate the characters, you're just not getting it, maybe because this book doesn't hit you over the head with obviousness. This book is about that once-in-a-lifetime love that people rarely find, but even something so rare and beautiful can't stop the realities of the modern world from encroaching, so if you're looking for a glamorous war book, you need to realize that AFTA, although a war book, is realistic and brutal and even anti-war--although the retreat from Caporetto = FUCKING MIND-BLOWING PROSE. The REAL story is primarily about Frederic Henry and the woman who loved him. So yes, this book is deceptively simple, and may seem boring to those who don't "get" it, but it is actually sickeningly intense and even philosophical. Oh, and by the way: like I said, I've read this book maybe 30-40 times, and I have it memorized and know every word even before I read it on the page, and I'm probably the least romantic/sensitive person I know, but this book still makes me cry EVERY SINGLE TIME. And I still feel like I have to throw up! The point is, for someone who knows and loves a book as deeply and as well as I know A Farewell to Arms, it is very, VERY rare for it to still hit you on the same level, with the same intensity, every single time. Its impact is undiminished.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-08-22 02:49:30 for Great Gatsby, the; (Us Import Ed.).
(Language: English)
My AP lit teacher once told me that no one could ever possibly love The Great Gatsby as much as I do, and I'd have to agree, because this book is a little bit of a sickness with me. Anyone who's ever talked to me for five minutes will tell you that this book is the foundation of my life. I don't know what it is--maybe the 200 (literally) times I've read it, maybe it's the huge poster I have in my dorm room (yes, I have no life), maybe it's the fact that I own four different copies in case of emergency...or maybe it's the fact that I carry my original copy with me at all times, so I'll never be away from it. It's insane, but this book changed my life. It's actually tricky to read now, because my mind says the next word on the page before I read it, so I have the thing stored on memory. I can't even talk about it without getting choked up. So know that you know about how it's such a huge, huge part of me, I hope that speaks for itself. The problem with the book, though, is that many people love it and gush over it because they think it's about flappers and millionaires and hoity-toity New York society and wild parties and therefore totally miss the point, or they HATE it because that's all they think it is, and therefore also miss the point. So the thing is, most people either love this book for what they think it is--wrongly (the glamour & parties) or hate it for the same reasons. In my experience, most people I know fail to "get it" and just like it because it's shiny or whatever. But if you do get it, then I KNOW that you will love it--and for all the right reasons, too. This is my all-time favorite book (maybe I'm being redundant), to the point that it's not even a book to me. It's a part of me. EVERYONE should read it.
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