Tuesday, March 13, 2018

The Princess Bride, The Martian Chronicles: Book 8 and 9 of 2018

I don't really know what to expect when I pick up one of these NPR top 100 books. I have seen The Princess Bride movie (usually just bits and pieces, I think I may have sat and watched it from beginning to end once). I expected that the book would be the romance and adventure parts of the movie. I had no clue that the parts of the movie where the book is being read to Fred Savage was such a key part of the book itself. The clever device that the book is an abridgment of some larger classic work is very central to the story. That device highlights how much we bring to the creation of these stories. These books and the movies made from them do not exist in isolation. We bring all of our experiences with us. The authors bring the (very detailed) blue prints. We do all the decorating.

I had absolutely no idea what to expect when I started reading The Martian Chronicles. I knew it was on the short end. That was it's primary draw. I didn't like it very much after the first couple of chapters, but once I got the hang of the structure and the larger story being told, the book was more captivating. The end came as a total surprise. I had no idea how big the themes would be. This is a book that tells us more about ourselves than the characters that fill its pages. There are big themes in this book. This is not the only time that I've seen Mars used as a way to symbolize the isolation of the individual. There could be some academic material to chew on there.

While I'm talking about the unexpected in books that have been made into movies, I have to mention I Am Legend. I listened to the audio version. The movie does this book no justice. The movie's safe ending is nothing compared to the profound climax of the book. The beginning is so visceral and real. It's amazing to me that it was written in the 50s. It felt so real and now, even with the events being described as taking place in the late 70s. The middle was a bit of a drag, but the ending had a power that took me totally by surprise. It's definitely not Hollywood. That's what makes it so good. (I just realized that I, Robot, the last book I wrote about, was also made into a movie starring Will Smith.)

My reading of A House for Mr. Biswas carries on in the background. I'm slowly inching my way towards the end of that one. A week of concentrated reading would get me to the finish line (or very close to it), but I keep splitting reading time with whatever ebook I have going on at the moment. I tore through a bunch of library books on my phone. Now I'm working on one of my owned books. It's not as long as I thought (there are a bunch of notes and other materials at the end) and it's a pretty decent read. I will have more to share after I finish that one up in the next day or two. It will be nice to scratch one more title from my list of to be read books! Only 156 to go (I've been on that number for way too long)!

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