Nineteen Minutes

Sometime last year "My Sisters Keeper" by Jodi Picoult was THE book to read. I joined the masses, read it it- and loved it. I've read a few more of her books that ranked high for me but none which came close to the love I felt for "My Sisters Keeper"- until now.

Ninteen Minutes is the story of a school shooting. In keeping in traditional Picoult fashion, the story jumps narrators and time. In many books I find this a distracting quality, but in this one, it makes sense and leads the reader to the conclusion necessary to end the book satisfied.

Picoult expertly tells the tale of a teenager named Peter- who within the first pages of the book goes on a shooting rampage in his school killing students and a teacher. You naturally despise him, but as the story continues- you learn his history, the constant bullying straight from kindergarten until highschool and the you begin to wonder if endless years of bullying and torment can ever justify a murder, and if they can't- what can they justify?

Though Peters story could be it's own book, the author also weaves in the story of Josie- Peter's first and only friend in kindergarten who grows up to join the 'popular crowd'. How she deals with popularity, with Peter, with the pressures of watching someone get bullied and doing nothing is as interesting as Peters own tale. Also present are Josie's mother- who is a judge assigned to the case, and Peter's mother- a woman dealing with the realization her son has done something that she cannot help him undo.

I enjoyed this book on many levels. I appreciate a writer who is able to combine a controversial issue in a way that lets the reader see ALL sides of an argument without feeling like they are getting a one-sided account. As a teacher I adored it, I think any book that can raise awareness about school bullying is important and the way that it's done in this book- without apologizes or restraint makes me thankful that I was never in a position that Peter faced. Also, as a former student it appealed to me. The choices that Josie has to make- to preserve herself in a environment ripe for bullying, while still never succumbing to the bullying that others around her participate in- is one that I never really thought about. How guilty is someone who watches and does nothing?

The World Without Us

What would happen if every single human on the face of the Earth disappeared tomorrow? What buildings would be still standing in a thousand years, what animals would become extinct, what fingerprints would be left to prove humans had once existed?

These are the questions that Alan Weisman tackles in his book, "The World Without Us". He doesn't go into the why all humans would disappear, but picks up on the moment after- what would happen next, and it's fascinating.

Two portions of the book are dedicated to New York City and to Africa, and those were the two most engaging parts of the book for me. In the New York Chapters, he clearly details how the New York subway system would be a major contributer to the collapse of the city. What buildings in New York would surive the years, which would be the first to collapse (I was left surprised by the predictions). In the Africian section, he talks extensively about which animals would survive, and why big game animals that once covered North America are extinct, but have lived on in Africa. The answers may surprise you.

There's an excellent chapter on pollution, what the world would be like without humans continuing to clutter the planet with our love of plastics and paper. It doesn't get preachy, but it clearly confirms the idea that our careless treatment of the environment has caused horrible results. While outlining what we've done, it also gives hope to the idea that we can still make a change and alter the course we are on, in regards to hurting the animals, oceans and forests. (how's that for preachy?!)

I was worried that fascination felt for this book would be bogged down by scientific talk, and in some ways it was. There's an entire chapter dedicated to polymers that caused my eyes to glaze, and the chapter on farming was a bit of a struggle. Over all though, the book is engaging and one that I would recommend, especially if you are a reader who can skim read over a chapter on polymers and not lose sleep.

The Great Divorce. . . . reviewed by Spaceman Spiff

At first glance, you may think this book explains the 60% divorce rate or possibly be about someone who was in a horrible marriage and finally escaped to a life of wonder and joy. You would be wrong on both guesses. This fiction piece by C.S. Lewis is critically regarded as a great piece of literature for it's allusions and style. I am not a critic, but I did like this book very much.

The story starts out with the main character, you don't find out who he is until the end, trying to catch a bus at a very crowded bus station. From there, you journey with him on a bus flight. . . . yes, this bus flies. Again, you don't really know where you are going until you get there, but then again, neither does the main character. He is as lost as you are, he just knows he is supposed to get on the bus.

Once the bus arrives in a place seemingly more real than anywhere else, each member of the tour group (as I call them) are met by someone especially suited to guide them on the next step of their journey. Apparently, all these people have been living in hell. Not a figurative hell, but the real thing. . . . depending on your choice though, it could have been purgatory and eventually heaven itself. Confused yet? Well, the story guides you from person to person and their interaction with their guides and the questions raised just confuse you as much as the main character. Fairly quickly though, all the questions are answered as the secondary characters choose to journey to heaven or back to hell.

I have to say, this book really brings to light some of the illusions we (living people) use to delude ourselves and divorce from the reality of God's love. Which is where I imagine the title came from. We allow pride, selfishness, a sense of entitlement and fear, among other things, to divorce from the truth and ultimately to cause us to choose hell over heaven. Whether you consider yourself a religious person or not, this book is a good read. At 100 or so pages, it doesn't require days of drudging though scripture or dogmatic propaganda. In fact, there is none to drudge through. What it does is to make you think a little about your own life and possibly wakes you up both figuratively and, like C.S. Lewis in the story, literally.

Next review, either Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King or one of the two books by R.A. Salvatore that I'm reading now. Whichever I finish first.