Book Review: Soak up the sun during Spring Break with a good book
Let’s face the bitter fact people: You haven’t had time to read anything of your own free will since Christmas break – if then.
You’re sick of textbooks, forced reading, and anything that even remotely resembles homework – including medical prescriptions and calculators.
Truly, you DESERVE a break, but before you set your brain on auto-pilot for the next week or more (some people never quite make it back from Spring Break), take a chance and pick up a good book. Trust me, if you’re reading for fun, it’s an entirely different experience.
The following suggestions, taken from a few different genres, should have something to keep you occupied while working on that tan (and that’s a kind of work anyone can enjoy).
Fantasy/Science Fiction
“Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell,” by Susanna Clark: Don’t let the size of this book (700-plus pages) scare you away from one of the most interesting, funny, eerie and all-together otherworldly English novels to appear in the past several decades. In the novel, Clark recounts the state of magical affairs in England a couple centuries after the last practicing magicians passed away and follows the re-emergence of practical magic (not just magic scholarship) practiced by Mr. Norrell and Jonathan Strange. With polished prose and an uncanny attention to detail, Clark almost convinced me there really is magical history in London – in addition to Hogwarts, or course.
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy,” by Douglas Adams: With a new movie slated to come out this May, there’s no better time to become acquainted with Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox and the rest of Adam’s zany miss-fits on their romp through time and space (following the worst Thursday in the history of the world). All five books (yes, there are five books in the trilogy) are available in one volume, or individually, at any major bookstore.
“Harry Potter and _________,” by J.K. Rowling: Book No. 6 (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) comes out in July, folks. Whether you’re looking to join the international obsession, or merely want to re-enroll at Hogwarts, Spring Break is a perfect time to meet the wizard destined to save the day. Every day.
Miscellaneous Fiction
“Straight Man,”by Richard Russo: This one’s hilarious, especially if you have any connection to the ins and outs of university politics, though it’s funny even if you don’t. Following the tale of a man who, midway through the novel, threatens to kill a goose a day until he gets his English department budget, Straight Man pokes fun at the crises of middle-aged manhood. Despite Russo’s wit, he doesn’t give much to look forward to.
“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” by Hunter Thompson: Called the “best book of the dope decade” by the New York Times Book Review, I’m throwing this one in just because so many of you are headed down to sin city anyway. According to my roommate, this one’s about a trip – think about that one – to Vegas. Apparently, Thompson got past the “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” rule. Go figure.
A Few of the Unknown Classics (WARNING: these books may cause inordinate amounts of thought)
“Collected Fiction of Jorge Luis Borges”: Grab your mate and sit down to experience the collected short fiction of an undisputed master wordsmith. An Argentine native, Borges’ writing takes completely different slants on a few well-known themes. In a word, his work is fascinating. In another, it’s engrossing.
“A Lesson before Dying,” by Ernest J. Gaines: Don’t let its inclusion in Oprah’s book club dissuade you from reading Gaines’ story of Southern manhood in the midst of prejudice and bigotry. The novel centers around a man sentenced to die and the man sent to help him become a man before his execution. As poignant as its title suggests, the novel’s language makes it very accessible.
“In Cold Blood,” by Truman Capote: On Nov. 15, 1959, in the town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues. Five years, four months and 29 days later, on April 14, 1965, Richard Eugene Hitchcock, age 33, and Perry Edward Smith, age 33, were hanged for the crime on a gallows in a warehouse in the Kansas State Penitentiary in Lansing, Kansas. One of the finest journalistic novels of the past century, Capote’s book recounts the life and death of those six people.
Well, there you go. Be careful though, if you read them all over Spring Break, there’s a chance you’ll come back a drugged-out, magic-loving, middle-aged professor with a good tan.
Maybe it’s best to take ’em one at a time.
Matt Wright is an English major and book critic for the Utah Statesman. Comments can be sent to him at mattgo@cc.usu.edu.