(or the first Tuesday of the month. sorry.)
Character Development - The first thing I realized what the incredible character development from the very beginning of the book. I felt like Phil was engages to my friend and Mrs. Zamperini would great me with a hug because we have joined each other for dinner many times over the years!
History - as a history nerd (after watching Lincoln, I tweeted that I wished I had brought a notebook along!) this book sang to my soul. I did not expect the detail of history to be so well interwoven throughout the storyline, from Olympic training to the detail of US bombers and the extreme circumstances endured by our nation's POWs.
Faith & Dignity - the strength of both of these throughout the book takes an inspirational story and makes it ever more personal.
This post has been so hard to write, because I have a million favorite parts, quotes worth discussing and could basically tell the whole story over, again and again. This book is well suited for an inperson book club and has made me wonder whether or not this virtual book club will ever bring readers the same sense of connection to the story, characters, and each other. (but don't worry, together we will press on!)
So instead of listing all of my favorites, here are a few questions for you:
What surprised you most about the book?
Had you heard parts of Louie's story before? Did you know he survived before you picked up the book?
(I had not, and did not know his fate, which probably had me reading even faster!)
Did this story prompt you to understand more about World War II or more recent wars?
The primary criticism of this book is that it did not dive into the psychological aspects of returning from war. Do you agree with this criticism?
Did this story prompt you to understand more about World War II or more recent wars?
The primary criticism of this book is that it did not dive into the psychological aspects of returning from war. Do you agree with this criticism?
Have you recommended this book to friends?
Side note question: for those of you who read on a kindle (or other e-reader) do you find you read faster or slower? And do you have a harder time recalling the book? I am relatively new to the kindle and miss my dog-eared corners and pencil notes in margins.
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I owe you a HUGE thank you for convincing me to read this book. I loved it - definitely recommend it to friends!
ReplyDeleteGoing into it, I wasn't really sure what the book was about, so everything was a surprise - and I read some parts way too quickly because I just needed to find out what happened! (and then once I was a little calmer, I re-read those parts, hah)
As for the criticisms, I felt the focus of the book and storyline was surviving the war, not necessarily when Louis returns... the part when he struggled with drinking and his marriage were hard to read, but well done, in my opinion. Not sure what more people were looking for?
I wrote more here.
Oh, and my copy was a library book, so I hear you on missing out on marking pages!
I also read this book without any knowledge about it prior to reading it. My father-in-law gives me books to read that are outside of my normal reading habits and this was one of them! It was so hard to read, yet I kept thinking how necessary it was to read. Even with the constant stream of media, I think we are detached from the pain of war. Or at least I am, I have no family or friends with a military background so it's easy for me to be super-thankful for the men and women who fight for my freedom but not understand the pain/torture/emotional suffering they are willing to endure for me.
ReplyDeleteI meant to comment on this when you posted it.I read this book because you mentioned it for blogger book club and I LOVED it. Amanda up there pretty much said everything I was going to say. Mine was even a library book too! :)
ReplyDeleteI will add that I read it on a 5.5 hour bus ride and the time flew by because I was so swept up in the story. Also, what surprised me? That Billy Graham showed up in the story! Honestly though, I thought it was pretty cool that Jesus/Christianity were so clearly identified as a major cause of his heart change/forgiveness.