Saturday, April 27, 2013

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold FryThe Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was all about good heart, and that was the driving force and motivation for Harold's walk and the motivation for the author to write this story. There are not many stories that capture that from a real perspective and the world has become a place where few good people exist. I loved how Harold let people join his walk and valued/treasured each of their stories. Each character was an individual and yet similar in some ways be it by illness, experience etc. It really brings to life that in some way all people are connected by something or someway. They story that most touched my heart was that of Harold and Queenie. I was just waiting to see what would happen when he saw her after all his miles of walking. I was kind of shocked when it said what a state she was in....I was not expecting that at all. The pilgrimage was not only about saving Queenie but it also gave Harold a lot of time to think about and express his own feelings related to his son's suicide. Something he did not do in depth when the incident occurred. Loved how the book ended and that it actually made his marriage to Maureen stronger and more meaningful. Can't say enough good things about this book :)

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Thursday, April 11, 2013

Bright Shiny Morning

Bright Shiny MorningBright Shiny Morning by James Frey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. My favourite stories were that of Esperanza and Doug, Maddie and Dylan, and Old Man Joe. The main point that comes across from the book is that everyone flocks to Los Angeles, the city of angels, for their dreams to come true. Sadly the city is overpopulated with undiscovered talent and 'could be's. This brings the harsh reality that LA is the city where dreams are squashed without a second thought and people have to struggle and do whatever they can to meet the bare necessities. I would have given this book 5 stars but the short chapters that were of information that didn't need to be known and useless facts were a waste and kind of detracted from the story. Some of the characters you were meant to not like and I absolutely hated Amberton. His story line was crap and he was an overbearing asshole. Then there was the chapter of mini stories. I could definitely tell the gossip blogger may have been referring to Perez Hilton, the family of 3 that has the famous sibling might have a small semblance to Lindsay Lohan. The other mini stories in that chapter I couldn't quite figure out who they might have been. Another good book by Frey and I will definitely continue to follow him!

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