Since this summer has been pretty packed with class and traveling, I didn't really have the chance to read as many leisure books as I would have liked. However, I did get to read a few books and I enjoyed most of them. I read some books by Jodi Picoult (who I would highly recommend). She is probably my favorite author. Her books always have an interesting conflict, all of them different. This summer, I read Vanishing Acts which describes the life of an anthropologist married to an abusive actor. Suffering from a sever case of amnesia (due to abuse, no doubt) the anthropologist must relearn who she was in order to return back to her comfortable life. Easier than said, she discovers she did not like her "new" self and ultimately must decide between her baby (oh yea she's pregnant!) and her abusive husband. The answer is obvious right? Wrong. Jodi Picoult writes the story in such a way that I often find myself cheering for the bad guy or rooting for what I know is immoral. Not just in this book but in many others written by her, it is easy to see life through the eyes of the guilty. Her books often leave me hanging on by small thread of hope that the bad guy really isn't the bad guy and some loop hole will be introduced before the end. But as luck would have it, the bad guy turns out to be the bad guy (who would have seen that one coming?). All in all, her books are very good and introduce a lot of factual information into the storyline.
Other books that I read this summer (other than my textbooks) included Wicked, Pants on Fire (Cabot), Dreamland (Dessen), Lock & Key (Dessen), the Pact (Picoult), and Nadal's Bio. All of them great in their own way. However I couldn't help but notice a common theme threaded between the pages. With a few exceptions, all of these books were and are obsessed with love and giving the characters their happy ending. While these may create a fun, bubbly read, I can't help but wonder how these unrealistic love stories have jaded some readers. I'll be the first to admit, I love a good love story. I'm all for happy endings (and seeing the princess come out on top despite how horrible her actions were). In fact, I'd love that happy ending -what girl hasn't dreamt of that at one time or another?
But the bottom line is that real life is not like the stories we read or the movies we watch. It's just not that simple. Truth be told, there are real consequences for our actions. While it's great to live through our favorite characters (movie or book), society has really pushed upon happiness coming from a great love story. I agree that love is a big part of happiness, but it is not the only part. Maybe it's because I'm young and naive, or maybe it's because my priorities are so different from societal views, but I think each person holds the power to create or disrupt their own happiness. I'm the only one who can decide how my happiness is affected. Other people can play parts in this but ultimately I'm the one who decides how I react and feel towards everyone else. I guess what I'm really trying to say, is that we should be able to decide for ourselves where happiness comes from. To one person, it just might be that great love story; happy ending; fairytale. To another, it could be job success or raising a family. The possibilties are endless. Reading books and watching movies gives us a nice break from reality. There's absolutely nothing wrong with either as long as it doesn't dictate what can and should make us happy in life.
I really liked the Dessen book that I borrowed from you. Couldn't put it down! I liked that it was not only a love story but dealt with death, grief, and perfectionism in a believable (not overly dramatic) way.
ReplyDeleteI agree that reality is totally different from the fairy tales we read, but I still love happy endings. :)