Run Plant Fly

Alright world, I'm back refreshed; ready to continue my life. I went and visited my parents for a week, and am ready to face the world once again. I finished Run, Plant, Fly by Ellie Belew a little while ago, and my reaction is slightly mixed. Set in a little Washington town called Raventon, the perspective of characters change often and the plot is subtle. The copy I read was lent to me by my friend, Holly. I don't know where she got a copy of this book, because it is not well read. However, I appreciated the small world feel the novel left me with. Living in Washington state, the terms of location brought me into the novel's world in a deeper way. (Terms included were "Seattle", "I-90", "the pass", etc.) 

Let me return to the plot of this book though. In a small town, there is nothing going on. Any event is a big event. For those of us who have lived in those tiny places in the world, you can understand the social change that comes with the smallest events. Coming into Raventon is a small tourist attraction called "the Simulator", but with it comes jobs, change, tourists, and something to talk about. The world of these families, children, couples, and individuals centers around this slight change to the world. It wasn't until maybe half way through the story that I began to engage with the story as person, and not a reader. 

Because there's so many characters and perspectives, I had a hard time getting attached to any particular one of them. It made for a slow beginning, however when I did attach and recognize the characters their story was more meaningful. Mostly, I acknowledged the losses of each individual and watched them grow. And in this small, and almost unspoken idea is the book itself. The title seems so distant from the events in the story. These characters are barely moving, and most certainly not running or flying. This sequence of running, planting and flying did not make sense to me--but it comes from the same sequence of pole vaulting. One builds up to the action of flying, but one needs to run with assurance first. After completing the novel, the title fits into place--but again, subtly. 

Even the story itself has a blurred feeling to it. Nothing is bold, and outright. Things are hidden in the shadows, and secrets are kept. One of most important characters, Cuz, has a persona of hiding. She lives to be unseen. Her perspective, also, is the most insightful. The blurriness is a theme, and a motif throughout. I really did feel that the end brought it full circle however. Although this book did not bring me to tears, or complete me--I appreciate it. 

happy with the small published books of the world,
Emily

Treasure Island

Oh boy. This story has a much different pace from the last few books I've read, and I'm glad. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson has been on my reading list for, literally, years. This book was the last book my eighth grade English teacher, Mr. Hayward, had us read. We read it out loud in class, and worked our way through the pirate slang and slightly older English terms, and spelling. However, the school year ended before the book did. I was determined, as a 14 year old, to finish the book. Butttt, then I moved and was meeting new people in a new place, and it got put aside. It wasn't until I saw this perfect copy at Goodwill two weeks ago that I knew it was time.

For the last eight years I have periodically wondered--what happened to the pirate mutiny? Did they make it out alive? You see, I've been under the impression for past eight years that they all died. Not to give anything away, but it doesn't quite end like that. 

Originally published in 1883, Stevenson starts our story at the Admiral Benbow Inn with young boy Jim Hawkins (the MC). Through a series of rather unpredictable events, he becomes the owner of a famous treasure map in the pirate community and is sent off to find it. There is a continuous tension of mutiny, attack and loyalty on board the ship at sea, especially with the one legged pirate: Long John Silver. I think that one of the reasons this book works so well, in terms of plot and conflict, is the existence of this single character. Hired on as the cook of the ship, Silver is the continuous threat. Never knowing where his loyalty lies, he is the embodiment of the tension between two groups. Honestly, his existence is what makes the read worth while. Hawkins is out main point of view, but that does not mean that I love him. He's young, he makes mistakes, and always seems to have luck on his side. I feel that the story is truly centered around the one-legged pirate and what he will do next.

Oh, and make a note if you plan to read this work of art, that the language will be challenging in areas. I did get lost a few times, and did not understand every detail about working the ship. Did I understand the overall scheme of the story? Yes. Do I understand what a luff is? No. But I do what I can.

Other than that, did you know that young Christian Bale, as known for his film role of Batman, played Jim Hawkins in the 1992 version of Treasure Island? 

In the making of a terrible pirate,
Emily

A Separate Peace

 I started A Separate Peace by John Knowles in March of this year, and for a 200pg. book it took me a long time to finish. I just did not get into it. My older sister, Hannah, recommended it to me and said she finished it in one sitting in only a few short hours. I, on the other hand, read 72 pages and quit for months. The pace of the book is slow, which is fine. But the story did not grab me by the horns and say "LOOK AT ME. I AM STORY". However touching the story may be, there was a monotone rhythm throughout. 

The story is set at a private boys school during WWII, that is seemingly unaffected in the beginning. Our main boys: Finny and Gene (Gene being our 1st person narrative), are partaking in summer classes at the meager age of 17. Throughout the work, there is a growing tension of the draft, enlisting, school being closed down, and surprisingly the topic of the 1944 Olympics. Finny and Gene are in the graduating class of 1943, in the middle of the war, and must take strides to accept their fates. 


What my personal issue with this work is not the story, the plot is touching and irrevocably intense in spots. I had an issue with Gene. I don't relate to him, and I can tell you right off the bat: it's personality. Gene arrives on time, and early; I am always late. Gene is predictable and safe; I like spontaneity and adventure. Gene would rather stay in and study on a sunny day; obviously, I would choose otherwise. He is a much different character than myself, and much different from Finny which is the driving force throughout the plot.

About two thirds through the novel, the story takes a darker turn and continues this path steadily until the climatic end. Warning: this is not a happy story, nor was it ever intended to be. I also was not expecting the end. Maybe I wasn't thinking, or maybe this happens to most people. Either way, I walked away feeling jostled? You don't want things to end the way they do.

I find the title in perfect correspondence to the end of the book, as well. So if you can find any hope in that, dear reader. I'm off to bed.

Onto a separate piece of literature,
Emily

Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded

Well, I can say with confidence that my book reading is almost always spontaneous. I bought this at Goodwill during their semi-annual book sale; because I had just taken my Asian Geography class at Central Washington University, and was interested in learning more. That class had to be one of the best classes I've ever taken, and I don't even like geography. Needless to say, we had mentioned the volcanic eruption of Krakatoa, but not gone in depth. And when you can buy education for $1, you don't say no. 

Still, I don't know what I was thinking about this book, Krakatoa: the Day the World Exploded, before I read it. Simon Winchester, the author, was a geologist at Oxford. Let me say that again: Oxford. It's not a fun book with a plot. No, this is researched work--basically the entirety of Winchester's education. He spent a complete chapter over the history of plate tectonics, which is important to geologists. I am not a geologist, and I happened to think that geology is one of the most uninteresting topics in the universe. So if I were to read this again, I would skip over chapter three: "Close Encounters on the Wallace Line". 


So with that in mind, reading this is for the purposes of learning. Let me debrief the main points. The volcanic eruption of Krakatoa, located in between the two most important islands of Indonesia, was the loudest sound recorded in human history. It was heard in parts of Africa, India, all over Asia, Australia and the Pacific. It is the largest volcanic eruption in modern human history, (don't even think about comparing it to Mt. St. Helens). Near 40,000 people died, and primarily drowned because of the tsunamis caused by the eruption. Krakatoa exploded to such a large extent that the volcano no longer to exists. That's right, the island blew it's self up. THE ISLAND BLEW ITSELF UP. Or at least into several different islands. But as far as the volcano is concerned, yeah it's gone. 

The island that used to be Krakatoa is now three
different islands, and Anak Krakatoa is new.
Anak means child in Malay, making the name
mean the child of Krakatoa. 

What is surprising about reading this research though, is how it had affected the world. I had never heard of Krakatoa before college, and still would never consider the event famous. It's been less than 150 years, and this phreatomagmatic explosion is never spoken of. Sound waves of the explosion traveled around the earth seven times. Mt. St. Helens blew off her top, but the volcano is still there. Can you even imagine the consequences if the mountain you live by, underneath, around just spontaneously combusted? It's like the earth had a giant zit, and had so much pressure building up that it had to pop itself. 




I can't even begin to think of the realities of having a volcanic explosion to the extent of Krakatoa. Yet, here I live at the base of Mt. Rainer everyday. Maybe now, I'll be more educated on the signs of an about to explode volcano.

So I'll know when the world ends,
Emily