1984

Alright fellow literary travelers, I know I have failed you and posted this a day late.  Anyway, amongst all the craziness of job searching, I managed to read 1984 by George Orwell.  Surprisingly enough, not once in my literary career thus far was I asked to read this book.  Upon completing it, I find this to be a tragedy because it is definitely a book that EVERYBODY should read, not just those with a passion for the written word. 

1984 is about Winston Smith, a man serving a low position in the government of a place called Oceania. This dystopian society is run by the entity known as Big Brother. The rules are strict and not many people question them. But this all changes one day for Winston when he meets Julia, who causes him to begin questioning the omniscience of Big Brother and all the things they tell the people. The book follows their story and truly delves into the mental changes Winston Smith undergoes as he questions what he has been told all his life. And, like most dystopian novels, the ending is tragic and not what you want. But I promise not to spoil that for you.

Now, I feel I have read many similar novels to this one which is why it took me awhile to get into it.  However, for all of you skeptics out there, don’t discredit this as just another novel about life in a dystopian society.  While many other similar books present the society for the evil that is it, Orwell truly gets people to look at both sides of the issue and demonstrates the plausibility of how people could easily accept a world like this without question. Unlike a lot of the other novels I have read, this one really delved into the mental side of the issue.  It questioned things such as if history can actually be created and who creates truth.  Although it took me awhile, I eventually got to the point in the book where I could not put it down.  This is one book that will make your head hurt if you really take time to think about the questions that it poses.  Honestly, after reading it, I am ashamed that it took me this long…especially after five years as an English major.  

For all of my readers out there, this is one book you will want to read again and again.  And each time you read it, you are sure to make a new discovery or happen upon a new point of view that you never considered.  Trust me, make this book the next one on your reading list.  You won’t be disappointed. Also, for those of you who have read this before, this book raises excellent discussion topics and would be perfect for a book club if you are looking to share the experience with someone. And please, I would love to hear what you think about it and whether or not you loved it as much as I did.

The Pit and the Pendulum

So, for my next adventure, I took quite a jump down my list to Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum”.  I have always been a huge fan of Poe’s work and was surprised that I had never read this story before. It is absolutely amazing! 

Like most of Poe’s stories, this one starts in the middle of the action.  Stories and books that start in medias res are probably some of my favorites to read because I find myself immediately hooked on the plot and I’m eager to discover how the reader got into the situation. And honestly, this is one of my favorite aspects of Poe’s stories because it immediately transports the reader into a setting usually filled with action and suspense. 

This particular story depicts the inner monologue of a man locked in a prison and the horrors he experiences.  It is a story I highly recommend; although I feel I need to put a warning label on this one.  Warning: You will never look at pendulums the same way again!  Case in point, there was a huge pendulum in the engineering building on my campus.  I had to walk by this pendulum every day and, since reading this story, I can never think of it the same way.

However, as amazing as this reading was, the one problem I had with the story was the ending.  It was very abrupt and did not really have explanation.  But perhaps that is better, in a way.  Much like the way it starts, by simply ending the story in the middle of the action, it enables the reader to create in their mind what happens next. I have always been a believer that writing has no meaning without a reader to bestow it. No matter what the author intended, the story is relatively useless without a reader to add their own interpretation to the writing. And, overall, I think Poe is one of the best examples of an author who openly invites the reader to create an experience of the story that is unique to them.  The way Poe writes not only this story but a lot of his other works allows readers to play with the writing and expand their own imagination into the unknown.

Now, before I leave you to your own adventuring, I want to comment a bit on the method I used to read this story.  On my I-pod Touch, I have an app that contains most of Edgar Allan Poe’s writings and I read the story through this.  But something was lost…I hated the fact that I was reading it on a little screen rather than actually being able to hold a tangible book in my hand.  There is something special about being able to flip the pages, hear the sound of the paper, enjoy the smell of a book.  I know that e-readers are the newest trend right now and I will probably be berated for even holding this opinion about these evil devices, but this is one girl that will never be converted.
Until next time, my fellow literary companions, have fun adventuring!