I always thought I read everything...by everything I mean any books that interest me, or attract me by their cover, or summary. I read books in every single subject one could think of...brain, economy, surgery, biography, politics, parenting, business, math...and of course, the fictions. However, when I started sharing books with my friends, I realize that there are a lot of books that I actually don't read. For example, romantic novels, political stories (unless it's a biography), historical fiction that takes place in the US...or fantasy novels with werewolves or vampires. When the book "The Help" was climbing the charts, I avoided it in purpose, since the description says, 1960's, Mississippi.
I did so terrible in history when in school, I just don't think I can understand or handle anything that happened more than 5 years ago.Then I started hearing good things and reviews about the book, I mean, lots of them. I finally gave up and ordered it on my Kindle, so that just in case I wanted to read the book, it's available. Many months passed, during which I read lots of other books, some serious and deep, others not so. Then the raves about the audiobook started coming. I downloaded it from Audible.com as my first ever audiobook and started listening...WOW! The women who lend their voices to this book were amazing, their southern accents, the feelings in their voice...I was drawn in right from the first sentence. Then I decided the to read the book myself to get through the story faster, and regretted not starting this book as soon as it was published. Stockett did an amazing job on her first book, about Mississippi in the 1960s, the conflicts and complex relationships between the helps and their white employers. The book is narrated by three voices, a white female writer, and two African American helps, and a decision that they risked their lives to make. Wonderful book, wonderful writing, and wonderful narrating in the audio format. I don't think I could think of any other equivalent works.
So much that I wanted to avoid historical fiction, I found myself being pulled into this sad period of American history, when not everyone was treated equal. I still could feel the sadness and the pain, long after finishing the book.
, by Laura Hillenbrand.
The book is the biography of Louie Zamperini, who grew up in a small town California as a hard to control teen, who went on and became the best runner and represented the US in the Olympic Games of 1936. His dream of competing in the 1940 Olympics was diminished when the war started and he enlisted in the Air Force to become a bomber. During a search mission, his plane crashed and he was lost in sea for more than 40 days then he was saved and became a POW in Japan. There he suffered the unimaginable and unbearable and lived on to tell his story.
. She researched for 7 years before writing this book. She narrating style is gripping and powerful, even with the large amount of background information, it was never dull or exhausting. Although it was hard to carry on reading the some chapters in the middle of the book, when all the torture, sadistic treatments, starving and abuse happened. It was so much harder when the abused and suffering were given a face by the photographs scattered through out the whole book. I was deeply affected by the book, by the worst thing a human could do, to the better human nature, even after unimaginable suffering. I now have a much deeper gratitude for all service men and women, who gave their life and youth for our country, so selflessly.