As the second book in the 100 Greatest Novels series, I have chosen a book that is truly inspirational, to me at least.
Jack Kerouac wrote On the Road in 1957. It is a biographical work that had truly had only the names changed to protect Kerouac's friends, and was presented as a fictional account of a young man's journey across the country. The fictional facade was easily seen through and today On the Road is considered to be mostly biographical and less fictional.
This book should be on any top novels list, not only because it is well written, but also because it spawned an entire movement. Reading On the Road is almost as good as going on the road trip yourself. The details are so vivid you can taste the dirt, feel the wind in your hair, and luckily, if you only read the book, you will still be able to pass a drug test afterwords.
On the Road is one of those books that inspires you. It inspired an entire generation of youth, tired of the lack of opportunity and the threat of impending war, in the 60s to pack a small bag and go. Kerouac is one of the founding fathers of the Beat Generation and will continue to show us how to live, live, live. It may not inspire you to jump in the car and drive, but it will inspire you to get up and go.
Parents, I warn you that this book does contain a lot of drug use and has some sexual content.
Authors you may also like: Hunter S. Thompson, William S. Burroughs, Tom Wolfe, Allen Ginsburg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti
GIVEAWAY – Winner will be announced on August 29th. Win a copy of On the Road for your Kindle or other e-reader. To enter, leave a comment telling me why you are excited to read this book. For extra entries:
1. Become a fan of Dishwater Dreams on Facebook
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4. Tweet about this giveaway (1 entry per day)
Make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry you earn and use a valid e-mail address. Prize can not be awarded if I can’t contact you!
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Review from the 100 Greatest Novels List Atonement by Ian McEwan, 400 pages
Atonement received the WH Smith Literary Award (2002), National Book Critics' Circle Fiction Award (2003), Los Angeles Times Prize for Fiction (2003), and the Santiago Prize for the European Novel (2004). Atonement is one of those books that takes you by surprise because of the ease of the revelations and the empathy that the reader feels for the characters in the novel.
The three main things I look at in novels are plot, characterization, and writing style. If you have seen the movie based on this novel, you missed 99.9% of the plot and all of the characterization.
To be honest, I had no plans to read this novel. My cousin, Julie, lent it to me and said I would enjoy it. I am a literary snob so am leery of current popular fiction. I am so glad that I took Julie's advice and read the book. Thanks Julie!
Plot – The plot of the story centers around three main characters. Briony, Cecilia, and Robbie. The novel starts out innocently enough. Cecilia and Robbie are in love, but they are in different social castes. Briony, Cecilia's little sister, catches the love birds in an act of intimacy and her jealousy begins to bubble. Jealousy seems to a nonhuman character in many a great story. Anyway, Briony tells a lie. A big lie. A lie that alters the course of the lives of all three characters in the book. I'm not telling any more. Read it!
Characterization – Throughout the story, which begins in 1935 and takes us through the war, you fall in love with the characters. You want to protect Briony. You hurt with Cecilia. You go to war with Robbie and walk through every fearful footstep. The plot of this novel is amazing and surprising. However, the plot would be a fail if the characters didn't become real.
Writing Style – The story jumps around and lets us see from the point of view of all the main characters. Each voice is distinctly different. Briony is whiny, insolent, and manipulative. Cecelia is sinewy, feminine, and strong. Robbie is contained, honest, and rough. The conversational and back story scenes are just as involving as the action scenes. The writing flows smoothly so you almost don't even notice that there is a writer behind the pages.
GIVEAWAY – Winner will be announced on July 30th. Win a copy of Atonement for your Kindle or e-reader. To enter, leave a comment telling me why you are excited to read this book. For extra entries: 1. Become a fan of Dishwater Dreams on Facebook (1 entry) 2. Follow Dishwater Dreams on Twitter (1 entry) 3. Subscribe to the Dishwater Dreams RSS feed (5 entries) 4. Stumble this post (1 entry) 5. Tweet about this giveaway (1 entry per day) 6. Blog about the giveaway and link back (5 entries) 7. Blog about the 100 Greatest Books reading challenge and link back (5 entries) 8. Leave a worthwhile comment on another post on this blog (1 entry per comment) Make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry you earn and use a valid e-mail address. Prize can not be awarded if I can't contact you!
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