On The Road

I have been hearing about On The Road by Jack Kerouac for years. It has been  on every list of award winners, recommendations, and Pinterest suggestions that I have found. I was incredibly eager and excited to read it and discover what all the fuss was about.
Don't hate me. I didn't like it.
For those of you that haven't heard of it, On The Road is based on Kerouac's cross country travels and adventures with his friend Neal Cassady in the late 1940's. Therefore, it is realistic and believable, and definitely gives you the travel bug. However, there is no climax. Kerouac's thoughts and stories run together as he rambles on about his friends, their relationships, and adventures.
I understand and appreciate why it is such a classic and well renowned work. Kerouac's writing and attention to detail is brilliant. His real life portrayal of life in the 40s opens your eyes to how much things have changed, and makes you yearn for a simpler time. But I just didn't enjoy it. I couldn't get into it.
Classic books are difficult, because I think people often say they love them just because they know that they are classic. They feel that they have to love them because everyone does. But I think that it is okay to not like a classically celebrated book. We all know how much I disliked Emma Bovary and her selfish dramas. The point isn't to love every illustrious work that is handed to you, but to be able to understand it and form your own opinion.
Which is what I did. And I'm sure many people will disagree with me. I think that Kerouac is a brilliant writer, and his story was passionate and inspiring. I am glad that I read On The Road, and I would recommend it. Not because I liked it, but because I think it is important for everyone to form their own opinions about widely recognized works. But I will tell you one thing, like it or not, it will definitely give you the urge to jump in your car with your best friend and whatever money you have in your pockets, and drive.

The Bell Jar

On February 11th, 1963, Sylvia Plath took her own life in her England home at the age of 30. Rejected by publishers for being "disappointing, juvenile, and overwrought", Plath's first and only novel remained unpublished in the states. It wasn't until 1971 that The Bell Jar was released to an eagerly waiting America.
Based on Plath's own experiences, The Bell Jar chronicles the break down of "Esther Greenwood" in the summer of 1953. A brilliant, honors student with great potential, Esther spends the summer in New York completing an internship with a high fashion magazine. Throughout the summer and into her return home, we start to see her mentally deteriorate. Finally, after an attempted suicide, Esther is committed to an asylum where she receives electric shock treatments and tries to recover.
When I found The Bell Jar on a list of recommended books, I was unaware of it's story or it's history. I obviously knew of Sylvia Plath, but I didn't know her tragic story. I was also unaware that The Bell Jar was her true experiences. I found it fascinating.
Oftentimes when I go to read classic, highly acclaimed books, I expect them to be dry, complex, and filled with big words and out of date language. With The Bell Jar, I found none of that. Plath speaks openly as a young woman, and although it has been over 50 years since her story took place, it is still relatable. Her struggle to discover who she wants to be and the feelings that she has are timeless.
I really loved this book. It was sad to see how a woman that had everything going for her could break apart.
In the foreword by Frances McCullough, The Bell Jar is said to have "quickly established itself as a female rite-of-passage novel, a twin to Catcher in the Rye". I think this truly is one of those life changing books that every woman should read.

Beautiful Ruins

While I was on my semi-annual, Tennessee book store shopping spree, I bought a new book mark and the quote on it is "Life is like a good book, the further you get into it the more it begins to make sense". Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter is epitomizes that quote. It is that good book.
Back in 1962, during the filming of Cleopatra, a young actress is told that she is dying of stomach cancer and is sent to stay at a tiny hotel in an isolated Italian town. The hotels owner, Pasquale Tursi, is instantly smitten with this beautiful blonde American, Dee Moray.
Flash forward to Hollywood in 2007, and an old Italian man wanders around the lot of a movie studio searching for a woman that he has not seen or heard from in nearly 50 years. The story follows Pasquelle and the group of people randomly joined together in the search for Dee Morray, who seemingly disappeared in 1962.
I thought that this book was fantastic. The writing was beautiful, the story captivating. The very first chapter fills you with questions, and the further you get into the book "the more it begins to make sense". Each chapter takes you through a different story, and you are slowly able to piece together the past.
Centered around Cleopatra, Walter takes a real event and real people and creates a fictional story that comes alive. There were times that I jumped on IMDB because I started to wonder if the story was true.
This is definitely a book I recommend, and have in fact already passed it along. It is unpredictable, yet believable. Easily one of the best books I have read in a while.