Book Review: Wonder by R. J. Palacio

I always read the Friday and Saturday Wall Street Journal editions because they include numerous cultural opinion pieces as well as travel advice and recipes from renowned chefs.  In this one edition there was a two page article on See Grown-ups Read.  It concerned the new phenomenon of adults reading books targeted to pre-teens and teens i.e. The Twilight series as well as Hunger Games.  One of the books mentioned was Wonder which was published in Feb. of 2012.  So I decided to “satisfy my curiosity” by reading the book.  It was meant to be read by 8-12 year olds.  No matter.  This book is so well written it can give an adult leaky eyes.  The novel is centered around 10 year old August Pullman, an ordinary boy, according to August (Auggie).  He plays X-box, rides a bike, eats ice cream and has a wonderfully loving family.  The thing is Auggie is not an ordinary boy.  Auggie has a horrible facial disfigurement and has undergone 27 reconstructive surgeries.  He tells us that, “I won’t describe what I look like.  Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.”  The author does tell us about Auggie’s craniofacial abnormalities via his sister, Via, and his other schoolmates.  He has “a mushed up face”, he “eats like a tortoise”, and he has cheeks “that looked punched in”. Read more...

Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The first printing of Erin Morgenstern’s debut novel was 150,000 copies, virtually unheard of for a first time novel. The rights have been sold in 30 countries and the movie rights have already been sold. Why the hype? The publishers believe they might have the next Harry Potter or Twilight series on their hands. Let’s see if I agree…

Let me break the novel in to two parts, the plot and characters and the writing itself. What’s the reason for doing so? There is a huge disconnect between the two. Let’s start with the plot and characters. The novel takes place in the late 1800s. Two magicians/illusionists, Mr. A.H., the man in the grey suit and his antagonist, Prospero the Enchanter aka Hector Bowen, have been playing, for many years, a rather insidious game of pitting one of their own “magic” students against the other to see who can “win” a game. But the question throughout is, what kind of game is it? What do they win when the game is complete? But more importantly, what happens if they loose? Read more...