The Early Bird Gets the Book

Since I started college last year, I have become more of a morning person than ever. I have always been an early riser, but high school was early enough that time before class was not really possible. Now, though, I get to campus about 2- 3 hours before my class, mainly so I can (duh) read!!! Of course, it's also a great time to do any homework I have, organize myself, etc., but I always get here this early with the intention of spending at least an hour reading without interruptions. When I was in high school, I'd spend every second of free time I had reading, and coming to college, I was scared I would have less time for leisure reading. I was mistaken! They say the early bird gets the worm, but this early bird just wants the books :). Free time before class, free time in between classes, and very few assignments to take up this time results in getting a lot of reading done.

I finished The Green House this weekend! The last quarter of the book moved with a pace that the rest of the book did not have; I was a bit disappointed that it took so far into the book for me to really get into it. As much as I enjoyed reading it in its entirety, it was not until the end that I actually loved it, and even then I felt a distance between myself and the characters that left the conclusion feeling truncated. I was never quite sure of some of the characters' dispositions or intentions, especially Bonifacia, who is an important character that has relationships with most of the characters in the novel. Perhaps it is because she herself does not appear much throughout the story; in sections where she does appear, her perspective is largely silent. It was only towards the end that a lot of her character is revelead, that (parts of) her story is told from her perspective, but I guess it was too little, too late. Other characters did get a fair development, especially Don Anselmo, the founder of the Green House. His story is a sad one, dealing eventually with the murder of a child, but Vargas' writing when telling this event definitely stood out from the rest of the novel. There is a lot of emotion that revolves around Don Anselmo, not only in his deep love for this girl whom he inadvertently murdered, but also in the other characters' response to Don Anselmo. Whether it is love, hate, or respect, Don Anselmo stirs up a lot of feelings in those around him. I generally prefer getting into the psyche of characters, learning their minds and motivations, so in a novel that really separates the reader from the characters' emotions, I really enjoyed Anselmo's development.

I started Breakfast for Champions right after The Green House. Written by Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions is as absurd, hilarious, and honest as I expected. I won't say much about it now, except that it is about a dejected writer who managers to finally influence a reader, albeit in a detrimental way. Though I am about halfway in, I need to put it on pause for now because a class of mine is assigning Long Day's Journey Into Night, by Eugeune O'Neill. Though I have never been a big fan of reading plays, my professor read us some excerpts the other day and I have high hopes!

Till next time,
The Avid Reader.