A Few Good Books

I've been quite negligent in posting recently, and it's not because I don't have anything to talk about. I have eight theological/philosophical/intellectual posts that are half written, but I have not had the time or mental energy to write them. Since I've been doing a lot of reading lately, I figured I'd recommend a couple books. What I realized after making these choices is that each has a unique style, is set at least partially in Europe during WWII or the Cold War, and made me laugh at least once while I was reading it. I've included a quote from each novel.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society--I want to reread this one. Normally I dislike epistolary novels, but I couldn't put this novel down. It is about the occupation of Guernsey during WWII, and the woman who writes letters to Guernsey inhabitants after the war. This book is witty and the characters are well developed and memorable.

"P.S. I am reading the collected correspondence of Mrs. Montagu. Do you know what that dismal woman wrote to Jane Carlyle? 'My dear little Jane, everybody is born with a vocation, and yours is to write charming little notes.' I hope Jane spat on her."

I Am David--This is a beautiful novel about a 12 year old boy who has grown up in a concentration camp and knows nothing of the outside world. He is given a chance to escape, and has to quickly learn how to stay hidden and find his way to a free country. I Am David is narrated in the third person limited, and the contrasting naiveté and wisdom in David's thoughts and interactions with others is fascinating.

"The sun glistened on a drop of water as it fell from his hand to his knee. David wiped it off, but it left no tidemark: there was no more dirt to rub away. He took a deep breath and shivered. He was David. Everything else was washed away, the camp, its smell, its touch--and now he was David, his own master, free--free as long as he could remain so."

Catch-22--Although Catch-22 is on the reading list of classics for outside reading, it does not feel like a "classic" because it's too funny and sometimes dark. Joseph Heller experiments a lot with time; the chapters are not arranged in chronological order. The way information is revealed is still very natural though. It is a satiric work about a squadron of soldiers during the later part of World War II, and most of the action takes place during this time. One of the chapters is full of dialogue that so ridiculous, it really should be a drama scene.

"There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

'That's some catch, that Catch-22,' Yossarian observed.
'It's the best there is,' Doc Daneeka agreed."