The Cider House Rules

               John Irving’s The Cider House Rules tells the story of Homer Wells, an orphan from the small town of St. Cloud’s in Maine. Homer was born in the orphanage there, and lived in that establishment until he was nearly twenty. Dr. Larch, the orphanage’s founder and physician, is quite proficient in obstetrics. He performs both deliveries and abortions, firmly believing that every woman should have the right to choose between the two. In the early 1900s, when the story takes place, this view is not shared by everyone and abortions are illegal in the United States. As Homer Wells matures, he learns all about Dr. Larch’s beliefs and begins to form views of his own. This fictional novel offers the reader a great deal to think about.

       One of the main issues explored in The Cider House Rules is the morality of abortions. Dr. Larch, being the head of an orphanage, has very strong feelings on this subject. He has seen many women suffer through unplanned pregnancies, and has delivered countless unwanted children during his career. Every day, he witnesses the effects of being unwanted on the orphans’ states of mind. It is no wonder that he is so in favour of abortions. Another character calls the anti-abortion laws “a way of legalizing violence against women”. The emphasis that these characters’ opinions are given suggests that the author shares their views. Irving presents their arguments in a most convincing and effective manner, and it is enough to make even the most opinionated reader pause and consider the points being brought up. Irving is careful to also represent the argument opposing abortions through Homer Wells. Homer is not comfortable with performing these operations himself, believing them to be immoral, but he does think that every woman should have the right to an abortion. It is this milder, slightly hesitant view that readers who do not have such strong feelings on the issue are able to identify with.

       The book also examines self-sacrifice. Many, if not all of the characters have given up something for someone or something else. Whether it be Dr. Larch devoting his life to the orphanage, or someone going to fight in the war for their country, or a love being given up for a friend’s benefit, John Irving creates situations for his characters which evoke a deep sense of sympathy from the reader. It is heartbreaking to watch the characters suffer for each other, and raises the question of whether or not the results are worth their pain. In many cases, it seems that everyone in the story would be better off if they weren’t so intent on giving things up for each other.

       The Cider House Rules is a truly compelling book. It explores issues of morality and prompts the reader to think about these questions in greater depth. The story is told in a mild manner, and the plot twists along naturally. It is not overly flowery or descriptive, but delivers its message in a simple and clear way.

        —-Dora

Blindness

                       Blindness, written by Jose Saramago, is a book of disease. This fictionalized book was written in the modern day. In Blindness a city is hit by an epidemic of ‘white blindness’. This blindness is extremely contagious, and will infect anyone it’s near. Blindness gets right into the action with this ‘white blindness’ starting off by infecting a ordinary man is his car waiting for the green light. This man is referred to as ‘The first blind man’ throughout the rest of the story. Each character is given their own names to be referred to as, rather than the names they were given at birth. For instance; ‘the man with the black eyepatch’, ‘the girl with the dark glasses’, ‘the doctor’s wife’, ‘the doctor’, ‘the wife of the first blind man’, and ‘the boy with the squint’. These are the main characters within the book. All of the events follow the action of them.

                This book is unique. It has been written differently than almost any other book. The best way to describe this is, Jose Saramago has chosen to write in a third person omniscient but it is as if he is telling the story directly to the reader. “Then, carried away by an irresistible impulse, without thinking, she called out to these blind people and to all the blind of this world, she will rise again, note that she did not say she will live again, the matter was not quite that important, although the dictionary is there to confirm, reassure or suggest that we are dealing with complete and absolute synonyms” (302, Blindness). As seen in the quote, there are no quotation marks when people speak. This is for the effect of continuous thought. The writing gives the impression that the narrator is telling the reader she is saying this instead of the girl actually saying it. I believe this was important to the book because it gives the effect that this could have actually have happened. Instead of Jose Saramogo writing a book, he’s telling a story.

                             Blindness shows the reader many things; how will people react to an epidemic, what it’s like to be blind, what it’s like to revert to animalistic way of life. This book is very realistic on the idea of what the world would come to if everyone was blind. The book is also an allegory. The book has the reader ask, ‘Aren’t we all blind?’ This of course is a metaphorical blindness. With television and government propaganda, many people among the world already have, metaphorically, been blinded already. The blindness is also white. Instead of the blind seeing no colours, they see all colours. Even when they close their eyes the penetrating ‘white sea’ sits still, unmoving and merciless. Only when the characters fall to sleep do they finally see the comforting darkness of space within their eyelids. 

                            In the book, the ‘white blindness’ epidemic starts off by only infecting a few characters. First the man at the lights, ‘the first blindman’ infects the robber, ‘the car robber’. ‘The first blind man’ is lead home by ‘the car robber’ and ‘the first blind man’ infects his wife, ‘the wife of the first blind man’. Before she is infected she takes him to ‘the doctors’, while sitting in the waiting room ‘the boy with the squint and ‘the girl with the dark glasses’ sit as well. They are all infected. ‘The doctor’ goes home, and realizes this blindness is extremely contagious. He makes his wife stay away from him. The health board decides it is best to collect all the blind and put them in quarantine, also known as an old mental asylum. ‘The wife of the doctor’ got into quarantine because she faked her blindness, throughout the entire book she slowly expects herself to go blind but she never does. Somehow, this is never explained, she is immune to the blindness. 

                        Jose Saramago was born into a family of peasants in Azinhaga, Portugal, a small village in the province of Ribatejo. His parents were Jose de Sousa and Maria de Piedade. “Saramago,” is translated into, a wild herbaceous plant known in English as the wild radish, was his father’s family’s nickname, and was accidentally incorporated into his name upon registration of his birth. In 1924, Saramago’s family moved to Lisbon, where his father started working as a policeman. A few months after the family moved to the capital, his brother Francisco, older by two years, died. Although Saramago was a good pupil, his parents were unable to afford to keep him in grammar school, and instead moved him to a technical school at age twelve. After graduating, he worked as a car mechanic for two years. Later he worked as a translator, then as a journalist. He was assistant editor of the newspaper Diário de Notícias, a position he had to leave after the political events in 1975. After a period of working as a translator he was able to support himself as a writer. Saramago married Ilda Reis in 1944. Their only child, Violante, was born in 1947. Since 1988, Saramago has been married to the Spanish journalist Pilar del Río, who is the official translator of his books into Spanish.(Wikkipedia.com).

                    Personally I enjoyed this book. The idea of blindness was exhilarating. There was a lot of action, which kept things interesting, and Jose Saramago’s description which allowed a great picture to be made. I would say that s person who is a more advanced reader would enjoy this book. As well as those who critically analyze things they read. The only really confusing thing in this book was trying to figure out who was talking, as there are no quotation marks for those people. This was an amazing and original book to read and I cannot wait to read the next book, Seeing.  

                                                                      —-Tom 

       

The Lovely Bones

 

         The idea of life beyond death has mystified people since the beginning on time. Thousands of years ago, back to the age of the Egyptians and further, the thought of an afterlife has been present. The novel The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is a fictional work based around the murder of fourteen year old Susie Salmon. After her death, Susie finds herself in her own personal Heaven, one in which her one true desire, to live again, cannot come true. Instead, she watches how her death folds out on Earth, the different links that are made in relationships between her sister and the people she encounters, the distance that grows between her parents, and the devoted search for truth from a friend.

       The main theme in this novel is that one event can change the face of life for every person connected to them. Many different ties can be made between people when tragedy has struck and often times these bonds are incredibly strong, like the bones in a human body, holding it together, making it keep shape. A quotation on page 320 explains this idea in a strong, understanding way:

          These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence: the connections – sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost, but often magnificent – that happened after I was gone. And I began to see tings in a way that let me hold the world without me in it. The events that my death wrought were merely the bones of a body that would become whole at some unpredictable time in the future. The price of what I came to see as this miraculous body had been my life.

       Alice Sebold, thorough her words and her ability to convey emotion, has created a memorable novel about love, life, and loss. Although more abstract than the normal circumstances people in a suburban small town endures, the basic truth behind it is immense. One simple action on anyones part can shape the entire face of the future.

       I personally loved this novel. I first encountered it in grade nine, the person beside me was reading it, but it didn’t really hold any interest for me. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago when I saw it at my mothers house and just decided to start reading that I acknowledged it. I stayed up until about six am that day, devouring the text and absorbing the hidden knowledge within its pages. The storyline itself was interesting – the idea of watching life on earth beyond living on it was something that peaked my interest. It would definitely be something to consider when I got bored. Also, how raw and real the murder was, how characteristically human the reactions to this death were, and the way Susie’s family went about fixing their broken hearts was… Beyond words. Just thinking about the novel as I type this gives me chills and goose bumps. Moreover, this novel was unlike any other I have read. The basic theme was common enough, but the way it was presented was completely original and gave a different perspective on the theme. 

            This book has received many rave reviews. At the same time, it has caused much distress in public schools. This is because of the nature of the novel, such as the rape and murder found within the first chapter. However sickening, it is a part of life. Not that it is right for young children to read bout it, but to know that it does happen out there is a relief. If these people were to go sheltered their entire life than they would be missing something that may influence them.

           All in all, The Lovely Bones is a chilling novel, full of suspense on behalf of several main characters. There are ties within the text which allow the reader to understand and not underestimate the strength that bonds have in holding people together. The idea of a supernatural setting to allow this explanation to flow is intriguing to those who are interested in the, not occult per se, but harder to believe aspects in life. If I were to give this piece of literature a ranking out of five, it would gain and four point seven stars out of five.

            —-Shivan