a) Russ Littlebury
"Alone now down the hallway to the room, the door admitting a light upon the instruments and the body of his father laid open in the open casket he had chosen for him. He said, I've come for you. Well I'm not here. So who am I talking to? You've found what matters to you, there is something holy after all."
This passage is from a flashback Russ haves about his fathers death, and it shows a different side of Russ than is demonstrated in the rest of the book. It shows how important Russ' father was to him, and that there are people in his life that he cared about as opposed to some of the people he meets during his travels.
b) Jack Marks
"The Marks stood and leaned over and scratched the animal with one hand, while with the other he took the cigarette from his mouth and cupped it. He brought it in from behind the dog's head then pressed it fast into the animals ear."
This passage details the cruelty of Jack Marks, who is putting a cigarette out in the back of a dogs head. Jack Marks is the "bad guy" of the novel, and this just outlines one of the many cruel things he does and says throughout the story. Most of the other people that Russ meets during his travels are nice, accommodating people, with the exception of Jack Marks.
c) Tara Harding
"I know you're committed to your students, Russ, but it's easy to forget what's at stake for them. And John's the oldest one in each class. He won't make it without some help."
Here Tara is talking to Russ about one of their students, John Overstreet, who is illiterate and can't do well in their courses. Tara ends up giving John a good mark, which says a couple of things about her. It is clear that she has good intentions, but doesn't make a great teacher because of how soft she is on her students. At the time, she is unaware of some things that have happened in John's personal life, but she feels like it is the right thing to give him a good mark on one of his papers.
d) Lea Bollins
"What is it, Lea?" He was leaning towards her.
"I really thought I was pregnant. But like you say, there's definite signs, I guess."
"You were never pregnant. You know that now."
"I thought it would make sense that I would be."
Lea has realized that she isn't pregnant, and she is explaining to Russ what had happened during her travels. Lea is very young and naive, and easily manipulated. Her ordeal with Jack Marks was a difficult one because of how poorly he treats everyone, and the threat of becoming pregnant at that age would be very scary. Lea doesn't know much because of her age, although she becomes a little wiser by the end of the book.
e) Mike Littlebury
"When a call came from the manager of the Colliston Icemen asking Russ to play the last half of the season, he knew that Mike had set up the invitation, and accepted it. There were daily practices and games twice a week in which Russ took the role of the seldom-used seventh defenceman who sat at the end of the bench."
This passage, along with the pages surrounding it, display the kindness and generosity of Mike Littlebury, Russ' dad. Mike sets up an invitation for Russ to play hockey with the Icemen, but that is only the start. Mike is very kind to everyone, including Russ, Skidder, and anyone else he came to know. This is one of the reasons Russ was so fond of him, and why Russ flashes back to times he spent with his father on numerous occassions throughout te book.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Last Stop Sunnyside
"Last Stop Sunnyside," by Pat Capponi, is the latest book that I've read, and unfortunately it has been my least favourite thus far. Dana Leoni, who lives in a rough neighbourhood in Toronto, is shocked one day when a woman who everyone in her rooming house is very fond of, is found missing. The police arrive a few days later and say that she has been murdered, which stirs up Dana and all her friends. Unfortunately for them, the police are unable to find a key suspect, or any for that matter, which leaves Dana and her posse no choice but to take matters into their own hands. Resources are low for these folks, as they have very little money and not one car among them. Slowly, however, they start to narrow down the suspects, and eventually find the man, named Mallick, who killed their beloved friend.
The book was not particularily well written I thought, especially compared to some of the other books we've read (or are currently reading) this year. The author, Capponi, lives in Toronto, although has previously had a stint in a mental hospital, so she is good at explaining some of the delinquent characters. I was not very fond, however, of her writing style because she does more time explaining what her surroundings were like than she does talking about the murder and the potential suspects. I found myself getting bored at some parts, because I wanted to know more about the murder than I did about her drug addict and prostitute neighbours. On the other hand, her style is very detailed and thorough, unfortunately it was just not my cup of tea.
There are a couple of particular quotes that I liked because of the detail of the writing, such as:
"I still can't see, but it's true what they say about blind people, about their senses taking over. I know where he is, just passing the barbeque, I can hear him breathing. I gather myself together, ready to spring."
"Scattered here and there were there male counterparts, shirts grey with grime and dirt and perforated with cigarette burns; they mumbled to themselves, leaned against the mailboxes and street lights as if all their energy had deserted them."
"She even helped clean rooms that had gotten out of control, those belonging to paper hoarders or bottle collectors who were risking eviction as fire hazards or public health concerns, and she did it cheerfully, respectfully, without expectation of thanks."
I chose these quotes because they are very descriptive, especially the latter two, which explain some of the people that Dana Leoni got to know at her rooming house, and as you can tell they aren't the most privileged people in the city. These quotes are good depictions of what Dana is feeling at the time, and what she thinks of the people around her. I'm not sure I would recommend this book to everyone, and unfortunately it wasn't my favourite, but I'm sure the books in my later posts will be more fun to read.
The book was not particularily well written I thought, especially compared to some of the other books we've read (or are currently reading) this year. The author, Capponi, lives in Toronto, although has previously had a stint in a mental hospital, so she is good at explaining some of the delinquent characters. I was not very fond, however, of her writing style because she does more time explaining what her surroundings were like than she does talking about the murder and the potential suspects. I found myself getting bored at some parts, because I wanted to know more about the murder than I did about her drug addict and prostitute neighbours. On the other hand, her style is very detailed and thorough, unfortunately it was just not my cup of tea.
There are a couple of particular quotes that I liked because of the detail of the writing, such as:
"I still can't see, but it's true what they say about blind people, about their senses taking over. I know where he is, just passing the barbeque, I can hear him breathing. I gather myself together, ready to spring."
"Scattered here and there were there male counterparts, shirts grey with grime and dirt and perforated with cigarette burns; they mumbled to themselves, leaned against the mailboxes and street lights as if all their energy had deserted them."
"She even helped clean rooms that had gotten out of control, those belonging to paper hoarders or bottle collectors who were risking eviction as fire hazards or public health concerns, and she did it cheerfully, respectfully, without expectation of thanks."
I chose these quotes because they are very descriptive, especially the latter two, which explain some of the people that Dana Leoni got to know at her rooming house, and as you can tell they aren't the most privileged people in the city. These quotes are good depictions of what Dana is feeling at the time, and what she thinks of the people around her. I'm not sure I would recommend this book to everyone, and unfortunately it wasn't my favourite, but I'm sure the books in my later posts will be more fun to read.
Monday, October 8, 2007
The Game blog
Blog: The Game, by Ken Dryden Charlie Deacon
Regarded by some as the greatest hockey book ever written, "The Game," by Ken Dryden is an interesting story of life as a professional athlete. Dryden was the goalie for the Montreal Canadiens between 1971 and 1979, and played on the best team in hockey history. Dryden discusses famous rivalries, the lives of himself as well as his teammates, life living in Montreal, and playing hockey under the famous coach Scotty Bowman. Dryden also details what it was like playing for a team with both French-Canadian and English players, and the issues that this caused. This is an interesting book because Dryden uses numerous examples of his own experiences to help the reader understand what it's like to be a professional athlete.
Although Dryden is obviously not a professional writer, he is still an intelligent person and has interesting opinions on a lot of different topics. The way he describes his teammates is especially good, because he writes in a way that makes it easy to understand what all these guys were like. Dryden uses many metaphors and other rhetorical devices to describe what his life was like, especially when he visits other cities and talks about what it was like to play on the road. Dryden is certainly part of the minority when it comes to hockey players who can write books, and if it were someone else writing the book I don't think it would be nearly as effective.
As I said before, there are a lot of interesting things Dryden has to say about his life. These are a few examples of phrases I liked from the book:
"Talbot brought his stick down again, harder, this time on Bowman's head. Bowman went down, his skull fractured, his career over."
"...He showed his membership card to the man at the desk and gave him some money... The man never looked at the card, or at the money. He looked at me, quickly recognizing who I was..."
"A hundred letters per week, more than 3,000 letters a year - 'You're the best,' all but a few of them say."
The latter two quotes refer to Dryden's own personal experiences, which I think are interesting because it shows how popular Dryden was in Montreal. The first quote is an interesting one because Dryden is talking about his coach Scotty Bowman, who at a young age had his career ended by another player hitting him in the head with his stick. It is because of personal stories like these that I would recommend this book to any sports fan.
Regarded by some as the greatest hockey book ever written, "The Game," by Ken Dryden is an interesting story of life as a professional athlete. Dryden was the goalie for the Montreal Canadiens between 1971 and 1979, and played on the best team in hockey history. Dryden discusses famous rivalries, the lives of himself as well as his teammates, life living in Montreal, and playing hockey under the famous coach Scotty Bowman. Dryden also details what it was like playing for a team with both French-Canadian and English players, and the issues that this caused. This is an interesting book because Dryden uses numerous examples of his own experiences to help the reader understand what it's like to be a professional athlete.
Although Dryden is obviously not a professional writer, he is still an intelligent person and has interesting opinions on a lot of different topics. The way he describes his teammates is especially good, because he writes in a way that makes it easy to understand what all these guys were like. Dryden uses many metaphors and other rhetorical devices to describe what his life was like, especially when he visits other cities and talks about what it was like to play on the road. Dryden is certainly part of the minority when it comes to hockey players who can write books, and if it were someone else writing the book I don't think it would be nearly as effective.
As I said before, there are a lot of interesting things Dryden has to say about his life. These are a few examples of phrases I liked from the book:
"Talbot brought his stick down again, harder, this time on Bowman's head. Bowman went down, his skull fractured, his career over."
"...He showed his membership card to the man at the desk and gave him some money... The man never looked at the card, or at the money. He looked at me, quickly recognizing who I was..."
"A hundred letters per week, more than 3,000 letters a year - 'You're the best,' all but a few of them say."
The latter two quotes refer to Dryden's own personal experiences, which I think are interesting because it shows how popular Dryden was in Montreal. The first quote is an interesting one because Dryden is talking about his coach Scotty Bowman, who at a young age had his career ended by another player hitting him in the head with his stick. It is because of personal stories like these that I would recommend this book to any sports fan.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Great Expectations Post
A young orphan named Pip is the main character of this Charles Dickens novel, which tells the story of how Pip goes from a life of poverty to one day receiving a fortune from a secret benefactor. At the start, Pip lives with his sister and her husband, and one day is taken to "Satis house," home of Miss Havisham who gets him to apprentice his brother-in-law Joe as a blacksmith. Pip is upset working for Joe, but when his fortune arrives, he travels to London to become a gentleman. Pip assumes that Miss Havisham is his secret benefactor, but is shocked to find out it was a convict named Magwitch who he had encountered years earlier in a graveyard. Pip feels obliged to help Magwitch escape London, but the escape fails and Magwitch is sentenced to death.
Since Great Expectations was written over 100 years ago, the dialogue is much different than we are used to today. The characters use terms that someone in high school wouldn't be familiar with, but it is still fairly easy to follow. The book is fairly slow moving because of its length, but closer to the end a lot of things start to happen. The beginning of the book allows the reader to understand the life that Pip lives with his sister, and the conditions he was forced to live under. Pip's adventures begin when he receives his large fortune, and things start to move faster after that. Dickens keeps the reader interested until the very end, when Pip tries to sneak Magwitch out of London, which ultimately leads to the deaths of both Magwitch and his former partner in crime, Compeyson.
There are a number of important quotations throughout Great Expectations, and many of them can help sum up a character in just a few words. For example, one of Pip's first conversations with a girl named Estella who he falls in love with instantly: "Am I pretty?"
"Yes I think you are very pretty."
"Am I insulting?"
"Not so much as you were the last time"
Estella was raised to break hearts by Miss Havisham, and so she is very cruel to Pip in the beginning. Another example of this is when Magwithc is telling Pip about how he is the source behind Pip's fortune, he says, "but wot, if I gets liberty and money, I’ll make that boy a gentleman! And I done it." Earlier in the book, Magwitch frightens Pip in a graveyard, but turns out to be extremely important in Pip's upbringing, and becomes very close to Pip.
A young orphan named Pip is the main character of this Charles Dickens novel, which tells the story of how Pip goes from a life of poverty to one day receiving a fortune from a secret benefactor. At the start, Pip lives with his sister and her husband, and one day is taken to "Satis house," home of Miss Havisham who gets him to apprentice his brother-in-law Joe as a blacksmith. Pip is upset working for Joe, but when his fortune arrives, he travels to London to become a gentleman. Pip assumes that Miss Havisham is his secret benefactor, but is shocked to find out it was a convict named Magwitch who he had encountered years earlier in a graveyard. Pip feels obliged to help Magwitch escape London, but the escape fails and Magwitch is sentenced to death.
Since Great Expectations was written over 100 years ago, the dialogue is much different than we are used to today. The characters use terms that someone in high school wouldn't be familiar with, but it is still fairly easy to follow. The book is fairly slow moving because of its length, but closer to the end a lot of things start to happen. The beginning of the book allows the reader to understand the life that Pip lives with his sister, and the conditions he was forced to live under. Pip's adventures begin when he receives his large fortune, and things start to move faster after that. Dickens keeps the reader interested until the very end, when Pip tries to sneak Magwitch out of London, which ultimately leads to the deaths of both Magwitch and his former partner in crime, Compeyson.
There are a number of important quotations throughout Great Expectations, and many of them can help sum up a character in just a few words. For example, one of Pip's first conversations with a girl named Estella who he falls in love with instantly: "Am I pretty?"
"Yes I think you are very pretty."
"Am I insulting?"
"Not so much as you were the last time"
Estella was raised to break hearts by Miss Havisham, and so she is very cruel to Pip in the beginning. Another example of this is when Magwithc is telling Pip about how he is the source behind Pip's fortune, he says, "but wot, if I gets liberty and money, I’ll make that boy a gentleman! And I done it." Earlier in the book, Magwitch frightens Pip in a graveyard, but turns out to be extremely important in Pip's upbringing, and becomes very close to Pip.
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