Hi! I haven't posted in a while because I've been busy with school. Some of you may not know but I am in the IB (International Baccalaureate) program which is basically like a more international version of AP, which if you don't live in the US is an honors program. In this program I take an English literature class. In this class, we have books/works that are written in English and some that are written in another language. I am a senior and program and I only have semester of the class so I thought that I would rank all the books that I have read so far in this class. I also thought that this might be helpful to those who might consider taking IB English Literature. (Not Everyone in IB program reads the same books). For each book I will include part of a summary and my opinion on the book itself along with the ranking from 1-11. (1 is the best, 11 is the worst)
11. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
"First published in the Soviet journal Novy Mir in 1962, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich stands as a classic of contemporary literature. The story of labor-camp inmate Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, it graphically describes his struggle to maintain his dignity in the face of communist oppression." (Goodreads)
This book was originally written in Russian and translated to English. I cannot say how much I hate this book. It was very long, boring and very repetitive. To some extent I understand that it was meant to be repetitive because it was supposed to represent a normal day in a Russian concentration camp, but I think the author could have added something to it to make not drag out like it does. I'm not really into books that take place during war and even though this took place after WWII it still gave me the feel of a war book. I have read some books that are similar to this book like Night by Elie Wiesel and enjoyed it very much. This book, however I did not enjoy.
10. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
"One night on the heath, the brave and respected general Macbeth encounters three witches who foretell that he will become king of Scotland. At first skeptical, he’s urged on by the ruthless, single-minded ambitions of Lady Macbeth, who suffers none of her husband’s doubt. But seeing the prophecy through to the bloody end leads them both spiralling into paranoia, tyranny, madness, and murder." (Goodreads)
This is a work in English. Before reading this play the only work of Shakespeare I had read was Romeo and Juliet. I had high hopes for this play because I had heard it was funny. I did not hate Macbeth like I do hate One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich because it is funnier than One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and because I think part of me not liking it was the difficulty I had reading and understanding it.
9. Fences by August Wilson
"The protagonist of Fences (part of Wilson's ten-part Pittsburgh Cycle plays), Troy Maxson, is a strong man, a hard man. He has had to be to survive. Troy Maxson has gone through life in an America where to be proud and black is to face pressures that could crush a man, body and soul. But the 1950s are yielding to the new spirit of liberation in the 1960s, a spirit that is changing the world Troy Maxson has learned to deal with the only way he can, a spirit that is making him a stranger, angry and afraid, in a world he never knew and to a wife and son he understands less and less."(Goodreads)
This is a work in English. I think the biggest reason for me not liking this play is the main character, Troy. He got on my nerves quite a bit and in my opinion even when everything was falling apart in his life he still did not change that much. I think the point of having a main character that no one really likes it's to develop them and make them a much better protagonist then they were at the beginning of the book. That being said, this book is very useful when you are trying to compare two works in an oral revolving around a global issue.
8. The Things They Carried by Tim O' Brien
"In 1979, Tim O'Brien's Going After Cacciato—a novel about the Vietnam War—won the National Book Award. In this, his second work of fiction about Vietnam, O'Brien's unique artistic vision is again clearly demonstrated. Neither a novel nor a short story collection, it is an arc of fictional episodes, taking place in the childhoods of its characters, in the jungles of Vietnam and back home in America two decades later." (Goodreads)
This is a work in English. I don't have much to say about The Things They Carried other than the fact that I did not enjoy reading it because I am not really into books about war. Many were argue that this book is not a war story, but to me it is because it takes place during the Vietnam war. However, this book is a really good book to use for a literary analysis essay.
7. Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Marquez
"A man returns to the town where a baffling murder took place twenty-seven years earlier, determined to get to the bottom of the story. Just hours after marrying the beautiful Angela Vicario, everyone agrees, Bayardo San Roman returned his bride in disgrace to her parents. Her distraught family forced her to name her first lover; and her twin brothers announced their intention to murder Santiago Nasar for dishonoring their sister. Yet if everyone knew the murder was going to happen, why did no one intervene to try and stop it? The more that is learned, the less is understood, and as the story races to its inexplicable conclusion, an entire society--not just a pair of murderers—is put on trial." (Goodreads)
This is a work in Spanish. I read this book shortly after reading Fences and in my opinion it was much better, but in comparison to other works that I have read it is not that great. It is a murder mystery and that was interesting because I haven't read many murder mysteries before. It can be a little bit confusing because the plot has the tendency to go in circles.
6. The Poetry of Sylvia Plath
This is a work in English. I did not like Sylvia Plath's poetry at all. It was way too depressing and she has the tendency to be an anti-semitic in quite a few of her poems. The poems that don't contain anti-semitic ideals are bearable but still depressing.
5. Fuenteovejuna by Lope de Vega
"From the golden age of the Spanish theater comes this captivating seventeenth- century drama of peasantry defending their honor against oppression by a feudal lord. Bases on a historical incident during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. Fuenteovejuna takes its name from an Andalusian town in which the residents unite to enact justice when faced with vicious oppression." (Dover Books)
This is a work in Spanish. I thought this play was one of the more interesting plays that I have read in this class. It reminded me a lot of Romeo & Juliet except there is not two rival families. It also reminds me of Chronicle of a Death Foretold because there is a large sense of community in this play. Overall I really enjoyed Fuenteovejuna , but not enough to put any higher than #5.
4. The House of the Spirits by Isabelle Allende
"In one of the most important and beloved Latin American works of the twentieth century, Isabel Allende weaves a luminous tapestry of three generations of the Trueba family, revealing both triumphs and tragedies. Here is patriarch Esteban, whose wild desires and political machinations are tempered only by his love for his ethereal wife, Clara, a woman touched by an otherworldly hand. Their daughter, Blanca, whose forbidden love for a man Esteban has deemed unworthy infuriates her father, yet will produce his greatest joy: his granddaughter Alba, a beautiful, ambitious girl who will lead the family and their country into a revolutionary future." (Goodreads)
This is a work in Spanish. I disagree with many of my classmates when I say that I really liked this book. Although, it was long, it was still very enjoyable for me. I enjoyed the magic realism and I also enjoyed the different generations in this book. Along with the rest of my class I do hate Esteban Trueba who is one of the main characters, but for me his actions weren't enough to ruin the whole book for me.
3. Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi
"From her prison cell, Firdaus, sentenced to die for having killed a pimp in a Cairo street, tells of her life from village childhood to city prostitute. Society's retribution for her act of defiance - death - she welcomes as the only way she can finally be free." (Goodreads)
This is a work in Arabic. I thought this book was very interesting because I have never read a book from Egyptian culture before. I was interested in learning different things about their cultures and honestly, the main character, Firdaus, kind of subverts traditional gender norms in both Egyptian culture but also 1970s gender norms. I really enjoyed it overall. Really recommend if you haven't read anything from Egyptian culture.
2. The Poetry of Langston Hughes
This is a work in English. I don't really have much to say about Hughes poetry mostly because despite reading fifteen different poems of his I feel as though I can not entirely decide whether his poetry is good or bad. I can say that from what I have read of his poetry, I did really enjoy. Some of my favorites being The Ballad of a Landlord and Dreams. I found his poems to be a lot more interesting than Sylvia Plath's who are quite depressing to read and discuss.
1. Purple Hibiscus by Chimanda Ngozi Adiche
"Fifteen-year-old Kambili and her older brother Jaja lead a privileged life in Enugu, Nigeria. They live in a beautiful house, with a caring family, and attend an exclusive missionary school. They're completely shielded from the troubles of the world. Yet, as Kambili reveals in her tender-voiced account, things are less perfect than they appear. Although her Papa is generous and well respected, he is fanatically religious and tyrannical at home—a home that is silent and suffocating. As the country begins to fall apart under a military coup, Kambili and Jaja are sent to their aunt, a university professor outside the city, where they discover a life beyond the confines of their father’s authority. Books cram the shelves, curry and nutmeg permeate the air, and their cousins’ laughter rings throughout the house. When they return home, tensions within the family escalate, and Kambili must find the strength to keep her loved ones together." (Goodreads)
This is a work in English. This book is the most recent work that I have read in class, but it is also my favorite work of the ones that we have read. I love the writing styles of the author. I love how the characters are developed throughout the novel. I especially love the ending of the novel. I highly recommend for anyone to read this book whether you are still in school or not.
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