Turtles all the way down by John Green: A Book Review

Turtles all the way down by John Green: A Book Review

Genre: Young Adult, psychological

Publication Date: 2017

Setting: Indianapolis

Characters: Aza Holmes, Daisy, Davis, Mychal, Aza’s Mom, Dr. Singh (psychiatrist)

Summary:

This is  a story about Aza and her spiraling thoughts coupled with her OCD. She has high anxiety especially with germs to the point that kissing made her swallow sanitizer. She always thinks that she’ll be infected with the bacteria Clostridium difficile. She has the habit of pressing her right thumbnail into the finger pad of her middle finger. She covers it up with band-aid but when she is worried, she drains it by reopening the wound and pressing out any blood that will come. 

Her best friend’s name is Daisy, a star wars fanatic and a fan fiction author. She is a working student, her family is not well-off, and later on, convinced Aza to find David Pickett, Sr. the billionaire fugitive for there’s a reward of 100,000 dollars waiting. 

Aza and Davis Jr had a past; they joined the Sad Camp together when they lost one of their parents. Aza knew about the night vision camera since she used to play in Davis’ house when they were young. Aza and Daisy had one information to tell the police but Davis gave them 100,000 dollars in exchange of their silence. 

Aza and Davis fell for one another, Mychal and Daisy , too. Aza and Daisy got into an accident because of an argument about Daisy referencing Aza in her fictional stories, that Aza was  a useless and pessimistic friend. Aza recovered, their friendship became stronger but their romantic relationships had a different ending.

Themes

Anxiety

Aza’s thoughts cannot be shut down. Through her character, we come to know how the mind of anxious people operates. It is something that cannot be controlled by themselves; it just spirals and spirals until it tightens and suffocates them. They think a lot, worry a lot and not care too much of their environment. It is like they are physically present but their mind is projected onto something else like in Aza’s case, the microbes swarming inside her. She doesn’t know where Daisy’s parents work in spite of their longtime friendship. This also means that anxiety makes a person be socially unaware because ot the pressure of their thoughts. Aza also relies on her late Dad’s old phone for emotional support. Aza has a psychiatrist named Dr. Singh but she does not take her medications . She feels like the medicine is making her worse.

Like all the characters of John Green, Aza exemplifies a young and smart woman. It’s just that she has a mental problem. However, this issue has made her more analytic and unique, in my own opinion.  The introspection and conversations between Aza and the other characters proved how intelligent and reflective she is.

Parent-child

Davis’ father ran away. Davis and his younger brother, Noah had always sought for a responsible father which they could never find from their own. Their riches were infinite but when it comes to the love and affection from their dad, it is nonexistent.

Their father neglected them and left all his riches to a tuatara, a reptile. Also, he never contacted his sons when he eloped.

Aza and her mom had a great relationship. Daisy and her parents, too. It only means that the treasure lies not on the wealth but the bond in a family.

Reflection

John Green’s most famous novel The Fault in Our Stars for me is overrated.  Both the book and movie did not distress or please me. I really think it was too soapy and mainstream. Secondly, I watched and read Paper Towns and I found it so much better. Turtles all the way down is not that I-will-not-sleep-until –I-finished-this book. That is both a compliment and a slur. 

Compliment. First, some of the conversations need to be digested; hence, the need to stop and rest. In order to fully immerse yourself into the story, you must not finish this book in one seating. You have to take your time because of its psychological essence. Reading the thoughts of Aza also makes you feel trapped in your own thoughts and may question your own mental health. For example, the characterization of Aza could make you feel like you are also suffering from anxiety disorder. Overthinking, high heart rate, feeling nervous or powerless, having sense of impending danger, panic attacks, feeling stuck and empty, and sleeplessness are some of the signs of anxiety. 

You can also associate yourself because of her line of thinking. Example, in the first chapter of the book. She said, Life is a story told about you, not one that you tell. You pretend to be the author but in reality, you are the canvas, not the painter. She felt that herself was not hers. IF you think about this, it is very debatable, philosophically speaking. The ‘free will’ is questionable.  Are we really creating our destiny or has it been planned by God or the cosmos? 

There are many thoughts of Aza that could be analyzed in detail. The short poems of Davis are also worthy of studying. He introduced his writing through a quote or a poem by a famous writer and then he associates it with his personal experience. All of these are profound and  deep. 

Slur. There was lack of suspense. Yes, the major conflict is internal but I just didn’t find any vibe with its turn of events. IF not for Aza and Davis, the whole story would have been plain and boring.

The Kite Runner by Khaleid Hosseini: A Book Review

The Kite Runner by Khaleid Hosseini: A Book Review

Setting: Afghanistan, America, Pakistan

Characters: Amir, Baba , Hassan, Ali, Rahim Khan

Setting:  - 1980’s –

Genre: Family, Historical

Publication date: 2003

Summary:

It tells the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, whose closest friend is Hassan. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of Afghanistan's monarchy through the Soviet military intervention, the exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime.

Hosseini has commented that he considers The Kite Runner to be a father–son story, emphasizing the familial aspects of the narrative, an element that he continued to use in his later works.^[2] Themes of guilt and redemption feature prominently in the novel,^[3] with a pivotal scene depicting an act of sexual assault that happens against Hassan that Amir fails to prevent. The latter half of the book centers on Amir's attempts to atone for this transgression by rescuing Hassan's son two decades later. (Wikipedia)

Themes:

Father-son

Amir and his Baba

Amir had always craved for his Baba’s( father) attention and love.  He felt like his Baba was not proud of him because he was not good in soccer nor he could not stand up for himself. Amir was also jealous of Hassan ( his friend) because whatever toy his father gives him, he would also give one to him and his father would always invite Hassan when they wanted to go out. Amir wanted his father for himself.

In the long run, during their travel to Pakistan and life in America, Amir and his father became closer.  His father worked hard to provide him food and education. Note that Baba was popular, influential and well-off in Afghanistan but all these, they left so they can start anew in America , away from the war.

Baba’s last fatherly duty before he died of cancer was asking permission from the General to let Amir marry his daughter. People spoke of his greatness when he died especially how he helped those in need.

Baba and Hassan

Hassan and Ali are Hazaras. They belong to the lower class and considered as servants. 

Hassan never knew that his master was his real father. All he thought was that his father was Ali, another Hazara and that his mother left when she saw that he had cleft pallet, Hassan was the good child.  Ali was the good father.

Baba’s sin was Hassan.  

Brotherhood  and Friendship

Amir and Hassan were childhood friends; however, Amir never admitted that Hassan was his friend. They nursed from the same woman , they climbed trees together and flew kites. Because of jealousy and guilt, Amir hid his watch and some cash under Hassan’s bed. Hassan and Ali decided to move out despite Baba’s pleading for them to stay.

It is important to note that Amir did not save nor defend Hassan when he was being raped by Assef. He saw this but turned a blind eye and he carried this for a long time until Rahim Khan called him and said that it is not too late to be good again.

Amir wept and was devastated when Rahim Khan confessed that Hassan was his brother. It was too late since Hassan was shot by the Talibans. His wife was shot as  well leaving their only child, Sohrab in an orphanage.

Amir’s redemption was getting Sohrab out of Assef’ claws (he became a Taliban and kept Sohrab to satisfy his demonic urges). He was almost killed in the process but at the end, he was able to get him out of Afghanistan and adopted him.  The story ended with Amir flying kites with Sohrab in America.

Overall impression of the book

Khaleid is very skilled in describing scenes. HE speaks vividly as if you are being transported to Kabul, Pakistan and America. The way he characterizes are also haunting. 

The themes of his first book may not be as heavy as the second novel but it gives light to how our past affects our present. It lets us reflect that when you live carrying secrets and guilt,  these would haunt you for the rest of your life. 

Amir did not have the chance to ask forgiveness from Hassan but with his struggle to save Sohrab, he knew that he had somehow made peace with him , most especially his ownself. 

Favorite quotes:

11.       “When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness.” -  Baba

22.    “She said, 'I'm so afraid.' And I said, 'why?,' and she said, 'Because I'm so profoundly happy, Dr. Rasul. Happiness like this is frightening.' I asked her why and she said, 'They only let you be this happy if they're preparing to take something from you.” – Amir’s mother

33.    “It's wrong what they say about the past, I've learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out.”

44.    “That same night, I wrote my first short story. It took me thirty minutes. It was a dark little tale about a man who found a magic cup and learned that if he wept into the cup, his tears turned into pearls. But even though he had always been poor, he was a happy man and rarely shed a tear. So he found ways to make himself sad so that his tears could make him rich. As the pearls piled up, so did his greed grow. The story ended with the man sitting on a mountain of pearls, knife in hand, weeping helplessly into the cup with his beloved wife's slain body in his arms.” – Amir

5. “Better to get hurt by the truth than

6. “One time, when I was very little, I climbed a tree and ate these green, sour apples. My stomach swelled and became hard like a drum, it hurt a lot. Mother said that if I'd just waited for the apples to ripen, I wouldn't have become sick. So now, whenever I really want something, I try to remember what she said about the apples.”  -Sohrab

77.  “The problem, of course, was that [he] saw the world in black and white. And he got to decide what was black and what was white. You can't love a person who lives that way without fearing him too. Maybe even hating him a little.”