<i>The Sphere</i> by Michael Crichton

I am fed up with Crichton. The plot lines are far too predictable: man escaptes everyday life to investigate some amazing new thing; something goes wrong; people die; time is spent figuring it out; more people die; problem is solved; es cape is made; everything is better---or is it?

Here the mystery was intriguing for a time---I was very curious about what the alien was saying ans was very disappointed to find out it wasn't really an alien speaking and they never really did figure everything out...plus, once everyone was trying to escape, the formula was far to obvious and I go really fed up with the book.

There is one more Crichton book I want to read---Andromada Strain---but I think I will have to wait quite some time before I'm ready to pick up another of his books.

3/10

<i>The Unbearable Lightness of Being </i> by Milan Kundera

I was surprised, though I suppose I really had to be, by how similar this book was to Immortality. The similarity is not so much in the content---though Kundera does address male-female relationships primarily here as well---but more in the style. One of the big things is the non-linear story telling; another is the commentary on the characters from the writer's perspective. I am a big fan of the former---driven primarily by my love of Kurt Vonnegut, I would say. Really in general, nonlinear story telling gives something outside the plot. One is no longer trying to figure out what happens next, but just how we got here. And with the story already presented before one, it is easier to focus on other aspects of the writing.

I am a bit annoyed by Kundera's habit of commenting as the writer of the story on the character's behavior. While it can be helpful or amusing to have the thoughts of the writer on the characters, it gets old pretty fast: I *know* you created this character; I know you have very particular thoughts on how the character interacts with the world. I *do not* need to have the entire rundown of how the personality was formed to understand why some one behaves as they do.

I was very interested in the historical events that shaped the plot of the book. I know very little about Czech history, so I found the story of the Soviet invasion, especially from the average Czech's perspective engrossing. And the thought of Tereza out in the street with her camera, taking photos of the Russian soldiers, taking advantage of living her one life to resist in a manner that made the most sense to her. It was all very dramatic, very interesting and will stick in my mind.

Kundera's larger point with the book and its title revolve around the idea of a human's life being only a single blip, one that makes little difference or influence on the future---the unbearable lightness of being. We don't like it, but human life is light and there is nothing to be done otherwise. Thomas says so much to Teresa regarding his medical practice---he didn't regret giving it up as it allowed him to lighten himself.

Excellent read overall, though I think I liked Immortality better.

7/10

<i>Angela's Ashes</i> by Frank McCourt

This book has a different reading history compared to most books I've read. I started it as a audio book and got through about half of it before I ran into broken tapes. The next quarter or so was read in two or three page bursts as a "car book" when I had to wait for 5 or 10 minutes before tutoring or kung fu. The remainder was read on my flight to Copenhagen for vacation.

The audio book was really the best way to read this book. McCourt read it and with his Irish accent brings more life and reality than I can in my head. Reading it a bit at a time was also good, as the anecdotes he tells are generally short and stick well. Reading it in large chunks, though, is not so good, as it is a rather depressing story.

So, McCourt gives us the story of his childhood. How his parents escaped Ireland for America, only to go back again, thinking there would be more chance to work there than in the US. Instead, resulting from a drunk father and a fertile mother, there is little more than death and poverty.

It is a good book for what it is. McCourt is a good story teller and is able to relate his life well. The poverty is overwhelming in many cases. I can understand---though not condone---why his father wouldn't come back.

7/10