Last of the Crazy People Review

As I've previously said, I gave this novel a rating of 6 out of 10 on that scale. Well, after putting some thought into that, I've changed my mind. Words will do better justice rather than giving the novel a rating. I extremely dislike this book. Hate is not a word I throw around a lot, so I'm not going to use that word. Hate is too strong. However, if the novel was any more unexciting and bland than it was, than I would be comfortable saying that I hate this book. This book is simply abysmal. The ending didn't even do it for me, dispute being pretty good. The book basically describes the things that I do on a daily basis, such as go out for walks. I don't want to read about going for walks. If I wanted to walk, I would leave my house and go for a walk. Frankly, I experience the events going on in this book every single day. That's how little happens in the book. Unfortunately, I could not grasp the message or meaning of this book at first. I had to do a little bit of research. This is because most of this book's information went in one ear and out the other. The book didn't have anything interesting going on, so I couldn't soak up any information. Luckily for me, I wasn't missing out on much since this book is mostly about daily family activities in which I experience every day of my life, with some deaths. Overall, this book was no fun to read. I got the wrong impression going into this book, so that's probably why. I don't see myself reading another book by Timothy Findley. This book gave me a really bad representation of what Canadian literature is like. Sure, I've learned some things, but nothing I can necessarily apply to my life. I would not recommend this book to anyone that can read.

WOW!!!!! What an ending!

So I've finally finished reading the book. In all honesty, it wasn't that great. If I were to give it a rating out of 10, it would probably be a 6. Not bad yet not superb. I REALLY liked the ending though. I gave this book a higher rating solely because of the ending. To my surprise, there was a plot twist. I was told there was going to be one, but after reading the first portion of the book, I didn't see one coming. I thought that even if there was one, that it would be bad. Boy, was I wrong! When one of my friends told me about the ending, I was in utter shock. I'm not upset that Daniel told me, because I'm a sucker for a good spoiler. In fact, after I got information from Daniel, I went to David for more information! Although Daniel was upset that the novel was spoiled for him, I was happy. I'm fighting the urge to tell you all about the ending, but I'm sure that not everyone is a big fan of spoilers such as myself. I think the ending is worth all of the mediocrity that I've been put through. The fact that the book was boring and the ending was awesome made it all worthwhile. Not to mention, the shocker was better because I thought the book would stay bland, which it did not. I think that all of the boring stuff that I've put up with became worth it because of the perfect ending.

Trouble with the inquiry

I can't seem to find anything to do regarding the inquiry. It will be good to help out my community if I could find something to do that will help me with my inquiry. Our question is: what is madness? I don't really have any ideas on what to do in my community to help me answer that question. I guess I could take a trip to east Hastings, but I don't really know how that will help me answer that question, as people on the downtown east side aren't really mad.

 I've just heard Ms.Kwan give us some ideas. We can raise awareness about mental illness and showing that there are different forms of mental illness. I know our group can but together a good video. We have somewhat of a base to work with, but we sill have a lot of work to do.

Mediocrity at it's most mediocre

I've read quite a bit since my last post. My feelings haven't really changed since then. This book is not bad by any means. On the other hand, this book is not good by any means. It's totally mediocre. Although I finally made a connection, I still have the same problem: NOTHING HAPPENS. I realize that the problem is that the family is disfunctional, but this book pretty much explains how the family lives. All of the events that happen are things that I do and talk about with my family. There's a connection there, but not a big one. I do get some insight on how people from other parts of Canada live, which is great, but this book contains no exciting events. When I finish this book, I will not be able to recall anything exciting happening because there is nothing exciting that happens! I suppose this is one of those books that is about the big picture and not major events. I still can't see anything mind blowing happening at the end. I think it's going to be one of those cliche books with a feel good ending, which I hate. I am curious to see what's going to happen later in the book though.

Growing on Me

Yesterday, I said that The Last of the Crazy People was dry, dull, and plain boring. Well I must say that it has grown on me. I'm not certain that I like it yet, but I must admit the story is getting a little more compelling. I just want to see how (and if) the characters develop and what happens to them. I'm still on the fence with this story. I don't know weather I like it or not yet, but I am enjoying the novel much more than I was yesterday. I suppose  I just had to get through the boring beginning. I think as I will read on, I will enjoy reading the book more. However, I don't really see a twist coming at the end like I've been told. I am foreseeing a cliche ending, since this is a novel about family. I have seen enough films about family to know how they all end: They make up and apologize and they all live happily ever after. I'm a sucker for good cliches. Back on topic, nothing major and exciting has happened yet. Hopefully something major will happen soon, hopefully a plot twist (although I don't really see what there is to twist as there's not much of a plot). Still, I am somewhat enjoying reading this. I am learning about how life was in the 60's, which is pretty interesting. I still won't take back about what I've said about the charecters being unlikeable. Good thing the story is keeping me engaged. I am patiently waiting for something major to happen, and when it does, I'll be sure to blog it.

First Impressions

So, I've finally started to read the book. I must say, I'm not very impressed. It is not a thriller/mystery novel like some of the reviews I've read described it as. I guess I just had the wrong mindset going into the book. The book is mostly about the life of a disfunctional family. There are a lot of problems with the family, and they have poor communication. To be honest, the plot its pretty dull. Nothing exciting or shocking really happens. Maybe that's because I just started, but I have ideas for what's to come. Moreover, I can't seem to get attached to the charecters. The main kid, Hooker, seems oblivious to the problems going on around him. Iris the maid, while at times can be nice and helpful, can be a jerk at times. The Aunt which takes care of the mother is a straight up meanie. The father, from what I've read seems demanding and bossy. I don't have anyone to side with or anyone I can cheer for or connect to! I don't like any of the charecters, the story is bland (maybe because I haven't quite gotten into it) and I can't connect to anything in the book. Perhaps I will be able to make connections later on, or learn about what life in other parts of Canada is like, but for now, no. Or maybe when I dive deeper in the story I will enjoy the book more. Not exactly a page turner, I can tell you that.

Feb. 7th 2013

I am yet to start reading the book. I need to pick it up tomorrow. However from what I have read, it's about a regular Ontario family who's mother in that family gives birth to a stillborn baby and loses her mind. It sounds fantastic! I am a huge fan of thriller/mystery material in general. I am going to read a rather large chunk of it tomorrow. Just reading the summary reminds me of the film "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". Don't ask me why, it just does.

I really hope this book scares me, because I have trouble finding scary books. Even though I have read a few of Stephen King's works, nothing I've ever read has kept me up at night. Hopefully the physiological aspect of this story can mess with my mind and make me think and reflect upon my life, which will keep me up at night.

I hope to learn about life outside of BC, as I hear that it is very different. I have never visited anywhere outside of BC in Canada, so I hope this novel gives me insight on what family life is like on the East side. Perhaps I can apply some of this knowledge to better my relationships with family. For know, I will pick up the book tomorrow and let you guys know how it goes.

Reflection Number 1

The novel I will be studying throughout this unit is called 'Last of the Crazy People' by Timothy Findley. From what I've heard, it is a mystery/thriller novel with many plot twists. I love reading books like this, so I pretty much can't go wrong. I am excited to start reading it.

Regarding why I chose this book, I'm going to be honest and say that I didn't. One of my friends heard that this was a good book and it would be fun to study. I know he has good taste in movies and books, so I trust him.

I hope after reading this book that I can get a better understanding of Canadian literature and appreciate the literature from my country. I can count the amount of books from Canada that I've read on a finger, so hopefully this journey exposes me to new books and ideas.