Stuy Shelf

Vicarious Journeys

Posted on the June 16th, 2010 under Recommendations by lzhao92

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
In Hosseini’s novel, he follows the friendship, however disconnected, of two boys who’ve known each other since childhood. They played together, went through horrible experiences together and
grew up together. But one of the boys, Amir, couldn’t handle the way the relationship was going, so he got rid of Hassan, the second boy. Hassan was Amir’s servant as well as best friend. Hassan defends Amir on a day to day basis, he had proven himself as a loyal servant and friend more than once, but still Amir leaves him to be raped. The novel goes on to show that Amir has made his penance to Hassan. I read this book for a junior English class. Honestly, I never expect much from the books assigned to be read for class but I found myself glued to the book. The great friendship that was broken
up over one persons selfishness. At the end of the book, I didn’t just finish an assigned reading but
I realized something that was very important to me and still is. Friendship is not easily and readily built, but its something earned and worked on to keep. It can seem fragile but when you find a great
friend, the fragility is not the problem, its your own pride. The whole novel explains one friend’s journey to repent for ruining a great friendship and it goes to show its never too late to apologize
and bandaid an injured relationship. From this book I took with me, and will hold with me forever, the value of friends and the sacrifices necessary to maintain it.

The Color of Water by James McBride
The Color of Water was an autobiography and a tribute to McBride’s mother. It was about an amazing woman who struggled endlessly, pulled her family together through many hard times and was
in interracial relationships her whole life in a period of time where racism was still around. At the time I was reading the book, I was personally feeling that my own family was in the middle of its own conflict. I was troubled and my grades were suffering, my family argued a lot, time at home was stressful and mostly spent behind locked doors. But as I became engrossed in this book, I began to feel foolish, childish and naive. I felt a little guilty for being pretty well off with a secure roof over my head, not having to worry so much about the next meal and having loving parents and a supportive family while there were actual people out there struggling to even get through the day. It made
me appreciate the life that I have and the family that although disagrees with me sometimes, always, always has the best of intentions for me. McBride really conveyed the idea, no not idea but the reality
that my family is the only one I’ve got and I am the only son they have. Reading McBride’s *The Color of Water* has implanted within me the knowledge that no matter what happens or happened, my family is my family  best intentions for me and will always be behind me 100%
whenever I need them to be.

Night by Elie Wiesel
The holocaust was a horrid and inexplicable evil. Wiesel tells his tale of his own experiences in a concentration camp during the reign of Hitler. The descriptions of people dying, rotting flesh and the grotesque deeds done to innocent men, women and children is not something I will forget. Wiesel’s Night was one of the first books I read as a high school student. It opened my eyes a little to what the real world was capable of. Although I have not seen or known anyone directly related to the holocaust, after reading the novel, my heart and sympathy went out to all the victims who suffered, all the families who were broken up and all the legacies that have been terminated. It has shown me racism and the pure lack of a moral compass that some of the world has and it has made me resent it. After finishing this novel, I know that if anything like this were to occur in the future, knock on wood, I would not only love to be a part of the solution, but be able to seriously advocate for what I think and feel is right.

The Return of Depression Economics by Paul Krugman
This was a novel I had to read for my economics class. It was about the recent depression that our country has found itself in, how we got there and how to get out of it. It wasn’t the economics that interested me about the book, it was the fact that it could have been avoided and it was definitely predictable. But the fact remains that it was a small percentage of greedy people who easily could have
ruined and doomed my generation. This novel, in addition to the government class I took, made me realize the corrupt and selfish things that people can get away with. It made me want to make a difference and help be a part of the solution. But step one is knowledge because with knowledge comes power. In my government class, I’ve learned that we as a people can put a stop to the corrupt into office but the problem with that is not enough of us as a population knows enough to care. I just turned eighteen recently and I plan on using my voting power to try and promote the best possible decisions.
But hopefully, with the emergence of my generation to the rest of society as contributing adults, we can help reshape our country and make the rest of the world a better place.

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
In Roy’s novel, Ammu, a single mother raising twins, Estha and Rahel, has her life manipulated and ruined by a single character. Baby Kochamma is a bitter old woman who will not and cannot let go of her past. But to make it worse, she must inflict the same pain she’s gone through upon others for her own gratification. Her actions were irresponsible and destructive. Initially, the book was read for an English class but its depth and easiness to relate to made me think of my own life. Baby Kochamma’s irresponsibility and the pain it caused others is something I would not and could not ever do. The fact that an elderly lady can single-handedly reduce a family to nothing because of her own stubbornness was appalling to me. I thought of what it would be like if I uncontrollably ruin other people’s lives; I would not be able to look myself in a mirror.