The Stranger by Albert Camus

Title: The Stranger
Author: Albert Camus
ISBN: 0679720200
Publisher: Vintage International

Summary:
"Since it was first published in English, in 1946, Albert Camus's first novel, The Stranger, has had a profound impact on millions American readers. Through this story of an ordinary man who unwittingly gets drawn into a senseless murder on a sun-drenched Algerian beach, Camus explored what he termed 'the nakedness of man faced with the absurd.'"

_________________________________________
Review:

I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. As a rule, I'm not a huge classic book fan. There's something about the way this one was written that really gives you a look into this guys life - and you're able to see yourself in his descriptions.

There are times that the story is a bit ambiguous, but I can see why so many classes read this book in high school. It's really good for critical thinking and questioning things about life. Perhaps it's a bit heavy - as it doesn't exactly end on a high note - but it's an interesting perspective on life that just makes you think.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good classic to read. I would give them a caution that it's a pretty heavy story... but it's still very interesting.
_____________________________________________
Other blog reviews:

Pattywad Blogspot
The Mookse and the Gripes

There are lots of other blogs out there. Feel free to check them out.

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

Title: A Separate Peace
Author: John Knowles
ISBN: 9780743253970
Publisher: Scribner

Summary:
"Set at a boys' boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peace is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world.

A bestseller for more than thirty years, A Separate Peace is John Knowles's crowning achievement and an undisputed American classic."
_____________________________________________
Review:

I'm not sure how much of a fan I am of this book. I mean, it's a good story... and it's very well written. I can't deny that. I just had a really hard time getting into it at first. It just started out really slowly and took me a while to find the rhythm of the story.

I did enjoy how it was written - very flourishing descriptions... but sometimes it was a bit much for me. But I'm not going to complain about it because it was still a good story.

I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone needing a classic for a class. It's got plenty to write about for school papers and such. Just perhaps it's not just for fun reading :). For me, only, of course.
____________________________________________
Other blog reviews:

Jandy's Reading Room
Mrs. Magoo Reads
Things Mean A Lot
Books for Breakfast
Reading Matters

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Title: Slaughterhouse Five

Author: Kurt Vonnegut

ISBN: 9780440180296

Publisher: Dell Books

Summary:

"Slaughterhouse-Five is one of the world's greatest anti-war books. Centering on the infamous firebombing of Dresden, Billy Pilgrim's odyssey through time reflects the mythic journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we are afraid to know."

_______________________________________________

Review:

I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this story. In the first couple of chapters, I was a little confused about where it was going and how it was going to get there. But once I got the rhythm of the book, it flew for me.

I did get a little confused every once in a while with all of the time traveling - about who was who and where they were and where he was... it just got a little much for me at times. But it was a very interesting commentary and kept me involved at the same time. You honestly had no idea where you were going to leap to next.

I do know that there have been lots of questions about this book in the past - and even some challenges on it. But I really think it has something interesting to say and a very unique way of saying it. I haven't done any research on the challenges or the reasons for them (something about sexual content, I believe), but I'd still put this book in people's hands.

I'd definitely recommend this book to students looking for a classic to read. It's pretty interesting, but because it does have some of the sexual "content," I'd say it might be best for the older reader. The ones who can handle that sort of thing :).

Other blog reviews:

The Silver Key

Jandy's Reading Room

Just a (Reading) Fool

Words and Flavours

Kay's Bookshelf

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Title: Fahrenheit 451

Author: Ray Bradbury

ISBN: 0345410017

Publisher: Del Rey books

Summary:

"The system was simple. Everyone understood it. Books were for burning, along with the houses in which they were hidden.

Guy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires. And he enjoyed his job. He had been a fireman for ten years, and he had never questioned the pleasure of the midnight runs nor the joy of watching pages consumed by flames... never questioned anything until he met a seventeen-year-old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid. Then Guy met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think. And Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do..."

_______________________________________________

Review:

I finally finished reading this book from cover to cover. I had tried to read it a few years ago and for some reason I wasn't getting into it - I probably wasn't in the right mindset for this kind of book.

As a Librarian, it's a bit frightening to think about a time when books are illegal and are all burned. That's just something that is so foreign and I hope never comes to pass. But the story of what people would be like in a world like this is very interesting.

Sometimes the commentary is a bit hard to follow - just because it's a bit flighty. Once you get into the cadence of it, it's not to bad. I've also not read too much about the social implications of the story (like essays and such), so I'm not sure what the opinions are out there. But I like the story as a science fiction book... but to actually analyze, it's (again) interesting.

I'd definitely recommend this to any of my teens who are looking for a good classic to read. It's a story that's keeps you involved and wondering what's going to happen next. This is good for all ages as well - but probably best for ninth grade and up - both girls and guys. A good read!

Other blog reviews:

The Book Lady's Blo

Padfood and Prongs

Book Reporter

Eli Bendersky's Website

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

Title: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Author: Ken Kesey
ISBN: 9780141181226
Publisher: Penguin Classics

Summary:
"Boisterous, ribald, and ultimately shattering, Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is the seminal novel of the 1960s that has left an indelible mark on the literature of our time.

Here is the unforgettable story of a mental ward and its inhabitants, especially the tyrannical Big Nurse Ratched and Randle Patrick McMurphy, the brawling, fun-loving new inmate who resolves to oppose her. We see the struggle through the eyes of Chief Bromden, the seemingly mute half-Indian patient who witnesses and understands McMurphy's heroic attempt to do battle with the awesome powers that keep them all imprisoned."
________________________________________________
Review:

I was a little bummed that this book took me a week to read... but that seems to be the way it is when it comes to classics for me. Alas. I enjoyed this book a bit more than I expected. I've been told about it for years, but I finally got around to reading it.

The point of view and the subject makes for quite an interesting story. I was pretty well intrigued by what was going to happen. There was a little bit of the "edge-of-your-seat" stuff, but nothing too suspenseful. I did wonder through most of the story about whether any of the inmates in the asylum were actually in need of psychiatric help.

But the road to recovery for the men on the ward is very complex and wonderful. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone who would like to get into reading more classics. This one is a great story and keeps you interested.

I was only able to find a few other blog reviews that weren't movie related. I haven't seen the movie, but apparently it's the big thing when you talk about this story. Here are those few reviews...

Other blog reviews:
Educating Petunia
Madzos
Audrey's Blog

1984 by George Orwell

Title: 1984
Author: George Orwell
ISBN: 9780452262935
Publisher: Plume - Harcourt Brace Book

Summary:
"Thought Police. Big Brother. Orwellian. These words have become part of our national vocabulary because of George Orwell's classic novel 1984, the story of one man's nightmare odyssey through a world ruled by warring states and a power structure that controls not only information but individual thought and memory. A minor functionary named Winston Smith joins a covert brotherhood and pursues a forbidden love affair against the cold, gray backdrop of the Republic of Oceania - only to become a hunted enemy of the state... and of Big Brother. ______________________________________________
Review:

I know it seems weird that I didn't have to read this in college or something, but I finally got around to reading this book. I really love dystopian fiction - and this is one of the best in the genre. There are a lot of books that I've read that I now see have been influenced by this, which is really kinda cool. It was also interesting to learn how their new words work. Perhaps that's the nerd in me, though.

I really did enjoy reading this book - finally. And the story was very interesting. It definitely was a bit wordy at times, but that was the nature of the story. Once you get past that, it's a really interesting story. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes the dystopian stuff - or even science fiction.

Of course there are plenty of reviews of this book floating around, but here are a few of the ones I found online:
Challenging Destiny
ShannanlovesBooks
The Other Side of the River
Books Love Me
book-a-rama

Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

Title: Catcher in the Rye
Author: JD Salinger
ISBN: 9780316769174
Publisher: Back Bay Books

Summary:
"Since his debut in 1951 as The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has been synonymous with "cynical adolescent." Holden narrates the story of a couple of days in his sixteen-year-old life, just after he's been expelled from prep school, in a slang that sounds edgy even today and keeps this novel on banned book lists.

His constant wry observations about what he encounters, from teachers to phonies (the two of course are not mutually exclusive) capture the essence of the eternal teenage experience of alienation."
____________________________________________
Review:

For whatever reason, I had never read this book until now. I know, I know... as a YA Librarian I should have read this, like, ten years ago. But I just got around to reading it. I've heard so many wonderful reviews and thoughts on this book - and outrage about it being challenged/banned/etc. So I finally picked it up and got through it.

But my thoughts aren't really as positive as others that I've read and heard. The thing is... I just like more action in stories I read. This book TALKS about action... about what has happened, what will happen... but very little actually DOES happen in this story. I mean, I do see why it's good for classes and study and such. I really do. I can imagine lots of things coming from this book being great for discussion. I just dunno that picking it up for a fun read is such a great plan.

I don't want to deter anyone from reading it - because I think it's good for many, many people. It just wasn't my cup of tea. The main character does speak very frankly and says just about everything that comes to him - that's where most of the controversy and enjoyment comes from. Can I say again that I do think it's a good book for classroom settings?

There are plenty of other opinions out there: Here, here, here, and here.