Post Mortem
by: Patricia Cornwell
Terri Thampan 804
So, I'm currently reading a new book! I don't usually like posting a post without finishing a book, but ah well. This book is told from the perspective of a- I think it's a medical forensic examiner (I'm not really good at telling which job is whose when the book has a ton of different people and jobs) named Kay Scarpetta. The grounds of Richmond, Virginia are suddenly not as safe as they used to be. Women are getting brutally raped and murdered inside their very own homes! It's up to the police to find the serial rapist murderer and stop the crimes.
Now, what I really like is that this book is written by a woman who was in the police force, well something to do with crime investigation and stuff. She knows what she's talking about- hopefully- or at least I think she does. Because she's lived the life of a policewoman, or something like that, she knows how it would typically be, and all those little details are what makes it important. I like Kay's character as it's a character that's not very sun-shine-y, but very passionate in her views, but smart enough not to act out on her feelings or views in bad situations. That is a real character to me. If someone was truly in such a dreary job such as this one of course they might be a little bit wiser, death is a very solemn thing after all, or at least not so happy-go-lucky. If anything they would be kinda quirky, sarcastic, have a dry sense of humor or something, but I may just be stereotyping. Truth is, having such a depressing job like that really changes people, and it sort of makes you want to appreciate the people who are really out there doing those jobs.
I like how there's a variety of people. And in the case or a serial rapist murderer, a variety of people is exactly what needs to be brought up. There are a variety of people in this world, and many people we don't know who live in our very own city or neighborhood. When we go through this kind of mass affecting crime, it really puts into perspective how many people there are in the world and that anyone could be a victim, anyone could get attacked, and it's happening all around the world. It's actually very scary...
Anyways, I really like how the case is developed.
Mostly, at the moment there is but one suspect, and he's pretty much having all this evidence pinned against him. Kay doesn't really think it's him though. What makes this case so special is that the rapist doesn't have to worry about getting caught by leaving- uhh... seminal fluid/sperm. He's a non-secreter which means the DNA in his sperm doesn't match with the DNA within his other bodily fluids... or something like that. That makes it really hard to tell who the rapist is. Non-secreters can be either gender- I think, most likely.
But what really sort of goes through my head is how do we truly know who's the criminal. The book talks about how many read the stories in the news and then think they did the crime though they did nothing. It can be psychological and mostly is. Someone who did the crime is "different" in the head, and then there are people who may not have done the crime but take the blame because they think they did the crime. It makes you wonder. Sometimes crime doers don't get caught unless there's a stroke of luck evidence. It makes you wonder what kind of criminals are still loose because the evidence pointed towards an innocent. It's quite a scary thought. But the story also has a lot to do with back stories. Everyone has them, it's what makes us humans. And mostly, what causes a criminal to be "messed up" in the head is because of back stories. Abused children are most likely to become child abuses, it's all psychological, and it's all kind of scary. Humans interact with other humans, we help form the other, and form ourselves. Who we are, what we become, it is all because of others and our interactions with them.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Flowers in the Attic
Flowers in the Attic
By: V.C Andrews
Terri Thampan 804
I have recently read, "Flowers in the Attic". Now, I went into the book with fairly lukewarm expectations and the knowledge that the book contained incest. Incest, for those who don't know, is when family members love each other, but not in a family way. As in, the want to date their brother, sister, uncle, aunt, cousin, maybe even their mother or father, you get my point. Now kiddies, incest is kind of frowned upon in some places, but there are also places that think it is in the right to marry your own cousin (as in, social standing and stuff).
The book's basically about these four kids: Christopher, Catherine, Cory, and Carrie, the last two are twins (Chris 14, Cathy 12, Cory and Carrie, 5). Now, there daddy died, and that's when their whole live goes to heck. The mom has too much debt piled up, so she is forced to ask for help from her parents, which means returning back from the exile she was given when she was pretty much "Disinherited" for doing something B-A-D. To get back into her Father's good graces (she was his favorite, and he had a fortune) she had to hide her kids up in the attic room until he died and gave her and her kids the money.
The book isn't so bad. If anything, it just has some boring parts in the beginning where I just don't care. I didn't get to reading the second book because I was content with the first one, and the second one, in my opinion, was pretty much over doing it a bit; plus it was kind of boring.
In my opinion, the only reason why I didn't truly dislike the main character was that she grows up. She grows up from being a bit obnoxious and spoiled into a more mothering type of person. If anything, the only reason I didn't hate her in the beginning is because she was such a cynical character. She was so suspicious and always thought of the worst case scenarios. That's what I liked about her, as messed up as it sounds.
As the story goes on, you can't help but get impatient with the mother, and then just go on to hating her. I feel like she was sort of too in love with the Dad to really let her true colors show, as she wanted to always make him happy (which doesn't sound like real love if she can't act like herself). But then, when he dies, it's revealed: she's never truly grow up. She had such a childish reaction when her kids asked her when they were going to get out, and stared at her with anything less than love. She freaking buried her self into the bed, and started bawling her eyes out while saying how her kids were so mean to her and she flailed her arms around pounding the bed. That was the most annoying thing to read. She's a grown woman, and needs to act like one, not some spoiled little baby. But it was like she was freaking decreasing in age, and getting more self-centered. That really annoyed me, because I would prefer a story where the mother's love would keep them going on, because in the beginning she at least had some motherly instincts. I don't thing hanging out with your dad (the mom's dad not the Daddy who died /kids' dad) will make you stop having those instincts.
Now the grandmother is a more likable character if anything. I think the author was trying to make it show from how the kids see it, but inadvertently made the mother into someone who doesn't seem like a true character; but this doesn't seem the case with the grandmother. The grandmother is strict and seems to look down on males. If I were to guess, she probably got forced into the marriage with the Grandfather (mother's dad) and most likely just wanted to be a nun- albeit a man hating nun. It makes me wonder what happened to make this woman into such a man hater. I mean, it says her favorite kids were her boys, but she pretty much disses all men and seems to hate the Grandfather. I wonder if she got raped or something, if it was a man who caused her great trauma. More likely, a guy caused her great trauma to make her hate them so. Is it weird to say that I want to know more about the Grandmother's story. I actually think that would be an interesting concept, hearing the tale of an old person with much life experience, as they live life. Anyways, I'm getting off topic, the book overall is pretty good. It got interesting near the end. It's a good read, but not quite up to Room's standard though. ;D
By: V.C Andrews
Terri Thampan 804
I have recently read, "Flowers in the Attic". Now, I went into the book with fairly lukewarm expectations and the knowledge that the book contained incest. Incest, for those who don't know, is when family members love each other, but not in a family way. As in, the want to date their brother, sister, uncle, aunt, cousin, maybe even their mother or father, you get my point. Now kiddies, incest is kind of frowned upon in some places, but there are also places that think it is in the right to marry your own cousin (as in, social standing and stuff).
The book's basically about these four kids: Christopher, Catherine, Cory, and Carrie, the last two are twins (Chris 14, Cathy 12, Cory and Carrie, 5). Now, there daddy died, and that's when their whole live goes to heck. The mom has too much debt piled up, so she is forced to ask for help from her parents, which means returning back from the exile she was given when she was pretty much "Disinherited" for doing something B-A-D. To get back into her Father's good graces (she was his favorite, and he had a fortune) she had to hide her kids up in the attic room until he died and gave her and her kids the money.
The book isn't so bad. If anything, it just has some boring parts in the beginning where I just don't care. I didn't get to reading the second book because I was content with the first one, and the second one, in my opinion, was pretty much over doing it a bit; plus it was kind of boring.
In my opinion, the only reason why I didn't truly dislike the main character was that she grows up. She grows up from being a bit obnoxious and spoiled into a more mothering type of person. If anything, the only reason I didn't hate her in the beginning is because she was such a cynical character. She was so suspicious and always thought of the worst case scenarios. That's what I liked about her, as messed up as it sounds.
As the story goes on, you can't help but get impatient with the mother, and then just go on to hating her. I feel like she was sort of too in love with the Dad to really let her true colors show, as she wanted to always make him happy (which doesn't sound like real love if she can't act like herself). But then, when he dies, it's revealed: she's never truly grow up. She had such a childish reaction when her kids asked her when they were going to get out, and stared at her with anything less than love. She freaking buried her self into the bed, and started bawling her eyes out while saying how her kids were so mean to her and she flailed her arms around pounding the bed. That was the most annoying thing to read. She's a grown woman, and needs to act like one, not some spoiled little baby. But it was like she was freaking decreasing in age, and getting more self-centered. That really annoyed me, because I would prefer a story where the mother's love would keep them going on, because in the beginning she at least had some motherly instincts. I don't thing hanging out with your dad (the mom's dad not the Daddy who died /kids' dad) will make you stop having those instincts.
Now the grandmother is a more likable character if anything. I think the author was trying to make it show from how the kids see it, but inadvertently made the mother into someone who doesn't seem like a true character; but this doesn't seem the case with the grandmother. The grandmother is strict and seems to look down on males. If I were to guess, she probably got forced into the marriage with the Grandfather (mother's dad) and most likely just wanted to be a nun- albeit a man hating nun. It makes me wonder what happened to make this woman into such a man hater. I mean, it says her favorite kids were her boys, but she pretty much disses all men and seems to hate the Grandfather. I wonder if she got raped or something, if it was a man who caused her great trauma. More likely, a guy caused her great trauma to make her hate them so. Is it weird to say that I want to know more about the Grandmother's story. I actually think that would be an interesting concept, hearing the tale of an old person with much life experience, as they live life. Anyways, I'm getting off topic, the book overall is pretty good. It got interesting near the end. It's a good read, but not quite up to Room's standard though. ;D
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Room
Room
By Emma Donoghue
Terri Thampan 804
I have recently read an amazing book called "Room". It was so good, I literally didn't stop- couldn't stop- reading until I had finished the last page, having read the whole book in one day. It's told from the perspective of a little boy named Jack who has just turned five years old. His world is turned upside down as his mom decides it's time to tell him the truth; there was a world outside of Room. To Jack, Room is his entire world; this small 11-by-11 foot is all he has ever known, and he doesn't know how to act now that his mom wants to break free.
First of all, this book is a very emotional book. It deals with the overwhelming feelings of a little boy who has finally came out into the world, and doesn't know what to expect. I think it was beautifully well written, especially with how confused it makes Jack, as well as scared as he doesn't truly know what's real or isn't real.
I really sympathize with the Mother because she is a woman who is trying to get the most for her son. She had to try and teach him as best as she could in such a small environment. I feel bad for her as she has such an overwhelming task, but not even a friend to comfort her, or at least somebody. She is completely shut off and doesn't know how else to deal with this situation and is stressed out. I think this is why sometimes she tells Jack things that parents wouldn't normally tell their children. She hasn't really got anyone to talk to so she's just dying to have a normal age level talk with someone else, to talk about what she thinks about things and current events that she hears about.
I also really like how Jack changes. He starts to open up to new ideas. He starts to realize that there is a world beyond Room. I like how in the beginning when he just turns five he feels so big and important. I think it shows a huge contrast as he soon wishes to wait until he is six for something I shall not spoil. I think we all sort of feel like Jack, once we get even a year older we feel like we can do whatever, that we are on top of the world. But that's just the thing, most of the time, once we actually realize how much responsibility is given the us as we grow up, we start to get scared. So that leaves us to the question, what do we do when we become adults and the responsibility is seemingly endless? We can't hide forever, and once we take the responsibility we start to mature, which is what happened to Jack.
Overall, I really love this book. I think it was well written and has excellent character growth. I like the second part more than the first though, but if you plan on reading it it's u to you to decide. Here's a little teaser: The ending made me want to cry; but whether that's a good thing or not, you find out.
By Emma Donoghue
Terri Thampan 804
I have recently read an amazing book called "Room". It was so good, I literally didn't stop- couldn't stop- reading until I had finished the last page, having read the whole book in one day. It's told from the perspective of a little boy named Jack who has just turned five years old. His world is turned upside down as his mom decides it's time to tell him the truth; there was a world outside of Room. To Jack, Room is his entire world; this small 11-by-11 foot is all he has ever known, and he doesn't know how to act now that his mom wants to break free.
First of all, this book is a very emotional book. It deals with the overwhelming feelings of a little boy who has finally came out into the world, and doesn't know what to expect. I think it was beautifully well written, especially with how confused it makes Jack, as well as scared as he doesn't truly know what's real or isn't real.
I really sympathize with the Mother because she is a woman who is trying to get the most for her son. She had to try and teach him as best as she could in such a small environment. I feel bad for her as she has such an overwhelming task, but not even a friend to comfort her, or at least somebody. She is completely shut off and doesn't know how else to deal with this situation and is stressed out. I think this is why sometimes she tells Jack things that parents wouldn't normally tell their children. She hasn't really got anyone to talk to so she's just dying to have a normal age level talk with someone else, to talk about what she thinks about things and current events that she hears about.
I also really like how Jack changes. He starts to open up to new ideas. He starts to realize that there is a world beyond Room. I like how in the beginning when he just turns five he feels so big and important. I think it shows a huge contrast as he soon wishes to wait until he is six for something I shall not spoil. I think we all sort of feel like Jack, once we get even a year older we feel like we can do whatever, that we are on top of the world. But that's just the thing, most of the time, once we actually realize how much responsibility is given the us as we grow up, we start to get scared. So that leaves us to the question, what do we do when we become adults and the responsibility is seemingly endless? We can't hide forever, and once we take the responsibility we start to mature, which is what happened to Jack.
Overall, I really love this book. I think it was well written and has excellent character growth. I like the second part more than the first though, but if you plan on reading it it's u to you to decide. Here's a little teaser: The ending made me want to cry; but whether that's a good thing or not, you find out.
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