Tag Archives: Escape the Ordinary

Escape the Ordinary – Brilliant Debut Authors

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What does money do to relationships, and what happens to our ambitions over the course of time? While the Plumb siblings are trying to use the inheritance left from their father to solve their self-inflicted problems, this tender and entertaining debut explores the power of family, the possibilities of friendship, the ways we depend upon one another and the ways we let one another down. – HarperCollins Canada

The Nest

The Nest, a debut that has become an instant bestseller – I can see Sweeney’s ambition in this novel, and I am impressed by her confidence and composure exhibited throughout this novel. In my opinion, this debut has not only offered captivating narratives but also demonstrated power and depth.

I admire Sweeny’s skillful maneuver of the English language. The engrossing narratives are presented in vignette sort of style, rapidly moving from one scene to another, producing a cinematic trailer of the New Yorkers’ colourful life. Or you can say Sweeney is trying to weave an impressively complex tapestry about New Yorkers’ lives. Many characters are involved in this book and they all have different professions, marital statuses and personalities. You will find some of these characters intersecting each other in certain points of their life paths, but some others simply passing by each other on two parallel tracks. On top of the most important theme about inheritance and how money affects our relationships, various timely topics have been explored in this book, such as gay and lesbian, the aftermath effect of September 11, and even the use of the smart phone technology. At times dark and comical, this novel is full of sharp observations and brave comments that detect the subtlest nuances, for example, Stephanie’s equal desire for solitude and Leo, and Bea’s unaccomplished feeling towards her career while she’s eavesdropping the previous Glittery Girls’ gossip.

I did occasionally find it slightly frustrating when the scenes jumped too fast and the story got too choppy, however, the outcome of this approach is actually an even more realistic story and setting – New York is indeed a vast, dynamic and complicated city, so as its people’s lives.

I must point out what I appreciate the most from this book is the powerful message that Sweeney tries to deliver closer to the end of the book. Our flawed characters in this book don’t seem to be appealing, but under their resentful surface, they demonstrated the most humane side of themselves when they started to see everyone in the family gradually falling apart – they finally came together to support each other as a family and presented to the readers the most heartwarming moments. However, Sweeney didn’t attempt to paint this imperfect world into a perfect one with illusion. The ending and the choice made by our most charismatic character, Leo, is indeed thought provoking.

Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to an equally comical and thought provoking title Mount Pleasant by Don Gillmor – it’s also about inheritance and family, but sets in Toronto.

                                                                                                                                                                                         

Some discussion questions from LitLovers:

  1. Just how dysfunctional is the Plumb family…and why? Why do the siblings allow Leo to have such power over them? If you could advise any or all four of them, how would you counsel them about living their lives?
  2. Melody, Beatrice, Jack and Leo all have behaved somewhat (or very) irresponsibly. Is there one of them with whom you sympathize more than the others? Or are they all caught up in a sense of their own entitlement? What about the secondary characters and the roles they play in the story: the grandchildren, Jack’s husband, Melody’s husband, Leo’s girlfriend, and Bea’s boss.
  3. Ultimately, this book is about defining ourselves as individuals within a family (or even a career). How does each character learn who he or she is and what ultimately makes for a fulfilling life?

Escape the Ordinary – Books to Movies/Shows

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After a motorcycle accident, Will Traynor’s life is turned upside down: no more travelling, no more extreme sports. He’s wheel-chair bound and miserable. When Louisa Clark–simple, ordinary, and Will’s complete opposite–takes a job working for him, tensions arise from Will’s sour mood and Lou’s tough love. But when Lou learns about Will’s plans, she decides to prove to him that life is still worth living, and soon the two find themselves falling into a heartbreaking romance.

There’s a lot to be said for hype; in most cases, it’s better to experience a novel with a fresh mind and a blank slate. Waiting until the book is already a blockbuster and has a film adaptation might lessen its impact, once you already know other opinions and—in my case—the ending. This is what happened to me with Me Before You, a hugely beloved book that I finally got around to reading. So, did I cry? Well, no, but I can see why people did.

Me Before You explores the changes two vastly different people can encourage in each other. Will and Louisa’s crossed paths spark something in both of them: Will wants Louisa to experience life beyond their little town, and Louisa wants to pull Will out of his depression. Their commitment to improving each other’s lives leads them in a sweet progression from lukewarm acquaintances to friends to something more. This description might make it seem like Me Before You is a paint-by-numbers love story, but the relationship never feels forced, and Moyes gives both characters such a solid background that the story never veers into cheesy Nicholas Sparks territory.

One of the best aspects of the novel is author Moyes’s treatment of Will. It would be easy to make the wheelchair-bound protagonist a martyr or a saint, making his disability his defining quality. Instead, Will is a fully realized man who happens to be in a wheelchair. It’s because of this treatment that Will naturally feels like a viable love interest for Lou, even without the use of most of his body. Will isn’t a pet project for her to fix; he’s her equal and she wants to see him happy. Hopefully this novel marks a trend towards a new way of seeing disability.

That said, the topic of disability is a tricky one in Will’s case. As a quadriplegic, Will has no use of his limbs except for some minor movement in his hands. He requires almost 24 hour care. As a thrill-seeking, high rolling adult man, this sudden change of circumstances is unbearable to Will. In fact, as Louisa notes, he is essentially on suicide watch. There are some seriously sensitive issues brought up, particularly euthanasia and the right to die. Will believes that choosing to end his life is the last bit of control he has left. But despite Moyes’ fair representation of disability, some readers might glean a rather pessimistic message from Will’s struggle. It’s a subject that’s highly debatable and highly subjective; Moyes handles all sides of the argument deftly, not necessarily settling on any side of it but presenting it fairly and realistically. At the very least, Moyes rejects the “love conquers all” romantic fantasy in favour of opening up a dialogue about euthanasia, disability, and trauma. And it’s a dialogue that is ripe for discussion!

If you’d like to keep reading about Louisa Clark, pick up a copy of After You at your local branch!

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Share your thoughts on the novel in the comments! Some questions to consider:

1. Discuss the various reactions to Will’s decision to go to Dignitas. Do you think they were fair? Do you agree with Lou’s mother’s reaction to Lou’s involvement?

2. How do you feel about the ending? Would you have been more satisfied with a happily-ever-after? Or do you prefer the one Moyes wrote in the novel?

3. If you’ve seen the movie, how does it compare to the novel? What changes did you like or dislike? What did you think of the casting?

Escape the Ordinary – Awesome Award Winners

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Is human intelligence a gift or “an occasionally useful plague”? Two Greek gods granted human intelligence to a group of fifteen dogs, then suddenly these dogs were bewildered and eventually divided into two groups – some flourished with their new skill and some others consciously ran away from it. This deeply moving tale is trying to explore an age old question: “What’s the meaning of life?”

Andre Alexis encapsulates many philosophical questions that intrigue most of us in this delightful but compelling apologue about dogs. Fifteen Dogs is Alexis at his best.  It didn’t only win him a Giller but also good sales.  Being in the force of promoting reading and writing, I know how important this means to authors and how difficult to achieve. But Alexis did it.

Alexis’ brilliant storytelling can surely stimulate many of your senses . You can vividly picture what the dogs experienced, feel what they felt, and smell what they smelled. You don’t have to be a dog lover to enjoy this book. Alexis created some amazing endearing characters – Majnoun, the black poodle who had developed a strong friendship with Nina – his waiting for Nina’s return moves every soul. Prince, our playful poet, roamed along Bloor Street and the beaches and kept his spirits high even when his vision was playing tricks on him. Benjy, cunning but perhaps the most unappealing character, you must see a lot of him in mankind! Your emotions are drawn to these animals naturally while Alexis skillfully unfolds this meditative story with many twists.

Alexis also delves in many debatable concepts, such as individual freedom versus pack conformity and tortured knowledge versus mindless happiness. It’s a metaphysical inquiry about “What does it mean to be alive” – to think, to feel, to love, to suffer, to question and to answer? It is a quest to discover the beauty and the perils of human consciousness.

I must also draw the attention of the Vaughan poetry lovers to the poems composed mostly by Prince and other dogs in the book. Each poem in the book contains one of the dogs’ names – check out the interesting explanation on page 173!

Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to share another intriguing animal story A Beautiful Truth by Colin McAdams – a quite different writing approach, but you will probably be devastated by little Looee’s story.

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Below are a few questions offered by Coach House Books for discussion:

  • Hermes and Apollo’s wager is decided by whether or not one of the dogs is happy at the moment of its death. Is it fair to evaluate the quality of one’s life by the quality of one’s end-of-life? How accurate of an evaluation?
  • Who is more cruel, the gods or the dogs? Why?
  • Some readers find themselves more moved by the deaths of the fifteen dogs than they would have been if it had been fifteen humans. Why do we sometimes have more compassion for animals than people? Can you think of examples of this in the real world?