Yes, you read it write. This book has been trending on Booktok (book recommendation tiktoks) under the titles of “books that I would sell my soul to read for the first time again”, “books that will make you sob” or something as simple as “must have books”. But this particular book made many heads turn.
So, what’s all the hassle about? That’s exactly what we are here to find out.
Book history-
This book was written by E. Lockhart in 2014 and did a commendable job. The real hype began when in 2019 this book made an appearance in Booktok and ever since it’s still in the lists of many.
Popular sites like Daily Trojan recently added “We were liars’ on their must read pile. Publishers weekly too has named it as one of the most discussed book on TikTok.
Plot check.-
Nope, sorry can’t say. My lips are sealed.
But still for the sake of our lovely readers I will give you some insight. The plot is everything. It’s about a family, a rich one, whose story is narrated by a girl who can’t remember the last summer she spent on that island. No literally she can’t remember what happened. And believe me when I say that’s the only the start of the mysteries that revolve around the great Sinclair family.
Next up comes the plot twist. The suspense of this book will make you question reality. It will toy with your brain. But this book make every misery it puts us through worth it.
Theme park.-
The themes portrayed by the author E. Lockhart is quite literal slap on the society. The book challenges social norms head on. Ranging from racism to rich/poor and everything in between this book has it all. It also deals with psychological disorders which I might add is a very sensitive and controversial territory. But E. Lockhart sashayed her way into it quite elegantly.
This book can be added in our school syllabus and no one would question it. Cause that is life. Real one not the Shakespearean where people die unnecessarily or take unfinished revenges.
Why are Tiktokers hyped about it?
The reason behind this is one word “narration”. The lines can be stolen, plot can be copied, hell even if entire idea of this book is plagiarized, still no one can copy the way the author narrates this book. The narration keeps you on edge, makes you restless and leaves a mark right on your soul. The ending will have you wailing in a corner of your room and question life and the entire credit goes to how beautiful the story has been narrated.
And that’s right I would personally sell my soul to read for the first time again.
Not just luck-
‘We were liars’ made I to the popular list mainly due to Booktok but what makes this entire ordeal a little disappointing is that why such a great book written by a very talented author need a social media platform to get popular and sell some copies. It’s been a long time since I have been a reader, whilst social media is a great advertising platform, I still feel books should have a separate platform where we can find genuine books which are of our interest and not just the books which were lucky enough to reach Tiktokers.
‘We were liars’ is like a ride on emotional rollercoaster. It takes you to another level of epiphany. This book has the capability to change one as a person and I am so not exaggerating.
Booktok made me read it but I hope you can say the review made you read it.
In 1954, widower U.S. Marshal Edward “Teddy” Daniels and his new partner, Chuck Aule, go on a ferry boat to Shutter Island, the home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane, to investigate the disappearance of a patient, Rachel Solando (who was incarcerated for drowning her three children). Despite being kept in a locked cell under constant supervision, she has escaped the hospital and the desolate island.
In Rachel’s room, Teddy and Chuck discover a code that Teddy breaks. He tells Chuck that he believes the code points to a 67th patient, when records show only 66. Teddy also reveals that he wants to avenge the death of his wife Dolores, who was murdered two years prior by a man called Andrew Laeddis, whom he believes is an inmate in Ashecliffe Hospital. The novel is interspersed with graphic descriptions of World War II and Dachau, which Teddy helped to liberate. After Hurricane Carol hits the island, Teddy and Chuck investigate Ward C, where Teddy believes government experiments with psychotropic drugs are being conducted. While separated from Chuck for a short while in Ward C, Teddy meets a patient called George Noyce, who tells him that everything is an elaborate game designed for him, and that Chuck is not to be trusted.
As Teddy and Chuck return to the main hospital area, they are separated. Teddy discovers a woman (in a sea cave he tried to take refuge in) who says she is the real Rachel Solando. She tells him she was actually a psychiatrist at Ashecliffe, and when she discovered the illegal experiments being run by them, she was incarcerated as a patient. She escaped and has been hiding in different places on the island. She warns him about the other residents of the island, telling him to take care with the food, medication and cigarettes, which have been laced with psychotropic drugs. When Teddy returns to the hospital, he can’t find Chuck and is told he had no partner. He escapes and tries to rescue Chuck at the lighthouse, where he believes the experiments take place. He reaches the top of the lighthouse and finds only hospital administrator Dr. Cawley seated at a desk. Cawley tells Teddy that he himself is in fact Andrew Laeddis (an anagram of Edward Daniels) and that he has been a patient at Shutter Island for two years for murdering his wife, Dolores Chanal (an anagram of Rachel Solando), after she murdered their three children.
Andrew/Teddy refuses to believe this and takes extreme measures to disprove it, grabbing what he thinks is his gun and tries to shoot Dr. Cawley; but the weapon is a toy water pistol. Chuck then enters, revealing that he is actually Andrew’s psychiatrist, Dr. Lester Sheehan. He is told that Dr. Cawley and Chuck/Sheehan have devised this treatment to allow him to live out his elaborate fantasy, in order to confront the truth, or else undergo a radical lobotomy treatment. Teddy/Andrew accepts that he killed his wife and his service as a US Marshal was a long time ago.
The ending of the novel has Teddy receive a lobotomy in order to avoid living with the knowledge that his wife murdered their children and he is her murderer.
Review
Have you seen the movie Shutter Island starring Leonardo DiCaprio? If you haven’t yet, read the Shutter Island book first. It was originally published in 2003 by Dennis Lehane, and made into a movie not long ago, 2010 actually. I personally haven’t seen the movie either, but after reading the book I’ve decided I HAVE to see the movie adaptation.
Why was the book so good? Many people will already be familiar with Lehane’s work, he’s a famous thriller/crime novelist, so to start off the book is really well written. Not only that, but the plot is fantastic, with lots of twists that you never see coming, which always makes great for a screenplay as well. The copy of the book that I read was a lent to me by a colleague of mine, so it was an older, well-loved paperback from a while back; a nice change from the brand new books I typically get! Anyway, as mass market paperbacks typically do, it had quotes and blurbs from press reviews all over the cover, and a few of them described the book as ‘cinematic’, meaning the descriptions of the scenery and characters are so vivid that readers can easily imagine these scenes in their mind. Of course these were just predictions at the time, but the book was good enough for Martin Scorsese to take notice, as he was the eventual director of the film.
For those of you who like ‘spooky’ summer time reads, this book is definitely for you, so make some time for some ‘oldies but goodies’ on your shelf, and then clear away an afternoon to watch the movie when you’re done the book.
L.Frank Baum was an American author born on May 15,1856 ChittenangoNew York. He has written 14 novel on Oz, plus 41 on others and many more works.
. SUMMARY
Let’s talk about one of the greatest literary work of L.Frank ‘The Wizard’s of Oz’ which became a classic of children literature. The novel is about a girl named Dorothy, who lives with her uncle Henry and aunt Em with her pet dog Toto in Kansas. A sudden cyclone strikes and swift away Dorothy and Toto along with her uncle’s farmhouse and dumped it in the land of Munchkin of Oz’s, in the process killing the wicked witch of East. Wanting to go back to her homeland the story embarks her journey on the yellow brick road to the emerald City of great wizard of oz. On the way she makes friends with the Scarecrow who wants a brain, the Tin woodmen who wants a heart and a cowardly Lion who wants courage. After many adventures they reach the Emerald City to the great wizard of Oz. The wizard lay’sa condition only if they kill the wicked witch of west the desires will be fulfilled. They commence their journey on killing the witch , after a lot of difficulties they are able to kill the witch. On returning back to the wizard they are left shocked………. Let me leave the summary on this note so the readers curiosity is not killed.
. THEME
The story has many theme ; one must find their strength in oneself and their friendship. The courage to tackle the problems comes from within and the good circle of friends who surrounds them. The grass is not greener on the other side , we should enjoy our present and stay contented from within . It also depicts there no place like home one can not find the happiness of a family to a foreign land but their own land . Life throws you many hurdles but one must fight with it with their full potential and never to lose hope .
Author : Dan Brown Publication date : April 2003 Pages : 689 (U.S. hardback) 489 (U.S. paperback)
The novel explores an alternative religious history, whose central plot point is that the Merovingian kings of France were descended from the bloodline of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, ideas derived from Clive Prince’s The Templar Revelation (1997) and books by Margaret Starbird. The book also refers to The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (1982) though Dan Brown has stated that it was not used as research material.
Characters
Robert Langdon: A professor of symbology at Harvard University and the protagonist of the novel.
Jacques Saunière: The grandmaster of priory of Sion, Curator of Louvre Museum and primary antogonist of the novel.
Sophie Neveu: A Cryptologist of French police and granddaughter of Saunière.
Bezu Fache: A member of Opus dei and a French police.
Silas The monk: A member of Opus dei who murders Saunière.
Manuel Aringarosa: A bishop of Vatican and member of Opus dei.
Sister Sandrine: A Seneschal of priory of Sion and sister of St. Sulpice.
André Vernet: A guard of Zurich bank.
Sir Leigh Teabing The Teacher: A Grail scholar, living in Paris and secondary antogonist of the novel.
Rémy Legaludec: A maid who assist Teabing.
Jérôme Collet: A French police.
Marie Chauvel Saint-Clair: Sophie’s grandmother and Saunière’s wife.
Summary
In the Louvre, a monk of Opus Dei named Silas apprehends Jacques Saunière, the museum’s curator, and demands to know where the Holy Grail is. After Saunière tells him, Silas shoots him and leaves him to die. However, Saunière has lied to Silas about the Grail’s location. Realizing that he has only a few minutes to live and that he must pass on his important secret, Saunière paints a pentacle on his stomach with his own blood, draws a circle with his blood, and drags himself into the center of the circle, re-creating the position of Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man. He also leaves a code, a line of numbers, and two lines of text on the ground in invisible ink.
A police detective, Jerome Collet, calls Robert Langdon, the story’s protagonist and a professor of symbology, and asks him to come to the Louvre to try to interpret the scene. Langdon does not yet realize that he himself is suspected of the murder.
After murdering Saunière, Silas calls the “Teacher” and tells him that, according to Saunière, the keystone is in the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris. The Teacher sends Silas there. Silas follows Saunière’s clues to the keystone’s location and discovers that he has been tricked. In a fit of rage, he kills Sister Sandrine Bieil, the church’s keeper and a sentry for the Priory of Sion. At the Louvre, Langdon meets Jerome Collet and Bezu Fache, the police captain, and realizes that the two policemen suspect him of the murder.
Sophie Neveu, an agent of the department of cryptology and Saunière’s granddaughter, arrives at the crime scene and tells Langdon that he must call the embassy. When Langdon calls the number Sophie gave him, he reaches her answering service. The message warns Langdon that he is in danger and should meet Sophie in the bathroom at the Louvre.
In the bathroom, Sophie shows Langdon that Fache is noting his movements with a tracking device. She throws the device out the window onto a passing truck, tricking the police into thinking that Langdon has escaped from the Louvre.
Sophie also tells Langdon that the last line in the secret message, “P.S. Find Robert Langdon,” was her grandfather’s way of alerting her: P.S. are the initials of her grandfather’s nickname for her, Princesse Sophie. Langdon thinks that P.S. might stand for Priory of Sion, an ancient brotherhood devoted to the preservation of the pagan goddess worship tradition, and to the maintenance of the secret that Saunière died protecting.
Langdon decodes the second and third lines in Saunière’s message: “Leonardo Da Vinci! The Mona Lisa!” Sophie returns to the paintings to look for another clue. The police have returned to the Louvre as well, and they arrest Langdon. Sophie finds a key behind the Madonna of the Rocks. By using the painting as a hostage, she manages to disarm the police officer and get herself and Langdon out of the building.
As Sophie and Langdon drive toward the Swiss bank identified on the back of the key, Langdon explains the history of the Priory of Sion and their armed force, the Knights Templar. He reveals that the Priory protects secret documents known as the Sangreal, or the Holy Grail. Langdon’s latest manuscript is about this very subject.
When Sophie and Langdon enter the bank, an unnamed security guard realizes that they are fugitives and calls the police, but André Vernet, the bank’s manager and a friend of Saunière’s, recognizes Sophie and helps her and Langdon escape. Sophie and Langdon figure out that the number left near Saunière’s body must be the account number that will open the vault. When they open the vault they find a cryptex, a message delivery device designed by Da Vinci and crafted by Saunière. The cryptex can only be opened with a password.
Vernet successfully smuggles Sophie and Langdon past Collet in the back of a locked armored car. Vernet turns on them, but they manage to get away with the cryptex, which Langdon realizes is actually the Priory keystone—that is, the key to all of the secrets the Priory holds about the location of the Holy Grail.
Langdon and Sophie go to the house of Sir Leigh Teabing, a historian, to ask for his help opening the box. Teabing tells them the legend of the Grail, starting with the historical evidence that the Bible didn’t come straight from God but was compiled by Emperor Constantine. He also cites evidence that Jesus’ divinity was decided by a vote at Nicaea, and that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, who was of royal blood, and had children by her. Teabing shows them the hidden symbols in The Last Supper and the painted representation of the Magdalene. He tells them that the Holy Grail is actually Mary Magdalene’s body and the documents that prove Mary’s blood line is related to Jesus. He says he thinks Saunière and the others may have been killed because the Church suspected that the Priory was about to unveil this secret.
As Langdon is showing off the cryptex, Silas appears and hits him over the head. Silas holds Sophie and Teabing at gunpoint and demands the keystone, but Teabing attacks Silas, hitting him on the thigh where his punishment belt is located, and Sophie finishes him off by kicking him in the face. They tie Silas up.
Collet arrives at the castle, but Sophie, Langdon, the bound Silas, Teabing, and his servant, Rémy, escape and board Teabing’s private plane to England. Sophie realizes that the writing on the cryptex is decipherable if viewed in a mirror. They come to understand the poem, which refers to “a headstone praised by Templars” and the “Atbash cipher,” which will help them arrive at the password. Langdon remembers that the Knights Templar supposedly worshipped the god Baphomet, who is sometimes represented by a large stone head. The word, unscrambled by the Atbash Cipher, is Sofia. When they open the cryptex, however, they find only another cryptex, this one with a clue about a tomb where a knight was buried by a pope. They must find the orb that should have been on the knight’s tomb.
Fache realizes that Teabing and the rest of them are in the jet. He calls the British police and asks them to surround the airfield, but Teabing tricks the police into believing that there is nobody inside the plane but himself. Then he goes with Sophie, Langdon, Rémy, and Silas to the Temple Church in London, the burial site of knights that the Pope had killed.
Rémy frees Silas and reveals that he, too, follows the Teacher. Silas goes to the church to get the keystone, but when he tries to force Langdon to give it up, Langdon threatens to break it. Rémy intervenes, taking Teabing hostage and thus forcing Langdon to give up the cryptex.
Meanwhile, Collet and his men look through Teabing’s house and become suspicious when they find that he has been monitoring Saunière. Over the phone, the Teacher instructs Silas to let Rémy deliver the cryptex. The Teacher meets Rémy in the park and kills him. The Teacher calls the police and turns Silas in to the authorities. As Silas tries to escape, he is shot, and he accidentally shoots his idol, Bishop Aringarosa.
Silas takes Bishop Aringarosa to the hospital and staggers into a park, where he dies. In the hospital the next day, Aringarosa bitterly reflects that Teabing tricked him into helping with his murderous plan by claiming that if the Bishop delivered the Grail to him, he would help the Opus Dei regain favor with the Church.
Sophie’s and Langdon’s research leads them to the discovery that Sir Isaac Newton is the knight they are looking for, the one buried by a Pope, because they learn he was buried by Alexander Pope. They go to Westminster Abbey, where Newton is buried. There, the Teacher lures them to the garden with a note saying he has Teabing. They go there only to discover that Teabing himself is the Teacher. Teabing suspected that Saunière had decided not to release the secret of the Priory of Sion, because the Church threatened to kill Sophie if the secret was released. Wanting the secret to be public knowledge, he had decided to find the Grail himself.
Teabing gives Langdon the cryptex and asks Langdon and Sophie to help him open it. Langdon figures out that the password is apple—the orb missing from Newton’s tomb. He opens the cryptex and secretly takes out the papyrus. Then he throws the empty cryptex in the air, causing Teabing to drop his pistol as he attempts to catch it and prevent the map inside from being destroyed. Suddenly, Fache bursts into the room and arrests Teabing.
The papyrus inside the second cryptex directs Sophie and Langdon to Scotland, where Sophie finds her brother and her grandmother. During the reunion, she discovers that her family is, indeed, of the bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Sophie and Langdon part, promising to meet in Florence in a month. Back in Paris, Langdon comprehends the poem, which leads him to the small pyramid built into the ground in the Louvre, where he is sure the Grail must be hidden
Review
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown was a wonderful book. At several points in the book I found myself wondering what the next twist would be. The Da Vinci Code is about a symbologist named Robert Langdon.
I enjoyed how the author tied symbology into his novel. I learned things that I was not expecting to in a way that did not feel like I was in a class. I also feel that the action-packed novel kept me engaged with the characters. I often found myself sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the next piece of the puzzle to be revealed. I highly recommend The Da Vinci Code to any who love mysteries or even to those looking for an adventure.
The book starts from Keith Clayton’s perspective. Keith is a local police officer. He is at a location where local college students go for nude swimming. He is carrying a camera he borrowed from the Police Department and is taking pictures of three female college students. One of them leaves the beach and comes upon Keith who is supposed to be on duty. He hides the camera and talks with the girls about their breaking the law by nude bathing. He lets them go. He comes across a man whom Keith describes as looking like a hippie walking down a logging road by the beach with a dog. It is Logan Thibault and his dog, Zeus. Keith is concerned Logan saw everything that had happened and tries to find a way to take Logan in. However, after running a background check on Logan and Logan refusing to let him search his bags he lets Logan go. He asks Logan where he is going and states he is heading to Arden. Keith goes back to find the camera he hid, but it is gone and the tires on his squad car are slashed. Keith becomes concerned as his father is the local Sheriff and his grandfather is a local judge.
When the story changes to Logan’s perspective, he is in the car with the three college girls who picked him up when he indicated he wanted to hitch a ride. He gives the camera (from which he removed the memory disk) to the college girls. The story also back tracks to Logan witnessing Keith taking the pictures and Logan taking the camera, destroying the disk, and slashing the tires of Keith’s cruiser. The story then goes back further into Logan’s life as he reflects on his walking all the way from Colorado and even further back as to why he decided to join the Marines. It is explained how Logan began to play Poker while tensions were building in the Middle East and this was his outlet. He lost all of his money while doing this and eventually gave up joining in on the games. It is then mentioned that Logan liked to go for early morning runs while in the Middle East and one day he came upon a picture half buried in the sand. It turns out to be a picture of Beth who is wearing a shirt that says Lucky Lady. His luck then begins to change. It is first noticed when his friend in his squad, Victor, encourages him to join in a poker game that night. Victor also believes in omens and superstitions and is the one who slowly convinces Logan the picture and the girl in the picture are powerful to Logan and the picture may have a deeper meaning in Logan’s life.
Elizabeth (Beth) is next introduced in the story. It starts at a birthday party her son, Ben, is attending. It comes up that Beth’s grandmother, Nana, recently had a stroke and Beth has been helping her run the dog kennel/obedience school Nana owns. It is also mentioned that Nana raised Beth, because Beth’s parents died in a car accident when Beth was 3 years old. Beth is also a teacher at a local school. It slowly becomes known that Keith Clayton is the ex-husband of Beth, and the father of Ben. Beth expresses her frustration about Keith’s disappointment in Ben as Ben is not as athletically inclined as other boys of his age. It becomes apparent that Ben does not care for his father much and does not like spending every other weekend with Keith.
The story goes back to Logan and the beginning of his experience in the Middle East is mentioned. A story is told about how the two comrades in his fire team are killed by a RPG and Logan survives. Logan is staying at a local motel and first decides to find the fairgrounds where the picture he had of Beth was taken. He finds the exact location where the picture was taken and knows he is in the right place. He determines he is going to go to a pool hall/bar to ask the locals if anyone knows the girl in the picture.
Next, Keith reminisces about his day and having to explain the slashed tires to his father. It comes to light that his dad and grandfather are well known in the town and Keith is stuck between keeping out of trouble and his family being able to get him out of trouble due to their status in town. Keith also explains his dislike for his son’s (in Keith’s eyes) weaknesses. Instead of wanting to be with Ben, Keith wants to be out looking for Logan to make him pay for what he did. Keith receives a phone call from a co-worker, Tony, who says a stranger has a picture of Beth at a local pool hall and was asking about her. Keith asks if the guy looks like what Logan had looked like earlier, but the co-worker says that is not the description of the man at the pool hall. Keith is disappointed and decides to do nothing about man with the picture.
Logan’s version of the bar/pool hall encounter is described and he learns Beth’s full name. The next day Logan goes to the dog kennel and meets Beth for the first time. He applies for a position at the kennel and Beth becomes suspicious due to the half told story Logan tells her. (He leaves the part out about the picture as the reason why he came to Hampton). Beth is skeptical and decides to have Nana talk with Logan. Nana decides to hire Logan, but admits she feels he isn’t telling the whole truth about being in Hampton. Once hired, Logan finds a place to rent in town and begins working at the kennel. Over the next few weeks Logan (and Zeus) becomes closer with Nana, Beth and Ben.
Nana decides to go on a trip to visit her sister in Greensboro, leaving Beth and Logan to tend to the kennel. Beth and Logan get to know each other better, and this is one of the weekends when Ben spends time with his father. Logan and Beth make ice cream on the Saturday night Ben is gone when Keith brings him back to Beth. Ben has a bruise on his face and his glasses are broken. Keith tells Ben to tell Beth it wasn’t his fault, but it’s apparent Keith threw a baseball too hard and it hit Ben in the face. Keith does not notice Logan initially, but when he does he demands to know what Logan is doing there. Zeus becomes defensive and Logan tells Keith to leave. Keith does, but is upset about the incident, because he does not like being challenged and forced to back down. He also upset to have found out that Logan had never left town and is concerned Logan may still have the camera’s memory disk.
Beth and Logan go on a date and Logan opens up about Victor and Logan’s boating trip in Minnesota. Logan informs Beth that Victor died when another boat hit their boat. Logan and Beth continue to date, and eventually Keith breaks into Logan’s home to see if he could the photo disk. Logan suggests to Beth that Keith has been the reason why none of her relationships have lasted and tells her about the break-in he had had in his home. Nana implies she agrees with Logan. Beth goes to a former boyfriend’s home and he weakly admits Keith may have been involved in his breaking up with her. Beth (politely) confronts Keith about this. Keith during this conversation tries to convince Beth that she knows nothing about Logan and this could dangerous. Keith thinks he has begun to convince Beth and is in high spirits. However, Logan did research on Keith’s family and meets Keith at his Keith’s home. Logan tells Keith he knows it was Keith who broke into his home and bluffs that he has a video recording of the break in. Logan said he would take the information to Keith’s family if Keith did not stay out of Beth’s business. Keith realizes he no longer has the upper hand and begins to drink heavily.
Later, there is a storm that comes through Hampton and it rains for days/weeks and the area begins to flood. Ben convinces Logan to go to his tree house and Logan realizes it is no longer safe because of the flooding. They still enter the tree house and Logan gives Ben the picture because he feels it will keep Ben safe. Logan mentions his friend Victor’s belief in the luck of the photo. Logan also plays the piano in church for Nana and the town begins to admire Logan, and even Keith’s grandfather praises Ben, deepening Keith’s hatred of Logan.
Tony, the co-worker who called Keith from the pool hall when Logan first arrived in town, goes to Keith’s house and informs Keith that Logan was the guy who had had the picture of Beth which Keith had ignored. Keith goes to the school where Beth works and convinces Beth that Logan is a stalker. Beth doesn’t necessarily believe Keith at the time and confronts Logan who admits to having the photo. Beth becomes extremely upset and demands the picture. Logan informs Beth that he had given it to Ben.
Later, Beth asks Ben for the photo and asks him to tell her everything Logan had said when Logan had given it to Ben. Beth realizes Logan had been honest about how he felt the photo was a good luck charm. Beth goes to Logan’s home and he tells her everything. He also mentions the tree house being very unsafe to Beth. Keith spies on Beth and Logan and is enraged. When Beth leaves Logan’s house Keith follows her to her home. Keith tells her he was going to take her to court to obtain full custody of Ben if she doesn’t follow his rules. He wants her to stop seeing Logan and date him (Keith) again. Ben overhears Keith threatening to take full custody, and tells Keith he doesn’t want to live with him. Ben runs away to his tree house. Logan had seen the extra set of tire tracks and realizes Keith had been around when Beth was at his house. Logan runs to Beth’s house.
Beth finally realizes Ben had run to the tree house and both Keith and Beth struggle to get to the tree house through the flooding and rain. When they arrive at the tree house it has partially collapsed and Ben was in the creek running under the tree house clinging to the rope bridge. Keith tries to go to the tree house but falls through the rotten wood and breaks his ribs and clings to rope bridge as well. Beth broke her foot on the way to the tree house and only able to watch everything unfold. Logan and Zeus arrive and try to help, as well. Logan ends up closer to Keith and Keith clings to Logan dragging him under when the whole tree house collapses and Logan and Keith disappear into the abyss. Zeus saves Ben.
In the epilogue it becomes apparent that Keith died and Logan survives. Ben continues to carry the photo around for good luck.
Review
Over the past few years I have have come to realize that I am a hopeless romantic. I love reading stories about two people having a chance meeting and just knowing from that moment that they were meant to be together, no matter how much their relationship gets tested. That is why this week’s selection happens to be from the man that I like to call the King of Romance Novels, Nicholas Sparks. “The Lucky One” tells the story of Logan Thibault, a U.S. Marine who finds a lost picture while in Iraq. When nobody claims the picture he decides to keep it, providing him with good luck in every situation he is put into. After coming home he decides to find the woman in the picture even though he knows nothing about her. When he meets Beth Clayton there is an instant attraction and a passionate love affair begins, but Logan has a secret that may tear them apart for good.
I liked this book. I have read two previous Nicholas Sparks novels -“A Walk To Remember” and “Dear John,” and enjoyed them, even though they both had sad endings. The ending to this novel is also sad but happy at the same time. The book drags in certain spots because there is a lot of back story about each character that needs to be told, but there are also moments of action. Now, keep in mind because this is a romance novel the action scenes are few and far between, but the few that do exist leave an impact on the reader, especially the ending.
Sparks writes from the perspective of the main love triangle – Logan, Beth, and Beth’s ex-husband, Keith. As I’ve mentioned before, I am not the biggest fan of multiple points of view, but this method helps push the plot along. It also shows the readers how the characters are connected. This book is great for anyone, especially those who love a great love story every now and then. I enjoyed reading it and I hope you do too. Maybe someday we will have that chance meeting where we meet the right person.
PS, I Love You was a number-one bestseller in the United States, Ireland, and several other countries. It was made into a hit movie in 2007 starring Hillary Swank as Holly and Gerard Butler as Gerry. Ahern wrote a sequel, titled Postscript, released in the United Kingdom in 2020.
Summary
PS, I Love You (2004), a novel by Irish author Cecelia Ahern, tells the story of a young widow who receives a series of letters written by her late husband before his death; these letters help her through her grief, compelling her to embark on a series of fun—and often funny—adventures. PS, I Love You is ultimately a tale of love and marriage, death and survival, loss and recovery, and the eternal bond that can unite two people, even after one of them has passed away. It is also about the very human and awkward experience of moving forward alone after the death of a soulmate.
Holly Kennedy holds the sweater of her husband, Gerry Clark. Gerry has just died at the age of thirty from a brain tumor. Holly smells his sweater to remind her of his scent and presence. But as soon as she does, the reality of her loss hits her, and she feels as if she is going to be sick. Holly cannot imagine a life without Gerry, who had been her junior high sweetheart and her one constant source of love and strength for more than fifteen years.
Holly spends her days alone, wandering from room to room inside the home she had shared with Gerry. Consumed with loss, her sleep is fitful, and she rarely leaves the house. One day, her mother, Elizabeth, calls her to check in. Elizabeth has received a large envelope addressed to Holly; Holly assumes it is just another sympathy card. Her mother’s comment that the words The List are written on the top of the envelope shocks Holly. She suddenly knows what the envelope contains and who it is from.
She flashes back to a scene from her past with Gerry. When he jokes that someday he might not be around to do the little things like turn off the bedroom light before bed, Holly laughingly suggests he write her a list of things to do and leave it in his will. It started as a joke, but now, Holly knows, he followed through, sending the list to her mother before he passed away.
After a visit with her best friend, Sharon McCarthy, Holly decides to retrieve the envelope from her mother. She discovers that it is not really an envelope, but a package with no return address. Above the main address are the words The List. She opens the package. On top is a letter in which Gerry assures Holly that she will be able to go on after his death and that she should open and follow the directions inside each small envelope only on the date written on the front of each one. The package contains ten small envelopes labeled with the months March through December. This month’s envelope tells her to buy a bedside lamp so she doesn’t have to get out of her cozy bed every night to shut off the bedroom light-switch. This letter, like all subsequent ones, ends with the words, “PS, I love you.”
For the next nine months, Holly looks forward to opening Gerry’s letters. She, Sharon, and Sharon’s husband, John, marvel at Gerry’s ability to put this project together. He had been so weak and ill toward the end of his life, it must have required a herculean effort.
In April, Gerry instructs Holly to buy a smart new outfit because she will need it in time for next month’s letter. In May, he tells her to put on her new outfit to face one of her biggest fears: singing karaoke live onstage. In June, he asks her to get rid of his belongings; “I’m already here…always wrapping my arms around you,” he writes. In July, he wishes her a “good Holly day,” which she interprets as an order to get ready to go on vacation. In August, he sends her on vacation to Spain for a week with her friends. In September, Gerry advises Holly—who has a hard time finding a job she likes—to get a career she finds fulfilling. In October, he sends her sunflowers with the instructions to plant more, in order “to brighten the dark October days you hate most.” In November, he encourages her to start dating. Finally, in December, he gives his permission for her to fall in love again.
Throughout these letters, buoyed by Gerry’s love and guidance, Holly emerges from the shell she has built around herself. She starts gradually by shopping for an outfit that will get her out of the blue-jeans-and-Gerry’s-shirts combination she’s been living in. The letters introduce more and more action and engagement, providing the springboard for Holly to reenter life once again. In the end, she doesn’t feel abandoned by Gerry or alone and single at a vulnerable time. She feels reconnected to all the amazing things in her life: her friends, her family, her newfound career in magazine advertising—and the eternal memory of one incredible man.
My Review
It is a very interesting read and very emotional one too. Love is the central theme of the book and it is presented in such a beautiful way. Dealing with the death of the beloved can be devastating but life goes on. You have to be keep on living and learn to be happy again for the sake of your family and friends but most importantly, for the same of your lost love who would never have wanted to see you unhappy.
A beautiful well written story which will make you cry for sure and also make you appreciate your loved ones. Cecilia Ahern has created some compelling characters. Her style of writing is simple and sometimes amateurish but the beauty of the story covers all the flaws. The poignancy of loss, letting go and rediscovery is beautifully captured in this story. Its a touching and emotional story about the long road of healing and finding yourself again after losing a loved one. I will definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves to read chick-lit.
This book is a re-exploring of the world-famous Indian classic, the Mahabharat—told from the point of view of an astonishing woman-Draupadi.
Related to today’s war-scarred world, The Palace of Illusions takes us behind in a time that is half history and completely magical. Recited by Panchaali, the wife of the famous Pandavas brothers in the Mahabharat, the new story gives us a new clarification of this olden tale.
The Palace of Illusion by author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is a re-telling of the Indian epic, the Mahabarat, from the outlook of Draupadi. It is amusing and delightful story-lacing. It is entirely satisfying and at the same time enlightening.
This book is spellbound from the first page to the last, and adored the very human faces put on the achievements of the leads and gods in the story. Particularly Panchaali, the heroine, will twig in my mind as a flawed yet lovable woman, confounded in much, but writhing always to find truth and love. Krishna, too, in his many-faceted character, excels as an everlasting presence, only exposed in the end for his true identity.
Panchaali enters this world through a divine fire, an unwelcomed boon granted by the gods in addition to her brother, Dhristadhyumna, the child intended to kill their father’s biggest enemy, Drona. She weds with the five Pandava brothers, the eldest of whom, Yudhisthir, gambles and loses his kingdom to their cousins, Kauravas. After twelve years of banishment in the forest, the cousin declines to return the kingdom, and the Pandavas go to war against the Kauravas. It is a tale so epic that it has an epic name: the Mahabharata.
The Palace of Illusions is no alternate for the real Mahabharata, of course, but it’s a good place to start. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has taken one of the important pieces of Indian literature and absorbed on the story of Panchaali. Telling the events from Panchaali’s point, author searches Panchaali’s role in the battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The result is a touching tale of human tragedy which, according to author, gives us vision into a character who is important in the Mahabharata but mainly silent on her purposes, thoughts, and feelings.
Since Author Chitra comprises her first person narrator, the epic possibility of the basis material suddenly becomes more personal. This in turn leads to a good question: can one really cleanse the essence of something as long and intricate as the Mahabharata in less than four hundred pages? Having not read the Mahabharata, I can’t say for sure; however, I’m sure the answer is “no.” One of the reasons this epic is beautiful is its lasting but flexible nature as a source material.
I can’t show to how well The Palace of Illusions supports the legacy of the Mahabharata. Regardless, it is a beautifully-written, moving story about Panchaali, the Pandavas, and the Kauravas. At times it doesn’t go as deep into Panchaali’s life as I would expect of a story narrated by and about her. But that’s a minor objection compared to the sad story, one of personal and epic scope, developed against the landscape of an India where magic is commonplace and gods walk among us.
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