Catching Up on My Reading List

I've just finished, in fairly quick succession

three books from my continuing and

ever growing reading list.

By far, my favorite of the three was

MAJOR PETTIGREW'S LAST STAND

by Helen Simonson.

Although it's a little slow at the start,

many of the characters seem a bit stock,

and Major Pettigrew, the lead character,

is insufferable in the beginning,

it develops into a very sweet love story.

Equally important, the Major redeems himself by

evolving into the kind of caring individual

who is worthy of the happy ending!

THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE

by Stieg Larsson is the second in his

very popular trilogy.

You MUST read

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

before you attempt this one.

Otherwise, you'll miss too much character

development of the main players.

That being said, I didn't know what the

hell was going on in much of this book.

I am not usually a thriller/suspense reader,

give me a domestic drama any day.

So, although I am out of my comfort zone

with these books, that doesn't mean

I don't want to know what all the buzz is about!

I found that if I didn't let myself get too

overwhelmed with a lot of detail,

the first two books are were

exciting reads.

I will take the same tact when I tackle the

third and last one,

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS NEST.

UNBROKEN is the true story of a gifted athlete,
runner Louis Zamerini.
He ran in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, but his
athletic career was cut short by the outbreak of WWII.
He becomes a gunner in a B-24 and
is shot down over the Pacific.
I found this book very difficult to get through.
Although the survival story is extremely inspiring,
Zamerini's harrowing experiences of survival in a raft
which floats for 2000 miles before he is "rescued" and
then his experiences in various Japanese prison camps
is extremely grim.
His re entry into civilian life at the end
of the war is not smooth.
After what he has suffered,
how could it be?
However, he does eventually find redemption,
after hearing a young Billy Graham preach.
After all the degradation, misery and hardship
Zamperini suffered, I felt the ending was a little flat.
Granted, this is true life, not a novel,
but I wanted the ending to be more
uplifting and heartfelt than it seemed.