Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz - Review / Bookworm hibernation

You know that feeling when a book is sitting on your book self, looking at you, taunting, teasing.

"If only you had time for me. You've seen my amazing reviews. I know you desire me. I know how much you want to tear open my book spine and ravish me"

....Only me? Okay then.

But wanting to read a book but, unfortunately, having those annoying pre-commitment otherwise known as 'having a life', is a universal feeling. For me, it was a mixture university reading, writing for the school paper and Modern Family DVDs (aka laziness).

However, the day came, where I was finally able to give into my inner bookworm and read 3 books for my choice in a week. Among these was the pretty bloody amazing Aristotle and Dante Discover the Universe. Now, unless you've been living in the hills of the Himalayas or otherwise living without internet connect, you've probably heard about this book, being the popular choice on Tumblr and Instagram.

As the cover shows, it’s won a shit load of awards, and it’s not hard to see why, it's definitely above the standard of most teen fiction/literature.

 The book, set in El Paso, Texas in the summertime 1980's, follows the first person narrative of Aristotle (or Ari as he's nicknamed himself) who is possibly the most angst ridden character in history. Think Harry Potter in the Order of the Phoenix x10. He's fifthteen. He's confused. He's confused about what he's confused about. His family are closed off and distant, his father traumatized by his experience in the war, his mother haunted by his older brother's incarceration. He wants answers but is too afraid to ask.

Then the friendless Ari meets Dante. An offer to teach Ari how to swim turns into a friendship of joint exploration of self-discovery and sexuality. Ari’s not sure why he befriends the strange Dante. Maybe it’s the similarly bizarre name, or perhaps he’s unlike any other fifthteen year-olds, or perhaps its Dante’s laugh. The boy’s relationship is honest and heartwarming and beautifully written, you believe in their friendship and feel for them both when they’re in pain.  

The book predominantly focuses on a teenager’s journey of self-discovery, what it means to be happy, to accept who you are, and most importantly, be happy when you realize that who you are isn’t necessarily what is accepted by others.

Without giving away too much, the story Ari’s growing alienation and hostility towards, well everybody, is developed to the point of explosion. Answers to why are only hinted at and only explained on the last two pages with a huge…. BOOM!!! This makes the books narrative hella thrilling and (I know, I know it’s a cliché) but you won’t be able to put it down. The chapters are only about two pages long which I LOVE; makes you zoom through the book without realizing that 4 hours have pasted and you haven’t fed the cat yet. I managed to finish it two days all in all which, for me, is pretty bloody brilliant. 

Rating

4/5

The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion / That awkward first post

So..... Blog. 

Bloggy, blog, blog....

Feels like I've had a baby. Or to a less dramatic extent a goldfish.

I suppose I should start filling you, huh. Filling you will cool little perspectives on life and jazzy witticisms about modern day literature. Not fair to leave you hanging round cyber space naked and bare with all the other neglected blogs. 

So no making fun of me, I'm new. 

The Rosie Project by Aussie Graeme Simsions was released last year in good ol' 2013 (remember that year? He was kinda a dick) and won a poo ton of publishing and writing awards, and to be honest, its not hard to see why. Its hilarious* without making fun, sad without being pitiful but still manages to be hella romantic. 

Lets first lay out what this makes this book so flipping great. Our main character is a University Professor of genetic engineering , Don Tillman, a extremely efficient chef, avid cyclist, all round hunk but unfortunately: painfully single. Don also has Asperger's Syndrome, a fact that neither occurs to him, nor is even necessarily stated in the book (which I personally think is a pure lightening bolt strike of genius by Simsion). His condition DOES, however, lead to some really amazingly funny incidences in social interactions. Think Sheldon Cooper meets the matchmaker and you've basically got this 295 pages of awesomeness. 

So Don decides he wants a woman in his life. The perfect woman. Nothing wrong with that, most men, after all do. Don, however takes the word 'perfect' in its most literal meaning when he beings 'The Wife Project' in form of a questionnaire. Lets run through an example shall we?:

"'Question 35: Do you eat kidneys? Correct answer is (c) occasionally. Testing for food problems. If you ask directly about food preferences, they say "I eat anything" and then you discover they're a vegetarian'"  

Dons dates vary in success.

Then he meets Rosie. Beautiful, wild, outspoken, who probably eats kidneys (a) extremely often. She's not perfect. But then again she is.  

But do you know what I love most about this book? The things that's made it stick in my head for over a year, when all other summer books of 2013 have been long forgotten? The perspective it gives to how different minds work, that Simision couldn't have achieved if he had written in anything other than first person. During the character description of Don, I found myself typing, "who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome", but during the narrative Don in no way suffers from his differences! Suffering after all is such a nasty, extreme term. Don has grown up to be a extremely successful adult with a damn fine job with close friends, who finds no hindrance with his 'disability'. After all, Don's somewhat obsessive qualities are, one more than a handful of times, able to get him out of some pretty sticky situations. And i'm talking hot wax on hairy legs, sticky. 

Rating 

5/5 - Dogs Bollocks 

* When i say hilarious I mean, laugh out loud like a dunce scare the cat kinda hilarious.