Which book should I read and WHY? Which book shouldn't I read and WHY? Please read explanation.?

Question

I have to read a book for English, and write a paper on it. I want a good book that is not too hard but interesting. Please explain why I should or shouldn't read any of them. Serious answers only, Please! Thanks!

1. Daughter of Fourtune by Isabel Allende
2. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez
3. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
4. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
5. Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

I don't know what level class you are taking and what you need to learn based on the book you read, but I have read the first four over a number of years. All of them are good for very different reasons.

Daughter of Fortune is well written and a nice example of Latin/US history as well as a good story. Isabelle Allende writes beautifully, but you must pay attention. She weaves incredible plots and something that seems minor may be important later in the novel. If you need the history angle, this is a good choice. This provides insights into many cultures: Latino, Anglo, Asian etc. It also explores male/female roles in these societies.

Anything written by Julia Alvarez is worth reading. The Garcia girls are charming and instructive. They have come the U.S. through a round a bout route, and Alvarez opens the reader's mind to another culture and to the way other cultures see the U.S.

Both of these writers have first hand experience dealing with U.S./Latin issues.

Like Water for Chocolate is very poetic and uses elements of magic realism I think. It is difficult to follow if you don't have time to read it carefully. I was charmed by the way food played a major role in plot development, but it would have been hard to follow without sufficient time. This also has an historical basis which adds to the plot. I see a pattern here in the choices your prof offered, for Esquivel too deals with male/female cultural rolesl

Siddhartha was a cult favorite when I was a teen in the 60's and early seventies. It is the story of a man seeking enlightenment and well worth the read if you have any interest at all in Buddhism or spiritual enlightenment. It does counter prevailing Western religious beliefs, so that might affect your decision. It too has references to a historical period and to male/female roles.

All of these books have synopses on the web where you could type in the titles and get more info to make your decision. That way you could weigh the purpose of your class and your paper and the novel.

It looks like your professor provided some excellent choices in terms of meaningful and interesting to read texts. Good luck choosing. I would definitely keep this list for the day when you can read whatever you want.

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Thanks!!!

Answer 2

Words of Mind by Charles Evans

Answer 3

Read anyone, because only you know what you like or dislike. Besides, I never read any of these books and I suggest the one you look at the back of each book and read what it is about and see which one you find the most interesting of them all, and read that one. They say " A good book is hard to put down ". What I mean is you read part way and start to lose what makes sense of the story is not a good book, but you keep reading and want to know what happens next and keep reading is a good book. Good luck on the reading the book of your choice and report.

Answer 4

I loaned a book to a young man I live near to use as his report written by Matthew Reilly. It is called TEMPLE and is a fantastic read. If that doesn't do it for you, you might want to try AMAZONIA by James Rollins, which is another great read. Have fun, happy reading and reporting.