Currently Reading

Finally, I completed reading The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer. It may not be a compliment to say that reading this novel was hard work, but I think that it can be understood by anyone who has taken the time to read every word on the 720 pages of this novel. While reading this book about soldiers battling the Japanese in WWII, at times, I felt like I was right there in the the thick of it with them. As the soldiers willed themselves up Mount Anaka, as they struggled to march through the jungles of the island of Anopopei, as they fought with one another to find their place among the platoon's heirarchy, I felt that I, too, endured all of their battles. Mailer says in his introduction to the fiftieth edition of this novel that the reader should find hope upon completion of this work. I mostly felt relief. Now, though, I find that I continually revisit the situations in the novel and feel a sense of appreciation for the lessons learned. I think that the stories in this novel will forever be with me.

Remaining in the time period of the Naked and the Dead, I am now reading Eric Blair's (George Orwell) 1984. Both novels were written in the mid to late forties and I am curious to see if I can recognize any parallels. I did not plan it this way, but I look forward to studying 1984 in the context of Mailer's book and comparing this to the current political atmosphere. Although I've read this book previously, I'm sure that my perspective has changed since I was in ninth grade.

Recently completed:
The Naked and the Dead
by Norman Mailer
My War: Killing Time in Iraq
by Colby Buzzell
No God but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam
by Reza Azlan
Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War
by Anthony Shadid
The Places in Between
by Rory Stewart