5 Students, 1 Quest: Entertainment Journalism Through Blogging

Last week I talked about an author that I feel everyone should be reading this summer, so I thought it only fitting that this week I talk about the books that would be better left for another season. Summer is supposed to be a happy time where reading is done for fun and pleasure. These books could potentially put a damper on those amazing summer plans.

As I Lay Dying
William Faulkner

As I Lay Dying is a book about Addie Bundren. It tells the story of her death through the eyes of many different characters. Cash, Addie’s eldest son is making her coffin for her as she is watching outside her bedroom window. Her two other sons leave for a long trip to see a friend whose daughters have been helping Addie as she has been ill. Her youngest son, Vardaman has had the hardest time with his mother’s death and associates it with the fish that he caught and killed earlier that day. Addie had requested to be buried in the nearby town of Jefferson, so the Bundren family heads out on their journey. They come across many obstacles but eventually make it to Jefferson and bury Addie. However, all of their lives change once they get to Jefferson and bury their dead mother.

This book has 15 different narrators to the story, which means that there are 15 different stories being told. Though they may be relatively close to the same basic idea, they still are being told in different perspectives which can make it rather difficult for the reader to follow. On top of that, the story lacks a certain amount of thrill or excitement. All those English majors and minors at Buena Vista University can either agree or disagree on whether this is a good summer read because this is a required text for the American Literature classes.

Beowulf

Beowulf can be dated back to the 8^th to 11^th century. Beowulf, the hero of Geats, battles three of the stories antagonists: Grendel, Grendel’s mother and a dragon. Grendel is attacking the Danish, and the king of the Danes, Hrothgar has said that anyone who can beat Grendel will get a reward. Beowulf feels as though he is up to the challenge. In the final battle with the dragon, Beowulf becomes fatally wounded and died.

This story was written in ancient Britain by an unknown author. Although it is considered to be one of the classics, the plot and story line are very difficult to follow. This is part of the required reading for British Literature I. If being confused is what you look for in a book, Beowulf would be a good choice!

Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad

This story is a story of Marlow’s time with the Belgian trading company who is out to get all of the ivory that they can from the jungles of Africa. He is able to get the job through a contact that his aunt had within the company. She is very excited for him to have this sort of opportunity, though he seems to be rather numb to it. This company hires native laborers and then employs European men as the “bosses” of these laborers. The laborers are treated very poorly, much like they are in the diamond mines today. Marlow and his crew get a ship and sail down the river to Kurtz’s camp in order to get some of the ivory that he has and bring it back to the company. There are many different hurdles that Marlow and his crew need to overcome, including the death of Kurtz and a laborer aboard his boat. Overall, this is a story of how Marlow comes to be a part of this company, his time in the company and ultimately how he is affected by the experiences in the “Heart of Darkness.”

This book is one that is read in the British Literature II class. The story is interesting, but the language of the story is not entertaining and the story flows at a rather slow pace. If you are interested in the story line, check out the movie that was made called Apocolypse Now.

Iliad
Homer

The Iliad is the story of the fall of Troy. Hektor and his younger brother Paris are in Greece celebrating the new-found peace between Troy and Greece. While there, Paris falls in love with Helen and takes her away to Troy. Menelaus, Helen’s husband, is very distraught that she has left Greece with another man. He calls his brother Agamemnon to his aid, and Agamemnon decides to attack Troy. He calls in Achilles who is the best warrior in all of Greece. After all the battles, many lives are lost on both sides, and the story continues into Homer’s sequel: The Odyssey.

Though this book has some thrill and interest, it is very hard to follow being written in the form of a poem. Back in the days before people wrote things down, they sang them, so this poem was written in such a way that it would be easier to remember the poem. This book is read in the Introduction to Early Literature course that is offered on campus.

Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë

Wuthering Heights is a story about the love between Catherine and Heathcliff and Catherine and Edgar Linton. Catherine and Heathcliff were friends for years and they fell in love. However, Catherine needed to think about her future and chose to marry Edgar instead. Heathcliff is heartbroken and leaves right away. Years pass, and he comes back. Once Heathcliff comes back, numerous events happen; Catherine has a child and dies. The rest of the book is spent explaining how her daughter’s (Catherine) life is spent, and how she corrects the mistakes that her mother had made in her life.

This book is required reading for the British Literature II class and has a very slow story line. It is a rather boring book that really does not capture the attention of the reader in a timely fashion. There are moments that are intriguing but the language that is used and the fact that the story proceeds so slowly entirely takes away from the overall outcome of the story.

These books have made my list of the top five books to avoid reading during the summer because of the storylines, the way they are written and because if you have to take any English courses on the Buena Vista University campus, you will undoubtedly read one, if not all of these books. As an English minor, I am required to read all of them in any of these three 200 level course: British Literature I, British Literature II and American Literature. They are all classics, however they are not the most enjoyable to read if you are more interested in contemporary literature. BVU would do well to add a contemporary literature course to their course listings. Then students could read books that may actually interest them.

-Katie