The Sound of My Fury

I know I haven't posted for ages. Err, do I have an excuse? Err, sometimes nail polish takes ages to dry before I can type?

I'm going to review my fav classic book. Let me start by saying that this is a OMG WTF book. I started reading this and it made absolutely no sense. I was like "hold on there *Billy Faulks*". Who is Quentin? Is it a girl or a boy? Did someone have a sex change? But then I find out there are two Jasons and two Maurys along with the two Quentins and I am like who are all these people? The sex change actually sounds more plausible. But because I don’t want to be, like, reading some stupid chick lit book with a stupid title like “Harriet Potter and the Way Awesum Snog” (you know who you are!) I am going to persevere with my totally boffin book and I don’t care if no one wants to sit next to me at lunchtime.

I’m not that totally dumb and I figure out that the first chapter is being narrated by Benjy who is an “idiot son” (no, I am no longer taking about the ppl at my school, I am talking about the novel) and has no sense of time or space, so his thoughts are everywhere. I also decided there is no point in trying to figure anything out, so I just flow along with the narrative (and enjoy the writing, which is actually really good).

The second chapter is even more confusing. We’ve switched narrators and are now with Quentin (the boy one). He seems like a really intelligent and kind guy and his thoughts start to make sense when out of nowhere… DALTON AMES! DALTON AMES! He is the biggest emo ever. And this is 1910. I didn’t even think emo were invented back then. I’m like “calm down Quents, I know you don’t like this guy Dalton, but don’t lose your head over it…” But he does and even though I am still so confused, I feel so heartbroken for Quentin.

Next two chapters – okay, I’m starting to get it! Third chapter is narrated by Jason (the second one) and he talks totally linear (even though he's a total dick). And to my surprise I find that when he mentions people and events, even though he doesn’t elaborate on it, I’m going hey! I know who and what he’s talking about! It’s like I’ve absorbed bits of gossip (that I am good at) from the first 2 chapters and I just *know*. And the final chapter is in third person POV so it is pretty clear and I’m like okay, wow then. It was kinda fun! And worth the effort, phew! Dude, My brain is sweating bucketloads!!

So is this William Faulkner genius? He surely presents a story in a way I have never seen before. And unlike a normal story, which is hard to re-read cos you don’t want to read the same exposition *over again*, this is like a book you can just pick up and randomly read passages. This is a book that tries to make feelings, rather than events make a Sound and I guess that is where the title is from.

I find myself re-reading the Quentin chapter a lot. It makes me sad. It’s like emo poetry without the crappiness and I love all the feelings – is Quentin chapter the first ever ‘teen novel’ about teen suicide? I like to think so. And it sure is loud and furious and all things beautiful you find in damaged people.

I :Scatterheart: U - Scatterheart by Lili Wilkinson

“Once upon a time, there was a girl called Scatterheart, who was selfish and vain, with a heart as fickle as the changing winds...”

Hanna Cheshire is rich and spoilt. She has servants to wait on her hand and foot — and Thomas, a passionate young tutor who fills her head with stories.

Then one day her father disappears, and she is left to fend for herself. Alone and penniless, she is sentenced to transportation for a crime she didn't commit.

Once Hannah considered Thomas beneath her: a servant, a commoner. Now she thinks of him more and more.
But will she ever see him again?

One girl‘s adventure to find happiness becomes a fairytale within a fairytale. A romantic story of power and love.

Okay, so I am a snoot these days and only read the old stuff, but I will review the occasional modern book as a special exception. In my mailbox I have Scatterheart by Lili Wilkinson, sent to me by black dog books.

It has a brand spanking new purdy PURDY cover and I was immediately drawn to it because it has a young girl on the cover. I’m a young girl, I like to read about other young girls, that’s the fact. Then I find out that it’s about Australian History. I don’t know about you, but whenever we cover Australian History in class, I seriously make to sit up the back with the indie kids and pretend not to fall asleep, I mean convicts and first fleets and Captain Cooks and stuff? That’s boring!

But I decided to give Scatterheart a go because the blurb sounds pretty good, about a girl who gets accused of a crime she didn’t commit (me likey) and gets sent to ye olde Australia and she has a BIG story to tell.

Okay, lets say that the story sucked me completely in. I was supposed to do my homework, but I stayed up and read this book instead. The premise is that Hannah makes a big mistake by getting accused of a crime she didn't commit, but the real guilt she feels is over rejecting her kind and smart tutor Thomas because she is too proud. And along with this parallel is the fairytale of Scatterheart, a story that we learn bit by bit, finding that it mirrors the story that Hannah goes through herself.
Scatterheart is a journey of massive physical proportions, over oceans and basically all of Hell, but at the heart is an internal journey of Hannah trying to find the heart that she literally scattered to the wind and wants back.

This book, like, really spoke to me. I think everyone one of us can be counted guilty of doing something stupid, like rejecting something that would make us happy, only to find out too late. And also finding out we only know this because something very terrible happens instead. Hannah rejects Thomas only to find life goes really wrong and she has to suffer all sorts of abuse first in jail and then on a convict boat. I spent the whole book going, “if only she knew! Ahh, this is horrible, I wish she had said yes to Thomas cos he was a nice dude and she really was into him and she would have been okay.” So if you have ever felt this way, this book will make you confront it and it will make you cry. Not that I cried. Who moi? Okay, so I bawled my eyes out, what are you going to do? Deport me to Australia?

The verdict: I found that Australian history can be really interesting. I like how it’s told from the POV of a girl, which is really refreshing and important (yo! Girl power!). It’s pretty gruesome. But awesome cos Hannah grows up because of it. She’s feisty. I love a strong heroine. I want to meet Hannah and give her hugz. I won’t give away the ending, but if you want to read something that makes your own scatterheart go *thud* (oh come on! I know you secretly like romance) and go “hey, our history is kinda cool” - read this book!


ps - this is a re-post. Blogger "ate" my original entry AKA Eliza stupidly clicked delete