Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Our book club club meeting was good tonight; the food is always great, the surroundings were beautiful and the book, though a difficult one, was uplifting in the end. 

"Unbroken", by Laura Hillenbrand, is the story of Louis Zamperini, a runner in the 1940's who joined the service during WW11 and suffered many troubles and indignities before being liberated from a POW camp in Japan and ultimately being rescued by his faith, his hope and a remembered promise. 

The book was difficult to read because of some of the subject matter. Louis and several colleagues were shot down over the Pacific and floated in life rafts for over a month before they found land. Later he and many others were captured by the Japanese and sent to POW camps, where they they discovered the depths of man's inhumanity to man and the slow degradation of their dignity and self-respect. 

In the end, they triumphed; some through faith and some through sheer determination not to let themselves be broken. It points out that man can withstand almost anything if he set his mind to it and gives a sense of the depth of the human spirit. I recommend it wholeheartedly. 

I made a recipe of shrimp which I took from a recent flyer from The Fresh Market; a Lemon Garlic and pine nut pesto dipping sauce. It was fairly good. 

Our next meeting will be in February, and our book will be Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy. I have not read it since college (50 years ago), and as it was once of my favorites then, I am looking forward to reading it again. 

11 comments:

Beverly said...

That was indeed a very difficult book to read, but as you said, the ending made all the difference. What a story of redemption and forgiveness.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

I had read about "UNBROKEN"....It sounds like a really wonderful inspirung book...! Thanks for the Heads Up, Judy.....

Pat said...

"It was fairly good."
That sounds like faint praise Judy. I'm guessing you won't make it a family favourite?

Arkansas Patti said...

I read that book and LOVED it. An amazing story and the story of the author who also wrote Seabiscuit is also quite interesting.

Granny Annie said...

With the cost of shrimp and pine nuts, it would have to be a lot better than "fairly good" for us to try it.

What our troops see and stand the chance of having to see for the sake of our freedom is extreme bravery, dedication and heroics.

kenju said...

I was being coy; the shrimp with the pine nut pesto was really good, and several asked for the recipe.

Anonymous said...

I actually took out Anna Karenina a few months ago from the library but never got a chance to reading it. So much came up, things going on, my Yogi Berra book looking more interesting to read....But I would like to take it out again and actually read it this time...

Imaginography said...

That book sounds like it's story contains a great testament to the human spirit.

I have been away from your blog too long Judy. It is always a good smorgasbord of interesting things :)

Gretchen said...

"Unbroken" was one of my most favorite non-fiction books. That period in history still fascinates me, despite the horror. Human frailties are always surprising. The survival in the end, is triumphant.

Ginnie said...

Thanks for the book review Judy. I'm always looking for suggestions. Your book club sounds like they have good book choices and have fun with Tolstoy.

kenju said...

I pulled out my 50 year old copy of Anna Karenina. 950 pages of small print on thin paper. Methinks (actually, me knows) my eyes were much better 50 years ago.