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“The Silence of the Lambs” by Thomas Harris

This was my summer book, and by that I mean I’ve been slacking far too religiously in my summer reading, meaning it did indeed take me the whole summer to finally finish this at a whopping 339 pages. To say I’m disappointed would be an understatement, but I blame Zelda: Breath of the Wild for that. I am a bibliophile before I am a gamer but I do need to indulge myself in the adventures of Link sometimes people.. Anyway, to the review. This is a great book. Don’t ask if it’s better than the movie; we all know the answer to that, though I did just watch the movie with my boyfriend and I think it was awesome aside from the few expected non-ideal changes. It’s a psychological thriller to the core that uses anticipation to carry the story along. Clarice is likable in the book as well as the movie, the ladder not paying quite so much attention to character building as the book, which obviously rings well for the book. Thomas Harris has this slight sarcasm that he uses in the way he relates feelings to occurrences that I really appreciated. It does ring true for him as an author, as something I can put that is exactly like him. He uses metaphors that are actually good, not reaching, and goes into extreme detail on subjects ranging from behavioral investigation/SWAT team practices all the way to insect pupae, showcasing that he clearly did his research and wanted to flex that a bit in his writing. That is always appreciated in my book (ha) because it adds a layer of truth to the story when there author actually knows what he or she is talking about. I don’t think there is much need to go into the plot being as many people have seen the movie anyway, but I do appreciate how the lambs with Clarice’s need to save the less fortunate does intrinsically tie in with Jame Gumb’s metamorphosis with the moth’s and his transvestism. Very clever on Thomas Harris’s part. Hannibal Lecter is such a creepy villain because he is always thinking 10000 miles ahead of you, he’s got all of the time in the World to wait and formulate his plans for escape.. and some blood tasting. This books got one of the greatest villain-esque escape routines I have ever read, it seems so outlandish until you release that crazier things have happened and his escape could have been pulled off in real life because of that. I found myself so happy with the ending as well, could not have ended better. This book receives a 4/5 from me for being so original and hosting one of my favorite flava bean/census worker’s liver eating villain ever. Horrah. 

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“Tomie” by Junji Ito

“Tomie” by Junji-Ito

Japanese comic / horror manga

Tomie is the second work that I have read by Junji Ito, the first being Uzumaki. While I will say here that I thought that Uzumaki had that more raw, uncanny feeling to it, Tomie still stands out. Tomie is the name of a girl that was killed in the beginning of the comic. The teacher tries to get her to go away and she falls to her death after admitting she is pregnant with his child, whereupon the teacher decides it is best to cut her up into pieces and have the students spread the body parts into areas of their choosing. Understandably, the students are awe-struck when Tomie walks into class the next day, very much alive and not at all in a bunch of little pieces. This is just the start of what becomes an unrelenting force that is Tomie: An immortal succubus that thrives off of the attention and ruining of men. Tomie is very beautiful and can have any man that she desires, throwing women and men alike into murderous rage. Following this murderous rage, Tomie has the ability to split and regenerate, creating more Tomies. Thus, the World is never free from Tomie, also thus, to quote Ito himself: “No use escaping Tomie.” She thrives off of the attention from men, the jealousy of women, the compliments, the men that wait on her hand and foot, their passion getting to be so red-hot that they will murder her or for her without question. That is what fuels Tomie. 

I thought I would have to have a penis to be into the whole “succubus” part of Tomie, and I was sort of right. She is just not as scary to me as the concept between Uzumaki. True, she cannot be killed, which sucks, but hey, neither can the force in Uzumaki. If she tried to come for my Boyfriend I’d probably just smack a bitch up, if you get my informal drift. Regardless, Tomie is an annoying character, and it would feel nice for her to get some of what she hands out readministered back to her, but we don’t get that. The same kind of eerie hopelessness that Junji-Ito plugs into Uzumaki is present in Tomie as well, being as you cannot stop Tomie from creating more Tomies, and it’s even harder to stop her with her ability to have men do her dirty work at the snap of her pretty white fingers. I would give this work a solid 2.5/5. A 2 felt too low, but a 3 felt too generous. I enjoyed it, and I’d recommend it for the really solid images of horror that we get, such as the end of “hair”. That was wicked. I will always always be a fan of Ito’s artistic work, so this rating pertains more to the actual dialogue and reader-driven content found in the text. Other than that, I’ll most likely stick to recommending Uzumaki for first time Junji-Ito readers, as that sort of did more for me. 

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i have no idea why people still see rats as like ‘gross’ and ‘ugly’ when they look like something made up to appeal to people who like soft animals

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“Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens

Did you miss me? Did all 2 of my followers think I was dead, kidnapped, or on hiatus? I wasn’t, I was just slowly plugging away at this novel whilst keeping up with my studies, fitness stuff, creative outlets, blah blah blah. Life, right? I’m not here to bore you, I’m here to review and rate this book. 

Preface: It has come to my understanding that many high schoolers were as well as are currently made to read this for curriculum. I am happy that I did not have to, because reading it for pleasure instead of homework made my reading a lot more thorough and appreciated than it would have been otherwise, since everybody knows that you tend to dislike the books you are “forced” to read. (Though this isn’t the case for me. While others drooled and squinted sleepy, drowsy eyes over “The Old Man and the Sea”, I quite enjoyed it. Same goes for Pride and Prejudice. I chose to write a research paper on that book so, I must have liked it to some degree.. pst, the review is on here somewhere, in fact it may have been the last one I posted! Don’t quote me on that, just go read it if you haven't!) 

So, let us jump right in.

Charles Dickens is an impeccable storyteller. This novel and to my knowledge, most of his written work came out in monthly installments. This was the equivalent to the movies for people in the 1800s. Absolutely marvelous this man is at crafting characters, their motives and a story that is enriching for the reader and enjoyable. I love how it spreads across many years, so you feel like you are watching Pip grow up and go through his childhood, his teenage phase and so on. If you don’t fancy longer novels, I wouldn’t say to stray away from this one on account of it being very well written, but I’m also not not saying that... how’s that for an algebra problem? Anyway, I’ll recount an interaction I had with a peer while we were, no joke, peer reviewing each other’s papers. We’ll call her Mary.

Mary: Ooo, whatcha readin’? I love to read. My mom’s like, an English teacher and shoved books into my face since I popped out the womb.

Me: That is... weird imagery to disclose to me, Mary. It’s Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

And then, her face morphed into a look of horror, like she was remembering some car accident of long ago where her younger bother flew out of the windshield.

Okay okay, take it back a few notches. It was not that bad. At the very least, she did look sorry for me. Like my cat had just contracted feline aids, or something.

Mary: Oh, yeah. I had to read that in Highschool.

Me: It’s taking a very long time for me to get through, it feels like.

(A required interruption: It DID take me a very long time. Four months of a long time, which is virtually unacceptable under normal conditions, but my life is pretty busy during the college months. Apologies, resume.)

Mary: Charles Dickens tends to be very verbose. Didn’t you know he got paid by the word?

Mary, Mary, Mary. This statement was clearly a joke, a sort of bibliophile jest that I was supposed to laugh at and immediately understand as such.

I thought she was, under no doubt, serious. Not only did I think she was serious, no. I thought what she said was a fact.

I’m embarrassed to admit this. Being paid by the word is not a conceivable way of paying a writer because there is no doubt they would start to value quantity over quality in a lucrative driven state. But you don’t understand. When I was immersed in the loquacious qualities of our Dear Dickens, I took this to be a perfectly viable truth. Dickens writes a lot, and very long winded sentences that I sometimes had to reread and decode since the intelligent part of my brain was left behind 2 paragraphs ago. It did not seem impossible that he was paid by the word to me. In the back of the mind I did think, well, maybe people just say that since he can be a bit.. wordy. Maybe it’s just a saying. At least initially, I did think it was the truth. And that will haunt me to the grave.

About our dear Pip, I liked him in the beginning as much as I could like a child character. He was a down-trodden, his elders not really giving him much credit. His sister raised him under the circumstances that children are not to be shown affection or congratulation for their progress, which led to Pip seeking solace where he could find it with Joe. Don’t even get me started on Joe. Joe is by far the most likable character in this whole novel, save for Magwitch towards the end. He was the only character that I consistently liked, and I use the word “consistent” because there were times when Pip fell upon his Great Expectations that I really did not care for him. I thought he was far too entitled with no merit, and I found it annoying that he chased after Estella when she seemed to me to be such an obvious lost cause. Dickens no doubt meant for this reaction to be spurred, because when Pip falls out of his Great Expectations and has to once again become more humble, he is very apologetic and admits his faults to Joe and Biddy. This redeemed him, and I suppose you can't expect a 21 year old guy to not get a little.. immature, with his money, when he just has so much of it.

Here’s what my personal opinion of the character’s are.

Joe Gargery: A very gentle man who prizes character, pride in ones work no matter what it is, and kindness above brains. In turn, he is very lovely and kind, extremely likable. The way he looks out for Little Pip and older, ill Pip warms the coldest of hearts no doubt. @Estella. 

Georgiana: Mean?? Sort of likable, in an odd way though? Her argument with Orlick made me laugh so hard. And I couldn’t help but feel awful for her and the accident. She may have been mean to Pip when he was younger, but I think that has to due with how young boys were treated in the 1800s. She always boasted of “bringing him up by hand,” so I think she thought it was sort of her responsibility to not make him into a loser. 

Orlick: Annoying and the worst, thinks he’s really cool but deserves to be in prison like the GARBAGE he is. Also, why does he call Pip a wolf so much in that one scene? He’s trying to equate him to a beast so he can make it easier to hurt him, I know but. He’s just loitering trash, he really gets my frogs a leapin.’

Herbert: Bad at fighting but good at friendship :D

Pip: I do like Pip, and I feel like he’s a good one. Sometimes he’s a bit unsure of himself and his place in the World, but I think that’s due to his coming into such a large sum of money unexpectedly. In the middle of the book, he did annoy me, because he made his problems seem awful. “Oh Estella, why won’t you look at me, oh god, this pain, I can’t possibly bare it in my nice pressed suit from Drummle’s, how can I go ON like this, also Biddy, I try to make myself like you but it just won’t work! Any advice?” Pip.. Shut up.

Ms. Havisham: I love her and everything about her character. She was the eccentric oddity of the bunch. The clock that was set at the same time that Compeyson left her, the old wedding dress, her walks with Pip around the room, the fire scene.. I see her as an interesting character because in trying to prevent her misfortune concerning love from reoccurring with a girl of her own, she made Estella’s heart pretty much non-existent. But I think she wanting revenge, she wanted to feel the satisfaction of seeing a Man love hard and get his heart broken.. but when she got just that, she realized very quickly what she had done. I really like her character.

Magwitch: In the beginning, obviously I found him sort of humorous and very prison-escapee in the animal like sort of way, desperate and mean. When he comes to Pip and reveals all of the Great Expectation stuff, the twist was enough for me to like him right there, but I really loved Magwitch at the end. He got such an unfair treatment out of life, and all he wanted was to make someone better than him, to set him up with these “great expectations” to lead him into success. I think he thought of Pip like a son, and likely felt bad for how he treated him when he was 7 years old. I think he wanted to make a wrong right, and I actually surprised myself when I shed tears at his death scene. It was so beautifully written, and you could feel that fragility of himself and the circumstances surrounding his demise and the connection between Pip and him. I was so glad that Pip came to be with him everyday. He deserved that much.

Estella: Did not like her, but it’s *technically* not her fault, I guess? I mean, she is a very hard character to really like. She’s not funny, she’s entitled and far too proud, has no emotion, yes, all of that, but that can be credited to Ms. Havisham and how she brought her up. So, I think she served her purpose well in the context of the novel, I just am not particularly fond of her. I liked the first ending, though, the one where Pip and her grab hands.

This is the last line, and it’s awesome.

“I took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place; and, as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge, so, the evening mists were rising now, and in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw the shadow of no parting from her.”

Isn’t that just kickass? The connection from when he first left the forge and the mists were rising to the present time was very enjoyable.

Wemmick: I picture him as a sneaky, short guy with a top hat and a mustache and a monocle. Wait, a monocle? Surely not. Oh gosh, do I picture Wemmick as the monopoly man? He’s great. I love his double life, the idea of this strict businessman who never lets his “personal affairs” known to anybody but Pip and Aged P is a great concept. His house sounds lovely and interesting as well, and I hope his marriage went very well for him. Everything he did for Pip and all of the information he gave him led the novel along nicely, so we have him to thank for that.

Mr. Jaggers: I always picture him as the tap-dancing lawyer from Chicago. Like, he’d be the one to flip out and have a mini tantrum in a trial about the “erroneous facts” being spread. I liked his character, he held himself to a certain standard and never let anyone see past that wall really. Maybe it would have been interesting to see the flip side of that, like what he did at home and such. Also, did he rape Estella’s mother? I don’t mean, like, got her pregnant with Estella, clearly that was Abel, but like.. he says he tamed her “the old way” and that just sounded fishy to me. That aside, he was aight. 

Aged P: An angel. His happiness with Wemmick and how the simple things bring him pleasure would just bring me the most relief. Aw, he loves being nodded at and acknowledgment, aw, how cuuute.

Drummle: Death by horse?? Oh no

Pumblechook: Needs to sit down, chill out and shut up pretty much every time he makes an appearance. 

And with that, I think it’s time to try to wrap up this very lengthy review. I would give this novel 5/5. There is a reason it is taught in schools, it is great for discussion and the story is almost delectable. I very much enjoyed it, and yes, it is a long book, however; if you can muster up the (in today’s world) seemingly impossible strength to read it, I think it’s a classic that definitely deserves to be remembered and talked about.

I leave you with a quote from Pip that really just touched me to the core.

“Windy donkey as he was, it really amazed me that he could have the face to talk thus to mine.”

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“ a streetcar named desire” by Tennessee Williams

Gee. If another play has never left me so depressed and incomplete feeling before, I’d have to say that this one would take the cake. William’s way of writing shows his talent for building up tension and story, and then taking away what sense of hopefulness you might have had for the characters who you are now inevitably very invested in.

The way that he incorporates music and the building and lessening of it as a plot device is also encapsulating. It is for this reason that I think I would very much like to see this play live, though it’d be hard for me to watch Blanche’s trials and tribulations now that I know what comes of her. Blanche was an odd one. Truly a character that is a mental slave to her past and her fruitions that are impossible to come to be, she definitely made an imprint on me.

In layman's terms, I guess I really just feel bad for Stella. And Blanche. And Eunice. All of the woman that were subjected to be the excited provision of the men of their lives. Stanley Kowalski can go to a hell that is specified with a sign on the outside as the “Polack Hell.”

This was a quick read for me, but one I had to study closely none-the-less as I am using it for a paper based on scene direction. I think it fits that I chose one such as this, because William’s gives stage directions with enough directness so that you can tell what is going on, but enough ambiguity where there is some room to take “artistic liberties” if you will. The polka with the shot at the end. The blues piano growing louder and more frantic when Stanley declares the certain date he had. It all made me feel the type of anxiety that you feel when you are actually face to face with actors, yet that kind of energy reached me through the words and tension that Tennessee Williams had brought about simply through his words. I now realize that when Tennessee Williams introduces a character, you by no means put that information out of your head. Every little bit of it is important at a later date! 

The idea of a family member overstaying their welcome is a great backdrop to lots of interesting events happen, and if the men in this story were better people, perhaps it would have ended up being much funnier. I rather like it how it is now, though I do long for a chance for Blanche. 

While typing this, I thought, “a chance at what?” I then supposed that the generality of that sentence served its purpose well. I’d just like for the old girl to have a shot at life on her own.

Unfortunately, I think she's endured a lot of heartbreak and loss. Because she has been a victim of her own accord and in all actuality practically all though the story, it’s hard to see her breaking out of that cycle. And it did fill me with, in a way, a hopelessness and sad feeling that was present at the end of Uzumak. In Uzumaki, the people are hurting themselves and each other due to a curse over the whole town. In A streetcar named desire, there is no curse to account for and name a tangible hurt - the hurt is created by the characters from their own painful experiences and then in turn projected onto each other.

Overall, it’s a great play. I enjoyed reading it, but I cannot say that I enjoy the more negative feelings I have towards Stanley or Blanche. It’s almost all too real for me, too familiar. 

I guess I mean to say... Haven't you ever had a distant relative show up seemingly out of nowhere on a streetcar named desire?

I give this play 3.5/5 polacks playing poker. May the Mexican woman with the Flores para los muertos live long. You brought with you a sentiment of love and loss that could have been worth something to mourn if not for deceit, lies, and most importantly, dramatic tension. 

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“Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen

This book is one that makes me feel guilty for not knowing more of Jane Austen’s work. She is very obviously settled in that niche of fantastic female writers who really brought a unique voice and skill to the table, but I think a few years ago after attempting Jane Eyre I just did away with any writer who vaguely reminded me of a Bronte. (Literary people, don’t freak! I am going to give it another try. I’m chalking it up to the fact that trying to read that in high school was not the best idea for me but I am much more open to enjoying it in college.) In a few months, I may be boasting the tidings of Charlotte so. Nobody go and get their Georgian era dressing gown in a bunch.

ha.

annnnyways. Pride and Prejudice is just lovely. I tried to think of a better, more sophisticated way to put it but I think bluntness will have to feign explanation for now. Every single character in P&P is not only memorable but built in such a way that you can’t get them out of your head. When I hear someone being sarcastic or illustrating a sort of dry-humor, I think of Mr. Bennet and how he made me smile through the novel with his love for Elizabeth and general good sense that Mrs. Bennet rarely if ever executed. When I see someone acting in a strong, opinionated but civil manner, I think of Elizabeth Bennet. I think of Elizabeth Bennet a lot because in many ways, she is the perfect protagonist. Jane Austen brought her to life with her words, and it feels like you know her as a friend at the end.

more on that note later. So, what is P&P about? And why am I hyping it up so much?

Short answer: love, social standing, marriage, family, Georgian era Britain, the actual traits of pride and prejudice, and as for the praise? It deserves it. 

Long answer: Pride and Prejudice centers mostly around a family called the Bennets. In it there are a father and a mother and 5 daughters ranked here from eldest to youngest: Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia. One can assume that 5 daughters certainly equals misfortune, but luckily the sister who is closest to becoming a spinster is Jane and 1) she’s about 4 or 5 years away from that becoming a possibility and 2) she is the most beautiful of all the sisters, and her good nature and soft naivety is so abundant that it is not hard to find her pleasant. While this doesn’t stop Mrs. Bennet from thinking primarily of only marrying her daughters off and seeing that they marry the person with the most possible money, the announcement that there will be a new and rich eligible bachelor (lol) moving not very far from them definitely makes her lose it. She sends her husband over at once (for the good of her daughters!!!) to make arrangements to have a ball planned. It is at this ball where we meet Mr. Darcy as well as Charles Bingley and his two sisters. 

And, well, that’s where the magic happens.

Incorrect, actually. Magic happens all throughout this book, and there are times of strife and embarrassment - I’m looking at you, Lydia. That just makes it feel more real. This is not your standard romantic, lovey dovey mushy-type novel. While Mrs. Bennet thinks of love for her daughters all of the time, and Lydia sees herself as being mature enough to try to find it in all of her free time, love is there where you wouldn't think it would be. Jane suffers a confused, quiet heart break, and love is still there. Love is there when Darcy deems a certain girl as being “not quite enough to tempt me.” Love is even there when Elizabeth begrudgingly visits Pemberley, the estate of Darcy’s. The only time love clearly isn’t there is when Mr. Collins does what he does, and if you haven’t read it yet, you’ll eat that scene right up. I mean, that man is so ridiculous and comical, he just brings a great element to the story. I digress. There is never a dull moment in this book, seriously. Because it is such an awesome read, I could talk forever about how Darcy resembles “Pride” and Elizabeth resembles “Prejudice,” for a very long amount of time, but since that's something I am sure some of you would prefer to go about doing yourself I do believe I will leave it at that. There is a reason this book is a top favorite among many, and because I have to agree with the masses, this is officially the first book on my blog to receive an outstanding 5 stars from me. This does not happen a lot, and probably will not happen for a while after this, but I am happy to have had the privilege to read such a book. Jane Austen, you really knocked it out of the park. And I see you, naming the most beautiful sister after yourself. I love it. I also love how Austen turned down marriage TWICE, which was unheard of for her time, and one time she mentioned in a letter to her sister that she decided to turn a guy down because “he smelled of fish.” She is absolutely brilliant, and because of that, I give this title 5/5 rotting fish. If you have not read it yet, I’d definitely recommend picking it up. I’ve noticed it’s a great conversation starter because a lot of people have read the book but if that's not your thing, many people have seen at least one version of the film. Inventive, classic and interesting. A book that shows what is possible with a beautiful mind and the knowledge of words. A true triumph of a novel, lovely, as one may say. 

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finished pride and prejudice so, that’s pretty neat I suppose. Obviously it was amazing and I’m going to really enjoy writing up the review for it. That should be coming at you guys live in like, a few days or so. I just have some other creative projects with poetry and illustration that also call for my attention, plus I have to take some photos of the book and I’m thinking I’m going to do like, another nature type of shoot like with Helter Skelter. After this, I will be reading A Streetcar Named Desire, and hopefully I’ll get a post up when it gets closer to the end of finals about my Winter break reading challenge. I will have three weeks and 2 days off so I’ll have time for what, maybe a book a week? I’ll have to take a look at my need-to-reads and assess what I can do that will be within my limits, ( because if it’s going on the internet I definitely do not wanna fail :0 ) but that challenge will start on December 14th and end January 7th. So that is definitely ample time to get some books in there. As it gets closer to December 14th, I’ll post my picks and we’ll go from there. Happy reading everybody :)

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Review number 3 on it’s way

My book review of Pride and Prejudice is approaching! Please, please, keep your excitement at bay. I know I have so many followers to please so I hope that I do showcase my ability to do just that. 

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“Uzumaki” by Junji Ito

“this town’s going mad... a mad spiral...”

The town of Kurozu-cho in Japan is under a curse. At least, Shuichi Saito knows it to be true, after he saw his own father lose his sanity and meet his demise tucked into small wooden bath twisted up in a horrific manner after becoming obsessed with “the spiral.” Odd things start going on in Kurozu-cho, and we focus on Shuichi and his Girlfriend Kirie and her family throughout the duration of it. The chapters in this work of art are set up as sequences that focus mainly on just one symptom or ostentatious event that takes place due to this curse that the town is under. It’s got something for everyone, from people that slowly (and disgustingly, I might add) turn into large snails to pregnant women who get infected from mosquito bites and become blood thirsty at night. It is odd, and at times feels hopeless, but that’s where it’s charm comes from. These people are locked in a town of insanity and death, and you start to notice the hopelessness of the situation after typhoons begin to come for Kurozu-cho. If you’ve never seen the eye of a hurricane before.. it’s essentially a large spiral. Junji Ito’s creativity absolutely shines through in this manga series. There was not a dull moment to be had the whole entire time, and the only disappointment I felt was upon noticing that I was so close to finishing the book when it seemed so long (I got the version with all of the chapters smushed into each other.) He is able to take the whole “spiral” idea and twist and turn it in ways you wouldn’t imagine. You’ll think, “oh, what can be so scary about spirals?” And Junji Ito will say, “hold my pen.”

You’ve probably noticed that I haven’t mentioned the art yet. This is because this whole time that I’ve been writing this review, I’ve been pondering about the best way to talk about it. You know when you’re a kid and that morbid curiosity takes over, thus making you start to read scary stories with scary pictures that you know will absolutely haunt your dreams later that night, but for some reason you just don’t want to stop? That’s what Junji Ito’s art is like. It’s honestly very beautiful in some parts, and then in other’s it’s hard to believe how he came up with the idea of something so disgusting and hard to look at. As someone who loves horror, I ate it all up. I’d find myself staring at one page for more than 3 minutes just to soak in all of the details and imagine Ito drawing it all out. 

Because I couldn’t put it down once I really got into it, Uzumaki receives 4/5 dragonfly pond clay pots. At one point, Kirie says to Shuichi, “You know, if it wasn’t for you, I would have died a long time ago.” And this is true. Everyone is so quick to call Shuichi crazy but he manages to always know when crap is inevitably going to hit the fan, and in quite a few chapters he manages to save her just in time. Like I said, I don’t want to spoil anything, but by the end you’ll be scared AND experiencing a vague, hopeless feeling for the people locked in this cursed town. It’s the perfect mix in my eyes and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who likes horror fiction or graphic novels/manga. Rest in peace, jack in the box boy. 

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Horray for book #2 finished.

Just finished “Uzumaki” by Junji Ito. It was a lovely read and I cannot wait to post the review. 

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this is me, all the way. I especially love the cat laying atop the books in the back

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“This is a bookstore” in Kalamazoo, MI featuring my friend Lexie who got a book about animals that I thought looked so intriguing 

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Helter Skelter Book Review

I’ve got to say, this book review has been a long time coming. Finishing this massive book was a feat within itself. 689 pages is a lot for me to take on, and when I finished it I was left with that same feeling of bitter-sweet longing that we bookworms have all grown to love. This book is written by Vincent Bugliosi, the head prosecutor during the Manson trial. Because of this, it’s easy to assume he had lots and lots to say. Which is very correct. Vincent starts the book by capturing the scene of the crime that happened at 10050 Cielo Drive, where we walk with the housekeeper as she is coming to clean the house, completely unexpecting the terror and horror that she would find there. After seeing the five dead, she takes to the street, mad with shock and disgust, screaming, “Blood! Death! Bodies! Murder!”

Indeed, Winifred Chapman. Little did you know you just came across what would soon become the most publicized homicide in history. 

After talking about the deaths and a bit about the police coming to survey the crime scene, Vince moves on to talk in-depth about the victims and who they were as people. This was a very kind gesture from him, because Manson would have liked us to see them in a desensitized manner, as just bodies, long-forgotten. When I read about Sharon Tate and how she never got to really show her talent as an actress, how excited she was to have her baby and spend time with her husband somewhere away from Cielo Drive, it made my heart break for her. Not to be vain and mention beauty, but she really was eye-catching. Reading about the victim’s lives and who they were does give you a new perspective on the case, a great authorial move by Vincent.

After we are introduced to all of the victims, Vince dives into the Manson family. Charles Manson spent practically his whole life in institutions, starting with boarding schools and random foster homes when he was just five years old. When he was released from prison in 1967, there is rumor that he begged the guards not to free him. They did regardless, and Manson was released right into what would become his breeding ground for making his twisted family - the counterculture movement. Manson had interest in pursuing music after learning the guitar in Prison, so he set his sights for Los Angeles. Drugs, free love, ever-changing philosophy and hippies opened their arms to Manson, and it was directly from the Haight-Ashbury district that he began to make his own philosophy to rap to vagabonds and runaways, taking from Scientology as well as satanic religions that held meetings in LA. Years of institutions taught Manson how to manipulate well, and it was with this skill paired with his wild philosophy that he was able to convince many young girls to join him. The girls were important to Charlie because they lured other men into the family with prospects of sex, and it was the men that Charlie really wanted to have on his side, for protection and camaraderie. 

During the middle of the book, Vince jumps between talking of the family and of the legal forces that were trying to hunt down who these killers were. If ever there was a police force that should have cleared all of it’s leads, it was the LAPD. So many things went over their head it’s hard to imagine who gave them their place on the force. 

After Charlie is caught and detained, Vince is able to unravel his motive for the murders by talking to the last few members of the family that had any remorse or good bones left in their body. Vince knew what he had on his plate as soon as he learned more about Charlie’s philosophy- He had to convince a judge and jury that Charles had an exceeding amount of domination over the people that he sent to the house to kill for him. Not only that, he had to prove the motive. Helter Skelter, Charles believed, was going to be an Armageddon race war. The black man would be tired of living under the white man, and would soon rise up to kill the “pigs” and people of the establishment. After this, the white man would take revenge and begin fighting against the blacks. While this was going on, Charles and his family would go to the “bottomless pit” - a place where a river of milk and honey flows that is very reminiscent of heaven. He and his family would be safe from the whole thing down here, he thought. After years of war between the black man and the white man, the blacks would win and there would be no more whites. After a while, Charlie said, the blacks would die off because they wouldn’t know how to do anything except for what the white man showed them to do. After this, Charles and his family would emerge from the bottomless pit as the superior race and begin the world anew. The first murders at Cielo drive were to get the ball rolling to ignite helter skelter. Charles was hoping the World would blame the crime on the blacks and this would in turn start helter skelter.

So you can imagine, Vince was standing pretty deep in it.

The latter part of the book is all about the trial and how Vincent argued his case against Manson and the murderers. It’s very interesting to read all about the crazy shenanigans the family tried to pull during this time. At one time, one of the female family members even tried to pass Manson a tab of acid during court, but that of course was intercepted. 

This book is most definitely worth the read if you have any interest in Charles Manson or serial killers. The psychology behind what made Manson the way he was is scattered all through the pages, and after reading I can confidently say I know more about Charles Manson than I ever NEED to know. It’s a fantastic true-crime read for any lovers of literature that comments on the monsters that walk among us. Though it is a long read, none of it is boring or non-captivating. 

Because of this, Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi gets 4/5 forehead swastikas from me. Oh Charles, you dog, you. 

[marsreadsthings-blog]

Finally!

I am all done with Helter Skelter (Vince Bugliosi.) It was a long run for me at 700 pages, but I am proud to say I read every last page. After I do some formulating on how I want to go about reviewing it later on today my very first review will be up, which is very exciting! I think next I am going to work on finishing Pride and Prejudice, and of course that will be up here as soon as I am finished as I have A LOT to say about that beauty. 

[marsreadsthings-blog]

》Love going to bookshops when I travel《

[marsreadsthings-blog]

Hello.

My name is Mars, and I’m an student studying English Literature at a magical university somewhere in the midwest. I made this blog because despite how much I love words, I don’t really have someone to converse with about them. I think my boyfriend hears enough on the topic. 

Anyways, I’ll be posting about new books I get and reviewing ones that I have finished reading. When I review, you as my loyal followers (ha) can rest assured I’ll take it as the utmost importance to tell you how it is. I’ll use a rating system of 1-5 stars, and a book will only get a 5 stars from me if it absolutely constitutes it. Maybe sometime in the future, I’ll be able to do audio or video reviews as well. I know I find those very entertaining, and it often leads me to my next book.

Things I will do while reviewing:

-touch on what I enjoyed about the book, some themes it presents, a general synopsis of the text, talk way too fast due to caffeine overdosing, and rate it using the star system I mentioned above, one being pretty atrocious and 5 being goddamn sublime. If I give a book 3 stars, please do not let that deter you. Most books that I review will likely receive that rating because it means I enjoyed it and it was worth the read, it just didn't knock my socks off and then bring me Krispy Kreme donuts at 1am. Now THAT constitutes 5 stars if you ask me.

Things I will refrain from doing whilst reviewing:

-Mentioning major or even minor spoilers while speaking about the texts, and talking a book up too much when it does not deserve it. 

Thanks for reading. I want this blog to be a digital footprint-adventure of the books I’ve read and held dear or wanted to deface several times throughout reading. I’m nearly finished with “Helter Skelter” by Vincent Bugliosi, so if that’s the type of book (truecrime) that you're into, I’ll be speaking on that soon enough.

In the fashion of a true English major, I bid you all adieu. Until next time, or rather.. next post.