Book Report - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

Jeff Lebowski · 09-05-2006, 09:56 PM

OK. I mentioned a while back that I peppered my summer reading list with suggestions from CG. Here are my reviews:

1) Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut (rec by mpfunk)

Good book. Short but interesting. Story is loosely built around the bombing of Dresden, something which Vonnegut lived through as a POW. The story is not autobiographical (the story is actually quite bizarre - time travel and aliens) but he occasionally interjects in the story and points out things that actually happened. Oddly, it is pretty funny in spots; something I did not expect from a book on this topic.

2) Catch-22, Joseph Heller (rec by mpfunk, others)

From the intro to the book, it appears that this book caused a big splash when it was published in the sixties. It is based on a group of bombers on an island in the med sea during WWII. It is kind of a comedy/anti-war book all in one. Reminded me of MASH in many ways. I suspect the book inspired the movie/TV series in many ways. I must admit that I didn't enjoy this one as much. The humor seemed overdone and the plot was just too over the top for me. (sorry, mpfunk)

3) The Black Dahlia, James Ellroy (rec by Seattle Ute)

This is a cop/detective thriller based on the unsolved "Black Dahlia" case from California in 1947. I was vaguely familiar with the case and after reading the book I did a little research and was surprised by how many facts from the real case made it into the fictional account. I am a fan of this genre and I thought it was an excellent book. However, it was one of the darkest novels I have read in some time. I guess that is inevitable when you are writing about a case where the victim was but into two pieces and left in a field.

In googling the case after I finished the book, I was surprised to learn that a movie was released last week based on this book. Not just any movie, but a major Hollywood production:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387877/

Stars include our very own Aaron Eckhart as Lee Blanchard. Hillary Swank and Josh Hartnett are on the cast as well. I pictured Nick Nolte and Nicholas Cage for Lee & Bucky, but I guess they are too old. It appears it at a film festival now and will be in full release in the U.S. on 9/15. Good reviews so far.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions guys.

09-05-2006, 09:56 PM	#1
Jeff Lebowski Charon Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: In the heart of darkness (Provo) Posts: 9,564	Book Report OK. I mentioned a while back that I peppered my summer reading list with suggestions from CG. Here are my reviews: 1) Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut (rec by mpfunk) Good book. Short but interesting. Story is loosely built around the bombing of Dresden, something which Vonnegut lived through as a POW. The story is not autobiographical (the story is actually quite bizarre - time travel and aliens) but he occasionally interjects in the story and points out things that actually happened. Oddly, it is pretty funny in spots; something I did not expect from a book on this topic. 2) Catch-22, Joseph Heller (rec by mpfunk, others) From the intro to the book, it appears that this book caused a big splash when it was published in the sixties. It is based on a group of bombers on an island in the med sea during WWII. It is kind of a comedy/anti-war book all in one. Reminded me of MASH in many ways. I suspect the book inspired the movie/TV series in many ways. I must admit that I didn't enjoy this one as much. The humor seemed overdone and the plot was just too over the top for me. (sorry, mpfunk) 3) The Black Dahlia, James Ellroy (rec by Seattle Ute) This is a cop/detective thriller based on the unsolved "Black Dahlia" case from California in 1947. I was vaguely familiar with the case and after reading the book I did a little research and was surprised by how many facts from the real case made it into the fictional account. I am a fan of this genre and I thought it was an excellent book. However, it was one of the darkest novels I have read in some time. I guess that is inevitable when you are writing about a case where the victim was but into two pieces and left in a field. In googling the case after I finished the book, I was surprised to learn that a movie was released last week based on this book. Not just any movie, but a major Hollywood production: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387877/ Stars include our very own Aaron Eckhart as Lee Blanchard. Hillary Swank and Josh Hartnett are on the cast as well. I pictured Nick Nolte and Nicholas Cage for Lee & Bucky, but I guess they are too old. It appears it at a film festival now and will be in full release in the U.S. on 9/15. Good reviews so far. Anyway, thanks for the suggestions guys. __________________ "... the arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice." Martin Luther King, Jr.