Hello Readers,
I am thinking just a few more comments about Unbroken are necessary.
I have had many people discuss this book with me and share their thoughts. Most everyone hates 'the Bird'. They just cannot attribute humanness to this character. His evil treatment of the prisoners of war is beyond belief but is it really? There is that famous saying by Lord Acton: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." I am sure most of us have had many conversations with people about this and have argued on the side of compassion in humans vs, the evil. My dear husband will usually take the side of the inherent good in people while I will argue that man is prideful and selfish. The Bird was just a man gone awry? Or The Bird was evil. It's been fascinating hearing reader's comments about this horrible prison guard.
The intriguing part of this book for me is the descriptions of Louie as a youth. What a strong willed child he was portrayed as being! I can only think that his strong will was what got him through being lost at sea and his captivity. My opinion is he would not have survived without that strong will.
Maybe you want to know this about me: I never read the fly leaf of a book. In the past I have learned that I am constantly waiting for that event to happen in a book and can't quite settle into the book until the entire fly leaf has happened. This may not be the best way to select books for a book club but it is the way I am. I did know that Louie was a real person and survived the events in this book but had I known it was such an intensely captivating story ...I probably still would have selected it. While I was reading I picked it up and read a bit then put it down because I couldn't stand what was happening but then couldn't not find out what was going to happen.
Did anyone read through any of the documentation of the book?
Do you have a few minutes to check out the following video and see the real Louie: www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9O5yVzc0vQ
Living in a modern world you can also find Louie on Facebook!
Is anyone out there reading A Christmas Carol? I just started it last night. Hope you are enjoying it!
Til next time - keep reading!
Barbara
So glad that I read this book, although I couldn't always say that while I was reading it. I do believe "that absolute power corrupts absolutely" but above that I also believe that some people are just evil. The Bird is probably a combination of power and evil. His abuses to the soldiers were very hard to get through. You asked at the end if anyone read through the documentation that accompanied this book. I did peruse it, and in fact I give this book a 2 thumbs up after reading the accompanying documentation. What a wonderful relationship Louis had with the author. He was a strong willed man with a wonderful heart and he always had a moment to share a smile or a joke with the author. I am thoroughly delighted by him. I was also intrigued with the other survivors of this book. All of them our an inspiration. Thanks for the recommendation Barb, I probably would not have read this without it and I am so glad I invested the time.
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