Short Stories, Irish literature, Classics, Modern Fiction, Contemporary Literary Fiction, The Japanese Novel, Post Colonial Asian Fiction, The Legacy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and quality Historical Novels are Among my Interests








Friday, August 7, 2009

"Getting the Girl" by Markus Zusak- A start of a reading life?

Getting the Girl is the second of Markus Zusak's four books. The Book Thief and I Am the Messenger deal directly with reading life issues. I love both of these books. Getting the Girl is more a young adult book than his subsequent works. It is very worth reading to see how rapidly Zusak is developing as a writer and it is a good tale of teen age angst and sibling issues between brothers.

There is no mention of reading and books directly in Getting the Girl. To me it is clear that the lead character
Cameron has the potential to develop into a serious reader. Throughout the book at the end of every chapter are notes in a hand written style font that show the thoughts of Cameron.

But sometimes I stand on the rooftop of my existence, arms stretched out, begging for more.
That's when the stories show up for me.
They find me all the time.
They're made of footsteps not only to the girl, but to me. They are made of hunger and desire and trying to live decent. They only trouble is, I don't know which of those stories come first.
Maybe they all just merge into one.
We'll see, I guess.
I'll let you know when I decide.

To me Cameron will grow into Ed in I am the Messenger and  Ed's reading life forefather, Ishmael. He will use his books to rise above the world and to   sink below ordinary life.



I will read Markus's Zusak's first book Fighting Ruben Wolfe before the year is over. It is sometimes interesting to read an author's work in reverse order as it makes you very conscious of his or her development


Mel u
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7 comments:

Sheila (bookjourney) said...

I have read Book Thief and LOVED it. We read it for our book club.

I had not heard of this book but it does sound wonderful. :)

Jessica said...

I'm curious... Does skipping the first book affect any understanding of this one, Getting the Girl?

I loved Zusak's The Book Thief and I Am The Messenger. I will definitely be reading the rest of his works. I look forward to what he has for his readers in the future.

Mel u said...

From my reading of a couple of reviews of Fighting Ruben Wolfe and Getting the Girl we might appreciate the character development a bit more if we read the Fighting Ruben Wolfe first but it does not really matter much. I have yet to read Fighting Ruben Wolfe but will for sure do it soon.

Suko said...

You really seem to enjoy this author. I have a copy of The Book Thief and should start reading it soon. Is it a truly excellent book?

Mel u said...

Suko, Yes I really like Marcus Zusak-once I get into an author I like to read all his works-To me "The Book Thief" is a wonderful book worthy of all the awards it has won.

Anonymous said...

You're right about reading an author in reverse order. Sometimes I think you become far more aware of their development this way rather than in the proper order.
but in terms of reading, it's not necessary to be absolutely propr. I mean, it's taken me years to learn I don't have to finish a book just because I started it. I think it's somehow akin to having to eat everything on your plate like many of us were told as kids.
Anyway, I now share, trade or give away the books I can't finish. And have learned to use the library!

Carl V. Anderson said...

I'll have to put this on a list to get for my wife. She is a big fan of Mark Zusak's writing.

If you are looking for a good book about books, I highly recommend The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.