The Wars by Timothy Findley (5)

I'm about halfway through the book, and it really is just a story about a regular, but unfortunate guy during World War One. For example, at the point I am at in the book, there is a lot of information about the protagonist. It is basically just a description about what is going on in Roberts life, however it doesn't ever really go into detail on his thoughts. I find this a little strange because normally the author wants the reader to know what the protagonist is thinking. Anyhow, some of it is from the perspective of a person listening to a tape of a conversation, but it is easy to forget that because it is written somewhat awkwardly.

It is not very surprising, to me at least, that while it isn't a terrible book I don't have a lot to say about it. It feels like not much is actually going on, even though vast changes occur in the protagonist's life. That's all I really have to say at the moment, so long for now.

The Wars by Timothy Findley (4)

Having read a lot of Timothy Findley's book, "The Wars" today, I can happily say that it is starting to pique my interest. However, there is something that I am having a problem understanding. The main character's mother, Mrs Ross, is angry that her son enlisted, which I can understand, but what I don't get is how she seems to take it as a personal offence. I will have to read some more to see if it is explained better, but so far it doesn't really seem to make sense.

Something else that I wish to remark on, was the conditions of that time, before the soldiers even got to the trenches. For example, on the boat ride across the Pacific, the regular infantry and the officers both had to live in extremely cramped quarters. The conditions for everyone on board would be considered horrible, especially because it would be near impossible to treat any illnesses.
Anyways, those are my thoughts on the book for now, and so I'm off to read some more.

The Wars by Timothy Findley (3)

I find that the book, 'The Wars' by Timothy Findley for the most part  is hard to read and dull.  However, even though the book seems to have a very grey style of writing,  read boring,  I still think that it has some redeeming qualities. Such as when the complex relationship that Robert forms with people, such as Taffler.   And even though there is a fair amount of bigotry, especially against people who do not met the standard of what is normal, these relationships often shows what both character's personalities are like as well as what is typical of society at that time.

I find it interesting how much information the reader can discover from just comparing the ideals and lives of the people from other times and from their own, and their friends lives.

That's all for now.

The Wars by Timothy Findley (2)

I have just acquired my copy of "The Wars", and am finding it an interesting, albeit slow, read.  I am almost 30 pages in and so much has happened, even though the main character hasn't done very much. I find that this is common among Canadian novels, and it is a refreshing break from much of modern media.   Too often stories (especially t.v. and movies) focus on special effects and explosions while neglecting the story.  
Anyways, there is something that I find strange.   There is a scene in which the main character tries to stop someone who was hired to kill his recently deceased sister's rabbits.  He surprises the would be rabbit killer, who then proceeds to beat the protagonist  with a some kind of club.
What I find so strange about this, is that it explicitly says that the hired killer has to be pulled off of the protagonist, but it also says that the hired rabbit killer struck the first blow in self-defense and surprise.  However, why not just stop after the first blow or two?  Why would the hired man continue to beat the protagonist? (whose name by the way, is Robert)


That is about all I can think of to say about the novel at the current moment.  I'll have to read more so that I can discover what happens next.
Thanks for reading.

The Wars by Timothy Findley (1)

For my English 11 class, we have to chose a book to do a report on.  Because I was away on a school field trip, I missed the class and I was assigned the book 'The War'.  I didn't choose this book, but I don't particularly mind having to do it.   It should be an interesting read about life in the trenches during  WW 2.  Hopefully I will able to expand my grade 11 social studies knowledge about WW 2 although I'm not sure how accurate the information in the book will be.  I am interested to know if the protagonist will die, and the story will turn out to be a tragedy or if it will end happily.  I personally think it could very well be a tragedy.
Anyways, that's it for now.

                                                  Short Story           By: Aaron    19/11/2012

Dave stared in shock at the speaker.   He couldn't actually see the person behind the speaker, however, that didn't stop him from glaring at it anyway.  How could he not be permitted to enter the bunker? Did the guard actually care so little for another human, that he wouldn't let someone inside?  When nothing else happened, Dave repeated his question, "Is there any space in the bunker? If you don't let me in then I'm going to die!"  The speaker made no sounds for a couple of seconds and then a hiss of static and the speaker made a crackle-pop sound before someone said, "I'm sorry Dave, I cannot let you in. I said so before, we simply can't let anyone else inside. If someone who was infected got inside, then the entire bunker would be for nothing."   Disbelief washed over Dave, how could the guard believe that he was infected?  He had checked himself over before he left, and he had looked perfectly healthy then.  He felt immensely frustrated, tired, hopeless, and if this guard didn't let him in, then he was going to die.  Dave had heard about the storm that was gathering in the southeast, it wasn't like one of the storms that often occurred before 2050.   No, the storm that was coming up would be full of harmful radiation.   Anyone who got stuck in a storm like that, unless they had proper gear, would most likely not survive - and Dave certainly didn't have the proper gear. 

Glancing at the speaker patch, Dave asked, "Ok, if you won't let me in, can I at least know your name?".   "My name is Hal, and Dave, I really am sorry that I can't let you in.  If it were up to me I would, but there is too good of a chance that you have been infected by one of the diseases that seems to be running rampant.  And, if I were to let you in, then I would be risking the life of everyone in this bunker."  Dave started to worry that he might have caught one of the diseases that was currently running rampant. "Wait, how can you tell if you've come down with something?"  Hal did not say anything for a short while before responding with: "Well, there are no clear indications when you are in the stages of the disease that is least contagious.  One thing to keep aware of is anyone coughing or sneezing excessively, or anyone who coughs up blood.  It seems that the disease attacks the nerves system and internal organs first.  Therefore, people begin to cough up small amount of blood, which coincides with the most contagious period of the disease. So, if you see anyone with those symptoms, or if you have any of these symptoms, isolate yourself from the people around you or the infected person because the disease can spread simply by breathing on, say your hand and then making skin contact with someone else.  Heck, I've even heard of a case or two, where breathing closely to someone else who is infected can spread the disease."    With a quick nod, Dave began to walk away from the door. He was thankful for the information that the guard had given him though he didn't feel like he owed Hal anything, and if Hal wouldn't let him in, he would find his own way into the bunker.  He still had enough of an urge to live that he wouldn't give up. 

As he walked back to the refugee camp, from where he came, Dave continued to think of ways that he could get into the bunker.   The first thing he though of was to try and obtain a pass that was supposed to guarantee access to the owner, but he doubted that there was anyone with a pass like that, not in a bunker.  Even if someone with a pass was not in the bunker, it probably would not have matter very much to the guard.  After all, they had their orders and no doubt also a personal reason for not letting just anyone in.  Every additional person was another mouth to feed, another bed taken up, more electricity and water consumed.  The bunker was fairly self sufficient, but that didn't mean it would be good to over tax the abilities of the system.   For that reason, Dave could not blame the people in the bunker, or the guard for that matter. However, that did not stop him from blaming the committee that decided on how many people each bunker would support or the price of admission into the bunker.    However, that was beside the point now, because there was nothing he could do about the past. He could however do something about the future, so as Dave continued to walk back to the refugee camp, he continued to plan for the future.

Upon arriving at the refuge camp, Dave was greeted by the sight of chaos.  Many of the tents that the humanitarians had set up, were on fire or had been knocked over.  The canvas material was soot stained, evidence that whatever was happening here, had been going on for a while.  While he was staring, transfixed by the devastation.  Joanna, one of the few friends that he had been able to make, ran over.  "Dave, quick! Get to your tent. The people here are crazy!  Once they heard that the storm was coming, they began to riot. "   Dave could only stare in horror at her.  "Why?  Didn't they know beforehand about the storm?  I thought that was general knowledge!  Wait... Is that the reason why so few people went to try and petition the bunker?"   "Apparently the people, who started the riot, didn't know that.  And once everything got started, it didn't matter whether or not they knew.  People began to fight because there wasn't much else that they could do. Now, come on!"   With that, Joanna began to run towards the section where Dave had left his gear.     When he arrived at his tent, he was relieved to see that it was still intact.  Dave noticed that the other tents around his were also intact, which most have meant that the riot had not reached this section yet.   Grabbing the few items that he truly needed, Dave began to make his way over to the edge of the refuge camp.   He had said farewell to Joanna, and his other friends before he left.  They had not believed that he would be able to gain entrance, so instead of going with him, they had moved on, hoping to make it to another refugee camp before the storm struck.   Once he got to the place where the refugee camp seemed to end, Dave glanced back one last time, and then continued on his way.

As nighttime began to fall, Dave crept up to one of the bunker's side entrances.  This would be his only chance to get in, because later, presumably sometime in the early hours of the morning, the bunker would seal off completely from the outside world.   Before now, they had allowed the occasional person in or out who had the proper identification, or resources that they would need for growing food or building.   Now the only thing that would be permitted entrance to the bunker, was the air that was being recycled before the storm hit.   Dave planned to get into the bunker by using the intake vents for the air circulation system as an entrance.   

Once Dave was near the entrance, it was a simple matter to climb up the side of the rock face and swing over to the side until he was standing directly in front of the vent.  He then had to time the metal fans spinning so that he could toss his bag through, and then jump through afterwards.  Dave counted three cycles of one of the three blades, and then as it began to come down, tossed his bag through the gap.  The blade that was descending caught one of the lower straps and easily cut through the material with a swish.  Dave, tensing, counted to three, and then lurched forwards, stopping at the last possible second.  He had miscounted the timing; there was a good chance that if he had jumped then, the fan blade would have hit him. Instead of trying to have another go at it right away, Dave turned away and walked in a circle, trying to console himself.  He had to jump now that his bag was on the other side; it had everything important for his survival in it.  Eventually, he sat down on the edge of the overhang, watching the lights that could be seen in the distance.  It was what remained of the refuge camp; the flickering lights were probably fires that people had started.  When Dave finally got up, he was surprised to find that he was actually quite stiff, because he thought that he had been sitting for only a short time.   Dave faced the fans again, he started counting to ten, however once he got to seven he jumped, before he lost his nerve.  Dave landed in a heap on the other side, one of the fan's blades barely missing him.  Getting up, he checked to make sure that nothing had fallen out of his bag when it was hit, and that nothing had fallen off him when he had jumped. Satisfied, he continued onwards through several dimly lit maintenance passageways.  The only light was provided by faint red emergence lights, which resulted in Dave almost becoming lost.  However, he eventually found what appeared to be a service hatch, it appeared to have just a simple opening mechanism. He coughed into his hand while he turned the handle and stepped out.   He was in a back alleyway of sorts, with people passing through an intersection a dozen or so meters in front of him.  He turned, closed the door behind himself, coughed into his hand and started walking towards the crowd.  Before he could mingle, someone knocked into him, sending both of them stumbling away from each other.  "Watch it! Can't you see where you're going?" Startled Dave just peered at him.  The man had walked into Dave, not the other way around.   "Hey, you walked into me.  I'm sorry all the same.  I didn't mean to do that." Grunting, the other man extended his hand for Dave to shake.   Shaking hands, the stranger said, "I'm Joel, nice to meet you...?"   "Dave, nice to meet you to.  I've got to go now, but maybe we can talk later?"  Joel shrugged and said before walking away, "Maybe.  I'll see you around Dave." 

Dave started looking for a place to stay; his short conversation with Joel had encouraged him about his future.  Perhaps he thought, the people here aren't going to be as bad as they were at the refuge camp.  Dave coughed again, this time much more violently.  He covered his mouth with his hand to be polite, but when he glanced down he noticed a little bit of red speckled on his hand.  Blood.

Love Letter Assignment 

To love you,

    is like lounging in the sun,

    is like admiring snowy vistas,

    is like wondering at the vast diversity in life,

So, when you ask me, Why do you love me?

I can't help but say.... Because, you are wondrous, bodacious, elusive, original... 

So true it is when I say,

I wonder at your electrifying presence 

Longing to see you again

Overjoyed to see you again

Vibrant in your outlook 

Elegant, personified 

Yin to my yang

Outstanding in every aspect 

Unforgettable to me