Bone Worship

Unknown

Bone Worship

I saw this book in Barnes and Noble one day as I was shopping. I read the back and it sounded really interesting.

The main character, Jasmine, is the child of an Iranian father and an American mother. After flunking out of her last semester at college as a double major, she returns home to make good on her promise to her parents to let them arrange a wedding for her.


I'm not going to summarize the book here, (in short, I really enjoyed the book) I just wanted to write a little bit about why I thought this was such a good book and what I think makes a good book.

Writing style is something everyone has a different preference for. Some people like simpler writers, others like a more complex writing style.

I happen to like somewhat of a middle ground. For example, I recently took the newest Meg Cabot novel out of the library's teen section (yes, I often read from the teen section- usually if you pick through the angst-ridden high school stories, you can find some good stuff). I started reading it, (it was supposed to be a modern take on Persephone) I thought that the Greek mythological background would make it interesting (I happen to LOVE mythology). But I found myself bored, not because of the story, but because of the writing style.




Don't get me wrong, Meg Cabot is a great writer. When I was younger, I loved The Princess Diaries. But there is something about getting just a little bit older, that makes this simplistic, frivolous writing style not appealing at all.

Just in case you were wondering, I promptly returned the book to the library. I'm sure there's someone else who will enjoy it. :)

Anyway, my point is that more complex writing is a treat. Although some may consider it work to sometimes encounter words they don't understand, I find that that's why I enjoy reading. I envy the writer who can bring a character to life; with so much detail they wind up having me believe the character really exists. I've always loved writing. It's a quiet form of creativity. It's not showy or colorful, not something you can brag about at parties. But it can be a strong form of persuasion, or just a quiet word of thanks.

Words have always held a strong meaning for me. I listen closely to song lyrics, read books constantly, paint them on canvas, write them in a notebook. I write poems and short stories for the sheer pleasure of looking at my words on a page. It's an indescribable feeling.

In closing, I'd like to share a snippet of Bone Worship:

"Elephants' brains are programmed to record the grass and the dirt, the softest places to put their quiet feet, so they can easily remember each other long after death. They know each other by their bones, finding a cool tusk of an ancestor by an old baobab tree, an ancient bone of an ancient mother somewhere else. They silently pick up the bones and turn them over and over with their trunks, never putting them back in the pile where they found them, where poachers shot their ancestors who refused to run. Finally, when they are finished with their reverence, the elephants hide the bones in the tall grasses where they might not be disturbed. This is bone worship."