Bon's Book Club - Unbroken

This month’s book for Bon’s Book Club was Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. I wasn’t totally game on reading this, but I had heard from others that it was really good so I decided to give it a try.  It’s a true story, so I do think that helped with the appeal for me. Also, it was recently made into a movie with Angelina Jolie as the Director. Here is a description from Amazon:

 

“In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was an incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when World War II began, the athlete became an airman, embarking on a journey that led to a doomed flight on a May afternoon in 1943. When his Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean, against all odds, Zamperini survived, adrift on a foundering life raft. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.”

Ugh, I am not totally sure what to say about this book.  Yes, some parts of it were very interesting and it was really incredible to hear his story of survival, but man oh man did it seem like some of that dragged on.  I feel terrible saying that because this is a man’s real life we are talking about, but I felt the book maybe could have used a little less detail and gotten the same story across, especially in the beginning.

I thought the “voice” or “point of view” of the story was a little confusing too.  I never quite figured out who was supposed to be telling this story.  It seemed like it should be coming from Louis himself with all of the detail, but it was all third person as if someone were peering into his life the whole time and telling the story. To me that almost made it feel not as real.

One thing I did like about the book is that I learned a lot about that time period and the war.  I am not too into history, so it was interesting hearing stories from the point of view of the pilots during the bombing of Pearl Harbor or what POW camps were really like.

I guess if you have a lot of free time, this book may be worth the read, but it was a little tough for me to get through.  I can honestly say I am not even sure I will take the time to watch the movie.

Next up for Bon’s Book Club is Interpreters of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri.  I have to decided not to read this book for two reasons.  One, it just doesn’t sound interesting to me at all and two, I am due to give birth any day now and I don’t want to strap myself down to a book! I have no clue what kind of free time I will have to read.  I have also already read the June book, Dark Places byGillian Flynn, so that really frees me up and I won’t have to think about making myself read if I can’t.

Have you read Unbroken? What are your thoughts?