“You mustn’t think about the other people’s pain. It will never end. Look at the people you know, how much they have suffered, and multiply it by the population of the world. You could never imagine the volume of that suffering. It would destroy your own significance, and there’s no point in it.”

This is a review of a book I haven’t finished, but I just couldn’t wait.

Despite the daily bombardment of our senses by media, the television, audio and video, even the fading newspapers, there are few things that can move one as deeply as a book. This is the type of book that shakes you without mercy. This is a story about a man, a story about history, but more importantly and shockingly, this is a story about humanity; about the wars we wage and hearts we break and the things we can’t fix no matter how hard we wish for it. It is down to earth and heart breaking in it’s entirety, so real it feels like it could crumble in my own hands, and yet whimsical enough that on reflection I may not believe it ever happened.

This is not a book for people who merely like pretty stories.

I mean it’s brutal, and dreams are torn to pieces, and it feels like it’s too much to hold, but it’s brilliant and insightful and vivid and it makes you face horrible things. A reality check is a nice reminder, I mean, learning chemistry and physics and math (even statistics) is pretty fantastic when you’re comparing it to never seeing your children again and work camps.

Anyways, I guess any formality that I may have originally intended in this review has evaded me. My closing statements are:

1. Go read this NOW

2. Homework does not equal suffering of any significant magnitude

3. I mean if you’re at Waterloo you’re almost obligated to like homework anyways

Oh yeah, and the second half is more cheerful I believe. Daydreams. Although still tinged with sadness when you’re privy to the reality they hide. Did I say tinged? I mean soaked, like seriously, buckets of sadness here.

4. I stand by my previous statement: “I love books that make me ache”