Book Reviews

I love to read. My mother couldn't use sending me to my room as a punishment when I was younger because I was just as happy to be left alone there with a good book to keep me company. When I read a book, I also like to discuss it with friends and compare what we thought of it as a whole. Here are some of my opinions about books I recently read. They run the gamut from sci fi to history to non-fiction. If you've got opinions on any of these books, or have other authors or similar books to recommend, I'd love to hear from you. My email address is down at the bottom of the page, or you can leave me a message on my guestbook. :)

Contact by Carl Sagan

After seeing the movie with Jodie Foster, I was intrigued enough to want to read the book. The ideas the movie touches on regarding the uneasy relationship between spirituality and science were very interesting to me, and I wanted to know more. Carl Sagan more than delivered in his book. There are few instances where I can say that I like the translation from book to screenplay, and this makes one of only two that I feel makes the translation exceptionally well.

For those unfamiliar with the story, we are introduced to a young girl named Ellie. Ellie shows a remarkable gift for science early on. In the movie, she is orphaned before she is in her teens, making it easy for us to see the brilliance and deep loneliness of adult Ellie. In the book, she is not orphaned, but due to the oppressive presence of her step-father, a physicist who does not believe that women can be scientists, she is left just as alone, if not more so, as if she'd been orphaned. As she matures as a scientist, she becomes enamored of the search for extra terrestrial intelligence (SETI). Against all odds, and only after years of overcoming many obstacles, she discovers sophisticated radio transmissions originating from the Vega system. Confirmed alien intelligence! The rest of the book explores the spiritual, secular, and scientific consequences of her discovery, making a tremendous testament to the intense beauty of humanity in its isolation and slow maturity as a race.

There were a number of things I liked about the book, and I was very surprised at the realism with which Sagan creates his characters. Ellie was very compelling, and having read the book, I can see now even more why Jodie Foster was a perfect casting choice. Ellie is a complicated character as an outwardly strong woman with deep emotional scars for her need to know why. Scientists always need to know why. Ms Foster manages to convey this paradox of fragility and strength adeptly.

Unfortunately, Palmer Joss, the main representative of the spiritual element of both the book and movie, does not fare well from page to screen. In the book, Palmer Joss is a prominent television evangelist. Despite myself, I liked his character, which I believe was the author's intention. Many leaders of churches in fiction, especially very prominent ones, are portrayed as smarmy hypocrites. Palmer Joss, rather, is a well spoken logical theologian whose main concern is that the scientists, in their intellectual zeal, not forget the spiritual significance of their findings. There are a number of conversations between Ellie and Palmer Joss that are absolutely fascinating. These conversations do make the translation to screen acceptably, but Palmer Joss himself is much diminished and sadly, very Hollywoodized as her lover. The book touches on romantic sparks between he and Ellie, but does not compromise his character by being too flexible in his sexual relationships.

Finally, the book lacks one thing that I felt was extremely compelling in the movie. In the end, Ellie the scientist, the one who has all her life believed only in what she could quantify and prove, must finally concede that faith is a valid virtue. The illustration of faith's validity is beautifully executed. The book fails to make this point particularly clear, though the theme is certainly there. I appreciated the power of it in the movie, and wish that it had been as powerful in the book.

All in all, this is a good book, thought provoking, and well worth the time to read and contemplate. Sometime, when I have a lot more time, I'd like to read Sagan's Cosmos.

Other Reviews:

Polgara the Sorceress
LifeHouse
Camelot 30K
Longitude
Mary, Queen of Scots

jeniwren@compuserve.com

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