Biblioteca de la EOI de Oviedo

WINNER of: The Language Learner Literature Award 2007

TITLE: Rabbit-Proof Fence

AUTHOR: Doris Pilkington Garimara

RETOLD by: Jennifer Bassett

PUBLISHING HOUSE: Oxford

LEVEL: Intermediate

REVIEW: It is called Rabbit-Proof Fence and it is written by Doris Pilkington Garimara. It is a true story and the narrator is not present in the story, but she is the daughter of one of the main characters. The story takes place in Western Australia for about three months. The book is about the long journey of three girls who were far away from their desert home. Molly is a brave girl who, with her cousins Gracie and Daisy, escapes and walks back to Jingalong, their home, after being taken away from their families. They were sent to Moore River Native Settlement because they were mixed-race Aborigines and they had to go to the camp to learn how to live like the white man. They finally arrive at Jingalong following the rabbit-proof fence. The main characters are Molly, Gracie and Daisy. Molly is a fourteen-year-old girl who takes care of Gracie and Daisy during the entire trip. Gracie and Daisy are Molly’s cousins and they are younger than her. 

From my point of view, the book is rather entertaining and absolutely worth-reading. The most exciting part of the book is the last one, when they arrive home. I found this last chapter quite interesting; it’s very touching. It was really easy to understand and follow because the vocabulary is not too difficult.  

Título: Italian Shoes

Autor: Henning Mankell

Obra adaptada: NO

Once a successful surgeon, Frederick Welin now lives in self-imposed exile on an island in the Swedish archipelago. Nearly forty years have passed since he was disgraced for attempting to cover up a tragic mishap on the operating table. One morning in the depths of winter, he sees a hunched figure struggling towards him across the ice. His past is about to catch up with him. The figure approaching in the freezing cold is Harriet, the only woman he has ever loved, the woman he abandoned in order to go and study in America. She has sought him out in the hope that he will honor a promise made many years ago. Now in the late stages of a terminal illness, she wants to visit a small lake in Northern Sweden, a place Welin’s father took him once as a boy. He upholds his pledge and drives her to this beautiful pool hidden deep in the forest.On the journey through the desolate snow-covered landscape, Welin reflects on his impoverished childhood and the woman he later left behind. However, once there Welin discovers that Harriet has left the biggest surprise until last.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/henning-mankell/italian-shoes.htm

IDIOMA: Inglés  

TÍTULO: Treasure Island 

AUTOR: Robert Louis Stevenson 

EDITORIAL : Vicens Vives 

OBRA ADAPTADA: SI 

NIVEL: Básico

RESEÑA: The story is about Jim Hawkins, who is the main character, and his friends on board the Hispaniola for an exciting voyage to Treasure Island. 

I invite people to read “The Pirates” where you can find out all about the fascinating world of buccaneers. I loved it and I recommend it because it is an adventure easy to read that I enjoyed a lot. 

VALORACIÓN: 5/5 

Mª Benedicta Vegas Platón  2ºNB

Título: The Prisioner of Zenda

Autor: Anthony Hope

Editorial: Pearson

Obra adaptada: SI

Nivel: Intermedio

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Review:  Today’s book is “The Prisoner of Zenda”, an adventure novel by Anthony Hope, first published back in 1894.

The main character is Rudolf Rassendyll, an English gentleman, who travels to Ruritania to see the King’s coronation. During the journey to Ruritania he meets Rudolf the Fifth, who is going to be crowned King the next day. That night Rudolf ’s brother, Duke Michael, drugs him so that he can’t assist to his coronation. Colonel Sapt, an old soldier in the service of the new King, urges Rudolf Rasendyll to act like Rudolf the Fifth, given the physical resemblance that exists between them, to save the kingdom from his evil brother Duke Michael.

The most amusing part of the book is when the trick is done and Rudolf Rassendyll must act as if he was Rudolf the Fifth.

The book is quite enjoyable and moving but a little bit predictable. I would recommend it to anyone because it is short and easy to read, with only just a few difficult words.

Valoración: 3.5/5

Pablo Aller San Juan  2ºNI

Título: Frankenstein

Autor: Mary Shelley

Editorial: Heinle Cengage learning

Obra adaptada: Sí

Nivel: Intermediate to Upper-Intermediate + Audio CD

It was written by Mary Shelley in 1816. It is a graphic novel adaptation of a literary classic about a scientist who discovers the creation of life and he succeeds.The story is told by the creator of the monster: Victor Frankenstein, who is obsessed with the idea and builds a man using old body parts. Once the monster has life he escapes and later a series of tragic events happen around Victor. To finish with it,  Victor tries to kill the monster.

This is a book with a moral about the danger and responsibility of knowledge.  A classic comic that is very easy and enjoyable to read. A modern English version of the original script with reduced, simplified dialogues for faster reading. It has two audio CDs to follow the conversations that you can easily understand, even the monster! 

If you want to get deep into the theme, as a suggestion I recommend you to see the film “Young Frankenstein”  by Mel Brooks.

Valoración: 3/5

Alfredo Fernández Fernández

2009 National Book Award Winner

Título: Let the Great World Spin

Autor: Colum McCann

Obra adaptada: NO

 “This is a gorgeous book, multilayered and deeply felt, and it’s a damned lot of fun to read, too. Leave it to an Irishman to write one of the greatest-ever novels about New York. There’s so much passion and humor and pure lifeforce on every page of Let the Great World Spin that you’ll find yourself giddy, dizzy, overwhelmed.”– Dave Eggers, author of What Is the What

“Now I worry about Colum McCann.  What is he going to do after this blockbuster groundbreaking heartbreaking symphony of a novel? No novelist writing of New York has climbed higher, dived deeper.”–Frank McCourt, author of Angela’s Ashes (See Frank’s full review on Amazon.com)

http://www.colummccann.com/

Título: A Gate at the Stairs

Autor: Lorrie Moore

Obra adaptada: NO

Now, in her dazzling new novel-her first in more than a decade-Moore turns her eye on the anxiety and disconnection of post-9/11 America, on the insidiousness of racism, the blind-sidedness of war, and the recklessness thrust on others in the name of love. As the United States begins gearing up for war in the Middle East, twenty-year-old Tassie Keltjin, the Midwestern daughter of a gentleman hill farmer-his “Keltjin potatoes” are justifiably famous-has come to a university town as a college student, her brain on fire with Chaucer, Sylvia Plath, Simone de Beauvoir. Between semesters, she takes a job as a part-time nanny…

This long-awaited new novel by one of the most heralded writers of the past two decades is lyrical, funny, moving, and devastating; Lorrie Moore’s most ambitious book to date-textured, beguiling, and wise.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/sep/27/gate-at-stairs-lorrie-moore

Título: THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS

Autor: JOHN  BOYNE

Obra adaptada: NO

Nivel: AVANZADO

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Review:  The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was written by John Boyne, who is an Irish novelist whose novels are published in over 40 languages. This famous novel  is a  historical fiction book which was first published in 2006 and has sold more than 5 million copies worldwide.  In 2008 it was made into a film, directed by Mark Herman.  

The story takes place at the Auschwitz extermination and concentration camp, where Bruno, a son of a Nazi officer who is promoted to  commandant of the camp, develops a  friendship with Shmuel,  a Jewish boy who lives on the other side of the wire fence and who is dressed in a prison uniform (or the “striped pyjamas“ of the title), as everybody in the camp. 

Every day  the children meet at the same spot and talk. Little by little, Bruno discovers the cruelties inflicted on the Jewish people and one day he decides to climb under the fence and explore Shmuel’s world. Finally, he will inevitably become subsumed by the terrible process of the final solution, the Holocaust. But, in spite of all difficulties Bruno and Shmuel are able to stay friends, to keep a relationship of pure innocence:

 “… despite the chaos that followed, Bruno found that he was still holding Shmuel’s hand in his own and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let go…”

From my point of view, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a touching novel. The book is a page turner and a quick read, easy to follow and highly recommended for everybody, specially for young people, in order to instil the memory of the tragedy in future generations and to prevent future acts of genocide.

Valoración: 5/5

Eugenio Corpas  2ºNI

Título: An Ideal Husband

Autor: Oscar Wilde

Editorial: Penguin Readers

Obra adaptada: SI

Nivel: Básico

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Reseña: Una adaptación de todo un clásico, “An ideal husband”, describe la burguesía inglesa a través de un perfecto esposo que, como la burguesía, no lo es tanto. En formato de obra de teatro, dispuesta en diálogos, lo que hace muy fácil seguir la lectura con audio. Presenta una trama semejante a las aventuras de Conan Doyle: problema-intriga-solución.

 Valoración: 4/5

Jose Allende  2ºNB

Título: The Man Who Smiled

Autor: Henning Mankell

Obra adaptada: NO

In The Man Who Smiled, Mankell’s fourth novel starring Kurt Wallander, investigations lead into the heart of an international crime syndicate.

For over a year, Kurt Wallander has been on leave from the police-force. After killing a man, he is riven with self-doubt and is on the verge of quitting the police-force when an intriguing new case arouses his curiosity and lifts his depression. A friendly but concerned lawyer comes to Kurt for help: Sten Torstensson’s father has died in a car accident, but he believes that it is anything but. He claims his father would never have gone driving in the fog, and certainly not at night.

However, two weeks later Sten is also found dead. He’s been shot. Kurt returns to take over the case, which will soon throw up leads that cast the entire investigation into a new light.

http://www.inspector-wallander.org/mysteries/man-who-smiled/