Intrigue! Mystery! And so much more!

I'm really enjoying this book so far. I really liked the prologue and the way it showed the General starting to lose his mind.

I think one of my favorite moments so far was with Creedmore and the riverboat, when he threw the other man off the side of the ship. I like how dangerous and forewarning he was towards the guy, but still threw him overboard.

The concept of the Guns is really intriguing. I want to know more about them. Plus, I want to know more about the secret weapon the General has in his mind. I hope Livy gets to him soon. I want to see what she can do for him and what's going to happen there.

I don't trust Lowry, but then again, at the moment, I haven't got a clue as to which side I'm on! Hopefully as we get farther in I'll find a side I support!

"Once upon a time and it was the last time I went into the mountains to find..."

"The black boots of a Linesman stopped in front of him. The echo was not rhythmic--the horses that galloped across his mind were limping, falling, screaming. What shattered the soul, what set the brain's delicate architecture bleeding and crumbling, was that horrid senseless arrhythmia."

After reading the prologue I will admit a shudder ran through me. It was so haunting and left me with so many questions. Gilman did such a good job of getting into the general's head giving us a, slightly disturbing, front row seat to his demise. To slowly go mad and forget my comrades, my family, what I was fighting for and most importantly who I am is not something I want to experience. Especially at the hand of the Line. *shudder*

Now, I am only up to chapter six (a tiny bit behind), but the character that is really intriguing me right now is Maggfrid, Liv's strange choice in a traveling companion. I wonder at his loyalty to her and can't help but think there has to be something more to him.

I guess I just have to keep reading!

NB: I am so curious about the fairytale the general kept recalling! Anyone else?

Liv's journey to the edge of the Made world

I am really loving The Half Made World. Thank you Amanda for choosing this book!  I'm dying to know more of the history behind the Republic since there are already two characters representing the Gun and the Line.  There is a preview of the Republic in the prologue but I am waiting for a character that speaks for them and their side in the war.

I love Liv Alverhyusen and that she decides to take on an adventure that will take her to the edge of the Made world.  I have often wondered about myself if I would have the courage to go somewhere far away if I was called to (and I don't think I could do it). But even when Liv gets stuck in that small town because they won't go down the river anymore, she doesn't give up then either.  It would've been easy and even logical for her to give up and go home but she is confident that if she waits, an opportunity will present itself.  There is no turning back.  I simply love her determination and her courage to go someplace completely unknown to her.

I can't wait to see what happens with Liv, Creedmoor, and Lowry all heading to the House Dolorous.

P.S. I love this line by Liv in response to Mr. Bond.

Bond: I used to have a lawyer, but he got himself shot in a duel.  Can you read a contact?
Liv: I expect so. I can certainly endeavor not to be shot.

For if ‘Thou mayest’—it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not'.

I finally finished East of Eden, and wow, what a read. I find that Steinbeck has a way with words that you rarely find in some literature these days. I enjoyed the themes in this novel, and I found the "retelling" of the story of Cain and Abel done in a very interesting way.

So for my final post on our second book I decided to talk about some themes and share a few thoughts in the process:


There’s an all-encompassing theme about the existence of people from various walks of life, and in the end what validates their existence is basically tied to how well they are remembered by those who left them behind.

Although there seems to be no real romantic love, there is a love of marital commitment between Samuel Hamilton and his wife Liza. There are a lot of people who love out of convenience, domination, and selfish desires, but we find no real love until the very end of the book. The love at the end is very different and one might say accidental, an undeserving love that falls on two of the characters. It’s in this humble form that these two characters manage to find the only genuinely felt love through the entire novel.

One of the strongest themes in the book is the desire to be loved by another, and what happens when love is withheld. Aaron and Cal are juxtaposed in the story. Aaron does very little to earn his father’s love and Cal works very hard to win Adam’s approval. Adam only seems to focus on giving love and approval to Aaron, further adding to Cal’s insecurities about his father’s love for him. This becomes the great struggle toward the end of the book, Cal desperately looking for love and approval from his father drives the book to a woeful conclusion.

Not only does this reflect our human experience of seeking love, but I think it also reflects the feeling that many sons (and daughters) may have toward their fathers. Ultimately it comes down to the realization that we need to reconcile with one another and given love if we are to be fully human.

"A clockwork heart can’t replace the real thing."

I went ahead and changed the layout in anticipation of next week. But feel free to do any posts in regards to the awesome book East of Eden. I can't wait to read everyone's closing thoughts.

“To some, ‘steampunk’ is a catchall term, a concept in search of a visual identity. To me, it’s essentially the intersection of technology and romance."

Jake von Slatt



NB: Title quote by Dru Pagliassotti

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."

"We all have that heritage, no matter what old land our fathers left. All colors and blends of Americans have somewhat the same tendencies. It's a breed-selected out by accident. And so we're overbrave and overfearful-we're kind and cruel as children. We're overfriendly and at the same time frightened of strangers. We boast and are impressed. We're oversentimental and realistic. We are mundane and materialistic-and do you know of any other nation that acts for ideals? We eat too much. We have no taste, no sense of proportion. We throw our energy about like waste. In the old lands they say of us that we go from barbarism to decadence without an intervening culture."

We are human and therefore contradictory by nature. Good and evil lies within us all. BUT we are not inherently either. How we CHOOSE to live our lives is what really matters. Lee and Samuel know this. So they spent a good part of their lives trying to impart this on those they cared about. Unfortunately, this is a lesson that, for the most part, needs to be learned.

This is really just a long way to sum up the idea of Timshel - thou mayest. But it's true. WE are the only ones that have control over our lives. And despite what is done or happens to us, it is how we react that determines are character.

So, take a deep breath, center yourself and live. Because thou mayest ...

NB: My good pal Oscar Wilde knew what was up as well. I just had to give a shout out.

Human Struggles and Rose Colored Glasses

"...I think I love you, Cal."
"I'm not good."
"Because you're not good."...

This was perhaps my favorite part of the book. The entire story was wonderful. This little part between Abra and Cal made me feel that it was love in its purest form. Abra loves Cal for who he his, not who he could be. It also shows that Cal is human, and we see that a lot throughout the book. He struggles with the ugly side of himself, the side he doesn't like. He hates that he's mean, but he can't help it. He wants to be good and loved like his brother, but he's not.

Cal's demeanor initially made me think he was a bit of a brat. He probably was, but he looked at the world and saw it. Aron looked at the world through rose colored glasses that shattered when he found the truth out about his mother. He got a swift kick in the pants of reality and hated it, so he joined the army. He followed Adam's footsteps in his demeanor toward Abra. Instead of seeing her, he put her on a pedestal and created an image of who she was rather than seeing who she actually was.

I came out of this book liking Cal more than I liked Aron. I felt like Aron was trying to hide behind an image that he had created of his mother and refused to allow anyone to let that be destroyed. In anger, Cal destroyed that image and walks away feeling incredibly guilty for causing his brother to join the Army. Aron had this child like attitude that just never seemed to leave.

One of the best scenes in my opinion is the moment when Adam really sees Cal and they have a heart to heart moment. In that moment it seems like Adam is going against the attitude his own father had toward him, but that was backpedaled on quickly when he essentially did the same thing to Aron that his father did to him. He refused to see that Aron wasn't happy about college and wanted to do something else.

Lee is an awesome character. When he left to go start his own bookstore, I was sulking because I didn't want him to leave. Thankfully, he came back a page and a half later! :-D Samuel was also an amazing character. His insight to life was amazing. In his last moments with Adam he forced Adam to know the truth of his wife and it brought Adam out of a 10 year funk. It made me sad to see him die, but I think his wisdom added on to Lee's own wisdom whenever he needed to step in.

Katie, you chose an amazing book! :-) I really enjoyed it and I can see why it's one of your favorites! Fantastic job!