06 March 2009

The Tale of Desperaux BY Kate DiCamillo

I will post a regular post soon, I have just been away from my computer a lot lately....

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I only read this book after seeing the movie and reading some not so great reviews comparing the two. It is a cute story, in both formats, and for a change, I don't know which I like better. The movie flip flops the introduction of characters a little bit, which I think works out well. I do agree with my one friend, tho, now having read the book, the veggie character doesn't fit well, but I did like that character in the movie. Alas, this is a BOOK review, so here goes: This is a cute story about a mouse who basically does whatever HE thinks he can and wants to do. It doesn't matter what everyone else is telling him he SHOULD be doing as a mouse. In the process of making his own choices, he comes across and falls in love with Princess Pea. Princess Pea is a typical princess you would find in most stories like this. It is quite the feat what role soup actually plays in this story. As far as the spool of thread goes, I wonder why there is so much focus on it being red thread, lol, it could be any color, imo. I mean, after all, purple does represent royalty! As you can see, there isn't a whole lot to be said about this book. I do like the use of light and dark and think there is more symbolism in this book that one would guess at first glance. I think one thing that did make me like it was the independent thought of Desperaux and what he was able to accomplish because of his willingness to NOT conform to the traditional life of a mouse. Hmm, makes me wonder what WE could each accomplish if we would just choose to live for ourselves and not others....Yes, even if it means taking on a bit of conformity, in the end!

Of course, there are quotes:
pg 32: "Love is ridiculous...love is wonderful. And powerful. And Desperaux's love for the Princess Pea would prove, in time, to be all of these things: powerful, wonderful, and ridiculous." I think this a good description of love, as it can be one or more of all these things at the same time!

pg 45: "Reader, do you know what "perfidy" means? I have a feeling you do, based on the little scene that has just unfolded here. But you should look up the word in your dictionary, just to be sure." I love that the author did this, it is ok to look words up to make sure one understands a story better, or better yet, doesn't misunderstand any word in a story. Oh and, just FYI, here is what www.m-w.com has to say: Pronunciation: \ˈpər-fə-dē\ Function: noun Inflected Form(s): plural per·fi·dies Etymology: Latin perfidia, from perfidus faithless, from per- detrimental to + fides faith — more at per-, faith Date: 1592 1 : the quality or state of being faithless or disloyal : treachery 2 : an act or an instance of disloyalty

pg 58: "Reader, do you believe that there is such a thing as happily ever after?" YES, I do! But we have to choose it ourselves and many times even make it happen for ourselves!

pg 117-118: "Every action, reader, no matter how small, has a consequence." This is followed by part of the story of the rat, which is basically the opening of the movie, so I will spare the details and just add the quote from the end of this part..."You can see, can't you, how everything is related to everything else? You can see, quite clearly, how every action has a consequence." Take a look at your life and see, for yourself, just how things follow through as one consequence to another!

pg 207: "Forgiveness, reader, is, I think, something very much like hope and love, a powerful, wonderful thing. And a ridiculous thing, too."

This all reminds me something I am known for saying, "You don't HAVE to do anything, you just HAVE to suffer the consequence of what you do or don't do!" ...or something along those lines...

1 comment:

Hema and Becky said...

I really liked the book, but not the movie so much. I guess my mind just imagined it all so much nicer! I'm glad the veggie man thing made more sense now.