Running in the Family 2

This assigned section made much more sense to me than the one before it. Although this is true, I still caught myself dozing off a lot while reading. I don't know what it is, but this book doesn't hold my attention as well as the other two. That said, I still think there is room for it to get better, and I hope I end up really liking it.

I think the reason I am so confused and not as interested in the book is because he doesn't ever talk about himself. I understand that he may be describing himself through other people, and I think that is a good idea, but it doesn't make it very easy to read or to stay on track. I feel as though every time a new chapter starts, he is talking about something completely different and unrelated. I know that somehow all of these things are related and I hope to figure it out soon, but as for now I am still somewhat lost.

Another reason may be because the words used are long and not exactly English. Such as, the names of the people involved in his life. Because they are from another country, their names are hard to pronounce and leave me stumped. This makes it hard for me to relate to them, and again leaves me confused. I understand that this is his heritage and that's the language of his ancestors and family, but I find myself skipping over many words, simply because they are too large and confusing for me to even attempt to pronounce.

Other than these aspects, there are a lot of quotes and poems through out the book that I have really enjoyed reading. Not only do the poems add a lot to the reading, but they also help to make it more of a quick read which is always nice. I really enjoyed the poem about Matisse. It really put into perspective how things were in his country during that time period. Things were tough, and it seems that a lot of people turned to literature to escape from the realities of life, just as many people do today.

Even though I am still some what confused, I am still very interested to see where this book will go, and to learn more about the author.