The Revenant

By Michael Punke

[Hugh Glass isn't afraid to die. He's done it once already.

When expert tracker Glass is viciously mauled by a bear, death
seems inevitable. The two men ordered to remain with him flee,
stripping him of his rifle and hatchet and leaving him to die alone.
But soon a grim, horribly scarred figure is seen wandering, asking
after two men, one with a gun that seems to good for him...]

I'd heard good things about the film for The Revenant and although I haven't yet seen it, I thought the book would be along the same lines.

To be honest, I found it kind of boring. There were bits that were gripping and tense, but considering it's based on a true story I knew Glass had to survive all of these horrific things that happened to him so he could have told them.

I did find it interesting finding out about life in the wilderness, surviving off of the bare minimum, but I got all of the groups of people confused constantly, not knowing who was fighting on what side.

The detail of the bear attack was gruesome and definitely not one to read whilst on your lunch break as I did. But I don't understand why everyone made such a big deal about it? Maybe it's just the way it was portrayed in the film.

Hm, I don't know. I didn't see the point in Glass's search for revenge really, especially after he'd been through so much. I get that you'd want revenge if two people left you to die, but if you were pretty much on the brink of death and they were risking their lives for your failing one, is there really any point in going after them? Can you blame them?

The ending was also rather flat. Just not my cup of tea.



☽

Unbroken

By Laura Hillenbrand.

So, I'd heard a little about this from the recent-ish film that came out and was curious.

I find the idea of war enticing, fascinating, intriguing. I don't know why. 

Maybe because it's just so different from what we're used to these days and we learnt about the different World Wars in school a lot.

It's just so surreal to think that all of this literally happened. 

Our grandparents probably saw the tail end of the Second World War and I just can't imagine what that would've been like for them. 

Let alone what it has been like for them to witness such a drastic leap in technology and all.

It's honestly pretty amazing when you think about it like that.

Anyways, Unbroken: An Extraordinary True Story of Courage and Survival.

[In 1943 a bomber crashes into the Pacific Ocean.
Against all odds, one young lieutenant survives. Louis
Zamperini had already transformed himself from child
delinquent to prodigious athlete, running in the Berlin
Olympics. Now he must embark on one of the Second
World War's most extraordinary odysseys. Zamperini
faces thousands of miles of open ocean on a failing
raft. Beyond lie only greater trials, in Japan's
prisoner-of-war camps.

Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini's
destiny, whether triumph or tragedy, depends
on the strength of his will...]

I'm not really a fan of non-fiction works - or at least I thought I wasn't - but this book is absolutely brilliant.

To be fair, when I picked it up I was actually unaware that it was non-fiction (or a true story), merely knowing that it was about war.

Heartbreaking, astounding, shocking and utterly mesmerising. This one pulls on all of the heartstrings, yet has a reasonably happy ending for all that was went through.

Louis Zamperini sounded like such an amazing, strong individual and I can't even begin to imagine how all of those POWs got through the war camps, or how any of the men involved in the war got through any of it really, even life after. 

How would you go on after going through something like that?

I'm intrigued to see the film version of this now, but this book definitely deserves a read. It taught me a lot about the Second World War and the strength and determination to keep going, no matter what.

Phenomenal.