The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Carrie Ryan) Conclusion

Then the Unconsecrated are upon them.  Again.  ‘A thousand thoughts run through my head.  How to stop them.  How to fight them.  Where to go.  How to hide.  How to survive.  Travis’s leg and Argos and the ladder and the attic.’  Only nine hundred ninety one thoughts to go.  It’s a good thing our heroine is a fast thinker!  This kind of sloppy prose – the kind our high school English teachers red-penciled like crazy in a previous century – has gotten more and more distracting as the story grinds on.

It finally occurs to me as I reach page 238 (okay, I’m not the fastest hamster on the treadmill!) that I will enjoy this book much better if I simply pretend that it is a novelization of a cheap, grade B horror flick.  I don’t remember seeing Dawn of the Dead if I ever did, but reading the book, if there is one, I know I would merely chuckle at the ludicrous parts.  I don’t really think Carrie Ryan wrote this in the same spirit as movies like that – I think she meant for it to be taken more seriously.  But downgrading my expectations for this book will improve it immeasurably in my eyes!

There are many possible reasons to read a book.  In general, some books have a great story and are well-written in the bargain.  Sue Grafton’s alphabet series come to mind; always enjoyable on both counts.  Some books have a weak story but are written so well that most people find them compelling anyway.  Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is an example, in my opinion.  Some books have a really cool story but the writing is weak.  Like this one.  Of course, books that are weak in both areas (Danielle Steele always seems to be my go to example) are simply not worth the time it takes to read them.

This book is worth the time, though another hundred pages might have knocked it out of contention.  Is there a sequel?  Yes; in fact, I was given the sequel – The Dead-Tossed Waves – first, but decided that I wanted to start at the beginning.  Is it likely to be better?  Quite possibly – but I may never know…  It does promise to be very different.  The climax of the story comes at the very end – usually a good place for it – with Mary finally reaching the ocean.  Was it worth losing literally everything she had, including her brother and other loved ones to accomplish this?  Apparently so.  I guess that’s one of the things the sequel will reveal.  At the seashore, she meets (and is almost decapitated and buried by) a Nice Young Man who lives in a lighthouse.  Oddly, he isn’t given a name in this book, though presumably he will in the next.  He does have a nickname for the Unconsecrated.  He calls them “Mudo.”  ‘ “It’s what the pirates who hunt along the coast call them.  It means speechless.” ’  And all this time we could have been spared the endless repetitions of the U-word!  I’m liking the next book better already…

If Mary seemed somewhat fickle before, here she is taking notice of this new guy; ‘I like the sound of his voice.  Its depth, its tone.  It reminds me of Travis, melts into my memory of Travis’s voice, of the way the words slipped from his lips.’  Girl, get a grip.  In thinking about Travis and her past life; ‘I wonder if these memories are worth holding on to.  Are worth the burden.  I wonder what purpose they serve.’  (Would she have wondered the same things about this book in general?)  ‘Already the ocean is washing around the Unconsecrated on the beach, pulling them back into the water, reclaiming them.  For a while I stand and watch, until the beach is clear and the man takes my hand and leads me to the lighthouse.’  For someone who has spent the entire book obsessing over her romantic relationships at the expense of survival concerns, she seems to be mighty comfortable with this new arrangement! 

December’s book of the month:

“The Cat Who Came for Christmas,” by Cleveland Amory!

This one is for those who have commented on how “dark” the recent selections have been!

From Publishers Weekly:
It is fitting that the founder and head of the Fund for Animals personally rescues and takes in strays, and one incident proved to have a profound effect on him. On a snowy Christmas Eve, Amory helped capture a scrawny cat and took it to his apartment. How does a new cat-keeper train a creature accustomed to fending for itself in Manhattan's alleys? Slowly, with patience and respect. Interspersed with tales of Polar Bear are many digressions involving the author's work with animal-rescue and animal-rights organizations. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:
Apparently aimed at the holiday gift trade, this is the pleasant, rambling story of a white cat rescued by Amory one Christmas Eve. Struggling to understand his feline friend, he becomes devoted to a degree that not everyone will understand. An animal rights activist, Amory shares his feelings about veterinarians, airlines, hotels, human and animal natures, and the complexities of modern life. Although amusing anecdotes abound, there is little action. Amory's intelligent, educated musings explain life as he and his cat experience it. He also includes interesting trivia on ancient feline history and celebrities who loved or hated cats. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Week 1:  Chapters 1-3 

(First post, 12-5-14)

Week 2:  Chapters 4-6
Week 3:  Chapters 7-8
Week 4:  Chapters 9-10