Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Historical Fiction

My favorite fiction is Historical Fiction. here are a few books and websites.
Prehistoric and Ancient Time

Julius Lester
"Pharaoh's Daughter: A Novel of Ancient Egypt"
Egyptian princess, Batya, rescues a Hebrew infant who becomes a prophet to his people, while his sister finds her true self as a priestess to the Egyptian gods. Lester (To Be a Slave) creates a captivating story and a compelling portrait of a Moses torn between two cultures, from the time of his discovery in the bulrushes to his solo flight to Midian.
Short cut to view book: http://www.librarything.com/work/546439

Another book, one of my favorite books is:
"East of Eden" by John Steinbeck.
The story is primarily set in the Salinas Valley, California, between the beginning of the 20th century and the end of the Great War (World War I), though some chapters are in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and the story goes as far back as the American Civil War.
I had to read this book in my American Literature class last Spring. I am not fond of reading lengthy books but this book was good. The book explores themes of depravity, beneficence, love, and the struggle for acceptance, greatness, and the capacity for self-destruction and especially of guilt and freedom. It ties these themes together with references to and many parallels with the biblical Book of Genesis (especially Genesis Chapter 4, the story of Cain and Abel). East of Eden is a novel by Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck, published in September 1952. East of Eden brings to life the intricate details of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, and their interwoven stories. Steinbeck wrote this story for his two sons and wanted to describe the Salinas Valley for them in detail: the sights, sounds, smells, and colors.
Short cut to view the book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EastOfEden.jpg

Early Twentieth Century (1900-1939)
Curtis
"Bud, Not Buddy"
Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father. The story is written in the first person so the reader comes to know Bud's thoughts and feelings right away: the longing for a father and a permanent home. I particularly like his "Rules for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself" that guides his actions and his fear of vampires. This is a really good book.
This website gives you a web-base unit to do with this book and it has a picture of the book: http://eduscapes.com/reading/bud/

There are many other historical eras that I like but I would be here all night. Anyway these are just a few. Enjoy!!

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