Behind the Beautiful Forevers
By: Katherine Boo
10 Words: Look into life that is so unreal it feel fictional.
The most important part of this book felt like it was the thank you section at the end. This to me was so extremely important because it make the book real. The events real. When reading the main part of the book itself the whole thing felt like fiction... like it was a story... that life couldn't really be like that... how could anyone value others so little, how can anyone be so envious or willing to walk all over those around them who are in a situation that is no better than their own...
This book is a collection of stories of the lives that were being lived by the poorest people in a town that the world believed to be modern, productive and prosperous. The stories are real, they are the stories collected by the author over three years. She has done what I felt was a valid job at showing me, a White Girl from Canada, the lives of those a world away.
The stories felt so unreal, they show strength and creativity. They show kids forced into doing whatever work they can just so that there families can sustain themselves. The stories show the internal struggle over attempting to do what one believes to be the right thing - (such and not becoming a thief) - when the world rewards those who do it. The stories make you appreciate a world where you can trust in those outside, that you can trust the police to do what they are expected, and the biggest problem you have is that you are making minimum wage at a crappy service job... while attending University.
P.S
So I have a few more thoughts based on what John Green says to keep in mind in his vlog last friday, He talks about luck and how we don't really attribute it to situations but I don't really agree with the weight he is giving luck. I don't like luck, I believe that a single person has a lot more control over the outcome of a situation than the idea of Luck allows for. Its not Lucky when a publisher likes your book, the publisher likes a book because they have learnt how to read and recognize a well written work as well as understanding what the potential customer base for that peace is and they understand that if they published it they are likely to make money from it. This isn't luck, there might be some luck in the first book but that's not the case for this book (or a book written by John Green which he might be referring too because he is being humble).
I don't think that luck is really apart of this book, or the lives of these people. They all make choices, take actions that affect themselves and their community. It wasn't bad luck that got Adul and his father in trouble, it was the actions of his Father, His Sister, Fatima and him that got him there... along with a corrupt justice system...
The Idea of Luck bothers me, One's actions creates a situation, they can then respond to that situation to the best of their ability or not. The results is not Lucky... the result just is.
P.S
So I have a few more thoughts based on what John Green says to keep in mind in his vlog last friday, He talks about luck and how we don't really attribute it to situations but I don't really agree with the weight he is giving luck. I don't like luck, I believe that a single person has a lot more control over the outcome of a situation than the idea of Luck allows for. Its not Lucky when a publisher likes your book, the publisher likes a book because they have learnt how to read and recognize a well written work as well as understanding what the potential customer base for that peace is and they understand that if they published it they are likely to make money from it. This isn't luck, there might be some luck in the first book but that's not the case for this book (or a book written by John Green which he might be referring too because he is being humble).
I don't think that luck is really apart of this book, or the lives of these people. They all make choices, take actions that affect themselves and their community. It wasn't bad luck that got Adul and his father in trouble, it was the actions of his Father, His Sister, Fatima and him that got him there... along with a corrupt justice system...
The Idea of Luck bothers me, One's actions creates a situation, they can then respond to that situation to the best of their ability or not. The results is not Lucky... the result just is.
