【104-1 第三名】應外四 楊〇玟：Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

參賽者：楊〇玟（應外四）
名次：第三名
書名：Still Alice
得獎作品：

     Alice Howland is a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard University and a world-renowned linguistics expert. As she is in the full flush of success, something is terribly wrong. She forgets the words during her lecture, and she gets lost when running in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, Alice is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease.

     Alzheimer is not an unfamiliar word for most of us; however, how clearly we know about it? Before reading this story, I thought Alzheimer only happens when people get old, and they lose their memories day by day. Nevertheless, the process of deterioration is actually painful for the patients, and how well the author depicts it faithfully makes this novel astonishing and touching. Additionally, Alice is a special case; she is only fifty and she is such a successful and ambitious woman. Learning the truth that she is losing herself gradually is definitely killing her. I profoundly remember one plot that Alice gets lost in her own house when she wants to go to the bathroom; then she just urinates on her pants, which really shocks me. Besides the pain Alice undertakes, I identify with Alice’s feeling that she doesn’t want to be a burden for her family. This winter vacation, I was injured because of an accident. None of my limbs was hurt, but there’s a big wound on my face and now there’s still an apparent scar. My family knows I am sad, so they dare not to talk about it and pretend it is nothing in front of me. I know how they feel; therefore, I want to be strong for them, just like Alice does. And luckily, my family supports me, just like Alice’s.

     Lastly, the speech that Alice delivers is the climax of this novel. She finds herself learning the art of losing every day. She loses the most precious thing in her life-her memory. Despite this situation, it is not who she is; it is just her disease. She knows that she is still alive, and she still owns other treasure, such as her family and her goals. She is not suffering, she is struggling to seize every moment in her life. No matter what may happen afterward, we shouldn’t forget that she is “Still Alice.” That’s the meaning of the book, and it is very encouraging and inspiring. I highly recommend everyone to read this book!

【104-1 第二名】會計系一A 張簡〇萱：The book thief by Markus Zusak

The book thief by Markus Zusak

參賽者：張簡〇萱（會計系一A）
名次：第二名
書名：The book thief
得獎作品：

     For a person like me, who loves English so much, reading novels is an enjoying thing. Among dozens of books I had read, I would like to introduce “The Book Thief.” It was in the midst of the World War Two, a girl named Liesel Meminger and her little brother were sent to a foster family in Germany where Nazi regime was blossoming. However, her brother didn’t make it due to the freezing weather; therefore, Liesel alone lived with her beloved (foster) Papa and Mama. During the period, she met Rudy Steiner, her neighbor, and a Jewish boy called Max Vandenburg, who both turned out to be her best friends. Liesel started curious about the “word”, asking Papa to read her the first book she had stolen, The Grave Digger’s Handbook. From then on, Papa taught her daughter the basic vocabulary, and encouraged her to read more books. This is an amazing story which really impressed me. First of all, author used the view of “the Death” to tell the readers this ordinary but touching narrative that penetrated deeply into people’s heart, which was an astonishing writing skill that I never seen before.

     Secondly, although the novel was set in the background of the war, we could still see the love between people, especially during the domination of the Nazi. Love could be an urgent thing for civilians to embrace; for example, when the residents hided in the shelter because of the air raid, Liesel told a story to everyone to comfort their anxious mood. We knew that her sound not only soften the tension flowed in the air, but spread the love to each corner of the listeners’ hearts. I think this was the best part of the book, author used simple words to covey this sarcastic scene: the little girl’s calm voice was surrounding the shelter while the air raid hit, which made a strong contrast.

     There was another important reason why I love this book so much, it was the technique writer used. Author, Markus Zusak, tried to interact with us, the reader, through his story. He seemed to know what we were thinking while reading the book, therefore, reading this novel would have a feeling that author was telling the story in front of us, in person. On the other hand, author used colors to describe the environment in which a scene started to begin. The lifeless sight became vivid thanks to the ornamentation of these colors, and invisibly brought more emotions to the readers at the same time.

     Also, I think the author was trying to tell us how cruel the war was by the speaking of the death. Through the job of the death, it was more clearly that the world without any conflicts would be the human beings’ hopes, and the death’s too.

【104-1 第一名】法律四 梁〇齡：Q&A by Vikas Swarup

Q&A by Vikas Swarup

參賽者：梁〇齡（法律四）
名次：第一名
書名：Q&A
得獎作品：

     Deep, bold and charismatic, Vikas Swarup gives a close peek at the real life in India. By sending the readers to several places simply applying sentences and words to his writing, within hours the audience has been sent to Mumbai, Delhi, toured the Taj Mahal, fled across the whole country and ended up sitting in a TV program’s studio. The breathtaking adventures and the stunning story not only provide an exceptional reading experience but also arouse deeper consciousness towards the Indian society. And, in part, to arouse the real truth lies behind the human nature, which can be seen on even you and me. Poverty, fraud, illiteracy and helplessness of all the people in such a great country drive people to seek excitement and splendor. Q&A is heavy, yet powerful. Bombarded with the suffocating social realities and strong humanitarianism definitely would leave one deep in thought.

     Ram Mohammad Thomas, an 18-year-old kid from the slum working as a waiter in the restaurant, survived to answer all the questions and won a billion rupees on a quiz show. Not surprisingly, the bureaus and the producers doubted his honesty and accused him of cheating in the competition. This dramatic plot unfolded the entire story while Ram recalled his fascinating adventure. From the moment he was found as an infant by a priest in Delhi, to an orphanage which turned out to be an illegal labor factory; from the days he worked in a faded Bollywood star’s house, to his employment by a security-crazed Australian army colonel. He worked as a tour guide in Taj Mahal, Agra, interpreting the love happened in history, and even met his own one. Every time trapped in a dilemma, he took out a coin and went for it when it turned the side which has a head. As the lucky coin turned “head” all the time, Ram overcame all the difficulties, in the end having a happy ending. Although it’s quite impossible for a teenager like Ram to survive in this enormous war, it’s Swarup’s special design that makes Ram who he appeared to be. Ram was smart, apprehensive, calm, clever and understanding, making people from all walks of life trust him by heart. His name reflected the complicated religious combination in India, implying the complex destiny he may be facing. He spoke three languages, and he was literate. He was an orphan grew up in a slum, yet never failed to broaden his horizon and seize the opportunities to learn. Employers, elders, even kids at his age, all were willing to show him their inner world as Ram examined them prudently. Someone who looked defensive may turn out to be vulnerable, someone who appeared to be kind may seem vicious in the end.

     These people, faced with dozens of difficulties in life, revealed themselves to Ram to seek shelter. They were somehow all helpless, WE are somehow all helpless. Swarup successfully illustrates the greed, weakness, depression, jealousy, selfishness in human nature. It appears to me that Swarup believes in god, and that whatever god is like, he has faith in the kindness and justified sense which underlie our moral spirit, leading us to luck and safety. Ram is a role who in part represents the existence of god. He never fell in a human trap, he was always decent, honest, generous, calmly observing the daunting world. He watched, provided help when others were in need. In front of him, a well-known actress could be as a kid, a cunning guy couldn’t disguise himself, a language disordered boy was like a brave angel. Through the trauma this world brought him and his acquaintances, the authenticities within them were inescapable.

     Destiny or opportunity? Life is a quiz show in disguise. But just like Thomas’s “lucky coin”, actually having a head on both sides, we can never change the things destined, but can always decide how we face them.

      “Because luck comes from within.”