A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
It’s common to find images of angels that appear beautiful and bright, with wings and a halo around their heads. However, in A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, an angel is depicted as an old man with wings nearly too big for his body. The angel in this story is dirty and sorrowful, dressed like a beggar. He landed in a rich family’s courtyard during a rather terrible storm and after some debate, the family decided to take him in. The family quickly decides the hideous creature must be an angel of death, coming to take away their child when he was caught by the storm. Locking him up in the chicken coop, the family takes advantage of the situation and allows people to come from far and wide to gawk at their angel, for five cents a person. People came with illnesses and problems, trying to get the angel to heal them. However, with every visit, the angel seemed to dwindle, becoming a miserable creature.
Breaking the stereotypes of angels, this tale adds a new perspective to supernatural beings and how they may function around us. Marquez builds a story from the ground up, creating intricate plot lines and characters. This quick read is an easy recommendation simply because of its deep, intriguing story line.
Danger: Unstable Ground by Madeline McCourt
Curiosity is a good thing, but to what extent? How far can it be pushed until everything comes crashing to the ground? That’s a common question for Charlie, a boy who lives in a treetop village. He, along with every other child, is told to stay away from the ground. Touching it is deadly, so when most kids see someone fall and get digested by the earth, they learn to shy away , as does the rest of the village. Charlie, on the other hand, just grows more curious. He wants to know what it is about the organisms in the dirt that drove his whole village into the trees. It doesn't take long for his curiosity to take flight.
Madeline McCourt’s “Danger: Unstable Ground” is a thrilling tale that delves deeper into curiosity and the consequences it can be accompanied with. With excellent detail, she creates a world in which no one is safe on the ground.
Escape Choice by Emma Burnett is a story about fitting in and isolation. Brunett takes on a unique, singular voice throughout the story, creating a time distant yet relatable.
The story follows a boy known as Max as he attempts to build a life for himself on a spaceship. The parents of his generation had set out to find and create new worlds for their children, spending decades on a spaceship, searching for the right place. Max was born in space and raised to expect change - to embrace it with open arms. After all, he was a part of the generation that would occupy the new worlds. Max finds himself seeking out quiet, organized places that are as far away from people as he can get, considering he is stuck on a small ship. This concerns his mother and other peers as he begins to show less and less curiosity for change. He was raised to be an explorer, but he quickly learns that just isn’t who he is.
Despite the two situations being very different, Burnett skillfully connects Max’s experiences to the lockdown of Covid-19. Through Max, Burnett illustrates that we can be at peace with not being accepted, that it's okay if no one understands, as long as we are doing what makes us happy.
Burnett’s story was well paced, though it left me curious as it ends with Max faced with an ultimatum. I highly recommend this quick read. It was insightful and enjoyable.