Book Reviews
These activities consist of:
Ordering a book review
Analysing text organisation
Asking questions
Reading comprehension
Vocabulary work
Extensive reading
Writing a book review
You can find more activities on this topic in the print material for Anglès II on pages 15-35.
The answers are given at the end of each exercise.
A. Put the paragraphs in this book review in the correct order.
A And in "Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling," this remarkable book's
denouement, Bobby returns to his hometown where one final secret, the hope of
redemption, and his heart's desire may await him.
B In "Blind Willie" and "Why We're in Vietnam," two men who grew up with
Bobby in suburban Connecticut try to fill the emptiness of the post-Vietnam era
in an America which sometimes seems as hollow -- and as haunted -- as their
own lives.
C Full of danger, full of suspense, most of all full of heart, Stephen King's new
book will take some readers to a place they have never been...and others to a
place they have never been able to completely leave.
D Stephen King, whose first novel, Carrie, was published in 1974, the year before
the last U.S. troops withdrew from Vietnam, is the first hugely popular writer of
the TV generation. Images from that war -- and the protests against it -- had
flooded America's living rooms for a decade. Hearts in Atlantis, King's newest
fiction, is composed of five interconnected, sequential narratives, set in the years
from 1960 to 1999. Each story is deeply rooted in the sixties, and each is
haunted by the Vietnam War.
E Hearts in Atlantis: Review
F In Part One, "Low Men in Yellow Coats," eleven-year-old Bobby Garfield
discovers a world of predatory malice in his own neighborhood. He also
discovers that adults are sometimes not rescuers but at the heart of the terror.
G In the title story, a bunch of college kids get hooked on a card game, discover
the possibility of protest...and confront their own collective heart of darkness,
where laughter may be no more than the thinly disguised cry of the beast.
A Answers: E, D, F, G, B, A ,C.
E, D, G, F, B, A ,C is also possible.
B Now look at the text and decide which paragraph(s) give:
Introduction/Background - objective
Recommendation/Reviewer's opinion - subjective
Title
A description of the contents.
1. Hearts in Atlantis: Review
2. Stephen King, whose first novel, Carrie, was published in 1974, the year before
the last U.S. troops withdrew from Vietnam, is the first hugely popular writer of
the TV generation. Images from that war -- and the protests against it -- had
flooded America's living rooms for a decade. Hearts in Atlantis, King's newest
fiction, is composed of five interconnected, sequential narratives, set in the years
from 1960 to 1999. Each story is deeply rooted in the sixties, and each is
haunted by the Vietnam War.
3. In Part One, "Low Men in Yellow Coats," eleven-year-old Bobby Garfield
discovers a world of predatory malice in his own neighborhood. He also
discovers that adults are sometimes not rescuers but at the heart of the terror.
4. In the title story, a bunch of college kids get hooked on a card game, discover
the possibility of protest...and confront their own collective heart of darkness,
where laughter may be no more than the thinly disguised cry of the beast.
5. In "Blind Willie" and "Why We're in Vietnam," two men who grew up with
Bobby in suburban Connecticut try to fill the emptiness of the post-Vietnam era
in an America which sometimes seems as hollow -- and as haunted -- as their
own lives.
6. And in "Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling," this remarkable book's
denouement, Bobby returns to his hometown where one final secret, the hope of
redemption, and his heart's desire may await him.
7. Full of danger, full of suspense, most of all full of heart, Stephen King's new
book will take some readers to a place they have never been...and others to a
place they have never been able to completely leave.
B Answers
Introduction/Background - objective Para. 2
Recommendation/Reviewer's opinion - subjective Para. 7
Title Para 1
A description of the contents. Paras. 3,4,5,6
C Make questions by putting one word in the spaces.
1. 's it called?
2. 's it by?
3. 's it set?
4. 's it set?
5. 's it about?
6. 's it like?
7. you recommend it?
C Answers
What's it called?
Who's it by?
When's it set?
Where's it set?
What's it about?
What's it like?
Would you recommend it?
You can use these questions as a plan to write your review.
D Now read the Stephen King book review and find the answers to the above questions.
D Suggested Answers
Heart In Atlantis.
Stephen King.
From 1960 to 1999.
In the USA.
It's about people's experiences of the last three decades and the Vietnam War.
An adjective is normal here. For example, good, bad, boring, brilliant, exciting, interesting etc. In the text it says "It's full of danger, full of suspense, most of all full of heart".
Yes, the reviewer recommends the book.
E Vocabulary
Find words and expressions in the text which mean:
enormously para. 2
based, set para. 2
finds out paras. 3 + 4
addicted to para. 4
areas around towns/cities para 5
ending, outcome, solution para. 6
This type of exercise is included in tests and exams.
E Vocabulary Answers.
enormously hugely
based, set rooted
finds out discovers
addicted to hooked
from areas around towns/cities suburban
outcome, solution, ending denouement
F Extensive reading
Now look http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/lists/best/bestsellers.html and choose a book that interests you. You can read reviews by critics and by customers. Look through the reviews and decide if:
the review is positive or negative.
you would like to read the book.
the review is well written.
G
Now apply what you have learned and write a book review of your own. Send your reviews to Activities so that your colleagues can have a look.
The book review will count towards your CA mark. Please ask if anything is not clear.
Richard. 6/10/00
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