The Story of Resilience

Mr. Zamperini died in July of 2014 but his legacy lives on!
Image Courtesy of LA Times

Ever since Unbroken was announced to come out as a movie, I had wanted to read the book by Laura Hillenbrand. I know, I know - I could have just watched the movie, but as I say, books are always better than their movie counterparts. 

Unbroken is a book I have read that was outside of my comfort zone. I usually stick to fantasy and young adult books because they are more captivating and fun to read. Don't you agree? But the good thing was that I really enjoyed this book.

Now, I would not recommend this book for people who like/love action, suspense, and fantastical plots. I would recommend this book for people who don't mind reading a serious but intriguing, true life story of a young man. I also might add: this book is for people who don't mind graphic and intense scenes.

Image Courtesy of Film Trailer Zone (Youtube)

Louis Zamperini reminds me of a true superhero; not one with superpowers. He managed to survive a month floating on one raft with two other men after his plane crashed, fighting off hungry sharks, catching birds with quick reflexes and reeling in fish. I don't know how they did it but... Louis also survived Japanese POW camps and the cruel men inside the camps. The abuse and torture he went through is unimaginable. I should not be joking about this but if I was in his situation, I would crack on the first day.

I don't want to be too graphic but Louis and the rest of the Japanese POWs went through physical torture like beatings until unconsciousness and mental torture like standing stark naked out in the freezing cold. The Japanese pushed all the POWs to their limits, in which some cases, left the men unable to function alone. 

While reading Unbroken, I was shocked how POWs were kept for one, but I was grateful that I had read such a book that described a different perspective of World War II. I do admit, however, that I have not read much about WWII nor have been interested in learning about WWII. After this book, I did want to research more about what actually happened and other history-buff information.

Image Courtesy of Flickering Myth

Overall, I would rate Unbroken a "sit down and read" book. It didn't have magical unicorns and man-eating faeries but it did have a different kind of story that I fell in love with. 

Again, I would like to warn you.... This book is not for readers who want to sit down and get caught up in a sweeping tale about a young soldier. If you are into that stuff, look at this edition. I have never read or laid my hands on this young adult adaptation of Unbroken. The reason why I never thought of buying the edition was because I felt that the story the book talked about was too serious to be fluffed and cuddled. 

Now, I am not trying to hate on the people who can't read serious stuff. I just wanted the truth. If you have read the young adult edition of Unbroken, please give me feedback! I don't want to sound mean for the fun of it... I assure you, I am not that type of person.

Image Courtesy of Laura Hillenbrand Books

Okay, got off topic a bit. Let me end this post with a good note.

Unbroken is an excellent read. It was written beautifully with new terms and words I had to look up for. The writing was straight forward with no hidden meanings (I think) and confusing text. Although, at one part, the author started to describe the different models of aircrafts used in WWII but that information was exciting.

If you read the book before or after reading this beautiful post, please give me feedback on what you did or didn't like about the book! See ya soon, bookworms!