Exeter Yaroslavl Twinning Association

Yaroslavl Nekrasov English Language School № 4

 

      

Karachevtseva Aleksandra

 

Essay for the contest

 

«The Most Interesting Book I Have Ever Read»

Form 7

 

Yaroslavl

2021

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The Most Interesting Book I Have Ever Read

 

 I have always been interested in reading books. When I was a child I enjoyed reading fairy-tales, later I used to read detective stories. But it was a long time ago. Today I am fond of reading romantic comedy books. One day I got a book as a prizefor my participation in a drawing contest and it became the most unusual book I have ever read.

 

 The book I received is written by a famous American writer Fannie Flagg. Fannie Flagg is the author’snickname, her real name is Patricia Nil. She was dreaming of being a writer when she was a child, but at the age of 14 she started her careeras an actress in a theatrical company in her nativecity - Birmingham. Today she is the New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man,Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café,Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!, Standing in the Rainbow, and A Redbird Christmas. Flagg’s script for Fried Green Tomatoeswas nominated for an Academy Award and a Writers Guild of America Award, and won the highly regarded Scripters Award. Her novel «The Whole Town's Talking» was published in 2016. After that Fannie announced that that was her last novel, and if she would return to writing, it would be only to short stories.Today Flagg lives in California and in Alabama.

 

  Fannie Flagg’s novel «Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven» was written in 2006. The events are set in the imaginarytown of Elmwood-Springs, Missouri.Elner Shimfissle, the main character of the novel, is a cheerful old lady, she falls offa tree while picking figs and unconsciousbeing rushed to the hospital, where she is reported dead. This event is a great grief for the entire Elner’s family. They send food for the funeral and the obituary is published in a Southern newspaper. Meanwhile, it is all an adventure for Elner – she finds herself in Heaven, where she meets her dead sister, her hero Thomas Alva Edison, and God himself who looks like her former neighbour, Raymond, a modest, pipe-smoking divinity.

 

 There are many interesting characters in the story but my favorite one is Elner. She is not like anybody else, besides, I have never met such an unusual character before. Elner is a very old lady. There are a lot of people in her life: her kids, her neighbours, her old friends, etc. She also has a cat. Probably, during her entire life, a whole dynasty of cats lived in her house. All of them were red and were called Sonnies. How could Elner tell one cat from the others? The matter is, each cat has a number, for example, Sonnie I, Sonnie II, Sonnie III and so on. Elner loves cats very much. She is a very kind and friendly person. She always helps others when they have some difficulties. But the most interesting quality in Elner's character is her curiosity. She is interested in everything that has happened, is happening or is going to happen. What comes first: a hen or an egg?How much does the Moon weigh? Have you ever heard that there are more than 47 trillion cells in the human body? All these things interest Elner. She is also a very optimistic lady, who has a good sense of humour. All problems seem petty to her, because she knows a lot and is sure that she would solve the problems using her knowledge and experience. It is very interesting for me to read about her life, it is something new and unusual. I really enjoy reading the book!

 

 The book seems to bevery exciting and full of humour. Despite some sad moments, there are a lot of good and positive situations which teach us to take them easy and to enjoy the little things, because they are all beautiful in their own way or lead to something beautiful. Besides, the book is something like a discovery for me. I have never read similar books before. Every chapter of the book has its own story, its own thought and moral. In every chapter we read about different people and get to know about joys and sorrows in their life. We travel through time and even in space! We are both on the Earth and in Heaven.

 

 What is Heaven in Fannie’s opinion? It is a place inhabited by the people after their death where they spend the time of immortality with people who lived in different historical periods . But at first they can talk to the Creator in the disguise of someone familiar about everything they want. Of course,Elnertakes her chance and asks the Creator all the questions which have worried her for a long time.

 

  The book begins with the following words: «There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle». They belong toAlbert Einstein. The book makes its readers think about the death and the life after that. How to spend your life to enjoy every moment? How to spend it so that you don't regret anything afterwards? We need to think about that

 

John Steinbeck once reasoned about that in his great novel East to Eden. He wrote: «I believe that there is one story in the world, and only one, that has frightened and inspired us, so that we live in a Pearl White serial of continuing thought and wonder. Humans are caught in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too in a net of good and evil. I think this is the only story we have and that it occurs on all levels of feeling and intelligence … When a man comes to die, no matter what his talents and influence and genius, if he dies unloved his life must be a failure to him and his dying a cold horror. It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure to the world. We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil. And it occurs to me that evil must constantly respawn, while good, while virtue, is immortal. Vice has always a new fresh young face, while virtue is venerable as nothing else in the world is».

 

  It is really surprising that after reading the book about how the good old woman dies I feel that life is something absolutely unique and amazing. Everyone deserves to live it the way he wants, the way he thinks is right. All people are different, everyone chooses his own way of life, it is a matter of honour. But it is much more interesting to live it with dignity, so that people remember the person with pride and respect. Death is part of our life. You don't have to be afraid of it, you don't have to wait for it. You need to enjoy every moment, every breath, every second of life. And then it will not be fearful to go to Infinity where your new adventures will definitely begin ...