Mark

The book I chose is “Take The Cannoli”, by Sarah Vowell. I was drawn to the book after hearing the description read from the back. The book includes identity, politics, religion, art, and history. The description said that she went under cover of heavy make up in Goth culture, blasts cannonballs into a hillside on a father daughter outing, and maps her family’s haunted history on a road trip down the Trail of Tears. Obviously this sounded like an exciting and thrilling book, so who wouldn’t want to choose it?

Personally, I believe the book so far hasn’t lived up to the description, but what could I expect within 15 pages? The book already introduces most of the main characters within the first pages. Her father, a gun smith, her twin sister, who is also interested in guns, and her as the lonely twin because she doesn’t share common interests with either of them. It starts off explaining her father and his strong love and passion for guns. She then furthers her description into a time when she went out and shot her first gun when she was younger, and how nervous she was. The gun blew her backwards and caused her pain, and from then on she had a fear of them.

Later on, her father invented a cannon. It was as long as a baseball bat, wide as a coffee can, and 115 pounds. She wanted to make her dad happy, and wanted to enjoy what he enjoyed, so she decided to give it a try. They went and shot it off and she actually was surprised by it. She then realized her and her father share something; an interest in odd contraptions.

For me, I think the book so far doesn’t have a plot. It jumps around and doesn’t really make any sense to me. I’m sure later on it will cover the details that it’s missing, but so far I think the book is lacking a lot.