Recent read: The Host by Stephenie Meyer
This book is Stephenie Meyer’s first fiction book meant for adults. Most people know her as the author of the Twilight series which, even though it was meant for teens, received a fair amount of interest from adults as well.
The Host clearly describes what it means to be human and how love makes us who we are, each one of us unique. Even though it sometimes feels like such a fragile thing, love is strong and persistent, and will remain true and unchanged regardless of distance, suffering, and even alien occupation. Yes, I said alien occupation!
These aliens that call themselves souls, travel from planet to planet and implant themselves into the local bodies or hosts. Through their intergalactic journeys the come upon Earth, a place unlike any other planet they’ve visited. They are struck by the amount of fear, violence, and disease that they find here and so decide to settle and transform this world into a better one.
The story is dominated by the harsh reality of what we, humans, are doing to our home, the Earth, and ourselves. It’s about realizing that we are a violent race and, whether that is in our genes or we developed that trait over time, it could potentially destroy us and the planet we live in. Another important aspect in this book is survival and how hard it is to stay sane when you know that your life is in danger at all moments, that you might be discovered and, with that, the whole human race will disappear. But hope and love are the ultimate human feelings that can potentially overcome fear, despair, loneliness, if only we allow them to.
Even though it was on the thick side, I liked this book a lot. It got me thinking about my values and how I interact with people. I think it could also make an awesome movie.
