I am definitely not enjoying what I'm reading.
In the best way possible.
Requiem for a Dream has proven itself to be truly dark, twisted, and just really depressing. But, what more could you expect from a book centered around hopeless dreams and drug addictions? It makes you feel so bad it's good.
Probably my favorite thing about this book is the characters. The characters are really really enjoyable. I've said it before and I can't say it enough: they're realistic. They contain the same things you'd see in people around you. Not to mention they're very interesting. Sara in particular has peaked my interest throughout the book. Sara is the quintessential example of what it means to not be needed. Her husband died years ago and her only son has moved away. Not only that, but he seems to hate her. He doesn't need her. With no one to care for or quite frankly spend any time with, Sara must find other means of happiness.
Sara is able to occupy herself with the comfort of food and television. Eventually, we discover that she sees the fridge as a sort of entity. It mocks her; tortures her. But nonetheless, it speaks to her. The television is a substitute for her happiness. She realizes that she's not happy. If she can't experience happiness in her own life then why not watch the TV? The television provides her with hours upon hours of shows and movies with happy endings. She feels happy for their happy. It comes to a point where she seems to desperately want to have the same fictional happiness in her real life. She tries to connect every happy thing to someone or something she knows. It kind of really makes you feel bad for her. She's truly unneeded so she has to find happiness in a TV screen.When Sara is first being introduced, there is a great focus on just how much she relies on food and television to keep her occupied. The reader can use her old actions and feelings (old meaning when she was relying on certain comforts) to juxtapose her actions and feelings when she gets a call saying she may be on an actual TV show. The change in her character makes her that much more interesting, especially since the change happens very fast. As soon as the call giving her the great news ends there is a quote that sort of sums up her change of character very well:
"...an event of such prodigious proportions and importance that it infused her with a new will to live and materialized a dream that brightened her days and soothed her lonely nights."
Just from reading the quote you can tell the possible future ahead of her has made her feel alive. Now she finally has someone to take care of and really work for: herself. And while that may seem inspirational-- the idea that you don't need someone in your life to feel happy-- it ultimately leads her to a terrible state. A drug addiction that has spiraled out of control and needs other drugs to calm. Paranoia, a terribly low weight, and other effects of a drug addiction. As you read further on, Sara's character becomes darker and darker. It's terrible, really. But, it's also really well written and her character has a lot of depth. It feels almost impossible for her to not be the character you fear for the most.
Comments: Bela | Gianna | Leanna
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