BOOK REVIEW
TITLE: THE BEST-LAID PLANS
AUTHOR: SIDNEY SHELDON
NUMBER OF PAGES: 344 PAGES
THEME: “VENGEANCE IS NOT OURS”
I. WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE PURPOSE OF THE AUTHOR IN WRITING THIS NOVEL? Based on what I’ve read, on my own understanding the main goal or purpose of the author why he wrote this novel dealing with two main ideas; about revenge and peace! The author emphasizes the saying “Vengeance is not ours” meaning, it is not always right to revenge to those people who did something unkind to us or hurt us for their own sake or personal benefit in life. Vengeance do not lay in our hands we do not have the power or right to give them their punishments for what they had done to us, we have limitations and take note for the fact that “Nobody is perfect” and there are some circumstances that we feel our inferiority and we cant escape those weaknesses of ours and we committed some cruel things to other people just for our own good, the author wants to make us know or learn to consider others, and put in mind that we have our Almighty God who is superior in all aspects, all that we need to do is to have faith in Him. Like what the bible said; “Love your enemies” and believe that there will be a time that God will give that person the punishments for those sins that they committed on to you. Like what they say lucky are those who suffer, because God is always there to help you. We need to learn how to forgive, our Almighty God is a concrete and good example, He knows how to forgive us for all those sins that we committed unto Him, how come that we can’t? Do not lay the justice in your own hands because you are just still a human being and is prone to commit mistakes, who knows if you will go on your own, there is a tendency that you will going to fail or loose in the first place, like in this story, when Oliver Russell committed a sin to Leslie Stewart, for not marrying her and by marrying other woman who can help her to get his fame and to be elected as a governor even as high as the position of the president, take note not just a president of an ordinary country but a president of the most powerful country the United State of America, and that plans of Oliver had been taken for granted with the idea of hurting Leslie, the woman that he love, on the other hand Leslie Stewart do everything just to put down or destroy Oliver’s name in the political industry, and make Oliver’s feel that he had not been born, however even the best laid plans can go dangerously astray-in a deadly dangerous way.
“World peace” the author made it a point that peace is very important, maybe the author wants to promote world peace. I like the line that Oliver said; “what’s important is not how long a president stays in his office, but what he does when he’s in it”. Nowadays, peace is very much important especially here in our country mentioning those conflicts between Muslims and Christians that led to everlasting war, with the fact that they are both Filipinos, we need to have peace with one another and end those wars and start anew, it’s not to late, all that we need to do is love and accept one another and aim for one goal, in a progressive country, like what Muslims always say “ashalah malaikum” meaning peace be unto you.
II. DOES HE SUCCEED IN HIS PURPOSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWER. In my own opinion the author succeeds in his purpose in writing this novel because in the end of this story Leslie Stewart learned her lessons in life. She somehow realizes that “Vengeance is not really ours” it belongs to our beloved God. Todd Davis also learned his lesson that there is more important than power and that is Peace with one another that are the essence of this novel.
III. A.COMMENT ON THE CHARACTERS:
a. Leslie Stewart is an ambitious PR executive, learns that for some men power is the greatest aphrodisiac.
b. Oliver Russell is wise president for his accomplishment, and finds out why hell has no fury like a woman scorned.
B.COMMENT ON THE PLOT:
In my own opinion the plot of this novel is well organized that gives the story some thrill; you will be surprise in the ending because the man that you know to be the root of all evil is not! With the style of the author this novel have made fantastic and full of thrilling experience.
C.COMMENT ON THE SETTING:
The setting of the story was so magnificent and fantastic with this novel you can mentally travel in some part of America specifically at the white house the place that everybody has been dreaming of.
IV. WOULD YOU LIKE TO READ ANOTHER NOVEL BY THE SAME AUTHOR? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWER. Definitely yes, of course I really want to read novel by the same author; by Sidney Sheldon because I want his style of writing and I like his choice of words, you can easily understand the words because the words are not that unfamiliar that you can see in the story how intelligent and imaginative the author was! Actually it is the first novel that I tend to finish because I cant finish some novels of other author because they used many unfamiliar words that really irritating me and not to finish reading it because I find it boring. Sidney Sheldon is really great, a great writer that he had published a lot of bestseller novels of all times, I am very interested with his novels because in his writings we can learn many things, lessons and ideas about the reality of life and with his novels we van mentally travel around globe and learn a lot of things. Actually I wanted to have some collections of his novels someday and I think this would be a great hobby hopefully.
