[오늘의 한문장] Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories

"You know," he said, "one of the things you learn when you get old like me is that sometimes, a new situation will come along, and you‘ll have no idea what to do. There‘s no rule book that tells you how to act in every given situation in life, you know? So what I always say is that it‘s always better to err on the side of kindness. That‘s the secret. If you don‘t know what to do, just be kind. You can’t go wrong. - P13

[오늘의 한문장] Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories

Introduction

I am truly blessed that readers of Wonder feel close enough to him to envision for themselves how his life will go. I know they understand that just because I chose to end Wonder on a happy day in Auggie‘s life, it doesn‘t guarantee him a happy life. He will surely face more than his fair share of challenges as he grows older, with new ups and downs, new friends, other Julians and Jacks and, of course, Summers. - P13

You are a wonder

WHEN GIVEN THE CHOICE BETWEEN BEING RIGHT OR BEING KIND, CHOOSE KIND.
옳음과 친절함 중 하나를 선택해야 한다면, 친절함을 선택해라.

이 책은 첫째의 추천으로 읽기 시작. 영화가 개봉했을 때 보았기 때문에 내용은 대충 알았지만, 깨알 글자 크기에 300페이지가 넘는 분량이라 읽기 난이도가 있을 것 같아 얇은 책을 조금 더 읽고 읽겠다고 했으나 “진짜 쉽다”는 강조에 읽기 시작했다. 진짜 진짜 쉽다. 문장이 아주 짧고 어려운 단어도 많지 않다(대충 때려잡기 가능^^). 여태 까지 읽은 영어 책 중에 가장 쉬운 수준이다.

선천적 안면기형으로 태어난 열 살 소년 Auggie가 엄마와의 홈스쿨링을 벗어나 처음으로 학교에 가면서 벌어지는 이야기. 장애를 갖고 태어난 아이와 그 가족의 사랑과 헌신, 외모에 대한 사람들의 편견, 아이들의 왕따와 괴롭힘, 그럼에도 Auggie와 함께하는 친구들과의 우정.

이 책의 각 챕터는 Auggie와 그의 누나 Via, Auggie의 학교 친구 Summer와 Jack, Via의 남자친구 Justin, Via의 오랜 친구 Miranda 등 Auggie와 그 주변인물들의 관점에서 각자의 고민과 관계를 풀어낸다.

Auggie 부모님같은 부모가 가능할까? Wonderful한 부모다.

다음 책은 Auggie & Me!

[오늘의 한문장] Wonder

"Mom? Am I always going to have to worry about jerks like that?" I asked. "Like when I grow up, is it always going to belike this?"
She didn‘t answer right away, but took my plate and glass andput them in the sink and rinsed them with water.
"There are always going to be jerks in the world, Auggie,"
she said, looking at me. "But I really believe, and Daddy really believes, that there are more good people on this earth than bad people, and the good people watch out for each other and take care of each other. Just like Jack was there for you. And Amos. And those other kids."
"Oh yeah, Miles and Henry," I answered. "They were awesome, too. It‘s weird because Miles and Henry haven‘t even really been very nice to me at all during the year."
"Sometimes people surprise us," she said, rubbing the top of my head.
"I guess." - P279

"Auggie, I couldn‘t stand seeing that thing cover your face anymore," he said clumsily.
"Dad, I loved that helmet! It meant a lot to me! I was bummed beyond belief when it got lost-don‘t you remember?"
"Of course I remember, Auggie," he said softly. "Ohh, Auggie, don‘t be mad. I‘m sorry. I just couldn‘t stand seeing you wear that thing on your head anymore, you know? I didn‘t think it was good for you." He was trying to look me in the eye, but I wouldn‘tlook at him.
"Come on, Auggie, please try to understand," he continued, putting his hand under my chin and tilting my face toward him. "You were wearing that helmet all the time. And the real, real, real, real truth is: I missed seeing your face, Auggie. I know youdon‘t always love it, but you have to understand... I love it. Ilove this face of yours, Auggie, completely and passionately. Andit kind of broke my heart that you were always covering it up."
He was squinting at me like he really wanted me to understand. - P291

Here Mr. Tushman looked up at the audience. "Kinder than is necessary," he repeated. "What a marvelous line, isn‘tit? Kinder than is necessary. Because it‘s not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed. Why I love that line, thatconcept, is that it reminds me that we carry with us, as humanbeings, not just the capacity to be kind, but the very choice ofkindness. And what does that mean? How is that measured? You can‘t use a yardstick. It‘s like I was saying just before: it‘s not likemeasuring how much you‘ve grown in a year. It‘s not exactlyquantifiable, is it? How do we know we‘ve been kind? What is being kind, anyway?" - P300

[오늘의 한문장] Wonder

The first day I showed up at school with the hearing aids I thought kids would make a big deal about it. But no one did Summer was glad I could hear better, and Jack said it made melook like an FBI agent or something. But that was it. Mr. Browne asked me about it in English class, but it wasn‘t like, what the heck is that thing on your head?! It was more like, "If youever need me to repeat something, Auggie, make sure you tellme, okay?"
Now that I look back, I don‘t know why I was so stressed about it all this time. Funny how sometimes you worry a lot about something and it turns out to be nothing. - P215

I loved hanging out by the campfire after dark. I loved the bits of fire dust would float up and disappear into the night air. And how the fire lit up people‘s faces. I loved the sound the fire made, too. And how the woods were so dark that you couldn‘t see anything around you, and you‘d look up and see abillion stars in the sky. The sky doesn‘t look like that in NorthRiver Heights. I‘ve seen it look like that in Montauk, though:like someone sprinkled salt on a shiny black table.
I was so tired when I got back to the cabin that I didn‘t needto pull out the book to read. I fell asleep almost as fast as my headhit the pillow. And maybe I dreamed about the stars, I don‘t know. - P258

When we got to the fairgrounds, the sun was just starting to set. It was about seven-thirty. The shadows were really longon the grass, and the clouds were pink and orange. It looked like someone had taken sidewalk chalk and smudged the colorsacross the sky with their fingers. It‘s not that I haven‘t seen nicesunsets before in the city, because I have-slivers of sunsetsbetween buildings-but I wasn‘t used to seeing so much sky inevery direction. Out here in the fairgrounds, I could understand why ancient people used to think the world was flat and the skywas a dome that closed in on top of it. That‘s what it looked likefrom the fairgrounds, in the middle of this huge open field. - P259