A journey into identity {Sula's Voyage by Catherine Torres}

Holding the banner high for literature from my homeland.

About Sula's Voyage by Catherine Torres: Fifteen-year-old Sula has always known she is different. Even though her parents have shown her nothing but love and acceptance, she sees her dark skin as a reminder of how she doesn’t fit in with the rest of her family.

What’s worse is she also feels that her parents are hiding something from her. After getting expelled from school, Sula reluctantly goes to stay with her mother’s friends. There she unexpectedly finds herself on a journey of self-discovery — a journey that keeps drawing her to the sea. Sula must not only figure our her parents’ secret, but also just how different, and possibly magical, she really is.

My two cents

Sula is an unusual child. She knows she is different because of her dark skin, of her strange abilities, and because she knows her parents have a secret that is somehow linked to her.

I must admit that I am biased. I knew that this book had a Philippine twist to it because it is written by a Filipino author. That in itself appealed because I wanted to read more Filipino literature, I want better representation of my country. But it got much, much better.

When I first started it—after much affection for the beautifully illustrated cover and matching bookmarks—I was much more fixated on the magical and mystical side of things. I was fixated on the possibility that Sula was a mermaid - after all, why did she have these strange powers? What were her parents hiding about their sea voyage on a traditional sea vessel back when they were still young? And what, if any, did that have anything to do with Sula's origins?

As the story started to round out, I was pleasantly surprised at how the mystical was woven into a highly nuanced tale of self-identity. This delves into the culture and practices of the Sama Dilaut, an indigenous tribe in the Philippines, better known as sea gypsies. I grew up knowing this tribe locally as Badjao (more here). I think that this is truly the heart of the story, a melding of the mystical with culture, history, and dare I say it, harsh reality.

Now, what made me extremely curious was Torres's personal connection with the Sama Dilaut story. I was rewarded at the end in her acknowledgements where she recounts that in elementary school, she was fascinated with this tribe's seafaring traditions and their dependence on the sea. She recalls that one practice was the throwing of newborns into the sea so they could learn how to swim.

I felt a little like that with this story - it has reminded me that I have only scratched the surface of literature from the Philippines. In this sea of global literature, I think it's only fair that I exert some effort in hearing the stories from my homeland.

Verdict

From unusual names to unpredictable storylines, here's a book that surprised me! This is one of my fave finds for the year — full of mermaids, sea gypsies, life out on the open sea, many inexplicable things and secrets all around. Yes, it's all that and more. If you're looking for young adult reading with plenty of surprises thrown in and with a cultural twist, then this is it. To be honest, even the paranormal in this was palatable to me! A truly unique read and I'm happy to recommend this to everyone.


This book was provided to me by the author for review consideration.

Puny smuny. Sorrow smorrow. Anything but. {All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews}

When the biggest irony is that I loved loved loved it.

About All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews*: You won’t forget Elf and Yoli, two smart and loving sisters. Elfrieda, a world-renowned pianist, glamorous, wealthy, happily married: she wants to die. Yolandi, divorced, broke, sleeping with the wrong men as she tries to find true love: she desperately wants to keep her older sister alive. Yoli is a beguiling mess, wickedly funny even as she stumbles through life struggling to keep her teenage kids and mother happy, her exes from hating her, her sister from killing herself and her own heart from breaking.

But Elf’s latest suicide attempt is a shock: she is three weeks away from the opening of her highly anticipated international tour. Her long-time agent has been calling and neither Yoli nor Elf’s loving husband knows what to tell him. Can she be nursed back to “health” in time? Does it matter? As the situation becomes ever more complicated, Yoli faces the most terrifying decision of her life.

All My Puny Sorrows, at once tender and unquiet, offers a profound reflection on the limits of love, and the sometimes unimaginable challenges we experience when childhood becomes a new country of adult commitments and responsibilities. In her beautifully rendered new novel, Miriam Toews gives us a startling demonstration of how to carry on with hope and love and the business of living even when grief loads the heart.

My two cents

Upon putting this down, I sighed and felt my heart was full. This is what real, raw, honest writing is ... and wow, what that does to a reader. This moved me deeply.

Very few authors can pull off what this book has accomplished: it is funny yet compassionate, sensitive and sweet yet uncloying. When I see an obviously ironic cover, I can't help but duck sometimes - but yes, suspend judgment I did, because I loved Toews's A Complicated Kindness.

And lo and behold, I didn't even roll my eyes even once or inwardly groan or cringe. And that's saying a lot about a book that delves deep into the complicated stuff of sisterhood, depression, pain, suffering, assisted death, and suicide.

Toews is unafraid to articulate all those messy bits and then some. She lays it out bare, never mind being political correct. She takes no heed for taboos.

And the humor! Her humour comes with a really honest emotion that made me unafraid to continue reading. Especially charming about this book are the banter and dialogues which are very realistic and oh-so-relatable. In my mind's eye, I relived some of my own little arguments and conversations with family members. I loved getting immersed and invested -- mentally and emotionally - in Elf and Yoli's lives and the complicated relationship that rules most siblings. I couldn't believe it when the book rolled to its close. I wanted more.

***

This book takes place in Canada, more or less equally between Winnipeg and Toronto. I am familiar with both cities so it was lovely to see mentions of specific places including restaurants and landmarks and get a real sense of the place. Locals of these cities can't help but see these subtle little nods to beloved haunts.

There also little nods to literature and classical music. Throughout, there are mentions of much-loved books. I love classical music so the fact that Elf is a famous and tortured artist appealed to me - it lent a little more humanity and the suffering behind creating beauty.

Verdict

This is a gem of a novel in my eyes. I think anyone who loves and honest book will get sucked int this one. Highly recommended.

P.S. If you pronounce the author's last name as "toes" then you're not the only one! I'd been doing it for ages until I got heard someone say it otherwise (to my dismay and embarrassment). Here's how to pronounce Toews  - properly!

This is a book that qualifies for the Travel the World in Books Challenge. The story is set in Canada and the author is Canadian. Toews is well-known for her novel A Complicated Kindness.

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Unexpected, unrealistic and lots of heart {The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson}

When the unexpected is the best thing that could ever happen.

About The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson*: Andie had it all planned out. When you are a politician’s daughter who’s pretty much raised yourself, you learn everything can be planned or spun, or both. Especially your future. Important internship? Check. Amazing friends? Check. Guys? Check (as long as we’re talking no more than three weeks). But that was before the scandal. Before having to be in the same house with her dad. Before walking an insane number of dogs. That was before Clark and those few months that might change her whole life. Because here’s the thing—if everything’s planned out, you can never find the unexpected. And where’s the fun in that?

My two cents

Sometimes I get an unsolicited book for review in the mail. I barely read Young Adult but I don't ever close my doors on YA because there is undeniably some great stuff out there. This was unsolicited, unexpected in many ways, and most importantly I enjoyed it!

This will be some of my thoughts, very quickly:

What I liked

• The feeling, the tone! This is fun, upbeat, light, quick reading. But it's not too fluffy. There's a lot of feeling in the situations and the dialogues, and it's easy to relate to what is going on. 
• The themes -- friendship, opening oneself up to change, being open to the unexpected -- I think it's a great message for those who are in the prime of their life. I'm happy to hear stories about disappointments early in life, rather than painting life to always be rosy!

What I didn't quite like

• Sure, Andie is the daughter of a politician. She has amazing friends. She conveniently has boyfriend(s) who know all the political protocols behind dating the daughter of a politician. Probably unlikely that readers belong to the demographic but it's kind of like reading The Princess Diaries - highly improbable but the characters and storytelling make it relatable. 
• Speaking of The Princess Diaries, why does there always have to be the requisite party bust? 
• I doubt that teenagers will need to hear the message "loosen up" and "go party," but ok, ok, diversity in messages.
• Plot-wise, cute... but hyperextended much at 500+ pages!

Verdict

An unexpectedly good YA read which allowed me to relax and relive younger days. Popcorn reading. Lots of heart.

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Let the waterworks begin! {The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman}

Crocodile tears? I couldn't get suckered into this one. Sorry.

Synopsis of The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman: After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

Tom, whose records as a lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

M. L. Stedman’s mesmerizing, beautifully written novel seduces us into accommodating Isabel’s decision to keep this “gift from God.” And we are swept into a story about extraordinarily compelling characters seeking to find their North Star in a world where there is no right answer, where justice for one person is another’s tragic loss. The Light Between Oceans is exquisite and unforgettable, a deeply moving novel.

My two cents

I've had this on my radar since it got such rave reviews from the blogging community when in 2012 it won a Goodreads People's Choice Award (Historical Fiction). Then I found out that a readalong was happening so I was able to snag a copy of the book (courtesy of the publisher). Besides, the movie is out now (see trailer here) so I obviously must read book before watching movie.

Love ...

I'd pinpoint this as the book's saving grace: the setting in a lesser-known area in Australia and about life in a difficult environment - how many books depict life in a lighthouse? As I was reading this, I was under the impression that the setting was real; Stedman admits that Janus Rock is fictitious (see interview here):

[...] But the region where the Great Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet is real, and the climate, weather and the landscape are more or less as I’ve described them. I wrote some of the book there: It’s a very beautiful, if sometimes fierce, part of the world. 

Promising: the themes of parenthood and of a moral dilemma of two parents, similar to the Biblical "split the baby" paradox. This was tackled quite in depth and brought forth the stronger characters - Hannah and Tom (I have reservations about him though, more later).

If you've read this and loved it, so be it. I'm not in the "love camp" so please don't read any further if you did (I'm serious). Because here's what I hated about this book.

Hate ...

I picked this up with great expectations (like all books, right?). But this isn't at all what I was expecting; it was a bit of a letdown, to be honest.  I actually sped-read about half of this because I wanted to get through it quickly and painlessly. This review has languished because I wanted to give it a chance!

I thought I'd be moved by the tragedy of the story and wowed by the literary quality of the writing. The below may sound cryptic but it is spoiler-free. So here's what I thought:

• It's generally predictable. Actually, scratch that: it's predictable. 
• The drama felt forced and even verged on melodramatic. So much emoting. If you cry at the drop of a hat, then you may love it. It'll tug at all your heartstrings. It didn't tug on mine because I was uneasy and I actually felt I was being emotionally manipulated ... and why did this all take so long? The drama was so drawn out that halfway is all that I could manage sanely.
• The characters, oh my. Don't get me started. Isabel, who I so wanted to like because of her heartbreak and her pain, was just a grating character to me. Her desperation verged on the melodramatic. Meanwhile, Tom, who I warmed up to immediately, annoyed me when he acted totally out of character during a pivotal moment. Talk about a cop-out. 
• There are niggly things, coincidences, and turns of events that seemed too easily to fall together that I was in a constant state of disbelief.
• The writing had its lovely moments, I concede, but when combined with the above, the metaphors and flowery writing merely grated on me.

All in all, this felt like a big yawn for me.

P.S. The film will be a no go for me. I suspend judgment on the movie but I fear that it'll be in the mold of Nicholas Sparks, whose books and movies annoy me no end (*shudder).

Verdict: 

Loved the setting, the promise of the themes of parenthood ... but I did not get suckered into the melodramatics of this predictable tale. I'd say pass.

If you're interested in the readalong, check out this link: Goodreads Readalong.

Love or hate camp? Tell me!

*I received a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher for review consideration.

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Pinoys, start waxing poetic {Mariposa Gang and Other Stories by Catherine Torres}

Vignettes of alienation. Vignettes of Philippine life.

Synopsis of Mariposa Gang and Other Stories by Catherine Torres: A maid packs her bags after learning that her employer values her less than a murano vase. A young man enters the priesthood when he is spurned by the woman he loves and is sent on a mission to the backwaters of West Bengal. A pampered heiress goes on exchange study in Tokyo to prove her independence and finds herself stuck without heating in the middle of winter. A seaman avenges his daughter and is banished to a penal farm, where he spends his days catching rare butterflies. These ten stories by Catherine Torres are about women and men navigating various forms of exile, and recovering, or discovering, ‘home’ in surprising, often startling, ways.

My two cents

When I was contacted by an author -- who also happens to be Filipino like me -- I couldn't resist. She sent me two of her books for review consideration. This is one of them.

This is a book that made me immensely sad. As an immigrant, my heart goes out to the many men and women who leave their homeland in search of a better life on foreign shores. But this collection takes it one step further because it is not just about being transplanted in a foreign land, but a foreign environment in general. Torres's short stories capture the feelings of alienation, of loneliness ... but of an even stronger longing for a better life. I often wonder about the paradox of economic success and stability at the expense of the deterioration of social values and structures. It is a reality many face daily.

These are vignettes of life, of the sad reality that "home" is not always where we want it to be. A tough "can do" attitude can get one very far indeed. But deep inside remains that need for connection, of familiarity to one's surroundings.

One big thing about these stories is the nostalgic sense of place that Torres is able to infuse, in her easy mentioning of places or situations or memories or sights and sounds of the Philippines. It's enough for any immigrant Filipino to start waxing poetic.

***

Quick thoughts about each story:

Mariposa Gang metaphorically captures the fleeting nature of life. A prisoner, in jail for stabbing his daughter's lover, joins a team that catches rare butterflies to be sold for the highest price. The butterflies are as elusive as the happiness he so desires.

The Sema highlights the deterioration of a marriage in a honeymoon to Turkey, surprisingly, with the beginning of a new friendship.

Mannequins depicts two young women, roommates and polar opposites, both escaping poverty and a lack of prospects and now struggling to make money in various odd jobs in Singapore.

Gilt-Edged Shadows hones in on the immense beauty that is possible only when breaking the rules. A paradoxical tale of how not giving into the new trends produces results one can be truly proud of.

The Haenyeo of Korea (photo from here)

Hibernation takes place in the dead of winter in Japan with a female student coming for the free food at a student gathering. The event reveals a departure of a professor and a realization of the departure from her own ideals.

Blown Glass shows the heartbreaking paradox that in the subjectivity of the meaning of value in two very different cultures, things often hold more value than life.

Man of the Cloth is the quest of a young and idealistic Filipino priest for true meaning in his life, from the revolutionary to the altruistic to the settling into his calling.

Plunge is how a young Filipino husband immerses himself in the family, the culture and the life with his Korean wife, with a fascinating interplay with a backstory of traditional female divers of Korea (or Haenyeo).

The Bag Lady is a tale of the unlikely transformation of Filipino beauty queen and into a maid and bag lady in Singapore, and of a relatively content woman into one full of regret.

Cafe Masala is a Filipina's new business as she returns to her homeland from India.

Verdict

Succinct, emotional tales of immigrant hearts. Truthful, real, and meaningful. Read it!

Which of these short stories interest you?

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A copy of this book was provided to me by the author for honest review consideration. All opinions are mine.

You can mess with my mind anytime, Ms. Flynn! {Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn}

Ms. Flynn, you got me. 

About Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn*: On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

My two cents

(What a great book to jolt me out of my reviewing slump!)

I'm obsessed with this book.

I know I am late in joining the Gone Girl bandwagon but I'm hopping on, willingly, and with guns blazing. Because it's been a while since I've read a book so utterly engrossing and so utterly ... brilliant. I finished it ... and promptly reread it. (I'm still in the the throes of the reread, and I'm just enjoying it even more.)

I can't get into the detail of this book without spoiling it for first time readers (or movie watchers) so I will simply leave the storyline alone: a quick review that is spoiler-free but may be somewhat cryptic in places.

So, I'm obsessed. Here's why:

It's unpredictable

This entire book is a brilliant mind game played between a hubby and wife, and unwittingly a mind game that Gillian Flynn plays on her readers. There are two parts to this book and I've realized that readers either will play along with Ms. Flynn or simply hate it. It's a polarizing experience -- love it or hate it -- with a passion. I was dazed when I finished it. I went "Oh sh**" then heaved a sigh reeking of "OMG" and surprisingly, wallowed in the reality that is the twistedness and perversion that I had just read.

It's psychologically insightful

Know the whole he said, she said shebang? This is the ultimate. This is all about a marriage and highlights the very intimate mind meld relationship that can exist between a couple. It can pendulum from the good to the bad, and this particular book shows the extremes that are often difficult to stomach.

Another interesting dichotomy explored is the wide difference between reality (private persona) versus public perception. The role of media -- the good, the bad, and the ugly -- are fully expounded upon in the storyline. How many times have you passed judgment on a case or a person based on what you heard in the news, saw on TV, or even social media? We all do it. In this day of easy access to information, forming opinion based on the constant stream of fact (and plenty of fiction) is an easy trap to fall into.

Lastly, I can't believe that I fell for Flynn's "game" so easily. The way that this story is structured out makes me want to read more of her work, for the simple  (and awesome) reason that she has so much insight into her very readers' psychology. Not all authors can pull off a mind game so brilliantly, so annoyingly, and so effectively. Kudos, Gillian Flynn.

It can actually happen (scarily so)

In the back of my mind, what really struck me about Gone Girl is that it's very possible that this could happen, and to anyone. It's a difficult thing to accept that no one can really know any one person, no matter how close we can be, whatever relationship can bear some uncertainty. But it's doubly difficult to know someone's deepest, truest, and ugliest self ... and if not being able to accept it, to at least be able to acknowledge and understand.

Verdict:

Looking for a mind trip? Try Gone Girl. Then tell me if you're in the love or hate camp!

Highly recommended reading for those who despise predictable, cookie cutter characters and willingly desire to be surprised, shocked and challenged.

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Fan opinion in book form {The Panem Companion by V. Arrow}

Fan opinion in book form

Synopsis of The Panem Companion - from Mellark Bakery to Mockingjays by V. Arrow:
-What does Panem look like?
-How does Panem define race?
-How do Panem’s districts reflect the major themes of the trilogy?
-What allusions to our world are found in Panem names like Finnick, Johanna, Beetee, Cinna, Everdeen, and Mellark? 

Go deeper into the home of the Hunger Games with the creator of the best-known fan map of Panem. The Panem Companion gives fresh insight into Suzanne Collins’ trilogy by looking at the world of the Hunger Games and the forces that kept its citizens divided since the Dark Days. With a blend of academic insight and the true passion of a fan, V. Arrow explores how Panem could have evolved from the America we know today and uses textual clues to piece together Panem’s beliefs about class, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexuality, and more. Includes an extensive name lexicon and color-illustrated unofficial map of Panem.

My two cents

I can't deny that I love the Hunger Games (the books, the movies were so-so for me). So when I won a copy of this companion book on Goodreads years ago, I was thrilled. But I distinctly remember starting-stopping-starting-DNF this ... I just couldn't get into it. I was doing a massive clean-up of books and this one would've made it into the donation bin ... until I flipped through and chanced upon the theory that Prim may actually be Peeta's sister ... hmmm, ok, I thought, and flip here and there I did.

***

I can't deny that this book holds some intriguing theories and explores so many possibilities. Bouncing around from the origins of Panem, to class, to political power, to race and ethnicity, to gender, to beauty, and everything in between, this book is a little goldmine for a diehard fan.

Panem a ruined North America centuries down the road - check out a map of Panem that proposes how today's states coincide with the various districts, albeit a bit of a move around. Is District 12 really the Appalachia? Maybe, given the evidence of name etymology, and the description of race and ethnicity of the residents of District 12.

There is lots of this in this book, LOTS that it makes your mind spin. This could take you down the rabbit hole indeed.

I have mixed feelings about it all. On the one hand, the theorizing and speculation grabbed my attention in some areas. Who doesn't love a good long chat about the many possibilities with the already controversial and hotbed themes that The Hunger Games explores?

On the other hand, I got irked that the so-called "references" for all these theories were other fans (in fact there was one reference that said something with "and sprinkles on top" and I was ... "WHAT?"). In my mind, sure, theorize away. But maybe that's content best left for a Wiki (like this one), a forum, or a blog or some other online venue or even fan magazines.

This book confuses me because it feels like someone went online and did a compilation of fan opinion. Not a bad thing but ... uh - duh ... maybe the author Suzanne Collins (whose interviews are referenced all but a few times) can confirm-deny-shed light on any of these theories? Where better to get the true origins of the book's themes than from the author herself? I am thinking, hey J.K. Rowling revealed Dumbledore's sexuality (do tell, maybe someone wrote a book about that too?)

The bottomline is that this is an "unofficial guide." Keep that in mind. Because these aren't the only theories floating about out there.

Verdict

Fandom is a wonderful thing but I honestly didn't feel a book crammed with Hunger Games fan opinion was warranted. I give this book a meh and suggest that if you're an absolute diehard, sure, knock yourself out... but do yourself the favor and go visit more fan sites while you're at it.

I loved the books on their own and prefer to speculate by my lonesome. I feel that this book rather spoiled things for me by its over-analysis.

Are you a Hunger Games fans? Is this companion book an aye or nay?

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Still lusty for life yet ruing lost youth. {Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez}

Still lusty for life yet ruing lost youth.

Synopsis of Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: On the eve of his ninetieth birthday a bachelor decides to give himself a wild night of love with a virgin. As is his habit--he has purchased hundreds of women--he asks a madam for her assistance. The fourteen-year-old girl who is procured for him is enchanting, but exhausted as she is from caring for siblings and her job sewing buttons, she can do little but sleep. Yet with sleeping beauty at his side, it is he who awakens to a romance he has never known.

My two cents

A bad first impression

After a ten year hiatus, Marquez came back into the limelight with this extremely slim Lolita-esque novel. I am a huge fan Marquez already, so I came upon his book a few years ago, I had great expectations. My first read I immediately hated it. I couldn't get past the revulsion that this story basically glorified a "dirty old man" -- a 90-year-old man sleeping with an impoverished teenager under the banner of "love." I put the book aside in semi-disgust and couldn't process how one of my favourite authors could do this to his fans patiently waiting for his next great novel.

Redeeming qualities

Now that I'm purposely doing the Read the Nobels, I decided that this book deserved a second chance. Readers do not necessarily need to agree with a story, I reminded myself. I wanted to see if I could get a more positive takeaway. Borne out of a second chance, this review delves into what I did like about it.

Strip this down its bare bones and this is an ode to growing old, a reminiscence of youth lost, and coming to the inevitable realization of the fleeting nature of life. It is about falling in love again, both literally and figuratively, and reliving youth through someone young.

This is quite funny in places which pokes fun at the aches and pains that come with old age. Even with coarse language, naughty comments, and the discussions on sex, sexual appetites and urges, there is a charm to this voice that has shed its shyness of youth. It is matter-of-fact, no-holds-barred, and comfortable in one's own skin. There is no pretension and no need to cloak in the niceties or politeness -- and I love that about this book.

... but still not up to snuff

I gave this book the chance but honestly it cannot compare to the loftiness and grandeur that is 100 Years of Solitude or the complexity of Of Love and Other Demons. It's good reading but it is not the best of Marquez's work. I feel a little let down still but comfort myself in the fact that I still have many Marquez books still unread.

Find out more about Read the Nobels!

Boo! With a little bit of cute, dark and funny thrown in! {Anya's Ghost by Vera Brogsol}

Be careful when the cutesy turns sinister ...

Back blurb of Anya's Ghost by Vera Brogsol*: Anya could really use a friend. But her new BFF isn't kidding about the "Forever" part. Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who’s been dead for a century. Falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya's normal life might actually be worse. She's embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she's pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend—even a ghost—is just what she needs. Or so she thinks. Spooky, sardonic, and secretly sincere, Anya's Ghost is a wonderfully entertaining debut from author/artist Vera Brosgol.

My two cents

So I was reading the densely packed Snow by Orhan Pamuk and was fresh off the amazing Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. While I can't deny that Read Nobels Challenge 2016 is upping my reading game, it's heavy stuff. Good but heavy. So to break it up, I picked up this graphic novel.

But look closely at the cover ... and lo and behold, Neil Gaiman loves this book! I can't think of higher praise. So off I go into the pages of this quirky ghost story.

This starts out with an introduction to Anya's angsty teenage life, spiced up by the fact that she had made her Russian immigrant self American enough to actually fit in and be cool. She has one close friend, who is every bit as interesting as herself but who gets on her nerves (probably as much as her friend gets on Anya's nerves, you do know that teenage friendships are complicated, right?) One day, Anya accidentally falls into an old well.

In the middle of darkness and scared to death, she is befriended by ... yes, a ghost of a young woman called Emily Reilly! With the ghost's help, Anya is able to get out of the well. A friendship develops between Anya and the ghost getting help in daily things, school, boys, and just hanging out. Over time, Anya learns about the ghost's sad past and Anya vows to help Emily. Then it all takes a pretty bizarre, even sinister turn, when Anya realizes that Emily may not be the Casper, the friendly ghost, she hoped for. True circumstances and motives are revealed ... you'll want to find out!

*** 

I'm not a huge graphic novel reader but admit it is a genre I'd like to get more into. Short text with amazing graphics holds a charm and appeal to me. This one was a nice surprise on so many fronts.

For one, I like listening to author recommendations and I think Neil Gaiman definitely saw something special about Anya's Ghost! I'm a huge Gaiman fan so I knew it had to have a bit of darkness to it. I thought this was sweet, cute, dark (yes!), and oh-my-goodness, so funny!

Another aspect I enjoyed is that this is cutesy but has real world teenage situations - complicated teenage friendships, the need to fit in, peer pressure, sex (yes, it's implied!). One obvious theme points to the pressures of immigrants to making a new country their new home. This is explored in Anya's own day-to-day struggle of "fending off" her mother's insistence on holding on to her Russian customs, food, and community. While Anya has managed to become "American" enough to fit in, it is contrasted with a younger and newer immigrant who is bullied, made fun of, as he slowly tries to assimilate.

Lastly, the illustrations! Brogsol's cartoons are beautiful and quirky. I love them!

Verdict

A quick and enjoyable read for teenagers and young adults. Those who enjoy quirky graphic novels with a dark twist will surely enjoy this. I'm very curious what Brogsol will churn out next.

Do you read graphic novels? Does this appeal to you?

 

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I welcome this demon of a writer {Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel García Márquez}

A demon of a writer, that's Gabo.

About Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel García Márquez: On her twelfth birthday, Sierva Maria, the only child of a decaying noble family in an eighteenth-century South American seaport, is bitten by a rabid dog. Believed to be possessed, she is brought to a convent for observation. And into her cell stumbles Father Cayetano Delaura, who has already dreamed about a girl with hair trailing after her like a bridal train. As he tends to her with holy water and sacramental oils, Delaura feels something shocking begin to occur. He has fallen in love, and it is not long until Sierva Maria joins him in his fevered misery.

Unsettling and indelible, Of Love and Other Demons is an evocative, majestic tale of the most universal experiences known to woman and man.

My two cents

I first read this in 2004 and fell in love with it immediately because of Marquez's gorgeous language and a love story steeped in the religion and superstition of 18th century Colombia. I dug up my old copy so I could reread it for the Read the Nobels 2016.

But you already know I wax poetic over Marquez having read a number of his books. I already know that I can never write a review that does this book justice. I have been agonizing over this review for far too long that I know if I don't just write it, I will never hit publish. So here goes ...

The inspiration

I always find it fascinating to learn where authors derive inspiration for their stories. Inspiration alone makes me wonder about Gabo who opens his book with two and a half pages explaining just that: in 1949, cub reporter Marquez in search of a news story visited the historic Convent of Santa Clara in Colombia where burial crypts were being removed to give way to a five-star hotel (you can see the proof here of what replaced the convent).

Marquez witnesses the wholly unsentimental exhuming of bishops and abbesses buried there for hundreds of years. Until they come upon a crypt of a young girl whose copper hair fairly bursted out of the crypt ... all 22+ meters of it! Hair grows even in death and based on scientific calculations, the young girl had been dead for over 200 years.

If fact wasn't strange enough, Marquez makes an uncanny connection with a legend he heard in his boyhood: a marquise with coppery hair that trailed behind her, venerated by many for the miracles she performed, who died of rabies. Talk about serendipity! And I am always in awe of how Marquez is able to weave something beautiful, with his brand of magical realism!
 

The story

Surprisingly the plot is extremely simple. Set in the 1740s in the remote South American port town called Cartagena de Indias, twelve-year-old Sierva María de Todos los Ángeles, is bitten by a rabid dog. The only daughter of a moneyed, prestigious yet decaying family, is sadly unloved and brought up by the black slaves that served them. She grows up as an oddity, obviously white in appearance but with the language, customs and superstitions of the blacks. 

News around the town is the rabid dog is dead and those who were bitten were suffering or dead. Although Sierva María's bite wound is insignificant and she exhibits no symptoms of rabies, the news travels far and wide. Her father, attacked by his conscience, only wants to quell rumours and he seeks out doctors to cure her. When regular doctors fail, quack doctors render painful treatments, resulting in Sierva María's violently resistance. Combined with her black behaviour, she is believed to possessed and then the news reaches the Bishop.

Sierva María is brought by her father to the convent of Santa Clara and the Bishop's protégé Father Cayetano Delaura is tasked to perform the rites of exorcism. Face to face with Sierva María, he is unprepared to fall in love, the "most terrible demon of them all." This love story plays itself out in all glory and all its tragedy.

The powers of love and passion

The themes of love and passion are replete, as is its unbidden powers for good and also the ability to destroy. The main love story is that of Sierva María and Father Cayetano Delaura, a forbidden love between a priest and a teenager believed to be possessed. However, there are more love stories that play themselves out, also unusual and tragic.

There is the sad union of Sierva María's parents, Don Ygnacio de Alfaro y Dueñas and his rapacious second wife Bernarda Cabrera -- a marriage borne not out of love but of trickery and deceit. His first wife who died early meanwhile was a marriage borne out of the desire to observe propriety and ensure stability of wealth. Don Ygnacio felt he had no choice but to spurn his true love but ended up living a life devoid of love all this life.

Bernarda meanwhile is a larger-than-life character (probably my favourite in this book) who schemes to win Don Ygnacio through her sexuality. But it is her unquenchable sexual appetite that is also her downfall, destroying her beautiful body and practically selling her soul to an equally rapacious slave.

Colonization and the Church

What stands out to me is this book's milieu. It is a time where the Catholic Church ruled supreme and everyone followed unquestioning, or risk the so-called fires of hell. Traditional cultures were usurped as countries were colonized by the Catholic Church. Traditional African cultures like Yoruban, Congolese and Mandingo had belief systems that were at odds with or were misunderstood, and by default anything that ran counter to Catholic Church belief was believed to be heretic, demonic. This was exacerbated by the fact that scientific thought was also believed to be heretic and superstition became yet another layer of ignorance for the common person.

Sierva María was the poor victim of cruelty borne out of this ignorance. Despite no symptoms of rabies, her unusual behaviours had their explanation in being raised by Dominga de Adviento, the formidable black woman who taught Sierva María to live as black. At one point Bernarda remarks that "The only thing white about that child is her skin" and sadly Sierva María lived in both cultures but never really fit in either.

The people who did understand Sierva María's true situation -- Abenuncio, and later on another priest -- were in the minority and whose voices did not hold sway in the wake of the powers-that-be of the formidable Bishop and the convent's ignorant Abbess.

Characters to empathize with

Do you know how some books leave you cold because the characters are so unlikeable or you simply develop no connection with? I have read the multiple times and I am entranced by how multi-dimensional and oftentimes how complicated these characters are. I felt Sierva María's frustration and annoyance at those "ridiculous white people." I understood why Delaura sought penance for succumbing to his love for Sierva María. I felt as conflicted as Don Ygnacio to save his daughter's soul while sending her to certain death. What surprises me each time, though, is how much I gravitate towards Bernarda, who is probably among the most cruel, grotesque characters. I have a soft spot for her because of her intelligence (even though she is a brilliant scammer) and her desire, even desperation, to give to the one she loves.

Verdict

One of my favourite books by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, its simple plot and easy to read language belies that fact that this forbidden love story is only a facade for a profound look at the effects of colonization on traditional cultures. I highly recommend this read!

This is my second read/review for Read the Nobels 2016! 

When the story of the common man becomes epic {The Harafish by Naguib Mahfouz} @ReadNobels

The epicness of rabble.

About The Harafish by Naguib Mahfouz: In this captivating novel, Mahfouz chronicles he dramatic history of the al-Nagi family - a family that moves, over many generations, from the heights of power and glory to the depths of decadence and decay. The Harafish begins with the tale of Ashur al-Nagi, a man who grows from humble origins to become a great leader, a legend among the common people - the harafish of the title. Generation after generation, however, Ashur's descendants grow further from his legendary example, losing touch with their origins and squandering their large fortunes, marrying prostitutes and developing bitter and eventually fatal rivalries. And yet, a small hope always remains that one day they will produce a Nagi who can restore their name to its former glory.

My two cents

Harafish translates to "rabble" and this book chronicles the family history in a community described as a little alleyway in Egypt (I like to imagine it to be like a crowded slum area of a large city).

This is an epic read. It reminds me of the broadness of scope of 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Marquez and the complexity of family histories (although Harafish spans not just one but two centuries!). It also reminds me of Homer's books that evoke the grandeur and exaltation of heroism. Lastly, it reminds me of the Bible because of themes that it explores, particularly of the good and bad of human nature. Specifically this reads like Ecclesiastes which questions and challenges the meaninglessness of life.

Chronicling the al-Nagi family's history over generations, this is a fascinating look at how the family pendulums from legendary greatness to folly and destitution. An interesting array of larger-than-life characters make their appearance over the centuries, from the goodness and legendary strength of Ashur; the sexual woman Zahira who is beguiling and calculated; the folly of Galal in his pursuit of immortality (oh, there is more, and I kept shaking my head at how robust and melodramatic the characters are!). Each character's story is a parable and there are nuggets of wisdom to be had from the philosophical musings emanating from their stories.

Uh-ohs

While I found the translation is beautifully simple and makes this easy reading, it may rile on your nerves a bit as at times it feel almost overly simple.

I also found myself wanting a family tree because of the sheer number of characters and the unfamiliarity of the names.

Verdict

This is my first Mahfouz book and I wasn't disappointed at the cultural richness and the universality of the themes presented in this epic chronicle of a common family's history.

Random quotes

He and Raifa each lived in hell, in a world of tedium. - p. 29 

[..] was struck by the idea of a woman's weakness is her emotions, and that her relationships with men should be rational and calculated. Life is precious, with vast possibilities, limitless horizons. Love is nothing more than a blind beggar, creeping around the alleyways. - p. 236

Why do people laugh, dance in triumph, feel recklessly secure in positions of power? Why do they not remember the true place in the scheme of things and their inevitable end? - p. 272

Nobel Facts

Naguib Mahfouz is an Egyptian writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988 "who, through works rich in nuance - now clear-sightedly realistic, now evocatively ambiguous - has formed an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind." His books are originally written in Arabic. Read more about Mahfouz on Wikipedia.  

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This is my first read/review for Read the Nobels 2016! 

The reason we love our books. Take a moment to read like a writer {Plot Fiction Like the Masters by Terry Bazes}

Learning to read like a writer. 

About Plot Fiction Like the Masters : Ian Fleming, Jane Austen, Evelyn Waugh and the Secrets of Story-Building by Terry Richard Bazes: Plot Fiction like the Masters is an exercise in reading like a writer - reading with the purpose of figuring out how the plots of a few recognized masterpieces succeed in making readers turn the page. The reason for proposing this as a way of learning plot-making is my own experience as a writer -- that the most accomplished novelists are the greatest teachers and that their lessons may be drawn from a close study of their work. The three novels under consideration - Ian Fleming's Dr. No, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Evelyn Waugh's A Handful of Dust - have all achieved astonishing success. They are all not only recognized masterpieces of their very different genres but have also won the glittering prizes - fame, fortune, movie deals -- for which many a haggard writer would sell his or her soul to the Devil.

My two cents

First edition cover, Dr No by Ian Fleming
(By Source, Fair use)

I've always approached books as a consumer, so I read as a reader. So to "read like a writer" puts things in a totally new perspective! This slim book is packed with insights from a purely writer's viewpoint and it rather messed up my head as well as gave me a newfound appreciation for what a demanding task it is to produce a readable and enjoyable story.

Bazes gets us to hunker down with a bit of a lecture in the beginning. Then it gets really interesting as he breaks down the plots of three popular books.

The works are so varied - but all are undeniably popular - that it's hard to imagine anything in common with them. The works are:

• the James Bond thriller Dr. No by Ian Fleming - I haven't read the book but I've watched the movie; who can forget Sean Connery?
• the classic and cult favourite Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - I've read and watched this, loved it, and I'm looking further to making my acquaintance with more of Austen's works
• the dark comedy A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh, the only work I am unfamiliar with (but on closer inspection I discovered that Waugh also wrote short stories and I'm intrigued by the prospect of reading his work) 

Title page of first edition, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
By Jane Austen (1775-1817) - Archive: Lilly Library, Indiana University; Original publication: Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. London: T. Egerton, 1813., Public Domain,

Bazes takes us, step by step through these works, pointing out some little twist or turn or conflict and explaining the simple brilliance behind them, or to be able to even make it possible! What amazing minds these authors have. Sometimes it's so obvious that the not-so-obvious made me go "oh, yes!" Bazes rightly claims "A great plot is a page-turning machine." He gets to the crux of the matter: what makes a reader keep reading, often with bated breath, and what makes them fast fans. At the end, he sums up the main points succinctly and with an oh-so-likeable voice that makes me curious to read one of Bazes's own books!

First edition cover, A Handful of Dust
by Evelyn Waugh (By Source, Fair use)

If you're a reader, this is fascinating. If you're an author, you've struck gold with this book, an amazing resource that will undoubtedly help you discover how to incorporate the practical lessons of plot building. Learning about plotting may require some highbrow intellectual theorizing but a "get yourself in it" attitude inside the plots of books is so much more fun!

Uh-oh

If you've read or are familiar with all three works, I feel that you'll get so much more out of this than someone who isn't. I have read only one of the books, watched the movie version of another, and am totally unacquainted with the other so I feel like I'm probably not giving you the benefit of a fully informed review. However, this certainly didn't deter me from enjoying this highly informative learning piece about plot building. At best, it has made me curious to look further into the works of these authors.

Verdict

A fascinating look into the plots of three popular books and learning how the authors built out there plots to produce page-turning masterpieces! An invaluable resource for authors; a chance for readers to read like a writer. Highly recommended.

I received this slim little book last year for review and I featured it with a guest post from the author, Terry Bazes, who also readily agreed to do a guest post about his writing abode. 

Ooh, the mind games! {Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane} #readmyowndamnbooks

Ah, the mind. Agh, my mind!

About Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane: US Marshal Teddy Daniels has come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane, to find an escaped murderer named Rachel Solando. As a killer hurricane bears down on the island, the investigation deepens and the questions mount. How has a barefoot woman escaped from a locked room? Who is leaving them clues in the form of cryptic codes? And what really goes on in Ward C? The closer Teddy gets to the truth, the more elusive it becomes. And the more he begins to believe that he may never leave Shutter Island. Because someone is trying to drive him insane...

My two cents

How do I write this review without spoiling it for those of you who have never heard of this book? If you haven't watched the movie (which stars Leonardo DiCaprio if you didn't already know based on that cover), well and good ... you should read this. If you have, then you already know that this is story is not what is makes itself out to be as per that little blurb or the marketing spiels out there.  

This a novel that starts out as one thing and morphs into something totally different. 

At face value this is a little hunting mission for two US Marshals, Teddy and Chuck, for a murderer on the loose on an island that houses the criminally insane (so naturally the escapee is also insane). If that isn't exciting enough for you, there is a huge hurricane, power outages, the prospect of more escaped wards, and oh-but-of-course, a host of clues that are begging to be solved. 

But wait. There is more! There seems to be a conspiracy that's pretty insidious in its prospects. And there are also hints throughout the novel about Teddy Daniel's personal life, a haunted past that only makes the reader wonder who the heck this US Marshal really is. 

All throughout this excitement, something deeply unsettlingly lies in store for the willing victim err, reader. I loved that Lehane took me on a journey that can only be described as being "played." It's all an elaborate mind game, not only for the lead character, but for you and me as readers. I fell for it all, hook, line and sinker, and I loved it! Ah, to recapture that feeling when I first watched The Sixth Sense! 

P.S. Books like this come rarely for me as I usually can see through elaborate plotting. If you have any recommendations for surprisingly good books that eff up your mind, let me know!

Verdict 

A suspenseful conspiracy-mystery with a surprising twist ... for the reader. If you liked The Sixth Sense, love psychological thrillers, pick this up. Or watch the movie. Or both!

Yes, I #readmyowndamnbooks! I got this from some random thrift sale. Or something. 

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I need some curry. Right now. {My Mother's Kitchen by Meera Ekkanath Klein}

Food memories are a powerful thing. 

About My Mother's Kitchen: A novel with recipes by Meera Ekkanath Klein: An enchanting place filled with promise, change and good food. If the weathered walls of this magical room could talk they would tell the story of Meena and her childhood life. Each chapter is a slice in her young life and depicts her spunk and youthful spirit. A visit to the local Fruit and Flower Show becomes an adventure as told by Meena. Her distress at finding out about her aunt's dark secret or her joy of making a new friend are all told in her naive, yet pure voice. Her mother is a central character in her life and it is no wonder that the kitchen is a special place of healing and rejuvenation, not only for Meena but for other characters like Kashi and Ayah. 

My two cents

I'm sure you have food memories: a specific dish whose mere aroma triggers memories of your childhood; a special food that reminds you of someone or an event in your life. This book is a homage to the food memory and the key source of them for the author, Meera Ekkanath Klein's mother.

In beautifully descriptive prose, you'll hear, smell, and almost taste the foods that are associated with different times of young Meena's rather ordinary life in India - if life in India could ever be considered "ordinary" by someone who hails from a less-exotic locale!

Food plays into many incidents and events in Meena's life. As I was introduced to our young, spunky heroine, I quickly came to the conclusion that her life is peopled with many loving family members and community members. This novel in life vignettes takes us into many private family moments, including sitting in the warm kitchen, finding out that she is about to become a sister and making preparations, learning the backstory of her much-esteemed mother, special Indian festivals and customs and traditions, among many others. It is a peek into a culture that is lesser known to me and for that very reason, I found this fascinating and a lovely vicarious learning experience.

Now, the food part was a huge draw for me. Throughout the book, there are recipes of so many Indian delights - which have been tested by our author and are her mother's recipes! There is some reference to them in the novel-vignettes and oftentimes their preparation (along with their mouthwatering descriptions of the tastes and smells!) are provided in such detail that you can almost taste them!

I kept reminding myself that this book is a novel and hence non-fiction. But the food descriptions, the recipes, and knowing that the author drew so much from her own childhood and memories of her mother and her mother's kitchen in India, make this oh-so-real to me. I had a constant desire to eat Indian food throughout its reading and even writing this review makes me want to eat some curry. Right now.

Verdict 

Beautifully descriptive, heartwarming, and family-oriented, while bringing the sights, sounds and smells of India, this novel highlights the forging of food memories ... with Indian recipes to try in our own kitchens to boot! Highly recommended.

Links:

• Meera Klein's guest post: A Lasting Legacy
• Friday56 and Book Beginnings

I received a copy of this book from the author for honest review consideration.

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Open the door to horror. Sarah has the key. {Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay}

Open the door to horror. Sarah has the key.

About Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay: Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.

Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

My two cents

The book opens with the compelling image of Sarah, a girl with a key, the key she had locked up her little brother with in the closet when the police suddenly came to their door and took away their family from the life they had known. Little did she know that she would hang on to this key - and her promise to return to free her brother -  as an excruciating burden throughout her entire life.

"Sarahs key movie poster 300x400"
by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

This belongs among my horrific reads as it is about remembering a dark time in history wherein French police became complicit to Nazi Germany when it mass-arrested Jews on July 16, 1942. The Vélodrome d'Hiver (in English: Winter Velodrome), a bicycle stadium, was the site of where victims were confined in horribly crowded conditions (hence the name "Vel' d'Hiv Roundup"). Among the over 13,000 Jews arrested were more than 4,000 children. Victims were then transported to Auschwitz where they were murdered.

This book provides an interesting link between past and present, with two storylines that converge in the present. Sarah Starzynski's story humanizes the ordeal of an innocent. In the present-day, American expat Julia Jarmond unearths Sarah's story, and in the process is so shaken by this child's ordeal that it affects her own life in ways she could never have imagined.

Translated from the French, this book has also been made into a movie, which I will definitely try to watch.

What I liked

“And so I write this for you, My Sarah. With the hope that one day, when you’re old enough, this story that lives with me, will live with you as well. When a story is told, it is not forgotten. It becomes something else, a memory of who we were; the hope of what we can become.” - Sarah's Key 

 This is a book about remembrance. I learn so much history through stories and this novel is a powerful way of raising awareness about this event during the Holocaust. While fictionalized, it brings to sharp focus how the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup went unacknowledged by the French government and the public in general for decades, and how in 1995 Jacques Chirac issued a public apology. I not only learned some rather controversial history, I got a substantial and highly emotional read as well.

Uh-oh

While I was totally engrossed and anticipated learning more about Sarah, I had a difficult time getting into Julia's storyline. I found that towards the end of the book that her personal problems took away from Sarah's. Or maybe I just felt they were measly in comparison.

Verdict:

A worthwhile novel that sheds light on a lesser-known piece of France's history in relation to the Holocaust. Well researched, humanized, and relevant reading. Highly recommended. 

Learn more:

• *Vel d'Hiv on Wikipedia
• Days of Shame on Bonjour Paris
• Tatiana de Rosnay's Website

Vel' d'Hiv Memorial at the site of the now-demolished velodrome. Photo by Leonieke Aalders (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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