Custody-Manju Kapur

Manju Kapur is one of the female Indian writers that I liked. She has the flair to immense the readers in the Indian culture and makes me feel intrigued by such a culture. And sometimes, it is quite beyond me that some traditions stay on, despite influences and exposure to the West. Custody discusses marriage, affairs, divorces, and the implications of divorces on custody of children. I find that divorces that involve children are extremely sticky. It is difficult to find a way to dissolve the marriage without hurting the children.

Raman and Shagun are your typical couple, married with two kids. Everything seems fine. Raman's career was going well and he had a gorgeous wife who looked like a star. Until one day, Ashok, an Indian man with Western ideas, came into the picture as Raman's boss. He took a liking to Shagun and began pursuing her, despite knowing that she was his subordinate's wife. And thus began Shagun and Ashok's affairs, which ended in Shagun pressing Raman for a divorce. Arjun, a beautiful boy, who was already a teenager at the time of the divorce, pledged loyalty to his mother, leaving Raman heartbroken. Raman later met a divorcee, Ishita, who was infertile and was grateful for Roohi, Raman's daughter. She began taking care of Roohi and saw Roohi as the daughter she could never have. The venomous Shagun began fighting for access to both children, even though she was the one who had abandoned them for Ashok for a new life in New York. The story ended with Roohi going to Raman and Arjun going to Shagun. Can't really say whether this is a happy or sad ending. Parents get separated, so do children. It is rather sad in that children do not usually have access or control over what happens. Sometimes they do not have much of a choice and it is distressing for a child to have to make a choice between parents.

Manju Kapur created Shagun to be a beautiful but frivolous, materialistic,and selfish woman, who only seemed to care about her own happiness. She makes it so easy to hate this character. Yet on second thoughts, was she wrong to pursue the love of her life. She married Raman when she was very young, and as with most Indian marriages, it was an arranged one. It wasn't really a "love" union and she realised what she had been missing out, after being with Ashok. But no matter what, it still seems hard to like a character who could abandon her children for a man. 

Katharine McMahon- The Alchemist's Daughter

This book certainly isn't on my favorites list. The book was set in the 1800s but there was just something that was discordant with the book's characters and the era. I found Emilie Selden too modern and her language seemed more of our decade than that of 200 years ago. Anyhow, it was quite a well-written book. Emilie Selden was as explicitly stated in the title, the Alchemist's daughter. Her father, John Selden, was a student of Isaac Newton, and tried to raise his daughter to be a scientist and philosopher like himself. This was probably quite unheard of, in that era. John Selden kept his daughter in isolation, in an old house, with two servants. His plan of raising Emilie to be a true blue alchemist, was thwarted by the appearance of two men, one of whom, Emilie later married. Emilie was banished to London when she was pregnant with the child of Alsabie, the charming and philandering merchant. The child was later lost and Emilie began to regret abandoning her father and her scientist life.
The character of Emilie Selden was loosely based on that of the French female scientist, Emilie du Chatelet.

Richard Paul Evans- The Christmas List

James Kier was a real estate mogul, who one day, woke up to find himself in the obituary. The obituary was a revelation to how little love he had in his world. The only person who truly loved and cared for him was his ex-wife, whom he had abandoned for a younger materialistic woman. As he realised how much damage he had done to his life, he tried to make amends to the people he should have cared about. The plot isnt something original or new but I guess, it serves as a reminder to how we should live our lives, and a reminder of  the important things we should really care about.

Daniel Mason- The Piano Tuner

Quite a fascinating historical book, set in the 1800s, in the jungles of Burma and England. The story revolved around a French-made piano- the Erard and a piano tuner Edgar Drake. Edgar Drake was, unwittingly dragged into the politics of war when he was sent an unusual request by the British War Office to repair and tune the piano of a mysterious doctor- Anthony Carroll. How the piano had managed to cross the terrains between England and Burma, was a mystery in itself. More mysterious was what use Dr Anthony Carroll had for a piano in the jungles of Burma. It seemed as if Dr Anthony Carroll wanted to use music to make peace with the people of Burma but as Edgar found out too late, there was more than meets the eye. All that had seemed innocent, such as the strange sheet music sent by Dr Carroll, became evidence for treason, which Edgar was being accused of.
This was a strange and unusual story with a lot of hardwork put into researching the history of the wars between the British and Burmese. Not exactly what I could call leisure reading but definitely intriguing enough to capture the readers' minds.

Sophie Kinsella- Remember Me? and Twenties Girl

Borrowed 5 books during the last trip to the library. Have forgotten the title of the 5th book I borrowed. I wonder what is wrong with my memory (after some serious brain scratching, I finally remembered the title). Memory, a topic closely related to the book Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella. The book opens with Lexi, a gal who was down on her luck. She had barely any money, a terrible boyfriend who stood her up, a career that was going nowhere, bad teeth, etc. Just when things couldnt get any worse, she fell, bumped her head, and landed herself in a hospital.

To her surprise, she woke up being somebody else with a great body, perfect teeth, and plenty of money. Was there a body switch? Nah, it was just Lexi, 3 years later, just that she couldnt remember what transpired in that 3 years.The new Lexi was a successful, rich, and beautiful 28 year old, with a gorgeous looking husband. Lexi thought she had struck gold but she didnt know that along with the material wealth she had gained, she had also lost the essence of who she was. She had lost all her close friends and was stuck in an unhappy marriage with Eric. The story continued with Lexi trying to put everything right and getting acquainted again to the love of her life, Jon, a down-to-earth architect, who worked for her husband.

There wasn't much of a plot here but the book was quite an enjoyable and funny read. Good for some unwinding and for times, when your brains are fried. 

Another funny and casual book for mindless reading. Lara was attending the funeral of her great-aunt, Sadie, who was someone nobody remembered or gave a hoot about. It was there at the funeral, that Lara saw the ghost of Sadie. The ghost of Sadie was a 20-something(I think), with a fiesty and carefree spirit, who loved doing the Charleston. Knowing that only Lara could see her, she started haunting Lara, and demanding that Lara find her her favorite dragonfly necklace. Her last wish that must be fulfilled before she could leave the world in peace. And so the hunt, the haunt, and the fun began! During the hunt, Lara uncovered some dark secrets of her uncle and the love story of Sadie. At the end of the book, Sadie was no longer a nobody that noone cared for, but a famous someone who will always be remembered.
Is it important that we are remembered after we are gone? I remember having a similar conversation with a friend, who said he would want to live his life so that he could be remembered when he was gone. But I couldnt seem to agree with that. If we die, how would we know if we are being remembered? Why is it even important to be remembered? Wouldnt it make more sense to live your life so that while you are alive, you are being surrounded by people whom you love and who love you in turn?I dont and really can't care about the aftermath of my death.   

The Evil Seed- Joanne Harris

Have always loved her books, from Chocolat to its sequel, The Lollipop Shoes/ The Girl in the Window. There's always something a little magical in her books, you will know what I mean if you had read Chocolat. The Evil Seed is a little different, since it was her first book after all. And they had just had it re-issued some time back. Nonetheless, it's quite a great book especially if you are into vampires, which is all the rage now. I I like this phrase from the book:"Something inside me remembers and will not forget". Apparently the author saw it on a tombstone and got the inspiration for the book from there. Anyhow, I'm feeling a little stupid trying to write the sypnosis. It's a well-written book but the plot wasn't too amusing. It's basically a bunch of vampires feeding, seducing men... What I liked was the idea that as long as someone remembers Rosemary, she can never die. and she will raise again from her grave to haunt the earth once more. This was the reason why she had always had the need to find a man who loved her unconditionally and crazily. Oh well, read this if you liked Twilight, minus the romance.

The Understudy- David Nicholls

Okayy, my brains ran out of juice today and I did practically nothing for the whole day- il dolce far niente.. The Italians couldn't be more right, what's missing today was a nice cup of espresso...
Anyhow, I read this before One Day coz I knew David Nicholls wrote One Day and since I couldnt get the book, I borrowed an alternative book from the library. Quite disappointing.
It talks about the life of Steve McQueen, a guy who's always being casted as The Dead Guy on Cops show, and as a fleeting ghost in theatres. The story revolved around him and Josh Harper, a handsome, rich, vain, and famous actor. Steve was his understudy for a theatre show and was just waiting around for the day that Josh would break a leg, so that he would have a chance to be the lead.
But Steve must be the unluckiest guy in the world. Never getting his big break, always waiting, and waiting. He was hopeful, but that hopefulness, was what drove his wife away.
He later fell in love with Josh's wife, and things just got a lil out of hand. In the end, he ended up with the gal, and well, that's that. There you have it, the story of an underdog who never got lucky until the very last few pages of the book.

One Day- David Nicholls

I was actually quite excited by this book after reading the sypnosis on its book cover. And all the more so, when I heard it was made into a movie. So I traipsed to MPH to try to get a copy of it but was told that it was sold out and that it had been sold out since January this year. That was a little strange as I had seen plentiful copies of it in Popular. Anyhow, managed to get one at 20% off at Popular and I was trying hard to resist the temptation of opening the book, as I still had plenty of assignments to do and exams to study for. Alas, the temptation proved too great to resist and I started reading it; a mistake really coz as always, I read instead of work.
I had thought the book was about a couple who got together for a day and never saw each other again, until one day, they met and fell in love all over again. I thought that would make a rather bittersweet love story. But I was wrong. This book opened with Emma and Dexter getting together for a one night stand on their graduation day. After that one night, they remained as good friends and Emma saw Dexter going through strings of girlfriends and becoming a successful TV presenter, while she remained stuck and unhappy in her life. Life did not pan out as she had envisioned and dreams became safely lodged at the back of her mind.
This story is rather frustrating. It was obvious that Emma loved Dexter, and vice versa. But both chose to anchor safely to their friendship, never wanting to rock the boat. Then Dexter became an alcoholic and Emma decided to quit their friendship. Years later, they met again and Dexter was soon, going to be a husband and a father. Things did not work out eventually for his marriage, with his wife, Slyvie cheating on him, with his best friend and employer. Heartbroken, he turned to Emma. In Paris, they finally, finally, got together after almost 20 years.
Married life was well, married life. The excitement died off, the passion died off. But I supposed they were happy. Until almost 2 years of marriage, while cycling to meet Dex after an argument about having kids, Emma met with an accident and died. Honestly, I was shocked by this revelation. It should have ended with a happily-ever-after. I mean, c'mon they got together only after 20 years, and just after 2 years, you are killing them off? What kinda author is that?! A rather cruel one, I suppose.
I think I would have liked the book better if it had a happy ending. Anyway, the book rewound back to the past in the final two chapters. Back to that one day. You realise then that Dex had loved Em right at the beginning. Why it took him so long to realise and do something, we do not know...By realising it so late into their friendship, they had cut short the amount of time they had as a couple. Fortunate or unfortunate, we do not know either.
I really liked the character, Emma. Geeky but sharp, intelligent, witty, and funny. I wished I had that kind of wit around me. But I guess that's genetic and something that's impossible for me to master.

The Notebook-Nicholas Sparks

His books sometimes made me feel a little embarrassed to be reading them. Anyway it was through the movie that I knew of Nicholas Sparks. Prior to that, I had no idea who he was. I loved the movie probably coz of the chemistry between Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling, I think they are perfect for each other. It makes it all very believeable and I guess, it makes sceptics, hopeful that love does exist. I also love the era that the movie was set in, where people go to fairs, have cotton candy, sit on the ferris wheel.. there's something incredibly simple and romantic about that way of life.
But alas, having watch the movie plentiful times, since 2004, I had never had the urge to pick up the book and read it. That is rather strange for someone like me. Usually if I like a movie well enough, I would get the book. And sometimes, it's vice versa. But generally speaking, I would always prefer the book more than the movie. And I hate having watch the movie first before the book coz it kinda limits my imagination and I would often see the book characters as the actual actors/actresses of the movie.
Oh well, I didnt like the book version of the Notebook. It was all rather amateurish and dead. I couldn't really feel any romance or excitement from the book. It wasn't very engaging for the readers. It was quite disappointing, really. I had thought with the book on the bestseller list, and garnering him so much attention upon its publication, it should be SOMETHING. But it wasn't. I was left scratching my head, wondering why it sold like hotcakes.
But on a positive note, his subsequent books were better, although still kinda, I dont know, one-dimensional. However, like what I had mentioned before, his books are sometimes like comfort food. Bad for you, perhaps, but comforting...

The Glass Castle- Jeannette Walls

This was an absolutely amazing read! One of the best memoirs I have ever came across. It compelled me so much that I spent most of my time reading it instead of doing all the assigments that have been piling up...
The story opened with Jeannette on the way to an event in NYC, and saw her mother, scavenging for things in the bin. She lived in Park Avenue while her mother was homeless, and so was her father. You would think at the beginning, how cruel a daughter could be, to let her parents live like that, while she lived in a lavish upscale apartment.
And then the story unfolds...

The Walls family was made up of Rex and Rose Mary Walls and their four children, Lori, Brian, Jeannette, and Maureen. This family of four led extremely impoverished lives and never really had a home, and was always uprooting from one place to another, from Nevada to Phoenix to West Virgina, and finally to NYC.

This was a dysfunctional family with parents who were just a tad too eccentric to raise any family. The children often went without food, proper clothes, and even electricity. But all these didnt bother Rose Mary, who thought this was an adventure. And that such conditions would make all of them tougher, and less like those city kids who were too comfortable for their own good.

I did like Rex Walls even though he was an impossible drunk. You could tell he was an extremely smart man, who could really do anything he wanted if he had put his heart to it. He made blueprints for a Glass Castle that he had promised to build Jeannette, he talked about quantum physics, he invented equipment that could sieve for gold, etc. But he was always drinking and getting into trouble at work, and could never hold down a proper job. I also think he was perhaps a little schizo, often thinking that the government was against him and going on "spying" missions against the government. But you knew he loved Jeannette, his mountain goat, and Jeannette often looked up to him as a kid.

But as Jeannette grew up, she began to realise that this was not the way to be living. She forced her mother to get a proper job so that they could lead normal lives. Her mother eventually relented and worked as a teacher in an elementary school. What was memorable was that there was once when her mother had to be away for a course, and Jeannette became the replacement mother. She had often wondered why it was that her mother could never manage the household expenses properly, and during this period, she realised it was her father. Like her mother, she could not say no to her father's request for money for alcohol and cigarettes. And that was why there was never ever enough money to go around in the home.

In her adolescence, she began to see her parents for who they were and knew she had to do something if she wanted to have a chance to lead a normal life. She and Lori began plotting to leave the home for New York City. They found work and managed to save up a sum of money and told their parents of their plans. Alas, their plans were sabotaged by their father when he took away all their hard earned money. It was his ploy of preventing them from leaving because he did not want the family to break up. Eventually Jeannette through her babysitting job, found a ticket to NYC but she gave it to Lori. Lori up and left. She started planning and saving for her escape route. Came the day she was able to leave, and her father, once again took out his blueprint for the Glass Castle and persuaded Jeannette not to leave. That life could be great in their little mining town and that he would work to make the Glass Castle a reality. It was very touching and heartbreaking. Jeannette refused to believe in her father anymore, and she had every single right to do so.

She left and lived with Lori in NYC. She managed to enroll in an Ivy League school with a scholarship and loan and was well on her way to a good lot in life. Then her parents came and even though by then, they all had their own apartments, they wanted their parents to stop being leeches and fend for themselves. Their parents became homeless. Her mother again thought this was an adventure and liked living like that. After a few years, when Rose Mary's brother died, did Jeannette realise that all along, her mother had a piece of land, that was possibly worth a million dollars. It was like a slap in the face. There they were rummaging through garbage for food, living without electricity and sanitation, while her mother was sitting on a million dollars all the while.

Jeannette's father eventually died and I couldnt help sobbing. He was proud of Jeannette and somehow, always managed to work into his conversation with people how he had a daughter in an Ivy League college. When he heard that Jeannette might have to drop out of college because she could not afford the fees, he told her not to worry  and that he would keep her in college somehow. One night he brought a bag full of cash that he won from poker and gave to Jeannette. That was how Jeannette paid her fees. During her convocation, she told her father not to come because he would embarrass her with his drinking problem and bad behaviour. He agreed. That was how much he loved his daughter but I guess he couldnt save himself to be able to give her and his children what they needed.

This book was full of emotions. You cant help feeling excited, intrigued, sad, happy, going through the pages, and be in awe and admiration of the person that Jeannette is. Such a fantastic read. I would highly recommend to everyone.

A Happy Marriage- Rafael Yglesias

I had a bit of trouble spelling the author's name. Got this book during Border's sale for perhaps $5 or $2. How could such a great book come at such a low price?? This a love story (not exactly in that romantic sense) that spanned 30 years, and it uncannily resembled the author's own life. The story began with Enrique and Margaret meeting for the first time, at his home. And so boy meets girl, boy falls in love, girl falls in love, and you get the picture. Margaret and Enrique got married, had a child, and that's when the marriage fell apart. Margaret was too tired with the baby to attend to Enrique and because of the lack of attention he was getting, he had an affair. All these are just too familiar isn't it? We hear these stories all the time- that women focused all their attention on their children and then the men get up to some monkey businesses, just because he doesn't get as much attention as before. That is pretty unfair. Given all the hard work a woman puts into bearing and raising a child (not forgetting getting fat), a man should chip in his efforts and stop being a selfish, attention-seeking child. And that was exactly what Enrique was.
Enrique thought he did not love Margaret anymore and told her about the affair. They went for marriage counselling and Margaret broke. That surprised Enrique. He had thought Margaret did not love him anymore as well. They decided to give the marriage another go and later, when Margaret was diagnosed with cancer, Enrique then realised how much he loved Margaret and could not bear the idea of losing her. That was pretty sad. You only realised how much you love someone when that person is dying. By then, things could be a little too late but perhaps, not that late as well.
Enrique put on his best behaviour, caring for Margaret, becoming her nurse. In sickness, there is often very little dignity. Because you have lost the ability to care for yourself, you have lost the ability to project the image that you want others to see. People see you for who you are, in all your nakedness.
This was a simple yet compelling read. Everything was about ordinary people, ordinary lives, even their love was ordinary yet exceptional at the same time. It hits very close to home and makes it all very real.

The Winner Stands Alone- Paulo Coelho

This book mainly talks about showbiz and how seemingly superficial and materialistic that world is. The story was set in Cannes, during the film festival. Thousands of people flocked to this part of France to hopefully, get lucky with someone rich to help them along in their lives, to help them get into the world of the "superclass". The superclass is the class of rich men and women, with fame and power- the class that glittered like diamonds and gold.
A Russian mogul, Igor, came to Cannes to "send a message" to his ex-wife, who had left him for someone else. His idea of a message, unfortunately, revolved around the concept of killing others to prove his love. His actions did not win back the love of his wife and he soon, was disillusioned by his love for this woman, whom in his opinion, had left him for fame and adoration. However, the truth was that his wife left him because he was always too busy in acquiring wealth, and he had a terrible cruel streak in him- killing people when he deemed them as being an inconvenience to him.
I didnt quite like this book, as compared to The Alchemist. Although there were moral undertones in this book, it all seemed a little too much of a cliche. Yes we do know some industries are superficial and obsessed with things that are fleeting, but they will continue to exist because of the vanity streak in human beings. We like and seek beautiful things, even though we know nothing material in this world lasts, and beautiful things can only satisfy you that much. Still, that is what we pursue to help ease the burden we carry on our shoulders, to take our mind away for just an instance, the ugliness we see everyday.

Castle in the Pyrenees- Jostein Gaarder

I haven't been able to find much books by him in Singapore. Loved Sophie's World and Solitaire Mystery. Fascinating read if you like philosophy. I wanted very much to review this book as it touched on some of the things I'm interested in. For instance, the big bang, and how we are all, interconnected in some ways. We are made of the same material that started this world- stardust. Like many other people in the world., it questioned the existence of one earth, which I feel is rather improbable, given the number of galaxies and planets and stars in existence. How could it be out of the billions of stars/planets out there, only one planet in one galaxy had the right conditions to create life? The probability is 1/100,000,000? Imagine that?! There are two main characters in the book, one (Solrunn) who believes in the spiritual world, and the other, a professor (Steinn), who believes only in science. I am not a deeply spiritual person but neither do I believe that only science is able to explain things. And just because you can't prove something now, doesn't mean that something doesn't exist; it could mean that you just havent found what you are looking for. Anyway both Solrunn and Steinn believed that they had killed an old lady while they were travelling on a highway. However, the old lady appeared to them, making Solrunn believe that the lady was someone from the afterlife, while Steinn believed she was just a figment of their imagination. This split in their beliefs caused them to drift apart. They each later married someone else and had kids, and somehow reunited at the place where they had stayed in, before they killed the old lady. What was chilling at the end of the story was that Solrunn thought she heard the old lady say to her when she appeared to them,"I am what you will become", while Steinn heard the old lady say,"you ought to get a speeding ticket, young lad". And strangely, Solrunn did end up being like the old lady. She wore a pink shawl that the old lady was wearing at the time of her death and was later, killed in an accident on her way to meeting Steinn. In essence, yes, she did become the old lady. Could it have been a vision of herself in the future? Had she somehow managed to glimpse her own destiny? This is an intriguing read although Sophie's World is still better.

Catching up on books

Had read a couple of books recently..as usual my failing memory might not be able to recall the full spectrum of what I had read but here's what I remember:

as the title suggests, the story tells us about the lives of 2 immigrants, Ananda and Nina, who had moved from India to settle in Canada. I've read pretty similar books by other Indian authors, which basically also revolved around the same theme of Indian migrants in North America. All of them had been great reads, and this book was no exception. Ananda desperately tried to integrate into the North American's way of life, and to some extent, I think he despised his own status as an Indian immigrant. His insecurities about his sexual abilities and perhaps, even his own nationality, drove him into an obsession of bedding white women. Not knowing all these about Ananda, Nina, seduced by a better life in Canada,  agreed to marry him. It sounded much like Nina had won a good lot in life, as Ananda was a dentist, and seemed to be relatively well-off. And so she moved to Canada, and was instantly bored by her life there as a housewife, with barely any friends. In India, she had been an English teacher with a profound love of books. After years in Canada and not being able to fulfil her dream of being a mother (largely due to Ananda's impotence), she finally decided to take up a degree in Library Science and subsequently had an affair with a married man. She had also found out about Ananda's affair with a white woman. In the end, she lived her life independently of any men.

Had also read Jostein Gaarder's Castle in the Pyrenees; Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook; Jeanette Wall's The Glass Castle, etc. I will continue my reviews on those at a later time.

Richard Paul Evans- The Last Promise

This was a rather corny and run-of-the-mill read. It reminded me a little of Nicholas Sparks but without a dose of passion. Eliana, a small town girl from Utah, married a handsome and rich Italian man (Maurizio), and moved to Tuscany, one of the most beautiful regions in Italy. Most would think her life was a fairy tale. Really, who doesnt love the idea of handsome italian men, a beautiful wine region, and an old and large villa to boot. Eliana, shortly after marriage, gave birth to a son, Alessio, who suffered from frequent and severe asthma attacks. Her life wasn't all that great as Maurizio turned out to be a selfish, philandering boor, who was hardly ever home.
Then came a good-looking American, Ross Story, who rented an apartment in her estate and they soon fell in love with each other. But it was not an easy journey of course (there would be  no story otherwise!). Maurizio refused to let Eliana leave and threatened custody of Alessio. But of course all ended well in this story, with Maurizio becoming a changed man after almost losing Alessio, while he was in his care. Maurizio and Eliana divorced and she returned to Utah with Alessio. Ross was gone because Eliana had told him to when Maurizio threatened to take Alessio away from her if she leaves with Ross.
Years later, they met again and well, they lived happily ever after.
Sorry to say, it's quite a boring read. A great disappointment to The Sunflower. I remembered The Sunflower was quite a touching and sweet read.

Tony Parsons-Men from the Boys

Wanted to do this review for a while but just couldnt find the time to. Alas, I've again forgotten most part of the story. But I will try to the best of my ability to recall the story, while in the midst of trying to write up a seminar critique for school.
Although the book did not get off to a good start, after a few more turns of the pages, it turned out to be a wonderful read. I wouldnt say it is an exciting book per se, but it does make you want to read on. It gives you a glimpse into the leads' lives that were beginning to fall apart. After Harry's divorce to Gina, he was married to Cyd, a gorgeous woman with a thriving food catering business. Harry had custody of his son, Pat, now a teenager, who was being constantly bullied in school and who had had a crush on one of the popular girls. Things got a little complicated when Gina, the MIA mother decided to return to town, and build a bond with her son. It was then that Harry met an old veteran, who had been his father's platoon mate during the "Italian" war. Not long after, Harry lost his job, and his life began to unravel. Cyd eventually left him coz he was not bringing home the bacon and was squandering away on horses (taught by the veteran; i forgot his name unfortunately!). I cant really put my finger on it but I find the story bittersweet. Harry felt somewhat obligated to the veteran and perhaps, was also trying to find his father in the veteran. To perhaps make up for what had been lost between him and his father. Pat grew close to the old man as well, and was there for him, at his deathbed. Pat gained a grandfather.
I find this scenario very close to heart and rather heart-wrenching. There were times when I see an old lady and was reminded of my late grandmother. And I would feel as if I should do something for this old lady to make up for what I had not done for my grandma.
It is not a good feeling living with regrets but sometimes, we tend to forget the consequences of our actions whilst we are performing them. So easy to forget. So easy to be slipshod with ourselves and others around us.
I have been thinking a lot about the elderly these days, especially those with no kin and are not able to support themselves due to poor physical health. I feel we should do more for this group of people that most have neglected because they can no longer contribute economically to the society. This is a very sad and hard truth that most of us can only see values in materialism. I ought to do more..

If Craziness Had a Name

If craziness had a name,




What would it be?



If love had a face,



How would it be?



Would it be your name,



I see in the wind?



Would it be your voice,



I hear in the waves.



Rejoice, I could not,



Seeking that face in the dark.



Blinded by those tears,



No one could see.



A little stabbing of the heart,



A little sob escaped my lips.



All these you could not feel,



All these you could not hear.



Like them,



You had gone deaf,



Ears frozen in the cold winter night.



Eyes wide shut,



Beneath the moonlit night,



We had missed the millions of twinkling lights.



Under the stars,



We used to lay.



But they had all gone out.



Like me,



They had burnt out.



Like me,



They had fallen like those shooting stars.



A falling star,



Hit the soft, damp earth.



A fallen heart,



Buried,



In the darkest corners of the earth.

Sometimes you need to be fearless...

Time

Haven't gotten much time to read these days. Instead of books, I spend most of my time reading journal articles now... Perhaps I should do article reviews instead of book reviews. Ahh... Sounds like a very exciting plan.....NOT! Currently reading tony parson's new book men from boys. Doesn't seem to be off to a good start. Prefer his older books like my favorite wife .. Anyhow more reviews in June coz it's the school holidays after the 13th! Finally some reprieve from work.

The Great Gatsby

An old classic that I had never gotten round to reading. Didn't quite enjoy Mr Fitzgerald's style of writing, perhaps it is a little too old for my liking. Jay Gatsby, a man of unknown wealth and mystery, lived in large mansion in West Egg, in New York in the 1920s. Lavish parties were synonmous with Gatsby. Nick Carraway, the main narrator of the story, was Gatsby's humble neighbour and across from his modest abode, lived Tom and Daisy Buchanan. The Buchanans were well-off but Buchanan was a sorta has-been and Daisy, was seemingly flighty and possessed a superficial girly charm. 

So the story goes, Tom was seeing another woman behind Daisy and somewhere in West Egg, Gatsby was pining away for Daisy. They had met and fell in love 5 years ago when he was a lieutenant in the US army and was stationed near Daisy's hometown in Louisville. But due to his lack of financial status, Daisy eventually married someone else- Tom. 

During those 5 years, Gatsby tried his utmost to accumulate his wealth so that Daisy could "see" and admire him. Through Nick, Gatsby and Daisy eventually reunited and carried on a secret affair (rather bold dont you think for the 20s?). 

Daisy then invited Gatsby and Nick to her house, in the presence of Tom and her friend, Jordan Baker. During the visit, Daisy flirted openly with Gatsby, incurring Tom's wrath. In the final hotel scene, Daisy proclaimed to Tom that she was leaving him for Gatsby. After Tom started divulging Gatsby's business in the bootlegging industry, Daisy started to waver. Everything went downhill from there. In Gatsby's car, Daisy drove recklessly and killed Tom's mistress, who was married to Wilson. 

Tom, insinuated to Wilson that it was Gatsby behind the wheel. Wilson, in his fury, killed Gatsby and later himself. Although Gatsby's parties always saw hundreds of people, noone came to his funeral, except his father and Nick. Nick tried to find anyone that he could to attend Gatsby's wake but to no avail. Even Daisy was gone. He later found out that the Buchanans had moved away from New York.  

A rather sad story of a man's utter devotion and love for a frivolous girl. A girl, who was portrayed as a "careless" character, and who did not think nor care for the consequences of their actions. In the end, it was the people around them that suffered and cleared up their messes, whilst they continued on their careless ways. I have only pity and sadness for Gatsby, whose only fault was loving the wrong person.

Her Fearful Symmetry-Audrey Niffenegger

Seriously, I can never get this author's last name right! Sheez... Loved Niffenegger's writing to death. As usual, her book starts off a little stale but as the story progresses, you just can't put the book down. I admire her for the novelty and obscurity she brings into her stories. Stories, that you can never imagine or expect. This is a strange story of Elspeth and Edie, twin sisters and Edie's daughters, Julia and Valentina, who were twins too. Elspeth died of leukemia right at the beginning of the story, leaving her lover, Robert, behind.
What happened after is, depending on your beliefs are, incredulous. Elspeth became a spirit, lingering behind in her old apartment, unable to leave. Came Julia and Valentina, one vivacious, loud, and bossy, the other timid and mousy, to take over Elspeth's apartment.

Robert and Valentina, fell in love, shortly after, and despite their age difference. Julia, of course, felt jealous, to have Valentina "leave" her for Robert, the ghost of Elspeth felt the same and started getting ideas, when she realised she has the power to take another's soul away.

The story is strange but hauntingly beautiful. It makes you sad, makes you gape in incredulousness... leaves me despising Elspeth, feeling sad for Valentina and Julia, and then applauding what happens to Elspeth at the end of the story.

Julie and Julia

Finally managed to find some time to do some catch-up reading, in between school assignments and 9-hours of sitting in the office. I have not much to say about this book, just that it is quite an interesting read about a slightly crazed woman, who risks her husband, her cats, her job to cook the 524 recipes in Julia Child's famous book: "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". You have to admire her determination and guts to do that, especially when you have read MtAoFC. Incidentally, I have a copy of MtAoFC and I can tell you that it is no mean feat to cook the dishes in there. I have only done 2 recipes from that book, and both were relatively easy, and thats the reason why I have only done them, and not the rest of the 522 recipes. Everything else is just too darn difficult and time-consuming! And you probably will not be able to find most of the ingredients in Singapore...and I guess the ingredients needed may be a tad expensive as well. So yes, it took a lot for her to manage all 524 recipes in a year, no less (especially when the recipes call for killing lobsters, making aspic with cattles' calves, yikes!).

A bit like Julie, myself, I am the sort that never does finish up projects. I often start something with gusto, but nearing the end of the project, I would start to feel bored and find the need to do something else. Yes, i can name many things I have started learning on a wimp and quit halfway through: French, Japanese, Spanish, piano, knitting, scrapbooking, etc.

Committed- Elizabeth Gilbert

If you had enjoyed Eat Pray Love a little too much, then this book might not be for you. The book is quite a disappointment, with a lesser raw feel to it. It’s more like a social discourse on marriage, while “Eat Pray Love” is more of a memoir, which feels so much more private and "real".
I definitely didn’t enjoy this as much as EPL, and I would classify Committed as more of an educational reading and it does read kinda like someone’s dissertation on the history and culture of marriage. What I found interesting is the description of the Hmong's (a small tribe in Laos) wedding practice, which is very very similar to a typical Chinese wedding in Singapore.
 
For instance, the wedding couple would invite tons of people to their wedding dinner, even people they do not know. These people would give money in a packet to the couple during their wedding dinner, which were then collected in a box. After the dinner was over, the couple would stay up all night to count the money they had received, and document the amounts and from whom the money was from, in a book.
 
This amount would be returned to the person who had given it to them, when it was his/her turn to get married. And this amount would often be more than what they received from this person, taking into account inflation/interest rate.
 
Exactly like our practice.
 
It's kinda funny how a lot of people yearned to get married, when marriage is not necessarily beneficial to them. Most women are still expected to be in charge of the household chores, taking care of the kids, etc. In our moden society, this expectation also comes with the additional stress of having to contribute to the household income, due to so-called EQUALITY of the sexes. So you see, marriage, most often, do not benefit women. Men always get the longer end of the stick. But of course, I am not saying this is always true. I, for one, do not do as much homework or contribute as much to the household income. I guess, I did get the longer end of the stick.

Daisy Miller- Henry James

Decided to read this book after it was featured in "Readling Lolita in Tehran".

This is a very short story written by Henry James, a well-known American writer, in 1878. It is a rather fun and interesting read. The portrayal of Daisy Miller is so real, that you can't help falling in love with her (I will, if I were a man). Daisy Miller has the art of flirtation so fine-tuned, that she came across as a subtle, innocent, yet charming young lady. Mr Winterbourne was so captivated by her and pursued her relentlessly against the better judgement of his snobbish, high society aunt.

Against societal norms, Daisy Miller went out on dates alone with young men and late at night. After meeting Mr Wooster for just half an hour, she went out on a date with him, alone, to a Chateau in Switzerland. Such behaviour was despised upon by the high-society women, who felt such behaviour loose. But Daisy did not seem to care for one bit. The story ended quite sadly though- with the very frivolous and nary a care character of Daisy Miller, causing her death.

It's kinda funny how Aunts always seemed to play a major and imposing role in stories from the late 19th/ early 20th century. It reminded me a lot of PG Wodehouse's Mr Wooster and his aunt, who was his source of income. And whom, Wooster was terrified of and often had to bend himself over to his aunt's will.

Reading Lolita in Tehran-Azar Nafisi

Finally got through this book. This book reminds me alot of those women studies classes I had during college days, whereby we dissect every sentence,try to infer what the writer really means, and try to figure out the underlying themes/ issues, etc. This was what happened during a large proportion of the book. But sometimes, I just feel like saying, leave the poor book alone, read it and enjoy it as it is, without trying so hard to decipher coded meanings!!! You would never know whether your inferences are right anyway, unless the writer explicitly states so. In your own interpretation, the book alters and becomes, in a way, your own, and not what it was supposed to be in the first place. Of course, the book does not speak only of other books, it also reflects the social and political issues of Iran at the time the writer was living there. And how reading and discussing those books affected the lives of her and her female students. There were some books I wanted to read after reading this book- Daisy Miller, Lolita, The Great Gatsby...

Bad dogs have more fun- josh grogan

This is a collection of articles he wrote for his column in Philadelphia Inquirer. It's arather entertaining read but some of the articles were just a little too contrite. What with with strange characters with silly names talking about the, well, weather!! I guess Josh grogan must have ran out of ideas and backup articles that particular day. Otherwise, most of the articles were funny or heart felt. Great for spending a boring Sunday afternoon.

Revolutionary Road

Watched the movie some time ago with the ladies. Quite a slow-paced and depressing movie. It's a bit of a wonder that someone would care to make this novel into a movie and with two bigwigs (Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet) as the cast. But it reads quite well.


The author, Richard Yates, seemingly captures the tiniest detail of the human expression and behaviour. So much attention was put into portraying the display of emotions of the characters, that sometimes, I feel it might be a little too much.

It is what I would say, an interesting story about the most blatant things of life.

The story was set in the 50s , which incidentally, is an era that I love and find romantic. But unfortunately, this is not a love story. And as a matter of fact, it speaks of the 50s as an era of conformity, of boredom, and safety. The characters, April and Frank, were a young suburban couple, who abhorred the suburban life, and who felt they were different from everyone else. And they were afraid too, that they would become just like everyone else- too comfortable for change.

As their marriage started to fray, April came up with the idea to move to Paris, a place that Frank often reminsced about and loved. This sounded like a last ditch effort to save their marriage. But alas, things did not go as planned, with Frank, morphing into the very type of person that he looked down upon.

This is rather ironic to me. Frank did not want to be like his father, stuck in a dead-end job for years, and never raising to the ranks. He vowed not to be like his father but strangely, he took on a job in the same company his father worked in, in a job he hated. He stepped into the very shoes that he did not want to wear. Just like, how it was, with him and the surbanites of the 50s.

The story did not end well. You could almost feel the boredom driving April crazy, how sick she was playing the suburban wife. She wanted an adventure that Frank was afraid to embark on. How disappointed she was that she had no way of breaking free. At the very end, she chose to die, with her unborn child, which was also an excuse that Frank used to abandon their plans of adventure.

How sad.

Fear often stopped us from doing the things we wished or dreamt to do. Craving comfort and safety are all part of human nature.Aren't those the very things all of us strive to achieve- the comfort and saefty of shelter, food, clothing, etc. Sometimes you just can't fight evolution.