Cathy and Jodie is a book by Kit Chan and Yong Siew Fern. This book chronicled the growing up of 2 teenage girls in the eighties. Never have I been able to relate to a book so much even though technically, my teenage years were in the nineties.
It was so engaging that when I read on the train, I could not help stifling a giggle. No wonder I was drawing weird stares from the fellow passengers. If there was no one around, I would have broken out into hysteric laughter.
The angst, the dreams and the idiosyncracies of the 2 buddies were so reminiscent of our teenage years that it was as if I was reliving my teenage years ago. The tales of changing uniforms while strolling along Far East Plaza brought back such fond memories as my alma mater had very stringent rules about loitering outside school in our uniforms. The frustrations about practising for any performance for some events helped built stronger friendships if we could overcome the differences. Our boisterous and tom-boyish attitudes which often intimidated others, including boys were also rather renowned among the various schools.
Upon growing up, the differing paths and pursuits of dreams were also some issues that constantly plagued any clique of secondary school friends. In fact, every time we met, what we were doing with our lives and recallng the past were often the topic flavour of any gathering.
For those of you who have been through a girls' school, this is a must read. For those who have been through a co-ed school, this will also make an interesting read but I am not certain how much of the incidents described are similar to what you may have gone through. Notwithstanding, for all those who have grown up in the eighties and nineties, this would have been made a very amusing read.
Showing posts with label Book Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book Reviews. Show all posts
March 02, 2010
January 24, 2010
The Last Templar
I vaguely recalled that I have seen the trailer of a min-movie series on "The Last Templar". I am not certain if this book is the same as that of mini-movie series. If you enjoy reading Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons, this is a book of similar genre. In fact, this may be more layman and easier to visualise and follow even if you are not familiar with the religion.
The Last Templar was about a mysterious theft at the Metropolitan Museum of New York during the opening night by a group of 4 knights dressed as Templars. There was a gruesome beheading of a security guard. The most precious stolen goods were not the jewelled artefacts but a decoder which could point to the exact position of the sunken treasures of the Templars in the Medieval Ages. The witness of this whole theft was an archaeologist who worked with the chief investigator to recover the treasures and to find the instigator for the whole crime.
As the pair continued their mystery solving, they unconvered more sinister characters and a greater hidden secret. When they eventually found the treasure, they again went through the conflict of whether they should reveal the secret behind their finds or should they keep quiet about it. The faith of human kind belied what they have retrieved from the deep ocean. They have also discovered their feelings for each other in the process.
The Last Templar interpersed current days developments with the history which was absent in the writing of Dan Brown. In Dan Brown's books, what we knew of the historical developments were narrated through the voice of Prof John Langdon. It was also not a simple good against evil where the clan of the mystery solvers were often the pure good who were at odds with the evil. In The Last Templar, within the clique of the mystery solvers, there were also internal conflicts. What was similar between the two writings that the perceived authority of goodness and moral enforcer often might not be as innocent as we believed. While trying to sustain the faith, they might need to resort to underhand measures which were often at odds with the values that they preached.
There was no perfect saint or devil in the book. All of the characters carried with them their own baggages, their values and ideals which might appear selfish. With this more ambivalent characters, the book became a more realistic read than Dan Brown's. This is definitely one of the books that I highly recommend as a good thriller and for theology enthusiasts.
The Last Templar was about a mysterious theft at the Metropolitan Museum of New York during the opening night by a group of 4 knights dressed as Templars. There was a gruesome beheading of a security guard. The most precious stolen goods were not the jewelled artefacts but a decoder which could point to the exact position of the sunken treasures of the Templars in the Medieval Ages. The witness of this whole theft was an archaeologist who worked with the chief investigator to recover the treasures and to find the instigator for the whole crime.
As the pair continued their mystery solving, they unconvered more sinister characters and a greater hidden secret. When they eventually found the treasure, they again went through the conflict of whether they should reveal the secret behind their finds or should they keep quiet about it. The faith of human kind belied what they have retrieved from the deep ocean. They have also discovered their feelings for each other in the process.
The Last Templar interpersed current days developments with the history which was absent in the writing of Dan Brown. In Dan Brown's books, what we knew of the historical developments were narrated through the voice of Prof John Langdon. It was also not a simple good against evil where the clan of the mystery solvers were often the pure good who were at odds with the evil. In The Last Templar, within the clique of the mystery solvers, there were also internal conflicts. What was similar between the two writings that the perceived authority of goodness and moral enforcer often might not be as innocent as we believed. While trying to sustain the faith, they might need to resort to underhand measures which were often at odds with the values that they preached.
There was no perfect saint or devil in the book. All of the characters carried with them their own baggages, their values and ideals which might appear selfish. With this more ambivalent characters, the book became a more realistic read than Dan Brown's. This is definitely one of the books that I highly recommend as a good thriller and for theology enthusiasts.
December 22, 2009
The Confessions of Max Tivoli
I have not watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button but heard that it was a splendid and touching film. Benjamin Button was someone who lived his life backwards physically. Max Tivoli in The Confessions of Max Tivoli was also someone who aged backwards.
Max was born looking like a 70-year old. As he gradually grew older, his appearance looked younger. His grandmother predicted his death based on the year he was born and his look at the time of birth. To Max, his illness was like a curse preventing him from living a normal life. His appearance also barred him from the love of his life. When he looked like he was in fifties, he was still a teenage boy pyschologically. When he looked like a teenage boy, he was pyschologically a fifty-year old man. No matter how he felt mentally and emotionally, he had to act the age of his appearance.
Despite being able to spend some time with the love of his life, the bliss was transient as he started to age backwards. The mismatch in appearance started to become more apparent as the days go by. It is time to either confess or leave. When he chose confession, his wife could not forgive him and decided to leave him.
When he next met his wife, he was already a young boy in appearance. He managed to stay a short period of time with his wife and his son as an orphaned boy. Knowing that the second chance with his love would again be transient, he chose to end his life when his wife was to wed again.
It was a tragedy to know your death. It is also a tragedy not to be able to spend time with the one you love. I wondered if The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was as sad and hapless as The Confessions of Max Tivoli.
Max was born looking like a 70-year old. As he gradually grew older, his appearance looked younger. His grandmother predicted his death based on the year he was born and his look at the time of birth. To Max, his illness was like a curse preventing him from living a normal life. His appearance also barred him from the love of his life. When he looked like he was in fifties, he was still a teenage boy pyschologically. When he looked like a teenage boy, he was pyschologically a fifty-year old man. No matter how he felt mentally and emotionally, he had to act the age of his appearance.
Despite being able to spend some time with the love of his life, the bliss was transient as he started to age backwards. The mismatch in appearance started to become more apparent as the days go by. It is time to either confess or leave. When he chose confession, his wife could not forgive him and decided to leave him.
When he next met his wife, he was already a young boy in appearance. He managed to stay a short period of time with his wife and his son as an orphaned boy. Knowing that the second chance with his love would again be transient, he chose to end his life when his wife was to wed again.
It was a tragedy to know your death. It is also a tragedy not to be able to spend time with the one you love. I wondered if The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was as sad and hapless as The Confessions of Max Tivoli.
November 28, 2009
Teen Lit
You have probably heard about chick lit but not teen lit. I am not sure if this term has been officiated yet. I am using this term to refer to the type of literature that caters for the teens. Recently, I started to read a few teen lit - books by Stephenie Meyer and L J Smith. Surprisingly, I have enjoyed myself very well when I read their books.
Twilight was an enjoyable read which had subsequently been adapted to hit movies. L J Smith was the author of the Vampire Diaries which had been adapted to a drama series. However, what I had enjoyed was more her Dark Visions series which featured a group of teenagers with supernatural powers - the ability to heal, the ability to move things, the ability to read minds and the ability to tell the future. Together, these teens hpoe to save the world from a tyrant who wanted to capture and use teens with supernatural powers to conquer the world.
After reading the heavier and more philosophical stuff, the simple reads can be equally enjoyable.
Twilight was an enjoyable read which had subsequently been adapted to hit movies. L J Smith was the author of the Vampire Diaries which had been adapted to a drama series. However, what I had enjoyed was more her Dark Visions series which featured a group of teenagers with supernatural powers - the ability to heal, the ability to move things, the ability to read minds and the ability to tell the future. Together, these teens hpoe to save the world from a tyrant who wanted to capture and use teens with supernatural powers to conquer the world.
After reading the heavier and more philosophical stuff, the simple reads can be equally enjoyable.
November 16, 2009
Deception Point
I have been waiting for this book for a long time. In case you are wondering if this is a newly launched book and I was one of those die-hard fans who will order online at the first available opportunity and cannot wait for Amazon to ship over. Sorry to disappoint you. I may be an avid reader but I am way past the age where I will break a leg to attain something. I guess age does mellow people down.
Secondly, although I am not an environmental activist, I do believe strongly in doing my part to save our ailing earth and to prevent the deterioration of global warming. As much as possible, I try not to buy any book. If I want to read something, I will just go over to the library and borrow. I have never had the habit of re-reading a book no matter how much I have enjoyed it in the first place. Maybe I am consumed by novelty and suspense. once, I know how the story will end, it kills the joy of reading immediately.
Deception Point is a Science Fiction cum Mystery fiction by the famous Dan Brown who had raised general awareness of the Musee de Lourve in its Da Vinci Code. If you are familiar with Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons and perhaps even the Lost Symbol, you may be lured into the perception that he is only capable of denouncing religions. It is indeed a pleasant surprise when I read Deception Point.
There were no more churches, museums or some symbols. There was only scientists, the Arctic and a meteorite. Similarly, there are powerful figures all having a hand in one of the greatest deception. The question was who was the power house behind this mastermind. What was the purpose of engineering this deception to the whole world of a meteorite which had fossils? Was this a real meteorite? If it was not real, why was the composition different from that of normal earth rocks? If it were not real, what were the insect like fossils?
It ws hard to imagine that all the suspense, the investigation and the fight to survive the killers close to the scientists' heels occured within 48 hours. Dan Brown could often capture alot of details for a storyline that took place within a week. With the fast-paced development, our heart seemed to beat faster with each narrow escape of the protagonists. If you are concerned that science theories were too mind boggling, rest assured that the theories were explained in relatively simple terms. For just like his other books, one of the protagonists was often a non-expert. In order to help this non-expert understand the concept to be able to participate in the fight against treachery, the theories often were conveyed in layman's terms.
If you are tired of chick lit, or would like to try a different subject matter, Deception Point should not disappoint.
Secondly, although I am not an environmental activist, I do believe strongly in doing my part to save our ailing earth and to prevent the deterioration of global warming. As much as possible, I try not to buy any book. If I want to read something, I will just go over to the library and borrow. I have never had the habit of re-reading a book no matter how much I have enjoyed it in the first place. Maybe I am consumed by novelty and suspense. once, I know how the story will end, it kills the joy of reading immediately.
Deception Point is a Science Fiction cum Mystery fiction by the famous Dan Brown who had raised general awareness of the Musee de Lourve in its Da Vinci Code. If you are familiar with Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons and perhaps even the Lost Symbol, you may be lured into the perception that he is only capable of denouncing religions. It is indeed a pleasant surprise when I read Deception Point.
There were no more churches, museums or some symbols. There was only scientists, the Arctic and a meteorite. Similarly, there are powerful figures all having a hand in one of the greatest deception. The question was who was the power house behind this mastermind. What was the purpose of engineering this deception to the whole world of a meteorite which had fossils? Was this a real meteorite? If it was not real, why was the composition different from that of normal earth rocks? If it were not real, what were the insect like fossils?
It ws hard to imagine that all the suspense, the investigation and the fight to survive the killers close to the scientists' heels occured within 48 hours. Dan Brown could often capture alot of details for a storyline that took place within a week. With the fast-paced development, our heart seemed to beat faster with each narrow escape of the protagonists. If you are concerned that science theories were too mind boggling, rest assured that the theories were explained in relatively simple terms. For just like his other books, one of the protagonists was often a non-expert. In order to help this non-expert understand the concept to be able to participate in the fight against treachery, the theories often were conveyed in layman's terms.
If you are tired of chick lit, or would like to try a different subject matter, Deception Point should not disappoint.
November 10, 2009
The Why Are You Here Cafe
This book followed a queer encounter by a man who decided to go on a sabbathical. His decision to avoid a jam led him to a cafe. In the cafe, he met the owner, the helper as well as a fellow diner who shed some light on how life should be. When he flipped open the menu, he was greeted by 3 questions:
The reason for existence led to the purpose of existence. What do people do when they find out the purpose of their existence? Most people will do all it takes to fulfil this purpose. In order to gain greater mileage from your effort, the analogy of a sea turtle was used. A sea turtle might not seem to exert alot of effort when it swam. Yet, it could swim further and longer by learning how to ride with the waves. If the sea turtle was moving away from the shore, it would paddle very hard when the wave was moving away from the shore. However, it would just float along when the wave was moving towards the shore so that it would not exert too much effort going against the flow.
The story that got me thinking for a long time was the story about a businessman going on a vacation and meeting a fisherman. The businessman was very surprised that the fisherman would only catch enough for his own feed per day. He would not fish more despite the abundant supply of fish and ample time. One day, the businessman approached the fisherman to ask if he could and would catch more fish. The businessman proposed to the fisherman to catch more fish and sell the excess to get money for an early retirement. The fisherman was curious on the purpose of the retirement. To which, the businessman replied that with early retirement, the fisherman could then do whatever he wanted, including more time with family, or to fish more leisure. Yet all these finer things in life could already be enjoyed by the fisherman if he just devoted some time a day to fish for what he needed. On the contrary, if he wanted until his retirement to be able to play with his children, his children would have grown up by then and would not want his company. Many people lost their focus and the reason for work after a while. This led to us doing things which we have already forgotten why we were doing it in the first place.
The book also linked the pursuit of wealth to the prevalence of advertisements. The advertisement inculcated in our minds desire for material things to fulfil our emotional well-being, especially happiness. Hence, we worked to buy something to cheer ourselves up. After we bought, we became guilty and had to work harder. As we worked harder, we became depressed and wanted to buy more things to pamper ourselves. This itself became a vicious cycle.
The reason why we feared death was connected to the first question. We feared death when we did not know our purpose or when we knew our purpose but were not doing something. While doing things to get fulfilled, we could meet with obstacles. Passion would help fuel our determination and pave the way as passionate people influence others around them to want to help them achieve their goals. In addition, sometimes the solution can also be as easy as adapting to the situations rather than working against it.
After completing the book, I started to reflect on my life. How I was just like the author of the book wanting an escape and not knowing the purpose of my existence. Maybe I should start searching and do more to fulfil this purpose rather than cruise along each day.
- Why are you here?
- Do you fear death?
- Are you fulfilled?
The reason for existence led to the purpose of existence. What do people do when they find out the purpose of their existence? Most people will do all it takes to fulfil this purpose. In order to gain greater mileage from your effort, the analogy of a sea turtle was used. A sea turtle might not seem to exert alot of effort when it swam. Yet, it could swim further and longer by learning how to ride with the waves. If the sea turtle was moving away from the shore, it would paddle very hard when the wave was moving away from the shore. However, it would just float along when the wave was moving towards the shore so that it would not exert too much effort going against the flow.
The story that got me thinking for a long time was the story about a businessman going on a vacation and meeting a fisherman. The businessman was very surprised that the fisherman would only catch enough for his own feed per day. He would not fish more despite the abundant supply of fish and ample time. One day, the businessman approached the fisherman to ask if he could and would catch more fish. The businessman proposed to the fisherman to catch more fish and sell the excess to get money for an early retirement. The fisherman was curious on the purpose of the retirement. To which, the businessman replied that with early retirement, the fisherman could then do whatever he wanted, including more time with family, or to fish more leisure. Yet all these finer things in life could already be enjoyed by the fisherman if he just devoted some time a day to fish for what he needed. On the contrary, if he wanted until his retirement to be able to play with his children, his children would have grown up by then and would not want his company. Many people lost their focus and the reason for work after a while. This led to us doing things which we have already forgotten why we were doing it in the first place.
The book also linked the pursuit of wealth to the prevalence of advertisements. The advertisement inculcated in our minds desire for material things to fulfil our emotional well-being, especially happiness. Hence, we worked to buy something to cheer ourselves up. After we bought, we became guilty and had to work harder. As we worked harder, we became depressed and wanted to buy more things to pamper ourselves. This itself became a vicious cycle.
The reason why we feared death was connected to the first question. We feared death when we did not know our purpose or when we knew our purpose but were not doing something. While doing things to get fulfilled, we could meet with obstacles. Passion would help fuel our determination and pave the way as passionate people influence others around them to want to help them achieve their goals. In addition, sometimes the solution can also be as easy as adapting to the situations rather than working against it.
After completing the book, I started to reflect on my life. How I was just like the author of the book wanting an escape and not knowing the purpose of my existence. Maybe I should start searching and do more to fulfil this purpose rather than cruise along each day.
November 07, 2009
The Zahir
There are many important lessons that I have picked up from The Zahir which I have extracted for remembrance.
The Concept of Favour Bank
Favour Bank is what a senior management told me to be brownies point. It basically worked on the concept that we needed to do favours for each other. When we offered favours to up-and-coming people, we would be making a deposit in the Favour Bank of others. In future, as we needed favours, we could go to these people for help. Of course, the beneficiaries of our favours could at this juncture refused to return a favour. On the other hand, most would be obliged to return the favour. If they refused the favour, word would get around and no one would offer them favours in future.
The Law of Jante
In a small town of Jante, there were ten commandments telling people how they should behave. The commandments promoted that mediocrity and anonymity were the safest choice. When you are a nobody, you have no impact on others and your work deserved to be praised. When you succeed, you defy the Law and you deserved to be punished. Hence, we are often harsher to the successful people than we are to of the average.
True Friends
Contrary to popular belief that our true friends are those who stick by us through our toughest times, the author believed that our true friends are those who are around during happy times to cheer us on. Our false friends will only surround us during sad times wearing their mourning faces when our sufferings are consolation for their miserable lives.
Best Movie
No movie adapted from book can ever be as good as the book because the best adaptation often happens in the mind. When the movie is adapted, we often feel that it is not as good as the book when the movie differs from what we have imagined it should be.
It is also a difficult book to read, not because of difficult concepts to grasp or bombastic words to mull upon. It is difficult because each paragraph is communicating a message and making us think back on our own lives. We need to pause to reflect if we too fall into some of the common fallacies that the husband or the wife was going through.
If you have the time, I would recommend that you pick up this book. It is indeed a fantastic read.
The Concept of Favour Bank
Favour Bank is what a senior management told me to be brownies point. It basically worked on the concept that we needed to do favours for each other. When we offered favours to up-and-coming people, we would be making a deposit in the Favour Bank of others. In future, as we needed favours, we could go to these people for help. Of course, the beneficiaries of our favours could at this juncture refused to return a favour. On the other hand, most would be obliged to return the favour. If they refused the favour, word would get around and no one would offer them favours in future.
The Law of Jante
In a small town of Jante, there were ten commandments telling people how they should behave. The commandments promoted that mediocrity and anonymity were the safest choice. When you are a nobody, you have no impact on others and your work deserved to be praised. When you succeed, you defy the Law and you deserved to be punished. Hence, we are often harsher to the successful people than we are to of the average.
True Friends
Contrary to popular belief that our true friends are those who stick by us through our toughest times, the author believed that our true friends are those who are around during happy times to cheer us on. Our false friends will only surround us during sad times wearing their mourning faces when our sufferings are consolation for their miserable lives.
Best Movie
No movie adapted from book can ever be as good as the book because the best adaptation often happens in the mind. When the movie is adapted, we often feel that it is not as good as the book when the movie differs from what we have imagined it should be.
It is also a difficult book to read, not because of difficult concepts to grasp or bombastic words to mull upon. It is difficult because each paragraph is communicating a message and making us think back on our own lives. We need to pause to reflect if we too fall into some of the common fallacies that the husband or the wife was going through.
If you have the time, I would recommend that you pick up this book. It is indeed a fantastic read.
2 Books by Paulo Coelho
I have read 2 new books by Paulo Coelho recently. Paulo Coelho seemed to be my favourite author of the year. One of the books left me with many question marks on what the author was trying to convey and the other left me many question marks on life.
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept was meant to be a celebration of love - but I was puzzled by the development of the plot and the conclusion. It was one of the hardest book I have read so far. After finishing the book, I was still very baffled by what the author was tyring to emphasise. Was it simply a love story? Or was there some hidden morale that I was blind to?
The Zahir was a book where the plot was simpler to follow with a husband's search for a missing wife. As he progressed in his search, he became more aware of his own dreams, his own weaknesses and how to love. Page after page, through the encounters and character development of this husband, I was also shown to various important life maxims. Strangely, these advices were very fundamental and logical but we often never thought of them at all. Just like many of his other books, The Zahir served as a wake-up call for me to reassess my priorities in life.
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept was meant to be a celebration of love - but I was puzzled by the development of the plot and the conclusion. It was one of the hardest book I have read so far. After finishing the book, I was still very baffled by what the author was tyring to emphasise. Was it simply a love story? Or was there some hidden morale that I was blind to?
The Zahir was a book where the plot was simpler to follow with a husband's search for a missing wife. As he progressed in his search, he became more aware of his own dreams, his own weaknesses and how to love. Page after page, through the encounters and character development of this husband, I was also shown to various important life maxims. Strangely, these advices were very fundamental and logical but we often never thought of them at all. Just like many of his other books, The Zahir served as a wake-up call for me to reassess my priorities in life.
November 02, 2009
Sci Fiction
It has been ages since I read any Science Fiction. Just like other things in my life, my reading interests also adopted various phases - from fantasy, to Science Fiction to Romance. I concentrated on different genre in different phases of my life. Science Fiction used to be one of my loves when I was in Secondary School - Robin Cook was my favourite author then.
Robin Cook taught me alot about medical conditions including the different types of cancer. Robin Cook stories typically included some mystery but involving some diseases or virus. It was not purely Science Fiction like perhaps Star Trek. Yet, it was the closest I have ever been to reading about Science outside the Science School Textbook. Well, Science was clearly not my favourite subject.
When I recently picked up the book Philip K Dick's Minority Report, I was struggling with the concept despite it being a rather short story. I was completely lost in the description of precogs and how data about the future was extracted from them. The Department where the Police Commisioner Anderton worked used the precog to determine if there was any potential murders to happen. These potential murderers would be detained before the murder dates to prevent the murders from happening. Hence, the town was free from murders for many years, until one day the precogs predicted that the next murderer would be Anderton himself.
Anderton refused to believe it was true and suspected it was a ploy to remove him. He started his own investigation. was predicted to kill someone in one week's time. Was it a wrong prediction by the precog which meant that it would draw public outcry to the entire system as it meant that many innocent persons might have been unduly locked up in the past? Was it a correct prediction that Anderton was to kill someone?
I would keep the plot and the ending in suspense here.
After all, where is the fun in reading a Sci Fi than to discover the ending yourself? Moreover, this is a very short story which took place in the span of less than a week.
Btw, this was adapted to a film starring Tom Cruise.
Robin Cook taught me alot about medical conditions including the different types of cancer. Robin Cook stories typically included some mystery but involving some diseases or virus. It was not purely Science Fiction like perhaps Star Trek. Yet, it was the closest I have ever been to reading about Science outside the Science School Textbook. Well, Science was clearly not my favourite subject.
When I recently picked up the book Philip K Dick's Minority Report, I was struggling with the concept despite it being a rather short story. I was completely lost in the description of precogs and how data about the future was extracted from them. The Department where the Police Commisioner Anderton worked used the precog to determine if there was any potential murders to happen. These potential murderers would be detained before the murder dates to prevent the murders from happening. Hence, the town was free from murders for many years, until one day the precogs predicted that the next murderer would be Anderton himself.
Anderton refused to believe it was true and suspected it was a ploy to remove him. He started his own investigation. was predicted to kill someone in one week's time. Was it a wrong prediction by the precog which meant that it would draw public outcry to the entire system as it meant that many innocent persons might have been unduly locked up in the past? Was it a correct prediction that Anderton was to kill someone?
I would keep the plot and the ending in suspense here.
After all, where is the fun in reading a Sci Fi than to discover the ending yourself? Moreover, this is a very short story which took place in the span of less than a week.
Btw, this was adapted to a film starring Tom Cruise.
October 28, 2009
For One More Day
Mitch Albom often conducts his moral lessons through the conversations of his main character with others - be it a mentor who is closed to death in Tuesdays with Morries or somehow you met while you are transiting from life to death in Five People You Met in Heaven. Similarly, For One More Day is the conversations that the main character has with his mother when he decided to commit suicide.
He blamed himself when his mother passed away suddenly as he was playing baseball during that day - to fulfil the dreams of his father who had left them since he was young. He did not have chance to bid farewell to his mother. He started to blame himself and lose himself in alcohol. Soon, his wife and daughter also left him. In desperation, he decided to commit suicide.
After the accident, he travelled back to his old town and met his dead mother. He began to have conversations with his mother and started to come to terms with everything.The extra day that he was given by his mother helped answered alot of the unsolved questions in his mind pertaining to his father's sudden departure, his mother's live from then on and including sides of his mother that he was never aware of.
Rather than waiting for this extra day, we should always seize the day for not everyone was as lucky as the man in For One More Day.
He blamed himself when his mother passed away suddenly as he was playing baseball during that day - to fulfil the dreams of his father who had left them since he was young. He did not have chance to bid farewell to his mother. He started to blame himself and lose himself in alcohol. Soon, his wife and daughter also left him. In desperation, he decided to commit suicide.
After the accident, he travelled back to his old town and met his dead mother. He began to have conversations with his mother and started to come to terms with everything.The extra day that he was given by his mother helped answered alot of the unsolved questions in his mind pertaining to his father's sudden departure, his mother's live from then on and including sides of his mother that he was never aware of.
Rather than waiting for this extra day, we should always seize the day for not everyone was as lucky as the man in For One More Day.
October 27, 2009
Jia
North Korea is closed country which we have heard about but where the rest of the world were curious especially when there were some unpleasant news associated with the country recently.
This book by Hyejin Kim narrated the life story of Jia - a North Korean girl who grew up in the mountains, escaped to the city and later became a talented dancer. However, when North Korean went through famine and more and more people died of hunger, she decided to escape to China. For her, she met a Korean decendant who had since settled in China. He saved her from prostitution and sheltered her from North Korean agents. She was nearly repatriated to North Korea when she was caught while she was roaming around trying to find friends in China.
As to how true this story was, it was difficult to assess. The culture depicted in North Korea was very different from the one that we were more familiar with in a capitalist world. Caste system determined the opportunity and job that a person in Pyongyang would get. It even determined the rations one would get when disaster struck. Marriages were often determined by whether the other party came from a clean and respected background.
People who attempted to leave the country or did not conduct themselves well risked being tortured, brainwashed and sent to the jails in mountains. These 'delinquents' would not just implicate themselves but their families and friends as well. Hence, many times to prevent implication of families and friends, people who were trying to escape would tell no one.
Crossing the borders to China was only the first step. When they reached a foreign land, more people plagued them. They had no money, and could only hide in the forests for fear of being caught and repatriated where a worse fate awaited them. Many women were sold as wives to the Chinese farmers and risked being ill-treated or sold to the bars and prostitution houses. Even then, they continued to live their lives in fear as they had no proper immigration documentation.
This was a poignant tale. Regardless of the level of truth in this book, it was still a good read - something different from the western fictions that we were inundated with.
This book by Hyejin Kim narrated the life story of Jia - a North Korean girl who grew up in the mountains, escaped to the city and later became a talented dancer. However, when North Korean went through famine and more and more people died of hunger, she decided to escape to China. For her, she met a Korean decendant who had since settled in China. He saved her from prostitution and sheltered her from North Korean agents. She was nearly repatriated to North Korea when she was caught while she was roaming around trying to find friends in China.
As to how true this story was, it was difficult to assess. The culture depicted in North Korea was very different from the one that we were more familiar with in a capitalist world. Caste system determined the opportunity and job that a person in Pyongyang would get. It even determined the rations one would get when disaster struck. Marriages were often determined by whether the other party came from a clean and respected background.
People who attempted to leave the country or did not conduct themselves well risked being tortured, brainwashed and sent to the jails in mountains. These 'delinquents' would not just implicate themselves but their families and friends as well. Hence, many times to prevent implication of families and friends, people who were trying to escape would tell no one.
Crossing the borders to China was only the first step. When they reached a foreign land, more people plagued them. They had no money, and could only hide in the forests for fear of being caught and repatriated where a worse fate awaited them. Many women were sold as wives to the Chinese farmers and risked being ill-treated or sold to the bars and prostitution houses. Even then, they continued to live their lives in fear as they had no proper immigration documentation.
This was a poignant tale. Regardless of the level of truth in this book, it was still a good read - something different from the western fictions that we were inundated with.
October 23, 2009
Yakuza Moon
All memoirs seemed to be involved some tragedies relating to the author. Few of them had some happy tales to share. It seemed like they were all reminders of the other readers to cherish what they had. The experiences served as a deterrence to all on the consequences of any wrong decisions.
Yakuza referred to gangster in Japan. Shoko was the daughter of a gangster. Money was not an issue during her childhood but ostracism was due to her father's occupation. Such stigma threw her to rebellion. She quitted school young and played with drugs. She tried speed and got herself addicted. It did not help that the guys that she hang around with were either married or abusive.
When her parents passed away, that was when she decided to turn over a new leaf. She decided to pursue her dream of becoming a writer.
It was yet another coming-of-age book. Her story might prove inspirational to other delinquents who had strayed at one point in time. It was also a good book for learning a little about the Japanese culture. The abusive behaviour of her partners also served as an alarm bell to the women who at one point in time met with violent men but never had the courage to walk away. It was a simple read but it was not as gripping as I initially expected.
Yakuza referred to gangster in Japan. Shoko was the daughter of a gangster. Money was not an issue during her childhood but ostracism was due to her father's occupation. Such stigma threw her to rebellion. She quitted school young and played with drugs. She tried speed and got herself addicted. It did not help that the guys that she hang around with were either married or abusive.
When her parents passed away, that was when she decided to turn over a new leaf. She decided to pursue her dream of becoming a writer.
It was yet another coming-of-age book. Her story might prove inspirational to other delinquents who had strayed at one point in time. It was also a good book for learning a little about the Japanese culture. The abusive behaviour of her partners also served as an alarm bell to the women who at one point in time met with violent men but never had the courage to walk away. It was a simple read but it was not as gripping as I initially expected.
October 21, 2009
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
I had never enjoyed such an entertainment and easy read for a long time. You might have observed from the last few book reviews, many of them were on works of Paulo Coelho or non-fiction such as memoirs. Hence, I had forgotten the thrill of reading a fast-paced, humorous novel.
For those of you who had caught the movie – Twilight would be more familiar about the story than I did. I never watched the movie nor the book until recently. I only knew that it was supposed to be a love story between a human and a vampire. Being classified as a young people’s fiction, I never knew it could be so gripping.
The character building had been vivid as well. Edward, the vampire, was brooding and deep. His swinging moods hid his personal conflict on his friendship with Bella. Bella, the girl who was curious about Edward, was a typical new girl about town. The plot was something that was not day-to-day mundane trivialities. The mystery leading to Edward’s underlying identity and their battle against the tracker were all more fantasy-like and less anticipatory. Hence, you never knew what would happen until you turned the next page.
On the whole, I enjoyed the book so much that I could not stop once I started.
For those of you who had caught the movie – Twilight would be more familiar about the story than I did. I never watched the movie nor the book until recently. I only knew that it was supposed to be a love story between a human and a vampire. Being classified as a young people’s fiction, I never knew it could be so gripping.
The character building had been vivid as well. Edward, the vampire, was brooding and deep. His swinging moods hid his personal conflict on his friendship with Bella. Bella, the girl who was curious about Edward, was a typical new girl about town. The plot was something that was not day-to-day mundane trivialities. The mystery leading to Edward’s underlying identity and their battle against the tracker were all more fantasy-like and less anticipatory. Hence, you never knew what would happen until you turned the next page.
On the whole, I enjoyed the book so much that I could not stop once I started.
October 16, 2009
The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch
If you are a reader of this blog, you would probably have come across Dr Randy Pausch’s “The Last Lecture” in Aug 2008 entry. Then, I have given you a peep into the last few months of his lecturer with strong fighting spirit. Now, I hope to give you a more detailed insight into the life lessons from Dr Randy Pausch.
The main life lessons can be broken down into “Achieving your childhood dreams”, “Adventures and lessons learned”, “Enabling the dreams of others” and “How to live your life”. These sections interwove the life story of Dr Randy Pausch with life lessons that he dished out to his readers. While I loved along with the misadventures of Dr Pausch, he also led us to take a more light-hearted approach to the doldrums in life.
The section that I felt most enlightened was “How to live your life”. Just like many other self-help or personal management books, some of the advices can be rather commonsensical. Yet, we are amazed that we always fail to see the obvious.
Don’t Complain, Just Work Harder
Dr Pausch commented that if we took one-tenth the energy we put into complaining and applied it to solving the problem, we would be surprised by how well things could work out. I am well-aware of the negative vibes generated but complaints seem to be an everyday affair. I am guilty as charged for complaining the inclement weather, the sardine-packed trains, the inconsideration of Singaporeans and many more.
Looking for the Best in Everybody
How often do we feel frustrated with people? Dr Pausch thought that we felt frustrated because we had not given people enough time. Almost everyone had a good side as long as we kept waiting.
The $100,000 Sale and Pepper Shaker
One of the favourite places of Dr Pausch was Disney Land at Orlando. All his dreams and his happy memories were created at Disney Land. Dr Pausch and his sister once broke a salt and pepper shaker newly purchased during his first visit to Disney Land. It was meant to be a gift for his parents to show their gratitude for the Disney Land visit.
The newly bought salt and pepper shaker broke when it slipped out of Dr Pausch’s hands as he stepped out of the store. Disney Land replaced a new one for him. When his parents learned of the gesture, they constantly brought other people to Disney Land as part of their volunteer work. They had all-in-all spent $100,000 in Disney Land just because Disney Land had replaced a $10 salt and pepper shaker.
Make a Decision: Tigger or Eeyore
Do you choose to be a fun-loving Tigger or a sad-sack Eeyore?
Emotional Premiums
Emotional premiums are paid for not with money but with time. Have you paid your emotional premiums?
Sometimes being so entrenched in the nitty-gritty of life, we inadvertently spend time chasing things that no longer matter to us. We forsake the things that matter in this mindless pursuit. We often take a lot of things for granted until we start to lose them. Dr Pausch’s short but fun-loving life should be inspirational. We should really take a step back and start looking around before it is too late.
The main life lessons can be broken down into “Achieving your childhood dreams”, “Adventures and lessons learned”, “Enabling the dreams of others” and “How to live your life”. These sections interwove the life story of Dr Randy Pausch with life lessons that he dished out to his readers. While I loved along with the misadventures of Dr Pausch, he also led us to take a more light-hearted approach to the doldrums in life.
The section that I felt most enlightened was “How to live your life”. Just like many other self-help or personal management books, some of the advices can be rather commonsensical. Yet, we are amazed that we always fail to see the obvious.
Don’t Complain, Just Work Harder
Dr Pausch commented that if we took one-tenth the energy we put into complaining and applied it to solving the problem, we would be surprised by how well things could work out. I am well-aware of the negative vibes generated but complaints seem to be an everyday affair. I am guilty as charged for complaining the inclement weather, the sardine-packed trains, the inconsideration of Singaporeans and many more.
Looking for the Best in Everybody
How often do we feel frustrated with people? Dr Pausch thought that we felt frustrated because we had not given people enough time. Almost everyone had a good side as long as we kept waiting.
The $100,000 Sale and Pepper Shaker
One of the favourite places of Dr Pausch was Disney Land at Orlando. All his dreams and his happy memories were created at Disney Land. Dr Pausch and his sister once broke a salt and pepper shaker newly purchased during his first visit to Disney Land. It was meant to be a gift for his parents to show their gratitude for the Disney Land visit.
The newly bought salt and pepper shaker broke when it slipped out of Dr Pausch’s hands as he stepped out of the store. Disney Land replaced a new one for him. When his parents learned of the gesture, they constantly brought other people to Disney Land as part of their volunteer work. They had all-in-all spent $100,000 in Disney Land just because Disney Land had replaced a $10 salt and pepper shaker.
Make a Decision: Tigger or Eeyore
Do you choose to be a fun-loving Tigger or a sad-sack Eeyore?
Emotional Premiums
Emotional premiums are paid for not with money but with time. Have you paid your emotional premiums?
Sometimes being so entrenched in the nitty-gritty of life, we inadvertently spend time chasing things that no longer matter to us. We forsake the things that matter in this mindless pursuit. We often take a lot of things for granted until we start to lose them. Dr Pausch’s short but fun-loving life should be inspirational. We should really take a step back and start looking around before it is too late.
October 14, 2009
Trump 101 – The Way to Success
Maybe you belong to the camp that Trump is overrated especially after the popular reality TV series of The Apprentice. Maybe you belong to the camp like me who is just intrigued by what goes through the minds of a real estate mongul. What has he done that makes him so successful?
After The Apprentice, Trump has started the Trump University which is a collection of works that share his life and business acumen and practices to others. Again, some of the advice or suggestions are very logical and commonsensical that often sounds easy in theory but difficult in application.
Personally, some of my favourite sections include the section on how to fire a person, how to increase your speed of working. Relative to sectons such as doing something you feel passionately about, the more practical and specfic advice is more relevant.
After The Apprentice, Trump has started the Trump University which is a collection of works that share his life and business acumen and practices to others. Again, some of the advice or suggestions are very logical and commonsensical that often sounds easy in theory but difficult in application.
Personally, some of my favourite sections include the section on how to fire a person, how to increase your speed of working. Relative to sectons such as doing something you feel passionately about, the more practical and specfic advice is more relevant.
October 12, 2009
The Devil and Miss Prym
Another Paulo Coelho's book review. You must be getting sick of Paulo Coelho at this juncture. I hope not. Well, when it comes to reading, I guess sometimes I also have the 'flavour of the month' when it comes to reading 'flavours'. As you may have already guessed it correctly, the 'flavour of the month' is Paulo Coelho's works.
The Devil and My Prym themed around the struggle between angels and devils. Actually, angels and devils exist within all men. Each man can be either an angel or a devil depending on what he or she is going through the moment.
One of the most impressionable stories to illustrate this point included the Da Vinci's painting of The Last Supper. When Da Vinci wanted to find a model for Jesus, he spotted a young artist with an angelic and serene face. The painting took a few years to complete. He painted Judas - the one who betrayed Jesus last. It took Leonardo ages to find the perfect model to exhibit the malicious expression of Judas in that of a beggar. When the beggar took a look at the completed works for Judas was the last to be painted, he exclaimed that he had seen the picture many years ago for he was asked to model for Jesus many years ago. Both Jesus and Judas were the same person but one epitomised the good and the other the evil solely because of the circumstances and experience of the person.
The plot of the story was a simple. A man who met with great tragedy in life. His wife and daughter were kidnapped and killed by arms dealers who wanted to extort the man to help them to get arms because the man held a high position in a weapon company. His wife and daughter were killed by the kidnappers with the weapons made from his company. He decided to prove to himself that all men were fundamentally evil, so he chose a small hunting village of Viscos as the test ground.
The villagers all knew each other very well. Most of them were elderies as the young had left for more opportunities in the city. There was only an orphaned girl - Chantal who worked in the bar. The man struck a deal with Chantal. If she could help him to talk to the villagers so that they conspired to have a villager killed within 3 days, she would get a gold bar. If the villagers killed someone, they would collectively share 10 gold bars. It was a test og greed against morale - a test of good against evil because 'Thou shalt not kill' was one of the ten commandments.
There was inner struggle within Chantal for she longed to have the money to move out of the village to pursue her dreams. There was inner struggle within the man for wanting to carry on with his test. There was inner struggle within the villagers for living wealthily with the guilt of killing someone or poorly with a clear conscience. How would they choose? Which would prevail, angels or devils?
The most important lesson was that everyone had both the good and evil within them. The good and evil struggled each day through all our actions and decisions. There was no difference between a saint and a murderer. The only difference was that the saint could control the evil better and he chose to keep evil in remission.
What is your choice?
The Devil and My Prym themed around the struggle between angels and devils. Actually, angels and devils exist within all men. Each man can be either an angel or a devil depending on what he or she is going through the moment.
One of the most impressionable stories to illustrate this point included the Da Vinci's painting of The Last Supper. When Da Vinci wanted to find a model for Jesus, he spotted a young artist with an angelic and serene face. The painting took a few years to complete. He painted Judas - the one who betrayed Jesus last. It took Leonardo ages to find the perfect model to exhibit the malicious expression of Judas in that of a beggar. When the beggar took a look at the completed works for Judas was the last to be painted, he exclaimed that he had seen the picture many years ago for he was asked to model for Jesus many years ago. Both Jesus and Judas were the same person but one epitomised the good and the other the evil solely because of the circumstances and experience of the person.
The plot of the story was a simple. A man who met with great tragedy in life. His wife and daughter were kidnapped and killed by arms dealers who wanted to extort the man to help them to get arms because the man held a high position in a weapon company. His wife and daughter were killed by the kidnappers with the weapons made from his company. He decided to prove to himself that all men were fundamentally evil, so he chose a small hunting village of Viscos as the test ground.
The villagers all knew each other very well. Most of them were elderies as the young had left for more opportunities in the city. There was only an orphaned girl - Chantal who worked in the bar. The man struck a deal with Chantal. If she could help him to talk to the villagers so that they conspired to have a villager killed within 3 days, she would get a gold bar. If the villagers killed someone, they would collectively share 10 gold bars. It was a test og greed against morale - a test of good against evil because 'Thou shalt not kill' was one of the ten commandments.
There was inner struggle within Chantal for she longed to have the money to move out of the village to pursue her dreams. There was inner struggle within the man for wanting to carry on with his test. There was inner struggle within the villagers for living wealthily with the guilt of killing someone or poorly with a clear conscience. How would they choose? Which would prevail, angels or devils?
The most important lesson was that everyone had both the good and evil within them. The good and evil struggled each day through all our actions and decisions. There was no difference between a saint and a murderer. The only difference was that the saint could control the evil better and he chose to keep evil in remission.
What is your choice?
October 08, 2009
Paulo Coelho's The Fifth Mountain
Reading Paulo Coelho's books required alot of mulling and thinking. If you read his books solely to get a story, I personally feel that you only getting half of the value of the book. The other half lies in getting some enlightenment over life and philosophy. Some of these morales are not straight in your face, but rather hidden behind the lines. Hence, a thin book can take twice the time to complete. This is also the most enjoyable part of the book.
I like picking out the more meaningful statements that he has included in some paras. These quotes often spring out from the most unexpected twist in the story. Here are some of the quotes that I most relate to from The Fifth Mountain.
Fear exists until the unavoidable happens.
Every human being at some time had some tragedy enter his life. At that moment, God challenged one to confront Him. There would be man who resign himself or man who sought a meaning to existence, feeling that God had been unjust, would challenge his own destiny.
Cowards desire the changed situation to quickly return to what it was before, so that can go on living their own lives and thinking in their customary way. The brave, however, set afire that which was old and, and even at the cost of great internal suffering, abandon everything, including God, and continue onward.
Tragedy offers us a chance to rebuild our lives.
A child can always teach an adult 3 things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all might which he desires.
I like picking out the more meaningful statements that he has included in some paras. These quotes often spring out from the most unexpected twist in the story. Here are some of the quotes that I most relate to from The Fifth Mountain.
Fear exists until the unavoidable happens.
Every human being at some time had some tragedy enter his life. At that moment, God challenged one to confront Him. There would be man who resign himself or man who sought a meaning to existence, feeling that God had been unjust, would challenge his own destiny.
Cowards desire the changed situation to quickly return to what it was before, so that can go on living their own lives and thinking in their customary way. The brave, however, set afire that which was old and, and even at the cost of great internal suffering, abandon everything, including God, and continue onward.
Tragedy offers us a chance to rebuild our lives.
A child can always teach an adult 3 things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all might which he desires.
October 05, 2009
The Painted Veil
If you have chanced upon some of the entries pertaining to book reviews, you might have guessed that I was more of a contemporary fiction kind of reader than a fan of classical novels. Yes, I have read some of the works of Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare of Jane Austen when I was younger. Sad to say, I cannot recall much of these works. Neither will I feel compelled to revisit their works.
Among the classics, I so far have not read anything from W Somerset Maugham. The name rang a certain bell but I could not recall where I have seen this name. I mistook Somerset Maugham to be a Nobel Prize winner, but Google results confirmed this misimpression.(http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/)
The Painted Veil was quite surprisingly an easy read as the works of a classic writer. The protagonist - Kitty was a simple minded girl who loved parties and dances. She lived in an age where the success of a lady was determined by the husband she was betrothed to. Being the prettier sister, she was pressured to marry the next person who came along when her uglier but younger sister found her suitor. Needless to say, a loveless marriage soon bored the fun-loving Kitty to tears and subject her to other temptations - extra-marrital affair with another married man.
When her bacteriologist husband discovered her affair, the tamed and boring Walter issued an ultimatum. If Kitty could get her lover to marry her immediately, Walter would divorce her. If not, Kitty had to follow Walter to the cholera-plagued China city of Man-fu-tan. Walter, being a better judge of characters than the air-headed Kitty, was very certain that the lover was a self-centred callous man. The lover would never marry Kitty and jeopardise his current family, status and career.
Kitty was certain that Walter was so infuriated by her affair that he set to kill her by bringing her to a death zone when she could not get her lover to marry her or to convince Walter for a change of mind. What started off as a misadventure soon became an opportunity to be reacquainted with her husband as well as her own character building. She was startled to discover Walter's intelligence and compassion towards the sick and destitute. At the same time, she was surprised of her ability to contribute at the home for the orphans and sick.
At this point, if you are expecting a happily-ever-after, maybe a more contemporary fiction will be more of your cup of tea.
Walter soon died of cholera which attacked his low immunity due to overwork. His death was not as accidental as it seemed. Apparently, he had injected himself with the virus. Was it for his own research purpose that he experimented on himself? Or was it a self-destruction with his unreciprocated love? Or did he view his death as a way of freeing Kitty? No one knew.
Kitty was indeed free from her love-less marriage and from a husband whom she never quite got along with. Instead of flocking to her exlover's arms, she decided to leave Hong Kong and went back England to accompany her father.
It was a simple story. The language was not as archaic as other classical writers. If you wish to cultivate your reading pleasure in classical works, The Painted Veil may be a good starting point. Perhaps I have oversimplified the whole story moral and theme? Being one of the worst literature students ever (I have once only gotten one mark for my Literature test where the one mark was simply sympathy for my pathetic effort), I tend to read things rather literally, at face value. If you gain a different understanding, please share. This is the beauty of reading. Unlike television, you are not just shown in the face of everything that is there with no room for different imagination and interpretation.
Among the classics, I so far have not read anything from W Somerset Maugham. The name rang a certain bell but I could not recall where I have seen this name. I mistook Somerset Maugham to be a Nobel Prize winner, but Google results confirmed this misimpression.(http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/)
The Painted Veil was quite surprisingly an easy read as the works of a classic writer. The protagonist - Kitty was a simple minded girl who loved parties and dances. She lived in an age where the success of a lady was determined by the husband she was betrothed to. Being the prettier sister, she was pressured to marry the next person who came along when her uglier but younger sister found her suitor. Needless to say, a loveless marriage soon bored the fun-loving Kitty to tears and subject her to other temptations - extra-marrital affair with another married man.
When her bacteriologist husband discovered her affair, the tamed and boring Walter issued an ultimatum. If Kitty could get her lover to marry her immediately, Walter would divorce her. If not, Kitty had to follow Walter to the cholera-plagued China city of Man-fu-tan. Walter, being a better judge of characters than the air-headed Kitty, was very certain that the lover was a self-centred callous man. The lover would never marry Kitty and jeopardise his current family, status and career.
Kitty was certain that Walter was so infuriated by her affair that he set to kill her by bringing her to a death zone when she could not get her lover to marry her or to convince Walter for a change of mind. What started off as a misadventure soon became an opportunity to be reacquainted with her husband as well as her own character building. She was startled to discover Walter's intelligence and compassion towards the sick and destitute. At the same time, she was surprised of her ability to contribute at the home for the orphans and sick.
At this point, if you are expecting a happily-ever-after, maybe a more contemporary fiction will be more of your cup of tea.
Walter soon died of cholera which attacked his low immunity due to overwork. His death was not as accidental as it seemed. Apparently, he had injected himself with the virus. Was it for his own research purpose that he experimented on himself? Or was it a self-destruction with his unreciprocated love? Or did he view his death as a way of freeing Kitty? No one knew.
Kitty was indeed free from her love-less marriage and from a husband whom she never quite got along with. Instead of flocking to her exlover's arms, she decided to leave Hong Kong and went back England to accompany her father.
It was a simple story. The language was not as archaic as other classical writers. If you wish to cultivate your reading pleasure in classical works, The Painted Veil may be a good starting point. Perhaps I have oversimplified the whole story moral and theme? Being one of the worst literature students ever (I have once only gotten one mark for my Literature test where the one mark was simply sympathy for my pathetic effort), I tend to read things rather literally, at face value. If you gain a different understanding, please share. This is the beauty of reading. Unlike television, you are not just shown in the face of everything that is there with no room for different imagination and interpretation.
October 02, 2009
Once I was a Princess
I am not certain the accuracy of this heart-wrenching memoir by Jacqueline Pascarl. The story narrated her less-than-childhood to her abusive marriage. Unlike other novels where we expected happily-ever-after-ending, all was not well for Jacqueline. Her beloved children were kidnapped by her ex-husband and removed from her.
Jacqueline, an Australian, was married to a prince of Trengannu, Malaysia - Bahrin. This started her nightmare. Not only was Bahrin not supportive and patient with her assimilation into a foreign culture and land, he also physically and emotionally abused her. Fortunately, her friendships with some of the ladies of the royal family helped provided friendships.
When she continually been belittled and assaulted, she decided not to return to Malaysia with her kids during her visit of her grandma in Australia. Despite a fierce legal battle to secure custody of her children, she lived in constant fear that Bahrin would take revenge. Her fears were not unfounded. Bahrin took 7 years to plan the kidnap of his children.
Faced with her exhusband's social influence and status in Malaysia and Australian Government's diplomatic concerns, she was hapless in the fight to gain back her children. Till today, she still had not access to her children at all.
The memoir vividly depicted Jacqueline's dysfunctional family during her childhood, her happiness during Bahrin's courtship and her nightmare during her marriage to Bahrin. I was not certain of the degree of accuracy and truthfulness. However, it highlighted a woman's worst nightmare of an abusive husband. many had suffered in silence for many years. The same occurred for Jacqueline. She had time and again forgave her husband. It was only when she thought of her young children, that was when her maternal instinct took charge and she decided to take more drastic measures to protect them and herself.
Jacqueline, an Australian, was married to a prince of Trengannu, Malaysia - Bahrin. This started her nightmare. Not only was Bahrin not supportive and patient with her assimilation into a foreign culture and land, he also physically and emotionally abused her. Fortunately, her friendships with some of the ladies of the royal family helped provided friendships.
When she continually been belittled and assaulted, she decided not to return to Malaysia with her kids during her visit of her grandma in Australia. Despite a fierce legal battle to secure custody of her children, she lived in constant fear that Bahrin would take revenge. Her fears were not unfounded. Bahrin took 7 years to plan the kidnap of his children.
Faced with her exhusband's social influence and status in Malaysia and Australian Government's diplomatic concerns, she was hapless in the fight to gain back her children. Till today, she still had not access to her children at all.
The memoir vividly depicted Jacqueline's dysfunctional family during her childhood, her happiness during Bahrin's courtship and her nightmare during her marriage to Bahrin. I was not certain of the degree of accuracy and truthfulness. However, it highlighted a woman's worst nightmare of an abusive husband. many had suffered in silence for many years. The same occurred for Jacqueline. She had time and again forgave her husband. It was only when she thought of her young children, that was when her maternal instinct took charge and she decided to take more drastic measures to protect them and herself.
September 30, 2009
Mr Maybe
I like the writing of Jane Green. She often gives very vivid description of the characters in her novels. Her works may not involve plots that are out of the ordinary. Neither does her writing involve alot of mulling and pondering. The characters lead ordinary lives and are troubled by trivial and mundane matters just like you and I. Maybe this is the reason for the stories being especially endearing. It sometimes creates a mild ache in your heart or brings a faint smile to your face. All because we see a hint of ourselves in these characters.
Mr Maybe is about a young girl who was caught in the perennial dilemma of being with someone who was suitable for her or someone who she could connect better.
Mr A was a young successful banker who was voted as one of the most eligible bachelor. He was eccentric and was boring. However, he had a steady job, could afford to pamper the girl and even had a house ready for marriage. He pampered her greatly.
On the other hand, Mr B connected very well with the girl. He was the girl's best friend. However, he did not have a steady job. When they went on dates, the girl had to be paying for their expenses. He was unkempt and mixed around with a bunch of arty farty. Just like most girls who were good chameleons and could morph into the dream girl of any guy. She dressed down when she was with Mr B and became a socialite when she was with Mr A.
Bread and love? Which one did you go for?
Well, I shan't spoil the fun of finding out the ending for you. If you were her, which were you choose? Is your heart so malleable that you can ignore its pleas and opt for bread? Can love retain its power in the face of hunger? The balance between bread and love is different for each person. You need to make your own decision.
Mr Maybe is about a young girl who was caught in the perennial dilemma of being with someone who was suitable for her or someone who she could connect better.
Mr A was a young successful banker who was voted as one of the most eligible bachelor. He was eccentric and was boring. However, he had a steady job, could afford to pamper the girl and even had a house ready for marriage. He pampered her greatly.
On the other hand, Mr B connected very well with the girl. He was the girl's best friend. However, he did not have a steady job. When they went on dates, the girl had to be paying for their expenses. He was unkempt and mixed around with a bunch of arty farty. Just like most girls who were good chameleons and could morph into the dream girl of any guy. She dressed down when she was with Mr B and became a socialite when she was with Mr A.
Bread and love? Which one did you go for?
Well, I shan't spoil the fun of finding out the ending for you. If you were her, which were you choose? Is your heart so malleable that you can ignore its pleas and opt for bread? Can love retain its power in the face of hunger? The balance between bread and love is different for each person. You need to make your own decision.
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