book reviews (2)

i read another novel, by judith mcnaught:

it's a slightly cliche-in-a-way sort of book, in the sense that the protagonists had a very typical protagonist kind of history. but it was a really really good read.

*spoiler alert*

but then again, it's cliche enough that you'd have a vague idea of the ending. (perfect, duh.) so go ahead and read on.

julie was a child delinquent turned perfect role model school teacher. as a kid, she was passed around different foster parents as she was too much to handle, but eventually succumbed to the love of a goody-two-shoes family who loved and trusted her so much, and she vowed to only do good, and good was all she was ever since. elementary school teacher, volunteer teacher to improve female literacy etc...

... whereas zachary was thrown out of his rich family for apparently being a criminal, but worked his way to fame and fortune, being a top-notch hollywood director. was an award-winning actor as well.

the descriptions of the two characters are so, uber, unreal, although actually possible. but, i mean, the chance that such a twisted plot could play out involving the two stereotyped characters is so rare, right. but, well, what's a story without characters with defined personalities and backgrounds. romance + action + melodrama + some comedy is always sweet.

the fun part about the book is the non-stop action between zachary and julie. how their hostility toward each other melted down into friendship and then hot passionate love. all through their intelligence (i like their quick-witted exchanges and actions). urm, yea. visual descriptions of the actions going on are always nice.

on a (not much) more analytical note, i guess the book touches upon the emotional torrent a kidnapped person would feel, and how s\he would actually feel attached to his/her kidnapper after a while (if the kidnapper has been adequately nice). i guess it's because the kidnapper might have shown some humane, vulnerable emotional side at a point in time (as in the case of zachary), and that s\he should have kept the kidnapped quite safe, in terms of (a warped sense of) security and hunger management.

but s\he kidnapped, after all! it's a crime, and would you surrender your kidnapper to the police, after s\he has taken care of you.

in a way, i think a good kidnapper is like a poisonous good friend, or good poisonous friend. the kind who has captivated you with his/her effervescent charm, but coerces you to do things you don't really want to do, or things that aren't very good.

oh, i forget. another theme, which is even more overriding than the kidnapping theme, is about trust. unwavering trust is the foremost, er, thing (?) you need in any relationship, friendship, kinship, romantic relationship etc. it's expressed by julie's final foster family, the mathisons, who loved and trusted their daughter so much, a simple affirmation by their daughter is all they need to hear to unconditionally believe (in) her.

trust in friendship, as expressed by zachary's best friend matthew farrell. farrell was absolutely sure zachary hadn't committed the crimes he was accused of, and went all out to help matthew escape and eventually be vindicated.

trust in relationship, as expressed by julie and zachary.

the lack thereof, as expressed by zachary's grandmother, who threw zachary out of the house for ever. hence, the deep hatred zachary felt.

i think, i dunno, at least in the asian context, trust within the family is rather hard to come by? at least in the traditional family, the parents will definitely believe whatever the teacher says (especially the bad?) about their child. i think/i heard the trend has changed to that of, the parents thinking they know better how to deal with their child than the teacher, and trust the child too much, to the extent the child feels empowered to go against the teacher, as his/her parents are sure to side with the child??

i guess, after comparisons with real-life situations, i've (only just) started to think about the cliche but ever relevant issues about trust. how many times have friendships failed because of a breach of trust. or, how much trust should you place in a person? the history and circumstances faced by the characters in the book makes it seem martyr-ish for anyone to trust them.

(maybe for too long i've made myself numb to emotions. ever since february-march this year. but it's a good thing overall for me, i'm not emo-ing during the school term. and i've finally learnt to relish free time without guilt.)

it's a really good thing i've learnt to make less fuss out of other people's shortcomings (generally). i get much less upset when people don't reply to sms-es, or forget to return things etc. you know, all the petty things.

***

on another note, i just read my previous posts. in the end, i didn't buy the green-black-white rj-esque windbreaker/jacket/whatever it is. it didn't feel like 'me' when i wore it. i felt as if i was trying to appear sporty and jock-ish (no relation to rjc or sportsmen) but was so obviously not. moreover, the insides are netting (the coarse kind, found in beachwear which you must wear underwear with else you'll feel uncomfortable).

in the end, i bought this maroon-coloured velvet sweater (very warm and fuzzy feeling on the inside!), which brings my total jacket/sweater collection to 5 (of which 2 are school sweaters, 1 is a -gasp- dad's hand-me-down and 1 is a uniqlo 'parka' which is NOTHING like a real, traditional parka.) as my friend encouraged/persuaded/reasoned for me, it's easy to match maroon, too!

BUT!!! i still have a lingering desire for the green-black-white. strange me. my friend who was with me that day immediately identified it, without prompts, as the 'rj sweater' lol. yea, maybe it is because of that. i don't know?

***

i'll aim to finish my last 2 book reviews before 2010. oh, i'm reading fountainhead by ayn rand right now. so far the beginning one-sixth or maybe one-eighth of the book has been a slight drawl, although intriguing. but, it's such a famous and successful book, i guess i'm scraping the surface of the novel and not digging deep enough to appreciate it.

i may be wrong, but howard roark's design style is based on objectivism, am i right?

hopefully i can finish reading the book before school starts.

OH. and i just splurged $60+ on books just now! on a book about product design, with a 50% discount. also, the tipping point, tuesdays with morrie and a detective novel (sorry for the apparent but not intentional diss) which i randomly selected because i would get one book free for every two bought.

i'm a spendthrift when it comes to books, but i'll reflect on that on this blog another time. need to sleep.

book reviews (1)

i'm so proud of myself!

in the short span of three-plus weeks, i've read three books :D

which is quite amazing for someone who had an irrational fear of books. that he'll get bored by page 5 but can't put down the book since he had started.

ok, i think it'll be a personal review of the books. i'm a bad lit student so i don't quite understand why the author wrote things in a certain way, i mean of course i know it's for a purpose, but the exact purpose and meaning i don't know.

anyway. book #1:



kafka on the shore by murakami. i'd rate it R(A), quite sexual at parts.

after some google-ing and wiki-ing, i found that the real-life kafka was a czech writer, who's quite famous for page-long sentences in german (grammatically possible) whose meanings are most impactful at the end. also has a surrealist slant to his writings, which is kind of what is discussed in kafka on the shore.

simply, the protagonist, kafka, is a very horny and athletic 15-year-old jap whose dad prophesied he would murder his own father, and then commit incest with his mom and sis (WHAT THE...)

kafka can't stand living with his dad, so one day he left home for ever. and a series of weird, surreal events occur. like, finding the clothes he's wearing soaked with blood all of a sudden, and meeting people in dreams etc.

on the other hand, nakata is a really dim old man but who could talk with cats, so he's a freelance cat finder. his job led him to kafka's dad, who turns out to be *censored spoiler*

blah blah blah, in the end, kafka had to go deep 'within the forest', in all meanings of the phrase, to overcome the prophecy and his mind.

*spoiler* in the end, the prophecy was kind of half-achieved. but to kafka, it was fully achieved, as many of the events only occurred in his imagination and dreams.

and from reviews i've read online, kafka on the shore is like a modern greek tragedy. the part about the prophecy being played out with the characters helpless to react or to change things.

hm, interesting.

but my personal take, urm. i really quite like the characters in the book, you could imagine them easily in an anime. i like kafka's qualities of being really independent and courageous. or maybe that's irrationality in disguise - no, he's really intelligent and takes calculated steps. plus, he's pretty fit too. sounds like an idealised teenager.

but, about the story line. i couldn't make heads or tails about some parts, especially towards the end where spirits meet and all the little lessons kafka learns on the way. it's like, "huh? isn't the whole point as simple as trying to purify the mind or something like that?" evidently, my mind is simple.

the book plays out, in some ways, like miyazaki's spirited away (is this connection too far-fetched?) the protagonists mature along the way, have to face hardships mostly by themselves, and steps back into the real world (in some ways) and continues to live life as normal.

maybe, from the logical/moral/ethical point of view, the book has raised a contentious point: that mere thoughts are as severe as committed actions.

*spoiler* his mere dream (naughty!) of sex with an older acquaintance which he regarded as his sister is deemed to be as serious as the real act.

oh, but, before that he had experienced real events that actually occurred within the mind, so i guess his dream could have been true. (thankfully it had not?)

are crimes committed in dreams really that serious?

if you, say, clubbed a guy in your dream, would you feel remorse after you woke up from the dream?

before i wrote the line above i hand wanted to say, yes, the thought is bad enough. but if you think, do you feel the same about petty crimes?

i guess it's a personal crime, to harbour evil thoughts. but at least no real harm's done, i guess?

***

ok, gotta go sleep. results appearing in 6 freaking hours time!

the opening is magical! but i think the bridge is quite over the top.

the guitar and the honest quality of the voice are so beautiful.

i like the way the tracks layer over each other to have the stereo effect.

and how the quality of the guitar lends itself so well to the overall sound.

HAPPY

the hard work is worth it!

i can finally say, i've not wasted my holidays at all!

this is probably the BEST school holiday i ever had so far.

awesomeness :D:D:D:D:D

a lot of small worries make a sad fellow! besieged from everywhere!

maybe i've committed myself to too many things?

generally am happy. but (relatively) small things niggle at my mind.

sigh...

gripe gripe.

quite sad :(:(

the $20 green, black and white (hurhur) jacket i eyed at uniqlo yesterday is GONE today!

i had felt bad about splurging $40 on uniqlo yesterday, and an additional $20 on ice skating with studio mates and $18 on the latest budak pantai (a cappella) cd, which i find so-so on initial hearing and very slapstick *ugh*. maybe my impression will change on second hearing.

and now, there's only 3 XL hanging in the ion orchard branch (313@somerset is TOO CROWDED to even try. if you must go there, try camping outside the stall before it opens, i guess.)

from yesterday till today, my mind's still lingering over the pretty colours of the jacket (is it patriotism? but it really is the nicest combination for that jacket.)

***

oh, ion orchard is damn nice from L1 upwards. the ceiling at L4 is AWESOME and the ride on the escalators upwards is just heaven. i like how the ceiling feels so low on the top floor. makes you feel like you're at the top of the world.

orchard central is an explosion of haptic experiences (haha). i like its layout more than the basement levels of ion, but i should add i'm already used to ion after 3-4 walkabouts.

orchard central: very atypical collage of circulation patterns (pardon my inappropriate vocabulary, if it's wrong). outdoor experience (open air balcony, rooftop garden) quite refreshing - to take in the view of the city, albeit not in the most flattering angles due to the not-so-prime prime location at somerset.

i realise the number of shops per level is really low. probably because the site isn't the best. too thin a strip to work out something wider and spacious. the shops are really oddball, kinda. i think it's actually important to carry some heavyweight retailers in order to draw in the crowds. and then, there's the problem of marketing the shopping mall. who's the target audience!? it seems that orchard central is trying to be everything upscale. but, cannot la.

a pity not many people walk about the spaces, because it is quite a good experience.

313@somerset: simple effective layout. some variation with the mezzanine level, i guess. but the draw is really the shops. much better than orchard central in terms of shopping...

***

in other news, i have decided to hothouse myself, doing...

SONG WRITING.

there's lots of money and royalties to be won. and maybe a contract (lol). but i'm a TOTAL noob at this. i have written only FOUR songs, all for MEP.

probably won't get anything, but i'll just take this as a good experience.

and i hear what's been submitted, and they really kinda suck. not that i could do much better, but i think i'll try.

>:)

only problem: they require (what the hell. we just write songs, what) shortlisted entries to be performed LIVE.

and i might, in the slightest possible chance, have to source for instrumentalists and singers.

and because i know nuts about mixing and all, how to add synth and other computer sounds in a live performance???

and, i don't have a professional keyboard. (geez.)

...

so many conditions, sigh.

OH. if anyone would like to have a hand in song writing, i'm more than happy to rope you in!

(the contests deadlines are two weeks from now. so hurry!!)

chilling

i was in a jam-packed bus on the way home today at about 8pm. it was darker than normal because there were lots of rain clouds hovering. and then, i saw this simply designed poster using [lousy] A4 80gsm cartridge paper (LOL. archi student tsk.) pasted hastily onto the back of the bus door, with three long pieces of masking tape:

***

WANTED

Preferably alive

...

Do NOT make unnecessary contact with him.

***

prior to that i was reading kafka on the shore, and i had just read the part where nakata encountered the sinister cat-catcher, and kafka was alone in the woods.

IMAGINE HOW SPINE-CHILLING IS THAT TO READ THE NOTICE!?

i must be taking singapore's safe environment for granted.

and i was so scaredy cat, that i was jumpy on my way home after i alighted. every person around me could be dangerous, even more so if they walk past me. parked cars which were turning out of the lot could run me over.

... that he may be brought to the police station preferably alive, it means...

shudder!

thankfully firearms are not legalised in singapore, and the asian mentality is oppressive enough to prevent people from committing public massacres.

ok, time to watch jeanette aw :) new drama serial, again another supposed blockbuster of the year. obviously trying to fulfill its real purpose but i'm not sure it'll work out. we'll see how la.

WOOOO END OF EXAMS!!!