The Last Concubine

It is not without reluctance that I tagged this post under my reads. I am barely halfway through it, and have completely lost the will the proceed. I might some day - some very distant day - finish reading it, but I don't want to wait that long to write about it.

I can't remember what of this book that caught my fancy. Perhaps it was the cover art (yes, I still make the mistake of judging a book by its cover, every now and then...), or the promise of the teaser-synopsis on the back. The only things I remember about it are the two or three times I started it, and then gave up before the first chapter was over. Trust me, Reader, when I say "dropping out" of a book isn't at all like me! I mean, I finished all four books in the Twilight series! Sure, I practically had to force my eyes on the pages by the time I got to the third one, but nevertheless, completed all four. That's how obstinate I can be. (Note: I will always regret having read them though...)

The Last Concubine is tiresome in its lengthy, yet uninteresting description of everything. Its pace is exceedingly slow, a painful drag. Certain parts in the story (up to less than half the book, where I'm currently paused...) are outright laughable. Should I extend my apologies to the author for what I've just written?

Sorry, Lesley Downer, I simply don't enjoy reading your book.

Reader, if you trust my opinion on reading material, don't bother getting this. If you have, by chance, already read this title and enjoyed it, I'd really like to hear from you! Leave a comment, or write me.

The Accidental Proposal

This is quite the worst I've read, in as long as I remember. Yes, worse than the worst of the Twilight books, which I consider one of my most regretted impulse purchase.

Taken from the back cover of the book:

Ed Middleton's just got engaged. At least, he thinks he has.

The thing is, it was his girlfriend Sam who did the proposing, and the more he thinks about it, the less he's sure that she was actually asking him to marry her. She could have just been asking the question, you know...hypothetically.

As the wedding day approaches, Ed becomes more and more uneasy. Sam keeps disappearing off for furtive meetings and private phone calls, and when he spies her going into a pub with a man he's never seen before, all his old jealousies and insecurities threaten to re-surface. It's the perfect time for Ed's unhinged ex, Jane, to show up on his doorstep.

Meanwhile, best-friend and soon-to-be best man Dan is determined to make Ed's stag night go with a bang. And when a severely hung-over Ed wakes up the morning after to see a second dent in the pillow, it seems as if that's exactly what happened.

Will Ed manage to find out the truth about his stag night as well as the identity of Sam's secret man? Or will an accidental proposal lead them both down the aisle to a wedding neither of them ever imagined?

Guess what... that's the entire story! Not pretty much the entire plot, but the actual entire plot, minus the conclusion, which by the way, became quite clear way too early. And the answer is yes. Both "Will Ed bla bla bla...?" and "Or will an accidental proposal bla bla bla...?" - yes. I hope by spoiling it for you I'm saving you the hours you might spend reading Ed's endlessly obsessing about Sam's mystery man, his ex, and his mystery dent-in-the-pillow. That's four hundred pages of the obsessive thoughts in Ed's head, followed by a repetition of those thoughts in form of conversations with Dan, repeated in an outer loop until the end.

Basically, this is a book of no substance. There isn't much of a storyline. There is no notable character development. In fact, there are no notable characters in addition to the few already mentioned in the back cover write-up. These (I think there were only two or three) were so trivial and inconsequential that honestly, only after a couple of weeks since finishing the book, I can't even recall their names, or how they relate to the "main" characters anymore. As if all these aren't enough, a part of the repetitive text is the super annoying reminder (by Ed, as the narrator) of how intellectually-challenged his best-friend is, and how his ex cheated on him. Continuously. On loop. 

So, in contrary to the Sophie Kinsella quote printed on the front cover, Matt Dunn's writing makes you want to roll your eyes inside out. The only reason I read it to the last page is I'm out of my mind. I finished an awful book, rolled my eyeballs till the extraocular muscles hurt, just so I can write a negative review of it. I'm so out of my mind.

Relativity

Of the entire one and a half years I spent being a college student, there are only two (not listed as texts / references) books I studied which I still remember, now, years later.

The first was Abnormal Psychology. I had to write a term paper for my Psychology class and my topic was Obesity. I don't remember how I ended up looking into that title - obesity is abnormal? abnormal conditions that cause obesity? - but I borrowed it. I remember reading, with unparalleled fascination, case studies of patients with brain damage from either illness or injury, with their behaviour and/or speech and/or specific abilities greatly altered according to the location and extent of the damage. I distinctly remember the case of a man that, due to some sort of accident, had his trachea permanently fused, such that he was unable to even swallow his saliva. Doctors connected a feeding tube directly to his stomach, through his abdomen. The psychologists observed that the man chewed food before spitting them down his tube. He even "drank" beer by taking the liquid in his mouth, therefore, tasting it, before spitting it into the tube. This afforded them a study of the significance of satiation. So. Interesting.

Since I'm already digressing so much, let me share one other thing I remember from the term paper I wrote. *Ahem* A group of researchers designed an experiment where they had two groups of randomly selected volunteers. These volunteers were told that they were to taste a new snack product (potato or some other kind of chips) and to provide feedback on how well, tasty it is. Each subject was be provided a bowl of chips. Those in the control group were not told anything futher whereas those in the test group were given a limit of how many chips they were allowed to eat. In other words, they had a constraint. The researchers then quietly observed and noted the amount the subjects ate. In the second half of experiment, the whole setup was repeated with the test group subjects being told they can eat as many as they like - no more constraint. The control group subjects were not given any instructions as previously. With a constraint imposed, predictably, the test group subjects ate much less compared to the control group. However, when the constraint was lifted, they ate significantly more than the control group, which showed no increase or decrease in amount of chips consumed between the first and second half of the experiment. The researchers (or some others, I forgot...) also observed that subjects tend to eat more when they are alone, than when in company of others (maybe because we all grew up with judgemental friends?). So, in conclusion, if you are trying to lose weight, don't try to stop yourself from eating (you'll risk overeating the moment you stopped stopping yourself) and always eat with a condescending person who loves to judge and criticize. Kidding =P

Now, the second one (yea, I was talking about books I read in college that left lasting impression on me) was a Physics title. I don't remember what I was doing, reading a Physics book that was out of my league at the time. I guess I didn't have a life. I studied the entire chapter on Einstein's Special Relativity, math and all. Yes... I actually studied all the mathematics. Unfortunately, I'm not genius enough to remember any of it *sad* One of the concepts - that time slows down for one travelling at speeds approaching the speed of light - remained in my memory though. It was perhaps also around that time that I was first exposed to the idea of time being one of the dimensions we live in. For example, if one gives 3-d coordinates of a place one is to meet a friend, the two will most likely not meet, unless one specifies the time of meeting as well. There are at least 4 dimensions.

I had for some time intended to revisit the theories of relativity, but as always, I had other things to do (I'm full of excuses, aren't I?). Recently, I came across this title:

It's all about the theories of relativity without the math! Well, there are simple equations that anyone can handle, but not any of those that only mathematicians and physicists can stomach. (You know, Reader, when I was very young, I planned to either become a physicist or marry one... both didn't happen *consciously stops veering off-topic*) Russell Stannard unfolds the concepts clearly, a step at a time, with easy-to-understand examples, diagrams and analogies.

The first part of the book deals with Special Relativity. The time slowing down at speeds close to that of light phenomenon that I mentioned earlier is termed time dilation. Seems pretty simple, but the part that might be called non-intuitive about it is that one experiencing time dilation will not notice that anything is out of the ordinary (neural impulses, like everything else, are slowed accordingly), because time is not of its own, but a part of spacetime, the four-dimensional reality we live in. Like this: In some Chinese folklore involving deities, a day in the heavens equals ten years on earth - so if a mortal visits heaven and spends a day there, when he returns home, he would find that ten years had passed. That's how in some stories, a maiden-deity who "runs away" to earth to experience life as a mortal can marry a mortal and live happily for ten years before the heavenly guards come to "catch" her. They would've only realise she's gone when she didn't return at the end of the day (in heaven)! But I've digressed... again. Apart from the effect on time, there is length contraction as well. Prof Stannard also discusses the Twin Paradox, Simultaneity (whether two events happened simultaneously or not depends on who is looking), and the (arguably) most famous equation of all time,  E=mc². Subsequently, the reader will be introduced to General Relativity, which is, as the name clearly states, the theory of relativity for general cases, taking gravity into account. The reader must be prepared to understand (seemingly unorthodox) concepts such as light is bent when passing through a gravitational field, and space is not nothing and it can assume contours - like being curved one way or the other. The book concludes by showing the reader how everything comes together to provide scientists the understanding of much of the universe that they currently know (about 5% of it only!).

Honestly, this is a book I feel everyone should read. It's beautifully written, with adequate simplification of the complex, but not so much as to compromise the knowledge presented. Happy reading =)

My Book

I spent the last ten minutes attempting to come up with grandest, wittiest, most befitting title ever, for this post. I failed. Sorry...

Once, for a fund-raiser (my school never quite had enough funds, so we were always trying to raise more), a selection of old books from my school's library were put on sale. I am, oddly, very fond of old books. I like the worn-out cover, the age-stained and half-eaten pages, the musty smell - even though the dust irritates my nose and the occasional silverfish always makes me jump. I picked up a few such from that sale...

Five Birds In A Nest is one of them -

I read it so long ago I hardly remember what exactly it is about... something of the simple, daily adventures of five siblings. It wasn't a particularly memorable read.

While reorganizing my bookcases earlier, I held it in my hand and marveled at just how really very old it looked and felt. The oldest books I own are mostly those "inherited" from my father, dating back to the 1950s. I wondered if this was older than everything else and I wondered when it was published. The date and location of printing, along with the name of the publishing house are usually on the first page after the cover.

A shock ("surprise" will be understating it) awaited me -

There is no publication nor reprints dates. However, there is this copyright statement -

In the absence of subsequent "this edition" or "reprinted" year, I believe I am allowed to assume that 1914 is the year this book was printed.

My book is 99 years old. I own a 99-year-old book!!!

The Bonesetter's Daughter

This, much like many of the other posts, is long over due.

There is something about unraveling a mysterious past, discovering the origin of seemingly inexplicable habits and finally getting all the answers, that I find incredibly appealing and irresistible. Plus, the telling of a story within a story within a story, and the completely satisfying wrapping up and tying all loose ends by the conclusion - I have not a single complaint about this book.

I cannot decide if the main protagonist should be Ruth, the typical modern working woman with a live-in boyfriend and his two daughters from a previous marriage, or LuLing, her immigrant mother with a seemingly closed mind and strict adherence to Chinese tradition and superstition. The title, however, really refers to the enigmatic Precious Auntie, LuLing's disfigured nursemaid, who, within the first few pages of the book, is revealed to be her mother.

The story begins with that of Ruth - her busy days managing her work, family and her mother's increasing forgetfulness suggesting of dementia. Flashbacks include scenes from her childhood with her mother as a single parent and her mother's many peculiarities which she couldn't understand nor accept. These are eventually explained through LuLing's telling of her story growing up in Immortal Heart, a small village in rural pre-WWII China. Within her narration, the heartbreaking tale of Precious Auntie is unfolded.

Thereon, the dots start connecting, and there was no way I could put the book down till the end...

Peony In Love

Last October, my roomees and I planned a day full of "unconventional" activities - bouldering for beginners in the morning, a scrumptious lunch (a must!) and the largest book sale I've ever seen. While I have to admit I'd never been so delighted, I do think many people bought way too many books that they perhaps were never going to read, simply because they were so cheap. Novels that usually go for RM30+ were selling at RM8. So, I don't know if such sales actually encourages reading, or simply fueled unparalleled impulse buying. Fortunately, my roomees and I were still rather level-headed. We didn't blindly grab all the RM5 and RM8 titles we didn't intend to read... I think. *Ahem*

Some time later, Bee Ree suggested that we share among ourselves brief synopses of the titles we've read. The first one she wrote was for Peony in Love by Lisa See. There was love and loss, and ghosts. I asked to be the first to borrow it.

Last Saturday, we met. While I forgot all about Bee Ree wanting to borrow my copy of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, she placed the book I asked for in my hands. You see, Reader, this is karma - I've always laughed at her for being somewhat senile, and look what I've become...

When I got home, I forced myself to complete my work duties - exam scripts - and then started eagerly on the book. I read well into the night. I read continuously through the next day. It's been years - and I do mean, yearsss - since I indulged so, and it felt so good. I finished the 273-page book (well, a 280-page for me, since I'd read the Author's Note at the end as well) that night - within 24 hours since I started it.

The story was set in the 17th century during the Qing Dynasty. Peony was two days away from turning sixteen, and just months away from her wedding day. The man she would marry had been chosen for her since her birth and he would be a stranger to her until their wedding night. Such, was the custom - marriage was a compulsory duty to one's family and not in the least a choice or had anything to do with love. This is a solid and recurring point presented throughout the book - families took care to raise and educate their daughters to please their future husbands' families.

In contrast with the reiterations of the idea of the worthlessness of daughters, Peony's parents loved and doted on her. Her father arranged a production of her favourite opera, The Peony Pavillion, to be staged in the compound of their family mansion, and she was sure it was meant to be a treat for her, though he would never put it that way. The opera would play for three nights. On the first night, Peony grew restless in the middle of one of the scenes, and stole away into the garden. There, she met a handsome young man whom she'd spotted among the audience earlier. In the era where women, especially the unmarried, were not allowed beyond the inner walls of their homes, where they must stay hidden behind screens when there were male guests, being alone with a male stranger amounted to way more than a scandal. Peony was aware that she could ruin her life if they were caught. Yet, they exchanged words. They exchanged musings on the opera. They somehow fell a little in love. He asked to meet again, and for the next two nights, they did. Peony fell hopelessly in love with the man, a poet, whose name she did not know.

Thus, began her obsession with The Peony Pavillion, in which the female protagonist, Du Liniang, had a passionate dream of a scholar and subsequently died pining for her dream-lover. Peony couldn't eat nor sleep. She thought about her love for the poet, about her impending marriage to her betrothed whom she was sure she would not love, about living her entire life without love. These tortured thoughts she penned in form of poems and commentaries in her copy of the opera. Month passed; Peony wasted away and died, just days before her wedding. Too late, she found out, the man chosen for her was the man she'd fallen in love with.

Her ghost continues to narrate - how her tablet, not yet dotted, was hidden away and forgotten, causing her to indefinitely roam the earth as a hungry ghost; how she watched her family and her poet carried on without her; how she learned the history of her family from deceased elders; how she wronged and righted her wrongs. Her soul wandered for twenty-nine years. In that time, she influenced her poet's following two wives to complete her intended commentary of The Peony Pavillion.

The Three Wives' Commentary is a real publication - written by the three wives of a poet, Wu Ren (also Wu Ren in the novel). Peony In Love, in fact, is the fictional story of how a real and significant work by three real women, at a time when women were insignificant, came to be.

There are references to and detailed descriptions of many traditional Chinese customs, including foot-binding and rituals performed for the dead. I personally do not believe in most of the customs and superstitions, but I enjoyed this read, regardless. On the theme of love - at first, though - I found it hard not to laugh at someone who threw her life away over a dream, and someone who fancied herself so deeply in love after just three rendez-vous that she starved herself to death. Then, I reminded myself that theirs is a world too different from ours. When one must walk her parents' chosen path for her - to marry for the main purpose of producing sons, to always obey and always made inferior, to literally have nothing much to live for - the very thought of the loss of what could have been is quite possibly enough to snuff out the feeble will to live...

Romantic Men In Literature

Say, Mr Darcy. How many girls do you know who swoon over this character? Let's not talk about those who don't read, or who don't read Jane Austen. How many do you know, who'd read Pride and Prejudice, and didn't go gaga over Darcy?

What about Charlotte Brontë's Mr Rochester? How many do you know, who'd read Jane Eyre, and not fell in love with him? I myself am in love with Mr Rochester. I want to be loved by someone like him - with a lunatic wife or not, as long as she's kept out of my way (right, that's not exactly true... just the hour messing up my logic, reason and coherence).

So, what is common between these two characters, that we like so much? I'll tell you what - they're both created by female writers. Yes, they are men as we'd really like them to be, as we'd truly want them to be. Real men are not like that. Real men, even the "best" ones, are a far cry from these ideal make-up of what women really want. Too bad for us.

Now, I am going to rest my head upon my pillow. When I do that, will sleep come to me? Will this mind consent to relax and spare me this unrelenting consciousness till the sun rises? Gosh, I hate sleeplessness!

Mrs Gummidge

She is first introduced as the woman in a white apron, knitting by the fireplace. She appears, at first, to be quite tiresome, for she always cries, complains and insists that she feels more acutely any unfavourable circumstances or occurrences. David observes:

Mrs. Gummidge's was rather a fretful disposition, and she whimpered more sometimes than was comfortable for other parties in so small an establishment.

She wallows constantly, dwells in her gloom and misery, and utters frequently what had long become a sort of favourite of mine:

"I am a lone lorn creetur' and everythink goes contrairy with me."

However, when comes the time real misfortune strikes - when Mr Peggotty's pain and anguish have pushed him to irrationality, when he is in danger of acting rashly and recklessly, when no one else knows what to do or how to react - she sensibly holds him back:

"No, no!" cried Mrs. Gummidge, coming between them, in a fit of crying. "No, no, Dan'l, not as you are now. Seek her in a little while, my lone lorn Dan'l, and that'll be but right! but not as you are now. Sit ye down, and give me your forgiveness for having ever been a worrit to you, Dan'l - what have my contrairies ever been to this! - and let us speak a word about them times when she was first an orphan, and when Ham was too, and when I was a poor widder woman, and you took me in. It'll soften your poor heart, Dan'l,"

She calms him, comforts him, and affords him the time it takes to clear his head and form more reasonable plans. David, once again, observes:

What a change in Mrs. Gummidge in a little time! She was another woman. She was so devoted, she had such a quick perception of what it would be well to say, and what it would be well to leave unsaid; she was so forgetful of herself, and so regardful of the sorrow about her, that I held her in a sort of veneration. The work she did that day!

And:

As to deploring her misfortunes, she appeared to have entirely lost the recollection of ever having had any. She preserved an equable cheerfulness in the midst of her sympathy, which was not the least astonishing part of the change that had come over her.

Would you not adore such a woman? I would. In principle, I would, in good health and humour, gladly indulge you in your tendency to be sad and make it obviously so, your desire to be miserable and express it with bitterness, and your need to grumble and shed tears, if you would, when I am down, be my pillar of strength and source of comfort. In reality, though, would I? Could I? Could you?

I adore Mrs Gummidge, still, the lone lorn creetur' that she is.

Chapter 23

Do you think I can stay to become nothing to you? Do you think I am an automaton? - a machine without feelings? and can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup? Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! - I have as much soul as you, - and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you. I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh; - it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God's feet, equal, as we are!

...

I offer you my hand, my heart, and a share of all my possessions.

...

I ask you to pass through life at my side - to be my second self, and best earthly companion. Jane, will you marry me?

...

You - you strange, you almost unearthly thing! - I love as my own flesh. You - poor and obscure, and small and plain as you are - I entreat to accept me as a husband.

...

Make my happiness - I will make yours.

Her Fearful Symmetry

This is the second novel of Audrey Niffenegger, known for The Time Traveller's Wife, which I didn't like all that much (read about it here). One would wonder why I bothered buying another book by an author I didn't enjoy reading. Actually, I wondered too. Perhaps I was, at that moment in the bookstore, allured by the brief synopsis given on the back cover of the paperback - it hinted of manipulative schemes, dark secrets and ghosts - it was appealing. My curiosity got the better of me. And, to my own surprise, I found this book very much more palatable than Ms Niffenegger's first. The writing is more refined and elegant, there were no rude nor crude words or phrases, and character development was way more in-depth.

The story is disturbingly simple and empty. Yes, I found it rather empty - as how one would be if I were to turn the past (very eventful) year of my life into a book. Twins Julia and Valentina Poole were bequeathed the estate of an Aunt Elspeth, the twin of their mother's whose existence they never knew. It is then revealed that twins Elspeth and Edie (Julia and Valentina's mother) had not seen nor spoken to each other for 20 years, and implied that they fell out with each other over something no one knows about. In her will, Elspeth insisted that the twins must stay a year in her apartment before they can sell it, and that their parents must not step foot into it, nor have access to her personal papers. Reader, you can tell the mystery is being set - the reader, at this point, feels the promise of the unravelling of what happened between Elspeth and Edie, why the girls must live in the apartment and what the (possibly evil) agenda behind it all is (the reader is, a chapter or two later, informed that Elspeth meant it as an "experiment"). It kept me moving eagerly through nearly the entire novel, and it wasn't until the final few chapters that I realised that the why of the story will remain unanswered. It was a little exasperating for me, to say the least. However, I realised the book is, in a way, beautiful in its story-telling, not in the story itself.

Robert, Elspeth's lover, is depicted as a man of deep passion, both for his partner and his doctorate research into the history of the cemetery at which he works as a guide. His love and devotion for Elspeth has him mourn long after she was gone; his intense fascination with the lives of Highgate Cemetery's resting inhabitants leads his thesis to grow to over a thousand pages long. Martin, who lives in the flat above Elspeth's, is a brilliant crossword-puzzle setter and ancient scripts translator afflicted with the obsessive-compulsive disorder. He is aware of his illness yet is utterly unable to stop himself. Perhaps I might have missed something, having read all 480-plus pages in just 2 days, but these characters do not serve any purpose whatsoever in the aforementioned mystery setting. They are just there - being a part of the story - though I found their portrayals both profound and moving.

I would recommend this read, but Reader, bear in mind you ought not be looking forward to the end - the end doesn't clear all the enigma. Perhaps there isn't really any. Real life's like that sometimes. Just enjoy as you go along.

My Name is Aram

The first story I'd read of this brilliant collection of stories was The Circus. I loved (and still love) it - it tells of how the young boy Aram and his friend ran off to the circus whenever it came to town, despite being punished for it afterwards, every time. The writing style is all at once casual, bluntly comical, and very affecting. I read it out of an anthology, and had, ever since, wanted to get my hands on the book itself.

For years I scoured - the bookstores in the days sans Internet shopping; the online bookstores in later times - I never saw it physically on any shelves, and it was out of stock for the longest time on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I managed to get a William Saroyan anthology at Kinokuniya, but not his (arguably) most famous work.

After a while, I stopped looking - but I never forgot this book, or how much I wanted it. Some months ago, I did a search for it out of the blue, and to my delight, it was in stock at Amazon! Finally - I found the book I'd wanted for more than a decade. It took its time making its way to me, but there it was, at last, in my hands.

Did I devour its pages immediately? Did I not wait a single minute to read and reread my favourite story until I could memorize the very phrases that made me chuckle? No, reader, I did not. For reasons I do not expect anyone to understand or accept, I saved it - like some treasure to be savoured slowly, word by word, page by page. Yes, I took my time with the book.

It was by the time I reached the tenth story, that I noticed, to my utter horror, that almost the entire story was missing. It was then too late to have the book returned.


A total of eight pages were simply not there. Need I describe how I felt? Aghast, infuriated, bewildered, stupefied... and regretful - why did I not check the book when first I got it?! But then again, who actually checks newly-purchased books for completeness of pages? It was devastating!

Well, alright - "devastating" was exaggerating it a little. To be fair, I was rather upset for a day or two. Just a day or two. I could always order another copy of the book, I figured. Surely it wouldn't take as much effort as it did so many years ago, and surely the cost is justified by the sheer passion I have for it, I reasoned. There is no need to be miserable. I could buy another copy.

I could. I haven't, as yet, but I could...

Selected Tales

Someone once told me (right, probably not told me told me, but he definitely said it) that Charles Dickens is overrated. It doesn't matter - I still like him. I don't know how literature scholars "rate" authors and their works, but to me, written pieces are a lot like musical pieces - there is music I like, and music I don't like. There is writing I like, and writing I don't like.

His writing, I like. Simple.

I remember a short story I'd first read in my teens - A Child's Dream of a Star (the full text for those who will) - which moved me quite a bit. It isn't one of the selected ones for this compilation. There are over 50 stories in the volume and the one I wanted most isn't there.

I wonder - do I want it so badly because it is indeed the worthiest, or do I want it simply because it's not in mine?

Either way, I love you; I'm going to hug you to sleep tonight.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

This write-up is intended to be about the book. But first -

Shopaholic in Denial
I am not a shopaholic. No, I am not. I may be a sleepaholic, a procrastinataholic, even an occassional workaholic if you will (though I resent that) - but definitely not a shopaholic. I seldom go shopping, and when I do, I do not buy uncontrollably or indiscriminately. I am fashion-and-style illiterate, so I do not get urges to restock / update my wardrobe every so often, nor do I give in to impulse buying when it comes to clothes, shoes, make-up, well, the likes. But, put me in a bookstore and - argh!

I know I get carried away so easily - I pick up a best-selling title, then I see another lesser-known title by the same author, and I think, why not? I pick it up, read the synopsis, and I think, now, isn't that interesting? Wouldn't that make an excellent read? And look - a beautiful box-set of 3 books by another best-selling author. It sure is cheaper to get that, than getting the 3 books individually. And here is one of the titles in my shopping list - check! And here's another, and another, and what is this? A book on Victor Frankenstein? About how he got his dead bodies for his experiments? That spells a must-read for me!

Before I knew it, my basket was full - yes, they provide shopping baskets in bookstores these days. It's a good thing they don't provide trolleys, like those hypermarkets do, or I'd..... I shudder to think what I'd likely do. As it was, I didn't want to think about how much I'd be spending on that basketful I'd accumulated. However, I had a little unexpected extra reward in my way last weekend - it was the season of Teachers' Day, and the store was giving an RM5 voucher for every RM50 spent by teachers. Any sort of teachers, anyone who can prove they are in the teaching profession.

Now, I am usually very reluctant to disclose my occupation to strangers. It could be the look they always give me (ie. "This little girl teaches in a university?!") or the false impressions they always conceive (ie. "She must be a genius!" or "What an easy, relaxing, stress-free working life she must enjoy!"). But, an RM5 voucher for every RM50 spent? Equivalent to a 10% rebate on the total? Here - this is my employee ID, have a good look and give me those vouchers! For instances like this alone, one should always carry one's staff and / or student ID(s) at all times!

And now -

Confessions of a Shopaholic
I have known the existence of this book long enough, and had always known it to be a best-seller. I just wasn't sure if I was actually into "chick-lit", as these types of prose are described. But the recent movie, and incidents of friends openly drooling at Hugh Dancy's Luke Brandon sparked more interest than I cared to admit. So I got a copy of the book; I got a copy of the book on Sunday, started reading it on Monday, and was finished by Wednesday. It was an extremely easy read - very, very light, and well, entertaining, I should add. You just shut three-quarters of your brain down and go on and on and on.

It was a very enjoyable read, although the protagonist, Rebecca Bloomwood, funny, imaginative and endearing as she is, nearly lost my sympathy halfway through. It was really amusing at first, the way she was in denial all the time: avoiding those mounting bills and letter from banks, and spinning tales to hide the truth she can't face. But then, she started spiralling out of control, and while that was still OK by me, the lying wasn't. She told a small lie, then another to cover the first, and another and another, and the worst part was, some of these lies were just not necessary, in my opinion. It was like she was addicted to making up stories, just as she was addicted to shopping.

Luke Brandon was a character of special interest to me when I started, because a friend had mentioned that he is the "perfect guy" in the book. It was therefore, a disappointment to find that he is nothing close to what I had imagined he would be. Perhaps it was due to the nature of the first-person narration - none of the characters were very well-developed at all. From the book, I couldn't get a satisfactory picture of Luke Brandon - not his general physical appearance, not his personality, least of all his style. It isn't clear how Rebecca is attracted to him, and even less clear what in Rebecca he loves. Perhaps I ought to read the subsequent books to find out?

I have not seen the movie as yet, though I am sure it is as good as my friends said it was. I mean - how difficult can it be to make a chick-flick out of a chick-lit? Add in tonnes of lovely clothes, shoes, bags and a gorgeous hunk - what can go wrong? I read somewhere that the movie is quite different from the book - but hey, tonnes of lovely clothes, shoes, bags and a gorgeous hunk: nothing can go wrong - no matter what.

In conclusion - nothing beats relaxing on the couch with an entertaining chick-lit. And I need to write about all the other reads that I'd read but not written about...

Nicholas Sparks Medley

It was either a buy 3 free 1 or buy 5 free 2 sort of offer. I can't remember, but I ended up having quite a few novels by this best-selling author after that visit to the bookstore. I had heard of Nicholas Sparks, had heard of his books being made into movies and such, but had never read any of them. Not one (and never watched any of those movies either...). I could separate what I want to write into individual posts, 1 for each book, but well... what the heck!


A Bend in the Road

This was the first one that I read, and I thought it was quite good, though not something I'd read more than once, if I can help it. The plot was simple enough, unlike certain modern novels that favour storylines so complex that sometimes, halfway through, I had to trackback and re-read certain parts to refresh my memory of certain characters or events. The simplicity of the story made lots of room for vivid portrayal of characters. The development of the protagonists' feelings for each other were adequately presented, though it didn't move me to the point that I'd be eagerly anticipating their union. The theme in this novel, and perhaps in most of this author's works, is LOVE. Miles Ryan loved his wife, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident. It took him a long time, but eventually, he fell in love with Sarah Andrews. However, a dark secret from the past threatened to tear them apart, to stand forever between them. But, predictably, love conquered all in the end... (oops, sorry for the spoiler). The last part of the novel is a little wanting, but still, it is an enjoyable read, if you do not mind predictability and non-impressiveness.


Message in a Bottle

I enjoyed reading this one slightly more than the previous. The idea of the story itself was quite fresh, and I really like the romantic notion of finding love notes in bottles washed up on shores. I'd expected to be moved to tears reading the notes Garrett Blake wrote to his deceased wife, Catherine, but I wasn't. Somehow, I felt that the notes lack intensity and passion. I could not effectively feel the love, desperation, despair and yearning supposedly expressed by the writer through the notes. But of course, the main female character, Theresa Osborne, did, and her curiosity and interest in the mysterious writer compelled her to seek him out. It'd hardly be a spoiler for me to write that they eventually fell in love - yes, that was seriously predictable. The falling in love portion was rather brief, in my opinion, and a little less convincing compared to A Bend in the Road. The author focused on how Garrett thought Theresa was very pretty, and how she was greatly touched by the letters he wrote to his wife, and I thought those alone weren't reasons enough to fall in love - not as deeply as described in the book anyway. Nevertheless, it is still a nice read. (I am careful to make no mention of the ending here...)


A Walk to Remember

My third Nicholas Sparks! The title of the book itself is very touching. The synopsis printed at the back of the book was pretty touching too. The novel itself - GAH! It was written in the first-person voice, that of Landon Carter, and yet, totally failed to affect me - the emotional journey that he went through, and how his feelings towards the main female character, Jamie Sullivan, changed from indifference, to awkwardness, to LOVE. Reading the book, I fail to comprehend, even to imagined when or how Landon fell in love with Jamie. I only knew it because it was blatantly written so. To me, it was almost as sudden as if he woke up one morning and decided that he loved the girl to distraction, and decided he would unconditionally love her till the day he died! No, I didn't enjoy this read. I thought it was lame and predictable, and extremely fairytale-ish.


The Notebook

One word: CACAT. When I was halfway through the book, I can't believe I was still on the same novel, can't believe the direction it was going, and cannot imagine a book written like that could actually appeal as a love story! It starts off with the narrative of an old man - the reader wouldn't know who he is, or what he's getting to. Then, it skips to the "love story" of a young couple in the distant past, which basically centered on the events that occurred across a period of several days. (I noticed similarity in descriptions of lover-boy preparing a meal for lover-girl with Message in a Bottle) The reader knows the profoundness of their love because it was plainly stated repeatedly - the how or why is left to the reader's own imagination. Then, as abruptly as it began, the tale of the two young lovers ended, and the reader is again brought back to the present, through the narrative of the old man. And yes, as the reader would've guessed, the old man is the man of the story, Noah Calhoun, and this story is that of him and his wife, Allie Nelson. Granted, the love the old couple had was each other was very extraordinary and grand and all, and perhaps you could say I am too shallow to appreciate it, etc. Whatever. I just didn't like the way the book was written, regardless of the plot and idea. Not to mention the notebook, as the title of the novel is, plays an almost insignificant (and very negligible) role in it all.


The Guardian

In progress... at Chapter 7.

;)

(edit: finished reading as of 25/8, will write about it soon)

For One More Day

I had read both Mitch Albom's first and second novel, Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet In Heaven . I must admit I didn't like the second book very much. I was having second thoughts when I saw Mr Albom's third novel but bought For One More Day anyway, just to complete the "collection". I didn't read it until it had been resting in my bookshelf for several months. After I did, I am compelled to say that this novel far surpasses The Five People You Meet In Heaven.

Charles "Chick" Benetto was a broken man who lived on alcohol, in misery and regret, and who'd lost his job and left his family. The last straw came when he found out that he'd been deliberately left out of his only daughter's wedding, and he decided to kill himself.

The night he planned to die, he got drunk and drove towards his birthplace - to "end his life where it began" - only to be involved in an accident, which he miraculously survived. For a brief moment he saw his mother, just as she was before she died, 8 years ago. He was certain it was a hallucination. He staggered up a water tower and threw himself down. He didn't die.

Towards dawn, he managed to find his way back to his old home, found the key and made his way in - and beheld his mother in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. Chick Benetto would spend that day with his deceased mother - that one more day which thereafter changed his life.

Just as he'd done with his previous two bestsellers, Mr Albom had cleverly weaved the narration of the "present" day with flashbacks and reminiscence of the past. Glimpse by glimpse, piece by piece, Chick's childhood, teenage and early adulthood were put together to form a wistful picture - how he'd never fully appreciated his mother's love and attention in chasing for his father's, how he'd never stood up for her while she always did for him, how he'd been away when she died. And he had one day - to hear her speak again, and to really listen, to feel her love again, to discover secrets and to tell her how he loved her.

What if you had one more day with someone you'd lost? What would you do for one more day? These questions were posted on the book's official site.



He's been gone 6 years now. He would have turned 60 today. What would I do if I had one more day with him? I don't know - I don't want just one more.

David Copperfield

Charles Dickens' David Copperfield is somewhat based upon the author's own childhood, and in the author's own terms, his favourite (my favourite from him too!). The book itself I have read and re-read numerous times, but recently was my first time watching a film adaptation of the book. This movie was made in year 2000, starring Hugh Dancy as the adult David Copperfield (Notice in the image on the left that his name appears third, after the lady who plays his Aunt Betsey and the man who plays James Steerforth. I wonder why - no sarcasm here, I really wonder why!). When I first saw him, my reaction was "Wahhh... sai mm sai sooo lengcai ar?!" He is so, so, sooo handsome!(Curious or anxious to know just what type of men I consider handsome? Click on the link, or simply scroll down to where I have posted a photo of him... :P) But well, handsomeness aside... ahem, I found the film tolerably well (meaning you won't get as much negative stuff as you did in my Pride and Prejudice)

The film begins with beautiful scenery, the handsome adult David rowing a boat, then walking, then being in a coffee house having a man flip a table on him, then running home to begin writing "The Personal History and Experiences of The Younger David Copperfield" ('the younger' because his father was David Copperfield too). The narration begins with the first sentence of the first chapter:

Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.

The narration goes on to the night David was born, a "post-humous child". He introduced his Aunt Betsey Trotwood, who was "mortally affronted" by his father for marrying his mother without first presenting her to Aunt Betsey for inspection and approval. (In the book, the reason was David's mother was "a wax doll"). She was sure that David's mother would have a baby girl, and she would be the baby's godmother. I quite like the lady who plays Betsey Trotwood - I think she portrays the character rather well, and despite her gruff eccentricity, she is very likeable. David's mother, Clara Copperfield, is almost everything that is described of her - very young, very pretty, timid and easily scared. I was looking forward to the scene where Aunt Betsey aimed a blow with her bonnet at the timid doctor, Mr Chillip's head, when he told her that the baby was a boy, not a girl like she wanted. However, it didn't happen in the film, and I wonder why! She simply stormed out into the storm and muttered "A boy! Hmmmph!" and went into her waiting carriage.

Peggotty (Clara Peggotty, always addressed as Peggotty because Mrs Copperfield's name is Clara as well), the servant, is quite alright, except that I'd have preferred a slightly younger actress in the part. The boy who plays young David does very well too, I think - cute, innocent with intelligent eyes. Mr Murdstone, however, is not as he is in the book - a gentleman with beautiful dark hair and whiskers, but instead, one with brown hair, no whiskers, and looks overbearingly hateful rather than fearsome (which I'd expect a character like him to look).

David follows Peggotty to Yarmouth for a fortnight, during which his mother married Murdstone (and was later bullied to death by him...). Most of the characters at Yarmouth are great. I really like Mr Barkis, and the way he said "Barkis is willing!" Peggotty's brother, Dan Peggotty looks every bit like a seasoned rough fisherman and Ham (their orphaned nephew) I daresay is really six feet tall, as described in the book. Little Em'ly (their orphaned niece) however, in my opinion, is not quite a pretty girl enough (the grown-up Em'ly is not pretty either *sigh*). In the book:

... by a most beautiful little girl (or I thought her so) with ...

One can argue that the beauty was in young David's eyes, but then again, it would really help to let us see through the said young David's eyes by casting a girl that would likely appear to be "most beautiful" in everyone's eyes. They have the same man play Ham in David's childhood and also adulthood when he returns to Yarmouth with James Steerforth, which I find rather unrealistic, especially for the fact that he looks almost the same, while the children around him (David and Little Em'ly) have grown so much. Mrs Gummidge has very little screen time, and none of

"I am a lone lorn creetur' and everythink goes contrairy with me."

which is something I really enjoyed reading.

Of David's schooldays, very little time is devoted to. Salem House school (where he met his 'saviour' James Steerforth, and lifelong friend Tommy Traddles) portayal is minimal and almost nothing of Dr Strong's school is shown. In fact, a lot of the characters have less screen time than I would have liked - that is the price to pay for having to make the story told in a loooooong book into a 3-hr movie.

Agnes Wickfield, David's childhood friend and guardian angel, is quite overlooked in the movie, unfortunately. The great influence and importance of Agnes in David's life is hardly felt, although I quite like how Agnes lets her emotions (feelings for David, that is) show, whereas in the book, her love for him is disclosed only at the very end. Dora, David's first wife, is also not quite pretty enough, but portrayed the child-wife part rather well.

The one person who has a lot of screen-time is Mr Micawber, played to perfection, except for a little bit of over-acting here and there. Uriah Heep is also played to perfection (in the sense that he makes you feel that you really want to slap him). Mr Dick is great - extremely adorable!

On the whole, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie, despite it having some scenes I really didn't like - the young David fainting upon reaching Aunt Betsey's house after walking for days (it is comical in the midst of serious heart-rending, so it's quite cacat); Aunt Betsey's shouting "Donkey! Donkey!" in a sing-song manner, with the exact same low (Don-) and high (-key) notes every time (it sounds really, really fake, and damn cacat); Peggotty, delivering the news of Steerforth's shipwreck to David in a serious, gloomy manner, suddenly turns dramatic and poetic "... and the wave, like a high, green hillside *stretches her arm up high* ... ahh *swings her arm down in clenched fist*" (that is sooo out of place and seriously cacat).

I still wish there is more on Agnes and David at the end, but I guess I should be happy that I am thoroughly happy with a film adaptation of one of my favourite classics - it doesn't happen often :D


Hugh Dancy, who plays David Copperfield

Pride and Prejudice

The good thing about making a movie based on a classic with many female characters is that there is no need to create and stuff in extra characters so that there can be at least 1 pretty bimbo on the set (like in King Solomon's Mines, a male-dominated story...) Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice has got to be a movie maker's dream come true - many pretty young ladies, and handsome gentlemen. I have, in the past, read this book several times so when I saw the DVD for the movie - Pride and Prejudice (2005) I was eager to watch it. Recently, I re-read some parts of the book, and then, got the DVD out and watched it again. I remember being mildly disappointed when I first watched it, but this time (having my memory of the book refreshed), I am downright exasperated!

First of all, the heroine, Elizabeth Bennet is extremely poorly portrayed by Keira Knightley. Elizabeth is supposed to be smart and sensible, not cheeky; light-hearted and likes to laugh, not a constantly giggling air-headed girl; strong-willed but not a total stubborn ox! And although Mrs Bennet is a lot of times silly and ridiculous, Elizabeth is never rude to her, unlike how it is in the movie. I cannot think of any English word that more appropriately describe Keira Knightley's Elizabeth than very menyampah and totally 38. Sigh.

As if having a substandard Lizzy is not enough, the portrayal of Mr Darcy by (let me copy and paste his name from imdb -) Matthew Macfadyen is equally, if not more, disappointing. I quote from the novel, where Mr Darcy is first introduced:

"... but his friend Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien; and the report which was in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance, of his having ten thousand a year. The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man, the ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased ..."

Mr Darcy is most of the time proud, arrogant, full of himself, and very charming in the novel, but Mr (wait, I need to copy & paste his name again...) Macfadyen's Darcy, besides being far from handsome, is withdrawn, doleful and miserable, with a hurt look permanently etched in his eyes. How pitiful - you'd feel like offering him tissues. He cannot be more un-Darcy-like than that. Sigh, sigh.

As for the other characters: Jane Bennet is not beautiful enough; Mr Bingley's warm and friendly disposition is replaced by nervousness and brainlessness; Mr Bennet does not seem half as sensible as he is supposed to be; and the other Bennet girls hardly has any attention from the camera-man.

The worst thing however, is how undeveloped the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy is. When I saw Darcy proposing to Elizabeth, it gave me the incredulous feeling of - what?! since when were you attracted to her, since when did you fall in love with her? (or could it be I was so convinced that nobody could love that 'Lizzy'?) In the book, the uniting of Darcy and Elizabeth is eagerly, almost desperately anticipated - but in the movie, you'd never see it coming, if you hadn't already read the book, or know the story (or read this post). Sigh, sigh, sigh.

The characters that are more appropriately represented: Mrs Bennet (sole objective in life is to see her daughters married), Mr Collins (boring and silly, but managed to be funny while being), Lady Catherine de Bourgh (haughty, high-and-mighty face - really good!), Kitty and Lydia Bennet (extremely silly, vain), Mr Wickham (very handsome and impressive, but a bad, young man).

There - another beautiful classic butchered by movie makers. Sien.

Vampires Galore

The cover designs of this paperback edition of the books themselves make them very appealing... and a temptation someone like myself would find very hard to resist. I knew the general story would be kinda cacat when I read the synopsis on the back cover of the books. Yet, I had read a couple of Nora Roberts' books and they were pretty well-written. Romance, yes - but not the kind of romance that emphasized so much on the "juicy parts" that the actual story fades into oblivion, if there is an actual story at all. And so, with an MPH voucher in my hand, I bought all 3 books in one breath. (Incidentally, a woman queueing behind me at the cashier's asked me what the books were about, probably thinking they must be great stuff, that I would buy all 3! I was thinking, I was just going to buy them, so obviously I haven't read any yet, so how on earth would I know what they'd be about?! But still, out of courtesy, I told her they were a trilogy of fantasy/romance. Then she asked me what "trilogy" means... *sigh*)

*spoilers warning*

The first book is Morrigan's Cross - where an old man begins his tale by describing a sorcerer in twelft-century Ireland, who stood upon a cliff and summoned a storm. I had to admit, it took quite some effort on my part to get through the first few pages as I am definitely not a big fan of fantasy tales (it took me a lot of effort to complete The Hobbit, and halfway through Fellowship of the Ring... never touched the remaining two books at all... hehe) and excessive descriptions of "magicks". The sorcerer, Hoyt Mac Cionaoith, was facing the Vampire Queen, Lilith (see I did say it sounds cacat), challenging her, because she killed and changed his twin brother, Cian. By changed, I mean changed into a vampire. Some clashing took place and Hoyt went away injured, and Cian presumed 'dead'.

Then, the goddess Morrigan appeared before Hoyt, and charged him to defeat Lilith and her army, with only five more to assist him - the witch, the warrior, the scholar, the one of many forms and the one he'd lost. The six of them would form "the circle" which was supposed to fight this war between humans and demons. Six against an army of vampires... it's too hard, too much to ask (this was actually highlighted at many points in the book, especially since Hoyt needed to convince each member of the circle as they came together, which, after a while became tiring).

First, he traveled through time to present day New York City and found the one he'd lost - his brother Cian, still a vampire, but a nearly a thousand years old (still young and handsome, however, because vampires don't age), wealthy and powerful. With Cian, was a huge, black man called King, who would be the warrior. Then, the witch, Glenna, showed up, after getting "visions" and "out-of-body experiences". Lastly, a pair of cousins, Moira the scholar and Larkin the shape-shifter traveled from the mythical land Gaell to join them.

There were lots of details and development in this book that I don't care about: unneccesary and lengthy debate on training, preparation and stuff, arguing and fighting among themselves over petty matters, and argument points being repeated here and there. At one point - where Hoyt and Cian went for a walk and ended up arguing, then fighting each other - I actually rolled my eyes then put the book away for a while. Sien.

From the beginning of the book, it was rather easy to tell that Ms Roberts intended to pair the sorcerer and the witch off. The story emphasized mostly on the two of them, while the others were merely existing. Less than halfway through, Hoyt and Glenna were in love (so fast!) and about three-quarters through, King, their warrior was captured by the vampires in an ambush, then killed and changed into a vampire himself! And there - the first of the circle of six was gone! (really?!) As it turned out, King was never their warrior in the first place. The real warrior appeared towards the end of the first book. She's a demon hunter, who hunted and killed vampires... what, Buffy the Vampire Slayer? No, her name was Blair. (When I read this part I was like... haiyohhh) Before the first book ended, the intended pair had already married. No fun. :(

The second book, Dance of the Gods, more or less continues the training sessions, arguments and fights of the six in the circle. They ambushed the vampires a little, the vampires ambushed them a little... and yes - the limelight has now turned from Hoyt and Glenna to Larkin and Blair, the next pair. (Doesn't take a genius to guess who will pair up in the third book!) It's quite irritating to see Hoyt and Glenna, which I read so much about, suddenly fade into the background. Larkin was portrayed as an adorable, flirtatious man, and Blair the modern day, no-nonsense tough woman. Cian remained the vampire with a style, always having that couldn't-be-bothered attitude. Every time he spoke, he spoke precisely, straight to the point, no sugar-coating. And yes - his words were always saturated with sarcasm. (I really, really like Cian). As for Moira, she was all the time depicted as the quiet scholar who did all the reading in the library, who was soft in training, and not much good for anything else, except being an excellent archer. Well, probably that's that 'the scholar' was supposed to do - study - except that nowhere in the three books was shown how her extensive studying actually helped in the war they were going to fight. There was practically nothing about vampires that she read that Cian (being one himself) didn't already know - and told them about.

Anyway, halfway through the book, the six traveled through the portal called 'Dance of the Gods' to Gaell where the fighting would take place. Moira was to be the next queen of Gaell, whereas Larkin was actually Lord Larkin there. They began to recruit men and women to fight vampires...

*SERIOUS spoilers warning* - if you intend to read the books, please stop reading this post now!

The third book, Valley of Silence, seems to seamlessly continue from where the second book stopped. As I had guessed, admist training, weapons forging, strategy planning, battles, ambushes - Cian and Moira fell in love. They resisted their feelings at first, just as the previous two couples in the circle did (isn't this plot all romance novelists adore...), except they resisted harder, because of what they were - one human, one vampire. However, halfway through the book, Moira couldn't take it anymore and went to seduce Cian. That's a change from the usual - the man (not a man, he kept insisting) had near a thousand years' experience, and had likely that many women before, being seduced by a virgin girl. He resisted pretty hard at first, but she kept pressing on until at last... he cannot tahan liao... and then... you know la. The usual.

There are certains parts in this "romance" between Cian and Moira that I really appreciate. For instance, there is this part where Moira was with Cian in her room, and she chanced a glance into the mirror and saw that she was alone. (Vampires do not reflect in mirrors). It was one single moment that the fact that they could never end up together hit me real hard. (Bravo, Ms Roberts!) I thought my heart would break - so sad, yet so beautiful.

Parts of this book that I don't care much about would be the many political and motivational speeches Moira had to make as Queen of Gaell. I also feel that the narrative on the war is too brief. A war that took almost 3 books to prepare was over in less than 30 pages? It was a bit of a disappointment. Lilith was staked (and therefore turned to dust) by Cian (that's expected, since he's the strongest and most powerful of the six) in less than 2 pages.

Well, the war was won, and none of the six in the circle fell (so miraculously fake... but you can argue that they were the "chosen ones"), and Cian was turned into human by the goddess Morrigan, and he could marry and live with Moira in Gaell. And so the three pairs - Hoyt and Glenna, Larkin and Blair, and Cian and Moira lived happily ever after till the end of their days. (My favourite vampire is now a human?! *sobs*)

Wonderful, happy ending? Well, not by me! The ending is as cacat as the whole idea of a-circle-of-six-fights-an-army-of-vampires. It sort of offsets all the other nice parts of the last book of this trilogy. It's simply too perfect to be satisfying! You already have two happy couples... that's enough! Moira and Cian shouldn't had ended up happy too - that's be too predictable, too boring!
If I were to change the ending, I'd make Moira stay a great, courageous, and unmarried Queen to her death. And Cian, being the stylish, dashing modern-day vampire, would continue in his eternity in his world (our real world, that'd be) while he kept his love and regrets concerning Moira tucked away in a corner of his still heart. There could even be a pseudo-sequel: a story set in the year 3000, about a vampire with a past lost love! Wouldn't that be really lovely? (Please don't start wonder if I have a heart - I do, and it's still beating)

I believe this has got to be one of the longest post I have written! I owe you thanks if you actually read every word from the start till here.

Big and Little

A computer's memory design, at one of it's lowest level of abstraction, can be either Big-endian or Little-endian. The smallest chunk of addressable memory is usually a byte, and each byte in memory has a memory address. Big Endian computers store the most significant byte at the lower address, and the least significant byte at the higher address. Little Endian computers, on the other hand, store the least significant byte at the lower address, and the most significant byte at the higher address.

(Heuring & Jordan, 2004)

From the time I taught this to my class, I had known that the terms big-endian and little-endian came from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. The big-endians are those who broke their eggs on the larger ends whereas the little-endians broke theirs on the smaller ends - and that was the cause of a war between them. Recently, after watching the last half hour of Gulliver's Travels (mini series) on TV, I got hold of an old copy of the book and started reading.

For a lot of people, Gulliver's Travels amounted to no more than a child's fairy-tale of a man who ventured into a land inhabited by diminutive people. There are actually four parts of the travels of Lemuel Gulliver: 1st, to Liliput where the people are about 6 inches tall; 2nd, to Brobdingnag where the people are about 60 feet tall; 3rd, to Laputa (a flying island!), Balnibarbi (which has an interesting Academy), Glubbdubdrib (which means 'The Island of Sorcerers'), Luggnagg (where some children are born immortal...) and Japan (unlike all the rest, Japan is real); and 4th, to the country of the Houyhnhnms, who are a race of very intelligent, talking horses.

The big- and little-endian tales are from Lilliput, where traditionally, the people ate their eggs by breaking the larger end. However, when the grandfather of the (then) current Emperor was a boy, he cut his finger once, breaking an egg according to tradition. His father, the emperor then, therefore ordered that thence, all eggs must be broken upon their smaller ends. Such then -

"The people so highly resented this law, that our histories tell us there have been six rebellions raised on that account; wherein one emperor lost his life, and another his crown." (original text)

The people who insisted on breaking their eggs on the larger end (big-endians) were then exiled (some rather die than break their eggs on the smaller end). They published many books on the controversy, but their books were forbidden. A neighbouring kingdom, Blefuscu, accused Lilliput of a schism in religion and provided for the big-endian exiles, resulting in a war!

"Now the Big-Endian exiles have found so much credit in the Emperor of Blefuscu's court, and so much private assistance and encouragement from their party here at home, that a bloody war hath been carried on between the two empires for six and thirty moons with various success; during which time we have lost forty capital ships, and a much greater number of smaller vessels, together with thirty thousand of our best seamen and soldiers;" (original text)

By now, surely you'd have felt the pettiness of these little people. However, the author was actually referring to the real thing - read the first paragraph here.

Gulliver's Travels is no children's tale. It is a clever satire.

Villette - Completed

A couple of months back, I commenced on reading this book. (Would anyone care to read it too? Online text here.)

It is a story of loneliness and unrequited love, and how the heroine had to live with them all her life. I find that I can really connect to the emotions portrayed in the book - well, can't we all! Solitude is something that I am no stranger to - in certain times of my life, it so invaded me that I could feel it in all its emptiness, despite being surrounded by people. And what of unrequited love? I had a great depression over one unrequited love, and several other small ones... heheh. But, as I said - who'd never?

So back to the story (should I say, er - spoilers warning?) - the heroine, Lucy Snowe, after a family misfortune of some kind, was left all alone in this world. She bravely took up a position as an English teacher in a French-speaking boarding school (which is why there are so many French sentences in this book!) in the capital city (Villette) of a foreign country (Labassecour - which is imaginary, by the way). Her loneliness was forged largely on her being in a foreign land, not being able to speak their language at first, and having no true friends. After some time, she chanced upon meeting a young doctor, who turned out to be an old acquaintance. She fell in love with him by-and-by, but ... well, you can guess. Someone else loved Lucy - a Professor of Literature (but I really dislike him, because he seemed such a control freak!). After he'd professed his love to her, he had to leave for India for 3 years! And at the time he was sailing home, a terrible storm raged over the sea for 7 days!

So what happened then? Well, I have a pretty clear idea, but you'd better read the book and make your own conclusion. (OK, I know nobody's really interested) :P