Book Review: The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith

My current-favourite investigator Cormoran Strike is back this season in the newest installment of the Strike series by J.K. Rowling (Robert Galbraith). Like the top-fan I am, obviously I HAD to read it as soon as it came out. (More apologies for my lateness and being awol later!) After many stolen hours and furious turning of the pages later, I can say that I'm satisfied in having finished it (feels like I've done my duty and re-starting the wait for another 2 years to get the next one), but did I absolutely love it or was it mostly devotion giving me the satisfaction? I had to introspect that for 2 days straight before realizing, the Strike series has had better books than The Hallmarked Man. Trust me, once you're a hardcore fan, it is hurtful to think you may not have enjoyed something as much as you expected (total betrayal!). 

Title: The Hallmarked Man (Strike series #8)

Author: Robert Galbraith/J.K. Rowling

Find it on Amazon here

Pages: 1440 (about 950 for regular print)

Publisher: Mulholland Books / Little, Brown and Company

My Rating: 4.5/5

For context, here's the blurb from the book's cover: 

A dismembered corpse is discovered in the vault of a silver shop. The police initially believe it to be that of a convicted armed robber – but not everyone agrees with that theory. One of them is Decima Mullins, who calls on the help of private detective Cormoran Strike as she’s certain the body in the silver vault was that of her boyfriend – the father of her newborn baby – who suddenly and mysteriously disappeared. 

The more Strike and his business partner Robin Ellacott delve into the case, the more labyrinthine it gets. The silver shop is no ordinary one: it’s located beside Freemasons’ Hall and specialises in Masonic silverware. And in addition to the armed robber and Decima’s boyfriend, it becomes clear that there are other missing men who could fit the profile of the body in the vault.

As the case becomes ever more complicated and dangerous, Strike faces another quandary. Robin seems increasingly committed to her boyfriend, policeman Ryan Murphy, but the impulse to declare his own feelings for her is becoming stronger than ever.

Overall, it has all the hallmarks (tee-hee) of JKR's amazing writing and storytelling, especially characterization. We revisit Strike and Robin's past as it is entwined with the present situations, and stay with the core characters as they (slowly) evolve and make decisions to move forward in their own lives. The mystery is complex, many-layered, gradually revealing, NOT predictable, and had decent explanations once solved (which is a big miss in a lot of mysteries in general). It was a fairly long book (900 pages approx.) so I appreciated the intertwining of many stories and angles - it did feel like Strike and Robin solved 4 cases at once instead of just the one they set out for (or maybe that was the point, lol).

Having said that, it felt a bit forced and drawn for the same reason. Was it necessary to have so many "mini-mysteries" running simultaneously that needed solving to solve the bigger crime? But again, I doubt the main crime could have been solved in as many pages, which is what is characteristic of this series, so perhaps it was needed. There were a couple of side-characters that were very annoying (Kim and Murphy, for instance), and did not feel super original (Murphy was drawn as an almost-equivalent of Matthew). Moreover, we did not get much insight into their other cases, and for the one that did drag over most of the book, it seemed to have been dragged extremely longer than necessary. I thought the problem was not focusing on main sub-characters and introducing too many new ones all at once. If I picked up the book and came across a name I couldn't recall, I had to go back trying to understand what their significance was! ALSO, I have been a strong shipper of Robin and Strike throughout the series and FINALLY they're getting somewhere but could it have not been dragged SO MUCH? ALL throughout the book Strike's trying to find the right time and place to express himself, and we literally get no closure even by the end of this book. That's just cruel! C'mon - a bit of romance won't harm the vibe. 

Despite everything, this series still remains one of the best I've ever read, mostly because of how memorable the characters have become to me. I recently also binge-watched the TV shows - SOOO good! (C.B. Strike Series on HBO). Plus, I read that JKR's planned a total of 10 books for this series, so yay! We have 2 more to look forward to. 

Side note: The other, recent Strike series that I enjoyed VERY much include Troubled Blood (so unique), and The Running Grave (excellent story-telling and unputdownable read!).

The Nanny by Gilly MacMillan

As you may have noticed, I am currently on a murder-mystery reading spree. I find this genre the easiest to get through and also the most exciting. That's how I found The Nanny as a recommendation on Goodreads. I found this to be the perfect thriller for someone like me - a grand mix of English aristocracy, armchair-detective whodunnit set in modern times, mysterious family dynamics and the gradual building of relationships that make your skin crawl.

Title: The Nanny

Author: Gilly MacMillan

Find it on Amazon: The Nanny

Pages: 400

Published: 2019

When I started reading this, it seemed eerily familiar with The Family Upstairs in terms of the concept of having strangers enter your family in minute, seemingly innocent ways and ending up ruining your life. Also with Sharp Objects with the protagonist dreading to come back to their home because of disturbed childhoods, but apart from the mild similarities there's nothing else common. The Nanny was unique in its concept, its narration from present and past times with different POVs, and it captured my attention grandly.

Jocelyn had been a seven year old at the Holt house when her beloved nanny Hannah disappeared suddenly. Jo's relationship with her parents remains strained, if not worse. She leaves the house as soon as she could when she grows up, and goes to live in California where she lived with her husband and ten-year old daughter Ruby. After her husband dies, Jo has no option but to take Ruby and return to the Holt house occupied by her mother. The story follows Jo's life in the present time, Lady Holt's increasing love for her grand-daughter Ruby, and Hannah's reappearance in their lives just after Ruby discovers a human skull in the lake on their property. 

The Nanny was absolutely thrilling and mysterious. I loved the suspense that was out there in the open - is the skull really mysterious? Is the woman calling herself Hannah really the Hannah that had disappeared? What happened to Jo's relation with her mother? Why do two grown women have such different opinions about their relationship and are unable to fix it?

It is a complex story of human ties that go really deep and have been weathered by changing dynamics within the family and society. More than a murder mystery, it is a story of love, revenge and desires. Despite having all this complexity, the writing style is simple, which makes the narration fast-paced and the book easy to read. I loved the way the revelations came slowly but surely, shocking the reader, yet it keeps going and makes us want more. The characterization is also fabulous - I could imagine Lady Holt, Hannah and Jo vividly as they experienced different things and grew throughout the book. I did find certain things as loose ends which would not make much sense in real life, but I did find the story stronger in terms of its holistic nature than only focusing on catching a killer. 

I would go so far as to say that this was my favourite thriller so far in this year - highly recommended with a 5/5 star rating! 

Book talk: Jurassic Park and The Lost World by Michael Crichton

This post is not exactly a review, so I haven't included even a bit of a storyline. You might find the names codswallop if you haven't read the books or seen the Jurassic Park movies.

 

What am I talking about?

Book titles: Jurassic Park and The Lost World

Author: Michael Crichton

Published: 1991 and 1995 respectively

Find your copy at: Amazon

Genre: Science fiction

My rating: 5/5 (expect fangirl moments)

We're all familiar with the awesome Jurassic Park movies that generated (or rekindled, in some cases) our interest in dinosaurs--those majestic, prehistoric beasts. My favourite parts in the movies were to do with the tyrannosaurus rex. What a huge, terrifying creature! When I picked up the Michael Crichton novels on which the movies are based upon, I didn't know what to expect--could the books be better?

Verdict--The two are awesome in their own place, but if you are even a teeny weeny bit interested in dinosaurs or the science of evolution, Jurassic Park and The Lost World are a MUST to read. They're fabulous, unputdownable, and filled with science info you wouldn't really wish to miss. Some readers might find the mathematical and science theories too integrated in the books, but it really worked well for me. For one, I understood the story depicted in the movies a lot better than just watching them. Two, nothing seems unrealistic when you're reading the books (except perhaps for the dumbness of some characters). The creation of dinosaurs for the world's most fantastic theme park, the ideas behind it, the way things go wrong--I enjoyed reading every.single.word! It was impossible to put down. I've read these books through nearly everything, including work. I found Jurassic Park more exciting, and The Lost World a little slow, but they're both worth reading.

Literary view--The writing style might not appeal to all readers. I found it a bit... 'unpolished' if that's the word. But that's just it. The mechanics of writing are in place, the text ensures you are immersed in the story and can imagine everything happening, and you wouldn't stop reading the story unless you wanted to look too closely into the writing style. I also sometimes thought that the characters don't develop very well either (except for the children maybe). The focus is all on the story. I thought about it, and... well, why not? It's not expected to be a literary genius.

The book presents a warning to the concept of genetic engineering, and bases a lot of value on its rationale using the mathematical 'chaos theory' (read it on Wikipedia here). It seemed to me that this whole concept was missing in what I knew of Jurassic Park so far.

So... what's different in the books from the movies?

The books are 2. The movies are... what? 4? Imagine a stock of information, action, descriptive scenes without the needless ooh-aahs of the movies. Quite obviously, there are changes in characters and storylines in the movies where they've deviated from the books. Examples could be: having an older girl and younger boy as children in the first movie as opposed to an older boy very much interested in dinosaurs and his six year old sister. Another example--The Jurassic Park book begins with the beach scene where a small girl is attacked by "a" compys, whereas The Lost World movie begins with that scene, with the added spice of lots of compys attacking her. These are still the minor changes. The third and fourth Jurassic Park movies use the characters and the backstory from one and two, but there are no books on which they're based.

Besides, I also thought about that mighty T-rex. Though it makes a heavy impression every time it appears on the scene, I felt the real terrors in the books were the raptors (velociraptors). They're small, they're strong, they have sharp bites, but most of all, they are intelligent and have a brain sense more than any other dino, making them truly dangerous. The raptors ruled the books. It was real fun to learn so much about dinosaurs (their traits, social behaviour, etc. even though a lot is still not known and it was based on many assumptions). I mean, I could talk about a T-rex, compys (Procompsognathus), velociraptors or sauropods without at least stumbling upon their names. I'm much more interested in not just dinosaurs now, but also about evolution (my next read is The Sixth Extinction).

Beware of the raptors!

This OMG scene was just as (if not more) scary in the book.

Any of you read the Jurassic Park books? What are you waiting for? Life’s really short. Get going already! Here are some quotes from the books to inspire you some more:

“In the information society, nobody thinks. We expected to banish paper, but we actually banished thought.” 

“Living systems are never in equilibrium. They are inherently unstable. They may seem stable, but they’re not. Everything is moving and changing. In a sense, everything is on the edge of collapse.” 

“Because the history of evolution is that life escapes all barriers. Life breaks free. Life expands to new territories. Painfully, perhaps even dangerously. But life finds a way.”

“Whatever it is you seek, you have to put in the time, the practice, the effort. You must give up a lot to get it. It has to be very important to you. And once you have attained it, it is your power. It can't be given away : it resides in you. It is literally the result of your discipline.” 

“All your life people will tell you things. And most of the time, probably ninety-five percent of the time, what they'll tell you will be wrong.” 

“All your life, other people will try to take your accomplishments away from you. Don't you take it away from yourself.” 

“Life is wonderful. It's a gift to be alive, to see the sun and breathe the air. And there isn't really anything else.” 

Okay, I'll stop. You get the drift. Go get these books now!

Jurassic Park

The Lost World

Review: Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Author R.J. Palacio

Title: Wonder

Author: R.J. Palacio

Published: 2012 by The Bodley Head (Random House group)

Pages: 313

Find it at: Amazon

My Rating: 5/5! <3

Goodreads Blurb!

I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

R. J. Palacio has written a spare, warm, uplifting story that will have readers laughing one minute and wiping away tears the next. With wonderfully realistic family interactions (flawed, but loving), lively school scenes, and short chapters, Wonder is accessible to readers of all levels.

My Thoughts!

The use of words here might seem lame, but Wonder is a wonderful story. August (Auggie) Pullman is a ten year old kid with a facial deformity (craniofacial abnormalities). That shouldn't be something to define him by, but it's also something that cannot be ignored, not at first anyway. It's hard for him to deal with it and within the carefully presented story in Wonder, we live through a year in Auggie's life as he makes a major transition - going to school for the first time in fifth grade, after having been home-schooled for years. It's not a sad story, but it's a lot about dealing with problems. It's about friendship, love and kindness and all the human things that take time to develop, but develop they do. He's most certainly not disabled, so his parents choose to send him to a regular school. It's hard for August to initially find himself the center of attention for so many people at once. He's used to being stared at, or perhaps the quick saw-you-but-ohmygod-I'll-look-away kind of awkward look, but definitely not coming across a huge group of middle schoolers who could be mean, awkward or totally kind. 

Pic credit: Mr. Solarz

Wonder is August's story, but it's also about his family. His mom, dad and fourteen year old sister, Olivia, all of whom love him to bits. You'd think having an unusual face would be hard, and it sure is, but the book also explores how people around August deal with it. It's quite heart-warming to see how much his family loves him, and how the problem makes some of their habits different from other families. One of the best things about this story is that it is full of optimism. Auggie's family, his teachers and the friends he eventually makes, all learn to love him and make him feel confident of his abilities. He's a normal kid with a classic reverence for Star Wars and love for his dog, Daisy. He's smart, intelligent, sometimes witty and honestly sincere. And let's face it: very, very brave.

The book explores not just August's life, but also those of other characters, which is again, one of the coolest things about this book. It's been written and presented just so well. You wouldn't really get to judge anyone, because just when you are about to form your opinions of a character, bam! You'd get their side of the story. When Olivia (Via) does something you'd be inclined to say is wrong, she'd put in her story, and then you'd think even more broadly and look at Auggie as a normal dude. I think the writing style does something to the book's overall feel. It doesn't ask you to pity a boy with a haphazard face, even when it talks about his problems, because it shows how people do try to deal with it, how they themselves learn a lot and how it is possible to get over anything with love and kindness. It is very much capable of instilling in hope. Like Auggie's mom says, "there are always going to be jerks in the world. But I really believe that there are more good people on this earth than bad people, and the good people watch out for each other and take care of each other."

I loved all the characters, with the slight exception of Julian, the mean kid who bullied Auggie, but now since in the latest version of the book, the author has included a chapter on Julian, I'm looking forward to reading it! Perhaps that would explain things from his point of view, just like it was done with others. I loved the girl called Summer too. We so need more kids like her! And like Jack. Apart from the emotion-invoking writing and complete, lovable characters, Wonder is also a great example of a really good book. Maybe now that my work involves looking at these sort of things and that's why I'm observing it, but it has many elements that a budding writer could make use of. But coming back to the story, another thing that struck me were the dialogues - it was like each character spoke on its own, in their unique voice. Those are capable of making a reader laugh, smile, giggle, feel anxious, whatever, on their own accord. The ending is brilliant! I couldn't have been more satisfied, although I didn't want the book to end either. Oh, Mr. Tushman (yep, that's his name!), I liked you in the beginning and all through, but you took all the love with the ending! :')

I can see many re-readings in the line! Wonder is recommended to everyone. 

Some quotable quotes from the book:

“If every person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary - the world really would be a better place. And if you do this, if you act just a little kinder than is necessary, someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God.” 

“Do people look the same when they go to heaven, mommy?"

"I don't know. I don't think so."

"Then how do people recognize each other?"

"I don't know, sweetie. They just feel it. You don't need your eyes to love, right? That's how it is in heaven. It's just love, and no one forgets who they love.”

“The things we do are the most important things of all. They are more important than what we say or what we look like. The things we do outlast our mortality. The things we do are like monuments that people build to honor heroes after they’ve died. They’re like the pyramids that the Egyptians built to honor the pharaohs. Only instead of being made out of stone, they’re made out of the memories people have of you. That’s why your deeds are like your monuments. Built with memories instead of with stone.”

“Here’s what I think: the only reason I’m not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way.”

Review: The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

Title: The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike # 1)
Author: Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
Published: April, 2013 by Sphere (Hachette)
Pages: 449
Find it at: Amazon
My Rating: 5/5!

*Declaration* I read this book mostly because it is written by J.K. Rowling. In fact, before it wasn't revealed that she is the true author of this book, I hadn't come across it, or knew of its existence. As a JKR fan, it was impossible to read the book without stopping in between and thinking, 'ohmygod. JK is brilliant!' So yeah, probably the review is biased, so if you think that's not the way you'd want to read, don't.

Blurb from Goodreads

A brilliant debut mystery in a classic vein: Detective Cormoran Strike investigates a supermodel's suicide.

After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.

Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.

You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.

Introducing Cormoran Strike, this is the acclaimed first crime novel by J.K. Rowling, writing under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

Pic credit: Google

My Thoughts!

The Cuckoo's Calling introduces us to a new detective in the fictional world of crime and mystery. When I started reading the book, I'd expected Cormoran Strike to be like Jack Reacher maybe, being ex-military, but I was delighted to see that Strike's characterization was totally unexpected and I loved every bit of it! Strike's a private detective now, recently breaking up with his girlfriend, barely able to make a living. However, this information about a hero-protagonist doesn't make you feel bad. It's rather the opposite! You'd find yourself cheering for him whenever he gets a small success, and although I'm not entirely in love with this character, I do accept him as one of those whose stories have a magnetic quality to them. You just want to know what he's going to be doing. His own past and story is just as intriguing and every revelation makes you connect better with him. 

The mystery surrounding the supermodel's death is investigated by Strike with the help of his temporary assistant, Robin. It's never a pretty picture, but it most certainly wasn't as gruesome as I thought it'd be, going by the blurb. Perhaps it's because all the stinky details have been spread out evenly throughout the book. True, we see less of the kind of swinging action we're used to; I felt it's more Sherlock-style. Unraveling the mystery by going into psychological depths of people associated with Lula Landry, the model who fell to her death from her second floor flat. Strike digs into Lula's past and comes across a whole array of people making their living with the world of glamour. 

As I mentioned above, I found it more on the psychological side, where we receive bits and pieces of information, sometimes painfully slowly, but we're hooked on to the book nevertheless. Every suspect seems equally plausible, yet we have no idea how anyone could have managed to pull off the crime. The book did seem to get stretched in between, but it picks up pace in the second half. I know a couple of people who read mystery books backwards: they start reading from the beginning, and when they know what the crime was, they read the back pages to know who the criminal is, and then read the book, figuring out how the criminal managed the crime. I'm on the opposite side, though. Even if I'm clueless as to who it might be and how the crime was committed, I'd never want to know the solution in advance! I'd like to work through the mystery along with the detective, marveling at the manner in which he makes sense of the unrelated pieces of information. It was the same with Strike. At every revelation and deduction and sense of understanding of human behaviour, all I felt was awe at this brainy character! 

The other characters in the book lead parallel lives, though the focus is majorly on Strike. It was fun reading about those as well, and also intriguing, for it added up to making one feel like anything could be an important piece of information! Since there were quite a few suspects in my mind, with all of them having possible motives and we were steadily receiving information about each of them, I felt the ending could have been more elaborate. Although I very well know it wouldn't have been much use; the actual crime - the who and the how - had been explained quite clearly, but I still was left wondering about the other suspects and their suspicious activities. Apart from the well-knit plot, believable and realistic characters, the writing style was mature. I don't know if 'mature' is the right word. I suppose it could have been easier, but then, that's the style the author had adopted and apart from the fact that one would need regular use of the dictionary (if you really can stop to go through their meanings and not do with the implied ones), it suited the book just as well.

Quite a few to-be-remembered lines from the book:

“Humans often assumed symmetry and equality where none existed.”

“When you are young, and beautiful, you can be very cruel.” 

“How easy it was to capitalize on a person’s own bent for self-destruction; how simple to nudge them into non-being, then to stand back and shrug and agree that it had been the inevitable result of a chaotic, catastrophic life.” 

Recommended for: Mystery lovers, adult readers, JKR fans!  
PS- Super excited to read the next Cormoran Strike novel, The Silkworm! 

Book Talk: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This is one book I don't feel like making a 'review' for. I'll just write about how it made me feel and what I think about it. Back when I had just started this blog, it was a wonderful experience being super-active, finding other bloggers from all parts of the world sharing the same love for books. During that time when a blogger friend put up a beautiful review for The Book Thief and personally also suggested to me to read it, I promptly put it up on my TBR. I wasn't so prompt in reading it, though. Two years later, recuperating from a dull-mood-cum-reading-slump, I finally picked it up and read it over a period of many days. Half of the book was read while travelling to and from college and the rest of it staying at home. 

To say it's a beautiful book would be a stark understatement. In the world of books and stories, this one is definitely among the many good books ever written, but it's something that will leave a big impression on you and stay with you all the time. 

~~~ The Book Thief ~~~

Written by: Markus Zusak

Published: 2005 by Picador

Pages: 584

Find it at: Amazon

Beauty Factor: Unmatched

Leisel Meminger, 9, is going to Munich to her new foster parents with her brother, Werner. It's 1939, Germany under the rule of Hitler. She doesn't know her father's a communist and her mother's decided to leave them in someone else's care for a better life. Her brother doesn't make it through as he is greeted by death on the way. It's during his quick, unceremonious funeral ritual by the railway tracks that Leisel steals her first book, The Gravedigger's Handbook. 

The book has a lot in terms of the story. Hitler, war times, school, friendships and live when your country's in a war. Air raids, seeing Jews being taken away, burning books. But it's not just this story. That's what struck me as the most beautiful part of this book. You'll never get enough of it in a single read. Narrated from the POV of death, the book tells a lot more about humanity, life, love and loss than it might otherwise have. It's all so beautifully engraved in the implicit meanings of those phrases narrated by death that if you could use your imagination, you would get the depth of meanings.

One of the central themes of the book is also one of my favorites: the power of words. Words are what Hitler used to turn the minds of people and words are what gave Leisel the meaning of life. She could not read at first when she reaches her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Hans, her new 'papa', is a loving accordion player and painter, who helps Leisel learn to read by staying up all night or whenever she needed to. His character is one of those gems you feel are too good to be staying in a war-affected world. Rosa has a big heart, but a fast mouth. She loves to call everyone Saukerl or Saumensch. 

It's all profound, even though the story is about the everyday life and events of a German girl, living in a German household. The war and suffering was for all, not just the Jews and other countries Hitler invaded. It was for his own people too. Leisel's life gets a new meaning when they come in contact with a Jew. He further is able to tell her how words are life. 

Then there's Rudy, the boy with hair the color of lemons: Leisel's best friend and confidante. Also, partner-in-crime for innocent stealing. However, books Leisel stole alone and for herself. Those books are comfort for her, the words she reads and later on writes are what save her. I cannot write about what happens in the story anymore, because like I said, this book is not just a story. It's a multitude of emotions, meaning of life and humanity and if you've read this book the way it should be read, you'd have learned some humility as well.

I've watched the movie adaptation twice and I say it for very few adaptations, but the movie is brilliant! The characters, the portrayal, the mood and tone of the movie is simply perfect. It's every bit as moving as the book. Recommended for: every single person, especially to remind everyone about the sufferings of war and what it is to be human, about the need to be loving and kind towards all. 

Src: novelsounds.net

"I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn't already know? I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race-that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant." 

Buy your copy here now!

The Magic of Classics!

There must be a reason why classics are called classics. There's this whole aura around them that makes you feel so different, and not just because they belong to a specific period in time. There was dystopia back then too, futuristic stuff, incredible science fiction and best of all, incomparable fantasy. What is it that makes us go back to classics for that 'complete and unabridged' feeling of satisfaction? How are classics so appealing? In this online course (MOOC) called The Future of Storytelling, they mentioned the way literature transformed; how earlier it was "more group and culture based" and now it is "more introverted and individualistic". 

<3

Stories were more about a place as a setting and then about the characters who form an integral part of the story. Important characters were barely just one. There were complete, imaginative worlds where fantasy came in. Humans interacted with other living forms by talking and hanging out with them without feeling weirded out. If you got to take advice from a caterpillar, you simply did. You did not make faces or feel strange or think it's unnatural. If you wanted to fly to Neverland and meet naughty pixie fairies, you simply needed to believe that you could fly. You didn't wait for a superhero or logic to come into the picture. I love that optimism, that simple, unbiased acceptance of the world for what it is. I love the lack of criticism and analysis. It makes me as a reader feel how vast and believable everything is, how it is simple and possible if you just believe in it. It's not always how it happens in real life but you're far better off if you hold on to these beliefs you inculcate while reading, one major reason being that you're always optimistic!

Let's consider some examples. Peter Pan (J.M. Barrie) is an imaginative story beginning with the simple idea of a boy who doesn't want to grow up, which is pretty much a normal feeling in kids. When you read the story, however, you're so drawn into that boy's adventures, his feelings and thoughts and behaviour, his interactions, other characters who're associated with him and a whole new world of Neverland where you meet pixies and pirates. When you read The Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum), you see a normal girl in Dorothy who falls into an adventurous situation and there're scarecrows and talking animals and witches and castles.  

I remember being absolutely petrified and hooked to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (R.L. Stevenson) when I first read it, just because it was so different (and scary) from anything I had ever read. It was a piece of wonder and I was nothing short of amazed. It's such a deep story, coming out of the concept of man having two sides: the good and the evil. A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens) was just as creative and although slightly dark, it's beautiful in the way it's told. There are many other examples, including Gulliver's Travels (Jonathan Swift), Frankenstein (Mary Shelley), The Invisible Man and The Time Machine (H.G. Wells) that make you feel so warm and nice and 'classic' when you read them! 

Have an open and accepting mind, and you'll love all these stories. I watched Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll) yesterday when its second movie adaptation was running on HBO. I haven't read the book as yet but I do like the story. It's so full of characters, yet you don't feel lost. It's a small, unique world. It shows the protagonist of the story as a strong, dreamy and imaginative girl who likes to do as she likes and has the ability to stand up for her own. Apart from what she does in Wonderland, it's quite cool the way she behaves when she's at the family gathering with her family and relatives, the way she signs up for a business deal instead of allowing her mother to marry her to a lord. This book came out in 1865. Awesome, much? :)

It's not just about the magical, it's about the stories based on societies and human-people too. They're all incredibly detailed and imaginative. I'm not denying the unique essence of modern literature, new genres and quick reads, but classics such as these have their own sense of time. You always feel different with such books. If you haven't read these, I'd suggest you should! A personal recommendation would be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and although I read it in school, an abridged version most probably, I'd still think it's worth a read.

Src: cdn.comicartfans.com

“With every day, and from both sides of my intelligence, the moral and the intellectual, I thus drew steadily nearer to the truth, by whose partial discovery I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two.” 

***

What do you think? Do you like these books as much? 

PS- How about the blog's new look? ;)

Booktalk: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

I've just emerged from the silent, eyes-closed-as-I-replay-the-book phase, before which I went through a pure OHMYGOD-kinda hyperventilation attack! I mean, I mean! Shadow Kiss is the third, and so far my most favorite book in the Vampire Academy series! Is this series awesome or WHAT???? I just don't know how to write a review for this one, so I'll just go along with my fanatic feelings! 

Richelle Mead

Book Title: Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy # 3)

Author: Richelle Mead

Pages: 442

Find it at: Amazon

Published: 2008 by Penguin 

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Vampires!!!

My Rating: 5/5!! *_*

Blurb from Goodreads!

It's springtime at St. Vladimir's Academy, and Rose Hathaway is this close to graduation. Since making her first Strigoi kills, Rose hasn't been feeling quite right. She's having dark thoughts, behaving erratically, and worst of all... might be seeing ghosts.

As Rose questions her sanity, new complications arise. Lissa has begun experimenting with her magic once more, their enemy Victor Dashkov might be set free, and Rose's forbidden relationship with Dimitri is starting to heat up again. But when a deadly threat no one saw coming changes their entire world, Rose must put her own life on the line - and choose between the two people she loves most.

My Thoughts!

I picked up Shadow Kiss soon after Frostbite, since I had liked it quite well. Did I have any idea this one would do to me what it did? Not a clue. I mean, I was enjoying the story so far, but with this book in, it's become much more than that. Rose is my new favorite, not just another character I admire. Her world is so close to my own! Her problems, seemingly in a parallel universe, coinciding with mine. Her fears, my fears. But it's not just this relation aspect. I love this story for everything that's in it! I'm a sickler for action, and it's got loads of well placed, well written and extremely well plotted action! It's a beautiful book, narrating the story of a world of vampires, but going much deeper than just blood lust!

Writing style? Easy to follow, well written, very well plotted. It's not exactly a maze, but twists come in just when you didn't expect anything, and you can't really predict what'll happen next, unless you've been a spoilsport and read up spoilers on the net (which, I absolutely refused to do!). Although I've been saying the pacing's slow, considering how it's been a few months described in three books so far, but it's just no problem, I realized later. There's so much going on in a short span of time, that the details are more important than going on quickly to the next step. 

I think the biggest reason I adore this book is that there's so much of emotion! It's not a sickly emo kind of thing, it's just that you don't just see action. There's detail to life, a turmoil of sorts described, to which readers would be able to easily relate. Rose's life was always about keeping them first. She's been living for the Moroi. When will she do something for herself? Is that even possible? We've seen Rose Hathaway, badass novice guardian go through so much, including equally badass Strigoi killings, along with seeing her live her life like a big sacrifice. Have the recent events challenged that? Certainly. Not that Rose is too keen to go off "living her own life". Lissa is who she wants to protect. She wants to be a guardian. She's awesome! But life was never how you thought it was. You feelings can be strong, and events can change you. 

The relationship between Rose and Dimitri was just heart-achingly beautiful! It's just so painful reading about such forbidden love, but I respect them both for how they take care of it all. As far as characters go, even Adrian seemed likeable by the end of the book. He didn't seem that bad even in the beginning, but still. He was more of a misunderstood guy who acted obnoxious, but is one with some sense. 

I really don't know how I should express my feelings for this story development here. Heart-breaking? Yes. Mind-boggling? Yes. Oh-God-please-don't-let-that-happen!? Yes. "I love Rose and Dimitri!!!!"? Yes. "I wish I had Lissa's power and patience!"? Yes. "What is going on with Rose!! Ghosts? :O " ?? YES! *tears streaming down* reading the ending of the book? Super duper yes. 

I don't know if it's just me, but this book goes way deeper than what it seems. I already have misgivings about the movie, it just seems to over-glamorized! This story's way beyond all that! Recommended for: everyone who enjoys Young Adult, Adult fantasy fiction.

Quotes, quotes!

"Some people read books for fun," he observed. 

"I don't think reading this cowboy stuff is really saving the world like I do."

"Like any book, it's an escape."

Life and death were so unpredictable. So close to each other. We existed moment to moment, never knowing who would be the next to leave this world.

'She was right about how easily things change. We try to do what's right, or rather, what others say is right. But sometimes, when that goes against who we are....... we have to choose.' <-- this one is my favorite! *_*

Review: The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna

Sangu Mandanna

Title: The Lost Girl

Author: Sangu Mandanna

Published: 2012 by Definitions (Random House Group)

Pages: 390

Genre: Futuristic, Dystopian

Find it at: Amazon

My Rating: 5/5!!

Starting this review with a *drool* because one, this book is amazing. Two, it is amazing. Three, it was beyond any expectations I had and so it is amazing! I can officially call this year as the Year of Discovering Awesome Indian Authors! Seriously, maybe this book isn't in the top in its category (whatever that is), but the fact that it is written by an Indian makes it all the more appealing to me because I did not think a lot many Indian authors would explore and be successful in this genre. Besides, I have certain criteria and ideas of what all a book should have if "I" were to write one, and this book had almost all those ingredients! How can someone not hyperventilate after that?

Goodreads Blurb!

Eva’s life is not her own. She is a creation, an abomination – an echo. Made by the Weavers as a copy of someone else, she is expected to replace a girl named Amarra, her ‘other’, if she ever died. Eva studies what Amarra does, what she eats, what it’s like to kiss her boyfriend, Ray. So when Amarra is killed in a car crash, Eva should be ready.

But fifteen years of studying never prepared her for this.

Now she must abandon everything she’s ever known – the guardians who raised her, the boy she’s forbidden to love – to move to India and convince the world that Amarra is still alive ...

My Thoughts!

The Lost Girl is based in a future time featuring The Loom where The Weavers stitch together echoes of real humans, placing a part of the human souls in them and making them live a life that echoes the lives of their 'others', the humans whose echoes they were made to be. This would give humans another chance at life, since the echoes could replace them if they died. This has been going on since the past 200 years and at present, there are three Weavers: Adrian, Matthew and Elsa. The world is aware of this, but everyone hasn't accepted the existence of The Loom to be good, and so most of the echoes are hidden from the world, and looked at as non-human creatures. The research and technology hasn't yet reached that level where the Weavers would be able to stitch an echo in the form of another body of the humans, waiting to encompass their souls, and so the present-day echoes very well have their own brains and emotions. 

But it is against the law for an echo to do anything apart from what their others are doing. Amarra, a 16 year old teenager lives in Bangalore, India, along with her parents and two younger siblings. Her echo, also named Amarra lives in England along with her caretaker, Mina Ma. Now, the story revolves around this echo Amarra's viewpoint and life, reflecting how as a man-made-'creature', she lives according to those rules and how her guardians and caretaker love her. The echo Amarra is strong, rebellious, and very curious. Her guardians love her enough to allow her a little bend of rules every now and then, but there is always the fear of Hunters, who are against echoes and hence, a threat to them. The book very successfully and from the very beginning, is able to pull the reader into looking at life from the echo's POV, to feel her anxiety, helplessness, strength, wants, wishes and dreams.

The reader is transported from one place to another, feeling all and everyone's thoughts and feelings as the echo Amarra (who has now named herself Eva, after a difficult baby elephant she saw in the zoo) experiences a painful transition in her life as her 'other', the real Amarra, dies in an accident. Eva now has to leave behind everything she has known, the boy she loves (a forbidden love) and her loving mother-figure, Mina Ma to live Amarra's life with her family in Bangalore. This part of the story talks about how she adjusts to Amarra's life, her family, her boyfriend and deals with the many troubles: not just teenager problems but also of being accepted as an echo and yes, of hunters. 

Apart from the easy, engrossing way of writing, there's such a mixed element of emotion in those words, interspersed with metaphors that sometimes don't even seem to connect, but they make you imagine and think anyway. I loved this aspect of the author's writing style. It makes the book have a lot more than just the story itself, which by the way, is unique and so creative! It's been inspired by Frankenstein, I think, which is the book that sent the author into a writing spree which turned out to be The Lost Girl and which has some references in the book too. The interesting story base compiled with the emotional, philosophical and psychological aspects make this book a complete, holistic read with hardly anything missing. 

I had put off the ending for almost two weeks since I wanted to finish it when I had enough time to contemplate. The book ends well, but I so wish it would have had more scenes, some more details!! I can't get into the details here because it'd be a spoiler, but seriously!!! I want more details!! I was almost tempted to reduce the 5 star rating to a 4.5, but I'm choosing to look beyond this flaw because one, there's a difference in the way the author thought and the way I think and two, the rest of the book more than makes up for it! And oh, I think the chapters don't really need those one-word titles. 

This is one of those books that don't reveal all their secrets at once! Or maybe since I read most of it while traveling, I missed out certain things that are roaming around in my head as intriguing questions, making me want to re-read the book again. Who is the 'lost' girl in the end? Amarra or Eva? Most probably it goes for Amarra, but since the protagonist is Eva and for me, it was the echo's story, it might have been Eva too. Let me just wait for my book-friends to read the book so I can discuss it and maybe I'll re-read it soon myself and figure it out! I'd recommend it to all teenage readers, young teenagers, YA readers, etc. I mean, everyone would love this book! :D Plus, it has a gorgeous cover, which is such a big plus too!

Some awesome lines from the book: 

'I don't think anyone ever really lets go of the people they love.'

'It's a funny sort of word to use at a time like this: lost. You lose your keys. Your phone. Your favorite shoes. And often you find those things again, days or weeks later, under the sofa or buried in the back of a closet. But it isn't quite the same for a lost life. A lost girl. Can you find those things again?'

'The simplest solutions are usually the best' 

'If you expect the worse, you're only denying someone a chance to be better'

'But maybe that's what the dead do. They stay. They linger. Benign and sweet and painful. They don't need us. They echo all by themselves.'

'What is this power the dead have over the ones they leave behind? It's strange and beautiful and frightening, this deathless love that human being continue to feel for the ones they've lost?'

Thank you Random House publishers for this book! :)

Hold Still by Nina LaCour...

Nina LaCour

Title: Hold Still

Author: Nina LaCour

Published: 2009 by Dutton Books 

Pages: 229

Find it at: Amazon

My Rating: 5/5!

Going through that particular shelf in the library where I usually find the most amazing books, I came across the name 'Nina LaCour' and was immediately reminded of some other book that I'd come across by the same author, The Disenchantments. I knew for a fact that it was a good book and I guessed this might be worthwhile as well. I'm so so so glad I picked it up! (You know, without wanting to sound bashful, but I think I've got one among the best books-chosen-from-the-library choices). Just for the record, I've added this book to my wishlist. :P

Goodreads Blurb!

An arresting story about starting over after a friend’s suicide, from a breakthrough new voice in YA fiction. dear caitlin, there are so many things that i want so badly to tell you but i just can’t.

Devastating, hopeful, hopeless, playful . . . in words and illustrations, Ingrid left behind a painful farewell in her journal for Caitlin. Now Caitlin is left alone, by loss and by choice, struggling to find renewed hope in the wake of her best friend’s suicide. With the help of family and newfound friends, Caitlin will encounter first love, broaden her horizons, and start to realize that true friendship didn’t die with Ingrid. And the journal which once seemed only to chronicle Ingrid’s descent into depression, becomes the tool by which Caitlin once again reaches out to all those who loved Ingrid—and Caitlin herself.

My Thoughts!

Hold Still is an immensely profound book. It is Caitlin's story of dealing with her best friend Ingrid's suicide. The story starts off with Caitlin spending the summer roaming forests with her mother, who's trying hard to help her daughter deal with the trauma. The trips make hardly any difference and before she knows it, she's back in school. It's hard for Caitlin to start a new year at school without her best friend, especially their favorite class, photography. Ingrid had a great talent when it came to photography and both of them would spend their weekends on photographing experiments. Their photography teacher Miss Delani is like a role model for the girls, but when Caitlin returns without Ingrid, why does Ms. Delani ignore her? It's an excruciating journey, Caitlin's transition and dealing with the depressing effects of Ingrid's suicide, but it's not a depressing novel. Everything has been described so beautifully and the emotions in such vivid details that you can't help feeling those same emotions like the characters do.

There isn't anything that seemed unnecessary. The book has detailed descriptions, but it very cleverly sticks to only describing those parts that are central to the story and the rest are either left out or written in such a way that the reader imagines them. That's one of the many things I liked best. It's mostly about Caitlin, her feelings and emotions and actions, written in such a way that you'd feel like you're reading something right off her own mind. It's not something that isn't yours, or someone else's story. It was just beautiful. Gradually, Caitlin makes friends with Dylan, the new girl at school and with Taylor, who likes her, two people central to her transition from being a depressed girl to someone nearing normalcy. I just am not able to describe exactly how it is, because with these words, it seems like a sad book, but it's not. With the minute detailing, it is very close to reality and if you've lost someone close, you'd be able to understand and relate to it better. And if you haven't, you'd understand what the emotional pain and dilemma is like. It isn't even exaggerated in any way.

For example, it tells how Caitlin feels when she finds Ingrid's journal under her bed. It was meant for her to find it. She doesn't know how to feel about it, or how to act. She's scared and upset and decides to go through it one page a day. She discovers things about Ingrid she didn't know. She's already mourning, missing her, in such emotional pain that it's almost physical, her parents trying hard to bring her to do things to take her mind off the sadness. Hold Still is like a journey through almost a year, how Caitlin gradually starts feeling more like normal. There's still a void, but she does a lot of things that help her calm down. Things she feels are right, for her and for Ingrid. Photography for one. After she feels betrayed by Ms. Delani, she deliberately does poorly in her assignments. In the end, the teacher sorts it out, because she herself was going through an emotional dilemma. Caitlin heals herself through photography, with the help of her new friends, her parents, music and visiting their (Caitlin and Ingrid's) secret hideout and favorite place, an old theater that's soon to be demolished.

She does things that make her feel like Ingrid deserves those and they are purely soul-lifting. "Painfully beautiful" are the words I've used to best describe the book. It was also inspirational for me because with those amazing descriptions, you could totally feel and look at the photographs they clicked, just with the words that were used to describe them. I used to enjoy photography and spent hours at a stretch working on those and the book moved me enough that I picked it up again. :D The writing style is amazing, engaging and feels completely honest. I liked the way the characters were described, how they come and go, it all seems natural and like I mentioned before, nothing's repetitive or unnecessary. It's just beautiful. ^_^

'People take one another for granted. How amazing it is to find someone who wants to hear about all the things that go in your head. You just think that things will stay the way they are. You never look up, in a moment that feels like every other moment of your life and think, "Soon this will be over." But I understand more now. About how life works.'

'It was the moment I realized what music can do to people, how it can make you hurt and feel so good all at once. I just stood there with my eyes closed, feeling the movement of all the people around me, the vibration of the bass rise through the floor to my throat, while something inside me broke and came back together'.

'Sometimes inspiration strikes; other times you have to hunt it down.'

'I think that people who make judgments about other people they don't even know are shallow, and people who start rumors are shallow, and I really don't care what shallow people say about me.' 

'It isn't the happy ending that Ingrid and I have dreamed up, but it's all a part of what I'm working through. The way life changes. The way people and things disappear. Then appear, unexpectedly, and hold you close.'

PS- I don't think I've done the book justice with this review, because I'm still not sure how to express what I really felt. It's a beautiful book and let's just say you're missing something if you don't read it!