Kitchen

ISBN: 9780571171040
Publisher: Faber and Faber
Published: 1993
150 pgs
Translator: Megan Backus

Thanks to Iliana, I came to know about this book through her recommendations (coincidentally, she also has her review posted. You can find the link at the end of this post).

I had a hard time looking for this book. I dared not even hope I would get it at BookMooch, since there are a number of BookMoochers hoping to get this book too. But a trip to Perth, Australia proved to be more worthwhile as I found it (the only one left) during a visit to Borders.

Anyway, back to Kitchen. What should I say? I am in love with the book. A simple story yet it struck a chord in my heart. The title may give a hint about the story surrounding kitchens (and cooking), but there are something much more than that. It is a moving tale about dealing with losing one's loved ones, grief and then, the simplicity of love.

Mikage Sakurai lost her parents since she was young. Her grandmother is the only person who has brought her up after her grandfather passed away when she was in junior high. So when her grandmother died, she is at a loss. It then dawned on her that everyone around her was no longer around, and this makes her feel very lonely, besides having to bear all the grief herself. But she knew she could not exist like that, doing nothing and moping around, so she pulled herself together and look for another place to stay as the place she stayed with her grandmother is too big and expensive.

Yuichi Tanabe, a young flower shop delivery man who also knew Mikage's grandmother, offers her his place where he shares with his mother. Eriko's mother is an extraordinary "woman". Apart from her cheerfulness and her generosity, she is actually a transvestite and is Yuichi's biological father. How he had became Yuichi's "mother" is another a sad and a complex tale to tell. It had seemed so natural for him being a transvestite after he had lost his wife and funny enough, I do not find it distasteful.

So the three of them live under one roof, although Mikage and Yuichi hardly see Eriko around at home as she owned a club. As the days goes by, Mikage feels closer with Yuichi and Eriko, whom the latter treats her as one of her own children. However, everything changes after Eriko is murdered and it is Yuichi's turn to grieve. And soon Mikage and Yuichi will learn something more about life and death and being there for each other and moving on is what most matters.

Here are a few passages I like:

By Eriko:

"If a person wants to stand on her own two feet, I recommend undertaking the care and feeding of something. It could be children, or it could be house plants, you know? By doing that you come to understand your own limitations. That's where it starts."

"... But if a person hasn't ever experienced true despair, she grows old never knowing how to evaluate where she is in life; never understanding what joy really is. I'm grateful for it."

By Mikage:

"I had come to understand that despair does not necessarily result in annihilation, that one can go on as usual in spite of it, I had become hardened. Was that what it means to be an adult, to live with ugly ambiguities? I didn't like it, but it made it easier to go on."

There is a novella, Moonlight Shadow, also featured in Kitchen which is another haunting story about loss and acceptance. Like Kitchen, I was captivated by Banana Yoshimoto's prose. I find Moonlight Shadow and Kitchen are very much alike in some ways, whereby life and death are the main issues of the story. However, Moonlight Shadow leaves a bittersweet feeling and reading it had brought tears to my eyes. As much as I love this story, I do not wish to elaborate much as I fear I may not do justice to it. You simply have to read it and understand how I felt, and that is it.

Other blog reviews:

A Striped Armchair

Bookgirl's Nightstand

It's All About Me (Time)

(Let me know if I have missed yours.)

Fallen Skies

ISBN-13: 9781416593140
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Published: December 2008 (Reissued)
509 pgs

This is the second book I read by Philippa Gregory after The Other Boleyn Girl. I really enjoyed reading the latter; there is so much historical stuff and drama in that novel. I do not think I will ever forget the characters like Mary and Anne Boleyn, or even King Henry VIII. Perhaps for these reasons, I had high expectations on Fallen Skies and I am glad this book does not disappoint me.

Set in the 1920s after the end of World War I England, this is a story of a war hero and a young chorus girl.

Captain Stephen Winters returns home after the war ends, but his soul is shattered. The cruelty and the horror of the war often left him with nightmares, but the worse of all is he could never stand the guilty thoughts after seeing so many of the soldiers died in the battlefields while he has survived. It does not please him further to find himself taking over his brother's role, who had also died in the war. He has lived his life meaninglessly until he meets a chorus girl, Lily Pears. Lily is like a breath of fresh air to him; she seems undaunted by the war and Stephen is quickly drawn to her purity, her gaiety and the way she look at life positively.

Seventeen-year-old Lily Pears has no idea she could make it big on stage, but an encounter with musical director, Charlie Smith changes everything after he has spotted her talent. She caught the attention of Stephen on her opening night of the show. They got acquainted and although Lily is drawn to his wealth and status, she is instead attracted and fell in love with Charlie. Unfortunately, due to an injury from the war, Charlie could not commit to her although they remain the very best of friends and offer each other support should anyone needs it.

However, Lily's mother passing has led to changes and Lily has no one to turn to except Stephen, for she knew he is very much attracted to her and he has offered to marry her. Lily agreed to it since she has not much of a choice, but unfortunately the marriage is not a happily-ever-after for her. Stephen is still troubled by the nightmares of the war and most often, he seeks solace from his mute batman, Coventry, whom had also shared the bad times from the war. Stephen is hoping the marriage to Lily will help him to forget everything but it seems it has the opposite effect, especially after she has given birth to a boy, Christopher, who bore the same name and reminds him too much of his late brother but most of all, Lily's coldness towards him reminds him of his loneliness and the war again. He feels Lily is no longer the same girl he had known from the past as there is a motherly radiance around her instead of the fresh and innocent girl who cares not much about the war.

Their relationship is strained although both of them still respect and talk to each other. It is only the disappearance of baby Christopher that leads to a tension in the Winters family and the police is called to investigate this matter. And from there there is a turn of events as suspense took over the story.

Fallen Skies was first published in the UK in 1993. One thing I love about Philippa Gregory's works is her ability of bringing all her characters to life, besides the historical settings and the history I came to learn about from her stories. Through this story, I learnt a few things about World War I and how the impact had caused to the soldiers, in which this case about Stephen Winters. He is one of those shell-shocked victims who could not brush away the images of the war and thus led it affect his life and towards the people around him. There are several scenarios which I was not sure if I should be angry or sorry for him.

Then, there is Lily whom I feel is much stronger as compared to Stephen. She has matured and her mindset has changed ever since her mother's passing. She took the role of a fighter instead of a whiner, but yet I see a different person in her when she is with her baby. She turns to a submissive role and is willing to do anything as long as Stephen would not hire a nanny to look after her baby. One has to marvel at the power of motherly love!

I was quite satisfied with the ending though, for I could not think of any other better scenarios than that. Although the impact is not as great as compared to The Other Boleyn Girl, I still think Fallen Skies is a powerful read.

(Note: I think this also fits for the Romance Reading Challenge since there is romantic love between Lily and Charlie although their story is bittersweet and a sad one.)

Ritual

ISBN-13: 9780593056424
Publisher: Bantam Press
Published: 2008
410 pgs

Police diver, Phoebe "Flea" Marley found a human hand nine feet underwater just after lunch on a Tuesday in May. The Bristol police suspected it was an accident, or even a suicide attempt but the weird thing was, they could not find the body attaching to the severed hand which looked like it had been sawed. As if it was not strange enough, they found another hand of the same victim buried underneath the restaurant. And speculations was that the victim might still be alive when those hands were removed.

DI Jack Caffery, who first appeared in The Birdman, has been newly seconded to the Major Crime Investigation Unit and was requested to look into this case with the assistance of Flea Marley. Though they were of different profession and background, however both shared the loss and the misery of their loved ones. For Jack, it was his loss of his murdered brother Ewan, while Flea lost her parents during a diving accident. Flea often thought of her parents' death and through his father's best mate, Kaiser Nduka's information, she knew a certain drug - Ibogaine, a root bark used by the Bwiti believers might lead her to communicate with the dead.

When the report indicated that the severed hands belongs to a young heroin addict named Ian Mallows, a.k.a. Mossy, they began to dig deeper into the case and discovered that Mossy might have conned into selling something to get his fix. Soon Jack and Flea realized that there was something more sinister than the drugs and the belief of the African folklore might have started everything.

Ritual is the first of the Walking Man series. Although there is not much coverage of the Walking Man in this story, he played a subtle role of an ex-con whom offers some advice and some lessons about life to Jack on and off during the investigation. As much as I am delighted to see Jack Caffery again, I found Flea to be an interesting character. She is strong, impulsive but most of all, she has guts and would not allow anyone, or anything to intimidate her. I am thrilled to learn that she will continue to work with Jack in the next instalment, Skin.

Aside from the intrigue and suspense, Mo Hayder also added in some folklore and superstitions into this story which I find it refreshing yet disturbing. Although this is nothing new and she had done it before in Pig Island, the difference is there is a lot more humanity and psychological issue in this story. And the glimpse of the drug addicts' and the hookers' dark worlds reminds me the sad reality of life.

The setting and the atmosphere are fitting to the story; and of course I need to mention that Mo Hayder's writing is superb. I am awed that she always has a way of connecting the story bit by bit smoothly. It is no surprise that she is one of my favourite crime thriller authors.

Her Real-Life Hero

ISBN-10: 026384210X
Publisher: Harlequin Mills & Boon
Published: 2005
187 pgs

Tara Devlin likes men to be tall, dark and good looking, but most of all she likes them fictional. For you see, she is a writer and moreover she does not think men with the above qualities would happen in reality anyway. Until her sexy neighbour moves right next to her.

Jack Lewis' Jeep has broken down and he is in need of a mechanic. Having just moved into his house and without any telephone connection, he thought his neighbour would be able to help with his difficulties but he was dead wrong. Not only did his neighbour proves to be not trusting, but she even accuses him of imposing as her hero as it happens that he and her fictional hero shared the same name!

Tara thought it was a joke initially, but it proves not when she realizes Jack and hre fictional Jack have too many similiar concidences. But what infuriates her further is his flirtatious attitude and his charm that seems to affecting on most women, including herself even though she does not want to admit it. Although she finds his annoying, she could not help notice him and how he manages to evoke the emotions she feels about him the more they are seeing and understanding each other. She could not imagine and believing herself about liking him until it happens. And then she would realize that the Jack in reality is nothing like her fictional Jack after all.

Her Real-Life Hero is a fun read. It is a heartwarming love story about two different people falling in love. Although there is nothing complicated about the plots, what I liked most about this story is the characters and the dialogues that had me smiling and chuckling. This book is a good read if you want something light and entertaining.

Private

ISBN-13: 9781416932437
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2007
227 pgs
Private Series #1

Fifteen-year-old Reed Brenna leaves her Pennsylvania home and begins her new school life in the posh Easton Academy where most of the students came from wealthy families. Reed managed to get in due to her soccer and lacrosse skills, her scholarship and then the stellar recommendation from an Easton senior who used to be her brother's ex.

During the first day in school, she met Thomas Pearson, one of the coolest and most popular guy in Easton. Then there are the Billing Girls who seems to have everything in life. They are beautiful, sophisticated, intelligent and it seems most girls in school look up to them. Reed wishes to be one of them, but she was told that not anyone could be a Billings Girl, and that one only gets invited by them to be one of them.

Back in her old school, Reed used to get good grades but things are different in Easton as they have their own standards and rules to adhere. When the Billings Girls started to ask her to run errands for them and breaking up with a guy on of the Billings Girls' behalf, Reed gritted her teeth and did them because she knew she would be invited to be one of them if she did what they told but the tasks got worse and dangerous when she is later asked to steal tests and to spike a teacher's drink. She turned down the last 'errand', for she thinks the request is too much and moreover, she does not believe in doing so anyway.

And then, there is the attraction she has for Thomas but it seems he has his own secrets even though they have became a couple and they felt their situations are very similiar to each other. For Thomas, he does not get along with his parents and as for Reed, her mother has a drinking problem. However, the Billings Girls warned her something about Thomas and suddenly, Reed is torn between them and Thomas. Finally, there is the big question about Thomas' disappearance during the parents' meeting that leaves the readers intrigued besides wondering if Reed could be the next Billings Girl.

When I first started reading Private, I told myself to keep an open mind. After all, there is nothing good about reading how a bunch of over-spoiled girls into bullying a newbie who seems to be entirely out of their league. I was not too pleased with Reed initially after reading the things she had done hoping to be a Billings Girl, but in the end I was glad to learn that she does have guts and a mind of her own overall. She may want to be the next Billings Girl in Easton, but she also has her conscience and that I find is a good message to the young readers. I was also intrigued with the mystery surrounding the Billings Girls and Thomas, and I cannot wait to find out what has led to Thomas' disappearance. I hope I would be able to find these answers in the next instalment Invitation Only, and not to mention to read more about Reed Brennan's life in Easton Academy.