After the Crash by Michel Bussi

ISBN-13: 9781780227320
Publisher: W&N
Publication Date: August 2015
Format: Paperback, 400 pgs
Source: Library 

December 23, 1980. A night flight bound for Paris crashed into Mont Terri, a snowy mountainside near the Turkish border. All the 169 passengers were perished except for an infant girl, who was thrown out from the plane before the plane caught fire. The media dubbed her as "the Miracle Child of Mont Terri", and just when the world is amazed and overjoyed by this little survivor, there comes a million dollars question. There were two infants on board and there are two families who came forward and claim the child. So is she Lyse-Rose or Emilie? The infants' age were merely a few months apart and given that DNA testing isn't introduced during that time, it was difficult to tell who's who given that family members who could recognise them were either perished or too young an age to be trusted. 

Eighteen years later, Crédule Grand Duc, a private detective is asked to investigate this mystery by one family. On the verge of giving up and committing suicide, the mystery suddenly dawned on him in his final moments. The notebook he had recorded during his investigations had now fallen into Marc's hands; a university student who has taken a liking to "Lylie", a beautiful university mate who has grown up from that unfortunate tragedy eighteen years ago. Marc intends to find out the truth but it seems he is not the only one who is looking for "Lylie". 

After the Crash is no doubt a very intense mystery that had me turning the pages. However, there was one thing that prevent me from enjoying and liking this book fully is the credibility part and the family melodrama which follows. While there are some characters who are interesting, such as the detective and even "Lylie" who remains vague, there are also some characters who would frustrate or infuriate readers. And then, there is that DNA part which perplexed me. It might be true that "Lylie's" identity wasn't identified due to the technology which wasn't common then, but the authorities or even the families would choose to remain "nonchalant" even when the girl has grown up and surely they could have her DNA tested and compare with the remaining family members? This book has a very interesting and intense premise but it lacks plausibility in my opinion. That said, the book was a page-turner and I'm sure it would appeal to readers who want an entertaining and an intense read. 

Travelers Rest by Keith Lee Morris

ISBN-13: 9780316335829
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: January 2016
Format: Hardcover, 368 pgs
Source: Library

I figured I better put up a review today since I might be swamped by the one-week school holidays next week. I hope you have a great weekend ahead and here's my thoughts on Travelers Rest. 

Tonio and Julia Addison, accompanied by their ten-year-old son Dewey, is travelling home across country after collecting Tonio’s brother, Robbie, from a rehab centre when the blizzard hit. Since it is night time and for safety reason, they decided to take refuge at Travelers Rest, an old hotel located at a small mining town called Good Night. 

However, Tonio finds Travelers Rest strange, and most of all it has no heating and the hotel looks quiet with only a staff at the reception. Tonio wants to continue with their drive but Julia is adamant about staying at Travelers Rest. With the snow piling and that there is a diner and bar nearby, Tonio gave in and they checked into Travelers Rest. 

Robbie is the first who check out this weird town. With his character and his somewhat lukewarm relationship with the Addisons family, it is not surprising that he would pocket Tonio’s money and wander to the nearby bar himself. Tonio may appear to be distant with Robbie, but Julia likes her brother-in-law and will subconsciously find herself comparing with Tonio. 

They managed to make do with their accommodation but the bad weather forces them to stay for another day and thus, they remain. However, it seems like the longer they stay they are bounded and allured by an unexplainable force which had them wander through the maze of the hotel's spectral interiors and soon the family members find themselves separated from one another and this is when the reader will follow their journey and enter into a strange realm where the past intersects with the present. 

Travelers Rest has all the elements of an intense supernatural thriller, but truth be told it is more of a case of characters study which allow readers to glimpse into the characters' minds and understand their individual feel of isolation; and how some past memories can have a hold upon us. While this isn't a bad story, I felt myself disappointed with Travelers Rest as I had expected it to be a spooky gothic read but it turned out to be something else. That said, it was still a worthy read once I got into the story and learnt something about this sad, trapped family. At times I found myself feeling sympathetic towards some of the characters; and it took me a while to connect with them. The only likeable (to say the least) character is young Dewey, who I think is smart at his age and appears to have some sense and control initially until he too was swept away by their circumstances. The ending offers the answers the readers have been wandering about but not necessarily a satisfying one. 

Hidden by Karen E. Olson

ISBN-13: 9780727885326
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Publication Date: November 2015
Format: Hardcover, 224 pgs
Source: Library

Nicole Jones has been living happily in Block Island for the past fifteen years. She enjoys the close-knit community and that everyone seems to know everyone in that small island. Life there may not be as glittery as the mainland, but she knows she would be safe there. After all, Nicole has taken on a new identity and she intends to stay hidden there with no one who knew of her past except herself. 

Aside from staying hidden, Nicole is keeping herself away from computers and the Internet, not because she has no knowledge but on the contrary she is an expert and a computer hacker, too. When someone close from her past reappears in Block Island one day, she knew her new life is coming to an end and she has to face the past no matter she likes it or not. However, that person isn't the only one who is hot on her trails, for it seems there are other people who want her dead and in order to survive, she has to re-hone her computer and hacking skills to escape, even if that means putting herself and her friends in danger. 

I am new to Karen E. Olson's books but I am glad to say I quite enjoyed this intense suspense about a female hacker on the run. Nicole may have made mistakes years ago but she has matured and has become more conscientious than before. As I began to read more about her, the more empathy I felt towards her. This book also led me into thinking of the security of the Internet as well as the web services we so often use today; and that everything could be traced or hacked easily given the skills. 

Hidden is not fully the whodunit type (though it had kept me very curious!) nor a police procedural kind of thriller but instead it focuses more on the complexity of Nicole's double life and how she is dealing with her past which has eventually catches up to her. I'll be checking out her second book in the series, Shadowed,which I believe would be released in June 2016.  

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

ISBN-13: 9780385538497
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication Date: February 2014
Format: Hardcover, 336 pgs
Source: Library

"Everyone in town had a story about the Devil's Hand, and though the stories differed in detail, one fact remained the same: it was an evil place, and bad luck to go there." Pg 59

To begin with, The Winter People is a disturbing, unsettling novel. The cold atmospheric setting, the characterisations and there of course the unsettling storyline. 

During the 1900s in West Hall, Vermont, there was a woman named Sara Harrison Shea. She had a happy family with her loving husband, Martin, and a little girl called Gertie. When Gertie was found dead one day, Sara went berserk. Martin tried to do anything to help bring his wife back, but Sara was gone emotionally. She was later found dead tragically one day. Nobody knew what happened; and from then onwards there were rumours that Sara's ghost walks the streets after midnight. The townspeople began to leave offerings on their doorsteps to prevent her from coming inside; and that practice continues to the present day. 

Present day: 19-year-old Ruthie Washburne never really believes in West Hall's rumours. Growing up in an isolated farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and younger sister, Fawn, her biggest dreams is to leave her sleepy town and live a "normal" life where Internet and phones are accessible. Life is simple and blissful for them until Alice goes missing one night. Ruthie only found out about her mother's disappearance the next morning since she was out late with Buzz, a boy whom she hangs out with. But that is not all, she also found an old journal belonging to Sara Harrison Shea hidden at her house. 

On the other end, Katherine is devastated over the loss of her young son, Austin, and her husband, Gary. Gary died in an accident two months after their son's passing. Katherine found out later that Gary visited West Hall on the day he died so she travelled to that place to search for some answers as to why Gary went there in the first place. 

What follows is a series of events that linked Ruthie and Katherine together; and through bits of legends and rumours surrounding West Hall as well as Sara's journal, they find out about the dark, horrific secrets which had happened so many years ago and how some people would do anything to get what they want despite the consequences. 

The Winter People has all the elements of a great psychological thriller. To top it off, the characters are all intriguing and the premise just blew me away. I wish I could say what most bothered me in this story but that would spoil everything. Suffice it to say it has a few topics worth thinking and discussing and the author pulled no punches when the imaginative is concerned; one factor which I truly appreciate in a story like this. A very absorbing story and an unforgettable premise; this would no doubt make it onto my top reads in 2016. 

The Oxford Inheritance by Ann A. McDonald

ISBN-13:  9780062203670
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published Date: February 2016
Format: Hardcover, 336 pgs
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss

A mystery set in the prestigious Oxford University. I knew I wouldn't resist reading this by the academic setting alone; plus there is murder and bits of dark power forces in this story. Sounds like a winner to me. 

When Cassandra Blackwell received a mysterious package surrounding her late mother’s past, she knew she has to leave America for England to uncover the truth about Joanna Blackwell. She managed to get through the scholarship system to find a place in the prestigious Oxford University, but she isn't prepared by the erratic schedules, the aristocracy of some students who think they have all the rights to their claims and most of all, the attention of Hugo Mandeville, the guy who both intrigues and intimidates her at the same time. 

As she spends more time in Oxford and trying to mingle with the popular group to get information of her late mother’s existence in the university and the reason why she fled without completing her studies, she stumbles upon a dark secret - a secret society called the School of Night within the University and though there are very few speculations about it, no one dares mention it out loud. Plus, there is no evidence supporting there is such a society and the library archives are equivalent to non-existence if one doesn't has a special pass for the access. But Cassie is smart and determined and she has found one or two resources who have helped her in every means they can. 

When her findings lead her into dangerous circumstances, she knew she has hit the right direction and is more determined to unravel the truth about the society and the activities they undertake, especially seeing her bubbly room-mate, Elvie, is dead and there is no explanation over her suicidal act, as so they claimed. 

I have to admit I didn't know what to expect before reading The Oxford Inheritance. I knew there would be mystery, conspiracies and secrets and I loved the way how the author built the suspense and the academic world-building she created, leading me deeper and deeper into the story until I was as caught up as Cassie's determination in solving the mystery. Although this is unlike the usual crime thrillers or police procedurals which I read, it is intriguing and intense just the same. As I mentioned before, there are bits of dark power forces mentioned so this novel has a little paranormal feel but didn't really take up the overall story; there isn't much romance element (definitely no love triangle here) but I was glad to see there is a love potential between Cassie and one of the characters towards the end. The core of this story is mainly on the characterisations, the search and the mystery behind the society; and of course I was quite satisfied with the ending too. All in all, it was an enjoyable read to me. 

Our Song by Dani Atkins

ISBN-13: 9781471142246
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Publication Date: January 2016
Format: Paperback, 512 pgs
Source: Purchased 

Ally and Charlotte are not supposed to meet under any circumstances, not when they had an unpleasant exchanges over a guy back during their university days, and definitely not at the same hospital where their husbands are being admitted under emergency circumstances. 

David, who is Charlotte's husband, used to date Ally then. Despite different personalities, David and Ally loved each other and they were very happy. Charlotte came between them unexpectedly and unintentionally after she shared the same dorm with David and two of his friends. Although Charlotte knew of their relationship, she couldn't help being attracted by David all over again. She first met David when she was seventeen; it wasn't a pleasant encounter considering they'd almost died in a skiing accident but David's bravery and his looks are forever etched in Charlotte's mind all the way towards adulthood. When David and Ally broke up due to lesser time together and some misunderstandings, Charlotte ended up getting her dream man and married him eventually. They are happy but Charlotte always have this fear that David might go back to Ally if they have the chance to meet again. 

Ally is devastated over her husband's accident. On top of the bad news, the least person she wants to meet is having to face Charlotte in person after all these years. Despite the awkwardness, Ally and Charlotte share the same grief and worry over their husbands' lives as both of them are in critical conditions. David suffered from a serious heart problem while Ally's husband, Joe, is unconscious after he had fell into a frozen lake while rescuing a dog. Charlotte and Ally might not be the best of friends right then, but this circumstances has brought them a chance to speak of the past while they waited for news of their husbands. 

Told from Ally's and Charlotte's perspectives and with chapters alternating between the past and the present, this novel is about four different people and how one fateful night had decided their past, present and future. While this is a love story, there are also friendship and families elements which have made this book a moving read. What makes this book a worthy read to me is aside from the story, it is the author's ability of bringing her characters to life. Each of them is unique and memorable, but I have to say Joe is my favourite character among all. He is kind, funny and most of all, his selfless attitude which has not only won Abby's heart but mine as well. 

While some of the premises aren't new, this book is still an absorbing read and will take you on an emotional roller-coaster 'ride'. I may have gone past the height of the intense emotions it had evoked in me, but it is the act of selfless love as well as hope that still lingers in my mind. 

The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones

ISBN-13: 9780547053738
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date: June 2008
Format: Paperback, 304 pgs
Source: Purchased

There is a Chinese saying "民以食为先 " (min yi shi wei xian), which means "food is god for the people" or simply put "food is the basic need of man". Indeed, we strive in life not only to enrich our minds but to feed our stomachs as well. 

In this novel, author Nicole Mones shares with us not only the history and the art of Chinese cuisine but also a life experience story of a widowed woman and a chef and how food can nourish one's body and soul as well. 

Maggie McElroy is a food writer for Table magazine. Her husband Matt passed a year ago and while she is still coping over the loss of Matt, she finds some solace in her work but that peace is shattered when she has received news that a woman in China has filed a paternity claim against Matt and now that he had gone, Maggie has to fly there to settle it. Without a doubt, Maggie is shocked over the news but thinking back she knew Matt's infidelity comes with a reason considering she doesn't want a child in the first place. With their busy work schedules and frequent work trips, she thought it isn't a good time for them all, plus she isn't ready, yet. Despite the difficult times, Maggie accepts an assignment from her editor to profile Sam, a half-Chinese American chef when she's in China. She knew work will keep her sane plus her editor told her that Sam is the last in a line of gifted chefs tracing back to the imperial palace. With Sam gearing up for China's Olympic culinary competition and news that his new restaurant would be opening soon, she knew this profile will make a great article for her column. 

On the other end, Sam Liang is disappointed that his restaurant is not going to open as he'd lost his investor. When Maggie asked if she could do a profile of him, he rejected because without a restaurant there isn't much to say about but Maggie is adamant and is willing to interview and watch him prepare for the banquet for the competition. As the days go by, Maggie finds herself fascinated by Sam's culinary skill as well as his determination. Through their exchanges, she found out that Sam's late grandfather, Liang Wei, was a great chef himself and had written a book called The Last Chinese Chef. Sam and his father, Liang Yeh, are currently working together in translating that book but the progress is slow, given that Sam's father's heart isn't in it. Liang Yeh used to cook but has given up this skill the time they'd moved to America. Sam decided to continue their family's line of cooking and he returns to China to learn all the skills and techniques from his three Uncles, who are living in China. Sam knows that the Chinese cuisine is different from the Chinese-American cuisine back home and he intends to cook up a storm not only for the competition but for him and his father as well. 

As Maggie watches Sam prepares for the banquet, she finds herself drawn to him by his passion for cooking and most of all, the friendship he has extended to her when she is alone and helpless in China. Sam has even gone through the extent of being with her when she faces the woman's family and the little girl who is believed to be Matt's daughter for the first time. Aside from Sam's friendship, Maggie also learns a lot about Chinese cuisine, its history and artistry and most of all, the human connection (关系 guanxi) which not only brings people together in a banquet but also this "ingredient" which has warmed and healed her heart.

What I really liked about this story is aside from the history and the culture of Chinese cuisine, it tells a heartwarming tale of two different people coming together and the discovery of one's self. I especially liked reading snippets of the various philosophy and metaphor about the Chinese cuisine history/culture at the beginning of each chapter; and though they appear to be excerpts from Liang Wei's The Last Chinese Chef, I found them to be very informative and meaningful. One example: 

Apprentices have asked me, what is the most exalted peak of cuisine? Is it the freshest ingredients, the most complex flavors? Is it the rustic, or the rare? t is none of these. The peak is neither eating nor cooking, but the giving and sharing of food. Great food should never be taken alone. What pleasure can a make take in fine cuisine unless he invites cherished friends, counts the days until the banquet, and composes an anticipatory poem for his letter of invitation? - Liang Wei, The Last Chinese Chef, pub. Peking, 1925        

Finally, this novel is a nominee for the Kiriyama Prize* for Fiction (2008). 

* The Kiriyama Prize is an international literary award awarded to books about the Pacific Rim and South Asia. Its goal is to encourage greater understanding among the peoples and nations of the region. Established in 1996, the prize was last awarded in 2008. (From Goodreads)

Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel

ISBN-13: 9781447280026
Publisher: Picador
Publication Date: March 2015
Format: Paperback, 256 pgs
Source: Purchased

I am sure many readers are familiar with this author's name - Emily St. John Mandel. After all, she is the author of Station Eleven and this book was well received by critics; most of them stating her writing beautiful and lyrical. I should have picked up this book based on all the glowing reviews but instead, I decided on reading her debut, Last Night in Montreal. Why? Perhaps I wanted to have a feel of her writing first before I dive into her other well-known works, not that LNIM isn't popular and anyway I believe readers who loved Station Eleven would have snapped up Emily's earlier works by now. 

Rambling aside, here is what I thought of Last Night in Montreal. Did I love it? Yes! Is Emily's writing good? It is more than good; her writing is as what other readers said - beautiful and lyrical. Most of all, I loved the way how she plot the story; intertwining with flashbacks and some doses of lost memories and melancholy. So what is the story about? It is a love story, a mystery and basically it is a story of a girl, Lilia, who travels since young and why she never stays in a place for long. When she was seven, her father "abducted" her. They travelled from a state to another, sometimes to Canadian border and little Lilia finds them very thrilling. This thrill continues all the way to her twenties, and though she no longer travels with her father the thought of staying at a place never lingers in her mind. 

Lilia befriended some friends and found herself a few lovers during her travellings, but it is Eli, her most recent boyfriend, who finds her leaving most puzzling and is adamant to find her, even if it means leaving for Montreal and French is a foreign language to him. There, he met Michaela, who is the one who tipped him off about Lilia's whereabouts in the first place but she wants some answers from Eli first. You see, Michaela is the daughter of a private detective who is entrusted to oversee the case of Lilia's disappearance years ago. 

While Lilia seems to take the centre stage in this novel, I think Michaela and her father also play a huge part in this story. So what did I think of Emily's debut? I was totally entranced by her storytelling; and yes I was blown away by the ending, too. All in all, it is a well-rendered melancholy story about human connections. 

A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding by Jackie Copleton

ISBN-13: 9780091959067
Publisher: Hutchinson
Publication Date: July 2015
Format: Hardcover, 304 pgs
Source: Library 

I found this book through my friend and fellow blogger, Wendy of Musings of a Bookish Kitty, and after reading her lovely review I knew I wanted to read it. 

Amaterasu Takahashi is the only survivor after the bombing of Nagasaki forty years ago. She and her husband, Kenzo, decided to leave for America for a new life because the past carried too much horrific and painful memories for them, especially Amaterasu. She blamed herself for leading her daughter, Yuko, to her death after telling her she would like to meet up at Urakami Cathedral to talk with her over some matters. Japan was at war then and no one expects the bombing would happen until it was all too late. Amaterasu escaped the bombing but unfortunately Yuko didn't. Her body was never found and while Amaterasu and Kenzo initially held onto the belief that she might be alive, they have soon given up hope and decided that Yuko may have perished after all. Their young grandson, Hideo, wasn't spared too and all these had devastated the couple. 

Amaterasu and Kenzo managed to find some peace in America until sickness has taken Kenzo away from Amaterasu. As if things aren't painful enough, Amaterasu opens her door one day to find a scarred man claiming to be her grandson. Amaterasu doesn't believe him, but the man has a collection of old letters which Amaterasu couldn't resist to read; and once again Amaterasu is being brought back to the past and led her into thinking that if she hadn't protect her daughter from a forbidden relationship would she be alive then. 

While one can say A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding is a war story, it is also a heart-wrenching story about family, love, secrets and forgiveness. While the reader is concerned if Hideo is Amaterasu's long-lost grandson, at its core this is more of Yuko's story and the reason(s) why Amaterasu has gone through all lengths to protect her. The impact and the aftermath of the war wasn't an easy read and while it doesn't take too much of the story, the sad and horrific event remains in the reader's mind as Yuko's past slowly unveils through bits of her journals as well as Amaterasu's recollections. The reader will also came to understand more about Amaterasu because there is also part of her story too. 

This is Jackie Copleton's debut novel and I will be sure to watch out for her next release. 

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

ISBN-13: 9781444775815
Publisher: Sceptre
Publication Date: May 2015
Format: Paperback, 320 pgs
Source: Purchased

First of all, Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holidays. Now that the holidays are over, it is back to reality and honestly speaking, I am still trying to 'tune' myself back to fit into my normal routine and let's just say I am still coping, ha. Anyway back to the review. 

I am sure many of you have this experience - You have heard and read so many glowing reviews of a book but yet you have put off reading it for many reasons. A Man Called Ove is one of those books to me. This charming story has evoked so many emotions in me; it'd made me laugh, smile and cry. It's amazing how a story could do that to you, but here it is. 

Ove isn't a man you would warm up with at first glance, or even after your first meeting with. For starters, he is grumpy. And he doesn't think highly of anyone who doesn't do things the right way and properly. And he certainly doesn't stand people talking in codes; especially a language which may imply a slang or referring things in other words. In other words, he is simply an old-fashioned man who believes doing or mending his own stuff and following the rules. He has worked hard all his life, paid his taxes, never had a loan and is fiercely loyal to his Saab car. He is also a man of few words but as the story progresses, readers will be able to understand the characteristics of Ove; why he becomes the person he is and how towards the end he will make us readers think differently of him and even truly respect him as a person. 

I wouldn't want to say too much about this book as I feel it is best to read it yourself but I do want to say it has led me thinking about a lot of things after reading it. Such as, in terms of technology and lifestyles, it appears that things aren't what they used to be. We strive for improvements in technology, yet we seem to have forgotten how to take in the joy of building things our own way and preserving them. We tend to change new things more easily and more frequently now; and while this certainly implies that our society has improved over the years but from another angle it might also mean our sentimental values deteriorate.  

Of course the story might lean towards sentimentality, but it gravitate towards a feel-good and hopeful feeling which allows me to see the older generation differently and in a new light, especially people like Ove. 

As you can tell, I enjoyed reading this book very much and now I know why it is a bestseller. 

PS: I want to thank my blog reader, Reta Kenter, for taking her time in writing to me and recommending this book to me. 

After You by Jojo Moyes

ISBN-13: 9780718177010
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Publication Date: September 2015
Format: Trade Paperback, 416 pgs
Source: Purchased




* Some spoilers for Me Before You *

I am sure many of you have read some books and wonder what happens to the protagonists long after the books are finished, especially if their lives took a turn and we want to know how they are getting on with their new life. After You is such a book which had me so excited when I knew the author would be writing a sequel to Me Before You. I loved that book so much; it was romance and an inspiration all in one lovely package. I wept over the ending and though it was a sad one it had made Louisa Clark a different person; someone who thinks life differently after meeting Will Traynor. 

And as much as Louisa is living to adapt her new life without Will, she still misses him terribly. Her job at an airport bar is miserable, and she still doesn't feel at home with the flat she's owned for a year. Her family members think it is a good idea for her to enrol in a grief counselling group and though she attends the sessions she feels she is there to listen to others' experiences, since she still finds it hard to speak of Will. 

She is still thinking about her stagnant life when a rooftop accident turns her world upside down and lead her to Sam Fielding. Sam is a knight in shining armour, considering he is a paramedic and he had held her hand throughout their drive to the hospital. 

But despite Louisa finds Sam likeable, she is unsure about everything. And then, there is that guilty feeling about not loving Will more if she thinks of someone else. But that is not all, she somewhat feels responsible for sixteen-year-old Lily; a girl who has stumbled into her life drunk one day and reminds her so much of herself. While it seems Sam and Lily have helped changed her life into something more meaningful and exciting, Louisa still ponders about Will and her promise in living. But moving on involves risks and she isn't sure if she is brave enough to embrace everything, again. 

After You, like Me Before You, is an emotional and thought-provoking read but they are so much different from each other. While Me Before You allows one to think of the meaning of life, After You questions readers if they are willing to take risks and move on. Once again, the author has captured Louisa's voice perfectly and I could feel her loneliness, her misery, her struggles and of course, the happy moments she has had with Sam and Lily. I just couldn't help but to think things after closing the book. I felt for Louisa; the struggles and the dilemma she was facing as well as the decision she has made towards the end. It was a great book for a sequel and most of all, it had satisfied my curiosity about Louisa's life after what happened before. 

The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness by Kyung-Sook Shin

ISBN-13: 9781605988634
Publisher: Pegasus
Publication Date: September 2015
Format: Hardcover, 400 pgs
Source: Purchased
Translated from the Korean by Ha-Yun Jung

I fell in love with Kyung-Sook Shin's prose after reading I'll Be Right There. In that story, she has eloquently captured the voices of her characters and made me empathise and care for them. You can say her writing is poetic because that's how I felt about it - beautiful, meaningful and thought-provoking. Thus, when I found this latest release I grabbed a copy without bothering to read the blurb. Do you have one of those moments? I'm sure you understand what I'm talking about. Anyway...

Written in the past (the '70s) and present setting alternatively, this story reflects the life of an unnamed character, a 16-year-old girl who travels to Seoul from her countryside home to work in a factory while studying part time. The other time frame is where we see her as a thirty-ish woman, already a successful novelist but occasionally finds herself locked away in her 16-year-old's loneliness self when she'd dreamt of writing; a pitchfork which had marked an unforgettable memory after it'd pierced her foot and led her dumping it into their well and finally, the pain and struggles she'd gone through working at the factory, with low wages and unfair policies which have made the employees either shed their dignity and their teeth or clash with their superiors and risk losing their jobs. Most of them are in their twenties, excluding the narrator, who's managed to get in thanks to her oldest brother. Despite the hard work, sleep deprivation and most of all, the unfairness and the extreme exploitation of employees' rights. While some of them grit their teeth and move on, hoping to have a better life once they have a certificate to grant them better jobs, the others retaliated by forming a Union and risk losing their jobs; their dignity and their self-righteousness are the only things that keep them going. 

But it is not only the narrator who is working hard, her oldest and second brother, together with her 19-year-old cousin, are also out working to pursue their dreams. The narrator's oldest brother works the hardest amongst all, perhaps being the eldest with much responsibility, he works two jobs and continues to do so while serving his military service, even if it means wearing a wig to cover his bald head so he can appear as a civilian.

Aside from the relationship with her siblings and her cousin, the narrator also shares with readers her interactions with a girl who lives in the same complex (which is actually a building with rooms for the employees to stay so they can travel to and from work easily) and how their connection would later make her reflect upon her pent up feelings despite many passing years and each has gone their separate ways. 

Not quite fact and not quite fiction, as the narrator put it, this novel, at times read like a memoir and one couldn't help but to sweep away by the narrator's voice and the haunting journey she has led us into following. Melancholy and definitely insightful, once again I felt myself mesmerised by Ms. Shin’s beautiful writing and her storytelling. And I just got this feeling that she's written a very personal story in this book. 

A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo

ISBN-13: 9780307278401
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication Date: June 2008 (Reprint)
Format: Paperback, 304 pgs
Source: Purchased

24 year-old Zhuang Xiao Qiao, or "Z" to foreigners, left her home in China to stay in London to study English. With only a cheap suitcase and her "little red book" - a concise Chinese-English dictionary, she is set to learn English language and return home proudly with a new dream and a new hope instead of following her parents' path - making shoes in their little town, Wen Zhou. 

As much as her willingness to learn English, she finds herself trapped by the cultural differences and the grammatical challenge that so often confuse her. On top of that, she feels lonely and hope for someone whom she can talk and share things with. She found that person in an Englishman she met in a cinema (a nameless character whom I thought would be better off with a name) and fell in love. But like her struggles living in London, their love is equally full of challenges as aside from their cultural  differences, their thoughts and their passion for food (she loves meat while he's a vegetarian) are so different from each other, too. Her lover is more of a drifter and let nature decides his future while Z feels being together and plans are what make a couple closer. It is only the intimacy part that keeps them together. However, as the days go by they realise love is not enough to keep their relationship going. Their thinking and goals are different: He wants freedom, and she wants a future of them together. Readers, you should know where this ending will lead... 

Written in Z's POV like a diary (with a dictionary-like format with words that portray her emotions/thoughts before a page starts), this book chronicles her journey into the West, her struggles in learning English language, her relationship with a foreigner and discovering her sexuality. 

Z is a simple-minded woman who, like a toddler, explores everything with curiosity and always have full of questions. Her thoughts are sometimes naive but that shows how she is coming from a peasant family. Her lover, on the other hand, who once travels and enjoys company is now moving towards a life with peace and nature. He feels suffocated by Z's love and thinks a future is a future; there is no plan for it for who knows what would happen next. Z thinks a couple should work together for that future to come. Honestly I didn't know who was the one who'd failed this relationship but I did know they have came out of it a different person, especially Z; what she'd experienced has made her into a more mature woman. 

I enjoyed reading this book but not as much as reading I Am China. Perhaps I have high expectations; but I think the characters here are not as strong and unforgettable as Mu and Jian in I Am China. That said, I will still check out other Xiaolu Guo's books but the question is, which title?  

Note: This book was shortlisted for Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction 2007. 

I Am China by Xiaolu Guo

ISBN-13: 9780099583738
Publisher: Vintage
Publication Date: 6 August 2015
Format: Paperback, 384 pgs
Source: Purchased 

This year has been a good reading year to me thus far. I'd read a few good thrillers that had me at the edge of my seat, and one or two romantic comedies which made me smile and experienced the joy of romancing through the characters. But a book that moved me tremendously? I Am China would be the book; and I've given it a 5-stars rating for the beautiful writing, the unforgettable story and the various emotions it evoked in me. 

There are two modes of expression that bring thirty-one year old Iona Kirkpatrick to life - one is the sexual act (no worries, this is just a brief mention and there isn't explicit description here) and another is through words. The former merely offers her an escape while the latter allows her to regain something in her life and enable her to connect. As a teenager, she felt herself longing for foreign languages. Words became her world and though she'd once thought that she'd be a writer one day, it is translating works that find her ultimately. 

One April day in 2013, she received an email from a publisher who wants her to translate some Chinese letters and diaries. The publisher used to publish eminent people's biographies but they are thinking biographies of marginal characters who've connections to something big might be more interesting, such as a pile of materials related to a famous Chinese punk musician, spanning twenty years ago and is believed in exiled in some Western countries due to a manifesto delivery in his last concert. 

The other materials are from his lover, Deng Mu, who studied in the same university back in the 1990s. She studied Western Literature while Jian studied Chinese History; both have dreams of the future although they share different opinions. Jian is a vigorous youth who's not afraid of showing his emotions through his songs. Mu, on the other hand, thinks there's not much they could do given their country's system of law and it'd land them to nothing but trouble anyway, although she does have that same fiery spirit in her. They often question things like freedom, arts and whether if the latter is necessarily linked to political since they are living in a country which values collectivism. As Jian had written: "art is the politics of perpetual revolution." 

As Iona read and translate the materials, she couldn't help but to be swept away by their love story, their pain and their dreams as well; and most of all their individual beliefs, their persistence and the struggles (physically and emotionally) they've gone through even though they are many miles apart. Readers would soon know about Jian's and Mu's fate as Iona unravels more through her translations, googling for more answers and even travelling to places in search of their trails. It is also at this moment she began to think of her own life; how trivial hers seems to be as compared to Jian's and Mu's. 

Through Jian's letters and diaries entries, readers also get a gist of his personal history and his views coming from a political family, and how much his family is driven by ideology and revolutionary sacrifices. His father's coldness has cut off every illusion he has in life except of his feelings towards Mu. 

"... My last words to you in this letter: whatever happens with your life and my life, I still have this love for you. So now I give it to you, wherever you are.   Your Jian" ~ Pg 271 

What makes I Am China such an engrossing read is aside from the writing style, Jian's and Mu's voices captured my attention because they transpire this strong individualism yet their love for each other goes beyond all things that separated them. I also liked how Jian's and Mu's stories somewhat juxtapose with Iona's, allowing her for some reflections and made her a different person towards the end. 

Beautifully rendered and filled with melancholy, I highly recommend this book if you enjoy reading Chinese history and culture. Even if you aren't into them, simply read it for the writing and the story (this book is longlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction). As you can tell, I loved it so much that I'm going to check out the rest of Xiaolu Guo's releases. 

The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood

ISBN-13: 9780385540353
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: 29 September 2015
Format: eBook, 320 pgs
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss

Margaret Atwood's latest novel, The Heart Goes Last, take us to a near future where jobs are scarce and social security becomes another threat. However, there's an answer to these problems and one could sign up to live in Consilience and has a new life and a job there. The only things to sacrifice is leaving the outside world (so-called the real unpleasant world) and giving up one's freedom every second month in Positron (a prison cell in Consilience but unlike other prisons, Positron generates optimism and creates fairness to the 'residents' living in Consilience so they will experience the good and the 'bad' and so all is equal and balanced.) The other condition is a married couple will be assigned to live in the same house together with another couple (called the 'Alternates') but they are forbidden to see and/or interact with each other since a couple will stay in Consilience and the other will stay in Positron for a month and vice versa. 

Our protagonists, Stan and Charmaine, think this offer is too good to be true. After all, they are jobless and they live in their car and who knows what happens if they continue to hide in their car and be sitting ducks for the robbers and rapists. So they signed up and hope for the best. In the beginning, they are happy but things get mundane and bored until one day Stan found a note in their house - a love message addressing to Max from Jasmine. This little note has made Stan's mind wander, and the more he wanted to know her in person. 

Charmaine, on the other hand, finds herself attracted to Max, one of their Alternates, when he returns to their house early one day and found Charmaine there. That chance encounter leads to an infidelity that would destroy their marriages, thus begins the main plot of revenge, manipulation and ultimately, a plan that surprises the readers as well. 

If you are a fan of Atwood's, you'd know that her stories are usually intricate and imaginative; and can be both scary and thought-provoking at times. Well, this story is no exceptional. This story made me think how true it is given today's  economy and how joblessness can lead to one's desperation and depression. What Consilience offers seems like a perfect plan but it isn't without loopholes. What's ugly about Consilience/Positron is not about their strict rules and regulations but a human's greed and desires which made them to overturn protocols. Then again, there's also humanity, the sense of responsibility and righteousness and most of all, the 'heart goes last' that says a lot about the sentimentality and values of one's love and emotions that allows hope and second chance. 

I was really intrigued by the first part of the story; the deeds Charmaine and Stan have done made one thinks of a fatal attraction movie. The second part seemed a bit bizarre to me, but it was also where the pace began to pick up its momentum and where all the actions are. Some of them seemed horrific, and some seemed... did I mention bizarre? Nevertheless, it was an absorbing read. After all, it's Margaret Atwood's. 

In Wilderness by Diane Thomas

ISBN-13: 9780804176958
Publisher: Random House LLC
Publication Date: 3 March 2015
Format: Hardcover, 320 pgs
Source: Purchased 

In Wilderness, in short, tells a story of the encounter between two lonely damaged people in the wilderness and how, despite their differences in everything, finds a strange connection in each other and begins an obsessive and a dangerous love affair. 

Set in the 1960s, the story opens with our female protagonist, Katherine Reid, leading a blissful life. She has a doting husband and they work together in an ad agency. Tim will be the main person to get projects and handle most things while Katherine will mainly focus her attention on the designing part. And the most glorious thing is, they are expecting a baby! 

But, that glorious moment is short-lived, as we can later tell from Katherine's depression as she'd lost her baby. Their blissful marriage collapsed and it is no later that Katherine learnt she's only got six months to live. She decided that fleeing from the city and her past would be a good way to spend her last remaining months; thus she answers to a property ad and soon finds herself in an isolated cabin on a mountaintop. 

Danny MacLean, our other protagonist, is a twenty-year-old Vietnam veteran who lives not far from Katherine's cabin. Haunted by war and his past, he becomes fixated on Katherine. What started out as an observation and curiosity soon leads to an obsession that gets more intensifying the deeper they go. 

I wished I could express my thoughts clearly and eloquently after closing this book but at this moment while typing this, my mind was a blank because I was still reminiscing over the author's beautiful writing and this haunting, unforgettable story of Katherine and Danny. I found their emotions so raw and pristine and one couldn't help but to... empathise with them? 

The author has wonderfully captured their voices and emotions into words that I felt they were not fictional characters but flesh and blood people like you and me. I didn't know what to describe of the feelings they'd for each other - are they two disturbed minds who were there at the right time or is there something more to it? And at times, I couldn't tell if what they felt or did was right or wrong, just that their worlds simply collided and exploded. Katherine's life is somewhat wasted by her sorrows and sickness, while Danny is haunted by the war; the death of his best friend and Army mate and then hearing that his high school sweetheart had gotten engaged. 

I think this is the kind of book which you either love it or hate it. Subjects aside, there is also not much dialogues given their (cat-and-mouse) situations; at least not in the first half of the book. On the contrary, the second half was full of mixed emotions and intensity, and yes there were actions too which made me feel like I was reading a thriller of some sort. The conclusion was a dynamic one; an ending which I'd suspected and expected. So was it a beautiful story? Yes and no. It was a very unusual love story, but then there is nothing beautiful and romantic about obsessive love, no matter how harmless it may seem to be. For this, I blamed it on Danny's PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), which according to the author's note, was unrecognised at that time. 

Finally, I shall leave you a few quotes which give you a gist of the author's writing: 

"None of us - not them, not she herself - is meant for solitude. We crave attachments. When we can't make them among live things we attach unnaturally to something else." ~ Pg 132 

"Desire can be a comfort to slide into, a warm bath that gently nudges you and rocks you. But when it quickens, it's a knife." ~ Pg 133 

"This time is different. As are the rest, each from the others. Different in the way all clouds are different. Or all people. Or all fingerprints. He knows that that's the way of it, no two will ever be the same." ~ Pg 186