The whiTe TiGeR by Aravind Adiga

well, this book is the best deal (so far) in the literary fiction. superbly told tale of an indian driver, balram halwai. as the winner of the booker prize 2008, this book clearly shows it deserves every single praise it has received.


basically, this whole book, is a letter to a chinese premier, wen jiabao. having known that he would be visiting India, balram halwai, writes a letter to him. explaining the corruptions in India. calling himself a self-made entrepeneur, he tells his side of story, where he grew up, his job (driver), the murder he had committed, and how (the heck) he managed to twiddle his way out of the crime.

this book surprised me a lot. seriously, i actually bought this book for a friend of mine, but i started flipping through the front few pages. the reviews for this book was three pages full and they were (in my mind, at that time) quite exaggerated (now i know they were the truth). yes, as you have guessed it, i was curious to know the reason for this book to be a favourite of the critics. i was shocked by the plot and everything in the book. (i kept the book and gave another book i already had)

you would not believe it, (i don't really care whether you do or not), i finished this book in three days time. very, very satisfied with it. i kept laughing like a mad fool at some parts (seriously, this book is funny). the language is amazing. the sentence structure, the comparisons, the WORDS, oh my gosh. they were all so perfect.

aravind adiga (yes, this amazing writer has half of my name(oooo, i am so proud) ), is my new favourite in the literary scene.

i am currently reading Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, trying hard not to finish it very fast (yes, i am quite a fast reader), letting each sentence to seep into my soul (muahahahahahahaha). i am at page 270,and so far i am LOVING it.

the kiTE ruNNEr..bY kHaleed hOSseiNi..!!

(i read this book about 8 months ago....and this review was posted on my other blog, at that time) THIS IS DEFINITELY THE BEST BOOK I HAVE READ IN YEARS.The author has this unique style of blending suspense, thriller, romance and a whole lot of other stuff into one very VERY VERY interesting book.

Its about two friends Amir and Hassan. As youngsters they have their ups and downs. At one point something happens to Hassan (i am not going to tell you guys, you should read the book for this part of the story, trust me , you will never expect this coming your way) and this 'something' makes them go on different paths of life. Hassan follows his father to a different part of the country while later in the story Amir will follow his father to a different COUNTRY. Amir finds love in this new place and gets married there. As he was getting comfortable with his life, there was still a discontentment within himself. He hasn't seen Hassan since both of them were about 12 years old. One day, Amir receives a call from a familiar voice (don't worry, its not Hassan) but this VOICE gives information to Amir about Hassan. For the rest of the story you guys have to read this beautifully written novel by yourself. seriously it melts hearts.

Khaled manages to pull all the strings of the cloth that barricades us from seeing the true world and the cruelty that happens all around it. (wow, damn serious, isn't it?). this book will definitely give you the satisfaction of reading. the language is almost like Dickens' ( this author has a very big impact on me....i see his style of writing in quite a number of books).

anyways, i loved this book and i hoped you guys (and girls, of course) will go out and get this book. seriously it's worth it. and yeah, it is really really good.

A Walk (that i will definitely like) to Remember......

Nicholas sparks is the major story teller. this is a book that i read about five months ago, but 'forgot' to write a review (considering the fact that i did not have this blog created, then, yet...). A WALK TO REMEMBER. this is one book that has a special place in my heart.

this book is about Langdon Carter and Jamie Sullivan. here is a short (and i mean very short) synopsis of the book.

langdon carter would never have dreamed of asking Jamie Sullivan out, but a twist of fate throws them together. in the months that follow, langdon breaks down Jamie's natural reserve and begins to know her- and to fall in love. but then he discovers that Jamie has a reason for not letting people close-a secret that will break his heart.

the reason i say that this book has a special place in my heart is because, this book showed (and proved) to me that you don't need BIG words to express meanings. i mean seriously, the author uses very simple words but it manages to touch the heart. i reread this book right after finishing it in one sitting. UNPUTDOWNABLE. of course most of you would have watched the movie by now, (i haven't....hehehehe) but if you get a chance, you should read this book.

the plot is twisted but it has some similarities A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens.

the book is really comforting. the climax was awesome and the ending was beautiful, never expected. this book is never to be missed.

..........Salem Falls.............

OK. Jodi Picoult is a magnificent writer.

here is a short synopsis:

Jack St. Bride was once a beloved teacher and soccer coach at a girls' prep school - until a student's crush sparked a powder keg of accusation and robbed him of his career and reputation. Now, after a devastatingly public ordeal that left him with an eight-month jail sentence and no job, Jack resolves to pick up the pieces of his life. He takes a job washing dishes at Addie Peabody's diner and slowly starts to form a relationship with her in the quiet New England village of Salem Falls. But just when Jack thinks he has outrun his past, a quartet of teenage girls with a secret turn his world upside down once again, triggering a modern-day witch hunt in a town haunted by its own history.

Jodi Picoult has this magic in her writing that makes you want to keep reading this book. imagine, i read finish this book at 3.00am and it was worth choosing this book over sleep. it took me two days. and for that two days all i did was read read and read (except eat and bathe....heehehe). this book is unputdownable.seriously, if you are going to start reading this book make sure you don't have any paperwork or assignment due in a couple of days.

the character Jack St. Bride is my favourite. OK, jack is a little too-good-to-be-true sometimes. the author (i don't know how she does it) paints a vivid picture of the small quite town, Salem Falls, in our mind which makes you really want to live a simple life there. the antagonist Gillian Duncan makes us want to smother her to death with a pillow (a thought that came to me at 2.30am, that day)

overall, this was a great read and i recommend everyone out there to read this book.

david copperfield......!!!!!!

NO!!!!!!! i am not talking about the magician. the classic by Charles dickens. i know its a bit lame but i have to confess, i had not read any of Charles dickens book before.this is because, i was more of a Enid Blyton guy, you know.


i stumbled upon this book ,DAVID COPPERFIELD, on my book shelf recently ,and decided that i would flip through the pages. then, i started to read the About the Author section. it got me interested as they said most of the events in this book were based on his life experiences.

to tell you the truth, i was just being nosey. you know busybody.....hehehehe. i wanted to know what made this man to become the famous author of all times.

and guess what? the book was great. i loved the way he twisted the plot so cunningly. the characters were ( a lot of them) very meticulously detailed. the male characters obviously dominated the book (of course, the author is male). the narration was simple yet touch-heart worthy.

it got me thinking. classics will always be classics. enjoyed all around the world by book lovers everywhere, it will never lose its grace to mesmerize and comfort readers. that's why it is called classic, right?

anyways, to this former-classics-ignorant fool David Copperfield really opened eyes. maybe next time, I'll try one of Mark Twain's, huh? any other classics that i should try?

the god of literature....

OMG. arundhati roy is one heck of a writer man. yes, i know that she only wrote one fiction and loads of non-fiction. yes THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS, is awesome. read it till morning 2 a.m. the book is that good. i just could not put it done. it is so addictive

yeah well, the first ten pages were quite draggy and microscopically detailed but the it got better and better until one point i just had to stop reading it because my mom was threatening to whack me (i was reading like a mad fool until i forgot to take my bath, hehehehee).

anyways the book is told from a child's point of view. it is extremely interesting to see the way she describes all the tiny details with expressions that are new and different. the plot of the story is twisted, spiralling into the lives of ammu(the widow-mother), rahel and estha(the children), baby kochamma, sophie (a cousin of the children), margaret kochamma, chacko and many more characters that will have you crying for and with them. okay, the book is not entirely sad but is quite humorous at times.

the award winning book (it won the Man Booker prize in 1997) is a great read. arundhati roy has painted a beautiful portrait that lives up to the superb praises it has received. this is definitely a must read. so go get this amazing book, guys and girls.

chicklit or guylit?

well, there is this brand that goes over books that have female protagonist. CHICKLIT. on the front cover you will either see a pretty girl posing or lipstick smudges. ergrrrggrgrghhhh. i think i am about to barf. i mean come on. books are books that are suppose to cater to all reader satisfaction. it does not need some branding (i refuse to call it a genre).

if you are going to tell me that this branding is going to give it more womanly appeal that will make screaming girls want to buy that particular book, i say BULLSHIT.

lady1 :chicklit? (in a very high, girly, girly (errrgh) tone)that is my favourite.
lady2: yeah. look at that book's cover. a gorgeous woman isn't she?
lady1: yeah. i am sure that book is fabulous.
lady2: yeah. this book is going to be great. the shirtless man beside her is quite hot too.
lady1: giggle, giggle,giggle
lady2: giggle giggle giggle.

HELLO. ever heard of the saying NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER (in this case literally). if it is about a depressed woman , it is chicklit. then what's next? if its about a guy playing footbal then it's guylit. (A GREAT BIG SIGH).

i am just trying to say that by creating a sub-genre like chicklit, it is only going to stop many others from reading the book (other than squeaky little girly girls). from the public's eye, if you are reading a chicklit, then you are a chick.(that sounded funny). of course chicklits are not as literary as some other books. but this kind of books might trigger some switch (in that clouded mind) to actually think more about LIFE , while giving you a laugh.

so people of the world, don't cage yourselves into one type of genre. read a lot type of books. guys don't be shy to read a chicklit because truly they are not only for chicks, they are stories about chicks. (you might even get hints on how to win a chick yourself, *wink* *wink*)

thats all people, bye.

P. S. I LOVE THIS BOOK........

P.S. I LOVE YOU by Cecelia Ahern. well, this is not to say a must read but it is definitely a satisfying read. i stayed up late yesterday night, just to know the ending. there were some pretty big shocks at the end.

this book is about a woman(holly) coping with her life after her husband(Gerry) died because of brain tumor. she undergoes a lot of struggle and tries her best to block the outside world from her. then , comes along a parcel from her late husband. well, technically it was posted to her parents' house just weeks before he died. the parcel holds small messages from Gerry for each month of the year right (for a year). that's when the fun starts.

the book is really good. the language is understandable which makes it a fast read. overall i enjoyed the book very much. a lot of unexpected turnings which will make your jaws drop. the characters are lovable and Gerry's character is my favourite. he is really the MAN who cares for his wive and friends.

the book is definitely a nice read. it would be nice if you could read it as it brings a new meaning to the word LIFE.

stunning debut....

preeta samarasan. this young lady is so far the best (this time it's for real) author. really really really. this is definitely one of my all-time favourite books. the language is so beautiful. seriously, it is. the best of the best. above all that, she is a Malaysian. yes, you heard me right.

her novel, Evening is the Whole Day, is set in Malaysia. her style is reminiscent of other Indian authors like Salman Rushdie and Arundhati Roy but still manages to bring out some very interesting ways of expressing situations and surroundings. her prose is really really really amazing. she is a master storyteller.

this is some of the reviews for the book.

Samarasan represents the quiet emergence of new Malaysian writing in books such
as Rani Manicka's The Rice Mother and Touching Earth, Tash Aw's The Harmony Silk Factory, and Tan Twan Eng's Booker-longlisted The Gift of Rain last year.

These writers have significantly broadened our understanding of the region earlier
seen largely through the gin-soaked, misty eyes of Somerset Maugham, the
Tiger-beer induced nostalgia of Anthony Burgess*, or the laconic fiction of Paul
Theroux.

He discusses the socio-political background of the novel : Malaysia permeates Samarasan's novel without didacticism about the country's identity politics. It shows the symbiotic and separate relationship between Malays, Chinese and Indians. Jo Kukathas, the gifted satirist, once joked that in Malaysia "the Chinese do the work, the Malays take the credit, the Indians get the blame". Buried within the quip is a stark divide, explaining the consequences of the May 1969 riots which formed the basis of Lloyd Fernando's 1993 novel, Green is the Colour. ... Those riots led to Malaysia's preferential policies, which benefited Malays over Chinese and Indians, so forcing many non-Malays to seek educational and employment opportunities abroad. and calls the story multi-layered, but feels that the plot gets rather complicated.

Francesca Segal in The Observer yesterday found the novel :
Vibrant, descriptive, and peppered with colourful Indian-Malaysian
dialogue, this is an epic that's informative without being worthy, and
engrossing but not frivolous.Indian reviewers seem perplexed by the novel - you
can almost hear them thinking How come this novelist of Indian heritage, clearly
influenced by Indian authors, isn't writing the kind of Indian novel we expect?

Check out Amardeep's review and the interesting debate in the comments at Sepia Mutiny.

You can find other reviews on Preeta's website

anyways, guys. i am not going to discuss the plot here. i am just going to leave you with all these information. i am hoping that you will go out and buy this amazingly awesome book which i love so much. this is a must read for every Malaysian. I'll be posting more about this book later. (but seriously go get this book)

review on Khaled Hosseini's 'A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS'

Mariam is only 15 when she is sent to Kabul to marry rasheed. nearly two decades later, a friendship grows between Mariam and a local teenager, laila, as strong as the ties between a mother and a daughter. when the taliban take over , life becomes a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear. this is one of the best books that i have read in my life. definitely a must read for everyone. khaled hosseini is the type of author who takes you on a ride that brings you excitement using such a language which rips your heart out. this book has that grip which never lets go its readers, making them reread and reread it again and again and again. khaled hosseini is a gifted story teller. here is the synopsis from his web....

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan’s last thirty years—from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to the post-Taliban rebuilding—that puts the violence, fear, hope, and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives—the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness—are inextricable from the history playing out around them.Propelled by the same storytelling instinct that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship. It is a striking, heart-wrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love—a stunning accomplishment

what are you guys and girls waiting for? go out today and get this book. ITS FREAKING GOOD.

Kim Edwards...... Memory Keeper's Daughter....

the novel begins with Norah Henry giving birth to twins, Paul and Phoebe. Paul is an healthy child, Phoebe on the other hand has down syndrome. Dr. David Henry, with the intention that Phoebe will die in a few months (and a few other reasons....), gives Phoebe to the nurse, caroline gill, to be taken to a home. the twist in the story is that Phoebe does not die and neither does she grow up in the home. the story moves along the lives of these 5 characters, Paul, Phoebe, David Henry, Norah Henry, and Caroline gill. the prose, writing style and originality, of Kim Edwards moves the novel a soothing way. it is extremely readable but there are a few typos towards the end of the novel. the language is beautiful (not up to preeta samarasan, though) . she is a very meticulous writer who expresses everything in her very exaggeratedly beautiful writing. every single detail, every single pin drop. its there. anyway, i would definitely recommend this book to tween and teenagers and moms and dads and guys and girls, well everyone, okay.
here's an excerpt from chapter 1. enjoy.

March 1964

The snow started to fall several hours before her labor began. A few flakes first, in the dull gray late-afternoon sky, and then wind-driven swirls and eddies around the edges of their wide front porch. He stood by her side at the window, watching sharp gusts of snow billow, then swirl and drift to the ground. All around the neighborhood, lights came on, and the naked branches of the trees turned white.

After dinner he built a fire, venturing out into the weather for wood he had piled against the garage the previous autumn. The air was bright and cold against his face, and the snow in the driveway was already halfway to his knees. He gathered logs, shaking off their soft white caps and carrying them inside. The kindling in the iron grate caught fire immediately, and he sat for at time on the hearth, cross-legged, adding logs and watching the flames leap, blue-edged and hypnotic. Outside, snow continued to fall quietly through the darkness, as bright and thick as static in the cones of light cast by the streetlights. By the time he rose and looked out the window, their car had become a soft white hill on the edge of the street. Already his footprints in the driveway had filled and disappeared.

He brushed ashes from his hands and sat on the sofa beside his wife, her feet propped on pillows, her swollen ankles crossed, a copy of Dr. Spock balanced on her belly. Absorbed, she licked her index finger absently each time she turned a page. Her hands were slender, her fingers short and sturdy, and she bit her bottom lip lightly, intently, as she read. Watching her, he felt a surge of love and wonder: that she was his wife, that their baby, due in just three weeks, would soon be born. Their first child, this would be. They had been married just a year.
She looked up, smiling, when he tucked the blanket around her legs.
“You know, I’ve been wondering what it’s like,” she said. “Before we’re born, I mean. It’s too bad we can’t remember.” She opened her robe and pulled up the sweater she wore underneath, revealing a belly as round and hard as a melon. She ran her hand across its smooth surface, firelight playing across her skin, casting reddish gold onto her hair. “Do you suppose it’s like being inside a great lantern? The book says light permeates my skin, that the baby can already see.”

“I don’t know,” he said.
She laughed. “Why not?” she asked. “You’re the doctor.”
“I’m just an orthopedic surgeon,” he reminded her. “I could tell you the ossification pattern for fetal bones, but that’s about it.”
He lifted her foot, both delicate and swollen inside the light blue sock, and began to massage it gently: the powerful tarsal bone of her heel, the metatarsals and the phalanges, hidden beneath skin and densely layered muscles like a fan about to open.

Copyright 2006 Kim Edwards

review on Nicholas Spark's 'AT FIRST SIGHT'

i know that i told you guys that this blog is only for my short stories but i then decided that i should post my reviews here too. anyways, lets get down to business.

this book by the author of the well-acclaimed books such as, A Walk To Remember, Message In A Bottle and many more love novels is extremely readable. in fact, this is one of the best love stories i have read in years. you can really connect with the characters. they are extremely real and true. Lexie Darnell and Jeremy marsh. these names will seem familiar to those of you who have read his True Believer. yes, this is kinda the continuation of that. not really sure, though. i have not read the True Believer. i am sure that it is awesome. what is so special about this book?

well, it speaks in the language of love (true love) unlike other lovey-dovey unrealistic love stories. while reading this book , i felt a sense of truthfulness in the writing. all Nicholas Sparks books are a joy to read. my rating for this book is * * * * * * (5 star). so what are you guys waiting for? go get the book and read it. its wonderful. (RM 21.90 POPULAR Bookstores Malaysia)

here's a very, very, very short summary i found on http://www.nicholassparks.com/ enjoy.

There are a few things Jeremy Marsh was sure he'd never do: he'd never
leave New York City; never give his heart away again after barely surviving one
failed marriage; and most of all, never become a parent. Now, Jeremy is living
in the tiny town of Boone Creek, North Carolina, married to Lexie Darnell, the
love of his life, and anticipating the birth of their daughter. But just as his
life seems to be settling into a blissful pattern, an unsettling and mysterious
message re-opens old wounds and sets off a chain of events that will forever
change the course of this young couple's marriage.

reasons.....

whats the reason for me to start a new blog? there are plenty really. this blog is only for the stories that my heart wants to tell. i post these stories here in confidence that no plagiarisms will occur. anyways, the stories here are quite undeveloped, actually. so guys and girls, do not try to be sneaky. always remember; whatever rewards that you gain will make you feel way much better if it is from your hard work. a plead to all publishers who 'may' feel that my stories are worth publishing, please , do contact me. so, here's the beginning to a journey that i am not quite sure where it intends take me to.