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