Melody's Reading Corner: 3.25 stars

Showing posts with label 3.25 stars. Show all posts

Melody

ISBN-13: 9780307473691
Publisher: Vintage Books
Published: December 2009
240 pgs
Source: Personal Library
Translated from the Japanese by: Wayne P. Lammers

Spinning Tropics was a random pick for the TBR Dare Challenge. I haven't been reading Japanese literature for a while and I figured this book would be a good choice considering it is a thin book and that it was the 2007 winner of the Knopf Kodansha Prize, plus the blurb behind said this is a lush and evocative story of an intoxicating love affair and this further heightens the eagerness to read it.

Hiromi Azuma is a 28-year-old female who decamped to Vietnam from Tokyo to work as a Japanese language teacher. She has problems with her mother and feels she is irresponsible and selfish who thinks of no one but herself. Living in a foreign country could be lonely and terrifying, but Hiro soon get used to the lifestyle and culture after knowing Yun who happens to be one of her students in class.

Falling in love with your own student is complicated, and it makes the issue more problematic if the party is of the same gender. Despite this, Hiro and Yun couldn't deny the attraction they have for each other and because of the circumstances, they will behave discreetly to the people around them. Still, Hiro has never felt so happy in her life. Yun makes her alive, and at one point she realises she wouldn't know what to do without Yun.

Their relationship goes on for a while until Konno, a Japanese businessman walks into Hiro's life. Her relationship with Yun began to falter, and jealousy sparks and insecurity arises between the two women.

At first glance, Spinning Tropics seems to me to be an intense story of a jealous woman who is fighting hard to win back her lover, though at some point it seems to be the case but the plot takes on a slower pace and Hiro's emotions are often portrayed throughout the story more than other things. Though I felt the pace is a bit slow, I have to give credit to the author for the detailed descriptions of the characters as well as a good look into the Vietnamese setting and its culture. I felt I was reading a travelogue at times through these descriptions and this made my reading experience all the more entertaining besides the intensity between the two characters. Just when I thought I knew what the outcome would be, the story took a turn and surprised me but I was disappointed to say the punch wasn't powerful enough to shake me to the core. On the contrary, I felt there was no answer to the ending and it left me a hollow feeling. That said, I was impressed with Aska Mochizuki's sharp and concise writing style and though this book may not make it on my best thriller read it definitely leaves a mark on my list through the literary sense.

Labels: 3.25 stars, Book Review, Fiction, TBR Dare 2 comments |

Sleepless by Cyn Balog

Melody

ISBN-13: 9780385738484
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: July 2010
224 pgs
Source: Library

In western folklore, it is believed that the Sandman will bring good dreams to people by sprinkling magical sand onto them while they sleep. In Sleepless, it tells a love story between the Sandman and a mortal girl.

Eron DeMarchelle is the Sandman; his mission is no doubt to seduce his charges to sleep. Like a spirit, the Sandmen could not be seen by the mortals but they have the ability to communicate with the mortals through their dreams, though they are encouraged not to do so as to prevent from getting too involved with them.

Julia has been put under Eron's charge ever since her birth. Eron had knew about the rules for not getting too close with his charges, but now that Julia has grown up to be an attractive young lady, he is afraid that he couldn't help but to succumb to the temptation of falling in love with her. After all, his role being a Sandman is going to expire soon once they have hit the hundred years.

Julia, on the other end, is feeling sad and lonely. Her boyfriend Griffin, had died in a car accident and she is not sure how she should feel towards his good friend, who had lately shown an interest in her. To add complexity to the story, Griffin would replace Eron's role once his expiry date is over but Eron is not sure about this arrangement since Griffin has a lot of angst in him. With trouble lurking around the corner, would Eron be able to protect Julia? And most of all, would they even have a happily ever after?

Told in an alternative narrative mode between Julia and Eron, Sleepless is simply a love story with a dose of mythical and suspense. What I liked about the book is the refreshing perspective of the Sandmen, in particularly to Eron as he is a charming yet intriguing figure. What most touches me is the feelings Eron has harboured for Julia for a long time, despite all their differences.

As much as I enjoyed the story, however I felt the characterisations are not fully developed. There are times that I wondered about the characters and wished I could understand them a little bit more (e.g. the relationship between Julia and Griffin as I could not feel there is much chemistry between them). All in all, it was an enjoyable read. It was good to read about the Sandman, Eron, from a new perspective, well at least in the eyes of this reader.

Labels: 3.25 stars, Book Review, Paranormal Romance, Young Adult 8 comments |

Short Story Peril: "What Was It?" by Fitz-James O'Brien

Melody

What Was It? by Fitz-James O'Brien (The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories)

What Was It? was one of the most extraordinary ghost stories I had read in a while. To be frank, I did not know if I should classified this as a ghost story because the overall story just astounded me (even the narrator said so himself through the opening line).

"It is, I confess, with considerable diffidence that I approach the strange narrative which I am about to relate. The events which I purpose detailing are of so extraordinary a character that I am quite prepared to meet with an unusual amount of incredulity and scorn."

Harry (the narrator whose name I did not know until later) lives at No. -- Twenty-sixth Street in New York (for some reason, the number wasn't disclosed and I wondered why). The house was built some years back by Mr A-- (again the name wasn't fully disclose) but he died of a broken heart after a stupendous bank fraud. After the news of his decease reached the country, and from there rumours are that the house was haunted. The caretaker and his wife who temporarily inhabited the place by the house-agent had declared that they were troubled with unnatural noises, and claimed that doors were opened without any visible agency and that the remnants of furniture were scattered through the various rooms were piled one upon the other by unknown hands, etc etc. The house agent did not believe the couple, and put others in their place. This continues until a Mrs Moffat (who is Harry's landlady) decided to rent the house and she brought along her set of boarders from her boarding-house who declared that they would accompany her to explore the supernatural beings, if there is any.

As you would have guessed, Harry did encounter something but what he found just astounded (and perplexed) me. Is it a ghost? I wasn't sure, and I do not wish to elaborate much further in case you want to read it and find out yourself. At this point, all I can say is the title is very fitting for I find myself scratching my head and asking that same question - What was it?

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The Old Nurse's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell

Labels: 3.25 stars, Horror, RIP V Challenge 7 comments |

Everlasting by Angie Frazier

Melody

ISBN-13: 9780545114738
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Published: June 2010
336 pgs
Source: Library

This story is set during the 1850s of San Francisco. 17-year-old Camille Rowen is the daughter of a sea captain and while other ladies her age care about stepping into the glittering society, her main interest remains travelling aboard in her father's ship. However, her father wishes her to take on the role of a proper lady so she is set to marry a young man whom her father has businesses with. As much as Camille likes Randall, she doesn't feel any sparks with him and this makes her wonder if she has any feelings for him.

During her last voyage to Australia before the wedding, she stumbled upon a letter addressed to her father. It was sent from her supposedly dead mother and Camille couldn't understand why her father had kept this secret from her all these years. Needless to say, she felt cheated and angry. However, there is a reason behind her mother's letter and her father intends to follow her wishes and that explains their route to Australia, where her mother is now residing. Camille has learned about a map in her mother's possession but what she didn't know is this will lead them to a magical stone which is believed to be able to bring a dead person to life. Unfortunately, they are not the only one who knew about the map and the stone but what most hurt Camille's heart is she has lost her father to a storm.

Saddened by this, she travels to Port Adelaide with the company of Oscar, a young sailor who's been her father's assistant all this while ever since her father had took him under his wing many years ago. Camille and Oscar have been drawn to each other way earlier, but alas their status difference stands in the way and moreover Camille's father needs Randall's financial assistance to help getting through all his financial woes. Now with Randall so far away and the adventure and mishaps set in front of them, these have further brought Camille and Oscar closer. Camille has hoped to find the magical stone first before the others so that her father could be saved, if the legend is true.

Everlasting is an interesting adventure story with a romance element to it, however I felt this story didn't captivate me as much as I had first anticipated. Let me start off by saying that I absolutely liked the plot. I found it fascinating; it reminds me of a treasure hunt story but it was to my great disappointment that the hunt didn't happen until towards the last quarter of the story and it felt rushed in my opinion. I could feel there was absolute attraction between Camille and Oscar, but it wasn't intense and most of the times they seem to have different opinions during the adventure which of course isn't a bad thing in my opinion, but at some point it had made me doubtful about his intention.

Another thing I felt disappointed is that there wasn't much explanation about her mother's disappearance and it is rather more of a telling than showing method. Also, I felt there wasn't any closure regarding her relationship with Randall towards the end although deep in my heart I knew that things weren't worked out for them with all the things that had happened. I wanted to love this story, but overall I was just disappointed due to the above reasons. That said, please don't let my opinions deter you from reading this book, after all it is a matter of personal reading preferences and opinions.