Melody's Reading Corner: Literary

Showing posts with label Literary. Show all posts

Melody

Grand Central Publishing | June 2017 | 288 pgs

Source: Library

Small Hours is Jennifer Kitses' debut novel and a compelling domestic drama that explores a couple's search for a new life and how a misstep devastates the family thereafter.

Two years ago, Tom and Helen fled their home in New York to live in Devon; a former mill town and now an exurb. With its quiet community and away from the pressures of the city, they (especially Helen) are hopeful that this new place would give them some bliss and some peace where they could raise their young twin daughters who are three. Before the move, both Tom and Helen struggled to keep their jobs during the economy crisis but failed. Both of them eventually found something but not without a price. For Tom, a 90-minute train ride is essential for his journey to and from work aside from a demanding boss at a newswire firm. While Helen has the flexibility of working at home for her designing projects, her job often requires her to work last minute changes on short notices regardless of the hours. As they juggle between work and family, the stress begins to take a toll on them until Helen snaps over an incident on one fateful September morning. Tom, on the other hand, has been trying to keep his infidelity a few years back under wraps until it comes to a stage whereby he has to make a decision whether or not if he should let his "other family" go or to remain as part of his life.

Small Hours is an addictive domestic drama which tells what many working parents are facing today - to find balance between work and family on top of the financial stress. However, it is also a story about secrets, bad choices and decisions and how they will destroy the fragile equilibrium of a family bliss if one is not careful. Tom and Helen, both in their early 40s which is neither too young nor too old, are stuck in a situation where they don't have many job opportunities that work in their favours. Most of all, there aren't much communications in between their busy life so it is not surprising to see one party succumbs to temptations while the other break under pressure. While there aren't twists and turns (or murder) in this novel, it was interesting (and intriguing) seeing the story unfolds through Tom's and Helen's story alternatively in a span of one fateful September day until the conclusion. It was thought-provoking in a way, and I was glad I picked this up.

© 2017 Melody's Reading Corner (https://mel-reading-corner.blogspot.sg/), All Rights Reserved. If you are reading this post from other site(s), please take note that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Labels: 4 5 stars, Book Review, Fiction, Literary 6 comments |

The Night Mark by Tiffany Reisz

Melody

Mira | March 2017 | 400 pgs

Source: Library

Do you love stories about lighthouse? Tiffany Reisz's The Night Mark not only has a lighthouse setting during the 1920s at a quaint beach town in South Carolina and also it was an intriguing story about a woman's destiny after she discovered the crumbling yet beautiful Bride Island lighthouse and the legend surrounding it.

In present time 2015, thirty-year-old Faye Barlow has been living her life filled with regrets and remorse after she's lost her husband, Will, to a car-jacking accident. Her remarriage was a failure since she couldn't love the man who is Will's best friend. Even four years after Will's passing, Faye still thinks of him everyday and she knew no man will ever replace him in her heart. When a job offer comes along to photograph South Carolina's storied coast, she accepts it since that is the only thing that keeps her going.

In the quaint beach town, she has her eyes set on the crumbling Bride Island lighthouse. Left deserted, she hears that there is a sad story surrounding the lighthouse; that the lighthouse keeper's daughter was drowned in 1921. Faye is drawn to this young lady named Faith Morgan, and one night of visiting the lighthouse has dragged her into the past after she is struck by a rogue wave. There, Faye encounters the lighthouse keeper who looks very much like Will. His name is Carrick Morgan and Faye feels a connection with him. Is this a sign about Will's promise to her that he'd take care of her for as long as she lives? Or is it even possible to love two men separated by time?

The Night Mark is a wonderful time travel love story that tugged at my heartstrings. While I was very much invested in Faye's story, the Bride Island lighthouse setting and the 1921 timeline are another elements which had me drawn to this story. The author has done a great job in capturing the feel of the 1920s as we see Faye trying to adjust her life as she come to live like Faith Morgan's. Like Faye, I was easily attracted to Carrick due to his gentlemanly and his upright demeanours. Most of all, I was intrigued as in how this story would end; after all what is Faye supposed to do under such complicated circumstances? This is a novel not to be missed if you love a good time travel love story.

Well have you voted for the book I've to read during my vacation next week? If you haven't already, I'd appreciate it if you could take some time and help me with the selection (click here). It's so hard to pick which book to read among the list and this is where you come in and decide for me. :-)

Labels: 4 stars, Book Review, Fiction, Literary, Romance, Time travel 7 comments |

The Lost Girls by Heather Young

Melody

HarperCollins Publishers | July 2016 | 352 pgs

Source: Library

In 1935, a six-year-old Emily Evans went missing from her family's vacation home on a remote Minnesota lake. The Evanses family was devastated; years gone by without any news on Emily's disappearance and her two older sisters, Lilith and Lucy, remained living at the same lake house throughout their old age despite everything; each harbouring her own thoughts and vigil for the lost sister until only Lucy remained. As the time went by, Lucy knew she had to tell her story of what happened during that devastating summer of 1935 before she passed and so a journal was written. This journal, together with the lake house, would be passed on to her grandniece, Justine.

Justine, a single mom, is surprised over the inheritance but she sees the lake house as an escapism of her messed up life, juggling between a manipulating boyfriend and her two daughters. However, the lake house is no sanctuary and in no time she is challenged by the dilapidated state of the house during the winter period. Her only neighbour is a strange old man and though he seems helpful, Justine suspects he knows more than he's telling concerning the Evanses girls and that summer of 1935.

Narrated by Lucy and Justine alternatively, The Lost Girls is a haunting and riveting story about the Evanses girls and the mystery surrounding Emily's disappearance. This novel also examines the bond and loyalty between sisters, and what defines promise and regrets as the story slowly unfolds. This is a great debut as it is both skilfully crafted and beautifully written; I found myself lost in Heather's (and Lucy's) story not only it was suspenseful but also the emotions that grasped me from the beginning till the end. I didn't really like any of the characters but they captivated me. I will be looking forward to this author's next release.

Labels: 5 stars, Book Review, Literary, Suspense Thriller 10 comments |

The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian

Melody

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group | October 2016 | 336 pgs

Source: Library

This book explores the horrors behind human trafficking, prostitution and how one night will send a family (or two) into destruction.

When Richard Chapman decides to host a bachelor party at his house for his younger brother, Philip, before his big night weeks later, he thought it'd be a night filled with entertainment and a few harmless fling among the men (well not him, he thinks). His wife and their nine-year-old daughter are off at his mother-in-law's for the weekend and he knows life will be back to normalcy come the new week. But things are not what they expect; the party has gone horribly wrong and two men are dead in Richard's living room. The two girls they have hired (so called strippers but are in fact sex slaves under a mobster's ring) are believed to have killed their Russians bodyguards before fleeing for their lives.

While we have Richard's and the full story told in third person, we also get to read about Alexandra's story through her narrative in between the chapters. Alexandra's story is a sad one; filled with her bittersweet dreams of becoming a ballerina and how she was tricked into selling her body for the sake of survival. She was fifteen when she was abducted by her late mother's ex-boss; Alexandra and her grandmother thought he was doing his late employee a favour by taking care of Alexandra's welfare. By the time they left Moscow for America (Alexandra is actually an Armenian) she realised it was all a well-planned scheme and there was no escape.

The Guest Room was a riveting read as it was fast paced and has the intensity of a thriller. There are villains here, but they are more "behind the scenes" and there is no easy or straightforward answer behind some of the issues raised in this story. I also liked how the author infused this story with some humanity and morality; while there are despicable characters, there are also characters whom you couldn't help but to feel sorry for them. As this story revolves around human trafficking and prostitution, it was heartbreaking to read about Alexandra's story (as well as a few girls who suffered the same fate as her) and how terrifying her story reflects the reality even in today's world.

Labels: 4.5 stars, Book Review, Fiction, Literary, Mystery 14 comments |

The Singer's Gun by Emily St. John Mandel

Melody

ISBN-13: 9781447280057
Publisher: Picador
Publication Date: March 2015
Format: Paperback, 304 pgs
Source: Purchased

Emily St. John Mandel. Once again I found myself captivated and entranced by her writing and her intriguing story. I enjoyed Last Night in Montreal and I knew I wanted to read another book of hers so here it is.

How to even begin describing it? This book has so many issues - deceits, morality and even life. At one point it read like a crime fiction but it was too subtle for that. I finally decided it was a literary fiction with thriller as a sideline and it was a great one for that.

The story begins with Alexandra Broden, who's with the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service, in search of a man named Anton Waker. She believes he is involved in an illegal transaction which had led a girl dead. When she contacted his parents they didn't know anything about their son's whereabouts.

Anton Waker, on the other end, is trying to salvage his marriage and his consulting job. His company has a new big water project coming up and for security measures they have a security check on the staff involved and Anton found himself in exile thereafter. No one in the company wished to explain to him why he is moved to the mezzanine level with no one to work with or work for and on top of it, his secretary Elena is missing and his fiancée seems to have pre-wedding jitters for she has cancelled their wedding twice.

Moving on to Elena, it seems she is leading a double life. On surface she is struggling with her working life and her relationship with her boyfriend has become lukewarm but these are mundane as compared to what Alex Broden has wanted her to do - to gather as much information of her ex-boss, Anton, so that once there is enough evidence to prosecute him she would be a free woman, given her circumstances.

The Singer's Gun is a brilliant story that has many layers and most of all, it offers readers some food for thought such as loyalty and betrayal, and what one would do to sacrifice for love. While this story has a great plot I wanted to mention it was also quite a character-driven story. Anton and Elena seemed to have different goals but on a personal level they are quite similar in a sense that they both wanted nothing but simplicity and normalcy for their life. But of course life often surprises us and this is where the story took a twisty turn and evoked that melancholy, bittersweet feelings which had me thinking of the story all over again.

Labels: 4.5 stars, Book Review, Crime Thriller, Fiction, Literary 12 comments |

The Ballroom by Anna Hope

Melody

ISBN-13: 9780857521965
Publisher: Doubleday
Publication Date: February 2016
Format: Hardcover, 352 pgs
Source: Library

"There are three ways out of here. You can die... You can escape... Or you can convince them you're sane enough to leave." - Pg 135

Let me start off by saying this novel is nothing I had expected, in terms of the premise and the ending. It is a tale about madness and sanity, of obsession and unlikely love.

Set in 1911 within an asylum on the edge of the Yorkshire moors, this story comprises of three characters and their experiences in the asylum. The first character is Ella Fay, a young woman who finds herself as an inmate after breaking a window in the mill where she worked. The others thought she is distressed but truth be told she wished for an open window so she could look at the sky. Her reckless act leads her to Sharston Asylum and she decides that if she keeps a low profile and works hard she might have a chance of an early release.

Dr Charles Fuller was the one who had assessed Ella upon her arrival. He is one of the three characters whose story is told and I have to say among the three his character is the one which left me most appalled. It is by no means his intention to work at Sharston Asylum in the first place; his father has expectations of him yet it is music which he loves and one which has gotten him a job at Sharston's. Though his position is First Assistant Medical Officer, his other role is to head a musical band to perform for the patients for their dance every Friday. Not all could attend the dance though, and Charles thought the dances might help with their conditions, since he has noticed a slight change in John Mulligan as he has shown some feelings with a particular music he'd played. However, his obsession for recognition and preparing a paper for the Eugenics Society would soon send him over the edge.

John Mulligan, the other character in this story, is a quiet man who had lost his wife and their child. Knowing Ella has changed his perspective in life and it is only through the dances that they are able to meet. They began exchanging letters; it is a lovely gesture of some sort as John would tell Ella what he sees while working outside since Ella and the other women inmates are confined inside the building, doing laundries basically. Ella wouldn't know how to read and write, but she has her good friend, Clem, to help her. Clem has an unhappy past and although her story is a short one, it still left a deep impression in my mind. Till now, I was quite bothered by the route she had chosen to escape from an unwanted marriage.

As the story progresses, we would learn more about these three characters' inner thoughts and what drives them towards a destiny none of them has predicted. At its core this is both a love story and a character-driven kind of story that allows us to think about the past and future life of these characters and that there is a fine line between sanity and madness. Overall, I felt the story to be beautifully written and that this book would make a good book club discussion.

Labels: 4 stars, Book Review, Historical Fiction, Literary 10 comments |

Under the Influence by Joyce Maynard

Melody

ISBN-13: 9780062257642
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date: February 2016
Format: Hardcover, 336 pgs
Source: Library

Influences often play a part in our lives. How many times have we been influenced by someone who has different thought/taste from us? Influential can help pushes one to be a better person or to a higher place if they are positive; likewise they can also be negative if they are portrayed wrongly or unwisely.

This book tells a tale of a single mother and her eight-year-old son under the influences of others and how their lives change after meeting the Havillands couple.

Helen McCabe's first meeting with Swift and Ava Havilland was at an art gallery opening. Her life is going through a transition then as a DUI conviction has caused her to lose not only her driver's license but the custody of her son, Oliver, as well. She still gets to see Oliver on Saturdays, but it is nothing like seeing and holding Oliver everyday. Oliver used to enjoy the time spent with his mother, now he becomes quiet and his attention focuses only on TV and any portable gaming device after he has moved to his father's place. Helen's life is miserable; her photography job is getting nowhere and she spends most evenings at AA meetings after the DUI charge. But after meeting Swift and Ava, Helen feels like she has suddenly found a direction to leading a better life and that is to forge a friendship with them and to gain their trust.

Becoming friends with the Havillands seems easy to Helen as they are philanthropists and they are passionate animal lovers. Their kindness on the homeless and helpless always leave Helen in awe and despite Ava suffers from a spinal cord injury and has to be confined in a wheelchair, it never stops her from doing the good deeds. Helen never questions her injury, and Ava never talks about it, either. Ava soon trusted Helen enough to give her a photography/cataloguing job capturing pictures of her art collections at home and invite her to all their parties. It is like Helen has become part of their family.

Then Helen meets Elliot, a quiet and uncool accountant on an online dating site and they hit it off quickly. However, the Havillands disapprove of her new love and dismiss him as boring. Helen likes Elliot a lot, but she also doesn't want the Havillands to think differently of her. After all, they are her only friends and her "saviour". Plus, they play an important role in Oliver's life. Oliver has fallen under Swift's charm and looks up to him like a father he never gets. Then tragedy strikes and Oliver has witnessed a devastating accident that would threaten Helen's friendship with the Havillands.

Under the Influence might come off as a slow start in the beginning as we get to glimpse into Helen's unhappy life and see how she forms a friendship with the Havillands. Both Swift and Ava make an intriguing couple; they are the "backbone" of this story and you will be charmed by their generosity, their ever cheerful and positive traits in life; just like the way Helen did. As much as they appear to be a perfect, glamorous couple, there is something about their perfection which makes you question about them and the momentum only begins when Helen meets Elliot and we start to see a small crack in their friendship. Then, the story shifts quickly and even have that little feel of a thriller which had me very engrossed with the ending.

Although this is a story about influences, it is also very much a story about consuming friendship, of being fitting in and of possession. It was a captivating story which had me sympathise with Helen. Her love and her yearn for Oliver's custody broke my heart and all the time while reading this story I'd hope she would get a happy life, with or without the Havillands. I like Joyce Maynard's writing and her storytelling since I read her previous novel, After Her and I was glad to note this latest release didn't disappoint. Now I need to go check out her earlier books.

Labels: 4.5 stars, Book Review, Fiction, Literary 16 comments |

The Longest Night by Andria Williams

Melody

ISBN-13: 9780812997743
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Publication Date: January 2016
Format: Hardcover, 400 pgs
Source: Library

Set in Idaho Falls during the early 1960s, The Longest Night tells an emotional and an unforgettable story of the challenges and struggles faced by a military family and how a nuclear accident changes their lives altogether.

Paul and Nat Collier knew each other when he was a twenty-year-old army lad while she a nineteen-year-old girl who loves nothing more than freedom and the ocean. Paul is quiet and reserved by nature and it is no wonder he was attracted by the cheerful and friendly Nat at first sight. They got married soon and have two lovely young daughters thereafter. Being an Army Specialist, Paul's latest assignment is to travel to a remote military town in Idaho Falls where he would help oversee one of the country’s first nuclear reactors, the CR-1 which needs manual labour and monitoring to keep it running. It is a risky and dangerous job, but the men at the testing station feel that as long as they always stay vigilant they would be fine.

Paul thinks so too until he discovers that the reactor is compromised while making his rounds one day. He brought this issue up with his superior, Master Sergeant Mitch Richards, and the answer he gets is a new core would be replaced soon and they shouldn't raise too much of an alarm as long as they don't raise the critical rod above four inches high; a safety protocol which every of the operators know by heart. But Paul doesn't think so, and to complicate matters Richards has behaved inappropriately towards Nat during a party and all these has made Paul very displeased with Richards.

Back at the testing station, the men continue to have problems with the stuck rod and Paul decided to confront Richards about the issue again but his anger got the better of him when Richards doesn't seem to acknowledge the danger of the faulty rod but displaying his authority and throwing off crude remarks. Paul saw red and a punch was landed on Richard's face. Whether if it is intentional or duty bound, Paul is then asked to deploy to Greenland to another station where they need experienced man like him. With a saddened heart, Paul leaves his family and it is also at that time when he learns that Nat is pregnant.

Filled with loneliness and restlessness, Nat found a new friend in a local cowboy, Esrom. She first met Esrom in a diner and the impression he gave her is he is easygoing, cheerful and kind-hearted. He is also the one who extended help when Nat's car broke down and also offered to lend her his car, since his uncle runs an car auto shop and he always have a spare. However, their friendship invites gossip although they didn't do anything immoral. Nat couldn't explain her fluttering heart whenever she sees Esrom, yet she knows she still loves Paul and her family, too.

When Paul returns to Idaho Falls, he gives Nat a cold shoulder after hearing Richard had babbled about Nat's close 'relationship' with Esrom. To clear his mind, he went off on a ride and saw several fire engines and ambulance on the highway towards the reactor and he knew something terrible must have happened. What follows is a tragedy and although Paul is officially off duty he still rushes inside the station, hoping to save his mates. Esrom is at the scene too, and by that time he has became a firefighter. What are the chances that they would all be saved from the radioactive and what it would take for Paul to save his own family?

The Longest Night is a great book filled with emotions and a few thought-provoking issues to ponder about. First of all, it examines the fragility and tenacity of marriage and most of all, the many emotions many military spouses will encounter leaving for a new place and settling in. Finding companionship could be a challenge, and even in today's world where we are more open-minded, we still question ourselves if a man and a woman could remain as platonic friends, let alone the time back then. Ms William's writing is great too and there was never a dull moment as I raced through this book, and did I mention that this is her debut novel? Plot and characterisation aside, what made this book another memorable read is the nuclear incident and that this is inspired by a true story of the only fatal nuclear accident occurred in America on January 3, 1961 (You can read more here and here.) Although this is a grim story, it still paints an inspiring portrait of humanity. Highly recommended.

Labels: 5 stars, Book Review, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary 18 comments |

The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness by Kyung-Sook Shin

Melody

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.

Labels: 4 stars, Book Review, Fiction, Literary 11 comments |

A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo

Melody

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.

Labels: 3.5 stars, Book Review, Fiction, Literary 6 comments |

In Wilderness by Diane Thomas

Melody

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

Labels: 4.5 stars, Book Review, Fiction, Literary 6 comments |

Half a Lifelong Romance by Eileen Chang

Melody

ISBN-13: 9780141189390
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Publication Date: 31 July 2014
Format: Paperback, 400 pgs
Source: Purchased
Translated from the Chinese by Karen S. Kingsbury

Eileen Chang (张爱玲) is one of the most prominent authors in Chinese literature; and Half a Lifelong Romance (半生缘) is one of her most beloved novels. She's also the author for Lust, Caution (色,诫), and its film adaptation is released in 2007 (it is with this film that Director Ang Lee won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival for the second time.)

Set in 1930s Shanghai, Half a Lifelong Romance is a dramatic story of love, betrayal and family oppression revolving Shen Shijun and Gu Manzhen; two young people who fell in love with each other but unfortunately their love is tested and torn by circumstances and family pressures. Shijun is now the only son in the family (after his elder brother passed a few years ago); his parents separated although they are still legally married. It is common for a man to take a concubine during that time period and Shijun's mother could only tolerate despite her being the first wife. Shijun moves out of his Nanking home to work in Shanghai, where he befriended Manzhen through his college friend and now colleague, Hsu Shuhui, who's also working in the same factory.

Manzhen, on the other hand, comes from a poor family and faces the burden of supporting her family after her elder sister, Manlu, got married. Although Manlu still contributes to the family since her husband is quite well-to-do, Manzhen feels she should bear that responsibility now after what Manlu had sacrificed her youth, dignity and a good marriage for the sake of them, by being a taxi-dancer and an escort. Although Manlu's role has risen to the top by marrying off to a wealthy man, her marriage isn't blissful.

Manzhen and Shijun, though struggling in their own ways in work for financial and career prospects respectively, both of them are happy and satisfied with their simple life, until an unfortunate incident happens that shatters their dreams and drive them apart.

I've to say I enjoyed reading this novel very much. The story is absorbing, and the characterisations are great. Ms. Chang has created a cast of interesting characters; each of them so intriguing in his/her own ways. Manzhen is a strong, independent woman who has her own mind and is not afraid of hardships, while Shijun is a reserved and a responsible young man. Despite their differences, they complement each other through their love and respect.

At its core, this is a forlorn love story that makes you think that under certain circumstances, what people and misunderstandings could set off a chain of events that would wreck a relationship of a couple who's so much in love with each other. But, what most saddened me is the betrayal not among outsiders but by your own family members, which is in this case of the novel. Traditions, society and most of all, the traumas Manzhen had gone through are also a few factors that made it impossible to rekindle their relationship.

'Shijun, we can't go back.' (Pg 372)

While this is a sad story, what makes this novel stands out is Ms. Chang's skilful writing, the characterisations and the intricate plot which capture not only the readers' attention but to evoke their emotions as well. A beautiful, unforgettable classic in my opinion; I know this story will stay in my mind for a long time to come.

Labels: 4.5 stars, Book Review, Classic, Fiction, Literary, Romance 10 comments |

Diamond Head by Cecily Wong

Melody

ISBN-13: 9780062345431
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date: 14 April 2015
Format: eBook, 320 pgs
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss

From China to Hawaii, author Cecily Wong brings us an unforgettable tale of a Chinese family - the Leong’s, spanning from three generations set in the twentieth-century.

The story opens with a young driver, Peter Choi, chauffeuring Amy Leong and her daughter, Theresa. Amy's husband, Bohai, is deceased and she's the surviving member of the family. As Peter chauffeurs the two women where his funeral is held, Theresa gives us more than a glimpse of her thoughts about her father as well as the history surrounding their family.

Maku, as she fondly called her father (that's 'father' in Hawaiian: makuakane), was born not by his father's wife but a concubine, a girl who's barely sixteen. As in Chinese traditions and beliefs, Theresa's grandfather (or as in most Chinese families) believes that it is important to bear a son to carry on the family's name (in fact that belief still continues today, especially with the older generation). Theresa's grandmother couldn't bear any children, let alone sons so it seems appropriate to take in a concubine. As Theresa reminiscences based on what her mother had told her, it seems there's more to the family history. Memories and tales of her grandparents' days; and how the war had separated her grandfather and his brother, Shen.

What ties this family story to fables is an ancient tale of Yue Xia Lao (月下老), a lunar god who's known to be responsible for the fate and marriages between couples and how an invisible red string of fate binds a person to his or her partner. Likewise, how one would be punished for making mistakes in love and that a knotted string will follow them through generations.

Narrated in different voices among the female Leongs members, Diamond Head is a poignant story about family, tragic love, loss and heroic acts of patriotism mingled with Chinese cultures, traditions and fables. Each narrator has an instinctive voice and it is hard not to be swept away by their stories or not have your emotions evoked under the skilful handwriting of the author. Through their voices, we have a further understanding of their thoughts and actions, their differences under different generations. Still, they share the same vulnerability being a woman, in terms of love, emotions and the circumstances they are thrown into. At most times, the choices they made are beyond their control. Is this what fate is when we feel things are out of our control? Perhaps.

Diamond Head is a story not to be missed, if you enjoy reading about family saga and Chinese culture.

Labels: 3.5 stars, Book Review, Fiction, Literary 12 comments |

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Melody

ISBN-13: 9780349134284
Publisher: Blackfriars
Publication Date: 28 November 2014
Format: Paperback, 292 pgs
Source: Purchased

Lydia Lee was sixteen when she had gone missing. Her mother, Marilyn, was the first one who noticed something was amiss when she opened her daughter's door and saw the bed unslept in.

What immediately unfolds next is learning about Lydia's death and a series of events that make the Lees family to question about Lydia and the day she disappeared. It seems none of the family members really know what she has been doing or how she was getting along with her friends. Lydia was the middle child of the family; she had an elder brother, Nathan, and a younger sister, Hannah. Lydia was the most favoured child in the family, especially her mother who had high hopes of her.

Nathan is suspicious of a boy called Jack, who is their neighbour as well. He has the reputation of wooing girls and discarding them like used rags in school. Nathan believes Lydia was his latest target, but he didn't share his suspicion with his parents or the police.

However, there is much more to the mystery for what also hold this story is the different ethnicity of the Lees family. Their father, James, is an American born of the first-generation Chinese immigrants while their mother is a native American. This together with their background differences have made them conspicuous in a small-town Ohio, especially in the 1970s, in which this story's time period is set. Despite James being born in America, he still finds himself an outcast and a misfit.

Marilyn, on the other end, is a woman who has her dreams of becoming a doctor but meeting and marrying James have altered her plans. Family becomes her, and after Lydia's death she felt the world has came crashing down on her. The relationship between Marilyn and James began to waver, as each begins to wonder what would happen if she has sought her dreams or if he has married a woman of the same race.

What makes this literary fiction a poignant read is it explores the domestic dynamics of a mixed racial family; the challenges they face with the society as well as the expectations of the parents have of their children. This is not the usual "whodunit" mystery although it does piques readers' curiosity surrounding Lydia's death, though. Nonetheless, readers will be entranced by this tale until the devastating conclusion, where the truth is finally revealed.

Labels: 4 stars, Book Review, Fiction, Literary 20 comments |

This Dark Road to Mercy by Wiley Cash

Melody

ISBN-13: 9780062088260
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date: 23 September 2014 (Reprint)
Format: Paperback, 256 pgs
Source: Publisher

Don't you think there's a overwhelming sense of melancholy and sadness just by reading the title itself? I definitely think so, and what made this book not an easy read is it revolves around two girls - twelve-year-old Easter and her six-year-old younger sister, Ruby, and how they are on the run with their father.

After their mother's passing, they have been staying at their foster home. Their ex-minor league baseball player father, Wade Chesterfield, left them a few years back and they'd been living with their mother since the day their parents signed a paper on the Termination of Parental Rights. The legal document has stated that Wade would thereby relinquish his parental rights to Easter and Ruby. And from then on the girls never saw their father, again. It was then known that their father was arrested for DUI. And now he's appeared at their foster home and took them away in the middle of the night.

On the other end, Robert Pruitt, is a mercurial man nursing a years-old vendetta. He is, however, determined to find Wade and claim his due. He and Wade had known each other way back when they were both baseball players. Pruitt is also driven by money to track Wade from a triad boss who believes Wade had stolen a huge amount of money from him.

Brady Weller is the girls' guardian and he has a little history himself; he'd been a police officer and then a detective for almost twenty years. He has found his way being a guardian by trying to undo something that can never be undone. His current job is installing security systems but when he knew of the girls' disappearance, he began a search with the help of his ex-buddy whom he had worked with together during his days in the police force.

Narrated in alternating voices between Easter, Pruitt and Brady, This Dark Road to Mercy is an emotional read about the two sisters' struggles of living a new life and how fate has put their life in disarray.

What made this a compelling read is what seems to be an impulsive act from the start could spiral out of control into something so unbelievable and horrific. The three narrators are all binded into a complicated race of an unfortunate event which started out by greed initially. Wade is another interesting character whom I felt was a pity that his voice isn't included in this story. However, he plays a crucial role to this story so I suppose by leaving out his voice would probably add to the overall mysterious effect.

I enjoyed reading this story a lot. There are both tender and tense moments; and while I felt sympathy towards Easter and Ruby, there were also times that one has to admire their strength and courage at their age, especially Easter since she feels responsible for Ruby.

What also makes this story memorable is each role may differ from one another but they all have one thing in common, and that is having a second chance.

Labels: 4 stars, Book Review, Literary, Mystery 6 comments |

Crooked River by Valerie Geary

Melody

ISBN-13: 9780062326591
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date: 14 October 2014
Format: Paperback, 336 pgs
Source: ARC from the Publisher

Fifteen-year-old Samantha and her younger sister, Ollie, stay with their father, Frank "Bear" McAlister, in a meadow by the Crooked River in rural Oregon after the death of their mother. Bear is a beekeeper and believes that bees recognise those who cherish them and they won't sting if one comes to their hives humble and gracious.

The girls' grandmother wanted to fight for their custody, but she's willing to give Bear a chance after her husband's probing; plus their mother trusted him. Ollie has not talked since their mother's death; they all thought she would once the shock is over but Ollie remains silent. She's able to see ghosts too (she calls them The Shimmering).

While wandering through the woods one day, they found a young woman floating in Crooked River; she was dead. They later found a bloodstained jacket in Bear's satchel after returning to their teepee, and this made Sam wonder about his whereabouts the previous night he was gone. Sam wanted to ask Bear but didn't have the chance; but when that chance came she decided she won't say anything. She's afraid that the others will see only what they want to see, not what is actually there. But most of all, she wants to believe in him although other people sees him as eccentric.

Although there are evidence that points to Bear, Sam and Ollie still think that the police has caught the wrong person. Not wanting to see their family come crumbling down, Sam, together with Ollie, decided to take matters into their own hands and search for clues. While Sam goes about digging information, Ollie, on the other end, has The Shimmering to guide her to the right direction, if only Sam wants to accept and see through it.

Crooked River is one fine literary mystery with a supernatural element to it. Emotional and character - driven, this is a story about family, friendship, secrets and of course, ghosts which are around us even if we can't see them.

I've to admit I was a little skeptical over the supernatural element initially, but after reading halfway through I began to see why this is "injected" into the story. It may not be the mystery itself, but it allows the readers to understand how they'd make an impact on the sisters.

What interest me is not only the mystery but the interactions between the sisters. I liked Ollie especially not because she's smart but she's extremely brave too. What they have gone through is tough, but they have also made them stronger and more matured. Told in Sam and Ollie's perspectives through alternating chapter, I find this style to be appropriate and effective as their emotions and thoughts are well described through their distinctive voice. I really enjoyed this story; however I felt the closure isn't satisfying. The mystery, no doubt, is revealed but what becomes of some characters are unknown. I would, however, let it go with my hunch.

Labels: 4 stars, Book Review, Literary, Mystery 6 comments |

Desire Lines by Christina Baker Kline

Melody

ISBN-13: 9780060566944

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date: 12 August 2014 (Reprint)
Format: Paperback, 384 pgs
Source: Publisher

Kathryn Campbell lost her best friend, Jennifer Pelletier, on the night of their high school graduation. Jennifer simply told her friends that she's taking a walk in the woods, but she never back. Her disappearance comes as a blow to Kathryn, after all they are close and Jennifer asked her a question about future plans before she took off that walk. Kathryn didn't really understand her question at that time and Jennifer didn't wish to elaborate.

Fast forward to the present, Kathryn moved to Boston after her marriage to Paul, whom she met during their college days. However, their marriage only lasts two years and now Kathryn us moving back to her hometown, Bangor, Maine.

She has mixed feelings returning to Bangor, since it brought her sad memories of Jennifer, and on top of that she doesn't know what she wants to do with her life there, and she's afraid of finding out. She seems like she's living in denial. Other than these, she isn't sure how she'd go along with her mother and her younger brother, Josh. Their parents divorced when she was twelve, and she and Josh felt it was too much to face their mother with that sadness written on her. Gradually, Josh drifts apart from Kathryn and pursue his own dreams.

Her mother encourages her to write for the local Bangor papers, since she has the experience but Kathryn isn't keen until an old friend, Jack probed her to write something on the disappearance of Jennifer. It'd be one stone killing two birds as who knows, she may find something new surrounding her disappearance.

I've to confess I wasn't warmed up to Kathryn in the beginning. She has too much of her emotions bottled up, due to the disappearance of Jennifer, her parents' divorce when she was twelve, and finally her divorce with Paul. Although I totally understand the unfortunate events she has gone through, but at times her denial state got to me and I felt like shaking her up and telling her to move on. But then, she's been waiting for Jennifer to come back for the past ten years; waiting for the past to catch up with her so she can begins her future. She simply needs an answer; something she can lives with.

The story is categorised into four parts - Homecoming, Memory, Reunion and Release. The part on the Memory is where readers will know more about Jennifer; and how she's getting along with her high school friends and how they think of her. I think this part is the most interesting and intriguing, as we speculate and wonder about her disappearance. Did Jennifer feel suicidal after the death of her father, or did she feel hatred and betrayed of her mother's affair? Then, there are questions about Jennifer going out with a few guys and then dumping them.

As much as this is a mystery, I find the pace is a tad slow in my opinion; thus this is more of a literary fiction by itself. The story is mostly surrounding on Kathryn searching for the truth behind Jennifer's disappearance and learning something which she didn't know about her along the way. I wasn't sure of the closure though, it left me feeling unsatisfied because of the "murderer's" motive, but I suppose that's up to each reader to ponder about it.