Catch-22 - Joseph Heller

"The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on, and that includes Colonel Cathcart. And don't you forget that, because the longer you remember it, the longer you might live."

If stories have smell, Catch-22 smelled gamey. Set during World War II. Yossarian, the protagonist is the bombardier of US Army Air Force. He hovers above the enemy and bombs them to kingdom come. He did so well in his job, Colonel Cathcart promoted him to captain and awarded him a Flying medal award, where Yossarian attended the awarding ceremony butt naked. His motivation for this awful job is to hit the number of flies required by their Colonel so that he can finally return home. But Colonel Cathcart is an ambitious man. He wanted to become General. To impress the authorities, he kept on raising the numbers before any of his men completes. And so they go on completing the missions, making their hopes of returning home next to impossible. The logic that binds these men is Catch-22, a military rule, a self-contradictory circular logic to prevent anyone from avoiding combat missions.

“There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

"That's some catch, that Catch-22," he observed.
"It's the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed.” 

Yossarian, along with his fellow soldiers got tired of the war.They pretended to be sick to avoid being sent out. They even painted their hands and throat purple just to make them look more malignant. While Milo Minderbinder (what a funny name), the mess officer, took advantage of the war by making profit through his syndicate. He was trusted by many with his famous line:
"Everybody has a share from the syndicate", "We are the syndicate", "What's good for M&M Enterprises is good for the country"
He is a one-man corporation. Driven with greed, without evil intent, his actions cost the lives of his comrades. But I laughed at the part where he forced people to eat his inedible chocolate covered cotton.

The series of horror was first manifested with the attack on the undefended Italian mountain village, followed by the series of disappearances, the tragic rape and murder of Michaela, and the revelation of gory details of Snowden's death. Just when I started to expect a "heavy" ending, Yossarian found a way to escape going to combat mission.

I think the novel is unique. A funny war story embedded with sarcasm, irony, and absurdity. How else can these soldiers cope up with everyday deaths, to face the fear of getting killed, the horrors of watching your comrades disappear;but with humor and insanity.

Hostage to the Devil - Malachi Martin

Rants & Raves


Definitely not for the fainthearted. 

The book documented five true-to-life cases of possession and exorcism of a priest, a highly intellectual psychic, a transvestite,a loner & a woman who struggles to attain her freedom. 

I read it at night and decided to read it all the way til sunrise, afraid to let those stories linger in my mind. What made it really chilling  is the thought of it being real. That it did happen to innocent (or not so innocent) people. It scared me better than Stephen King. 

I love the way each cases were introduced. It was narrated from the history of the possessed, the nature of the possessing spirit, and the background of the exorcist. Cases were presented with clarity and without judgment (for the possessed).  It was done professionally with the hope that the readers will understand the different natures of possession. The details were precise. Given the theme of this book, one would expect details of outrageous gore of endless puking. Do not fret. Those parts were written without going overboard. Malachi Martin did not sensationalize nor made it hollywood-ish.

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The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

First published in 1993, The Virgin Suicides announced the arrival of a major new American novelist. In a quiet suburb of Detroit, the five Lisbon sisters--beautiful, eccentric, and obsessively watched by the neighborhood boys--commit suicide one by one over the course of a single year. As the boys observe them from afar, transfixed, they piece together the mystery of the family's fatal melancholy, in this hypnotic and unforgettable novel of adolescent love, disquiet, and death. Jeffrey Eugenides evokes the emotions of youth with haunting sensitivity and dark humor and creates a coming-of-age story unlike any of our time. Adapted into a critically acclaimed film by Sofia Coppola, The Virgin Suicides is a modern classic, a lyrical and timeless tale of sex and suicide that transforms and mythologizes suburban middle-American life.

Rants & Raves


I loved it. The narration is amazing. It's still unclear if there is only one or if its the group of boys who were obsessed with the Lisbon girls who narrated it. 

It's dark and gloomy all throughout but I never expected to feel light after reading the novel. The eccentricity of the Lisbons intrigued me. I feel like I was one of the judgmental neighbors and the group of curious boys who wants to unfold the mystery of their deaths. The part where the Lisbon girls fully aware that they are being watched, exchanged songs with the boys on the phone and eventually, making them participate as "suicidal exhibitionists", is the darkest part of the novel. I read that part thrice. It is beautiful.

At the end of the novel, it felt like it was Eugenides himself who condemned the suicide of the girls. Saying that they acted like Gods; that they think too highly of themselves, they feel like they are too perfect to live in such a flawed world.

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Coming Soon: Clockwork Princess

Are you waiting for the third and final installment of The Infernal Devices trilogy?

The book cover shows Tessa holding the Shadowhunter's Codex. You can notice that she is wearing a Clockwork Angel pendant.


Release date: March 19, 2013

Some teasers Cassandra Clare shared online:

Will rose slowly to his feet. He could not believe he was doing what he was doing, but it was clear that he was clear as the silver rim around the black of Jem's eyes. "If there is a life after this one," he said, "let me meet you in it, James Carstairs."

"There will be other lives." Jem held his hand out, and for a moment, they clasped hands, as they had done during their parabatai ritual, reaching across twin rings of fire to interlace their fingers with each other. "The world is a wheel." he said. "When we rise or fall, we do it together."

Will tightened his grip on Jem's hand, which felt thin as twigs in his. "Well, then." he said, through a tight throat, "since you say there will be another life for me, let us both pray I do not make as colossal a mess of it as I have this one."

*********

THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT PITY
THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT REGRET
THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT NUMBER
THE INFERNAL DEVICES WILL NEVER STOP COMING
(written on a wall in blood in Clockwork Princess)

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The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follet

"When you're thinking, please remember this: excessive pride is a familiar sin, but a man may just as easily frustrate the will of God through excessive humility"

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

As a new age dawns in England's twelfth century, the building of a mighty Gothic cathedral sets the stage for a story of intrigue and power, revenge and betrayal. It is in this rich tapestry, where kings and queens are corrupt - and one majestic creation will bond them forever. 

Rants & Raves

I love it. There are no dull pages. It is absolutely gripping. After each chapters, I still linger with the story in my head and after I finish reading it, my mind did an instant playback. It's like watching a movie without the visuals.

The novel is etched with power, corruption, treachery, love, hate and faith.

Favorite parts: Every time the Hamleighs and Waleran Bigod plots a scheme against Prior Philip. Just as when they thought everything's going their way, it all blows back right into their face. (I was like cheering "In your face!" lol)

I love the constant conflict of the Church and monarchs; how power corrupts the officials of the Church ;and Prior Philips struggle to remain faithful as a true servant of God in spite of always being in a conflicting situation.

The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy

"And the air was full of Thoughts and Things to Say. But at times like these only the Small Things are ever said. The Big Things lurk unsaid inside."

Synopsis (from Amazon)

Compared favorably to the works of Faulkner and Dickens, Arundhati Roy's debut novel is a modern classic that has been read and loved worldwide. Equal parts powerful family saga, forbidden love story ,and piercing political drama, it is the story of an affluent Indian family forever changed by one fateful day in 1969. The seven-year old twins Estha and Rahel see their world shaken irrevocably  by the arrival of their beautiful young cousin, Sophie. It is an event that will lead to an illicit liaison and tragedies, accidental and intentional, exposing "the big things" that lurk unsaid in a country drifting dangerously toward unrest.

Rants & Raves

I started this book a year ago but stopped at the middle. Took it out of my shelf days ago and started reading it again from the start and I'm thankful I did the right thing.

I loved its melancholic air. Roy's play of words are amazingly amusing, which, somehow lessens the sadness that creeps within each character. What really made this book hard to put down is its backward chronology. Like, he started with Estha, who just suddenly stopped talking at the start of the novel and unfolds the tragedy at the latter part.

The Witching Hour - Anne Rice

                               

 Synopsis (from Publishers Weekly)

"We watch and we are always here" is the motto of the Talamasca, a saintly group with extrasensory powers which has for centuries chronicled the lives of the Mayfairs--a dynasty of witches that brought down a shower of flames in 17th-century Scotland, fled to the plantations of Haiti and on to the New World, where they settled in the haunted city of New Orleans. Rice ( The Queen of the Damned ) plumbs a rich vein of witchcraft lore, conjuring in her overheated, florid prose the decayed antebellum mansion where incest rules, dolls are made of human bone and hair, and violent storms sweep the skies each time a witch dies and the power passes on. Newly annointed is Rowan Mayfair, a brilliant California neurosurgeon kept in ignorance of her heritage by her adoptive parents. She returns to the fold after bringing back Michael Curry from the dead; he, too, has unwanted extrasensory gifts and, like Rowan and the 12 Mayfairs before her, has beheld Lasher: devil, seducer, spirit. Now Lasher wants to come through to this world forever and Rowan is the Mayfair who can open the door. This massive tome repeatedly slows, then speeds when Rice casts off the Talamasca's pretentious, scholarly tones and goes for the jugular with morbid delights, sexually charged passages and wicked, wild tragedy.

Rants & Raves

I was hooked since page 1. I love its chronicles of Mayfair history. Their history was not just narrated, the detailed experiences of each writer who got involved with the Mayfair's gave me creeps. The incest done in every generation to keep the blood pure is really twisted. I was awed with the powers of Julian, Mary Beth & Rowan. Though everything was written meticulously, almost not missing a detail, it still retained the mystery of knowing but not knowing.

I am looking forward reading its book 2 but I'm having a hard time looking for a paperback copy. I already have Taltos and I'm tempted to skip Lasher. I know I got to hold back because I'm really curious about how will things turn out after Rowan made a horrible mistake.

Number the Stars - Lois Lowry

“Ellen had said that her mother was afraid of the ocean, that it was too cold and too big. The sky was, too, thought Annemarie. The whole world was: too cold, too big. And too cruel. ” 


Synopsis (from Amazon)

As the German troops begin their campaign to “relocate” all the Jews of Denmark, Annemarie Johansen’s family takes in Annemarie’s best friend, Ellen Rosen, and conceals her as part of the family.
Through the eyes of ten-year-old Annemarie, we watch as the Danish Resistance smuggles almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark, nearly seven thousand people, across the sea to Sweden. The heroism of an entire nation reminds us that there was pride and human decency in the world even during a time of terror and war.


Rants & Raves

I thought this is going to be a "heavy" read, since it's a holocaust literature. I was surprised to find it "light" and sad. In spite of the sadness brought by its theme, it was written with simplicity and hope. I think this is a good book to explain what happened during the holocaust to kids.
After The Giver, I'm quite confident that I'll enjoy any Lois Lowry.

The Glass Castle - Jeanette Walls

“....he said it was interesting. He used the word 'textured'. He said 'smooth' is boring but 'textured' was interesting, and the scar meant that I was stronger than whatever had tried to hurt me.”

Synopsis (from Alibris)

This is a startling memoir of a successful journalist's journey from the deserted and dusty mining towns of the American Southwest, to an antique filled apartment on Park Avenue. Jeanette Walls narrates her nomadic and adventurous childhood with her dreaming, 'brilliant' but alcoholic parents. At the age of seventeen she escapes on a Greyhound bus to New York with her older sister; her younger siblings follow later. After pursuing the education and civilisation her parents sought to escape, Jeanette eventually succeeds in her quest for the 'mundane, middle class existence' she had always craved. In her apartment, overlooked by 'a portrait of someone else's ancestor' she recounts poignant remembered images of star watching with her father, juxtaposed with recollections of irregular meals, accidents and police-car chases and reveals her complex feelings of shame, guilt, pity and pride toward her parents.

Rants & Raves

Growing up scavenging for meals, tattered clothes & always in a "skeddadle" with an alcoholic dad & a negligent mom is Jeanette Walls childhood foundation. The sad part of being in poverty is out-shined by the simple joys brought by being a child. Her parents weren't able to provide them with a normal life, but they were able to impart knowledge, wisdom, values (except for frequent cussing) & eccentric life advice.
I love how Walls turned her "supposedly" sad story into something amusing. What struck me the most are her parents who took pride of being poor and homeless; that they view their dire situation as a choice of lifestyle, a statement of life. They shunned help and refuse to be a charity case.

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

O wonder!

How many goodly creatures are there here!How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,That has such people in it.

Synopsis (from Alibris)

Far in the future, the World Controllers have created the ideal society. Through clever use of genetic engineering, brainwashing and recreational sex and drugs all its members are happy consumers. Bernard Marx seems alone harbouring an ill-defined longing to break free. A visit to one of the few remaining Savage Reservations where the old, imperfect life still continues, may be the cure for his distress.

Rants & Raves

I was fascinated with Huxley's drugged paradise world. Where everybody is conditioned to be absolutely comfortable with their job, social status & lifestyle. Where as soon as people felt uncomfortable, all they need is a gram of soma. It's an utopian world if you are a firm socialist & dystopian if you value individualism. 

In George Orwell's 1984, people are controlled through inflicting pain while in this novel , people are controlled through inflicting pleasure. With Orwell, what we fear can ruin us, while, with Huxley, our desire can destroy us.

The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty - A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)

Synopsis (from Amazon)

In the traditional folktale of "Sleeping Beauty," the spell cast upon the lovely young princess and everyone in her castle can only be broken by the kiss of a Prince. It is an ancient story, one that originally emerged from and still deeply disturbs the mind's unconscious. In the first book of the trilogy, Anne Rice, writing as A.N. Roquelaure, retells the Beauty story and probes the unspoken implications of this lush, suggestive tale by exploring its undeniable connection to sexual desire. Here the Prince awakens Beauty, not with a kiss, but with sexual initiation. His reward for ending the hundred years of enchantment is Beauty's complete and total enslavement to him . . . as Anne Rice explores the world of erotic yearning and fantasy in a classic that becomes, with her skillful pen, a compelling experience. Readers of Fifty Shades of Grey will indulge in Rice’s deft storytelling and imaginative eroticism, a sure-to-be classic for years to come.

Rants & Raves:

Honestly, I'm new with all its BDSM. I decided to read this with an open mind as I don't want to limit myself with what is comfortable. With all its sex, violence & nudity, I cringed til the last page. I say, this book is my initiation to BDSM. An eye-opener for me. If you want to enjoy reading this, better leave all your inhibitions. 
I like its background and the twisted customs of the Prince's kingdom. It is an initiation of the princes & princesses towards achieving full nobility. It wasn't morally uplifting. In fact, all its masochism is morally degrading. But in spite of all that, I think it was written artfully, that I find myself looking forward for its 2nd and 3rd book...maybe after a month or so.

1Q84 - Haruki Murakami

"Reality came first, and the principles and; logic followed. So, he decided, he would have to begin by accepting this reality: that there were two moons in the sky."

Synopsis (from Amazon)

The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo.

A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 —“Q is for ‘question mark.’ A world that bears a question.” Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled.

As Aomame’s and Tengo’s narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator; a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector.

Rants & Raves

I got lost inside the whole new world with two moons. I love the mysterious air that seems to seep within each character. I never hated a single character. Even Ushikawa with his funny head is adorable. The repetition is kinda okay but at times it sounded like a stupid echo.

I could have given this 5 stars if it was not ended prematurely. Not that I think it's not chunky enough, but all they did was escape 1Q84 reality through a highway tunnel. It looks like a shortcut. I was expecting a much more definite ending with the Little People in it. What happened to the Little People who came out of Ushikawa's mouth & made an Air Chrysalis? It feels like every story route ends with a question mark and I somehow liked it.

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Available in:
Amazon ($12.95 Kindle, $17.23 Hardcover, $11.53 Paperback)
Barnes & Noble ($12.99 Nook, $17.23 Hardcover, $13.98 Paperback)

Linked - Heather Bowhay

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Leading a double life as an Amethyst and a Dentelle is difficult, loving two men is tragic, but for Lexi Adams, planning her own death is totally insane. After narrowly escaping the Ray-Pacs in Amethyst, Lexi and Jason are now headed to the safe haven on Towhead Island. Heart-broken, she understands why a Guardian-Amethyst relationship is forbidden, but that won’t stop her from trying. 

Unfortunately, a new threat arises from the Ray-pacs, causing Lexi to team up with Ash. They devise their own plan for infiltrating and destroying the Ray-pacs, one that will protect her Guardian friends. But Lexi soon discovers that her lies, regardless of all her good intentions, are about to destroy everyone she has worked so hard to protect. Is it too late to live and love?

Rants & Raves:

This is just what I expected after reading Amethyst. Though, this has more action with its Ray-pac vs Guardian battle. I liked how the story unfolds from Ash to Jason, Amethyst to Dentelle & from Ray-pac to Guardian. I was enthralled. I hope some of my questions will come to light on its book 3. Like, how did Mrs. Zimmerman knew all about them? Kinda looking forward for a little bit of history about Dentelles and their abilities.

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eBook format for only $2.99 in Amazon

Amethyst - Heather Bowhay

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

College-bound Lexi Adams leads no ordinary life. Premonitions dictate her every move compelling her to rescue strangers day and night. After years of self-sacrifice, she decides to ignore one, but innocent people die. So, when the next premonition depicts her own death, Lexi has a decision to make.

Except more complications arise when a series of strange illnesses and murders devastate her small town, and co-worker Jessica Nelson insists Lexi can help. According to Jessica, everyone is born with an inner energy called Essence. Only a select few, Amethysts, can control Essence and heal people. Jessica claims to be an Amethyst and asks Lexi to join her and a group of her friends as they track the murderers.

Lexi considers helping them only to find out that not only do Jessica's friends have a hidden agenda, but they also harbor extraordinary abilities. Even more unsettling, they have connections with the Ray-pacs – the sadistic killers who are preying on human Essence. Ultimately, Lexi must decide if life, not death, equals salvation. And if so, is she willing to make sacrifices and join her friends in eradicating the Ray-pacs?

Rants & Raves:

Fast paced, an easy read. The details are precise and simple. The characters are generally agreeable.Honestly, I find this novel hard to put down with all the mysteries and romances. I am looking forward to downloading its book 2 as soon as I'm done writing this review. Kinda looking forward for "Lexi-Ash" tandem and I don't want to hold myself back with such an engaging story.


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Free in ebook format at smashwords.com, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo ,and Diesel

The Silent Boy - Lois Lowry

Synopsis (from Publishers Weekly):

 A touching story of a series of tragic events in a small town in the years immediately preceding World War I. In the book's prologue we meet our narrator, Katy Thatcher, now an elderly woman and a retired physician. The rest of the book is her recollection of her friendship with and growing understanding of Jacob Stoltz, a mentally retarded boy who rarely speaks, loves animals, and possesses the capacity for tragedy and heroism.

Rants &Raves

An easy to read book. The story is about Katy's life; her family and how she wanted to be a doctor just like her father; their neighbor, the Bishops; and the Stoltz. Their househelp Peggy Stoltz had a brother, Jacob, who was "touched. She became friends with him and learned to understand in spite of Jacob not talking. 

I liked its narration with dates and snapshots for each chapter. But what I liked best is at the last few pages, where the chapters were replaced by the characters and how they came to be. Most of the story held uneventful, every day routines through the eyes of a child. Its heartbreaking end seemed to put a dark halt. Its sad how autism, or people with developmental problems were misunderstood during those days.

Looking for Alaska - John Green

"I go to seek a Great Perhaps."

Synopsis (from Amazon)

 Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . .

After. Nothing is ever the same.

Rants / Raves

 The novel started slow then as I progress the pace is meant to read slow to normal. I'm not much on reading "coming-of-age" novel. Surprisingly, I came to like it. I love the pranks. I specifically liked the basketball game scenes, the cheers are amusing and Chip being thrown out of every ball game is funny.

I was torn into giving this 3 or 4 stars. Finally settled to four because I like the characters. How they were introduced, their habits, smart retorts and their personalities. Like, Miles being drawn to famous personalities last dying words; Chip's pranks, his poverty & how he wanted to give his mom a huge two-storey house; how Lara was poor in Romania but ended up rich (with green limo) in Alabama; even Alaska, the character I dislike, portrayed as an enigmatic chic who can pull up a prank like a guy. I also loved how the story line was narrated countdown. The before and after.


Film Adaptation: The film rights to the novel was acquired by Paramount Pictures last 2005. Unfortunately, Paramount Studios was not interested and therefore, was put on hold indefinitely.

Cold Snap - Thom Jones

“Son of a bitch, there’s a cold snap and I do this number where I leave all the faucets running…”

Synopsis (from Publishers Weekly)

 Offering 10 stories reprinted from magazines like the New Yorker and Playboy, Jones's second collection of short fiction displays the gritty, fatalistic vision and narrative adrenaline that distinguished his NBA-nominated The Pugilist at Rest. Set in Africa, the West Coast and other locales, these tales are teeming slices of life, full of unexpected pathos and black humor amid imagery of warfare, starvation, disease and decay. Jones's most vivid heroes?star-crossed doctors and loners, battling manic episodes and self-destructive behavior?decamp to Africa to escape dismal lives at home or return home from Africa in antisocial states. In the title story, a manic depressive doctor, stripped of his license, just back from a stint in Nairobi with Global Aid, spends two days with his lobotomized younger sister?visiting the zoo, watching TV and chatting with Jehovah's Witnesses. In "Superman, My Son," a supermarket magnate, beleaguered by debt, pays a visit to his son?a larger-than-life, born-again manic depressive with a superman complex. "Quicksand" chronicles the unlikely dalliance between a gonzo copywriter for Global Aid, who suffers from malaria and a broken thumb, and a gorgeous Danish doctor travelling from Rwanda to Zaire. The hardwon epiphanies of these embattled individuals make horrifyingly clear the legacy of warfare in the developing world and the everyday tragedies of contemporary America. 


Rants / Raves

 He got me with that opening line. In this collection of short stories, Thom Jones writes about boxers, doctors, diabetes, soldiers in their dire funny situations. There's drugs, diabetes, mental illness, Global Aid, Africa and whatnots. Just when things got so intense, the author will pull back. It was edgy, raw & relentless.

This book can rob you of all the beautiful thoughts. It's like everything's ugly, manic and ironic. There are some 5 star stories & 1 star stories so I settled for something in between.

I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

“Nujood's rebellion, honorable in our eyes, is moreover considered by conservatives as an outrageous affront, punishable, according to extremist, by a murderous "honor crime.".

Synopsis (from Amazon)

 Forced by her father to marry a man three times her age, young Nujood Ali was sent away from her parents and beloved sisters and made to live with her husband and his family in an isolated village in rural Yemen. There she suffered daily from physical and emotional abuse by her mother-in-law and nightly at the rough hands of her spouse. Flouting his oath to wait to have sexual relations with Nujood until she was no longer a child, he took her virginity on their wedding night. She was only ten years old.

Unable to endure the pain and distress any longer, Nujood fled—not for home, but to the courthouse of the capital, paying for a taxi ride with a few precious coins of bread money. When a renowned Yemeni lawyer heard about the young victim, she took on Nujood’s case and fought the archaic system in a country where almost half the girls are married while still under the legal age. Since their unprecedented victory in April 2008, Nujood’s courageous defiance of both Yemeni customs and her own family has attracted a storm of international attention. Her story even incited change in Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries, where underage marriage laws are being increasingly enforced and other child brides have been granted divorces.


Rants & Raves

I enjoyed reading survival stories. I was touched by Nujood's courage and resiliency. Ten years old, forced to marry a man who's 25 years older, sexually and physically abused by her husband and mother-in-law and a prisoner to her own culture. Barely literate, she was able to obtain a divorce. I guess she's the youngest divorcee.

I was in doubt if the whole detail is from Nujood or from Delphine Minoui, the translator. Could there be more? Are there any parts that got lost in translation? There are times that the voice of the story did not come from a barely literate ten year old. Just the same, I'm glad its publication has reached and touched many young girls who found courage in saying "NO" in spite of their family and tradition.

My Name is Memory - Ann Brashares

“I did the searching and remembering, she did the disappearing and the forgetting.” 

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

 Daniel has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl. Life after life, crossing continents and dynasties, he and Sophia (despite her changing name and form) have been drawn together-and he remembers it all. Daniel has "the memory", the ability to recall past lives and recognize souls of those he's previously known. It is a gift and a curse. For all the times that he and Sophia have been drawn together throughout history, they have also been torn painfully, fatally, apart. A love always too short.

Interwoven through Sophia and Daniel's unfolding present day relationship are glimpses of their expansive history together. From 552 Asia Minor to 1918 England and 1972 Virginia, the two souls share a long and sometimes torturous path of seeking each other time and time again. But just when young Sophia (now "Lucy" in the present) finally begins to awaken to the secret of their shared past, to understand the true reason for the strength of their attraction, the mysterious force that has always torn them apart reappears. Ultimately, they must come to understand what stands in the way of their love if they are ever to spend a lifetime together.

Rants & Raves

 I read this book with less expectation. A friend told me this is like Fallen and I never liked that one. 

I say, I was satisfied during the whole course of reading. I loved the story line, its past-present narration and the characters are likable. I kept on picturing Daniel in his different lifetimes. A handsome merchant Daniel, potbellied Daniel, scrawny kid Daniel. Though, I see a lot of Edward from Twilight in him (that loving from afar, almost-stalker-but-thank-god-you're-goodlooking kind of thing) with a dash of brusque brought from his old life living as a soldier. An interesting character that I hoped to read more is his old pal Ben. I think its funny when old soul Ben in a body of a cute five year old girl. As for Joachim, I hope there's going to be a book 2. Daniels' not done with him, they got an ancient issue to score. 

Its ending is a total letdown. What an irritating way to end a beautiful novel. I was like..that's it? No f****** way! Really disappointing.

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

“We took away your art because we thought it would reveal your souls. Or to put it more finely, we did it to prove you had souls at all.” 

Synopsis (from Amazon)

As children Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were. Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have reentered her life. And for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special–and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together.

Rant / Rave: The earlier pages got me curious about the mystery of why Hailsham students were isolated from the real world. As I progress, the mystery did not matter at all but the shadows of knowing but not knowing still hangs thru the air. The novel is chilling because it presented a society which uses clones for medical purposes as organ donors, but disregard their being human. Other clones were not as fortunate as those from Hailsham because they were raised in animalistic conditions.

I was appalled at how calm Kathy narrates even after they were told that deferral is impossible and the discovery of the purpose of Hailsham. It is painfully sad how they just accept the fate the society imposes on them. Their purpose in life is to give out all their organs until they "complete", die. In spite of being capable to make their own decisions and do what they always dreamed of when they were young, like be an ordinary office worker, an actress or a waitress; they were raised to think it was impossible, ignorant of the outside world and therefore, they cannot act otherwise.


Film Adaptation: 

With just 15 minutes, I snored to sleep. It was boring. The parts where it made an impression to the readers were not shown. Like their trip to Norfolk; Kathy H., Ruth & Tommy's scene on Tommy's drawing ;and when Madame saw Kathy H cradling a pillow while listening to Never Let Me Go song. Tsk. What a disappointment. This is one of those books that are better read than watched. Those who watched it first before reading ended up not reading it at all. The movie ruined the book.



Official Trailer:  Directed by: Mark Romanek / Casts: Carey Mulligan (Kathy H), Kiera Knithley (Ruth), Andrew Garfield (Tommy).