Audrey Niffenegger - The Time Traveler's Wife

Contrary to popular opinion, I thought this book just wasn't all that. I know many people who have this book on their "best of" lists, and it's supposed to be amazing. And there are parts of it which are... specially the premise: Henry suffers from a genetic disorder, which allows him to time-travel, albeit the time-traveling isn't done at his will, but can happen anytime, with no heads up whatsoever. So, at the age of thirty-six, he goes back in time to meet Clare. the love of his life, who is six, but, in real terms, she is only eight years younger than him!

So, as I was saying, the premise in itself is interesting, and gripping. However, this book has disregarded the concept of space-time continuum completely - almost as though such a thing didn't exist, and time-traveling decided the course of events, as opposed to nature, fate, or life itself.

For example, Henry tells little Clare that he is her future husband. So, all her life, Clare is only seeking one man, as she doesn't see any point in dating other guys, for she already knows who she's going to end up with. So, if Henry hadn't gone back in time to tell Clare about their love, would Clare have even given him a second look when she met him in the library?

And, why would someone tell his future wife that they'll be together when she's a small easily impressionable child? Shouldn't some things just be left to chance? Personally speaking, I would have hated it if someone would have told me that in my pre-adolescent and adolescent days, for, it probably would've ended up trivializing a lot.

Second, I really didn't understand what the whole deal with shedding clothes and arriving naked in the non-real time zone was about? Was Henry moving so fast that the clothes didn't have a chance to keep up with him? Was that really that necessary a part of the book? Because, at times, there were some semi-pedophiliac moments.

And, how could Henry have told the number of people he told his 'secret', and not have it turn into a gigantic deal with the media? How did he manage to escape becoming a part of a scientific experiment? Gomez hated him. Dr. Kendrick would have had his own interests at heart, and a case like Henry's would have ensured him some well-deserved limelight.

I know, it's supposed to be a romantic sci-fi book, but the sci-fi bit isn't really, as it's too romanticized, and the romance is just dull. I couldn't relate to either of the protagonists (Clare or Henry), and I just couldn't fathom what made them tick. I know I'm in the minority here, but, this book just wasn't for me. Add to it that there are two narrators, and the book is constantly going back and forth in time, with some repetitions, and that's enough to confuse the living daylights out of me. In fact, I thought that the editors should've stripped at least 200 pages from the book.

Maybe I just didn't get the book, or maybe, I was expecting too much, or, maybe I was reading the book in a pragmatic frame of mind. I don't know. I know some of you loved this book, so I'd be interested to hear what made the book tick for you? And what made it really phenomenal, because as things stand, I honestly think I missed out on something fundamental, which is what ruined the experience for me.

Rating: 1

T+0

So, D-Day is here. I'm all packed, barring my laptop, my camera charger, a couple of memory cards, and my passport. As you can imagine, I'm really excited, and, the picture above is something very high on my to-do list.

I don't know what kind of internet access I'll have, so not sure how oft' I'll end up blogging (not that I blog daily anyway!). However, before leaving, I thought I'd share my final book haul with you, considering it's changed a bit since my original plan.

I had to decide against Zafon's The Angel Game as it's way too bulky. I feel terrible about it, but, I will ensure it's the first book I read when I get back to London, in order to make amends. The swap in is Natsuo Kirino's Out.

Also, I had a small battle with myself as to Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber, as I couldn't find the one with a cover as fantastic as The Magic Toyshop's. Claire advised that it should be available in the US, and as I might be heading there next month.... please don't judge me. I feel a little guilty about making this call. Hence, I picked up Angela Carter's Fireworks instead.

I did want to take a book from the Booker longlist, and it was a toss up between Heliopolis, and How To Paint A Dead Man. I spent about thirty minutes at Foyles' the other day, holding both books in my hand, and finally flipping a coin to decide! How To Paint A Dead Man emerged victorious - I so hope that fate doesn't let me down on this one, although I have read some promising reviews in the blog-o-sphere.

So, my final six books:

1. Daphne Du Maurier – Rebecca
2. Sarah Waters - Fingersmith
3. Haruki Murakami -Kafka On The Shore
4. Natsuo Kirino - Out
5. Angela Carter - Fireworks
6. Sarah Hall - How To Paint A Dead Man

I think that makes a pretty damn good reading list, for two weeks. Don't you?

Hopefully, I'll get a chance to blog while away. If not, see you around, and have a fantastic two weeks.

PS: The picture above is one of the things I'm definitely going to do. Definitely! Looks sooo cool.

Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game

I picked up this book as part of the Take A Chance Challenge, under Challenge#3: Birth Year Book: "Find a book that was published or copyrighted in the year of your birth. Read the book and write about it." For better or for worst, I was born in 1985, and as I haven't read much fantasy this year, I opted for this gem of a book, and I must say it was a great choice. I loved the book, and it makes me wonder why I don't read more fantasy.

Ender, the protagonist, is six years old when the book starts, and, deemed a genius. A 'third', i.e. the third offspring in a day and age where only two children are allowed, Ender is 'special' - the government requested his parents to have a third child, due to their exceptional genes. The first two children were both 'monitored', but due to minor inadequacies, they were deemed not good enough.

What does the government want little geniuses for? To train in battle, lest the "buggers" (an alien civilization that resembles insects) invade again, and this time, everyone's running scared despite humanity prevailing stronger in both the previous invasions. Humans need a strong leader, a capable one, and Ender is chosen, after being closely monitored by the government, by literally having a monitor "installed" on him.

The characters are extremely well-drawn, be it six year old Ender, his old brother Peter, and their sister, Val - or - Ender's friends from battle school. Dink and Petra remain two favorites, whereas Bean was almost a repeat of Ender's character.

While the book is far-fetched, there is a strong feeling of reality as Ender's character grows and matures, and swings between different emotional states, as people continuously toy with him. He's not perfect, but, he does what he's meant to better than anyone else.

And this is Ender's journey, training in battle, playing 'games' with fellow genius children, battling it out, and aiming for just one thing: winning. But as the government and the teachers keep changing the rules, to test Ender further and further, one wonders: is Ender going to make it, or will he succumb to his darkest nightmares?

Rating: 4

Booking Through Thursday - Recent Best

Today's Booking Through Thursday asks : What's the best book you read recently? After the horror of last week's The Other Hand, I've managed to read two great books this week: Samantha Harvey's The Wilderness, which is longlisted for the Booker Prize this year, and Antoine De Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince, which is a must-read, I think, for every child and adult.

Now, I don't know what your definition of "recent" is, but, I've just given you two of my last three books.

How about you? What's the best book you've read in the last month or so?

Antoine De Saint-Exupery - The Little Prince

Believe it or not, this is the first time I've read this book, and for the life of me, I don't know why! Personally, I think it should be mandatory for every child to read it, just because it is so wonderfully beautiful and innocent. However, reading it as an adult makes me realize how we focus on the unimportant things, that we neglect some of the simpler barer necessities.

Grown-ups like numbers. When you tell them about a new friend, they never ask questions about what really matters. They never ask: "What does his voice sound like?" "What games does he like best?" "Does he collect butterflies?". They ask: "How old is he?" "How many brothers does he have?" "How much does he weigh?" "How much money does his father make?" Only then do they think they know him.

The story is about a pilot, Exupery, who is stranded in the Sahara, where he meets The Little Prince - an 'alien', who has come to earth from a small planet, Asteroid B612. On his planet, he had three volcanoes (two active, one inactive) that reached his knees, a beautiful (albeit demanding) flower, and a baobab problem, i.e. if baobabs weren't weeded out at a very early age they wreaked havoc.

The Little Prince shares his experiences with the pilot, about the other planets he visited en route to earth: one where the sole inhabitant was a monarch who had no one to rule over, and another where a drunkard was drinking his life away, to forget. There was a planet where there was a businessman who counted stars, and another where there was a conceited man. Each character he met reflected some idiosyncrasy or the other of humans, and it's this thought that stuck with me: when did we renounce the simple pleasures (beautiful flowers - that come with their own baggage, spring rain, sparkling stars, the sunset)? When did we stop asking the thought-provoking innocent questions, that escaped our mouths without a second thought? When did we stop nagging 'adults' 'til we got an answer, even if the answer was just to shut us up?

This is a funny, well-written book, which just makes you reflect on life, and how it's passed you by. It's a book about friendship, about romance, and to top it off, it has wonderful illustrations. I challenge anyone to read this book, and not have the last illustration stick in their minds for a long long time.

Rating : 5

Samantha Harvey - The Wilderness

I almost bought this book two months back, but, for some unexplainable reason, I didn't. About a week back, I found the first edition signed hardback in a second-hand bookstore, and literally jumped with glee. Saying buying this for £2.50 is a bargain is an understatement of sorts. The Wilderness follows the story of Jake, as he slowly loses his mind to Alzheimer's - slowly, or fast, depending on your definition of 'time', something Jake has no concept of. The book starts with him taking a plane ride, a present, which he clearly doesn't want. However, at the very outset, this plane ride allows the reader to glimpse into Jake's world: the prison he built (in his architect days), which he admires but the pilot considers to be a travesty, and, Quail Woods where Jake has spent his childhood, but the woods has slowly been ruined by people.

The book follows various 'stories' of Jake's life: his Jewish mother, and her relationship with his anti-Semite father, his opinions on the Six Day War, his relationship with his wife, and his extramarital affair which he felt no guilt over, immediately becoming one of the men he hated. However, due to the evident disorientation, the stories may or may not be true, and one doesn't quite know what's a figment of Jake's imagination, or what actually happened. It also leaves a lot of questions unanswered: What happened to Alice? What happened to the money? What's the skin-covered Bible got to do with anything? What happened to Rook? Sara? Joy?

While this is a story about a man suffering from Alzheimer's, it's also a story about symbology ('yellow dress', 'the glass aviary', 'the cherry tree', 'the woman clothed with the sun', 'the wilderness' itself, etc), and the transience of everything.

What is better? To give up what you are and be alive, or keep what you are and end up dead? What you are is mere circumstance anyway. It isn't that important. [...] It isn't more important than being alive. [...] I am telling you an you must listen: where you are from, what is yours, what is home - sometimes these are not the point. The truth is not everything. You have to know when it is time to walk away.

Harvey's done an amazing job in creating a fairly realistic novel about Jake, and his disease. I found myself getting fast despondent over Jake's condition, and had to close the book a couple of times, because I just couldn't bear to read about how Alzheimer's makes your life near impossible.

He breaks eggs into the pan and throws the shells away. He then takes the shells away from the bin again and stands with them in his hand with the idea that he needs them for the omelette - he can't remember if the shells are like packets that you throw away or apple skins that you eat.

However, the part of the book that literally broke my heart, was when he told Alice that he had Alzheimer's, and he'd known for two years (which was the 'truth' as he remembered it, even if it wasn't the 'real' truth), and how she said she'd come and help. Nothing compares to the relationship a father and daughter share, and my dad's been ill for the last two years, and I've had to battle some difficult choices, and it just hit home.

So, we've established it's a beautifully written, thought-provoking book, that just makes us realize that no matter what we do today, or who we are, in the end, we'll just fade away. Nothing is perpetual, not even in our own lifetimes, and sometimes, we just loop 'round and 'round in our own thoughts, convinced by the reality we make up for ourselves, and there's no good reason why.

The one thing that did get to me, though, was the fact that the book was written in third person, despite it being about Jake, and the other peripherals (if I may call them that) in his life. In a manner of speaking, Jake is the narrator, but then again, the whole book focuses on the 'he' instead of the 'me'.

Rating: 4

Weekly Geeks - Second Chance

Today's Weekly Geeks asks:

There have been times in my life where I reread a book (or author) I hated--or thought I hated--but the second time around ended up loving. Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever changed your mind about a book or author the second time around? Have you ever given a book or author a second chance?

If you have, I'd love to hear your stories. Blog about your experience(s) in giving second chances.

If you haven't, I'd like you to consider giving a book or an author a second chance. You can blog about your intentions to do so--or if you're a quick reader, maybe you can even squeeze something in.

It is just very interesting to me how time can change tastes and perceptions. How subjective the reading experience is and always will be.

This is an interesting question, and it's something I'm still quite ambivalent about, as I've been ecstatic and disappointed on giving books and authors second chances.

Sometime in 2008, I read Anne Enright's Taking Pictures - a collection of short stories. All said and done, it's a great name for a collection of short stories, but, I found the book to be terrible. I almost wept while reading it, but ended up attributing my dislike to the fact that I don't really like short stories that much.

Come Summer 2009, and I pick up Enright's The Gathering - the winner of the Booker Prize in 2007. If you follow the link, you'll see how disappointed I was (it's the only book I haven't finished this year!), and now, I don't think I'll be able to give her work a third chance. Life's too short to keep giving an author a chance.

However, and here's the BIG however:

I re-read Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children a couple of months back, and absolutely loved it. First time 'round, I found it extremely convoluted and difficult to read. Rushdie's writing style is unique, in the sense that, the words meander around an idea, 'til they completely surround it, and only then is the sentence complete - I wonder if that made sense? Loads of the sentences needed to be read, re-read and read again, and I think back then, patience wasn't my strongest suit. This time 'round though, I persevered, and once I broke the 100 page mark, it was smooth-sailing. It's like the rocky start to a relationship, when you're still learning about each other. Once you're past that, the love affair surges and rises above it all, and nothing can get in the way!

And my second re-read of this year was Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, another book I didn't really enjoy the first time. I didn't even bother re-reading it just before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released. I did re-read it after seeing the movie though, and was quite satiated. Of course, the book trumps the movie - any moron could've told you that - but, the book is also more Voldemort-centric, which makes it darker and more interesting. It takes us back to the very beginning, and answers some of the questions I had while reading the first four books. Why didn't I enjoy it the first time? Well, because, I thought it was very commercial, and Rowling was making a play for the media, not for the fans of the series. I still stand by that sentiment - her first four books are far superior to her last three, but, I think this book needs a re-read to truly appreciate it! (Of course, I would say that).

How about you? Do you give books/authors second chances? How often are you disappointed? And how often, do you feel that it's been worth it?

The Countdown Begins

In a week, I'm off for two weeks to the Caribbean - Barbados for one week, and St. Maarten for the other. As this is my first holiday in 2009, you can imagine how excited I am! I've been looking forward to this break for the last couple of months, and I can't believe it's almost here. Honestly!

I'm all prepared for a lazy holiday, where I spend most of my time drinking margaritas or pina coladas, or go swimming, or snorkeling, or trekking, or just taking in the breathtaking beauty of the white sands. Of course, a book list to go would be mandatory! I'd hate to find myself in paradise without a good book to read, and I'd be miserable if I found myself to be a victim of a 'bad' book (read, a book I didn't enjoy). For some time, I have been "saving" books - books I can't go wrong with, and books that I've been looking forward to reading for ages. So, here's the likely short-list:

1. Sarah Waters - Fingersmith : Ok, I'm running about seven years late. Yes, I know it's The Little Stranger which is the flavor of the season, but, I really want to read one of her earlier books, and this one's been rated very highly by most people. Even Amazon has a 50:3 ratio (50 five-star ratings, and three one-star ratings), so, you know - it makes it to the list.
2. Haruki Murakami - Kafka On The Shore : I've already mentioned that I've been saving this book for the past eight months, plus, it's part of the Japanese Literature Challenge 3. What better time to bring it out?
3. Carlos Ruiz Zafon - The Angel's Game : I loved The Shadow Of The Wind, and this book starts off in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books as well. How can I go wrong with it? However, this is a hardback, and while traveling, I'm not sure hardbacks are the way forward.
4. Daphne Du Maurier - Rebecca : A while back, you probably saw this on my "I'm reading" widget, because well - I started reading it. However, after eight pages, I put it down, because I felt I couldn't do total justice to the book if I continued to read it while commuting. It's a book I want to soak in, and enjoy, and hopefully, I'll get a chance to do so.
5. James Scudamore - Heliopolis : I'd feel guilty if I didn't try to read at least three or four of the books on the Booker long-list of this year. I'm reading The Wilderness at the moment, which is great, but that just morphs the baker's dozen into a layman's dozen. I don't have this book at hand yet, so I might need to pop into Waterstones or something next week.
6. Angela Carter - The Bloody Chamber : This is literally a last minute addition. I loved The Magic Toyshop, and this went straight on to my list after reading that. It's a book of short stories, which might be a nice change, as I haven't read short stories in the longest time. The only dilemma with this book is, where can I find a copy with a cover as stunning (if not more) as The Magic Toyshop's.

The other books that I have stacked neatly, but are unfortunately going to miss out on the Caribbean include: Out {Natsuo Kirino}, The Cellist Of Sarajevo {Steven Galloway} and How To Paint A Dead Man {Sarah Hall}. Would you guys swap any of the books I've included with any of the above three? How about with any of the other books on the Booker long-list? Or, do you have any brand new recommendations? Maybe something that is actually set in the Caribbean?

What kind of holiday reading are you inclined to do? Do you also find yourself 'saving books', to dig out when the time is right?

Booking Through Thursday - Recent Worst

Today's Booking Through Thursday asks: What’s the worst book you’ve read recently? This one is really easy for me, as I just finished writing one of my most negative reviews for this year. I won't beat around the bush, or faff around, building it up, but I'll just say it: Chris Cleave's The Other Hand was one of the most annoying books I've read in a long long long time.

I know loads of you have the best things to say about this book, so I'd really like to know how unfair you think I'm being. I did read the book with an open mind, and I was really excited to read it, but, the excitement just waned, and while I did finish the book, I was less than impressed.

PS: To find out more about my thoughts on this book, click here. Thanks.

Chris Cleave - The Other Hand

As far as I'm concerned, this book represents everything that is wrong with the publishing industry at the moment. I've read some fantastic reviews about this book, and was really looking forward to it, despite being quite unimpressed with the two marketing stunts the book (I don't know whether this should be attributed to the author or the publishing company) tried to pull: One was the blurb at the back cover, which reads:

We don't want to tell you what happens in this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it.

Nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it, so we just say this:

This is the story of two women.

Their lives collide one fateful day. and one of them has to make a terrible choice.

Two years later, they meet again - the story starts there...

Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds.

Seemingly inspired by the fantastic Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, which also has a blurb refraining from giving an accurate gist of the story, I wasn't too put off by the above, on its own. However, the opening page of the book has an "editor's note" that starts:

Dear Reader,

You don't know me. I'm Chris Cleave's editor, and I'm writing to tell you how extraordinary The Other Hand is.

She goes on to categorize the book with the likes of Schindler's Ark and Cloud Atlas, and makes it sound like the best thing since sliced bread.

Now, I know the book requests me not to disclose any more facts, so I'll just state three points that aggravated me most about it (and I think there were far more than three):

1. One of the protagonists talks of her country, where people don't understand what 'wood floors' and 'coffee tables' mean. Yet, they're massive U2 fans. That's the one thing that unites people world-wide: Everyone loves U2.
2. The book is repetitive - repetitive to the point where it feels patronizing, and you get a jolt of deja vu: Hang on, I've read this before. You flip back a couple of pages, and sure enough - you have.
3. The other protagonist has an insipid lackluster personality, but, she's still capable of making a 'terrible choice' (note: the 'terrible choice' is more of an 'incredible sacrifice', but, I don't think that would sell as well).

I also thought that the book went in for the 'shock' factor, without dealing with the sensitive and controversial topics that it addresses. Characters lacked depth, the two narrators weren't realistic, and a lot of the story was unbelievable. There was, I thought, one saving grace to the book: the child you see on the front cover, but the author managed to ruin that as well, by overusing his single nuance.

Sorry publishers, but I didn't really feel like telling my friends about this book after I read it.

Rating : 1

Angela Carter - The Magic Toyshop

I'll say it, right at the very outset. Straight. This is one of the best books I've ever read, and, believe it or not, the cover is equally fantastic. I did judge the book by its cover, and I am still astounded by how incredible this book is, and I can continue staring at its cover for hours unending. The plot, in a nutshell, revolves around Melanie, a fifteen year old who plays grown-up one evening, by wearing her mother's wedding dress. The next morning, a telegram arrives informing her, her two siblings and their housekeeper of the children's parents' demise. The children are forced to pack up and leave their life of luxury, and move in with their Uncle Philip, who they've never really known.

Life at Uncle Philip is diametrically different from 'home' - there is no toilet paper, no hot water, there's community shampoo, and there are the "red" people - Uncle Philip's mute wife, and her two brothers: Francis and Finn. Her Uncle, who owns a puppet and toy shop, seems to spend most of his energy on his 'art' and less on his family, but nonetheless being an oppressive tyrant, who everyone in the house fears. He comes across as this abominable puppet master, a sadist, a jealous mean miser, who hates Christmas, and resents people who aren't puppets.

The story focuses on the horrible Uncle, but it's also about how Melanie comes of age, settles into the family, and finds love and affection for her Aunt, and her Aunt's brothers - brothers who her Uncle despises, and never fails to remind that they need to earn their keep. It's Melanie's story, out and out, from the moment the book starts, with her discovering her own sexuality, and fearing dying a virgin, to, her almost bursting into tears looking at the bathroom at her Uncle's place (and comparing it to her old one), to, falling in love, and finally, growing up at the tender age of fifteen going on sixteen. It's a story that starts off at the brink of losing innocence, and progresses with the protagonist falling into a whirlwind of darkness, knowing that life as she knows it is over - and it's never coming back.

This is a beautifully written, heartbreaking tragedy. It's descriptive, magical (pun unintended), and almost scary. Life changes in the blink of an eye, and three children are forced to suffer the consequences, and subjugate themselves to a life they have no control over.

They stood on the step and waited for the taxi with black bands on their arms and suitcases in their hands, forlorn passengers from a wrecked ship, clutching a few haphazardly salvaged possessions, and staring in dismay at the choppy sea to which they must commit themselves.

The metaphors, dark imagery, graphic descriptions and quasi-hallucinatory story makes this gothic fairy tale superb. The vivid scenes, be it Leda-Zeus (Melanie and the Swan puppet), or the jubilation of the entire family when Uncle Philip is away, blows the reader's mind away, and at the end of the book, I was just craving for more.

...And, I don't think my review has done this phenomenal piece of work any justice whatsoever.

Rating: 5+ {If you stumble upon this book, grab it and hug it tight, and never let it go}

PS: I've half thought that Claire @ PaperbackReader can have a blog dedicated to Angela Carter and The Magic Toyshop, and some of its stunning covers. If she ever goes down that road, I'll be happy to join her / follow each and every post! :)

Japanese Literature Challenge 3

I've seen a couple of blogs link to Belleza's Japanese Literature Challenge 3, and despite the fact that I'm a little late, I reckon it would be fun to join in - specially as I already have two Japanese books lined up for the next couple of months.

Also, after looking at the challenge's button, I just had to join in. :)

The rules look straightforward:

This year, all you have to do is read one work of Japanese origin. It can be literature of course, but don’t feel confined to that. You may choose to read poetry, biographies, short stories or even manga. If you are willing to read one such piece, you’ve met the challenge. If you read more, all the better.

So, the two I definitely plan to read:

1. Out {Natsuo Kirino} : Jackie @ FarmLaneBooks had a five-star review for this book, and it intrigued me. I love thrillers as well, and feel like I haven't read my share this year (the only out and out thriller I have read is Mary Higgins Clark's Where Are You Now).
2. Kafka On The Shore {Haruki Murakami} : I've had this book on my shelf for ages, much before I read Norwegian Wood (February 2009). It's one of those books I've been "saving", and I think the time is right now!
3. A Wild Sheep Chase {Haruki Murakami} : Instead of reading Kafka On The Shore, which I'm still "saving", I read another Murakami instead!

I'll probably read a couple more as well, as I love Japanese literature, and the stories are always so mesmerizing and different. There are a couple of other Murakamis that I want to read (I actually want to read all of them), so, I might make this more of a Murakami challenge!

Thanks for hosting this - I'm sure it's going to be lots of fun!