Book Review : The Wish Granter

Author: C.J. Redwine

The world has turned upside down for Thad and Ari Glavan, the bastard twins of Súndraille’s king. Their mother was murdered. The royal family died mysteriously. And now Thad sits on the throne of a kingdom whose streets are suddenly overrun with violence he can’t stop.

Growing up ignored by the nobility, Ari never wanted to be a proper princess. And when Thad suddenly starts training Ari to take his place, she realizes that her brother’s ascension to the throne wasn’t fate. It was the work of a Wish Granter named Alistair Teague who tricked Thad into wishing away both the safety of his people and his soul in exchange for the crown.
So Ari recruits the help of Thad’s enigmatic new weapons master, Sebastian Vaughn, to teach her how to fight Teague. With secret ties to Teague’s criminal empire, Sebastian might just hold the key to discovering Alistair’s weaknesses, saving Ari’s brother—and herself.
But Teague is ruthless and more than ready to destroy anyone who dares stand in his way—and now he has his sights set on the princess. And if Ari can’t outwit him, she’ll lose Sebastian, her brother…and her soul.

Another version of a famous fairy tale which I love but I’m not going to tell which one it is. You need to read the book to find out.

Adventures, humor and some romance. I love Ari’s character and ejoyed her relentlessnes despite any situation.

Easy to read and easy to follow the storytelling. I had so much fun reading and following every antics Ari made.
A lovely read on a stormy day !!!

Advertisement

Book Review : The Curious Incident of the dog in the night-time

Author : Mark Haddon

It is a very enlightening book about children with special needs, in this case, Autism.

Personally, I have not met an autistic child or anybody with autism. Although I have met a sweet little girl with special needs and I must say it is not easy. After playing with her for several minutes, I was already tired but since she is not my kid, I can go home and relax afterwards.

BUT to parents who have to deal with them every single day , I applaud their patience and love.

The book is written in first person-person perspective , a 15-year old boy named Christopher Boone. He does not like yellow but he loves red.  He is a genius in Mathematics and Physics.  To Christopher, everything he does seems normal to him but to other people they find it weird. But what is normal anyway?

I normally don’t read book that portrays people with special needs , not because I don’t care but because it just break my hearts. But as  I was reading the book, I was captivated by Christopher and later on was cheering on him in his adventure.

I laughed at his antics and got irritated at the adults around him who are insensitive and cruel because he was different.

It was really a good read and great eye opener. I highly recommend it to people who wants to get a basic idea about autism.

To all the Christopher’s out there, good luck on your adventure in life.

Book Review : The Voyeur’s Motel

Author: Gay Talese

If not for the Osaka Book Group, I probably would not have read this book. 

First of, I had not idea what Voyeur meant and was comfortable reading it in the train and in the office 🙂 

It was an interesting read. 

Show what kind of weirdness humans would do to satisfy their own fantasies. 

Although there were some discrepancies among the details of the story and if you try to create a timeline, some events would probably overlap and makes no sense.

It was an interesting read, but will I recommend it.. not really. If you are bored and out books to read maybe you can borrow from the library instead (if the have it)

Book Review : Descartes Highland

Description:

Two men, each unaware of the other, share a common family secret: they were sold for adoption by their American father shortly after their births in the Philippines. Three alternating stories interweave the experiences of father Andrew Breszky and the two sons who try to connect and piece together the puzzle of their reckless, impulsive father. One lives in New York and the other grows up in the south of France, later traveling all over Asia as a documentary filmmaker. Both will discover that their relationships somehow echo that of the young man whose history eludes them.
Celebrated Filipino writer Eric Gamalinda’s international debut novel is a contemporary work of ideas that combines mystery, film noir, and existential philosophy. Highly intricate and written in a style reminiscent of the maverick narrative techniques of such filmmakers as Andrei Tarkovsky and Béla Tarr, and with some of the philosophical underpinnings of Michel Houellebecq or Javier Marías. Named after the region of the moon where Apollo 16 landed in the same year these men were born, The Descartes Highlands demonstrates that for lives marked by unrelieved loneliness, the only hope lies in the redemptive power of love.

Back in High School days, I got addicted to local(Philippines) novels mostly written in Tagalog. The stories mostly revolve around forbidden love, Cinderella type stories and lots of drama. English novels were
hard to find and a bit expensive for a student like me.

Although it’s been awhile since I read this pocketbooks, I’m always in a look out for a Filipino writer who deviates from this genre so when Amy Tan recommended this book from Eric Gamalinda, I instantly got a copy.

The book is definitely an intereting read. It switches from present time to early 1970’s in the Philippines and narrates what happens to each character in their period. It explores the era in the Philippines during the Martial Law where everyone is trying to find a way to escape or survive the regime.

What I like about this book is that nothing is sugar coated when it talks about the Philippines. This was/is the lives of some Filipinos. Reading it made me realize what my country has become this past 40 years.

The corruption in the government is still rampant though but slowly being exposed. The ruling politicians that were the same people involve in the Martial Law are still ruling the country.The bad things that he mentioned are ( I think ) still exists especially in the big cities.

I want to say more smart things about the book, but I think it’s much better if you just read it, I can assure you you will not be disappointed.

 

Book Review : The Folded Earth

Desperate to leave a private tragedy behind, Maya abandons herself to the rhythms of the little village, where people coexist peacefully with nature. But all is not as it seems, and she soon learns that no refuge is remote enough to keep out the modern world. When power-hungry politicians threaten her beloved mountain community, Maya finds herself caught between the life she left behind and the new home she is determined to protect.

By Anuradha Roy.

It’s one of those books that gives you a calm , serene feeling while you are reading.

Unfortunately though, I can get a connection with the main character Maya. I’m not sure if she is a strong woman or not.  She did defy her father when she decided to marry a foreigner and not somebody from her own caste, but after Micheal (her husband) died, she seems to have lost her zest for life.

On the other hand, I enjoy reading Charu’s adventure. For me, I think she is the best character in the book. She is feisty and full of life. She fights for what she wants when she wants and do not do the things that she finds useless.

It took me a little while to finish reading this book though. Every time there is a description about the mountain, I would have this feeling of going for a climb again or just be outdoor and enjoy instead of being coped up inside the house with the book.

I give it about 2.5 rating out of 5.