eclipse by stephenie meyer

628 pages. atom books. copyright 2007

as much as i didn’t really like the second book in the twilight series, ‘New Moon’, i still can’t resist the urge to be hooked and want to know what happens next. i’m glad i got the third book. ‘eclipse’ sort of becomes ‘new moon’s redeeming factor. so this picks up where new moon ended–the cullens are back in forks. but there’s been a series of murders in seattle that alarms nor just the forks local police and people but the friendly neighborhood vampires and werewolves as well.

more action, more historical info (aka legends) are in the book. the suspense builds up at a moderate pace, and doesn’t all just culminate in the end (like twilight). there’s the suspense of battle, and of personal decisions.

the characters are much more developed–i was going to hate edward cullen forever for being so possesive of bella –and for bella as well for being a pushover, but later on they reach a compromise. and edward becomes more understanding of bella’s and jacob’s friendship. i’ve also found a newborn respect for edward in his conversation with jacob–him admitting that there are times he thinks jacob would be better for bella.

jacob as usual is very endearing, and still devoted to bella. bella finds herself being able to relate to the catherine of ‘wuthering heights’, torn between 2 opposing and feuding admirers.

it ends with bella graduating from highschool–and all twilight readers would know what that means.

i really feel for jacob black. bella is too dumb and lovestruck not to see this!

PS: atom books has serious issues with typos (grammatical and all sorts), all 3 books have had them so far. very trivial errors but affects the reading of course.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

penguin books. 326 pages. copyright 2005

this book is one of the first novels dealing with the 9/11 attacks. oskar schell is a precocious 9 year old boy whose father died when the second tower fell. since then, he’s been ‘wearing heavy boots’ because of many factors: the messages his father left in the voicemail that only he has retrieved, his mother dating another guy, oskar’s naturally curious and inventive nature, and just a son’s loss basically.

he finds a key inside an envelope with his father’s handwritting on it. from then on, his main goal is to find what the small key opens. his father has written “Black” on the envelope, and he begins paying a visit to ALL the Black-surnamed people in New York.

along his quest, he makes new friendships, and gets to know his grandmother and grandfather more.

extremely loud and incredibly close is a one-of-a kind novel. it is almost multi-media as it has accompanying photographs, scribbles, scratches, and even a flip book type animation of a man falling from one of the towers. it brings forth an intro to modern storytelling, not just in prose but delivery and presentation.

oskar is your typical school genius who gets picked on and his narration of his grief and hatred with the events that happened on the 11th of september is creative, innocent, admirable, charming, and sad.

i’ve totally fallen in love with this book–it is a story of a boy’s quest, and a story of sons and fathers.

how very apt for me to have read it on fathers’ day.

i’ll be looking forward to getting my hands on Foer’s other novel, ‘Everything is Illuminated’. need to read it before the movie comes out.

author jonathan safran foer, born 1977 is married to novelist nicole krauss.

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

atom books. 563 pages. copyright 2006

there is no way that you could read twilight and not want to know what happens next. so i immediately got the second book, new moon (thanks to hubby). ‘new moon’, according to author stephenie meyer, is the complete opposite phase of a full moon. and it is supposedly the darkest kind of night. that definition alone sums up the book in a whole. so these are bella swan’s darkest days. edward cullen realizes that his vampire-human relationship isn’t doing any of them good, so he ups and leaves. meanwhile bella is left , for the next half year, moping around. she seeks comfort from jacob black, who turns out to become a werewolf to fight the vampires. she actually seemed to be just using him, for the meantime that she is nursing a broken heart.

edward only appears in the beginning and in the end of the book. in between is like one grey matter (the only climax revealing that jacob belongs to a pack of werewolves, and that victoria is back seeking for vengeance) the whole book is too reflective, and too emotional, especially with bella not being able to move on. the pacing is not as good as twilight, even with edward’s life or death scenario in italy towards the end.

bella practically ‘dumps’ jacob like a used comforter when edward returns back into the picture. edward, for all the frustrations i have with him, at least was man enough to thank jacob for keeping bella alive when he wasn’t around.

so the issue which leaves readers hanging now is, will she or will she not? (be turned into a bloodsucker)

i have eclipse waiting to be read, but im taking a break from the vampires first.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Atom Books. 434 pages. copyright 2005

i had my apprehensions, doubts and qualms about this book. just about everyone was raving about this young adult novel series. i was never into young adult literature, and definitely not interested in a vampire love story ala buffy, etc. but since im experiencing such a long spell of good book drought, i was welcome to suggestions. that is, after all, how you discover new favorites.

i struggled at the beginning till the middle part, because it was only then when the pacing picked up. but once it did, i couldn’t, for the life of me, put the book down, even for a toilet break.

4 now-famous sentences on the back of the book:

about three things i was absolutely positive. first, edward was a vampire. second, there was a part of him–and i didn’t know how dominant that part might be–that thirsted for my blood. and third, i was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

that was isabella swan speaking, the heroine of the story. she’s just moved to the small town of Forks, and though the town is boring and dreary, her relationship with edward cullen, a 90 year old vampire in a 17-year old high school student’s clothing, is anything but normal or steady.

what i loved:

–the suspense that the twists and turns of the plot and chase scenes take you to.

–discovering how cool the cullens are

–the occassional romantic thrills

–the plot, period.

what i didn’t appreciate:

–very slow build-up

–bella’s dullness/lack of character

————————–

that’s just about it. though i’m not a full-on fanatic (yet), i am already starting the second book, New Moon. (given by my husband since he could see me hunched over the book till early in the morning). and ive been talking non-stop about it.

overall, im pretty glad to have found a series to look forward to. the last time my heart beat that fast while reading a scary book, was about 1994? (Fear Street Saga by R.L Stine!)

i hope the movie won’t disappoint. (coming december 2008 )

A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

Ballantine Books, 371 pages.

I don’t even know how to begin with this book. This book that is as flat as the thousand acres it is set on. So this is a modern-day, 1980’s, rural Iowa set King Lear story. A successful but now retiring farmer decides to divide his land among his 3 daughters. Things turn awry when the youngest daughter, Caroline, refuses to get into any of the farming business. Afterall, she is now a successful lawyer in Minnesota. The other 2 sisters, quick-tempered Rose and ‘yes-man’ Ginny , are both ‘tied’ to the farming business, as they are both housewives to their husbands Pete and Ty, who are both working for the farm the girls’ father /family owns.

But their father, Larry is extremely overbearing and abusive and have pretty much controlled the girls’ lives which resulted to them growing into adults with a ball of issues.

Soon, Ginny and Rose become the talk of the town when they engage in a dispute with their father over his domineering ways. They become each others’ confidante and also each others’ rivals when a family friend’s son comes back from the Vietnam war and gives both of them fresh air from their everyday farmer’s daughter/wife world.

–

This book is for you if you are into heavy family drama, and much into symbolisms/undertones. I can see why it is much acclaimed, and the occurances in the story are very good for discussions and forums.

But again, it’s just not for me. The narrative is average–neither poetic, nor entertainingly simple. It’s just…bland, really. Towards the end, I must admit that something in the plot made me hopeful for an exciting change. The end doesn’t disappoint, and it doesn’t impress either.

A film adaptation of this novel was done in 1998–a powerhouse cast of talent (Michelle Pfiffer, Jessica Lange, Colin Firth) .

Author Jane Smiley is a Pulitzer Prize recipient.

GAP CREEK BY ROBERT MORGAN

Simon and Schuster, 326 pages.

There’s something special about this book that made me read it once again. I first read it when I was 18 years old and now almost 10 years later, I am still mesmerized the second time around.

Set in the Appalachian high country towards the end of the 19th century, 17 year old Julie Harmon is facing hard truths of life–hard toil, death, and poverty. She marries Hank Richards and they move to start their married life at Gap Creek.

But things do not get remotely better in Gap Creek, as one tragedy after another strike the newlyweds.

On a plain birds eye point of view, this whole novel may be wrongly tagged as dark, depressing and morbid.  But the overall feeling that it leaves in the end is eternal hope.  You wouldn’t think that raw and simple words would successfully bring out Julie’s admirable character.

Gap Creek: The Story of a Marriage.  Admirable. Is a perfect word to describe this novel.

A future classic must read for everybody.

Author Robert Morgan is a professor of English at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

The Pact by Jodi Picoult

Allen & Unwin. 451 pages.

+++WARNING: BIG FAT SPOILER AHEAD+++

This is only my second Jodi Picoult read (First being the famous My Sister’s Keeper). And already, I can see a structured pattern. She takes controversial family, domestic and society issues and somehow turns them ‘relatable’ by writing how ordinary (though fictiona)l families deal with it–in the form of her novels.

The main difference is, “My Sister’s Keeper” is at least very debatable, the opposing sides of which are both equally justifiable. “The Pact”, whose title by the way goes by a second line: “A love story”, has a plot and storyline that I can only sum up in one word: Stupid.  I don’t have any other euphemism for it, nor could I think of any other synonym or a more intelligent description.

The theme is very engaging–childhood sweethearts Emily Gold. 17 and Chris Harte,18 have been soulmates since they were born. Then one night, Emily was found dead with a single bullet shot to her head.

The book’s chapters alternate between the now–Court trials , Chris’ time in prison, and the famillies’ grieving, and then–memories of Chris and Emily from the moment they were born, and how they grew up together, how the relationship escalated.

Chris tells everybody that it was a botched up double suicide. (He was found unconcious and bleeding next to Emily’s body) but no one believes him.  The rest of the story unfolds showing Emily’s issues and unstableness (yet for me it wasnt in depth enough to understand why she became suicidal).

The story builds up in a way that you think there’d be a nice twist in the end (consolation to the depressing theme at least) but noooo..
At the very end of the book, after Picoult has taken you over repetitive lines, emotions and scenes, she presents a ‘revelation’ from Chris. I could have guessed that revelation myself (not even my best guess at that).

So he helped Emily kill herself because…. (now this reason I wouldn’t have guessed at all because it’s out of this world dumb)….he loves her so much, he would do anything for her.

When he could have had the BIGGEST chance to save her life–he helps her end it. Is that love?? That’s downright stupidity.

Just as she did in “My Sister’s Keeper”, Picoult again uses a character for ‘grief relief’. Unnecessarily  opening up minor characters’ personal lives ( Chris’ defense lawyer Jordan McAfee). There are some authors and books that use this kind of ‘relief’ very well. But with Picoult, it somehow comes out unessential and time-wasting.

“The Pact” is in Angus and Robertson’s Best 100 novels list.

And basing on reviews, this book is so well-loved.

Help me understand why.

FEAR OF FLYING BY ERICA JONG

Vintage (Australia). 340 pages.

This 1970’s classic truly deserves its “zipless” reputation.  Isadora Wing, who is married to her psychoanalyst, is restless, insecure, but highly perceptive and is a remarkable writer.  Having had countless therapies, she is well versed on psychological terms and complexes, and perhaps overly so. She is constantly on the search for that “Zipless F*ck”– what it is and how it is executed, she perfectly describes in the book.

Confused and torn–she compromises her marriage to the steady Bennett Wing, and scurries off with the revolting Adrian Goodlove–who doesn’t give any good loving at all –in both sense of the word.

Fear of Flying is so much more than just the ’70’s sexual revolution’ that it is known for. I initially thought I could compare it with “The Bride Stripped Bare” but they are entirely different. ‘The Bride Stripped” is sensous, poetic, and hypnotic where as “Flying” is blunt, funny, sexy and very much real.

How real the book is , is debatable, as many are convinced that Fear of Flying is a semi-autobiographical work of Jong. The characters, coincidences and plot are too parallel to be considered fiction.

Whether it is fiction or not, Fear

of Flying has definitely made it home to my top 15 books.

Erica Jong

News has it that Maggie Gyllenhaal will play the role of Isadora Wing for the movie adaptation

TULLY BY PAULLINA SIMONS

Flamingo (Harper Collins Publishers). 611pages

Like all other books in the TOP 100 BOOKS list (of both Dymocks and Angus & Robertson), I’ve been seeing this book for a while now but haven’t even given it a thought. Picked it up a few times and the synopsis looked belugh (very typical).

And then I saw a former co-worker bringing this book everyday (despite the massive thickness). She told me I just HAVE to read it. It was her 5th time re-reading it so naturally, I was intrigued.

The story revolves around Natalie Anne “Tully” Makker, growing up in Topeka, Kansas in the 70’s with her two bestfriends–Julie Martinez and Jennifer Mandolini.

Dark dreaded family secrets and undertones of V.C Andrew elements surface when storyline shows that Tully comes home to an abusive and overbearing mother who, because she’s convinced her rebellious daughter is a SL*T, always beats her to a pulp.

A disastrous incident happens just before the girls graduate from high school and as all disasters do, it “changes their lives forever”.

Tully soon steps into adulthood–gaining independence, getting married and having a family. But one thing remains the same–she’s still a woman of few words, stoic, and selfish.

I can clearly see why so many people love this book. The story gets you hooked, it’s very captivating (especially at the beginning) –and it has such a perfect storyline for a soapie. As the lead person in  the book, Tully’s character is strongly established that you will feel you know her head to toe, you feel you can complete her sentences which are always dripping with sarcasm.

I didn’t feel any ounce of compassion for Tully at all and the choices she make always destroyed the lives of people who care for her. I think that one important thing in making and developing a character, is to make him/her at least moderately likeable enough. Tully’s heartlessness is too unbelievable that I wanted her to suffer in the end.

I’m not going to make sense if you haven’t read the book, and I’m not about to give away any plot bombs, but I thought the story ended very pathetically. The author made a long path/development for Tully to engage herself in a situation that compromised her marriage and friendship. But it felt too rushed in the end, when she makes yet another lousy decision.

Like I said, in terms of dramatic entertainment, Tully is really good. It’s a story that will definitely make a big impact. But I just can’t stand how the other characters in the story could be so dumb.

Overall verdict: Highly entertaining but at the same time frustrating.

Paullina Simons, author of “Tully”

APRIL FOOL’S DAY BY BRYCE COURTENAY

Penguin Books Australia Ltd. 639 pages

If you are a book lover in Australia, you’d definitely have read at least one or two of Bryce Courtenay’s books. Look into any Oz book shop, and most likely you will see that Courtenay’s books are dominating the best-sellers shelves.

Almost a year ago, a co-worker and I were talking about past jobs, and she used to be in the health department and she was telling me about her paper–she was working on hemophilliacs.

Up until that time, I honestly didn’t even know what hemophillia was ( shame shame shame) and I was astonished to hear that such a condition is in fact quite common.

A very basic description of the condition :

Hemophilia is a rare bleeding disorder that prevents the blood from clotting properly.

Small bruises or cuts that could otherwise be brushed off by normal people, can be very fatal to a a hemophilliac.

April Fool’s Day is a non-fictional account/ tribute  of Bryce Courtenay’’s personal experience with a hemophilliac: his own son, Damon Courtenay was born a hemophilliac, and died at 23 years of age.

Courtenay describes this book as mainly being about love, and the major goal of him and his family (wife, son and son’s girlfriend) in writing this book is to change people’s perspective about the condition, and most especially that of HIV.

Back then , hemophilliacs had almost 90% chance of acquiring HIV because of the endless blood transfusions they needed.

To be critical of a book that has such important/noble content may seem unfair, but this book is quite heavy and depressing.

This is my first Bryce Courtenay book and if I were to judge his writing talent through this book, I wouldn’t pick up any of his other works. But perhaps this is an exception, after all it’s a personal account, and when you write something painful and close to your heart, the last thing you have in mind is how it would appeal to your reader.

The education and awareness that it gives the reader about HIV, AIDS, and Hemophilia are the pros to this work.

Tear factor: extremely high.

Bryce Courtenay