BOOK REVIEW ; THE GIVER

Title : The Giver

Author : Lois Lowry 

Wait. Does that mean they really spell Lois without the "u" here? Never thought of that. 

This book is categorized as a children's book, but I do struggle to understand how can kids even fathom what this book really wants to deliver. I was hashtagging #deep all over this novel.

Maybe kids like Matilda would get it. Roald Dahl had set a fine example.

Sci-fi lovers, here's a tame diversion!

The Giver tells us about a Utopian society where rules govern the community, so much that it will not feel emotions. Love, pain, hunger, etc is non-existent in the Jonases' household. In fact, in the whole community. And the fact that the whole world is built of similar communities gives an impression akin to Orwell's 1984. People are given specific roles when they come of age, and deviating from it means that you're out. Not everyone can give birth, and babies are assigned to families. You get the drift. 

But this young special boy is given the special role. He will feel when everyone remains numb. He will remember things that people have never even dream about. 

He will try and change the people. 

PS : yes I am back! Will update stuff!

Rating : 10/10 must read even if you have a healthy dislike towards sci-fi. Orwell's line of thought, people

BOOK TO MOVIE ; CASE HISTORIES

It was an enigma to me actually while I was reading Atkinson's book. Crime fiction? Really?

But I laughed it off thinking it absurd. Surely Professor Dienst knows better.

Yet, little that I know, he did asked us the same question in class today? What does the crimes in this book mean? What purpose does it serve, really?

Enough of class material.

I was intrigued by the "feel" that I got from the book, that I decided to watch the BBC series. Since Case Histories is part of a series featuring Jackson Brodie as the main character, I had watched the first 2 episodes that corresponds to this book.

All along I was telling myself, " This is so gonna be Jodi Picoult-like."

I was right.

Both episodes hung loosely onto the book, changing tiny facts to the case which bothered me as stories like this depend on the small bits to push it through. The obvious stuff is still there, and Brodie was all you can ask for on screen. He had that appeal in himself that he acted more like a confidante rather than the normal private eye we usually encounter, making you feel that the cases were never meant to be solved in the first place.

Amelia and Julia fared better on screen compared to the book, but Laura was a little bit plain.

Lily Rose was Lily Rose. Theo wasn't that gigantic though.

Overall, I would not say it is a remarkable rendering of the novel, but worth to watch, nonetheless. Especially if you want to see how things flush out using graphics rather than an over-active imagination.

The part where Olivia's killer did the deed was funny or absurd, depending on your level of seriousness. It was dramatic and garish (at least it was for me). It serves the purpose of fleshing out the reasons behind the killing but I felt that the producer took too much liberty on that one.

Oh well. Brodie is Lucius and how can Lucius be so yummy.

Help me wrap that thought into my brain folds.

BOOK REVIEW; PATHS OF GLORY

Someone had cut an onion while I was at the end of the story.

Although critics went around saying that this is just a fictional account, a speculation on the first Everest attempt, I must say that Archer made sure he wrote a good one at that.

BAM.

This book outlines the life story of Mr George Mallory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mallory), the man who was rumored to be the first man to reach the tip of Chomolungma, along with Mr Sandy Irvine. Their success is still unknown to be true, as they had met with their deaths on the cliffs of Everest, a couple hundred feet away from the top. The only clues supplied by their fellow climbers were the absence of Ruth Mallory's photograph from George's wallet, and a picture in a Kodak camera that is lost.

Paths of Glory spins a tale around the English amateur mountain climbers of Mallory's time, each vying for recognition and position. Will the climbing expedition's fate be different if it was Finch who made the final ascent with Mallory instead of Irvine?

Although historical, Archer woven enough emotion and drama to make you want to enclose yourself in a hole and finish the book. And be proud to have shed a tear or two at the ending, for you felt the struggles of the personas as if it was your own.

Rating : 10/10

Beginning to like you, Mr. Archer! Can't wait to read Kane and Abel!

PS : There is also a documentary on him on PBS I think, if you want to get closer to the man who might have push historians to rewrite the textbooks.

BOOK REVIEW; CASE HISTORIES

Title : Case Histories
Author : Kate Atkinson

As much as I find the book fascinating, I think I am reverting back to the classic detective fiction. Now I have a big problem cherry-picking the fine line between aforementioned genre and the crime fiction I have been recently delving in to.

Case Histories revolves around 3 cold cases that happened  years ago, long forgotten but for the families. In the same week, all three were revived when new clues surfaced and the families decided to contact private detective Jackson Brodie.

Case 1 : Olivia, the baby in the family went missing from the tent she and her sister Amelia were sleeping in, one summer night. She was never to be found again. Case reopened when Olivia's sisters, Julia and Amelia found the Blue Mouse that accompanied Olivia wherever she went before her disappearance, in their deceased dad's study.

Case 2 : Laura Wyre, the baby of Mr. Theo Wyre, brutally murdered while she was working her first day in her dad's office. Was the act random or actually targeted at Theo? Since the murderer in the bright yellow golf sweater was never found, Theo became obsessed with finding closure. 10 years had gone by, and Theo felt that he had to know the answer before finally reuniting with Laura.

Case 3 : Michelle, seen holding an axe with her husband's head chopped off and her baby, Tanya, wailing. Was she delusional, or what thrown her off balance? Shirley, Michelle's sister, didn't want an answer to that. She just wanted Tanya.

String along Nicola Spencer, who was suspected to be cheating on her husband, and Mrs. Binky and her cats, who believed in Jackson the way no one does. With a marriage torn apart and a brutishly handsome face, Jackson was in for a ride.

He solved the cases in a mild manner, so that everyone in different ways found closure. He found his, too.

Rating : 9/10

I still love Fatale more, professor.

PS : Saw online that there is a BBC series on this. Worth watching! (and yes I love BBC)

PPS : Jackson Brodie is Lucius Malfoy!