The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

This book is about a 15-year old boy named Christopher John Francis Boone who is an autistic. He is a genius at math and love physics. He hates yellow and brown and does not like to be touch. Christopher takes everything that he sees (or is told) at face value, and is unable to sort out the strange behavior of his elders and peers. He lived with his father after his mother who can barely cope with his quirks, left him. But he does not know this because his father told him that his mother died of heart attack until one day he found her letters.

The story begins when his neighbor's dog named Wellington was killed with a garden fork. Encouraged by his teacher, Siobhan, he then try to solve the mystery of who killed Wellington. He also writes a book about the investigation. His search for answers however leads him to unsuspecting twist in his life.

Haddon 'got it right' with this novel. He was able to write this book from Christopher's point of view and yet managed to make him lovable albeit of his quirkiness. Haddon navigates the novel with extraordinary touch which do not make this book condescending, overly sentimental, exploitive or grossly tasteless. Quite a rare gift he had for a first-time novelist, I say.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is original, clever, and genuinely moving: this one is a must-read.

I am Muslim

I am Muslim by Dina Zaman is one of my favorite non-fiction books. I bought the book right after I got my heart pierced with betrayal and it has been such a good remedy for the wound.

This book is a selfish journey of faith by its writer. For me, this is the most honest book I ever came across about Islam in Malaysia. It tells us how of most Muslim Malaysians practiced Islam. Dina gets into all kind of scrapes to discover what it means to be a Muslim in Malaysia.

Reading this book was an eye opening experience for me. She asked questions like: are Muslim Malaysian lost? Do we lack confidence in ourselves and that's why we hold onto religion or a certain lifestyle, because there is nothing else left to make us feel fulfilled? Contented? Who are we as people and personalities.

I am aware that being a Muslim in Malaysia you are judge by the way you present yourself physically. For example: if you are wearing the hijab, you are a good Muslim and if you are not, you'll be burn in hell instantaneously. Why do we wear hijab but do immoral things: consort with shamans, drinking, smoking Cuba cigars while attending Friday prayer diligently. Sad isn't it?

It is also heartbreaking to learn things that I am aware of but didn't realized how it has reached critical point such as the gay/lesbian culture or infidelity with same sex, that are getting out of hand. I was ashamed and angry when I found out about these things. Is this the modern Malaysians Muslim that we are proud of/to be?

I especially like the way Dina conveys her journey of discovery. Most of the time it is downright funny so I really enjoyed reading it. I have recommend this book to all my friends, Muslim and non-Muslim alike. Its a must have.

Dragon Rider

Another fantasy book by Cornelia Funke in my list, Dragon Rider is book that intended for kids albeit that it is a long one (500 pages or more). Just like the book's title, it has dragon in it, and other magical creatures as well.

The story is about FireDrake who went on a journey to the Himalayas to find the Rim of Heaven. The journey begin when the place that he's living with few other dragons was under the threat of destruction by mankind. After he acquired a map from a rat, he started on the journey with Ben, a human boy (he's te dragon rider) and Sorrell, a brownie, as his companions.

But their journey was not without tribulations. They got Nettlebrand (a vicious -but very vain - creature made from impenetrable gold) on their tail. Nettlebrand intended on destroying all dragons and had them for dinner. Over the years he had killed many of the dragons and because of him, the dragon was living in hiding.

He was first aided by Twigleg, a homunculus who stowed away in Ben's bag as a spy. Twigleg's duty is to report every single details to Nettlebrand about their journey but over the days Twigleg started to appreciate Ben more and more. When Ben discovered Twigleg, he treated him as a friend and this changed Twigleg's alliance once and for all.

So together they made plans to fight Nettlebrand.

I won't spoil the ending but perhaps you can guess who wins. hehe..

library update [Sept 07]

My book list can be downloaded here.

It has not been growing as I hope it would be for this year. I have been too busy with works and most of my free time I spent watching anime.

baca buku in many bahasa

Chinese: 获悉 书
Italian: leggere libro
French: lire livre
Spanish: leer libro
Dutch: lezen boek
Czech: číst kniha
Danish: læse bog
Swedish: läsa bok
Japanese: 読んで知る書物
Estonian: lugema raamat
Finnish: lukea kirja
Turkish: okumak kitap
Hungarian: olvas könyv
Icelandic: lesa bók
Malay: baca buku
Polish: czytać książka
Korean: 읽어 알다권
Slovenian: prebrati knjiga
Rusian: вычитать книга
Latvian: izlasīt grāmata
Lithuanian: perskaityti knyga
Norwegian: lese bok
Arabic: كتاب يَعْرِف بالقِراءَ
Portuguese: ler livro
Slovak: čítať kniha
Greek: διαβάζω βιβλίο

Sleepers

This book review is long over due, just like many other books that I’ve yet to review.

I read this on my trip to negeri di bawah bayu back in May.

Those who know me would have known that I am a fan of the movie Sleepers. I remember watching that movie when I was still in secondary school and it leaves such an impact. The horrible things men do to satisfy themselves…

I learn the movie was based on a true story and that the horrible journey of those four young boys was documented. I’ve been looking for the book, being a bookworm freak that I am, ever since. After several years of searching, I managed to obtain the book on March 6, 2006 via amazon. The book however just sat there on my bookshelves. I’m too scared to open the first page as the dreadful scenes from the movie are still so fresh in my mind.

Before my journey to Sabah, fortunately I only left with two books that are yet to be read. One of it is Sleepers and the other one is the Dragon Rider.

So as I have promised in my journal, here is the review of the first book: Sleepers by Lorenzo Carcaterra. This is a true story of friendships that run deeper than blood.

Lorenzo and his three friends: John Reilly, Tommy ‘butter’ Marciano and Michael Sullivan, shared everything and has undying loyalty to one another. But on one fateful summer day, a hotdog cart prank went awry and the boys nearly got a man killed. Lorenzo and his friends were sent away to a reformatory school.

There begins the life of hell for these young boys. Any vestiges shred of innocence was stripped away as the guards; Nokes, Stylers, Ferguson and Addison, repeatedly beat, brutalized and raped them. When I read the words written, it became so graphics that it all seems so real. Even more so as I was alone in a hotel room in a place that is so alien to me. I get light-headed and was chilled to the bone reading what was done to the boys. It dawn on me then and I came to realize for the first time that evil can be wearing the mask of men. But we better known those attribute simply as inhuman.

There are two incidents of brutality that I still remembered clearly (it has been omitted from the movie). It happened to Lorenzo himself when he was called to the guard office to get the parcel that was sent by his mother. Among the food that his mother sent was a rosary beads. When asked by Nokes what it was for, he answered it was for prayer. Nokes and his crews then make him say the prayer while Styler slid the front end of a baton inside him. Yes, inside him! A baton!

The other was during Lorenzo’s last night at the Wilkinson. Nokes make him watch as his crews tore at his friends, raped them and attacked them as if they were animals freed from cage. He wrote later that a part of all of them was left in that cell that night. Who wouldn’t?

(Geez, I still got Goosebumps. My heart still pounds so hard and my hand is trembling like mad. I could not even imagine putting myself in their shoes.)

The boys emerge after a year of torture, changed beyond recall. John and Tommy took to a life of violent crime as mobster killers, Lorenzo became a journalist and Michael a prosecutor with the DA’s office. The only constant was their undying friendship.

Ten years later, Tommy and John came face to face with Nokes at the Shamrock Pub. They confronted him, revealed their identities and shot him dead in front of several witnesses. If you asked me, Nokes gets what he deserved and so much worst.

In the trial that followed, the four friends were brought together for one spectacular, audacious last stand. Michael was the DA for the trial and without the knowledge of Tommy and John (who couldn’t believe Michael took a case against them), and with help from Hell’s Kitchen community, they exacted punishment for what had been done to them as children.

(To know the exact details of the punishment and what happened to these four friends, pick up the book and read it yourself. That or you could ask me personally.)

Sleepers is an unforgettable story of childhood friendship. It is a stunning account of four men who risked their lives and their freedom in a desperate attempt to reclaim each other from the anguish consuming them. This book gives me nightmares for several days and although I love the movie, it does not do justice to the book. The movie omitted many of (I think) important things that happened to them before they were sent away and during their stay at Wilkinson. But thanks to the movie I was able to put faces to the characters which gave me genuine pleasure when I was engulfed by this non-fiction book.

Last but not least, my heart goes out to Lorenzo who selfishly and valiantly recounted his own personal nightmares. I could never have that kind of courage…

The Creature in the Case

I finished reading this book last month, a day after I finished reading This End of the Rainbow but was too damn busy with lots of things that only now did I managed to spend some time reviewing this book.

The reason I picked this book instead of the Ragwitch from the shelves was simply because it is the story of Nicholas. Remember him? Yup, he is the same Nicholas from Lirael and Abhorsen who was possessed by the evil Orannis. The same guy that I'd fallen in love with. Hehe...

I said in Abhorsen's review that I think Garth Nix, the author, has more tricks up his sleeves and this book is part of it. The other is Across the Wall, which is something I put my eyes on but haven't had the chance to found it in any of the bookstores I usually go to.

The creature in the case told the story of Nicholas who was eager to go back to the Old Kingdom approximately six month ofter the event in Abhorsen. He couldn't put the eccentric country (and Lireal) out of his mind and desperate to return to the Old Kingdom. He had been pastering his Uncle Edward, the Chief Minister of Ancelstierre, about his intention. His uncle promised him the journey to the Old Kingdom but in return Nicholas has to do him a favor. He need to spend one weekend at a remote country house.

And so the adventure begins. Apparently the party that he was made to attend to was only a facade to cover up for the secret operation that was to bring back a relic creature from the Old Kingdom to live. To unleash it power it needs Nicholas blood (there is an irony about what happened if the creature drank too much of Nicholas blood but I am not going to spoil it).

Nicholas had to fight the creature and stop it from crossing the wall. The only help that came from across the wall is Lirael.

The creature in the case is a short story that really kept reader interested in finding out what happen next after the trilogy. A little warning though that the end of this story will leave you on the edge. Although at first I was hoping that this book will quenched my thirst for the Abhorsen trilogy, the book was actually keep me wanting for more (unfortunately there are none). Also if you were hoping to see the familiar faces, don't. You are going to be disappointed.

Jeez, I miss Sameth!!

This End of the Rainbow

This is the first English novel by the notorious Adibah Amin.

The story basically was about a group of student at University of Malaya in Singapore in 1950's. The protagonist in this book took the name of Ayu, a gentle Malay girl who drop medicine study to be a writer.

I was lost a bit when I read the first few pages but then it started to flow. It started out when she was ragged at the university by Han, the Cynic. Already it touched on the sensitive subjects of racism.

And yep, you was right. The main theme that link all these different circumstances in this book is race relations, reflecting the general state of the Malayan at that period in time.

The tension that growing between the races concerns Ayu. This makes her explore variety of situatioins involving her characters that will brought you flashback after flashbacks; remembering conversation among childhood friends, the loss of her father and her friends when Japanese invaded Malaya, her mother's fight for independence, her hatred towards the British, etc, including Han's family history. Adibah Amin brought you to and fro to the future seamlessly which is a great thing otherwise it could be rather confusing.

The situations and questions being posed is recognizable and all too familiar in today Malaysian societies. The only difference is the issues are not presented as frankly and as unbiased as it did back then.

All the characters (and they are many of them) are very believable. This probably because many are based on real people known to Adibah. For example Ayu's mother is obviously inspired by the authur's own mother, the Umno freedom-fighter, Ibu Zain.

Han in my opinion is the most memorable character in this book. Han's family were murdered by the Malays during communist terror. It was because of misunderstanding between these two races. The Malays saw Chinese as one of the communist while the Chinese saw the Malays as 'pak turut' communist. It took sometimes for him to realize the pain truth. He who was expelled for the ragging incident form a multi-racial political society to ease racial tension. He tried to coaxed Ayu to joined the group but Ayu refused for her own reasons.

There was also Rizal, who Ayu claimed remains as good friend. I can surely sense the romance between these two.

The most touching part on this book for me when Adibah narrated the fight that Dato' Onn and the other independence figure fought for Independence. Almost brought tears to my eyes.

It is the same fresh, simple and direct style as her writing through her column As I Was Passing in the NST. This book is an easy read, and it is also eye-opening, especially if you are not familiar with Malaysia’s pre-independence days and the social unrest of the 1950s. I am not ashamed to admit that I was pretty shocked myself to learn what had happened during that period. This is the kind of ignorance that Adibah wants to educate in this book of hers.

Bleak House

Another of Charles Dickens masterpiece. It is long, tightly plotted and wonderfully descriptive, typical of Dicken's work. It starts a little slow for me but as I turns the pages, I get hooked.

It takes a look at the legal system in London which destroys the innocents, deprive them from their talents and consumes their minds. It also portrays the different conditions and social status of the Londoners. Most of the story came from a narrative written by the Esther Summersons, the protagonist in this contemporary novel by Dickens.

All the characters in this book are affected by the Jarndyce & Jarndyce legal suit in which there will be no winner and bring much desperations and heartache. The impeccable character that connected them together was Esther, the virtuous girl who was taken as a ward by Mr. John Jarndyce, and is beloved by everyone.

I must admit though that I was reluctant at the beginning to see Esther as the all around good girl as narrated by Dickens but the novel is so well-written that I came to believe her as she had been described.

Mr. John Jarndyce is a beneficial older gentleman who is also a guardian to his young cousins, Ada and Richard who fell in love with each other and eventually get married. All four of them, including Esther, reside at Bleak House. Richard soon fall victim of the Jarndyce & Jarndyve lawsuit and rejected any kindness or help from his guardian in his ignorance hope that a settlement from the lawsuit will award him with a fortune.

The attorneys are portray as bloodsucking evil leeches who only care about the money they can squeezed from their clients. One of the most devil-like lawyers, Mr. Tulkinghorn, was murdered and I actually rejoiced the death of that particular character not knowing the misery he brought upon the mysterious Lady Deadlock and the and tragedy that leaves the Deadlock household in ruins.

It is not all bleak though. There are also romantics plots that evolve around Esther and how she comes to be the mistress of Bleak House.

There are over sixty colorful and varied characters so you cannot anticipate who may you encounter at the next page. The best thing is, the story brings everything to full circle and not a character goes to waste. The most memorable characters in the book for me would be Esther the protagonist, Mr. Bucket the detective, George the trooper, Mr. Woodcourt the kind-hearted doctor, Richard and Ada the love birds, Jo the homeless kid and of course Mr. John Jarndyce of Bleak House.

Bleak House is a very entertaining book who have all the qualities of a great classic story. It is poignant, suspenseful, unforgettable and appearances to the contrary, is not bleak at all.

Definitely one not to be missed.

Abhorsen

Before you pick up this book, you might want to pick up Sabriel and Lirael first because Nix is not into summarization or repitition. Garth Nix will reward the effort later with this last book of the Abhorsen's trilogy. His intricate and brilliant plotting will grip you till the last page.

Abhorsen started off with a prologue depicting Sabriel and Touchstone situation at Ancelstierre, which made an unexpected opening. Then the book picked up from where Lirael ended, at the Abhorsen's house. Lirael, Sam, Dog and Mogget were surrounded by the Dead Hand lead by the Greater Dead Chlorr. They needed to leave the house to rescue Nicholas who had been tricked by Hedge to excavate Orannis, the Destroyer.

To get out of there unnoticed, there was only one way: to go down through the well where an unspeakable fear live. Somehow Mogget turn into the Free Magic being he was before went he encountered the resident of the well. The other three run away to save themselves and left Mogget behind.

They managed to get to Nicholas and rescued him when Lirael used her Charter Skin to turn into a barn owl to get to Nick but the piece of metal that was in Nick taken charge when they were halfway through and Nick was once again enslaved by the Destroyer.

All these happened not before they have to face Hedge and the rest of his servants of Dead. Mogget also reappeared in the story unscathed, which was another mystery that will be solved at the end of the book.

Since they failed to rescued Nick and failed to barred the hempisheres from crossing the wall, they have to find another way to stop Orannis if Hedge plan of combining the hemispheres at a Lightning Farm that Nick had ordered to be built at Forwin Mill in Ancelstierre materialized.

This forced Lirael to go into Death and used the Dark Mirror to see how Orannis was bound in the Beginning. Knowing the full wrath and the terrible power of the Destoyer, Lirael did not waste time and thanks to the Sight of the Clayr, all seven people that she needed to be there to help her out were right in front of her when she came back to Life. Together they fought the Destoyer.

But is it too late?

Abhorsen finally reveals the true identity of the Disresputable Dog and Mogget and also the true power of Sameth. It also tells us a bit more in detail how the Charter is made and at what cost. But most of all it is about the testament of friendship between Sameth and Nicholas who literally must lay down his life in the course of the action.

When I read the last word of this book, it leaves me craving for more. I am desperately in love with Sameth's character and desperately want to know what happened to the characters after they fought with the Destroyer specially Sameth (duhh) and Nicholas.

The ending suggest that Nix might has more tricks up his sleeve. I am hanging on that thought in order for me to fulfil my craving. Also I think this trilogy should be made into a movie.

p/s: To know more about the trilogy go to http://www.abhorsentrilogy.com

Lirael

My first impression of Lirael is pathetic and annoying at times; a girl who live in self-pity and it was not until I finish reading half of the book that my impression of her changed, but not by much.

Lirael is one of the Clayr but has not been granted the Sight even as she reached the age of 19. On her 14th birthday, she was made a librarian and for the next 5 years she led a secluded life talking only when she was talked to and she shunted anyone who tried to get closed to her. Her only company and friend was the Disreputable Dog she made which supposed to be a sending but turn out to have power of her own, a creature of suspicious magical origin whose true nature remains unknown.

But this story is not all about Lirael. It is also the story of Prince Sameth, the only son of King Touchstone and Queen Sabriel the Abhorsen. Since her sister Princess Ellimere obviously will take over Touchstone's role as the ruler of Old Kingdom, it is Sameth fate to be the next Abhorsen to take the duty and role of her mother, Queen Sabriel.

Sameth is not a coward but after his confrontation with Hedge, the mysterious and intriguing necromancer in this story, his courage faltered and he found it hard to bear the responsibilities as Abhorsen-in-waiting.

One day on her adventure through the library, Lirael found herself upon The Book of Remembrance, a windpipe and a blackmirror which completely changed her destiny. Suddenly the elder Clayr was upon her and whether she likes it or not, she is now the Rememberer and the fate of Old Kingdom lies in her hands.

Meanwhile Prince Sameth who tries to run away from his responsibilities as Abhorsen-in-waiting decided to rescue Nicholas not knowing that his friend is trully in great danger. I am happy to announced that the author, Garth Nix, brought back Mogget into the story.

Hedge is using Nicholas and the Southernling as bait to lure Touchstone and Sabriel to Ancelstierre. Nicholas is blissfully ignorant of his role of releasing Free Magic into the Old Kingdom and helping Hedge uncover (digging up) the true evil at the Lightning Trap at the Red Lake.

So the destiny of Prince Sameth and Lirael intertwined. They found each other on the River Ratterlin, both running away from the Dead. Little by little the four of them: Lirael and her Disreputable Dod and Sameth with Mogget, put the puzzle pieces together to see what evil plan had Hedge been master-minding.

Their battled with Chlorr, one of Hedge servant which he brought back from Death, brought them to the Abhorsen's house where Lirael finally learnt of her parentage history and from here-on the plot of the story totally changed.

Very little was written about the evil in this book although you will get the idea that whatever Hedge planned must be not good for the Old Kingdom. The evil of course is created to Bigger and Badder than Kerrigor to harrass the new generations of heroes.

There are not many updates on Sabriel and Touchstone either. Both were busy with their responsibilities specially since Hedge evil plan begins.

The story of Lirael ends with more questions than answers, which mean the readers are required to read Abhorsen, the final book of the trilogy to know whether the evil or the good will triumph. This novel is both exhilarating and mesmerizing; simply bewitching.