Book Review : Vicious by V.E.Schwab

So unfair to be literature snob when we know how many male authors have enjoyed decades of fame by writing about troubled women - fictional and nonfictional, both.  It's been years since I picked up any YA novel solely because I wanted more than just a tight plot, unbearable slang and lack of emotions.

I'm probably vastly generalizing here.

I knew of Vicious by VE Schwab years ago. Back in 2014, book bloggers and Booktubers raved about its awesomeness and I snootily dismissed it as another YA amidst millions of YA novel etc.

Well, Victoria Schwab is total game changer and I'm here for it (late, but here for it nonetheless)

The storytelling layout in the book is fantastic, to begin with. Open the book and we have one of our main characters Victor, who had just escaped prison with his cellmate, digging in a graveyard with his young accomplice. Schwab sets the mysterious atmosphere right away and the reader is hooked from page 1.

The next chapter goes back to ten years ago where we are introduced to Eli, Victor's former best friend, and present-day archnemesis. From the way, we are introduced to present-day and decade ago college-going Eli and Victor, the reader quickly begins to formulate opinions on who is good or who is bad. You begin to see what might have caused friction between the two, how their friendship begins to strain under their obsession of being ExtraOrdinary or EOs and what has ensued in all that time that has passed to make them such deadly foes.

Believe me, when I say this, you will spend several hours pondering over who is good and who is bad. Since all characters are EOs possessing exceptional abilities, it all boils down to one who uses it for good and the other who considers himself superior to others. We have siblings, Sydney and Serena, both of whom possessive incredibly powerful abilities but are split to be on either sides of our antagonists - Eli and Victor.

There are some graphic segments in the book that I thought was awesome since most YA authors shy away from including such elements. The language is perfect with no slang whatsoever (the primary reason as to why I stopped reading YA). The pacing is spot on, the anticipatory build-up to the final showdown is perfect, the bone-chilling end;  I loved it all!

The problem though.......

I did not feel the incident that made Eli and Victor such big enemies was strong enough or valid enough. Right from when we are introduced to young Eli in the book, you can kind of, sort of, tell that he has an evil streak in him somewhere deep inside, but not near close to provoking Victor to have this bloodthirst that they had going on.

That's all I can complain about. If you think you're a nerd who would appreciate an anti-hero novel with lots of crazy super abilities, mystery and ALSO want to support a badass female author then Vicious is the book for you.

Final Rating: 4/5

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Book Review : The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

Feeling a tad bit rusty on revisiting my blog exactly a year later. Forgetting your login credentials is a big enough indicator to how long I have been away. 

Trust me when I say I am reading great books and as the year progressed I found myself gravitating towards feminine themes, female characters, female authors and everything that came with that package. It was exciting! 

After 23 years of its existence, Jeffrey Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides finds it way in my  GoodReads Challenge last year.  The fact that this review is way overdue is epically understated. It took me a while before I latched onto the play in the book title but let's just begin by acknowledging a glaring fact; Eugenides knows prose. He lets literature carry on this grim subject with poignancy in this gut-wrenching and heartbreaking narrative of the Lisbon sisters. There is no room for mindless dilly dally nor any sympathetic romanticised idea of the tragedy that occurs.  

The book starts with death, teases you with the idea of young long, the kind that has sunflower fields, sunsets, power ballads and then all of sudden, in one swoop takes it all away. In all of that time, the five Lisbon sisters were forced to live a life they never wanted, find the kind of love that their families never understood and stay locked in like caged birds never to see the outside world again. The choice was obvious to them and with their actions, the impact last 20 years on the neighbourhood boys, the only people they remotely considered as friends.

It's sad, it's disturbing, its mesmerising. It's also only 250 pages. 

Honestly, it is indeed quite difficult to describe the way The Virgin Suicides makes you feel. How do you recommend a book on suicide to someone? Yet, this is one book that leaves you with a lull and a want to read more it. After the tragedy occurs, the book does impart the idea that the Lisbon family fogged and disappeared little by little before the all eventually vanished with no trace.

Aside from the suicides, Eugenidies subtle commentary on the sleepy oblivious town and the marred memories of the neighboorhood boys are worth note. How does no one see the Lisbon's sister isolation as a plea for help? How does no one reach out to them with a second chance at life? A counter-argument would say how is it fair to the rest of the town, the schools and their lovers to proceed with their lives with all the trauma that left deep dents for years to come.

“In the end, we had the pieces of the puzzle, but no matter how we put them together, gaps remained, oddly shaped emptinesses mapped by what surrounded them, like countries we couldn't name." 

This quote from the book sums it up accurately.

 If I was to take a highlighter to choose all of my favourite lines in this book, I would probably end up with neon pages. Every single sentence is well constructed and supported by strong theories to thoughts being delivered here. Sofia Coppola does a smashing job on the film as well. The AIR's soundtrack is one of my favourite albums till date. 

This book is by far unbeatable on the subject of suicide and I can't wait to re-read it again.

Overall Rating: 5/5

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Book Review : Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami

Pages :  250

Read on : Kindle

Goodreads Rating : 3.82/5

Review:  All the wonderful things in life are often obscure. We try our best to disintegrate them into little meanings that would or could make sense to our lives not realising that such things are best admired when left as is. 

I compare Murakami's work to this theory. May be it was the timing in my life that made Sputnik Sweetheart hit the soft spot and every page was like lyrics to a background melody of an episode that was detailed but got over way too quickly. 

The whole book is rather small and feels like poetry, with the delicate balance of reality and magic that laces the plot so perfectly. The descriptions of the characters emotions are well reflected by the atmosphere around them, the time of the day and other inanimate objects that are within their parameters. 

We don't always make the smartest choices with the people we hold most dear to us and our actions towards there are clunky even though in essence they were/are good intentions. Sumire is puzzling and nothing short of an interesting study, someone I would observe from a distance with minimal words exchanged. Miu is as charismatic to me as she is to Sumire and I'm sure her grace would intrigue a cat-like interest in me, where I would just move around her feet and gaze at her wide-eyed. K, our narrator is who sets the mood of the whole ordeal. There's a slight wiff of pity for him and the gentle, bruised pain from his unrequited love that he harbours so deep. 

The three of them are bound by baffling circumstances. The three of them love so desperately. And lose so painfully. It feels like waiting at a train station with all the trains whizzing past and K is stagnant.  

By saying goodbye to Mui, K knew that it would mean that everything was lost, over and he had to accept it regardless. Seeing Mui's face for the last time is what hurt most because it reflected everything that was gone. This was most definitely a part of the book I cherish with all the feels. I'm not going to ruin it for you by telling you what happens next but it's exactly what one would do in real life. Being able to capture all those sentiments and actions in such a small book is a feat and Murakami has to be applauded for that. (A Noble prize would be nice).

I hold this book close to my heart and will look forward to revisiting it with the same feeling when I'm old.

Final Rating : 5/5

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Book Review: Eat The Sky, Drink The Ocean

Pages :  240

Read on : Book

Goodreads Rating : 3.75/5

Review:  The first time I ever heard Annie Zaidi speak dates back to my post grad days when she has a special session with us filled with her page-3-kinda-like-ermygod stories. As expected, massive eye rolling happened. Fast forward 3 years later, I see her again, this time with Mandy Ord at JLF 2015. More eye-rolling and subtle scoffing, until she and Mandy spoke about alternate endings to iconic tales in our culture, such as the love saga of Salim and Anarkali. I was like a dog who picked up a new scent. That one story and the epic cliffhanger was sufficient enough to itch my mind and click 'add to cart' on Amazon.

What delightful book. I felt as if I had just won the English Elocution at school and was beaming in pride to take home my 'Enid Blyton' prize. That feeling resonated. The brilliant concept behind  this book is that it re-imagines so many various situations or classic tales that it's can safely be handed to people of all age groups, starting say 12+ and on. The visuals in some of the stories are raw and no nonsense, while some of them are whimsically clever. 

The beauty lies in the little snippets on how the Indian and Australian contributors collaborated. Some of them never even met, but the sense of sisterhood was strong enough to keep them bound to this project. Matters that plague the two entirely different cultures were glued together by this vision for a female-friendly world and I applaud the start. It is not as hard for women to connect as people assume. In most cases, what we have endured, what we see, feel, do and receive remains the same universally and we are ever ready to aid our fellow sisters.

The mix of short stories, classic folk tales, dystopian fantasies, graphic stories make it such a collector's delight. Brag points for the bookshelf. We know 'Zubaan' is the house of feminist themed publishing, nonetheless, the backdrop of feminism was so subtle that it made me want to jump into the book and live in that world. No cliched words are casually thrown around, the concept goes beyond wishful thinking to make it a seeming reality - a very refreshing change. 

One point. And the only point that troubles me is that most of the stories are established centuries after modern times, as though to imply that this idea that they have set up will materialise only after practically everything on earth has stormed revolution after revolution, mass destruction etc. This could be just me but the feeling of a dystopian society was strong and that did make me think.

Regardless, it did leave me happy which my readers would know is quite rare. The attempt is fantastic.

Do pick it up. It may not be the most literary read, but it sure is enjoyable.

Final Rating : 4/5
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Book Review: Dragonfly in Amber, Outlander #2 by Diana Gabaldon

Pages :  369

Read on : Kindle

Goodreads Rating : 4.30/5

Review:  I'm weak when it comes to really juicy synopses. Those couple of lines are good enough to get me hooked and before I know it, I have my nose buried deep into a fantasy novel. Seduced by the prospects of a faraway, nonexistent parallel universe that I so desperately desire to seek. After my lukewarm fling with Outlander, much to the shock of a lot of fans, I still remained curios to know how Diana Gabaldon managed to stretch this highland fairytale into 6 backbreaking books.

 Lo and behold, before I know it, I'm devouring the the second book 'Dragonfly in Amber' and I daresay, I quite enjoyed it much much more than Outlander. Of course, Jaime still hold mine ( and everyone else's) heart. That could be the major contributing factor. THE major contributing factor, I'll admit. Aside from this, of course, I will give Gabaldon her due credit for her impeccable research of the era, the politics of the region and cleverly manipulating them to fit the title. The language is brilliant and Claire's wit shines through.

There are more dimensions to otherwise pointless characters or so I had  deemed earlier, All of the surrounding people like Fergus, Murtagh and everyone else seemed to boast more persona that most of the people in Outlander #1. The romance was kept well muted, thankfully. The lack of love in my life is kind of making me scoff at anything remotely romantic I suppose. War, issues at war, injuries, the spirit of belonging to a clan etc were well coloured with just the right amount of emotion and technical detailing to avoid constant yawning. Jamie as sweet natured as he seems, does act daft at times. As expected to be honest.

The 'villain' was way underplayed for the heinous crimes that he had committed in the past. For such a dastardly character, I was surprised the author went soft on him.There were new challenges for Claire and Jaime, if those were topped with a haunt of the past, I think the story would have been able to better trace the state of helplessness. 

Most definitely a progress from Outlander (Review here!) considering how I felt about that.

Final Rating : 3.5/5
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Book Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

Pages :  369

Read on : Kindle

Goodreads Rating : 4.38/5

Review:  At some point, I do feel should rename my blog as 'Unpopular Opinions'. I hate hype. It builds up such expectations that I unconsciously set a standard that most hyped things fail to meet. Miserably.

All right, so I picked up The Martian after all the fuss about how amazing the film was and I'm sure it was to non-readers but prejudice aside, I did follow that unspoken rule of 'Book before Movie' and I was left puzzled. 

I'm not a big sci-fi kinda gal. Outer space does excite the nerd in me and so I picked this book up hoping it would seriously please my space-loving soul. (No pun intended). First of all, let's start by saying, this book is way too science-y and I get a feeling that technically most of it aren't even the right calculations. 

Watney is annoying. Honestly, he sounds like a whiney geeky kid unfortunately left behind by his friends at lunch. Okay Okay, I get it, He's stuck on Mars but come on! I can't possibly be the only one having a problem with the way it was written. The language was way too casual for something as grave as leaving a man behind, the smart interjections were good, no doubt just the 'Yaay Me!' and other catch-phrases seem stupidly immature for an astronaut. His wit did come handy to him eventually we can see that and how.

Nonetheless, it was an engrossing book because it's this situation that you kind of give up hope on right from the very beginning. You want to know what will happen eventually and it's something you can't wait to reach the end just to know what happens. Since this is a spoiler-free review, I will not be in-depth with the details. 

A little over the top, too technical, slightly dramatic and a good unbelievable chunk thrown in - makes it quite Bollywood to me.

Final Rating : 3/5

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Book Review: Grimm's Fairy Tales

Pages :  518

Read on : Kindle

Goodreads Rating : 4.02/5

Review: Where do I begin. Let's start of by saying this would probably be the shortest review I have written or will ever write. Really, how much criticism can a classic get when it's already pretty well imbibed, churned,diluted, watered down, read, re-read, re-re-re-re-read over the years and people like me just got older. 

To think that this book is perfect for your children is probably one of the biggest disillusion you would have. The concept behind why these stories are so 'Grimm' (Ha! See what I did there :p) is to scare children into behaving. I see it contrary to that. The stories are terrifying to a child yes, but they are also quite sexist and anyone who knows that it's what really gets to me.One has to keep in mind the day and age they are residing in.  So to sift through all of that and look for the morales behind it, I had to literally take a magnifying glass and hunt for it. The book also has the usage of.......certain words.... which I don't like reading even in the grown-up novels. (I'm pure and pies). Don't get me wrong. Grimm's Fairy Tales are quick, snappy, witty and extremely clever. The question is, would I give it to my child to read it as it is? I wouldn't.

Adding another perspective would be if like me, you too have a sickening and darkly sense of humor, you'd love this and that's exactly the lens I looked through.

IF your kid is as annoying as I was/am , please read a cherry-picked, milder version for these stories to them. There's enough misery in the world as it is.

Recommended to generally weird adults with an odd sense of humour such as myself.

Final Rating : 3/5

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Dye-Stained Hands And A Mid-Year Freak Out

If there was an award for slacking at blog posts, I swear I'd be sailing to it. My excuse this time would be shoddy internet connection , non cooperative service provider and my inability to juggle responsibilities.
Without further ado, let's look ( and laugh ) at my reading progress. (NOT!)

Best Book You've Read So Far in 2015 ?

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. Not a single flaw. I wanted to stand up and applaud. It's like that.
Other noteworthy reads this year were - Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, A Flight of Pigeons by Ruskin Bond, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Best Sequel You've Read So Far in 2015 ?

Didn't read any sequels this year. Fortunately or unfortunately

New Release You Haven't Read Yet But Want To ?

Not one to follow new releases. I have a gypsy's soul when it comes to picking what to read when.

Most Anticipated Release For The 2nd Half of 2015 ?

Winter by Merissa Meyer. The 4th Instalment of the Lunar Chronicles

Biggest Disappointment ?

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie Mcguire. No idea what people loved so much about this book or may be I'm stupid.
The Girl in The Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender. Just could not connect with any of the stories in this book.

Biggest Surprise ?

Brother Grimm's Fairytales was an unpleasant surprise.
The good surprises were - Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Favourite New Author ?

Authors more like. Haruki Murakami - absolutely love anything and everything by him. The consistently peculiar stories are perfect for my kind of reading. Amitav Ghosh because I finished the Sea of Poppies and fell in love with the characters. Marcus Zusak for The Book Thief because no amount of words will be enough to express this beauty of a book.

Newest Fictional Crush ?

Jamie McTavish from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Can you say guilty-pleasure :p

Book That Made Me Cry ?

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, Room by Emma Donoghue, Living Dead Girl

Book That Made Me Happy ?

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

Favourite Book to Movie Adaptation You Saw This Year ?

Not something I really watched but I found that Outlander and The Shawshank Redemption were way better than their original books.

Favourite Review You've Written This Year ?

Room by Emma Donoghue. The book made me feel emotions I didn't know one could ever feel.

Most Beautiful Book You Bought So Far in The Year ?

Necropolis by Avtar Singh which was a part of my JLF 2015 goodie bag. Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh that was handed to me by a friend who's roommate had to move.

What books Do You Need To Read By The End of The Year ?

I'm 7 books away from my Goodreads Challenge and in order to successfully accomplish that, I'm gravitating more towards books that I might like for certain. Since there's really no time to dabble around and I'm amidst a panic attack. ( It's already NOVEMBER people !)

P.S. Apologies for being away for a month. I've already go a list of books I need to review and have gotten cracking with it. So stay tuned !

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Book Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

Pages :  321

Read on : Kindle

Goodreads Rating : 3.96/5

Review: As if there was less misery in the world that I had to review such a book. The trigger, of course, was Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. Soon after I finish a book, I scan through Goodreads to see what the fellow bibliophiles have to say. All because I'm curious and also just to pick up points that I might have overlooked/missed.

When it comes to child abuse, Room by Emma Donoghue was a title tossed around by a bunch of people. Stated to be loosely inspired by the Fritzl case, Emma Donoghue's 'Room' was a book that made everyone sit up and notice the risk she had taken in publishing this work, which eventually lined up quite a few accolades and appraisals for her.

It didn't take me long to finish the novel. The story is about 5 year old, Jack who lives with his Ma in a room ever since his birth. From the bird's eye view, Room is where they are held captive for the last 7 years by Old Nick ever since she was abducted by him when she was 19 years old.

Caution: for all those who are familiar with my style of book reviews would know that spoiler-free is the way to be (Ha! Rhyme!). In this particular review, I'm afraid it will be hard to refrain (another rhyme!) from getting into the story in detail. You see, the plot is such that a discussion post-reading is quite impossible. It's a very strange case to us but when you look at it from a 5 year old's point of view, it makes complete sense.

Back to the story; Right, so after being held captive in a Room, a small shed in the backyard equipped with minimal facilities for their basic survival, Old Nick sexually abuses Ma regularly to the point where she got pregnant. Her one successful pregnancy is when she gave birth Jack and the only thing that she could offer to this child was herself in a Room that is the only world he would ever experience. So she thought.

Ma does everything in her power to protect Jack from Old Nick and has made him sleep in the wardrobe everyday. The only way she could shield him from Old Nick. Little does she know, that Jack has been counting the 'creaks of the bed' every single night. Heartbreaking to know that a child who knows no meaning of the occurrence is forced to endure that. 

Cut to the chase, Ma and Jack device an escape plan that works perfectly and takes them to safety. This where everything goes topsy turvy. Jack is born and raised in a Room with no experience of the real world. To him 'Outside' is almost as alien as a new planet is to a layman. So when Jack is taken to a safe facility with his mother where he meets new people, gets to eat as much as he likes and just be a child, it frightens him. His mother is grasping hungrily at the freedom that she could once only dream of and the fear of losing her is a constant worry for little Jack. 
Even though they do find an escape and are trying to have a better life, it's extremely difficult for Ma, Jack and the family around them. The understanding of the real world and it's functioning only makes Jack more withdrawn from people. Information overload for a child that lived all his life in a room which was his only world and for it to be snatched away seems cruel to him but absurd to us outsiders. Ma gets no better either. After enduring that ordeal in such a young age and her family considering her dead for all those years, her mental healthy begins to swing. 
Now look at it this way, life doesn't really get better for the two even after they leave the Room and that's what hurts us readers the most. We pray so hard that they escape and get the happily ever after they deserve but things gets more complicated than that. Life outside has moved on while they lived in a box and the changes aren't all a warm welcome. That's the real tragedy in this book. Even after the torture and confinement, Ma and Jack go back once again to visit Room before it gets demolished just for memories sake. Emma Donoghue is a genius for nailing every nook, every corner, every detail, every dust bunny, every piece of dirt, furniture, cloth, toy and much more in this book. 

What I was not a big fan of, was the narration. The entire book is written from 5 year old Jack's perspective which I felt was not well formulated. Five year olds don't talk that way nor can they make complete sense of body functions in the way the book describes it - The biggest flaw in the book. It's not just me who noticed this but other Goodreads Reviewers have expressed their concerns over the same. That's the risk Emma Donoghue tookas mentioned earlier.  This 'voice' that it was narrated in, also made the story a bit sleepy in certain areas. Not uninteresting but 'lets fast-forward a bit' kind of slow. 

In terms of recommendations, I wouldn't suggest this to everyone  since this is more of a book that presents a fictional case study instead of a leisurely read and knowing the fact that 'Room', is by no means, a happy book. If you have the courage to read more about child abuse or the possible threats that could be surrounding the young minds, then you can definitely put this in your TBR list somewhere.

Final Rating : 4/5

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Book Review: Carrie by Stephen King

Pages :  198

Read on : Kindle

Goodreads Rating : 3.88/5

Review:  I was recently mocked by a good friend for reading this book (playfully, of course). Stephen King has no shortage of fans globally and a good majority of people begin their reading journey with his works. Carrie being a turning point in his writing career. I do admit, that after hearing so much about Carrie as a popular fictional character in the literary world and watching the really cool trailers and viral prank videos (the cafe one in particular) curiosity got the better of me. 
Pretty much everyone existing on Earth will know what Carrie is all about (unless you're living on another planet) and I will not repeat the mundane. The devices that Stephen King uses to narrate her story is quite clever. Some from people who knew her, victims, towns folk and news stories. Despite being one of the most mentioned books in the 'Horror' genre, It didn't really terrify me due to the lack of details, I personally felt. I'm downloading the movie as we speak and am half expecting the visuals to do all the talking. 
However, what did terrify me was Carrie's overtly religious and insanely cray-cray momma who.... I'm just going to say it..... is completely batshit mental. I'd probably run away if I was Carrie. Perhaps this was the entire trigger in the film that explains Carrie White's budding telekinetic powers. What I don't understand is, there wasn't a whole of scenes depicting her exercising this power. She has to do a mental flex and objects can be manipulated to move as her will. I wanted to see more of that. To a point where her skills did seem borderline terrifying instead of going all out with a surge of power. 
Why was Carrie White mocked at school so miserably? Was it just because of her awkward introvert nature or was it the fact that her mother was mad into religion? I wish there was a little bit more depth to that or the characters around her. When I say depth, I mean I would love to have a closer look at how evil Chris and the girls were, than seeing just a mean prank and the revenge that followed.
May be I have really grown out of this phase and it's quite likely that adolescent me would have been frightened enough. I have read other books by Stephen King and somewhere somehow he does fall short in his storytelling.
I did draw one conclusion that those who do commit heinous crimes actually might come from a background of bullying or ill-treatment or deep misunderstandings that leads to a build up of angst and anger. That's just a thought I had.

Final Rating : 2/5

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Book Review: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Pardon me if my reviews seem to be on the shorter end lately. As we are already towards the end of August,  my commence toward the book challenge is at snails pace and I REALLY need to get on it.

Pages :  268

Read on : Paperback

Goodreads Rating : 3.34/5

Review: This book is not for everyone. In fact it's not for most people unless you are a literature major or something along those lines. The story follows the humiliation and sufferings of Hester Prynne in the 17th Century. Yup, it's pretty dated. Well-known in the literary world as a stand-out for it's strong outlook on the puritan society and a fair glimpse about what would happen to a woman, if she committed the most heinous crime ever, adultery.  

For a feminist, it's a piece of work that can't be dismissed. Hester Prynne is dis-owned by her towns folk and is branded with a scarlet letter 'A' embroidered on her chest, she's with child and refuses to name the man who she had relations with.  

Despite being a good natured and pious woman, the moment of weakness where she did indulge begins to define her life and starts affecting her child quite adversely. Innocent questions are being asked where Hester has no proper answer to and the townsmen are quick to point fingers at her.  

It took me a good while before I could get past the language. I haven't had much experience in grasping old english other than a few lessons in school and a failed attempt at reading Huckleberry Fin. You'll probably end up needing some references from SparkNotes or other reviewers who are more seasoned than I am. However, the honour element and will to carry out the punishment for as long as she could is commendable. The story did drag on for a good while, it also helped reflect on the burden of having the scarlet letter etched on her bosom. Her 'crime' was unforgivable even though several years had passed by. 

The main reason as to why people read The Scarlet Letter is to understand how progressive it was for something written in 1850. i'm not going to lie, the sole purpose for me to read the book was for that very reason. I didn't enjoy it as my other literary adventures but it was something that needed to be done. I did get bored in a lot of the parts and I guess that would be the reason why Hester's punishment felt endless. 

Not something I would recommend to anyone. I honestly read it just for educational purposes.

Final Rating : 3/5

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Book Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Hi! It's been forever since I put up a post for which I'm going to whip out the mundane 'I was busy' excuse. Well I was genuinely busy due to the holy month of Ramadan and Eid celebrations. Now that I'm back, expect some obscure posts in the coming days.

On with the review!

Pages :  550

Read on : Kindle

Goodreads Rating : 4.35/5

Review:  As you may know, I didn't have the best start to my year in terms of reading. I waltz around way too long with forgettable stories. To most people in the book blogging world, that's a crime. Then when the TBR Jar spits out ' The Book Thief ' I knew it would be something worthwhile.

How did I know you ask? I cheated a bit and watched the movie with my family last year and remember falling in love with Liesel and Rudy. The others around were in perfect harmony. The book has been around for a while and the hype about it is well justified. I stared into the abyss, shaken by the literary adventure I had. I cried till my heart felt sore and then I fell in love with it all over again. It's just one of those stories that give me chills I enjoy. The writing was absolutely beautiful. How? Just how can some one be spot-on in narrations and characterization? It's magical.

Although it's set during the holocaust, the story revolves around Liesel and the scraps of her life she shares with her neighbors and friends. She steals books and uses them to escape the harsh realities of her surroundings. I adored her foster parents for their unusual way of showing love which at some stages did turn out comforting. 

Then there's Rudy.

Rudy. He steals the show. He kills you with his spirit, he'll make you laugh till your sides hurt, he'll make you care about him like your own and it will hurt you. Rudy is a fantastic character for someone so young and everything that happens with him is probably the biggest reason why my heart felt like it was ripped out and shredded to bit because it hurt so much.  

May be that's why I have this unhealthy attachment with The Book Thief. It made realize what life is all about. It will put you in the worst of situations to test your own morals, it will make you happy momentarily, it will steal something you love most dearly and most of all it teaches you compassion. The most routine things leave the biggest void when they are no longer in existence and that pain leaves you helpless. 

Its one of those books I devoured in no time. I did hear that The Book Thief does slow down in some spots, however that wasn't the case for me. Despite watching the film ( which was also very good, by the way ) I was hungry to know more. What I don't really get is the reason as to why it's a Y.A novel? I would highly recommend this people irrespective of age.

Final Rating : 5/5

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