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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Like Oil and Water

'What is meant for you will reach you even if it's beneath two mountains. What isn't meant for you, won't reach you even if it is between your two lips'

This is the verse I remind myself when I run into bad times. It comforts the anxiety of the pits of my stomach, it makes my heart breathe a little easier.

Trials and tribulations of life will not cease as you get older. At times even experience, the 'big there, done that' jargon fall short to rescue you. It's not the situation but more how you react to it, is what matters. Or so I've been told. And react I did.

A puzzling situation,  unforgivable to most, stood right in front of me and stared at me in the eye. I shrugged my shoulders and tried to do the right despite knowing my inevitable pain. Probably out of defeat or being well aware of the fact that there really was no way around it. Damage it is, I was the one picking up the pieces and getting cut at the same time.

Strange people happen in your 20s. They drag you into stranger situations and before you know it, you're entangled in that web. You question the point and purpose to no end. No answer is an answer by itself.  You know cobwebs. Invisible. You walk through them and it clings to you. No matter how hard you try to pry it off you, you can still feel the remains.

I was in such a web about a month ago. I let go and almost instantly found my sorry self leaning on a shoulder that I didn't notice was there. One that lurked in the shadows. I was grieving and still hadn't noticed. There were black clouds looming over me, my feet dragging that abominable lull like chains. So easy to destroy something so fragile that nursing it back means more aches and pains. You wince at the thought of it. Forgiveness is no longer an option, It's a choice one has to make. Reaching that choice would only further your pain. A little suffering to ease your selfish soul is most likely a sin itself. Again, there was no giving more than I already had. I chose to be greedy for my betterment.

Some one opened a door behind me, grabbed my hand and yanked me through. Funny, the way things work, you miss a chance so closely while only later on you realise what was right in front of you. May be the door behind me was what I was meant to stop and look at. I smile meekly in an attempt to repair myself from the cords that unravelled. But I was already feeling better. Relieved precisely speaking, I could breathe again without being choked up.

I know that I am safe. I know that I will be okay.


*****

To all those who are worried about my well being or were wondering about my absence from the blog, I'm absolutely fine. Took a break to clear my head and heart of some emotional turmoil that took momentum couple of weeks ago but thankfully that has ebbed. I'm recovering fast and well. I'm blessed with well-wishers, friends who are family to me and of course, family itself. Hope this Ramadan is treating you all well. 

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Quicksand Worrier

If my thoughts were constantly displayed on my face, they'd be two kinked lines running across my forehead with a furrowed brow. It's just that the year 2016 has been overwhelmingly different right from new year's eve. I didn't realise that the last week of December and the new year was going to whisk me away so frantically that all constants would change. Evolve. Right in front of my eyes. I'm not complaining. Changes have been kind to me for once or may be I'm 'growing up' to accept them. It feels like the same me though. Same face, same hair, same girl, same exterior, same heart and mind. Yet so so different. Like the axis of my daily life has shifted.

With the onset of new challenges, old worries become new concerns. Yesterday's problems seem so insignificant. Tomorrow is an anxious mix of nervous excitement and I seem to like the taste of it. Overthinking is still a part of me that won't go away so swiftly. Whenever I have to dip my toes into something new, I wince, half expecting icy prickles, only to find warmth and comfort envelope me. It welcomes me like a protective blanket. It fills me joy, with new reassurance.

There are golden beams of the sun, glistening on my face. I close my eyes and take in the glow, most contently. I don't blink, I don't burn, I don't look away.

I smile from within, from my toes, from my gut, from my hair follicles to my face. It feels like for once my worries will melt away soon enough. It feels like may be, just may be, this might be my time.




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Book Review : Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Pages :  337

Read on : Kindle

Goodreads Rating : 4.34/5

Review:  I'm not one to like a sloppy love story. Ironic, you say , as most of the books I have reviewed have been predominant romantic in element. In my justification , I pick up books that have obstacles in them. 

 

This book is about attraction, physical attraction. Tate Collins has no time for love. Miles Archer does not want love. The perfect setup for ' just sex '. Miles has two rules - Never ask about the past and Don't expect a future. They think they can handle it. But what happens when they realize they can't. * DUN DUN DUN*

Knowing my generation well , I see this as a relatable topic for most girls and guys. Some of them do successfully manage to put feelings aside completely. This book elaborates that to Tate's perspective and Miles' perspective. So you can see and comprehend what a girl in this situation is feeling and thinking and vice versa. This is not a 50 Shades of Grey archetype! It does have a very high amount of explicit content but what is poignant are the feelings that are proceeding parallel to the deeds.

The back-story of either of the characters and the reasons why they indulge is heart breaking.  Get ready to shed some tears! You will feel the pain and annoyance at the same time. The guilt looms over and  will hit you as a reader. Such a riveting read, I sacrificed sleep to finish this.  Most Goodreads reviewers have absolutely loved this book and rated it a full 5 stars. Also a nominee in this year's Goodreads Choice Awards in the Romance category.

Since the central component  of this novel is sex , this book has been placed under the new adult. Personally I feel its more suited for the adult contemporary genre. Nonetheless , every girl and guy should read this at some point. 

Final Rating: 4.5/5

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Book Review : Making Faces by Amy Harmon

Pages :  405

Read on : Kindle

Goodreads Rating : 4.46/5

               

Review: Everyone loves an underdog. I personally love it when I expect a book to be sloppy but ends up really impacting me. This was one of them. Just like Perks of Being a Wallflower , If I Stay , Letters to the Dead etc there are ample YA coming-of-age novels that have tried to twist and turn around the same or similar plot lines. As mentioned earlier on my blog , not all of them manage to successfully deliver.

I probably have digressed when I say this book , on reading the synopsis ,is not similar in story but there may be likeness on the plot front. 

The story is set in a small town from where five young men go to war and only one returns completely distort and damaged.

Ambrose Young was beautiful , strong , handsome , enough to make any girl swoon. Fern Taylor was right the opposite and has been secretly in love with him ever since she was ten. She tries her best to reach out to a ruined Ambrose knowing that his beauty is more than skin deep. The prime focus of the story is loss. Collective loss , loss of faith , loss of beauty , loss of love , loss in every explorable way possible. The reason why I put it in the league of coming-of-age novel is because it also about acceptance of difference and oneself. 

I devoured this book , all of it's 400-something pages, just in one day. 

Fair warning. This is not a happy book. I was one of those believers who thought fiction can't make me cry. Boy! Was I wrong! All the emotions and agitation felt by Ambrose and the town people is true to life. Amy Harmon's writing is simple yet powerful enough to hit nerves. Not to be confused , this book is not just a teary read. It does have it's light-hearted ,lovable moments along with it's fair share of grown up issues. I got into this book knowing and also assuming it to be just another Young Adult. After endearing this heart-tugging affair , I reconsidered  this to be more of an adult book ( May be because subconsciously I knowing YA is not always taken seriously). Considering that a book is deemed 'Adult' for high sexual content or for the age of the characters , It would be foolish to assume this book won't give you the feels if you were well above the YA age bar.

All of Amy Harmon's books are well rated and loved on Goodreads. Barring one or two , the rest of her works are rated well above a 4 with Making Face being the highest. Majority of Goodreads reviewers have rated this a 5 stars. However, I took one down for what you may think as stupid reasons - The book title and book cover. Sometimes you can''t help but judge a book by a cover. This reflects more as a romance novel at first glance. Very little in the book is connected to the title, nonetheless , I can see the deeper meaning behind it. The black and white cover does salvage it to some extent.

 Another one that I would read ,re-read and savour in the years to come.

Final Rating : 4/5

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