Last Chance Saloon by Marian Keyes
It seems like I haven’t written a book review for a while now. So I decide to put on a chick lit.. one of my favourite ones. Apparently, someone said that I read too much “geeky” books which makes me an overanalytical, overthinking girl. Oh well, perhaps this will tone down my collections. I read this book when back when I was in high school. It was the first book by Marian Keyes that I read and I have had all her books ever since.. but this remains her best.
Typically, this is a book about 3 women and their battle with relationships. All sorts of woman and the irony of the relationships they are in. Would you take whatever you can get when you don’t have anyone? And the other one who doesn’t really care but have a gorgeous, out-of-this-world, your prince charming in your fairy tales (with big bucks and big cars). Or someone just struggling with life and defined relationship as something more – not just between a girl and a boy but with herself, her friends and the world.
The linchpin of the story is someone being diagnosed with a life threatening illness, and using it as an excuse to force their friends to make changes in their lives so that they can be happy before the aforementioned sick person pops off this mortal coil. Cues a lot of people saying that they really are very happy just the way they are, thank you very much.
I think this book really represents a woman at a different point in time of her life as you can somehow relate to each of the characters. Or perhaps I am the one with the multiple personality disorder thinking that she’s living a 3-persons life. But for sure it’s a goof
Objectivism
I’ve never heard about this author – Ayn Rand – until it was suggested by Tun M’s PA.
She is a Russian-born American writer and one of her most successful book which turned into a movie is Fountainhead. Her book is mostly centred to a philosophy called “Objectivism” because it is based on the premise that reality is an objective absolute. One must perceive and understand reality to survive. One’s highest value should be one’s ability to reason. This also manifested in the way Rand viewed her own life, not through feelings but through her interest in ideas and her thinking.
I think it is mainly influenced by her environment and the time she was brought into this world. She witnessed the Russian Revolution and the social upheaval, during which his father found work only in a Soviet store. Hence, why I feel that her emotional side is “damaged”.
Anyway, Fountainhead at the first instance your mind would say – THICK (> 700 pages!). The book is about three people: a Modern Architect who loves his work more than money or himself, his friend who has not the necessary talent but, at first,knows how to give public what they want; and a newspaper columnist who perhaps understands everything that is going on around, but uses his knowledge as he wishes, which is not necessarily the best decision. The Fountainhead argues that the worst kind of people is the “second-handers”, people who are ruling and supporting our society, sacrificing their inner self-respect for the sake of their outer ego. Overall, this work is terrific, it can be read both as philosophically challenging novel and serious but entertaining book. And it is great in both.
It even make me want to see if “Howard Roak” exists in this modern world.
Louise de Bernieres – A Partisan’s Daughter
My latest book that I read – my LRT books. I have 2 type of books - one for serious readings at home before I sleep and the other while I’m ‘on-the-go’. This explains the need for me to always carry a big handbag to fit all my neccessities that cover entertainment, music, looks and diary.
Anyway, this book is hilarious and brilliantly funny but made me cried in the end. A story about an unlikely love that blooms from 2 most oddly couple met by chance. The way the book was written is for you to be in the mind of both. Throughout the book, they were playing a game with each other. One keeps thinking about what the other person might think and try to hide from what we truly feel. This book manage to bring all that out for us to experience. Also, the sarcasm that were thrown to each other were brilliant. Good fun to read.
The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas
..Just pretend for a minute that there is something called a curse and it exists and it is a thing. Where does it come from? That’s what we need to ask.’
‘Do we?’
‘Yes. Is it something magical, or is it a prophecy that comes true because you make it come true? Or is it even just nothing at all, just a way of explaining bad things that happen to us that are actually random. I may ask: my do I have an infestation of mice? Did someone curse me? Or did I just leave too much food out one day to tempt them? Or is life just as simple as there are mice?‘
……’What if it isn’t people who make curses?’ I say.
….’Ha,’ says Wolf. ‘ You think curses are made by gods.’
….’No, of course not. It’s just a hypothetical question. Can something be created in language independently of the people who use the language? Can language become a self-replicating system or….’
_______
Never have I thought to ‘blame’ the language – curses to me are always related to beliefs, culture or even environment. Perhaps the fact that humans need to create an illusion to blanket their unfortunate situations or mishaps. When are we cursed? or is it fate? These are the usual arguments .. not the mere existence of language — the accidental creation of a word
