Zombie

She loses herself every day
in the machinery called Life :
Work chipping
away certitude,
Obligations eroding identity.

She struggles, but
unlike the salmon,
who knows it is a fish
and swims to a place
because it has to spawn;

She, dead before her appointed hour,
continues shuffling through twilight passages.

© Copyright. All rights reserved.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

I completed reading this book within 2-3 days. That's because I was rushing to finish it by Saturday so I could return it to the library and also I was home all day yesterday. It's a very good read - like many others who read this book, I had fun trying to figure out who the gods were before they were named in the stories. I'm having a hard time with one though - the one who's name Shadow always never seems to grasp. I didn't read this book very carefully. It was more like a fun quick read for me. I think if I have the mood, I'll try picking it up for a re-read some time in the future. Other than that, my next goal is to complete reading all the books I purchased in the past.

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

This coming-of-age journey of a boy, David, who lost his mother to death, was a very difficult book to read in public places. At numerous points in the story, I had stop reading because I was afraid I couldn't control myself from bursting into unstoppable tears.

Somehow, this simple but cleverly crafted tale struck many raw nerves for me. Maybe because it was about a boy, who might be the same age as my son is now. Maybe it was about the loss of childhood but the attainment of the wisdom and kindness that might come from suffering if one learnt to grow up by facing one's fears. Whatever it was, I came away feeling that John Connolly wrote a mighty fine book that was imaginative, emotional and enlightening.

This book had none of the hovering writer's presence that I felt in reading John Connolly's book of short stories, Nocturnes. Once I started on the first sentence, I was immediately transported into David's world, entering his experiences, his mind and emotions. Though it seems a typical story about a child who loses a much-loved parent, and having to come to terms with living with a new mother and half-brother when his father remarries, The Book of Lost Things does not fall into the trite or cliche. As a real war with the Germans rages about him, a battle on his mind begins. There is never any doubt that David is slowly losing hold of this world and will enter into the world where stories come alive. When he hears books whispering to him and he falls into fits where he loses consciousness with increasing frequency, David eventually and inevitably hears his mother calling to him to save her. He decisively follows the voice and enters another realm where he walks the path of the Hero's Journey, battling monsters and facing his inner demons.

Throughout the book, I felt myself understanding more and more the message that John Connolly wanted to send but I never felt he was didactic or overbearing in putting it across. Instead, the Hero's Journey that David experiences enriches Connolly's moral-of-the-story. As David grows in understanding and courage, so too the sorrowful yet comforting feeling that this is truly the best way. That if a child should lose his innocence, it would best be lost to be replaced with these best qualities that might be born from suffering: to become a loving person with a forgiving heart; to be protective to those who might be weaker and even fair to the wicked. David ends his journey becoming such a person and more! How wonderful it would be for a mother to see her child grow to be such a fine young man!

I truly enjoyed reading this book, even though I experienced a roller-coaster of emotions, and ended up tearing or weeping many times over.

Books Not Read

This entry isn't about books I've read recently. It's about books I've borrowed from the library and NOT read. I'm in this rushed and stressed state of mind. I am unable to think straight and the books I picked up just demanded too much from me. So I didn't read them at all. Here are the reasons why:

1. The Book of Dave, Will Self

Promising premise and captivating blurb on the back cover, but the writer lost me from the start of the 9th line of the first page. Trying to be the next Anthony Burgess, I suppose, he wrote conversations and thoughts to reflect future vocabulary, speech patterns and pronunciations. One sentence of "Wot if Eye woz up vair, Carl thought, up vair lyke ve Flyin I?" is fine enough to grapple with. But when the frequency of such writing increased and I lost sense of what the characters were saying, I put down the book, never mustering anymore interest in picking it up again.

2. Nocturnes, by John Connolly

I wanted to read The Book of Lost Things which Chris reviewed beautifully, but my library reservation wasn't ready yet, so I picked up Connolly's anthology of scary stories to tide me over. I read a couple of the stories and they were interesting enough, but John Connolly's writing voice is very peculiar and its dryness seems to hover consistently over every story I read in the anthology, making it difficult for me to lose myself in any of the plots. I am ever conscious of John Connolly the writer, so it made me feel like I was going through an academic exercise, instead of enjoying myself reading stories. I read two and a half stories, then didn't continue with the rest of the collection.

3. Resonator, by Prentis Rollins

This was one book I borrowed without flipping through the contents first. I thought it would show me how writers wrote up the script for comics and graphic novels. I recall seeing something like a script in one of Neil Gaiman's books, so I thought this book might provide equally interesting enlightenment. Serves me right for not checking first. I found Rollins only wrote about the process of developing the story, and that took about 4-5 pages of the chapter. He did not show how he wrote up the script for the comic, except for one page which contained partial images from his original stories and just a bit of his comic script. I suppose it is because he is both the writer and the artist for the graphic novel, Resonator, he did not need to write much more than the dialogue for the script. In the end, I did not learn much from this book as a wanna-be-writer and I lost interest in reading the graphic novel itself. His artwork is very lush and detailed though and he does go into great lengths to describe his drawing process, with chapters on preproduction, pencilling, inking and lettering. I think it will be a better resource for an artist interested in drawing a comic or graphic novel.

4. Before Midnight, by Cameron Dokey.

I did not give this book a chance. I read the first page and then I felt I did not get a good enough hook right from the start - the pacing of the writing was not what I needed at this point - so I just stopped reading this. I think it might be a good story for light-reading but I just really want to sink into some "lose yourself into the story right from the start" type of story. This really didn't do it for me, right from the start.

5. Fantasy - The best of the Year, 2006 Edition

Read one and a half stories from this collection. Then no more interest. Too tired.


That's it. All the books I didn't read. I'm really out of it again at this point in time. Seems like life is bearing down on me again and I'm losing my mental capacity to sustain interest in reading. I didn't complete the Banned Books Challenge, which ended on 30 June. I seem to have energy only to knit while I watch TV/discs (Supernatural, Smallville, K-drama, that kind of thing) and do some sewing here and there when I can find the time. I really need to sink my teeth into some good escapist fiction. Just have to find the right one. I'm collecting The Book of Lost Things from the library reservation counter this weekend. I hope it will be the book.

Tiny Story

Carl V's Tiny Story competition motivated me to complete a story or two. It was a good exercise for me: made me think about being consise, telling a story, flow, plot, rhythm, etc. I don't think I wrote any great stories but it gave my engines a kick-start. I'm getting into the mindset of fiction writing and I will continue to do it. It was also satisfying to beat down my own negativity and self-criticism to see a story to the end. Finishing something gave me a sense of achievement.

I leave you with my other Tiny Story, which I did not submit to the competition. Like I said, nothing great but I'd love to hear your advise and constructive criticisms if you'd like to comment. It's still very much a learning period for me. I've never completed a full story before, and never focused properly on writing stories, so I have no illusions nor ego about this. I'd just like to get started and if I get to actually finish a story eventually, that is an achievement in itself at this point. One other thing I really suck at is writing titles. So my titles really suck big time.

(Sorry if I'm a little incoherent today, chatting with and listening to an almost 8-yr-old while writing is really distracting).



---------------------------------

We Have Decided


Mathew wasn't sure what he must do now that their secret is in jeopardy.

Hiding's not an option and running, even crazier. So best thing would be: "Letting it out by my own hands. Yes."

Straightening from a defeated crouch, his shakey voice croaked, "Can't take this anymore. Let's go. Time to - save our world." Cackling with ironic laughter, decision made.

"How?" She whispered anxiously.

"I don't know."

Going through locked doors, leading toward hidden dark places, heartbeats growing louder, blood racing quicker, as they approach the room. Both headed onward resolutely. Two of them will face - whatever, everything, together.



© Copyright. All rights reserved.

Dead High Yearbook

Dead High Yearbook by Ivan Velez is a comic that made me roll my eyes in exasperation by the time I got to the end of reading it. The packaging of the book is very nice, but this does not redeem the stories from bordering on inane. I felt like it was trying to be be innovative, cool and dark, but failing miserably because the writers missed the point and focussed on the shock factor instead of telling a good story.

I'm guessing this book is targetted at a teen audience, seeing all the characters are high school students. For a young person who has not seen much, this book might be fun and provide a few scares. It is a collection of stories telling the demise of young people from a high school, who will be entered into a yearbook that is put together by an editorial team of dead people. The characters include vampires, zombies, mutants and basically some individuals who refuse to die. For a jaded adult like me, though, the stories don't provide much new material. Admittedly some are quite gruesome and ickky but none give new perspectives nor do they entertain with fresh or clever twists.

So overall, it might be ok for an older teenager (I'd keep the visual blod and gore away from younger kids), but it would just be mindless and humourless reading for an adult.

Dog Bite Dog

I finally watched Dog Bite Dog last night. It is another film I saw to satisfy my current obsession with Edison Chen. I'm having a personal Edison Chen Film Fest right now if you haven't noticed.

Why do I say finally? It is because my husband bought the disc last year but I didn't bother about it until I realised recently that Edison Chen is the lead actor.

There's already a very good review and commentary on Dog Bite Dog on the Love HK website and at Swifty so I won't give a synopsis of the plot here, but here are my personal views of the movie:

1. Edison Chen looked good (such a pretty boy!), even when he was unwashed, dressed in a sack and caked with dirt, mud and blood for the entire duration of the film.
2. On a personal level is completely violent and dissatisfying. But it is well-filmed though over-the-top in some parts so it might appeal to the art or cult film buff. I only enjoyed it because Edison Chen appeared in 80% of the shots.
3. For me, Edison Chen again proved his ability as an actor in this movie. He was very good in it! His body language, facial expressions and eyes conveyed many nuances needed in a role where he spoke no more than 10 sentences. (I didn't really count but I think it might even be no more than 5 sentences.) I heard from a friend that Edison Chen is known to be an actor who is serious about his craft but he was given 花瓶 (decorative) roles because of his previous management company.

Are you tired of hearing about Edison Chen yet? Oh well, I'm still obsessed for the moment so you have to bear with me. I'm going to search for more Edison Chen movies to watch before I get sick of him, so you're going to see some more posts about his movies in the coming days.