Stories Of Your Life And Others

Book Name : Stories Of Your Life And Others
Author : Ted Chiang 

What is it about : The story of The Tower Of Babylon kicked off this series of science-based fiction; the ancient Babylonians built the tower to reach religious and physical heights, but what were the practical concerns ? The engineers had to wheel up the materials such as bricks and cement to great distance and the distance became longer the further they built the Tower ! And how about "Lookisome" ? - the human brain's ability or in-built prejudice in judging people by their looks. This story told of a future world whereby this ability could be switched off by undergoing an easy DIY brain procedure which could block off the necessary neural circuitry, thus enabling humans to judge people by merit. Another story described the journey and end of a patient who was in a vegetative state after an accident, recovering from memory loss and general lack of physical abilities by undergoing a special hormone therapy and ended up being a super-human (think X-Men), only to meet his own demise when he encountered another patient having gone through the same hormone treatments.

Some thoughts after having read the book : Being a scientist and engineer by training and working, I very much appreciated Chiang's science-based angle of attack to his stories. The stories read more plausible, probable and much like the film Men In Black, events might even be happening right now. Chiang's ability to command different writing styles, made his stories pleasurable, realistic and hitting the title theme very much on target. Take for instance, Tower Of Babylon, the author imagined a tower so tall, it would take months to reach the top, so the tower "residents" grew their own vegetables and lived their lives like us on the ground; a colorful picture combining an old fable and more down-to-earth practical engineering concerns.

Would I recommend this book to you : I read this book when I went on vacation, the book was a great companion as the stories were kept concise and the science aspects of the tales made interesting diversions from the all-too-relaxing, jump-in-out-of-pool relaxation. Go read !

The Celestial Omnibus And Other Tales

Book Name : The Celestial Omnibus And Other Tales
Author : E.M. Forster 
What is it about : A couple of fables and fantasies set in the Victorian times, taking place in the English countryside, London suburbs and as far as Greece. The tales started with ordinary events like going out for a picnic or a boy getting lost in a alleyway then the situation would take an ominous turn for the worse when people mysteriously went missing, buses went flying and newspapers showing near-death misses.

Some thoughts after having read the book : The works of great authors shared many traits, one of which would be the art of leaving faint dots (clues, facts, conversations) whereby the readers had to join the dots up. A process thus making the readers work their brains a bit, giving the readers the room for imagination and resulting in a more rewarding reading experience. One could say the classic lesson of "Show and Don't Tell" . E.M. Forster would be such great example, the whole experience of reading these tales went from a foggy beginning and slowly becoming sunny clear as the end approached as I tried hard to "figure out" the situation - pure talent and brilliance.

Would I recommend this book to you : Highly recommended for a casual read, learning materials for short stories writing and a look into the Victorian times and their peculiar characteristics, men-women relationships as well as how the British viewed Europeans (Greeks in this case in the last story).

Weathercock

Book Name : The Weathercock
Author : Glen Duncan 

What is it about : The book tracked the early life of spirit-seeing Dominic Hood as he stumbled from primary school fights, foul-mouthing his way through university and after much cigarettes, booze, drugs and women, found work in London and reinforced his dirty deeds and indulged in his vulgar sexual desires. Oh yes, should I forget : there's also the minor, rather distracting parts where he spoke to ghosts and witnessed a couple of clairvoyant happenings.

Some thoughts after having read the book : At times, the violent scenes were way too graphic. Apart from a few inspired turns of phrases and story-telling, else, the obscene profanities were too much to bear. Having said that, the part (20 odd pages) where Dominic witnessed the exorcism taking place in a church in India and the "dirty spirit" subsequently being driven out of the child's body was well worth my time.

Would I recommend this book to you : Because on too many occasions, the writing was over-the-top in my opinion of swearing, un-bearable sex scenes and pointless drinking binges, I would look elsewhere for a quick thrill. Also, warning : strictly NOT for minors and the straight-laced !

The Terrible Privacy Of Maxwell Sim

Book Name : The Terrible Privacy Of Maxwell Sim
Author : Jonathan Coe 

What is it about : The story followed Maxwell Sim, our hapless, awkward and confused protagonist as he entered into mid-life as a divorcee, department store post-sales manager with a deflated ego and the recipient of a poorly formed childhood. We witnessed Max stumbled upon pieces of his old life and made connections with a new one as he traveled from Australia to the south of England as a toothbrush sales person, ending up in a hospital with hypothermia in Scotland. When all was said and done, Max found truth, confidence, self-esteem and his true self.

Some thoughts after having read the book : As an avid reader of books of all genres, I quickly noted the multi-themed and the numerous suspiciously casual and incoherent walk-in roles as the hallmark of a writer conjuring up (cooking up) a good old spin with all the bits and pieces from his notebook of weird and wonderful facts which he came across from his daily life. That, of course, was not to trivialise his tremendously successful attempt to underlie all these colorful characters and events with strong, moving and human insights and undertone in the story of Max; the writer never wavered from the central plot of Max's (and every reader's) eternal quest of : who am I ? The ending was somewhat disappointing and I felt the author should have left it off with Max waving a gentle goodbye and saying a silent "thank you" to the Chinese woman and daughter as they disappeared in the Fairlight Beach (outside Sydney) sunset for having started his quest to find his true self.

Would I recommend this book to you : Apart from the rather "bolted-on" and to me, inappropriate anti-climax ending, this book would be one of my top 10 to take to a desert island, for a two weeks vacation. Laugh and cry along with Max over his life, friends and events which shaped him and at the same time, perhaps reflect upon our own lives and find the answer to that eternal question : do I know who I am ? Highly recommended !

Omega Point

Book Name : Omega Point
Author : Don Delillo

What is it about : The story jumped from an art museum showing the film "Psycho" with Norman Bates, Mother and Janet Leigh (because as stated in the book, nobody remembered the victim's name) in R-E-A-L-L-Y S-L-O-W motion as an art piece, to a retired secret war adviser being interviewed in a remote "ranch" somewhere in the American wilderness which ended with the mysterious disappearance of the adviser's daughter. The ending of the book returned back to the museum showing the Psycho film.

Some thoughts after having read the book : Mesmerising, sure ! There were beautiful sentences and sublime philosophies throughout the book; the disappearance of the daughter in the middle of "somewhere south of nowhere" was eerily haunting and the portrayal of a slow moving film "Psycho" (shower scenes and all) in a museum was mind-boggling. By the way, Omega Point was not some military target or operation but the self-styled description of a mental state about consciousness.

Would I recommend this book to you : Described by critics as "structurally satisfying", "demands slow and attentive reading and re-reading", "severely thoughtful" and "one of his least cryptic". So there, an arty book for the purists may be; hot non-stop actions seekers should look elsewhere.

Innocent Blood

Book Name : Innocent Blood
Author : P.D.James

What is it about : Philippa, the strong-willed and independent minded adopted daughter of the Palfreys, decided on her 18th birthday to track down her blood mother. With a bit of digging around, remember that this novel was written in the 1980s', so no short cutting by using Internet search engines, she discovered to her amazement that her blood mother Mary Ducton was the murderer in the infamous Ducton Murder where a teenage girl was raped and strangled. The story then switched to the father of the murdered teen, Scase, who became obsessed with revenge and decided to stalk the recently released Mary Ducton, with a knife handy. The story built up to a crescendo, almost till the last page, when all matters were settled.

Some thoughts after having read the book : The story line was painstakingly strung out, the details full and vivid, the conversations mostly plausible and the plot patiently built. Few vocabularies were repeated, so not only a crime novel at the peak of its art but also English essays writing at its best - the author had to be one of the Sunday Times Crossword Puzzles contributors. One point I found highly critical and dissatisfying was the cry for sensationalism in the Epilogue where Philippa confided in Scase of her "incest" with Maurice Palfrey, her adopted father; that was just an un-necessary red herring and kind of ended a great book with a warped and twisted tangle of mind - I just could not understand why did the author put that in ?

Would I recommend this book to you : It had been a long while since I last got glued to a great book and totally immersed in the story and the day to day affairs of the stalker, the stalked and the by-standers and the complexity in the emotional upheaval and the study in human relationship of trust, deception and the tricks of memory. So whether you read the book for its excellent English, methodical story plotting or insights into the complex human psychology, I would greatly recommend this book.

The Baker Street Letters

Book Name : The Baker Street Letters
Author : Michael Robertson

What is it about : Two brothers rented an office as their legal practice at the famous address of Sherlock Holmes (Baker Street) with a too-good-to-be-true leasing contract; one of the rental conditions however, was to collect, organise and file-away the daily arrivals of Sherlock's fan mail or requests for solving missing cats, disappearing milk bottles to international conspiracies, etc. Nigel, the younger of the brothers took off to Los Angeles vowing to solve one of these sent-in mysteries, leaving Reggie, his older brother with a dead body in the office with the ensuing hounding police detectives. Together with his glamorous actress girlfriend, Laura, Reggie then gave chase after Nigel and uncovered and solved a devious plot.

Some thoughts after having read the book : Fast paced, quick British wit and all ready to be made into a TV mini series. I found the book to be peopled with consistent characters, the dialogues realistic and the plot complicated but plausible. There were annoying bits like Reggie kept taking cabs everywhere he went in LA (what's wrong with just renting a car ?) and Nigel and Laura mysteriously and conveniently appearing on the scene when the actions required their presence; yeh, just a like a mini TV series alright.

Would I recommend this book to you : Ideal book to take with you on the plane, on the beach or just for an evening of chilling out with a glass of red wine. Get the chips ready !

The Quantity Theory Of Insanity

Book Name : The Quantity Theory Of Insanity
Author : Will Self

What is it about : The book included a couple of stories loosely connected detailing the author's (in first person) encounters with various eccentric/insane characters in his life. The clever dude in his class who excelled in researching and investigating the esoteric minority jungle tribe who was best known for the tribe's complete dullness and ordinariness; his friend eventually married one of these dull tribeswoman and both settled in the middle of the London Home Counties; the author's other friend included Jim who was obsessed with the philosophy of "Waiting" or in actual fact "waiting too much" and Jim eventually was converted into a semi-Cult where the main practice was navigating the London streets in a complete trance while finding the quickest way (by driving at a furious speed) from start to finish; the author's own insanity also came under scrutiny by the readers as he met his dead mother who "moved" to "another part of London" after she died; they even had tea and cakes at her "new place" in East London to catch up with old times.

Some thoughts after having read the book : Amusing and at times thought-provoking in that the readers would quickly start assessing the meaning of sanity as the thin grey line which separated eccentricity and madness. In one story, the psycho-therapy in vogue was to swap roles between patients and doctors in a mad-house and the author was inadvertently drawn into the quagmire of turning himself from a visiting psycho-analyst into one of the patients.

Would I recommend this book to you : Witty, dark and at turns I found the stories rather frightening in how one's mind and psycho-well-being could so easily be affected by obsession, therapy-in-vogue and those around you whom you thought harmless or just a bit eccentric and it turned out that in fact, you''re the one going mental gradually under these influences. And by the way, the Quantity Theory Of Insanity revolved around the idea that the "Total Sanity" in a certain society/grouping remained constant depending on the composition of demography of race, age, family units, incomes and so on; sane theory or what ?

Metamorphosis

Book Name : Metamorphosis
Author : Franz Kafka

What is it about : Gregor, a busy body, loyal company man and dedicated worker, known for his punctuality, diligence and considerations for others, woke up one morning after a particularly bad dream, found himself transformed into a giant bug (man size). Unable to get out of bed, maneuver pass his door and get to work, his family and company came knocking on the door for answers. Thus unfolding this classic "Kafkaesque" tale of Gregor's dilemma, broken dreams and eventual bitter end.

Some thoughts after having read the book : Although a short tale, Kafka showed all his talent for describing claustrophobia, frustration, fear and hopelessness when one had been trapped in surreal circumstances; in this case, a human trapped inside the body of a bug. Gregor tried so hard to scream out all his unusual sensation, desperation and annoyance yet all but unheard and to no avail, as he was not able to communicate in any sensible way these emotions - think being cast a voodoo spell and buried alive, then one would get the idea.

Would I recommend this book to you : A good introduction to Kafka and his technique in creating his hallmark "kafkaesque" atmosphere : one long exclamation of "WHAT'S HAPPENED TO ME ?!" A delightful but scary tale - I would not like to be in Gregor's shoes.

The Happy Prince

Book Name : The Happy Prince
Author : Oscar Wilde

What is it about : A few of the most fabled short stories written by this famous author. These included the titled story The Happy Prince where a bejeweled statue overlooking the city witnessed the poverty and derelict conditions and made life better for its citizens with the help of a gentle swallow; The Remarkable Rocket featured a self-centred rocket fizzling out of life when his ability was somehow overlooked; The Selfish Giant initially made life miserable for his garden's visitors but made amends when the Giant was blessed by a Miracle and my favourite : The Fisherman And His Soul where the Fisherman wanted to sell his soul in order to be with his love, a mermaid, only to find his soul returning again and again with increasing tempting offers.

Some thoughts after having read the book : All the stories were charming, delightful and brimming with wit and wisdom as well as colorful characters like talking frogs, a self-pitying dwarf, a family of witty firework members; basically the author breathed life into all the objects in our world. A few examples : "... and the Swallow began to think and he fell asleep; thinking always made him sleepy ..." ; "... the Frog said it liked to do all the talking himself, it saves time and prevents arguments ..." ; "... the Priest showed the Shadow their Pagan God, a magical Mirror which speaks not opinion, but wisdom ...".

Would I recommend this book to you : All aspiring short story writers should read this book as a lesson in how to maximum effectiveness with precise and economical usage of words and sentences. A book for all seasons and all readers - outstanding writing, witty, un-imaginable imagination and the stories awash with super colorful characters, all of them turning your day into a bright and cheerful one.

Conference With The Dead

Book Name : Conference With The Dead
Author : Terry Lamsley

What is it about : Over ten short horror stories, mostly based in rural northern England. A young man applied for what he thought to be an easy job of walking an animal, only to discover the "walking" had to take place after midnight and turned out to be more a feeding frenzy; an enthusiastic cyclist looking for a hot cuppa and stumbled upon an out-of-the-way tea house and being followed back to the BnB by a spirit; a middle-age man inheriting his mother's house and uncovered her dark past and found himself to be the object of an ancient local cult; a child holidaying with his grand parents in a sea-side town where old folks came to live out their remaining years, noticed the strange going-on's at the local old people's home where the staff were un-characteristically more interested in keeping these geriatrics alive.

Some thoughts after having read the book : The themes and beginnings of each story had great potential but the endings fell well short of reaching any climatic explosion. However, the book did have its moments of brilliance in making my hair stand up. Perhaps the stories needed to be better followed through with more coverage, needing perhaps 10 to 20 pages more on each short story to give the stories more oomph, punch and bite. The final endings almost always left me un-satisfied and hung in mid-air, not with suspense of horror, but actually a wanting to be thrilled.

Would I recommend this book to you : An easy read for a plane ride, may be. I certainly did not feel I wasted my time here. But if you're looking for atmosphere, blood, dare and un-stoppable actions, try Anne Rice's The Witching Hour and her Vampire Series.

Our Tragic Universe

Book Name : Our Tragic Universe
Author : Scarlett Thomas

What is it about : All the "hapnings" in the sea side town of Dartmouth, southwest of England with Meg, reporting first hand on the affairs, emotional upheavals and history of her many friends past and present, her dog as well as her own sorrowful / hopeful love stories.

Some thoughts after having read the book : As the book was packed with interesting, dull, comical and tragic characters as well as curious topics and surprising dialogues, the story lines in this book would make great situational comedy (sit-com) materials - with the central figure, Meg appearing on every episode and with the "lesser" characters appearing on and off as when the story reached their parts. Of course, the dog Bess would make a welcomed entry whenever her part was required to liven things up a bit. The sit-com would run for about a year, half-an-hour each night with different stories interspersed into each other - Libby pushing the car into the sea and the local police turning up on her door steps, Meg having constant struggling exchanges with Christopher (come back to bed babe...), leading to their break-up, Tim being spaced out after following the beast of Dartmoor etc. Hey I didn't expect Dartmouth to be SO full of events and sordid affairs !

Would I recommend this book to you : I would recommend this book as a shining example of how one could write a book of more than 300 pages by : jotting down all the incidents and affairs of all your friends and relatives, "google" all the scientific big ideas and re-write them in a layman-understandable sort of way, read and research on the DUMMIES series for Taoism, Tarot cards, and dog psychology and so on and voila !, your very own story-less story as the author had once or twice mentioned in this book. Of course, you would need to be clever to string up these different aspects into one coherent, interesting and enjoyable book and that's where this author excelled. Go read !

The Private Memoirs And Confessions Of A Justified Sinner

Book Name : The Private Memoirs And Confessions Of A Justified Sinner
Author : James Hogg

What is it about : The story centered on a committed clergyman being led astray by A Being from the "Dark Side" and eventually becoming an outcast from his community and found solace and peace only through taking his own life; even this last act of trying to come to terms with his crimes and hopeful redemption were shrouded in dubious circumstances - hung by a rope made of loose hay (straws). The clergyman's life was on a slippery slope the moment his jealousy, mis-understanding of religious teachings and greed were noticed and exploited by The Being in ever-changing human forms and through coercing, chiding and misleading, the clergyman embarked on a series of murders and blunders which led him into a cul-de-sac of Life to the point of no-return.

Some thoughts after having read the book : This book had to be the first in the genre (written circa 1,800 A.D.) of :  the ignorant, the innocent and the weak-willed being tempted, exploited and having been rewarded with the riches, power, status, revenge and vanity which he so craved, was finally meeting his inevitable downfall and sunk into oblivion. Having parallel thoughts in mind, I found that this alarming story had numerous versions, and the first which came to mind was strangely enough, The Little Shop Of Horrors - an evil plant from outer space tempted and half-push-shoved Seymour, "the ignorant, the innocent and the weak-willed" as I had just mentioned above, into committing murder and disgraced himself and finally met his nasty end.

Would I recommend this book to you : Barring some of the dialogues written in Scottish-accented English and local slang being difficult to de-cipher, the book was very readable  and surprisingly, quite a page-turner. I would without a hint of doubt, recommend this book to readers of all persuasions and levels for a roaring good read. The structure of the book was actually very modern in that, the first part was a "Editor's Narrative" (the bystander if you like); the second part was the "Main Protagonist's Narrative" (the sinner and confessor's journal) and the last part returned to the "Editor's Narrative" for completion. This structure gave the story clarity by providing a high-level breakdown, of sort. A word of warning, the parts about digging up grave could be a bit spooky for the faint-hearted.

A Legacy Of Spies

Book Name : A Legacy Of Spies
Author : John Le Carre 

What is it about : My favourite author's latest installment, could be seen as a "prequel" to The Spy Who Came In From The Cold - without a shadow of doubt, the all-time classic spy story. The legendary spy master's right hand man, Peter G., found himself to be the subject of a series of legal finger-pointing. Being recalled back to London from his idyllic retirement haven in France, he was forced to confront all the demons in his younger days and any skeleton-in-the-cupboard thirty years on, not yet out in the daylight. In a nutshell, the offspring of his friends/foes caught up with him and demanded answers and compensation of the innocent blood spilt all those years ago, but was Peter being made a scapegoat or was he really to blame ? Was the fatal Operation in question, a five-star cock-up or was it execution-par-excellence up till the last minute ? Read on.

Some thoughts after having read the book : The danger, nostalgia, despair, manipulation, cynicism, in the world of spy-craft which made this author's novels so memorable, were all there to be found. The description of the helplessness, self soul-searching of Peter and the eventual answers he seemed to have found along the way, past and present, made this book a riveting read. Having read so many of his novels, I treated the characters herein with much familiarity - Control, Smiley, Bill Haydon, Jim Prideaux, Alec Leamas; very much liked to say : hi there, long time no see !

Would I recommend this book to you : I guess as a first book for newcomers to this odyssey into the times and atmosphere of the Cold War espionage years, might be a bit far-fetched, confusing even; as the characters in this book had not been as well and fully formed (except Peter, the narrator himself of course) as in previous installments. In my opinion, however, still very much readable and excelled in capturing your undivided attention, definitely enticing you to start reading from his first novels.