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Entries Tagged as 'Book Reviews'

Lord Of The Flies By William Golding – A Hard Look At Who We Are

February 3rd, 2012 No Comments

Let’s not dissect Lord of the Flies in an academic style.  I am sure that has been done professionally over and over for decades.  Some studied this book in school.  As for me, when I first saw the title many years ago, I mistook it to be related to Lord of the Ring.  Soon I found out [...]

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Memories of My Melancholy Whores By Gabriel García Márquez

January 12th, 2012 2 Comments

This book, I have read twice.  After “My Cousin Rachel“, I wanted to keep up with the soul nourishing reading spree.  I ransacked my book collection, even scanned through the book list according to Harold Bloom’s Western Canon for inspiration.  I have read “Memories of My Melancholy Whores” once, possibly in the year of 2004.  I wish [...]

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My Cousin Rachel By Daphne Du Maurier – Words Of The ’50s Still Haunt

January 10th, 2012 6 Comments

I normally do not read books that are written before I was born.  I mean, way before I was born.  This book “My Cousin Rachel” was published in 1951.  I cannot even relate to what the world was like back then.  Inside a library, deflated by my return of a book that I was not [...]

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1Q84 By By Haruki Murakami – A Magical Read

December 4th, 2011 No Comments

1Q84 is the 10th Murakami book that I have read.  There are similarities when compared to The Wind-up Bird Chronicle.  It is divided into three books that span across three consecutive time periods.  Each chapter is named using a phrase found inside that chapter. 1Q84 further explores the concept of free will versus destiny and fate. [...]

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The Wind-up Bird Chronicle By Haruki Murakami – So Unreal, So Mesmerizing

November 6th, 2011 4 Comments

The paperback version of “The Wind-up Bird Chronicle” is more than 600 pages long.  It sat inside my bookshelf for a long time because I was not sure if I have the patience to digest such a mightily thick book (to me that is).  I brought it along anyway for my trip to Hong Kong.  I [...]

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Thrall: Twilight Of The Aspects By Christie Golden – Powerful, And Moving

October 24th, 2011 No Comments

After I have finished reading Thrall in Hong Kong, I said to Cynthia, “Drop everything you are reading now and start to read this!”  It is that good.  Rewind to the day when we were at the airport.  On several occasions, I struggled if I shall read another book written by Christie Golden.  Price is [...]

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My Favorite Quotes From “Aleph” By Paulo Coelho

October 22nd, 2011 2 Comments

I enjoy reading Paulo Coelho’s novels.  They are always inspirational.  Or simply put – food for the soul.  To be frank, I enjoy reading some of his earlier works better than his recent ones.  Hence my expectation for “Aleph” was not that high.  This book surprises me on several fronts.  First, it is quite a [...]

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An Afterthought: El Búho Que No Podía Ulular

July 4th, 2011 12 Comments

Uff.  Finalmente, I have read a story written in Spanish (just yesterday).  Ironically, it is not as Spanish as I would have expected.  It is a story of an owl banished from his own kind and has ended up being lectured by the ghost of Benjamin Franklin together with the rest of the founding fathers [...]

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Hotel Iris By Yoko Ogawa – Beautifully Ugly, Dark And Shocking

June 19th, 2011 4 Comments

I do not suppose what Ogawa wrote is unrealistic.  At times, we read in the news about some women who are victims of domestic violence but yet, they have a tendency to return to the very same man who bestows such violence upon them.  I have read the story of Natascha Kampusch and had a glimpse [...]

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Lion’s Honey The Myth Of Samson By David Grossman – A Mostly Imaginary Piece Of Work

June 11th, 2011 2 Comments

After reading “Lion’s Honey”, I did some research on the author.  He is an Israeli, an established writer as well as a political activist.  This explains quite a few queries lingered in my mind after reading his book.  There are only very few places when Grossman subtly touched onto modern politics.  Here is one.  I [...]

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