Author: Wilfrid

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Diary Travel Blog

Bandung Chronicle – Part 4 Of 6

This is the fourth installment of the chronicle, a journal of my year end trip to Bandung at 500 words per piece.

… the humming got louder and louder.  All of a sudden, there was cracking sound from different directions, like the humming of the bees – cracking sound that sounded very human, incoherently human.  I woke up sitting straight, grasping for breathe.  The galloping sound was on my face and soon I realized: it was praying time for the Muslims.  The sound came from many speakers nearby.

Next morning, over breakfast, mom (my mother-in-law) told me that her house is surrounded by at least five mosques.  Each mosque has someone or a group of people singing with devotion and conviction, starting at 4 in the morning, five times a day, all on different tunes, different prayers.  Such conviction so very early in the morning.  A fierce competition due to the proximity of the mosques and the ever growing power of the electronic speakers?

One special evening, I slept through the 4 am morning prayer.  Next morning, I blurted out in excitement, “Did they oversleep this morning?” Mom broke down in a paroxysm of hilarity and said, “They never oversleep!”

Edit: After I returned to Singapore, I shared my experience with my Indian colleague.  He told me that in Egypt, there was used to be mosques broadcasting prayers just like what Bandung does today.  Soon, the Egyptian government felt that it was not appropriate to have different mosques broadcasting different prayers jamming the ‘air wave’ in that manner.  Since it is even more inappropriate to ask her people to stop praying, they have an Imam – one who has a very divine voice as I can imagine – to lead the prayer on a local radio.  And the mosques simply tune in during their praying session.  Personally, I think this is a jolly good idea.  I shall write to SBY again.

8. Children, They Orbit

“Cynthia had a fun time trying to catch Felicia for a family photo.  Their mother, Julie, also had a fun time trying to get Nathaniel to stand still.”

When children are young, before they can walk, we the adults orbit around them.  As soon as they learn how to walk, then run, they orbit around us.  Round and round and round non-stop.  They laugh, giggle, fall down, get back up, and continue the orbiting ritual.  That was exactly what I saw when Cynthia and I met our niece and nephew – Felicia and Nathaniel.

It is quite impossible to catch Felicia.  She keeps on running and running.  I think she will make many boys go crazy when she grows up.  Nathaniel on the other hand is relatively calm and steady.  He is like a boss, commanding this and commanding that.  Tidak boleh (means cannot), he would say.  His elder sister would follow.  Soon, the entire time spent with them is full of tidak boleh.  He does not move as much as his elder sister.  One time, he took up an exercise book and asked, ini apa (what is this)?  I would say, seven wheels.  Ini apa? Ten oranges.  Ini apa? Three houses.  It went on and on until mom and Cynthia turned and asked, …

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Book Reviews Fiction

Merde Actually by Stephen Clarke – Sex And Love, In French Style (Sort Of)

Give a choice, I would have started from book one of the series “A Year in the Merde” and work my way to “Dial M for Merde”.  But you know how borrowing books from a library is like.

So I have read book four of the series, “Dial M for Merde” in October.  Since I have got hold of book two and three, I figure that it is better to read “Merde Actually” before its sequel, “Merde Happens”.

Paul West, a British who has an ambition to open a tea house in Paris, still seems to have all the luck in his world to date beautiful girls, though does not seem to be lucky enough to date the one he loves.  No doubt, the Merde series are targeted primarily for guys.  Like the chick-lit for the ladies.  I am unsure if girls would find Stephen Clarke’s books an offence to read.  Buy hey, it is true.  Most of the time, we guys are drugged by endless sexual fantasies.  What makes the Merde series such a good read, I think, is that the main character Paul West while getting his fair share of steaming activities does at times say or do the ”˜darndest’ thing that jeopardizes the ”˜opportunity’.  Just like … well, what real life is, really.  Since I have read the fourth book before this one, I would say “Dial M for Merde”, from the story development point of view, is more entertaining, in a suspense and thrilling sort of way.

To be honest, I am a little bit confused by the story characters (because I am not reading the series in order).  In “Merde Actually”, Paul West has spent a holiday living under Florence’s mother’s roof (due to an unfortunate road accident that renders them with no car).  And then, living under her father’s roof. Thereafter, he focuses on setting up his restaurant in Paris and the two break up due to ”˜long distance relationship’.  Then comes Paul’s ex-girlfriend Alexa whom I suppose is Paul’s love of his life.  Majority of the humor still revolves around the common misunderstanding between the French and the British – linguistically and culturally speaking.  I can understand why the French loves Stephen Clarke’s book because it is not condescending to the French culture.  In fact, the story becomes really funny when Paul – who is soaked in French culture for so long – returns to working in London.

The Merde series rank high as books to be read in a relaxing holiday, or on the plane.

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Drama Movie Reviews

The Fighter – What An Intense And Surprising Performance!

What a surprise!  I am seeing the casting in a whole new light.  I would not have thought that Christian Bale can act.  Like really act.  I was weary if Bale was going to have that batman voice – artificially low and harsh barely above the audible range (for humans that is, not sure for bats).   I mean, I was not that impressed with that batman movie that many love.  Certainly, “The Fighter” has changed my view on Bale.  He has lost so much weight in order to act in this movie.  And his acting as a rather eccentric bigger brother, a prisoner, as well as a drug addict is convincing.  In real life, Bale is younger than Wahlberg who in this movie played as his much younger brother.  Now, how does that work?

While Bale has lost weight for the filming of “The Fighter”, I have no idea how much weight Mark Wahlberg has gained.  Wahlberg has turned into a hulk.  Cynthia told me that Wahlberg has spent half a million on training prior to this (she read it somewhere).  If I have that kind of money, I also would like to put on that kind of meat onto my body.  And becomes very yummy to all the ladies around me.  This is one of those movies that the supporting actor outshines the main actor (think “Dark Knight”).  Mainly due to the role opportunity, I suppose.

I always associate Amy Adams as the enchanted princess.  Her list of nominations and wins matches Bale’s.  In this movie, Adams does not look as unblemished as how I remember her to be.  She is still hot in her imperfect way.  But I guess that is what the role calls for.  A girl working in a bar who pairs up with a fighter (same as a boxer?) who has the ambition of getting the world title, with his eccentric elder brother as the trainer, his assertive mother as the manager, and his loving father as the … coordinator?  This movie is based on a true story.  It is one rather dysfunctional family full of drama and gets united on a fighter’s ring.  I love watching the Rocky series (and have this thing about men boxing each other for reasons beyond my comprehension).  And I love watching this one.  There is great chemistry between the actors and actresses.  A heartwarming emotional watch.  Needless to say, “The Fighter” could be an Oscar material.  But is it good enough to win some?  We have to wait and see.

This is the second movie the Movie Review Squad has watched this year.  Tong Kiat has picked the first one.  Cynthia has picked the second one.  The record is so far so good.  I am going to pick the next one and the two are very worried that I will pick the flop of the year (like a Thai movie).  We shall see.

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Diary Travel Blog

Bandung Chronicle – Part 3 of 6

And the chronicle continues, onto its third installment, with 500 words per piece.

… and form a city beautification initiative.  I am not sure what natural resources Bandung has, but I would put tourism and perhaps a regional business hub as a top priority.  In my Bandung, trash would be cleared out before the dawn breaks, water would be gushing into the households of my beloved citizens, streets would be nicely paved, a new monorail transport system would be built, the entire road grid would be revamped, the sky would be blue, and the air would smell clean.  New conventional centers would be built near to the new International airport, and there would be a new stadium for International stars such as Taylor Swift and Ayumi Hamasaki, sport events such as ice hockey.  On top of the Bandung hill (in which a new cable car network would be built), I shall have my new residency as a visionary celebrity mayor.  On the ground floor, a Olympic size swimming pool, and on the second floor supported by marble pillars over the pool, a living hall large enough to hold a little rock concert of my own.

Dust, so much dust stirs up on the streets.  I wonder if others would share the same dream as I do.

“This is the garden of my mother-in-law’s house. Quite definitely the best maintained garden in the neighborhood.”

6. Melinjo

To eat a melinjo, often cooked in a soup, you first peel away the softer exterior that is mostly red in color.  At times orange, and at times green.  The second layer is a hard shell that is slightly trickier to remove.  The reward is a white flesh no larger than a typical antibiotic pill that is slightly chewy and upon consumed, leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste.  In Sundanese, it is called tangkil.  Melinjo or tangkil is a key ingredient in making a special type of cracker called emping, which is one of Indonesian’s favorite snacks.  It should come as no surprise that emping, like the melinjo, too leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste.  Mom likes to cook soup with melinjo.  It always takes me a long time to consume them.  Because I prefer using my teeth to my hands.  Cynthia and mom would look at me, amused.  Like I look at my Indian friends eating noodle not using chopsticks, amused.

When asked if she is a Chinese, a Sundanese, or a Javanese, Cynthia would pick Sundanese.  I can understand the dilemma.  Most Indonesian Chinese after generations of (forcefully) abandoning their Chinese names and leaving behind their Chinese tradition find it hard to associate themselves as Chinese.  Whoever born in Java is, I suppose, a Javanese.  But in Bandung, people speak Sundanese.  It is like the people in Barcelona prefer to speak Catalan to Spanish.   No doubt, Cynthia may feel closer to Sundanese than to Javanese, closer to Javanese than to, say, Chinese.

7. Humming of the Bees

One night, I was sleeping.  It was pitch dark when I started hearing the humming of the bees.  I thought I was dreaming as …

Categories
Game Reviews

One Month Has Passed Since The Arrival Of Cataclysm …

Last year, our national paper sent in one of our finest journalists – who unfortunately a lapsed World of Warcraft (WoW) gamer – to preview the new expansion: Cataclysm.  It is like asking a recently turned vegetarian to critic on a world class steakhouse dish (and in defense of my humble analogy, it was not clear if that journalist is at all an avid online gamer).  That write-up was less than inspiring.  If you have not played WoW in your life or better still, have not experienced MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game), I envy you.  You are at the golden age of online gaming.  A game that works in both PC and MAC platforms, works in low end high end machines, has been fine tuned and revamped for 6 years, has more than 12 millions subscribers (as of last year), and on day one of this expansion’s launch, 3.3 millions of copies were sold, 4.7 millions copies were sold on the first month.  Now, I know some of you are still on the fence thinking, “Hmmm, should I dive into Cataclysm?”  Cynthia and I have spent a good amount of hours playing the new expansion during the first month of launch.  And we have this write-up to share with you (probably more credible than the one you have read in our papers).

Admit it.  No one wants to buy and play a game that is not addictive.  If you look back in your gaming career, great games are the ones that keep you thinking about them the whole day while you are not at it.  And when you are at it, you wouldn’t want to stop.  In view of this, I am often intrigued by comments like “I am not trying WoW because I may get hooked into it”.  Having said that, I am a responsible person.  If this game has destroyed you in the past and you have still yet to figure out how to moderate your gaming behavior, please continue to stay out of it.  If you are unable to handle the social aspect of the game and cannot handle the fact that while most people are good, some are not, this new expansion is not likely to change your view.  It is like this.  You can play basketball in your backyard all day long.  You can also play basketball in a public court with your mates.  Or even better, you can form a team with new friends and random players and play a proper game of basketball.  Is there a guarantee that you will not meet anyone who is going to piss you off big time?  I think not.  Bullies and morons are everywhere.  That is life.  You can hide from them and miss out all the roses out there.  Or you can ignore them and focus on the good things in life.  There is nothing wrong with playing your own basketball game alone at your backyard though.  It is not as epic.

In this write-up, I am going to touch onto a rather wide range of topics.  Although my main target audiences are the experienced players, where possible, I will write with the new players in mind.  Because this game is big, I will need a little disclaimer here.  By clicking onto the following link, you agree that in the event whereby you are sucked into this game under the influence of my wall of text, the writer (i.e. I) and the website provider are not responsible or liable to any past, present, and future tangible damages (such as hard disk going on fire due to prolonged hours of game play) and intangible damage caused (such as your girlfriend leaving you, your cat deserts you, and your plants and your fish die on you).

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Categories
Book Reviews Fiction

The Housekeeper And The Professor By Yoko Ogawa – Beautiful, Simplistic, And Mathematically Charming

“The Housekeeper and the Professor” tells a beautiful story between a professor who only has 80 minutes worth of short-term memory due to an accident, a young housekeeper who has been a single mother since 18, and her son whom the mathematic professor has nicknamed as Root because his hairstyle reminds the professor of the square root symbol.  It is a beautiful story because it is a story of memory and relationship down to very daily routines.  It is beautiful because seldom have I come across a novel with so much mathematics within and yet, engaging.  Let me elaborate.

To explain, say, the unique characteristic of ”˜amicable numbers’ – a pair of numbers that the sums of their factors equal to each other (such as 220 and 284), the author makes use of the housekeeper’s birthday (Feb 20) and the prize number as engraved onto the professor’s watch (any other means the professor would have forgotten).  And since the numbers are ”˜amicable’, so should the relationship between the two.  The professor then further explains to the housekeeper the beauty of prime numbers, the rarity of twin primes, the alternative means in arriving to the same, and mathematics is indeed the notebooks of God (I have heard this association from one of my friends who studied mathematics in university).  The housekeeper, on the other hand, does not mind the repeated lessons because she left school when young.  Soon, upon the professor’s request (and he seems to have the same request every time his memory is erased), the housekeeper’s son should be with his mother after school instead of staying alone at home.  Beyond the relationship of the three, there is this professor’s mysterious sister-in-law who engages the housekeeping service on behalf of the professor.  She lives nearby but seldom appears in his life.  And there is the agency that the housekeeper works in.  For those who are familiar to Japanese movies or drama series, how this story develops and ends should come as no surprise.  It is an emotional read.  And the ending is poetic.  I love almost every bit of the book except baseball.  Baseball is a sport full of statistics, so it seems.  Hence it blends well with the book.  I am not a fan of baseball.  However, having said that, Ogawa has done a good job in presenting the sport to me in a bearable manner.

How much does memory play a part in our relationship with others?  In the book where all the families are broken, do we have this fundamental desire to be part of a family?  I suppose there is a time when memory permanently breaks a relationship and there is a time when memory sustains and grows a relationship.  In the absence of long term memory, relationship appears to be perpetually in an exploration stage.  Is it at all meaningful and fulfilling?  Does it even lead to happiness?  The book seems to suggest so.  Should we then stop holding onto the unpleasant memories in the past (like the mysterious relationship between the professor and his sister-in-law) and focus on building relationships for the present, which may or may not be relevant in the future?  The book seems to suggest so.

For those who still remember what Euler’s equation means, here is an excerpt as the housekeeper researches based on the professor’s note: eÏ€i + 1 = 0.

To begin with, what was “natural” about this “natural logarithm”?  Wasn’t it utterly unnatural to take such a number as your base – a number that could only be expressed by a sign: this tiny e seemed to extend to infinity, falling off even the largest sheet of paper.  I could not begin to understand this never-ending number.  It seemed as chaotic and random as a line of marching ants or a baby’s alphabet blocks, and yet it obeyed its own inner sort of logic.  Perhaps there was no fathoming God’s notebooks after all.  In the entire universe there were only a handful of especially gifted human beings able to understand a tiny part of this order, and then there were the rest of us, who could barely appreciate their discoveries.

How does such a formula stop an argument between the professor and his sister-in-law, the housekeeper and his son, Root?  Is it as simple as the professor’s pure way to express his love to children using something as unchangeable and true as the Euler’s formula?  And why do all the characters in this book have no name?  The more I think about the story, the more unanswered questions I have.

Categories
Diary Silly Me

Hard Disk On Fire!

PS. Thanks for your messages through Facebook, SMS, IM, and even phone calls.  Miraculously, my computer is still alive and kicking.  I will try to address all your questions at one go.  This post also serves as a community reminder that a computer is an electronic appliance that if left unattended can be a fire hazard.

Today I work from home.  In fact, the doctor asked me to rest for two days.  But since the supposed drowsy medicine has yet to knock me off my feet and since workload is manageable, why not respond to work related queries while recovering from my flu?

This morning, the air conditioning was off.  Because the weather was (and still is) nice and cool.  And if this global cooling is to continue, I fully embrace the change with open arms.  This morning, while working with my desktop, I detected some burning smell.  Our condominium is currently under another round of renovation so I thought the smell came from outside.  Soon, I saw smoke rising from between my legs!  White dense smoke.  I thought to myself, “Woah, this is no good!”  I bent down like Beckham, relying on my then semi-defunct olfactory capability (due to semi-blocked nose) to sniff out where the problem lied.  It is a jungle down there.  I have so many wires and transformers and since my computer was still working, it did not occur to me that my computer was on fire.

But it was.

Besides the fancy blue neon light emitting from the fans of my computer, through the transparent panel, I saw a burning flame!  Like a tea-light you see on the table when you take out your partner for a romantic dinner, except, the flame was upside down.  It was surreal.  Something was burning inside my computer but it was still working.  Like a beast that suddenly sensed real danger, my heartbeat went up.  The first thing I did was to properly shutdown my computer.  And then I thought, “This is taking too long!”  I switched off the main power (in retrospect, that should have been the first thing I did but hey, aren’t we all programmed to shutdown the computer properly since the good old days of Windows 95?), tried my best to take out the screws of the casing in record time, and when I came face to face with the naked flame, I give it a huge blow.  Fortunately it went off on first attempt.  When I took out the hard disk – with my oven glove – I saw a charred body as seen in the photo above.  Bones would have loved to see it.  You can’t quite see clearly in this picture.  Half of the disk was burned.  Miraculously, the rest of my computer seems to be working fine.  I have my data resided in a Network Attached Server (like a home file server) as well as a hot backup external hard disk, so I was not that concerned about the loss of data.  However, the thought of a computer catching fire is scary.

I am not sure how many of you have this habit of leaving your computer on, unattended.  I certain do.  But I don’t think I will any more.

*     *     *     *     *

Here are the answers to some of the frequently asked questions.

Has this happened to you before?

Not exactly.  But one time, I saw sparks coming from the computer’s transformer, smelt the smoke.  The power was tripped and there was no fire.

Do you have a surge protected power extension?

Yes I do.

Was there lightning?

The sky was bright.  Only after the fire incident, raindrops started falling from the sky moaning over the death of my hard disk.

Were you gaming?

Oh please.  I was working from home, nursing my mild flu!

Have you called an electrician to check the power usage?

I took one of my friends’ suggestion and called for our in-house “electrician” or rather our condo’s handy man.  Mind you, he was the one who dug his entire arm into one of our drainage pipes and fished out debris when the pipe was blocked.  A very hands-on man, I must say.  He did some very basic inspection and concluded that since the power was not tripped, the fire incident is an isolated problem.

How many hard disks have you stacked together?

Three in total.  In retrospect, I could have spread the disks further apart.  It is one lesson learned.

How was the airflow inside your computer?

6 fans are still in working condition, including the blue neon light coming from the fans.

What brand is the hard disk?

Western Digital.  Not sure if it has to do with the brand.  If so, I am in deep yogurt because all my hard disks are made by WD.

What have you learned from this incident?

Technology hates me.  Time and time again.

Categories
Diary Travel Blog

Bandung Chronicle – Part 2 of 6

And the chronicle continues, with 500 words per piece.

… felt when he regained his sight.

In Bandung, we seldom go out.  You will see why.  We – or at least I – sleep, eat, shower twice a day, nap, and read books.  I have brought along seven books, six of which I borrowed from the library, one I could not resist buying when we were inside the Singapore airport.  I was unsure if I could finish them during my one week long visit.  But it was cake.  Because minus the time to sleep, eat, and etc., there is a lot of time left for reading.  And a lot of time to tender, love, and care for others as well.

The one thing I miss the most from this voluntary Internet blackout is my online gaming.  During the first few days in Bandung, I dreamed about the game so vividly that I thought I was a werewolf.  In the middle of the week, I dreamed of a brand new World of Warcraft expansion.  In this new workplace, everyone lives inside a hotel.  And inside the hotel, we have terminals to play Warcraft . At work, we also have extra terminals to play Warcraft.  In this new expansion, not only did we have free flying mounts, but also more than ten character slots per realm.  I would vote that as the best dream of year 2010, in the category of PG.

4. Public Transport

To commute in Bandung, we take the minibus. Mom – who is in fact Cynthia’s mother but in Chinese, we neither call our seniors or peers by names nor causally use the term ”˜in-laws’ and hence, in my narration, I shall call Cynthia’s mother the same way as I would address her in real life, ”˜mom’ – prefers to take public transport.  Taxi costs little in Bandung, from a Singapore living standard point of view.  But I respect her normalcy in life, happy to experience what a local experiences.

Minibuses are tiny, and old.  The doors are perpetually open, and passengers hopping in and out of the minibuses anywhere they prefer.  Minibuses are color coded, and the locals know where they go.  The locals are kind hearted people.  One time I was so eager to lead the pack and leave the minibus when some gasped and warned me of the constant stream of incoming motorcyclists zooming past our vehicle’s exit with nanometer proximity.  In Bandung, to cross the road, people use human bodies to stop the traffic.  I suppose there is an art to it, not just anyhow feed the body to the incoming vehicles.

5. Dust

Dust, so much dust stirs up on the streets.  Even with millions of human lungs (and lungs of cats and birds) filtering the air day in day out, there is still so much dust on the streets.  If I was the mayor of Bandung, the first thing I would do is to gather up the entire unproductive workforce, throw in a team of passionate citizens, …

Categories
Action & Thriller Foreign Movie Reviews

A Better Tomorrow – Emotional, And Gripping!

TK, our partner-in-crime in Movie Review Squad texted Cynthia when we were waiting to board our plane, on New Year’s day, back to Singapore.  I was still on a Zen mode, cut off from any Internet access for more than a week.  And so, after numerous text exchanges between TK and Cynthia discussing the logistics of our first movie outing of 2011, I could not contain my bursting desire and said to Cynthia, “Just ask TK to book anything, and we will be there”.  When I learned that TK has booked us a Korean movie, I was very excited.  I pictured a typical Korean drama, with lots and lots of pretty Korean actresses.  Ah, I was so hyped up for some solid visual simulation that when TK met us in Orchard, when he texted us that he was really excited about our first outing of the year, I wanted to reply, “You have no idea”.  I didn’t, because I was driving.

“A Better Tomorrow” is – later as I found out – a remake of a Hong Kong classic movie of the same name.   I have not watched that classic, so I may not be as traumatized as those who are in love with the old film.  Personally, I am finding it quite unfair to compare Korean actors with Chow Yun Fat and Leslie Cheung whom some of us are so familiar with.  Looking at the quality of acting in this Korean remake, I was touched.  The emotion is convincing and one of the gangsters (the Chow Yun Fat clone) does look cool enough to get Cynthia all excited.  No wonder she loves this Korean remake more than the two of us for there are no actresses in this movie, at all.  Zero.

I see where the “problem” is.  Korean men (at least those on screen) are usually, how shall I say, so “pretty”.  Or handsome in a feminine way.  It does look strange to see two men crying to each other trying very hard to defy the urge to say, “I forgive you”, or “Let’s forget the past”.  And they have to act persistently stubborn over the duration of the film with one says, “You are not my brother, I do not want to see you anymore”, and another says, “You are the only brother I have, and let’s not get separated again.”  Mind you, this is a Korean film, with subtitles.  Hence I am not sure how much is lost in translation.  Maybe the original lines are not so cheesy.  By and large, I am drawn into the emotion of the acting.  I like most of the actors, except perhaps the little brother who appears to overact.  But hey, looking at the plot, I suppose  he has the reason to hold his grudges, for all these years.  So, what is the plot like?

Here is a highlight, no spoiler of course.  It is shown right in the beginning of the show.  A pair of brothers together with their mother tried to make an escape from North Korea into South Korea.  Somehow (I think), during the chase by the guards, the little brother fell down and the elder brother scared of being discovered, deserted his little brother and his mother.  The two got caught and the mother was executed.  Since then, the two brothers have been separated, until later in the story, when one becomes a criminal and another, a cop.

There is a good sense of heroism in the movie.  The drama bit made some of the audiences cried.  The gunfight bit was exciting to watch (except perhaps for those who know the ending, since this is a remake).  If I was the scriptwriter, I would replace the little brother with a childhood sweetheart of the elder brother.  And I would make the first desertion perceived as one, but it is not.  Now, that would make a more heart wrenching movie, true to Korean standard.

Categories
Book Reviews Fiction

Luka And The Fire Of Life By Salman Rushdie – Now, This Is Fantasy!

OK.  Let’s kick start the new year with a writeup on Salman Rushdie’s latest novel.  One of the seven books I have read when I was on holiday.

Born in the video gaming era, Salman Rushdie’s new novel “Luka and the Fire of Life” talks to me.  As the main character Luka transverses through the World of Magic, on a quest to save his storytelling father (the Shah of Blah) who has fallen into a deep sleep, Luka needs to face magical creatures not too far off from those found in the World of Warcraft, and gods and titans that remind me of the game God of War.  Even down to the details of leveling and ”˜ding’ (commonly known among the gamers as getting to the next level), save points, number of lives, and the concept of game-over (or in the book, it is termed as ”˜permination’ – Permanent Termination).

On the surface, “Luka and the Fire of Life” draws from the same source of inspiration similar to many of the video game titles today – fantasy.  Where does fantasy come from?  Legend, tradition, mythology, religion, and science – Rushdie’s new novel has done a marvelous job in meshing up a vast repertoire of fantasy from all over the world and presents them in a concise manner.  A 216-page novel, as compares to the last Rushdie novel I have read, is indeed concise.  This book is an easy and entertaining read.  How the story develops reminds me of the sci-fi writer Piers Anthony’s Mode series.  In that series, a little girl is able to step into an alternative reality and has to take on endless quests in order to complete a certain goal.  In “Luka and the Fire of Life”, a ten year old boy together with a dog named bear and a bear named dog step into the World of Magic.  From there, Luke gathers new fiends, faces new enemies, and together, they have to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles in order to attain an impossible goal – to steal the Fire of Life.

In a deeper examination, the author subtly slips in an at times humorous and at times inspirational message where possible.  Why “Big Bang” when there is no medium bang or an even bigger bang?  Do we live in a fated world whereby our future has already been written?  Or we are truly free to write our history?  What if there is no heaven?  And death merely means meeting one’s counterparty – like particles and anti-particles – and when the two meet, in contrast to be as in coming into being, the person simply un-be and vanish?

For those who enjoy reading fantasy stories, folklores, and mythologies, “Luka and the Fire of Life” guarantees to leave you breathless.  There are dragons and flying carpet, beauty contest amongst the goddesses such as Venus and Aphrodite, the Egyptian sun god – Ra – who speaks in Hieroglyph (it is hilarious!), there are heroes and villains too long to be listed, and there are memorable locations such as the Lake of Wisdom, the River of Time, the Mountain of Knowledge, and the Inescapable Whirlpool and above it, El Tiempo (like El Niño).

From the writing style point of view, this book is lively and modern.  The author has even created terms such as P2C2E (Processes Too Complicated To Explain) and made subtle reference to modern technology (“We [the magical creatures] aren’t needed anymore … with your High Definitions and low expectations”).  There are songs and poems.  And there is a character that partly speaks in Spanish.  I have observed a degree of dualism in the book to link real life characters (within the book of course) and the corresponding characters in the magical world.  I have also observed that when possible, the author augments a commonly associated concept to its opposite pole in order to keep ideas fresh (such as fire of life instead of fountain of life).  From the narration point of view, Salman Rushdie is without a doubt a master storyteller.  He draws you close into Luka and his companions.  Each character is distinct and they are intelligent.  The environment is magical.  Above all, Salman Rushdie has done something probably few have done – a good fantasy story does not have to be lengthy.  And it can be modern too.