All thanks to Marvin, i got my hands on the latest Stephenie Meyer book. It's an Eclipse novella following the hit Twilight series and chronicles the life of Bree Tanner, a newborn vampire created by Victoria. It's different from the rest of the twilight series as it tells the story in the perspective of Bree instead of Bella and once again Meyer proves to be an enchanting storyteller and i couldn't bear to put the book down till i finished it. Honestly I'm not exactly that impressed with the twilight story since vampire stories aren't that novel and Meyer isn't that outstanding an author, but somehow the romance between Bella and Edward just draws me in. The first time i read Twilight i loved it and subsequently i followed the entire series even though the longer the story drags out the more lame the story seems. In fact, i stupidly went to watch New Moon and fell asleep in the cinema. lol. Meyer's literary magic worked this time and though short, i was totally addicted to the novella and it proved to be a refreshing read revolving around newborn vampires and their wild lifestyle as opposed to the disciplined coven of the Cullens.
It's a typical chick lit book-- girl falls out of love and has a job crisis, girl meets a new guy and goes through change in life, girl finally realises she loves the guy and guy loves her, happily ever after. It's a generally feel good book that motivates girls to get out of their rut and be brave in the face of challenges, but one important thing i learned is that in love, and all aspects of life, perspective is everything. Sometimes humans are too narrow-minded; we prefer to stick to our comfort zone of what we know and fear to challenge ourselves to explore other viewpoints because we're so afraid of failure or being different. To me, being different isn't being odd; being different is being special=)
After Dark is a novel by Haruki Murakami, a pretty renowned writer, that takes place after dark(like duh) in Tokyo. The main protagonist is Mari, a girl who spends nights reading at cheap diners, refusing to go home where her older sister Eri lay in deep slumber for 2 months without waking. As the plot goes on, more characters are introduced- Takahashi a friend of Mari and Eri, Shirakawa a white-collar worker with a darker side, a Chinese prostitute, the mistress and her girls from a love hotel. The different characters cross paths in the story in minute or random ways that leads us to muse about the inter-connectivity of life and the author tries to reflect the dark side of mankind. Instead of telling the story through the perspective of Mari or any other character, the author tells the story in a prose-like manner using 'we' as if we're the spy cameras observing the characters. While it is refreshing, I didn't really enjoy the book as the plot is dislocated at times and confusing at others. The author uses too much figurative symbolism that is perhaps too deep for my understanding and as the story progresses only creates more questions than answers and ultimately leaves me unsatisfied. The story is ambiguous to the extent that im left disengaged and even bored at times.