The Great Gastby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I can't really believe that I could finish this book so soon.

At first, I thought it was going to be another book featuring an outsider that is drawn to rich people, somehow gets himself attached with the elite friends and is finally preoccupied with the riches. 

Don't get me wrong, it's really an amazing book. I like the narrative, the settings, and the characters very much. Well played out. The story line is complex but well-connected.

Before I proceeded to read this book, I had already known this was going to be a very tough book. This is what deters me from reading "heavy books" like the Catcher in The Rye, Catch-22, and On The Road in the first place. Such books would always demand you to have certain experience in your life as they are the type of books that requires you to fill in the "gap". 

There are certain parts in the book in which you are required to fill in the blanks. The narrator, Nick Carraway, purposely leaves certain details out so that you wouldn't know what is going on. You get the idea.

In the beginning, I thought Dr. T. J. Eckleburg is a person who always stands beside the road!! It turned out later that in fact, it is a giant advertisement showing a pair of eyes of an oculist. I was so naive to think about that! This shows how the narrative can be quite misleading at times.

One thing I do know is that Jay Gatsby, one of the main characters, is fond of Daisy because he is preoccupied with wealth and as Daisy comes from a rich family, he views Daisy as a symbol of the rich, and if he manages to attain her, he can finally elevate his status as part of the riches as a success of finally entering the rich club.

Meanwhile, Nick, in some of his lapses, at some points may be interested with Gatsby as he is the epitome of coolness. Gatsby likes to throw parties and he is always seen around the elite group of friends. How Nick manages to find out all about this is because Nick lives next-door to Gatsby's mansion. However, the reason why Gatsby throws such lavish parties is not because he wants to show off his wealth, he has another reason which is revealed in the book.

Some part of the books can be quite surreal: Gatsby's preoccupation with the green light from another shore and Dr. T. J. Eckleburg's eyes for example. As I have mentioned above, it is a book that requires you to fill in the gaps as in interpret the meanings itself using your own experiences.

I managed to finish this book in below 3 days. What a feat?!! It was a fast read. Totally unexpected. Over all, it is a fantastic book. Totally recommended.

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Yay!! Finally I can claim that I have read a Haruki Murakami's book!

Many years ago, I bought the Wind-Up Bird Chronicles and I planned to read it as then I had sudden urges to read it. However, as soon as I had them, they quickly faded away, leaving me abandoning the book without even glancing the book on its first page. Haha, finally I can redeem myself, albeit in another book.

Norwegian Wood, which is named after the Beatles' song of the same  title, is really a one hell of a well-spun tale. It is full to the brim of references to jazz music, other literary books (such as the Great Gatsby (which I'm reading now)), and films. Such tactics really make the book more atmospheric at times. It really works on me.

Just a gist: It is yet another coming-of-age tale of a young man, Toru Watanabe who studies in a University meeting a girl, Naoko, of about his age too who happens to be the girlfriend of one of his best friend, and falling in love with her. Then, something happens and leads the girl into depression. As Naoko voluntarily admits herself to a loose rehabilitation facility, Toru also happens to meet yet another girl, Midori, who attends the same course as he is and who also developed certain feelings towards him.

The story is quite complicated than what is briefly explained above. Generally, I did find this book depressing at times. It is a very sad story. I could feel the sadness, the loneliness experienced by the protagonist. Sometimes, the sadness could linger after I put the book away for a break. If this happened, I had to listen to some sad songs to make the sadness bearable. That is how effective Murakami's writings are I tell you!! It was a heartbreaking story. Despite of all this, the story does retain certain hope. As such, don't feel despair yet!

When I was reading the book, other books (which are not referenced in the book) did creep up on my mind. One of them is the Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of The Wind. It could be that in one of the chapters, it involves the main characters, Watanabe taking a tram to a location. Well, the descriptions of the streets and of going somewhere decrepit and isolated do bring the atmospheric narratives of the Shadow of The Wind to my mind.

Besides, Norwegian Wood does make me think of other books particularly Paul Auster's  books. Although I have yet to read Paul Auster's books, I have to say the story writings in this book does resemble that of Paul Auster's.  This is because the story in this book does in some ways resemble a story-within-a-story kind of book. As such, it does also bring to my mind another similar book that I have read i.e. the Amnesiac by Sam Taylor which I like a lot.

Another thing is that Reiko, Naoko's roommate in the rehabilitation facility does resemble the lost girl in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo's book by Steig Larsson. If you read both of these books, you would understand what I mean :P

For some strangest reasons too, the author, Haruki, somehow had to include cats into the story! It makes the story more endearing yet surreal. I love cats too and I have to say cats do relate to loneliness as I have to admit sometimes that cats and loneliness go hand-in-hand! Lol..

In order to enjoy the book more, you may feel free to keep the book company with some mellow songs such as Beatles' ones like Norwegian Wood (of course..), Hey Jude, Bill Evans' piano renditions and Bach Fugue, to mention a few. Further listening: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2B08601D52EB975E

I also have to say that Jay Rubin has done a good job translating the book originally from Japanese. It is fluid and in my feelings, retains some of the real emotions that transpire in the original Japanese book.

Well, this sums up my review. If you happen to be reading this book or about to start this book, I wish that you enjoy this book to its fullest ;)

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Just a gist: A man comes back home from work to find his wife missing..

Although the story sounds so simple, it is actually one hell of a convoluted tale! Don't let the title and the cover design of the book fool you.. Consider this a warning!!

Yup, it's true that the story involves unreliable characters.. Yes, you  heard it right.. More than one unreliable characters. In fact, the male and female protagonists, the husband and wife, i.e. Nick and Amy are the most attention-seeking, stubborn, and emotionally taxing characters I've ever read! They demand that they be read all the time!!

While reading this book, the narratives do remind me of another book i.e. One Day by David Nicholls due to the switching point-of-views between Nick and Amy. Apart from this, Nick's narrative does feel to me like a coming-of-age tale of a husband. Over all, if you ask me whether I'm Team Amy or Team Nick, I would choose Team Nick anytime! 'Cos Nick's narrative is more relatable to me.

Besides that, there is one part of the book that reminds me of a post-apocalyptic book i.e the Passage by Justin Cronin. At one point of the story, Nick and a couple of volunteers ('cos it happens in a small town) are required to venture into an abandoned shopping mall to find his missing wife. The sightings of some deserters living in the dark within the mall do invoke certain tone that resembles the Passage, in my opinion.

I like the second part more as we, the readers are usually kept in the dark in the first part to keep the suspense going as well as to let us understand the characters more. Over all, it is a great book! Totally recommended!

Red Hand by We Walk Off The Earth

I really like this song sung by We Walk Off The Earth.. I fall in love with this song upon the first listen.. It's about false accusations.. Here's their video:

Enjoy!!!