Review: The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joël Dicker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I recently picked up this book again after stopping it in the past.

I managed to finish the book in a few days (yippee!). Anyway, after reading the front part of the book for a second time, the book seems more interesting than when I read it before.

Overall, the book manages to captivate me as I try to find out what happened to Nola, the fifteen year old girl who went missing and is eventually found dead. That was basically the sole source of motivation for me as I read through all 600+ pages of the book.

The writing style of the book is simple enough, but I did feel that some parts were draggy and could have been cut short. 600+ pages did seem a little long.

Ultimately, when the mystery was finally revealed, it didn't seem as 'wow' as I thought it would be. I'm not sure, maybe it was because I thought Harry would turn out to be more of a dangerous character than I thought he would be.

The little short snippets about past conversations between Harry and Marcus at the beginning of each chapter were really good though. I guess they were good because they were kept short, again emphasising my point about how some parts of the book were long-winded, especially the front (explaining why I gave up on the book the first time I tried reading it).

Overall, it's an interesting enough read if you managed to get past the first 5 chapters of long-windedness. Lots of red herrings thrown which would definitely make you want to read til the end to solve the mystery.

View all my reviews

Book Review: Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Book Preview:
On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born, the third child of a wealthy English banker and his wife. Sadly, she dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual.
For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in any number of ways. Clearly history (and Kate Atkinson) have plans for her: In Ursula rests nothing less than the fate of civilization.

Since this was the first book which I have finished in a long time (maybe a year?), I decided to do a review of it. This is basically an edited, and more detailed (hence more spoilers), review of the one I did on Goodreads.

The book talks about this girl Ursula who manages to keep coming back to life. The book summary makes it rather misleading by sounding as if Ursula is fully aware of her unique abilities, but this only happens very late into the book. And only at times I think. Initially, I thought that this part was disappointing because I was really excited to see how Ursula would get into action and blow Hitler off his head. However, this wasn't exactly what happened. Rather, very little was described about her little secret mission. Only the part where Ursula shoots Hitler is described in detail. It actually happens in the first chapter. I was slightly disappointed, but after finishing the book, reading some online reviews, reflecting on it, I realised that Atkinson probably did this with reason.

She wanted to focus on how sometimes, we cannot control how life plays out. How can we know one action is 'right' or 'wrong'? Take how, when WW2 still happens, but Teddy manages to come back alive. At the same time, Nancy is alive. It seems impossible, as Ursula's previous lives have shown. But I guess this particular scenario shows how not everything is confirmed, or predicated. As how Ursula used to believe. Rather, life is also based on chance, luck and coincidence. It seems to show that there's something that's bigger than us out there; that we cannot completely control how everything goes. But at the same time, it also shows how there is always hope. Just like how Teddy didn't die. It's all about chance. There was a 10% chance of Teddy surviving, and Ursula has managed to land herself in a life where Teddy is part of the 10% that survives. I guess it's somewhat similar to the theory about parallel worlds and lives, in which out there, there is going to be a Teddy that survived even with WW2.

Also, what this book did do right is to make me sympathise with Ursula, something which books seem to lack recently. In particular, the first half of the book, where she 1) got raped, 2) sexually harassed, 3) abused by her psychotic husband, was one where I literally teared when she finally died. It has been so long since I felt genuine pity for a book character. I felt as if death was a relief for her then. Reading those chapters literally got me rooting for her and hoping that she would 'get it right' the next time.

Furthermore, the first half and second half of the book focussed on different issues, I felt. The first half was focussed on the status of the women. The discussions (or even non-discussions) in the book about rape, abortion, sexual harassment and housewivery proved how there was a stereotype and stigma against women during the 1900s. Meanwhile, the second half was focussed on the effects of war, and ultimately the loss that comes with it. Deaths are very sudden (I mean it. You grow to like a character, and a few sentences later, they are dead.) Both are very vital issues which I thought was good for a book to bring up.

I also liked how it dealt with relationships. The relationship between Ursula and Sylvie (Ursula's mother) was particularly interesting as I watched how it differed (or deterioriated??) as Ursula grew up. It was a rather surprising development because Sylvie was shown to have loved Ursula a lot when she was born, not least because Ursula nearly died during her birth. Instead, the rising indifference that Sylvie has towards Ursula and her life choices as she grew old made me wonder what was going on in Sylvie's mind. Especially given how I am pretty sure that Sylvie herself was being hypocritical with her side affair.

It might get really confusing reading the book due to its style of suddenly switching timelines. (Like, I am not always sure that Ursula has died and restarted.) Also, when jumping straight into another life of Ursula's the narrator has the tendency to also explain about past events, which made the whole reading experience rather confusing for me at times. One would also have to have great deduction abilities to know who each new character was, especially with new timelines introduced. I was very confused; I think there are at least 50 character names in the book.

Overall, I thought that the book proved to be a very interesting ride that taught about war, humanity, family and hope. Seeing how Ursula always strived to create the best possible outcome for herself, and the people around her, warmed my heart. Because, I mean, anyone could have just cared about herself and just focussed on making herself really wealthy and famous. But no, for Ursula, it was always about family and friends. Saving Bridget, saving Nancy, saving Teddy... Reading these kind of books once in a while is good for the heart haha.

On a side note, I wonder if Ursula will ever truly die. I mean, having to keep on relive your life again and again, although they might be slightly different, is going to have to suck. Especially when you are always having to relive WW1 and WW2. Even if Ursula kills Hitler, she is probably going to die in the process of that. So, she is never going to be able to enjoy life without Hitler. How does she even know for sure that the people in the world where she kills Hitler are continuing their lives? Without bearing witness to it, that life and reality cannot be confirmed. (Yeap, something I learnt in my Philosophy class about alternate realities and simulations. See the brain in a vat.)

Anyway, this book is a good read to get your brain moving. And your heart as well. With the various repetitions though, one might get bored 3/4 into the book.

Rating: 4/5

Updates

So... it's already April 2016! 

I've officially failed my target of posting at least one a month. I think I may need to try blogging on my handphone because it does seem like a much more convenient way to blog. Though, the good old-fashioned laptop/computer is still my favourite (as I am doing right now). 

Here are some major updates which I've wanted to blog about but did not have time.

1) Chiang Mai trip with USP

Look at how time flies; the project for which we went on the trip has already ended haha. The trip was really enjoyable and made me realise that Thailand might actually be a pretty interesting country to go on vacation. I shall blog more about this when I have the time. Or I might just copy and paste whatever reflections we had to submit for our graded reflections (yes, reflections are graded). 

2) HOCC

HOCC is a hall dance competition that we have in NTU. Overall, the experience was... pretty unique I would say. It was definitely the first time where I pushed myself physically for anything. I've always found pushing myself mentally much more easier than physically. Think academics > sports. Still, the experience has also left me with some disappointments and realisations about life and people, in general. Shall blog more when I feel like ranting about it.

3) Singapore Forum 2016

I was a liaison officer in the recent Singapore Forum 2016. I thought I was only signing up as an usher, with privileges to listen in on the forum. Nope, turns out it was a role as a liaison officer escorting VIPs!! I was super surprised, nervous, but also excited before taking on the role. With whatever little training we had, us volunteers (yes, we were mostly volunteers with zero experience) tried to navigate our way through the world of protocol.

Luckily, I got a pretty friendly principal (the person whom I was escorting). The 2 staffers with him were also very friendly. (I've developed a mini-crush on one of them haha). They were all Korean. 

This opportunity gave me a learning experience, to see how protocol officers work, to handle situations (and not give promises so easily), and to see how 'the world of important people' looks like. Which, actually, they look pretty much the same as us, except that there is obviously more glitz and glamour, and a lot more confidence going around the room. 

Overall, I felt the experience was really good for me! I am really grateful that I took that leap of faith then and signed up for it alone (no friend was interested in this with me)!

And, that's the low down on what went on these past 4 months. 

Right now, the final exams are coming (again!). They seem to arrive faster and faster each semester, or is it just me?? 

Anyway, I am hoping to look for a temporary job over the holidays. Hopefully, it will turn out fun! And if I am lucky, I will get to work with my friend too :)

Oh, and if anyone (by some crazy amount of coincidence and luck) who's interested is reading this, and wants JC Economics tuition, I am hoping to start giving tuition after my finals too. Preferably weekends at North-east :)

K-drama: Empress Ki, Healer

The holidays have started and I rewarded myself with some awesome dramas!

Thanks to the great recommendation by Dion, I first got introduced to Empress Ki. I have always knew about the drama (Ha Ji Won is inside, obviously I would know about it), the synopsis did not attract me enough because it seemed really similar to Dong Yi (which I have watched previously). Furthermore, 50 episodes is a really long drama.

Luckily, I pushed myself into watching it since I had nothing much to do one day. I went in without reading any spoiler and I really suggest that you do that because I got a really good surprise, which is the fact that the main character (Ki Nyang) dresses up as a male in the first 10+ episodes!!! Seriously, it's been too long since I've seen dramas with a badass girl dressing up as a guy, and people acknowledging her without caring about her gender. 

What I really liked about Empress Ki is how it espouses feminism on so many levels. From Nyang cross-dressing and attaining praise from men around her, to how she rises up within the palace amidst an environment with so many men. 

The plot of Empress Ki is also really fast-paced and holds its own pretty well, although it does get slightly sloppy in the last 10 episodes. However, the first 40 episodes are pretty amazing. In fact, I do feel like the story has lost its momentum after El Temur was killed; it was the remaining desire to see how Nyang ends up as the Empress that led me to continue watching the drama. Oh, and the last redeeming feature of the last 10 episodes is literally Tal Tal; his character is incredibly nuanced and it helps that he has the smarts like Nyang does.

To be honest, I felt like the characters of King Wang Yu and Emperor Togon were annoying throughout the whole drama (save for the last episode which was REALLY the redeeming episode for Emperor Togon; how can anyone not like him after that?). They were unexpectedly very emotional, which I guess could be argued to show how there are no stereotypes (i.e. women are supposed to be more emotional than men). They were even more emotional than Nyang, which led them to made some really weird choices. Frankly, this made me as a viewer quite irritated.

And honestly, I never really liked both of them (I skipped alot of Wang Yu's parts lol). But I guess Emperor Togon was less annoying of the both. I especially liked his interaction with Nyang when he hired her as the palace maid and constantly teased her. And like I said previously, the last few episodes really redeemed him as a character, which showed how he could have been a pretty awesome ruler if not for the various villains and people in his way.

Empress Ki is definitely a good historical drama to add to my collection. However, its 50 episodes is definitely a little off-putting. Anyway, people who like Empress Ki should also watch Hwang Jini (with Ha Ji Won again) and The Princess Man; they all have pretty solid female characters :)

The next drama I will talk about is Healer. I mainly watched it because of a mild interest in Ji Chang Wook who acted in Empress Ki, and because I thought "action drama, why not?". I was definitely afraid that it would turn out to be like City Hunter which I got slightly bored of after watching 8 episodes. However, it turned out to be similar but different; in other words, I think that Healer is a better version of City Hunter (at least for the first 8 episodes since I did not watch the later episodes of City Hunter). 

I was initially reluctant to watch this drama because I was not really a fan of Park Min Yeong. However, this drama gave me a better impression of her. I felt she became more mature and acted better in this drama. Also, she gave off a more natural feeling and look. Was it the lack of make-up/ little make-up? Either way, I felt she looked better in this drama and became more in love with her as a character as the drama went on.

Firstly, this drama is really smart. The technology inside (the glasses anyone?), the information gathering techniques and the martial arts is just amazing. This drama makes Healer feel really high-tech without being overtly showy (since Healer is supposed to be unknown by the general public right??), giving it a very realistic feel. And everyone in this drama is really smart, or has at least a certain level of common sense (yes, even the main female character Sin Yeong), making this a really fun drama to watch as you see characters trying to figure each other out. 

Secondly, this drama is very realistic. Okay, what I mean is that we do not get characters doing things which would probably seem very stupid in real life, simply for the sake of developing plotlines. For example, there was this scene where Sin Yeong knows that Healer is going off to fight, she asks him if there is going to be fighting. And when he replies yes, she immediately gets off the car and leaves Healer to do his own badass fighting, without being a burden to him. I was really scared that she would be like normal female characters who say 'okay, I'll go with you and help.' When that usually happens, I think in my mind, "Exactly what can you help him with???" Although it could be because of her trauma towards violence, dramas always make a mistake with this kind of situation and I am really glad that they didn't do that here.

Thirdly, the chemistry between the two main characters is really amazing!! Episode 15 onwards will show how. Furthermore, I like how the love between these 2 characters do not get weakened simply due to misunderstandings - a plotline that dramas use too often. Rather, there is implicit trust between them, which makes it a very enjoyable love line to watch.

Fourth, every, and I mean every, character in this show is interesting to watch. Although there certainly are minor characters, these characters do not get simplified into one-dimensional ones. They each have their own motivations and you can certainly feel what's driving each of them; and let me tell you, their motivations are all very rational, a very delightful change from dramas with characters who just do bad simply for the sake of being bad - like, why would anyone in the right mind do that? Supporting casts are also developed very nicely, that little recap for Healer's teacher in Episode 15 was pure gold. I liked how the drama focused on different relationships, rather than simply the romantic ones.

Lastly, the soundtrack is amazing. They even got this Danish band Michael Learns To Rock to write an OST called Eternal Love. Like WOW. The sound effects are also really fitting for this drama - all the camera-zooming sounds really made this drama feel all that much like an action drama.

Okay, enough of my praise for this amazing drama. But seriously, its plot is amazing, even for the last episode (which usually ends up being a filler episode, but this does not happen in Healer). Although, I would have liked more of a complete ending which tied up all the loose ends. But then again, I guess the remaining loose ends is also part of what makes the ending episode a good one - it leaves you wanting more. 

Oh, and Healer made me start liking Ji Chang Wook, a much needed save after my dislike of his character in Empress Ki. He was just totally cool in this drama - smart, good-looking, knows how to fight.

And that's all for my drama praise! I am really lucky to have picked dramas which I end up liking; I would have hated it if I ended up feeling I wasted my time watching it. 

I shall now go on a search for another awesome drama before my term break ends hee.