A peculiar journey...Every Day (a review)

by Love Esios

Every Day's book cover grabbed from Google Images.

soul (n.)

- the spiritual part of a person that is believed to give life to the body and in many religions is believed to live forever 

If I'm going to define the word in a religious perspective, this definition given by Merriam-Webster dictionary may be the closest possible explanation I can think of when talking about souls. In the Catholic faith the soul is believed to be something that is bigger than yourself, though it is not something that is separate from yourself either. It is something that is part of you but is not entirely just you, because this is something that continues to live long after the body has already died. I haven't given much thought about souls. All I know is that the soul is a part of me, a very important aspect of my spirituality. My soul has been with me ever since I was born and it will depart from me when I die.

But what if we don't really have our own soul? What if a soul is just some kind of an invisible traveler that travels from one place to another? Well, in this book's case, the soul actually shifts from one body to another.

I can't really say my own understanding of what a soul is but it has changed after reading David Levithan's Every Day. I had a glimpse of its plot in my colleague's blog and just like how I fell in love with the other novels I have read in the past, I felt this unyielding curiosity to read it. A 16-year-old, gender-less and endlessly wandering soul (A -- yeah the name of this soul is just A) that inhabits different bodies every day of its life and eventually fell truly, madly, deeply in love with a girl (Rhiannon). Tell me, how can I resist a plot as intriguing and controversial (I think) as this? I thought the movie Her was the weirdest love story I've ever watched and heard. This book practically kicked it out and replaced it on top of my "ODD STORIES" list. I think I was particularly drawn to the soul's peculiar journey wherein he eventually finds the place where he belongs --- to the heart of the one and only girl he (or maybe it) truly loves.

How David Levithan presented the social issues in this book fascinates and at the same time intrigues me. Reading this book was like sailing in the calm seas --- very smooth and very easy. The way he explored each social issue, especially religion, depression and homosexuality, was very simple yet intense and fearless. These are the things that most teenagers are dealing nowadays. I must admit though, that some ideas were presented in a more blatant way (for me), especially the topics of religion and homosexuality.

The way he tells A and Rhiannon 's love story is so easy yet so complicated. It was compelling but at the same time disturbing. I remember this line from Ed Sheeran's song Thinking Out Loud,

"And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways

Maybe it's all part of a plan..."

It was a strange way to fall in love. But in some ways, it also feels right. The only thing lacking about A is a physical body... but the rest -- the character, the emotions, the imperfections that make a person "human"... they're all there. It may look like a case of unconditional love at first, but when you look closely, it was unrequited love. In the book, Rhiannon would often reply A's "I love you" with another "I love you", but I didn't actually feel the words were heartfelt -- a stark contrast as to how A would normally say those words which always sincere and true. Perhaps in Rhiannon's point of view, it was a a set-up that were both difficult and hard to believe. Perhaps, she was just overwhelmed with A's engulfing love.

Maybe in a parallel universe, things like this happen. Maybe things like this is just normal. Things like the story of A and Rhiannon. It is an odd but beautiful masterpiece from Levithan. Something that is worth thinking about. So I guess it's just right to give it 9 cups of latte out of 10. ^^

Note:

If you wanna check out my colleague's own take on the novel, visit this site: 

Everybody's Every day 

http://theybascouniversity.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/everybodys-every-day/

Great blog! ^^

A WORLD WHERE CHOOSING IS MIGHT. A review about the book Divergent.

By Love Esios

Oh yeah, I just can't get enough of dystopian novels. Right after I finished the highly-recommended The Hunger Games, I started reading another young adult novel. And yes, it's the first book from Veronica Roth's first ever series, Divergent.

Photo from http://www.beyondhollywood.com

The story shows a dystopian Chicago whose society is divided into five factions: Abnegation (the selfless), Candor (the honest), Amity (the peaceful), Erudite (the intelligent), and Dauntless (the brave). Teenagers living in this society should choose which faction they want to belong with by the time they reach the age of sixteen, and that's the dilemma Beatrice Prior, the main protagonist, has to face.

I like the concept of the novel. The idea of dividing the people into faction and forcing the teenagers to make their own decisions have caught my attention. Teens are free to choose whatever faction they like to belong to but their choices are very limited. I think Ms. Roth has clearly established the division among people; which is highly ironic if their main reason for creating factions is to maintain peace and harmony among the people.

I am not really knowledgeable in the technicalities of writing a novel but I feel that there were some scenes in this book that were not properly established. It's like it came out of the blue. As the story progressed, it just focused on the training Beatrice has to complete as a member of her chosen faction but apart from that, the highlight of the story which her being Divergent was not really explained clearly. I have expected intense fighting, more conflicts but then the author dwelled more on conversations and emotions rather than action-pack scenes.

Anyway, despite this, I still love some lines like what Four said to Beatrice in one scene: "But becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how you control your fear, and how to be free from it, that's the point."

Dystopian lovers, I will just give 6 cups of latte out of 10 for this book but this is still an entertaining book to read. As a matter of fact, I have also read the second book, Insurgent and I'm preparing to read the third and last book Allegiant. So go ahead and release the Divergent in you!

Meet The Great Gatsby by: Uel Ceballos

I was amazed to meet Gatsby here – I mean the way F. Scott Fitzgerald presented him in the book; Jay Gatsby was quite intriguing. He was the sort of a mysterious man with deep sense of attachment to his past, driven passionately by his loyal love to Daisy Buchanan, and firmly determined to get things according to his plans.

The Great Gatsby was one of the greatest classic novels that you would treasure for a lifetime. This was not your kind of inspirational book, of which you could count on to uplift your spirit and develop your morality, but this was the type of novel that would serve as your window to human’s weaknesses and would leave you significant thoughts to ponder about.

photo courtesy of wikipedia

Jay Gatsby was an emotionally bothered individual -- toughened by difficult experiences in life, he lived with full dedication to fulfill his dreams and revive the relationship that he and Daisy had five years ago. And Daisy, oh Daisy was such a sweet siren who got me confused if she was really the fragile type or the wise one who played around with the irresistible effect she had with anyone. But one thing for sure, Daisy was the one who value status and money more than anything else otherwise Jay Gatsby wouldn’t strive really hard to level his self to the gaudy, fancy life that Daisy loved.

Looking at the story through the point of view of Nick Carraway also gave me the impression of seeing Nick as F. Scott himself. Nick was the cousin of Daisy here who happened to become Gatsby’s closest friend. You would be looking to the entire story through Nick’s spectacles, who shared the reader a shallow depiction of his self saved for the opinions and feelings he had towards the whole Gatsby-Daisy thing.

F. Scott Fitzgerald had given us a story that would leave us empathizing due to its ill-fated ending – nor affirming or refuting its possible existence. I, myself, was left drifting on thoughts of believing and denying. Denying to the sense that I don’t want such thing to happen in my case; believing because this was apparently the sort of reality and not just one of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s surreal ideas.

I wouldn’t mind reading this novel for several times. The author had written here substantial phrases that I wouldn’t mind re-reading and re-digesting on my mind. For this wonderful literary piece I will give it a rate of 8 cups of latte. 

Hope you guys can find time to read this one. The novel was followed by several film adaptations bearing the same title The Great Gatsby, the most recent was this 2013 film starred by Leonardo Di Caprio and Tobey Maguire. 

OF BRIDGES AND LOVE. A closer look at The Bridges of Madison County (novel). By Love Esios

Before Nicholas Sparks made his way onto being a best-seller author of romantic novels, there was this classic book that I will never ever replace on top of my romance/fiction list. Published a few years after another classic Love In The Time of Cholera, Robert James Waller's narration of a true-to-life love story The Bridges of Madison County captured something in my heart. Set in the 1960's, it is a story about an affair between Robert Kincaid and Francesca Johnson that started on

Cover of the book pulled from wikipedia.org

e humid afternoon in the gravel roads of Madison County, Iowa.

Okay, I know that an affair is quite a sensitive topic for some of you, but the intention of Waller when he wrote this love story is clear: whatever the circumstances are, love has a way of finding you in the most unfamiliar places and with the most unlikely person. The two main characters in the novel truly found love not in a hopeless place, but in the most hopeless of all situations. Robert considers himself as a nomad, a born artist, a person with a unique perspective of the world. Francesca seems to be content on how steady her life is; a marriage to a man who was kind to her and who gave her two kids. But she didn't realize how much she was missing until she met him. I see these two characters as lost souls, wandering around, accepting what life offers them, not wanting for more... until they found each other, like they have found their safe haven.

Waller is truly a gifted storyteller. He has a way with words, carefully laying out every detail until all the pieces have fallen into its place. The way he narrated it was kind of intimate for me, like he's telling me the story in person. There were some parts in the story that had slow pacing, though. Other parts like the love scene were narrated in a not so intimate way, not really focusing on the details but rather capturing how the two characters felt while making love. Nevertheless, this is one classic story you wouldn't like to miss!

Call me a hopeless romantic (I know I am) for falling in-love with this book or perhaps an immoral (I think I'm not) for encouraging such affair that might affect other people's perspective about the book. If you think like the latter after reading the book, it simply means you weren't able to grasp the real essence of this story.

So if you feel like you are lost in love, or think that you might not find love at all, then this book is for you. For this genre, I'd give this book 7 out of 10 cups of latte! :)

"Words have physical feeling, not just meaning, he remembered thinking when he was young."
- Bridges of Madison County

WHEN DYSTOPIAN NOVELS BECOME ADDICTING... ~ by Love Esios

One of the book covers of The Hunger Games. Photo taken from Google Images.

I'm not really a fan of dystopian novels. Since I have started reading novels in high school, I have never thought I would actually get engrossed in a story that's kind of dark and gruesome and gory. It turns out The Hunger Games changed that part of me. It took one boring weekday afternoon to try and read the first few pages of the book and after that, I never stopped reading until the last book!

The Hunger Games is the first of the three books in The Hunger Games series (the others being Catching Fire and Mockingjay). The story focuses on a very unlikely competition that is meant to punish and remind the citizens in poverty-stricken Panem that rebellion against the government would have very complicated consequences. The Games was created for the kids to fight among themselves, with only one emerging as a victor. In this first book, you would be introduced to the three main characters of the series: Katniss, Peeta and Gale. You might think that this is going to be a love story set in the dark ages of mankind but no... it's more than that. It might sound like a typical story for some people who have already read young adult fiction with dsytopia in the background. But I guess, there's something on how Suzanne Collins presented the story that made me turn on every page of the book, perhaps thinking that in a few decades, our society will be as vicious and selfish as The Capitol... that the government will resort into punishing kids and teenagers for a crime that the adults have done. How surreal the situation could be? The bloodbath, the injustice...they were all captured by Collins. I found her storytelling very easy to understand, yet she used the simplicity of her narration to give the readers a strong and vivid imagery. And as a reader myself, as long as I can see the scene clearly in my head, hear the characters talking, feel the emotions in their words, then I know I am reading a good book. Truth be told, while I was reading the book, it felt like I was already there, I was also part of that dark society, and I can still see every scene in my head until now! (Okay, now that's scary... hahaha!)

The Hunger Games is a riveting story of injustice and passion set in a violent, dark and gory society that might be our own someday. And I'm telling you, once you start, you won't stop. For that, I'd give a rating of 7 cups of latte out of 10. ^_____^

Enjoy!