Manuscript Found in Accra by Paulo Coelho
Publisher: Knopf | 2013 (first published 2010) | 208 pages
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From Goodreads:

July 14, 1099. Jerusalem awaits the invasion of the crusaders who have surrounded the city’s gates. There, inside the ancient city’s walls, men and women of every age and every faith have gathered to hear the wise words of a mysterious man known only as the Copt. He has summoned the townspeople to address their fears with truth:

“Tomorrow, harmony will become discord. Joy will be replaced by grief. Peace will give way to war…. None of us can know what tomorrow will hold, because each day has its good and its bad moments. So, when you ask your questions, forget about the troops outside and the fear inside. Our task is not to leave a record of what happened on this date for those who will inherit the Earth; history will take care of that. Therefore, we will speak about our daily lives, about the difficulties we have had to face.”

The people begin with questions about defeat, struggle, and the nature of their enemies; they contemplate the will to change and the virtues of loyalty and solitude; and they ultimately turn to questions of beauty, love, wisdom, sex, elegance, and what the future holds. “What is success?” poses the Copt. “It is being able to go to bed each night with your soul at peace.”

Now, these many centuries later, the wise man’s answers are a record of the human values that have endured throughout time. And, in Paulo Coelho’s hands, The Manuscript Found in Accra reveals that who we are, what we fear, and what we hope for the future come from the knowledge and belief that can be found within us, and not from the adversity that surrounds us.

My review:

I don’t know why it took me so long to finish this book. It is a rather thin copy with a mere 190 pages. My copy was the uncorrected proof version. I began reading this in early April but only managed to finish reading it on June 13.

There is no storyline in it. Most of what you will read have been transcribed from the contents of manuscripts believed to have originated from the city of Accra, outside Egypt territory.

The story begins on July 14, 1099 in Jerusalem. Its people need to face the inevitable as they were waiting for the invasion by crusaders. Two choices were given to them – abandon the city or fight to the death.

While waiting for the worst to come, they took the time to sit down and engage in a sort of Q and A session with the Copt, described as a strange man who had left his native city of Athens to go in search of money and adventure when he was an adolescent. Believing him to be a learned man, the villagers gathered around him and asked him questions while listening to what he had to say.

The Copt spoke on defeat, solitude, self-esteem, change, beauty, love, sex, elegance, luck, miracles, anxiety, the future, loyalty and enemies. I can’t believe they even asked questions on certain topics in such a dire situation!

Anyway, it is just a book filled with advice that one could refer to, reflect or use in troubled times. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea but I think those who like to read self-help books might like this book. The words of advice in it certainly apply to everyone no matter young or old but there have been suggestions to gift this book to young adults and young graduates looking for a clear direction in life!

***Thanks to Random House for sending me a review copy of this book!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Publisher: Pocket Books | 2009 (first published 1999) | 232 pages
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Synopsis:

Charlie is a freshman.

And while he’s not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.

Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But he can’t stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

My review:

This is just another of those books published way back in 1999 (when I was 12) that I’m only reading now. I first found out about this book when I heard about the movie starring Emma Watson. I haven’t watched it…I’m planning to watch it right after writing this review.

Cute book title but the story is far from ‘cute’. At some parts, it is dark and unfunny, something that some people might relate to especially if their growing up years had been tough. Even the book begins with the death of a close friend of Charlie’s.

The teenage years certainly are not easy but Charlie is fortunate to have found friendship in two seniors – Patrick and Sam. In the book, we read Charlie’s letters to a ‘friend’, written from Aug 1991 until Aug the next year. In his letters, he writes about getting to know step-siblings, Patrick and Sam, who try to guide him through life. Well, they guide him more on the basic things like getting through first dates, for example. In other words, Patrick and Sam were there for him when his own older siblings could not.

I’m not sure if I found Charlie a likeable character. He seems confused and tends to jumble up his thoughts in his letters. He likes to read and his teacher keeps giving him various books to delve into. Therefore, he would also discuss the books he reads with his ‘friend’, the recipient of the letters.

In short, this book is about loss, self-discovery, family, friends and dealing with the roller coaster ride of the teenage years. Read this with an open mind and don’t mind Charlie’s weirdness. You will find out why at the end.

I won my copy of this book from the Literary Blog Hop Giveaway held at Kristi Loves Books last year.

Light on Snow by Anita Shreve
Publisher: Little, Brown | 2004 | 275 pages
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Book’s synopsis:

Walking through new-fallen snow in the forest near their home, Nicky Dillon, 12, and her father come upon something inconceivable: there, in the pristine winter scene, an abandoned infant wails, its survival made possible only by the coincidence of their having chosen this path for their evening stroll.

In the days and weeks that follow, Nicky learns about corners of the adult world that she never dreamed existed, and, for the first time, she asks questions about her life’s strange shape. Why has her father moved them to this isolated corner of the country? What is his responsibility for the tragedy that led them here? How can she confront the chasm between his needs and her own growing sense of the world? Then everything is thrown into stark relief by the arrival of a young woman haunted by her own terrible choices.

With the glorious prose and emotional power that have won readers all over the world, Anita Shreve delivers her deepest and most powerful novel yet – a mesmerising story of the secrets we keep and the secrets we unearth, and the power of forgiveness to mend even the most battered souls.

My review:

A light, easy to read book but with a heavy subject matter. The narrator, Nicky, was suddenly thrown into a world of isolation (almost!) after her father decided to move to a place far away from where they lived before. It was a way for him to deal with life after Nicky’s mother and baby sister perished in a car accident.

There are only a few characters in the book so it is really easy to keep track of them. But the most important person Nicky will ever meet at this point of life is a young woman who appears at their doorstep one fine day, to look at furniture made by Nicky’s father. Since Nicky at that time did not have a motherly figure around, she immediately took to the young woman, despite objections by her (Nicky’s) father.

It’s a great book for young adults and older readers. The issue of baby dumping is the focus of this book and it will indeed be an eye-opener to all about the consequences of ever doing such an inhumane thing.

It also deals with loss, grief, hope and moving on with life even though one feels it is impossible.

This is my first time reading a book by Anita Shreve. I just read some reviews about her books being centred on marriages and adultery (???) so I’m glad I picked this book up first. The chapters are short, which works great for me. It is nothing spectacular but still, a great book to read.

One Day by David Nicholls
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton | 2011 (first published 2009) | 435 pages
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Book description from Goodreads:

It’s 1988 and Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley have only just met. They both know that the next day, after college graduation, they must go their separate ways. But after only one day together, they cannot stop thinking about one another. As the years go by, Dex and Em begin to lead separate lives – lives very different from the people they once dreamed they’d become. And yet, unable to let go of that special something that grabbed onto them that first night, an extraordinary relationship develops between the two.

Over twenty years, snapshots of that relationship are revealed on the same day – July 15th – of each year. Dex and Em face squabbles and fights, hopes and missed opportunities, laughter and tears. And as the true meaning of this one crucial day is revealed, they must come to grips with the nature of love and life itself.

My review:

It has been a long time since I came across a book which has me looking forward to reading it every day. One Day is such a book even though it took me a couple of weeks to finish it but it had been a fulfilling read the whole time.

What I gotta say is, Emma is too good for Dexter, even Ian Whitehead (Emma’s ex-boyfriend) says that. She has had to wait for some 20 years just for Dex to realise that she is the one for him. It’s a wonder their friendship even lasted that long.

That said, the format of the book makes for easy reading. You know, each chapter happens to fall on the 15th of July from the year 1988 up until 2007 (when Dex and Emma were in their 20s right up to their 40s), and it’s interesting to read how the characters grow older and supposedly wiser every year.

As the book progresses, we get to know of how Dex and Emma live their lives, their uncertain feelings for each other and also their relationships and friendships with other people. It is all so straightforward that the reader feels they know Dex and Em like their own best friend! You get to know too much that you might also want to give Dex a hard knock on his head for being so blind.

I was near tears after finishing the book, because well, *spoiler alert*, it has quite a sad ending, depending on the way you see it. I might have also been sad because it was the end of an ‘amazing’ book. I finished the book last night and I watched the movie version starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess this morning. It is nice to know that the movie stayed close to the book though certain characters have been left out.

I also wondered how Nicholls got the inspiration to write this story. I was wishing that it was loosely based on a real couple but I have not come across any articles yet that suggest such an idea.

Now that I’m thinking what other books that have a similar story, Cecelia Ahern’s Where Rainbows End comes to mind! In that book however, the main characters, also best friends, only got together when they were in their 50s! Dex and Emma were some 10 years earlier. =)

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
Publisher: Plume | 2007 (first published 2004) | 288 pages
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Book description from Amazon:
In California’s central valley, five women and one man join to discuss Jane Austen’s novels. Over the six months they get together, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens. With her eye for the frailties of human behavior and her ear for the absurdities of social intercourse, Karen Joy Fowler has never been wittier nor her characters more appealing. The result is a delicious dissection of modern relationships.

Dedicated Austenites will delight in unearthing the echoes of Austen that run through the novel, but most readers will simply enjoy the vision and voice that, despite two centuries of separation, unite two great writers of brilliant social comedy.

My review:

I picked up this book because I enjoyed the movie. And also to read about how the characters’ lives intertwined with the reading of Jane Austen’s six novels. I have not read many Austen novels as I have only read Pride and Prejudice!

The book is interesting and organised as each chapter is dedicated to reading one novel. In that chapter, we get to know more about each character. I noticed that unlike the movie, the book tends to focus on a lot of backstories of the characters. At least in the movie, we can see how the relationships between the characters develop, especially between Jocelyn and Grigg.

It is a quick, light and enjoyable read after all. Austen is just so appealing and any novel based on her or her works are just as engaging as well. But there was just too many backstories that I don’t remember what I read earlier if I picked up the book again to continue reading where I left off.

One mistake I made was watching the movie during the reading of this book. I got confused with the storyline while reading as snippets of the movie would play in my mind! So, word of warning, only watch the movie before or after reading the book. =)

Reading this also helped me be more familiar with the other Austen novels that I’m not familiar with yet such as Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.

Party Frock by Noel Streatfeild
Publisher: Armada Lions | 1971 (first published 1946) | 224 pages
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It is amazing how almost an entire village comes together to participate in a pageant organised by kids. And it all started when Selina, 14, receives a party frock and satin shoes from a godmother in America. It is World War II, therefore, there are no grand parties for Selina to wear the frock and shoes at her cousins’ home in a rural village in England. Her six cousins – John, Christopher, Sally, Phoebe, Augustus and Benjamin – come together to put on a pageant that eventually turns out to be an affair that is bigger than expected.

The children would write out the scripts for their respective scenes as well as train the actors that are to act in them. They decided to hold the pageant at the Abbey, the historical and believed to be cursed residence that belongs to Colonel Day and his wife.

Things got on to a good start as they prepare the cast and incorporate a ballet into the pageant. Upon realising that they need ideas to make their pageant a presentable one, they accept the help of Philip, the Days’ nephew, who is injured from the war but with experience in theatre.

With Philip’s professional theatre advice, though initially not welcomed by the strong-headed Phoebe, the pageant suddenly becomes a big event that has the participation of almost everyone in the village.

When such a big pageant is in the works, there are of course some problems encountered by the children. For example, Selina feels that she is mostly left out even though she does most of the running in the preparations and rehearsals that she has been given the title of stage manager. Phoebe, unlike the others, had refused any help from Philip, so her scene becomes a little out of place in the pageant.

At first, I was a bit put off from reading the book. I had begun on the first few chapters but looking at the condition of my book, I was reluctant to keep going. I bought my copy from a secondhand bookstore a few years ago and its pages are seriously browning. When I opened to read it, the pages kept falling apart. Now I have to be careful when turning the pages so as to avoid more of them falling out.

I kept reading because I wanted to finish it. The flow of the story is really organised despite having so many characters involved. The illustrations throughout the book were cute and somewhat helpful while I relied on my imagination on the unfolding of the story. If only there is a movie adaptation for this book!

The characters are endearing especially little Benjamin who starts every sentence with ‘My dear’. And he is only four years old. I would like to see a boy aged four saying ‘My dear! I never upset my food.’

So far I have read two other books by Streatfeild – Ballet Shoes for Anna and White Boots. I wished I had read her books when I was younger. I think I might have enjoyed them! Still, it is better to be late than never so I’m trying to catch up with her books that I missed reading last time.

Party Frock is now published under the title of Party Shoes.

Other reviews: Sue’s Book Reviews

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Series: Chocolate War #1
Publisher: Dell Publishing | 1986 (first published 1974) | 191 pages
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When you read The Chocolate War, you feel sorry for the main character Jerry Renault and you also wonder why school kids can be so mean.

In the first chapter, we read about Jerry, a 14-year-old freshman trying out for the school’s football team. He is the new kid at Trinity, the private Catholic school for boys. Ever since his mother died in the spring, Jerry copes with grief while watching his father go about living a dull life.

In the next chapter, a conversation between Archie Costello and his stooge Obie takes place. Here, Archie is meting out ‘assignments’ for the chosen boys of the school while Obie takes it all down in his notebook. Both boys are members of the secret society called The Vigils who believes they are responsible in maintaining order at school.

A short while later, Archie’s help is sought by Brother Leon, who is the acting school headmaster (while the current headmaster is ill at the hospital) in selling 20,000 boxes of chocolates for the school. It is quite a burden as the year before, the students only needed to sell 10,000 boxes of chocolates at a cheaper price. Archie however agrees to the deal.

While the other students are struggling to sell their quota of 50 boxes each, Jerry surprises everyone by refusing to sell the chocolates. It was initially an ‘assignment’ by The Vigils for him to say ‘No’ when Brother Leon asked if had sold any chocolates. But even after the ‘assignment’ period was over, Jerry continued saying ‘No’ to selling the chocolates. Slowly his defiance influences the rest of the schoolboys who then became less keen in reaching their quota.

This worrisome turn of events gets Brother Leon hot under the collar and he reaches out to Archie for help again, but giving a warning to Archie and The Vigils as well.

Beware, this young adult novel is quite a depressing book and it does not have happy ending. It does not have a happy anywhere! Throughout the book, you will be aware of how lonely Jerry is even though he has found a friend in The Goober or Roland Goubert. Unfortunately, The Goober suffers from the aftermath of his ‘assignment’ given by The Vigils, causing him to lose interest in school and the football team. Therefore, in the days when Jerry refuses to sell the chocolates, he is seen as the school outcast and we don’t see him on friendly terms with anyone else. He also becomes the target of the school bully.

As for Archie, he is intelligent and very concerned with holding on to his power within The Vigils, at school and even among the teachers. I sort of admired Archie’s confidence, wit and his ability to handle almost any unpleasant or difficult situation even with the cunning Brother Leon involved. Still, one would shudder if such a Brother Leon exists in their school!

Book reviewers have described The Chocolate War as the best book ever written for young adults despite questionable use of language and content in it. It is quite well-written and it would have been a page turner for me if I could afford to spend hours at a time to read the book. I would not call it enjoyable but insightful and eye-opening, yes, definitely.

Now I’m going to watch the The Chocolate War film version and after that, to start reading on the sequel, Beyond the Chocolate War.

I received a copy of this book as a gift from Nylusmilk of The Literary Pursuit in 2009!

ETA: Nov 21, 2012: I just finished watching The Chocolate War and I’m a bit disappointed with the ending. It was not the same as the book! In spite of that, I love the song ‘In My Room’ by Yaz/Yazoo that was used in the movie. It’s so befitting!