Bitter-Sweet Harvest by Chan Ling Yap(SPOILER ALERT)

Summary :

Story is set just after 13th May 1969 event where racial tension was at its height in Malaysia.

Two star-crossed lovers, An Mei, a Chinese girl and Hussien, a Malay boy, were studying in Oxfords and were convinced that somehow their respective sets of parents would somehow accept their love.

Ah Mei's parents migrated to England and was furious when they got to know about the affair. Hussien was due to go back to Malaysia and to be groom onto a politician as what his parents wanted him to be.

Hussien begged An Mei to follow him back to Malaysia and was convinced that he will be able to persuade his parents to accept An Mei as his bride. Hence here begin the story of the trials that they encounter for their love.

Would love be enough to see them through everything? And what happen if the one that you love the most started to change and disappoint you again and again?

My comments:

Bought this book from my recent trip to The Big Bad Wolf Books sale in Penang.

I can certainly say that this is a frustrating book to read. Again and again I wish I could reach in and shake the hero and heroine. It's just too much.

It was crushing to see how An Mei being let down again and again. How I wish she would stop being so soft heart. Oh well...guess first love is hard to let go.

The author did a very good job on how Hussien gradually being "brainwashed" and  succumbed to social pressure to conform. He used to be such an upstanding young man back on Oxford and would fight any injustice.

How could someone profess that they love the other very much and yet expect the other party to sacrifice again and again for him? To leave family and friends behind is one thing but to "emotionally blackmail" the other person to do what he wishes by saying "if you love me you would.....".

It comes to the stage where if there is such real Hussien standing in front of me, I would gladly give him one tight slap! What the .....An Mei gave up so much to be with him and he dares to emotionally blackmail her by saying if she truly love him, she would not mind not having a title(Wife) . They could be lover instead. That is just plain insulting!

Anyway, am happy with the ending. I hope I can read the first book "Sweet Offering" which also rated highly in Goodreads.

Big Bad Wolf Books is heading NORTH

Good news to readers up north.  I saw in their Facebooks that Big Bad Wolf Books will be heading to Penang this 22nd-31st March.

Venue :  Penang Times Square

Time : 9 am to 9pm

For those who have not attended any BBWBS sale before , here are some tips:-

• wear comfortable clothing and shoes
• bring own trolley bag if possible
• avoid bringing very young children to the hall
• cash, credit cards and BB1M vouchers are acceptable for payment
• after you take a book and decided not to buy it, please return to the original table or the very least pass it to the staffs there so that they can return to for you.

For further information, do drop by their Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bbwbooks

and most important of all.....snap some photos for me to see please coz I can't go leh......sobs....sobs....

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng

Summary from www.goodreads.com:

 Malaya, 1951. Yun Ling Teoh, the scarred lone survivor of a brutal Japanese wartime camp, seeks solace among the jungle-fringed tea plantations of Cameron Highlands.

 There she discovers Yugiri, the only Japanese garden in Malaya, and its owner and creator, the enigmatic Aritomo, exiled former gardener of the emperor of Japan.

 Despite her hatred of the Japanese, Yun Ling seeks to engage Aritomo to create a garden in memory of her sister, who died in the camp. Aritomo refuses but agrees to accept Yun Ling as his apprentice "until the monsoon comes." Then she can design a garden for herself.

As the months pass, Yun Ling finds herself intimately drawn to the gardener and his art, while all around them a communist guerilla war rages. But the "Garden of Evening Mists" remains a place of mystery.

 Who is Aritomo and how did he come to leave Japan? And is the real story of how Yun Ling managed to survive the war perhaps the darkest secret of all?

My Comments :

I have been looking forward to get my hands on this book since I read its review ..however the price was just out of my budget. My thanks to Nylusmilk for helping me to get this book from Bookalicious at Summit USJ

This is another book which I found hard to finish. Its not that the book is hard to read or uninteresting but the opposite is true. I hate to have it end.

There are just so many plots and sub plots going on in this book and they are wonderfully incorporated into the story.

It leave me longing for more. I cant help feeling that I might have miss out something important in this book. Maybe that's why it took me so long to finish it. I kept going back re-reading some of the paragraphs to try and see if there is any other meaning behind it.

Although it involved the time of Japanese occupation which in most books involves blood and gory but in this book its different. Though there are some awful situation but these are soften and made poetic to me.

Am not good with words but I think this would appeal to many who loves this genre

Am giving this book 5 stars

Lucy In The Sky by Paige Toon

Summary :

It has been 9 years since Lucy left Australia and have not seen her bestie Molly and Sam for that length of time. Sam was once the love of her life and now the both of them are getting married. Lucy had to attend their wedding.

She felt that she had got over Sam as she have now a gorgeous boyfriend James who is a successful lawyer.

However, as she got onto the plane, a text message came in which made her life turned upside down. What worst is that when she got to Australia, she became attracted to Sam's little brother, Nathan.

Oh what calamity....at one hand a "perfect boyfriend" and at the other "the love of her life".

Comments:

Gosh Can't believe myself. It has been one month since the last I posted. Getting lazy. Nah...too many books to read and not enough time for book reviews.

I have read this book a few weeks ago and found that it brings a smile to me.

Actually if you just "read" it like that, there doesn't seems to be anything special about this book. At certain parts, you might feel irritated by the heroine's attitude where she kept hanging in "limbo".

What attracts me in this book is the feeling of "young love". The anticipation of what life will bring on the next level. The sense of wonder. The "what if". It's like there is a million possibility going on. Should she choose what she is familiar with or should she goes for the unknown?

Maybe am just an foolish old fool but it feel good to read something light like this.

Am rating this 4 stars out of 5 in my goodreads

Big Bad Wolf Aftermath Sale 2013

Found in Facebook. Yup! Finally announced that there will be an Aftermath sale

Date : 28 February 2013 to 4 march 2013
Venue : MIECC, Seri Kembangan
Time: Unknown yet. Guess will be similar to BBWBS time.

Prices of books will as low as RM5.

But let the buyers beware ...from my past experience there is no guarantee the books are in pristine condition as these are books leftover from last year Big Bad Wolf Books Sale.

But still RM5 a book is still a steal though the book maybe somewhat damaged.

Wondering why I have not been blogging regularly? Well, this is the reason. The Twin Towers of books. These are the ones read. Bought these from last year's BBWBS. A busy month for me.

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Green, Matthew Dicks

Summary at goodreads.com

Budo is Max's imaginary friend. But though only Max can see him, he is real. 

He and the other imaginary friends watch over their children until the day comes that the child stops imagining them. And then they're gone. Budo has lasted a lot longer than most imaginary friends - four years - because Max needs him more. 

His parents argue about sending him to a special school. But Max is perfectly happy if everything is just kept the way it is, and nothing out of the ordinary happens. Unfortunately, something out of the ordinary is going to happen - and then he'll need Budo more than ever...

My Comments:

If I were to judge a book by it covers, I think I would not pick up this book. For me, the cover did not stand out. But I end up putting this book in my trolley back at the last Big Bad Wolf Book Sale because the word "Jodi Picoult" . Yup...she praised this book.,

After I came home, I put this book aside as I have plenty of others to read. Don;t know when I would come to read this book. But thanks to a friend, Yoong, who contacted me and said she is reading this book. Asked me to look out for it. That was when I recalled seeing this book but was unsure whether I bought it or not.

Finally found it among my tonnes of books. Read it and I must say I love it very much.

The book have the innocent of a child and yet was thrilling and moving enough to make me wish things could have been fairer.

It was heart warming to see the things that Budo done for Max.

I think this is a good read for readers as young as 10 years old to 80 years old. Each would find something that remind them of their life in this book. It's hard for me to describe the feeling. Maybe when you read it the you will know.

I am giving this book full marks.

Tales From The Kopitiam Vol 1, Vol 2 & Vol 3 by Andrew Lim

Summary :

These are collection of short stories of paranormal activities that would send shivers down your spine. Most stories are based in Singapore.

Among the stories in Vol 1 are :-

"Little Boy Bad" where Lim Poh Choo and her children moved into a new apartment and they found that an evil spirit had already occupied the apartment.

"The Devil Blade"  where Mr Seah bought an antique dagger from a shop in Chinatown and discovered that his life have changed forever. Nightmare and murders started.

"Ghost at My Door " where Shamsul and his mother had a surprise visit from his good friend Farouk. But then, aren't Farouk supposed to be in Tokyo

PLUS 16 other stories

Among the stories in Vol 2 are :-

"Fangs" what would you do if your baby is born with teeth and had acquired a taste for human flesh?

"Green Warrior". Have you watch reality show where Paranormal Investigator go to haunted house? Well, in this story, two Paranormal Investigators encounter the ghost of Japanese soldier

"Shophouse Curse". What would you do if you encounter shophouse that has been cursed? You can't demolish it to build new project.

PLUS 12 other stories

And in Vol 3 :-

"My darling Pontianak"  When Tham Kok Wei sees a Pontianak(a vampiric ghost in Malay) in his garden and it was love at first sight.

"The Ghosts of the Sunset Hotel " guests are terrified when they see a dark-suited ghost floating through the hotel corridors. When they begin to see burning apparitions in their rooms, things starts to get out of control

"One Less For dinner" A group of friends goes for dinner and one of then gets a fortune cookies that reads "Next time there will be one less for dinner" and the next thing they knew one friend was dead. The next reunion, will they have the same fortune?

Plus 13 other stories

My Comments :

These are actually not my books. In fact am too "chicken" to buy and read these books as I know that I would not get a good night sleep after reading them.

Actually , a friend asked me to get them for her from the Big Bad Wolf Books Sale.

Seeing these book sitting there waiting to be pass to my friend was just too much temptation.

Can't help myself from taking a peek on Volume 1. Am surprised that i find myself got caught in the book. The stories actually were not as terrifying as some others that I have read. In fact it was quite enjoyable.

I like Volume 1 and Volume 2 as the stories are more interesting to me. It have the "scare" factor and the "ironic and mysterious" factor like in the "Twilight Zone Series".

Volume 3 was okay. Could be due to me reading 3 books from the same author continuously hence the "surprise" factor had diminished.

Overall, am quite pleased with the stories. I wonder if they have anymore left for the Big Bad Wolf Books AfterMath Sale(if any)