[The miraculous journey of Edward Tulane] A heartwarming children's book every adult must read!

Don't pass this book by because it sits in the children's section...this book is for everyone. I regret that I encountered with this book, only recently. I should have read this beautiful story in 2006 when it was first published. 

It's a beautiful story I already read more than three times from the first to the last page, twice by myself and once with kids. When I started the book, I had an empathy with Abilene, the china rabbit's owner, but I quickly switched my whole attention to this once arrogant china rabbit, and ended up caring about him dearly.

 The book is deeply moving, but this powerful story comes with a sadness which may be difficult for very young readers. The story may be more appropriate for older elementary school children to read on their own. However, it all depends on the acceptability of the child, I find it also could be proper for younger ones, such as my 7-year-old , as a bed time story. Yet, perhaps the story is best for adults, who can read this simple book in an afternoon but appreciate it forever.

 It took us less than a week to get through the book together. With 27 chapters, obviously we couldn't stick to the "two chapters per night" rule. I read about four to five chapters a night. It seemed that each chapter ended at a climactic point that just made you want to keep going, but I tried to end each night's reading at a point when Edward met a new owner and was loved, so that both kids and I could keep a peace of mind until the following bed time story time!

What a wonderful story. Kate DiCamillo brings to life the emotion of every little kid who has ever loved his/her dolls/stuffed toys. (My boys love their stuffed toys). It also deals with loss and real life issues. I fell in love with the china rabbit who felt insulted when he was called "it" . Edward's journey is a beautiful story to be cherished by children and adults alike. 

 Edward is a beautiful china rabbit that takes pride in his appearance. He has no love for Abilene, the 10-year-old girl who loves him. Pellegrina, Abilene's grandmother who gave Edward to Abilene on her seventh birthday, finally agrees to tell her a bedtime story, after a long time. The story is about a self-absorbed, beautiful princess who is transformed by a witch into a warthog and who is later killed. Abilene complains that the story was too short and did not end happily. Pellegrina explains that a story cannot end happily without love. Pellegrina then whispers to Edward, "You disappoint me".

And Edward's unexpected miraculous journey starts. Edward's family set out on a trip to London aboard the Queen Mary. Edward is tossed overboard and landed at the bottom of the deep ocean. Edward then lives with a fisherman and his wife, a hobo and his dog, an old woman, a boy and his sister, and a doll mender. Edward learns something about life and love through his experiences in each setting. I agree that many of the events in Edward's journey are sad and even grim, but they are necessary to the both the plot and the ultimate message about the importance of love and keeping your heart open.

You follow Edward on his journey after being lost by his owner. He finds himself in the grasp of several different owners (all characters in their own right) and locations, and each time, Edward learns an important lesson on what it is like to love and be loved. The book's illustrations are stunning, too.

It's a heartbreaking heartwarming, and brilliant book I would remember forever. The china rabbit's journey   teaches to love and appreciate people and things around you!!

This book should be read by young kids, older kids, and adults.

The miraculous journey of Edward Tulane

[The Secret Keeper] Memorable and fascinating tale of love and yearning with superb twists

Kate Morton has written another winner with wonderful characters, great narrative and twists and turns you won't see coming. I've read all four books written by Kate Morton, and the Forgotten Garden was my favourite  before I read this latest one, The Secret Keeper. 

She always surprises me. I enjoyed the history that the author brings to life along with very interesting characters, and relationships often between a mother and a daughter. 

The Secret Keeper is an enjoyable story full of heart, love, tragedy, abuse, and has a delightfully unexpected ending. It kept me guessing the whole time. During a picnic at her family's farm in the English countryside, sixteen-year-old Laurel Nicholson witnesses a murder committed by her perfect and beautiful mother. That crime challenges everything she knows about her beloved mother, Dorothy. 

Fifty years later, Laurel is a successful actress, but has never forgotten  the tragic events of that summer. A family gathering to celebrate her mother's ninetieth birthday becomes the occasion for the actress to finally find the answers to questions that had been haunting her and her family for decades.

The plot alternates between 1940 and 2011 and and reveals little by little about Dorothy's love for the photographer, Jimmy, her friendship with the rich and glamorous Vivien. The book gets off to a very slow start. But all is redeemed in the fascinating twist at the end, which I did not see coming! 

Apart from Laurel, it involves three people: Dorothy (Laurel’s mother), Jimmy (Dorothy’s fiance) and Vivien.  The mystery and intrigue levels are significant because, despite the facts you have, you still don’t know what really is going on and the end is an unexpected turn that you could not possibly have predicted. The ending is absolutely superb!

The writing technique of Kate Morton, with its frequent chronological shifts between the past and present day, matches the emotional intensity of her stories, especially her latest novel, The Secret Keeper. Well, I thought the Secret Keeper was a little slow through the middle but the end was well worth the wait! The beauty of the Kate Morton's novels are that you honestly never get the whole story until the absolute end, especially for the Secret Keeper.

I thoroughly enjoyed the walk through Laurel's life and the flashbacks to her mother's life. Well, I'd have enjoyed it even more if it moved a little faster, though.

The Secret Keeper

[Twilight Saga] A Very Romantic Story with.... Very Little Literature

First of all, I am very surprised I liked this book. :) But, it's true. It was honestly the first book I had read that featured vampires. 

I had refused to read Twilight series for the past few years until I ordered the whole series online upon a recommendation of a dear friend/professor. As I said, I am not a vampire book reader, but this book was interesting and told me so many new things about whole vampire facts. (For example, I didn't know that there were vegetarian vampires who don't drink human blood. Or I had never thought that I would become so envious(?) of the fact that vampires don't age and stay at the age when they turned vampires.)

  The whole series got suspense, romance, and that whole forbidden love thing going on. Twilight is a highly addictive series. I devoured all four books!  But here is my warning! This series is very very romantic. I was fascinated by all the new notions about much unknown creature of the whole vampire thing. If you are not a fan of romantic novels, you may not be too impressed. For a person like me who loves novels like Pride and Prejudice, Romeo and Juliet, Withering Heights and A Mid Summers Night Dream, Twilight saga has most characteristics of the said novels.

 However, there is a huge difference between the above timeless literature and Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Saga. I am sorry to say that, but Ms. Meyer's writing  is kind of abysmal, monotonous, and puerile. The story is stellar and unconventionally creative. That must be why the series attract millions of people to go through four long books. But! technically, it's lousy!!!! The most noticeable fault is the author's tendency to use the same captions and glossary over and over and over, ..... and over. I gave up counting at the end of the first book, but I'm sure Ms. Meyer used each of the words "chuckled" and "crooked smile" about 100 times, if not more. It was a way too much..... She could have done it better than that. And also, Bella's constant need to describe Edward's gorgeousness got really old and stamped in my memory. I get that Edward is so beautiful. I don't think I'll be able to see any of the movies of this series since I don't want to be disappointed. I am so sure that the actor cannot meet the level of the beauty described in the book. 

Even though I loved the books, I had some difficulties of liking some characters of the book. To be more honest, none of the main characters are sympathetic. Bella is the worst, she's co-dependent, self-destructive, whiny, selfish, and irresponsible. I found Bella to be a self centered, self absorbed, weak, and brat. I don't understand Bella and her need for a man. Then the suicide thing between them is a bit too much. Also, I really hate that Bella was stupid enough to fall for Jacob. Though it had a fantastic ending thanks to werewolf specific "imprinting." Edward and Jacob are slightly more tolerable, but I honestly couldn't figure out what exactly Bella saw in Edward except for his super beauty. And Jacob, who is somewhat more human and  is unmistakable macho. Other than these three characters, all the supporting characters such as the Cullens, Bella's father and mother, are much more likable.

Nonetheless, in spite of all the blind spots of the book, I enjoyed reading the Twilight saga. Stephanie Meyer may not be a great writer, so far, but she is a great storyteller. She got me to think that there could be vampires out there among us and some of them could be nice vegetarians. I know, I know. My friends think that I am silly. :( But, that is an amazing repercussion Ms. Meyer got on me.

It truly was a sensation worldwide. I would say it's worth reading, for once.

Twilight Saga

[Les Misérables] The grandeur of a Timeless Masterpiece of Victor Hugo

I thought I read the full-length book of Les Misérables when I was in grade six. But, it couldn't be. I remember it took me not more than a couple of days to finish the book. It must have been a significantly abridged version. Since then, I had been busy reading modern literature while I was ignoring this all time classic. Finally, when the Oscar nominated movie came out, paperback copies of Les Misérables appeared on the book stand of Costco. 

And that's where I purchased a copy of over 1200-page-book and started to read. It took me almost a month. I could have read faster, but I didn't want to miss any sentence or page. 

The book is powerful and touches on all of the human emotions and gets into the depths of one's soul. Hugo's insight into the historical period is phenomenal, and the way he introduces characters is just excellent. However, it's also true that the historical events, e.g. almost 100 pages of Waterloo battle, are described so much in detail that it feels like the story flies off on a tangent. Now do I understand that it's Hugo's very own style.

As the title suggests, most things, if not everything, that happen in this book to Valjean are miserable. Marius is quite too idealistic to me, Fantine is stupid enough as to fall for a man whose only interest was her body, Javert goes on trying to catch Jean-Valjean with no real reason at all and Cosette who owes everything to Fantine and Jean Valjean, is innocent, but quite spoiled, in a way. Many people have complained about that, but that is the very idea of the novel.

Nonetheless, with 1200 -1400 pages, depending on translation, the central theme that dominates the story is the REDEMPTION, that of Jean Valjean, and of France through the revolution.

Still, there is a Valjean's act of redemption I don't understand. Why did he have to confess everything to Marius who was not so realistic or mature, which causes Valjean's ultimate despair, and indirect causes of death? I thought about it over and over again, but I don't think I'll understand his act even if I read the the book again.

By the way, my favorite part of the novel is when Jean saved a sailor that was about to fall to the sea below. It showed Jean Valjean's courage and intelligence. He fell into the sea after he saved the sailor, only to escape. I truly admire his esprit and mental strength.

I truly think Victor Hugo is one of the greatest things to ever happen to Paris. I am so glad that I read this unabridged full version of this book. Les Misérables is one of the great classics of literature. When you first take a glance at Les Misérables, you might be daunted by the number of pages. But by the time you flip past the first page, the size doesn't seem to matter anymore. Once submerged in the complications of the characters and the story, the pages start to turn themselves. I strongly believe that it is a book that should really be read by everyone.

Last summer, we visited the Victor Hugo Museum which was the apartment at the Place des Vosges, Paris, where Hugo lived for 18 years. 

You can read my post about Victor Hugo museum here.

Les Misérables

[The Casual Vacancy] Underestimated masterpiece of the author of Harry Potter saga with only one problem

The Casual Vacancy, the first adult novel written by J.K. Rowling has, of course, anything to do with wizard, flying broomsticks, spells, or magical owls delivering messages. It actually is one of the most down-to-earth stories I've read in the past few years. All the characters are so muggle-like and each of the characters has at least a personal malfunction, defect, or sense of inferiority, or all of them.

There is no similarity between Rowling's latest novel and the arguably most famous wizard series, except for the extraordinary number of characters. However, I don't agree with many of the book reviews by famous journalists, on their critics about characters in the novel. A lot of them find that there are too many characters  who are over descriptive and repetitive.

Well, it is true that there are a big number of charters who take significant parts in the story, but you will remember each of them, as each individual is so different from one another. In addition, Rowling's description of a banal individual's inner conflicts and agony was extraordinary. Narratives of each character were so truthful and vivid that you end up feeling empathy with each of them, even though none of characters is particularly attractive. Nonetheless, if you see their inner psyche, each of characters is quite understandable. There is not an absolute evil or angel. You will go through the emotional life of each character. and each of them has their own excuse and reason to behave as they do, which is, for me, remarkable since you, as a reader, feel that there is no right or wrong person in the novel. 

That is the main difference between and Pagford, the  name of the imaginary town in the Casual Vacancy, and Harry Potter's Hogwarts where there were clear distinction between the righteous and evil.

It is true that all the live characters are fairly horrible or miserable. None of them are particularly attractive either, which is a quite a problem for a novel. As a reader, you tend to feel imaginative empathy with a character, and attach to a specific character. In the Casual Vacancy, it is not easy to have empathy with a character. Probably the only character that anybody would feel empathy with must be Barry Fairbrother who  se death in the very beginning of the novel caused the biggest war Pagford has yet seen, surrounding the seat that had been occupied in the parish council of the town. 

In my opinion, missing a likable character would be the only problem of this novel. 

There is no clear winner at the end of the wars between uncomprehending parents and wounded adolescents, desperate wives and insensitive husbands, rich incumbents of the town with poor residents of outskirt of the town.

Even though the story starts with a death and ends with a funeral, there are a couple of healing that warm readers' hearts, especially my heart :): healing of wounded hearts of the adolescent daughter and her elite mother, Sukvinder and Parminder, and that of a perplexed son with a huge ego and his obsessive compulsive disordered father, Fats("Stuart") and Colin("Cubby").

The faint smell of these two restoration of the fundamental relationships at the end of the novel are still lingering in my heart.

A great story to read! My opinion on J.K. Rowling is unchanged after this novel: Rowling is a genius of liberal arts.

The Casual Vacancy

[The Help] Uncomfortable story that was gratifying to read

I have my own rule which I seldom break.

First it was rather a habit of mine. But, it just stuck with me, and I don't go against it.

If there is a movie based on a book, I have to read the book first before I rent the movie.

I just said "rent the movie" because I don't usually go to cinema to see a movie beyond "G- General Audiences" since Remi was born. I went to see a couple of movies with colleagues while I had to stay and work in Ottawa by myself during weekdays while Mr. D. and kids were at our then-hometown Toronto. But, we are all now in Ottawa, so I don't have excuses(?) to go out. 

I wanted to see The Help since Olivia Davis started to be mentioned as a strong nominee for the Best Actress of the 84th Oscars.

Her performance in Doubt was stunning and deserved for the grand prize.

I heard she was amazing in The Help as well, but I've been holding it back since I wanted to read the original novel first.

And at last I picked up the book, and turned a page over a page until the last page.

I enjoyed the book very much even though I couldn't quite believe that such things happened only 50 years ago.
It was a great page-turner book. I couldn't stop reading, and finished the 530 pages in two days, which is almost, not quite though, at the speed I had read "Harry Potter and the deathly hollows". 
Kathryn Stockett dared to speak the civil rights era through the eyes and voices of the black maids employed in the white households of Jackson, her hometown.
What I admire the most about the book and the author was that the book was addressing a really hard and uncomfortable topic. I earnestly envy people who can writes about something that bothers them just like Skeeter, ththe main white character, who risks the wrath of her social boundary by crossing the colour bar.


The book switches point-of-views between Skeeter,white educated female, Aibileen and Minny, both maids attending white families. As the story develops, relationship between the main characters also changes and readers can feel the warm camaraderie between them, despite cultural and racial differences. As the point-of-views changes, for example from Skeeter to Abilieen or Minny, also does the language of book changes from a normal southern English to southern slang with incomplete vocabulary. Well, that's why it actually  was hard to understand the dialogue for the first few pages, but the switching languages made the story much more vivid and realistic, indeed.


The part that hurt was that colour-blind white kids who were truly attached to their coloured nannies grow to acquire their parents' attitude and suddenly or gradually become totally colour-conscious. I can't imagine how their nannies would have felt. The kids you have loved just like your own turn their back to you and treat you like a second class people. Aibileen described those feelings in a frank, but calm voice, which ached me even more.



I love the book because the main story line is relationship between women, white and coloured, without major love story line, even though there is a scent of love story between Skeeter and Stuart.


I wish I read this book in a slower pace. Then I must be still reading it.
Now I'm so curious about the fameuse actresses' performances.
I am going to rent the DVD soon.

Do you recommend the movie?
If you both read the book and saw the movie, which was better?
Well, I know it's kind of a silly question, since I have never seen a movie that was made better than the original book itself. Still it could be outstanding on its own right, couldn't it?


The Help