Review: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

5 stars for Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.

I am never one who is into mystery novel with third person narratives. It is neither my preferred nor usual choice of read. But still, I choose to read this book; this one book which everyone's been raving about. As a booklover, my worst fear is missing out on a good story. And so I reckon I should give it a go.

It is only an ok for me at first. The initial 30% of the story is somewhat slow moving, uneventful, at least that is how it is to me. Then it gets better and better until I simply have to keep the pages turning. I finish the entire book in record two days' time. Unbelievable!

Where the Crawdads Sing is a painfully beautiful story on many levels. It is a thought-provoking story that revolves around the theme of survival, loneliness, isolation and acceptance. A deeply moving story that leaves behind its ghostly imprint even long after the book's been read. It is no wonder that this book clinches the top spot in Amazon best selling list for 2019 (42 weeks on the list so far).

I am glad to have read this book. Even more glad to have read it all, right down to the last page, last word, to the very end. An end that I expect all along and yet am still surprised when I see the words in print. In my opinion, that is the most beautiful part of this storytelling.

And now, without coercion of any kind, I have joined the ranks of booklovers out there in recommending this book.

A must read.

Review: Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

5 stars for Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt.

Tell the Wolves I'm Home is not a thriller. Nor is it a mystery novel. And definitely not a romance either. Then why am I so sucked into the story and keep pondering over it?

Because there are so many things to like about this book. The title. The book cover. The short chapters. The writing. The storyline. The setting. The characters. Basically, everything.

Because it is a story, one of its kind. A powerful story that explores the dynamics of relationship within the family. And mind you, it is not skin deep but deep. Heartfelt.

Because it is a sad kind of story. About opportunities. Chances. Second chance. Changes. Dreams. Friendship. Bonding. Jealousy. Sadness. Hopes.

Because it is a tender story. Of love. Love that is lost and found. Of wrong love. Meanness that can come out of loving someone too much.

Because it is a book that reads very much like a non-fiction even though it is not. With facts of the world that fit the story just right, the topic of death lurks in the background and creeps up on you. How do you keep the memories of someone you love alive? How do you seal a promise with a dead person?

Because I see the 14-year old me peeking out from behind the eyes of the protagonist. The good. The bad. The walls building up and up around her and then slowly collapsing and crumbling into nothingness.

Because it just is.

Review: Grave Destiny (Alex Craft #6) by Kalayna Price

Did Not Finish Grave Destiny (Alex Craft book 6) by Kalayna Price.

I find it hard to believe that I have actually spent the better half of the year reading non-fiction on the account that I am not a great fan of this genre.

After six months of non-stop non-fiction, this is supposed to be a fun return to the urban fantasy world of Alex Craft which I so love. Sadly and unfortunately, the overuse of flowery language suppresses the story and action so much that it makes for an extremely slow and tiring read. I get the unpleasant feeling that it is a test of my patience; a test which I am doomed to fail at less than halfway mark of the book.

I have never thought I will see the day when the Alex Craft series no longer manage to sustain my interest. But alas, the day has come. I feel sad, for myself and for Alex Craft.

Review: Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter by Shoko Tendo

4 stars for Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter by Shoko Tendo.

I am blessed to be gifted a copy of this book in July 2017. I have finally read it. Two years late. But better late than never.

Seriously, this book is not what I will have expected, even though I did not really hold any expectations prior to reading it. Still, I do not expect it to be such a heart-rending story, a true life story that is filled with bullying, delinquency, drugs, imprisonment, love, violence, marriage, divorce, debt, eating disorders, attempted suicide, sickness, and death.

Though this is a memoir by a Yakuza's daughter, bulk of the story centers on herself and her downward spiral to drug abuse rather than that of her family and especially her father, the Yakuza. Yes, this book is a very brave end product of the baring of truths, of a life lived in the pit of despair and misery, but I will gladly welcome more shedding of light about the life and inner workings of a Yakuza.

Wisdom comes with knowledge.
Knowledge comes with experience.
Experience comes with age.
Age comes with time.

With knowledge, experience and time, I hope that Shoko Tendo is finally living her life the way she wants it and is now at peace with herself and her family.

Review: My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward: A Memoir by Mark Lukach

4 stars for My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward: A Memoir by Mark Lukach.

This is a difficult book to read; not because it is boring or badly written, but because it is a blatantly honest outpour of a husband's innermost thoughts and beliefs and actions that do not sit well with me.

The husband thinks that there is a pill that can and will fix all mental problems. I know it must have been terrible to feel helpless and clueless but it is frustrating and traumatizing to see the husband sending his wife to the hospital and Psych Ward time and again, to be pinned down by orderlies to have medication injected into her body.

It is also equally disturbing to read about the mental health system as described in the book as it goes about its way of admitting and treating patients. It seems like a whole load of self-serving, profit driven structure where doctors dish out drugs too readily and think that they are above all, that their decisions are the best, when in fact, I don't see them putting the patients' interests at heart at all.

Overall, what I see mostly is a controlling husband who does not know how to give space, who suffocates the wife with well-intentioned but ill-managed care, who does not trust the wife to make her own choices and decisions, who tries to control and run the wife's life, and on top of it all, who believes medication and pills are the solution to anxiety, stress and depression.

The above said, at the end of the day, who am I to criticize the husband's beliefs and actions? It is after all his life to live and none of my business. Still, I am glad to have read this book, expressed my view and said my piece.

Review: Cracked: The Unhappy Truth about Psychiatry by James Davies

5 stars for Cracked: The Unhappy Truth about Psychiatry by James Davies.

The book is easy to read, thought provoking and it challenges what we think we know about psychiatry - the study and treatment of mental illness, emotional disturbance, and abnormal behaviour. It should be read by anyone who thinks there is a pill that will fix your problems, and by everyone who is concerned on the basic humanity and social well-being.

The official story we often hear is that psychiatry has the tools and knowledge at its disposal to help us when our lives break down. In reality, the psychiatry industry has often resorted to half-truths and cover-ups. The book addresses the pressing issues with psychiatry, breaks them down and tells it all.

- Why has psychiatry become the fastest-growing medical specialism when it still has the poorest curative success?

- Why are psychiatric drugs now more widely prescribed than almost any other medical drugs in history, despite their dubious efficacy?

- Why does psychiatry, without solid scientific justification, keep expanding the number of mental disorders it believes to exist — from 106 in 1952, to 374 today? What is going on?

- What role does our biology play in our mental distress?

The truth is never far behind. There is no smoke without fire. It is an unfortunate but ugly truth. And the truth is, psychiatry can be explained simply as the lure of power and money putting the pursuit of pharmaceutical riches and medical status above that of patients’ well-being.

Written to create and heighten awareness, this book educates and enables people to be better informed about the current state psychiatry is in; to get away from the escalating craze for psychiatric drugs and diagnoses. As the proverb goes "all that glitters is not gold", we need to be wary of what we read in the news and decide for ourselves what the truth is.

If you are not already aware of the numerous doctors being enticed by huge pharmaceutical rewards into creating more disorders and prescribing more pills, of the psychiatric organization concealing information and distorting the facts, this book is a good place to start.

Review: Hiroshima: The Autobiography of Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa

4.5 stars for Hiroshima: The Autobiography of Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa.

Keiji Nakazawa was born on 14 March 1939 in Hiroshima, Japan and was 6 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on his hometown.

This book is an account of his life during and after the second world war: fleeing the hell of the atomic bomb in a bustling city wiped out and buried in corpses, overcoming with great difficulty the postwar shortage of food and struggling against all odds to survive.

There is much horror, sadness, anger and unhappiness in Nakazawa's narratives. But there is also hope and optimism as he seek ways to channel his pent-up frustration and bitterness about the war and aftermath of the atomic bomb through the world of manga to create awareness for the next generation.

Review: To Hell and Back: The Last Train from Hiroshima by Charles Pellegrino

4 stars for To Hell and Back: The Last Train from Hiroshima by Charles Pellegrino.

Annihilation of mankind. This is what comes to the forefront of your mind as I flip to read the first few pages and take on the journey from Hiroshima to Nagasaki on the last train.

This is not a book about the geostrategic issues of great power conflict, nor is it about the rights and wrongs of dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima (6 Aug 1945) and Nagasaki (9 Aug 1945) in Japan.

This is an insightful and powerful book on the subject of bombings. It focuses on the singular mission of chronicling the lives of ordinary and extraordinary people before and after the A-bomb. It brings to life, the experience of the people and the endless aftermath. It transports readers into a world that is frightening and painful.

The horrors as told in the book are based on eyewitness accounts supported by knowledgeable and reasonable guesses about the unknown, such as what happened to the people who disappeared at the hypocenters. It is hell for those who died. It is also hell for those who survived; the burdens the hibakusha carried, and the prejudices against them seemed to know no end. The social stigma attached to being an atomic bomb survivor is so strong in Japan that to live on, these people had to hide their identities and disappear. The scary truth is that it still is a continuing sad story of survivor suffering seven decades on.

Nuclear war is an often predicted cause of the extinction of humanity. If World War III ever come to be one day, it can and in all likelihood will be the cause of total annihilation of humankind.