Literary Treats

Treat yourself to good books!

Review | Compound Fractures, Stephen White

Posted on 2 November 2013 by Jaclyn

As he proved with the shocking ending of Line of Fire, Stephen White is not afraid to blow his characters’ world to smithereens. In Compound Fractures, the final book of the Alan Gregory series, White holds nothing back. Secrets are revealed, long-held beliefs are shattered, and poor Alan Gregory’s life just spins faster and further out of control.

I’ve followed the Alan Gregory series from the beginning, and love the psychological insights into criminal behaviour. Unlike Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series, White has no compulsion about killing off major characters or destroying illusions. Fairly rare for a series, nothing in Alan Gregory’s world is sacred, and while I still can’t forgive what White did to poor Adrienne, I have to admire his take-no-prisoners stance. From Line of Fire, I knew I could expect Compound Fractures to be epic, and indeed, far from winding down, White ratchets it up all the way to the final few pages.

Personally, I think he took it too far. There was a lot going on in this book, and a lot of major revelations made. White’s strength is in psychological realism, and the intimate, personal moments between characters that hit hard. There’s some of that in here but because there was so much of it, White squanders many an opportunity to explore these characters’ psyches. The result is a bit of a soap opera take on events – we are told certain things, we are shocked by certain revelations, and we wish we could delve deeper, but alas, the series is at an end.

For example, we learn why Diane acted the way she did in Line of Fire, but unfortunately, she is mostly absent in this book and so we barely get a chance to understand her motivation. Considering how anomalous her behaviour was, I did want to hear more from her, and at least get a taste of what was running through her head at the time.

Lauren as well is revealed to have a secret that incredibly impacts upon Alan. I love the psychological realism of Alan’s response, and I particularly like how the use of Christian Louboutin shoes reveals the complexity of Lauren’s feelings about her multiple sclerosis, but again I wish the other characters privy to this secret reacted in a less caricature-like manner.

An incident from Sam and Alan’s past comes to a head in this book, and while that forms the bulk of the mystery component of this book, and while it certainly ratchets up the tension, it mostly felt tacked on. I didn’t really understand Alan’s distrust of Sam, considering how long they’d been working together, and with regard to this plot thread, I mostly found Alan annoying.

Finally, the Elliott Bellhaven subplot started out utterly fascinating, but the big reveal at the end felt contrived. Again, White is at his best when dealing with the personal, so adding the large-scale political angle to Elliott’s story when there was already so much going on with him, seemed jarring.

That being said, it’s a fantastic series, and while I think White could have done more with the book, I was mostly satisfied with the ending. I loved seeing these characters grow, and I especially loved how deeply personal this story felt with regard to Alan Gregory’s character. He’s changed a lot from the beginning of the series, and by the end of the book, you can’t help but feel wistful at letting him go, but at the same time also feeling like it’s time to let him rest, and to give him privacy to deal.

Thank you to the author’s manager for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Review | Crazy Rich Asians, Kevin Kwan

Posted on 31 October 2013 by Jaclyn

I thought I knew what to expect at a book launch event. Cupcakes, juice, a brief reading by an author, and pretty much everyone dressed to chill. I suppose I should have known better with the launch being held in the Shangri-La Hotel Toronto. As any self-respecting Asian knows, the Shangri-La is swanky. When I lived in the Philippines, my family would sometimes go to a Shangri-La Hotel lobby to drink coffee or eat ice cream or perhaps take a photo in front of the large, glittery Christmas tree. It’s been a while since I’d had an excuse to visit a Shangri-La, and when I arrived a few minutes early for this launch and was formally invited to sit at a cocktail table in the lobby, I realized I had horribly underestimated the event.

I had a day off from work that day, so I’d taken the opportunity to wear a comfy denim skirt and sneakers. Probably a fashion don’t most of the time, and certainly not what one wants to be wearing when entering a room of cocktail dresses, three piece suits and sky high stilettos. I was Anne Hathaway in Devil Wears Prada, and worse yet, I’d happily lugged along my hefty hardcover for the author to sign – only to be informed that we will be receiving goody bags with signed copies. Wanting a personalized signed copy, I brashly approached him later on anyway, my bumbling forward reminiscent of Anne Hathaway’s lurching through the city of New York. There was even a woman, who I now wish I’d asked the name of, with a Miranda Priestley bob of silver hair, but in a geometric, asymmetrical cut that just caught my eye from across the room. A blogger friend kindly suggested I wasn’t underdressed, but rather flaunting a hipster-ish disregard for fashion trends. Indeed. Hair flip to that, friend.

Author Kevin Kwan was himself dapper in a solid gold suit, evocative of the gorgeous, glittery cover of his book. It’s one of my favourite book covers ever, and no internet photo can hope to do it justice. And it embodies perfectly the glitzy, glittery world of Crazy Rich Asians.

I absolutely adore this book. The title itself is hilarious, and sent me on a Facebook tagging rampage whilst singing “You’re so vain, I bet you think this book is about you, don’t you?” An aunt later protested my tagging her (along with my entire family, to be honest), seeing as we were Asian, but certainly neither crazy nor rich. I assured her she was absolutely right, and immediately nixed my plan to give away copies of this book for Christmas.

Crazy Rich Asians lampoons a world I, having grown up in Asia, am very much familiar with, though have never been a part of. The snootiness towards the nouveau riche (easily identifiable by the gauche abundance of brand name logos), the importance of family connections (character Rachel Chu keeps being asked if she’s one of “the” Chu’s), the back room gossip that cements one’s status as being part of the inner circle… Kwan gleefully delves into this world and pulls the reader along with him. Kwan makes fun of this world, but with such genuine affection for it that the book resists caricature, and the characters practically leap off the page in living colour.

The story focuses on Rachel Chu, an American born Chinese (ABC) who visits Singapore and meets her boyfriend’s family. She then finds out that Nicholas Young isn’t just a simple professor, but rather the heir to one of the largest family empires in Singapore, and therefore also one of Singapore’s most eligible bachelors. This is a world completely alien to her, and she fits in about as well as I did in my hipster gear at the launch. Despite her efforts to fit in, jealous ex-girlfriends and scheming relatives keep her off-kilter, and a surprising revelation about her own family’s background adds a rather soap opera-like twist that nevertheless remains deeply felt.

I absolutely love their love story, and admit I developed a bit of a crush on Nick myself. Despite his upbringing, he seems really down to earth, and also genuinely cares about Rachel. I only wish they had been more open with each other from the beginning – they could have avoided so much grief if they had.

Equally riveting is the subplot involving Charlie Wu, who has long harboured a flame for Nick’s cousin and society It girl Astrid. In the words of a friend who also read the book: “Charlie Wu stole the show!” He’s certainly a heroic figure, a dashing billionaire who has not only overcome adversity to get to where he is, but who continues to have a tortured personal life, all because of a stupid series of mistakes from the past. In a way, his story is even more dramatic that Nick and Rachel’s, and if Kwan were ever to write a sequel, I humbly suggest giving Charlie and Astrid their own book.

As if all the man candy and glittery gossip weren’t enough, the book also reads like a foodie tour of Asia. Kwan describes meals in mouthwatering detail, and when I wasn’t laughing my head off, I was craving Asian cuisine.

Glorious, glittery and gleeful, Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians is an absolute indulgence of a book. It’s excess upon excess to absurd proportions, yet always grounded in lovingly detailed characters that somehow manage to remain all too human. And it’s in Kwan’s unmistakeable affection for the world he lampoons that the story finds its mark, and more importantly, leaves its mark on the reader.

Thank you to Random House of Canada for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Bookish Calgary | Shelf Life and Pages on Kensington

Posted on 30 October 2013 by Jaclyn

What better way to enjoy a first visit to a city than to check out its independent bookstores? A couple of weekends ago, I visited Calgary for the first time. With barely a couple of days in the area and only the vaguest notion of finding something interesting to do, I did what any self-respecting bookworm would and decided to buy my book for the trip back from a local indie.

Fortunately, my sister, who was on the trip with me, is a huge bookworm as well, and on a quest to visit libraries around Canada. And if anyone would know the indie bookstore scene in a city, it would be a librarian, right? Minor note: the Calgary Public Library Central Branch has an artist in residence, Lea Bucknell, who did a sculptural installation in the main floor. Being both a bookworm and an art nerd, I loved the idea of a library including an artist residency in their programming.

The librarian I met directed me to two shops: Shelf Life and Pages on Kensington. There’s a special feeling that comes from visiting an independent bookstore — a sense of adventure, of not knowing quite what to expect. This feeling is heightened when visiting a bookstore while on vacation — not just do you not know what to expect, but you also do know that you likely won’t be coming back.

Shelf Life Books

Located across the street from a park, Shelf Life Books also had an interesting sun and bird sculpture right by its front door. The store reminded me of Nicholas Hoare for some reason — Shelf Life is much brighter than Nicholas Hoare, and the layout and colour palette is more like Indigo than Nicholas Hoare – light coloured shelves, brightly lit space, light coloured walls. It’s huge, particularly for an independent bookstore, and perhaps its this spaciousness that struck me most.

I also love its quirky displays – a pillar by the window is filled with yellow books – perfect for the customer (every bookseller has met at least once) who says, “I’m looking for a book… I can’t remember the title, but I know the cover is yellow.” They have an excellent stationery section, and I couldn’t resist a couple of their Edward Gorey cards.

Best of all is a shelf full of local authors and bookish highlights. In front of that is a table, with chairs practically inviting customers to take their time poring over books until they decide just what they want to buy.

Recently, I did a post on independent bookshops, in particular a wonderful experience I had at Glad Day Books, where I asked a bookseller about the best book he’s read recently, and that led to a fantastic reading experience and countless more visits to Glad Day. My sister reminded me of that blog post as we browsed Shelf Life selections. My chance came quickly enough; a bookseller named Jo-Ann passed by and casually mentioned being available if we needed anything.

“I’m looking for something new,” I said. “What’s the best book you’ve read recently?”

“I’m reading a wonderful book now,” she replied. “Lush Life by Richard Price, which is beyond my comfort zone because I don’t usually read thrillers. But I’m really enjoying this one so far. The author also writes for the TV show The Wire.”

As a mystery/thriller fan myself, I was all set to pick it up, when she added, “But the best book I read recently… That would have to be Life! Death! Prizes! by Stephen May. It’s about a boy whose mother died… And it’s really funny, it really is! Just the way he writes… Hold on, let me see if we have a copy…”

I’m pretty familiar with the latest buzz books, whether or not I’ve actually read them, so to have received a recommendation for a book I’d never even heard of is a special thrill. And the juxtaposition between the tone and subject matter definitely intrigued me.

Minutes passed, and I was just beginning to wonder if she’d forgotten about me when she came back with a stack of books. Turns out they didn’t stack the May book, so she pulled together a wide selection of books for me to choose from. “Have a seat at this table and take a look to see if any of these interests you,” she said.

My former co-workers and I used to do that at Nicholas Hoare – whenever we just got so excited about so many books that we simply couldn’t limit ourselves to just one recommendation. It’s only now however that I understood the shocked look on our customers’ faces. It was like Christmas, except I didn’t want to pay a baggage surcharge on the flight back to Toronto.

Her recommendations:

Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis – “My co-worker read this recently and absolutely loved it!”
Malarkey by Anakana Schofield – “Canadian author, young and upcoming. This book features an unusual point of view, and has really powerful writing.”
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood – “Also a Canadian author, and well, it’s Margaret Atwood. She just released the final book of this series recently.”
Barney’s Version by Mordecai Richler – “A classic Canadian book.”
Lush Life by Richard Price – “This is the one I mentioned earlier, which I’m reading and so far, it’s really, really good.”
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett – “Ann Patchett’s an amazing writer, a favourite with so many people. This book in particular is one of her best.”
Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller – “Non-fiction, and what I love about this is that she goes through so much in her life, but she relates it in a very matter-of-fact way.”
Something Fierce by Carmen Aguirre – “Also non-fiction. It won Canada Reads a couple of years ago. Powerful, very moving story.”

I did take her advice on Lush Life, and highly, highly recommend it myself. His language just blew me away, and his characters are marvellously rendered. I also took her advice on the Alexandra Fuller, which didn’t quite blow me away, and parts of it made me uncomfortable, but I do agree with Jo-Ann’s assessment on Fuller’s language. Her straightforward tone belies the emotion within the experiences.

From the Pages Facebook Page

Pages on Kensington

Pages is a lovely store, much smaller than Shelf Life Books, and crammed full of bookish goodness. When I visited, there were a couple of families, one of which had several really young children gleefully tearing down the aisles. The booksellers seemed to know them, and I like to think that this family comes to the shop often, perhaps gives the kids books for weekend treats.

Even before I could approach a bookseller for recommendations, this absolutely gorgeous book of stories by Chekhov, illustrated by Seth, caught my eye. The power of a well-placed display at a cash register situated right in front of the entrance.

What struck me most however was this:

It’s the first indie bookshop I’ve seen that actually sells ebooks. It’s something I personally think more indie bookshops should be doing, though admittedly I don’t fully understand the financials behind it. I wish I’d thought to ask the booksellers later on how the ebook business was working out for them; I like to think it helps, at least.

Upon check out, I did get to ask the bookseller at the counter about the best book she’d read recently.

Her recommendations:

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion – “I loved this book!”
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – “Also really good. I loved it but for very different reasons.”
The Dark by Claire Mulligan – “If you like ghost stories, this is really good. There’s a mystery, and it’s about sisters.”

Not that I need any more titles on my TBR pile, but I have to admit, The Dark especially intrigues me.

If you’re in the area, be sure to check them out!

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