Pecah oleh Khairulnizam Bakeri

I was on a reading frenzy. Back from Murud, i'd done reading Bourdain (Medium Raw), Albom (For One More Day), Roden (Middle Eastern Feast) and Petterson (Kiss The Girl). I read when i want to still my mind, i read when my mind's too busy wandering. That's the only way to tame it. Other than of course, to black-out and go to sleep, which i also did a lot post Murud. More than 8 hours a day. Ya, you caught me there, i cat-napped in the office, even half-waking in a meeting. I know, i'm being bad. 

Murud was a beautiful experience. But, i was poorly equipped to fight the fatigue and overwhelmingness after it. Like everything worth thinking over in life, i need time to digest it all. and because i'm a very personal person, this could take months to mull over. Some may say that's characteristic of a self-centric person. Ya, i admit, in my own way, i am a very self-centric person

So, the Murud post needs to wait, i need to calm my mind to write a decent post. Maybe i'm also a bit scared to write of experience that sacred. A personal encountering with divine Holiness. or maybe at the moment, i'm just being me, self centric, wanting to savour all those experiences by myself. For me. 

The macho mom has hers laid out here: Murud #1, #2, #3, #4, finale

Pecah by Khairulnizam Bakeri. Pic from themalaysianreader.com

Instead, today's post is on the second book i got from Lejen Press, purchased together with the first book i made a post here (Kelabu by Nadia Khan). I got the hardcover limited edition, good binding with the type of paper i like for RM30.

If you haven't read any of Fixi book yet, give yourself a favour by reading this book, first. I was hooked from the first page to the end and i read the whole book in one sitting. The storyline was fast-paced, minimal unnecessary details, interesting dialogues (he frequently used the character's mother tongue), (and i never believe i could enjoy the repeatedly to and fro in the timelines) but, he did it so effortlessly, that i stayed along and read on with conviction. (i had a very hard time reading the time traveller's wife, with all those to and fro goings).

The book started with a bank robbery, then to an elderly centre with a very curious old man getting a bad heart attack, then to Hospital where the bank robber(s) somehow connect with one of the nurse, then to the past at a night club, then to a gentleman lawyer with a problem with his wife then on and on, the stories unfold. This, in short is a very believable story. My first rule for a good fiction is that it must be believable or soooo unbelievable its magical.

Never mind the repeated coincidences. I'm a huge believer in 'Everything happen for a reason' and we met people for a reason too, no matter how brief. So, screw the voice at the back of my mind that scream 'bloody many coincidences, too much to be true!'.

The man. Khairulnizam Bakeri. Pic from goodbooksguide.blogspot.com

I sent a friend request on FB to the author and he accepted within the day. Khairulnizam Bakeri. He's good. really good author. my hope soar again for good malay fiction and keeping my eyes for this guy's next book. I'm rating Pecah at 8.5/10.

A Middle Eastern Feast

 *This is a story of preserved lemons. :)

A Middle Eastern Feast by Claudia Roden

Oh! i hope i'm more insightful, more political when i write the title for this blogpost. I could write about the Arab's Spring, or certainly i can link up to a Youtube video of that little boy who eloquently explaining why Morsi isn't what the Arab world needs as opposed to many Malaysian muslim led to believe (or at least, my muslim friends on FB who posted pro-Morsi posts on their wall). Hair-raising scary what people blindly believe nowadays.

But no, when i reached for this book, and planned to write a blog post out of it, it's for one cause: because i have a basketful of lemons from Long Beluyu, Lawas to preserve. I need a better than my 'tongue' (palate) to do it. I'd preserved lemons before (and i love preserved lemons), but never to give away, so, i thought, i better do a bit of research before doing this up, as i promised Diana a jar of the preserve. (i got the lemons from her uncle's yard)

My favourite online cook, Mr. Marketman and this guy David Lebovitz refered (linked) by Mr. Marketman got their versions of preserving lemons. I've tried Mr. Marketman's and it was good as an accompaniment to raw vaggie/fish (eaten as dipping/sambal). 

so, here, i'm done reading Claudia Roden's A Middle Eastern Feast, for preserve lemon recipe. This is a small treasure book in the Penguin's Great Food series. i ended up googling up for exotic herbs and spices, because really, i come short in this area. caraway? mahlab? chervil?. Her beautifully written recipe book is not an ordinary recipe book, it goes deeper, she wrote about the culture behind each recipe, of how intermingling in the middle eastern countries brought all those delicious fusion and traditional dishes. history preserved in food.

'X' incision. see the thin skin?

Back to my lemons. The lemons i got, are not the best to preserve. the skin is too thin. the usual preserved lemon call for a thicker, hardier lemon skin, like Meyer Lemon. But, i don't get upset by this fact, because, i usually ended up using the flesh and even the brine of my lemon preserved. they make a good bitter-salty lemonade drink/soup. So, all's well with me. (for a Schweppes bitter lemon soda addict, bitter preserved lemon is a healthier option!)

For this batch, i follow Claudia's instruction on Page 6-7 for the citrons confits (lemon preserved in salt) with a twist of 1. bay leaves + fresh small chillies, 2. cinnamon sticks + cloves.

bay leaves + chillies

cinnamon stick + cloves

Basically: 1 lemon + 1tbs coarse salt + juice from 1 lemon (make an X incision, stuffed salt in between, squeeze in the jar, leave for one night, squeeze the juice, add juice from another lemon to cover). You may add any other spices to flavour the preserve.

Leave the jars in room temperature for 4-5 days, then put in the fridge for up to many months. its OK to leave it in room temp, but some people get off with the whitish stuff on the surface. its mould and pretty harmless. The preserve is ready for use after 10 days. i usually only use the lemons after a month fermenting. and it gets better as it grow older.

aww.. i hope, it's not just the preserved lemons, which gets better as it old. i hope, we too, get mellower, and better as we age.

For One More Day by Mitch Albom

 

For One More Day

Psalms 84:10

 Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere.

Some days are certainly better than others.

The few short days i spent in Ba Kelalan were those better days. Days i would like very much to stretch out and go on, and on and on forever.

I like the place, in love with the people and are drawn to their culture.

So, ya, i think i know the meaning of hoping for one more day. because at the moment, i'm longing for just one more day to be there. (by the way, i am planning to visit the place again in october/ december this year. so, this is an official shout out to all my close friends to join in the fun. its apple harvesting season in Oct and probably rice harvest in dec).

In Mitch Albom's word: have you ever lost someone you love and wanted one more conversation, one more chance to make up for the lost time when you thought they would be here forever? if so, then you know you can go your whole life collecting days and none will outweigh the one you wish you had back.

I hope i'd never had the need for another day, for the reason that i didn't spend my time with my loved ones wisely. I hope i'd love people enough and get loved back enough. Because, whats the point of living, otherwise?

I am a skeptical person by nature. i don't believe in things easily. Sometimes i tolerated things (mostly because i inherited my ancestor's penchant for not rejecting ideas, no matter how impossible it might sound), but, it doesn't mean i believe in it. Example: the story in this book, meeting up a dead person. i'd nonchalantly say, ya it could happen. but do i believe it could happen? no, not really.

me, Alie, Uncle#1, Bee Lian, Lui Lin

me, Alie, Uncle#2, Dy

I tried to be not too skeptical, too logical, because as i found recently, there are many things in this life happened supernaturally. beyond the logic of our mind. If that's what some people say miracle, maybe that's what we need faith for. Example: what is the odds of meeting up a friend's handsome uncles in the remote area of Ba Kelalan?. One of them is single (not so sure of the availability). 

For one more day, i sincerely hope i'll have one more day to spend in this remote place with these lovely people.

Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain

I feel, the handsomest and dandiest chef is Anthony Bourdain. He certainly writes better than he speaks. and i am in love with his style of writing. bold, to the point, raw.

in this book he chronicles his journey as a chef and his opinions of his world. and his is a very interesting, entertaining world. but, its a world for the tough, like him. most people will withered under the same duress.

Diana, Ukab, Allison, Me, Gwen - Gedung Haleluya, Mt. Murud

i went up Mt. Murud last week. it was a wonderful experience, which i will write in a post of its own later. as for this post, refer to the pic above. that yummy looking boy is a cook with a culinary certificate. There's something really interesting with guys who cook good food. 

the name is Ukab, a traditional Lun Bawang name. he cooked for us the day we went down Mt Murud. His uncle, (another very good looking guy) also is a very good cook. as we meet more of the Lun Bawang family, i found out, many of the guys (if not all) cook real well. and on top of being good cook, they're also very good looking.

Bourdain may won my heart with his writing. But, i'll wage my life to live with one of these guys from this tribe, not for the food they prepare (though, thats a winning point too), but, because of their hearts for God. in this tough world, we need a guided bold men to lead us on.

Kelabu oleh Nadia Khan

pic by Fixi.com.my

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bought two fixi novels at Lejen press booth at 1B in KK when i was there 2 weeks ago. i stumbled upon it, prompted by a tweet from @KKCity. The only man waited the booth has no idea when i asked what book would he recommend to me to read. at least, ask what genre i usually read. tergagap-gagap, what?!you never waited a book counter before? adoiii...

Kelabu by Nadia Khan and Pecah by Khairulnizam Bakeri.

both were really good. i'd give 6/10 for kelabu and 8.5/10 for Pecah.

I admire fixi for featuring 'different' kind of Malay books to the public. [something our neigbouring country has been doing since early 80's (i grew up reading Indonesian novels)] but, i don't appreciate name calling. Printing on the first few page of your book, something like 'kalau nak yang proper (ie: bahasa asing di italik) cari buku DBP' is not cool. Readers know the difference without you pointing out. That's why we seek you. Don't try too hard at being 'different'.

Kebetulan, sebelum balik ke KK saya sedang membaca 'in one person' oleh John Irving. selepas membaca kelabu (diselangi tontonan siri GoT musim ke 3), persamaan tema dalam kedua-dua buku ini agak jelas. kekeliruan seks dan yag lebih menarik, kedua-dua watak utama dalam cerita-cerita ini pernah tinggal beberapa tahun di Jerman. 

Bezanya, naratif dan keyakinan pembaca terhadap tema dalam buku Irving lebih dalam dan terolah rapi secara relatif terhadap kelabu.

Kelemahan utama kelabu adalah pada bahagian meyakinkan pembaca terhadap kesungguhan watak utama terhadap kekeliruan seksnya. selain itu, jalan cerita yang mudah diramal, klise cerita melayu yang latarbelakangnya kaya-raya, tipikal cerita anak-anak datuk. Kalau tujuannya memilih watak utama pada golongan ini adalah tujahan sarkastik secara lembut, itu cubaan yang agak menarik.

Mungkin penulis menulis novel ini untuk pembaca yang naif dan tipikal malaysia yang lemah lembut. Tidak ada adegan panas atau walaupun sekadar ciuman dalam novel kekeliruan seks? whew! dalam perbualan peribadi dengan seorang budak sekolah menengah di kawasan kampung yeng mengaku pengkid, beliau mengakui pernah beringan-ringan dengan pasangannya. Watak dalam novel kelabu ini sungguh jauh ketinggalan dalam eksperimentasi. Kewajaran penceritaannya dari segi psikologi menjadi kurang. Tidak perlu kekeliruan seks jika tidak berminat terhadap seks.

Oh! mungkin kerana cerita ini lebih kepada hati dan perasaan. Keinginan yang lebih dalam dan bukan sekadar fizikal. Kekeliruan itu kan di dalam jiwa? ya, mungkin, di Malaysia itu cukup ;)

when i asked my younger sister (20 yo) whose on her semester break if she'd read the book. she said "macam drama melayu gia tu. baru 5 minit saya baca, saya nokodop sudah" (its like a malay drama. i fell asleep after 5 minutes read). She's studying Japanese and very much into K-Pop culture.

However, i must say, its a brave effort to tackle taboo issue like this and formatted it in a light, easy to digest albeit a bit too hypocrite novel. Reviews from the readers proved to be really positive. Salina by A.Samad Said keep on appearing in my mind. can we have an honest, heart tugging malay novel like that anytime soon? please? [DBP clearly not in the productive mood these past few years]

Happy Birthday Linda!

she did it! she ran half marathon

Happy Birthday Pong!

Semoga rekod larian kita di BIM akan menjadi lebih baik dari yang di Brooks.

sometimes ago when we were in the uni, someone told me that we talked like we were best friend. at first, it confused me. aint that what sisters should be? bestfriend?. then, came along Downton Abbey and no, in many cases, sisters are just fated siblings, stuck together because of blood relations. so, i'll consider myself very lucky for having you as my younger sister, a sibling i'm proud to call my bestfriend, loyal to the end. 

Sometimes later (hopefully) when we were old and surrounded by our grandchildren, we'll come back to this point of life. remembering all the good things, amazing experiences we've been through together. it'll be quite a story. but, until then, let us live, a day at a time, savouring life. 

Wishing you all the good things in the world and most of all for happiness. Happy Birthday!

half year update

whew!

Thats a long hiatus. been reading some good books. will update the book read section. there's 4-5 more books to add to the list. somehow, i cant recall the whole title/author of those books. i'll sort that out later (pretty much sorted on August 2nd, 2013 - see the book read list)

ok, my last post was in march. what have i done the whole time? apart from book reading 9-10 books, i started to read scientific journals (aching my head), planning to write up a research proposal before September. i better get back to those journals if i am to write that darn proposal. ;)

Bus ride

railway station

i went to Bangkok last March with my good pal. we had fun (i guess). i passed the bars and beer fountain and those lovely guys (now, i'm regretting it). instead, i dragged my pal to the national museum, siam discovery centre, many temples, railway station, cinemas and universities like a proper nerd. we also tried the local food (street foods) the whole 7 days we were there. the pal a bit queasy about it. but thank God we turned out fine. i think he's smitten by their banana fritters. we'll be back to Bangkok for sure. 

Mak Phet

Joma

while we were in Bangkok, we went by train to Vientiane. spent 3 days there. the journey by train was amazing. definitely will travel by Thai train again. as for Vientiane, nothing much there. but then again, i was there on the hottest month of the year with no proper plan (the initial plan was to go to Chiang Mai- north of Bangkok). we ended up holing down in their (few) air-cond cafe wolfing beautiful and delish pastries. (pondan mengorat my pal, and i did my best to chase the pondan way)

he better remember that deed.

Israel Houghton and New Breed Concert, KL, 2013

April, i went for a rocking concert in KL: Israel Houghton and New Breed. it was awesome.

joke of the year: the mystery of election's ink = food colouring. hahha!

@ Fread's

May in Ranau for General election and makan berabis with the kaibigans.

i ran half marathon last month (june). i'm not proud of the performance, i crawled the last 7 km. but, i did it. i reached the finish line and im going to do it again next month (august) for BIM. and i got the key for my studio apartment. yay!

i also managed to convince Dy, Max and Khairi to be in my next charity project. and that dream keep me sane, keep me going, fuel me up. 

its half year gone by. it has been amazing. not all rosy of course, the man dumped me. but, lets not dwell on that. he is his own person, and have his own reasons. i cant change that and i wont, given the chance. 

p/s: will furnish with pics when the internet line get better (oooo... when?)

Reckless Driver

 

I was in Kota Kinabalu last week, just in time to celebrate our brother, Atan's birthday. He's 28! (one of these days, i'll post his picture with his bestie on their first day of school (form 1)). He's always been a wonderful brother. when we were kids, he's incapable of telling lies. always the one pointed out our faults (and confessed his own) in our weekly family prayer night. one fault, one spank (yes, our dad spanked us girls too). 

As we grew older, the raw honesty (naivety) corroded. we live telling half truth. Often times, we did that to protect our loved ones from the biting, harsh reality. But, some people are just too used to telling lies (and there's a difference in concealing truth and telling lies). Maybe because its so rare, we seek honesty foremost in any relationship we try to forge. Recently, i got out of a relationship because i cant stand the lies. I loved the man alright. Just don't want to be in a fake relationship.

when i read this book its bursting with honesty (i got this book from my sister, popong who bought it at the Big Bad Wolf Sale, earlier this month. i leave my box of books i got at the sale at Jane's). you have to lived a hard childhood or live near enough to it to understand what i mean with this honesty. i had a relatively good childhood, despite all the hardships. But, i also lived in one of the poorest district in the poorest state in the country, where the pepatah: kais pagi, makan pagi, kais petang, makan patang is the adage, to have the privilege of experiencing poverty first hand.  

growing up, some nights, we woke up to a loud bang at the neigbour's  house. Their father came home, drunk and beat up their mom to pulp. and the same mom had to labour 3 days to get RM15 to bring her sickly child to hospital while the useless dad wasted away his wages on drinks. i am thankful, my dad cant do alcohol and never beat us up. me despising drunkard is an understatement.

Lisa Vice, your debut novel is a fascinating read. Lana was a trooper. but, no, God is not like a reckless driver. we are the reckless driver, never paying attention to whats important until it's too late.

Ampun Tuanku

whew!

its been a while. i was abducted by the Kiram and they forced me to be their tukang cuci jamban (sorry, i had to write that down, i cant help myself.) if you're a Malaysian and have no idea of what i'm talking about, go shoot yourself. To the rest of the world; King Kiram of Sulu Sultanate send about 200 army to occupy Sabah (North Borneo) via Lahad Datu, sometime in mid February. for 21 days the Malaysian Government tried to negotiate with the invading foreign army (much to our frustration-you don't negotiate with terrorist!). 

if the world would blame us for killing the invading army to protect our homeland, know that, we waited 21 days before gunning down the terrorist. and because i'm a Malaysian, i'll side with my country's version of the story. for more perspectives; read The Manila Times, Khabar southeastasia,

washingtonpost, Bloomberg or try googling it up.

when Sabahans decided to join (by Cobbold Commision) in forming a sovereign country of Malaysia in 1963, we decided to become Malaysian. we made the decision in 1963 and we're standing by it. 

Done reading Ampun Tuanku by Zaid Ibrahim. Need sometime to digest it (its an easy read, with repeated emphasize on certain important matters). All this stories about monarchy and its relevance to the modern administration/politics make me sick. ya, i need to go to jamban. 

February's Catch

The first two on February's stack are from Popular Bookstore (my choice for books shopping because of it's permanent 10% discount and occasional 20-30% discount for member~despite the lack of varieties, the bookstore is the most reliable in terms of value for money). The rest are from MPH, Spring, Kuching (if i can help it, i'd rather buy my books from any other MPH store than here). there's something really alarming buying books from people who clearly don't read much.

my favourite bookstore is still Kinokuniya at KLCC and in Borneo, it'd be Times Bookstore at Suria (the only reason i step in Suria KK). lets just say, i was impressed with their sales people. 

what do i expect from sales people in a bookstore?

1. when i ask question, they listen attentively.

2. if they don't get the title/ name of the author i requested, they give me paper and pen to write it on/ they ask me to spell it out.

3. if the said book is not available in their store, they tell/suggest me where can i get it.

4. in their free time, they're busy reading.

the catch:

1. The Magician King by Lev Grossman (Arrow books, 2012) (RM 31.90)

    because: if you have read The Magician you'll understand the meaning of 'under the spell'

 

2. Ampun Tuanku by Zaid Ibrahim (ZI Publications, 2012) (RM49.90)

    because: upcoming PRU13, its exciting to know what this person has to say. bah! seriously, being a Sabahan with limited knowledge of how the monarch works and fit in the current political situation made me bought this.

3. Born To run by Christopher McDougall (Vintage books, 2009) (RM49.90)

    because: i'm starting to run long distance this year.

4. Running Made Easy by Susie Whalley and Lisa Jackson (Collins and Brown, 2008) (RM24.90)

5. Running a Marathon for Dummies by Jason R. Karp (John Wiley & Sons, 2013) (RM59.80)

i'm running my first 10K this Sunday (03/03/2013) Brooks Half Marathon. without proper training and stamina. wish me luck.

Have a good week people!

Crocodylus porosus v Buaya darat

croc in captivity, Sandakan

i finished reading this very informative and interesting book about saltwater crocodiles in Borneo yesterday. its a slim volume, but, because of time constrains, i spent almost 4 days to finish reading it. and i am glad i picked this book and read on. 

i spent a lot of time poring over Borneo Publications books on Flora and also Soil or even general biodiversity of Borneo for my research. but, their animal related books were out of my sight. the publication house published many interesting volumes on natural history of Borneo. and most (if not all) are of scientific nature/ academic background (that tend to be dull and monotonous). 

rest assured, this book by Ritchie and Jong is one of the exception from the above para. written in a narrative, everyday words (with lots of typo~mr editor: i listed down the typo and i caught more than 10), the read is exciting and very informative. i never took any interest in knowing about the term "Bujang Senang" before, but, i do now. the story of man-eating crocs is insanely interesting. my colleagues are enduring my insistent sharing over breakfast. poor them.

addendum:
i realized i was a little over the top with my sharing after i shared it with the senior class in my last class with them before they went for their CNY holidays. some of the boys at the back noisily commented, apa kaitan croc ya dengan topik miss?. brazen, i said, oi.. buaya.. the class suddenly came alive with catcalls and teasing. nah.. kawu, buaya darat..poor boy. i teach them health system research, and i was trying to convince them that reading a new material, not necessarily connected with our main field can be a surprising new facts, new knowledge to us.

oh! i found the publication house website featuring this book. go there for the book's brief. and their other books too.

pic: nhp.com

and no, i wont tempt myself to write about buaya darat. after reading this book, the term is a little awkward for me to use . according to the definition given by this website: buaya darat = lelaki yang selalu memperdaya perempuan. i think, crocs made it very clear to us of their intention, we court the risk when we invade their territory. maybe there's the similarity hits, buaya darat's intention usually can be seen, but, we dare  to court risk, courting.

i will update this post with pictures and more ramblings. DONE!

until then, have a good weekend people!

Happy Chinese New Year to those who celebrate and Happy Holidays to all.

p/s i had a very sumptuous and delicious CNY dinner over at Dy's aunty. thanks aunty Julia! and booo to  PSY performance in Penang (or, boo to that certain political party). now, that's a laughingstock.  

Swimming Home

pic by Amazon.co.uk

By nightfall of Friday (feb, 1st), i'd done reading this book. i struggled reading it. i dont like all the characters. Especially Kitty and Mitchell. and the theme: the power of the unspoken, hits home, bulls eye.

During the weekend i reread the book because i cant resist it. reading this book was a whole new experience in reading for me. Remember those mystery/thriller books in our primary school library, the one requires us to choose the next action to do (eg: turn to pg 7 if you want to proceed or go to pg 12 if you want to back off). i love those books! it gives you a sense of being one with the book, a sense any reader should experience with a good book. Deborah Levy gave me that experience in Swimming Home.

The story: a famous poet with his equally famous journalist wife went for a holiday in southern France together with their 14 years old daughter, Nina and their life long friends Laura and her fat husband, Mitchell. Then enter Kitty Finch, a skinny, gorgeous red-head swimming naked in the swimming pool of their villa. somehow, Kitty was invited to stay with them. the next seven days with Kitty is the story in this book. nothing really peculiar in the storyline. But, why did Isabel (the poet's wife) invited Kitty(a stranger) to stay (knowing her husband has weakness with young woman)?. who is Kitty Finch?

if you ever experienced looking at a painting/ photograph/ any art objects and connect (feel a story behind that object), this read is almost similar to that. its like reading a series of painting, interconnected but, fiercely individual. maybe it's just me. maybe my present situation heighten the feel of the theme given.

The power of the unspoken. this theme holds strong throughout the book and i like the grasp, the repetition, the consistency. because, its real. most of us like the guessing games. we assume. we shy away from asking/ telling the truth. instead of facing reality, we make a circle of imaginative comfort around us.

motivated by this book, i point blankly asked a person a very sensitive question (I've been longing to know for weeks) and got a point blank answer. ya, that's why we keep most of the questions to ourselves. we're scared of the answer. the power of the unknown keep most of us afloat. but, if we're honest, barely floating wont help us to swim home.

and going home is a tough business when we don't know where home is. sometimes ago, i found a shelter for me, a place my heart calls to. a place I'm keen to call home. 

i wish all of us, have a home. a place where we swim to, run to, live in. a place we long to be. a place to belong. all else will matter less. 

have a good week people!

p/s: as we search for a place to belong in this world, let us not forget where we truly belong. keep our eyes up to heaven and the promise to be reunited with our father. Keep on rejoicing: Mercy me ~ I can only Imagine. 

Homeland ridiculous story: 3 mil for PSY performance. He is a joke. no matter how successful he seems to be.  

The Prisoner of Heaven

pic by book smuggler.com

My reading frenzy is on. i have trouble sleeping and variation in my diurnal activity greatly affected. my body protested and viral infection hit me bad, i slept yesterday off. i feel better this morning, still having slight headache (dull, persistent throbs). but, basically fine. and i'm starting on Swimming Home by Deborah Levy.

The Prisoner of Heaven is the third book in the cemetery of forgotten books series. it can be read alone but, better read with book #1 The shadow of the wind and book #2 The Angel's game (a book, so disappointing, i almost forgot its in the series)

so, how do i define a disappointing book?

1. predictable story line
2. incoherent narrative
3. flat climax (ugh!)
4. wrong facts/terms (ya, fictions need to be believable too)

Based on these definitions, I'd say, The Prisoner of Heaven is safe at 6/10 scale. and yes, i'm done with the series. i am not going to buy the next book (if there's any). Zafon is still a dear author to me. i absolutely love his style of writing. the lucidity of description and magic of his maze like story lines. i'm just tired with the theme of the series: revenge. 

 . 

Reading for pleasure is a heart matter. sinister themes like loneliness and revenge are not good for the soul. unless in the end, we dwell on the lighter sides of the matter instead of the matter itself. 

The only redeeming factor for this book is the jovial and crazy sense of humour of Fermin. 

if you're interested on reading the series, read the first book. its a magical experience. then, the second, and if you're still up to it, come to this The Prisoner of Heaven (it's much more lively than the boggy second, i promise). 

Life is our temporary prison. its up to us how to perceive it. Don't be a prisoner in hell, read, let go. find your own heaven. yes, its possible. its a book away.

have a good weekend people!

p/s: have you check The Lonely Island's YOLO? its super fantastic. not to mention Adam Levine is in it! and for 6 minutes of your life, please spend it watching Walt Disney's Paperman. it's dead romantic.