Title: Something in the Water
Author: Catherine Steadman
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Publication: 2018
"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional".
The title of the book was intriguing. It implied a mystery, a thriller or both. I stopped picking the book as per recommendations or reviews of others because many a times they failed me. Its my understanding to read book without any expectations. That makes it much more joyful process and I would be the sole judge without any influence.
Plot: Erin is an upcoming film maker who is engaged to Mark, a handsome and successful investment banker. She is filming a documentary about three prisoners from different walks of life who are to be affiliated back into society. Just few days before the D day Mark loses job. They decide to cut down on the wedding expenses and two weeks honeymoon in Bora Bora instead of planned three weeks. They were having a perfect honeymoon; sunbathing, hiking, scuba diving; eating exotic food; and generous dose of love making until they find something in the deep blue sea and their life is never the same.
Book opens where Erin is digging a grave to bury the body and she leaves it to the readers to decide whether she is a good person or not. That promised a good start. And in the end I could not fathom whether she is a good person or not. She made incredibly stupid choices for sure. She is greedy and completely untrustworthy. So, is Mark. The story is gripping from start to finish, though the climax is predictable with a little twist.
I started wondering is it so easy to smuggle things to England if you are traveling in first class as the writer suggests? What would I've done in Erin's position? I even prodded Hubby to answer what would be his choice if he was Mark after the storytelling. Throughout the book I was telling Erin not to walk that road and have her priorities right. In this way the book does justice to being a psychological thriller.
This is author's first novel. Once I finished the book I decided to do a little research about the writer. Voila, I knew her. Not personally of course. She is an actress, and I recognized her roles from Downton Abbey and The Tudors. She weaved a relatively simple tale in an equally simple words. And I would like to read more from this one.
Title: Sharp Objects
Author: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Publication: 2006
I liked Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl and Dark Places. Somehow missed the first one and wanted to read it for quite sometime. I love her female protagonists. They are nothing like other perfect, goody two-shoes I come across in other books. They are portrayed even ghastly for my taste. Nonetheless they are sickeningly bad, bordering sociopaths. I read it somewhere Flynn saying women can be pragmatically evil, bad, and selfish and I totally agree with her.
In Nutshell: Camille Preaker, a reporter for a Chicago newspaper was sent back to Wind Gap, Missouri, her hometown on an assignment to cover a story about a missing girl that has a startling similarities with a girl's murder a year earlier. She reluctantly agrees to return to her childhood mansion to stay with her mother Adora, her step-father, and her 13-year-old half-sister Amma. Her mother is blatantly unwelcoming and horrified to learn about Camille's work. The relationship between mother and daughter is bad from the beginning, and she had one younger sister, Marian who died young of an unknown illness.
Once in Wind Gap, Camille starts her investigation, talking to parents' and peers of missing girls. The local law enforcement wasn't helpful as they are worried about the bad media attention. She meets Kansas City detective, Richard Willis who is here to investigate the same case and gets romantically involved with him. She gets to know more about her sister, Amma who has two sides to her personality; a childish teen at home while outside she is popular, wild, drug and alcohol abuser, sexually active, and a bully.
Camille herself is an alcoholic and was institutionalized for self-destruction. Whenever she is stressed or low, she carves into her skin with sharp objects. At present she constantly battles the urge to etch the words on her skin, though mentally she does so. During her stay she stumbles upon many secrets and was able to solve the mystery of gruesome murders. As this is a thriller I would not divulge how it ends.
Camille is a damaged character. She was a wild child too while growing up. Her self-mutilation tale started immediately after Marian's death whom she was very much attached to. She is bright, independent, and self-sufficient. She tries constantly to be a good person despite having a dark past.
Narration includes substance abuse, self-mutilation, promiscuity, bullying among others. I don't know if 13 year olds can be that nasty in real world. Surely I haven't met one. None of the characters are sane here, all are twisted and sick. One exception to this might be Richard, the investigating officer. It talks about Münchausen syndrome by proxy, a condition which I have not heard before. Once I finish the book I went and did my little research on the topic. Definitely a rare disorder, but can't deny its presence. This is chilling, gripping, and brilliantly written story, clearly not for the faint-hearted. I couldn't shake it off my mind for two straight days. Flynn is one author who made me sick inside about human beings. Having said that if she writes anything else I'm desperate to get my hands on it. I liked "Sharp Objects" better than Dark Places and Gone Girl. To my surprise HBO premiered the fist episode of "Sharp Objects miniseries this very month, Amy Adams as Camille Preaker and I know she will be wonderful at that. Since I have already narrated the story of the book to hubby it is easier for me to convince him to watch the series. And we shall do that in the coming months.
Title: Crazy Rich Asians
Author: Kevin Kwan
Genre: Young Adult
Publication: 2013
Blurb: When New Yorker Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home and quality time with the man she hopes to marry. But Nick has failed to give his girlfriend a few key details. One, that his childhood home looks like a palace; two, that he grew up riding in more private planes than cars; and three, that he just happens to be the country’s most eligible bachelor.
On Nick’s arm, Rachel may as well have a target on her back the second she steps off the plane, and soon, her relaxed vacation turns into an obstacle course of old money, new money, nosy relatives, and scheming social climbers.
Two Cents: I picked this book very well knowing it is the first in the trilogy to be followed by "China Rich Girlfriend" and "Rich People problems". Presently I'm reading the last one. This series is ridiculously addictive. It takes a little while to know and understand Nick's family tree, the companies his family is associated with, what shitload of money they have. It talks a lot about designer clothes, bags, shoes, cars, private jets, extravagant resorts, exotic foods, all opulent things. At a point in time I was curious to go and confirm whether the writer is a designer himself or a gay. I know it is so stereotypical and I'm trying hard not to be one. I even started wondering has he done so much research on designer stuffs and couture culture or is it a sponsored writing on brands? After sometime I have realized it is an futile excise to convert millions and billions dollars to my humble Indian rupees.
There are two things I agree with the writer on some level. One, older generation of the families are money-minded, pompous, and very specific about who they are friends with or who they get their children married to. On the other hand, the young guns of the family thinks otherwise and focus more what they really want. The second is how parents try to control their children, which is spot on in Asian culture. I can vouch for it being an Asian, yet I'm neither crazy nor rich.
It has delicious drama and satire that kept me hooked to the book. While into it I found it is ridiculous and less credible, however, couldn't stop myself from picking up two more books in the series just to know how it ends. I skipped the denotation of both Mandarin and Malay as it was tedious and killjoy. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and appreciate the writer for giving insight into the Crazy Rich Asians, which might be all fictional or true. I could connect with the few places in Singapore having been there, though I have to say it is my least favorite city in the world. This book is addictive and super-fun read. If one is expecting life lessons or literary gratification just stay away from it.
PS: Film adaptation is in the making and likely to be released in August this year.
Title: Finding Audrey
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Genre: Young Adult
Paperback: 299
“I think what I've realized is, life is all about climbing up, slipping down, and picking yourself up again"
Sophie Kinsella is my guilty pleasure writer. I loved her shopaholic series and several other stand alone novels. Mostly her characters are hilarious, ridiculous, and will have you in splits. Some say Kinsella's genre is chic-lit, and I dislike the word chic-lit attached to any books for that matter.
Audrey, a 14-year-old girl suffers from social anxiety disorder after a disturbing incident of bullying at her school. The gang of girls responsible for this was suspended. Audrey stays in home, wears dark glasses even at home to avoid eye contact with anybody and everybody. she is mostly home-schooled and is hopeful to go to a different school the next academic year. She has a therapist named Dr. Sarah who is helping Audrey to get better slowly and steadily. Though proactive about recovery, Audrey feels she is not inching towards the goal faster. One fine day she meets Linus, her brother's friend and things start to look up. They befriend and Linus sets few challenges for her to achieve as a part of exposure therapy to overcome her anxiety.
Kinsella writes about a mental illness in a light-hearted manner. The family dynamics is hilarious and cute. Audrey's Daily Mail obsessed mother who thinks playing video game is bad and hell-bend on sending her son to more outdoor activities. Her father is typical "Yes Man" who is always on his blackberry and agrees with everything his wife says. Both the characters are cliched, but evokes giggle on many occasions. Frank, Audrey's brother is my favourite who is hooked to the LOC (Land of conqueror) game. His constant bickering with his mother had me in snort to no end. He is manipulative, naughty, and grumpy, typical for a teenager. He is a supportive and understanding brother who goes out of his way to make her feel better. The love story between Linus and Audrey is okay nothing earth shattering. And mental illness doesn't get automatically cured by a lover. She had a very supportive and protective family, so there is no lack of love and affection in her life. Her recovery graph elevated without much glitches, which is quite impossible in real life. Thankfully they haven't showed Audrey completely getting cured from anxiety disorder. I wished there was a small chapter explaining the bullying incident that triggered Audrey's anxiety. We were given insight and clues here and there about the incident and I know it is left to reader's imagination.
It is an easy read and one can finish within 3 hours in a go. For me there can never be a bad book. This one had me in cackles several times.
