Foot and Fire

The Book Thief Markus Zusak 2005, Fiction for Young Readers I finished the book because I loved the title, and was so interested with anything about holocaust although it was a plain pain on my ass. Congratulations to me! I find the short title intro at the start of the chapter of the author so distracting and unnecessary, and irritating. I have not seen the movie but I guess the movie (2013) will be a joy to watch. But don’t blame the book. It just made way to me when I am already into nonfiction, and after reading everything I can reach about the holocaust. Minus that short title part, this book is a highly recommended read to young readers as introduction to the infamous era in the history of our civilization. Films like Life is beautiful (1999) Italian film, Schindler’s List, and Left Luggage (1997) Dutch film and books, The Diary of Anne Frank and It happened in Italy come flooding to mind. N.B. Watched the film later and I decided that I loved the book ...

The Time Traveler’s Wife By Audrey Niffenegger 2003, debut novel I saw this movie (2009) a long time ago and wanted to read the book right away. The story line is so compelling that I wanted to deeply connect with the book from which the movie was based. It appears that this was the debut novel of the author, and I admired her writing more for a very good start. I have not yet checked whether she has other titles under her name. I am so drunken by the no-fuss storytelling of a raw love story tested by instability, time and faith. I love how the author used the storytelling through the eyes of the two main characters, Clare and Henry. It was a complete love story from childhood up to old age of Clare. I love the poems sprinkled along the way as I read. I love how science was used in order not to make this one a magical realism. I love the rawness of the language employed by the author. She made me feel that these two people are in love like other humans, only challenged b...

             Who can still recall the small sour-sweet pitted fruit that has the taste and texture of starfruit or  balimbing?   This one almost slipped my mind if not for the local expression (among Hiligaynon-speaking in the Philippines), " daw bangkiling ang imo balhas" which translates to "your sweat looks like sour gooseberry."  Since we have a local word for it, I believe " bangkiling " is a native fruit here in the Visayas. When I was a child, I ate it plain or with salt. Its taste just tickled the tip of my tongue as I was trying hard to recall its local name. Photos below are grabbed from the web. Ownership reverts to respective owners.

Anna. She lifted her coffee cup, swayed her pinkie away from it, made a sound with her lips. She lifted her gaze, and she saw him looking at her. She saw the most painful thing: He is turned off by her physical being. Vronsky. She lifted her hand, made a sound with her lips, she extended the little finger. Fancy habits that he found charming in her then. In fact, he still does. Notwithstanding her jealousy, her fears, he still loves her. She thinks he no longer does. That's her tragedy.

Dear Handyman By Gerlie M. Uy Dear Handyman: I see you in this season's blinking lights: The last time, you wanted me to decorate your room, and instead of a pine tree, I churned out Mt. Kanlaon. You said it's my call so it's fine. I hear you in the carols: The last time, you bought all season's Cds in the music store because you would play them everyday. I taste you in the matured coco vinegar: The last ones, you placed in all glass bottles to mature. I can feel you in times of aloneness: The last time, you were in the white-walled room sipping the aloe juice as your last taste of luxury. I think of you in the frozen yogurt you were delightful about because it tastes like ice cream. I will always see you in the miracle plant once planted in a black bag we last bought at the store together. I will remember you in the pails of water, (You gathered them then from every drop from our faucet) in every nail an...

The Spoliarium at the National Museum It is huge and still in good condition given that it was made in 1884, and what is more delightful is that we can actually come closer to this national treasure at the National Museum. Being able to get close to the Spoliarium is a warm welcome to every Filipino who has the heart and interest to see for real a national patrimony.  On the left side are the spectators who wanted to loot the dead gladiators while on the center, the dead gladiators are pulled up like animals devoid of human dignity and on the right side, a woman is bent and evidently crying over a dead gladiator. A man holding a lamp is also seen on the background. The gladiator represents the Philippines while the looters are those who deny freedom to our country. The woman represents our mother country while the man represents our heroes' enlightenment and seeking for freedom.    Yes, the subject Spoliarium is reflective of a Spanish culture since it is t...

For Matrimonial Purposes Kavita Daswani Penguin, 2003, 277 pages Fiction This novel was loaned to me by a good friend who shares my interest with anything Eastern. I read this long before I finished the first one I borrowed from her, We want to live here, an exchange of letters between Israeli and Palestinian teenage girls. But I'm glad that I decided to pick it up. I was inspired to pick it up maybe after reading proposals and marriges the Afgani way in a memoir, The Bookseller of Kabul, where the men gives dowry to women's family. In this novel, I learned that the family of the Indian woman spends lavishly for the wedding and gives dowry to the groom. But the same thing as the Afghans, the family agrees and makes proposals and conducts the marriage ceremony within a short period. Afghans are mostly Muslim while Indians are mostly Hindus but the similarity can be pointed out as regards marriage and women in finding their husbands. In both culture, women can be marrie...