The Drifting Feather

Mystery of Crocodile Island- by Carolyn Keene

I am quite curious about the Nancy Drew books, so I thought I would give this one a go. Initially, I thought this book was going to help me fill the prompt of the underwater civilisation, since I thought they would be talking about the alligators and other underwater creatures a lot. This did not happen, but since Nancy is raised by a single father, this other prompt ended up qualifying.

Such a bad influence- by Olivia Muenter

This book is one of those books where the last page ruined it for me. I am not sure if I can call it a twist ending, because it seems more the case of the author just wanting to throw in something for the sake of doing a ‘gotcha’ to the reader. I am not against twist endings, because if it is done well, it is a great way to make you re-read the book. My favourite example is probably ‘The Silent Patient’ by Alex Michaelides, where the ending actually force you re-examine the whole book due to realising that the timeline is actually concurrent in a really clever way.

his book…until the last chapter, it was written really well. The story is mainly told through the point of view of Hazel, whose sister Evie is a very famous influencer. Due to Evie’s disappearance, Hazel began to search for clues, as well as examining her relationship with her sister. There is also the very interesting addition of reddit threads, website articles, and even podcast transcripts, which gives a very interesting view in regard to the outside view.

Hazel is the older sister by about 10 years, and unlike her mum and sister, she does not want to have anything to do with the influencer world. Their mum is definitely a narcissist and despite there being a few redeeming moments, I feel that her behaviours then suggest that this is merely a lie. I truly feel sorry for both Evie and Hazel, because their mother is clearly a narcissist who only see her children as a means to glorify her.

SPOILERS

As I said, the ending completely ruined the book for me. After a whole book with the sisters working out their relationship and what they want to do with their life, the author suddenly have Evie revealing that this is all a lie, and she actually resents Hazel and intend to ruin Hazel’s life, as well as saying that Hazel was the same by being the person who spread various nasty rumours about her.

To @ladysybil for reblogging one of my posts: thank you so much. This is the first time that this happened to me. To be honest, I don’t even know that there are people reading my posts! The reason I started this blog was simply because I wanted to contact a creator regarding fan fictions. Then, I decided to just write out my thoughts regarding the books I read.

Gracie Jenkins runs a marathon- by Penny Mirren

I actually planned to read another book for this prompt, but the protagonist of that book is absolutely insurable. She sees a tattooed woman running and immediately decided that the other is a drug user who is also super unfit. I had a flip of the book, as well as reading the online reviews, and many people talk about how unlikeable this protagonist is. I think the book is set in America or the UK? I can’t quite remember but either way, these are not countries where having a tattoo should lead to this stereotype. To immediately go ‘tattoo equals drug user’?

So I ended up reading this book instead, and I really enjoyed it.

The protagonist is Gracie, who is 72 and decides to run a marathon for the first time. In addition to her view, we also have the view of her estranged sister, Jill. Initially, I find Jill a very irritating character, the type who always see themselves as a victim. However, once Jill explained the cause of her action that led to their estrangement, she actually becomes a much better person. In addition to her some of initial actions making sense, she actually tries to actively change herself.

Gracier herself is very likeable and I really like reading the interaction between her and her husband Andrew. They are a really sweet and loving couple.

Even though the main focus of the book is about Gracie running a marathon, it also talks about her relationship with her sister, as well as the rest of the running club.

Yes, you can wear that- by Abby Hoy

I saw this book and thought that it might be interesting. Then, I realised that it can fit into this prompt.

Abby Hoy is a plus sized influencer, but this book is actually not tailored to that population. Rather, it is really to all female. I enjoyed reading this book due to her anecdotes and I also like how she is also practical, as she does talk about considering the occasion. This is not just a do whatever you want book.

Agatha Raisin the the day the floods came- by M.C Beaton

This book is in the same status as ‘Everyone on the train is a suspect’, because the main character/lead detective is so annoying that I was actually rooting for the murderer to off them. The only good thing I can say about this book is that it is short. Unfortunately, by the time I realise how annoying the main character is, I had already spent quite some time reading, so I had to force myself to read through it.

Agatha Raisin is the main character and she is a middle-aged woman who saw something by chance and decided to solve it. But the problem is that she is such an unlikeable character. At one stage, the author even say that she is someone who does not admit that they are wrong. Throughout the book, she has a victim mentality and whenever she doesn’t get her way, she’ll put the blame on something that is trivial. In an attempt to get her neighbour to not tell the police something, she suddenly kisses him (despite them having little interaction) and since he is obviously a bit shocked, she then thinks that he is reacting to the fact that she didn’t pluck her lips properly. In addition, she also judge those around her- such as saying her neighbour must be gay due to his appearance, as well as constantly dismissing the advice from the vicar’s wife, by saying that the other would not know anything, because she is only the vicar’s wife.

As for the crime aspect, it is just her going around talking to anyone she thinks might be related.

I can say that not only will I not read any more of the series, I don’t think I want to read anymore from the author either.

As for the prompt, it is because Agatha took some Pilates class, which probably only took a page at the very most.

In regard to the main character, I think I can summarise her by the following three points.

1- in the first season of Real House of New Jersey, Teresa Giudice had this cater who was very diva like, resulted in her saying: “This lady is a b***h!”

2- Kourtney Kardashian’s: “Kim, there are children dying”

The wonderful story of Henry Sugar- by Roald Dahl

There are a total of six stories and my views are mixed.

The boy who talks with animal- this one is ok, pretty straightforward in the sense of that somethings are not going to be explainable. The title basically summarise this story.

The hitchhiker- the protagonist picks up a hitchhiker who is actually a master pick pocketer. I really enjoy reading this story due to how we slowly learn more about this mysterious hitchhiker. I admit, a part of me was worrying that he was going to be a serial killer.

The Mildenhall treasure- not a bad story, but I just don’t recall much of it.

The swan- I really hate this story. This basically has a boy being bullied by two others in the most horrifying way- it goes to the attempted murder category, as they actually tie him to a train track. The ending just shows the boy somehow escaping back to his home, which is good, but that was it. We don’t get any resolution where the bullies were punished. So why would I want to read about something that is just so awful?

The wonderful story of Henry Sugar- the titular story and this is almost two mini story in one. The first is from the book that Henry Sugar read, where he learns about how a doctor meets a man who can see without his eyes. Henry Sugar would acquire this power and the story end in a really wholesome way, as he would use this power for good and ended up funding various orphanages. One of the things that I really like about this story is that there was a moment where the author suggested that the story could take a dark turn and the mood of the story does suddenly change, before it changed again.

Lucky Break and A piece of cake- Both of these stories are Roald Dahl narrating part of his life and my problem is this: he as a person is really quite a dick and this actually shows throughout his writing about himself.

Lemon- by Kwon Yeo-Sun

I think this book is actually labelled as novella by some and it is quite short, so it was a very quick read for me. With this book, there are eight chapters and three narrators. The ratio is 4 chapters for the main narrator, and then 2 chapters each for the remaining two. As a result, I feel that we never really get to know any of the narrators really well.

The main narrator is Kim Da-on, whose sister Hae-on was killed, while the other two are Sanghu (who knew both sisters by being class/club mates) and Taerim (Hae-on’s classmate, who is also a rival of hers). Da-on’s part involves her thinking about what happened, as well as talking to one of the two suspects (Manu, a delivery boy from a poor family). The other suspect was Jeongjun, (rich and had Hae-on in her car). Both are Hae-on’s classmate.

My main problem with this book is that despite it being dealing with the aftermath of a murder, there is little about Hae-on that makes us sympathetic to her other then the obvious sorrow at a life lost. She is said to be very beautiful, but that is all we know about her. We don’t really know anything about her. In fact, I feel that she might be intellectually disabled due to the way she does not understand some basic social norm.

Da-on’s thoughts are really more of a narration then her internal thoughts. I feel that Sanghui’s parts is the most well written part, as she actually has the potential of being a developed character. The final character, Taerim, clearly has issues as well. I might be a bit biased because I feel that she is one of those Christians that use religion as a way to escape responsibility. It is hinted that she and Jeongjun (who she marries) are responsible for Hae-on’s death. She actually does not feel guilty, but just say that she does, because she never once truly acknowledges her part. Therefore, she is not repentant at all. Yet she somehow thinks she will be forgiven just because she says she want to be (despite not doing the actual part of repenting) and act in a holier-then-thou way. I think she deserves her fate.

Shakespeare- the man who pays the rent- by Judi Dench

This book is basically an extended interview with Judi Dench where she talks about all the various roles she has played, and it is really amazing to hear both her insight and knowledge about all these roles and plays.

Zukai coffee ichinisen- by Katsuya Tetsu

This book is written by a Japanese barista, who actually used to be a salaryman, only to change job after being in hospital for diabetes

The book contains both explanation in regard to various coffee types, as well as instructions on brewing. In addition, part of it is actually shown in manga- showing how an office worker Kaoro, has decided to take over her grandfather’s café and ends up learning about coffee via a mysterious spirit. The manga part is quite cute and even though the text part can be a bit confusing, I still enjoyed it. what I like the most about this book is that the author made it clear that the main thing is to try and experiment, as well as simply enjoying what you like.

Give me back my legions- by Harry Turtledove

I honestly think that the reason the Ancient Romans have such a bad reputation is because they enjoyed a lot of successes. They are always associated with slavery and imperialism, but they were not the only ancient civilisation that did it. In fact…everyone pretty much did it. It is probably easier to find the few that were content to just live peacefully by themselves and had no slaves.

This book is about the famous or infamous Battle of Teutoburg Forest, which was one of the worse defeats suffered by the Roman Empire, because in additional to a massive loss, three Aquila- the Eagle that symbolises the legion was taken. This was the one thing that you were not meant to lose. It was due to this battle that the Romans decided to not focus on conquering Germany.

This loss was so devastating that Augustus was said to have yelled out: ‘Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions!’- the title of this book. However, this was written by Suetonius, who might not be the most reliable source, as he was basically the paparazzi of the time, since he love writing about scandals (and he lived a century after the said events).

The book is told through multiple viewpoints- Arminius (the Germanic chieftain who was responsible for the victory), Quinctilius Varus (the Roman in charge of Germany) as well as various other soldiers in the Roman army. As a result, we get to see multiple sides, as these people all occupy different rank, social standing, cultures and views. In addition to portraying the characters with depth, we can also sympathise with every one of them.

Overall, I highly recommend the book. In addition to talking about the battle, it gives a good view of both sides.

The Devil’s Hunt- by Paul C Doherty

Paul C Doherty is a really famous historical mystery writer, especially in regard to the middle ages, although he has done both Ancient Egyptian and Ancient Rome. I have read a lot of his Hugh Corbett stories, which is set in the 14th century, under the reign of Edward I. I think the problem with the series, however, is that he ended up reusing an idea for so many times because it worked so well the first few time. Later on, the pattern in the Hugh Corbett series is that Hugh Corbett would solve the crime, only for his servant (Ranulf) to kill them despite the former not wanting this. It almost as if they are just stuck

But at the same time, I do enjoy reading a book set in the Middle Ages and the writer clearly knows that period of history very well. I do still recommend it, although as I said, I reached a point where I stopped due to feeling it is too repetitive.

Hugh Corbett is the main character and he started off as a clerk, eventually reaching quite a high position. His servant, Ranulf, was once a criminal that was sentenced to hang. Hugh actually met Ranulf in the very first book. There is a slight contradiction, though. In the first book, Ranulf was black haired and has blue eyes, only to then have red hair and green eyes. But I think Ranulf is probably my favourite character because he is much more interesting due to his chequered past, as well as being more ruthless.

SPOILERS

This is the book where Hugh’s other servant, Maltote dies. Maltote is a complete contrast to Ranulf- he was a soldier, but is unable to use any weapon. However, he is extremely skilled with horses, as well as bearing a deep love for them.

This book has them investigating a murder in a university and initially, Ranulf was actually reading works by St Augustine, even contemplating being a priest. However, with Maltot’s death, he decided against this.

‘And I intend to kill again,’ Ranulf added, ‘I intend to hunt down my friend’s assassin and carry out an execution.’ ‘That must be done by the due process of law,’ the priest hastily replied. ‘I will kill him, Father.’ The priest crossed himself. ‘Then I cannot give you absolution, my son.’ ‘No, Father, I don’t suppose you can,’ Ranulf genuflected and, without a backward glance, walked out of the church.

The criminal was an old noble woman that once served the King and due to both her status and position, it was likely that she would not have been punished, but sent to a nunnery. I really like how there were constant hints of Ranulf’s decision throughout Hugh revealing how the crime was committed.

Corbett looked at Ranulf, who just stood with his back to the door, arms crossed, staring down at the floor. There was no excitement, none of his usual desire to participate in the questioning. Corbett hid his unease. ‘I am sure that the King would be merciful,’ Corbett replied, ignoring Ranulf’s black looks. Corbett looked at Lady Mathilda. He felt uneasy. Ranulf’s silence and grim face made the hair on the nape of his neck curl in fear.

Ranulf actually put poison in the wine he got for them, having obtained the poison to give the fatally injured Maltote a quick death. I thought this whole next bit was written really well.

She put the cup to her lips and sipped. Her eyes rounded in alarm as Ranulf, with a vice-like grip, seized her hand. He stood up, pushed back her head, forcing more wine down her throat. ‘And Ranulf-atte-Newgate toasts you!’ he hissed. ‘You asked for wine, you bitch, now drink deep of the poison.’ She struggled, but Ranulf held her fast. ‘You killed my friend, you malicious, murdering bitch! And, when I’ve finished with you, I’ll settle with Master Moth as well!’ Ranulf ignored the pounding on the door and Corbett’s yells from outside. He held the cup firm, his eyes glaring in fury. ‘Never trust a Plantagenet,’ he whispered, ‘Drink the poison. Go down to hell and tell the Lord Satan that I, Ranulf-atte-Newgate, sent you there!’

Afterwards, Hugh would be really angry at what happened and remind Ranulf of their first meeting, and Ranulf’s reply was super touching.

‘I remember it everyday, Master. In my life I have had two friends: one I met that day, the other was poor Maltote. So before you object, Sir Hugh, remember Maltote. That bitch,’ he spat out, ‘really had planned to spend the rest of her days in some comfortable nunnery! Justice has been done. Not according to your likes, but, as Father Luke said when he hanged Boso, it’s what God wanted.’

When Maltote died, Ranulf actually says this: ‘I had two friends, now I have only one.’ It is really touching to see him explain that he actually value Hugh as a friend, but also sad as there’s the reminder that his other friend, is no longer there.

Later on, Hugh does get another servant, who is very different from Maltote and even though Ranulf does seem to have develop a certain friendship with him, I feel that there is still a slight distance.

A knot in the grain and other stories- by Robin McKinley

Rather than reading ‘Beauty’ again, I thought I would read one of her short stories. There are five stories and with the exception of the last one, the first four seem to be set in the same world.

The healer: the protagonist is a mute girl who ended up meeting a mage. The mage is implied to have done some sort of dramatic sacrifice that resulted in him losing a majority of his powers during a war. I really wish that we could learn more of his back story because it is much more interesting. The two of them are very sweet together, but the problem is that there is way too much imagery.

The stagman: this is the story that I am most conflicted about. Up until the near end, I love the idea of how the main character (a princess who was manipulated by her uncle, the regent) is slowly finding herself. However, once she met the neighbouring prince, she just retreated back to her initial state. It also implied that the one who she truly cares for is the Stagman that took her, but this is not really shown. She and the Prince were actually becoming friends, so it seems a cruel twist for the author to suddenly suggest that she was with him only because she does not really have the will to do anything else (another contrast to the previous part). She just went away with the Stagman in the end without really explanation. Maybe if this was a novel instead of a short story, then it would have been much better. I feel that with this story, we have actions that could make sense, but because they were not explained, it appeared as if they are simply patched together.

Touk’s hosue: this is clearly a variant of Rapunzel. It is a bit like the previous story in which the main character realises that rather than what society expect, she rather has what make her happy. Unlike the princess, she leaves what would be a convenient situation to be with someone that is a different race/kind. This story is much better than the previous one, because we actually see the main character’s reasoning and feelings.

Buttercup: an old man marries a much younger woman and due to exploring a field of buttercup, strange things began to happen. I actually quite like this story and it has a rather fairytale like feeling. Unlike the previous story, I feel that the plot and action dominate more, but the main character- the old famer- is still written really well in regard to his emotions.

A knot in the grain- this story is set in the present. A young girl who moved to a new town found a mysterious box and stuff start to happen. This is my least favourite story because I have no idea what is going on.

The Nightingale gallery- by Paul C Doherty

The Nightingale gallery is the idea of a room where if you step on it, it would make some sort of a noise, which would alert others of your presence. I actually read about this in Lian Hearn’s Tales of the Otori’. The first book is actually called ‘Across the Nightingale Floor’, as the main character had to step across such a floor. So, is this actually something real?

This book is set in 1376, which is much later then the Hugh Corbett series, which are set sometime in the late 1200s and early 1300s since that was when Edward I reign. Richard II is basically the grandson of Edward I’s grandson. Edward I followed by Edward II. Edward III then ruled when he was quite young and outlived his eldest son, Edward the Black Prince died leaving only Richard II. As Edward III then died, Richard II became the boy king.

My main impression of Richard II is from Shakespeare, where he is portrayed as a not so good king (prior to that, I only know him as the Richard in between). However, he actually comes out at the very end of this book and he seems someone who has great potential, as well as being resentful of his regent, his uncle. A part of me almost want to read on to see how he would be portrayed later on.

This is the first book of the series, and I thought it fit the prompt of how it is a new beginning, since the characters are embarking on this new partnership of working together.

The book’s main character is Brother Athelstan, a Dominican monk. But the thing is, like a lot of the other monks in Paul Doherty’s stories, they are the ones that had quite some experience fighting before they settled in the monastery. The other protagonist is Sir John Cranston, who is the city’s coroner. I think he is meant to be the crouching moron, hidden dragon type of character, and there was a scene where he fights and did quite well. In addition, there is the issue of how he is still severely tormented by the death of his son.

Hungerstone- by Kat Dunn

I thought that the book would be quite interesting since it is based on ‘Carmilla’, by Joseph Sheridan le Fanu. It was published in 1872 (before Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’) and it is believed to be one of the first books in the vampiric genre. I actually read Carmilla a long time ago and enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to it.

However, I did not enjoy this book at all. Despite wanting to be sympathetic to Lenore (the character in the original novel is called Laura), I simply can’t. She is undergoing a lot of suffering, but I just cannot like her as a character. In fact, I don’t think there are any characters that I really like in this story.

Basically, Lenore is in a really unhappy marriage with Henry and their marriage is basically the oldest case of one side with the name (Lenore) while the other has wealth (Henry). Improvised nobility and Noveau riche. They fit the prompt and I thought that it would be a love triangle, since their marriage is described as having soured and they have grown distant from one another. However, they were never truly affectionate with one another. Henry, for all his faults, actually made it clear that he is only marrying her because she can be useful. In addition, the actual romance of Leonore and Carmilla is not done very well because Carmilla is very two dimensional. I’ve even seen someone’s review saying that they felt Carmilla was a metaphor for Lenore’s true wishes, and this is only possible because Carmilla’s character is very underdeveloped.

Gercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly- by Agatha Christie

This is actually the original version of what becomes ‘Deadman’s folly’. I thought I’ll read it and see how different it is, but the thing is, I actually don’t remember that much of the latter as to notice any difference. I feel that it is very similar.

The story is a classic Agatha Christie, and it is a quick and easy read. The appearance of Mrs Oliver is always a bonus.

SPOILER

Last train to freedom- Deborah Swift

I was really interested in this book since it talks about the lifeline visa that was issued by Sugihara Chiune. I’ve actually read about this in another book.

I meant to read this book last year, but didn’t not get around to doing it. it just remained in my kobo for quite some time. Basically, Zofia and her brother are trying to escape Lithuania due to them being Jewish. The book starts with them realising that they have to go and they then get on the train. Once they are on the train, the pace of the book picked up more and I find myself drawn to the story more.

In addition to Zofia and her brother, they are also joined by Misha, who is her brother’s fiancée. In addition, Otto, who is a German immigrant in Lithuania who once worked for Sugihara, also ended up accompanying them. Sugihara actually gave them a visa, as well as asking them to bring a package to Japan.

SPOILERS

Misha is actually a Soviet agent while Otto has become a German agent. However, their motivations are actually very different, as the former is doing this willingly due to believing in her cause, while the latter was blackmailed. Both of them would try to get the package, which contain testaments of suffering by Lithuanian Jews. Once they are on the train, the book get very action packed, as Zofia is trying to protect the package, even as the others try to steal it.

With the exception of Zofia, none of those travelled with her actually survives. At one hand, this is a realistic portrayal of the extremely dangerous time, but at the other hand, you get a very big shock due to having been invested in the characters. One of the things I really like about the book is that even the antagonists are written in a rather sympathetic way (with a few exception).

However, I am very unhappy with the way Zofia’s romantic relationship is done. She meets a Japanese man Haru, and after a few chat, she decides that she is in love with him. She does give one mention about how them being an interracial couple would be problematic, but that was really it. Of course, one can argue that given her situation, this is not something she could focus on. However, I think what made this relationship unreal is that the author does not really give us any detail to Haru’s character, other then what we can see on the surface. On the other hand, she really develops Otto’s character. So the fact that Otto, who the reader would have got to know and possibly even liked, get killed, while Haru, a character we have little knowledge of, just suddenly become the companion and love interest. It happens really suddenly and I think in a way, one feels a bit cheated. You are invested in a certain way and it is not that the outcome is not what you desire, but that it is very random. The relationship feels very forced, almost as if the author just want to create this random couple.