"Two Caravans" by Marina Lewycka

"Two Caravans" is a story told from the prospective of a group of migrant workers who are seeking a better life in UK. The story starts in a strawberry field, where they are hired to be strawberry pickers. Picking strawberries by day and staying in two caravans by night -- one for the ladies, one for the guys, and hence the title "Two Caravans" -- the group is soon separated due to a rash of events that eventually cause them to journey across England in pursuit of their dreams.

Along the way, the group separates. Three return to their homeland, one succeeds in finding his sister, two get together, two go to another city for greener work pastures and the villainous one dies in a haze of gunfire when his business associates turn on him.

Then there is Dog. I capitalised "Dog" on purpose because throughout the book he is known only by that name. Dog has his own narrative as well, and it gets quite funny because his narratives are always written in caps, in "comic sans ms font" and awfully simple, a really amusing attempt to recreate his canine thoughts. Dog eventually dies from gun wounds (from the same gun fight) while attempting to save Irina.

Two Caravans is a deceptively easy book to read. I raced through it in 3 days while reading during bus trips. Notwithstanding, there are interesting themes to ponder as well, the migrant worker's plight and search for a better life being the most obvious one, I guess. Although the novel is written in a light manner, one cannot fail to see the suffering and indignities migrant workers have to go through, from being conned by agents, paid an absurdly low wage, hardly any rights to speak of, etc.

Since this is a novel told from the perspective of the various migrant workers, the theme of relationships is also a prevalent one. I caught myself grinning a couple of times at the characters' internal interpretation of what the other party is about, with a lot of guesswork, assumption, unfounded jealousy often clouding their judgment and leading to further misunderstandings. Irina's comparison of her budding romance to the characters in Tolstoy's War and Peace never failed to crack me up.

The story ends on a happy note, with Andriy and Irina together, ready to face the uncertain world. Another journey, of sorts.

"The Big Moo & Purple Cow" by Seth Godin

I borrowed this book from Tracy; the NUS intern who's attached to PSC branch. I vaguely remember reading about Seth Godin and have always wanted to try one of his books. Anyhow, this book is ostensibly about marketing and how marketers traditionally looked at the various Ps of doing a good job a la product, pricing, promotion, positioning, etc - I'm sure you get the idea.

The basis premise of Purple Cow is that it's not enough just to be good anymore. You need to be remarkable, i.e., become a purple cow, if you want to get anyone's attention in this day and age. Gone are the days when you can have a good product and just market it to the hilt to ensure market penetration. Nowadays, people are so bombarded by information that unless your product is remarkable, no one even bothers to look at what you have to offer. And remarkable doesn't mean that you aim for the mean. You've to be so unique that the trend-setters; the small minority that lives on the fringe and loves new and breath-taking ideas, likes what you have. They're the sneezers who'll spread the word around and get the rest infected by how great your product is. To stay ahead of the curve without getting complacent about your purple cow product, you need to be a purple cow organisation too.

I like this book for its easy to read and simple to understand, although it could be shorter. But then its a 2-in-1, with the Big Moo part being a collection of essays by 33 of the world's best business minds on how your organisation can be remarkable. On the whole, I give this book a 7 out of 10.

Then We Came to the End

Hanzo looked down the alley nervously and quickly slipped into the darkened room. He was already waiting, his legs propped lazily on the table, thumbing a seemingly cryptic tome.

"Sumimasen sensei," Hanzo bowed, "I have come..."

"...to borrow the book?" he replied, not once looking up from his reading.

"Y-Yes."

Without a word, he flipped out a light yellow paperback from under the table and tossed it to the visitor. Hanzo caught it clumsily and looked at the title - Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris

"Take care of it," he said, "It's a good book."

Hanzo stuttered, "T-thank you s-sensei. You say this novel truly captures the way people work in offices?"

"Indeed it does. It is a tale of office life in an advertising firm, superbly written in a snappy first person plural. The insights are as spot on as a shuriken between the eyes," he said with amusement in his voice, "For those who work in an office, even halfway around the world in a basement with no windows, can surely identify with the intricacies and nonsensical dynamics of cubicle culture."

Hanzo stood there blankly, caught up in the thoughts of the office he worked at, the bitching, the gossips, the over & under-achievers, the meetings....for a moment, he couldn't recall the time when he said out loud that he could never sit still behind a desk in an office cubicle. Ah the irony.

"Thanks again sensei," Hanzo bowed and made his way out. Suddenly remembering, he turned and asked, "and you will give it...?"

"9 out of 10 katana bookmarks," replied the book ninja.

Bookworm Supergeeks new look!

I hope the other geeks don't mind, but I made a few changes to the site. New banner, different font and colours. Is it better than the last design we had? Trebuchet more/less readable than Georgia? I value feedback!