World War Z by Max Brooks

Wiki zombie attack!

I've been eyeing World War Z on the shelves for some time now, before I took the plunge earlier this month. My initial thoughts were: "How can zombies make for interesting and thought-provoking reading?"

Well, these thoughts were banished once I got into the novel, which is told from short interviews of various survivors of the worldwide zombie war - these were interviews from soldiers, generals, politicians, guns-for-hire, your average joe, doctors, the list goes on.

And that's what made the story so realistic (to the point I had quite a few funky dreams of zombies). By telling the story as an oral history of the zombie war, Brooks manages to take zombies, which are (mostly) fictional and incredulous, and make them chillingly believable. As the interviewees recount their fears, their actions; the mass panics and sacrifices; how they survived; and how naive and inept governments worsened the crisis - I felt that this was not only the author's commentary on issues that face the world today, I could also imagine that people and governments would react that way should such a crisis occur.

7 out of 10 zombielicious brains.

"Revolutionary Road" by Richard Yates

I was first introduced to the "American Dream" theme as a student studying for my A'levels (yes, that's how long ago!). My prescribed reads were, "The Great Gatsby" and "Catcher in the Rye".

Then, I thought that I hated the genre/theme because I had to prepare for it as an exam. In dissecting the emptiness of the American dream, there was a sense that the American Dream was a chimera, and it inevitably led to desolation, loss and despair.

After school became a thing of the past, I picked up novels that carried the American Dream theme from time to time. I discovered that notwithstanding the absence of the exam mallet that figuratively hung above me, I still found such books a depressing read.

"Revolutionary Road" is no different, but I think it transcends the genre. That said, it is no less sad, in its ability to draw out the loneliness of the Wheelers, the tragedy that percolates through their everyday lives. It is my first time reading Yates, but I thought he did a fine job putting through a cast of characters that are all living in their own tragic worlds.

The Wheelers live a lie, one that started with April Wheeler saying how much she admired Frank and ended up in a tragedy of a botched abortion and death for April. Frank grew up believing that he is destined for bigger things but never daring to take the leap. Touched by April's tragedy he finally becomes the very person he abhors: a boring salaryman in pursuit of professional success.

I think the only character that is true to himself would be the Givings' son, the man deemed "mad" and confined in a psychiatric hospital. IMO I think he is the person that tore off the last veil of delusion in the Wheelers' life, sparking off the start of the tragedy.

Wiki on plot.

Geek rating: 4 out of 5

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

The Lost Symbol is the latest offering from Dan Brown, which I picked up cos my brother lent me the hardcover book. As hefty as the book is, the chapters are split into bite-sized morsels of 4-5 pages on average, which makes for easy reading.

I pondered whether my first post of 2010 should kick off with Dan Brown. I've read a lot more since I was first genuinely wowed by the Da Vinci Code years ago, and being exposed to an array of good writing, perhaps I feel that Dan Brown should be relegated to Christopher Pike - "just an early phase of my reading journey"

But I have to admit, he has a knack for writing an exciting thriller. He seems to write these stories like an action movie, and like any exciting action movie, you can't just turn it off when stuff is blowing up and the bad guy is going to kill the hot chick can you?
This time around though, the controversial facts and history bit, Brown's forte, was fairly boring. I found my eyes glazing over some paras as the characters turned into scientific/symbological/mystical encyclopedias.

Enjoyed it while the excitement lasted.
6.5 out of 10 mystical symbols.

"The Better Mousetrap" by Tom Holt

I realised that even though I am a huge TH fan, I never quite got round to reviewing any of his books at BWSG. Thinking about it, I realised it may be because I have always found his books hard to pin down.

Don't get me wrong, TH's books are rather readable, even if this reader does occasionally get lost in the story. Today, as I was chatting with the sis (who's also a TH fan), I finally figured out that the best way to enjoy his book is to roll with the plotline, far-fetched as it sounds, and try not to figure out the logical workings of the plot from start to finish. It is likely to give you a blinding headache.

I'm not exactly sure which genre he fits in, though fantasy would be my personal best bet, since his books always take you on flights of satiric fantasy that always make me feel slightly silly for chuckling out loudly while reading it in public transport.

"The Better Mousetrap" is a story about Emily Spitzer, a pest-control slayer and Frank Carpenter, the guy with a portable door who travels in the fabric of time to un-do "events" which, if happened, could lead to vast amounts of insurance being paid out. Emily is no ordinary pest-control slayer as well. She slays dragons, huge spiders.. you get the idea.

"The Better Mousetrap" is in reference to this death bounty that has been taken out on Emily. Someone wants her dead, conclusively. By a stroke of luck, she crosses paths with Frank and a few other characters who combine forces to eventually send the evil profiteer to her just desserts.

Typing it out, it all sounds rather bland. But I think part of the fun is in the reading for his books. He has a gift for taking digs at many aspects of our lives in a fashion that loses its punch in the telling. Or maybe it's just me.

Rating: 4 out of 5

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

Wiki link

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is definitely worth recommending as it is an epic tale of two young men in America during the war, how they fought for their ideals through their comic book creation, and it touches on many other issues such as mid-20th century American culture, the allure of magic and Houdini, and how the real world eats up idealists.

But it took me a long time to get through The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. While certainly a hefty tome, Chabon's poignant and accessible writing should have allowed me to finish it in half the time. But I couldn't - it got too sad. I reached some points where I felt like the story was rather like a Korean drama - heart-wrenching and depressing. Some parts made me feel like shutting the book quickly, cos if I did that, then maybe the tragedy would not unfold for the two main characters.

I guess it is the hallmark of a good book, for its reader to feel for the characters to this extent.
But did he have to make them until so cham?!?

8 out of 10 tear drop daggers.

(On a related side note, here's Chabon's interesting essay on The Recipe for Life )

"Company of Liars" by Karen Maitland

I got to agree with Gary on this, "Company of Liars" (henceforth shortened to "COL") is a good read. It packs enough of a story and mystery about this band of travellers who are fleeing the plague to get you to keep going and reading on, right up to the last page. Everyone has a secret to tell in this story, and arguably the one takeaway of the story is the truth does not always set you free.

The storyline rather reminds me of Canterbury Tales, the literary tome by Geoffrey Chaucer, which is about a tale of pilgrims travelling in old England and how they each take turns to recount a story. Beyond this, the resemblance ends. Where Chaucer tells his tale in old English (*winces remembering how painful it was to read the Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale for 'A' levels*), this story is narrated by Camelot, whose secret is perhaps the hardest to guess at.

I won't spoil the ending for you, but if you want an interesting read to take a couple of hours off, do consider this book. It has mystery, tragedy and drama rolled into one.

Thanks, G for the book!

Rating: 4 out of 5

"Kingdom Come" by J.G. Ballard

It took me an unusually long time to complete this book. But I stuck to my guns and finished it... eventually.

The plotline is mind-numbingly simple: newly-sacked advertising executive Pearson travels to suburban England from cosmopolitan London after he learns of his father's death from a random shooting in a suburban mall. In his quest to find his father's killer, he hopes to find the father he never knew as well as find some meaning in his own life. He becomes embroiled in a vast conspiracy which eventually embroils him in all the kitsch, glitter and façade of the consumerism sham.

My thoughts about the book, simply put: I don't like the book because it is disturbing and way out in the weird curve. Before doing this review, I did some research and learnt that Ballard is well-known for creating dark and pessimistic landscapes of the world. His vision of the world usually invokes the wasteland and post-modern decay at its most bleak form. No wonder.

Kingdom Come's extremity made it very depressing to follow, which accounted for why I stopped the book several times before finishing it. Notwithstanding, I have to concede that Ballard's prose and vision of a world dedicated to serving a consumerist god is rather compelling to follow.

The book left me with a mildly disturbing aftertaste in my mouth, much in the way (Philip)Roth's books work for me.

Rating: 2 out of 5 geek points

Random trivial: Ballard passed away in Apr 09 this year. Read more about him here.