A Poised Quill

Review: Pachinko

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This review is also found on Goodreads! :)
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Actual Rating: 3.8 stars
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To be honest, I dived into this book with the wrong mindset. During the first book, I was waiting for a noble and heroic twist to the story--something loud, grand, and thundering. Gradually, I realized this isn't always played out as such in real life. It’s usually a steady progress and manifolds from generation to generation. It's probably the reason why I didn't shed any tear on any tragedy the characters went through. That doesn't mean I didn't feel their pain, but it was subtler than resounding.

This book was not an easy read. A family saga told through four generations and gave me a glimpse of the relationship of Korea and Japan. Much like the author herself, before this book, I was not aware of the Japan Annexation of Korea. This book gave an insightful and educational tale of the state of Korea during World War II and the plights of Koreans in the hands of foreigners.

Dune by Frank Herbert
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This review is also found on Goodreads! :)
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This felt like an absolute chore to read. :( The entire time I was reading it, I would catch myself considering on DNF-ing it. But I felt the need to give it multiple chances and to see it through. I did and I can now honestly, and without bias, say: Nope.

I've enjoyed the first part where their characters and world were introduced--the move to Arrakis and a glimpse of the Atreides dynamics. But the political turmoil being introduced on a very new political system (new in a first-time-reader's mind) became very hard to digest and follow. It became a headache to follow through who is betraying who, and the motives behind the betrayals.

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This review is also found on Goodreads! :)
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Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
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I am blown away. A clever book within a book. It offers a retrospective study of the structures and elements of whodunits through the eyes of a publishing house's editor. It's a story and a study all in one volume. It is challenging enough to write one story, but to incorporate another within one is another thing. It shows grit and mastery.

Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume I by Arthur Conan Doyle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This review is also found on my blog: A Poised Quill! :)
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It took me a few months to finish this, but I pushed on. It took a few pages to get used to. The late 19th century writing style is something I was previously unaccustomed to, hence the slow pace, but soon enough it grew on me. The gothic and gloomy vibe laced each novel and short story with deliciously dark undertones distinctive of Victorian England. I soon learned to love the long-winded and detailed narrations, all with the purpose of building up the feeling of suspense and anticipation of the big reveal.

What is it that I loved about Sherlock Holmes? Obviously, his practical application of logic is a gift I am entirely in awe of. But his sheer eccentricity amplifies that which he is best known for: his undeniable powers of observation and deduction. His relationship with the other characters in the novel provides his character with layers. I have yet to meet and read a more interesting sleuth as he. No disrespect to Christie's Poirot who remains one of the first detectives I've loved and is as formidable as Holmes, but Doyle's detective proves more layered and flawed in personality. One which I am more drawn to and makes an interesting read. Sherlock Holmes will remain as my favorite fictional detective.

A few of my favorites were The Final Problem and the stories under The Return of Sherlock Holmes. I will definitely be continuing with Volume II, but I need a bit of rest and space from Sherlock. I need a change of scene for a while before I accompany him and Watson again on their adventures.

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Strasbourg: A Doorway to Nostalgia

Prelude:

One of my favorite things to do when I was a little girl was read this book of fairy tale collections my dad had bought me. It was a book with a tale for each day of the year. No matter how many times I’ve finished and run through the book--whether religiously keeping up with the fairy tale of the day, or reading with total abandon finishing an entire month’s worth of stories in one night--I would always go back to it and re-read it. Being sickly and socially awkward, I didn’t have the patience for any other more ‘active’ play then, so reading became my most favorite thing to do. That fairy tale book survived a lot of relocation and house transfers. I still have it on my shelves. It contained most of my favorite stories from the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, made alive only by the overactive imagination of 8-year old me. I casually browse through every once in a while when I miss my dad.

Earlier this year, I first stepped into Europe when we arrived in Paris. It was a surreal experience, hopping off the plane with a bag full of expectations. Paris was an urban artsy jungle: bigger, badder, and more flamboyant than I originally anticipated. Frenzied but a happy mess. However, nothing had prepared me for what followed when we visited northeast of France.

Strasbourg is the capital of the Alsace Region. It straddles the border of France and Germany, which makes it an interesting blend of French and German influence. When we stepped out of the Gare de Strasbourg after a 2-hour train ride from Paris, what immediately hit me was the cold. The temperature during our visit was 4°C. I tightened the scarf around my neck and buttoned up my coat. The day had just begun and I could already hear my limbs creaking and stiffening from the cold.

Strasbourg, France

As we walked from the station to the Centre-République, I can already see the traces of German influence from the surroundings. Although, it was still predominantly Gallic with its old French elegance--mansard roofs, jutting dormer windows and faux-balconies. But as we drew nearer to Ponts-Couverts, everything gradually turned rustic. The cream colored buildings were replaced by ones with richer reddish-brown walls and roofs with bellcast eaves, white and delicate exterior window shutters were replaced with ones in timber. Romanesque in style, characteristics of 17th-century Germany. Houses that reminded me of The Elves and the Shoemaker, and towers that, oddly enough, reminded me of Rumpelstiltskin.