can you handle the Aleph?

Title : Aleph (English translated version from the original Portuguese)

Author : Paulo Coelho

Publisher : Harper Collins, 2011

Pages : 300 pages

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How did I start to read Aleph? First, I wanted to try to read a different type of material than the ones I usually read. Then, I asked a friend, what kind of book does he read, and he is not actually a voracious reader, but he said he had read some Paulo Coelho's book and liked it. I haven't heard of Mr. Coelho's name before, and I've never read his books so far, so why not give it a try?

 

I picked up this title because it is about a person's journey of self-discovery and I always like to read about this kind of things, always intrigued about one's personal journey. This novel is an autobiographical of the author's journey to 'find back his kingdom'. For that reason he travelled all the way starting from Africa, and through Europe and Asia on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Just before he started his journey, he met a Turkish young woman named Hilal, a violin prodigy with a troubled past, who seems to be in a journey to find herself back again too, and in order to do that, she must follow the author. Together they travel, with the whole entourage, and during the long ride and the many stops, the author, Hilal and Yao, the author's interpreter with his own story, experienced many encounters that I can't find any simple word to summarize it here. But the main subject of their exploration is the Aleph. What is the Aleph? I don't have any idea what is the Aleph that the author is writing about (but of course he explains it in the novel, and from that explanation, the Aleph is somewhat related to a place where a person can go back to the past and see his past life). In this novel, the author relates how he and Hilal, during the journey, 'find' their past and seek to revitalise their present lives through each other.  

 

Honestly, I am not sure how to review this book, since it is autobiographical, but the concept of the main subject i.e. the Aleph (or the incarnation) is somewhat diverged from my belief and faith. I am not a learned scholar in this matter, suffice to say that I have read some Quran verses regarding it. And so I just leave it to the author and the readers who believe it. However, the things that I enjoy and able to take out from this novel are some of the wise and beautiful words of thoughts that are inspiring, for example, some of my favourites as follows;

 

"Don't be intimidated by other people's opinions. Only mediocrity is sure of itself, so take risks and do what you really want to do."

"A life without a cause is a life without effect."

"If you want to see a rainbow, you have to learn to see the rain."

 ...and some others. Regardless of the difficulty of the topic, when reading with an open mind while keeping my faith intact, I always like the idea of making a journey for life's lessons. Go to new places, refresh our mind and see things in different perspectives. Life is a series of many journeys.

The King's Speech

I was interested to watch this movie because of ....

... Colin Firth, I like his performance in Dorian Gray, which was my first encounter with him.

... the genre; historical, however I was aware of the balance/imbalance between accurateness, imagination and dramatic effects included in the movie.

... the subject matter, the ancestors of my motherland's former colonial government. What more can I say..

The Gist

 The period was during the late 1920s to 1930s in United Kingdom. Prince Albert, the Duke of York, the second son of the reigning King George V, had stuttering problems since he was a child. He, with the assistance from his wife Elizabeth, the Duchess of York, had tried several treatments to cure it but the efforts were not so successful, until the Duchess met Lionel Logue, an Australian speech therapist living in England. Although the Duke was reluctant at first, losing confidence and feared for another failure, Logue's unorthodox ways of treatment and his understanding of the Duke's plight made the two started working together to improve the Duke's speech. During those times, the Duke had to handle some difficult times as when his father died and later the abdication of his older brother from the throne when he wanted to marry a divorcée. And also a test of trust as he found out that Logue actually never had credentials as a speech therapist. Yet, Logue was able to convince him that he never took any title of credential and he learned all his expertise from experience and managed success from it. As the next successor to the throne, the reluctant Duke, afterwards King George VI, had to battle his own self-esteem on becoming a King as part of his duty was to make broadcast speeches, especially during the World War II. I'd say, Logue had put some sense in the King's mind that the King finally found his own confidence, and his own voice. In the end credits, it was stated that Logue continued to be the King's speech therapist, assisting him in many speeches he did and continued being best friends till the end.

The verdict

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Whenever I walked out of a cinema with a broad smile, a feeling of pleasant disbelief and high spirit, I knew I've got the best deal for every shillings spent. I believed in the characters of the King, Queen and Logue. I loved to see the relationships portrayed between each of them and the lines. I probably had a slight problem catching up with the true British English accent. But it was ok. Perhaps the only character I couldn't feel or believe in was the guy who played Winston Churchill....but never mind. And I had a fair share of laughter in several scenes. A good treat. 

127 Hours

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Actually, I didn't anticipate myself to watch this movie at first, didn't matter whether there's James Franco in it or not, or whether it was one of the nominated movies in Academy Awards or not. My interest in this movie started when I learned more of the storyline and when I knew that it's based on a true story. Yeah, maybe I'm quite a fan of biographical movies.

Anyway, in a gist, this movie tells you that you should never go anywhere without telling anyone, especially if you are going to some risky place with the intention of doing something dangerous.

And that was the ultimate lesson for Aron Ralston from the ordeal. He was probably the sort of guy who didn't take relationships seriously, even with his family. Or maybe he did, but he didn't show it or didn't feel that it matters to show. So, that was why he thought it won't harm a thing when he went off canyoning in Blue John Canyon without telling anyone where he was actually going. He's doing his thing, his passion, his hobby....just what could be wrong. Or so he thought.

However, as he started to descend a narrow passage, a suspended boulder wedged between rock walls gave in and fell down the canyon with him, only to land again, but this time with Aron's hand pinned between the boulder and the rock wall, trapping him. During the time he was trapped there, Aron had tried everything he could think of to free himself, while battling thirst, hunger, loneliness, helplessness, coldness of the night and weather. He knew that no one knew he was there, and no one would notice that he was actually missing until a few days later, so it was really up to him. It was a suspense to see him trying desperately while keeping his mind straight amidst all the delusions caused by lack of nutrition.

During this ordeal, Aron also occupied himself by recording a video diary with his video recorder and taking pictures. Aron thought a lot about his family and his former girlfriend, probably re-thinking what had happened, what he had missed or what he should or shouldn't done before. I'd say, he contemplated a lot about his life. In the end, Aron was a fighter. He finally freed himself by doing the thing that I had expected him to do, yet I didn't dare to wish for it to happen. But he did. And I was thankful that although the scene looked real, it wasn't so gory. So, yes....I didn't searched for spoilers before watching this movie, so i didn't know then how it would end. After watching it, I almost couldn't believe that he still had a second chance after being trapped deep inside a canyon for 127 hours. And continue to live, and wrote about his experience in a book, which then picked up by Danny Boyle the director and made this good movie out of it.

And Aron Ralston continue to pursue his passion after that, without forgetting to leave a note or message to somebody of his whereabouts. :)

Yes, I was satisfied. What I like about it is the story. The story of a real person learning a real lesson. And in desperate time, people can do the unimaginable to survive. The real Aron survived.

My next agenda? The King's Speech, The Adjustment Bureau and Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa.

Till then.

Theater : Muzikal Tun Mahathir

(Tulisan ni dah lama terperap dalam draft tapi baru ada masa nak tengok balik dan publish...)

Apa kes?

Pengalaman pertama menonton teater muzikal di Istana Budaya. 

Apa cerita?

Muzikal Tun Mahathir.

Dengan siapa?

Adinda ku yang tercinta yang ku heret saja. Ternyata beliau boleh me'layan'nya..hehe

Apa yang 'besh'?

Teruja. Pertama kali menonton teater semasa di USM, itu pun kalau tak silap produksi student sendiri. Tapi ini kali pertama menonton sebuah produksi besar di Istana Budaya dengan cerita mengenai seorang tokoh negara. Dan ramai pelakon 'silverscreen' dan 'small screen' yang dikenali. Lagu-lagunya sedap didengar. 

Apa yang 'kureng'?

Tak dapat tiket 'besh'. Dapat seat kat Upper Circle, bila duduk macam biasa tak dapat tengok keseluruhan pentas dan screen besar di belakangnya. Last-last kena duduk condong ke depan, nasib baik kat barisan depan, ada tempat nak letak siku. Bila duduk macam tu, baru lah dapat tengok pentas sampai ke bahagian paling depan, tapi screen tu dapat tengok 60% je kot.

Adinda di IB

Alkisah...?

Oklah, sebab cerita dia pasal Tun Mahathir, ceritanya bermula dari zaman Tun dilahirkan, semasa budak-budak, ketika di kolej hinggalah ke zaman universiti. Tang menariknya masa zaman universiti tu masa percintaan Tun M dan Tun SH...(betui ka Tun M dulu meng'ayat' cam gitu sekali..? hehe). Apapun, persembahan Zizan Nin dan Erra Fazira masa tu kiut sekali. Pastu masuk lah bab bekerja di Klinik Maha dan akhirnya tiba lah zaman penglibatan politik. Masa ni Zizan Nin dah bertukar menjadi Esma Daniel. Adakalanya aku rasa loghat Kedah Esma tak berapa menjadi, tapi bila babak Tun M ditemuramah wartawan dalam satu wawancara tv, aku rasa cara dia bercakap begitu sebijik sekali dengan Tun (agaknya dia berlatih tang situ lebih sikit kot). Sesetengah babak tak diceritakan melalui dialog tetapi melalui lagu dengan lirik yang merangkumi keseluruhan episod babak itu secara simbolik. Contohnya ada satu babak berkenaan hubungan Tun M dengan timbalan-timbalannya...hmm...Tang politik-politik ni cek kureng sikit noo..

Apapun, oklah..ia adalah suatu cerita yang menarik dan pengalaman yang menarik juga...Cuma, kalau dapat tempat duduk yang lebih munasabah, dapat le menghayati cerita dengan lebih baik rasanya. Aku minat tengok teater dan lain kali bila ada masa dan bila ada cerita yang dirasakan best, aku akan tengok lagi.

Akan datang?!