Let sleeping murder lie....

Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Aku mula mengenali novel-novel Agatha Christie hampir 16 tahun yang lalu, di sebalik timbunan buku-buku lama di kedai buku-buku terpakai di tingkat atas Bazaar Chowrasta, P.Pinang. The dusty and crowded shop was my heaven during those days. Sehingga ke hari ini sudah banyak buku beliau aku dah baca, namun sejumlah lagi hasil tulisannya belum aku baca. Dan judul ini salah satu daripadanya. Kisah Gwenda, seorang suri rumah yang baru berpindah ke rumah baru di Hillside dan mula mengesyaki ada tragedi pembunuhan yang berlaku di rumah tersebut hampir 2 dekad yang lalu setelah dia diganggu oleh bayangan-bayangan dan aura yang menyeramkan. Dan rumah tersebut rupa-rupanya pernah diduduki oleh mendiang ayahnya bersama ibu tirinya suatu masa dahulu. Jane Marple ialah penyiasat Christie dalam judul ini dan beliau membantu Gwenda menyelesaikan misteri tersebut sama ada pembunuhan sememangnya terjadi atau ia hanya bayangan Gwenda semata-mata. Novel Agatha Christie sememangnya tidak pernah jemu dibaca dan peneman yang sesuai dalam perjalanan pergi balik kerja menggunakan LRT!

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a memoir, a chick lit and a mystery

Footprints In The Paddy Fields is what the author, Tina Kisil, regards as the family portrait and childhood memoir of hers. This captivating book is the author's reminiscence of her earliest life with her Dusun family in Sabah, Malaysia during the 1950s to 1960s era.

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For me, the book is an eye opener for the customs and traditions of the native Dusuns, related by the author through her family's roots and lineage, their life journey, values of life, relationship with other natives, survival and sustenance methods, crafts and skills, sources of entertainment, sadness and joys and everything else under the sun in an engaging way and all through the eyes and the perspectives of Tina Kisil, the young Dusun child at that time. Written as a memoir, this book is more interesting to read because of the honest narration of personal experiences. I was taken back to the times when I flipped the pages of serious books about Sabah and saw those old black and white pictures of native people in their traditional attires and holding baskets of their trades. I had thought nothing of them, until I read this memoir, and suddenly I realize that each and every faces in those old black and white photos has a story, a personality ... a life of their own. It is something to be appreciated and respected. It is a refreshing read.

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I picked up The Men's Guide to the Women's Bathroom purely because of the interestingly curious title. I had a sense that it could be a light and easy chick lit and I was not wrong. The narrator of the story is Claire St John, a 30-something woman who had just lived through a painful divorce, quitted her lawyer job and moved from New York to her mom's rental house in Austin, Texas. The whole story is about Claire's emotional journey to get over her post-divorce era and try to move on with her life. She decided to become a writer and her junior effort is to write about the women's bathroom. It's quirky and funny to read her notes about women and their association with the ladies room. As the author said, the women's bathroom is a sanctuary where every deep, dark secret is revealed... Of course, Claire found herself a new romance, experienced a few embarrassing moments, had a gay male friend and several other girlfriends who were as quirky and funny as she is ... a typical setting. The story doesn't have much of a depth but interesting enough to kill away time with light entertainment.

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In Death In The Clouds, Hercule Poirot solved a murder that happened right under his nose. It was in the airplane of Prometheus, where an old moneylender, Madame Giselle was murdered by a snake venom pricked to her neck via a blowpipe dart. Naturally, everybody in the rear car of the plane were the suspects and it's up to the brilliant work of M. Poirot to find the murderer ... and somehow arranged some matchmaking works in the process! As usual, the obvious question to be answered is who had the highest probability and possibility to kill, when everybody denied having seen anything related to the murder? But it is also important to learn about the victim herself. Madame Giselle is not the real name, an estranged daughter came to light, or perhaps it's one of the clients? In the end, M. Poirot caught his murderer in his usual grand 'moments-of-truth' speech.

recent indulgence

Hola ... oohh, it felt so wonderful and nice to be able to indulge myself in some books after so many months of not doing it. I don't know why I deprived myself from reading ... maybe too much distractions coming my way. However, it's time to hit the library and let's take a look at my recent accomplishments in the reading department, which consist of  2 very familiar authors in my book archive, Jeffrey Archer and Agatha Christie.

Honestly, I have never read a full novel from Jeffrey Archer, but I have enjoyed several of his short stories collections instead. New additions to the list are "A Quiver Full Of Arrows" (1980) and "A Twist In The Tale" (1988). Most of his short stories are inspired by true events, while a few are his own creation. The most common experiences of reading these stories are (for me) are, one, it's like reading a person's whole life biography, where a story could tell a tale encompassing decades of years, and two, the tales are often normal and bland in the beginning but smack you with a twist or something surprising or unexpected in the end. In these two short stories collections, I have several favourites i.e. from the "A Quiver Full Of Arrows"; The Luncheon, The Coup, Old Love, The Perfect Gentleman, One-Night Stand, Henry's Hiccup and A Matter of Principle. In "A Twist In The Tale", my favourites would be The Perfect Murder, A La Carte, Just Good Friends, The Steal, Honor Among Thieves and A Chapter of Accidents.

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Next, my favourite crime novelist, Agatha Christie. I have read so many of her books, yet there are still many more that I haven't read. Hallowe'en Party (1969) might not be as grand as her other stories that I've read, but it's still one of the best. And it's a bit dark story, when the victim is a child. Now that is quite different because there's never been a child victim in the books that I've read so far. In this book, Hercule Poirot is helping his novelist friend Ariadne Oliver to figure out who and why a 13-year old Joyce Reynolds is murdered in a Hallowe'en party.

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There, those were my recent conquests. And right now, I'm just starting to read a fourth book, all in one week. Perhaps, I'll write about it in my future post. Till then, au revoir.

UTube : Inspector Mislan & the UTube Serial Rapes

Title : UTube : Inspector Mislan & the UTube Serial Rapes

Author : Rozlan Mohd Noor

Publisher : Silverfish Books, 2012, 298pgs

ISBN : 978-983-3221-41-7

Genre : Crime-thriller, fiction

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As I was browsing the English fiction shelves in a bookstore, among the loads of James Patterson, Jeffrey Archer, Dan Browns et cetera, my eyes caught one local name, Rozlan Mohd Noor (funny that I caught the smaller fonts of the author's name first before I saw the book title's bigger fonts...), and I was thinking...an English fiction book from a local author? That's nice! Picked it up and I remember being so much more intrigued when I found out that it's a crime-thriller, detective story-like...just my thing! Of course, I would give it a try.

The author - Rozlan Mohd Noor was a police officer with the Royal Malaysian Police for 11 years as an Investigating Officer and a Magistrate Court Prosecuting Officer in Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan. This info is available on the book cover. Being fascinated with the evolution of crime solving technology, he became passionate in writing crime stories, hence the production of some crime novels under the character 'Inspector Mislan' series. After leaving the force, he worked at several major corporations and multinational companies, before starting his own human resources and security consultancy business.

The story - The story started with a rape case of a woman at her own home whereby the rapist videoed the rape act and later uploaded the video in 'UTube'. The case is thus put under investigation of the D11 (Sexual & Child Abuse Investigation Division) where Insp. Sherry is the lead investigator. When another woman was raped with the same MO and her housemate was murdered at the same time, Insp. Sherry has to put up with the challenges of working with the tenacious Insp. Mislan under the D9 (Special Investigations) division. Along the way, 2 more rape videos went viral in UTube and the teams are hellbent on solving the crime although receiving a lot of heat from many aspects; bureaucracy, politics and smart-ass hard-to-get criminals.

Apparently, they discovered that the crime wasn't just a simple rape case but involving a more serious issue of hate crimes regarding the gays and lesbians. The author is tackling a what was once (and maybe still) a real-life issue of the nation in this book in such a way that I think he is maybe fictionalizing a non-fiction or maybe parts of the story was very similar to what really happened in real-life investigations.

The review - It's a good crime story, especially if you are a fan of such genre. The book is written in English but there's also a glossary of the local language and speech expressions at the back of the book to help non-Malaysian readers to understand certain terms that are used. The ending, however, is quite subtle. It left me with the impression of 'so is he the real culprit or not?'. A little annoying I suppose, in leaving suspense on the reader's mind at the finale. I tend to think that Insp. Mislan really nab the culprit but what's left hanging is the actual nabbing act and the question of 'will the criminal be prosecuted'?

As much as I admire this book for being one of the non-mainstream genre of novels written by a local author, I couldn't help but questioning the author a little bit about this; why should he needlessly portray local  'hero' characters as persons who embrace 'faithless' lifestyle as if all personnel in the crime solving department are like that? (I don't know if you readers can understand what I mean, 'coz it's difficult to try to explain a certain thing without being specific.) Maybe because I had hoped a local author could do the nation prouder by writing good stuff without the influence of a culture that does not come from this region. Anyway, this book is still a good read and entertaining.

Lavender dari Rochester karya Fatihah Pauzihal

Tajuk : Lavender dari Rochester

Pengarang : Fatihah Pauzihal

Penerbit : Jemari Seni Sdn. Bhd., 2012

ISBN : 978-967-0508-07-8; 612 ms.

Harga : RM23.00 (WM)/RM26.00 (EM)

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Lavender dari Rochester merupakan novel penuh kedua nukilan Fatihal Pauzihal yang telah saya baca habis dalam satu malam. Kisah di dalam novel ini berkisar tentang 4 watak yang menjadi tunjang utama iaitu Lutfiyah, Hadi, Zakir dan Wardah.

Lutfiyah yang dibesarkan oleh babahnya dan Ibu Sumaiyah di Rochester pulang ke Malaysia bagi menjalankan amanat babahnya untuk mencari ahli keluarga mereka yang telah lama ditinggalkan. Malang yang bertimpa-timpa ke atas dirinya menemukan dia dengan Zakir, pemuda kampung yang bekerja di KL dan terkenal dengan sifat kasanova. Walaupun begitu, Zakir adalah pemuda yang baik dan bersama-sama Wardah, seorang gadis naif, guru tadika dan kawan sekampung Zakir, mereka membantu Lutfiyah dan membawa pulang Lutfiyah ke kampung mereka. Di situ Lutfiyah bertemu Hadi dan bermula lah satu episod permainan 'tarik tali' dan konflik emosi serta perhubungan antara mereka berempat dan manusia-manusia di sekeliling mereka. Lutfiyah dan Hadi masing-masing mempunyai sejarah duka mereka sendiri. Pertembungan hati watak-watak muda ini banyak dibantu dengan panduan watak-watak yang sudah berusia dan telah lama 'makan garam' seperti Nek Mah dan Ibu Sumaiyah.

Berjayakah Lutfiyah dalam pencariannya dan merungkai persoalan yang menjadi tanda tanya sekian lama? Dan bagaimanakah kesudahan 4 jiwa yang hebat diuji Tuhan dengan pelbagai cabaran pada akhirnya? Apakah hikmah di sebalik semua yang berlaku? Semuanya terjawab usai membaca novel ini.

Komen saya:

Saya bukanlah peminat novel melayu yang rata-rata temanya sentiasa klise dengan kisah cinta terhalang kerana perbezaan taraf keluarga, hubungan kekeluargaan yang terpisah, perhubungan cinta terlarang kerana hubungan saudara atau kisah hidup anak melayu yang belajar di luar negara dan terbawa-bawa dengan arus kemodenan. Novel ini juga begitu, tiada kelainan yang ketara. Namun, novelis ini mampu  mempersembahkan ceritanya dengan baik dengan gaya penceritaan yang lancar, bersahaja dan mudah difahami.

Dari segi isi, kisah ini sarat dengan cinta dan kasih sayang, samada yang membahagiakan mahupun yang menghancurkan; kasih anak terhadap ibu bapa, kasih nenek terhadap cucu, kasih antara 2 saudara, kasih penjaga kepada anak angkatnya - dalam erti kata lain, kasih sayang di dalam hubungan keluarga. Selain itu, kisah ini juga menyentuh tentang kepentingan memajukan diri sendiri, peluang kedua (second chance) dalam kehidupan dan hikmah sebuah kemaafan, seperti tagline novel ini, kemaafan adalah dendam yang terindah.

Kesudahan bagi cerita ini tidaklah sukar untuk dijangka, lebih-lebih lagi jika si pembaca sudah terbiasa dengan jalan cerita soap operas di kaca tv. Bagaimanapun saya cuba untuk tidak membuat jangkaan dan menerima apa sahaja kesudahan yang disampaikan novelis ini. Bagi saya, ia kesudahan yang agak baik dan teratur cuma mungkin sedikit kurang mencabar minda, hehe.

Apapun, novel ini baik untuk dibaca kerana banyak perkara positif yang boleh diambil daripadanya, jika si pembaca tidak hanya membaca untuk hiburan dan melayan mainan perasaan.

The Kite Runner

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This book is a worldwide bestseller but I can't help to notice that people gave mixed reviews on it. For me, perhaps I would categorize the experience of reading Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner as one of the most emotional and heartbreaking and the story might be one of the most moving to the heart, because my feelings concentrates more on the storyteller's personal story, feelings and experience. Perhaps the people who doesn't like this book is more concerned on the portrayal of war and Taliban rule in it. The inhumanity of war, the saviour that turned to oppressor themselves of the Taliban in Afghanistan, all the extremes related to the politically unstable nation of Afghanistan at that time, I cannot really comment whether the portrayal is just or unjust to the true situation. Usually I don't pick up books with war theme mainly due to the fact that I loathe its hideousness. I wasn't sure why I finally read it, but anyway, the deed has been done. And this is what I think about it.

But first, maybe a little bit of the story. In The Kite Runner, two young Afghanistan boys' life and relationship change dramatically and drastically forever when on one fateful day, something dreadful happened to one of them. Shortly after, the Russian invasion and then the Taliban rule in Afghanistan occur and lasted and thus further affecting the whole nation, making both boys, Amir and Hassan, lead their own lives separately and differently. In this book, Amir is the storyteller, and what Amir tell in the whole book is actually about Hassan. Both boys are best friends, although they are different in terms of race and therefore also in social standing, where Amir is the 'respectable' Pashtun and Hassan is only a Hazara, whose father is the servant of Amir's father and he too, is also a servant to the family.

As a boy, Amir is so insecure, and always struggling and fighting for his father's love, recognition and affection. Though he gets the best company and friendship from Hassan, and also the best provision from his father, Amir always has a feeling of being less of a son to his father and somehow disturbed by his father's kind treatment to Hassan's family. One day, something terrible happened to Hassan and it really tested Amir's courage and sense of responsibility. What Amir decided later was what I consider as the biggest mistake in his life and the story afterwards is all about how he deals with his guilt and conscience while running away from the country with his father during the political unrest. When things took a lot of different twists and turns, Amir found himself back in his old neighbourhood, with a quest for redemption, salvation and facing the evil the way it should be done many years ago.

Reading this book, one might have to deal a lot of issues concerning insecurities, emotional struggle and bravery and cringe with disgust at Amir every time he always second thoughts the noble actions that he should have done due to fear while all the time he receives the loyalty, protection and kindness by the very same people he 'betrayed'. In the end, Amir gives us readers a streak of hope, and the rest ... you might just need to read the book. I give this book a thumbs up for how it moves me and the rich and detailed descriptions by the author. "For you, a thousand times over."

Title: The Kite Runner
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing, paperback edition 2011 (original 2003)
Pages: 324 pages

tiada EX, tiada sejarah

Azreen Yusof

EX-BOIFREN

pengalaman saya dengannya adalah seperti memakan nutrition snack bar

sekali kunyah terasa padat dan sendat

zine ini satu pengesahan bahawa

kadang-kadang kita tak perlu tulis berjela-jela untuk menyampaikan maksud kita

SAYA SUKA! SILA TERUSKAN ...

enak menikmati ex-boifren bersama secangkir sebantal kopi

The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie

a pale horse with spaghetti on the side

The Pale Horse is one of the novels from the Queen of Mysteries, Agatha Christie, that doesn't employ the witty Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot as the detective. In its stead, the novelist of detective stories, Ariadne Oliver appears but only as a minor role. Most of the story is told by narratives of Mark Easterbrook, a scholar and historian, who is the main character of this book.

The enigma revolves around an old inn by the name of The Pale Horse, which is then converted as a residence and occupied by three middle-aged ladies; an occultist, a medium and a witch. Whether it's the house itself, or the occupants, but there's something going on there, something dark and sinister...or maybe black magic? Mark doesn't really know, but he sure wants to find out.

And Mark would've left all the business about the Pale Horse alone if it's not because of a strange list of names he saw from his police-surgeon friend, Jim Corrigan. A reverend was found murdered on the way home from visiting a dying woman who before drawing out her last breath, revealed an important secret along with the list of names to the reverend. What is the secret...and what's with the names? Whatever it is, it is something the murderer doesn't want others to find out, however the list finally lands on Detective-Inspector Lejeune, who then starts an investigation by finding out about the names and looking for witnesses of the murder.

Everything about the case is happening close to Mark. One of the names on the list is his recently demised godmother, another name - he happens to saw the owner at a bar and later knew of her death from the obituaries, and another - Corrigan! Is it connected with his friend? The Pale Horse is mentioned by one of his dinnermates and then his cousin brought him to the place itself. There's the hushed stories of a business in removing unwanted rich relatives ... and it all leads to the Pale Horse and the intriguing characters around the village. Most of the names in the list are rich people who already dead but the cause of deaths are nothing but natural ailments. Mark is torn between his believe for real evidence and the influence of the black magic theory weaved by the Pale Horse occupants. With Lejeune and an acquaintance, he's determined to find the truth and solve the case before the last name on the list becomes a victim.

Title : The Pale Horse
Author : Agatha Christie
First published : 1961, Harper Collins, UK

Brilliant story. I know there must be some sort of physical evidence just I couldn't think of what it is until the end chapter. And I got my criminal wrong too! You can feel the dangerous risk Mark is going through in uncovering the murderous scheme because the character Mark is not a cool detective like Poirot or Miss Marple whom we already know their roles and who they are. He's just a normal person who wants to be certain of things. Love it!

Batu Ketiga Dari Matahari

Source: the book's fb

Batu Ketiga Dari Matahari...literally translated as 3rd Rock From The Sun...yup, I know what you're thinking but nope, it doesn't have any connection to that US sitcom about aliens trying to live as humans. This is the second book from Kerat Studio that I read, the first one being written here. The third rock from the sun is obviously the Earth, where we live in, and the tales are of life on it, its craziness, complexity, ugliness and dot dot dot ...etc.

Well, how can I say....after reading all 47 short stories written by 8 writers, it took me awhile to decide how I should write about it here. Well....that is art, not everybody can understand the same thing in the same way. For me, there's a mixture of cluelessness, awesomeness and 'waddehel'ness in this one book. 5 writers each has a piece with the same title, except for 3 writers, which I don't know why it's like that...

Anyway, I believe that all the stories are written with careful thoughts. And perhaps, if one person is thinking in the same wavelength as the others, then they can share the same thoughts... if not, all you get is noise.

However again, since this is suppose to be my personal thoughts about it, let me take this privilege to say thanks to ...

(in no particular order ... )

Zoul Yazix ... I like the way you weaved Warna Atas Dunia and how the rest of your 5 stories: Solitud, Imbasan Hidup, Pakcik Berbaju Batik Biru, Seorang VIP Di Perpustakaan Negeri, Perempuan Tanpa Badan Di Atas Rak Buku-buku Cinta and Ritual Cinta seems to be a continuation of one another;

Ophan Bunjos ... I can make my own conclusions from Di Sisi Dandelion Hitam, Nicoleta Bermata Hijau, Batu Ketiga Dari Matahari and Si Molly Sudah Terbang Ke Sorga, but I am lost with PendosaKembara Cinta and Menuju Malam Yang Tidak Pernah Tidur .... as if I'm trying to peel layers and layers of never ending ....;

april ... simple yet touching in Nota Memori, Adin and Seorang Aku, Dan Tuhan;

KHRLHSYM ... I can relate to Taman Masa; Kopi and Matahari touches me; and I like the way you wrote Batu Ketiga Dari Matahari and Dewa Kecil;

Encik Psychopath ... you are wise and brilliant in Melihat Tuhan, Terima Kasih Untuk Masa Anda and Taman Surga ... your work is much sweeter than your pen name;

Lucifer ... saya gerun dengan Bunyi Itu; I like the story of CCTV, and laughed in Batu Ketiga Dari Matahari, while Im[mortal]iti and Ini Bukan Kamasutra are brilliant;

nasyrun ... I know there's the real world behind the mysterious layers that you weaved all your stories with although I'm not sure what it is, complex wisdom? But Perihal Rockstar, Tahi Kucing Dan Faux-Deus does make sense to me ...;

Sahidzan ... reading Lenyap Dimamah Masa is like trying to capture a beautiful bird, it's beautiful, it's tempting ... but once you try to hold out your hands it flies away... the rest, nice experience of reading...

Whatever it is, all writers are in a class of their own...superb.
Reading this book is like eating asam pedas or curry ... it just tastes better after the first time.


Title : Batu Ketiga Dari Matahari
Secondary Title : Cerita fiksyen dari Lapan Homosapiens
Pages : 185
Publisher : Kerat Studio, 2012
Price : RM20.00
Language : Malay 

IRise: The Chronologies Vol. 1: IFall

picture from IRise fb profile photos

IFall is the first volume of the IRise: The Chronologies, a compilation of short stories, poetic verses and comics published by Kerat Studio, an independent publication, with joint copyrights with Zine Satu Malam, another independent publication entity. These entities comprises individuals who write, edit, proof-read and publish their own works, for the love of their art. They circulate or sell their work through blogs and I happened to know about this compilation through my friend's FB, who's also one of the contributors in it.

As I understand it, and as I have written up there, IFall is the first volume of IRise. IRise is a series of chronicles depicting life and love and everything related to it, separated into five volumes. IFall, as the name suggests, is a compilation of downfalls and heartbreaks. Unrequited love, untimely deaths, betrayals and so forth, told by a group of people who might be telling their own stories, or inspired by the themes, that much I don't know, but readers surely can relate to the stories as they are part and parcels in most of our life. Perhaps several pieces are quite disturbing in terms of its 'suicidal' tones but if one reads with an open and positive mind, one will surely concludes that there are lessons to be learnt. In the aspects of story-telling, from my personal viewpoint, several pieces are really touching and smartly and interestingly written. I don't think it matters much to tell which is which...after all, they are all there to share their stories and to celebrate the works of young writers.

After IFall, be watchful of the rest of the other volumes i.e. IWeep, IRetaliate, ISedate and IRise. From the introduction by Lucifer, one of the contributors, I expected that these series will bring the readers into a journey from the lowest point in a person's emotional turmoil to his/her rise or comeback to the real world....like the catchphrase written on the book; "Fall Aplenty, Rise Wholeheartedly"...

Information about this book (and other titles) and how to purchase it can be found in Kerat Studio blogsite.

Title: Vol. 1: IFall

Secondary title: IRise: The Chronologies

Pages: 178

Publisher: Kerat Studio, 2012

Price: RM20.00

Language: Malay and English

Sherlock Holmes The Complete Novels & Stories

When I was a young girl, I've read a few stories of the most famous fictional detective in the world, Sherlock Holmes. Just not so long ago, I watched the Sherlock Holmes movie directed by Guy Ritchie and starred by Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law as the detective and his doctor companion, and I thought, "Is this real?" Of course not, the movie is a mixture or a concoction of the bits and parts of the many stories Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had written about him. And so, it roused my interest to enjoy Holmes's eccentric manner and wonderful methods of investigation once again, and read up the other stories that I haven't read.

Title : Sherlock Holmes The Complete Novels and Stories (Volume 1) - the Bantam Classic Edition

Author : Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (with an Introduction by Loren D. Estleman)

Publisher : Bantam Dell (first published in 1986) 

Pages : 1,059

Price : Bought for RM29.90 at Popular Bookstore

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Bantam Books has reissued the stories in 2 volumes and so far I only managed to lay my hands on Volume 1. Hopefully I can start on Volume 2 very soon. In Volume 1, you'll be entertained with the collections arranged in chronological order of the publishment. There's the 2 first novels where the first one, A Study of Scarlet (1887) introduces Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson together as roomates in the famous 221B Baker Street. Then continued with The Sign of Four (1890) where Dr. Watson met his wife. The rest are short stories as compiled in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1891), The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1892) and The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1903). All this brilliant works of Holmes are portrayed as if it is chronicled by Dr. Watson about his roomate and from all of Holmes successes, we also get to read when Holmes is kind of beaten in his investigations by the equally sharp Irene Adler in A Scandal in Bohemia, his little blunder in The Yellow Face and his dangerous assignment involving Prof. Moriarty in The Final Problem.

A valuable collection indeed. And in my wishlist is Volume 2.

To Cut A Long Story Short by Jeffrey Archer

Alhamdulillah....last year I managed to write 15 book reviews, although I've enjoyed more than 15 books. Anyway, at least I can say that I've read not less than 15 books on 2011, right? Still, it's such a small number. So, one of my 2012 wishes is to read and review a minimum of 24 books, that means an average of 2 books per month, and write about it here, InsyaAllah. Let's say that this blog also serves as my report card, savvy?

So, the numero uno book for this year is a collection of short stories written by Jeffrey Archer. This is the second short stories compilation from Mr. Archer that I've read. The first one is in here. 

Title : To Cut A Long Story Short

Author : Jeffrey Archer

Publisher : Harper Collins, 2001 (Paperback Edition)

Pages : 419

Genre : Short story

Bought at : Book Xcess, Amcorp Mall, PJ

Price : ..opps, forgot...but definitely not more than RM20

There are 14 original selected short stories in this edition, 9 of it are based on true incidents and 1 is a translation from an Arabic story (somehow I think I've read this one before but dunno when and where...). I enjoyed all of them but my best choice would be ..... er....almost all! Haha. Well, the ones that I fully enjoy reading are as follows....

The Endgame, an honourable mission brilliantly executed by a rich man and his lawyer to know which of his family member deserves a good place in his will; Chalk and Cheese, the tale of 2 brothers who each have a different start in life and end theirs in the opposite ways; Both Sides Against The Middle, about a cunning con man making use of the land and law to get away from being caught but finally lost; and finally The Grass Is Always Greener, an interesting chain of stories about one's perspective about the others and how they always think that the other person is luckier than him and so on and on.

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There's also the story that moved me such as A Change of Heart, about a white South African who's into apartheid but has a change of heart after an accident; the story that made me cry hate to gold digger men in Too Many Coincidences; terrorized and chuckled at the same time with Something for Nothing; and lauded a diplomat's daring effort to provide for the people by using all resources he could find in Other Blighter's Efforts.

An interesting collection, this one. A truly enjoyable one. Smart and brilliantly written, catching the reader's interest all the time by the wonderful story-telling, regardless of the theme whether it's a court drama, crime story, love affair, family drama etc. and etc. Love it!

Lord Edgware Dies

agathachristie.com

Title : Lord Edgware Dies

Author : Agatha Christie

Publisher : Harper, 2007 (The Agatha Christie Signature Edition)

Pages : 351

Genre : Mystery, Detective Story

Bought at : MPH Subang Parade

Price : RM39.90 (Value Buy-double books)
First published by Collins, 1933

From back-cover synopsis:

When Lord Edgware is found murdered the police are baffled. His estranged actress wife was seen to visit him just before his death and Poirot himself heard her brag of her plan to 'get rid' of him. But how could his estranged wife Jane have stabbed Lord Edgware to death in his library at exactly the same time she was seen dining with friends? It's a case that almost proves to be too much for the great Hercule Poirot.

Method of murder, stabbed to death. Motivation, prospect of marriage to a more powerful and richer man. The tricks? Yup, once we learned of the two existence at the same time but at different places, and digested the story-line from the introduction, we would've arrived at the possible tricks executed. Only we wouldn't have known who's who and how it's actually done until the moment of truth. But sadly, so many deaths in this story, more than the usual two murders in average for Dame Christie's stories. And also, we learned that there is a kind of abnormality in a person, that he/she cannot distinguish the right from wrong, and can only think of one singular thing at a time, unable to process the mind with moral values. That kind of person can commit a crime without remorse as long as he/she can get whatever he/she wants the most at the time. The story is told as narrations by Captain Hastings which are very interesting, especially at the part where he told us about his views about Hercule Poirot idiosyncrasies. As expected, an enjoyable read as always. Love it!  

Miss Marple's Final Cases by Agatha Christie

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Title : Miss Marple's Final Cases

Author : Agatha Christie

Publisher : Harper/Collins, 2002

Pages : 240

Genre : Mystery

Bought at : MPH Subang Parade

Price : Value Buy-double books for RM39.90

First published by : Collins, 1979

This is Agatha Christie Signature Edition.

This is actually a collection of mysterious short stories from Agatha Christie. There are 9 stories in it, including 3 bonus stories, as follows...


Sanctuary
Strange Jest
Tape-Measure Murder
The Case of the Caretaker
The Case of the Perfect Maid
Miss Marple Tells a Story
The Dressmaker's Doll (bonus)
In A Glass Darkly (bonus)
Greenshaw's Folly (bonus)

Jane Marple is the 'detective' or shall I say, the master key of hints in all cases except in The Dressmaker's Doll and In A Glass Darkly, doing her wonders in the most natural way. The two aforementioned stories are rather a Hitchcock-ly kind of thriller, not that I want to compare between Christie's and Hitchcock's, but just to say that it fits the genre. All stories are brilliant, and similarly as I sad before....never believe the obvious because it may not be the real thing.

Always a thrilling read.

Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie

Title : Destination Unknown

Author : Agatha Christie

Publisher : Harper/Collins, 2003

Pages : 316

Genre : Adventure, thriller, espionage, a li'l bit sci-fi too I guess ;)

Bought at : MPH Sunway Pyramid

Price : Value Buy-double books for RM39.90 (Yup! This is the double companion
of Dumb Witness.)

First published by : Collins, 1954

This is Agatha Christie Signature Edition.

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Reading this one was a new experience for me, after reading a number of AC's works in the past. It's a rare type of style, no Miss Marple, no Hercule Poirot. No gossiping 'ol dames, no hunt for family treasures, but a thrilling adventure in a punch bowl of war, ideologies and political sentiments. In it, there mentioned the term Iron Curtain several times and it has led me to find its meaning, to which I quoted from the online Britannica Encyclopedia as ...

...the political, military and ideological barrier erected by the Soviet Union after World War II to seal off itself and its dependent eastern European allies from open contact with the West and other non-Communist area.

However, the dark and gloomy post-war ambiance is just the background of the main plot. The main story is about the investigation of the sudden disappearance of a British scientist, Thomas Betterton, along with a number of distinguished science experts and researchers from all over Europe. The only key person in finding his whereabouts is his wife, Olive. Unfortunately, Olive is suffering critical injuries after a plane crash. Hope comes in the form of Hillary Craven, a suicidal woman who has lost her own hope to live after a failed marriage and the death of her child. How does Hillary play her role in tracking Thomas? Now that's the interesting part. The mastermind behind the geniuses' disappearance is a master genius in his own way, and the discovery of the plot? Superbly thrilling. In it there are mysterious characters, someone that might just pretend to be someone else, but you don't know who, and you don't know his/her motives and objectives. And in the end, the mystery is unraveled  one by one, and you know who is who...and then you can't help but thinking how brilliant it was told. Really, because I felt it.

This is not a usual Agatha Christie's treat and I love it!

Ketentuan Ilahi

Sidek termangu di atas bangku batu di taman permainan itu. Cuaca pada hari itu cerah dan angin bertiup sepoi-sepoi bahasa, menyapu lembut pipi kematunya itu. Sidek sudah tua. Dia sudah tidak larat lagi. Kerjanya hari-hari adalah menghabiskan usia tuanya di taman itu. Taman permainan yang tak seperti taman permainan yang lain. Kecil sahaja, maklumlah...ianya dibina sekadar untuk mengisi ruang di antara sebuah pangsapuri lima belas tingkat dan bangunan parkir kereta di sebelahnya.

Sidek bagaikan penunggu setia di taman itu. Tiap-tiap petang dia pasti di situ, melihat telatah anak-anak yang bermain, waima tidak ada apa yang boleh dimainkan sangat oleh anak-anak di situ. Buaiannya sudah tercabut dari talinya. Yang tinggal cuma satu atau dua yang dipasang kembali atas inisiatif penduduk yang tinggal di pangsapuri itu. Namun kadang-kadang dia melihat buaian itu tercabut kembali. Begitu juga dengan nasib alat-alat permainan yang lain yang bagaikan hidup segan, mati tak mahu. Sidek hanya menggelengkan kepalanya, menginsafi keadaan yang disaksikannya berulang kali. Budak-budak zaman sekarang ni tak reti langsung nak menghargai kemudahan yang ada. Semua nak dirosakkannya, tak tahu bersyukur langsung!, rengus Sidek dalam hatinya sambil mengelus misai tuanya yang panjang itu.

"Sidek!"

.........

"Sidek!!" 

Semakin nyaring dan tajam panggilan itu. Sidek berpaling. Dia kenal sangat dengan suara itu. Masakan tidak, tuan punya suara itulah teman lepaknya di taman itu setiap hari.

"Fareez. Kau rupanya. Kenapa lambat hari ni? Biasanya, tak sempat panas punggung aku duduk kat bangku ni, kau dah terpacul kat sebelah aku.", balas Sidek setelah melihat Fareez menghampirinya sambil tersengih-sengih macam kerang busuk.

"Alah...aku dah sampai dari tadi lagi. Tapi aku tengok kau macam syok saja melayan perasaan, aku malaslah nak kacau daun.", selamba saja Fareez menepuk bahu kawannya itu seraya duduk di sebelah. Walaupun usia Fareez lebih muda separuh dari usia temannya itu, namun mereka telah terbiasa berbahasa kau, aku sejak mula mengenali diri masing-masing.

"Apa yang kau geleng-geleng kepala tadi? Macam ada masalah je? Teringatkan Limah ke?"

Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie

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Title : Dumb Witness

Author : Agatha Christie

Publisher : Harper/Collins, 2008

Pages : 411

Genre : Detective story

Bought at : MPH Sunway Pyramid

Price : Value Buy-double books for RM39.90

Voila! 

First published by : Collins, 1937

The detective : Hercule Poirot

Method of crime : Poisoning

The gist, as taken from the synopsis at the back cover of the book....

Everyone blamed Emily's accident on a rubber ball left on the stairs by her frisky terrier. But the more she thought about her fall, the more convinced she became that one of her relatives was trying to kill her.

On April 17th she wrote her suspicions in a letter to Hercule Poirot. Mysteriously he didn't receive the letter until June 28th...by which time Emily was already dead... 

And so, Emily Arundell was definitely murdered. But how? And why? And, by whom? When Emily's letter strangely arrived in Poirot's hands two months after her death, it has been Poirot's only mission to unravel the mystery behind the story. As in the other brilliant detective stories of Dame Agatha Christie, we can never be quick in judging who's the criminal until after arriving to the final chapter. What seems to be quite obvious in the earlier part might not be the real case, it might just be a diversion, but it can also be hint, to those who like to challenge the author and try to catch the real culprit before the final chapter. Sometimes, we might be able to have a good guess, but we can never explain the crime in detail as some facts are hidden from us readers. The joy is in having our own mind trying to solve the mysteries by ourselves while following the story, reading what's between the lines, understanding the mental state of the characters, and familiarizing ourselves with the culture of English men and women during the author's years of living.

I definitely enjoyed this one!

Dendam by Affifudin Omar

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Title : Dendam

Author : Affifudin Omar

Publisher : Buku Fixi, 2011

Pages : 309
Genre : Fiction - Urban, Contemporary

Bought at : MPH Sunway Pyramid

Price : RM20.00

Dendam means revenge in Malay language. This is one of the "fresh from the oven" novels published by the newly-launched publishing company, Buku Fixi. For those who want to know about Buku Fixi and its urban and contemporary novels, you can refer to this blog that I always go to for surveying interesting reading materials.

Dendam is a life story of Khalil Gibran, a Malay and Muslim billionaire in Malaysia. At a young age, he is already revengeful and his heart is full of hatred for individuals and body of power after his father, a member of an opposition political party was severely wounded and incapacitated by a police officer during an arrest. The story revolves around his life as he grows up and fast becoming richer and powerful in the corporate world, and become a man of power himself. Starting from being a vicious interrogator in the police force, his rise to the top is full of manipulation, cronyism, criminal acts, and womanizing. Khalil can go to the max to get what he wants and to achieve his goal. In between honest and dark business deals, and his conquest of female companions, Khalil is sometimes torn between his sins and his goodwill towards others. At the end, there's a transformation. Will Khalil find salvation? Or will he be lost forever?

On a personal note, I picked this one up for a read because I would like to experience something new. When I read the first few pages, I was undecided whether to continue reading or not, because I felt like reading a simple, common Malay television drama in book form. However, as I put a little bit of faith in this novel and continued reading, I found myself wanting to know more and more, what will become of Khalil Gibran? The story flows smoothly, and easy to digest. At certain points of the story, I came across a few events that are quite familiar with the real events that we may have read in the national newspapers. Perhaps, the author is trying to explain and reveal his thoughts about those national issues that people always talk about on their backs and not able to publicly say it up front. All is possible. Anyway, the story is not so emotionally-laden but also not exactly dry. It still carries a lot of good messages and the style of the ending is satisfying.

And I finished it in one night. Not so much thrills, but I'd say, it's a good read.

Srengenge oleh Shahnon Ahmad

Novel Srengenge hasil tulisan Sasterawan Negara (SN) Shahnon Ahmad yang aku baca ini bukanlah daripada cetakan khas Siri Novel Malaysia Pilihan Abad 20, tetapi merupakan cetakan keempat DBP pada tahun 1981. Namun begitu, Srengenge sememangnya salah satu novel daripada dekad 1970an yang diangkat sebagai karya pilihan abad ke-20, seiring dengan Interlok (Abdullah Hussain), Juara (S. Othman Kelantan), Hari-Hari Terakhir Seorang Seniman (Anwar Ridhwan) dan banyak lagi.

Aku tak pasti apakah makna sebenar Srengenge, tetapi di dalam cerita ini, Srengenge adalah sebuah bukit. Bukit Srengenge adalah tempat kegemaran orang-orang kampung di kaki bukit meluangkan masa sementara menanti padi masak. Di situlah tempat mereka meracik tekukur, menjebak landak, menepuk pelanduk dan menggetah puling atau punai. Itulah kegemaran beberapa orang penduduk kampung tersebut seperti Imam Hamad, Diah, Useng, Siddik dan Saad Cik Lah.

Kisahnya timbul apabila Awang Cik Teh, seorang lagi penduduk kampung, berhasrat untuk menutuh, memugar dan membersihkan Srengenge. Awang Cik Teh lebih suka bukit itu dijadikan tempat menuai padi huma dan bercucuk tanam daripada "tersergam hodoh macam setan". Jika ditanya pendapat orang kampung lain, kemungkinan besar mendapat tentangan. Maka, menjadi hasrat Awang untuk meminta tolong Imam Hamad yang merupakan antara orang yang disegani di kampung itu untuk menyokong dan megetuai usaha tersebut. Namun, Imam Hamad kemudiannya jatuh sakit, "ditegur orang Srengenge" bak kata Useng  dan penduduk-penduduk kampung yang lain.

Penceritaan novel ini hanya berkisar tentang Bukit Srengenge dan orang-orang kampung yang terlibat dengannya. Bagi akulah, Awang Cik Teh adalah seperti karakter pelopor yang sentiasa ingin berusaha dan mencuba sesuatu yang baru, dan bukan jenis orang yang suka duduk diam serta mementingkan hiburan. Ini ditunjukkan oleh hasratnya yang ingin membersihkan Srengenge untuk dijadikan tempat bercucuk-tanam, dan usaha-usahanya yang terdahulu menubuhkan pakatan dengan penduduk kampung untuk membangunkan syarikat baja dan lain-lain. Walaupun usaha itu dinyatakan sebagai tidak berjaya, namun tidak diberitahu secara jelas apa puncanya. Rata-rata penduduk kampung adalah masyarakat yang mempercayai wujudnya penunggu bukit dan melaksanakan upacara menjamu pulut kuning dan ayam panggang di Bukit Srengenge lantaran Imam Hamad yang "tersampuk" itu, walaupun turut mempercayai kekuasaan Allah swt. Mereka percaya bahawa apa yang terjadi pada Imam Hamad adalah kerana wujudnya niat untuk memugar Srengenge.

Dalam kata lain, Srengenge merupakan kisah riwayat masyarakat desa yang masih tebal dengan kepercayaan tradisi dan perhubungan antara manusia dengan alam sekitarnya. Teknik penceritaan yang tidak terlalu kompleks memudahkan pembacaan. Satu bacaan yang baik.

Tiga Kali Seminggu by Dr. Faisal Tehrani

Tiga Kali Seminggu (directly translated as Three Times A Week) or hereafter referred to as TKS, is a compilation of short stories written by Dr. Faisal Tehrani, one of the most read novelist in Malaysia. In it, 15 short stories written during his two decades of writing. In his preface, Dr. Faisal explains about the motivation behind each story that he wrote and tells about its themes and objectives. His introduction to his works helps me to understand the reason and the background of each story. Even though the stories are short, it is a journey of understanding and swallowing the ideas from the start to finish. Some have romantic essence, but it is never shallow. The romantic and love theme is laden with substance. Good substance. The others are, in general, about life philosophies, religion and social matters presented in a mature, highly imaginative, provocative and abundant in knowledge derived from the author's experience and beliefs.

I have a few favourites of all the 15 short stories. One of them is Hajah Abidah. It is a story of the experience of a seasoned female celebrity performing haj in Mecca and in the process, discovers her call in life and her real soul mate in front of the Kaabah. Then, Cinta Medeni, a love tale within the background of sufism and time research in Islam. Manifesto Mergastua, the letter from all fauna to caliphs of the Earth, us humans. Muthupalaniappan, a heart-wrenching story of the relationship between a young ambitious teacher and a poor pupil. Finally, Setelah Diciptakan Adam..., of feminism and the nature of women beside Allah swt.

Apart from that, 10 more short stories of similar themes including the title story, Tiga Kali Seminggu which is rather funny. TKS is an enjoyable read which is light in terms of time consumption but mildly heavy in substance. And I would like to spend some time some day for another Faisal Tehrani treat.

Adieu.

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