Book Specs Author: Mario Vargas Llosa Translator: Helen R. Lane Publisher: Picador Publishing Date: August 2008 Number of Pages: 568 pages Genre: Historical Novel Synopsis Deep within the remote backlands of nineteenth-century Brazil lies Canudos, home to all the damned of the earth: prostitutes, bandits, beggars, and every kind of outcast. It is a place where history […]
Tag: Readings
Book Review # 73: Catch-22
Book Specs Author: Joseph Heller Publisher: Vintage Publishing Date: 1994 Number of Pages: 519 pages Genre: War Novel, Satirical Novel Synopsis At the heart of Catch-22 resides the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero endlessly inventive in his schemes to save his skin from the horrible chances of war. His problem is Colonel Cathcart, who […]
Book Review # 72: The Master and Margarita
Book Specs Author: Mikhail Bulgakov Translator: Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky Publisher: Penguin Books Publishing Date: 2016 Number of Pages: 396 Genre: Magical Realism, Satirical, Romance, Historical Metafiction Synopsis Nothing in the whole of literature compares with The Master and Margarita. One spring afternoon, the Devil, trailing file and chaos in his wake, weaves himself […]
Book Review # 71: The House of the Spirits
Book Specs Author: Isabel Allende Translator: Magda Bogin Publisher: Everyman’s Library Publishing Date: 2005 Number of Pages: 488 pages Genre: Family Saga, Magical Realism, South American Fiction Synopsis In the triumph of magic realism, Allende constructs a spirit-ridden world and fills it with colourful and all-too-human inhabitants. The Trueba family’s passions, struggles and secrets span three generations […]
Book Haul, Third Quarter 2018 (Part II)
This is the second part of my 2018 third quarter book haul. To check the first part, click here. Here’s the rest of my book haul. Title: The Autumn of the Patriarch Author: Gabriel Garcia Marquez Translator: Gregory Rabassa Publisher: Penguin Books Publishing Date: 2014 No. of Pages: 229 Synopsis: “As the citizens of an […]
Book Haul, Third Quarter 2018 (Part I)
Uggghhhhh. At the start of the year, one of my resolutions was to read more books and buy lesser. I have so far been able to remedy this. Unfortunately, I still can’t keep myself from buying more books, hence, they keep piling up on my bookshelves. It didn’t help that I found myself lately in […]
September Book Wrap-Up: Man Booker Prize Month
Following my April Asian Literature Month and August Young Adult Fiction Month, I decided to further my literary pursuits by delving into award-winning literary pieces. Over the years, I have accumulated books who have won an array of literary prizes such as Man Booker Prize, Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award and Orange Prize. For September, […]
Book Review # 70: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Book Specs Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz Publisher: Simon & Schuster Publishing Date: 2012 Number of Pages: 359 pages Genre: Romance, Young Adult, Bildungsroman Synopsis Dante can swim. Ari can’t. Dante is articulate and self-assured. Ari has a hard time with words and suffers from self-doubt. Dante gets lost in poetry and art. Ari gets lost […]
Book Review # 69: My Neighbor Totoro
Book Specs Original Story and Art: Hayao Miyazaki Novel: Tsugiko Kubo Publisher: Viz Media LLC Publishing Date: 2013 Number of Pages: 244 Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Children’s Fiction, Fantasy, Coming-of-age Synopsis The beloved animation classic by legendary Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki, My Neighbor Totoro, is now a novel. This edition features original illustrations by Miyazaki […]
August Book Wrap-up: Young Adult Fiction Month
In April 2018, an idea came to my mind. I thought, perhaps, that I could dedicate one month to reading a particular genre or a particular set of books which have a common denominator. It has always been my practice to not read books of the same genre consecutively to avoid getting bored. However, I […]
