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| Source: personal collection |
Hello fellow readers! I finally finished a big book in May. Mind you, a sad
and heartbreaking tome but I'm glad I finally read it. Since I did travel a
bit, I brought Penguin Little Black Classics with me and I finished two of
them. Without further ado, here are the books I read in May.
Books read in May
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A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara (★★★★) |
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A Little Life is a book chronicling the lives of four friends living
in New York. They have known each other since college and have been
friends since then. Of the four, Jude is the one who the others never
really get close to. He never talks about his past life which
unfortunately still haunts his present life. Most of the book revolves
around Jude's trauma and the impact on his life and people around him.
It's long and difficult to read because of the topics discussed in
this book. Trigger warning since there's abuse, self-harm and suicide
in this book. Even though it's a difficult read, I still recommend
this book to read. Still, beware of the trigger and I suggest reading
it when you're in a good mental state.
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The Meek One - Fyodor Dostoevsky (★★★) |
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The Meek One is a short story by Dostoevsky about a pawnshop owner who
took an interest in one of his customers. After looking into her
background, he proposed to her and they got married. The marriage
started nicely, but because of what I understand is communication
problem between the two, they drifted apart. After a confrontation,
the wife got sick and the story takes a bad turn from there. This was
my first encounter with Dostoevsky. Honestly, I'm a bit confused as to
why the story is titled the Meek One since 'meek' has negative
connotation for me. Since it's originally written in Russian,
sometimes the title is translated into A Gentle Creature. I think the
point of this story is how the pawnshop as the narrator saw the wife
through his eyes. He sympathized with her in the beginning then after
a period of their marriage he started to spite her until eventually he
came to love her again. It's written in a stream of consciousness
style, so we see the progression of his feelings toward his wife
through his narrative. At first I thought I'd be bored reading this
even though it's a short story. Thankfully, I quite enjoyed reading
this story. I'm looking forward to read Dostoevsky's full-length
books.
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How Much Land Does a Man Need? - Leo Tolstoy (★★★) |
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This Little Black Classics collects two short stories by Russian
writer, Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy is another Russian writer that I haven't
read before. Although his books are on my TBR list, I'm a bit
intimidated by them. Of all the Russian writers I read this month,
Tolstoy's writing is surprisingly easier to digest than Dostoevsky. So
the first story is titled How Much Land Does a Man Need? which is a
story about two sisters who were having conversation comparing whose
husband had the better life. One sister's husband is a farmer while
the other one works as a trader in town. Their conversation is heard
by the Devil and the Devil himself determined to persuade the farmer.
It's a story about greed. The moral of the story is clear and easy to
read. While the second one is titled What Men Live By. It's a story
about a poor shoemaker who found a naked man in front of a chapel. He
decided to help the man and take him home to feed him. The shoemaker's
wife felt adamant at first but after some time she agreed to help the
stranger. The shoemaker then taught the stranger, later known as
Michael, how to make a shoe and he got to live in the house also.
After several years, the shoemaker sensed several anomaly in Michael's
behavior. After confronting him about it, he learned who Michael
really was. I feel like Tolstoy's stories are parable. They are black
and white, the purpose of the stories is clear. In the first one, it
illustrates the danger of greed. While the second one illustrates what
do men live by. Seeing the ease of reading Tolstoy's story, I don't
feel intimidated anymore. If anything, I'm excited to read his
full-length books.
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How Do You Live? - Genzaburo Yoshino (★★★★) |
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How Do You Live follows Copper, a fifteen year old boy, and his uncle.
He lost his father several years back and one of his father's last
wishes was for him to grow as a good human being. His uncle took this
wish to his heart, so often he would have a discussion with Copper
about life and wrote it in a notebook which later he gave to Copper.
This book may sound didactic. Just know that it was originally
intended that way. However, Yoshino framed the moral and ethical
lessons in a story that is still enjoyable to read. This book actually
inspired Hayao Miyazaki to create the film the Boy and the Heron. Now
that I finished reading the book, I'm planning on watching the Boy and
the Heron.
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May Favorites
Books
A Little Life
Film
Past Lives
I've been putting off watching this film because I was afraid that it would be
so relatable that it would hurt. As it turns out, it's not that bad. It's a
good film and I like how it plays out. I heard that some people don't like the
ending, but I feel like it has the similar situation as La La Land. I like the
ending. I think it's realistic. This is how mature people with emotional
intelligence would act and react in that kind of situation. Instead of feeling
sad and hurt, what I felt after watching the film was relief. If you haven't
watched this film, I recommend to watch it.
Minari
Now this one is what I didn't expect would hurt me. It's a story of an
immigrant family trying to make it in America. It's a sad film because their
struggle is something that I can reflect to back when my mother and father
just starting out. I also read that it's a semi-autobiography of the
director's childhood. It's slow paced but it makes the story more impactful.
Even if I end up crying while watching this film, I still recommend this film
to watch though.
Thunderbolts*
I missed out on Captain America: Brave New World. I almost missed this one
too; but I managed to catch it during their last run in the city. I like the
cast, most of it at least. It's not your typical superhero film, in my
opinion. It touches on mental health and I love how it's not that black and
white. I was nervous on how the next Marvel Cinematic Universe will play out.
I wasn't sure if it's worth to follow anymore. After this film though, I'm
starting to get excited again.
Miscellaneous
Mamma Mia: the Musical Re-run
I love musicals. Back in London, I couldn't manage to watch one. So when I
found out that a theatre house in Jakarta doing a re-run of Mamma Mia, I just
have to see it (yes, it's a re-run because apparently they did one, years
ago). Boy, it was such a fun experience. Since they're doing Mamma Mia, I know
all the songs already, so I could sing along (quietly) and enjoy the show.
What's more fun, the cast did a sing along at the end of the show. So we sang
and danced together at the theatre. If they do another musical, I think I'm
going to watch it.
That is it! My wrap-up and favorites for May. Next month I'm going to be back
at work. Hopefully I'll still keep my posting and reviewing pace as it is
since I'm happy with the current pace. Also, I'm in the middle of reading a
thick horror book I hope I will finish next month. It's another book which I
was dreading to read by the way. I feel intimidated because of its length and
because people who read it said that it's the scariest book they read. I don't
know. We'll see. Hope you have a great time ahead!
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