Letters From Home

Letters From Home by Kristina McMorris

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I can be such a book snob sometimes.

I don't know what's gotten into me, but before I picked up Letters From Home, there were thoughts forming in my head, which eventually stuck with me through the first pages of the book. Maybe it was instinct or just one of my mood swings.

But seriously though, I can't remember what happened in the first chapters. Unless I give my memory some time to settle down.

I remembered plowing through the words, fighting an upstream battle.
I also remembered sucking in deep breaths, closing my eyes and smiling, and crying my heart out, in all the right moments.

Liz's character was a bit pale for me, despite of how the novel kinda revolved around her. I expected more from her and, okay, the other characters too. What stood out in the novel was the war and how it changes lives, changes us in ways we don't even know we can, and how powerful a few words can affect us. It reminded me of I Had Seen Castles, but somewhat more hopeful than that.

Letters in those days was there life line, the parcel of hope they cling to when the world is falling away, when life is draining at their feet. It guided them back home.

Although I was not impressed with the letters Liz wrote - pales in comparison to the letters from Jojo Moyes' The Last Letter From Your Lover, or maybe the writers poured out their throes of passion in them, different from Liz & Morgan's letter.

Still, it was heartbreaking but beautifully crafted to reach just the right ending, for Liz, for Betty, for Julia, for Morgan and for Charlie.




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Book review: Love Story

Love Story by Jennifer Echols

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Jennifer Echols disappoints, again. That or everything pales in comparison next to Amor Towles.

Good points: (I actually took down notes)

- Plot: Creative writing. New York. Hook line and sinker.
- Some laugh-out-loud dialogues
- Found a highlight-worthy quote (just because I love the thought, I could ignore the prose):

"Each night during my fifteen-minute break at the coffee shop, I looked around at the customers, picked two of them to put together, and brainstormed a happy ending for them... Any of these young men and women could be perfect for each other. They just didn't know it, and they would never introduce themselves to each other except in a file on my laptop."

Downsides:

- Dialogue feels mechanic, too structured
- Bad writing, even the stories for an "advanced creative writing class". I wanna pull my hair out!
- Flat, shallow characters, running on excess hormones
- More horses than actual "creative writing"

I expected lyrical prose, lots of literature (because they were supposed to be majoring in English/Creative Writing in a "New York City college of her dreams"), a novel inspired by New York. Still, the girl in me was gushing in several parts. I like Hunter more than Erin. I wish I could be in Erin's shoes, leave out the disinherited part, studying Creative Writing/English in New York.

But then I wanted a light read, that's what I got.



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My love affair with Amor Towles

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I still can't put this down. It feels like a love affair - sneaking glances, hurried words, stealing away to unlit rooms, just to taste Towles' prose on my lips.

I love Katey. I want my own Wallace Wolcott and Dicky Vanderwhile, and cried when they left. I hated Eve. I wanna punch Tinker on the face and wrap my arms around Hank, or maybe the opposite. I adore Anne Grandyn, her grandeur, her poise, her strength. I miss New York, and fell in love over and over again for the blinding lights, the nostalgic feeling for the future, every feeling, every word that is New York. Katey Kontent is my heroine. I'm Amor Towles' lover. This book will take you in.



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The Spies of Warsaw

"Sip the wine, taste the food, find everyone fascinating - a good motto for diplomacy."

"I guess that's one way to save the world."

Alan Furst's novel is a glimpse on the dreary and sophisticated diplomatic life. Espionage isn't always thrilling. Spies in World War II dealt with obtaining intelligence rather than battling goons or thugs Salt-esque (Angelina Jolie), but equally dangerous. But diplomats live a double life. While they're not prying on their enemies' secrets, they show up at parties just to conspire against each other. Scandalous in their uniforms, waistcoats, and beautiful women in their arms. 

Deja vu

This book gave me deja vu. Going through the day Sam died seven times wouldn't sound appealing, especially because she's the popular kid at highschool who hangs out with her girl friends and makes fun of everybody else, a lot like Mean Girls. But then each day she wakes up, she's a different person, still figuring out how whatever-it-is works. Each day comes with little changes, little shifts, but each day closes with the inevitable end. Sam soon makes a hard turn, angry at the world, realizing she was a hopeless case, thinking that it'll be over when the day ends, when she dies. She wakes up again and comes to the conclusion of what she had to do, to save herself or someone else's life. It's a journey of a person trying to be better towards a heartbreaking end.

On the writing style, Oliver writes an abundance of metaphors. I was on a highlighting spree! Here's some of my favorite lines: