Opposites

Sometimes my reading choices bring me to places that are eerily similar and yet completely different from each other. Take the case of these two. I read them within the same time frame (sometimes an overlap occured when I wasn't feeling one or the other) and basically finished them within days of each other. And the buzzword in my brain right after I was done was simple: opposites. Hence the title of this post.

Before I go further I'll discuss the similarities. Both stories have ghosts in them but both aren't exactly ghost stories, per se. Well, there were moments of utter terror but hey, if you're not conversant with ghosts, utter terror is natural, right?

Both stories deal with isolation and finding a friend or two along the way to make life a bit more bearable. And both are written by authors I've previously read before but that one's beside the point. Hahaha. Things get more than a wee bit different later on though.

More importantly, both books deal with secrets. Ah, got you there, right?

A Fine and Private Place
Peter S. Beagle

In this case, this isn't exactly a ghost story but more of a story with ghosts in it. You have Mr. Rebeck, a guy who lives in the cemetery and while out there he realizes he can see the ghosts of the dead people interred therein. He encountered Michael Morgan, recently deceased, and befriended him, something he learned for the past years he has lived there: conversing with the newly-dead until they start forgetting, until they start their endless sleep. Because hey, if you're dead there's nothing else to do, right? Later on, they both met another ghost, that of Laura Durand. And weirdly enough, the two ghosts fell in love.

As for Mr. Rebeck, his own sense of security, living sort of satisfied in an old mausoleum, conversing with ghosts and a talking raven who brings him food, is suddenly shattered by his increasing attachment to Mrs. Klapper whom he met while the latter was visiting her dead husband's grave. And to make matters more touching, Mrs. Klapper feels the same way.

And while I shouldn't spoil the book for you, do take note that tension is needed to make our characters overcome their doubts in revealing themselves to each other. And the tension is palpable when revealed.

Considering that there are ghosts here and the story takes a dark turn once we get to know some of the characters, I find it weird that I think this book is actually heartwarming. And weirdly funny too. Because for Mr. Rebeck who has lived among the dead for quite some time, it took the ghosts of Michael and Laura for him to see that his self-imposed isolation isn't good for him. Like, duh. The same can be said of anyone who lives in a cemetery, away from and in fear of other people. Unless of course you're Nobody. Excuse me for The Graveyard Book reference. Hahaha.

Voice of Our Shadow
Jonathan Carroll

This one also has ghosts in it but this isn't your usual haunting. Early on you know that the story is being told from Joseph Lennox' point of view, reminiscing about the past while he now lives in Greece. In a way you are warned that everything that you'll read has happened already. Though of course that won't make things easier as you go through the horrors he went through. But I'm getting ahead.

Joseph Lennox lived in terror and complete adoration of his older, meaner brother Ross when they were young. Together with Bobby, Ross' friend, they terrorized and yet allowed the young Joseph to tag along during their exploits as teenagers. Sadly though, Joseph shoved Ross on the train tracks one day and only later realized that there was an oncoming train. Ruled as an accidental death, Joseph carried the guilt of his brother's death that allowed him to write about their years growing up together, particularly Ross and Bobby's gang in a story called Wooden Pajamas, later on adapted into a play titled Voice of Our Shadow.

This is practically where the story began all over again when Joseph, better yet Joe, found himself in Vienna and meeting a lovely couple named Paul and India Tate. The couple is very much the poster couple for fun-filled life! They go to movies a lot, they read books, visit museums and drag the first unwilling Joe into their circle. It's the first time in Joe's life where he found other souls who somehow get him, rather who would take the time to get to know him.

But Paul and India Tate aren't what they are supposed to be. For one thing, Paul has a creepy, creepy side filled with magic and dark things that remind the much older Joe of his dead brother Ross. And when Paul died suddenly, things take a turn for the worse.

This is one hauntingly scary book and I don't mean that just because of the ghosts. Sometimes there are far too many scary things that haunt us in real life far better than ghosts and among them is guilt, which in Joseph's case he has plenty of. But the ghosts here are scary too, so if you couple that guilt with them it's one hell of a ride. And hell it is, indeed for Joe who later on absconds from people altogether.

See here, this post wouldn't be titled Opposites if this had a happy ending, right?

And this is where I go to my feelings mode.

I find it funny finishing these two books conflicted at the two sides of life presented. On the one hand you have Rebeck and his self-imposed isolation and later on determination to live amongst people again, yet on the other you have Joseph who found companionship and later on retreats from life altogether. Both their experiences illuminated or darkened by the ghosts in their lives. Both wanted to live, both wanted a piece of their selves shared. Rebeck thrived trying to provide friendship with the ghosts in the cemetery yet he found that such friendships are feeble and not enough compared with the growing fondness he has with Mrs. Klapper. Joseph was satisified to be left alone but was later on pulled into the the lives of Paul and India and the attraction is similar to his complete and total adoration coupled with terror of his now dead brother. If you feel like Rebeck you'd want to really live. But if you're feeling a bit like Joseph, you'd rather just hide now and sever your ties with the society.

Excuse my rambling. I don't know if those who read the same two books felt the same way I did. Then again, it's not material. It was just easy for me to juxtapose the two. The old man Rebeck with the young man Joseph. Good ghosts and bad hauntings. Wanting to live, wanting to hide. Fiction and the way the stars aligned that made me read the two books at the same time. Lovely.

There's another major difference between the two. Beagle's novel is heartfelt and emotional. You can't help but feel for the old man Rebeck. It doesn't matter where the talking raven came from, you just go with it. You feel for the ghosts despite knowing the things they did, the way they felt when they were alive. You're practically cheering for the characters, even for the raven even if he steals food and eats a robin's nest full of eggs. Well, even if that last part was brutal. Law of nature is the logical way to see that.

Carroll's novel is, dare I say it, brainy and methodical. You're given a chance to see how Joseph practically built the fortress around himself and you understand why. Because he's such a wimp masquerading as a human being. Ouch! No, seriously. I mean we all have a bit of a wimp in us and we get why he's like that. We understand craving for love and attention from the people we love. But his downfall is quite easy to pinpoint: he allowed his guilt to take over his life. Of course it doesn't help that this is also a ghost story on the one hand or simply an adaptation of the initial Wooden Pajamas mentioned by Joseph himself and how he exorcises his demons. It's easy to say that he was haunted by his own guilt but it's also clear that the ghosts here aren't as friendly as Michael and Laura in Beagle's book. Hahaha!

In the end, both books were such joys to read. If you've read them before I hope you had a great time with them as well. Maybe I'm just weird posting about the two books at the same time. Hahaha!

Other interesting points of view for A Fine and Private Place:

Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Stuff As Dreams Are Made On...
Things Mean A Lot

Other interesting points of view for Voice of Our Shadow:

Things Mean A Lot

Distraction

I was supposed to post about a book or two last night. Take note of the word: supposed. But I got distracted by a bottle of Nutella.



Quite easily my thoughts soared toward the hundreds preparations I could do with it. Well, more like twenty. Or ten. Or like five, ok. Still, Nutella. I'm starting to feel like Giada (de Laurentiis) preparing her favorite desserts using the spread liberally on cakes, crepes and so forth.

Maybe I'll start with the wheat crackers I have. That way I could mix the bad stuff with the good one. Kidding.

Oh and that's just the handful of books I haven't posted about. There's more. But it feels like I'm making excuses all the time when I shouldn't.

And while my brain tries to come up with something (either with Nutella or with the books), I can't believe I haven't heard of this site until now: Hot Guys Reading Books.

I dropped by one of my favorite writer's blog earlier and she linked to the site. Guys and books, sigh. No wait, hot guys and books. Enough to make me salivate.

Have a good week ahead, book blogging people of the world.

Goodbye and Thanks

I thought of Jose Saramago a couple or so days ago while I was commenting on Fyrefly's post. While the post had nothing to do with Saramago at all, her thoughts on one particular aspect of her chosen book reminded me of my reaction to reading Blindness.

Then again, I haven't really posted about Blindness yet. And I was briefly attracted to the idea earlier of writing a pocket review while arranging the books on my shelves. But it's not the kind of book I could sit down one late evening and type up a couple of paragraphs and hit "Publish" without composing, at least partially, my thoughts into something coherent worthy of that good book.

And as I put off writing another review yet again, I saw Jose Saramago trending on Twitter.

Jose Saramago

November 16, 1922 – June 18, 2010

And I felt sad. There goes another writer who sees the world as it is and write beautifully tragic, dark yet hopeful stories for us to read. And I only have Blindness to based that on.

Ah, well.

Enlightened, Indeed

Ilustrado
Miguel Syjuco

But heroism and sainthood aren't lofty things. They're usually formed out of self-disgust, opportunism, sublimated fears - which we recognize in ourselves and therefore see, emphasized, in others. When who you are includes what you hate, you carry around your neck a daily reminder of what must be changed in the world.

I'm a Filipino citizen. But if you go through my blog it's rare that you find a Filipino novel here. You'd see a handful of graphic novels this side of the world, yes, one novella, yes, but no full-length novels. That is, until now.

Why, you may ask. It's not that Filipino novels are hard to come by. There are lots out there and I have read more than a handful of them. My beef is simple. They are far too painful to read, emotionally. I get too attached, too involved, the stories become too real that it's quite difficult for me to paint them as fiction. I don't know; I cannot be as detached about Filipino novels compared to other stories out there written by foreigners.

This one is no different.

It tells the tale of a writer, Miguel Syjuco searching for clues and the hidden manuscript of his mentor and friend, Crispin Salvador, after the latter died in a supposed suicide in New York. Wanting to uncover facts about the dead literary giant, Syjuco flies back to the Philippines to learn more about the man who left the country and made New York City his home.

It's a crafty, crafty tale. And it didn't take me long to get suckered into it. Alas!

In plain, simple words it's a story about a writer writing about another writer. A story about a fictional writer writing a story about another fictional writer interspersed with stories within stories, or glimpses of stories, made-up facts (haha), interview clippings and quotable quotes, using the Philippines and partly New York City as the background, peopled by characters Filipinos around the world are all too familiar with: from the upper-class emigrant to the lowly taxi driver, the politicians we all revile yet vote for anyway to celebrities that hog local headlines. They are fictional and yet they are not. It's like bumping into someone familiar and asking that question in your head "Do I know you from somewhere?"

And yet, despite the jumps and the mental calisthenics of stretching one's ability to contextualize meanings of unheard of words (goodness, I had to get my dictionary out for this book a times), everything gelled perfectly into this one great story: about personal histories, the self and the society, and the power of writing. Of course I'm not writing it well. See, I'm too emotional. Hahaha!

You don't have to be a Filipino to read it, of course. What appears to be in the Philippines conjured by Syjuco (no, not the similarly named Miguel Syjuco of the story) may be true of other third world countries out there. But the sentiments expressed by characters are as real as any Filipino stuck in the middle of traffic in congested Manila. Moreso with the humor, which made me laugh at times and made me shake my head in disbelief, that he used that joke there. And there. Oh well.

I love it that the book distills our nation's past and seamlessly mixes it with the present. You know how tired and tedious some stories are when detailing history? You can't find that here. And maybe that's the reason why, unlike my dear friend, I had to pause when I was reading this. When the book detailed a trip to Southern Negros, I had to stop as I found myself reminiscing about my stay in that region years back. When the book discussed political goings-on, I had to stop and sighed as I imagined the future of this wretched yet hopeful country. When the book featured old friends meeting, I remembered conversations I had with college buddies I haven't seen in a long time. Fiction can be as powerful as real life experiences and actual newspaper headlines. It's true in this book as in real life. There's that, and more.

I did mention that this is one crafty, crafty tale, right?

Read this and welcome Syjuco into the fold of writers to watch out for in this small world that gets even smaller and smaller every day.

Other interesting points of view:

From the Desk of Trisha Andres
Sasha and the Silverfish

Pure Speculation

If you haven't read any of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series then this post isn't for you. Seriously. I have no qualms discussing the books. I'm probably some of those who, despite knowing from the first book that it's a story not written well at all, chunks of it could have been trimmed for a tighter narrative, still found the love affair between a vampire and a pale, young teenager compelling. And while I could objectify it to hell, to me, reading it was fun while it lasted. Although for the last part I was a tad disappointed that the blood and gore I expected to happen eh, didn't. Excuse me for expecting blood and gore about a book where vampires and werewolves exist as each others sworn enemies.

I'm not here to write about Edward or Bella or Jacob. I'm not here to tell you I vacillated between Edward and Jacob the whole four books. That's the thing about triangles, it makes you choose. But here's my theory for those on Team Jacob disappointed that Bella chose Edward. Blame it on Muse. Particularly that song Starlight.

I read the first three books one after the other late 2007. It was given to me by a friend who thought I could use some cheering up after hurdling exams left and right. Around that time I was familiar with Muse's song being played on the radio.

You see, when I like a song I could play it for hours on end on repeat day in, day out until I get tired of it. Call me corny and all but I did that to Starlight. I have the whole album, Black Holes and Revelation, but to this day I never bothered to play the entire thing. Unlike way back when tapes were the norm, like you had no choice but to listen to the whole stuff unless you want the tapes to go out of loop from endless rewinds and fast forwards. Oh wait, are my three readers way too young to know about tapes? And yes, I know I'm probably missing out on the other half of the album which probably sound as great or even better than Starlight.

Have you listened to Starlight and at the back of your head there's this story about missing someone to death? I don't know Meyer's writing process. I'm thinking that the fact she listened to bands (among them and a big favorite was Muse) the whole time she wrote those four books probably inspired her to carry the angst and the drama of a love affair seemed doomed from the start. And if she felt for Starlight the way I felt for it, then there's no way she could've written Bella choosing Jacob in the end for Eclipse.

Why, you may ask?

She may have finished writing New Moon when Black Holes and Revelations was released. I'm thinking that this verse resonated with her the fact that Edward left Bella in New Moon:

Far away
This ship is taking me far away
Far away from the memories
Of the people who care if I live or die

Or even this as a testament of Edward's love for Bella:

My life
You electrify my life
Let's conspire to ignite
All the souls that would die just to feel alive

And well, what about Bella? Here's the perfect thought for her:

But I'll never let you go
If you promised not to fade away
Never fade away

And that seals it. If you listened to the song there's no way that you could write Jacob and Bella into a love story. Starlight is intense and full of longing. The kind that I relate with what Bella and Edward went through. Of course that's just me. Meyer had a handful of bands to thank for providing her with background music and this song probably came up while writing the last two books, or not at all. She may have been inspired by other tracks. But if I were writing the book and heard the song Starlight, it feels like Edward and Bella talking to me about their intense longing and love for each other.

Oh well. Like the title of this post, this is just pure speculation.

Why this post then? This has been stewing in my brain for sometime now (yeah, since 2007 and was reminded of it after reading Breaking Dawn). But when Iris tweeted about the new soundtrack to Eclipse, I figured I need to let this out before I start hearing and watching music videos about the movie. Because I think Starlight is a better fit. Ok, enough.

And yes, I agree with Iris that the soundtrack to Eclipse looks amazing. The New Moon soundtrack was great so I don't doubt that this one will somehow equal that. Although not having Thom Yorke this time is a bummer (I so love Radiohead). Then again, I only got the New Moon soundtrack because of Thom Yorke. Hahaha! Funny also that I got the soundtrack to New Moon and didn't bother watching the movie. But that's just me. Oh, and I don't have the Twilight soundtrack though.

Anyone listened to the entire Black Holes and Revelations album by Muse? I think I listened to half of it only and then I always go back to Starlight and deemed the album great for that one perfect song.

Waiting

While I wait for inspiration to hit for my future posts on at least 20 books I've read in the past couple of months or so, I'll write about something else related to books.

That something is music. I won't exactly write about music; I think it's one of those things I find myself quite discombobulated to write about. Today I'll write about music inspired by books. Actually, just one song inspired by one book.

It's Sting's Moon Over Bourbon Street.

The brim of my hat hides the eye of a beast
I've the face of a sinner but the hands of a priest
Oh you'll never see my shade or hear the sound of my feet
While there's a moon over Bourbon Street

I've read Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire prior to purchasing my favorite Sting album to date: The Dream of the Blue Turtles. This I remember: I didn't pay attention to the liner notes before I pressed play but when I reached the B-side (oh ok, I bought the tape version of the album way back then) I stopped and gee, somehow got scared. I felt Lestat singing to me from the void and that was when I read the liner notes and realized that the former English teacher (Sting, hahaha) was inspired by the book into writing the song.

I love the song. And I love the book. It's like having the perfect review of a book with just a simple song. The song is just a perfect, perfect song for the perfect, perfect book. It's haunting, like the book. Am I even making sense?

Now, every time I hear the song I am reminded of Lestat*. And when I read the other books in The Vampire Chronicles way back, my head played Sting song over and over. Well, that's because I don't exactly listen to music while reading a book. I'm not used to background noise when I read, I shut them out. But I've been playing Sting's album lately, hence this post.

Which made me wonder whether there are other songs out there written because of a book. Well, am sure there are but I haven't paid them much attention. And it's not like I actually research for them. Haha. Do you guys know of other songs written because of a book? Can you share them with me?

Ok, I think this is enough for a post. Hahaha. I'll go and wait for inspiration now.

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*Should be Louis actually. I keep on forgetting that the first book is told from Louis' point of view. I mean, he's the one being interviewed, so to speak. But it's always Lestat that I associate with The Vampire Chronicles. Gee, how could I forget about Louis? Totally bonkers! [Thoughts added June 19, 2010]