And The Mountains Echoed.

I finally got my hands on Khaled Hosseini's latest book, 'And The Mountains Echoed' when I went book hunting at the KL International Book Fair at PWTC with Zharif the other day.

And best part was, I got it for 20% off! Totally made my day.

After two days of intensive reading, I have finally finished and I was blown away just as I was after finishing his amazing 'A Thousand Splendid Suns'. Hosseini is an amazing storyteller. The way he develops his characters and the immensity of their stories is just pure genius.

Although I admit, I though that their were too many characters involved in the book to a state where it got a bit confusing to me. But nonetheless, it pulled through. All the waiting I did to get my hands on the book was worth every second.

I immediately started reading Deborah Rodriguez's 'The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul', which also is a page-turner. Can't wait to immerse myself more in it. It'd be exciting to see the antics of an American author write about Afghanistan.

On the other note, I am struggling. But I also think I am pulling through. Well for today that is. We'll see how I cope after a couple of days. *gulp*

And to that, I will go back to continue listening to Adele's 'Take It All' because, well, what else can you really do with a heartbreak?

"You've given up so easily, I thought you loved me more than this."

Passenger.

 Woke up early today to a heavy heart.

 Its just one of those days..you know? Sigh.

 So I found myself finishing Tuesdays With Morrie....again. I never knew the book could move me in such a way. Maybe I just wish there was a 'Morrie' out there for me to teach me every Tuesday about life and death.

I bought the book way when I was too young to comprehend the meaning of it all. How can you be 18, and already wonder about how to live life until your death? I was 18, clueless, careless in love and all I wanted was the next thing every young girl wanted. I remember reading it back then and thinking it was an awful book. Borrring. Nexttttttt. Then again, back then my genre of reading was more on Chick-lit so I'm actually at awe in how I even managed to pick up this book at that age. But I've grown older, and wiser I hope. And apparently, this book was just what I needed.

Sidenote:

 Was browsing through Youtube, and found Boyce Avenue's version of  'Let Her Go'. Ergh. This song. The lyrics. I just cannot. Oh dear God, my heart is heavy again.

"Dreams come slow, and they go so fast." 

Sayonara spring break.

 I have spent the last days of my spring break cooped up in bed watching movies and TV shows all day long to only wake up to my stomach grumbling. If I were a person that was able to not succumb to hunger; I'd probably be in bed all day. Oh, what a life.

 I officially start my final year tomorrow. Wow, time flies by fast huh? I have such a mixed emotion about it. At one time I'm over the moon excited and at one time I just wanna close my eyes and wish I didn't have to deal with it :/

 Spring break was fun despite my short trip back home. Best part was being able to read a newly finished novel entitled 'Ekstasi Rumi'.

 To be honest I'm not really much of a Malay novel reader maybe because I have an image that Malay novels have the same genre of either a story about marriage by contract, or the typical girl goes to study overseas and finds a rich guy who will probably be a snob and then BOOM! They end up falling in love and getting married. (read: not interested)

 But this novel was different. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop!
 It has a soul of its own. And the fact that it involves Rumi means so much more to me. Go read Elif Shafak's Forty Rules of Love and you will understand why. You will learn to love Rumi as much as I have learned to love him. He has that special charismatic aura in him which is perfectly portrayed in the novel by the way.

 So, the novel was about so many things at the same time. But in the end it all came back to; perspective. It relates to the whole seeing the glass half empty analogy. That's the thing with the novel or shall I say the writing itself. Every sentence you read gets you thinking. I especially loved one sentence; 'Terperangkap dalam terperangkap'. The narrator was talking about how he was stuck in between two situations. Something in the likes of..inception?

'Kadang-kala tak semua benda boleh dibaiki atau dihidupkan semula. Ada yang lebih baik ditinggalkan begitu sahaja; tidak perlu diperbetulkan semula. Hanya kita sahaja yang perlu keberanian untuk berubah atau terus duduk dalam ketakutan.' -Ekstasi Rumi

 This is a special part of the novel that I also happened to fall in love with. He was talking about the past and how we're always  haunted by our past that it traps you so hard you're not even able to move. But in the end its up to you to do what you have to do.  Of course, I instantly related to it so much more that the moment I read it, some strings in my heart were tugged.

 As for characters; I love the fact that the author never really gave a name to the narrator. It gives that whole mysterious thing I especially find interesting in a novel. And plus; I loved guessing if the author is actually telling the story of himself or not through the character. I have asked about this to the author, but he has refused to tell me anything. Pfft  =.=
 However, my favorite character had to be Maria. She was portrayed as the victim of her father's own actions as she was betrayed by the man she loved when he gave her away to prostitute. Tragic, no?

 Overall, a wonderful novel well written and definitely worth reading.

 I loved the book and I love it more knowing the fact that I happen to be dating the author. *grin*