Alice Poon's Blog, page 15
February 4, 2015
Book Review - Bel Ami by Guy de Maupassant
Bel-Ami by Guy de MaupassantMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was my first Maupassant novel and it impressed me as a brilliantly told story about how a journalist-turned-parvenu of low-born parentage attained status, wealth and power by sleazy means in Third Republic France.
In a witty and crisp style, the story flows smoothly along as the protagonist jumps from one woman’s embrace to the next, gathering each time more worldly benefits like career advancement, social recognition, wealth and status. His only weapon of conquest is his youth and his handsome face, hence his nickname “Bel Ami”, apart from a heart of steel. Maupassant sketches with virtuosity each of his cold, calculated social-climbing ventures with smirking irony, barely hiding his own scornful snide at the Parisian society’s bourgeois-capitalist immorality and journalistic farce.
After reading the first few chapters, I thought the protagonist seemed to bear resemblance to Eugene de Rastignac in Balzac’s “Le Pere Goriot” and Julien Sorel in Stendhal’s “The Red and the Black”. When I reached the end though, I had to conclude that Georges Duroy is the true heartless, predatory and hypocritical villain of the three.
This novel, being a 19th century work of realist fiction, deals with themes that are just as contemporary as they are historical. It makes one mull over the connection between today’s unbridled capitalism and societies’ lack of scruples.
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January 11, 2015
Book Review - The Secret History of the Mongol Queens
The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire by Jack WeatherfordMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
In my opinion, the author deserves even more credit for this book than "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World", simply because historians tend to play down women's contribution to shaping the world in official records. His mere efforts to glue together a chunk of Mongolian history related to women from bits and pieces he uncovered during research deserve commendation. By presenting such important historical facts, he gives readers better insight into Genghis Khan's philosophy about maintaining the correct balance between male and female in the organization of life based on the religion of Mother Earth and the Eternal Blue Sky.
The accounts of life events and political marriages of Genghis Khan's daughters like Alaqai, Al-Altun, Tolai and Tumelun are fascinating, as is the story related to Khutulun (the great great granddaughter of Genghis Khan), the All White Princess who fought like a man alongside her father and who never lost a single wrestling match. Even more gripping is the drama of the gritty circumstances that Queen Manduhai the Wise (a descendant from Genghis Khan's lineage) had to face when she tried to keep a Borijin male heir alive and healthy in order to put him on the throne in a desperate attempt to hold the crumbling Mongol Empire together, and of how she succeeded.
I was amazed to learn in the Epilogue that the Moghul emperor Shah Jahan who built the Taj Mahal was a distant heir of Genghis Khan and Borte, and that the Taj Mahal was designed to resemble a Mongolian "ger" (tent). Another surprise is that the story of the Mongolian princess Khutulun had inspired Francois Petis de la Croix to write a fable with the character "Turandot", which in turn inspired Giacomo Puccini's opera "Turandot" and Friedrich von Schiller's German play "Turandot, Prinzessin von China"!
Weatherford's dramatic narrative makes this book another engrossing read after "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World".
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December 22, 2014
Book Review - A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles DickensMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was my first foray into Charles Dickens' works and I went in with much excitement and perhaps too much by way of expectations. The book took me much longer than expected to finish. Throughout the novel (at least in the first three-quarters), I failed to feel empathy with any of the characters. It was only when I neared the end that I became more absorbed with the plot twists. I would be lying if I said I wasn't deeply moved by the story's ending.
Was it the wordiness of the novel that put me off? Maybe not, because I've read and liked other wordy authors. I think I would blame it on the author's slightly going overboard with sarcasm and sentimentalism in case of this particular novel. As well, his characterization could have gone a little deeper with Sydney Carton. Having said that, I still like his ingenuity in patiently building up suspense to climactic heights near the very end. On balance, I am inclined to give this novel three out of five stars.
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December 17, 2014
Book Review - Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack WeatherfordMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book gives me a whole new perspective on 13th and 14th century world history. It also helps me understand a little more about the Yuan Dynasty in Chinese history (e.g. it was probably due to the outbreak of the bubonic plague that led the Mongolian rulers to become paranoid and begin to alienate and repress the Chinese population whom they believed to have been the source of the horrible pestilence).
I'm really glad that I found this non-fiction title after having read Urgunge Onon's "The Secret History of the Mongols: The Life and Times of Chinggis Khan". The latter is supposedly an English translation from the original text written in Mongolian in the 13th century about Genghis Khan's life by someone close to him, and contains mostly dialogues and descriptive passages. Using that original document as a basis, Weatherford gives a far more coherent and illuminating account of all the life episodes set in historical context, while shedding light on the enormous proximate impact and far-reaching influence that this formidable leader's actions and, to a greater or lesser extent, those of his successors, had on human history.
The simple flowing style of writing makes this book an easy read. It is interesting as it is educational.
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December 11, 2014
Fated and Fateless
This is a novel that paints a culturally vibrant period in colonial Hong Kong. Did you know that in the early to mid-1900s, Hong Kong's Chinese society was very much culturally influenced by the Portuguese, other than the British?
Tony, a leading character in the novel, is a Eurasian from Macau born of a Chinese mother and a Portuguese father, who is the offspring of a historical Macanese figure.
A major character, John Woo the lawyer, is of mixed Chinese and British descent.
Other interesting characters include Jean the French teacher and Jill Simmons, a Eurasian stockbroker, who comes from mixed British, Portuguese and Chinese origin.
Wendy the working girl and Diana the apparent heiress (the two leading female characters) and Edward the doctor (the other leading male character) are Chinese, as are other major characters (like Mr. Lee the property tycoon and Ms. Yeung the secretary).
Fate throws them onto one another's path and creates distressing chaos in the lives of Wendy and Diana ....
Tony, a leading character in the novel, is a Eurasian from Macau born of a Chinese mother and a Portuguese father, who is the offspring of a historical Macanese figure.
A major character, John Woo the lawyer, is of mixed Chinese and British descent.
Other interesting characters include Jean the French teacher and Jill Simmons, a Eurasian stockbroker, who comes from mixed British, Portuguese and Chinese origin.
Wendy the working girl and Diana the apparent heiress (the two leading female characters) and Edward the doctor (the other leading male character) are Chinese, as are other major characters (like Mr. Lee the property tycoon and Ms. Yeung the secretary).
Fate throws them onto one another's path and creates distressing chaos in the lives of Wendy and Diana ....
December 10, 2014
A Countdown Deal for "Fated and Fateless"
A countdown deal will be offered for my novel:
$0.99 from Amazon.com for a limited time:-
Starting: December 12, 2014 8:00 am (PST)
Ending: December 14, 2014 12:00 noon (PST)
October 24, 2014
Book Review - An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris
by Robert Harris
This is one of the best novels I've read this year.
My 5-star review:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
September 25, 2014
Book Review - Animal Farm by George Orwell
I've given it 4 out of 5 stars and find the allegory adds charm and an endearing quality to this sobering novel.
My review:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
September 23, 2014
Book Review - The Red and the Black by Stendhal
This is a psychological novel that tells the story of a young man's social-climbing feats and his love pursuits set in the Restoration Period in France.
My review:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
