Monday, September 21, 2009

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I picked up this book from a second hand sale by the Thames last week during Thames festival. I'd heard a lot about it from various places and decided that it would be worth having a look at. I finished the book in a day. This book is very original. It is written from the perspective of a fifeteen year old boy, Christopher, who is very clever and knows a lot about maths and science. His next door neighbours dog is murdered and Christopher sets out to discover the killer and writes a 'murder-mystery' novel, which is what we have in our hands here, from his own words. The reason why this book is so different is because Christopher isn't like normal fifeteen year old kids. He is socially awkward and does not understand why people do not 'observe' the world as he does. An insightful book, it allows the reader to truly, even for a few days, think about the true and real things around him or her. I would recommend it to anyone!

Brida - Paulo Coelho


Brida is a novel for those wanting to escape everyday banality and enter a world of magic, true magic - a magic that only few can understand. Brida is a young Irish girl (based on a true story) in search of love and her true self. She will find it at the end of her journey. All inhibitions will be eradicated as she follows the Tradition of the Moon - a long magical tradition followed for centuries. It is a novel that we can all learn from: sometimes it is important to let ourselves go without thinking of the consequences, as we may discover great things about ourselves. A bit like the Alchemist - in the sense that you feel a great sense of peace and calm at the end of the novel. A profound understanding.