The Napoleon of Notting Hill by G.K. Chesterton

This book is a slightly fantastical, slightly confusing but very fun read. It's set in the future (1984 - Oh yeah, it was published in 1904) and looks at an England that randomly chooses it's kings. One day, it chooses the absurdist Auberon Quin, and he goes about making England into a fantastical, medieval place, with couriers and such. Most of his subjects get annoyed, save one - Adam Wayne, and "civil war" eventually rages.

I must admit, this is not the most straightforward book from Chesterton that I've read. At first, it seemed to be in the same vein as Heretics or Orthodoxy, with very profound and/or quotable lines such as

"For human beings, being children, have the childish willfulness and the childish secrecy."

But it abruptly switches to Auberon, establishing his character before showing how he became King. The story grows more, dare I say, fantastical by the moment. Suddenly, because of Adam Wayne, who will not let Notting Hill be turned into a major road, civil war is raged and the book becomes concerned with the events of war. But since this is not a war book (or poem, such as Wilfred Owen's), it's not about "the pity of War". To me, it seems to be talking about how absurd mankind can become if all they do is aim for rationality.

In a sense, this book resembles The Man Who Was Thursday, in its implausibility. Yet, I find that The Man Who Was Thursday as an easier, more straightforward read, since certain parts seem to be very allegorical (Such as the role of Sunday). And even though it's fantastical, it still feels coherent to me.

There were times in this book where I had to re-read passages, because I wasn't sure what was going on. But that could also be because I was distracted (studying) and so, wasn't paying the book the attention it deserved. But towards the end, everything became more coherent, and I love the ending, where the humour and the passion is reconciled. To cite another author, this time Frederick Buechner, Chesterton seems to be presenting another way of looking of Christianity. In Telling The Truth: the Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy and Fairy Tale, Buechner opens our eyes to other ways we can see the gospel. Here, we see themes echoed in Orthodoxy of how Christianity is a paradox, and what makes it great.

Hmm... Sorry, but I'm a little incoherent today. I hope I made sense, and I shall absent myself until I regain sensibility.

Follow Up To Forsaken by Andrew Van Wey

I wrote, perhaps two days ago, about Forsaken by Andrew Van Wey, and more or less gushed over it. Now, by virtue of the fact that I live in Singapore, the only books I can ever receive (so far anyway), are ebooks. Most authors seem to send a generic template with the book (or smashwords coupon), with maybe a link to where they want you to review. Mr Van Wey was probably the first author that invited you to reply (tell him where you reviewed), and the really friendly tone encouraged me to send a gushing fan-letter.

I don't normally write to authors unless I'm really really moved, so by nature, I don't expect a reply. So I'm quite surprised that I got a rather friendly reply. Here's a transcript (or "copy" a better term) or the email I sent, and its reply:

Dear Mr Van Wey (Or whoever screens your emails),

Thank you so much for the copy of your thriller. I read it within two days, which is amazing for me since I'm technically having exams :p 

If it's not too much of a bother, can I ask you how you came up with the idea for the book? It ties together the supernatural with art, which are two subjects that I didn't see as connected before. Was there any particular art legend/myth/story that inspired you? (Apart from Stephen King's books)

Yours sincerely,

^_^

Eustacia 

P.s oops, almost forgot, here's the link to the review on goodreads.com http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/228016736

And the reply:

Hi Eustacia,

Thanks so much for the kind email, although I assure you, no one screens my emails :-)  Although I should have someone screen me from using the internet during the day as I always end out distracted.

Thanks very much for taking the time to read and review FORSAKEN.  I hope your exams go well and wish you all the best with your studies!  

As for your question, how I came up with FORSAKEN, it all goes back to about 2004 when I got really interested in the idea of haunted art.  There were a lot of stories about haunted paintings, haunted boxes, haunted museums or artifacts stolen from crypts of pharaohs and such.  While I find that fascinating, I always wondered how, specifically, something haunted is created?  How does a ghost, physically, get into an object?

At some point I realized that the object itself had to be the message, that there had to be a reason why the ghost would choose to possess something, and that's where art came in.  People always discuss how paintings have messages, meanings, etc., all created by an artist.  I realized that this painting, specifically, was a message to a person who had long ago forgotten something bad he had done.  Essentially, this is the story of a person who has forgotten a terrible accident, and how the ghost of that accident brings about the remembrance of that.  People sometimes say: "That painting speaks to me," but in the case of Daniel/David, it literally does.  It was made by the entity his dead brother became in order to exact 'balance' over his death.  And he used art, something he loved as a child, to enact this vengeance because it was something his brother understood.  Perhaps, if his brother had been a famous musician, perhaps he would've used music instead, but art was a common language they both spoke, and one that I've always found rather creepy.  We generally don't hang photos of people we don't know on the walls of our houses, yet we hang paintings of people we don't know from them.  I always thought that dynamic was interesting.

I hope that answers your question.  Thanks again for taking the time to read and review Forsaken!  

With Warmest Regards,

Andrew Van Wey  

And before I end, here's a link to his site (he blogs too): http://andrewvanwey.com/. The stuff he writes are quite interesting, although I haven't read enough to make an informed judgement yet

Going Places

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...."

- Oh! The Places You'll Go by Dr Seuss-

"The more that you read, the more things that you'll know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go"

- I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! by Dr Seuss-

I realise that children's books, especially those like Dr Seuss, are extremely quotable. I should quote them more often, it's fairly encouraging(:

Forsaken by Andrew Van Wey

Even the cover is creepy,
which is why I try not to look at
it too much. 

 I've actually finished another book that I've gotten from the librarything.com members giveaway, although strangely, the author requested that I review it on goodreads.com. Oh well, I have accounts on both sites anyway.

But seriously, I feel that this book is indescribable. Since I don't really read thriller/horrow (hey, my first time reading Stephen King was around last month, and it was only because Carrie was so famous), this is really a first for me (the blurb pulled me in and got me to join) I stayed up all night reading it despite the fact that the only two activities I should be doing are sleeping and studying (exam season - IB IN 3 DAYS!!), which shows that's how thrilling it was. 

The book centers around a painting, which can only be called disturbing. What's masterful was how the Daniel (the protagonist) slowly breaks down under the influence of the painting, while others are merely affected by it. I think the attention to detail (such as how the other characters perceive certain events), helped to make the conclusion very persuasive and somehow very satisfying. 


Needless to say, I was already scared from the beginning, but in a good way. It's the type of thrill that made me willingly suspend disbelief, which is critical due to the fantastical elements in the book. While we normally think of living paintings as merely lifelike, this painting is really alive. It metamorphesises over the course of the novel, (Ok, not saying anymore to avoid spoilers),  and reaches -mini spoiler alert- a sense of completion at the end. This is why, shadows at the corner of your eyes can be used to instill dread and fear, after all, if there's a creepy painting with its subjects wrecking havoc, you'd have a right to be scared.

Without giving away and spoilers, I will only say that the ending was unexpected due to a very basic, but ultimately wrong assumption that I made. But on retrospect, it made perfect sense, especially when viewed with the prologue. 

The length of the book felt just right (although since I read the ebook copy, it could be different from print copies), but anyway, I felt that it was tightly written, with very little superfluous items. The writing is descriptive, but not overly so (this is important, since I'm reading another member giveaway that is much to descriptive. I can only stomach one chapter at a time.)


So if you like thriller, or want to scare yourself to take your mind off the impending exams (pretend you have them, misery loves company after all), then read this book. But don't give yourself sleepless nights over it. Remember, we have a God stronger than anything in this world, so there's nothing to be afraid of.