Book Review : Real World

In a suburb on the outskirts of Tokyo, four teenage girls drift through a hot smoggy August and tedious summer school classes. There's dependable Toshi, brainy Terauchi, Yuzan, grief-stricken and confused, and Kirarin, whose late nights and reckless behaviour remain a secret from those around her.

Then Toshi's next-door neighbour is found brutally murdered and the girls suspect Worm, the neighbour’s son and a high-school misfit. But when he disappears (having stolen Toshi’s bike and mobile) the four girls become irresistibly drawn into a treacherous vortex of brutality and seduction which rises from within themselves as well as the world around them.

However, this book reflects the stupidity of some youth about hiding crime and perceives it as part of adventure in life. A good book for thriller-loving reader.

Price : RM39.90/US$8.90 (excluding postage)

Author : Natsuo Kirino

Publisher : Vintage Books

Condition : Pre-owned and in good condition

(please email me if you're interested to purchase this book)

Book Review : The Audacity Of Hope

This is a bestselling book by Barack Obama discussing the importance of empathy and inclusiveness in politics, his hopes for a different America with different policies, and how the ideals of its democracy can be renewed. A senator and a lawyer, a professor and a father, a Christian and a skeptic. Obama has written a book of transforming power that will inspire people the world over.

'The Audicity of Hope offers readers on this side of the Atlantic a window not just into the mind of one America's most exciting politicians, but into the political landscape of the post-Bush era...like Bill Clinton, he has the knack of weaving together the personal and the anecdotal with the political and the conceptual, so that each point seems both persuasive and commonsensical.' Guardian

This book is a forefront of political matters. Quite heavy book for leisure reading, however a good book for world view.

Price : RM33.90/US$8.50 (excluding postage)

Author : Barack Obama

Publisher : CANONGATE

Condition : Pre-owned and in good condition

(Please email me if you're interested to purchase this book)

Book Review : Grotesque

This is a fiction story of two prostitutes who are murdered in Tokyo.

The story started twenty years previously where both women were educated at the same elite school for young ladies, and had seemingly promising futures ahead for them.

Yuriko, a mixed of Japanese-Swiss was born with a superb beauty that no one can deny. She has sister complex with her narrow minded elder sister who believes everything is against her. She used her beauty to gain popularity as well as to satisfy her needs. While Kazue, a pure Japanese believed ‘where there is no pain, there will be no gained’. Living with a family that ranking each other based on their level of education, made her a selfish person.

Unfortunately, desire and vicious ambition of dark world hovered over them, prostitution meant power.

This book also will leave the reader questioning our morality of the real world events such as suicide, paedophilia, incest and murder.

Price : RM39.90/US$8.90 (excluding postage)

Author : Natsuo Kirino

Publisher : Vintage Books

Condition : Pre-owned and in good condition

(please email me if you're interested to purchase this book)

Book Review : The Singapore Chinese Massacre

This book tells reader a brutal massacre which happened after the British had surrendered Singapore to the Japanese on 15 February 1942.

Lieutenant General Yamashita (also known as Harimau Malaya) commander of the victorious 25th Army, ordered that male Chinese had to register at the various centres. The purpose was to discover anti-Japanese elements among the Chinese population, in particular Chinese guerrilla-volunteers who had fought courageously when the Japanese invade Singapore.

Thousands of Chinese were picked out at random by the Kempeitai, the dreaded Japanese secret police. The victims were taken to remote places, mostly beaches and shot. A British War Crimes Court in Singapore in 1947 sentenced several senior Japanese army officers to death or to long prison terms for their parts in the massacre.

Known as the Sook Ching which means purification by purge in Chinese. The Japanese had admitted that 5 000 were executed from 18 February until 4 March 1942 while there were claims the number was about 50 000. The actual number is unknown.

This book was written by Ralph Modder who is a veteran Singaporean writer and journalist. He worked on newspaper and magazines in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Kempeitai Torture/The Double Tenth Trial was also mentioned in this book which showed readers the atrocities done by the Kempeitai towards civilians.

Price : RM 35 / US$ 7.99 (excluding postage)

Author : Ralph Modder

Publisher : Horizon Books

Condition : Pre-owned and in good condition

(please email me if you're interested to purchase this book)