Dracula: Bram Stoker's most famous story has a unique way of narrating to make fiction as real as it could be, at least in the 1800s. Documents, letters, telegrams, diary entries and newspaper reports were collated to present an account of vampirism. In certain chapters, there were local dialects and pidgins included, which were difficult to decipher and just took the fun out of reading the story. Other than that, perhaps most striking to me was the titular character was unseen most of the time, with the other characters mentioning him briefly, yet Dracula was scary in an insidious way. He isn't a straight up, come-at-you-to-wreak-havoc villain, but a beast with a very clear mind and purpose hatching schemes and bidding his time to come. Voldemort is probably moulded after Dracula (sharing of blood, two way connection... see what you did there Rowling!) The pace of the story was steady and sometimes boring, when the intensity was built up, the ending came abrupt and flat. I would say this narrative paved the way for future horror writers, as certain elements so common nowadays were already included in Dracula.
All the Light We Cannot See: Told through the eyes of two children of different nationalities living in the times of World War 2, Doerr brought to life a story of courage, hope and resilience. Here we have a blind French girl navigating her way through her keen seen of touch and smell; there we have an inventive German boy with albinism making tough choices between realising his potential and staying true to himself. What seemed like disparate threads of the story came together through an ingenious arrangement by the author. This was one of the very few good reads that I've come by in recent years, and I especially like the author's rich vivid descriptions of the things the female protagonist touched or smelled. His storytelling soothes me, like a blanket of calm settling over me as the storm rages outside. The length of each chapter is quite short, and it was perfect for my pre-bedtime reading.
China Rich Girlfriend: Oh, the lengths I went to hunt for a copy of this novel! I never liked how US publishers treat their mass-produced softcover novels: ugly font type, tissue thin pages and low quality covers. If I can help it, I will search for the same title published in the UK or elsewhere, as was the case with "China Rich Girlfriend". I got the Australian version at a bookstore near my workplace and it was worth every cent. Simple red-and-black cover with the title in bold white lettering, the manuscript set in an elegant yet easy-to-read font and printed on paper that wouldn't crease when flipped ... all the more enjoyable when I hopped on to the wild ride that the author provided. I thought the author did an outstanding job in "Crazy Rich Asians", and he outdid himself in this sequel which also explored the lives of affluent Chinese people, this time in China. I like how he layered the characters so that they were convincingly real, and how he wrote about the feelings and psychology behind maintaining a materialistic life. From the little hints that the author dropped throughout the book, it seemed like there will be a third book coming (YAY!).
Career of Evil: I like how Rowling came up with fresh ideas to work on, for each of the installments in her Cormoran Strike series. This time, it's Body Integrity Identity Disorder, where otherwise healthy and functioning individuals get rid of certain parts of their body to match their mind's impression of what they should look like. I haven't come across this condition until I read this book, and was quite impressed to find all-rounded discussion of it through the lens of the characters. Rowling also went off the beaten path in search of new locales to set her story in, which made the story all the more enjoyable. At times, she included a few "moral of the story" moments that, to me, felt out of place with the plot. Rowling could've left subtler hints for us readers to arrive at her intended message, rather than spelling out the terms so clearly as if it were a high-school essay. All in all, a neat piece of work, the kind that educates more than entertains. Rowling played it safe with this one.
The Little Prince: For a "modern classic" (whatever that means), this story is short and can easily be related to. The author used simple analogies and not-so-subtle references to poke at our own human failures and societal injustices. I especially like that the author included some of his hand-painted drawings in his work to bring out his points. Although it is meant for children and adults alike, I think that the story is a grown-up's version of a bedtime story/ lullaby.
1984: The author was excellent in setting the mood for each phase of the story. You get the constricted feeling of living in a suppressed society where nothing is quite right, then the adrenaline rush of trying not to get caught red-handed, to the final breakdown and despair at trying to subvert an existing system but failed. Many of the elements found in the story still prevail in our current society, like war, economic growth, media etc. What truly stood out was that the author had dissected the way how things are and why they exist. The author had arrived at atomic bits of "truth", and this is why the story is still powerful and shocking to many of us today. From the beginning to the end, it was engaging and masterful storytelling at work.
