Sunday, March 27, 2005
His n hers
HIS 'N' HERS
By mike gayle
so in the midst of all the recaps i shall have a book review here. they can fit in anywhere ^^. well, got in during the shopping spree back then but only started reading this thursday, and guess what, i finished it today! =). i still can't believe myself. i'm a super slow reader (while i always look up to those fast readers i never really want to be one anyway haha. i pride reading every single letter in a book i just paid 10+/20+ dollars for and savouring every full stop in it [k, so tt's a li'l too severe, but u get the point]) so because of that my average reading time is like 6 months or so. my last novel took over a year and the last time i actually read frequently (even though it's only tt half an hour or so bedtime read) was end of sec 3 i think. so it's only 300+ pages, not the usual 500+ to 700+ ones, but still, a big achievement for me lol. 4 days... wow... think i've never read so fast since those enid blyton days. and the best book so far since watership down. (surprisingly the only 2 non-fantasy books i read are rated so highly. but then again i like my fantasy novels nonetheless)
i don't really know why i actually got the book. it's like i'm doing my usual wandering around in popular and it was there at the bestsellers area (a nicer name for bargain bin i guess) and somehow it caught my eye. not tt i go around looking at yellow and sea blue covered books given my usual fare, but it just caught my eye. read a few lines of synopsis and quotes and i thought to myself, 'hey, this book seems interesting'. and given that i've stopped reading entirely ('cept for papers and the occasional magazines) for more than half a year it seems even weirder.
too lazy to type what the story's bout, so some googling gave me this :-
Jim and Alison have been together on-and-off for a decade. Having successfully navigated their relationship through student gigs to candle-lit dinner parties, they have finally split up. And divided their 22 shared items (including a double-bed, a microwave, a ring, a toaster, an Oasis album, a car and a 5ft tall rubber plant) into his ’n’ hers. Now with the help of a relationship counsellor, they embark on a journey through the past to the present leading them to the biggest decision of their adult lives.
doesn't do the book justice imo. it's like glossing through everything and focusing on a not very vital part of the story. but tt's the basic premise. it's written in a diary form from the perspective of both jim and alison, kinda different from normal books but a li'l refreshing take.
i have to say, first impression must really count cos a just a while into the book with the first conversations i thought to myself this nailed it. as a reviewer quoted, 'strikes a chord'. moments like this seems littered throughout the book and thought i've never had any experience of whatever was in the story it felt like i did go through them. it's so real... maybe it's cos of sometimes the little, insignificant details given here and there which makes u feel that this isn't tt novel bout tt epic quest or even those hollywood shows with the fairytale ending. it's... very real. and makes you think too, while marvelling bout this magical thing called love. what exactly is it? i don't know, and looks like the author doesn't either.
so the thing is i just love this book. will be hunting down mike gayle's other books later this week. but just some gripes (seems like i'm such a fussy person when i complain bout everything. ok, so i like to complain but i seldom do more than tt lor. normally i just let most things slide and don't care too much bout perfection, k? it's just tt i've learnt this partly from the game reviewing and writing i used to do lah. nothing's perfect and as a reviewer it's kinda ur responsibility to point out everything that a person might not like... but then again, this isn't really a review...). i thought the ending was a bit rushed. it's like everything was going well, jim and alison were happily married when all of a sudden jim thought they needed time alone and the relationship just crumbles like that. in that short space they suddenly stop being in contact totally and start arguing. then all of a sudden after just one talk and a kiss they're so certain bout their feelings that they break up with their current steads (one a fiance even). maybe i'm kinda a romantic in some of the way i think bout certain things but i really didn't get jim breaking up so easily without any real reason other than just needing to be alone without trying to salvage the situation. and alison just ending the marriage like that. i even felt for those bit characters sometimes haha. it's like, ok, jim and alison are meant for each other so their relationship with them just ended suddenly when all was well after their talk.
sound like i'm really hammering it, but really, it's a great book and i enjoyed it loads. i think i was a li'l too critical lah. go get it ^^
By mike gayle
so in the midst of all the recaps i shall have a book review here. they can fit in anywhere ^^. well, got in during the shopping spree back then but only started reading this thursday, and guess what, i finished it today! =). i still can't believe myself. i'm a super slow reader (while i always look up to those fast readers i never really want to be one anyway haha. i pride reading every single letter in a book i just paid 10+/20+ dollars for and savouring every full stop in it [k, so tt's a li'l too severe, but u get the point]) so because of that my average reading time is like 6 months or so. my last novel took over a year and the last time i actually read frequently (even though it's only tt half an hour or so bedtime read) was end of sec 3 i think. so it's only 300+ pages, not the usual 500+ to 700+ ones, but still, a big achievement for me lol. 4 days... wow... think i've never read so fast since those enid blyton days. and the best book so far since watership down. (surprisingly the only 2 non-fantasy books i read are rated so highly. but then again i like my fantasy novels nonetheless)
i don't really know why i actually got the book. it's like i'm doing my usual wandering around in popular and it was there at the bestsellers area (a nicer name for bargain bin i guess) and somehow it caught my eye. not tt i go around looking at yellow and sea blue covered books given my usual fare, but it just caught my eye. read a few lines of synopsis and quotes and i thought to myself, 'hey, this book seems interesting'. and given that i've stopped reading entirely ('cept for papers and the occasional magazines) for more than half a year it seems even weirder.
too lazy to type what the story's bout, so some googling gave me this :-
Jim and Alison have been together on-and-off for a decade. Having successfully navigated their relationship through student gigs to candle-lit dinner parties, they have finally split up. And divided their 22 shared items (including a double-bed, a microwave, a ring, a toaster, an Oasis album, a car and a 5ft tall rubber plant) into his ’n’ hers. Now with the help of a relationship counsellor, they embark on a journey through the past to the present leading them to the biggest decision of their adult lives.
doesn't do the book justice imo. it's like glossing through everything and focusing on a not very vital part of the story. but tt's the basic premise. it's written in a diary form from the perspective of both jim and alison, kinda different from normal books but a li'l refreshing take.
i have to say, first impression must really count cos a just a while into the book with the first conversations i thought to myself this nailed it. as a reviewer quoted, 'strikes a chord'. moments like this seems littered throughout the book and thought i've never had any experience of whatever was in the story it felt like i did go through them. it's so real... maybe it's cos of sometimes the little, insignificant details given here and there which makes u feel that this isn't tt novel bout tt epic quest or even those hollywood shows with the fairytale ending. it's... very real. and makes you think too, while marvelling bout this magical thing called love. what exactly is it? i don't know, and looks like the author doesn't either.
so the thing is i just love this book. will be hunting down mike gayle's other books later this week. but just some gripes (seems like i'm such a fussy person when i complain bout everything. ok, so i like to complain but i seldom do more than tt lor. normally i just let most things slide and don't care too much bout perfection, k? it's just tt i've learnt this partly from the game reviewing and writing i used to do lah. nothing's perfect and as a reviewer it's kinda ur responsibility to point out everything that a person might not like... but then again, this isn't really a review...). i thought the ending was a bit rushed. it's like everything was going well, jim and alison were happily married when all of a sudden jim thought they needed time alone and the relationship just crumbles like that. in that short space they suddenly stop being in contact totally and start arguing. then all of a sudden after just one talk and a kiss they're so certain bout their feelings that they break up with their current steads (one a fiance even). maybe i'm kinda a romantic in some of the way i think bout certain things but i really didn't get jim breaking up so easily without any real reason other than just needing to be alone without trying to salvage the situation. and alison just ending the marriage like that. i even felt for those bit characters sometimes haha. it's like, ok, jim and alison are meant for each other so their relationship with them just ended suddenly when all was well after their talk.
sound like i'm really hammering it, but really, it's a great book and i enjoyed it loads. i think i was a li'l too critical lah. go get it ^^
