Review: Silver Sparrow

Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Tayari Jones created such "rich" characters in this Young Adult book that most of the time, you would find it hard who to blame, or hate more, for what the two main protagonists had gone through in the story.

Silver Sparrow tells of a tale that is becoming more and more common in recent times: illegitimate children, bigamous/adulterous parents. The novel was able to tackle the issue as simply and as deftly as possible--so that even teenagers (whether going through or not going through the same experience) can relate to and understand both Dana and Chaurisse's predicament--while allowing the characters to develop throughout the story at the same time.

SPOILER ALERT:

My one and only beef was not able to read about what Chaurisse actually thought of her "victory" in the end, as it was Dana's voice featured in the Epilogue. But then again, Dana IS Silver Sparrow, so I thought maybe it was supposed to be ultimately her story.





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Don't Judge A Film By Its Trailer, Yeah?

But if the film is based on a fantastic book, you have to. It has to live up to a certain level of expectation, yeah?

In case you're wondering about the cockney, this is an influence of all these British authors I've read recently. All meaning two heehee--Zadie Smith and David Nicholls.

What does cockney have to do with this film I'm referring to, you ask. Well, based on my last post, I was able to finish Nicholls' One Day and thought it was a fine read. There were parts that were a little bit trite, but I found myself wanting to finish it asap (especially in the middle toward the end part). There were a lot of parts, in all fairness, that were that good. And because I enjoyed the book, I was curious about the film (naturally!). Thanks to Youtube, I was able to watch the trailer.

Apparently, the film was directed by the same director of "An Education," which I really liked. Based on the few scenes I saw, it was not bad. I think that it was pretty faithful to the book (the dialogue, at least).

So here comes the B-U-T. Anne Hathaway's accent! She was supposed to be Emma Morley, who grew up in Northern Britain and has (duh) a thick Northern accent. According to the book, and correct me if I'm wrong, her accent softens as the story progresses (as she spent most of her time in London and all). But still, British accent, British! Anne Hathaway, based on the film clips, sometimes had a British accent (which I thought was so affected it sounded weird), and sometimes had her usual American accent! It was like watching Princess Diaries all over again! (I apologize for the exclamation points, can't help it)

Splitting hairs? I don't think so. If they can't deal with something as "minor" as an accent, I can't see why I should watch it at all. Kind of ruins the mood for me.

Review: One Day

One Day by David Nicholls

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Why I really liked the book (thus the four stars):
1) Clever concept; clever way of presenting an "on/off love story" [i.e. what the characters did for the same day(July 15)in a span of two decades];
2) Witty dialogue (seems to be a trademark of most British authors I've read recently); and
3) Insightful quips (again, another trademark of quite a number of British authors).

Why I gave this book four, not five, stars:
1) Some of the characters are so one-dimensional they seem to be unreal;
2) Predictability (boy and girl who end up as best friends then end up together, then one of them...spoiler alert). I'm sure I have encountered the exact same story somewhere.
3) The characters get so predictably annoying at times, but I guess the author intended them to be this way (so they could resemble real people).

All in all, I enjoyed reading this book. Very well-written and all that. While the characters are a bit (I repeat) predictable, they are unforgettable. Now I know why they say the film version of One Day was a disappointment. You can't just reduce 435 pages of cleverness and wit into two hours of Hollywood-version dialogue/imagery.



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A Postscript

Photo taken from blog.herodogawards.org

Dear Kabang,

First of all, I would like to apologize for failing to mention your name in my last blog post. I just referred to you as a heroic native dog/askal/aspin, which is a huge travesty on your part. You have a name, and you deserve to be called that. Sorry.

Second, I would like to thank you. For making me realize that I sorely underestimated the capacity of Filipinos to love dogs--the efforts to help you recover both in Zamboanga and here in Manila made me cry while watching it on the news last night. Thank you for making me believe in Filipinos again, and for reminding us that the dog is really man's best friend.

I would also like to share with you how a native dog named Stalin rescued my mother from a rabid Great Dane. My mother, then only two, had managed to escape from her yaya (caregiver) and was toddling toward the road when this humongous dog blocked her path. The dog was about to attack Mama when their family dog, Stalin, suddenly appeared and fought with the salivating Great Dane. Thanks to dogs like you I am alive today :)

I wish you a long and happy life, Kabang. Thank you.

Hot Diggity Dog

This is the face of the native dog (askal or Asong Kalye; aspin or Asong Pinoy to the "more politically correct") who successfully rescued her master's two young children from a raging motorcycle. In return, the accident (horrifyingly) obliterated her upper snout (I purposely didn't blur to prove a point, sorry).

The master, a poor worker from Zamboanga City, refused to have the dog put down--even after a local vet offered to do so for free. So here's the P150 (the cost of euthanizing a native dog) question: Should you be able to switch places with the dog's owner, would you allow her to go on living like this, in this state, even with the drastically reduced quality of life?

I know that this may seem like a leading question. But believe it or not, I am all for letting the dog live. Everybody loves a hero, right? Why would you put down this dog, who only did what she could to save her beloved owner's kids? Such a beautiful and touching canine interest story! No wonder the TV stations have been running this for some days now.

However, while listening to the dog's owner appeal for help, I thought: "What help could the dog possibly get?" Medicines to help heal the destruction that was her face? A prosthetic snout? Dentures so she could eat properly again?

In the United States, or other advanced countries (in terms of animal welfare), I am pretty sure that they would seriously consider euthanasia. But here, in a country where quite a number of people (whether they admit it or not) still eat dogs, putting this courageous animal to sleep is considered an outrage.

I myself am torn--torn between the dog lover and the animal rights advocate in me. Truth is, I believe that this dog deserves to live; by God, she has earned it! We can debate all we want if she is presently aware of the magnitude of what she has done, but she deserves a chance to live.

I must emphasize, however, that hero or not, we should always remember to put the dog's welfare in mind. We are not stewards of these wonderful creatures (who depend on us for love and care) for nothing.

What They Think I Did

I had such a good laugh at this. Swak talaga, especially with the "What My Mom Thinks I Do" and "What Society Thinks I Do" part.

I remember sitting on top of a fire truck in the middle of a very unruly demonstration/rally (police vs. militant groups) back in 2006, thinking if I was really meant to be a reporter, and if that (the actual sitting on top of a firetruck to cover the story) was what my mother wanted in life for me. Did she want me to be the receiving end of a firehose/a shoe/a bottle/a batuta (come to think of it, Filipino cops do not really bring batons anymore)? Was her spanking of me (armed with the belief that I would get asthma attacks from the heat) after I played for hours under the sun all for naught?

I guess I wouldn't really know now, since I resigned from my job three years ago. But that was the beauty of being a journalist. The adventures, the unpredictability, the creation of something out of virtually nothing (words and stories out of observations and other people's words, NOT imagination). It was, at the end of the day, an exhausting but exhilarating occupation.

I miss the job. I miss all of it. But I miss it like I miss my teenage years: I would want to go back in time to enjoy it, correct my mistakes, and fulfill my might-have-beens. But I don't know if I still have the stamina and the hunger to do so. Getting tired and jaded in my old age, I guess. Heehee.

Review: White Teeth

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



In one sentence: This is how I want to write.

Zadie Smith is one hell of a writer. Wise, funny, eloquent, irreverent. White Teeth is one of the best books I've read--ever. Truly deserving of five stars. Un-for-get-ta-ble.

Some of Smith's words reminded me of Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things :
Roy: "Orangedrink Lemondrink Man"
Smith: "fathersons, oldyoung, bornherebornthere"

But whereas Roy's book can be likened to a sighting of what looks like a breathtaking nymph bathing in a spring ("Looks like, but can't be sure, the mist is too thick, but oh she's so beautiful!), its lyrical, dreamy prose sticking to your head for days on end, Smith's writing is like meeting a 14-year-old girl who can assemble Kalashnikovs, speak 13 languages, quote Sartre and Plato, and play Bach effortlessly on the piano. KICK-EFFIN-ASS.

I only brought up Roy because she's also one of my favorite authors and The God of Small Things is her first book, as White Teeth is Zadie Smith's. But Smith is a class all her own. And what marvelous stupendous class!






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Lessons From The Thesis Defense

1. You can't be too confident of what you have. There is always wisdom in humility.
2. There is a reason why a student is called a student and the professor is called THE professor.
3. Be thankful for small accomplishments.
4. A paradigm shift is always welcome: instead of defense, think of it as "sharing."
5. You have to have an anchor that is (WHO IS) bigger than you. Most of the time, the difference between passing and failing is a big heart--and a bigger faith.