(Book) “Heartless” Review

“The easiest way to steal something, is for it to be given willingly.”
– Marissa Meyer, Heartless

So, this is my first Young Adult read in a very long time, and I have to say that I was very pleased with the fact that there had been a recent release related with Wonderland! I am a huge lover of Lewis Carroll’s most iconic and influential classic, so I was naturally excited to read Marisa Meyer’s prequel to the story.

“Heartless” tells the backstory of the canonical work’s most notorious antagonist, the Queen of Hearts. The Kingdom of Hearts is governed by a seemingly nonchalant and joyful King. In the kingdom, Catherine Pinkerton, the only daughter of the Marquess and Marchioness, has a dream of opening her very own bakery. Her beauty and delectable pastries have attracted the attention of the King, but she shows no interest for romance. That is, until she meets the kingdom’s Court Joker, Jest, to whom she is deeply attracted to. In achieving her dream, to live her romance, all while dealing with her inner conflict, family struggle, and a monstrosity that is the Jabberwock, we will see the unseen side of the merciless Queen of Hearts in her youth.

This is my first read on Marissa Meyer’s work, and her narrative is just so compelling to me. Meyer managed to write in a way that is not overflowing with flowery descriptive, but just enough details to verbally illustrate the retold Wonderland. The dialogues are lively, intriguing, and animated, especially since they really show the unique traits of each character. We have the unpredictable Cheshire Cat, the moral value-obsessed Duchess (named Margaret Mearle), the incorrigible Mad Hatter, and a number of more fresh characters. Such devotion to the original is really commendable for me, since in a form of retelling, having characters out of character is a really serious ‘sin’. Well, not really, but it is a turn-off to some extent 😛 .

The Cheshire Cat has always been my favorite character, including here! Source: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Royal-Flush-298840727

The nonsensical nature of Wonderland (though I should just say the Kingdom of Hearts) is still there, where the Hatter, or Hatta, runs from time; the Cheshire Cat’s vanishing antics, the famous “DRINK ME” shrinking potion, the croquet game, and the literal Lobster Quadrille. Most of the things that old fans have come to know and love are reintroduced or at the very least, referenced in the story, and that can make reading it a hunt for these subtle, yet fun elements. Therefore, reading Meyer’s “Heartless” can really feel like going down into the Rabbit Hole all over again, with the fantastical characters and wonderful world.

As weird as the tale is, however, those are not the primary focus of the book. Meyer emphasizes the more ‘logical’ point of the Kingdom of Hearts, making the nonsensical occurrences side-dishes, while serving drama and emotional struggle as the main course. We are not presented with a tale full of absurdity, but we are wearing the shoes of Catherine so that we can understand and relate to her feelings, which are by no means nonsense. The characters, from the Duke of Tuscany, Sir Peter, even the King of Hearts have their own sides which are definitely humane and not absurd; we are reminded that even in the apparently mad world, the inhabitants are still sane, that Wonderland is not all nonsense. This brings another unexplored side of the world, and that is another plus point since it allows the room for in-depth character development (which the book certainly has), and that appeals to the older audience much more.

There will be lots of cakes, tarts, and especially macaroons while reading. Get ready to get hungry! Source: HERE

Starting out innocent and pure, simply wanting to fall in love, we all know the inevitable end that will shape her into one of the most recognized villains in literature, turning the magical Kingdom of Hearts into a world of madness. Now, that knowledge is exactly what makes reading “Heartless” engaging. How can such a nice, sweet girl turn into an abominable tyrant? Meyer has provided a nicely constructed, reasonable cause for that, and despite us knowing the outcome, the string of events that unfold, with more and more conflicts can really make the pages fly. I won’t spoil anything about the unfolding events here, but they are nowhere near shallow! (although they are predictable to some extent).

Nevertheless, there is one point that somehow bothered me while reading, and I am sure that it has bothered a number of readers, too: love at first sight. I honestly believe that Cath falls in love too soon, too easily, and too helplessly with Jest the Court Joker. She wants a bakery, is resilient in not wanting to marry the wealthy King, but a handsome joker appears, and she falls in love very shortly after. I know that love is inexplicable and can be very sudden, but reading sentences about Cath’s inability to resist Jest’s presence, her feeling more and more attracted to him and such irked me a few times during the earlier pages. After managing to finish the first quarter of the book, however, things got really interesting, so I guess that isn’t a major problem, after all XD .

“Heartless” is a wonderful book, even for those new to Wonderland. Of course, for those familiar with Alice and her adventures, there will be numerous plus points while reading, but newcomers can enjoy it too in my opinion. It is a heartbreaking book, and I do hate Catherine since she made so many wrong decisions throughout the book, or the right decisions at the wrong time, but I can relate to that; yes, I hate her but also pity her at the same time. I believe that is what Meyer intended when writing this, and boy, has she succeeded in doing so.

Now I can never view the Queen of Hearts the same again. Oh, and the Hatter too! Read this one and find out 😃

Rating from me: 4/5

Have you read the book? If yes, What do you think about it? If no, do you plan to? Let me know! 🙂

(Book) “Stardust” Review

“Every lover is, in his heart, a madman, and, in his head, a minstrel.”
― Neil Gaiman, Stardust

So I FINALLY finished Gaiman’s “Stardust”! It took me quite a while to finish a seemingly short book, but I did it! Just to clarify, it was not because of a reading slump, but rather, the massive amount of responsibilities at college which I had to resolve. Yes, I still have a number of issues to take care of even now, but I would like to take a little break and write my thoughts about the fairy-tale for adults.

“Stardust” tells the fantastical adventure of Tristran Thorn. When Tristran is walking home with his crush, Victoria Forester, he makes a deal with her, saying that if he manages to retrieve the fallen star, she will have to do whatever he desires (since Victoria doesn’t like Tristran, at all). Therefore, Tristran passes through the village of Wall, into Faerie, a land where filled with witches, a unicorn, sky-ships, a shining girl, and brothers killing one another for the throne of a kingdom.

The very description of the book is interesting for me; I am fine when it comes to a love-struck protagonist, but when the main character actually decides to do something apparently impossible, even stupid, then I just love it. Characters that do not think about things that much are often entertaining to be read, and Tristran Thorn fulfills that standard quite nicely, although there are definitely a number of flaws within his character. Nevertheless, Tristran is not an annoying character nor an unlikable one; he solves problems in a unique fashion, and his overly honest personality makes me unable to hate him.

Tristran is by no means a great character, but that is complemented by the fact that the world of Faerie possesses an abundance of whimsical elements along with the dreadfully twisted ones; we can see tiny glowing people, a loyal unicorn fighting with a lion, and curses, LOTS of curses. Such a unique blend of environment might be a bit random, but it provides the narrative with fresh elements to be enjoyed by the readers. Aside from the lively world, the characters are portrayed to be quite attractive, especially the witch-queen, or the eldest of the lillim; this main antagonist is written so well that I despise, yet admire her at the same time.

 

A girl who is a star? Interesting! Source: https://id.pinterest.com/pin/529384131169311596/

Speaking of characters, there are quite an amount of characters in “Stardust”. There are a few protagonists, some antagonists, and some deuteragonists; the characters are related to one another, and their interactions are exciting to witness. Seeing a villain going against another villain is entertaining for me, and the book offers plenty of them. By abandoning the traditional formula of always having the good guys going against the bad guys, I believe this is a nice change of pace from most fairy tale formats.

One more nice thing, the string of events. Boy, I enjoyed the story so much because of how clever Gaiman has arranged the sequences of events. We see Tristran looking for a star, and a coincidence enables him to perform some feats or to achieve his goals, but then various villains are looking for the star, too. Those villains encounter one another, and their interactions mark other events that will determine the outcome of the characters’ actions. Okay, that might sound a bit confusing, but basically most of the deeds done by the characters, good or bad, really influence the flow of the story, making it containing very little insignificant, filler-like interactions.

Of course, there are flaws in the book despite the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed it. First, the world seems to be too random for me as I have mentioned before. There are witches, and ambitious sons of a kingdom’s ruler fighting one another, as well as a cursed, cat-like woman with an integral role to play in the story, as well as various magical elements. As the story progresses, things gradually make sense, but in the beginning to the middle, I couldn’t help but feel that a number of these elements felt ‘out of place’ and messy. One additional problem includes the rushed-pacing. At first, the story develops just fine, but during the final chapters of the book, Yvaine (you’ll know who she is while reading) and Tristran’s adventures are told in a few passages, and personally, I think that they could have been developed into finer, separate chapters. I do realize that it might affect the length of the book in a bad way since it might be redundant, but without them, the relationship between Yvaine and Tristran developed way too suddenly for me. At that point, I thought “wait, didn’t she hate him a few pages back?”.

I love the book, especially when I am really into fairy-tales. “Stardust” is one engaging read after some time, but the very little flaws that I have mentioned above are too crucial for me to ignore, and that made me drop the score a bit. Regardless, fairy-tale lovers who are fine with some gore and very little adult-moments, it is most likely that you will love this one!

Rating from me: 4/5

Book Covers: Are They Really Important?

Source: Pixabay

Hello again! First of all, I would like to apologize for the lack of updates during the past few weeks, college and part-time jobs really got into me 😦 . I couldn’t even finish “Stardust”, a book that I have started since last month! Nevertheless, I finally got some time, and on this lovely day (I hope your day is as lovely! 🙂 ), I am sharing my thoughts about what I believe is a common issue among those who like to read: book covers.

Some book-lovers value the cover of the book A LOT, while some believe that the ultimate essence and value of the book lie on the book’s content; its beautifully written (or typed) words, the accessibility of the language, the style of the narrative, the meaning of the poem or prose, and many, many more. I happen to be the first one: a person who really, really value the cover of a book.

I know that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover (or even title!), since there is an abundance of books with the covers providing very little insight to the content, nor they offer a pleasing aesthetic, such as one of my personal favorite, J. D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye”. I mean, a horse with orange as its color-scheme is just not that appealing, at least for me. Had I not been recommended by a friend of mine, I might have never decided to give it a go. However, there are just times when the book’s cover is so gorgeous, so stunning, so satisfying, that one might think that the book is truly a masterpiece, while it may or may not be so. Regardless, a book’s cover is often the element that delivers the first impression on a book, and that, in my opinion, is fairly important.

Certainly not mine, but they look gorgeous! Source: HERE (Bookish Lifestyle)

I honestly believe that most book-lovers’ goal in purchasing a book is not to only have a good time reading it, but also so they can be proud to display those books. By ‘proud’, I mean when you display a book and somebody sees it, that somebody might say “oh, what is that book? It looks gorgeous!”, or “that cover looks stunning! What does this mean?” and the likes of it. A great cover does not only make its owner pleased to see the book, admiring it’s design, but also proud to persuade other people to read it (and the chances are, they will most likely give it a try). Now, I’m DEFINITELY not saying that a simple cover cannot be proudly displayed, since people’s tastes are relative, and a book with a “dull” cover doesn’t mean a poorly-written book. What I’m saying is, a book will be better with a great cover, since it is potentially more attractive, and book-owners can feel “more satisfied”; I believe you know what I mean XD

If a book looks “not-so-pleasing”, one may not decide to buy the book, possibly missing out “that one book” that can change the society, or even the next “Harry Potter”, all simply due to its cover. This society is not fair; what should be an additional point, that is, a book’s cover serving as a “plus point” for visual aesthetic purposes, has become a really important point, and I believe we should adapt to it; accept that sad fact. Unless a book is really, really famous, the cover is a greatly important element to be considered upon. Furthermore, a great cover might even attract the attention for those knowing the book’s content (even I am looking for a copy of James Joyce’s “Ulysses” with a cover to my liking).

In conclusion, I sincerely believe that I am not a good person at heart, since a book’s cover influences me tremendously, unless that book is highly recommended to me. Even then, I would still look for that copy of the book with a cover that I deem “great”. Deep down, I know that it might not be “right” to behave this way, but as a book-lover prioritizing not only a book’s content, but also its outer beauty, I can’t help but to be like this. Moreover, covers are really important to heighten a book’s potential to be recognized upon, so it can’t hurt to pay more attention to it before publishing it, right? right? XD

What do you think? Do you believe that a “well-designed” cover is important for you or the general public? Comment below and let me know 😀