The Christmas break was a reading week for me. So much there and so little time for reading. However I managed to finish a few readings and really enjoyed it. Here are some reviews  

Man in the dark by Paul Auster

Who is the man in the dark? He is a man with insomnia who can’t sleep. He has had a car accident and his injuries have limited his ability to move. He lives in his daughter’s home. He misses his wife all the time, the wife whom he betrayed and has remarried. His daugher is divorced and his grandaughter lost her boyfriend in a brutal murder. It’s all  just too much for him to cope and so he stays wake in the dark.

The man, Augaust Brill is an old man, but he’s a writer, so he creates stories in the dark. America is at war but not with Iraq or Afghanistan, but with itself – state by state, have each broken away for independence and are fighting with the federation – the dark moment of American humanity the author dares to think.

"Man in the Dark" is very contronting, from the way it describes ordinary people’s daily life, such as Brill and his family, to the picture it creates of the war on ‘something.’ Keeping with as Auster‘s usual style, he writes story within stories, and mixes up reality with fictional characters. In a story the main character Owen Brick is supposedly to kill a man called Augaust Brill (the character of this book) in a parallel world. The scenario of the world that Brill lives in is full of bloodshed, tyranny and death which echo the reality of the war in this real world after September eleventh. The author moves in and out from different world with ease.  The feeling it creates is quite surreal but it is very nicely written and worth the read.  

 The message I took away was that whatever happens, the weired world rolls on, a conclusion drawn by the author at the end of the book.

The hollow tree by Jacob g. Rosenberg  

 It’s a love story and a tale of tragedy. Jan and Milena are lovers but they are from different families. Worse, they live in a world of war. Jews are constantly jailed or killed. But that doesn’t stop young lovers longing for each other. They grab whatever joy they have, while fear for their life.   

Beautifully written, this poignant story does draw at the heart strings, I couldn’t help but walk away from it sadden. Not simply a romantic tale but a story of humanity during the worst time of barbarianism. 

The moster in the box by Ruth Rendell

For those who love Ruth Rendell, you will probable be disappointed in this latest title. All I could think was Wexford (the main character of a detective in the series) was older and slower, or maybe it is the author who is older and slower. In comparing with her other titles in this series, it is certainly not the best one. But in true Rendell style, she still is able to reflect the current issues in society as whole – immigration, multiculturalism and political correctness.   

 Wexford is sure Targo was gulity of murder almost four decades ago. Now Targo is back is he going to kill again? There is only one problem for Wexford… where is the evidence? One can not perform justice on a hunch alone and while Wexford reminiscences about the past, a young Muslim student, Tamima, quits her studies suddenly and goes missing. Is she a victim of old traditions – forced marrige,  honour killing or simply like any other teens, running wild? Wexford has to find the evidence to catch Targo and to convice his junior officer Hannah to let Tamima case go. If only she would…

After reading it through, perhaps it’s not as bad as I thought in the beginning.  

The Bilderberg Group by Daniel Estulin 

Imagine stepping into the lift and almost dropping tens meters to the ground and the lift has no floor! It’s a thought which chills everyone, even just reading about it. Hold on, this is not a fiction, it’s what the author experienced on one of many occasions when he was investigating this particular group –

‘The Bilderberg Group’. Who are they and what have they done? Well, it’s simple; they are the wealthest men on the earth and have grouped together since 1954 to decide how the world should be run. This book will leave you without a doubt – of course they behind all the big events that have changed history. They control every area of the world, from finance, to politics, to trading and all western govertments. According to the author they are the ones who decide which government should be turned over, and which president should be scandalised for a new one, how economic should work, where to start a war, the list goes on and on. The author even presents a lot photos and achieves to support his claim. 

So is everything true or fictional? Well, you just have to read it and judge for yourself.