Sleepers

This book review is long over due, just like many other books that I’ve yet to review.

I read this on my trip to negeri di bawah bayu back in May.

Those who know me would have known that I am a fan of the movie Sleepers. I remember watching that movie when I was still in secondary school and it leaves such an impact. The horrible things men do to satisfy themselves…

I learn the movie was based on a true story and that the horrible journey of those four young boys was documented. I’ve been looking for the book, being a bookworm freak that I am, ever since. After several years of searching, I managed to obtain the book on March 6, 2006 via amazon. The book however just sat there on my bookshelves. I’m too scared to open the first page as the dreadful scenes from the movie are still so fresh in my mind.

Before my journey to Sabah, fortunately I only left with two books that are yet to be read. One of it is Sleepers and the other one is the Dragon Rider.

So as I have promised in my journal, here is the review of the first book: Sleepers by Lorenzo Carcaterra. This is a true story of friendships that run deeper than blood.

Lorenzo and his three friends: John Reilly, Tommy ‘butter’ Marciano and Michael Sullivan, shared everything and has undying loyalty to one another. But on one fateful summer day, a hotdog cart prank went awry and the boys nearly got a man killed. Lorenzo and his friends were sent away to a reformatory school.

There begins the life of hell for these young boys. Any vestiges shred of innocence was stripped away as the guards; Nokes, Stylers, Ferguson and Addison, repeatedly beat, brutalized and raped them. When I read the words written, it became so graphics that it all seems so real. Even more so as I was alone in a hotel room in a place that is so alien to me. I get light-headed and was chilled to the bone reading what was done to the boys. It dawn on me then and I came to realize for the first time that evil can be wearing the mask of men. But we better known those attribute simply as inhuman.

There are two incidents of brutality that I still remembered clearly (it has been omitted from the movie). It happened to Lorenzo himself when he was called to the guard office to get the parcel that was sent by his mother. Among the food that his mother sent was a rosary beads. When asked by Nokes what it was for, he answered it was for prayer. Nokes and his crews then make him say the prayer while Styler slid the front end of a baton inside him. Yes, inside him! A baton!

The other was during Lorenzo’s last night at the Wilkinson. Nokes make him watch as his crews tore at his friends, raped them and attacked them as if they were animals freed from cage. He wrote later that a part of all of them was left in that cell that night. Who wouldn’t?

(Geez, I still got Goosebumps. My heart still pounds so hard and my hand is trembling like mad. I could not even imagine putting myself in their shoes.)

The boys emerge after a year of torture, changed beyond recall. John and Tommy took to a life of violent crime as mobster killers, Lorenzo became a journalist and Michael a prosecutor with the DA’s office. The only constant was their undying friendship.

Ten years later, Tommy and John came face to face with Nokes at the Shamrock Pub. They confronted him, revealed their identities and shot him dead in front of several witnesses. If you asked me, Nokes gets what he deserved and so much worst.

In the trial that followed, the four friends were brought together for one spectacular, audacious last stand. Michael was the DA for the trial and without the knowledge of Tommy and John (who couldn’t believe Michael took a case against them), and with help from Hell’s Kitchen community, they exacted punishment for what had been done to them as children.

(To know the exact details of the punishment and what happened to these four friends, pick up the book and read it yourself. That or you could ask me personally.)

Sleepers is an unforgettable story of childhood friendship. It is a stunning account of four men who risked their lives and their freedom in a desperate attempt to reclaim each other from the anguish consuming them. This book gives me nightmares for several days and although I love the movie, it does not do justice to the book. The movie omitted many of (I think) important things that happened to them before they were sent away and during their stay at Wilkinson. But thanks to the movie I was able to put faces to the characters which gave me genuine pleasure when I was engulfed by this non-fiction book.

Last but not least, my heart goes out to Lorenzo who selfishly and valiantly recounted his own personal nightmares. I could never have that kind of courage…

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The Creature in the Case

I finished reading this book last month, a day after I finished reading This End of the Rainbow but was too damn busy with lots of things that only now did I managed to spend some time reviewing this book.

The reason I picked this book instead of the Ragwitch from the shelves was simply because it is the story of Nicholas. Remember him? Yup, he is the same Nicholas from Lirael and Abhorsen who was possessed by the evil Orannis. The same guy that I'd fallen in love with. Hehe...

I said in Abhorsen's review that I think Garth Nix, the author, has more tricks up his sleeves and this book is part of it. The other is Across the Wall, which is something I put my eyes on but haven't had the chance to found it in any of the bookstores I usually go to.

The creature in the case told the story of Nicholas who was eager to go back to the Old Kingdom approximately six month ofter the event in Abhorsen. He couldn't put the eccentric country (and Lireal) out of his mind and desperate to return to the Old Kingdom. He had been pastering his Uncle Edward, the Chief Minister of Ancelstierre, about his intention. His uncle promised him the journey to the Old Kingdom but in return Nicholas has to do him a favor. He need to spend one weekend at a remote country house.

And so the adventure begins. Apparently the party that he was made to attend to was only a facade to cover up for the secret operation that was to bring back a relic creature from the Old Kingdom to live. To unleash it power it needs Nicholas blood (there is an irony about what happened if the creature drank too much of Nicholas blood but I am not going to spoil it).

Nicholas had to fight the creature and stop it from crossing the wall. The only help that came from across the wall is Lirael.

The creature in the case is a short story that really kept reader interested in finding out what happen next after the trilogy. A little warning though that the end of this story will leave you on the edge. Although at first I was hoping that this book will quenched my thirst for the Abhorsen trilogy, the book was actually keep me wanting for more (unfortunately there are none). Also if you were hoping to see the familiar faces, don't. You are going to be disappointed.

Jeez, I miss Sameth!!

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This end of the rainbow

This is the first English novel by the notorious Adibah Amin.

The story basically was about a group of student at University of Malaya in Singapore in 1950's. The protagonist in this book took the name of Ayu, a gentle Malay girl who drop medicine study to be a writer.

I was lost a bit when I read the first few pages but then it started to flow. It started out when she was ragged at the university by Han, the Cynic. Already it touched on the sensitive subjects of racism.

And yep, you was right. The main theme that link all these different circumstances in this book is race relations, reflecting the general state of the Malayan at that period in time.

The tension that growing between the races concerns Ayu. This makes her explore variety of situatioins involving her characters that will brought you flashback after flashbacks; remembering conversation among childhood friends, the loss of her father and her friends when Japanese invaded Malaya, her mother's fight for independence, her hatred towards the British, etc, including Han's family history. Adibah Amin brought you to and fro to the future seamlessly which is a great thing otherwise it could be rather confusing.

The situations and questions being posed is recognizable and all too familiar in today Malaysian societies. The only difference is the issues are not presented as frankly and as unbiased as it did back then.

All the characters (and they are many of them) are very believable. This probably because many are based on real people known to Adibah. For example Ayu's mother is obviously inspired by the authur's own mother, the Umno freedom-fighter, Ibu Zain.

Han in my opinion is the most memorable character in this book. Han's family were murdered by the Malays during communist terror. It was because of misunderstanding between these two races. The Malays saw Chinese as one of the communist while the Chinese saw the Malays as 'pak turut' communist. It took sometimes for him to realize the pain truth. He who was expelled for the ragging incident form a multi-racial political society to ease racial tension. He tried to coaxed Ayu to joined the group but Ayu refused for her own reasons.

There was also Rizal, who Ayu claimed remains as good friend. I can surely sense the romance between these two.

The most touching part on this book for me when Adibah narrated the fight that Dato' Onn and the other independence figure fought for Independence. Almost brought tears to my eyes.

It is the same fresh, simple and direct style as her writing through her column As I Was Passing in the NST. This book is an easy read, and it is also eye-opening, especially if you are not familiar with Malaysia’s pre-independence days and the social unrest of the 1950s. I am not ashamed to admit that I was pretty shocked myself to learn what had happened during that period. This is the kind of ignorance that Adibah wants to educate in this book of hers.

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Bleak House

Another of Charles Dickens masterpiece. It is long, tightly plotted and wonderfully descriptive, typical of Dicken's work. It starts a little slow for me but as I turns the pages, I get hooked.

It takes a look at the legal system in London which destroys the innocents, deprive them from their talents and consumes their minds. It also portrays the different conditions and social status of the Londoners. Most of the story came from a narrative written by the Esther Summersons, the protagonist in this contemporary novel by Dickens.

All the characters in this book are affected by the Jarndyce & Jarndyce legal suit in which there will be no winner and bring much desperations and heartache. The impeccable character that connected them together was Esther, the virtuous girl who was taken as a ward by Mr. John Jarndyce, and is beloved by everyone.

I must admit though that I was reluctant at the beginning to see Esther as the all around good girl as narrated by Dickens but the novel is so well-written that I came to believe her as she had been described.

Mr. John Jarndyce is a beneficial older gentleman who is also a guardian to his young cousins, Ada and Richard who fell in love with each other and eventually get married. All four of them, including Esther, reside at Bleak House. Richard soon fall victim of the Jarndyce & Jarndyve lawsuit and rejected any kindness or help from his guardian in his ignorance hope that a settlement from the lawsuit will award him with a fortune.

The attorneys are portray as bloodsucking evil leeches who only care about the money they can squeezed from their clients. One of the most devil-like lawyers, Mr. Tulkinghorn, was murdered and I actually rejoiced the death of that particular character not knowing the misery he brought upon the mysterious Lady Deadlock and the and tragedy that leaves the Deadlock household in ruins.

It is not all bleak though. There are also romantics plots that evolve around Esther and how she comes to be the mistress of Bleak House.

There are over sixty colorful and varied characters so you cannot anticipate who may you encounter at the next page. The best thing is, the story brings everything to full circle and not a character goes to waste. The most memorable characters in the book for me would be Esther the protagonist, Mr. Bucket the detective, George the trooper, Mr. Woodcourt the kind-hearted doctor, Richard and Ada the love birds, Jo the homeless kid and of course Mr. John Jarndyce of Bleak House.

Bleak House is a very entertaining book who have all the qualities of a great classic story. It is poignant, suspenseful, unforgettable and appearances to the contrary, is not bleak at all.

Definitely one not to be missed.

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