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zhelana's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a cute little book set in a country I've never heard of before. It's kind of a coming of age story, and kind of a little adventure story. The whole thing takes place in the two day weekend of this kid's grandfather's funeral. He goes off to find his brother and make it back before he's missed. He also really wants to talk on the phone to his mother. He gets half of what he wanted making the ending not really satisfactory, but also kind of not what you expect but also that makes it feel like it didn't fulfill it's promises to the reader. Anyway, it was pretty good but not one of the best books I've read this year.
krammedshelf's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
elenasquareeyes's review
3.0
Jonathan as a character could be equal parts interesting and infuriating at times. I do tend to struggle reading books from a child’s point of view and with Jonathan he seemed far more confident and surer of himself than the average ten-year-old. He does make brash decisions and argues with his siblings and cousin like any child would but sometimes he came across as older than his years with his ability to talk himself out of (and into) a lot of situations. Then there’s the times when he just seems incredibly bitter about everything he’s got going on in life. Some of it seems like a fair thing to be bitter about like how his father won’t talk about his mother and how he keeps missing her phone calls. Other time’s though it’s like that fatalistic attitude that teenagers have turned up to the max – I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with such a dramatic ten-year-old.
The adventure Jonathan goes on to find his older brother who might hold the key to be able to contact their mother is fun one. Just about everything that can go wrong does go wrong but Jonathan never stops trying to achieve his goal. He’s got this single-minded determinedness that’s impressive.
As an atheist (though I was christened a Catholic) I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the descriptions of Ah Kong’s funeral and the various traditions that Jonathan and the rest of the family had to take part in. The funeral is a Chinese one and there’s mentions of another character having been to Malay funerals but not Chinese ones, showing how there’s different tradition in each cultures funeral and that Brunei as a country is a mix of different people with different heritages, which was interesting.
Written in Black is a quick and easy book to read with an engaging story that keeps you turning the page. The plotline about Jonathan’s absent mother isn’t really given a satisfactory resolution though – or much of a resolution to be honest. In some ways it feels like his mother is avoiding him rather than his three other siblings and it’s sad there’s never really an explanation for that or anything to show that she cares about Jonathan just as much as her other children. Besides from that, it’s a fast-paced and decent coming of age story and Jonathan certainly does seem to mature a lot in such a short space of time.
fuzzyhebrew's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The author did a great job representing the 10 year old. I felt while reading that he was definitely writing for an international audience, which was a bit weird but also helpful for me, someone who doesn't live in Brunei. The biggest disappointment was that we got no resolution at the end about why the mother had left and whether she really wants to talk to her son. We got hints of it, but I was waiting for that reveal! This could be a great children's book.
barbarabarbara's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
akhmalaiman's review
3.0
I honestly am having a hard time on rating this one. There are some ups and some downs. (This is just my personal perspective, so, some people might not agree)
Rating: 3/5
I bought this book because I was drawn to its nature for having the story set in Brunei, so I was curious as to what the author has written. I genuinely enjoyed the comedy, especially ones that involve Malay-Brunei dialect - some were quite priceless & indeed, VERY often used in our culture, including when cussing over a rude driver. The random names of Kampong in Brunei is also true, I always have the same thought as to where and how they were formed. I enjoyed the great insight of common Chinese funeral proceedings (I'm not sure myself if it's fictional or not - nevertheless I found it interesting). The cover's nice, by the way!
I have some issues with it, however. Especially with the age (10 y.o.) narrating this book with an extremely expanded vocabulary (this was contradictory to the part where he found it difficult to read the local newspaper). I thought that was too good to be true, and the fact that he has a highly developed sense of moral judgements (e.g. advising/warning his older brother about life). One of which is, I quote: "The mess you're in now is all your own fault, and you aren't acting like you've even learnt your lesson... you'd better do yourself a favour and not be so stubborn with Pa like you were last time... don't you dare screw things up again, because we'll all be paying the price for it." Also, I believe Poklan is portrayed less accurately in this book. If the author did a bit more research on that, it would make the book more humorous. From my own perspective, it's more of a lifestyle/'trend' thing, as opposed to it being a criminal thing. Cause, what's portrayed here sounds more like a genuine... gang. Their dialogue's not 'Poklan/Malay-Bruneian' enough too. The plot's a bit slow in the first 100 pages. The real adventure only starts at around page 90, or so. And it;s unfortunate that the ending felt short and unresolved.
All in all, I love the main character's wit, but I wish the author could expand more on what happens afterwards - the story I felt like it wasn't quite resolved, especially the REAL reason for his mother's departure & that conversation in the storeroom between Pa & Michael (Was it about allowing him back home?). I DON'T KNOW. But they weren't explained in great detail.
Nevertheless, I'd like to congratulate the author for this debut novel :-)
Rating: 3/5
I bought this book because I was drawn to its nature for having the story set in Brunei, so I was curious as to what the author has written. I genuinely enjoyed the comedy, especially ones that involve Malay-Brunei dialect - some were quite priceless & indeed, VERY often used in our culture, including when cussing over a rude driver. The random names of Kampong in Brunei is also true, I always have the same thought as to where and how they were formed. I enjoyed the great insight of common Chinese funeral proceedings (I'm not sure myself if it's fictional or not - nevertheless I found it interesting). The cover's nice, by the way!
I have some issues with it, however. Especially with the age (10 y.o.) narrating this book with an extremely expanded vocabulary (this was contradictory to the part where he found it difficult to read the local newspaper). I thought that was too good to be true, and the fact that he has a highly developed sense of moral judgements (e.g. advising/warning his older brother about life). One of which is, I quote: "The mess you're in now is all your own fault, and you aren't acting like you've even learnt your lesson... you'd better do yourself a favour and not be so stubborn with Pa like you were last time... don't you dare screw things up again, because we'll all be paying the price for it." Also, I believe Poklan is portrayed less accurately in this book. If the author did a bit more research on that, it would make the book more humorous. From my own perspective, it's more of a lifestyle/'trend' thing, as opposed to it being a criminal thing. Cause, what's portrayed here sounds more like a genuine... gang. Their dialogue's not 'Poklan/Malay-Bruneian' enough too. The plot's a bit slow in the first 100 pages. The real adventure only starts at around page 90, or so. And it;s unfortunate that the ending felt short and unresolved.
All in all, I love the main character's wit, but I wish the author could expand more on what happens afterwards - the story I felt like it wasn't quite resolved, especially the REAL reason for his mother's departure & that conversation in the storeroom between Pa & Michael (Was it about allowing him back home?). I DON'T KNOW. But they weren't explained in great detail.
Nevertheless, I'd like to congratulate the author for this debut novel :-)
farahfakhirah's review
3.0
Jonathan is annoyed at everyone and everything. Annoyed by his father who always target him, annoyed by his older brother who ran away but still get his mother's love, annoyed by his stuck-up cousin, Kevin, who boast about how his mother love his brother more. A funeral of his Ah Kong--grandpa--led him to seek his missing brother, Michael, in a mission to hear his mother's voice.
I enjoy reading this book a lot. Jonathan quite literally made a journey along Brunei, and cruel as it's to say, his misfortune is my pleasure. Sorry, Jonathan
Jonathan is annoyed at everyone and everything. Annoyed by his father who always target him, annoyed by his older brother who ran away but still get his mother's love, annoyed by his stuck-up cousin, Kevin, who boast about how his mother love his brother more. A funeral of his Ah Kong--grandpa--led him to seek his missing brother, Michael, in a mission to hear his mother's voice.
I enjoy reading this book a lot. Jonathan quite literally made a journey along Brunei, and cruel as it's to say, his misfortune is my pleasure. Sorry, Jonathan
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