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sharanyaaguha's reviews
57 reviews
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
I finished reading A Little Life a couple of days back. And oh my god. How can a book be so sad yet so beautiful yet so meaningful all at the same time?
I have no words for the book. I am angry at JB even though he had his reasons - for falling in love with Willem and being jealous of Jude because Willem never loved him the way he loved Jude.
I am sorry and thankful for Malcolm, for understanding Jude's needs without letting him speak, for being a friend and watching out for him.
My heart breaks for Willem, for being the best of the best friend anyone could have, for being the perfect lover, without demands, so selfless, so pure. Your friendship with Jude turned to love, and I am grateful for you that it did. Had it not been so, Jude would have never wanted to live. You gave him a reason Willem, to live, to stay. And with you passing away, he lost the reason as well.
Harold, loosing your kid has been the hardest goodbye you ever said, but loosing Jude was more painful isn't it? You found in Jude what you couldn't in Jacob, Jude was what you wanted Jacob to be. He was your son, and you didn't fail. You have tried all long as you could, as hard as you could. But sometimes the pain, the hurt, the suffering needs to stop and he needed it.
And Jude, my sweet boy Jude. Will you believe me if i tell you that you didn't deserve everything you went through? will you believe me if i tell you it wasn't your fault? will you believe me if i tell you you're not dirty? will you believe me if I tell you, you deserve to be happy? Will you believe me if I tell you Harold needs you? Will you believe me if I tell you I love you? Will you let me hold you Jude? Will you wrap your arms around me and cry as much as you want to if I come hug you? Jude, my Jude. There are not enough words in this universe to describe what I feel for you. You are everything Jude, everything. If only I could hold you and tell you it was okay. If only.....
I won't tell you what you did was wrong. I believe you had every right to do so. No one deserves to go through the pain of everything you went through. You held yourself as long as you could - for Harold, and I respect you for that. Every time you found the shore, you were dragged into the ocean and forced to sink. I am glad you stopped trying Jude. The peace of drowning in the water once and for all is better than the pain of struggling to stay afloat. Wherever you are, I hope you are happy.
And Richard, Andy and all those who took care of my Jude, thank you. You are the kind of people the world needs more of. I hope you guys are happy wherever you are and found peace.
And lastly thanks to the author, Hanya Yanagihara, for writing a book that I'll remember everyday for the rest of my life.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I finished reading A Little Life a couple of days back. And oh my god. How can a book be so sad yet so beautiful yet so meaningful all at the same time?
I have no words for the book. I am angry at JB even though he had his reasons - for falling in love with Willem and being jealous of Jude because Willem never loved him the way he loved Jude.
I am sorry and thankful for Malcolm, for understanding Jude's needs without letting him speak, for being a friend and watching out for him.
My heart breaks for Willem, for being the best of the best friend anyone could have, for being the perfect lover, without demands, so selfless, so pure. Your friendship with Jude turned to love, and I am grateful for you that it did. Had it not been so, Jude would have never wanted to live. You gave him a reason Willem, to live, to stay. And with you passing away, he lost the reason as well.
Harold, loosing your kid has been the hardest goodbye you ever said, but loosing Jude was more painful isn't it? You found in Jude what you couldn't in Jacob, Jude was what you wanted Jacob to be. He was your son, and you didn't fail. You have tried all long as you could, as hard as you could. But sometimes the pain, the hurt, the suffering needs to stop and he needed it.
And Jude, my sweet boy Jude. Will you believe me if i tell you that you didn't deserve everything you went through? will you believe me if i tell you it wasn't your fault? will you believe me if i tell you you're not dirty? will you believe me if I tell you, you deserve to be happy? Will you believe me if I tell you Harold needs you? Will you believe me if I tell you I love you? Will you let me hold you Jude? Will you wrap your arms around me and cry as much as you want to if I come hug you? Jude, my Jude. There are not enough words in this universe to describe what I feel for you. You are everything Jude, everything. If only I could hold you and tell you it was okay. If only.....
I won't tell you what you did was wrong. I believe you had every right to do so. No one deserves to go through the pain of everything you went through. You held yourself as long as you could - for Harold, and I respect you for that. Every time you found the shore, you were dragged into the ocean and forced to sink. I am glad you stopped trying Jude. The peace of drowning in the water once and for all is better than the pain of struggling to stay afloat. Wherever you are, I hope you are happy.
And Richard, Andy and all those who took care of my Jude, thank you. You are the kind of people the world needs more of. I hope you guys are happy wherever you are and found peace.
And lastly thanks to the author, Hanya Yanagihara, for writing a book that I'll remember everyday for the rest of my life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Grief, Blood, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The cycle of abuse goes on because we let the abusers continue. This book deals with domestic abuse and the victims. Often times the victims are unwilling to leave the abusive situation because of a lot of reasons, financial dependency, love etc etc. But it is onto us to decide when to leave a situation. I have never, thank God been in an abusive situation myself or seen one firsthand. This book gives a detailed view of the mindset of the victim when dealing with abuse and the strength and determination it takes to break the cycle. That's all I can say without giving a spoiler.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
November 9 by Colleen Hoover
The plot twist, Oh My God! Who could have imagined? I have never felt so many emotions reading one book. It makes you happy, sad, makes you cry over someone's else's heartbreak and then makes you shed happy tears. This book was so addictive, I couldn't put it down. Apart from Fallon's occasional cringey thoughts and comments, everything else about the book was perfect <3
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Wow. Where do I begin? Started reading this book thinking it's a love story but it's so much more.
Bea an aspiring artist meets with an accident which changes her career forever. Fallon is an aspiring writer and looking for inspiration. They meet one day, on November 9 just the day before Bea moves across the country. They decide to meet every year on November 9th for the next five years and in between they won't have any contact with each other. And so, starts their yearly meeting and they eventually fall in love. But there's a lot more to the date - November 9 than it being just the day they see each other. When Bea comes across Fallon's manuscript about their story, she can't believe what she reads. This line right here, broke me :
Bea an aspiring artist meets with an accident which changes her career forever. Fallon is an aspiring writer and looking for inspiration. They meet one day, on November 9 just the day before Bea moves across the country. They decide to meet every year on November 9th for the next five years and in between they won't have any contact with each other. And so, starts their yearly meeting and they eventually fall in love. But there's a lot more to the date - November 9 than it being just the day they see each other. When Bea comes across Fallon's manuscript about their story, she can't believe what she reads. This line right here, broke me :
"It took four years for me to fall in love with him.
It only took four pages to stop."
The plot twist, Oh My God! Who could have imagined? I have never felt so many emotions reading one book. It makes you happy, sad, makes you cry over someone's else's heartbreak and then makes you shed happy tears. This book was so addictive, I couldn't put it down. Apart from Fallon's occasional cringey thoughts and comments, everything else about the book was perfect <3
You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
'You've reached Sam' follows the story of Julie and Sam, two teen lovers who had their lives planned out together. Unfortunately one day, months before their graduation Sam loses his life in a car accident. Julie is left with a broken heart and Sam's memories.
She isolates herself for weeks, refuses to go to his funeral or his candlelight vigil. One day she dials Sam's number hoping to hear his voice one more time and guess what, Sam picks up.
No, he's not alive, but there's a glitch or something due to which they are able to connect to each other. And hence starts her phone calls with Sam.
The occasional calls from Sam gives her hope and the rest of the book follows the story about how Julie is trying to deal with the grief and balancing life, friends and other relationships.
The book was okay, however at the end there we so so many lose ends that were not tied. So many loopholes, so many unexplained plots. The ending felt so abrupt.
She isolates herself for weeks, refuses to go to his funeral or his candlelight vigil. One day she dials Sam's number hoping to hear his voice one more time and guess what, Sam picks up.
No, he's not alive, but there's a glitch or something due to which they are able to connect to each other. And hence starts her phone calls with Sam.
The occasional calls from Sam gives her hope and the rest of the book follows the story about how Julie is trying to deal with the grief and balancing life, friends and other relationships.
The book was okay, however at the end there we so so many lose ends that were not tied. So many loopholes, so many unexplained plots. The ending felt so abrupt.
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I had a lot of expectations from this book after seeing it literally everywhere and I am glad it lived up to it.
The book follows the story of 'The Silent Patient' Alicia Berenson, a famous painter, who after shooting her husband Gabrielle five times in the face one day, refuses to speak about it or about anything for that matter for years. Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist and he knows for sure that he will be able to help Alicia and make her talk. However when he starts digging up her past there is a lot that is left to be explored.
The first third of the book I felt was boring but later I realized how important it was to build the story. The twist in the last few chapters is brilliant, one could never imagine that that was how things happened.
What I like the most about this book is that it started off as a murder mystery but as the story unfolds there is so much to discover! If you're up for a psychological thriller with a jaw dropping plot twist, this book is a must read.
The book follows the story of 'The Silent Patient' Alicia Berenson, a famous painter, who after shooting her husband Gabrielle five times in the face one day, refuses to speak about it or about anything for that matter for years. Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist and he knows for sure that he will be able to help Alicia and make her talk. However when he starts digging up her past there is a lot that is left to be explored.
The first third of the book I felt was boring but later I realized how important it was to build the story. The twist in the last few chapters is brilliant, one could never imagine that that was how things happened.
What I like the most about this book is that it started off as a murder mystery but as the story unfolds there is so much to discover! If you're up for a psychological thriller with a jaw dropping plot twist, this book is a must read.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
You know the book is going to be good when the first page itself contains these beautiful lines.
It follows the story of Adeline Larue, a girl born in Villon, France in. Addie is a free soul, she wants to go to the markets with her father, she wants to explore and see what's beyond Villor. She grows up learning things about gods from Estelle and how she should never pray to those who answer after the dark. However, one day she is faced with no choice and starts praying. She doesn't know what she has done until she opens her eyes, and everything is pitch black.
Fast forward to 300 years later, in 2014. Addie has lived a hundred lives and met a hundred people, and no one remembers her. "Out of sight, out of mind" she calls it. She only wants somebody to remember her, and her life changes when she meets Henry, and he does remember her.
Throughout the book she is being cursed that she can't leave a mark, yet she has found a way, a thousand times. She has been somebody's muse and yet another's dream. She has been a painting, a sculpture, a book, a poem and a song. She has inspired art and artists for years. And even though she thinks no one remembers her, she has left a thousand marks behind.
Here's another favorite quote from the book:
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"What is a person, if not the marks they leave behind?"
You know the book is going to be good when the first page itself contains these beautiful lines.
It follows the story of Adeline Larue, a girl born in Villon, France in. Addie is a free soul, she wants to go to the markets with her father, she wants to explore and see what's beyond Villor. She grows up learning things about gods from Estelle and how she should never pray to those who answer after the dark. However, one day she is faced with no choice and starts praying. She doesn't know what she has done until she opens her eyes, and everything is pitch black.
Fast forward to 300 years later, in 2014. Addie has lived a hundred lives and met a hundred people, and no one remembers her. "Out of sight, out of mind" she calls it. She only wants somebody to remember her, and her life changes when she meets Henry, and he does remember her.
Throughout the book she is being cursed that she can't leave a mark, yet she has found a way, a thousand times. She has been somebody's muse and yet another's dream. She has been a painting, a sculpture, a book, a poem and a song. She has inspired art and artists for years. And even though she thinks no one remembers her, she has left a thousand marks behind.
Here's another favorite quote from the book:
"What she needs are stories. Stories are a way to preserve one’s self. To be remembered. And to forget. Stories come in so many forms: in charcoal, and in song, in paintings, poems, films. And books. Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives—or to find strength in a very long one."
The Cousins by Karen M. McManus
Then : Mildred and Abraham Story are the owners of a huge island and are super super rich. They have four kids Adam the oldest, Anders, Allison and Archer, the youngest. Abraham died when the kids were teen. One day when Mildred's kids were in college they received a note from their mother, which said they were no longer welcome in the island, and that they were disherited and must not keep any contact with their mother.
Now : Adam has a daughter, Aubrey who's a professional swimmer. Anders has a son Jonah, Allison has a daughter Milly Mildred who was named after her grandmother and Archer is an addict. One day the grandchildren receive a note from their grandmother welcoming them to the island to spend the summer. They all go even though they are not willing to. When they reach the island, Milly is suspicious that Mildred had no idea that they were coming. Milly grows more suspicious as Dr. Baxter, the story family's doctor starts acting suspicious. Soon they find out that their uncle Archer is the one who called them to the island and has been hiding there in plain sight. Dr. Baxter wants to tell Archer something (he recognizes him) and is soon killed. And Jonah who came to the island isn't Jonah Story but a classmate of his with the same name who was paid to come here (and also this Jonah's father was literally robbed by Ander Story when he was their accountant, so he came for revenge). Milly and Aubrey and later Archer knows about Jonah, but not the reason why he is here.
Milly and Jonah start developing feelings for each other. On the night of the gala, Aubrey is called to meet their grandmother. Milly and Jonah go to the balcony and the moment they start getting intimate the curtain of the balcony is pulled revealing them to the entire crowd. That very moment Anders come from nowhere accusing Jonah, the rest of the cousins and Archers of committing fraud and trying to be good to his mother. But he is thrown out and so is Jonah. Jonah later returns to the island secretly and stays with Archer.
In the meanwhile, the cousins learn that there was Matt who was Theresa (their grandmother's assistant) son and he was dating Kayla. But Kayla was in an on-off relationship with Anders, so he was very jealous of Matt. Allison had feelings for Matt and they get intimate once which later results in Allison's pregnancy. When trying to confront Matt who has been ignoring her ever since, she miscarriages. Anders and Adam then decides to kill Matt in a party by drowning him in the sea when he's drunk. Allison sees all these but never says anything.
Later, when Aubrey goes to see her grandmother again she spills tea on Mildred's hand. Mildred takes off her gloves and Aubrey notices she doesn't have her birthmark (which they both share in common). The next day she decides to go alone to find some evidence. In the meanwhile Archer gets a letter from Dr. Baxter which contains the autopsy report of Kayla. Now, Kayla was killed in a car crash because she was drunk but the autopsy report says otherwise, that Kayla was drugged. There's also a health report of Mildred showing that she suffered from the same heart condition that Abraham did and Archer is confused how Mildred is alive for 24 hours with the condition when Abraham died so soon. Archer then realizes that Aubrey's in danger and comes to save her.
Aubrey is caught red handed by Mildred and held at gunpoint. When Archer comes, they are both taken to the sunroom and this is where Mildred or the one we thought was Mildred spilled everything. She knows that Matt wasn't in an accident but was killed by Anders and Adam, and Allison knew. And that Mildred died 24 years ago and she had planned the whole thing with Dr. Baxter and their lawyer. And also that she is Theresa. For 24 years Mildred has been dead and buried in her garden while Theresa pretended to be her, enjoying the luxury and cutting of everyone who would recognize her. She also killed Kayla because she was the one who told Theresa about Matt's death (after Anders confessed to her one night when he was drunk). She didn't know that Mildred was dead and Theresa took her place and was desperate to meet her. To silence her, they killed her.
Theresa wants to take revenge by killing Anders daughter Aubrey. But she fights her off with Archer and is able to hurt her. In the meanwhile Theresa has already ordered her assistant Paula (who we thought was Theresa but was actually her sister Paula) to set a fire (in a coded language which meant set the whole house on fire). So caught in the fire Archer and Aubrey escapes by climbing down the window with Theresa but she has already died and Paula is nowhere to be seen. Their lawyer who was involved in the plan was jailed eventually, and Theresa and Dr. Baxter was anyway dead. Paula fled.
The entire residence burns down and the children later realize that Theresa had never insured the place and has used every last bit of their money. So the money that the Story children dreamed off was burnt to ground as well. The grandkids then come back home and keeps in touch with each other. Jonah and Milly are dating. Archer went to rehab. Adam and Anders keeps denying their involvement. Allison re establishes her relationship with her brother, Archer.
And so eventually, everything falls to place, except for justice for Matt and Kayla because there was no evidence.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Everybody has secrets,” she says, taking a sip of her drink. “That’s nondebatable. The only question is whether you’re keeping your own, or someone else’s.
Then : Mildred and Abraham Story are the owners of a huge island and are super super rich. They have four kids Adam the oldest, Anders, Allison and Archer, the youngest. Abraham died when the kids were teen. One day when Mildred's kids were in college they received a note from their mother, which said they were no longer welcome in the island, and that they were disherited and must not keep any contact with their mother.
Now : Adam has a daughter, Aubrey who's a professional swimmer. Anders has a son Jonah, Allison has a daughter Milly Mildred who was named after her grandmother and Archer is an addict. One day the grandchildren receive a note from their grandmother welcoming them to the island to spend the summer. They all go even though they are not willing to. When they reach the island, Milly is suspicious that Mildred had no idea that they were coming. Milly grows more suspicious as Dr. Baxter, the story family's doctor starts acting suspicious. Soon they find out that their uncle Archer is the one who called them to the island and has been hiding there in plain sight. Dr. Baxter wants to tell Archer something (he recognizes him) and is soon killed. And Jonah who came to the island isn't Jonah Story but a classmate of his with the same name who was paid to come here (and also this Jonah's father was literally robbed by Ander Story when he was their accountant, so he came for revenge). Milly and Aubrey and later Archer knows about Jonah, but not the reason why he is here.
Milly and Jonah start developing feelings for each other. On the night of the gala, Aubrey is called to meet their grandmother. Milly and Jonah go to the balcony and the moment they start getting intimate the curtain of the balcony is pulled revealing them to the entire crowd. That very moment Anders come from nowhere accusing Jonah, the rest of the cousins and Archers of committing fraud and trying to be good to his mother. But he is thrown out and so is Jonah. Jonah later returns to the island secretly and stays with Archer.
In the meanwhile, the cousins learn that there was Matt who was Theresa (their grandmother's assistant) son and he was dating Kayla. But Kayla was in an on-off relationship with Anders, so he was very jealous of Matt. Allison had feelings for Matt and they get intimate once which later results in Allison's pregnancy. When trying to confront Matt who has been ignoring her ever since, she miscarriages. Anders and Adam then decides to kill Matt in a party by drowning him in the sea when he's drunk. Allison sees all these but never says anything.
Later, when Aubrey goes to see her grandmother again she spills tea on Mildred's hand. Mildred takes off her gloves and Aubrey notices she doesn't have her birthmark (which they both share in common). The next day she decides to go alone to find some evidence. In the meanwhile Archer gets a letter from Dr. Baxter which contains the autopsy report of Kayla. Now, Kayla was killed in a car crash because she was drunk but the autopsy report says otherwise, that Kayla was drugged. There's also a health report of Mildred showing that she suffered from the same heart condition that Abraham did and Archer is confused how Mildred is alive for 24 hours with the condition when Abraham died so soon. Archer then realizes that Aubrey's in danger and comes to save her.
Aubrey is caught red handed by Mildred and held at gunpoint. When Archer comes, they are both taken to the sunroom and this is where Mildred or the one we thought was Mildred spilled everything. She knows that Matt wasn't in an accident but was killed by Anders and Adam, and Allison knew. And that Mildred died 24 years ago and she had planned the whole thing with Dr. Baxter and their lawyer. And also that she is Theresa. For 24 years Mildred has been dead and buried in her garden while Theresa pretended to be her, enjoying the luxury and cutting of everyone who would recognize her. She also killed Kayla because she was the one who told Theresa about Matt's death (after Anders confessed to her one night when he was drunk). She didn't know that Mildred was dead and Theresa took her place and was desperate to meet her. To silence her, they killed her.
Theresa wants to take revenge by killing Anders daughter Aubrey. But she fights her off with Archer and is able to hurt her. In the meanwhile Theresa has already ordered her assistant Paula (who we thought was Theresa but was actually her sister Paula) to set a fire (in a coded language which meant set the whole house on fire). So caught in the fire Archer and Aubrey escapes by climbing down the window with Theresa but she has already died and Paula is nowhere to be seen. Their lawyer who was involved in the plan was jailed eventually, and Theresa and Dr. Baxter was anyway dead. Paula fled.
The entire residence burns down and the children later realize that Theresa had never insured the place and has used every last bit of their money. So the money that the Story children dreamed off was burnt to ground as well. The grandkids then come back home and keeps in touch with each other. Jonah and Milly are dating. Archer went to rehab. Adam and Anders keeps denying their involvement. Allison re establishes her relationship with her brother, Archer.
And so eventually, everything falls to place, except for justice for Matt and Kayla because there was no evidence.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Nora, a girl living by herself. She lost her father when she was young and her brother doesn't talk to her anymore. Dan, the boy he used to date and almost married and a store where she works for living. A cat and a boy who learns piano from her is all she has. One fine day, she learns that she has lost her job, her cat and the only good thing she was looking forward to, the boy, has decided to discontinue their lesson. Tired of her life, she decided to die. But as soon as she is ready to do so, the clock strikes 12 and she finds herself in a library, The Midnight Library. The librarian, Mrs. Elm, who was also her school librarian and the only person who has shown kindness to her is there. Among the endless shelves there are books and in each book there is a life, formed by taking slightly different decisions that she had in her life. She can live in all these lives and decide in which one she is actually happy. And if she finds one she'll live there forever. Skeptical at first, Nora decides to take a shot. She lives several lives only to be dissatisfied with herself in each of them. She finally finds one where she spends quite a while, but soon realizes that even if she's happy here, this isn't the life she created for herself. The other Nora created this life and she has just taken her place, robbed her of everything. So she decides that she wants to live, yes, she does. She returns to the library only to find it being caught up in a fire. Mrs. Elm urges her to choose one final book before the fire burns everything. She chooses one - the one where she lives. And then she wakes up in her bed, dizzy, because she took pills to end her life. Gathering all her strength she is able to knock on her neighbor's door who calls an ambulance and saves her life.
Her brother comes to visit her and eventually everything is sorted and when she returns to her home, there's this line about her old neighbor who called the ambulance :
which says, how by doing a small thing or by just existing you're able to make a difference in someone's life. The book ends with Nora finally finding happiness in her actual life, which gives all of us a hope that even when you feel like you're caught in a storm, there's always a rainbow waiting for you on the other end.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices… Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?”
Nora, a girl living by herself. She lost her father when she was young and her brother doesn't talk to her anymore. Dan, the boy he used to date and almost married and a store where she works for living. A cat and a boy who learns piano from her is all she has. One fine day, she learns that she has lost her job, her cat and the only good thing she was looking forward to, the boy, has decided to discontinue their lesson. Tired of her life, she decided to die. But as soon as she is ready to do so, the clock strikes 12 and she finds herself in a library, The Midnight Library. The librarian, Mrs. Elm, who was also her school librarian and the only person who has shown kindness to her is there. Among the endless shelves there are books and in each book there is a life, formed by taking slightly different decisions that she had in her life. She can live in all these lives and decide in which one she is actually happy. And if she finds one she'll live there forever. Skeptical at first, Nora decides to take a shot. She lives several lives only to be dissatisfied with herself in each of them. She finally finds one where she spends quite a while, but soon realizes that even if she's happy here, this isn't the life she created for herself. The other Nora created this life and she has just taken her place, robbed her of everything. So she decides that she wants to live, yes, she does. She returns to the library only to find it being caught up in a fire. Mrs. Elm urges her to choose one final book before the fire burns everything. She chooses one - the one where she lives. And then she wakes up in her bed, dizzy, because she took pills to end her life. Gathering all her strength she is able to knock on her neighbor's door who calls an ambulance and saves her life.
Her brother comes to visit her and eventually everything is sorted and when she returns to her home, there's this line about her old neighbor who called the ambulance :
He smiled and mouthed a ‘thank you’, as if simply her act of living was something he should be grateful for.
which says, how by doing a small thing or by just existing you're able to make a difference in someone's life. The book ends with Nora finally finding happiness in her actual life, which gives all of us a hope that even when you feel like you're caught in a storm, there's always a rainbow waiting for you on the other end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Almond by Won-pyung Sohn
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
4.0
Almond follows the story of Yunjae, who was born with a brain condition called Alexithymia that makes it hard for him to feel emotions. And as the story unfolds, you can see how the author tries to portray this kind of condition to be something that is rarely understood in society and often leads to prejudice and discrimination. Yunjae was often labeled as a "monster" and got outcasted among his friends for his inability to feel anything.
This book showed how children were pre-described by society to meet certain behavior. After all, "human beings are a product of their education." Even so, Yunjae's victimization from his classmates due to his oddness was not the main focus in this book but rather, on his effort to understand the behaviors of the people around him and how neurotypical interactions work.
Like when he notes how easily people were to throw up their hands at the challenge of fixing remote problems, and in turn, cower in fear at the thought of fixing those nearest to them. There is a devastating eloquence in how Yunjae can express the complexities of human behavior and interactions with such simplicity, and through Yunjae’s eyes, the reader is given a different way of looking at the world.
This book showed how children were pre-described by society to meet certain behavior. After all, "human beings are a product of their education." Even so, Yunjae's victimization from his classmates due to his oddness was not the main focus in this book but rather, on his effort to understand the behaviors of the people around him and how neurotypical interactions work.
Like when he notes how easily people were to throw up their hands at the challenge of fixing remote problems, and in turn, cower in fear at the thought of fixing those nearest to them. There is a devastating eloquence in how Yunjae can express the complexities of human behavior and interactions with such simplicity, and through Yunjae’s eyes, the reader is given a different way of looking at the world.
"There are a hundred answers to one question in this world. So it's hard for me to give you a correct answer"