It's not until I was at the second last chapter of Love in the Asylum (by Lisa Carey) that I realised how dexterously Carey had handled writing it. Not only did she shift between two points of view (the protagonist, Alba, in first-person POV, and the male lead, Oscar, in third), she also inserted a subsidiary narrative in the form of a chain of unsent letters in the story. The letters form a quest for the rehabilitating Alba, who has been in the asylum for bipolar disorder ever since her father gave her baby away (she was nineteen then).
As the title suggests, it is a romance set in an asylum, which houses mentally-unwell females along with junkies. Oscar is a drug addict, and a self-destructive one who doesn't see any future for himself, which makes him hesitant to commit to Alba, even though their attraction is undeniable. When Alba chances upon the letters (dated in the 1930s), which span across the years the addresser was committed to the asylum by her unfeeling husband, she makes it a quest to find the addressee, Peter, and hand him the letters that his unwell mother had written to him.
It's an unconventional sort of love story, with a lot of things unsaid and a lot of reservations because of Alba and Oscar's respective challenges, and while it wasn't earth-shatteringly remarkable, the way Carey weaves her narration is impressively skilful.
I'd read her latest novel, Every Visible Thing, a while back. It's a family saga that explores the ramifications of the disappearance of the eldest son, how the younger children deal with the sudden loss of their brother, and how the family is pushed to the brink of crumbling and then pulled back again. Frankly, in terms of the genre, the best I've ever read if probably Christie Hodgen's Hello, I Must Be Going, and Alice Hoffman's The Story Sisters, but Every Visible Thing is still, in my opinion, worth a read.
But what made me pick up Love in the Asylum was - yes, you've guessed it - its themes of love, madness and salvation. I'm just dying to read stories about insanity and love.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
The lull in blogging was a result of the new semester beginning. And I know it's not an excuse - something should still be written no matter how busy it gets - but when I'm not reading Love in the Asylum (by Lisa Carey) and Steppenwolf (by Hermann Hesse), or watching Jerry-related clips on YouTube, I'm reading my Economics textbook.
I hear you gasp in shock. Yes, while I initially planned to take EC1101E as an exposure module (to fulfil the 5-exposure module requirement), I have now decided to minor in Econs. That decision only solidified after the first lecture of EC1101E and I read my textbook. My initial plan was to major in English and minor in New Media, but after one module in NM, I realised NM is really not for me. So many presentations and discussions and project work. I guess I'm more of the academic type rather than the hands-on type. It's just easier to study theories alone than work with a bunch of people and entrust your grades in their hands. So the problem is not the module, but the clash between the nature of the module and my own nature.
And for some reason, studying Econs is a lot more enjoyable now than at A' levels. Maybe because the lecturer's funnier, or there's less pressure now because I'm revising Econs now rather than learning it anew. It's actually sort of interesting, Econs. I remember Microecons was horrible, with all its social benefits and marginal costs and shutdown conditions. That made me dread Econs, but J2 was a whole lot better because we got the Macroecons, which I found more relevant and alive, with trade and comparative advantages and the like.
Anyway. On a completely unrelated note, I'm in my Singapore, Asia and American Power (SSA1203) lecture now, watching a rather violent clip about the Vietnam War. John F Kennedy and Nixon were pretty obsessed with eliminating Communism from Indochina, to the extent that they crippled their own economy. Lots of bombs and blood and running.
But it was a good thing MM Lee was so adamantly against Communism, though. Imagine living in a Communist country. That's like living in the world in The Giver (by Lois Lowry), with everything determined for you. I'm not qualified to say which political model is better, but as a citizen democracy is the best model as far I as I know.
(I realise my writing sounds a little stilted now. That's because I'm trying to concentrate on the clip while blogging, so my glowing personality is unable to shine through.)
Anyway, as aforementioned, I'm currently reading Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse. I know I mentioned before how the book seemed to be just about a misanthrope who destests the bourgeoise society, but it also offered a very detailed character depiction of the Steppenwolf (who isn't the narrator). Hesse is something of a genius, which I guess explains his Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946.
Break now. Thank goodness. Such a grim lecture we're having.
I hear you gasp in shock. Yes, while I initially planned to take EC1101E as an exposure module (to fulfil the 5-exposure module requirement), I have now decided to minor in Econs. That decision only solidified after the first lecture of EC1101E and I read my textbook. My initial plan was to major in English and minor in New Media, but after one module in NM, I realised NM is really not for me. So many presentations and discussions and project work. I guess I'm more of the academic type rather than the hands-on type. It's just easier to study theories alone than work with a bunch of people and entrust your grades in their hands. So the problem is not the module, but the clash between the nature of the module and my own nature.
And for some reason, studying Econs is a lot more enjoyable now than at A' levels. Maybe because the lecturer's funnier, or there's less pressure now because I'm revising Econs now rather than learning it anew. It's actually sort of interesting, Econs. I remember Microecons was horrible, with all its social benefits and marginal costs and shutdown conditions. That made me dread Econs, but J2 was a whole lot better because we got the Macroecons, which I found more relevant and alive, with trade and comparative advantages and the like.
Anyway. On a completely unrelated note, I'm in my Singapore, Asia and American Power (SSA1203) lecture now, watching a rather violent clip about the Vietnam War. John F Kennedy and Nixon were pretty obsessed with eliminating Communism from Indochina, to the extent that they crippled their own economy. Lots of bombs and blood and running.
But it was a good thing MM Lee was so adamantly against Communism, though. Imagine living in a Communist country. That's like living in the world in The Giver (by Lois Lowry), with everything determined for you. I'm not qualified to say which political model is better, but as a citizen democracy is the best model as far I as I know.
(I realise my writing sounds a little stilted now. That's because I'm trying to concentrate on the clip while blogging, so my glowing personality is unable to shine through.)
Anyway, as aforementioned, I'm currently reading Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse. I know I mentioned before how the book seemed to be just about a misanthrope who destests the bourgeoise society, but it also offered a very detailed character depiction of the Steppenwolf (who isn't the narrator). Hesse is something of a genius, which I guess explains his Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946.
Break now. Thank goodness. Such a grim lecture we're having.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
And we're back to the rejections
[12/01/10]
Dear Joyce,
I'm pleased to tell you I got the chance to sit down and read the first pages of your manuscript and I'm interested in seeing more. I would love to read the entire manuscript. You can email it to me as a Word attachment or you can mail it to me at the address below. (Please write REQUESTED MATERIAL in the subject of your email or on the cover of your envelope.)
Best,
Suzie Townsend
FinePrint Literary Management
240 W. 35th Street, Suite 500
New York, NY 10001
Office: 212-279-1282
Direct: 858-336-4222
[16/01/10]
Dear Joyce,
I have finished reading your pages of BEDFUL OF MOONLIGHT. After careful evaluation, I have decided that I am not the right agent to represent your work. Unfortunately I just didn't connect to Kristen or the pacing of the story the way I wanted to. I'm sure another agent will feel quite differently about your material though.
Thank you for considering our agency. I wish you the best of luck finding representation.
Best,
Suzie Townsend
Dear Joyce,
I'm pleased to tell you I got the chance to sit down and read the first pages of your manuscript and I'm interested in seeing more. I would love to read the entire manuscript. You can email it to me as a Word attachment or you can mail it to me at the address below. (Please write REQUESTED MATERIAL in the subject of your email or on the cover of your envelope.)
Best,
Suzie Townsend
FinePrint Literary Management
240 W. 35th Street, Suite 500
New York, NY 10001
Office: 212-279-1282
Direct: 858-336-4222
[16/01/10]
Dear Joyce,
I have finished reading your pages of BEDFUL OF MOONLIGHT. After careful evaluation, I have decided that I am not the right agent to represent your work. Unfortunately I just didn't connect to Kristen or the pacing of the story the way I wanted to. I'm sure another agent will feel quite differently about your material though.
Thank you for considering our agency. I wish you the best of luck finding representation.
Best,
Suzie Townsend
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The Mysterious Benedict Society (by Trenton Lee Stewart) is so addictive. I'm on his latest sequel now, The MBS and the Prisoner's Dilemma. It's a book for young readers, but the author never speaks down to them. In fact, the writing style is very classy, but also engaging enough for children (judging from its numerous accolades). Kudos to him!
There's something about reading children's books. It's like returning home and settling under the covers at the end of the day, knowing you're safe and protected. Maybe that's the reason why children's stories are able to reach such a wide audience.
(Oh, and on a sidenote, if you were wondering what happened to my New Year resolution to become a vegetarian, here's an update: I've been eating meat everyday since I wrote that resolution down. I keep telling myself every time I slip that tomorrow, tomorrow I'll become a vegetarian. But maybe it's just not in my blood to become one. I love meat too much. I'm sorry, Earth and the animals.)
Now, back to books. If anyone knows of books with madness and romance in them, please recommend them to me. I'm dying for something with this combination. I borrowed Steppenwolf (by Hermann Hesse), and I don't know, maybe I was expecting something else, something more dramatic. But the alienated Steppenwolf is shaping up to be simply a misanthropic loner who despises bourgeoise society, not some broken, murderous man looking for love and salvation.
There's this book called Shadows, however, by Joan de la Haye, as recommended by Marcia Colette, writer. Here's the blurb:
Sarah is forced to the edge of sanity by the ghosts of her family’s past. Suffering from violent and bloody hallucinations, she seeks the help of psychiatrist and friend, Michael Brink.
After being sent to an institution in a catatonic state covered in blood – from stabbing her unfaithful boyfriend – Sarah is forced to confront the truth about her father’s death and the demon, Jack, who caused her father’s suicide and who is now the reason for her horrific hallucinations. Unlike her father, Sarah refuses to kill herself. She bargains for her life and succeeds.
In Sarah’s struggle to regain her life and her sanity, she discovers there is more to the world than she could ever have imagined, and it leaves her seeking the answer to the nagging question, “Who is really mad?”
There's something about reading children's books. It's like returning home and settling under the covers at the end of the day, knowing you're safe and protected. Maybe that's the reason why children's stories are able to reach such a wide audience.
(Oh, and on a sidenote, if you were wondering what happened to my New Year resolution to become a vegetarian, here's an update: I've been eating meat everyday since I wrote that resolution down. I keep telling myself every time I slip that tomorrow, tomorrow I'll become a vegetarian. But maybe it's just not in my blood to become one. I love meat too much. I'm sorry, Earth and the animals.)
Now, back to books. If anyone knows of books with madness and romance in them, please recommend them to me. I'm dying for something with this combination. I borrowed Steppenwolf (by Hermann Hesse), and I don't know, maybe I was expecting something else, something more dramatic. But the alienated Steppenwolf is shaping up to be simply a misanthropic loner who despises bourgeoise society, not some broken, murderous man looking for love and salvation.
There's this book called Shadows, however, by Joan de la Haye, as recommended by Marcia Colette, writer. Here's the blurb:
Sarah is forced to the edge of sanity by the ghosts of her family’s past. Suffering from violent and bloody hallucinations, she seeks the help of psychiatrist and friend, Michael Brink.
After being sent to an institution in a catatonic state covered in blood – from stabbing her unfaithful boyfriend – Sarah is forced to confront the truth about her father’s death and the demon, Jack, who caused her father’s suicide and who is now the reason for her horrific hallucinations. Unlike her father, Sarah refuses to kill herself. She bargains for her life and succeeds.
In Sarah’s struggle to regain her life and her sanity, she discovers there is more to the world than she could ever have imagined, and it leaves her seeking the answer to the nagging question, “Who is really mad?”
That, honey, is what I'm looking for. I think all of us are a little crazy. It's only whether we're willing to explore that side of ourselves. I mean, who's to say what I think is crazy isn't just someone else's version of what's normal, right? The thing about those we deem as madmen is that they are able to justify their thoughts, their actions. They are the heroes of their worlds, as we are of ours. So don't you think it's fascinating to understand what's going through their minds as they go about their 'crazy' lives? If I were proficient enough, I'd definitely write a novel with a misunderstood character.
But I shan't end on such a grim note. Here's a great picture to end this post!
Thursday, January 07, 2010
I guess, it being the new year - a few days after the new year - I should at least acknowledge it. 2009 wasn't a bad year for me, really. I had eight months of slacking around after A's, and Semester 1 of uni was pretty okay because for the first time in my life, I can plan my own timetable.
Anyway, New Year's was spent at the Tanah Merah Safra Resort chalet with Vonne and the gang. I love that place. It's literally a stone's throw away from the sea, and recently I've been addicted to the sea, maybe because my current WIP is set there. Speaking of which, I REFUSE to let Red December Skies be eaten up by the mid-story goblin. I'm at page 144 now, and it's starting to slow down, because of some details I didn't consider when I first started writing the novel. Triv and I were discussing them yesterday. You'd think that after three novels (one abandoned precisely because of the lacking of detailed planning halfway through the story) I'd learn my lesson and do more intricate planning before I plunge into a Shiny New Idea. But I've always thought the beauty of creative writing -especially novel-writing - is that the story can embark on one of the millions of possibilities and take you anywhere. Too much planning can kill the spirit and essence of a story, and take the fun out of writing it. So with a relatively solid idea, I always go straight into it and let it work out the kinks itself later on. I'm not completely stuck for Red December Skies; there are just some details I have to consider that I hadn't thought were so significant before.
School's starting in less than a week. Here are the modules I'm planning to take, the first three of which have already been allocated to me (successful bidding):
1. EL3254 - Media, Discourse and Society
2. EC1101E - Intro to Econs (to fulfil my exposure-module requirement - we're required to take 5, including one for our Major)
3. SN1101E - South Asia (another exposure module, to fulfil the Asian Studies requirement)
4. PC1322 - Understanding the Universe. I planned to take this as a GEM (General Education Module, the university requires everyone to take one Arts and one Science). It's like Cosmology and stuff, sounds cool. Unfortunately for me, many FASS students think so too. The other Science modules are too science-y for us, like Nano-whatsits and Bio-whatever and Quantum-whotheheckcares. So this is practically the only module left for us to take. I was considering some Math module, but it was too much like A'level Math. I'm through with A'level Math. I believe I barely scraped by that A, because I still struggle with H2 Math when I revisit it now. So anyway, I was outbidded for Understanding the Universe (GEK1520), so I have no choice but to take it as a Breadth module (which also requires us to take 2 modules not from FASS - it can be from Business, Science, Computing, Design, etc).
5. SSA1203 - Singapore, Asia and American Power. Singapore Studies - requirement module. Enough said.
My intention is to clear all my requirement modules asap, so I can concentrate on my Major and Minor modules, as well as my Unrestricted Electives (we're required to take 7 modules (or more if you have time and money to spare) that we're interested in, like language modules, or Intro to Creative Writing, Intro to Prose Writing, and many others). The good thing is, there's no project work required for EC1101E, and the exam is not essay-based. Also, there's no exam for PC1322 (but bidding hasn't started for it yet). And, there's no tutorial for EL3254, just a three-hour lecture once a week, so I don't have to go back to school so many times or worry about bidding for the tutorial timeslot.
Plus, if anyone needs secondary-level English/E*Math/A*Math tuition, or knows anyone who needs them, drop me a comment and let me know. Thanks.
Anyway, New Year's was spent at the Tanah Merah Safra Resort chalet with Vonne and the gang. I love that place. It's literally a stone's throw away from the sea, and recently I've been addicted to the sea, maybe because my current WIP is set there. Speaking of which, I REFUSE to let Red December Skies be eaten up by the mid-story goblin. I'm at page 144 now, and it's starting to slow down, because of some details I didn't consider when I first started writing the novel. Triv and I were discussing them yesterday. You'd think that after three novels (one abandoned precisely because of the lacking of detailed planning halfway through the story) I'd learn my lesson and do more intricate planning before I plunge into a Shiny New Idea. But I've always thought the beauty of creative writing -especially novel-writing - is that the story can embark on one of the millions of possibilities and take you anywhere. Too much planning can kill the spirit and essence of a story, and take the fun out of writing it. So with a relatively solid idea, I always go straight into it and let it work out the kinks itself later on. I'm not completely stuck for Red December Skies; there are just some details I have to consider that I hadn't thought were so significant before.
School's starting in less than a week. Here are the modules I'm planning to take, the first three of which have already been allocated to me (successful bidding):
1. EL3254 - Media, Discourse and Society
2. EC1101E - Intro to Econs (to fulfil my exposure-module requirement - we're required to take 5, including one for our Major)
3. SN1101E - South Asia (another exposure module, to fulfil the Asian Studies requirement)
4. PC1322 - Understanding the Universe. I planned to take this as a GEM (General Education Module, the university requires everyone to take one Arts and one Science). It's like Cosmology and stuff, sounds cool. Unfortunately for me, many FASS students think so too. The other Science modules are too science-y for us, like Nano-whatsits and Bio-whatever and Quantum-whotheheckcares. So this is practically the only module left for us to take. I was considering some Math module, but it was too much like A'level Math. I'm through with A'level Math. I believe I barely scraped by that A, because I still struggle with H2 Math when I revisit it now. So anyway, I was outbidded for Understanding the Universe (GEK1520), so I have no choice but to take it as a Breadth module (which also requires us to take 2 modules not from FASS - it can be from Business, Science, Computing, Design, etc).
5. SSA1203 - Singapore, Asia and American Power. Singapore Studies - requirement module. Enough said.
My intention is to clear all my requirement modules asap, so I can concentrate on my Major and Minor modules, as well as my Unrestricted Electives (we're required to take 7 modules (or more if you have time and money to spare) that we're interested in, like language modules, or Intro to Creative Writing, Intro to Prose Writing, and many others). The good thing is, there's no project work required for EC1101E, and the exam is not essay-based. Also, there's no exam for PC1322 (but bidding hasn't started for it yet). And, there's no tutorial for EL3254, just a three-hour lecture once a week, so I don't have to go back to school so many times or worry about bidding for the tutorial timeslot.
Plus, if anyone needs secondary-level English/E*Math/A*Math tuition, or knows anyone who needs them, drop me a comment and let me know. Thanks.
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