Book Review : Confessions Of An Old Boy

The 3rd book review on this blog and the 1st by a Malaysian author. Confessions of an Old Boy - The Dato' Hamid Adventures by Kam Raslan was a book which sparked a curious interest in me. I read reviews in the papers and was on the look out for it in the bookstores. In fact, I stumbled upon it on MPH Midvalley the other day and thought hard and long whether to buy it or not. It would have been an easier decision if I havent already bought 2 CDs by Malaysian artists - Poetic Ammo and Jason Lo. 3 "Malaysianised" items in a day would have been rather an overzealous show of patriotism on my part so I decided to put down the book for another day.

However, as fate would have it, the book made its way into my hands anyhow. The morning after that "patriotic day", my colleague waltzed into my room and handed the book to me. I had somehow forgotten that I've asked to borrow the book from him awhile ago. I was delighted yet torn as I was reading a murder mystery story at the moment and was dying to know whodunnit and wasnt quite ready to put it down. In the end I managed to speed read the last few chapters of that book and then quickly started flipping the pages of this purplish cover book.

Alrights, back to the book review. Im not a very good "reviewer" so bear with me. This is the first time I've read something "Malaysian". Ive even managed to avoid reading that "highly acclaimed" novel of Tash Aw, The Silk Factory or watever it's called. Although I had my expectations, I approached Confessions of an Old Boy with caution. I found that I was pleasantly surprised.

I like the style of writing. Simple but not too simple. The language used was like refined "Malaysian", not overly pretentious but of course nowhere near Manglish. The humour - oh the humour was interesting. It didn't have me in guffaws but at times, i'll find myself letting out a chuckle or a howl of laughter or a slight grin. The humour was there, but it was a rather subtle hidden kinda humour, understood only if you understand other things. It wasn't obvious and you wouldn't get it if you didn't know about certain things. I suspect there were a lot of other parts which would have been hilarious if i have more indepth knowledge.

The book had almost everything. Love, Murder, Politics. The chapter "Dato' in Love" was hilarious. And the chapter of Murder in Parit Chindai reads kinda like a Hercule Poirot mystery story. Its a good fun light reading book and at the same time its given me an insight to these "Anglophile Malays" and helped me imagined what it would be like to know someone like that. I would have found it all very interesting.

So the verdict? I like it. It feels real. It feels exactly like how it is depicted on the first page of the Preface which shows a picture of "Dato' Hamid" having tea with Kam Raslan. Reading the book makes you feel like you're sitting down having tea with "Dato" and he is telling you his life story and you are listening with your eyes wide open, laughing at the jokes, gasping at the right moments and reminiscing (and imagining) the past together with him . =)I now feel like I have a new and "real" friend in Dato' Hamid. I think i will go out and buy a copy of the book after all.

Wan Tan Mee Anonymous

Your love is... by ChibiMarronchan
Your name is...
Your kiss is...	breath taking
Your hugs are...	to die for
Your eyes...	sparkle like the stars
Your touch is...	awakening my heart
Your smell is...	refreshing
Your smile is...	entrancing
Your love is...	unique

Losing Weight, Breaking Up , Living Life -It's All The Same

I've had the privilege ( or disadvantage?) of reading two books back to back on the themes of Losing Weight and Breaking Up. I first read AJ Rochester's "The Lazy Girl's Guide To Losing Weight and Getting Fit" (hereinafter referred to as "The Lazy Guide") and then I read Gred Behrendt & Amiira Ruotola-Behrendt 's "It's Called A Breakup Because Its Broken".(hereinafter referred to as "Breakup Book")

Halfway through the Breakup Book, I was engulfed with a sense of deja vu. I felt that Ive read something similar just a few days ago. And I have. I was rather surprise to find that basically you can apply the same methods to losing weight and getting over a breakup. Wow. Isn't that such an amazing revelation? *roll eyes*

Here are similar things i found in both books.

1. Notebooks.
Both books advocate the use of notebooks to record food consumption, thoughts and feelings.

2. Cold Turkey
Stay away from that big piece of fried chicken. Stay away from that piece of shit/bloody asshole who dumped you or made you dump him.

3. Exercise
Exercise and you will lose excess fats and excess emotional baggage.

4. Crash and Burn
Its ok to eat 10 pizzas as long as you feel guilty and go back to celery. Its ok to have break up sex as long as you dont keep stalking him.

5. Alcohol
Stay away from alcohol. Alcohol is evil.

Reading these two books just amplifies my believe that "Self-Help" Books are utter rubbish. I have been on an endless quest to lose weight since I was 13 and have been nursing a broken heart for more than a year and a half now.

I didn't need a book to tell me what to do to lose weight. I didn't need a book to tell me that it is bad to skip meals, that it is better to choose veges over junk food, that exercise is vital that I have to pick myself up everytime I crash and burn.

When I broke up, I didn't need a book to tell me that it is good to have a little distance from The Ex. I didnt need a book to tell me not to call him for a period of time. I have had zero contact with The Ex since that fateful day.

To be honest, I think I can write a book. In fact, I can combine my experiences and write a 2 in 1 book. No, it'll be 3 in 1. I'll even tell you how to live your life. It'll have the same title as the title of this post. It'll be relatively shorter. I can use back the 5 common traits. The book will probably be a total of 10 pages long. One Cover Page. One Content Page. One Page where i thank all the good and bad people in my life. One page each for each trait, so thats' 5 pages already. One page where i tell you that the book is unnecessary if you have common sense. And one more page left for the back cover. How's that?

Like these people, I have been there. I've been on diet and lost weight and gain the weight back and then start trying to lose them again. I"ve had my heart broken into pieces but have more or less gotten over it. I might not have fully moved on but Im hoping to get there. And like I said, I didnt need no books to tell me how to deal with it. I used common sense and I used the rational part of my mind to battle with the emotional part. I also didn't feel a compelling need to write a book about it. I wish I had though. It would totally finance my retail therapy. Hehs.

But anyhow, these books are good for a bit of light reading and for people like me who have been there and done it all, can nod their heads in agreement or roll their eyes indignantly. Hehs. Anyways, i know i sound like i hate the books but I dont. It was light reading and at times good fun but at the same time, it doesnt tell me anything revolutionary or anything that I dont already know. But I guess it gives you the comfort that you're not alone and there's a lot of people who have been through what you're going through and that no matter how bleak your life may seemed at this point of time, you'll get over it. =b