What really matters at the end of the day

People say that the end of the day is the perfect time for reflection. Did I do my job correctly? Am I richer today because of the things I've accomplished? Am I happy? I guess that's why a lot of folks feel that the sunset is very dramatic, for it provides moments for introspection.

What do you feel, dear reader, every time you see the sunset, that huge orb slowly disappearing over the horizon? It's as if it reminds you that the day is truly over, and what remains of the day, the few hours between sunset and bedtime, is for your enjoyment.

In Kazuo Ishiguro's Booker prize–winning novel, The Remains of the Day, the one doing the reflection is an English butler named Mr. Stevens. On the surface, one sees a very servile, loyal, hardworking, and unselfish individual. Truly the qualities one could expect from a man dedicated to his job.

Mr. Stevens exists solely to serve whoever is the resident of Darlington Hall—be it a Nazi sympathizer in pre-WWII England or a rich American who's every bit the fish out of water in English upperclass society. If ever I do have the money, the genealogical heritage, and the estate to have a butler and household help, I'd go with Mr. Stevens. But what really makes Mr. Stevens tick? Is he really happy? Is he really the perfect English butler as he seems to be?

Maybe he really is happy. Perhaps what molds his existence, his persona, is his utter disregard for himself in favor of the people whom he serves. Never mind that he sacrifices his having a romantic relationship with the head housekeeper or his apparent lack of showing affection to his father even on the latter's death bed—all these are irrelevant to him. He serves his master, and that's all there is.

I loved The Remains of the Day. I loved its quiet tone. I loved Ishiguro's controlled narrative. I loved both Mr. Stevens and Miss Kenton. The banter between these two are typical English: the two saying so much but really leaving out what's important. Miss Kenton's brashness equally matches Mr. Stevens's reserve. You're really hoping that something will happen with them, but the spark never catches fire. But it's still a beautiful relationship nonetheless.

Aside from The Remains of the Day, the only Ishiguro I've read is The Unconsoled, which I've read more than 10 years ago. I enjoyed that novel as well. In both novels, Ishiguro lets you in on the deepest thoughts of his main characters. The Remains of the Day does just that with Mr. Stevens. For all his musings, his daydreams, and his thoughts of what could've been, he can't escape his pragmatism, thinking if he did everything that he can as a man who serves another. And for him, that's really what counts at the end of the day.

Read this book if:

1. You'll read anything that's won a Booker.
2. You're fascinated with what's going on in great English houses.
3. You love sunsets.

I am at a loss for words

I am at a loss for words, because I don't know what the hell happened in this book. I read Julian Barnes's Booker-winning novel, The Sense of an Ending, a few weeks ago, and I couldn't make heads or tails of it.

What was the sense of it all? What on earth was that ending? Arghhhh! It's so frustrating when this happens. (Thankfully, it doesn't happen that often.)

Maybe, just maybe, there are some readers out there (like poor me) who didn't get this novel at all. And perhaps, just perhaps, I'll understand this better after rereading it.

The Sense of an Ending, I'll see you again soon. And hopefully, I'd be able to make sense of you, not just the ending.

Brotherly love

An enjoyable western novel is as common as frogs in a desert. That's why Patrick DeWitt's The Sisters Brothers is something that everybody should read. It's like western on crack.

So in DeWitt's Booker-shortlisted novel, we meet two brothers famous for being hired gunmen -- Eli and Charlie Sisters. Charlie is more brash than Eli, who seems to be falling in love with women who will simply give him the time of day. So when the Commodore decides to hire the brothers to murder someone named Herman Kermit Warm, it is Charlie who comes up with the plan and proposes to take a much bigger cut of the blood money from the Commodore.

Even though the novel's titled The Sisters Brothers, I think that Eli is the heart of the novel. It is through his character that DeWitt makes his narrative. And it is Eli who begins to question the way the two brothers lead their lives.

What's hilarious is how the two brothers find themselves in outrageous situations and yet Eli's voice is still deadpan. And the banter between the two brothers is priceless. One will always be surprised at the characters brothers meet along the way, from Oregen to San Francisco during the Gold Rush and finally to the Sierra foothills where Herman Kermit Warm is supposed to be.

...'What about you, brother? Are you up for a fight?'
'Hardly.'
Squinting, he asked, 'What's that under your coat?'
'A gift from the girl.'
'Is there to be a parade?'
'It's a simple bit of fabric to recall her by. A bonboniere, as Mother would say.'
He sucked his teeth. 'You should not wear it,' he said decisively.
'It's very expensive material, I think.'
'The girl has played a joke on you.'
'She is a serious person.'
'You look like the prize goose.' [page 147]

So now I've read 4 out of the 6 Booker-shortlisted novels in 2011. I'm with the Booker jury on their shortlist, for they chose novels that are enjoyable and readable. And I have to say that The Brothers Sisters is my favorite so far.

Read this book if:

1. You have a soft spot for westerns.
2. You love witty dialogues and outrageous situations.
3. You'll read anything with the word "Booker Prize" on the cover.

The year that was in reading

In just 3 days, we'll be saying good-bye to 2011 and then making those resolutions, futile and otherwise, for 2012. This got me to thinking though: What were my reading highlights for 2011?

To start, I read 111 books, which is fitting for the year '11, no? (I doubt if I'll be able to finish another novel in 3 days with all the get-togethers still squeezed within those 3 days.) And then, I looked back at all those 111 books and said to myself, "Why, yes! 2011 was a good year for KyusiReader!"

I discovered Gary D. Schmidt this year, who instantly became my favorite YA novelist. No magic, no vampires, not a hint of a fantastic element. Just pure storytelling brilliance. His are the kind of books that you want your children, nephews, nieces, classmates, strangers on the bus, and the sexy hunk next door to read.


And then there's Brandon Sanderson. Oh, Brandon, Brandon, Brandon. Where do you get all those friggin' ideas? A world where people use colors for magic, where a city inhabited by gods become cursed, where a gang of thieves can topple a tyrant. You made a lot of people realize that they don't need a George R. R. Martin to get their fantasy fix.


And speaking of GRRM, 2011 is the year when I finally got all hardcovers of A Song of Ice and Fire. Thanks, Iya, for the first edition of A Game of Thrones. In this edition, I can't help but snigger at the author bio, wherein it's mentioned that GRRM is currently at work on his 2nd novel, A Dance with Dragons.


On a lighter note, Tove Jansson's Moomin books were a constant delight. They're the perfect palate cleanser, something to read between those "serious" books. I've read the first 4 and can't wait to read the remaining 5 books.


It's also the year Penguin released their Red series. Again, another excuse for more mindless book buying. How can anyone resist the highly artistic covers! In the cover for D. H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers, for example, artist's inspiration was the woman's vulva.


How can I go wrong with classic science fiction? John Wyndham has given me the perfect escapist novels this year. Very, very enjoyable, I must say.


Y: The Last Man. Best graphic novels ever. Read them! Thankfully, the 5th deluxe edition (the last book) came out this year.


And it's been my tradition to collect the Booker shortlisted novels every year, no matter how late the books become available here in Manila. Funny thing is, I'm missing this year's winner, Julian Barnes's A Sense of an Ending. (So far, I've read only 2 of the 5 that I have. Hehehe.)


How about you, dear reader? What were your reading highlights this year?

And all that jazz

Of the 6 Booker-shortlisted novels this year, I have read only 2, even though I have all of them in my shelf. The reason I somehow make it a point to get my hands on them is that these books are usually good reads. Esi Edugyan's novel, Half Blood Blues, is no exception. In fact, it's one of the best novels I've read this year.

As the novel focuses on jazz musicians during WWII, it becomes evident that Edugyan knows her jazz. But Half Blood Blues is more than just jazz as it is about friendship, betrayal, and the plight of blacks in Europe during the war. It's very fascinating, I tell you. I'm not at all interested about the music nor the artists of this musical genre, but Edugyan uses jazz as a backdrop, as a playing ground where her characters can fully develop themselves.

The novel's narrative alternates between Europe (Berlin and Paris) during the war and Berlin in the 1990s. In Berlin in 1939, just before the war erupts, we get to know three of the major players of the popular jazz band, The Hot Time Swingers: Hieronymus Falk, its very talented trumpet player, is even better than Louis Armstrong, as some people say, and Sid Griffiths and Chip Jones, who are Americans from Baltimore. For these three characters, it's a dangerous time to be in Berlin, for they are all black.

The band escapes to Paris with the help of a woman who is also connected with Louis Armstrong. In Paris, the band plans a collaboration with Louis Armstrong to make a record, which is disrupted when the Germans eventually conquer France and march into Paris to the tearful faces of the Parisians. One night, Sid and Hiero decide to go to a French cafe where Hiero is arrested by the Germans. He is never seen nor heard of again.

The novel's denouement takes place in the 1990s, wherein Chip has invited Sid to go to Berlin to watch a documentary about Hiero. It is in this part of the novel where Edugyan makes you feel the conflicting emotions going on in Sid. It's evident in the earlier part of the novel that Sid could have done something to prevent Hiero's arrest. Trust me, dear reader, when you discover how Sid betrayed his friend, it's almost too painful to bear.

The characters speak in a broken kind of English which takes getting used to. Once you get over it, the language makes the story richer, as if you're reading a diary or journal of sorts. Half Blood Blues did convey a lot of emotions -- the joy of being part of a group of friends with the same interest, the fear of finding yourself in hostile territory, the frustration for the things that should've been, among others.

Edugyan's subject matter is rarely touched among historians, much less by novelists -- blacks in Europe during WWII. There are parts in Half Blood Blues that portray horrific realities brought about by the Nazis. But in the end though, one feels lucky to have read such a fantastic piece of historical fiction.

Read this book if:

1. You read all the Booker-shortlisted novels every year.
2. You're into historical fiction.
3. You love jazz.