Eve Koguce's Blog, page 8

SHATTERED by Susan Cochran

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Taylor has it all. A husband who doesn’t spare money he earns aplenty to make her life as comfortable as possible. Two amazing children who are in college. A beautiful house she has put time, effort, and love into to turn it into a perfect family nest.

It’s true that Taylor’s marriage did have a not-so-perfect start. She married Paul for reasons more complicated than a pure exaltation of young love. Still, for twenty years she has been engrossed in bringing up her children and enjoying the life of a housewife from an affluent suburb. She never looked back at the time when she was finishing high school and madly in love.

And then, Taylor’s marriage begins to fall apart. Usual reasons for driving people to a divorce couldn’t break it. Yet, when Taylor’s husband’s political views start to spoil their everyday life, she realises that she has to make some big decisions.

Taylor meets Brooks, her teenage love when she still clings to the belief that her marriage can be saved. But the situation at home quickly spirals out of control. Soon, Taylor realises that not only her comfortable, easy life is threatened by the path her husband has chosen. She faces physical abuse, and it looks like it will only get worse.

“Shattered” by Susan Cochran, although tackling some serious issues, such as the influence of radicalisation on domestic life and abuse within a family, was a sort of comfort read for me. I think that if it were absolutely light-hearted, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it so much. I loved the backdrop of the rich suburb and the glimpses of beautiful nature spots the author dropped throughout the story.
Taylor felt very relatable to me. I appreciated that her struggles were of a different nature rather than the search for work after a long stay-at-home period. And the romance plotline is done wonderfully, with the right dose of unexpected, swoony, and steamy moments.

I highly recommend this book for all romance novel lovers who enjoy contemplating some serious issues while getting absorbed in a beautiful love story.





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SHATTERED

GENESIS OF ANOTHER KIND by Steven Decker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


With “Genesis of Another Kind”, Steven Decker wraps his mind-bending Another Kind series in the most satisfying way for the reader. On the one hand, the incredible universe the author has created has infinite possibilities for more stories. While on the other, the characters the readers had invested their time, interest, and emotions in, received a well-deserved closure.

It was a special joy to read about the gift Cynthia received from her beloved. I won’t give out any spoilers. Let me just mention that the journey one of the most likeable – or probably the most likeable – characters in the series begins in the first book doesn’t finish with a dead-end.

In book four of the series, the people who had become friends or even a family during the adventures they went through together in the previous instalments, face the most ominous threat they had encountered so far. And that means something, since the enemies they confronted in the past were nothing but powerful.

Maddie, Gino, Zach, and Gwen must untangle the knot of leads to find out the truth about who or what stands behind the terrifying changes happening all throughout the universe. The scale of these changes speaks volumes of the enormous power their initiator possesses.

Keeping up the fast pace the author has set up in the previous books of the series, Decker pulls the reader into the vibrant array of alien worlds and planets. He also boldly tackles the hot topic of the evolution of the artificial intellect, offering readers to contemplate the risks and the advantages of high-technology development.

The Another Kind series is a real treat for the fans of sci-fi and metaphysical fiction. And “Genesis of Another Kind” is a staggering finale to the amazing series, offering the readers both the satisfying closure to all main plotlines and enough food for the imagination.








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GENESIS OF ANOTHER KIND

The Watchmaker: A Clock Can Talk by Ellen Khodakivska

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“It flows away silently, deceitfully slowly, and masterfully quickly.”

Time. Invisible but incredibly powerful. Unyielding to people’s demands but generous when treated with respect.

If given a chance to teach others about the mysteries of time, what price would you be ready to pay? Several generations of the Donelli family enjoy the gift of knowing more about time than anyone else. Alas, they also feel the depth of the curse that comes in a package with such profound knowledge.

Set in the charming Italian city of Campobasso, “The Watchmaker: A Clock Can Talk” by Ellen Khodakivska is a story of watchmakers who knew more about time than how to fix any type of clock. By engraving the initials DD, they not only gave a clock a chance to keep ticking away for more years, but they also could change the life of the clock’s owner. For some, these changes were for the better. While for others, they were fatal.

And when the time balance tipped, the Gift and the Curse stopped their never-ending dialogue and one of them made the decision to reward or punish the watchmaker.

Every Donelli knew the story of how the men of their family happened to be carrying the gift and the curse of time. Back in 1890, Doriano Donelli met a mysterious woman, whose claims about giving him the gift of understanding the time better than any other person in the world he only partially believed. Still, an ardent watchmaker, who had to work the other job his heart wasn’t into so he could continue repairing clocks, couldn’t resist the temptation of the offer. And so, Doriano had sealed his family’s fate for more than a century. Since he had changed the life of the person who brought him their clock to fix it for the first time, the men in his family kept on the tradition and learnt the watchmaking craft. The consequences of Doriano’s decision were both beautiful and devastating.

Full of heart-warming and also tragic moments, this book will tug at your heartstrings and put a smile on your face. A wonderful read.




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The Watchmaker: A Clock Can Talk

Origins: The Legend of Ava by Ivy Logan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I have read all books of the deeply imaginative Breach Chronicles by Ivy Logan – “Broken”, “Metamorphosis”, and “Redemption” – and when I realised that there is a prequel to the series I knew that I had to read it too.

“Origins: The Legend of Ava” is a short read, packed with events that give the hints about what readers can expect in the next books. It also introduces us to some of the saga’s intriguing and controversial characters.

I thoroughly enjoyed the return to the world of Heichi sorceresses, full of magic and creatures with unique powers that can be a blessing but also a curse. It depends on a person which part will win and form the core of who they are.

“When her sisters looked at him, he felt like a monster. When his mother looked at him, he felt like the luckiest boy in the world.” Tagasaya – the story of his vengeance can be found in “Metamorphosis” – was too small when he realised how differently others see him when they look at him. His mother’s sisters failed her when she needed her clan’s support the most. Tagasaya concluded that they deserved to be punished for it. Still, he was a boy when he made that decision. His core wasn’t yet formed. In “Origins: The Legend of Ava”, we learn how it started for Tagasaya, and what role other Heichi sorceresses, his mother’s sisters, played in the life path he had chosen. The next books of the series tell the readers how it all turned out for him and also for others whom he met on his difficult road to learning who he truly is.

“Origins: The Legend of Ava” is an engaging story. A gift for those who have read the next books and enjoyed the magical world of the Breach Chronicles and a promise of exciting adventures for those who are only to embark on this emotional journey.






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Origins: The Legend of Ava

Follow the Dragonfly by Elena Carter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"Maybe the sheer beauty of life is in its fluidity, and once we accept it and embrace it, we can fully enjoy it."

"Follow the Dragonfly”, the final instalment of the Dream Tamer Chronicles by Elena Carter, explores the ability of human beings to accept the fluidity of our existence and embrace it as a vital cornerstone for a long and fulfilling life.

Kate’s journey as a dream traveller hasn’t started on a positive note. The first world she travelled to in her dream turned out to be an extremely terrifying one. Moreover, it sent her into coma, so now not only Kate herself is in great danger, but her family and friends are on the verge of collapsing under the weight of worrying about her health.

Tina makes it her mission to save Kate from whatever dream-travelling trouble her friend had gotten herself into. She is prepared to do anything and to travel to dangerous realms to find Kate and help her return to the world of reality. Struggling with grief after the loss of her husband and being emotionally fragile, Tina is exposing her own life to the risk of ending up in a world that could harm her. Still, she is determined to do all it takes to bring Kate back.

In this imaginative fantasy series, the author has created a diverse array of fascinating worlds, each with their own unique characteristics. My favourite is probably the world of endless bridges. To me, it represents a deep allegory of the perpetual movement forward we all seem to be caught in nowadays. One bridge ends and another one immediately starts. Just like in our lives today, we often begin the next phase of anything, not having stopped to relish the moment of achievement. Yet, it is vitally important to stop and enjoy the results of our efforts or a certain period of our lives. The time will fly anyway and this we cannot change. The only thing that depends solely on us is how we spend it.

Some of the side characters – Grogan, Fly, and Garfield – have won over my nature- and animals-loving heart.

As if feeling that someone ‘from the other side’ is relentless in looking for a way to release her from the prison her dreams had turned into, Kate doesn’t give up. She seeks a way out, learning a lot about herself during this quest. Her creative side might be what will give her a clue she would use to set her soul free from a dreamy trap.

"It’s so amazing how you get this endless energy when you’re inspired and driven to create something, but when you finish, there’s suddenly an overwhelming tiredness and emptiness." Kate learns that creativity is multi-faceted and the best things can come to you after you go through the emptiness.

I thoroughly enjoyed a wonderful dream-travelling experience the author has created for us readers in this trilogy. I feel like I’ve been to all these wondrous places together with Tina, Alice, and Kate and also felt their struggles and pain. I heartily recommend the Dream Tamer Chronicles by Elena Carter to everyone who wants to feed their imagination with the images of different worlds and creatures inhabiting them, as well as to those who are looking to find answers to all-important questions, such as ‘Is happiness possible after the most profound grief?’ and ‘What if I let go and follow my dreams?’





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Follow the Dragonfly

Destiny of the Wind Walkers: Reign of evil by Jupiter Rose

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Akita’s main goal in life is to help others. She is always there for everyone and never complains about her own misfortunes, which could have turned someone else into a bitter and disillusioned individual. Akita’s parents left her, giving her to foster care. She was separated from her brother who was raised on the other side of the world and lives thousands of miles away. Still, Akita’s natural kindness takes the upper hand over all the blows destiny has thrown at her. She lives her life helping others, cherishing her relationship with her foster mother, and not dwelling on the things she can’t change.

“Destiny of the Wind Walkers” by Jupiter Rose takes the reader on a wild ride of paranormal adventure. From the moment Akita’s quiet life changes forever, not a day – and not a page for us – is spent without meeting a new person with extraordinary abilities and stumbling upon a mystery that has to be solved to help those in need.

Akita gets swept off her feet by the realization that hers is the destiny of a Wind Walker. Travelling between the worlds - and each of them has its own dangers – is mind-blowing enough for an eighteen-year-old girl. Having barely reconciled herself with the rollercoaster concept her life seems to be following from now on, Akita faces another challenge. Everything turns upside-down again, and a new adventure begins for her. Luckily, she doesn’t have to face it alone. While travelling between the worlds, Akita assembled a circle of friends about her. And they are ready to help her to build a new life in a new world for all of them.

I’ve read a few books by Jupiter Rose and will definitely read more, continuing the series I’ve started and also checking out new releases. I think that “Destiny of the Wind Walkers”, with its diverse set of intriguing characters, has great potential to become an enticing paranormal series with a dash of romance and head-spinning adventures.




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Destiny of the Wind Walkers: Reign of evil

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


My son came over to me when I was writing this review and, peering over my shoulder, asked: “2K words in a review? Really, Mom?”

I replied that this book deserves it, for it is one of the greatest books I have ever read. Probably the greatest.

“The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck, a Pulitzer Prize award winner, the book that laid not a brick but a whole foundation for the author to receive the Nobel prize in literature, doesn’t need any additional acclaim. Not from a random reader like me, anyway. And still, I want to share the absolute admiration and awe I haven’t felt for a very long time while reading a book.

I’ve been reading books for almost forty years, with children's books being my focus for a few years after I’d learned to read and told my parents to stop reading to me and leave me tete-a-tete with a book instead. Steadily going through my father’s extensive library – and what an eclectic collection of literature it is, I must tell you! – I’d read a lot of books written by the world classics before I was twenty. Some exploded like a mine, their pieces having left marks on me, shaping me into who I am. While others rushed by like blazing stars, lighting up my imagination while reading and disappearing without a trace after I turned the last page. Some I reread as an adult and while some made an even deeper impression on me, others left me wondering what depth I’d seen in them where now I could see all the way to the bottom. Some books I couldn’t finish when rereading, for they tore me apart, opening the emotional wounds decades of life experience have awarded me with.

I’ve read “The Grapes of Wrath” now for the first time. While there were Hemingway and Faulkner in my father’s library, Steinbeck wasn’t on its shelves. And, to be honest, I’m glad I got to read this book when I could truly appreciate it.

“Up ahead they’s a thousand’ lives we might live, but when it comes, it’ll on’y be one.”

Back in the 1930s, during the Great Depression, the population of the United States was over one hundred and twenty million. The Joads, though, were among those two hundred fifty thousand farmers who, after the banks had thrown them out from their land and homes, set out to California, where, they were told, they could start over. They could have lived a different life, there probably were, if not thousands, but a few other choices they could have made, but the only one they lived was full of hardships and sorrow.

“The Grapes of Wrath” – or any book really – isn’t a story about everyone. It isn’t about the fate of every single American family who lived in the States almost a century ago. It isn’t about every farmer of Oklahoma or other agricultural state, who, driven by the wish to feed their families during the years when the harvest was poor and by the lack of financial literacy, lost their farm. It also isn’t about every single Californian farmer who was luckier and still had rich harvests and got an extra bonus of cheap labour force flooding the country.

Yet, “The Grapes of Wrath” is a story of thousands – tens or hundreds – of people. And as such, it deserves to be told. From the perspective of these people, their hardships, the sufferings they had to go through. Without sugarcoating or diminishing the bitterness of what they experienced solely for the sake of not offending anyone.

Every story deserves to be told, even if it angers someone.

The truth is that those who go through something like the Joads do in “The Grapes of Wrath” seldom get a chance to tell their story. Others have to do it. But for that, those luckier ones have to have compassion for the less fortunate and a desire to understand how it felt what they’d never experienced. It is absolutely impossible to do with the attitude ‘If it didn’t happen to me, it didn’t happen at all.’

History repeats itself. Not literally but in general terms. At any given time, there are ‘those goddamn Okies’; only the title changes, but the meaning remains. “Them goddamn Okies got no sense and no feeling. They ain’t human. A human being wouldn’t live like they do. A human being couldn’t stand it to be so dirty and miserable.” Replace ‘Okies’ with any other derogatory name a group, a nation, etc. was labelled with throughout centuries, and we see the same picture. More fortunate look down at those less so and see them through the ‘it’s their own fault’ prism. This is partly due to the ever-active self-preservation instinct without which human beings wouldn’t have evolved as far as we did. Still, the answer Steinbeck offers stings. “For the quality of owning freezes you forever into “I”, and cuts you off forever from the “we”.” It is an unpopular point of view, for we all strive for prosperity and it is normal and right. Yet, does it have to always go together with growing indifferent towards those in need? And does money alone guarantee happiness? Steinbeck answers through former preacher Jim Casy: “If he needs a million acres to make him feel rich, seems to me he needs it ‘cause he feels awful poor inside hisself, and if he’s poor in hisself, there ain’t no million acres gonna make him feel rich.” It doesn’t mean that every rich person automatically turns into a monster, and every poor one is a saint. As I see it, it is about balance. The most natural, but at the same time, one of the hard-attained things in the world.

The immense power of this book hit me hard. I travelled with the Joads in their old jalopy of a truck they bought, having spent a painful chunk of the little money they managed to scrape selling all their life. I felt their fears and their pain. I was terrified every time they encountered hate, aggression, and indifference on their way to California – to the land where, they believed, they’ll have a chance to become people again. Not ‘those goddamn Okies’; not the useless customers who fill up the tank for a few dollars – not enough to make the gas station’s owner rich – and use the water, drinking it right from the hose and using it to wash the road dust and dirt, which seem to have grown into their skin. Not the annoying clients who walk into a roadside diner and – unlike truck drivers, the worthy customers! – can’t even buy a couple of candies for their equally filthy and miserable kids.

Together with the Joads, I slept on the ground in the makeshift tent – tarpaulin spread over a rope – and I dreamt about the green and lush lands of California. Countless times, I lost hope and felt it blossoming anew upon meeting kind people who didn’t look at me like I’m not a human being.
For me, from fictional characters the Joads have transformed into real people.

Ma Joad, the core of the family, its heart and the engine that never stops. Her inner strength is immense, but it isn’t enough not to let everyone under her care give up. And every time someone does give up, a part of her soul dies. She is fierce and patient, kind and unrelenting. A woman, a wife, a mother – the rock.

Pa Joad. A man who was driven out of his land. The land that, for him, was his life. And still, he goes on. Is it because of his wife Ma Joad? Or because the responsibility for his family outweighs his grief?

Tom Joad. Someone who did the wrong thing but didn’t turn wrong.

Rose of Sharon. A mother-to-be, robbed of the most beautiful time in life of every woman. Instead of thinking about the baby names, forced to spend this magic time dragging through the desert under the tarpaulin, not knowing where she’ll have to give birth to the miracle she is carrying under her heart.

Granma and Grampa. Both so familiar and real that my heart aches to write about them.

Ruthie and Winfield. Not little kids, but not grown-ups either. Did they realise what their family was going through or, for them, it was a road trip filled with excitement and adventure. I was trying to imagine how they felt and remembered an episode from my life when my mom reminisced on the past – which she, as not a dreamer, with her feet always firmly on the ground, did extremely seldom. “It’s funny that we never felt hungry,” she said, looking uncharacteristically subdued. “Your aunt managed to cook a diverse menu from only five products at her disposal.”

“I’m learnin’ one thing good,” – says Ma Joad in the book. “Learnin’ it all a time, ever’ day. If you’re in trouble or hurt or need – go to poor people. They’re the only ones that’ll help – the only ones.” And this is true, simply because among those in need, you are less likely to be viewed as a ‘goddamn Okie’; those who’re suffering themselves, know only too well that life is not always a straight line with all obstacles clearly visible until the very horizon.

“Ever’thing we do – seems to me is aimed right at going’ on. Seems that way to me. Even gettin’ hungry – even bein’ sick; some die, but the rest is tougher. Jus’ try to live the day, jus’ the day.” And this is the ultimate – can’t call it wisdom – the bottom line so to speak of what we can learn about life. Moving forward, go on no matter what – is everything we can do, the only thing we have some control over. Also, we can try to remain human. And not following anything blindly, be it an instinct or a prejudice ingrained in us by our upbringing, is the most important trait of a human being.

Steinbeck’s masterpiece made me remember that I’ve been on both sides of the barricades. I know how it feels to be treated as a ‘goddamn Okie’, and I also know how enraged people become if you aren’t ‘packing your stuff and heading to California.’ They hate you either way. But only those who live their lives driven by stereotypes and instincts.

Reading the Joads’ story – which shattered my heart into a million pieces – made me remember what my aunt said once to a ‘man in a shiny Cadillac’ who treated her like a ‘goddamn Okie.’ She told him – and he was a young man – when he refused to treat her in a decent way that she’d already been in his shoes and it is he who will one day step into hers. Many years later, her words proved to be true. I don’t know anything about this young man’s life, but I stumbled upon the article telling the story that resembled the kind of retaliation inflicted upon those who might have behaved in a similar way towards people like my aunt.

“The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck doesn’t follow any ‘standards’ modern authors – like myself – struggle with every day during our writing journey. It doesn’t grab you from the very first sentence. It settles into the story gradually. There are chapters throughout the book seemingly unconnected to the main plot – but they are integral to the story. It is extremely detailed, making you feel like you are a participant rather than a reader. And it all, following some inexplicable rules, which probably are the essence of creativity, weaves into one perfect whole.

If books need to be somehow classified and a common denominator should be chosen, I’d say: “Write the last paragraph so it punches the reader right into their gut.” The last paragraph of “The Grapes of Wrath” did that to me. And it will stay with me until neural connections in my brain stop working and my memory fails.





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John Steinbeck

Flowers in the Snow by Danielle Stewart

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“Flowers in the Snow” by Danielle Stewart is the first instalment of the five-book Edenville Series. It is a lovely read that I overall enjoyed.

It turned out a lighter read than could be expected considering the heavy theme of racism and segregation in the American South back in the 60ies. I picked up this book because one of the most engrossing courses I had at the university was the one read by an American guest lecturer on the history of segregation of the black population. It made such a profound impression on me that I vividly remember it twenty years after I listened to that course. There are pages in every country’s history that remain somewhat shrouded to outsiders. Certainly, there are books and movies and articles, but still, if it isn’t something mass media and Hollywood determinedly focus the world’s attention on, whole layers of time remain as if covered by fog. Everyone knows what happened in general but doesn’t really know the details.

“Flowers in the Snow” is set at the time when the segregation laws were being gradually rescinded, but those opposed to this turn in politics tried to prevent it by refusing to comply with the new regulation. Only when she was nine, did Betty start to learn that some people were treated differently than others only because of the colour of their skin.

Betty is a wonderful character. She is someone you’d love to have among your acquaintances. She is one of those rare people who’d not only feed you and listen to your troubles, but who will help you to change your life so it is trouble-free.

We meet Betty and her extended family when they are having dinner together. And for Betty, extended family means something else than for most of us. In her words, “That’s the lesson of my life; family is who you decide to love, not necessarily who you’re related to.” Betty has gathered around her those she’s helped over the years and whom she considers her family. “I am the flame and they are the moths. Some people may call that a curse, but for me, it’s been a blessing.”

She received the letter she’d been dreading to receive for a long time. Now, when it has arrived, she is afraid to read it. Even though she believes she knows what she’ll read there. The emotions she feels knowing what news she is about to learn stirs the memories of her past she never wanted to revisit. But, just like for her, the people gathered in her hospitable home are the closest in the world, for them, she is the dearest person too. They know her well and feel her distress. And so, after some persuasion, Betty’s family convince her to tell them about the times that formed her character and made her into the generous and unique person they all love and respect.

“The funny thing about life, dear, is you don’t know what you don’t know.” Betty says, trying to explain how, until she was nine, she had no idea how powerful the Ku Klux Klan was in the little town in North Carolina where she was born. I can relate to that notion deeply, for when I talk to people from other countries and continents about the late Soviet era and the early 90s here in Latvia – the time of my childhood and teenage years – they say they had no idea what it was really like.

Betty tells her family a story of how she became friends with a black girl and her family and how that family changed the way she saw the world, and, ultimately, the course of her life.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, despite the difficult topic the book is centred around, the story felt a little too lightweight to make me feel the horrors of those times, so to speak, with my skin. There are gut-wrenching episodes in the book, but even they felt somewhat toned down. I think, though, that for this very reason, this is a good book for younger – late teens, early twenties – readers to learn about racism and segregation.

Although I don’t mind them in general, the cliffhanger at the end, this time, was a drawback for me. I would have appreciated the book more if the story was more wrapped up.

I don’t plan to continue with this series at the moment or anytime soon. Even so, I imagine that I’d enjoy immersing myself in this heartfelt series sometime when I have more time to simply enjoy binge-reading a cosy but now shallow saga. If you are in the mood for a story that will pull at your heartstrings but only gently and are ready to dive into the life stories of a versatile set of characters, the Edenville Series is the right choice for you.






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Flowers in the Snow

A Crack in Forever by Barbara Avon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“Dedication, hard work, and commitment brought him to where he was today, and unlike his father, he planned to enjoy his life, and share in its pleasures with the woman he loved before the Grim Reaper could take it all away.”

It’s just Mario hadn’t envisaged that not the Grim Reaper but the unexpected twists would threaten to shatter everything he had built so far, using his dedication, hard work, and commitment.
Mario knows that life isn’t a walk in the park. He had learned everything about it even before acquiring the illusions of the young. So, for him, the fact that he escaped the gloomy existence on the “wrong side of the tracks” means hope. Which he is about to lose after witnessing something that can damage him worse than his father’s betrayal and his mother’s death. And if that blow wasn’t enough, he has to deal with the problems of the family, the one that had abandoned him.

"Thanklessness had become a modern-day plague." Still, Mario hasn’t succumbed to it. When that very person who let him down approaches him for help, he cannot say no. Mario is shocked to see how his father – the man whom he was used to seeing as someone formidable, always confident due to his success – has changed. Having found out the reasons for his father’s distress, Mario becomes anxious too. Family remains family, no matter the clashes between its members. Although estranged by the will of their mutual father, Mario and his half-brother Anthony want to re-establish a brotherly connection. Mario can’t stay aside when his little brother is in trouble. He promises his father that he’ll help him. He does it not for his father’s sake. “The condemned man does not befriend his executioner.” He does it for Anthony and because he is a decent person who hasn’t turned bitter and indifferent only because others treated him cruelly.

"A Crack in Forever”, a standalone sequel to “Sultry, Is the Night" by Barbara Avon, is a masterful portrayal of a young man caught between his past and his present. Because of the emotional trauma he’d been through, he can’t see the present objectively. Anger, suspicions, and the ingrained belief that life is hell and he doesn’t deserve anything good to last forever blind Mario. Still, he is forced to learn the truth about his father and the true story of his relationship with his mother. He also can’t get away from reality, drowning his grief in harmful substances, for his younger brother needs his help.

Will Mario have enough strength and willpower to dive out of his misery and listen to common sense and people who care about him?






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A Crack in Forever

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I don’t like writing reviews of the books that left me frustrated, and that’s why I haven’t written one for “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin, even though I finished reading it a while ago.

Still, for the sake of objectivity, I’ve finally decided to share my thoughts about this novel.
I don’t want to sound nasty, but the first thing that comes to mind is that “The Irresponsibility” would be a more fitting title for this book rather than “The Awakening”. I am a woman. I do appreciate the equal rights the feminists of the past had fought for. I wouldn’t want not to have voting rights and other things modern women take for granted, although we’ve been enjoying them for a relatively short time. Having said that, for the life of me, I fail to see how a pampered wife of a well-off gentleman – who isn’t mistreating her physically or emotionally – bored with her comfortable existence, who obviously doesn’t feel maternal love for her children, can be viewed as a manifestation of women’s liberation from pressing society norms.

Again, I probably sound like a prudish matron, the type who documents her motherhood starting from the moment when she finds out that a foetus is growing in her body, then reads every book on baby nutrition and physiology, and then attends the Montessori classes with her kids. Although I admire women who can devote themselves to motherhood so completely, I am, alas, not that kind of mother. I find many aspects of motherhood challenging, and I don’t think I could fill my Instagram feed with perfect pictures of my son and me, try as I might. On a regular day, we aren’t particularly Instagram-ish, to say the least.

The way the author portrays Edna suggests that she isn’t a ‘Montessori-classes-attending’ type of mother. Which is perfectly fine. It shouldn’t be expected from a woman that becoming a mother automatically transforms her into a cute-baby-stuff fan. Still, respecting a woman’s interests doesn’t mean accepting her irresponsible attitude towards her children. Edna, as I mentioned, is a wife of a rich man. She doesn’t have to do everything herself. She has a nanny who does all the hard work, which nowadays most often is the sole responsibility of modern, independent, working women. Even so, it seems that she sees the very fact of having kids as a burden. Her behaviour as a mother, a wife, and a person is downright appalling. I couldn’t feel any sympathy for her ‘hardships’, the cause of which, frankly, was the lack of any obligations towards anyone in Edna’s life.

As I mentioned earlier, it is okay not to feel ecstatic about marriage or motherhood, especially for a woman who lived in the 19th century, with not many options for self-realisation. But it is not okay to neglect your duties as a mother if it so happens that you already have those kids.

Edna’s actions when she decided to change her life felt illogical and lacked any substance. She took up painting, but she did that to do something a ‘free-spirited’ woman was supposed to do, rather than because she had talent or passion for it. She moved out of the family house, but only because she had money, her husband was away for business, and her kids were also conveniently away, staying with their grandmother. Edna is infantile, self-centred, and not particularly interesting.

I probably wouldn’t have written this review or even rated this book if the edition of “The Awakening” I bought hadn’t contained short stories by the author. These short stories are superb. The plots are poignant and thought-provoking, and the characters vivid and relatable. The curious thing about them is that in one of the stories true issues of women’s inequality are sharply portrayed. I would read more short stories by Kate Chopin if I came across them, and I highly recommend them to other readers.





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