Publisher: Penguin

The Perfect Life – Nuala Ellwood

This provided book has an easy flow that I could barely take it down. I thought it might be an interesting read, based on the synopsis. But I have to disappoint you: it doesn’t even reach my book recommendation list and here’s why

Tuesday’s Gone – Nicci French

Boring or not, I just had to read this one, of course! I like how Frieda Klein described the city and told its history during walking. It felt like listening to a history teacher (I love history!).

The story idea is intriguing, but it has various plots that distract me. Nevertheless, it’s still a good read! Especially if you want to finish the series, you got to read the first one, too, because you may get confused when you read this book without having read the first one first.

What To Do When Someone Dies – Nicci French

I have finally chosen this one after browsing my e-reader. The title didn’t catch my attention, but it’s Nicci French’s and I had to read it as I tend to want to read all books by the same author when I’ve read one interesting book. I like Nicci French and I’m kind of familiar with their writing style already. I’m fond of a few books of them, but this is not one of them and I’ll state why. Ellie Faulkner just got a news by police that her husband Greg died on car accident. Ironically, he was not alone. There was an unknown woman sitting on the passenger seat next to him, who also died. When Ellie heard from the police that Greg didn’t even use his seatbelt, she became suspicious that it was not an accident, but murder because she knew that her husband always used his seatbelt. As typical of Nicci French’s works, the police and the detectives declared it as accident and they closed the case, so Ellie had to play detective, but also because she really wanted to know the role of that unknown woman, whose name apparently was Milena Livingstone. To do this, she went to where Milena used to work at and she met Frances. Seeing the chaotic situation, Ellie offered to help them. She used her best friend’s name Gwen and acted like she was a teacher. While Ellie spied on Milena’s schedules and email, she’s seen as an angel by the people at the company, especially by Frances, who was very thankful of her presence. Meanwhile, Ellie’s real friends were worried of her. There’s no moment of rest for Ellie because they kept coming and tried to do everything for her. There were moment when I found that her friends were so bothersome as they really wanted to know where she’s been to and what she’s done. Ellie herself has tried to tell them that Greg’s accident wasn’t an accident, but they thought she couldn’t accept the truth yet, hence, she also didn’t tell them that she’s been spying on Milena’s stuff and leading a double life because her friends have started to think that she needed a professional help. One day, she found Frances died on the floor at her work. She was shocked, she called the police anonymously and left. Frances’ death caused the police to interrogate everyone at Frances’ workplace, but also Gwen, whose name Ellie used. Ellie had to come clear to all her friend about what she’s done. In the end, the murderer tried to kill Ellie, but she survived. This story is very lengthy and it’s also rather boring, but I managed to read it til the last words. The last few chapters were not disappointing, nevertheless. Read til the end, it’s unthinkable that the most worried person is the one who murdered. But it’s possible.

Forty Rules Of Love – Elif Shafak

I have been willing to read one of her books for quite sometime. This book, although very easy to read, contains words which, if you’re not familiar with Arabic and the Islam, might cause you to take a look at the footnote. If you read the physical book, it’s easier to go back and forth from the current page to the last pages that contain the explanation. It’s harder to go back and forth if you’re using e-reader to read.  Although I’m familiar with the words, I’m not a Muslim and don’t know the difference between: Sufi, Shiite, Sunni, even….dervish.  It started with the life of a Jewish family Rubinsteins. Ella and David Rubinstein, their college daughter Jeannette and their teenage twins Orly and Avi. They also had a golden retriever named Spirit and they lived in Northampton, Massachusetts. Ella and David have been married for way too long that Ella didn’t know anymore whether she still loved him or has stopped loving him.  “To my dear Ella,  A woman with a quiet manner, a generous heart and the patience of a saint. Thanks for being my wife. Yours, David” That’s what he’s written in a card on a valentine’s day. Reading the sentences only made Ella think that it’s supposed to be written after her death. Reading about her life, I could sense that love has seemed to vanish from her life. She filed for divorce in the fall of 2008 for a reason: love. She fell in love with someone whose life was full of adventures; He’s a traveller, a writer and a Sufi. This all started when Ella got accepted as a reviewer at a literary agency in Boston. She got her first assignment right at the moment when she just had an argument with her oldest daughter Jeannette about her marriage plan. She didn’t have the courage to read and give an extensive report on the novel she’s assigned to, but when she read the first few lines, she felt as if the author rewrote her life story.  The writer’s name was A. Z. Zahara (Aziz) who lived in the Netherlands (the book says Holland, but Holland is not a country — just one of the author’s lacks of research — to be noticed when she mentioned Indonesia as one of the countries that have seeked for asylum in Netherlands, as if there’s a war in Indonesia. This just made me think that Elif Shafak is a dreamy woman still living in a cave). The title of the book is Sweet Blasphemy. The writer has stated that he had no intention to be an author; He wrote it to show his admiration and love for the great philosopher, mystic and poet Rumi and his beloved Sun, Shams of Tabriz.  “For despite some people say, love is not only a sweet feeling bound to come and quickly go away.” This quotation that’s written on the next line made her jaw dropped as she realised that it’s the contradiction…

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