readers – Page 7 – Nuraine Sadaf

#BookReview

The book Asymmetry by the new author Lisa Halliday evoked many mixed emotions. I couldn’t say I really liked the book neither can I say that it was terrible.

The book started off really well with Mary-Alice, a young editor, sitting at a park bench beside a supposedly popular writer. His identity is hidden for the first ten pages. However, when the “famous writer” Ezra Blazer’s name is thrown randomly in the middle of the story, it makes you wonder why was his identity hidden if he was going to be introduced so lamely.

The absurd relation between the aged writer, Ezra and Mary-Alice can sometimes be uncomfortable to read when the author writes so crassly about their intimate moments like when Alice asks Ezra over a phone call if he wants to meet for a “Fucky Fuck?”. Some parts in the book just lack refinement, there is a paragraph on farts, a random woman retching in the subway, and many such weird inclusions that are absolutely unnecessary.

Asymmetry includes three parts: Folly, Madness, and Ezra Blazer’s Desert Island Discs.

Folly is mostly about the confused relation between Ezra and Alice. Madness gives an insight about the Iraq war and the daily struggles of Iraqis. The last part in the book is an elaborate interview of Ezra Blazer who discusses his personal life, his experiences and interests.

There are certain extracts in the book which are interesting to read and well-written. However, the book is extremely abstract, it lacks character development and makes it hard for the readers to connect with the story. Also, the exhaustive details about the unimportant characters in the book makes it very tedious to read.

The concept of including the difficult circumstances of Iraq, the war, and the determined efforts and hopes of Iraqis to achieve peace was interesting to read but somewhere the story again loses it’s impact when the author switches back and forth from the past to the present to the memories of the characters, and to the detailed unnecessary descriptions. I was hoping till the end that there would be some kind of an obvious link between the three parts of the book and that the characters, Mary-Alice, Ezra, and Mr. Jafaari would somehow get connected but the story just ended and left me disappointed. The author’s attempt of writing about justice, power, and geography turned out to be more of a mess and confusion.

*If you have read the book, Asymmetry and liked it and can give me an insight about something that I could have possibly missed in appreciating the book, then please comment below and share your thoughts. I would love to know what you think about the book.

A red blazing spark of light shot down from the dark clouds that turned up out of nowhere. The sharp crackling sound of thunder got my heart racing. I had never seen anything like this before.

Wait, did I just see two human forms in the clouds with swords? Or were they only birds? The lightning must have blurred my vision!

The red lightning struck again! I quickly roll down the window of my cab to look up at the sky. I see a whirlpool forming. The clouds start drowning into the vast darkness of the whirlpool.

It looks like a portal. I have seen sci-fi films and read many fantasy books, always wishing out-of-ordinary instances like these would occur someday to make life extraordinary. However, this was not fiction, it was happening for real, I could see a portal in the sky!

This cannot be true. I stare at it without blinking my eyes. I can feel my heart sinking, drowning in fear but unable to react.

“Is it only the sky or will we all get absorbed into the darkness of this portal?”, I whisper to myself.

I am not quite sure how I feel at this very moment, I am not crying out in fear neither am I panicking. I guess shock has taken over my emotions and all I can do is gape with my mouth wide open at the flying humans in the sky and the red storm approaching through the open whirlpool.

Inquisitive is probably how I feel. I do not want this storm to consume me neither do I want it to stop, I wonder what this miracle is! How can I say that I want it to stop? Monotony of life has gotten deep into my skin, I shouldn’t be complaining. A supernatural phenomenon like this has never happened before, I should make the most of it!

In a flash, I decide to jump out of the cab to marvel at the rarity of this occurrence. I need to remember this, I need to write it down, sketch it, or wait..the fastest way to capture this moment is to click a photo. So, I look down to hunt for my phone in my bag and I suddenly realize the entire world just stopped.

Feeling dazed, I look around to find myself in the middle of a bustling street. Cars start honking and people step out of their shops and cars to look at me, and then I see my cab driver running in panic towards me. Everyone looks as startled as I am. I look at them and immediately look up at the sky. Nothing. It’s a bright sunny day!

I stand horrified in the middle of the street holding a book in my hand, The Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson.

reflection of clouds on body of water — Photo by Johannes Plenio on Pexels.com

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Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday

*If you have read the book, Asymmetry and liked it and can give me an insight about something that I could have possibly missed in appreciating the book, then please comment below and share your thoughts. I would love to know what you think about the book.

A Storm Within