A Book Review of Jessica Zafra's Planet of the Twisted

A Book Review of Jessica Zafra's Planet of the Twisted

By Colene Pabruada Cabaliza

IV-Sir Isaac Newton

Planet of the Twisted is the third of Jessica Zafra’s famous Twisted books, a series that collaborates a collection of her articles, column entries, essays and stories. The Twisted series is known for her writings and commentaries about almost anything, ranting about various topics that could rage from movie stars to existential angst. The series is also known for its uniqueness and its flair.

Talented, clever and humorous, fiction writer and columnist Jessica Zafra wrote this amusing book: Planet of the Twisted. Zafra is a University of the Phillipines graduate who majored in Comparative Literature. Aside from being a fiction writer and newspaper columnist, Zafra is also an editor, a publisher, a former TV and radio program host, and even once a manager of the Eraserheads in the 90’s. In addition, Zafra has won several Palanca awards and has received many other distinctions.

Planet of the Twisted is actually a compilation of her works (most probably her column entries to the Manila Standard Today). It contains seven chapters and is composed of 63 articles all in all. The first chapter which she called “Sometimes They Just Suck,” contains her opinions, observations, and annotations on various films, documentaries, operas, stage plays, and the like. Mostly, it shows the negative points she witnessed and the weaknesses she viewed. A very short chapter comprised of only three articles is next, which is entitled “And Now for Something Really Kinky,” is a funny chapter that talks about her obsession on covering books with plastic. She even tackled about the two schools of book covering and gave tips on how to wrap a book in plastic cover. Of course, she stated the importance of doing such. “The Philistine Foreskin Coin Purse,” which is the third chapter in the book, contains many articles about different facets of life, death, love, religion and even discussed things raging from wicked stepmothers to the commandments most moms unduly impose. Meanwhile, “Tales of Humuhumunukunukuwakawaka,” contains writings about one’s anxieties, fears and points in life that are hard to forget. The fifth chapter, “Dante’s Suburbia,” talks about discontentment of people and their die-hard efforts to achieve or imitate their role models, in such obsessive effort that they could even be called wannabe’s. The confusing effects of mutation, genetic engineering, the million dollar gowns of Princess Diana, and an EQ test are just a few articles to be found in the second to the last chapter of this book which is entitled, “Di! Gowns! Di!.” The last chapter, “I Live Here,” contains articles with the same enjoyable wit and humor. It talks about stupidity of people, the things that people cannot do because of fear, her views about the media and the public officials, an article about Andres Bonifacio, better way of living without using illegal drugs, and many more. Her last chapter chiefly talked about politics, issues in our country, and an outlook for a better Philippines. Even if the last chapter is drowned in her negative comments and criticism, it is a good way to end her book.

If style is to be talked about, Planet of the Twisted author Jessica Zafra’s style is one that could be regarded as highly unique. The way she expressed her thoughts is so free, its like she just let every word flow. She writes whatever comes to her mind with still amazingly retaining her perfectly- constructed grammar. Teodoro Locsin, Jr., editor in chief of Manila Standard Today, even said that, “Zafra can do virtually anything she wants with the language. She makes no mistake, never strikes a note.” She writes and uses words logically. Aside from her very well construction of grammar, Zafra’s style is also exceptional for her manner of writing is humorous and smart. She never fails to make her reader’s laugh with her writings. Her adventures and hilarious comments are sure to elicit laughs, and readers should always be ready to be thoroughly entertained with her observations. Wit and humor is already her brand and her trademark as well. She is also bold and is direct to the point. Others believe her style of writing is what they call "post-modernist," one that is somewhat containing faux intellectualism, pessimism, and exaggeration. On the contrary, others say that her works are appropriately highfalutin. The Planet of the Twisted is the only book I have read from her, so I am not quite sure where to place my judgment. Still, it is true that sometimes, what make her works funny are her disparagements and her negative criticisms. But regardless of those, Zafra’s sarcastic, sharp and clever writing style has captured the imagination, thinking and hearts of Filipinos.

In terms of writing construction and grammar, my humble knowledge could not find anything erroneous in the Planet of the Twisted. Maybe, there are mistakes there, but they are obviously typographical errors and not the author’s mistake. Her book is indeed entertaining; it is a wonderful ride with her. It is a remarkable experience to read and share her opinions and views, though I have not agreed on everything she said. She lets us see the wrongs of the society in which we live in, and let us realize our misshapen beliefs and outlooks on many facets of life. Her book really talks about how twisted, warped, and deformed our ideals, ethics and viewpoints sometimes are. Though I am not quite a great fan of her overly using her intellect on criticizing works of others and her desire of perfection, I think that her book really pushes her readers to view life differently and live it rightly by creating our own right beliefs and not just swaying with the flow and letting the culture and traditions of the society in which we live in carry us with them and carve erroneous and faulty values in us that may cause us to live in despair. It is true that I am not moved by some of her ideals, for I believe in some things in a way much different from hers. I do not like the way she degrades one’s ideas about men, specifically, Filipino men. I could not blame her, for she is a downright feminist. But still I dislike her emphasized negative thinking about men. Still, Planet of the Twisted is a nice journey; they are like diary entries, stories that happen in everyday life. One could surely relate to her experiences which are factual and in some point, is common. I surely have related myself a lot, for I realized the mistakes I have not noticed, learned to value some things I have even disregarded and many more. Although, I do not like her in every point (for I dislike her pessimisms and some of her commentaries), Jessica Zafra still helped me construct and have better and renewed views about life.

SWEET 17: A Book Review of Nicolas Sparks' A Walk to Remember

SWEET 17: A Movie Review of Nicolas Sparks’ A Walk to Remember
By Vicson Aypa Mabanglo

Get your tissues ready.

Nicholas Charles Sparks was born the second son of Patrick and Jill Sparks on December 31, 1965 in Omaha,Nebraska. As a child he lived in Minnesota, Los Angeles, and Grand Island, Nebraska. The family finally settled in Fair Oaks, California. He graduated as the valedictorian of his high school class in 1984 and attended the University of Notre Dame on a track scholarship. He graduated from Notre Dame with a degree in Finance with high honors in 1988. He worked numerous jobs since college, including: waiter, phone salesman, and real estate appraiser. His first published work was a book with the Olympic athlete Billy Mills that published in 1990.

What is the meaning of love? Have you ever experience the four letter word, LOVE?

The narrator of the story, Landon Carter, who is a 17 year-old senior in Beaufort, North Carolina, in 1958, begins his story with the line, “When I was seventeen, my life changed forever.” He asserts that no one in his hometown would question that a 17 year old could know that, at such a young age, his life was irrevocably different. They know, because they have lived it with him. As he tells his story, he is 57 years old, but he says he can remember every detail like it was yesterday. He relives it often in his mind as he has over the forty years since it happened and he feels both sadness and joy in the re-living. He’d like to take all the sadness away, but he knows that he would also lose the joy, so it takes it all in every time he reminisces. Each time the events of that year come back to him, it’s almost as if he can see himself grow younger, losing the wrinkles around his eyes and feeling his legs and arms become more muscled. He watches in his reminiscence the landscape of the town as he knows it now return to its narrow roads and acres of farmland. He suddenly imagines himself actually there – Landon Carter in front of the Baptist Church at the age of 17. And he tells us that he promises to tell us the story without leaving anything out. He warns us that first we will “smile, and then we will cry – don’t say you haven’t been warned.”

The story was written in an omniscient point of view. He presented the story with himself narrating as Landon. He narrates the story well enough revealing every single element of the story.

Langdon is the narrator of the story who tells us how he grew up in the town of Beaufort, North Carolina, fell in love with Jamie Sullivan, and completely changed in his seventeenth year. He tells his story in flashback, forty years after it happened, as if he lived it only yesterday.
Jamie Sullivan is the real angel of the story, not just a character in the school play. She is depicted as a rather strange young girl who wears her long hair in a bun and dons the same sweater and plaid skirt almost everyday. There are several other literary devices that pop up at various times in the story. One of the most prevalent ones is foreshadowing which frequently presents clues of something that will happen later in the novel. Some examples of foreshadowing include: when Landon opens the story with the words that his life changed when he was seventeen years old, he is preparing us for profound events that he’s never forgotten, when Landon warns us that we will laugh and we will cry, he foreshadows the loving relationship that will develop between him and Jamie and the fact that she is dying.

Another element that is important to note is irony – when something happens, or is seen, or is heard that we may know, but the characters do not, or that appears opposite of what is expected. Some examples of irony include; Landon promises Jamie that he won’t fall in love with her if she’ll go to the homecoming dance with him, but that’s exactly what happens.

Other elements that are present in this novel are symbols and metaphors. Symbols are the use of some unrelated idea to represent something else. Metaphors are direct comparisons made between characters and ideas. There are many symbols and metaphors used by the author such as when Jamie sits on the floor at the orphanage on Christmas Eve with a sleeping child on.

Once again, a great book and touching story from Nicholas Sparks. It's heartbreaking, and bitter-sweet. Tear-jerking, at the same time, with a lot of depth and meaning. It's not only about true love, but also about a father's love for a daughter. We can also feel the resentment of a father who played the role of a mother as well. The relationship between the hero and the heroin reminds a person of their puppy love experience during high school. The girl next door with a guy who is so opposite in character. The spirituality highlighted here also shows what things faith can do in terms of motivating a person through hardships. A must read romance novel. The movie can't compare to the book, the book is just way better.

I was pleasantly surprised about how much I enjoyed this story. It was far from the sappy, hokey love story I was expecting. Though the main characters are teenagers, their experiences are adult in nature and very touching.

The author has selected his words very carefully, so that several of the readers' emotions are affected. This book made me laugh, cry and everything in between. A word of caution however: sensitive people will be bawling at the book's ending.

I don't feel there are any drawbacks to A Walk to Remember. I was able to predict the plot's events before they happened. However, I'm not sure that was such a bad thing in this case.

This short Nicholas Sparks novel should only take a day or two to read, so it makes an ideal library selection. A Walk to Remember also makes a good gift. It offers wonderful lessons in love and faith from which anybody could benefit.

It is a beautifully written book. It evokes a stronger sense of sorrow and grief at the end because of the way Landon's character is portrayed in the book as opposed to the movie

A DIFFERENT VIEW ABOUT THE PAST:

A DIFFERENT VIEW ABOUT THE PAST:
A Book Review of George Orwell’s Animal Farm
By Roger Perez Turingan


Old Major, a boar, tells them of a dream he has had in which all animals live together with no human beings to oppress or control them. He tells the animals that they must work toward such a paradise and teaches them a song called “Beasts of England,” in which his dream vision is lyrically described. The animals greet Major's vision with great enthusiasm. When he dies only three nights after the meeting, three younger pigs—Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer—formulate his main principles into a philosophy called Animalism. Late one night, the animals manage to defeat the farmer Mr. Jones in a battle, running him off the land. They rename the property Animal Farm and dedicate themselves to achieving Major's dream. The cart-horse Boxer devotes himself to the cause with particular zeal, committing his great strength to the prosperity of the farm and adopting as a personal maxim the affirmation “I will work harder.”

At first, Animal Farm prospers. Snowball works at teaching the animals to read, and Napoleon takes a group of young puppies to educate them in the principles of Animalism. When Mr. Jones reappears to take back his farm, the animals defeat him again, in what comes to be known as the Battle of the Cowshed, and take the farmer's abandoned gun as a token of their victory. As time passes, however, Napoleon and Snowball increasingly quibble over the future of the farm, and they begin to struggle with each other for power and influence among the other animals. Snowball concocts a scheme to build an electricity-generating windmill, but Napoleon solidly opposes the plan. At the meeting to vote on whether to take up the project, Snowball gives a passionate speech. Although Napoleon gives only a brief retort, he then makes a strange noise, and nine attack dogs—the puppies that Napoleon had confiscated in order to “educate”—burst into the barn and chase Snowball from the farm. Napoleon assumes leadership of Animal Farm and declares that there will be no more meetings. From that point on, he asserts, the pigs alone will make all of the decisions—for the good of every animal.

Years pass on Animal Farm, and the pigs become more and more like human beings—walking upright, carrying whips, and wearing clothes. Eventually, the seven principles of Animalism, known as the Seven Commandments and inscribed on the side of the barn, become reduced to a single principle reading “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Napoleon entertains a human farmer named Mr. Pilkington at a dinner and declares his intent to ally himself with the human farmers against the laboring classes of both the human and animal communities. He also changes the name of Animal Farm back to the Manor Farm, claiming that this title is the “correct” one. Looking in at the party of elites through the farmhouse window, the common animals can no longer tell which are the pigs and which are the human beings.

From the very beginning of the novel, Napoleon emerges as an utterly corrupt opportunist. Though always present at the early meetings of the new state, Napoleon never makes a single contribution to the revolution—not to the formulation of its ideology, not to the bloody struggle that it necessitates, not to the new society's initial attempts to establish itself. He never shows interest in the strength of Animal Farm itself, only in the strength of his power over it.

Snowball emerges as a fervent ideologue who throws himself heart and soul into the attempt to spread Animalism worldwide and to improve Animal Farm's infrastructure. His idealism, however, leads to his downfall. Relying only on the force of his own logic and rhetorical skill to gain his influence, he proves no match for Napoleon's show of brute force.
In Animal Farm, the silver-tongued pig Squealer abuses language to justify Napoleon's actions and policies to the proletariat by whatever means seem necessary. By radically simplifying language—as when he teaches the sheep to bleat “Four legs good, two legs better!”—he limits the terms of debate. By complicating language unnecessarily, he confuses and intimidates the uneducated. Squealer's lack of conscience and unwavering loyalty to his leader, alongside his rhetorical skills, make him the perfect propagandist for any tyranny. Squealer's name also fits him well: squealing, of course, refers to a pig's typical form of vocalization, and Squealer's speech defines him.
Animal Farm is most famous in the West as a stinging critique of the history and rhetoric of the Russian Revolution. Retelling the story of the emergence and development of Soviet communism in the form of an animal fable, Animal Farm allegorizes the rise to power of the dictator Joseph Stalin. In the novella, the overthrow of the human oppressor Mr. Jones by a democratic coalition of animals quickly gives way to the consolidation of power among the pigs. Much like the Soviet intelligentsia, the pigs establish themselves as the ruling class in the new society.

Although Orwell believed strongly in socialist ideals, he felt that the Soviet Union realized these ideals in a terribly perverse form. His novella creates its most powerful ironies in the moments in which Orwell depicts the corruption of Animalist ideals by those in power. For Animal Farm serves not so much to condemn tyranny or despotism as to indict the horrifying hypocrisy of tyrannies that base themselves on, and owe their initial power to, ideologies of liberation and equality. The gradual disintegration and perversion of the Seven Commandments illustrates this hypocrisy with vivid force, as do Squealer's elaborate philosophical justifications for the pigs' blatantly unprincipled actions. Thus, the novella critiques the violence of the Stalinist regime against the human beings it ruled, and also points to Soviet communism's violence against human logic, language, and ideals.

As Joseph Stalin did, Napoleon prefers to work behind the scenes to build his power through manipulation and deal-making, while Snowball devotes himself, as Leon Trotsky did, to winning popular support through his ideas, passionate speeches, and success in debates with his opponent. Snowball seems to work within the political system, while Napoleon willingly circumvents it. Napoleon, for instance, understands the role of force in political control, as is made clear by his use of the attack dogs to expel Snowball from the farm.

Despite Napoleon's clearly bullying tactics, Orwell's text doesn't allow us to perceive Snowball as a preferable alternative. Snowball does nothing to prevent the consolidation of power in the hands of the pigs, nor does he stop the unequal distribution of goods in the pigs' favor—he may even, in fact, be complicit in it early on. Furthermore, the ideals of Animal Farm—like Orwell's ideal version of socialism—are rooted in democracy, with all of the animals deciding how their collective action should be undertaken. For any one animal to rise to greater power than any other would violate that ideal and essentially render Animal Farm indistinguishable from a human farm—an unavoidable eventuality by the end of the novella. Though their motives for power may be quite different—Napoleon seems to have a powerful, egocentric lust for control, while Snowball seems to think himself a genius who should be the one to guide the farm toward success—each represents a potential dictator. Neither pig has the other animals' interests at heart, and thus neither represents the socialist ideals of Animal Farm.

From small to BIG

From small to BIG
A Book Review on The God of Small Things
By Marie Juliebeth Monge

~Introduction

With her native approach, Andruhati Roy has presented a prize winning novel published in 1997. A story about love, madness, hope, and joy.

From being an architect to writing TV scripts to writing a fiction close to reality, Andruhati Roy was from a Syrian Christian mother and a Bengali father whom she doesn’t want to talk much about.
___________________________________________________________________

~Summary of Text

The story primarily sets its location in Ayemenem, a town in India.
The story revolves around the fraternal twins, Rahel and Estha. At a young age of seven they were separated but then reunited at the age of 31.

Pappachi(a term which means grandfather) was the perfect father, perfect husband to other people. He was an imperial entomologist, and yes he was prominent. But one time, his discovery of new species of moths were dismissed and credited to someone else, his façade rolled down. One night, Pappachi was beating Mammachi(his wife) and was stopped by Chacko, Ammu’s brother. Since then, and until his death, Pappachi never lifted a hand to his wife and never talked to them. He also stopped Ammu into going to college, and forces her to go back to their hometown.

Ammu, lacking enough dowry for a marriage proposal, gets desperate to get away from the claws of her father. Finally, she manages to convince them to allow her spend the summer at her aunt in Calcutta. And of course, avoiding Ayemenem, she marries a man who manages a tea estate. She send letter to them, but no reply came. And so on, it was learned that this man turned out to be alcoholic and constantly beats Ammu and even tried to prostitute her so he can keep his job. Ammu couldn’t stand it that when she gave birth to the twins, she immediately went back to Ayemenem to her mother and brother.

In the house where Ammu and her mother and brother lives, also lives Baby Kochamma, who is the sister of their late father. When still young, Baby Kochamma fell in love with an Irish priest that caused her to convert and enter the convent. But when Father Mulligan was converted into Hinduism, Baby Kochamma went out of the convent but did not convert back.

Chacko, while still studying in Oxford, fell in love with an English woman named Margaret. They married and had a daughter named Sophie, but later on the two divorced because Maragaret fell in love with another man named Joe. The two are still friends though. Margaret remarries, but sadly, Joe was killed in an accident. Chacko invites his ex-wife and daughter to spend Christmas at Ayemenem. On the way to the airport, the family car was encircled with protesters, and Baby Kochamma blames her embarrassment to Velutha.

Later it was known that Ammu and Velutha have a relationship causing Velutha to be banished and Ammu to be tricked and locked into a room. Estha and Rahel, blamed by their mother tried to escape. And while they’re in the boat, wherein Sophie was with them, the boat sank causing Sophie to drown.

The twins, tired of searching Sophie, fell asleep in an abandoned house. Not knowing that the abandoned house is where Velutha is staying. The next day, the police accused Velutha of killing Sophie and kidnapping the twins. The twins were afraid to tell the truth because Baby Kochamma told them that if they didn’t testify against Velutha, they will all go to jail. Eager enough to save their mother, the two testified against Velutha. Velutha then died because of his injuries.

Afraid by being exposed, Baby Kochamma convinced Chacko that Ammu and the twins are responsible for Sophie’s death. Enraged, Chacko sents her sister away. Ammu, unable to find a job, send Estha to his father. The twins got separated and never sees their mother again. Both have been damaged by their past that caused them their awkward ways. One day they meet again, and that night they made love.
____________________________________________________________________

~Analysis of Text

Andruhati Roy has used a bold way of writing. Much of the written text was made from the viewpoint of seven-year-olds. And the story is shifted from present to past. Throughout the journey, Roy has used words unfamiliar to us. Yes, it was quite confusing yet fun at the same time. Malayalam, as they say, was the one used in conjunction to English.
____________________________________________________________________

~Evaluation of Text

At first thought you may want to give up reading the book because of confusion. But as you read further, Roy takes you to different sceneries of different moods. You get to build up the emotions as if you were part. It’s long story. But give a time to read it, you’ll realize that it is indeed of small things, things happen in this world. That from small things, great problems arise. From one small attitude, creates a big fuss. And one small hatred could bring tragedy ahead.

And so, I would recommend this book to all those who want to experience a different kind of adventure. Adventure in words and places.

A BOOK REVIEW ON A SUMMER TO DIE

A BOOK REVIEW ON A Summer to die

Saturday, March 14, 2009
by Anh Reidjyn Salcedo
IV- Sir Isaac Newton

I. Introduction

Lois Lowry’s A Summer to Die is the first novel of her candor which was published in 1977. This may have the deepest emotional reaction of the reader for the story is really touching. It revolves around the craft of a family where in Meg and Molly has their relationship as sisters. They naturally share the character of loving and sharing since they should be doing so because they are deeply attached with each other, as they belong to a single bloodline.

Lois Lowry is an american author of children's literature. She has since written more than 30 books for children and published an autobiography. Two of her works have been awarded the prestigious Newbery Medal: Number the Stars in 1990, and The Giver in 1994. and a freelance journalist during the early 1970s. Her work as a journalist drew the attention of

As an author, Lowry is known for writing about difficult subject matters within her works for children. Her skill at writing on such matters has brought her both praise and criticism. In particular, her work The Giver has been met with a diversity of reactions which made her the statue of excellence.

II. Summary of the Content

Meg (Margaret Chalmers) is the thirteen year-old girl who narrates the story. She is Molly’s younger sister. She liked to have everything that her sister has. Although it cannot be avoided that she is envy, they still have different characters and they have different outlooks from each other. Molly is pretty, and Meg is smart; Molly is neat, and Meg is not; and Molly is attractive, and Meg is artistic.

Molly is Meg’s two year-older sister. She is pretty, very attractive, and a girl who always look forward to perfection. Meg envies her but she does not mind. On the latter part, she would help Meg change her outlooks.

It was hard for Meg not to be envious of Molly. Blond, pretty and popular, Molly was the one who always knew what to say, who was giggly and fun, full of smiles and silly enthusiasms. It was Molly who had long eyelashes, while thirteen-year-old Meg had glasses. Molly who developed a figure and boyfriends the same year that Meg got Molly's outgrown winter coat. Molly who was sure about the future, had sorted out her own goals, while Meg, determined and unsure at the same time, was sometimes angry over nothing, often miserable about everything.

Things grew even worse when they had to share a room. That's when Molly drew the chalk line. Right down the rug and up the wall, across the wallpaper with its blue flowers. Separating them.

Then Molly got sick. At first it was just a nuisance. Grouchy, constantly worrying about her looks, never without a box of Kleenex because of those dumb nosebleeds, everyone waited on her hand and foot when she was home and was totally preoccupied with test results when she was in the hospital. Meg didn't know what to make of the changes taking place in Molly and their parents. Until the day she realized that Molly was never going to come home from the hospital. That Molly was going to die.

With this story, we shall always bear in mind that, while there is still time, we need to take chance to do everything that we wanted to do. Those things that we wanted to say, even before. The piles of second thoughts in our head should be destroyed because the moment the end of the time arrives. We cannot bring back chances anymore, when, we really wanted to express what we truly feel but we didn’t. it would surely be a big block of regret in your life for it is only when it is done that I thought of doing things so.

III. Analysis of the Text

Lois Lowry has written a poignant and perceptive first novel exploring the complex emotions a young girl faces in dealing with the death of a sister just at the very time when she had begun to ease her sense of jealousy and impatience into love.

In Lois Lowry’s work, I can find complete sophistication. There is the clear distinction of her thoughts. She was able to deliver the message straight to the point.

It is clearly stated in the book that the lesson is that easy to remember and it is all up to us whether we are to believe it or not. But the root and riches of all these is that, we shouldn’t waste time because great efforts are made through snapped unnoticed times.

IV. Evaluation of Text

In this script of writings, the story absolutely fitted in to what I am expecting. Liked it much because it made me think of things I am usually ignoring. It’s just now that I knew that I have to be punctual to those things I am not sure of happening yet.

I found the book truly interesting, as how the story and lessons are. I recommend this book to be read by everyone because the lesson brought about by this story of Lois Lowry is definitely inspirational and life- teaching.