Got my copy. Found one among the badly organized shelves of Fully Booked in Promenade. Believe me, I had to check and look around almost all the shelves because even if the labels said "Fiction A-P", the books were not placed where they should be. Hhhhhmmmm.
Anyway, I started with it right away over a hot frothy chocolate drink from Xocolat, then later while eating Banana Jones from Cerealicious. Li'l bro and I were early in Greenhills so I had a lot of time to read before playing some badminton sets. Into Chapter 3 and I was already having goosebumps. I texted RA to thank her for the recommendation because "gripping" is such an understatement for this book. It's a pageturner that all you'll want is to read what happens next. Before the night ended, I was done with 3/4 of the book.
One of the things that struck me is when the boy asked his Baba about sins and his Baba said that the only sin one can commit in this world is "theft". He explained further that ,"When you kill a man, you steal a life...you steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness..." Makes perfect sense to me.
Some of the plots are shallow, something that one would not expect from a great writer only because it is way too common (i.e the main character's true relationship with his humble and loyal servant). Something that is common in our local telenovelas, I'd say. But then, as I went along, that seemingly shallow plot is just the tip of the iceberg. There's more to it in the story than the friendship that flourished between the two kids. The story, IMO, is actually about forgiveness and making up for a mistake, no matter how long it takes to realize that, yes there is a way to be good again.
I have a few pages left and I'll finish reading this tonight. When I finally close the book, I will sigh because a good experience would have ended. I will recommend this book to my sister, especially that the main character spent some good years in the Bay area -- San Jose, Fremont, SanFo, etc. It's all familiar. It's all good.
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