Posted on by sheeza

Two By Two

“If it comes, let it come. If it stays, let it stay. If it goes, let it go”



Nicholas Spark’s Two By Two details the story of Russell Green, who appears to have what most people would deem the epitome of a ‘perfect’ life, with a doting family, flourishing profession & home to match. However, when he decides to turn his back on the career of a lifetime for an uncertain but excitingly tempting future, all else around him falls. His marriage, career & the roof over his head all hang in the balance.

Sparks succeeds in providing a realistic take on finding love after heartbreak; how rocky, even stagnant, in fact, it can be, as old skeletons are welcomed back into today. Though I’m not yet married, I feel as though I’ve learnt so much regarding love, loss, the necessity of focusing on oneself when the going gets tough & the sheer force of unconditional love, be that of a father & his daughter or within the family as a whole.

If there was one drawback, it would have to be the way in which Sparks weaves the death of a cherished character into the story, a literary device prevalent in every one of his books that I have read thus far. When I discovered who it would be in this novel, I found it to be rather predictable. Perhaps it is because he is my favourite author that I found it to be more foreseeable than someone who is not so accustomed to Sparks’s writing style.

Grief is explored in a sensitive and realistic way; Russ leads the way to advocating how necessary it is to have the determination to move on & overcome but how difficult it can be not to dwell on what has befallen.

Character development throughout the novel is worth high praise; as I turned over the final page of the novel, what resonated loud & clear was the message that: it all does & will make sense in the end. Any trial or tribulation is & will be answered with a blessing, even in disguise.

I’d recommend this book to those who feel like their luck has run out, for this book reminds us that a second chance comes when we least expect it, but when we are most in need of it.

Sincerely,

Sheeza

✒︎

Posted on by sheeza

Phantom Limbs

“My dreams were of beginnings without endings”

Paula Garner’s Phantom Limbs centres around Otis and Meg, two teenagers torn apart by the tragic passing of Otis’s toddler brother, Mason. With him gone, their once parallel lives could not be more different, as Otis busies himself in escaping from his sorrow by losing himself in the world of swimming and Meg embarks on the very bumpy road of self-discovery, in another town far away from her former childhood kindred spirit.

Introducing Dara : a swimmer hopeful. She had dreams of competing in the Olympics, until an accident resulted in her losing one of her arms. Since the incident, she trains Otis, striving to ensure that he will pick up the baton and do her coaching him a whole lot of good and justice.

All is as it has been for three years, until Meg re-enters Otis’s life in the form of one fateful e-mail, detailing her possible desire to move back. She has the ability to shake Otis up in more ways than one : his friendships, potential career and mourning for baby brother Mason. He begins to question his feelings and decisions concerning his life after Meg’s departure from it.

This novel explores lost love, discusses the act of grieving on an intimate level and begs the reader to contemplate the concept of time and how it has next to no importance when it comes to getting over a grave loss. It is a raw account that displays just how necessary it is to search for a silver lining, no matter how faint. The realism within this book reminds the reader that grief comes about due to losses of many kinds ; if there is one binding element between us human beings, it is the inevitable experience of loss, which is as heart-wrenching as it is reassuring.

Sincerely,

✍︎ Sheeza

Posted on by sheeza · 2 Comments

Milk and Honey

“accept yourself as you were designed”


Rupi Kaur’s Milk and Honey talks the reader through falling, feeling, hurting and subsequently healing. Four chapters focus on each stage individually, deeply and unavoidably.

The poet’s universality derives from the way in which anyone who is in the process of loving, losing, grieving, recuperating and overcoming can and will, with ease, take some solace in between her lines.

Poetry has always had a heavy impact on my heart, as it is both freeing but almost too real to read without coming up for air every so often. I am reduced to philosophising with my loved ones, who are left with no choice but to join- for which I am grateful beyond compare!

I found myself to be racing through her words, as this book was read in one rapid (albeit relaxing) sitting. However, I did encounter a fair few moments whereby I would put it down and literally step away- passing the time pacing or conversing with the outside world a little- in order to wholeheartedly feel, embrace and be struck by the raw energy of Rupi’s discoveries.

Reading this literary style is an immersive experience that certainly takes its toll. Thankfully, I have come to the conclusion that it is a bumpy yet insightful and thus inviting road and one that I will be travelling down on another occasion before long.

Despite being shaken to the core by her explicit- and all the more empowering- language, having never before read work like Rupi’s, the book’s machinations left my heart feeling comforted. I was fortunate enough to take a quick gander at life’s blessings and tribulations.

What better way to face a predicament than face to face?

Sincerely,

𝒮𝒽ℯℯ𝓏𝒶

✍︎