I'm sure most of you have seen the trailer for the upcoming movie "Shutter Island"
Well, I've not seen the movie yet.. but as with most movies that I'm interested in.. normally I have a read of the novel before the big screen.. and after reading it.. I must say that I hope Leonardo Dicaprio can live up to his performance in "The Aviator."
Okay, more on the novel.. I must say, that for a short 414-paged book, it was really gripping. So much that I was compelled to complete it on my 2nd day into it.
As a whole, the novel was rich in it descriptive manner, yet simple enough to be understood without too much clutter or exquisite use of language. Written in the 3rd person perspective, it manages to set apart the flashbacks and dreams cleanly, and allows you to connect with the internal confusion experienced by the main character.
I must say that I loved the mini puzzles within, and although I sorta guessed the alternative ending to the story, it was so cleverly written that I could never tell which way it was going, right down to the last 2 chapters.
On a deeper personal level, I guess the story just left me disturbed. Reminded me of a quote from the Joker:
"All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That's how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day."
Just one day. Sometimes, I do question myself about it. How far will it take before I break. And this fear is disturbing as, I myself have had situations whereby I myself was left doubting what was reality... remember those recurrent dreams that I had before the Thailand trip.. how vividly drowning was.. so real that wounds from those dreams would appear in the morning.. and yet.. when the real event happened like deja vu, I was left questioning if it was all a dream, or was it real.. that's how blur the line of reality is..
As described in the book.. "the true horrible beauty of the full-blown schizophrenic's paranoid structure. If you believe, gentlemen, that you are the sole holder of the truth, then everyone else must be lying. And if everyone is lying..." ... that's the power of the mind.. and what it believe.. and it creates a really interesting paradox.. a vicious cycle even, once you are trapped within..
a) All Insane Men deny that they are Insane. b) Bob denies that he is Insane. c) Bob is therefore Insane.
Really takes alot to get a grip on reality after that, and pull yourself out of it. That's one of the reasons why I really take my hat off to John Nash, whose story was shown in "A Beautiful Mind"... with the most brilliant minds.. comes great imagination.. great possibilities.. and also the most convincing scripts.. what if, one day someone tells you that you have been scripting your whole life thus far... now... that's a scary thought.
As a whole, the novel was rich in it descriptive manner, yet simple enough to be understood without too much clutter or exquisite use of language. Written in the 3rd person perspective, it manages to set apart the flashbacks and dreams cleanly, and allows you to connect with the internal confusion experienced by the main character.
I must say that I loved the mini puzzles within, and although I sorta guessed the alternative ending to the story, it was so cleverly written that I could never tell which way it was going, right down to the last 2 chapters.
On a deeper personal level, I guess the story just left me disturbed. Reminded me of a quote from the Joker:
"All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That's how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day."
Just one day. Sometimes, I do question myself about it. How far will it take before I break. And this fear is disturbing as, I myself have had situations whereby I myself was left doubting what was reality... remember those recurrent dreams that I had before the Thailand trip.. how vividly drowning was.. so real that wounds from those dreams would appear in the morning.. and yet.. when the real event happened like deja vu, I was left questioning if it was all a dream, or was it real.. that's how blur the line of reality is..
As described in the book.. "the true horrible beauty of the full-blown schizophrenic's paranoid structure. If you believe, gentlemen, that you are the sole holder of the truth, then everyone else must be lying. And if everyone is lying..." ... that's the power of the mind.. and what it believe.. and it creates a really interesting paradox.. a vicious cycle even, once you are trapped within..
a) All Insane Men deny that they are Insane.
b) Bob denies that he is Insane.
c) Bob is therefore Insane.
Really takes alot to get a grip on reality after that, and pull yourself out of it. That's one of the reasons why I really take my hat off to John Nash, whose story was shown in "A Beautiful Mind"... with the most brilliant minds.. comes great imagination.. great possibilities.. and also the most convincing scripts.. what if, one day someone tells you that you have been scripting your whole life thus far... now... that's a scary thought.