The Man who Never was

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman Continuing on the trend of reading stories which follow a ‘Less is more’ philosophy, the contender for this week was ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I had entered the story intentionally blind, and mistaking it for a terror tale of sorts; I guess the title had given me Poe vibes for things within the wall, or wallpaper. For such a short read, I went through several theories as to what it truly was as I read it. First I thought it was a typical horror tale set in a dilapidated gothic home. Then it seemed like the narrator’s fall to insanity, or a thriller where the doctor husband was fabricating the wife’s insanity for some nefarious means, and finally an allegory for the oppressive life of women at the time. Turns out it was part of all of the above. Admittedly, after the first reading, my mind was too focused on the surface level narrative. Perhaps, I reasoned, the narrator was undergoing a mental health c...

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez My rating: 5 of 5 stars Key Outtakes You know that feeling you get during the last day of college, during graduation you say goodbye to all your friends, many of whom you might never meet for the rest of your lives. If you want to relive that feeling for several 100 pages then this is the story for you If you do want to undertake reading this, make sure you have by your side, a complete family tree for the Buendias of Macondo. Otherwise it is easy to be confused as to which Aureliano or arcadio we are talking about at any point in time. I feel love for Santa Sofía de la piedad, the constant helper and ever in the shadow, who never asked anything for herself, and was then forgotten, left a home where there was nothing left for her. I feel sympathy for Fernanda who despised everyone from the rambunctious Buendia bunch, and in the end, lamented her old age and solitude. I feel Pity for Aureliano who spent most o...

     Sitting there, on the edge, the cliff opened into the never ending panorama that the sea had to offer. The way the wind brushed up against the soles of my feet, made me feel weak, like when you get on one of those amusement park rides. Or was it the slight warmth of the twilight sun, inches closer to oblivion where the sea meets the sky.      T he water below was splashing up as if she were inviting me to her, to her embrace, to feel her cool touch, sour through my being. I know not what prompted me to do it      The guys were a way back, babbling. Scotty came to me, I told him "I think i'll jump" "yeah right", his tone was bemused.  "No I am serious. I think you should too.," "no way you're screwing with me" "No. Dead serious." "You can't swim" "I know" "Even if you fall well, there are rocks underneath the waters" "I know" "The current can drag you out to sea, an...

                                              As I lay there exhausted by the arduous endeavour, freshly awoken I turn and see the beautiful goddess who lay near me, her open eyes reflecting my own visage.  "How do i look when I sleep?" the words came out half addled as my mind cleared.  "That is a curious question" she answered,"why do you ask?" "I don't know. I haven't asked it to anyone else, I thought it might as well be to you, as we lie here in this comfortable bedding all alone: truly alone'; he looked around as if a thought came to his mind "I  don't remember this place being so empty. even during the holidays" "Do you always get introspective after sex?",she replied "or am I special?" "I don't know; some people tend to express themselves whe...