CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

André Aciman

"We belonged to each other, but had lived so far apart that we belonged to others now."

AVietnamese poet once wrote that "Life is beautiful only when love is unfinished." The love story in this book was beautifully unfinished in the sense that it never ended. Although Anciman unfolded Elio's coming of age with lavishing intensity, Elio was more than just a virile 17-year-old and Oliver was more than just a teenaged wet dream. The few weeks they spent together decorated their lives with colorful passion and enriched their souls even if they were never meant to be together.

One could quickly dismiss the affair as a summer fling fueled with the sultry sun and scenic landscapes of coastal Italy. Certainly, any perceivable barrier could dampen the most fiery of passion, blur the most vivid of memories, and condemn all romantic sentiments to melancholic razbliuto. The lasting spell of love cast on the two men in this book bridged the chasm of time and distance with its transformative power of becoming erotic, empathetic, platonic, or unconditional.

 To escape the lonely darkness, how would you choose to live? A fleeting minute of radiance or a lifetime of dimness? Elio was suggestively blinded by the past and wandering on in a twilight. However, as punishing as time and distance could be, they allowed the luminosity of his past to guide him onward with peace and a touch of healthy longing. Oliver was his first true love after all

DOCTOR COMIC - PART 5

Source: Rhymeswithorange

"I don’t think you are from around here because your English isn’t very good”

It was not the elderly patient with acute mental status change who made the statement during her brief moments of lucidity in the ER, it was her son who said that immediately after asking where I was from. As a response, normally I would share I was an immigrant who came here more than ten years ago. However, the way he looked at me and the tone of his voice completely caught me off guard. I just finished the discussion on the plan of care for his mother who was to be admitted and asked him what question he had for me when it dawned upon me the real reason why he asked, and the absurdity of it made me chuckle and excuse myself quickly from the room.

THE 7½ DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE

Stuart Turton

Oh boy, Evelyn's murder was quite a theatrical spectacle complete with champagne, a band, and fireworks. What devil trickery of a mind came up with this idea amidst frenemies and merry-making?

Poisoning the bleak landscape of Blackheath manor was another murder exactly 19 years prior. The isolated gothic gloominess served as a perdition that spawned a deluge of dirty secrets, impending deaths, and a plethora of blackmailing materials to keep everybody's panties knotted into a desperate bunch of nervous perspiration. Nobody was reliable, and everybody was his or her worst enemy only secondary to a lurking serial killer and cunning competitor(s) to push the suspense of this twisted who-done-it over the edge .

 The multiple perspectives, twists, and turns commanded my undivided attention and kept me guessing the whole time. The concept was reminiscent of certain episodes of the science fiction anthology television series Black Mirror in its what-the-bloody-hell-just-happened factors; the execution was neatly planned, smartly intricate, curiously teasing with enough red-herrings to feel smart guessing, and somehow ended up a strangely cathartic tale of forgiveness and redemption. 

What a thrilling experience it was!