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Bound, Punished, Possessed: The First Three Books of the Arelia LaRue Series by Kira Saito

Posted on July 31, 2012 | Leave a comment

Bound by Kira SaitoSelf-published, available as e-books on Amazon.com.

I am going to review these three books as one story, since each book is very short and flows into the other seamlessly.

These books follow the story of our young teenage protagonist Arelia as she accepts her powers as a voodoo queen and struggles to fight against dark powers and curses at the stately Darkwood Plantation set just outside New Orleans. There’s love, spirits and magic, and one very annoying blonde best friend.

This book has a very teenage voice, which I suppose is appropriate considering that it’s written from the first person point of view of a teenager. While I tried to adjust to this voice, it often made me feel like I was trapped inside of a car with a gaggle of teenage girls who just won’t stop talking. This feeling can be, as you might guess, rather annoying. Each book reads as if a girl is sitting right next to you telling the story, which leaves little to the imagination and takes away from the plot considerably. I also wasn’t happy to see the immense amount of pop culture references, from Lady Gaga to The Nightmare Before Christmas. Each reference took me out of the story and made me feel disappointed in the author.

I didn’t care for the two female characters, Arelia the protagonist and Sabrina her vapid blonde friend. Both have their interesting life details, yet they are stuck with one-dimensional personalities with a flair for the annoying. Sabrina is a self-obsessed rich girl with abandonment issues and Arelia is a self-deprecating poor girl with self-esteem issues. If you didn’t pick up on these things naturally through character development, the author helps out by telling you outright.

Not only does she talk outright about her many “issues”, but Saito has Arelia explaining everything to us rather than letting the story play out:

“Whatever you say,” I said reluctantly.

I knew I was more anxious than usual tonight because I wanted to look good. I wanted to be noticed, and I knew by exactly who. Although I felt beyond guilty for wanting what or who I did, I couldn’t help the way I felt. I wanted Lucus, and I wasn’t afraid to admit that anymore.

Okay, so theoretically I was trying to be all confident, but I knew that when I actually saw him, I’d probably say something stupid. – Excerpt from Punished

Saito needs to learn the great art of subtlety—not everything needs to be blatantly told to the readers and she needs to learn that we are smart enough to follow along without her hand-holding. As I read this book one of the first rules of writing rang in my head over and over: Show, Don’t Tell.

That said, I read all three books and genuinely enjoyed them. I even found them somewhat addicting. While Saito’s pace is incredibly fast (Arelia is always in conversation with someone and something dramatic is always happening) it does keep the story moving and kept my attention throughout all three. She’s good at leaving cliff hangers and I was always left wanting more of the story.

Which brings me to what I liked: the story. Saito’s characters may be flat, annoying, and unlikable, but her story is incredible. She dabbles with mythology and magic while setting her story in (obviously fictionalized) history. Much of the story involves Haitian voodoo spirits, which Saito did her homework on instead of making up (I was happy to find) and slavery.

She also has a great way with sensory details, focusing primarily on food, which always captures my attention and praise. After reading these books all I wanted to do was go straight to New Orleans and eat everything Saito mentions in her books.

The fourth book in this series (Oppressed) is not yet available, but I can tell you that I will read it and probably the rest of the series. I do wish she wrote this series as a trilogy, however, and that she get herself a better editor. I believe these books, given more time and editing, could be something really impressive.

You can read the first book in this series, Bound, for free. Punished and Possessed can be purchased for $2.99 each. All books are only available as e-books.

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The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Posted on October 17, 2011 | Leave a comment

*Warning: Spoilers ahead. 


When I was about ten years old I attended a sleep over party at which I was introduced to the cinematic masterpiece The Princess Bride. Years later, the film remained on my favorite movies list. I introduced the film to as many people as I could: friends, younger siblings, even boyfriends. I still have the DVD sitting among the five other DVDs I currently own.

Needless to say, The Princess Bride had an impact on me. Now, fifteen years after being first introduced to the film, I have read the book it was based on.

William Goldman wrote The Princess Bride in 1973, claiming that it is an abridged version of a novel written by an S. Morgenstern. The book features the story (very close to the film version) and asides from Goldman himself, explaining why he cut certain sections and inserting short personal anecdotes (all of which are fictional).

In the book he mentions that his father read him the “original version” when he was a boy, and now that he has a son of his own he wanted to pass on this tradition. In reality, no such version exists, Goldman doesn’t have a son (he has two daughters), and he of course wrote the book entirely himself.

The story, if you have been living under a rock since 1973, is a fantasy about the love between Buttercup and Westely, and the trials/tribulations they must overcome to be together. If you’ve ever heard anyone say, “My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!” you may cease your wondering: the quote is from this book.

The story is romantic, but mostly it is a comedy. The film features many of the best jokes from the book, but the book has even more comedic elements the film lacks. Goldman’s introduction and asides are incredibly witty, and I found myself more than once laughing out loud (and remember, I’ve seen the movie at least 20 times).

The book also features the back stories of Fezzik and Inigo, a welcome addition to the primary knowledge of the two lovable characters.  Prince Humperdinck is also given more character development in the book, as is the relationship he has with Buttercup during Westley’s absence.

The only complaint I have of the book is the depiction of Buttercup. In the film she is certainly the dullest character, but in the book she is described as an absolute moron. Westely and Humperdinck frequently ridicule her lack of intelligence, while she herself is constantly thinking about how stupid she is. She is often described as beautiful and stupid.

I have read that Goldman wrote this story more or less for his daughters (who, it is said, asked for a story about a “bride” and a “princess”). I would think a man writing for his daughters might give them a female character to aspire to, not one to be mocked. That said, his male characters (ALL of the other characters, apart from a witch and the King’s wife, neither of which have much page-time) are very engaging.

Fans of the film won’t be  disappointed by the book, and if you have never seen the movie I recommend both highly.

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The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Posted on July 27, 2011 | 2 Comments

According to Coelho’s introduction, Julia Roberts was a huge fan of this book. She wasn’t the only one. The Alchemist has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and has been translated into fifty-six languages. It’s kind of a big deal.

But that’s not why I chose to read it. I read it because I found it in a stack of free books and recognized the author as the same guy who wrote Veronika Decides to Die and thought it might be an easy, short vacation read for when I was in South Carolina.

It was indeed an easy read, easier than I had anticipated. It reads like a folk tale, following the story of a young sheep herder who is told one day that his treasure awaits him at the Egyptian pyramids. In the story the sheep herder follows the advice of a Gypsy fortune-teller and a strange old man in order to find his treasure. He sells his sheep and heads to Africa where he meets a few friends and a few foes and has his entire fortune stolen from him a few times.

It’s a simple enough fable about the search for happiness. The sheep herder, Santiago, comes close to being very happy a few times and almost gives up on the mysterious treasure that awaits him. But he is told many times that everyone must seek out their “Personal Legend” or they will never be truly happy. He sees a baker whose personal legend was to travel. He spent his whole life working to save up for a great trip and now he’s accepted his lot in life and won’t ever leave the town he lives in.

The story is interesting because it definitely asks the reader questions about their own lives and pursuits of happiness and includes scenarios anyone could relate to. Santiago meets a woman he falls in love with, and wonders if maybe she was his treasure all along. But deep down he knows she’s not, so he must leave her in further pursuit of his Personal Legend/treasure.

This fable is very much a story about perseverance and faith. I’d say it might be a helpful read for anyone having an existential crisis. I can’t promise this book will give you the answers you’re looking for, but it may open your mind to new possibilities or ideas.

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Await your Reply by Dan Chaon

Posted on June 3, 2011 | Leave a comment

Await Your Reply was the last of Dan Chaon’s work available for me to read. I’ve reviewed his other works, Fitting Ends, Among the Missing, and You Remind Me of Me on this blog as well.

Await Your Reply follows three distinct storylines all revolving around the same theme: identity. Miles Cheshire is searching for his schizophrenic twin brother, Lucy has just run off with her history teacher, and Ryan has dropped out of college to live with the father he had been led to believe was just an uncle. It is unclear almost to the very end how these characters connect to each other, though how they resemble each other is made extremely clear from the first few chapters.

Each character is given an opportunity to remake themselves, to become a different person. Miles struggles with this, unable to be anyone other than who he really is, while Ryan becomes many different people through fake bank accounts and identities. Lucy is pushed by her history teacher lover to take on new identities though she is hesitant.

The stories themselves were engaging (though some more than others, I often found myself wishing Miles would shut up already about his lost brother so I could see how things were going with Lucy in that abandoned Lighthouse Motel she’s forced to live in). The underlying theme of identity felt heavy-handed in many parts, and I often felt like telling Chaon to cool it already, we get it. It also felt as if Chaon merely scratched the surface of “identity” in this novel and that he could have taken the theme to much deeper levels but chose not to for the sake of keeping this novel moving more like a mystery novel than an existentialist one.

While the novel is rather quick-paced and engaging, it’s also deeply sad. Each character is unbelievably lost in not only the world but within themselves. Each pushed by a person in their life (Miles’ brother, Lucy’s lover, Ryan’s father) to be someone they aren’t, to change into someone new. And while they all are unhappy with who they currently are, there isn’t really anyone else they would rather be.

There a few twists and turns towards the end of the novel, but I’ll leave those for you to discover yourself. If you are new to Dan Chaon, I would suggest reading his collection of short fiction Among the Missing and this novel.

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Tin House: Vol. 12, #3 “The Mysterious”

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

The latest issue of Tin House  is focused around “The Mysterious.” It has a story about Africa’s Johannesburg, one of the most violent cities in the world, a story about immortality elixirs, an interview with Peter Straub, and some gruesome and creepy fiction.

I loved Luis Alberto Urrea’s short story, “Chametla.” It tells of two soldiers, one who is dying and the other who is watching the man dying. As Guerrero fades from life, Garcia tries to bandage his head wound without much success. Then, something very strange begins to happen:

Garcia bent down, but then had to leap back because a small locomotive rushed out of Guerrero’s wound. It fell out of the wound, pulling a coal car and several small cattle cars as if it were falling off a miniscule bridge in some rail disaster. The soft train fell upon the ground and glistened, puffing like a fish. Casan pounced on it and took it in his mouth, shaking it once and gulping it down.

As Garcia continues to watch the man die, he sees all of Guerrero’s memories flow out of his head, miniature and magical, but solid. I loved this imagery, it comes across as unique and beautiful, as well as troubling.

Peter Straub’s interview was both interesting and inspiring. Straub, author of such scary stories as A Dark Matter, Ghost Story, and Shadowland talked about writing horror stories, his own dark childhood, and how he’s trying to show people how crime/horror stories can be great works of fiction.

One thing Straub said in this interview that caught my attention was when he was talking about what makes things scary. He said, ”What would be frightening about me jumping out of the bush wearing a pig mask is not the sudden surprise, but that the ordinary world had split open.” I love the idea of the “ordinary world splitting open” as a metaphor for writing horror or any other type of fiction.

Richard Poplak wrote an essay about “The Suitcase Murder,” a murder that “stunned” South Africa, specifically the scary town of Johannesburg. According to Poplak, “…Johannesburg has produced 1.3 serial killers for every decade of its history, with a cumulative tally of about 450.” That’s a lot of serial killers.

But “The Suitcase Murder” was just a single act of violence that for some reason scared the town more than anything had in a long time. One day a suitcase was found on the shore filled with a woman’s chopped up body parts (sans head).

Poplak describes the story of “The Suitcase Murder” in gruesome but provocative detail adding his insight into the social and economic aspects of the town and the effect of this murder on its people.

Another piece of fiction, “Then,” by Kenneth Calhoun is worth noting as well. The story wasn’t the best that I have read but Calhoun has done something unique here with time traveling. In his story each paragraph is related to a couple and their baby, but the order is all screwed up. In one paragraph the couple are sitting on the couch with the baby, in the next she’s pregnant with the baby, in the next they can’t find the baby. This goes on (a little too long) until the end of the story where cops get involved and the story, which until then had been just confusing and a little dark, becomes very dark and all too clear.

These were my favorite parts of this issue Tin House, but it was a fantastic read as a whole which included many diverse elements under the “mysterious” umbrella.

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