Younger by Pamela Redmond Satran, 2005

A light, quick read, Younger is an entertaining story that revolves around the theme of stay-at-home moms versus career women.

Alice is a forty-four woman going through a divorce who gets a makeover on New Year's Eve.

With a new hair style and wardrobe, Alice looks decades younger and starts off her new year "younger."

Passing for someone in her twenties, Alice is able to recapture her life twenty years ago when she decided to stop working to raise her daughter with her husband Gary, a poet she met in Paris who would become a dentist.

With her younger look, she is able to get a job that she had interviewed for earlier while she was her dumpier self.

Although Alice is older and much has changed since she last worked, she still finds it difficult and intimidating to speak up at work.

She befriends a co-worker Lindsay, who is in her twenties and plans to get married soon, enjoy married life for a few years before having children, whom she would take are of full time.

Reminiscent of my frame of mind in my 20s, Lindsay's timeline startles Alice, who advises her to consider whether she wants to give up up her career, since returning to work after staying at home to care for children is not that simple.

Of course, having the optimistic outlook of someone in their 20s, Lindsay's is not able to comprehend future difficulties in achieving anything she desires.

Alice's best friend Maggie faces the reverse dilemma.  Focused on her career, Maggie has become a reknowned artist and now wants to start a family.  Alice is skeptical of whether it's too late for Maggie to become a mother given the work and energy needed to raise children.

The lesson of course, is that it's not too late for either women to start a new life, whether it involves being a professional or being a mother.

The Lowlands by Jhumpa Lahiri, 2013

Having read Jhumpa Lahiri's first novel The Namesake, I picked up The Lowland even though the synopsis did not interest me too much.

I was not disappointed - Lahiri writes so simply and elegantly.  Her writing truly is poetic. 

There are no quotes to represent dialog; instead, you read the dialog like you are actually part of the conversation, listening to what is being said.

The Lowland tells the story of two brothers, Subhash and Udayan, growing up in India during the 1960s Naxalite movement, a Marxist and Maoist rebellion.

The brash, outspoken Udayan becomes wrapped up in the movement while Subhash decides to study in the United States.

The brothers will never meet again or talk honestly with each other, but their lives will become entwined.

Against his parents' wishes, Udayan marries Gauri, the sister of a friend, instead of allowing his parents to arrange his marriage.  The  married couple return to Tollygunge to live with Udayan's parents.

In Rhode Island, Sabhash continues his studies and settles into a routine, never feeling the urge to return home.  Only when there is a family emergency does Subhash return home to India, bringing a pregnant Gauri back to Rhode Island.

Through different view points and time periods, unspoken truths are revealed where Uduyan's political activities lead to a crime in which Gauri becomes complicit.  As a result, she is not able to confide in Subhash, even as they raise her daughter Bela together.

Every familial relationship is strained in this novel, as the sons make decisions irrespective of their parents' wishes.  Similar to The Namesake, the familial strain of making one's own decision instead of following tradition is captured so well (and poetically) by Lahiri.  

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer, 2013

The Interestings is a powerful story that sticks with you.  A St. Elmo's Fire that begins earlier and ends later.

It begins with a group of teenage camp friends who ironically deem themselves The Interestings at Spirit-in-the-Woods.

It captures a time and place where kids are able to re-invent themselves where even a slight name change, from Julie to Jules, becomes life altering. 

The story centers around Jules (nee Julie) Jacobson, a small town girl whose father passes away and is sent to the creative camp in Massachusetts on scholarship.  

Ash Wolf, the nice popular blond girl, befriends Jules, who now finds herself as part of the in-group, something that she has never experienced.  

The clique consists of Ash, her equally popular brother Goodman, Ethan Figman, Jonah Bay, and Cathy Klipinger.

Except for Jules, who lives in upstate New York, the clique lives in New York City and come from worldly and sophisticated families.

The story follows these group of friends from the teenage years up until their sixties, where the group will couple up, uncouple, make mistakes, discover dark truths about themselves, and ultimately remain entwined with each other throughout the decades.

During the years at camp, Ethan professes his live to Jules, only to have her reject him.  Described as thick-bodied and unusually ugly, Ethan comes from a broken home.

Growing up with bickering, and then separated, parents, Ethan creates an alternate world in which to escape.  This cartoon world is called Figland, which will eventually become a hit television show making Ethan millions.

Ethan's success story reminds me of the theory that artists can only truly create when there is great suffering.  That comedians tend to be really dark people.  Only a place of great negativity and suffering creates beauty, while complacency does not push the boundaries.

Like the quote from the Third Man, my fiance's favorite movie, points out: "...in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. 

In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

As the group grows older, tragedy strikes where Goodman has overstepped his sense of entitlement, splitting up the group of friends.  As part of her close, almost obedient, friendship with Ash, Jules is made privy to the Wolf family secrets in protecting Goodman.

Recognizing that her complicity is assumed  because of her weakness, Jules remains faithful to Ash, never outgrowing her love (or envy) for Ash. 

By their thirties, not only is Ethan worth millions, but also has the perfect wife in Ash.  During their marriage and with Ethan's success, Ash is able pursue her career as a play director. 

After countless unsuccessful auditions, Jules pursues a more practical professional over acting and becomes a therapist.  While she enviously follows the opulent lifestyle of her friends Ethan and Ash, she settles down with Dennis Boyd, a typical small town all-American she meets at a dinner party.  

A technician who suffers from depression, Dennis makes a modest living, but is good at what he does.  He is reliable, content and balances out Jules' envious and pliable traits.

Despite the success and financial security though, Ash and Ethan struggle with their special needs son and secrets they keep for each other, secrets that Jules has been privy to.

Goodman, Cathy and Johan will have more troubled experiences as the years go on.  Jonah's story ends up being the most colorful and includes joining the Moonies cult, coming out and coming to terms with a truly bizarre childhood experience.

Some quotes from The Interestings that capture phases in life:

"The time period between the ages of, roughly, twenty to thirty was often amazingly fertile.  Great work might get done during this ten-year slice of time.  Just out of college, they were gearing up, ambitious not in a calculating way, but simply eager, not yet tired."

"...they had entered love and mutual caretaking, which unexpectedly involved feeding and food."

Ash's toast at Jules wedding in their thirties:
"I'm not losing you," said Ash.  "Marriage, I don't think, is like that.  It's something else.  It's a thing in which you get to see your closest friend become more of who she already is."

And then in the forties and beyond:
"What did the Wolf parents tell their kids: You are so special that normal rules don't apply to you?  Well, you know what?  Everybody's grown-up, everybody's old, and the normal rules do apply."

The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra, 2014

The Romanov Sisters tells the story of Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, grand duchesses and the four daughters of Nicholas Romanov, the last tsar of Russia.

Despite the joy and love Nicholas and his wife Alexandra, Queen Victoria's granddaughter, felt for their daughters, they were each a disappointment to Russia, anxious for an heir.

Finally in 1904, the night rung with 301 cannon shots (instead of 101 for each previous daughter), announcing the birth of the much awaited heir, the fifth and final child for the Romanovs. 

Unfortunately, the tsarevich Alexey was a hemophalic, an often fatal condition where a fall could trigger internal bleeding.  As the heir to the Russian empire, Alexey's condition could not be shared with the Russian people. 

With the need to maintain their brother's secret, their mother's poor health and security concerns due to political instability, the Romanov family secluded themselves, resulting in the sisters growing up in a cocoon.

The sisters were rarely allowed to socialize, and when they did, they socialized with the army cadets who protected them.  Modest and well-mannered, the sisters were filled with love for their parents, uncommon in upper-and-ruling-class society where nannies and tutors served as parent figures.  

Although Alexey's actions were closely watched and governed, there were a few incidents where his hemophilia almost caused him his life.  During these episodes when doctors had no answers, a desperate Alexandra turned to the legendary mystic Rasputin.

Charismatic and self-proclaimed to have healing powers, Rasputin would rush to Tsarskoe Selo to be at Alexey's bedside whenever Alexandra beckoned.  With prayers and assurances to Alexandra, Rasputin became a favorite among the Romanov family despite his dubious reputation and unkempt appearances.

For the Russian people, who knew little about the Romanovs, the close association with Rasputin raised suspicious.  Alexandra rarely made public appearances due to her ill health, and when she did make an appearance, she often ended the night early and rarely spoke to anyone.

As the grand duchesses became older, there was talk of marriage for Olga and Tatiana.  Anachronistic of its time, the daughters had a voice in regards to whom they married.  Neither Alexandra nor Nicholas desired to use their daughters as political pawn to build alliances.

Talk of marriages were stalled when WWI broke out, and Alexandra and her daughters threw themselves into nursing work.  An outlet from their secluded world at Tsarkoe Selo, nursing allowed the grand duchesses to interact with the outside world. 

Although aspirational to see their tsaritsa and grand duchesses attending to wounded soldiers, the Russian people were surprised to see these royal figures dressed plainly, like any other nurse.

As casualty and losses continued, revolutionary groups formed in Russia led by Lenin and the Red Guards.  Nicholas stepped down as tsar for the betterment of the country and returned to his family at Tsarskoe Selo.

Banished to Tobolsk, Siberia, the Romanovs remained a tight family unit who rallied together and kept each others' spirits up during their captivity.  The family shared a deep love for each other, and although Nicholas and Alexandra proved to be ineffective leaders, they proved to be great parents.

Ironically, the Romanov's love for family, and even love for Russia, proved to be their downfall.  Secluded and misunderstood, the Romanovs were a mystery to the Russian people, who felt no affinity to the imperial family.

After a year in captivity in 1918, the Romanovs were marched out of into courtyard and each one brutally executed.

The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger,

Very rarely have a wished that a book was longer so that I could continue reading about the characters and continue on their journey with them.  (Wow, that sounds like a sound bite from the Bachelor...)

Amina Mazid is a Bangladeshi, or Deshi, whose parents seek a better life for her.  Her father is a serial (unsuccessful) entrepreneur whose failures leave his family in struggling economic conditions.

Amina goes online to AsianEuro.com where she meets George Stillman, an American from update New York.  George visits and soon, Amina is off to the United States to start a new life as George's wife.

The story centers around Amina's adjustment to the states, her evolving relationship with her husband and the loneliness she finds herself as she is transported to another land, living with a virtual stranger.

Amina attempts to settle into American life and finds a job at the mall and eventually at Starbucks.  She befriends George's cousin's Kim, who has traveled to India and has an affinity for South East Asian cultures.

George is kind and the marriage settles into a comfortable rhythm, but Amina soon discovers inconsistencies with what George has told her about how he had come to sign up online to meet her, and his situation before flying over to Bangladesh to meet her to basically determine whether he would marry her. 

Amina is devastated by one of George's secret, but ironically, his betrayal allows her to receive the thing she hopes for the most - to have her parents emigrate to the States and live with her and George.

"What a strange thing, she thought, to find out one day that you had built your whole life on a mistake, and the next to discover that this fact would allow you to have your dearest wish."

Life continues in America - George loses his job, Amina and George struggle to maintain their relationship - before Amina returns to Bangladesh to retrieve her parents and bring them back to the States.

The rest of the story unfolds in Bangladesh where Amina returns as a mini-celebration - the woman who has made it to the States.  When at home, Amina discovers that her parents have been embroiled in family drama and a cousin Salim, is after her father for a debt. 

The lack of laws and acceptance of tribal justice, combined with the uncertainty of whether Amina's parents will get a Visa for the States, create a tense situation in Dhaka. 

Drawn to her home country by familiar sights, her family and extended family (such as close family friends like Nasir), Amina feels nostalgic and is conflicted with the life she knew and could have had, with her new uncertain life in America.

Across cultures, continents and oceans, certain aspects of life remain the same - family obligations and how asking in-laws for help can make make one feel so small, and never forgetting first loves or insignificant childhood memories like yellow barrettes.

The Newlyweds is so vividly written, that I was surprised that the author is not a Bangladeshi who emigrated to the States. 

A story of love and tenderness told from a unique perspective, The Newlyweds is an enjoyable read.  I begrudgingly read the last twenty pages or so of The Newlyweds, disappointed that the novel was ending soon. 

One of my first thoughts after finishing the story was how enjoyable a sequel would be so that I could find out how things unfold upon Amina's return to George and the States, and how their journey unfolds.

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella, 2012

Sophie Kinsella novels are like romantic comedies - entertaining, sweet and funny.  Although I've outgrown the Holleywood version, I do enjoy the written version.

Part of the appeal is Kinsella's English-isms, which I excitedly share with my English fiance.

I've Got Your Number centers around Poppy Wyatt, who is set to marry Magnus Tavish, a PhD in symbolism whose parents, Antony and Wanda, are also PhDs.

Like all romantic comedy heroines, Poppy is a sweet, caring free spirit who is obviously a mismatch for the footnote-loving Tavishes.

The adventure to true love begins when Poppy finds a phone in the bin and claims it as her own.

The phone belongs to the PA of handsome, straight-laced business man Sam Roxton who is consumed with work and needs the right free spirit to loosen him up.

Amidst the mishaps and misunderstandings that ensure throughout the novel, there are twists involving a lost engagement ring, an affair and corporate espionage.  It's a fun ride and nice escape mixed with English vernacular - perfect!

The terms I learned from I've Got Your Number:
* Hoover and Hoovering = vacuum and vacuuming.  Similar to how Americans have incorporated brand names like Kleenex and Xerox to represent the product, the English use Hoover as the verb.
* Stroppy = fractious, belligerent
* Whingy = complaining, whining
* Slap-up = adjective meaning excellent, indulgent, usually about a meal

And then terms I have heard often from my fiance - tricksy (clever in deceptive way), aggro (short for aggravating or aggravation) and cuppa (cup of tea). 

P.S. Shout out to my brother, whose 40th birthday is today.

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline, 2013

Recommended by a close friend who is also an avid reader, Orphan Train is a stark contrast to the Crazy Rich Asian world that I just left.

Molly is a Maine high schooler who has grown up in foster care.  With an alcoholic father who passes away in a car accident and a drug addicted absent mother, Molly is used to being alone, unloved and uncared for, an outsider.

She crosses path with Vivian Daly, an octogenarian from the midwest who retired to Maine and lives in a grand home by the sea, when she is forced to do community service for stealing a dog-eared copy of Jane Eyre from the library.

While helping Vivian clear away her attic as part of her community service hours, Molly is drawn into Vivian's startling childhood on the historically accurate orphan train that brought her from New York City to Minnesota in the 1920s.

Powerfully written, Vivian's story unfolds in the Midwest as she helplessly goes through abusive foster homes.  Her name is changed from the Irish Niamph to Dorothy.  She lives in squalor with no indoor plumbing or electricity.  She is only nine-years-old and helpless to change her circumstances.

Because of a kind teacher, Vivian finally finds a caring home and although her foster parents will never truly compare to the parents that she lost, she is cared for, fed and treated like a daughter.

A page-turner like the best mysteries, Orphan Train makes my heart ache for the many children out there without families or any sense of security, who are vulnerable and so helpless.

A backdrop for the story, the state of Maine stirred up memories of my recent camping trip there when I fell in love with the state.  Being so close to the forest and the sea truly inspires creativity and creates a very special vibe. 

The author, Christina Baker Kline, lives in New York City, but spends time in Maine.  Reading Orphan Train makes me want to buy a quaint Maine home on a lake and write powerful novels.

If only it was that simple...  I'd be writing novels in Maine and not blogging about books I've read in Boston.

An update a month later: I loved Orphan Train so much, that I was really looking forward to Kline's The Way Life Should Be, 2007.  The story centers around a NYC woman who decides to leave the bustle of the city to live in a small town in Maine, where the man she just met online lives.

Kline's ability to capture truism is in the story - how on internet dating profiles, everyone loves hiking!  And as protagonist Angela Russo observes, 'In my experience, when somebody says "Relax, I'm joking," they usually aren't.'

The humor is there as well.  When Angela spies a truck with flames on the back of her new love interest's truck, she hopefully wonders that trucks come off the assembly floors like that and that's why he has them on his truck...

I relate to Angela's apparently crazy and impulsive decision to move to Maine.  I've been in a rut before where I was more than ready to make a situation far more than it really was, and made a major life decision.

(It did not work out and I'm thankful that I had my family to lean on when things fell through.)

Despite being able to relate to the protagonist, and really enjoying how Kline captures human nuances, I found The Way Life Should Be tedious and could not finish the story.

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, 2013

Crazy Rich Asians is a fun romp through the ultra rich jet set of Signapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

These crazy rich folks have no jobs and pass their time with hundred thousand dollar shopping sprees, helicopter trips and private planes to casinos and private island resorts.

Mini-celebrities, crazy rich Asians are constantly keeping up with appearances, embroiled in gossip, judging and being judged by others.

The central character is an ABC (American Born Chinese), Rachel Chu, who lives in New York City with her boyfriend Nick Young.

Rachel has no idea how rich, much less crazy rich, Nick is and only finds out when they head to Singapore for Nick's best friend Colin Khoo's wedding.

In Singapore, Rachel discovers that Nick literally grew up in a palace surrounded by servants, with a grandmother who has been gifted ladies in waiting from the King of Thailand.

There are multiple story lines in the novel where each character, no matter how crazy rich, has heartache that must be dealt with - whether it's Nick's cousin Astrid in a struggling marriage, Colin's anxiety of being in the spotlight with his upcoming nuptial to Araminta Lee (also crazy rich, of course), or Nick's cousin Eddie's superficiality and jealousy that forces him to dress his young children in matching Ralph Lauren outfits.

Like every country, there are differences between old and new money. Asians from mainland China represent the new money for Singaporeans, Shanghainese and Hong Kongese, and tend to be flashier, like Rachel's Singaporean friend from Stanford Peik Lin, who lives in an estate with a reproduction of Versailles' Hall of Mirrors.

By contrast, Nick's family is well ensconced in the old money category, with a rich lineage of crazy rich ancestors.

With footnotes throughout that provide details on local foods and Malay and Pernakin slang, and dialogue that includes vernacular such as "henwees" or HNWI (high network individual), Kwan immerses the reader in this crazy rich world where brand name labels pepper every day conversation much like the weather for New Englanders.

As an ABC, I can definitely relate to the cultural accuracy described in this book.  Not only are Asians obsessed with food, but also with their children, especially daughters, marrying well.  There are constant comparisons to others and extreme materialism - whether pertaining to wealth or other representation of "success," like attending Cambridge University.

(Harvard and American universities are not worth going go.)

The perception of ABC's also ring true - that we are overly overconfident and overly familiar, and oblivious to the ultra rich pecking order of other countries.  This is an accurate description of all Americans though, not just Asian Americans.

An international tale, with chapters taking place in Singapore, Hong Kong and Paris, Crazy Rich Asians is a glimpse inside the mega rich of Asia, who are not shy about showcasing their extreme wealth, whether with a yatch with its own helicopter landing pad, hot tub or library; or high-tech temperature zone controlled closet with a camera that captures each outfit.

To distinguish between all these crazy rich Asians, there are tell-tale signs such as Singaporeans who tend to wear less jewelry because they are afraid of getting mugged, Hong Kongeans who tend to all dress alike in the same designer brands, and Japanese who dress like they're about to go play golf.

Despite the tell-tale signs, all crazy rich Asians have something in common - the love of shopping and snapping up designer labels.  To the dismay of many crazy rich Asians, the Louis Voitton store in Paris limits purchases of one item per customer. 

Even walking along Newbury Street in Boston, stores are mobbed with frenzied Asian tourists scooping things up.  A childhood friend and fellow ABC would always get a kick out of going into a Newbury Street boutique and being waiting on hand and foot as shopkeepers thought she was a crazy rich Asian tourist.

The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker, 2012

A fast-paced story with endless twists and turns, Joel Dicker's The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair had me hooked form the beginning.

A  story within a story within a story, the novel centers around Marcus Goldman, a writer who returns to his college professor mentor as he experiences the writer's disease and finds himself unable to write.

Reunited with the reknowned Harry Quebert at his New Hampshire home, Goldman is swept up in a series of events that kicks off with the body of a girl that is found buried on Quebert's property.

The girl is Nola Kellargan, who disappeared from Somerset, NH at the age of 15, over three decades ago.

It soon comes to light that the then 34-year-old Quebert had had a love affair with Nola.

Somerset is rocked in scandal and Quebert sent to jail.  Convinced of Quebert's innocents, Goldman returns to Somerset to clear his mentor's name.

Teamed up with the local Sergeant Perry Gahalowood, Goldman uncovers many secrets that will keep the reader guessing until the very end.

Each character is so nuanced, that I never lost track of anyone despite the large cast of characters in the 600+ page novel.

Memorable characters include Luther Caleb, Elijah Stern, Jenny Dawn, Tamara Quinn, Robert Quinn, Travis Dawn, Chief Pratt, Nancy Hattaway, Roy Barnaski, David Kellerga, and of course, Ernie Pinkas.

Framed by the 31 rules of writing that Quebert imparted onto Goldman, the twists and turns and second-guessing do not just pertain to who murdered Nola Kellergan, but almost everything else in between.

Even the Acknowledgement is an unexpected surprise.

It has been awhile since I've stayed up late during the week night to read a book (specifically, since the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series and Gone Girl), but I read for three hours straight because I could not put down the book.

A 27-year-old Swiss man who spent his summers in New England, Dicker has written an incredibly original story that captures small-town Americans so well.

The best person to observe a group is an outsider, who is unfamiliar with customs and habits and will pick up on the slightest nuances.  This is what Dickers did as a Swiss spending his summer in the States.

To add to the international background of the novel, The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair was originally written in French.

Harry Quebert's 31 Rules for Writing:
31. The first chapter, Marcus, is essential.  If the readers don't like it, they won't read the rest of the book.
30. Your second chapter is very important, Marcus, it has to be incisive, hard-hitting.
29. Everyone knows how to writ, but everyone is a writer...  Nobody knows he's a writer.  It's other people who tell you.
28. Life is a long drop, Marcus.  The most important thing is knowing how to fall.
27. Anytime you have doubts about what you're doing, go outside and run.  Run until you can't run anymore.  Run until you feel that fierce desire to win being born within you.
26. The reason writers are such fragile beings, Marcus, is that they suffer from two sort of emotional pain, which is twice as much as normal human beings: the heartache of love and the heartache of books.  Writing a book is like loving someone.  It can be very painful.
25. "How does one become a writer, Harry"  By never giving up.
24. You see, boxing and writing are similar.  You get in the guard position, you decide to throw yourself into battle...  A book is more a less the same.  A book is a battle.
23. "And the characters?  Where do you get the inspiration for your characters?"  From everyone.  A friend, a cleaning lady, the bank clerk.  But be careful: it's not the people themselves who provide your inspiration, but what they do.
22. Because the writer's disease isn't an inability to write anymore: it's being incapable of stopping.
21. Marcus, do you know what is the only way to know how much you love someone?  By losing them.
20. Victory is within you.  All you need is to want to let it out.
19. Writers who spend all night writing, addicted to caffeine and smoking hand-rolled cigarettes, are a myth, Marcus.  You have to be disciplined...  There are exercises to to be repeated, at certain times of the day.  You have to be persistent, you have to maintain a good rhythm, and your life has to be perfectly ordered.

The author, Joel Dicker

18. In our society, Marcus, the most admired men are those who build bridges, skyscrapers, and empires.  But in reality, the proudest and most admirable are those who manage to build love.  Because there is no greater or more difficult undertaking.
17. That when you have an idea, rather than immediately turning it into one of your unreadable stories..you should not let it out.  You should nurture it inside you, allow it to ripen until you feel it's the right moment...  Turn your ideas...into illuminations.
16. "Harry, how long does it take to write a book?"  That depends.  On everything.
15. Words are for everybody, until you prove that you are capable of appropriating them.  That's what defines a writer.  You see, Marcus, some people would like you to believe that a book consists of relationships between words, but that's not true: It is in fact about relationships between people.
14. You see, Marcus, the way it works in our society, we are constantly having to choose between reason and passion.  Reason never helps anyone, and passion is often destructive.
13.  The danger of books, Marcus, is that sometimes you lose control of them.  When you are published, the thing that you have written in such solitary fashion suddenly escapes from your hands and enters the realm of the public.  This is a moment of great danger; you must keep control of the situation at all times.  It is disastrous to lose control of your own book.
12. Learn to love your failures, Marcus, because it is your failures that will make you who you are.  It is your failures that will give meaning to your victories.
11. You should box like you write and write like you box: You should give everything you have because each match, like each book, might be your last.
10. Writing means being able to feel things more strongly than other people do and to communicate those feelings.  Writing means allowing your readers to see things they sometimes can't see.  If only orphans wrote books about orphans, we'd never get anywhere...  And if a writer had to limit his writing to his own experiences, literature would be impoverished and lost all its meaning.  We're allowed to write anything that affects us.  And no one can judge us for that.  We're writers because we do one thing differently, one thing that everyone around us knows how to do: write.  All the nunaces reside there.

One of the three French literary prizes awarded to the book.

9. The words are good, Marcus.  But don't write in order to be read; write in order to be heard.
8. Who dares, wins.  Think about that motto, Marcus, whenever you are faced with a difficult choice.  Who dares, wins.
7. Cherish love, Marcus.  Make it your greatest conquest, your sole ambition...  After books, there will be other books.  After glory, there will be other glory.  After money, there will be yet more money.  But after love, Marcus, after love, there is nothing but the salt from tears.
6. You see, Marcus, words are good, but sometimes they're not enough.  There comes a time when some people don't want to hear...  When words lose their power, you have to throw a few punches.
5. A new book, Marcus, is the start of a new life.  It's also an act of great generosity: You are offering, to whoever wishes to discover it, a part of yourself...  You're writing it for all those who, in their daily lives, will enjoy a sweet moment because of Marcus Goldman.  You say that doesn't sound like much, but it's actually quite something.  Some writers want to change the world.  But who can really change the world?
4. When you get to the end of the book, Marcus, give your reader a last-minute twist...  Because you have to keep them on tenterhooks until the end.  It's like when you're playing cards: you have to hold a few trump cards for the final part of the game.
3. Your life will be punctuated by a succession of major events.  Mention them in your books, Marcus.  Because if the book turns out to be bad, they will at least have the merit of recording a few pages of history.
2. Sometimes you'll feel discouraged, Marcus.  That's normal.  I told you that writing was like boxing, but it's also like running.  That why I keep sending you out to pound the pavement: If you have the moral courage to run a long way, in the rain, in the cold, if you have the strength to keep going until the end, to give it all you have and to reach your goal, then you're capable of writing a book.  Never let fear or fatigue stop you.  On the contrary: You should use them to help you keep going.
1. The last chapter of the book, Marcus, should always be the best.