⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I wrote a lengthy review on Instagram (@hweesh) but since Litsy has a miserly character limit, I‘ll just say this: read the book. The movie might have been well-made but nothing beats hearing Eric Lomax‘s voice itself. He‘s a brilliant man. My first 5 stars awarded.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️This is the second Dostoevsky book after “Crime and Punishment” that I‘ve read. I was deeply affected and emotionally invested in the characters Natasha, Nikolai and Ivan because they mirrored various aspects of the people in my life during the lowest period of my life. Dostoevsky is truly a perceptive and insightful writer who has an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the human mind and heart. Disclaimer: not for everyone.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️We know about the five stages of grief but everyone deals with grief differently, I found much strength and wisdom from reading Collins‘ recount of the events that led to the tragedy of her daughter‘s suicide and the aftermath. An insight into the life of a Kiwi expat family living in SG. The issues they faced were not unique, but the tragedy lies in the society not learning from its mistakes. The question now, where do we go from here?

⭐️⭐️By profession a journalist, Gladwell doesn‘t claim to be a social scientist. By that yardstick, I think this book is worth your time, only if you can shut out the alarm ringing in your head of a casual disregard for real issues like racism and sexual assault. The ideas of man defaulting to truth and having a threshold for detecting lies are not new but timely reminders. Also a cautionary tale to not take research findings out of context.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️I love the stories within a story, the narratives from different perspectives, how a single narrative thread runs the course of the novel, yet does not drown the voices of the other characters but uplifts them. And amidst the cacophony of voices, a single verse from a Rumi poem lingers quietly in the background, “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I‘ll meet you there.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️This is easily hands-down the children‘s book of the year for me😍Words and illustrations have always formed the backbone of any children‘s book but the marrying of narratives that cross two modalities and merge into a single narrative strand is simply ingenious and magical. It‘s a cross between a graphic novel and a children‘s literature. I am “wonderstruck”! Definitely recommend this for adults and children alike!