Source: ARC from Author

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Posted March 12, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Young Adult / 6 Comments

If You Find Me by Emily MurdochTitle: If You Find Me (Goodreads)
Author: Emily Murdoch
Published: St. Martin's Griffin, 2013
Pages: 304
Genres: Young Adult
My Copy: ARC from Author

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

In a broken down camper, hidden in the forest, is where you will find Casey and Jenessa. Abducted by their bi-polar meth addicted mother ten years ago, the girls have learnt to survive on their own. Until one day their mother disappears for good and two strangers turn up. Suddenly the girls are expected to reintegrate into normal society. If You Find Me is part psychological thriller part Young Adult fiction.

I don’t think I’ve read a YA novel like this before, the survival aspects are handled really well and the whole concept of trying to live a normal life again after being taken away from society were handled really well. The best part; it’s a Young Adult novel that handles these topics that doesn’t have dystopian theme. I really enjoyed the psychological themes throughout this book and thought they were managed really well for a debut author like Emily Murdoch.

There are some parts of this book that I didn’t like, I personally felt like elements of Casey’s life were glossed over; there are mentions of sexual abuse that would be fairly traumatic but I didn’t think it was really explored. Also adorable little Jenessa has a major breakthrough in the book but it was predictable and I could see it coming for miles but then I never felt like it was explored enough; it happened and they all moved on like it never happened.

The concept and the plot are great and I think there are a lot of elements to love about this book. I might be one of the few people that probably thought there were parts that needed to be explored more and other parts that needed to be stripped back. Everything just ended up being unrealistically neat; I would have liked to see some more of the psychological, just to make sure everything isn’t too tidy.

If You Find Me is a great little young adult book from a fantastic new up-and-comer in this genre. I love that this book doesn’t feel like it has been done before. There are some real serious issues explored and for the most of it, it worked really well. For fans of Young Adult fiction, this is a must read for you and I hope this book ends up being a huge success.

The Artist as Mystic by Yahia Lababidi and Alex Stein

Posted December 20, 2012 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Non-Fiction / 0 Comments

The Artist as Mystic by Yahia Lababidi and Alex SteinTitle: The Artist as Mystic (Goodreads)
Author: Alex Stein, Yahia Lababidi
Published: Onesuch, 2012
Pages: 86
Genres: Non-Fiction
My Copy: ARC from Author

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

I’m going to have to borrow the blurb for this book, because I think it best summarises this book. The Artist as Mystic is a set of lyric conversations between aphorists Yahia Lababidi and Alex Stein. These conversations constitute what Australians call a ‘Songline’ — a set of sacred songs that allow the reader/listener to navigate through an unknown terrain, in this case, populated by tortured and ecstatic souls: Kafka, Baudelaire, Nietzsche, Rilke, Kierkegaard and Ekelund.

I’ve never really read something like this, blending biographical elements with literary criticism, but then it takes it a bit further by documenting conversations between Yahia Lababidi and Alex Stein and adding a reflective poem to each essay by Lababidi. It’s like being a fly on the wall and listening to two very intelligent people bounce thoughts and ideas off each other about literary ideas.

While it often felt more like an interview rather than a conversation, I never felt bothered by it; Yahia Lababidi has a lot of insight and knowledge and I think Alex Stein made a very strategic move by stepping back and letting Lababidi run free with his thoughts. While this may come across as very dense book, I found the book very accessible.

The Artist as Mystic is a thought provoking look at people I’ve had a real interest in understanding better; Kafka, Nietzsche and Kierkegaard as well as an insight into a few new ones I need to learn about. I’m not a very intellectual person, I do try but what I got out of this book was just how well it helped me understand the ideas it wanted to get across. Yahia Lababidi never talked down but rather mentored the reader along, making this the most impressive aspect of the whole book. I felt inspired by this book and plan to read this book with a highlighter and a notepad sometimes in the future.