Book Review · Books

The Visitor – Ti Ca [BOOK REVIEW]

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★★

An interesting and complex piece of work that covers memory loss and family love tightly together. A short read, but also a missed opportunity of what could be a lovely novel, if developed in a better way.

It is Christmas Eve, but the furnace has gone out, the breaker needs to be reset and the cupboards are empty. In her cold house, Mrs. Langstrum is waiting for her husband to arrive from his quick trip to the store. As a snowstorm is approaching, Mrs. Langstrum gets worried. But just as she decides to get help, someone knocks on her door. A visitor. A stranger. But before she can tell him to go, he says he has news about her husband.

The blurb was the main reason I picked up this book. You sort of get the idea of what this book might be about. A mystery person arrives, and he has a story. The woman has a story, and the setting makes you curious about how this will continue to unravel.

The plot is complex, and even though it’s a very short book, the story went incredibly slow. The plot twist happened at the begging, and knowing this, I expected another one, as the beginning was obvious. In the end, when no other plot twists happen, and the book ends exactly how you thought it would end at the beginning, you are felt disappointed and unsatisfied.

I really loved the idea of the woman who has a memory loss, and a person that reveals information bit by bit. Going from other perspectives and back in time, it was a nice concept. I also really enjoyed the family relationships captured, and all the challenges openly discussed. We have some big taboo subjects here, and not many people are brave enough to openly talk about this.

However, this whole concept, and idea, was not delivered as it should’ve been, as it had the capacity to. There was room for more development, more work, and more plot twists.

Some parts are confusing, and it was nice that the story was so short and you could go back to it and re-read it, but is that really a good thing? Would we go back and re-read a 300-page book if it was confusing? I wouldn’t.

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Postcards

Puppies, aren’t they adorable?

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I love puppies. I used to have one. And while I was drawing this, Dzeni was on my mind.

I used to have a puppy myself when I was 5 years old. I called her Dzeni. She wasn’t a dog with a pedigree. She was one of those street dogs, and I loved her so much. She was so adorable brown little creature, and had those sparkly eyes, that always look at you with question marks above. When I looked at her, if felt like she always wanted to ask me something. She used to stand in front of my room when I was asleep, and didn’t let anyone in. I used to torture her in a childlish way, to climb on her and make her run a lot, and always cuddle her, even when she’s tired. And she never got mad. Even though she sometimes didn’t like it at all. She was a puppy that every child would want. She wasn’t dalmatian, or golden retriever, but she was full of love and dedication towards me. She was so protective and caring, and oh, how much I loved her. I still believe  that there is such strong connection between a dog and a kid.

Even now, 15 years later, I still love her endlessly, and she always has a special place in my heart. I still remember our games like it was yesterday. She was a part of my life, and she left a special mark there.

While I drew this postcard, I was thinking about her. She looked like those two guys, with those big eyes and eyes full of questions. I miss her. So much!