Just A Small Friendly Reminder:

‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ book review

‘The picture of Dorian Gray’ is literally a masterpiece. I was thrilled to read this novel. Surely it is the best work of Wilde. It is a different kind of novel. The story is fascinating.

Dorian Gray is the lead character of the novel. He himself is the hero and the villain. He is a young, charismatic chap who can’t help loving himself. Here narcissism is seen in Dorian Gray’s character. Being an over narcissist, Dorian also becomes totally self-absorbed eventually. He becomes wicked day by day and it all happens because of the change in the portrait of his which was drawn by one of his best mate.

The words of this novel are very strong and hypnotic. They make you forget the world you belong to and take you right to the Victorian era. The novel is full of great literary references and is explained in an artistic way which is different from the usual.

I really loved the ending. It was like there could not be any perfect ending except for Dorian’s demise. I definitely recommend everyone to read this masterpiece at least once.

My Top 5 Favorite Movies I’ve watched in 2021 <3 

‘The Alchemist’ Book Review

‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho is a short, simple book but still bears so much significance. The language is simple and easy to understand but the meanings appears somehow really deep. The story follows a young shepherd boy who searches for treasure and realizes and learns so much meanings in the way. he learns about luck and destiny. He appears to understand gradually about specific values of certain things.

I have realized many philosophical things over and over again. Like I have realized, one who experiments and learns new things must move forward with his life without binding herself to any activities. In the book, the travelling is that sort of experiment. There is always a way out from any kind of trouble no matter how hard it is. It is no coincidence, it is destiny. There is nothing impossible for us to do or gain because everything needs to make the matter possible lies within our souls. Human soul is the greatest of all as Allah Himself has said.

After reading this book life seems beautiful. Even if there are troubles and disturbing phenomena going on, it is worth to believe and to rely on life completely. 

‘The Alchemist’ is a book of realization. The things we already know but haven’t have enough before to realize. This is a great spiritual and moral book. I will definitely recommend this to all the philosophy lovers.

Top 5 Andrew Garfield Movies

Andrew Garfield is one of my favourite actors of all time. He is good looking and exceptionally talented. I have watched most of his movies and just cant help falling in love with this brilliant actor. I am naming top 5 of his movies below:

1. Hacksaw Ridge: It is a historical/biography film. Andrew Garfield played the character of ‘Desmond Doss’. This movie is a masterpiece and very heart touching. It is completely different from other war films. You will never get bored watching this. Garfield’s performance was outstanding in this film. He was nominated for the best actor in a leading role in Academy Award 2017 for his performance in the film.

2. Silence: It is also a historical/biography film. Here Garfield potrayed the character of ‘Sebastiao Rodrigues’. This movie is based on strong belief in faith and the Creator. The movie makes us feel and think about our religion, makes us love and respect our Creator. I personally think this movie is a kind of gift to humanity. 

3. Breathe: It is a drama/biography/romance film. Andrew Garfield played the character of ‘Robin Cavendish”. This is different kind of romantic film. This is an inspiring film. The life struggle of robin and Diana teaches us not to give up our hopes on anyhting and teaches us to live our life no matter what the situation is.

4. The Social Network: It is a biography film. Garfield played the character of ‘Eduardo Saverin’ who is the friend of Mark Zuckerberg. This movie is about founding facebook, the success of facebook and the clash between two best friends after founding facebbok. It is different from other such biography films and not boring at all.

5. 99 Homes: It is a crime/thriller film. Garfield played the character of ‘Dennis Nash”. Here the character of Garfield was neither good nor bad. It was a different kind of film which represented the struggle of the only earning member of the family to hold his family together and make his family happy.

Keeper of the Memories

This is the second story of the “Avonlea Club”. I am a bit late though, but still I hope you enjoy<3

Sylvia with her family was moving to a place in the country. She was leaving behind all of her memories. This was something Sylvia didn’t like. Moving away was cowardice to her. She was someone who wanted to hold on to everything. But her family had chosen the other way, so they were moving. 

The place was very beautiful and calm. Any nature lover like Sylvia would love this place. Sylvia liked the place but it couldn’t be something she would call home. Back in the days, when everything was perfect, they used to go to vacation resorts just like this one. Those times were golden. Every moment in those resorts was lovable to her. But their new house wasn’t their vacation house. It was beautiful but not lovable. 

Sylvia didn’t want to go into the deep of the house. Hence, she had requested her parents to give her the ground floor guest room as her bedroom.If she needed fresh air, it would be easier to run for it from  her ground floor bedroom. The upstairs rooms were all very deep and dark. If she stayed there, the room was going to absorb the remaining pieces of memories she had managed to save within her. She wouldn’t let the darkness take her precious memories. If darkness came all the way from upstairs, she would run, run so hard and be out the house, straight to the woods, where she would be free to hold on to her memories, to express herself fully. In the house, her parents wanted her to be unexpressed. 

While unpacking her things, Sylvia found the doll. The doll for which she used to fight. It was one of her favourite dolls and there were so many memories with it. Again, like their own home, Sylvia’s parents didn’t want to take the doll with them to the new house. Her mom said that it was better to leave it with the old home which was its real preserver. Sylvia didn’t accept it. She knew that their previous home (the real one) was the holder of the doll, but she was forced to leave her home anyway, she couldn’t at least leave her doll, the precious one with precious memories. In this decision, her father said that she was not moving on. Sylvia didn’t understand why she needed to move on. She wanted to scream and tell her parents that she would never ever move on. At the end, she didn’t scream but packed the doll anyway.

Sylvia always used to sit beside her mother at supper. Likewise, on the first night at the new house during supper, Sylvia sat beside her mother. Her father insisted that she sit beside him pointing at the empty chair near him. Sylvia became really tired at that point. She couldn’t understand why her parents wanted to change everything after moving away from their home. She became aggressive and went straight to her room without finishing her meal. Suddenly she felt very lonely in her room. She felt the need of someone. So, she kept visiting her memories, her only way to escape the situation. 

Sylvia’s mother told her that she was not going to school and would be homeschooled under a tutor for sometime. When asked, her mother replied that she wanted to give Sylvia sometime to adjust. But her mother didn’t understand that Sylvia would never adjust. However, as she wasn’t going to school, every afternoon, she had plenty of time. One afternoon, she went to roam around in the forest in the backyard of their new house. The forest felt very intense and heavy to her. However, she kept going to the depths of it. In the middle of the forest, she discovered a well. It surprised her. A well in the middle of the forest! The well was very ancient looking. There were vines and creepers around it. Algae and mosses had surrounded it in every direction. She wanted to go near it but also she was nervous. The well was giving her some chills. Suddenly she realised that she was indeed in the very deep- of the forest and started panicking thinking she had lost the direction towards the new house. Without thinking twice, she started running in the opposite direction from the well. She was running and thinking. Thinking about the well. She heard her tutor say one day that there was a legend about the well in the forest. She didn’t ask about it because she wasn’t interested in anything at that moment. But then, she wanted to know about it. She was curious. 

That day it took Sylvia a long time and a big hassle to reach the new house from the forest. Her head was filled with the thoughts of the well. The next day she kept waiting for her tutor eagerly. As her tutor entered the study room, she was a bit astonished to see Sylvia’s eager eyes waiting for her patiently. Sylvia was never interested in anything else before. The tutor took the situation as a good opportunity to become connected with Sylvia. She smiled at her with a sweet ‘good morning’.

Sylvia replied, “Good morning, Ms. Marlowe. You’re late today.”

“Yes, I’m very sorry for that. But I wonder why you’re all buckled up with the sunshine-like eyes of yours, I thought you didn’t enjoy history.”

“I was waiting for you actually. You see Ms. Marlowe, I’m very curious to know about the story of the well in the forest.”

At this Ms. Marlowe became a bit confused. She couldn’t understand why Sylvia suddenly wanted to know about the ‘well legend’. But as she wanted to be close to Sylvia, she decided to start her lesson with the story.

“Well, that’s a very interesting story indeed. It’s an ancient saying actually said by old people of this area. People used to say, there is an old and creepy well in the middle of the forest. It has some dark magic with it. But it can comfort people really well.”

Sylvia knew she needed to be comforted more than anything else in this new house. He3nce, she interrupted her tutor by asking, “What do you mean by making comfortable Ms. Marlowe?”

“Well I meant to say that, suppose a person is in distress and goes to the well, the well would show some kind of illusion which can make the person forget about their distress and they would be comfortable.”

“Wow, isn’t that something really enchanting!" Sylvia exclaimed with joy.

“Yes it is but you see, there is a reason why people call it dark magic. Because it’s not actually t actually beneficial for people. The well is playing illusions, it can't ever be good. People need to find ways to deal with their problems naturally. This sort of way, the one the well directs never really helps but makes the situation worse."

Ms. Marlowe might have continued lecturing about the dark sides of the well legend but Sylvia wasn't paying any attention to her. She knew what she needed and she had found it. Then she thought she was going to be happy again. 

The next day, Sylvia went to the forest, to the well. That time she wasn't scared and near to the well. 

She said, "I've been told that you make people happy. I'm here to see what you have with you to make me happy."

Sylvia waited for sometime but there wasn't any reply. She didn't see any magic coming. She became sad and desperate. 

"Please understand that I'm very sad and lonely. I don't like it here. I want to go back to my own place and own people. To the past, to those sweet memories where everything was alright", Sylvia kept saying those aloud and wept hard. Few minutes had gone while Sylvia was weeping but still nothing changed to make her happy. She began to give up. She thought she could never be happy again. Just at that moment, she saw a girl crawling out of the well. Sylvia panicked at the first instance. But eventually she realised it was someone she would never have to be scared of. 

"Sabrina, is that you?" She asked the crawling girl. 

The girl stood finally in front of Sylvia. Her face was somewhat blurry and  wet. In fact she was fully drenched in water. As she stood face to face with Sylvia, Sylvia could see her properly. 

She cried "Oh, Sabrina. Is that really you? I have been missing you so much." She ran to the girl and hugged her tight. The girl didn't move neither said anything. But she made Sylvia happy. 

Sylvia started visiting the well everyday to see the girl. Sylvia went there and called the girl by Sabrina. Everyday the girl crawled out of the well to stand in front of her. She talked about her day and her sweet old memories. The girl never talked or answered any questions. Sylvia didn't mind much. She was very happy just to be with her. But one day the girl talked. So, she asked her, "Why don't you ever talk to me Sabrina. I share everything with you just like with you just like I used to do before. But you never share anything. It makes me sad sometimes."

And then the girl replied. Her voice was very faded and indistinct. She said, "I am not used to talking outside of the water." 

"Oh, then how can I hear you talking? I cannot talk inside the water."

"But you have never tried it, did you? Why don't you come to the water with me? I have many things to talk about and show you in the deep of the water", the girl said, attracting Sylvia immensely. Sylvia found the offer really engaging. She gave it a thought. She thought about how miserable she was in the new house. She also thought about the girl who was her only source of happiness after everything had been changed. She kept thinking for some time and finally replied with a happy face, "I got an idea. I think I want to come and stay with you in the well forever because you're the one who makes me truly happy". 

"Seems like a very good idea to me", the girl replied. Sylvia set up her mind and was very proud to have found her forever happiness. 

Sylvia's mother noticed her daughter disappearing into the forest every evening. She also asked Sylvia once what she was doing there. Sylvia just simply replied that she was playing and having fun. Her mother was relieved everytime she was informed that her daughter was having fun. She thought Sylvia was finally moving on. 

Sylvia was packing her things when her mother called her from the kitchen informing about the arrival of Ms. Marlowe. She didn't mind the interruption because she was very happy that day. She merrily went to her study room. 

Ms. Marlowe said, "Good morning Sylvia, you look very jolly today."

"Yes, Ms. Marlowe. In fact I'm the happiest today. I won't be bothering to study history today as this is going to be my last lesson with you", Sylvia replied joyfully. 

Ms. Marlowe couldn't understand the reason behind Sylvia's calling the session as the last one. She said, "But I wasn't informed about it. I didn't know that I don't have to tutor you anymore." 

"You weren't informed by my parents because they don't know about it yet. But I'm informing you now, ain't I? Now please let us start our lesson at once Ms. Marlowe as I have to pack up my things really quick", Sylvia said impatiently. 

"Pack up your things? Are you going somewhere? ", Ms. Marlowe asked confusedly. 

"Yes, I'm going to be living with my sister from now on, in the well in the forest", she replied excitedly. 

Ms. Marlowe then became very worried about Sylvia's condition. Sylvia was hallucinating the whole time. Ms. Marlowe realised that she was still grieving and never moved on. She confronted her and wanted her to realise the truth as well. She said, "Sylvia, my dear girl, there is no well in the forest. It has been your misunderstanding. You were overwhelmed by the well legend and imagining things because you were sad. I know you miss Sabrina, but she is gone and never coming back. You have to accept it and…"

Sylvia became agitated and didn't let Ms. Marlowe takes her happiness away from her. She shouted, "You don't know anything. I don't want to talk to you." She left the study running towards her own room. 

Ms. Marlowe couldn't just stay still. She went to Sylvia’s mother explaining her situation. Her mother broke down into tears. After all, she was also going through hard times after the death of their first child, Sabrina. Ms. Marlowe consoled her and requested her to have some more patience to deal with Sylvia’s condition. Together they went to Sylvia's room.

Sylvia was shaking and sobbing sitting in the corner of her room. After Ms. Marlowe's confrontation, she was forced to visit her dark memories which she was avoiding for a while. She didn't ever want to accept the fact that her sister, her true companion, was dead. She didn't want to move on and wanted to hold onto the memories where Sabrina was present. She didn't want to start anew where no one will talk about Sabrina accepting her absence. But alas! This is the rule of nature. After all of the trials to hold onto Sabrina's memories and never moving on, Sylvia couldn't help but hit the realization. She was very tired of all of her efforts to keep her dead sister alive in her memories. She suddenly knew that she had to accept the fact and move on with her life eventually. 

When her mother along with Ms. Marlowe came to her room, she stood strongly facing them. She apologized to her mother for making such a decision of running away without consulting her. Her mother hugged her tight and said, "My baby girl, I'm very sorry that you had to go through all of these alone. I understand now that I and your father weren't actually neither helping you nor helping ourselves to overcome the situation healthily. But I want you to know that we are still a family. We love you and Sabrina as well. We also miss her a lot. Together we will have to deal with our grief and the darkest part of our memories so that we feel free to miss her from the depth of our hearts. I guess we all made mistakes in the healing process. We were not actually moving on instead we were just running away from our griefs which was not healthy at all." 

Her mother's words comforted Sylvia. She understood that no matter what happens, Life goes on. Hence, she accepted everything and finally began the healing process. After that, whenever Sylvia visited their old home or whenever she touched the doll for which she used to fight with her sister, Sylvia didn't have to hold onto the fact Sabrina needed to be there for her. She just missed her and was grateful to Sabrina for being a good companion. Sylvia's father didn't request her again  to sit beside him where Sabrina used to sit at supper. He understood that though Sabrina wasn’t there, her place was secured in their hearts.

Little Women Book Review

This book is a masterpiece and I think one of the best books in the entire world.  The book teaches us how to be happy with what we got. The March sisters are happy with their lives. They have the true happiness in their lives because they share literally everything with their family. This book is a periodical drama book. It’s time period was during the civil war in America. The head of the family, ‘Mr. March” joined army. The book represented the family situation during that time. There are four March sisters. They are Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. Each of them consists of different characteristics. Together they help their mother to overcome their father’s absence and help each other to handle their family works. During this time they also learn how to be theirselves.

The March sisters are some of my most favourite characters of all time. I want to describe their unique characteristics.

1. Meg: Meg is beautiful, fashionable and caring. She cares for her family very much. She is very much respoinsible and protective. The only thing that sometimes disturbs Meg is her obsession with luxury and fashion. Despite that she is always ready to accpet what she has been given.

2. Jo: Jo is damn caring type of girl. She is the heart of the March family. She knows the best of every member of the March family. I personally think that Jo is an icon for the feminist. She loves to read and write. She is very much desperate to hold her family together. Books and family are everything Jo cares about.  She is the kind of girl who wont give up anything easily. She is a strong spirited girl.

3. Beth: Beth is my personal favourite among the March sisters. Beth is the calm and quite one. She has love for music. She loves her family more than anything. She is the most optimistic one. She is shy but whenever she becomes friendly with anyone she would be the best companion to him/her. She is literally ready to give away everything she has for the loved ones.

4. Amy: Amy is the youngest one. She has aspirations for arts and paintings. She is a little bit stubborn like her sister Jo and that is why oftewn they two have little sisters fighting. Amy is very much ambitious to achieve her goal. She is the one who thinks further more than the present. 

However the book gives us many messages about the conditions of the women then. Through Jo March’s character we can learn that girls are not confined within anything. Girls can do anything if they have the real aspirations to that. This book also teaches us that family and the bondage between the family members are what worth living for.  This is the kind of book which everyone should read atleast once in his/her life.

Things I look forward to doing in winter!!!

The Perfect Florence <3

Some of My Favorite Movies of 2010

1. “127 Hours”, Genre: Drama/Biography, Summary: An adventurer man becomes trapped between rocks for 127 hours.

2. “Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief”, Genre: Fantasy/Adventure, Summary: A young boy gets to know that he is a demi-god and a great adventure awaits for him.

3. “The Social Network”, Genre: Biography, Summary: A genius Harvard student discovers a social networking site which becomes very popular and he has to deal with his fame and friendships. 

4. “Shutter Island”, Genre: Psychological Thriller, Summary: Two marshals go to an island to investigate the disappearance of a patient of an asylum situated in the island and things get worse.

5. “Insidious”, Genre: Horror, Summary: A couple become concerned when thigs keep happening in their new home and to their son. 

“Rain & the Woods”

Just a small drabble. Hope you enjoy!

It was raining heavily. Sofia cursed. She is cursing herself for not bringing the umbrella. If she had brought it, she could at least get out of the fucking car and call someone for help. But alas! Here she was, stuck in the Goddamn car! She couldn’t think how on earth her car had to get stuck in the heavy mud and make herself stuck as well in the middle of nowhere. Her mind was blank, she couldn’t think of anything to do. At that very moment, there was a knock on the window. Someone was standing beside the window, Sofia could see their blurry figure. She opened her window gratefully. 

“Hey, Uh…I’ve been watching the car here for some time. Thought you might need some help since it’s raining very badly you know”, said the guy. The guy was very tall and handsome. He was fully drenched in the rain. There was something really charming about him being wet. Sofia found it really attractive. She kept looking at his face when  he coughed. Being embarrassed, Sofia replied, “Oh hi, umm.. Yes, you see I actually need help because my car got stuck in the mud and I can't move because of that”’. He went to the bottom to see what was wrong. After he got up he said with a sweet little smile, “Don’t worry, I’m gonna get you out of this trouble”. After finishing the sentence, he winked. Sofia’s heart just skipped a beat. That smile, that wink! How can a guy be this sweet and hot at the same time? Am I dreaming? Is my tiny little brain trying to comfort me because I'm in huge trouble? But, why did the brain have to come up with something this cool? Uff, I’m gonna be so miserable if I find out that I’m actually imagining the whole thing. 

“You’re good to go now I think. Will you check if you can start the car or not?”

 “Yeah, yeah sure”, Sofia tried to start her car, being shocked. And the car got started. How on earth did he fix it so fast? What did he do? Is he a wizard or something? 

“So. It's fixed”, he said with that pretty smile of his. 

Sofia, being surprised as hell, tried to open her mouth to say something. At that time he said, “No need to thank me. You just needed someone to help you. So, I appeared out of nowhere” he said and smiled broadly this time.

Sofia had never been impressed this much by any guy she met. 

“You’re really very sweet. What’s your name?” She managed to ask.

“Yeah, right. Well, I’m Atlas, at your service ma’am. If you ever need my service again, do care to visit me here sometimes.”

“Here? In the woods?”

“Yes, here in the woods.”’

By saying that he smiled again and went away. Sofia felt the urge to go after him. Ask him so many questions because he left her confused as hell. Was he really a wizard? Or like my guardian angel? Even if he is, he is cute. Sofia blushed and went away thinking maybe she’ll come away someday and see what happens.