It is fantastic! At
last I found a novel which is suitable for my reading. I think that
most previous English novels that I read have too many actions that
I myself sometimes did not understand what were going on actually.
The novel Nine Lives was actually the second runner-up for English
Novel Category in Utusan Group Prize for Literature 2005. Although
this book is quite old, but it contains umpteen good messages that
can be applied, especially for the young readers.
At first glance, I
thought that this novel was all about a cat, referring to the title.
However, as I read throughout chapters, the main character is
actually a young girl who was trying to learn about the true life. So
why it is named 'Nine Lives'? Actually, the young girl always talked
to the cat to tell it all about her experiences throughout the day.
Every chapter contains one beneficial experience that Bee Lian had
gone through. Good for her, she had very great friends of different
races, which they frequently tried to solve others' problems,
especially their schoolmates. For instance, when they found out that
a girl was having a problem with the arrogant friends, they tried to
keep her calm by telling the truth that the branded things were
actually fake ones. Thus, the girl back to her happy life without
trying to burden herself just for the branded things. This story had
taught me that branded things are not important for a happy life. It
depends on how the leaders manage their families. Even the fishermen
in the villages are able to have a happy family as long as they do
not quarrel between the members. We can also see that some rich
people do not have enough time to spend with their own family.
Instead, they just pushing themselves to finish their work which
could be a never-ending situation. Some of them even decided not to
take vacations although they are entitled to get some payed holidays
just to make sure that they will have higher position in the future.
However, this does not mean that we should not be rich. We just have
to have a great plan to arrange our time perfectly.
There are many more
moral values mentioned in this novel. However, I would not tell you
every single value as you should read it by yourselves to have the
real feeling about it. Instead, I want to mention about the ending.
It was a sad ending yet beneficial for Bee Lian to begin her journey
of life. Her cat was dead! It was hit by a lorry when it was trying
to cross the road. From then on, she did not have any 'friend' to
talk to. Nevertheless, her grandfather actually heard all the
conversation between her and the cat as he was always behind her
every night. Bee Lian realized that it was the moment for her to
start to converse really to people, not a cat. Then she knew that her
grandfather was actually a good listener too. Quoted from her
grandfather's saying, “Remember, how long the night, the dawn will
break. Never never give up hope in your life.” This saying kept Bee
Lian to continue her life as a young adult, who is beneficial to
herself and society.
I really advice all of
you to read this good novel. The novel industry in Malaysia should
also follow the way of teaching the moral values in the novels, not
just putting some empty actions or humor to attract the readers. I
hope that more this kind of novels will be written by the novelists.
Words I learned:
- Furtively (adverb)
Meaning: secret, acting as though you are trying to hide something because you feel guilty
Ex: I told the principal furtively as I sat in front of him.
- Hesitant (adjective)
Meaning: slow to speak or to act because you are not sure you should or not
Ex: The girl hesitant to speak in front of the public during the event.
- Flawless (adjective)
Meaning: perfect; with no faults or mistakes
Ex: He had done a flawless speech during the graduation ceremony.
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