I am the Messenger, Markus Zusak

 So, there I am, lounging on my best friend's bed while she's in the shower, when BAM, I find one of the greatest books I will have ever read on her bedroom floor (I'm probably overselling, so uh, I don't read many books... Yup, true story >>). I only make it through the first chapter when she waltzes through the door, but already I'm grinning like a maniac and developing an intense liking towards Ed Kennedy and his smart-ass friends.
The next day I get a little further, and then the day after it's done and dusted.
Quite frankly I haven't had such a reaction to a book since (the first time) I read White Fang. I laughed out loud and 'aww'ed ("Awr, Ed! <3", "Aw... Ed... )-':") so much I feel like I have to physically cuddle the book when I get my own copy.

b n-e - 1. Kura

A little unsure about this chapter, but I'm fairly certain it's from the Grandmother's viewpoint rather than Fetus'.  It's definitely not Fetus' perspective anyway )-':


"Death and birth ring on my phone." - Possibly indicates that she (Kura) is dying. The birth part of this statement is Fetus! Yay, Fetus. Chapter resolves with acknowledgement that Kura is moving to live with Te Paania, arriving two days just before Fetus is born, which was the ending to the prologue also.

So we haven't progressed so much just yet.

But there is a lot of information to what Kura is like personality-wise, and perceptively the suitcase that Josie (unsure of who she is, especially seeing as one of the ways she is described is: "As well as being the man's great-granddaughter she was his great-grandniece also." So... incest? Ugh, I'm confused, ask me later) leaves on Kura's verandah could be symbolism of how caring Kura is. For example the chapter tells that Kura lent another couple the suitcase, who lent it to Josie, who is bringing it back to Kura. This could show that Kura is willing to help out others, which would reflect upon real life as grandmother's are often known to be sweet and willing to aid family.

Overall not the most interesting chapter I've ever read, but I'm hoping the knowledge of Kura will eventually provoke a more... specific reaction(?), instead of just "oh, well... alright, whatever." Like, maybe she'll die and by that point I'll be attached to her so I'll drop to my knees in the pouring rain and scream to the heavens to send my sweet old lady back to me.

I miss Fetus.

baby no-eyes: The prologue.

 (note to self: do not google search baby no-eyes. D-':)

"My mother the frog could've haemorrhaged, and I could've... 'Go Mum. Led's ged ouda hia,' I said. Lap lap lap, lappity lap."

What. No. I am not enjoying this prologue. To be fair though, I am in a cynical mood.

The writing itself is great, near perfect actually. Abundant in adjectives and all that jazzy stuff without going too overboard and drowning you in details. The use of onomatopoeia (if that's what it's even supposed to be) however is driving me bonkers. Lap lap lap, lap lap lap, lap. Lap. Lap. Lappity lap.
Yes, okay, I get it!

I'm also not a big fan of slang, but that's more of a personal preference. "Ouda spaze". "Come on Mum, geddus ouda hia". ... Kind of irritates me.

Though, it does become apparent that it's actually a fetus speaking to us from the womb, so here's hoping it overcomes it's little pronunciation issue...

Yeah, at first I thought it was a little weird that the author chose to narrate from an unborn baby's perspective, but now that I'm typing this, it's sort of grown on me. It's unique and wasn't uninteresting, so although I'm tempted to set fire to the book every time a read the word 'lap' or 'karm', I'm going to suppress those urges and soldier on through.

I'm not yet sure if I should be sharing all the bobby bits of the book or if I'm meant to elude the plot, but seeing as I've only read the prologue... Meh.

So, Te Paania (Paani, Paani Girl) is the unborn child's mother. She's left the father in the middle of the night and traversed to a new city, where her family lives.
What's weird about this is that the poor guy didn't do anything wrong. "You might think she was running away from beatings or other forms of cruelty. You could think she'd been treated in some deliberately unloving way. 'I was bored,' she said, 'and lonely, and children need a great chance in life - need a family, stories and languages. Someone to give them a name...' Never underestimate a mundane life, lady. Never.

Yip.

Questions I have:
*Fetus keeps talking about 'someone else'. Is there a twin?
*Is Fetus (Yes it's name is Fetus now) lacking eyes?
*Paani's family seemed to have expected her arrival, but much earlier than the present time of the story (This isn't a question, but it intrigues me nonetheless).