Dear diary,

Just read 'Man and Boy' by Tony Parsons. A man who had it all, who eventually lost that all overnight which led him onto a road of rediscovery, slowly piecing his life back again in a wonderfully crafted story that is funny, tear-jerking and believable yet magical all in one. This novel played out life's realities without the melancholy, its joys without the naivety, and its complexities without obfuscating.


I love the way the author percepted human emotions so well, and manages to artfully insert this keen insight subtly throughout the pages, making the characters identifiable and real to the readers, and I was able to empathise and connect the whole time. He even managed to inject humour that was strangely appropriate in circumstances that were dreary.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a book review, or at least it wasn't intended to be. It's just that this book gave me hope that despite life always has a way to screw you up big time, more so in this increasingly superficial and cynical world we live in, we can always find refuge in the simple pleasures in life: your first kiss, your baby's first step, the sight of flowers blooming in spring, the smell of washed tarmac after the rain, the warmth in home-cooked food, the tune of a familiar song from yesteryear. And yes, that even humour could be found in the worst of times.

As I slowly step out of my sheltered life into the real world, I'm sure that no matter how bleak life may seem in future, I can see it then as just transient clouds covering the glowering sun, that rainy days are always ensued by a beautiful rainbow and fresh air, and that growing up should open new doors, and not necessarily close the ones that came before. I'm glad I am alive.