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bookmania:

Albert Espinosa’s smash-hit novel The Yellow World was launched by Penguin Books last November 1 in London. In it were Espinosa’s thought-provoking narrative about the once-unnoticed world — The Yellow World. Espinosa himself survived cancer and lost a lung and a leg during the process. He witnessed deaths of his fellow “Eggheads” (name given by some of the doctors and nurses to them because of the lack of hair), but he would always carry with himself the world which he calls the Yellow World. A famous quote from the book will be found at the back of the book’s iconic book jacket: “Trust Your Dreams and They’ll Come True.”

His “discoveries” during his cancer days, as what he put in his book, wouldn’t sound like they only reveal a medical struggle, but amazingly, they reveal about life at large — a way of living. He writes: “It was a great discovery. not just for medical purposes, but for everything.” It is a book rich in things and thoughts which we often take for granted, until we know about the Yellow World. This is how the book’s chapters are interwoven. The 23 ways of the Yellow World are numbered (in a font in calligraphy which looks engaging and adorable!) in a way that they don’t follow any rules: they are called lists, rather than rules, because Espinosa is a fan of lists and discoveries, and in the Yellow World, harmony, beauty and contentment are relative.

Funny, engaging and sometimes serious, Espinosa’s prose reads in two ways: He tells stories about his so-called “yellow” moments in life, and at the same time implies life lessons which have been molded by his narratives. They are depicted in such an organic way that they will always live together. There were serious moments which he portrayed felt so palpable, they would make one’s eyes watery. His synesthetic tendency of color and smell (he smells a fellow Egghead orange, and so his thoughts!) has made his narratives vibrant and unstoppable. It’s a voice that doesn’t seem to cease. 

This is one of those books which I wish wouldn’t end. Because it does not seem like it’s going to end. I believe it isn’t done yet, with us. The Yellow World is happening and is alive because it’s been shared. It will be alive and breathing as long as we are. We live in a Yellow World.