It must be said that there are no great revelations in Fuel. There are no deep philosophical insights. No philippics against God. No "I returned home only to find what I was looking for was there all along" moments. All there is, is a great story, and wonderfully told. What more could anyone possibly want? I don't remember reading a book that affected me so acutely. And that's saying a lot, considering I had just read Imran Ahmad's critically acclaimed Unimagined before yours. It was brilliant but didn't sink its claws and fangs into my psyche like yours did. This debut novel is like a breath of fresh air. His writing style is lyrical yet poignant. It left me wanting more from Chin, and I sure hope this book won't be his last. Fuel proves to be an easy read and informative and manages to be inspiring without being preachy. It is riveting and there is this sense of anticipation as the protagonist works towards achieving his lifelong dream and learning many other lessons along the way. An engrossing read that makes you fall in love with the main characters, makes you long to see and feel the poetry of the beautifully-described places, and just breaks your heart into a million pieces with a totally unexpected ending. If I have just one word to describe FUEL, it is "potent". It was very different; the writing was lyrical and almost poetic with a sense of maturity in it. I don’t normally clip a pen to the book I’m reading, more so a fiction piece. But within the first half hour, I had to start over again as I underlined excerpts of the book which was just simply beautiful writing. What caught my attention from the start is the fact that Chin was able to put into words how most of us would feel when we’re in love but are unable to elucidate.
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