Indian Readers discussion
READING PROGRESS 2022
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Girish's Booking Counter
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: Horror comes in many forms but the most subtle form is of impending danger. Like showing little red riding hood happily prancing around and in the next frame showing a big bad wolf scheming for its next prey. That is what Ms.Mantle achieves in this brilliant narrative based on a true event.
We meet the gentle story telling giant O'Brien who is moving to England from Ireland to escape poverty. He will be on display where people pay to see the freak of nature. His agent and his set of " friends" are greedy and want him to open his purse up a bit, but he is saving up for a noble cause.
In parallel we meet Dr.John Hunter - a man of science who employs Grave hunters to get specimens to advance his research. Atleast he doesn't murder them you feel, but his progress is also shown in alternate sections making their meeting inevitable.
The gentle storytelling giant is suffering from ailments of both body and mind. He finds himself growing - which is not a good sign for a giant and suddenly his mortality is real. The way the people around the giant turn makes you feel for him. To know this was based on real people makes you feel bad.
Set in a time where Phrenology was a dominant theory, the actions of men of science might seem alien. The tales narrated by the giant are a delight - especially loved the story of the 7 dwarves who meet Snow white. The change of language from Scottish to English as we gradually move is something you don't realise immediately.
A fantastic piece of historical fiction.
Mod
Rating: 2/5
Review: Moongil Kottai was my first book of Sandilyan who has been in my TBR for a while. I finished the book and i was left with a feeling of being cheated - like expecting a saga to be given a masala mass story.
Pandian Nedunjchezhiyan has captured the chera king for insulting him and put in him a unique prison from which rescue is dangerous. There is unrest in the mooventhar regime and only his safe rescue without a war can bring back Peace.
So they get Ilamaran, a young man seemingly orphan who has more daring and a roving eye to rescue him. By his side is the mysterious Imayavalli and their quest over 5 nights forms the story.
The tricks were predictable and you had random people unwarrantedly building up the hero. I found the description of 'romance' - cheap and vulgar with so much admiration about her curves. The rescue mission ultimately seemed too easy and the Pandian king a mere presence.
I am not sure after Kalki, I would like such shallow handling of history in Tamil.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: "Why did the fire not consume me? Why is suffering so arbitrary? If God exists, He is surely cruel. He is the old and terrible God of Moses, the God of Abraham. But the most logical conclusion is that He does not exist at all.”
The first part of Rose Tremain's Booker shortlist book reminded me of Ms.Mantel's dark mysterious world of Thomas Chromwell and King Charles the second. We meet the King who chooses a fool to marry the woman he intends to keep and for this, rewards the fool his own household in Norfolk.
The fool in question is Robert Merivel, a would-be doctor prone to self pity and the son of the King's glove-maker. He catches a lucky break when he treats the king's spaniel and in his love for the King moves away from his profession to become a vain rich man who is trying out multiple hobbies. When he breaks the one rule that matters of falling in love with the King's woman - he falls from grace.
Turning to his friend Pearce, the one sane anchor for his life, he joins a quacker bedlam institution for the mentally ill. The book traces his path of the fall and his eventual restoration. The period in which the book is set has all the mystique with plagues, medicines, church, the French and the King. So given the multiple directions the book could have taken, I was happily surprised with the author's loyalty to her character. It's a personal journey and she kept it that way.
Merivel is a flawed human character who has few redeeming features or acts and hence is memorable. The love for the King is inexplicable and every turn happens because of something related to the King.
Long spiral with a short redemption.
Categories : Award Winner
Mod
A logical break before I start maintaining for my favorite 2 months of a year - July Aug reading challenge..
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: "People shut their eyes to a distant tragedy saying there’s nothing they could do, yet they didn’t stand up for one happening nearby either because they’re too terrified. Most people could feel but didn’t act."
This book about a boy who could not feel fear or love is a well written piece of fiction. Yunjae has a brain condition called Alexithymia - socially ostracised as a monster without friends - he grows up supported by his mother and grandmother. After a particularly brutal turn of events, he encounters another monster Gon - a boy who has starts bullying him.
The tormentor and victim start forming a bond and strike up a surprisingly tender friendship. When a girl enters his life and he starts developing feelings - his brain is healing and he has to determine his acts. As the narrator mentions in the first chapter "there is no such thing as a good or bad ending".
The translation keeps it simple and hence the complex story never gets too overwhelming. A powerful read.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: “Faith is the cure that heals all troubles. Without faith there is no hope and no love. Faith comes before hope, and before love. (Sheikh Muhammad ibn Zaidi bani Tihama)”
Billionaire Sheiks who dream up impossible projects is not at all an account of fiction. You just have to visit Dubai once to know that much of what has been achieved has been because of visionaries.
And hence when Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Zaidi dreams up the project to introduce Salmon fishing in Yemen, it is dismissed as impossible by Dr. Alfred Jones in the British fisheries team. Since it is a question of funding and the PM's office is involved, he is pressurised to make an attempt. Along with consultant Ms.Harriet Chetwood, the doctor slowly starts to apply his heart and starts to believe.
Written as an epistolary novel, it starts off as an funny satire on politics and politicians. The PM's office represented by the Head of communications is one of the most irritating characters ever. The personal lives of Fred and Harriet have very different issues and you feel for them. Their subtle chemistry is refreshing and as the book grows more pensive the characters matured into people of faith.
I loved the enigmatic Sheik's presence who sells the impossible vision as something prophetic. The audiobook experience gives a very innovative twist to interviews and TV shows. The unexpected climax was something that I found tough to digest. But in a sense, it made the entire book told in accounts of the event.
A humorous satire that has a lot of heart.
Mod
Rating: 5/5
Review: Retrospective judgements are easy to make especially when the impact is not known in advance. For example Plastics now or like Cigarettes earlier, Oils and Guns - vilified long after the novelty and glory wears off. What makes it truly a story is what you do after you know. This is the story of one such empire - who with the value of it's times made immense money and let greed guide their principle.
I hadn't heard much about the Sacklers before I picked up. While I was feeling a bit bad, I understood as I read the book, it was by design and not exactly just my poor grasp of general knowledge. I had heard by growing up one shouldn't take medicines for sleeping since you might get addicted. Evidently it has a lot more to do with real empirical evidence as the empire built on Oxycontin and Valium.
When Pharma meets marketing it is as if we are a society peddling drugs on media. The three generations of Sacklers starting with Arthur Sackler want to just grow their business. They are ready to build an unrelenting sales empire that targets the doctors who can give them the most sales. It worked with valium and Morphine tablets - a simple solution to pain. When Oxycontin is contrived by the subsequent generations - a slightly grey area between addiction and relief - the balance between profits and conscience gets tilted. The Sackler foundation that supports art and gets multiple museums to name collections after them distances themselves from Purdue pharma the makers of Oxycontin.
The journalistic aspects of the investigation are factual and yet not so hard hitting. It seems like - Just another moral debate that focuses on right and wrong. But then when they are properly vilified after they make a statement - it seems like the society decided to go for the kill.
Loved the way the book tried to be reporting than judging. Fantastic piece of non-fiction.
Mod
Rating: 2/5
Review: Confession: An "It-wasn't-you-it-was-me" moment was when I was almost convinced I knew where this book is headed since I had watched a brilliant movie that made me go 'wow!' and this seemed similar. Only to find out it wasn't so and the characters were just annoying and unrealistic.
Anxious People by Frederik Backman wants to be too many things with a cheeky author misdirecting you every few pages and giving you a some witty/humorous conversation to hold you. But what the book lacked was logic and maybe an out of context setting for most people - house viewing. There are multiple laugh out loud moments but very little thing that you can retain.
There is a bank robbery. A hostage situation. A suicide in the past. An attempted suicide. And a lot of people who are talking to each other including a father and son cops who have to google up hostage situation before attempting to work on the same. I read somewhere the book talks about compassion over reasoning from people - But then, the book does not try hard enough to make it's people deserve it. Except for the bank robber - every other character is weird.
The book did not work for me - partly due to my assumptions.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: The old man in the corner is for all those armchair detectives who like to solve a murder from the clues in the pages. It is deduction from what the facts tell - though almost all of them are cases where the police have obviously missed something.
The book was a mixed bag since I felt the author held more aces despite the logical breakdown of the "mystery". Structured as a series of short stories set in the cafe where an old man in solving the unsolved crimes by entertaining a newspaper reporter, the book keeps things extremely simple. No sidekicks, no sarcastic comments not even a backstory - just get on with the work.
The friendship with the reported is still not established and the eccentricity of making knots in a string while unraveling a mystery gets repetitive. The last twist did not work since it wasn't logical.
A fairly elementary read in detective fiction.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: Young Mungo is set in the same setting as Shuggie Bain - a dysfunctional family with an alcoholic absentee mom, a caring sister and a violent brother in Glasgow. There are passages in the book that almost seem like I am rereading that book. Given I hated that book - this book is more a redemption due to the narrative hold the author manages this time round.
We see Mungo being packed off with two men on a fishing trip by his mother to make "a man" out of him. We get to know these two men as members who attend AA meetings and with a shady past. The book then through flashbacks and episodes sets the tone of what led to this with some scary chapters in-between. The book explores "Being a man" through the various male characters in the book - like Ha-ha the violent elder brother who will hit first than reason and Jacky the man who is sleeping with his mother trying to decide what is good for her.
The book should come with a trigger warning for rape and pedophilia that made you angry reading the book and in-retrospect made the violence more welcome. The book is raw like an open wound smouldering the boy's anxieties as he finds salvation in being gay. The parts with his love for James in the backdrop of a protestants vs catholics violence are well potrayed with the confusion and stigma being handled by teenagers.
The mother with her neglect and alcoholism is hard to sympathise with and Jodie - his sister, is hard not to like. And yet, there is a sense of suffering and your heart goes out to Mungo who is trying to be there for his ma and the people in his lives. When he tells Jodie "I can't help it" on asking if he was gay - you become protective of the boy.
Douglas stuart also manages to slip in paragraphs of horror in the most unlikely of passages that catches you off-guard. You see the writing has matured and the storytelling more engaging than the earlier one. Maybe this was the second draft of Shuggie Bain - but then who ever said you can't have the same settings and similar characters.
Heart breaking and yet fast moving.
Mod
Rating: 2/5
Review: I am ok with slow burn mysteries - but when the first chapter talks about a flight crash landing and a murder - one would expect the book to have some pace. When Ghosts come home has so much happening that you never come to terms with the people on the Island where the book is set.
Sheriff Winston Barnes is a man who shoulders too many things. His wife's cancer is spreading, his daughter who is reeling from the loss of her child is home seeking comfort, he is up for reelection and the Island is on the verge of a racial war. If that's not enough - the murder victim is an innocent black kid who went out to get diapers who is now dubbed as a drug dealer and his father - an ex-marine and school teacher is questioning the racial loyalty of the police force - with reason.
Winston bears a moral compass that is clean and conscientious. He doesn't think twice about firing a racist deputy and makes it a point to visit the widow. But the mystery and it's investigation never seems to take off with episode after episode telling more about the people and lives of the people on the island. Though, a very interesting take on mystery and a very bold climax - I went in wanting more.
This is a good standalone read if you are not taken in by the tease of the first chapter.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: “Strange to be almost fifty, no? I feel like I just understood how to be young."
"Yes! It's like the last day in a foreign country. You finally figure out where to get coffee, and drinks, and a good steak. And then you have to leave. And you won't ever be back.”
“Just for the record: happiness is not bullshit.”
This is one of a kind subtle satire on many things considered taboo to make fun of - like being gay, being American, feeling old, feeling down, love. Arthur Less, 49 approaching 50, is on the road to self discovery across countries - or is trying to escape his birthday and the marriage of his gay lover. He is plagues by self doubt and low self esteem - he doesn't think much of his genius or his writing. As he trundles past misadventures with happy endings in Mexico, Italy, Sahara, India, Japan the story also starts to change shape and evolve with flashbacks to his past.
Somewhere towards the 1/2 way mark one of the other author tells him the gay community does not appreciate his work - not because he is a bad author but because he is a bad gay. Around 3/4 way Arthur Less describes the book he is writing now of a failed gay writer roaming through the roads of New York for self discovery. The character breaks a lot of stereotypes of a novel character with a seemingly heightened sense of awareness.
There are a few laugh out loud episodes of an American in a foreign land. But it is not the humour but the subtle truths that arrest you. The book also has positive things happening despite the self flagellating protagonist and hence in a lot of ways this is a feel good book.
“How can so many things become a bore by middle age — philosophy, radicalism, and other fast foods — but heartbreak keeps its sting?”-
Very Likeable.
Mod
Rating: 2/5
Review: Sometimes simplicity is so underrated. This book makes you feel the publishing house could have told the author - keep it simple. The reader can feel the eagerness of the author in creating sub plots that impose the value system of today on the past.
The book, other than the murder mystery, also tries to address the vilification process of history (Train to Pakistan recall), patriarchy and chauvinism at work, Patriotism vs British, some personal tragedy and some forensic stuff. What I felt was many of these were forced into a narrative - eg: one does not have to decry British for plundering while working alongside them nor does one have to accuse everyone of murder to make them listen to the unraveling.
When the author has to resort to "it was at the back of her mind, but it was elusive" three times in a row when, you, the reader makes the connect almost instantly - the mystery has lost it's flavor. Thus the book was arduous after 50-60% when you exactly know where it is headed while the detective is fumbling due to bad memory. Also the sidekick - a British criminologist with an OCD is poorly characterized.
There is a lot of potential to make this a series - like maybe breaking this book into 3 books for start. I can imagine writing a complete book is nothing short of achievement. And so the one additional star.
A+ for intent and effort, D- for effect.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: Vivek Kapri's 1232Km is a travelogue like nothing ever written. I was a bit worried that it might have a tint, but the book maintains to be objective and sticks to the facts.
In April 2020, when the national lockdown was announced crippling the GDP machinery, one of the most important collateral damage was that of migrant workers who found themselves without work away from family. The book follows the journey of seven such labourers who are heading from Ghaziabad to Sahasrapur in Bihar - by cycles. The apathy they encounter to their plight, the challenges of policy implementation and the impact of bad administrators on public people are brought up with an observer's angst.
The writing is factual and to the point. The conscious effort not to influence doesn't really add up since as Mary Jo Hachette predicted, you cannot be part of the system and not influence it. So you know they were charging their phones in his car, you know he arranged for food and maybe they were even the reason for administrators reacting in a different way than dismissal. So in essence - it is not a pure book, but then you are happy it is not. It also does not deliver on the promise of making you want to know the story of the next labourer you meet since their identity is individual and not as a collective.
What is humanity if you are immune to the sufferings of other people - not even to feel gratitude that you didn't have to go through as much? This book is that book.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: “Children ceased to be children when you put a sword in their hands. When you taught them to fight a war, then you armed them and put them on the front lines, they were not children anymore. They were soldiers.”
Poppy's War is an Asian fantasy that borrows heavily from history the graphic violence of wars. The book - as a fantasy world it creates - is deeply rooted in Asian mythology of Shamanism that has as much as 273 gods and it tries to bring them into the world of humans. To that end, the book has an exciting premise.
What I did find was the book was transforming itself into multiple formats. Rin tops an impossible exam to escape her foster parents and an opportunistic marriage to fund a drug trade operations. Then the school itself which is a reminder of Hogwarts where magic is replaced by war training. And then when the book turns to a full fledged graphic war novel it becomes an unpredictable muddle that you are sure will not be resolved.
The book's biggest strength is that it sucks us into the story of the here and now. The descriptions of horror is real and there is an perversity in the way it continues to get into details. I later read, most of this is research from the news archive of The Nanking horror. The lab of experiments on prisoners take you back to Auswitz. I did love the discussion in strategy classes and the concept of power vs respect.
At the end of the day it is a book that is ambitious. Good but not compelling.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: “These are secrets hidden from those who escape the Himalaya when it is at its bleakest: the mountains do not reveal themselves to people who come here merely to escape the heat of the plains. Through the summer they veil themselves in a haze. The peaks emerge for those devoted to them through the coldest of winters, the wettest of monsoons. The mountains, Diwan Sahib said in an uncharacteristic rush of sentimentality fueled by a few drinks at his fireplace, believe that love must be tested by adversity.”
This probably is the best summary of the book - a constant clash of ideologies of belonging - the insider vs outsider debate about the life at the mountain town of Ranikhet. Maya, a young widow comes to Ranikhet, to grieve the loss of her mountaineering husband and makes it her home. She is the Teacher-ni to the native family of Ama and Charu; a non-converted teacher who can't control the class to her Principal; a faithful companion to the octagenarian Diwan Sahib who shares his love for the mountains along with that of Corbett;
When the modern world starts coming into contact with the locals - things start changing. The young girl Charu falls in love with an outsider, there is a Colonel defining what the local should and should not do, elections are coming to the city to divide them on religion and there is a young nephew called Veer who seems to have his own agenda. There are multiple small episodes that doesn't move anything dramatic but changes things a bit. In that sense, it reminded me of Reservoir 13 - a long book about nothing.
But then, the book conveys it's intent of what it means to be a pahadi. The characters arcs are gradual and well thought out. The book doesn't judge it's characters through the episodes. The writing style was a bit weird - chapters narrated by Maya are in first person, but the other chapters are by the all-seeing narrator. Writing, though smooth, was not too poignant.
As someone who spent two years in the lap of clouds in a mountain city and never managing to claim being even a distant insider, I believe the hills themselves differentiate the natives from the outsiders. A good read.
Mod
Rating: 5/5
Review: "Forgetting is an art like other arts, It needs dedication and practice."
This is one of Mantel's best books that non-chalantly manages to spook you when you least expect it. As it moves between the present and the past, Ms.Mantel tries to lead us to make sense of the present with the past.
At the centre of the book is Ralph Elsted and Anna Elsted - the couple who claim they are occupational Christians - not driven by God's calling but by the practical aspects of helping others. Present day, their 4 children are going through a bit of rebellious phase with their parent's activities and there is an allusion to the African trip. History, we see why Ralph chooses to join the missionary trip despite wanting to be a geologist and his parents coersion to choose the Chritian path. And of-course the African phase when Aparthied motion starting and well kept secret that springs a surprise.
Both Ralph and Anna are memorable protagonists with their attitude. Emma, Ralph's sister becomes the adviser to her nephew and nieces, who also manages to be the bridge between the family. I don't know how she manages to do it, but the writing is very different from any of her other books. There is gravitas in her writing of certain parts while there is cynism or sarcasm in others - and she cleverly disguises so that you don't know one from the other. The African portions were the best written of-course and I loved the way the parts were written.
What becomes of one's nature and a couple's relationship after an life altering episode is explored with sensitivity by Ms.Mantel. And the prose is brilliant as usual.
“Interesting how our vocabulary responds, providing us with words we have never needed before, words stacked away for us, neatly folded into our brain and there for our use: like a bride's lifetime supply of linen, or a ducal trove of monogrammed china. Death will overtake us before a fraction of those words are used.”
The book will make you remember those words in the complex setting it creates.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: Cup of rage is that deceptive short book that can make reading seem like a lot of hard work. Somewhere between experimental and irritating, the book contains seven sentences that span seven chapters.
A journalist and an old man are together. The first 3 chapters are of them having sex when their guards are down and their vulnerabilities shared. The next chapter is that fight about something small that escalates out of proportion - a probable effort at contrast or causality - i am not sure - of the intimacy.
In the blinding rage they try to hurt each other verbally/physically where the entire objective is to win the argument. Many fights escalate this way in everyday life and this book just about magnifies it.
I did not know what the point of long sentences was. Trying.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: “People are made of stories. Our memories are not the impartial accumulation of every second we’ve lived; they’re the narrative that we assembled out of selected moments"
My first Ted Chiang book and now I understand the rave. What imagination this man has - something that seems to stem from compassion (border lining on pity) for humans.
Nine stories - obviously not all of them were excellent. Some were good, some were mindblowing and some were "what was that?" but the genius of the ideas behind each is noteworthy. I especially loved the long Neuroblast Genomes called Digients story that had done quite a bit on anthromorphism on virtual avatars. The time travel concept in alchemy or intelligent life on earth asked the right questions - ones you wouldn't be obviously asking when you understand the concept.
Calling it Sci-fi does injustice. The philosophy on free will vs fatalism was never summarised so succinctly : "My message to you is this: Pretend that you have free will. It’s essential that you behave as if your decisions matter, even though you know they don’t.”
The titular topic was a bit difficult for me to grasp thanks to the slight burial under jargons, but then that is my limitation. Ted Chiang is a force to reckon with.
In his words: “Contemplate the marvel that is existence.”
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: "You know, I'm actually going to start praying that I don't end up in hell, just because I want you to be wrong. I'm going to be the only person in heaven who got there out of spite"
This is one of those books that is humorous, witty and yet logically flawed. In that sense it reads like one of those sitcoms where the gravity of the situation and the dialogues are out of sync.
The book follows Anvar and Safwa through the years till their lives meet. You might be forgiven for thinking this seems like a romance novel - but then the book takes on a much serious subject at it's core. Anvar is the life of the book - a smartass who is a real pain. His family is filled with a colorful assortment including a smart Nani, a strict Mom, a cool dad and a goody-goody brother. He is the outcast who keeps getting on his mother's nerves for not being a good muslim. Anvar is reprimanded by almost every character for being a coward and for thinking he is funny.
Safwa's life is the horror of Afghan war where she loses her mother and brother and signs a deal with the devil to move to America with her Abu. There is physical abuse and she is a shell of a person who is difficult to understand.
Where logic goes for a toss is the parts of human interaction that are not funny. Like, why aren't people aware of the options they have or why Anvar needs to be in a physical relationship or how easy is to become an attorney in USA or why Homeland security is portrayed as a bunch of jokers. The book reminded of the hard hitting H.M.Naqvi's Home Boy which achieved a lot more with lot less. But then this one did crack you up a lot.
I realised it was the author himself who has poured himself into the character when I read the Credits section. I felt this book plays it safe so that it doesn't offend and hence waters down the entire core topic.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: “My monolithic expectation of what a woman’s body was supposed to look like had no bearing on what actually happened to my body. The two things were wholly unrelated. I never became the woman I imagined. And what was I expecting?”
“Then there are the real bastards, like my ex,” she shook her head. “He went around, patting himself on the back, like he’s so much better than all those men. ‘I know the pain that women feel, I respect women. I’ve written papers about it, I know where all the landmines are. My favorite author is Virginia Woolf’ and all that . . . So fucking what, though, right? How many times did you clean the house last month? How many times did you cook? How many times did you go grocery shopping?” I laughed.”
This book is one of the toughest to review and yet you know this book is an accomplishment. Mieko Kawakami has chosen to dissect womanhood - physically and mentally and in that process challenges multiple societal norms.
A 40+ mother of teenager, financially constrained, wants to get a boob job. The teenager is trying to make sense of her bodily changes and the societal expectations of a woman. The first part is around the two women and the girl's aunt as she tries to understand the actions of her sister. This part is written as a piece with multiple dialogues on physical aspects of a woman's body.
The second part is around the aunt who hates sex and wants to have a child through sperm donors. There are arguments on sperm donorship - the drive and role of men in childhood, essays around why a woman wants to bring a baby to the world and through other characters - a critique on men's role. While the critique is tough to swallow, there is a lot of truth to it.
I felt the last part dragged a bit after the swiftly paced first part. One of a kind book- not for everyone.
Mod
Rating: 5/5
Review: 5 Stars - Shillonging for Life!
Books about places you haven’t visited are informative. However, books set in places that you have been to turn into portkeys to revisit memories and people. This book was the latter for me set in Shillong.
The writing is simple and with each chapter told from the POV of a child or a teenager, gives a peek into the life in Shillong with elements like tribes, religion, discrimination and life truths in slice of life narrative. The writer paints images that stay with you - details that embellish the simple story. Like mouth watering Alu Muri described in detail or the landscape that overlooks the clouds and the hill. If you have already been there - this book brings photographs from memory.
To me, personally, with a reunion that I may not be able to attend, looming in a week, this book was a special throwback. My own name, place, animal, thing with stories that warrant a hot chai or a campfire.
Name - Thom, Mervin, SKY, RD, Jessica
Place - Nonthymmai, Mayurbhanj, Laitumkrah, PB, CP, Hospital
Animal - Bhuchung
Thing - Taxi, Churches, Maggi, Kopda
We have a term called Shillonging - the feeling of wishing to be there when you are elsewhere. This is Shillonging Max.
Mod
Rating: 5/5
Review: “But man is not made for defeat," he said. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
“Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.”
Every other quote in the book is a life motto for quotation books. For a novella, this book is borderline philosophical while at the same time being entertaining.
Santiago is dubbed as "unlucky" after he could not catch a fish for 84 days straight. His young helper who he has mentored since he was 5 is reassigned to someone else. With hope and sense of purpose- the old man goes into the sea again and this time he is pitted against a massive marlin. It is a contest of strength - physical and mental and endurance as he is dragged deep into the sea after he loses sight of the land. Over two nights, the man and the animal are fighting it out and just when the will power wins, sharks come to claim his success.
This epic worthy battle is done in solitude with noone to sing the laurels. The old man comes back dejected and just wants to sleep while the entire village sings his praise. In a sense, this is the Karma yogi concept that was drilled into us - what makes one push oneself to do what he is supposed to. Not that I understand, but I respect it.
Felt goosebumps in the last chapter. I would not have read this classic if not for a reading challenge and that's why people - the world needs reading challenges.
PS: My apologies to my English teacher, for I had put off reading this book after confusing it with Rime of the Ancient Mariner. (Old Person, Sea - brain fog)
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: “Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is decide to leave when it is no longer wise to stay.”
This was my first book set in Cuba during the revolution do not count. So while, I got a perspective of the revolution itself thanks to characters in different factions, the book did not venture out beyond a love story.
2017 - Marisol Ferrera of migrant lineage, has to visit Cuba for the first time in her life to spread the Ashes of her beloved grandmother Elisa Perez. Elisa Perez escaped Cuba in the immediate aftermath of Castro coming to power with her sugar baron father and sisters. As Marisol enquires - she soon finds her grandmother has also left her some letters from a love story that was well hidden due to the political nature of it.
Elisa's parts are better written thanks to the political angle. Her father is seen as the class villian of communism, her lover is helping Castro overthrow the corrupt regime and her brother is disowned due to his socialist ideals. My only complaint was like a research-averse author the author states facts as developments and does not take her eyes of the character. So a lot of the developments do not make sense.
Marisol's life seems to follow a parallel to her grandmom. Both fall in love with "revolutionaries" and have to make a choice to leave their beloved Cuba. This insider vs those who abandoned Cuba to leave for America is a good debate. Does their love diminish because they couldn't see the change. The changing narratives of the revolution are written well and somehow explains the dilemmas faced by a banana republic.
The last part of the book with all things explained was a bit too convenient and tilts it towards romance. I wish the book had explored more the potential of the idea.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: I know how that if one has done memories of a place, going back there can seldom bring back old joys. It is far better to simply dip into one's fund of memories and relive precious moments"
This misleadingly titled Childhood days was a mixed bag for me. While the first part of actual childhood days seemed like random parts of a patchwork quilt, the latter part of his anecdotes from shooting spots was awe inspiring.
Satyajit Ray is one of those geniuses I haven't watched yet due to the reverse bandwagon effect. I even tried not to read feluda for a while. But, going by the book, the man surely deserves credit for the love for his art.
The anecdotes from pather Panchali and Feluda gave depth to this man's vision. Imagine waiting for 2 years to complete a scene with different actors just for a single shot or two days shoot for 3 minutes. Developed new respect for directors.
The first part - except for the tools and marvels which we no longer come across - was lost on me.
Nudged me enough to watch some scenes from his films on youtube
Mod
Rating: 1/5
Review: This is what happens when one's overconfidence collides into a granite wall. Without pretending to have enjoyed it in parts - i hated this.
In school I had a friend who wrote bad love poems about the girl on whom he was pining. As is the fate of a good friend i used to be the receptacle of his creativity and his overflow of similes and cliches.
This book was that except it was written by a renowned poet about his muse in the 13th century. He pieces together his many sonnets written across time on the thread of Beatrice the girl he met when she was nine years old and once afterwords Nine years later.
He explains his poems and what he was thinking and why. I felt sorry for his friends.
I also dislike the person who recoed this book - you know who you are.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: “As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure.”
Martha wells has created an interesting space for stories - set in a world where humans are exploring planets with permission from "The Company" and protected by Sec bots assigned by them. Just one problems - bots can be hacked.
So meet the murderbot narrator who has managed to hack itself to watch 3000 hours of entertainment downloaded from the net.
When the crew suddenly find that the maps given have some missing information and things are trying to kill them, they turn to the one secbot who is sarcastic and actually tries to save the humans. The writing is engaging and the characters - though not memorable, are entertaining.
I felt I saw bits of Mervin in the character - the depressed robot from HHGTG with his wit and humor. A relatively quick read for a sci-fi that doesn't waste too much on the premise and set up.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: Self help books have traditionally been scoffed at as a genre. This despite millions of people finding some important takeaways that helped them in their real life. (Not to mention the loads of money their authors made by following it up with workshops and paid sessions).
This book is a humorous and yet sad tale of the author - Marianne Power who turns to self help books to get her life back on track. One book at a time. There are 12 books she reads and every month she tries to see if her book is making a difference to her life.
I hadn't read many of the books except Stephen Covey and Rhonda Byrne and hence I was equally incredulous about the entire journey. Despite the author making jokes about it, you feel sympathy as she goes into her self-bashing mode till the final epiphany.
I did not so much like the misery and self deprecating humor. I did feel we all need some guidance at some point of time and i just hope at that point of time we meet the right person or right book.
A time pass critique of the genre.
Mod
Rating : 4/5
Review: “As children, we were taught to be afraid of tigers and lions. Nobody taught us what I know today - the most dangerous animal in this world is a man with wounded pride.”
Here is a book with so much potential and hard hitting writing based on true events. Smita reluctantly comes to India when her friend has a fall to take over her human interest story for US media. The story is that of Meena whose Muslim husband has been burnt by her own two brothers in the villages of Maharashtra. Smita, with her own mysterious past, sets out with Mohan to interview Meena, the brothers before the judgement in the PIL.
The alternate chapters are by Meena recalling her story - a horror filled patriarchy and a commentary on the way women are treated till today in the corners of the country where honor is an all encompassing concept and hatred common currency. Mobs take over and acts are driven from dogma than humanity. The narrative in these parts are biting and brutal - where you as a reader are horrified.
As reality kicks in the characters are helpless bystanders in this injustice being meted out. Maybe as a reader you wanted justice more than the characters did - but the book seemed to suddenly changed track. It suddenly became a love story between Smita and Mohan that ended with a cliched climax. Yes, shared adversity brings people together, but the book has not established the character's arc to make sense of this track.
There is a constant commentary of what is India and Honor, through the eyes of a foreigner, though the eyes of a defensive Indian, a victim, a lawyer, a mob leader. This starts getting to you, before the characters come to a consensus.
This could have been a 5 star book if it hadn't changed track. Scary and pertinent - this is an undelivered promise.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: The fun of a straightforward simple mystery is under rated. I got started on this book after reading Satyajit Ray's Childhood days and I understood why his scriptwriting and books are oriented in detail.
In this simple mystery, Feluda along with Topshe and Jatayu are in Bombay after Jatayu's latest book is bought by a film production house. Feluda could not stop making sly comments about Bombay Vs Bengali movies - a commentary Mr.Ray wouldn't make in public. Since the story itself is set in a film shooting - there are multiple elements which he details out - like the stunt sequence or the site selection or the stunt men.
The murder of course and the final scooby doo type unmasking of the villain were nostalgic of the earlier mysteries which were less complex.
A quick fast read.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: “A river passing through a landscape catches the world and gives it back redoubled: a shifting, glinting world more mysterious than the one we customarily inhabit. Rivers run through our civilisations like strings through beads"
This was one of those meditative books I wished I had read in physical format to appreciate it better. Ms.Laing in a state of personal flux decides to trace the river Ouse from the source to sea. As though the river is a metaphor for time, through her journey she revisits the river ecosystem as a living microcosm of flora, fauna, history, stories and literature.
River Ouse has the claim to fame of being where Ms.Virginia Woolf drowned herself. As someone who hasn't read any serious Woolf and knowing only two relevant facts - she was a feminist and she killed herself - I couldn't appreciate the many allusions to Woolf's works. Also, the personal life of Ms.Woolf seems to have left a deep impact on Ms.Laing who keeps going to her as if she will guide her to the sea when she wanders off.
I loved the mythological tales and the history elements which involved rivers (not sure if it was Ouse) which she draws upon especially the tales of Thomas Cromwell who I couldn't see as a villian at all thanks to another distinguished author - Ms.Mantel. The other literary works were weaved into a meandering flow of thoughts and memories that goes beyond the here and now. Like the geologist who faked bones to find the missing link or the wind in the willows.
The writing is reminiscent of the English writing of the classics era - which is both beautful and difficult. I mean why is the blue plastic around cut grass "the exact shade of surgical scrubs"? I do not know enough to appreciate this work I guess.
An intricate piece for rumination rather than enjoyment.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: “People who are considered normal enjoy putting those who aren't on trial, you know.”
What a weird little book this one was! The irony of categorising it as weird does not escape me - but the book breaks the mould.
Through the eyes of Ms.Keiko Furukura, a social outcast due to her condition, who finds normalcy in the routines of a convenience store, the author paints an important dialogue. Keiko has a colorful childhood where she does not understand the EQ components (probably like Asperger's) and has her family worried. When at the age of 18, she joins a convenience store, she finds her life fit in with the predictability of processes. We meet her at 36, where she has established herself as "normal" by mimicing her colleagues and friends.
When a parasite convinces her of the world's hatred towards anyone who is not normal, her life changes briefly and the story becomes a dialogue on social fitment and compulsion to even out odd behaviours. It questions every one of the established societal structures including employment, gender roles, marriage, kids etc.
I loved the initial part of getting to know the functioning of Keiko's brain. There were a few laugh out loud moments from her school times that is fun. The latter part - i found it a bit of stretch though still enjoyed the writing.
This isn't normal and what's not to like about it?
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: “I always used to think it was silly when people said life was short, but I completely get that now. We're here for such a limited time. The least we can do is try to be kind to the people around us. Humans seem to forget that so easily.”
Ok, this book seemed templatised in the feel good finding hope and meaning genre. The fact that Eudora Honeysett is 85 years old and is enrolling for assisted death in the first few pages sets the predictability of the story.
The flashbacks told in alternating chapters set in the worldwar times does not do much for the book's here and now. Atleast, I did not find why her present is a function of her experiences except maybe why she wants to die on her own terms given the unfortunate mortality of her family members.
Enters Rose, the nosy neighbour kid who seems to transform her life. It felt a lot forced - not just because it was convenient to introduce characters who are instantly likeable, but it did not seem like much was needed to make her appreciate life. She even likes the other octagenarian person who is a friend of Rose.
I kind of got reminded of a man called Ove and also ended up comparing how this book was much too complex from Ove which played on critical events as turning points in life. The episodes in the book weren't impactful enough to change someone's life (or death).
A brilliant templated life of Eduora Honeysett.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: “They were worlds apart in everything but the simplicity of their humanity, and so they were really not apart at all.”
A warm feel good book where good things happen to good people and hard work pays off. Mrs. 'Arris, who is a typical London char woman, has saved up enough money to go to Paris and fulfill her dream - to own a Dior dress. Her determiniation and simplicity touches many lives and she manages to generate a load of admirers in Paris to whose life she brings miracles.
The tone of the book is similar to a musical movie of the 60s and there is sunshine and rainbows in Paul Galico's writing. She wins over her detractors and all it takes for them to like her is be herself. The difference in attitude of the people she works for however is inexplicable.
Non complex simple warm up reading.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: People value shiny stones and lucky charms, but they forget that the most powerful talismans of all are the stories that we tell to ourselves and to others.”
“There are very few certainties in this world, Mr. Gilbert, but I will tell you something I know: the truth depends on who it is that’s telling the story.”
This was my first Kate Morton book and I get the distinct sense that this author writes to win shock and adulations from the reader. The giveaway was the way she enjoyed keeping the reader in relative dark as she started introducing new characters with baggage and backstories without resolving the open points - much like a juggler launching the items. It was a challenging read for me what with so many characters and timelines - not to mention a ghost with multiple names.
After finishing the book, i felt it was the skill of the author that held the book than the plot and storyline. Which is a complaint if you think about it. There is art, a murder mystery, a missing diamond and so many people's life which gets connected across timelines.
What worked for me were the spooky parts where the ghost nudged people to action and the central story that happened at the house revealed through multiple characters. What did not work in the investment made in understanding pointless characters whose central conflicts are not resolved even after the intended climax. The complexity was more the author showing off.
As someone who loves David Mitchell and Atwood, I can't complain I guess. But if you are not already a fan, I am not too keen to continue reading this author.
Mod
Rating: 5/5
Review: "What name do you give to a woman with a dead child? I'm not a widow, I'm not an orphan, what am i?"
"People confuse thinking with knowing, they let themselves confuse the two"
One of the most hard hitting and sobering book one can read. Elena is a 60+ Parkinsons patient whose timeline revolves around her medicines that determine if she is going to take a step or not. Her daughter Rita was found hanging in the church belfry and Elena knows she could not have killed herself while the entire world believes so. Elena sets out to find the one woman whose life Rita saved 20 years ago across the town, which would mean she would be at the mercy of her medicines.
As the book alternates between the past and the present, the book is an intimate portrayal of the disease, the helplessness of the patient and the caregiver and the power of human beings to move on. The book hits you in your plexus multiple times and can pull you down if you are not on your guard. I loved the author's no holds barred story telling that does not allow Elena to wallow in self pity nor does it make Rita the ideal character. It's protagonists are human and then there is Isabel.
The other characters like the Father or Inspector or Rita's Boyfriend are viewed from the POV of Elena - who due to her stage of disease can look only at shoes and note the change of tones. The ending was, at best, a closure.
It's difficult to love the book - but I will remember this book for a long time to come.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: A very smartly written book this. Written by the author in her 50s the book starts even before she was born - hearsay like of her IFS father and homemaker mother who get uprooted every 3-4 years to a new country. The memoirs touch upon the major developments that changed history which happened during those years and the impact it had on their family.
If memory was an edited version of the actual event, the first hand reporting comes in handy to smoothen edges and gaps. I was more interested in the history trivia and cultural nuances she has mentioned - like I did not know Sikkim was a separate country nor did I know about the crime patrol behind the scenes. From Cold war to Lehman brother's collapse - the book does a mini history tour.
Her parents upbringing of the author and her sister contrasts with her own upbringing of her two kids. I think the changing times also comes across in this book.
Much later in the book, when the author reminisces her newsroom experience, you come across the term "Packaging" - that is making the news more eye catching and on time. That is what the entire book is - it is a neatly packaged reminiscences from the past.
I liked the way it made me go to wiki from time to time. Only, somebody explain the title since till 50% of the book she isn't even 15 years old. A good read.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: “The poor are poor, and one’s sorry for them, but there it is. As civilization moves forward, the shoe is bound to pinch in places, and it’s absurd to think that anyone is responsible personally.”
E.M.Forester books have been a subtle critique of "society", which if you don't get, can make you feel like you are reading an Edwardian book. This book takes on society, patriarchy and good intent with much gusto. Written before the war, you can understand why the protagonists have a German lineage.
Margaret and Helen, the Schiegel sisters are neither too rich to feel entitled nor too poor to worry about money. With an inheritence the strong women are in control of their lives with some help from an aunt and a brother who looks up to them. We meet the Wilcoxes who stay at Howard's end who are the snobbish capitalists whose only seemingly sane person Mrs.Wilcox unceremoniously passes away adding a twist to the story in the form of a will. When Schiegels befriend the Basts, the working class poor trying to make ends meet, their world with the Wilcoxes collide and good intention creates more pain.
When Margaret marries the widower Wilcox who is 20 years his senior with his sons disapproving, the book turns for the color. You do not think it fair for the outspoken Margaret to be controlled by the old partiarch telling her what a woman should talk about or how her sister should act. He has a distorted view of women and the class structure in general. The book, for the time it came in, has a lot of ideas that are somewhere ahead of time (and far behind in current times).
The ending was too dramatic and somehow you never saw why things had to be the way it was. It is not about fairness but of realism in the edwardinan setting.
Mod
Rating: 2/5
Review: Emma Donoghue has rewritten Room all over again in a seventh century setting on a remote island where three monks reach to build God an altar. The Island, which is revealed in the afterword to be Skelling Michael island in Ireland, which had some bit of missionary activity recorded in history - becomes the closed room without contact with external world and hardships to survive.
Prior Artt is a zealot (and a bigot, we realise) in whose dream he sees this Island as the Haven where he is seen doing God's calling along with two people in the monastery he visits. The two people are young Trian who was handed over to the church at 13 and Cormac who is a born again Christian who has suffered two near death encounters. Initially in awe of the Prior, the two slowly fight an inner battle of questioning faith vs survival in one of the most challenging environment.
Cut out from the outside world - despite having a boat, gruelling physical labour and through the various episodes, the 3 of them tresspass many of the 7 sins including pride, greed, gluttony, wrath and sloth (not lust). Through the tension built, you keep expecting a rebellion or something dramatic to happen. But then, nothing much happens episode after episode as the ordeal keeps increasing.
Sometimes I felt like it was masochism that the author was going for. It was a good idea to keep out mysticism and heresy out of the plot line. It is the tension built around minimal characters in a confined space that works to keep you pushing on.
The climax left me feeling underwhelmed as if the light at the end of the tunnel was a firelfly. Too little reward.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: Percival Everett's book is tough to categorise as it switches between mystery to satire to a call for revolution. It takes on the American racist history through current day gruesome murders.
Money, Mississippi - ironically named is the site of two gruesome murders in a white family. Both locations a (disappearing) black corpse of the same person is found with the balls of the white man in his hands.
The MIB sends over two wisecracking black detectives who investigate and find the crime scene is history itself with a connection to the lynched black men in history and the KKK. Soon similar news starts coming from across America - blacks, Asians, red Indians killing white men who have committed crime.
The book is hard hitting for the violence it suggests and a chapter dedicated only to names of men who have been lynched since 1913. The dialogues also unearth the racism in today's country. Like when the agents get stopped by a white cop, they worry they might get shot or how police killings are modern day lynching.
I did not see the snowball ending coming and maybe i felt a bit uneasy with the blatant hatred in words. I remembered the final debate from the "Great debaters" where the winning argument is in a choice between violence and civil disobedience. You should pray they choose the latter.
A bash in the head to get your attention.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: Percival Everett's book is tough to categorise as it switches between mystery to satire to a call for revolution. It takes on the American racist history through current day gruesome murders.
Money, Mississippi - ironically named is the site of two gruesome murders in a white family. Both locations a (disappearing) black corpse of the same person is found with the balls of the white man in his hands.
The MIB sends over two wisecracking black detectives who investigate and find the crime scene is history itself with a connection to the lynched black men in history and the KKK. Soon similar news starts coming from across America - blacks, Asians, red Indians killing white men who have committed crime.
The book is hard hitting for the violence it suggests and a chapter dedicated only to names of men who have been lynched since 1913. The dialogues also unearth the racism in today's country. Like when the agents get stopped by a white cop, they worry they might get shot or how police killings are modern day lynching.
I did not see the snowball ending coming and maybe i felt a bit uneasy with the blatant hatred in words. I remembered the final debate from the "Great debaters" where the winning argument is in a choice between violence and civil disobedience. You should pray they choose the latter.
A bash in the head to get your attention.
Mod
Rating: 2/5
Review: "You are so daft"
Ok, I read the book twice (thanks to the small size), read up of a few reviews, tried doing a wikipedia entry. I don't think I understood this fully nor did I see why this is in the shortlist. But given the reviews that make you feel "daft" - which is the protagonist's favorite word - I think it was not for me.
From the little that I got, Young Joe collects stuff like bird egg shells and reads a comic book called Knockout. He has a sleepy eye that he covers with a patch. When he meets the treackle walker he exchanges his old bone and pajamas for a special egg and suddenly he seems to have acquired a power. In what sounded like quantum worlds and parallel universes, his weak eye can now see things that aren't there now.
There is a question on the concept of time and now and we also get a sense of surrealism - a dream like quality to the narrative. Whenver he meets the man in the bog (who is naked - why?) or chases the cuckoo - bad things seem to happen. The child's curiosity and simple responses like "That's daft" to some weird ideas - I see there is something the author was going for but I can't for the life of me be sure what.
So, this book in essence was a challenge. As one of the youtube reviews suggested - this book is like the Emperor's invisible clothes - we don't get it. I am ok to be in the majority till there is some mind boggling review that makes me change my mind.
Weird and complex - I did not like the effort it made me put with minimal returns.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: Towards the very end of the book did I come to know that Balchao is actually Goan prawn pickle dish made by marinating prawns in oil and spices. Why this was the most relevant takeaway for me is that I felt that the multitude of characters needed more time to marinate for them to come together.
Set in the Goan - East Indian Christian settlement near Cavall in Bombay, the book talks about the families that live in one settlement the Bosco house. Slice of life writing that is both funny and coloured, the book jumps timelines and characters. It took me 3-4 chapters to realise the same characters will come in different stories and the connection was important. If you are one of those people who can't remember the name of the distant uncle's second son, then you will have problems with this book.
The language of the community is a mix of marathi and English. The silent fights between Mangalore Goans and East Indians was a backdrop for two families to come together. While the main character appears to be Michael's family, there are too many characters, histories and the chapters are not coherent either. Sometime I felt like I was reading the gossip column of a local community.
The book transports you to a time and place and does complete justice to it. However, characters are more loosely handled with too many tangential references to other characters that keeps your investment low.
Felt like a long shot view of a neighborhood.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: A good historical fiction is one which takes the recorded events in history and spins a credible yarn that connects the dots. In that way, this work of fiction is an exciting one as it covers the history of SMS Emden, a Dresden class cruisers built by the Royal German Army that wreaked havoc on the English seas in 1914 before the first WW. Closer to India, it is the only ship to have fired on Madras - a total of 10 minutes and spread terror in the heart introducing the term "Emden mavan" in Tamil to denote someone daring. Further it went on to sink many trade ships, attack Penang and decapacitate a British transmission tower of Cocos Island and attack coal feeder ships.
There are two storylines. Dr.Chidambaram's father attains samadhi jumping into his grave from the terrace (in sitting position) which the British do not understand. Inspector Langdon wants to call it a murder and hence starts an investigation. While this is on, on the same night, Chidambaram is asked to treat a patient onboard SMS Emden which is anchored near Chennai by it's Captain Muller. The patient is shown to be the adopted daughter of Viceroy which causes quite a bit of scandal for the Madras Governor since the news is of highly sensitive nature.
The story is intelligent enough to tap into some unanswered questions - like why did the ship not fire for longer and destroy Madras? Why was it attacking the cities in the night? The character Dr.Chidambaram is shown as a gentleman who does not give into the advances of the white woman. There is his fiancee Radha who takes up the journey to clear his name that takes her to Siddha world and an exploration into the "Jeeva samadhi" concept going back to the Chola dynasty. This world is something that is very Tamil history that is getting forgotten since it defies a lot of logical questions.
I felt the conclusion a bit overdrawn, espcially the yoga jump to conclude both the parts. The tamil conversations aboard Emden was a necessity made easy by the narrator.
I was glad to read a tamil historical fiction that did not need to go all the way back to spies and kingdoms.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: Why,” he asked, “should I have a definite, fixed appearance? Why not avoid the dangers attendant upon a personality that is always the same? My actions constitute my identity sufficiently.”
And he added, with a touch of pride:
“It is all the better if people are never able to say with certainty: ‘There goes Arsène Lupin.’ The great thing is that they should say without fear of being mistaken: ‘That action was performed by Arsène Lupin.”
Arsene Lupine the Gentleman Burglar is from the mould of criminals like Ocean's series and Robin Hood (though not much of an altruistic bone) who make criminals cool. The adventures that start with the arrest of Mr.Arsene Lupin are mad capers where we know our 'hero' will outwit the police and we even meet Sherlock Holmes in the last chapter.
What makes Monsieur Lupine stories stand out is the narrator changes in every chapter bringing in a sense of unpredictability. A master of disguises, or rather faceless, any of the characters could be actually Mosieur Lupine and the humour is a constant undertone in every story. He wants to build a brand legacy of a gentleman criminal and so he leaves a calling card when he finds the item he came to steal a fake or catches a murder who took away what he came to steal.
The French politeness and chivalry are made fun of in a few of the stories, but not as much as the bordeline disdain for the British. When I picked it up, I did not realise this was actually a series. Look forward to an entertaining light read.
Mod
Rating: 5/5
Review: Social commentaries for change could be told in multiple ways but the most impactful ones are those that are close to reality. Muhammad Basheer chooses the orthodoxy of 1950s old Muslim family who are stuck in past and the impact is on the daughter Kunju Patima.
The first few chapters have a detailed description of the Islam beliefs on the right and wrong of Kaafirs, the Quayamat and the impositions on the women. This, though true as far as beliefs go, sets the stage of the what the conditions of the household are. Kunyu Patima's is a family that had everything including an elephant and today they had to sell off every ounce of gold to sustain. The Umma (mother) is bitter and abusive of the daughter whom she blames for the family's situation and everytime recalls her father's Elephant. There is a hint of mental illness but never explicitly mentioned.
When a non-kaafir (muslim) family moves next door who are still different from them, it piques Patima's curiosity. While the man, Nisar Ahmed behaves like a gentleman with her even when she spoke with him or his sister, Aysha wears a blouse and flowers on her hair and walks around the town, Patima is no longer sure what her parents are holding onto is the only way to be a true muslim. Patima's world changes when she befriends the sibling who start educating her, dress her up and even force their dad to build a toilet despite her mom's protests.
Fittingly enough towards the end her mom gets snubbed by kids for trying to bring up her family's past glory. Holding onto the past can leave you behind - a message in 1950s. I listened to the tamil translation since I heard the malayalam dialect is tough to follow.
Fantastic book.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: “Politics is about power and patronage, and ministerial positions are won not just on the basis of competence but also in recognition of a politician’s political clout or loyalty to the leader.”
A well written non-fiction can beat an average fiction any day! This is an impressive book that is objective in it's take of the UPA-1 Government under Dr.Manmohan Singh from it's ring side view of the PMO. More about the PM than the Government, more about the Government than the party. In a polarised country like ours, a book like this could be read as a manifestation of an agenda, but if you are fair to the author and the man, the books stands out as an important insight into coalition Government in the largest democracy of the world.
Dr.Manmohan Singh, one of the most qualified world leaders of his time, who already had done a major contribution as FM in 1991 through the liberalization of Indian economy, became an accidental prime minister. The context surrounding his election as the PM in the first term of UPA-1 was typical of the Great Indian Circus. Dubbed as a puppet PM by the opposition and popular media, the book explains through the various episodes how Mr.Singh was a leader with his own mind and how he was a shrewd political as well. The crowning achievement of the UPA-1 regime - The nuclear deal with US came after a lot of political chess.
Baru, the journalist, tries to do justice to the entire reporting by reserving judgements, but when he does pass them, it is filled with scorn. Sometimes it does distract you that he is trying to take credit for some major speech or for the PM agreeing to an idea - but then, who knows for sure? The biggest take away for me is the Governance of the country is more about managing the political push and pull and egos than informed decision making.
The criticism of the man too is a widely reported popular opinion backed by anecdotes. That even when the UPA-2 Government was reeling under scams, the integrity of the PM was never questioned was a double edged sword. The book is not a gossip machine for someone who is apolitical - though it could be viewed as revealing too much of what happens behind the haloed corridors of the PMO.
60% admiration 20% criticism and 20% of context setting. That is, no doubt, par for the course.
Mod
Rating: 2/5
Review: Exciting: Yay, My first hindi book!
Not so exciting: The book.
Premchand's Nirmala is the template of the suffering woman in the 70s movies who is the victim of "Kismat", "Naseeb" and men to endure a life full of sadness. And tough to explain this phenomenon but all people whose life she touches suffer worser than her.
Nirmala is engaged to marry when her father suddenly dies. Unable to pay the dowry, she ends up marrying a 38 year old whose first son is almost her age. The stereotype of stepmom gets broken as she tries to get close to the children only to get suspected by the husband. She accepts her fate which leads to a terrible episode - followed by many such episodes.
Of the characters - except for Sudha and to some extent the first son, every other character is in the villian side. The societal themes of the time like dowry, sacrifice, step-mom syndrome etc have been explored in great detail.
The book is like a hindi equivalent of Thousand Splendid suns. Enough said.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: Anindita Ghose's debut novel is a confident exploration of possibilities in the face of a life altering loss. What starts as a personal journey of identity of two women - Shashi and Tara after the sudden death of Robi - the modern "patriarch" who is ok with dependence - ends up becoming a political commentary. I felt the last few chapters rushed and the author indulges in fantasy to prod along.
I liked the parts with Shashi - her adjusting to the new reality, her new found confidence and ultimately the choices she gets to make. Tara on the other hand is a spoilt child of sorts who is not really likeable despite a tumultuous exploitation arc. The male characters are across the spectrum and seem to be squeezing the woman out of decisions no matter out of malice or consideration (sometime both are one and the same).
There is an idea of the night that is throughout the book - The cover seems like phases of the moon, the characters are named Shashi, Tara, Poornima, the chapter titles are named after moon's phases. One of the characters offers as consolation "perhaps the dwarfed moon can shine bright only when the fiery sun sets". I did briefly wonder if Illuminated here was said in the context of borrowed light.
If you go light on the metaphors and artistically crafted sentences - the book is a simple story. I am not sure if I really loved the book, but if not for the ending - i felt a normal closure could have made this book a lot more human centric.
Seems like an author to watch out for.
Indian Readers
Books mentioned in this topic
China Dream (other topics)The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher (other topics)
ஒரு நாள் [Oru Naal] (other topics)
Thirumalai Thirudan (other topics)
The Liars' Gospel (other topics)
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Rating: 4/5
Review: I finished the first part and almost immediately started this book and maybe that had made this a mixed bag. Nila is the queen of the puppet Government and she is kept under chemically induced trance that takes away her focus. Geno is in mortal peril then it finds an improbable way to make a comeback. Revolution is the only way forward and it is in the making to overthrow the anarchy of Mano and Ravi.
The book, while doesn't falter on the imagination, gets too ambitious. It felt like a mass star masala movie where the hero can do no wrong and the villians are ineffectual. For artificial intelligence to be shown higher we magnify human stupidity. Nila seems too dumb to be a queen of standing and hence why her is never explained.
The wow thinking of clones, hacking and illusions is impressive especially before the terms came into being. Also the critical sarcasm on democracy was funny and yet true. I can see how this became the idea of the movie Enthiran though, I must confess, to see a dog being the smartest animal in a room of humans was a comforting thought.
Kudos to the imagination and for writing a thriller. Wish it had been more subtle on heroism.