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Mod
Rating: 5/5
Review: “As a romantic ideal, turbulent, impoverished India could still weave its spell, and the key to it all - the colours, the moods, the scents, the subtle, mysterious light, the poetry, the heightened expectations, the kind of beauty that made your heart miss a beat - well, that remained the monsoon.”
Alexander Frater's book is an ode to the Indian Monsoon and a mirror to our society as seen through the eyes of a foreigner. One of the best travellouges I have ever read! It brings together history(and geography), research(and beliefs) and the deep emotions of the land around this yearly unpredictable phenomenon.
The author while capturing the newspaper stories when in a particular city (in 1980s) gives us a sense of what is important at that point of time. In the sense, Mr.Frater does not pass judgements and is just holding a mirror to things for us just the way he sees it. I remember watching on DD debates on monsoon delays and newspaper headlines around it's arrival and hence see how big a deal it was. I guess even today it is as important, but it gets drowned out in the noise of social media.
The bueraucracy of the Indian administrative layer also came out in the travellogue with meetings, influences and red tapes. Mr.Frater doesn't mind naming people, the discussions and hence makes it authentic. I wonder if the people involved got the memo.
I had visited all the places except Dheej in the travellogue including Cheerapunji and Allepy and hence I was also contrasting my impressions with his. Agreed, mine were not around Monsoons and almost 25 years later, but the essential elements of the what makes a place unique stood out. The chapters in Delhi loo with the anticipation of rain made me feel stressed. And when the monsoon does come - in Mumbai, in Cochin and in Calcutta - you feel joy and elation.
The writing is so powerful you can smell the land after the rains. I also was fortunate enough to travel along with the book to some of the places Allepy, Cochin, Kolkata and Mumbai and hence compare notes. The author's own personal history of his father, his mother and the background of war was engrossing. You get a sense of getting to know a person really well while reading the book. You envy the author for his experiences and feel joy everytime you encounter the monsoon rains.
This is the best romantic novel I've ever read. Period
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: "This is the way life goes: a man imagines that he is playing his role in a particular play, and does not suspect that in the meantime they have changed the scenery without his noticing, and he unknowingly finds himself in the middle of a rather different production"
This book of tragicomic stories pivoted on sex repeatedly plays on the theme of identity. Who do you fall in love with or excited about? Do you fall in love with the person, your idea of who the person is, the ideas of the person or is it the idea of falling in love that you fall in love with? (Read that again slowly).
The absurdism of the story lines are understandable if you have already read a Kundera. The story I enjoyed the most was Edward and God. There is a comedy of errors story about 5 doctors and a night of confusion which changes shape and color every moment.
I did miss the flourish of connection between the story briefly hinted by having one story about a character 10 years later. That would have made this a bit more coherent.
The usual Kundera.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: “Words not only mattered but they were power. Words were muti. Words were weapons. Words were magic. Words were church. Words were wealth. Words were life.”
NoViolet Bulawayo's Glory is at it's best is a literary acrobat displaying her skills and at worst an ode to Orwell's Animal Farm. But the unique voice of the book in Satire is worthy of applause.
By making all it's character as animals, the book lets our guard down. Set in the fictional country of Jidada, the book has a moving POV that covers all it's characters including the people of Jidada. When the old tyrant Horse is brought down by a coup, the animals of Jidada start hoping for a new world. There is Euphoria, there is villification of the tyrant and there is an anticipation for free and fair elections.
What subsequently happens is a predictable affair with one tyrant replaced with another and the people despair and hope for a revolution. To contrast two generations, she gets this goat called destiny in search of her mad mother. The mother was traumatised by the mass genocide and the mother and daughter compare physical and mental scars made by the politics.
The satire adopts various devices that are more effective in an audiobook format. Like she describes corruption as when the animals "taketaketaketaketake" (for 3-4 mins straight) or when there is a mirror of Black Lives matter where "I Can't Breathe" is repeated for 2-3 minutes. I did find myself zoning out with the chapters around the crocodile and did not realise the significance till I read the reviews.
The ambition of the book is breathtaking and since it is inspired by History, scares you a bit. Fantastic storytelling and a worthy booker nominee (and possible winner).
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: After finishing American Mother, I was not sure what this book was supposed to do or why this story had to be told. This is a sad story of lives thrown off kilter and a daughter Vs mother courtroom testimony.
In 1986, 911 gets a call from a woman, Stella, who "seemed calm" while her husband was lying there dying. A week later another family, a mom collapses on the floor and the autopsy reveals she had been posioned with Cyanide in her headache pills. While the husband is being investigated as well as product recall of the batch is initiated, Stella calls in saying she found the same batch.
Following the investigation by Police, the FDA, the FBI and an insurance agent, the book tries to build a case to explain away the deaths. The personal lives of the people is probably hearsay and confusing and everyone in the case seems to be marrying or having affair or not caring for the family. And when the courtroom part starts, it becomes repetitive and detailing that doesn't add layers.
I was a bit concerned on the title - I mean what is American Mother supposed to mean? After everything is done, the author tries to wonder if it was right and were there other theories - but then there seems to very little conviction in the tone.
While true crime helps in understanding human thought process, this books successfully keep people in the dark. Okayish.
Mod
Rating" 4/5
Review: Anand Neelakantan has sort of become the author who stands for the marginalized voices trying to blur the lines between "hero" and "villain". I was not 100% sure if that is entirely a good thing, but then the alt story sure does give you a new POV.
Valmiki's Women narrates the fate of the forgotten women who hold together Ramayana which is the story of men. The hunchbacked Mantara, the first daughter of Drithirashtra - Shanta, Meenakshi better known as Soorpanaka - the epitome of ugliness and immoral lust, the forest yaksha Taraka - all hold together the narrative between the popular storylines of Ramayana. Like the dying moments of Drithirashtra or Kaikeyi claiming the boons. By presenting a human villified tale - often with other characters who are not known much, the author adds credibility to the alt narrative.
So while, the storyline does not outrightly contradict the popular version, it raises reasonable doubt on the intent and motive of the actions. I loved the Kaikeyi and Mantara storyline the most since it was trying to potray a very human form of Mantara. The other stories, though researched and good, had an element of trying to appeal to the feminist (and honestly i felt was forced).
I do not know how a book like this changes anything, but I am glad the possibility is explored. Also, glad he is back to writing on the researched field than on Maghizhmathi.
PS: I rate this book much higher than any by Amish Tripathi since he is still trying to blend in a narrative of possible within the known framework than make it a point to stand out like a sore thumb.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: "At first she had said, ‘Mother, Mother,’ and Evelyn thought it was ‘Murder’ she had called out in the dark.”"
The first book of Dame Mantel was a sign of things to come. As a fan, I could see the threads of future books like Beyond Black and A change of climate. Standalone the book was a tease that did not land so convincingly as a black comedy and leaves you in a dark place.
Imagine in the first chapter you are shown a seance and a medium and her autistic daughter who the ghosts will trouble. And then the story moves on to a social worker and her affair with a cheating husband. Slowly she connects many dots while unraveling horror of a totally different nature where ghosts are involved. And in this book none of the mothers turn out in good light.
The Axons - Evelyn and her daughter Muriel live on their own in a house filled with meddling ghosts. Muriel is autistics, shut-in and is almost bullied by Evelyng in the name of protection and yet the unthinkable happens - Muriel is pregnant. Here there is enough possbilities thrown in- including the supernatural.
Social service worked Isabel is trying to succeed where multiple predecessors failed. On her personal life front, she falls in love with Colin Sydney who is trying to leave his wife and three kids (and failing miserably). In her dramatic life, she misplaces the social service file on Muriel and leaves Muriel at the complete mercy of her mother. Colin's sister Florence is the Axon neighbour and has a bit of family hatred going on with the wife.
The characters seem to be in debates and ponderings on family life and chapters till Ms.Mantel reveals flashes of "horror" from the Axon family. There is one almost Wodehouse-ish dinner where everything goes awry and a convenient plot development. The role of social services as a thankless job is potrayed through caricatures and there is almost empathy in asking the question "How do you expect them to care for others?". Of course the adultery angle that has to be kept under covers is a silly plot device.
On the plus side - it is a showcase of potential. RIP Ms.Mantel.
Mod
Rating: 5/5
Review: “Ask the questions you need to ask, admit without apology what you don’t understand, and do the work to learn what you need to learn as quickly as you can.”
“True authority and true leadership come from knowing who you are and not pretending to be anything else.”
“If you approach and engage people with respect and empathy, the seemingly impossible can become real.”
"..it’s about creating an environment in which you refuse to accept mediocrity. You instinctively push back against the urge to say There’s not enough time, or I don’t have the energy, or This requires a difficult conversation I don’t want to have, or any of the many other ways we can convince ourselves that “good enough” is good enough.”
Every once in a decade you pick a book that feels like it is bound to change you as a person. This book falls in that rare category of being a non-preachy autobiography that is full of lessons.
The book is in two parts - the Learning and the Leading. The learning part traces his growth from an unknown studio executive at ABC to when he became the CEO of Disney - a dream journey. But what guides you is the simple wisdom in each chapters that are valuable for any working professional. Given the young professionals stepping into roles with blurring JDs and more about "can-do" attitude - the book can act as an anchor (or you could also pick up Range by David Epstein). It was oddly satisfying that there was a lot of validation for principles I believe in and instilled in my best mentors and bosses.
The second part is B-School case study of corporate acquisitions and making it work by respecting the organization. The chapters around Pixar's acquisition and the parts with Steve Job were brilliant. As a leader who has taken over an organization in peril such bold steps and the way it played out makes for a comforting pitch. The awareness of the leader of his own company and valuing the strengths of the other organization makes for a very important leadership lesson.
The Marvel story is also an ode to vision - the art of seeing the invisible. Acumen that takes years to build and cannot be left to "gut" is a critical lesson not imparted. The last part of disrupting it's own business model through OTT and content creation is a lesson straight out of B-school. However, the snippets of leadership lessons, the thought process and the dilemma potray a very human side of the leadership.
This is the first book where I felt the urge to jot down reflections every time I came across deep impacting.
Highly recommended!
Mod
Rating : 2/5
Review: “In the end we had the pieces of the puzzle, but no matter how we put them together, gaps remained, oddly shaped emptinesses mapped by what surrounded them, like countries we couldn't name.”
Jeffrey Eugenides's book is a depressing and shocking affair that has you wondering, along with one of the weirdest narrators in fiction, if you could make sense of the suicides of Lisbon girls. While the subject in itself is heavy, the author plays with prosaic sentences and teasing observations that go out of the way to explore adolscent thinking.
The Lisbons are a strict household of 5 girls aged from 13 to 17, a teacher dad and a strict mom. When the youngest daughter Cecilia attempts suicide, she is found by an intruding boy who travels through the tunnels. Weeks later she succeeds and sets in motion a constant scrutiny of the household. We are already told in chapter 1 that every one of the girls committed suicide and hence the book seems to tease you with an explanation. The narrators, (the collective plural reminded me of Greek tragedy), now married, middle aged and balding, confess their love and concern for the girls and they have built a shrine in memory of the girls (with case artifacts).
There is a collective apathy of the neighbourhood that is subtely commented upon. Like when they put out Christmas lights one of the narrator comments how weird it is that while they should be grieving they are putting out lights. Or when after all the suicides and some time has passed, the mother collects a flower and is critiqued about her insensitivity.
The girls are isolated and under scrutiny from both careers and voyeurs. People want to know what they were thinking - boys too scared to approach them, neighbors distancing themselves and their only well wishers seem to be a bunch of boys who peek into the girls bedrooms and keep observing them. The adolescents hormone filled brains seem to carry unbearable pressure.
The book reminded me of two other books - Reservoir 13 by Jon Mcgregor and Illicit happiness of others by Manu Joseph. While the book is profound and well written, one cannot be cheered reading this.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: First, let me get the expectation mismatch out of the way. When the story says it's hero is person with very high IQ, you expect the crime to be cerebral. What we get instead is an adrenaline pumping thriller which was good for the genre.
The Spanish trilogy is getting an English release and the first book introduces Antonia Scott or the Red Queen. The red queen is supposed to be specially trained to focus and put together disjoint events and solve mysteries - aided by chemicals. She is in absence after a personal tragedy and a pressing brutal murder makes her mentor desperately try to lure her back.
A disgraced cop is blackmailed to get her back in action and soon the team are trying to solve a high profile murder which cannot be discussed. While they are investigating, a second super victim is kidnapped bringing into the fray a competing police force. The mystery of if they will save her in time and the investigation forms the rest of the story - more or less.
The good parts are the initial bits where they are trying to establish the characters. We really have enough reason to believe Amanda Scott is a genius and there are quite a few researched bits on Spanish history(and geography) that backs the potential of the premise. Once you've set up a brilliant puzzle it is upto the author to provide a brilliant solution. In that pursuit, the author falters a bit from the logic. We have the captured next victim in captivity and we are asked to focus on the cruelty and trying to make sense of what the kidnapper wants.
2/3rd into the novel, things veer off-course with too many mistakes done by the villain and a silly fall from grace for the intelligent hero and the brave sidekick. The last chase through the tunnels was comical and lot based on luck - which takes out the element of intelligence.
A few plusses, some good twists and some logical gaps. Might still read the next book in series.
Note: Thank you Pan Macmillan books for the ARC copy of this book. The book will release in March 2023.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: "I love statistics because they place what happens to a scrap of humanity, like me, on a worldwide scale."
"Delight seems insubstantial; happiness feels more grounded; ecstasy is what I shoot for; satisfaction is hardest to attain.”
My opinion of this book kept oscillating as the book had it's own odd rhythm and a narrative. At the core of the story is a bookstore and that gets some of the best "reader-bait" sentences in the book.
The book is a story of Tookie. The first chapter has so many things happening that I found myself wondering if I should slow down and process it. Tookie is arrested for Body-snatching a corpse with drugs and finds herself with a tough sentence of 60 years. Within 10 years she finds herself released and finds work at a bookstore and finds love with her arresting officer.
After the first chapter, it becomes a book on the year of pandemic and a haunting of the bookstore by one of her most troublesome customers - a wannabe nativephile. Along with Tookie, we explore questions of identity, faith and what it means for the dead and the native american belief system. There is a huge list of the author's favorite books that she helpfully recommends to her different customers.
I do not know if it was real or wishful thinking that bookstores were declared essential services during Covid Lockdown. It deserved to be. It showed through Tookie's POV the changes happening in the one year period - personal, political and the lockdown. The impact of George Floyd's murder on the lives of the blacks and the native american seems like a logical extension in the book.
The writing is beautiful and measured. However, at the end of the book, I was not sure how many times I wished I had started another book. That is not a good thing I guess.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: "To describe me as anonymous would be unfair but to notice me other than in passing would be a rarity"
What do you expect when a comedian writes a murder mystery that has a man named Gary talking to squirrels and names dogs as Long Parsnips? Whatever you expect, the book beats that.
I picked Bob Mortimer's book because I've seen him spin fibs and yarns on a parlour show called Would I lie to you. (Did I mention his truths were more weirder than his lies?) The book pretty much follows that crazy narrative of an awkward guy trying to solve a mystery with some memorable people.
Bob drops in goofy stuff in an almost flattish sounding narrative. Sample ".. have never bothered with social media and the like.I don't see the point of it; I've got enough strangers in my life as it is". In serious parts - a cynical remark (like that of Marvin the robot) has you grinning. And yet, it was a plausible story that had it's highs. Also, the self deprecating meta was hilarious and not too overdone where different characters call the book in the novel "The Satsuma Complex" shit and boring.
Glad that the author has played it to his strengths rather than force fit a different genre. The story works as a quick read.
My slight bias not withstanding, one will surely like the warm mystery and it's characters.
Mod
Rating : 4/5
Review: Gokul Seshadri's Paisasam is a decent attempt at mystery set in history that involves wading through supernatural beliefs in 12th centuary. The book claims to be inspired by a temple inscription that talks about a ghost. Without any kings and queens, the book is set in a village called Thirukolakkudi where suddenly one day a woman spots a man killed a year ago and becomes breathless.
Enters the village guard Tiruvarangan who is trying to investigate the happenings while he himself does not believe in ghosts. When the things start getting complicated he reaches out to his mentor Vennadar and requests him to help him in the investigation. The investigation process is bizarre and while the mystery seems needlessly complex, the outcome is predictable.
Inspired by Kalki's writing, the tamil is beautiful, though it seems anachronistic. I am not sure if the kalvettu tamil is as modern as this or part of the "nayaurai". There is a footnote towards the end on the origins of oor kavalars and karuppu theivam. I enjoyed those historical elements more than the mystery itself.
The landscape which is too important is difficult to get with the oorani and the hill temple and stairs. I felt these are somethings which might have been made easier with illustration.
A decent read of historical fiction without kings
Mod
Rating: 2/5
Reveiw: "Sometimes when you read a book or story, the words are dead, you struggle to end it or put it down, your attention is distracted. Another time, with exactly the same book or story, it is full of meaning, every sentence or phrase or even word seems to vibrate with messages and ideas, reading is like being pumped full of adrenalin"
This book ended in the first part of the spectrum of me. I was 50% into the book questioning why I am not able to make much sense of the writing before realising these are not exactly coherent thoughts of someone in an mental institution. There is a continuous sense - maybe I am missing what the author is trying to say only to realise that's what the patient is going through.
A rambling man is bought to a mental hospital without any memory of who he is or why and the first half of the book alternates between the doctor notes and his innermost thoughts that are trying to throw images and actions for the subconscious. This is maybe what the thoughts are his mind makes sense of his presence over two months of treatment to a state that is different from his reality.
When they find out who is and what he has been doing, they try to reach out to his family and friends and he gets letters from these people explaining "who he was". But his brain refuses to accept it and there is a sense of urgency - much evolved from his version of reality.
The book is brilliant study in empathy of trying to put yourself in the shoes of someone who has a disjointed sense of reality. Imagine the storywriter of Matrix, instead of making a movie, gets convinced of his story and tries to explain his theory to others in a mental institution. Who is "normal" and towards the end you start feeling sorry for the character who wants to be in the "now" except, if only he could figure out the single piece of "truth" that he feels he is very close to.
" "You'll have to take my word for it, I'm afraid."
"If I did have to, I'd be afraid. I can't take words for anything. Words come out of your moth and fall on the floor. Words in exchange for?"
(you see what I mean?)
I am being harsh here in my rating and that is only because of how exhausted I felt reading the book. As I said at the beginning - maybe if I read it in the latter frame of mine - this book would have been a 5 star.
Mod
Rating : 5/5
Review: "Being a member of the royal family was like being a favourite bird in a golden cage. You were watched and humoured and spoilt and loved. It was only when you were alone with yourself that you remembered the cage"
I realised that history can be utterly fascinating when narrated by a good storyteller and The Ivory Throne by Manu Pillai is a perfect example. This history of the Travancore dynasty towards the turn of the 20th century and that of the forgotten queen is also an aid to make sense of the current socio-political evolution of the Kerala state.
The book starts with the unknown side of the painter Ravivarma and goes into the ruthless politics of the kingdoms of the day. Through the matrilineal system two cousins from the Attingal household are adopted to the Travancore dynasty - Sethu lakshmi bayi and Sethu Parvathi bhai. The former goes on to become the Maharani and a great administrator who as the official Regent of Travancore altered the course of history. The latter becomes the mother of the next maharaja who sends the former to an inglorious obscurity.
Manu S Pillai through the lens of the Maharani actually covers various critical socio economic aspects of the kingdom that prevailed and the changes made under the Maharani's 7 years rule. This includes the anti Brahmanical phase, the national movement for temple/road admission for all, the fall of the Nair community and the empowerment of Chrisitian and Iravars under the Hindu ruler. In all this glory, the junior Rani is a simmering presence in the background - till her son wrests power with the help of his mother and her possible affair. And the new rule which coincided with the end of the colonial era and annexation of princely states.
The book also goes on to trace every family member's journey till now and you can empathize with their adjustment to the changing world. In that sense this book was also a fantastic piece of social commentary.
In any history book, the "why" behind of the course of actions is just a theory. In case of a super researched book like this - it is probably a logical narrative backed by facts. The author does not hesitate to jump timelines and cover a topic across the years and shows a boldness in writing style that is authoritative. For someone whose recent visit spiked an interest in the Kerala history - this book is awesome!
Highly recommended.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: Pa.Raghavan's Oil Regai dumbs down the entire Oil economics from 1914 to 2008 and tries to rationalise the rising Oil prices. The first chapter humorously explain through the example of a milkman and his customer story the way Oil trade was takenover - not by producers but the middlemen. This is the kind of example a kid would understand.
The writing had a casual tone to it - as if it is some favorite uncle telling you a yarn during your holidays. Humor is a strong tool and Pa.Raghavan makes the best use of it to keep the narrative engaging. There were quite a few trivia points that were new to me - like the Venenzuela's politics, US reserves and the Saddam Hussain episode. For me the Iraq Iran situation used to register as a meaningless fight and the US were the big brothers. After reading the book came to know everything had a meaning - Oil.
While the book itself was entertaining and informative, it does not come across as a well researched one. It might not stand up scrutiny, especially the evident behind the scenes of US think tanks (who will deny it outright) and the workings of every country's political machinery. The author speaks as if he was there in these discussions - typical of us tamilians who "know" exactly what someone else should have done.
Having said that, this is an important book. I don't know if there is an update after 2008, but as of today, the situation has only worsened.
Definitely picking up few of his other books.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: “We won't understand a thing about human life if we persist in avoiding the most obvious fact: that a reality no longer is what it was when it was; it cannot be reconstructed.”
All it takes is a well placed sentence that makes you go on a whirlwind of thoughts - the almost playful philosophy of Kundera. The book starts off with a deliberation about Nostalgia and how it is different from memory which again is different from reality.
A man and a woman accidentally meet on their way back to Prague almost 20 years later. They are the emigrants who escaped the war and made their respective lives in another country, family, habits and all. Their past seems elusive as they walk back on the roads trying to find resemblances of themselves in what they were meant to be.
“During the twenty years of Odesseus' absence, the people of Ithaca retained many recollections of him but never felt nostalgia for him. Whereas Odysseus did suffer nostalgia, and remembered almost nothing."
Complex themes of identity take shape. Their actions in the past are reduced to biased memories and their possessions are now belongings of others. While it follows each of their journeys separately, the author gives them a shared memory for good measure. Since both the characters have lost later partners, the author also explores the meaning of carrying someone else's memory.
Complex and brilliant book - told with the lightness of a shroud.
Mod
Rating: 2/5
Review: When I found out the Ian Fleming estate had given the unfinished works to Anthony Horowitz, I was eagerly looking forward to reading them. For one, Horowitz is one of those authors who can write intelligent mysteries and thrillers without too many red herrings. And so, I found this prequel to Casino Royale - a drab affair.
The old 007 is shot dead in an investigation and the British secret service decide to get the new guy who has been in training as a "00" agent. He was investigating why suddenly the drugs business seems to have become inactive in Marseilles. Enter James Bond, fresh off his first kill, decides to take the same number as his predecessor. So far so good.
The French and Corsican episode of the story is disjoint and illogical. First the elusive Sixteen who he is yet to decide is the femme fatale or the victim. There is a CIA agent who becomes his friend and then disappears. There are some images and invoices to serve as possessions of the earlier 007 and they are of almost no use. James Bond makes so many mistakes and gets so many lucky breaks that you feel he is not ready yet.
As an author inheriting a legacy, I think Horowitz was limited to formulaic elements - a casino sequence, a chase sequence, a sex scene and a revenge. That to me is disappointing as it is 100% predictable.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: “Life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly. Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still possible for us to endure nobly.”
This is a generous book that approaches mental health with compassion. Pat is back from the institution, a dark place where people refuse to see silver linings. He is in the care of his caring mom, angry dad cum Eagles fan, a psychiatrist and friends. He still harbours the hope of getting back with his ex-wife Nikki at the end of apart time and constantly working on himself because he believes life is like a movie and it has to have an happy ending.
The premise that someone who is seeking silver linings in everything is disjointed from reality is a bit contrary to conventional wisdom. The story narrated with simple imagery and a lot of heart does a good job with not generating sympathy. The character arcs are good especially the one of Tiffany (whom I loved in the movie) and you find supportive enough friends and family despite their own oddities.
Told from the POV of Pat, most characters seem borderline between rational and crazy like the father who breaks the TV or the crazy Eagles fans who take team support to extremes. I found the book stretched a few chapters unncessarily - like the christmas evening episode or the letter exchanges. But then, it is Pat's story and it needed to be endured for the final silver lining.
I liked the movie, but the book had more context and depth.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: “This place had been here long before him. It would go on sighing and breathing and being itself after he had gone, the land lapping on and on, watching, waiting, getting on with its own life.”
This book hugely atmospheric with a sense of impending doom - one you anticipate because of your knowledge of history. All through the book we are provided with snapshots of brutal violence - like a severed hand as a trophy or a headless body hanging - but what upsets you most is the apathy of the people.
William Thornhill, is shipped out of England as a prisoner who has just been offered pardon from the Gallows and he moves with his wife Sal to Sydney. The Hawkesbury is no Thames but it offers the dream for a new life - as a landowner. One pesky problem are the "savages" who live there flaunting their nakedness and hunting game and thieving off the settlers.
The colonization in retrospect was never drastic unlike the wars for occupation fought. And hence this book does a slow burn of interactions between natives and the settlers, points of view and through the eyes of the children ever growing. Since you are saddled with the POV of Thornhill's family, you feel compelled to back them even when they are in the wrong. Sal is written is a very powerful character and she holds the fort.
The aboriginal history underlines the sadness of loss. This book carries the same sense of loss and the last part of the book after establishing Thornhill family as the new settler is the peak of tragedy.
The book is not brilliant nor is it fast paced - but the book leaves you in contemplative silence. You absorb it.
Mod
Rating: 1/5
Review: I read this "classic" and immediately regretted it. This is one of those drivels about a protagonist without a single redeeming quality who spouts sexist and rather nonsense statements. Though I do see how this is making the mundane more colorful, I do not see how you are to invest in this guy's life and decisions.
Hendry Chinaski is a drunk loser who decides to join the post office as a temp since they were hiring just about anyone. He is hoping to meet desperate horny women and cares little about the job or the people he meets. I lost it a bit when he casually went about a rape and the woman seemed to be half hearted in her resistance.
If this was a coming of age it probably would have ended on a note of understanding. However, the book is struggling with an incorrigible protagonist who is committed to being an a$$hole. Even as the plot progresses over 14 years with some tender moments, the tone of the protagonist did not change and it was unforgivable.
This was my first Bukowski and I was looking to read the highly rated book to be on the safer side. Now I don't intend to read any more thanks to this book.
Not for me!
Mod
Rating: 2/5
Review: “It would be nice to think that I could get to the end of a third outing with some of my reputation still intact.”
The author's words is pretty close to his actual thoughts in this all too beaten third book in the series of Hawthorne-Horowitz investigation. Once the mystery is gone from the relationship and the method revealed - when you try to milk the series, you need to be really clever. This book of a locked room mystery is set in a remote island with a lit fest being the setting.
With the first book yet to release, Penguin random house thinks it would be a good idea to have Horowitz and Hawthorne travel to a lit fest on a remote island. When Hawthorne seems too keen, Horowtiz relents. You meet oddball of authors - a cook turned writer, a blind medium, a children's writer, a French poet along with the protagonists land for the event. The host is just the right amount unpopular to have many people having a motive to kill him and when he finally is killed at 25% in a party at his own house, you are sort of glad for the murder. Also, an old nemesis of Hawthorne is also at the estate.
The writing is not too clever and the themes of motive for everyone is a bit loose. Also too many red herrings make for a strain-full reading process. The fact that forensics is completely ignored makes for a less trustworthy narrative which relies only the story. I don't remember how much forensics could help - but a simple shoe size identification and matching from the site - even Cinderalla's prince charming did this!
A tired book.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: “I liked that in obstetrics you end up with twice the number of patients you started with, which is an unusually good batting average compared to other specialties. (I’m looking at you, geriatrics.)”
If you find yourself face to face with a doctor at a hospital, the chances are you don't care about his/her sense of humor or how their day has been. The moment you realize they have a life they go back to and that they are judging you, the world through their eyes is a series of anecdotes.
I have read other biographies/accounts/memoirs of doctors that centred more on the patient or of some philosophical thread. This book is a no-nonsense insider account of a person who has quit medicine after doing all the ground work. Adam Kay started his journey as a junior doctor and the book shares exercepts from his diaries of those days where his crazy humor and an unforgiving profession comes together.
I loved the book, despite it's obvious trivialization of OBGYN patients. As a doctor, he helpfully adds footnotes to explain anything medical. Weird cases, complex cases, failures, personal ups and downs, all captured in this book of anecdotes chronologically arranged.
The humor was a bit school boyish, but then it was still refreshing.
Mod
RAting: 5/5
Review: “They might not give in to the demands of justice, they might not yield to an insurgent populace, but they'll always fold before a bluff.”
Powerful bit of historical fiction that doesn't seem like one. Vulliard's book starts with a routine business meeting in 1933 by a politician pitching to 24 men from the industrial families to back him. If you are not told that the man was Hitler, it is any fund-raising campaign.
We move to 1938 just before the start of the blitzkrieg where Hitler meets the Austrian councilor to intimidate him. Unique and powerful, the tactic sets in motion an almost comical bit of resistance and a forced hand for Germany to attack Austria. What is not told in history books is that the campaign was more monumental than actual and that Hitler was stuck in a traffic jam caused by his tanks stalling on the road.
And then they had to recreate the historical movement by a film producer - a theory I have heard in the past. In fact, the book borrows credible witness accounts from the Nuremberg trials, news articles to a give a narrative of the possible.
Retrospect vilification of the industrial houses including Thyssen Krupp, Siemens, BASF and others who benefitted from the labour from the concentration camps is a forgotten footnote in the annals of history. The fact that they continue to represent the German workmanship and engineering is a testimony to organizations surviving history.
I think this is one of those fresh reads on the origins of WWII before the European narrative became the dominant one. Worth a read.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: “First they bomb us from the skies, then they work hard to cure our stress … I get PTSD, she gets a per diem in US dollars.”
“If I didn’t take out homes, who would provide shelter? If I didn’t obliterate cities, who would build refugee camps? … Where would all the world’s empathy go?”
A good satire on war and politics can be hard hitting at the same time funny - Vonnegut, Heller and recently Shehan Karunatilake have mastered it. This book delivers a half hearted product that relies on calling out stereotypical notions of the Kandaharis (people of the desert) and like the plane in the book - crashes in the desert after 75%.
Meet Major Ellie whose plan crashes in the middle of the desert while he was on his way to bomb a refugee camp set up by USAID. He finds himself rescued after 8 days of roaming in the desert by an angry teenager Momo and his dog Mutt to the same camp he was set out to bomb. His only understanding of the subjects is a cultural sensitivity training about the "goatfuckers" and their "crazy ways".
Momo is trying to come up with business ideas that can make a lot of money and also rescue his Bro Ali who was sold to the Americans to help bomb camps. The Mutt (talking) is one of the most evolved species who can fill in the gaps and philosophise for the sake of the reader. There is also an USAID worked Ms.Flowerbody who is trying to study the mind of Muslim teenager in the war torn camps - a caricature of apathy.
The book has it's highs and keeps you invested in the exposure of politics. It is when the author is trying to tie it all in does he falter with an insane concept that doesn't hold your attention much.
I loved his earlier books and did not find this book bad. It was in fact pretty easy read with more laughs than impact.
Mod
Rating: 2/5
Review: “I am your maid. I know so much about you. But when it comes down to it: what is that you know about me?”
The book did not live up to the hype with so many people raving about it especially since the "twist" was illogical. I am not sure what the narrative was supposed to achieve especially when the unreliable narrator takes the moral high ground. Why is a socially awkward narrator an attraction and what purpose does it serve to keep dropping "My granny used to say.." -I did not get.
Molly the maid is not like other people. She knows a thing or two about cleaning and dirt but cannot read human intentions or intent. When she discovers the dead body of Mr.Black she did not expect to become the suspect - but people use her OCD to their advantage. We see people using her and yet since the book is from her POV, you sympathise with her. And this is why the last part did not make sense.
Characters like the doorman who has a lawyer daughter or people who get lucky to escape suspicion - makes for fairly lazy fiction writing. Aside, the entire police force comes off as a bunch of morons who can't tell the time of the day with a digital watch.
I can appreciate an intelligently crafted mystery. This was more of a I-think-I-am-intelligent author's attempt that also borrows from cliches.
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: “For a man to follow you, it must seem that you are the one who knows the way out. Every person is in a dark place. Every person wants to feel that some other man has found the road back into the light.”
Not a very Christmassy book to finish - but this is the book of how legends are born and how historical episodes assume significance in retrospect. The book starts off with the Roman invasion of the Palestine - where worshippers of oracles and women desecrate the synagogues - a simple enough political action of the times. The story follows 4 characters after crucification of Yeshovah.
First is Miriam (or Mary) - the mother in whose search Gideon comes to the village with the news of her son's death. He is searching for the story behind the Teacher to understand him better. As she recalls a very normal upbringing and a father-son conflict as Yeshovah becomes "errant" young man - she finds the disciple wants more - a story worthy of his master. So she gives him a version.
The other is the story told by Judas to the Romans - the journey with his 'friend' whom he had to betray in jealousy. The implication of the clash of faiths and the need for villifying someone who is challenging the Roman empire was explored without compromising the story. Stories of healing, story of the last supper - all explained away with Jewish faiths.
The third story of the high priest who suspected his wife and the last of the man whose life the public decided to save in lieu of Yeshovah - a typical Roman game of making people choose - was in explaining the religious and political atmosphere of the time. The book is not questioning the faith, but explaining the times and settings which gave rise to a Legend and subsequent agenda.
I liked the book's matter of fact manner - which may not be for everyone. When you are confident in your faith and know to respect other faiths - you can read this book. In bad hands, this can be an instrument of hate.
Merry Christmas to all
Mod
Rating: 4/5
Review: Dhivakar is fast becoming a reliable favorite author of Tamil historical fiction for me. This book picks up the Chozha rule long after their golden days when the grandkids of Rajendra Chozhan are pawns in the hand of Chalukya strategists.
The Chalukya strategist Gurudev is planning to wreck havoc in the kingdom by riling up the Shivites vs Vaishnavite debate. To foil the plans we have Kalingan, the adopted son of the Chozhas and Agoraadigal (Vaathiyar) who are trying to break the clutches of the Chalukyas.
Add in the fray Kabaligars - fanatic Shiva worshippers who pray at cemetery and two damsels in distress (with a lot of zest). Plus a presence in the form of Ramnujar who represents the vaishnavites.
The setting moves towards Tirupathi - where the Tirumal becomes a political instrument. It was tough not to villify people without villifying ideologies they represent and I think the author did a very good job of being fair.
Also the Tamil - beautiful. There is this passage that describes the grey clouds over Tirumala and how Alamelu manga decides to send her messages with them. Goosebumps!
If i had any complaint - it was with the narrator whose tone modulation fell flat at times far from the gravity of the situation. Makes you appreciate narrators like Deepika Arun and Satish and lot more!
Reco for historical fiction lovers.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: Jeyamohan Rated this book as one of the best Tamil novels and i picked it up out of curiosity. Written in 1950s and set in Sathanur village, the book follows Major Murthy over a day with the villagers.
Major Murthy was the privileged orphan who studied in Germany, fought under Hitler and then joined INA under Subash Chandra Bose. Now returning to his root, he comes to an uncle and aunt who he had never met before and is trying to make sense.
The villagers are a colorful bunch of sgraharam people - the gossip mongers, the nosey neighbour, the miser, the fanatic, the altruist et all. Their interactions, seen through a philosopher's frame of mind, makes him appreciate simple community mindset as against regimental living. The ease and simplicity of their lives and their love for him wins him over.
The fact that he is able to philosophise puts him high up on maslow's hierarchy. Every person does this musing at some point or other nd hence the book works as dialogues on practicality.
Decent book with olden ideas
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: “Call no man happy. Call no man happy until he has gone down to his grave in peace.”
I hope Dame Mantel lived a happy life. This collection of 10 pieces of powerful writing from her to round up the year was a mixed bag.
The first story "Sorry to Disturb" was like a chapter from her much more claustrophobic novel Eight months in Gazza street. The play of loneliness and a hostile culture in a foreign land can cause implosion of emotions and it is captured well within the pages. The other story that is haunting is "Winter Break" - the journey of a couple during a break in a taxi.
The writing, while brilliant as ever, does not get enough time to hold you in a trance. So you drift around before the catch and then you register it as an after thought. For example, the anorexic daughter's obsession as a metaphor for the entire family or the vampire clinic were more or less polite acknowledgements than vociferous endorsements. Surely she has scared us much more with much less!
The titular story of an would be assassin who walks into an Irish woman's apartment for the angles for the shot - is funny as well as thrilling. However, I still felt unsatiated after reading the ending.
A quick read and a teaser for the writing of Ms.Mantel.
Mod
Rating: 3/5
Review: For those who are finding it tough to understand China's idealogical bulldozing, this book offers a satirical take on the how. I had read the Girl in Red scarf earlier this year that talked about China's Cultural Revolution - a phase that turned the children against their parents and rewrote history and value system.
The book takes the POV of Direct Ma Daode incharge of implementing the China Dream through a chip that will rewrite all individual dreams. Once he implants himself with the chip, he is able to remember the events from his cultural revolution days - the suicide of his parents, the exile - all the while he is promoting the China Dream displacing villages for industrialist and taking bribe.
His many mistresses, the concubines, the speeches that are interspersed first with memories and then words - Ma Daode slowly starts losing his sanity. Worse he gets noticed.
The book as a satire got him exhiled. Maybe with reason. In the cultures that understand only individuality and aspirations - this is a stretch.
Quick but complex read that requires knowing some history.
Mod
Congrats for a fabulous year!
Mod
Congrats for a fabulous year!"
Thanks Gorab! To you too on a rich reading journey :)
Mod
Highs:
* I added "Chats with the dead" last year before secret santa after the book got announced. Read in Jan and was the first 5 star book for the year. The book went on to win the Booker prize! (Seven moons of Amanda Mali) - Particularly pleased
* I finished my first Hindi audiobook. Glad that it has now opened up my 4th language to read brilliant books
* This was the year of Hilary Mantel for me - with me reading 4 of her works. Unfortunately not so for her. RIP Dame Martel - you have created a body of work that will make readers drool.
* I don't know if it's my age, but I loved the many non-fictions I read this year. In fact 3 of the non-fiction books I read book were 5 star reads!
* 48% of the books I read were 4 or 5 star reads. I am not sure if I have mellowed down or I have enjoyed a lot more of books
Lows:
* I was as irregular as a tiger spotting in updating my reading journals. With the mild OCD to not abandon it - I ended up spending hours together to update this. (I had my justifiable reasons).
I couldn't make the usual list on Good reads of the good, bad and ugly. Did manage to make a insta post of the good alone that is available here.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm4D8YCyQ...
Wish everyone Peace and Abundance in 2023!
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)
More...
Rating: 3/5
Review: When I saw this book was written by Andy Weir, my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to indulge myself in reading about Moriarty. This is relevant because I am not a Sherlock Holmes devotee and hence do not know all the minor plot details (except that I also watched Sherlock and loved it).
We see James Moriarty does to the criminal world what Sherlock Holmes does to the cops. He aids them in solving issues through deduction that will fulfill the purpose of furthering the criminal empire. Three cases which were intelligently told by an underworld lord who serves as the sidekick in his adventures. I especially loved the third case where Moriarty is solving a murder where he is arrested.
Andy Weir's writing is very different and there is no distinctive mannerisms that will bring back any of his other works. For all I know, Anthony Horowitz could have written this with little difference.
Fun Quick read.