Book: Parthiban Kanavu

Author: Kalki Krishnamurthy
Genre: Tamil historical fiction, classics
Verdict: A beautiful imagination and fast-paced classic by Kalki!

My fondness for the Tamizh language and anything and everything in Tamizh started from my childhood. All thanks to my father. Whenever I read anything in Tamizh, I recall with a heavy dose of nostalgia my childhood days learning thirukkural, bharathiyar kavidhaigal and loads of other tamil books. Sadly, I have lost touch with it ever since I went to college. This year I am making an honest attempt to read as many Tamizh classics I can. My introduction to that was Parthiban kanavu. I am not going to review it here as I don't think its justice in any form to review this fantastic novel written by Kalki.

It was pure joy reading this book. Time just flies in this book - right from page 1. It makes you travel to the Chola-Pallava dynasty, you see the kings/queens through their birth, adolescence, love life and their ruling of the kingdom and the people. Though this is a fictional story, attributing the resurgence of the Cholas to a king's dreams who lived 300 years ago is exceptionally creative. Kalki's writing was so simple but the description of the scenes - be it war between the Cholas and the Pallavas or the romance between Vikrama Chozhan and Kundhavai - I could visualize every single scene and it made it so much more enjoyable. Now my urge to visit Mahabalipuram is even more stronger.  A true masterpiece by Kalki and a complete package. I can't wait to re-read this again! 

Book Review: Madhorubhagan (One part woman)

Author: Perumal Murugan
Genre: Fiction, Cultural
Rating: 4/5
Verdict: A powerful book which captures the taunts aimed at the childless by the society.

About the author:

There was a huge controversy surrounding this book last year, and the author Perumal Murugan decided to quit writing after the controversy broke. His Facebook page said:

"Perumal Murugan, the writer is dead. As he is no God, he is not going to resurrect himself. He has no faith in rebirth. As an ordinary teacher, he will live as P Murugan. Leave him alone."

While I am not sure why there was a huge deal made about it 4 years after the book was published, I read this book to show my support to the community of authors and freedom of speech. The controversy and the book is about a ritual that was practiced in Tiruchengode, Namakkal district a century ago. As per the ritual, a woman could go with any man on the night of the festival and a child born out of this relation is treated as a child or a gift from God. In the novel a couple is childless for 12 years and the wife and the entire family (with the exception of her husband) wants her to take part in the ritual. It is the sexual permissiveness that was protested against.

Now about the book - 

Kali and Ponna live in the Tiruchengodu area enjoy and a happy and fulfilling marriage but are childless. They yearn for a child and are subjected to open attacks, heated arguments, cruel taunts and the society pinpointing their barrenness at every possible juncture. They are deeply hurt by this and recede to their own shell after a while.  One night when both their mothers construe a plan together, Ponna is curious to know what it might be and it is at this moment the ritual and the details about it are revealed. The entire family is in support of Ponna going to the 15th day of the chariot festival, while Kali is opposed to it. Ponna after going through 12 years of insults and insinuations is ready to oblige if Kali agrees to it, but Kali is shocked when he hears her readiness. What happens after that and the emotions and turmoil they undergo on the 15th day of the festival forms the rest of the story.

Perumal Murugan has pained quite a picture with his description of the lives of people in a certain time period. I read the book in Tamil and really enjoyed the local dialect throughout the book. 

I was expecting more about the Arthanareeshwarar temple and the chariot festival itself when the pages moved to the 15th day but he focused more on Ponna and Kali's feelings which may have been the right thing to do to think more about it. While some may think of Ponna's acceptance and the final few chapters of the book as her new found liberation and happiness, I cannot come to terms with her decision, even though it was to procreate. While Kali vehemently disagrees to his family's plans of his second marriage because he thinks Ponna would be wounded by it and Ponna has expressed the same multiple times, I didn't see any such feelings from Ponna about how her decision would make Kali feel. I could not accept the fact that her childlessness has overwhelmed her to such an extent. I could perfectly understand Kali's pain and anger when he comes home on the night of the the festival and find the entire family has gone to the festival. The last few scenes in the book were bizarre and when you close the book you are left with so many questions and wanting to know more about these traditions/rituals! A very poignant read and we need more bold authors like Perumal Murugan. I wish he gets back to writing soon.

Book Review: Gone Girl

Author: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Rating: 4/5
Verdict: A brilliant narration that does not fizz out

I hadn't really forayed into thrillers before 'Gone Girl'. I have heard of too many plots starting well but fizzing out at the end and is utterly disappointing. I am glad my introduction to this genre was through this book. I couldn't have picked a better one to read. After hearing so much about the film and the reviews, I decided to pick this up, mostly because I wanted to read it before I watched the movie.

Synopsis:
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?  

The plot starts kind of slow, with the initial part of the book building up the characters and it almost sounds like a romantic novel. Then comes the start of the twist and it starts to get interesting after this. I really liked the way of narration - alternating between Nick and Amy, Amy - through the pages of her diary.  I somehow liked Amy's narration more than Nick's, it had a lot of humor and sarcasm intertwined. By the time you get to the part where Nick is the prime suspect, things start to unfold rather quickly and this is where the book becomes un-put-down-able. I liked the way Gillian handles subtle hints/leads in some chapters sprinkled throughout the entire plot which becomes very important evidence/clues later on - Amy's fear of blood and needles for an example. By the time you reach the tail end of the book, you can't help but wonder who is the lesser of the two evils. I cannot imagine living with someone who is so vile like Amy, but Nick is an equally selfish prick too.
What is good and what is bad/evil? - This question is still haunting me a good 12 hours after I finished reading the book. The answer is "There is really no line, its grey".

The final few chapters of the book are chilling and the closing lines will haunt you for a very long time. 

Book Review: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

Author: Amy Chua
Genre: Non-fiction, Parenting
Rating: 2.5/5
Verdict: Too strong to handle and incredibly boring. If you must read, borrow it, don't buy.

I had heard a lot about this book and the wave it was creating among parents. I have a special admiration for people who have been successful in academics and who are Ivy league graduates and the likes. Honestly, that was one of the reasons I wanted to read this book to see how one mother drives her children towards success with the Chinese parenting style, which I have heard is pretty close to the Indian parenting style. I was looking forward to read about the approaches she took, how to cultivate the habits of working hard, perseverance, resilience and take aways like these that I can apply to my own parenting. 

Here are some things Amy Chua, a Chinese mother of two (Sophia and Lulu) would never allow her daughters to do: 
- have a playdate 
- be in a school play 
- complain about not being in a school play 
- not be the #1 student in every subject except gym and drama 
- play any instrument other than the piano or violin 
- not play the piano or violin 


The list above pretty much also sums up how I grew up. I was allowed to be in a school play only until 8th grade, I did not participate in any sports nor after-school activities which didn't involve learning/reading. 

Up until then, I was hooked to the book and I was looking forward to the methods of Chinese way of learning/academics. But, oh my! When I got to the part where Amy threatens her younger daughter, Lulu for not playing the violin and constantly abuses her, I felt so sorry for Lulu for having to deal with a maniac mother.  The Indian parenting style totally pales in comparison with how Amy does it - I am careful not to generalize the Chinese parenting style because I believe not all Chinese mothers are so hard on their kids. I felt like Amy just used the Chinese parenting model as an excuse for her insane behavior and parenting. I am sorry to state this - But I can't help but wonder if her kids even love her after all that she put them through just for them to be "successful" in life. She constantly says throughout the book that all she does is for her kids' sake but I do not believe that a zilch - Rather, it is the contrary.  It it for her own bloated ego so she can boast about her kids to others and derive a sadistic pleasure out of that!

After the first few chapters, I found the book incredibly boring and it pretty much seems like the book completely revolves around Sophia's piano and Lulu's violin. At some point, I was like - "Ok, I get it. Sophia is great at playing the piano and Lulu at violin. Now what?!". I may be undermining the accomplishments of the girls here, but seriously, it was just about how Amy drives them 4 hours back and forth to practice every weekend, how she would tie them down every single day for practice and all that page after page. And what was the part about Amy's sister about? It stands out like a sore thumb. I was shocked to see Amy's husband being a silent spectator to all the harassment she inflicted on her daughters.

All I can say, after reading the book is I would never even imagine putting my kids through like what Amy did. I am a stickler for routines and a very strict mother, but this book was way too strong. There is a difference between being tough and abuse. Amy totally falls into the latter category. The only good thing about this book was that, it made me introspect my own parenting so far and how not to parent the way Amy did even inadvertently. There I said it. 

Book Review: Me Before You

Author: Jojo Moyes
Genre: Fiction, Romance
Rating: 4/5
Verdict: A tear-jerker with a bittersweet ending. Totally loved it.

I don't think I have mentioned before that red is my favorite color and there is something about anything red that I am immediately attracted to it. I am a sucker for all things romantic and the goodreads blurb along with the cover of the book was totally enough for me to start reading this book. But, boy was I mistaken - The cover gives an impression that it is an out-and-out romantic story, but the romance is only a very small part of the story. It is all about emotions, pain, life and deals with a fairly controversial issue.

The story revolves around a 35-year old wealthy, angry and miserable man - Will Traynor whose once adventure-seeking life has been constrained to four walls now after an accident that left him a quadriplegic and a young woman Louisa Clark, who lost her job at a cafe and has taken up the job of being Will's caretaker out of desperation to support her family. Predictably, Will and Louisa gradually get along and become friends, and I was expecting Jojo to lead us to a different storyline that would be apt for any romantic story. But, here is where the plot begins to take a twist and all that follows is a painful, emotional and heart wrenching series of events. The ending was totally unpredictable for me, up until the last page, I kept hoping the ending wasn't what it was going to be, as naive as that may sound.

Of all the characters, I totally admired and could relate with Will and his behavior towards anyone he encountered. The story opens with a glipmse of what Will's life was before the accident and there are incidents all through the story about his life before. After all that, I could totally understand his anger, misery and acid remarks to anyone trying to cheer him up or help him. Although I kept hoping for a happy ending, I did like the way the story ended and I wouldn't change a thing about it. On the other hand, Louisa's character didn't click quite well for me and seemed a bit unrealistic. But, who cares when the story is as emotional as it was and how Will pushes Lou to broaden her territory and spread her wings and fly! Some of the quotes will stay with me forever:

"You only get one life. It's actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.” 

"Push yourself. Don't Settle. Just live well. Just LIVE.” 

Will's final letter to Louisa was the last straw for me. I broke down after that and wept like a baby. 
Will and Jojo - I will always hate you for that!

A story that will keep you turning pages until the very last word. I bet you cannot put this book down. Hats off to Jojo for dealing with an extremely difficult and disturbing topic with great poise and balance. I cannot forget this book. 

Book Review: Family Life

Author: Akhil Sharma
Genre: Cultural, India, Immigration
Rating: 1.5/5
Verdict: A depressing, dark story with a seemingly rushed ending. Don't bother reading this.

I have heard about Akhil Sharma in a few of the Asian authors list and his books have always been on my to-read pile. This was a pretty short book and there was no reason for me not to pick it up from the library. Even though I finished this book in a few hours straight, it was a pretty depressing story for the most part and leading nowhere.

The book is about an Indian family of four (father, mother and two sons) that immigrated to the US in the 70's in search of a better life and how tragedy strikes and their lives change in a matter of 3 minutes when their elder son becomes brain dead after an unfortunate pool accident. The story is narrated by the younger son and we learn about the father's alcohol problems and how he feels that his mother hates him and spends all her time with the elder son caring for him. Until this point, Akhil completely lured me into the story and I just kept turning pages to find out where he led the readers to next. But, it was at this point in the story that it started becoming very repetitive, long-winded and boring. I continued to read in the hopes of the story going somewhere, but it never changed gears. It lacked depth and never left an impact on me. I am glad it was a short book and I just finished it. I am sure I would have abandoned if it was a tad longer. I do not even want to get started about the ending which seemed completely abrupt, rushed and meaningless. I do not expect a happy-ending or a redemption for every book I read, but at the very least there should be a message. I cannot help but compare this with the other books with the same theme - Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala and Take this man by Brando Skyhorse. Both narrated brilliantly and left a huge impact and the message at the end was very clear.

A very ordinary lifeless book with repetitive prose. I just don't get the hype about this book. I don't think I will pick up any more of Akhil Sharma's books after being burnt by this one.  I would definitely warn you to stay away from reading this. 

Book Review: I've Got Your Number

Author: Sophie Kinsella
Genre: Chick-lit, Romance
Rating: 3.5/5
Verdict: A light-hearted, warm and fun read with a few dragged parts. Go for it for some mindless chick-lit fun!

Ok, I have to admit it - This is my first of Sophie Kinsella's books! I've never read her famous Shopaholic series which everyone's always raved about. I must admit that off late I have been totally sucked me into the world of headstrong women, romance, humor and the "happily ever-after" stories with twists and turns and a perfect happy ending. This book was sent to me by my Secret Santa for the holidays. The book cover is so appealing in itself and given Sophie Kinsella's popularity,  I couldn't wait to read this book.

WARNING: Spoilers ahead!

The story begins with Poppy Wyatt, a physiotherapist living in London. Up until now, Poppy's had the perfect life, which is anybody's envy - A good job, a genius fiancé, Magnus with whom she will walking down the aisle in a few days and the wedding preparations in full swing. Poppy's dreams come crashing down when she loses "the" heirloom engagement ring in a hotel fire drill one day. As Murphy's law would have it, her mobile phone gets stolen on the same day, rendering anybody's attempts to contact her regarding the ring useless. After all the trauma, lady luck begins to smile at her when she finds an abandoned phone in a trash bin and begins to use it as her cell phone until she finds the engagement ring. 

Poppy finds out that the phone belongs to a business consultant Sam Roxton's PA who's disposed the phone in the bin after quitting her job. Sam and Poppy begin talking, while Sam learns that she's using the phone and isn't quite pleased with it. Poppy manages to convince Sam that she will return the phone as soon as she finds her ring and promises to forward all the texts/messages and emails to Sam until then. Having access to someone's phone, messages and inbox could be very personal and soon Poppy begins to know and learn all about Sam's daily life and begins to form an opinion about him. This is when things get very interesting and the book holds you captive. What follows is a series of interesting text exchanges between the two, some twists when Poppy fills in the role of Sam's personal assistant and how technology brings two strangers closer and even get them married ;)

What I liked...

I absolutely loved Sam Roxton and his personality. He was my favorite of all the characters in the book. Sam's intelligence, tight-lipped nature, his stoic, calm demeanor and sense of humor was quite a turn-on and leaves you with a "my kinda guy" feel. It was quite contrasting Poppy's - who is a nervous wreck, people pleaser and a chatterbox. The text exchanges between the two was fun to read and made me smile a lot of times. I loved how Sophie developed the intimacy between the two - the slow progression from strangers to acquaintances to friends to something more - All this without spending much time together, in physical proximity. The chemistry between Poppy and Sam was electric and I was so rooting for them towards the end. And the moment I read:

“Lover? I don't know. I don't know if she loves me. I don't know if I love her. All I can say is, she's the one I think about. All the time. She's the voice I want to hear. She's the face I hope to see.” 

I was floored right then and couldn't wait for the two of them to get together.

What I didn't like quite very much...

A few parts of the book felt very unrealistic when Poppy responds to Sam's emails signing up for a trip to Alaska, a charity run among the others. I mean, who in their right mind would do that?! Some parts also felt dragged towards the end and I was beginning to get a tad bored. The whole thing about Magnus cheating on Poppy and Sam's undefined relationship with Willow felt like a justification for Poppy-Sam's romance. Not that I am complaining about the romance, but those two incidents definitely made it feel like they were forced to make the plot work out.

Barring the lengthiness of the novel and a few unrealistic parts, I quite enjoyed this book. The romance was adorable and the text exchanges was so funny and very entertaining and kept me hooked till the end. A perfect indulgence for a cozy afternoon with a hot cup of tea! Pick it up and you will not regret it! I've become a fan of Kinsella and I sure am going to pick up the Shopaholic series very soon!