The House on the Strand by Daphne Du Maurier

I bought this book from Blossom Book House last year. Though I have read several works of Daphne Du Maurier, I had never heard of this one until my aunt told me about it.

The narrator in the book- Richard Young, is not really working at the time. He has a very close scientist friend Magnus, who develops a drug which can port a person mentally to another time. Magnus requests Richard to test it for him. Now, the person who is porting to another time is an invisible spectator to the events of the time they are transported into and can only observe but of course not influence anything in that world. Richard is initially reluctant to try, however, on the persuasion of Magnus agreed to test the drug on himself (being a clinical research professional, I do not condone such an approach to drug testing). Richard stations himself in Magnus' mansion in Kilmarth which is supposed to be really ancient and constructed several centuries ago. He is transported to 14th century England and finds himself amidst the aristocracy of the time. Also, he finds himself following a steward of the time- Roger, a pivotal figure in Richard's ported world. Richard enjoys what he sees, and takes frequent "trips" to the past to a point that he gets obsessed with what he sees and his curiosity of know how things unfold gets a stronger grip of him.

As and when Richard continues to take the drug, the related side-effects grows stronger and stronger. Richard is married to an American- Vita who has two boys. All of them fly to Kilmarth to accompany Richard but he is in a point in his life, where he could do without them due to his obsession with the trips. Vita is an intelligent and very inquisitive person. She observes Richard strange behaviour but is not able to put her finger on the reason for it. She believes it has something to do with Magnus but is not sure, what exactly. The story takes an unfortunate turn leading to an inquest which find Richard in the middle of things. It is very obvious to Richard that whatever happened was due to the drug but he manages to deceptively conceal it. He does not learn from it and continues taking his trips until he finds strangling his wife. It is this time that he realises that it is time to seek for help, which he does. He rids himself of the drug and decides to take a break from the place- only to find some more which he had hidden but forgotten about and decides to take one last trip. Fortunately for him, this trip gives him the closure he needed and the story ends there. For more details, you have to read the book.

I think the book was much ahead of its time. It is also interesting to see that time travel or porting to another time was something that was already a topic of discussion when the book was written, which I think, may have inspired the main theme of the book. The language was relatively simple. I think it was a very gripping read. As a reader, you don't need a drug, just the vivid descriptions of the author to transport you to England in the 60s and also 14th century. I am glad to have this book recommended to me and would surely recommend it to others who are interested in such genres. This is not much of a review, I know- sometimes, not a lot can be said about a great book. On a scale of 5 (5 being excellent), I would rate the book 4.5.

The Chalkman by C.J. Tudor

I finished reading this book a few months back. I purchased this book in one of my Blossom Book Store hauls. I will try and keep my review of this book short and do not really want to talk too much about the story.

The book mostly keeps alternating between present day and 1986 and is narrated through the protagonist and the narrator Eddie. The part of the story covered in 1986 are a series of events in Eddie's childhood, which comes to haunt him in his present day adulthood. These events are murders of different people that happened and the clues that were left behind were- chalk men.

In his adult life, Eddie is a teacher at a local school, has a room mate Chloe, and is still in touch with some of his childhood friends. Even his room mate Chloe seems to have a connection with one of his childhood friends. One of his childhood friends is killed in his adult life which unravels the mysterious murders that happened in his town in his childhood days. 

As expected, at the end of the book, we come to know who was responsible for some of the murders. The story for me is not really an unforgettable one. To be honest, I has to read up the summary of the story to recollect. While chalk men, which are nothing but stick figures of men drawn in chalk (reminds me of Hangman which we played as kids) are supposed to be clues to the murder(s), I really did not understand how they were clues. There were other things which are actually bigger clues than the Chalkmen. I mean, it really did not come across that the Chalkmen was the main clue or even important enough to earn the title of the book.

The book is written simply and is quite fast-paced and does keep one hooked. However, I was hoping that the Chalkman would make a bigger impact and kept reading but just the lack of the connect was disappointing. The book becomes a little predictable at one point and you can almost tell who the murderer was. 

I would rate the book 3.5/5 as it was an engrossing, yet a very forgettable book.

Blossom Book House Haul

A couple of months back, my husband and I visited  Blossom Book House on Church Street. I was keen on buying Bread Baking for Beginners by Bonnie O'Hara. I looked for this book at the old store and the new one but I was unable to find it. I did not really want to get any other book but then as I looked around, I found a few interesting books. I ended up buying 3 and my husband 1. So, here are the 3 books that I got.

Daughter of Silence by Morris West

This book seems to be kind of a thriller and I had not bought thrillers in a long time so I decided to get some. I loved the old school book cover- it reminded me of really old movie posters.  I have never read a Morris West book before but I have heard of some of his great works like The Devil's Advocate and The Shoes of the Fisherman. I look forward to reading it next year.

MASH by Richard Hooker

I love the TV show M.A.S.H.  I can watch it any number of times and never get bored of it. I hope the book will be just as good. The expectations are quite high with this one. I have never read any of Richard Hooker's books before. I could not find any book by this author but I will look up if this book turns out good.

The Chalk Man by C J Tudor

I have started reading this book already. So far, it has been okay. It is supposed to be a hybrid ok Stephen King and Lee Child. I got this book again for the thriller genre. What got me interested in the book is the name and the cover. It reminded me of Hangman that we used to play in school. I really look forward to finishing reading this. By the way, this was not the 1 book I said I would read. I started reading before I set my goals (told you....too busy this year doing a lot of stuff)

PS: Sorry for the poor quality on some of the pictures

I would definitely share my poorly written reviews once I am done reading them. I also hope to find a second hand/used version Bread Baking for Beginners by Bonnie O'Hara soon.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I read Alice in Wonderland as a child and I loved it then. Of course, I read an abridged version of the book. I was thrilled to see the book in Blossoms'- remember this haul.  I wanted to read the original one for a long time and finally got to it.


Though the cover of the book that I have says Alice in Wonderland, it actually has the sequel to Alice in Wonderland- Through the Looking Glass, and also some of Carroll's other works, mainly poetry. I have only read Alice in Wonderland in the book and not the sequel or his other works. So, this blog post would be one about Alice in Wonderland.


I will be honest, I did not find the original book to be an easy read, at least initially. I found it quite laborious at first and it took me some time to actually start enjoying the book. Though written in 1800s, the language is quite comprehensible but the current day children of age 3-7 may not find it easy to read and understand and may also find it boring in parts. One has to have great story telling skills to make the read appealing to the children today.

Most of you who would have read the book as a child, would remember the simple story where a little girl finds follows a talking rabbit to find herself in a land where everything is remarkably different from her current world- where animals and inanimate objects seem to have sprung to life and have conversations like regular people and by eating and drinking potions, one can influence their size and there is a bizarre story knit into all of this with the King and Queen of Hearts from a pack of cards ruling this entire new world or kingdom. It is all very confusing for her, only to find out that SPOILER- it was all a dream.

While the story line remained more or less the same, I think the below differences stood out in the original:

- Alice was never someone who sulked and rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders in the version I read as a child but she did all of this in the original.
- There is some outstanding word play in the original. See an example below.

- The book never came across as funny to me as a child but I could see it sprinkled with humour throughout. Also, if you have a good imagination, it makes the read funnier than it actually is.
- The original book has a lot of poetry and songs, which I think was completely missing in the abridged version that I read as a child.
- I really did not expect any illustrations in the original book but there were plenty. I would not say they were particularly good but it did provide some relief while reading the book. Of course, the abridged version I read as a child was meant for children and was packed with colourful pictures quite different from what was in the original if my memory serves me right.


There are a lot of books which I read as a child that had the same effect on me when I read them as an adult. However, this book did not really have the same effect on me. To be fair, it was not exactly the same book, considering the one I read as adult was not an abridged one. I felt quite differently about the book now. I loved it as a child and enjoyed it a lot and re-read it but I do not think I would like to do the same as an adult. I really wish I could enjoy it more but it was a real struggle.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I would rate it a 2.5- midway between enjoyable and boring.

Dancing in Cambodia and Other Essays by Amitav Ghosh

Hello Everyone,

Today I will be talking about Dancing in Cambodia and Other Essays by Amitav Ghosh. This book was a part of the Blossom Book House haul that I had posted last year. I started reading this book last year but mid-way through the book, was struck by an extreme case of readers' block and could not complete reading the book last year itself. I finally managed to finish the book of mere 126 pages after months.

I have never read Amitav Ghosh previously but had heard a lot of positive reviews about his books and wanted to start with a small book. Amitav Ghosh writes both fiction and non-fiction books. This particular book falls in the latter category. The book consists of 5 essays, all of which are personal accounts of the writer. 2 essays- Dancing in Cambodia and Stories in Stones are based in Cambodia, At Large in Burma is set in Myanmar, A Town by the Sea is set in India and September 11 is set in the US. 

The essays on Cambodia sheds light on the culture of the country, importance of certain landmarks of the country and Pol Pot as a person. While I had an extremely basic knowledge of the Khmer Rouge regime, I did not know enough about how the monarchy was overthrown, who was Pol Pot really etc. I think this book helped me quite a bit in acquiring this knowledge- of course, I had to read up a bit outside the book as well.

At Large in Burma was all about the struggles in Myanmar with the insurgency and the democratic process in the the country. The author had the privilege of meeting Aung San Suu Kyi in person and have lively discussions about the country's political direction and issues. My favourite part was the one where he interacts with the leader of one of the minorities.

A Town by the Sea was my favourite essay of them all, probably because it was set in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands governed by India. The essay is about the devastation that was brought about by the terrible tsunami of 2004 that stuck some of the coastal parts of the country. This particular essay reminded me of the terrible time we had experienced all those years back and is focussed on the Malacca island. The writer accompanies a victim and helps him in his pursuit of looking for his family in the rubble that was left behind after the event. My heart really went out to the victims.

September 11, as the name suggests was about the fateful day that razed the WTO. The writer and his family were friends with construction mangers/project managers of the WTC. The essay talks about what these designers went through on that day when they were in the building. It is heart-rending.

I liked the writing style and language used by the writer. It is not too simple, but not difficult either. That being said, it is not an easy book to read. Also, I am not a very political and the first 3 essays on Cambodia and Myanmar were quite political in nature and it was not simple to understand without sufficient background and I can imagine that it might be a laborious read for also those well-versed with the political situations in Cambodia and Myanmar. I also did not enjoy the 3 essays very enjoyable. I would rate this book 3 on a scale of 5.

Best Wishes,

S

Complications by Atul Gawande

I started reading this book earlier this year, during my vacation. I know I have been going about this vacation for a long time now but the blog posts about it would be published soon, I assure you.
This book belonged to my aunt  and unfortunately, I could not finish it during my vacation. Once I was back home, I went to Blossom's and got a copy. You can check out this post to see the other books that were a part of the haul.

This book is written by an Indian origin neurosurgeon based in the US and talks about how medical science is an imperfect science. The book is divided into 3 sections- Fallibility, Mystery and Uncertainty. The book consists of real-life events and incidents which have been conveyed through the lens of medical science but are very relatable in any area of work and personal life as well.

The section about fallibility discusses about how doctors could go wrong or how they get things right or wrong. One of the things that stuck with me from this section was an incident described by the writer from his personal experience where he couldn't get a procedure right and almost killed a patient. He practised a lot and somehow get it wrong ever single time, and out of the blue, one fine day, he does the procedure perfectly. It reminded me of the time when I had just started learning yoga- I could never bend down and touch my palms to the floor without bending my knees. I would try this at my yoga class every single day but could not do it. One fine day, I just do it without any difficulty, as though I have been doing it all my life. Similarly, there are various incidents to which I could draw parallels to. Some parts of this section, especially the one about 9000 surgeons, was quite hilarious to me.

The section about mystery describes several conditions like pain and nausea which is uncomfortable and inconvenient and in some cases, almost impossible to diagnose the cause of it. Sometime innumerable tests and imaging and all possible known sources to medical science are explored in the diagnosis and identifying the cause of certain conditions and everything seems perfect, yet the patient continues to suffer. Sometimes, all possible treatment options are explored but they fail. This section was a really interesting read.

The last section of the book is about Uncertainty. It specifically deals with the decisions that doctors have to take- should I do procedure x on a patient or not? should I tell a patient of all treatment options even if it means suffering and high risk to his/her life. Often we also face such a dilemma in our lives, especially where the pros and cons of a decision balance out each other and it is impossible to take a decision and would prefer someone else do it for us.

The book is written in a way that a layman can understand many things. Though there are several items which are medical, the author has tried his best to simplify or explain such medical terminology.  I really did not find it too difficult to read. It is quite an easy read and almost unputdownable. Note, the picture of the book in this post is the one from my aunt's edition. Mine is different- it is the one shown in the Blossoms' haul.

I would rate this book 5/5

Hotel by Arthur Hailey

I bought this book from Sapna Book Stores years back but for some reason could not read it despite trying. This book was a part of my Dad's collection of books but at the time I was too young to read such a book when I first saw it and when I was old enough to read, we had to get rid of it due to termite infestation in the cupboard where the book was shelved.

This is my third-ish Arthur Hailey book. The first one being Runway Zero-Eight, written in collaboration with John Castle and the second one was Strong Medicine. I loved both those books. What I have observed about Hailey, is that he chooses a particular industry and does a thorough and in-depth study of it and then comes up with a brilliant book with a fictitious story spun around it.
In Strong Medicine, he wrote about the pharmaceuticals industry and in this one, he wrote about the Hotel/Hospitality industry.

This book is about an independent hotel in New Orleans called St. Gregory's owned by an old fashioned man, neck-deep in debt, called Warren Trent. The main character is the hotel manager, Peter McDermott. Several parallel story lines, each of which touches up on one aspect or other in the industry run through the book. There are several characters in the book as hotel staff or guests but it never creates any kind of confusion as the characters are developed beautifully with each one having a unique trait about them. If I write about each of the story lines or characters, this blog would be insufferably long. So, I strongly recommend that you read the book. However, I will touch upon very very briefly on some of the themes of those story lines.

- Hotel theft
- Conventions organised in hotel
- Which areas actually contribute toward the hotels finance
- What it is like when Royal families come to stay at a hotel
- How the wealthy exert their influence and position in society
- Corrupt hotel staff
- What hotels do in event of medical emergencies/crisis
- How hotels get taken over
- Equipment malfunction in hotel
- Racial segregation which was more common in the time when book was written
- A hit and run case investigation

What I liked about the book is the fact that the author hardly left any area of hotel operations unexplored. While focussing on the aspects of hotels which all of us are more or less aware of or is generally quite visible, he did not forget the smaller aspects such as how the wake-up call service at the hotels work, what happens to the garbage collected at the hotel, what are the consequences of a losing hotel keycards or throwing them mindlessly in the bin, what the struggles in the kitchen are, what privileges do certain hotel employees benefit from, how room service and housekeeping works etc. He has managed to beautifully link them all up into several engaging stories which somehow come together brilliantly in the book.

My favourite character in the book is the central one- Peter McDermott. He is a very likeable and ideal character- straightforward, honest, brilliant at what he does, very committed and dedicated, hard working, puts humanity above all else and last but not the least, superbly intelligent and knowledgeable, not to mention well-respected by all employees and several guests too.

As you already know by now, I love books in which food is described really well. One of the most visible features of any hotel is the restaurants and food and Arthur Hailey surely has not be thrifty in his descriptions of food. He has really been nifty with his words especially while describing food. You almost feel like the food has been laid out before you.

The language is moderate and the book is quick paced and not too difficult to read, not too simple either, and one of the most insightful books about hotel operations I have ever read. You must have figured out by now how much I loved the book. The only thing that I did not like about it is the fact that it ended and that there is no sequel, even though the writer ended the book on such a note that there could be easily one. Sorry this is probably not the kind of review you would be expecting to read but this is the best I could do without making the blogpost longer.

I rate this book- 5/5.

Book Haul from Blossom Book House

My husband and I were bored one Sunday evening and had not been out shopping for books for sometime. We decided to head out to Blossoms'. They earlier had just 1 store on Church Street but now have 2 big shops on either ends of Church Street. We went there on 2 subsequent weekends, which means, there were 2 hauls this month. I bought more books in my 1st haul and just a couple in my 2nd haul. My husband bought a couple of books during our 1st visit this month. During the 2nd visit, I actually took some of the books I was not too keen on keeping with me- about 20 of them. They kept 12 of them and returned 8 to me as they already had enough unsold copies of those. In return, I could buy books of my choice for that amount. I still have about Rs.180 of the unspent amount, for which they gave me a voucher, for use in future purchases.


Coming to the 1st haul, I bought 5 books.

1. The House on the Strand by Daphne DuMaurier

During my recent vacation, my aunt recommended this book to me. She is a big fan of DuMaurier's writing and we found that we shared a liking for similar kinds of books. This book is about time travel. I will write more, after I read the book.

2. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang

My aunt and I were discussing Pear Buck's The Good Earth (one of my favourites). We were actually discussing about books about China and these two books were discussed. I bought Wild Swans as it was highly recommended by her.

3. The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

During my visit to my Aunt's, she had several books my Atul Gawande. I actually partially read Atul Gawande's "Complications" and liked whatever little I read. So, decided to get this book.

4. Dancing in Cambodia and Other Essays by Amitav Ghosh

I have never read a book by Amitav Ghosh but have heard good reviews of his books, which are usually pretty bulky. I thought a smallish book like this would be a good start.

5. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

I was watching a quiz show, in which one of the questions was- which of these characters in not a character of Lewis Carroll's books. I realised I had forgotten about all the characters in Alice in Wonderland. I only remembered the gist of the story but could not really recall anyone other than Alice of course. I thought this book would help me in refreshing my memory.

Books from the 2nd Haul

1. Complications by Atul Gawande

As mentioned above, I have partially read this book- about 80 pages or so and wanted to finish reading this book.  I would love to finish reading it, so, got this book.

2. All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot

I have read a couple of books by James Herriot in my school days and his account of different experiences with animals, being a vet, were quite engaging- sometimes sad and sometimes amusing. I have not read this one though and saw a James Herriot after a long time, so thought of getting it.

Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds by Joy Adamson

I found this book during my recently concluded vacation. It belongs to my relative. I just picked it up while lazing around at my  relative's place. I did not know what to expect. Not being a big movie buff, I was not aware that there was a movie based on the book. Apparently, this 1960s movie was a well known one.

This book is about a real life account of author and her husband, who adopt 3 lion cubs and their lives with them. Of the 3 cubs, they name the smallest one Elsa and domesticate it. The 2 other larger cubs are sent away to a zoo. The author's family lives close to an African forest (if I remember it correctly...sorry getting a bit forgetful) and her husband, George, works as a Game Warden in Africa. Anyway, Elsa and Joy, the author, develop a close bond with each other. Elsa is initially tamed, however, as time progresses her natural instincts come to the fore but her domestication has trained her to be ignorant about things which are otherwise natural to her species. For example, she kills another animal, but she does not know what to do with it. She was always given her meat cut up, so she could not associate it with any animal. It was done, so that she does not go about attacking cattle of the African tribesmen who lived in the vicinity. The first part of the book is all about taming Elsa.

The second part of the book is about the adult life of Elsa. As she grows up, Joy and her husband observe Elsa. During the mating season, she disappears several times and seems to be alone and not a part of the pride. Joy and her husband think it is best to free her into the wild instead of sending her off to a zoo as she has grown up in that environment. The challenge then begins for Joy and George. They had trained Elsa to be tame and as a consequence, she was not completely fit to live in the wild where one has to protect and feed oneself. So, begins the journey of Elsa, Joy and George to help unlearn and prepare for her life in the wild. Being her foster parents, they train her to hunt and protect herself to the best of their ability, something which her biological parents would have probably taught her. The book is the story of her journey to freedom.

The book is written in a very simple language. Parts of it is humorous and parts of it is heart-rending. I specially felt very sad when, in their attempt to help Elsa live all by herself, they abandon her in the middle of the night, only to find her waiting for them in the very same place. The book is a good reflection of the loyalty and love of animals towards their caregivers. Even after years of living in the wild, Elsa would never forget the love she received from the Adamsons. It is kind of a slow-paced book but you will savour every moment of it. The book has several pictures of Elsa and her human family and adds to the enjoyment of the read.

Coming to the movie, I have not yet watched it but I have viewed the trailer. Based on the trailer alone, I think the movie is way too dramatic than the book. Also, the reasons to free Elsa appeared to be different. It is just my perception. I am looking for the movie and will watch it when I find a good print of the same.

On a scale of 5, I will rate the book 4/5.

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

This is another book that I read during my recent vacation. I found this book in the room I was staying in during my vacation.

All books of John Grisham that I have read so far have been legal dramas. This book came as a surprise to me as it was not one. When I picked up this book for reading, I did not know that and kept waiting for some event to unfold which would lead to a lawsuit but that never happened.

The book is about a couple Luther and Nora, whose only daughter of 18 years, Blair, moved to Peru on a humanitarian mission around Christmas time for a period of a year (I think). Luther and Nora decide to take a cruise during the Christmas break to the Caribbean. So, they decide to save up all the money that they would have otherwise spend on Christmas (parties, presents, cards etc) on the cruise and the preparation for the cruise. Now, they live in a close knit neighbourhood where Christmas is a big deal. Luther and Nora manage to fight their temptations to do anything Christmassy even at the expense of disappointing, if not offending, their neighbours. On Christmas eve, the day before the planned cruise, Blair calls and informs them that she will be home with her fiancé- a Peruvian doctor. The book then shortly dwells on the dilemma that Luther and Nora are in before moving on to what they do next. Read the book to know more :-).

The book serves as a reminder of what Christmas has become and what it is supposed to be. Grisham has attempted humour but it is not very funny, it would probably extract an occasional smile from the reader.

It is a small, simple book with very simple language, a quick read. I appreciate Grisham's attempt at something different. It was not his best book though. I like his legal drama much better. It is a good book to read just before Christmas, reading it in northern hemispherical summer probably did not have the same kind of effect. I rate this book 3/5.

The Class by Erich Segal

I have been writing a lot about stationery. I have some more drafts on stationery but I thought it would be good to take a break from it and discuss some of the books that I read during my recent vacation. I will discuss one of these books in this post. 

I bought "The Class" by Erich Segal from The Book Point in Himayatnagar in Hyderabad. It was on my bookshelf for a long time and I never got around to reading it. I started reading it slightly before my recent vacation but read a big part of it during my vacation and on the flight to my vacation destination.

I picked up an Erich Segal after a long time. I have previously read his "Man, Woman and Child", "Doctors" and "Love Story". "Doctors" is my favourite Erich Segal book. I am quite amazed by the variety in his writing ranging from lives of doctors to intricate and complex relationships. 

This particular book is about a few Harvard students and what they live up to be 25 years on. The book has 2 parts, which in turn has 2 been conveyed in 2 ways. The book focusses on the lives of a bunch of students in the Harvard's class of '58, mainly- Andrew Eliot, Daniel Rossi, Jason Gilbert, George Keller and Ted Lambros. The story of the book is conveyed in 2 ways as mentioned earlier- one is through the writer and another through the diary of Andrew Eliot. 

The book starts with an introduction to the background of these 5 students and how they managed to get into Harvard and then moves on to their lives at Harvard. 4 of the 5 students- Daniel Rossi, Jason Gilbert, George Keller and Ted Lambros are portrayed as exemplary students with several achievements under their belt, while Andrew is shown to be this everyday, average guy whose only achievement is the influential family into which he is born into. There are a few other friends and some girlfriends/wives of these characters that also make a significant appearance in the book by virtue of their relationship to the main characters. The second part of the book focusses on how these students have made it in a life after Harvard which culminates in their reunion after 25 years. This is the gist of the book and any more information would definitely be a spoiler.

Erich Egal has beautiful woven the key current affairs of the time into the story and characters. He has boldly used real people as characters of the story, such as Henry Kissinger, Ron Reagan, Yonathan Netanyahu etc making the reader feel very close to reality and wonder if this is a true story. These are some of the characters which have a significant appearance in the book. What struck me was the kind of prejudices that have been said to have existed in the US/Harvard at the time, such as - prejudices against Jews. It was kind of strange to think it could have existed in institutions like Harvard. Of course the story is based in the 50s and reading the book in 2018 startled me a bit and made me realise how much life has changed. 

Most of the characters have been developed quite well with several aspects of their personalities being explored. However, at the end of the book, Andrew Eliot is declared as the best man in the class of '58; somehow I felt his character could have been built some more, different facets of his life could have been shown which could make the readers convince that he was the best in a more whole-hearted manner. I think this was one character who could have been explored more.

The language in the book is nice and fluid. It is not a slow book but not too fast either. I would not call it "unputdownable" but it was quite engaging. Considering the time at which this book was published, I would say, this was not a very common concept for books so I can imagine how enjoyable it must have been to the readers in the 80s as it must have come to the readers at the time, as a whiff of fresh air. Even to this day, I cannot think of too many books with such a concept. 

There are several female characters in the book and play a significant role in the book. They have been portrayed as strong and intellectual, with opinions they do not fear to voice.

I enjoyed reading this book immensely and would rate it 4/5.

A Hundred Little Flames by Preeti Shenoy

I have read most of Preeti Shenoy's books. Some have been good and others not so much. I ordered this book on Amazon during one of their sales. When I want to read something light, I usually pick one of the Indian writers. I usually prefer one of  yesteryear writers. I could not find anything interesting online, so settled for this book and I was so happy I did.

The story starts off with Ayan, one of the main characters in the book, losing his job and moving to Poongavanam (a hypothetical village) in Kerala upon orders from his controlling father. In Poongavanam, Ayan stays at Thekke Madom, his ancestral home where he bonds with his grandfather Gopal Shanker. Ayan soon loves the life in Poongavanam and settles in well while he keeps his hunt for a new job alive. Ayan's controlling father Jairaj, is also a controlling son and is based in Bahrain. The conversations over phone calls between Jairaj and Gopal usually go sour due to Jairaj''s vested interest in Thekke Madom. He hatches a wicked plot against his own father so that the property could be sold. Ayan comes to the rescue of his grandfather and earns his trust. Gopal shares his diaries with Ayan, who learns so much about his grandfather's life through them. Gopal loved his childhood friend, Rohini, pretty much right from his childhood but due to various circumstances at the time, both Rohini and Gopal end up marrying different people but remain loyal and care about their spouses, while keeping their love for each other alive. Both get engrossed in their work and household matters until one day when Rohini writes to Gopal, which rekindles their friendship and love for each other and they become a part of each other. Due to some circumstances, they are pulled apart again. Their story touches Ayan's heart who is determined to at least make them meet once.

The story line is a quite unusual and keeps you guessing sometimes. When Ayan moved to Kerala and it was portrayed that his grandfather was a dinosaur when it comes to technology, I really thought it was going to be a battle of generations. I was pleasantly surprised to know it was not. There is not much of a love story until the time Ayan starts reading Gopal's diaries. The story is just heart-warming and showcases love from a very different perspective, which I feel not everyone can easily understand. Most people label the love shared between 2 people as an affair, but in this story, it is demonstrated to be at some other level. It really shows the basis of love and what soul-mates are.

There are a few other characters in the book as well. Some of them play an important part in the book and others make you wonder why they even exist:

• Shaila- Gopal's daughter. She has a fairly important part to play in the book
• Kamakshi- Ayan's mom and Jairaj's complying wife. Not much to do in the story other than call Ayan to check after him
• Dhiraj- Ayan's "best friend". He hardly has any part to play in the story
• Nishi- Dhiraj's girlfriend who plays an even more insignificant part than Dhiraj in the story
• Shivani- Nishi's friend who befriends Ayan and the 2 talk a bit about their woes. Her part though is insignificant, helps Ayan in rescuing Gopal from the evil trap laid by Jairaj
• Velu- Gopal's humble and loyal domestic help
• Padmaja- Gopal's mentally disturbed wife
• Raman- Rohini's husband
• Shyamala-Gopal's pesky neighbour in Pondicherry
• Nithya- Shaila's daughter
• Akshu- Ayan's brother and really, there is absolutely nothing this character does or brings to the story

Apart from these, there are some people from a local football team (Roshan, Biju etc) who become friends with Ayan.


Now, I started reading this book after I read Dr. Ragab's Universal Language by Robert Twigger. The language in Robert Twigger's book was not complex but the level and standard seemed higher than this one. When I started reading this book, it initially felt like reading a book written by a novice with high school like language. However, as I progressed, it seemed to improve or may be mentally I was able to adjust to it. Barring a couple of grammatical errors and a spelling mistake, the book on the whole was well written. The other thing which was a little odd is that Ayan most of the time addresses Velu as Velu Chetta and sometimes as Velu. I think it is a little unlikely in real life. Also, the narrator for most part of the book, refers to Ayan's grandfather as Gopal or Gopal Shanker but in some parts has referred to him as muttaccha, which is what Ayan addresses him as. These are really insignificant observations and can be ignored in the bigger scheme of things. The language in the book is very very simple and free-flowing. The book is quite fast-paced and a page-turner. I sat up reading this book into the wee hours of morning. The description of Kerala and Pondicherry are so beautifully done that they transport you to those places. I also loved Thekke Madom's description. The book does get a little (very little) philosophical and preachy in parts. The main characters, as in most books by most writers, are embodiment of goodness- which is not a surprise.

I know we must not judge a book by its cover and I am glad I did not this time as the cover on this one is one of the worst I have seen- I mean, with the beautiful Kerala and Pondicherry in the story, there was a lot one could do in terms of cover art. I will be honest, cover of a book does matter a lot. It is one of the reasons that there are covers and not just pages sewn together. Also, usually we find appreciations for the writer or something about the book on the covers of books, such as- "From the author of xyz" or "Clever, funny, witty, modern day drama" etc. However, the only thing they found worthy of putting on the cover is shown below and it does look a little lame to choose to put that on while discarding all the other lavish praise that may have been showered on her in the past . Since it was Preeti Shenoy, I picked it up. I might not have if it was anyone else.

This really looks like she wanted validation from Cosmo that she is one of India's most popular authors though I know that was not her intent- Sorry for being too harsh :-(

The story line was unique and well constructed and kept me hooked. It was just so very beautiful. I would rate this book 4/5. It is her best book after Life is what you make it.

Dr. Ragab's Universal Language by Robert Twigger

I picked this book up a couple of years back at M.R. Book Centre in Hyderabad. I was attracted to this book for 2 reasons- I found the title of the book catchy and the review at the back of the book mentioned it was funny.

I must admit, the reading of the book was a long drawn effort from me and I did give huge periods of break from reading the book. It was during my recent trip to Hyderabad that I finally managed to read a big part of the book.

The story is about a writer who is obsessed with bunkers and is to write about about the success story of an Aluminium Industry magnate. While preparing for this, he comes across a manuscript about Hertwig, who built a bunker on his own during the World War II and his quest for the Universal Language from the renowned and eccentric Dr. Ragab in Cairo.

A big part of the book is Hertwig's manuscript. The story is narrated in 2 parts- Hertwig's youth in the past, and the writer's present day and accordingly, different fonts are used to depict the different period. The earlier portions of the book are a bit funny- it will make you smile but not really roll on the floor laughing. As we continue to read, humour is almost non-existent, or if it is, definitely did not come across as funny to me. As the book progresses, it becomes a little philosophical. Hertwig's manuscript in particular is quite engaging and his travel through the desert has been described beautifully- it transports you to that time. The best part of the book is that it is not cluttered with too many characters. The writer has used simple language and if you recall my review of Make Me, some of the sentence construction is similar to that book, as in, sentences are unusually broken down in to small phrases which serve as stand alone sentences.

I found the ending really abrupt and did not quite understand it very well. To me, Hertwig comes across as a totally different person in the manuscript and in reality. While reading about Dr. Ragab, I really wanted to know more of his personality and capability- though he has been described as someone who is multifaceted, highly knowledgeable of several topics and eccentric, the writer has tried to emphasize on his eccentricity, which is not obvious most of the time. I would have loved to see more of his wisdom.

The Universal Language was not something I understood. There were a few words and phrases thrown in but I really did not understand what it was, as the words alone did not constitute the Universal Language. It is definitely not a mode of conversation. There were instances where Dr. Ragab uses the Universal Language to make himself invisible, which was not easy to comprehend. There is a bit of a philosophical explanation to it, which again, I did not understand. Probably, it is because I have not yet attained that level of maturity in understanding philosophical topics.

Overall, I would rate the book 3/5 due to the fact that a big part of the book was quite engaging but the ending, which was, as mentioned earlier, quite abrupt. The Universal Language could have been explained better and that I would have loved to see more character development of Dr. Ragab. It is not a bad book but not a great one.

Behind A Mask by Louisa May Alcott

I always thought audio books were not for me but I did see a lot of friends really appreciate and enjoy audiobooks that I thought of giving it a try. I love classics and found the audiobook- Behind A Mask on the Podcast app.

The Book:

I had previously read Little Women and its sequels by Louisa May Alcott and loved them. I had never heard of this book before but thought it was something similar to Little Women. However, it is quite different. The book is inspired from some personal experience of the writer.

The story begins with the arrival of Jean Muir, a poor governess to a teenage girl in the Coventry household.  At the very beginning of the story itself, the writer indicates that Jean has an ulterior motive for taking up the job with the Coventrys. She soon wins hearts of everyone in the household except for Gerald, who has his suspicions about her; Lucia who is jealous of her many skills and also worried that she might be trying to charm her fiancé  Gerald and Dean, Lucia's maid. Over a period of  time she also wins over Gerald but he was not the prize she was eyeing. You need to read/listen to the book to know more. There are several other important characters in the book who contribute actively to the development of the story- Edward (Gerald's brother), John (Uncle of Gerald), Mrs. Coventry (Gerald's mother), Bella- the teenage sister of Gerald, whose care and education was Jean Muir's primary responsibility as a governess.

The story seems to have a setting in the Victorian era where a lot of emphasis on the appropriateness of behaviour of men and women was given. The descriptions of the lifestyle followed by the Coventrys also gives an indication that the story was probably set in the Victorian age.

I enjoyed the story a lot but had I been the writer, I would demonstrate Jean Muir's intentions and reality only in the end. The revelation comes too early in the story. However, the ending is not as I expected where good prevails over evil. If I were to rate the book on a scale of 1-5, I would rate it 4/5 for the aforementioned reason.

The Audiobook Experience

I did not know what to expect. I downloaded the Audible app by Amazon and here, the reading of some of the books I chose to sample were done either by the writers themselves or some celebrities. However, in the podcast app, it was neither the writer nor a celebrity. The experience may not be the same for Audible and Podcast. I have summarised my experience below solely based on the Podcast app:

-  The reading was quite fluent and since it was a podcast, split into several weekly episodes. Luckily for me, the reading of the entire book was already done, so, I was able to listen to all the episodes one after another.
- A brief introduction to the writer and a bit of background to the story was provided before the actual reading, which was quite interesting for someone like me who usually dives in straight to the story.
- Jean Muir seems to have come from France but the reader seemed to forget it. Some of her dialogues are in French accent, while others are not.
- While reading, I find myself more focussed and rapt but while listening, I found myself zoning in and out sometimes or distracted several times by something or the other, as, I listened to the whole book during my commute to work. I think I have to get used to listening to a reading.
- It felt nice to be read to after a long time and the reader did a fairly good job. Following this book, I tried having a reading of another book by another reader but it sounded so dull that I could not bear it for long and had to close it prematurely.
- While reading, we often know how certain words or certain not-so-common names are spelt but not necessarily the sound of it. While listening, you may hear the words/names and not really know how they are written- this is from another book I chose, not this one.
- It really helps one keep themselves constructively occupied during a long commute or even in sickness when you feel like reading but the activity may seem strenuous- this comes in handy.
- While reading a conventional book, I sometimes re-read some impressive pages or passages over and over again by simply bookmarking them. It is difficult to do this in the podcast app. I have not tried it in Audible.
- I liked the experience but cannot say I loved it. I probably need to read more (or must I say listen to more) to love the experience.

P.S: I hope you liked the original artwork on this post :-).

Princess by Jean P Sasson

I picked up this book from Blossom Book House on Church Street in Bangalore during Diwali holidays this year. I visited Blossoms' after a long time. They have shifted their premises to another location on Church Street and there is also another book store close to it, mainly used books store called Book Worm. I did go in but could not find anything interesting.

I started reading this book in high school but could not finish it due to my packed schedule back then and the library due date beyond the renewals. When I found this book at Blossom's, I could not resist.  I actually finished the book, cover-to-cover, in a matter of few hours as it was extremely engaging and unputdownable.

The story describes the sad plight and sufferings of women in Saudi Arabia and is a true account.
The book is a story of one of the royal family members, a princess of the large royal family (about 21000 people), who described her life story to Jean Sasson so that it could be carried to the world. Almost all the names have been changed in the book to conceal the true identity of the different members of the royal family and other characters in the book. The princess who describes the story is named Sultana. She is one of several children of the patriarchal royal family and country. The book focusses mainly on the growing up years of  Sultana which I think is through 70s to 90s.

The book is a heart rending account of the despondent lives of women in Saudi Arabia during the above mentioned time period. It describes the crimes against women and the bias of the society towards a man's word as opposed to a woman's, due to which many women never received the justice they deserved. Any kind of revolt against men or disobedience of their "orders" was met with severe punishment for women. However, Sultana, was one of the rebellious few who dared to oppose some of the unfairness in her own way. She has got her way several times by knowing how to manipulate- situation or family members. I specially like the strong actions she took to save her marriage. Though it might seem like an obvious thing to do for most of us not living such circumstances, I can perfectly understand the kind of courage that is needed to take those steps for someone living in a country where polygamy and strict restrictions on women is common. By taking certain simple actions which many not be a big deal in most of the countries, Sultana almost seems to be a hero, championing the cause of women in the country.

There is a great display of wealth in the book. Of course, they are the royals but several times in the story, especially after the Gulf war, Sultana describes her wealth as unlimited. They fly in and out of different countries just for shopping or other forms of entertainment.

I am writing this review in 2017 and so much has changed in terms of women's rights in that country. Women can now vote, drive and even come to the stadiums to watch matches, though there are some rules around those as well. More than 50% of Saudi women are now enrolled in universities. All these may seem to be a contrast to the life described about 25-30 years back. I am glad that Sultana told her story. The country is said to be on its path to progress in matters of women' rights and some day, one from her future generations will learn of the struggles of the past and have an appreciation for the progressive life that they will possibly lead.

Only after I finished reading the book did I realise that it is a part of a trilogy, this book being the first. I will definitely look up for the others. It is an excellent read, written in simple language and gives very descriptive picture of the lives in Saudi Arabia that I felt I was in that country. I would rate the book 5/5 where 5 is excellent.

P.S: Sorry if this post seems a little incoherent. There was so much to say. I have trimmed down a lot as it seemed excessive. I strongly recommend that the book is read.

The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie

I got this book from Sapna Bookstore in Bangalore. I  got back to reading one of Agatha Christie's book after a really long time. I was really craving to read a mystery and thought this book would be the best to feed the craving. This book is one of the author's most popular characters- Hercule Poirot, the Belgian.

The book is written as a narrative by Poirot's friend, Captain Hastings. There are some parts though, which are pieces of information that tie the story together and are not a part of Captain Hastings' narrative. Christie has clarified the same through the chapter titles.

The story  revolves around a series of murders in an alphabetical order in terms of the location of the murder and the victims' surnames. Of course, Poirot's task at hand is to uncover the murderer. The murderer wrote letters to Poirot prior to committing them, giving him details of the location (only town, not the complete address) of the murder, challenging him to prevent the murders. The story gives an impression initially that the murderer held Poirot responsible for having him/her punished for a crime and that the murderer was now avenging the same. The book shows Poirot's mettle in uncovering the true murderer by scrutinising the seemingly simple and insignificant details as clues. There are also other characters in the book comprising of the relatives of the victims, the cops from Scotland Yard and few others (cannot reveal- will be a spoiler).

The book is written in a simple language with phrases of French scattered throughout the book mostly in Poirot's dialogues. The book also has amazing descriptions of food which, to be honest, either got me hungry or salivating sometimes. Those who know me well, know how much I love well-described food in books. I also loved how Poirot is able to relate to different human minds and the possible actions people would take based on their mental state. His study of human nature and getting inside the mind of the criminal was something that kept me really interested. I must admit though, that a few parts (very few!!) of the book seemed like a drag. I really cannot say that something was wrong with them, just that they bored me.

On a scale of 5 where 5 is excellent, I would rate this book 4/5.

The Magic of the Lost Temple by Sudha Murthy

As you already know that I got this book from Sapna bookstore in my recent book haul (read about the haul here). I wanted to read something light and nothing better than a children's book for it. Now, if you remember my previous review about Sudha Murthy's book (click here to read the review), I had mentioned that I hope that the next book of hers that I read would be different. Thankfully, this book was. The book's target readership is children and hence, written in a very simple language and has some interesting illustrations as as well.

The story revolves around Nooni, a 12 year old who goes to her village in Somanahalli to spend her summer holidays with her grandparents. The book paints a vivid picture of the slow paced village life, constantly comparing it against Bangalore. Nooni's grandma and grandpa narrate to her two different versions of a story of a stepwell related to an ancient ruler Somanayaka. The stories are both intriguing. Nooni makes a bunch of friends in Somanahalli and enjoys the village life a lot by going swimming in the river, picnicking and hiking to nearby places. On one such hikes, she stumbles upon something that feels like the stepwell described in the stories of Somanayaka and that sets the ball rolling for all the forthcoming activities in the village.

The book has amazing descriptions of food and had my mouth watering several times. In addition, the village life is very tempting and made me want to pack my bags and visit Somanahalli. I would have loved to go with Nooni and friends on the picnic by the river. However, I really did not enjoy the comparisons between Bangalore and the village. The village life has been glorified a lot and the city life has been shown as a negative.  Both have their own positives and negatives and I would have really preferred if the writer focussed mainly on the village life.

Some of the writing which describes Nooni's thoughts actually sound like those of an old person and not that of a child. For example, Nooni does not understand what a native fruit is, but, in another place she says that people in Bangalore are more interested in eating at weddings. Somehow, the former comes across as a child's thought but the latter of that of an old person, in my opinion. These are some other such examples which are a little awkward and does not seem to originate from the same person's brain. The book does get a little preachy in parts- I guess it is intended to be, considering, the target readers to be children. Otherwise, the book is a great read for kids and adults alike. It was a page turner and unputdownable. I hope to read similar stories from Sudha Murthy going forward.  I enjoyed reading this book thoroughly and highly recommend it for a children's movie too. The book has also touched up on some social issues such as lack of toilets etc.

Overall, a good read and I would rate it 4/5.

The Empty House

I bought the book at Sapna Bookstore during my Christmas vacation last year (again!). I wanted a light book to read as I was travelling to Hubli to attend a wedding. I love reading books on train and thought this would be a great read on the train.

Now, I really picked this book up without reading much on the back cover. The front cover indicated Ruskin Bond- The Empty House and Ruskin Bond was good enough for me to pick book up. However, once I started reading, I realised that this book is a compilation of stories by Ruskin Bond. Except one, all stories have been written by various writers.

The theme of the stories is 'Spooky' and comprises of supernatural thrillers. The Empty House happens to be one of the stories in the book. Probably Ruskin Bond or the publisher thought that this is the best story in the book and decided to put the name on the cover. Though the story was good, it was not the best according to me. My favourite in the book was that of Ruskin Bond's called Gone Fishing about a loyal servant waiting for his master's return who had Gone Fishing years back and the master does return and How!!! Read to enjoy. It was a simple story yet had a superb twist in the tale- Loved it. There were other good stories too of which I liked- The White Wolf of Hartz Mountain and Mrs. Raeburn's Waxworks. Though the compilation is good, none of them could equal Gone Fishing for me.

If I have to rate the book, it will be 4/5 as some stories did not thrill me enough for a supernatural thriller compilation. However, I strongly recommend that you read the book as a big part of it is still quite good.

Book Haul from Sapna Book Store

I went to meet a friend visiting from Hyderabad on Gandhi Jayanti, for lunch. Following lunch, we had a milkshake at the Drunken Monkey and just went to Sapna Bookstore for just a glimpse...thought we would peep in and out without any plans/intentions of buying books. However, we both ended up buying books and I also bought some stationery to make myself feel good.

It is now time to unveil my book purchases.

I observed an Instagramer consistently post pictures of Agatha Christie's books. When I saw the ABC murder, I recalled that the Instagramer had posted a picture of the book with the same front cover. The cover was so inviting, I couldn't help myself and decided to get it. I sometimes, do judge books by their cover. I have read many of Agatha Christie's books in high school. I somehow do not recall if I have read the ABC murders so that gave me one more reason to buy the book. I do not mind re-reading such books.

I wanted to read a fictional story from Sudha Murthy and not a compilation of anecdotes from her life. Though the book- The Magic of the Lost Temple is intended to be a children's book, I do not mind reading it. I love reading children's books to date and read them from time to time.

I have been hearing a lot about Twinkle Khanna as a writer and how witty and hilarious she is, especially in The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad, that I had decided to buy the book long back but it was never in sight or on top of my mind whenever I shopped. At Sapna, it was staring at me and did not allow me to forget buying it.

This is it- a small little update from my recent purchase.

Vikram Rana Investigates: Tales of Murder and Deception in Hyderabad by Sharmishtha Shenoy

I picked up this book at the Sapna Bookstore in Bangalore last year during Christmas vacation and read the book in a couple of days. I could not find many interesting books when I went book shopping that day. This book caught my eye, as, mystery novels woven in Hyderabad are not common, and since I live in Hyderabad, I was drawn to it instantly.

The book consists of 2 different stories- The Sonia Sinha case and the Mysterious Affair of the Lohia Mansion. The common factor is a former cop Vikram Rana, who leaves the force and starts his private investigation agency. The Lohia mansion case is the first case he investigates. The other common factor is inspector Reddy who is 'formally' investigating the case in both the stories. There is a brief description about Vikram's wife as well, who plays a bit of a role in Vikram's character building in the eyes of the readers.

Vikram Rana bags his first case when his friend hires him to investigate the murder of his sister-in- law, a socialite in Hyderabad who dies under mysterious circumstances in the Lohia mansion. The story obviously revolves around how Vikram resolves the mystery.

The second case that is brought to Vikram is by Mrs. Raju who wants to prove her son (a suspect), innocent in the murder of her husband. He is awarded this case based on his famed resolution of the Lohia mansion case. This story is about how Vikram reveals the true murderer in the case. Of course, he takes support from Inspector Reddy.

The writing style is quite casual. The book is fast paced and easy to read. There are a few spelling mistakes which seems to have not been at the time of editing. There are some irrelevant descriptions in the book. Example- about autodriver woes in Hyderabad- does not help readers make a connection, is completely irrelevant and does not contribute to anything in the story; and an irrelevant quote by Groucho Marx when Vikram meets Gaurav, a character in the Lohia mansion story. Certain things are stated quite directly and plainly, where making it more experiential would have been nicer. Also, some sentences seem as passing narrations without any proper basis. As an example- Full lips are a symbol of fertility, seems a little far-fetched. The chronology of events in terms of dates in the Sonia Sinha case are quite messed up and a complete put off.

I liked the descriptions of food in the book and references of different localities in Hyderabad. It makes it very relatable to the Hyderabadis. The non-Hyderabadis or those in RR district of Hyderabad may find it a little difficult to relate to all the places mentioned. However, I appreciate the author's effort in painting a picture of Hyderabad in the minds of such readers.

Since this is the writer's first book, I sincerely appreciate her effort, as, in the current generation of writers, we do not have too many Indians venturing into this genre of writing- crime, thriller and mystery. This is a difficult genre to write and requires a lot more research, perspective and understanding on means, method, psychology, deduction than writing a drama or a love story. However, I would rate it 2 on a scale of 5. The main reason being the predictability of the culprits of the the crimes committed. It just happens too early in the story and I did not have the 'What!!" or "Aaaahhh!!" moments in both the stories when the culprits are revealed which generally happens with good mystery novels. The writer made it too obvious, especially in the Sonia Sinha case and one could easily figure out the murderer very early in the story and the only reason I read it was to understand the motive behind the murder, which I lost interest in once it was obvious who the murderer was. I like mystery novels where we are kept guessing on the murderer until the very end.

I hear the writer's second book is out already and I will definitely pick it up- I actually looked for it but could not find it in bookstores. I would like to encourage more Indians to write in this genre and I surely hope and have gut feeling that the second book would be way better than the first. Wishing her all the best and look forward to reading the next book.