The Lowland - Jhumpa Lahiri (The Much delayed Book review)

I was really gunning for this book to win the Booker this year, for how beautiful a story it was. But in retrospect, I think I can see it’s flaws and now that I am reading the Luminaries I hope it shocks and awes me.

The Lowland is the story of two brothers Subhash (being the elder brother) and Udayan, born in the British India but soon making it’s way into independence. It is the story of the differences in nature and yet their irrevocable bond, which binds them even after Udayan’s death. Subhash, is shown to be a person who is more cautious and believes in taking the beaten path while Udayan on the other hand is the kind who is feisty and wears his heart on his sleeves. Udayan is greatly influenced by the Naxal movement in the Kolkata of the 60’s and decides to join forces with them, while Subhash chooses to go Rhode Island for his higher studies. While in the US, he learns of Udayan being killed by the Police and it is this tragedy, which gives the depth to Subhash’s character which till now was all of Udayan’s. And you suddenly realize it was Subhash’s story all along.

You are touched by the sacrifices he keeps making again and again, demanding nothing from anybody. Life tests him to the fullest and you realise we most often end up admiring people like Udayan more in the first instance, taken in by their zest for life, their desire to change the world and while individual’s like Subhash end up being cornerstone of most people’s lives.

More than the patriotic feeling of wanting a fellow Indian to win, it was story which really made me want it to be read by one and all. But the flaws I think lay in the second half of the story, where it seemed a little loose ended. What rankles you in this story are certain character’s and their inability to move on with their lives or rather their inability to give themselves unto a person who does so much for them. You empathize with Subhash and his quandaries. My favourite character no doubt ends up being Subhash, I remember feeling very disturbed by the indifference that gets doled out to him by people for whom he ends up altering his whole life.

It is a must read and recommend everyone to pick it up, so what if it did not win the Booker.

Five Star Billionaire - Tash Aw

Five Star Billionaire was long listed for this year's Man Booker prize, however has lost out on the race for the Booker. And therefore it should go on to say a lot about the ones that have made it through the short list, for reading this book is an absolute delight. This book, inspires you to rise beyond your meager means, beyond the most trying of times both emotionally and financially, to rise after every fall. It's about the ups and downs of five individuals in the city of Shanghai, who have all moved into the city to fulfill their ambitions, their dreams, disillusioned in their search for success and who they really are.

The first of these individuals is Phoebe, an immigrant from rural China, who with the help of self help books wants to land herself a rich man,  so that she is able to experience all the luxuries of the world. And therefore all her efforts are driven around grooming herself to become the woman every rich guy wants to be with. But is sadly born with a conscience. The second individual is Gary, a singer who becomes an overnight sensation after winning a reality TV show and soon as with all celebrities his every movement starts getting tracked by the media and is what tabloid headlines are all about. Therein starts his disillusionment with limelight he seems to suddenly find himself in. He finds himself weighed down by the expectations of his fans, the media, his managing company etc. Very soon his days of fame are over as he finds more singers like him ready to take his place and realises the fickleness of good fortune.  The third story is Yinghui, a pseudo intellectual back in her hey days, who after a sullen past relationship ends up being a successful business woman. The fourth protagonist in this story is Justin Lin,  who once upon a time was a very successful business man, the so called deal breaker, Mr. Dependable but one day finds himself lost in the charade of a life he seems to have created for himself and gives up his family business leaving his family in the lurch to finally start doing something of his accord. The fifth but not the last character is Walter Chao, the five star billionaire, who comes from an extremely humble background and seems to have made it big in life through his hard work and determination, solely driven by an incident in his childhood. These are all people who have been dealt heavy blows by fate and have been left humbled by it. This book tells you the story of these individuals and their entwined fates in the setting of nouveau riche China.

What makes the story powerful, is one easily connects with these characters and finds a little bit of themselves in each. Makes for a good read.

Oleander Girl - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

I know I should have been reviewing "A Suitable Boy" and as it appears it's too much of mammoth tast to keep carrying it around and reading it in your spare time. And so to save trouble I picked Oleander girl up, and thank God I did. The only other book which I had read of Divakaruni's was the Palace of Illusions, which I clearly remember quiet enjoying to read. But to be frank I had bought this book on a whim since Amazon had this awesome independence day sale on and I had to pay only a 180 bucks for this book.

So the story is about Korobi, who was orphaned as a child and had been bought up by his grandparents. She is all set to get married to Rajat, who ofcourse is extremely good looking and from a well to do family. But on the fateful night of her engagement her grandfather dies of a heart attack and for which Korobi feels responsible. But after his death, her grandmother who wants to correct all the wrongs done to Korobi and wants to undo all the lies, reveals a life altering secret to her. A secret that takes her all the way to the US.

In the background of this journey, are other characters, other little stories about Rajat's past, his family business not doing too well and communal violence and distrust.

What I really liked about this book, is how well the Divakaruni gets her characters right, and not just them the relationships between them. The chinks in the armour of the strongest. The supposedly weak, becoming the pillars of strength pulling people together. The importance of righteousness, of trust, of honesty and of companionship. All in all, it's a very feel good book but on a more serious note than what I remember Palace of Illusions to be, which was a whole lot more witty and funny. But of course the theme of the books were completely different.

All in all, it's book you will breeze through easily.

The Cuckoo's calling - Robert Galbraith (a.k.a. J K Rowling)

Being the fan that I was of JK Rowling I had to pick this one up. Somehow I never got around to picking up Casual Vacancy. I had taken a bit of a hiatus from reading because of a close friend's wedding that I had to attend and therefore the delay in the review.

The story starts out with the controversial suicide of Super model Luna Landry and her brother coming to Cormoran Strike, the lead protagonist, the Poirot of this story to investigate the same as he firmly believes it was suicide and not murder. In the mean while Strike has broken out of his tumultuous relationship with his girl friend Charlotte and moved into his office and is shortly joined by a temporary assistant Robin who proves more than resourceful in Strike's investigation of the suicide as the story progresses. Through numerous interrogations, way lays, etc. Strike threads all the evidences together to find the whodunnit.

What I liked about the book was the unpredictability of who the murderer was, but I think i could have done with a little more build up to the revelation. Sorry to say but I don't think anybody even comes close to Agatha Christie when it comes to writing murder mysteries. The book is a tad too lengthy, with not enough happening to keep you hooked to it. I mean, you could just leave it around and then pick it up to follow with the investigation. I was left wanting more from the story. The different evidences are definitely put together well and make logical sense but you know at some point you couldn't care less who the murderer was. But for the sake of wanting to read more of Rowling's writing for old times sake, it is a good pick up. Some might like it more than I did also because my friend did do a spoiler on me. So I guess the suspense did not work for me. But it might just work for somebody else.

So have fun reading. 

The Illicit Happiness of other people - Manu Joseph

This is the second book by Manu Joseph after his hugely appreciated Serious Men and does not disappoint even one bit. In fact I can't think why I did not read this book any sooner. It is one of the very few that kind of leaves you a in a limbo after you have finished reading it.

The story is about the search of a father, Ousep Chacko to find the reason for his son, Unni committing suicide. Unni a budding cartoonist,a philosopher, the magnetic leader of his class,  is unlike most of the teenagers his age, even though he is a rebel, he is also the most attentive listener for his mother Mariaamo, who talks to imaginary people and why she does so lies the crux of the story. It is a story about the dysfunctional Chacko family, a family which is loathed and pitied at times by other families living in the same colony, who pride themselves for the normalcy of their lives. It is the helpless of a father to get to know his son better after his death, than he knew him when he was alive, wounded pride of a mother for not having protected her son, for a younger brother trying to be like his elder brother, the brother who could make his mother normal, could stop her hallucinations. In spite of all of this one finds this family together in all of this, they hate and abhor each other most of the times but find themselves together in figuring out Unni and his final act. The story which starts out being immensely funny in the beginning turns grim in the middle and continues in the same way. It touches on a lot of themes like neurosciences, existentialism, the search for truth, austerity of language etc. which only add to the narrative instead of taking away from it. Through all the interviews that Ousep has with all the people who knew Unni, he pieces together the life of Unni, knowing him better each time and yet not being able to figure out Why Unni did what he did. It's a poignant and dark story and is not sad because there is the good and the bad it is because there are grey's and there is an everyday tussle and hardship that the Chacko family has to go through because of their meager means.

What surprises you more is the reason for Unni's suicide, it is no where about his philosophical ruminations, his dysfunctional family, being bad at studies etc. There are so many interesting snippets in the story one of which was about Morality being an invention of not so good looking men and claiming they'd rather make love to only woman in their lives and of how Unni fools Thoma into believing that the home minister was going to make the value of pi from 3.14159 to 3 to make it easier for Indian children to calculate the area of circle.

This book is definitely a must read and I will be picking up Serious Men soon enough too.

The Marriage Bureau of Rich People - Farahad Zama

Here goes the first review of my Julie Julia Project. The cover of the book, makes it look like a pick-me-up-first and what lies inside does not disappoint you either. Mr. Zama's writing is absolutely lucid and the fact that I read it in 5 hours flat is testament enough. 

So the story revolves, as suggested by the title, about a marriage bureau started by a retired man Mr. Ali in Vizag. Slowly and steadily the business grows, along with it's popularity among the people in the city. With the increase in clientele it becomes imperative on Mr. Ali to hire an assistant and in comes Aruna, a simple Brahmin girl, and the sole bread winner for her family. Romance blossoms and there is hardly any tragedy to talk about really. The book takes you back to a time when life was all good, people were nicer or probably people in small towns/cities are better than the ones in metropolitans. What keeps the book engaging is the description of the milieu which is almost Ruskin Bond like and not once do you get bored by the description of the different clients of the bureau, which I thought would have gotten repetitive. They are given just the right amount of screen space as is required. It is a very feel good book and is more about how good things happen to good people. It of course has it's philosophical moments when Mr. Ali in some parts talking about how almost all religions are the same at the very essence and yet different in custom and when the Alis gives out some of the most sound advises about married life to Aruna and others in the story. Clearly a couple who have seen life and have weathered quiet a few storms together. 

All in all, the book makes for a light read except that I could have done with a little more tragedy. It is the first in the series written by Mr. Zama - the next in line being "The Many Conditions of Love" , which takes the story forward and has an equally delightful cover. Although I really don't know if I would pick up it up just immediately. The first book does not leave you with anticipation for what is going to happen next in the story. So probably one fine day when I am in the mood to buy books I might buy the next one. 

Next stop Manu Joseph's "The Illicit Happiness of Other People". 

The Julie Julia Promise

Today in the wee hours of the morning I am going to declare, which for long I have been stalling but finally have decided to put myself up for, is the Julie Julia challenge but only in this case it is books. My reading has been suffering for long and I really needed some direction in my life, a hobby so to say and since reading is something that comes the easiest to me, I solemnly vow

"to read 20 books by the end of 2013,starting today and review each and every one of them on this piece of virtual space I have called my own". 

And I do get the school of thought that books need to be enjoyed, chewed, mulled over, etc. etc. but this endeavor for really the need of the hour for this directionless life that I seem to be leading. There are many more issues in my life that need to be addressed, and through this I think I will be able to add a lot of perspective to my life and I guess a goal and a deadline. Work life has made me just another person on the run for money and I need to change that about myself. So here's all the luck to me and watch out this space for a new book review every week. Really hoping to live up to this promise. 

Inferno - Dan Brown

I am not too much of a Dan Brown fan so to say but I remember having quiet liked Da Vinci Code when I had read it back in college and then after reading  Angels and Demons my liking for Mr. Brown waned. Lost Symbol was lost to me and of course the in betweener's Deception Point and Digital Fortress were given the royal ignore. So I don't really know what made me pick Inferno up, probably it was the face book updates or the fact that the Divine Comedy actually lies in the Asiatic Society library in Mumbai which Mr. Brown seems to have moved it to Florence.

So anyway whatever the reasons I did pick it up and actually quiet enjoyed reading the book or atleast the first half which like most of Brown's books are replete with a lot of trivia which kind make you google stuff up. Inferno is of course at the very essence similar to the other books, Langdon getting up dazed, asking help from his consulate, being helped a woman who just happens to understand his situation and saves the day for him and later he is able to save the world. What works in all of this tried and tested formulaic story line is the wonderful way in which the theme is ensconced, in this case it Dante's Divine Comedy and other historical pieces associated with it and with it contemporary scientific research and fiction on Overpopulation, transhumanist movement etc,. What did not work for me for the elaborate description of architecture of the museums in Italy and Turkey (the Hagia Sofia in this case). Probably I would have enjoyed it more had I seen those places before hand or if Mr. Brown had also provide some kind of pictorial depictions of the same for other wise these descriptions were only making the story loose it's pace. I actually skimmed through a lot of these passages. Of course the story is gripping, rife with all the trivia and mystery which makes it a good read but I would definitely want to give the architecture a miss. All in all it's a decent book and Inferno is definitely a book one should own, for beneath the cover lies the beautiful painting of Gustav Dore of the river Styx on the book.

Actually has the making's of a priced possession. 

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro

I can only regret that I did not watch this movie any earlier. The movie is such a apt portrayal of the times we live in, the angst of the commoner hen pecked at the hands of vote bank politics of our leading parties; not one who can actually stand up and take charge and if pigs had wings, probably even stir the nation the imbroglio we live in. The powerful living in collusion with each other, back stabbing and then becoming friends the next day, through exchange of mutual benefit. No matter how hard the man on the streets tries to put a life together for himself, he finds himself either battling inflation or higher taxes while the politicians and bureaucracy only lap the taxes an honest citizen pays from his hard earned money. And in spite of all the toil he puts in to ensure that he gives his family a good standard of living, he finds himself scared of letting his daughter, mother, wife, sister out on the street for there is no age limit to when a girl can be raped.

Yes the aam aadmi comes out on the street to protest, to voice his angst but only meets with opposition from the people he hopes would protect him. The aam aurat on the street gets labelled as 'dented and painted' by the son of the head of state and of course is the head of the defense forces. The commoner watches the terrorist kill his fellow citizens, being given a 'fair' trial and allowed to live four years before he is hanged. He watches, the accused in the Delhi gang rape being arrested and yet a punishment not being meted out to inspite of the incriminating evidence and inspite of the rape victim breathing her last. We are still thinking of the 17 year old accused in the rape as a juvenile, while his crime would only make you think if it were humans who could the woman through this. We only animals would actually be better than us humans.

The movie only makes you draw comparisons, of the characters, the situations in the movie with these times. The plight of the commoner, the utter disregard for his pain, his protests, the lack of compunctions in the people who rule us and at the end of it all, the honest, suffering at the hands of concocted truth. Every controversy on the tv, or rather every scam or corruption scandal seem to be made for titillation of our conscience, all the eloquent talk and the blame game appears a big charade in the rigmarole being weaved by the media. Does the media really see to the end of a controversy or does it just react to it, to gather TRPs.

Like the Mahabharata scene at the end of the movie, sometimes it only appears only the righteous who are ready to fight the dirty game, can probably absolve as of the problem. We no longer live in the times of Gandhi, were peace or non violence could make the polity go through a change of heart.

I just pray and hope we don't reach a point were we say  'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro'.