Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

Since my love for all things make up subsided I have rekindled  love for books and during one of those Book reviews that I ended up watching I landed up on this book. Truth be told what made me buy the book was the cover and the illustrations in the inside covers. Yes I did judge the book by its cover :P. The story of course too appealed but primarily it was bought because of the illustrations. And was I to know that the main character of this book Cather Avery or Cath would be so much like me I would have bought the book on more stronger grounds. 

The story is about Cath who is obsessed about writing Fanfiction on this very popular series (read: Harry Potter) which was awaiting its final instalment. Unlike her twin sister Wren who is more outgoing, loves partying, meeting new people and fraternising in general, Cath on the other hand is the misanthropist. She goes to the extent of not finding the dining hall to avoid striking up conversation of any sort even with her room mate Reagan and instead survives on Protein bars. Then there is the supposed boyfriend of Reagan, Levi who takes a liking for her and who together with Reagan kind of break into her shell. Cath is shown to be this extremely emotional person who would rather take care of her father and sister Wren or write fanfiction (a world in which she is hugely popular) than deal with newness. I felt this character was almost an alter ego to my erstwhile self in college. Who was ill-at-ease with new people, did not know how to make small talk and who rather preferred writing her blog or reading than do anything akin to socialising. I wasn't probably as bad as Cath at this, but I was almost a pariah of sorts. I wore whatever clothes my mom bought me, I cowered under my big glasses and was generally not the mingling kind in anything else other than what required writing or reading. My crushes were so uncannily similar to the kind Cath has. 

So all in all, this book is almost like the story of my life, some part of myself from school (my Harry Potter love) and some part from college (the socially awkward self). I couldn't help but love this book and rate it 5 on 5 on good reads. I think I liked it even better than Fault in our stars.

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

I couldn't have gotten back on track for reading had I not picked this book to read next after what a debacle Choke ended up being. This book is much hyped and talked about considering its movie adaption is already being premiered in many countries and is much well received like the book. In all the reviews that I read through and watched, everybody attributed it to be quiet a tear jerker. And the sadist in me did look forward to shedding a tear or two.

Two hundred pages went by and the downpour was yet to happen, thanks to all the Hindi movies, that kind of insensitise you to all things cancer (read: Anand, Kal Ho Na Ho, Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se etc. etc.). The subject of cancer is a much trite and banal theme in most Hindi movies, ending with the tragic death of the protagonist. I agree I did feel sad when the boyfriend, Augustus Waters, of the protagonist, Hazel Grace's (who is herself a cancer victim)  dies of the same affliction and I did share quiet a copious tears, but it wasn't a book that would stay long enough with me. I have shed equal or more for other books having death in them. Having said that, what resonated for me in the book was the chemistry between the two. The writing is sensitive and even though it is about the plight of cancer patients and how their affliction encumbers their everyday life day in day out it does connect with you. What I liked best about the book, is how a book by the name An Imperial Affliction actually brings the two of them together. Fault in our stars is not aimed at garnering sympathy votes for the cancer victims but instead only offers a peak in to their lives and how they go about trying to be as normal as possible with their suffering.

There is quiet a bit of beautiful writing in the book and I recommend that it be read, not for the hype but for the beauty of the in between. 

Choke - Chuck Palahniuk

I need to make this confession upfront. This book just didn't work for me. I skipped pages, it did not get me hooked even though I read it till the very end. The humour didn't work, the writing style, the story... Nothing worked... There were probably a couple of lines that did kind of resonate with me, but nothing else. The whole sex addiction part did not add much to the script either. I don't feel like even narrating the story, for it frankly only made me dislike it. Even though I liked the movie Fight Club and that is what made me pick this book up, I don't think I will pick any other Palahniuk book up ever again. Probably its the kind of book or humour rather that works for men, but I don't think a girl is ever going to enjoy this genre of writing. This is a weird book. Some of the stuff the author was writing about just made me feel squeamish and on top the story did not make much sense to me, so this goes down into the list of books that I never want to read again. I will give this a pass. 

Jaya - An illustrated retelling of the Mahabharat : Devdutt Pattanaik

What stood out for me when I read this book, was how every character including Krishna is shown to have not been spared the hand of destiny. It shows the duplicity of the human nature, the double standards, the follies and fates governed mostly as a result of past karma. It analyses each character at arms length, giving roots and reasons to their actions. Nobody is shown as perfect. Everybody is dealt the hand of fate due to their past actions or their inability to adhere to dharma. 

The ignorant me, would think that most of us are aware only of the outlines of the Mahabharat. We would all be inclined to believe that the Pandavas were the all ideal and Kauravas at fault. But the book dissects them for the layers they have. How Pandavas would easily fall prey to conceit and adharma till the very end even though they suffered the death of their brothers and sons. It lays emphasis on the fact that people who might appear to be your enemies, might not be so and their actions not necessarily bad. Even your altruistic actions might not be best for the flow of life, even though done with best of intentions. 

The discourse of the Gita, is something one should read again and again to grasp the essence of how life needs to be led. It is lucid and stays with you. It speaks of human attachment to the flesh of our body and the fear of death as a manifestation of it, making way for ego (Ahankar). The aim of human life is to make the soul grow materially, intellectually and emotionally for it is the only thing immortal.  Only humans that can differentiate between the soul and the body, and therefore it should make us better than animals who are governed only by the animal spirit of survival. It propounds the importance of empathy as a necessity to dharma. It talks of measuring scales of right conduct or behaviour and their being no set standard for the same because of us being mere puppets at the hand of destiny. And therefore one should not take pride in our good deeds because it is all a turn of fate and nothing else. 

There is a lot more to the book, and I haven't done justice to it all. But I hope the above does make you want to read the book, for it did make me reflect on my life.

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn

I noticed this book at an oxford book store when out with a couple of friends of mine and what caught my eye was the "Thriller of the Year" by the Observer accolade for it. I was not even aware there was a movie being made of it staring Ben Affleck. On a whim I asked Him to buy it for me, but it he did. :)

So just after Norwegian wood I picked this one since I wanted this reading marathon thing going. And I was pleasantly surprised by how gripping it was. The story is divided into 3 parts, with the first starting out with the disappearance of Nick Dunne's wife Amy Dunne (Elliot) who was once famous for her Amazing Amy books. The story is narrated in turns by Nick and Amy in first person. The first half is the build up of the state of affairs of their married life and what has led to its near about break down and to of course Amy's disappearance. Like any murder/disappearance stories of wives, the prime suspect is the husband and pointing fingers at Nick are also the evidences that the police lands up on. Except that all is not what it appears to be. By the end of first half you do smell fish and the whole brilliance of the plot line unfolds in the second. I don't want to give any spoilers and therefore I am just alluding to what the story might be.

This book is gripping and absolutely unputdownable. I actually read through about 250 pages in one go in trying to know what happens next. JK Rowling's Cuckoo's Calling just pales in front of this. I highly recommend this book, if you are stuck in a log jam of not being able to pick up reading. This will definitely make you want to read more and more.

My only complaint from the book is the ending. I would have wanted a better end to it all. 

Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami

Whilst discussing this book with a friend, who had already read it, I was told it was a very depressing book and apparently suicides had increased in Japan after the release of this book. I was almost half way through when I got to know this, but that in no way deterred me in stopping mid way. I am kind of a sucker for sad books. Humour in books has in very rare occasion appealed to me. Anyway I feel I am very low in the order of evolution of humour in human beings. 

I had bought this book when I was visiting family in February and picked it up only in May after my attempts at reading Mammaries of  Welfare State failed. I had picked it about 5 times already and the maximum I had read was a 100 pages. Not to say it wasn't a good book but I had not gotten my act together of showing patience with a book. 

And after these failed attempts, when I picked up Norwegian Wood it appeared like a breeze. I was turning pages after pages wanting to know the life of Toru Watanabe (the protagonist) and his story of love and loss. The story starts of him being on a flight to Germany, where they are playing the Beatles number 'Norwegian Wood' on the flight which makes him sick in the stomach and reminds him of his past. There in starts his story of his childhood friendship with his best friend Kizuki and his love for Kizuki's girl friend Naoko. Very soon you get to know that Kizuki commits suicide for mysterious reasons and Naoko is left emotionally fragile at her loss. Toru and Naoko stay in touch discussing Kizuki, trying to recover from their mutual loss. But while Toru somehow gets around to it, Naoko is plunged into a abyss and has nervous breakdowns. Toru moves on to a private university where he meets Midori (his classmate), a girl full of life and spirit, very different from Naoko, who even though has suffered loss in her life, has chosen a different way of dealing with it. She is like a breath of fresh air for Toru, who finds himself getting attracted to her and missing her when she is not around. It then becomes something of a time travel, with Toru visiting his love of past, Naoko in Tokyo and his present, Midori. 

There are quiet a few suicides in the book because in Japan apparently suicides are a respectable way to die. And this does make this book sad, as you realise that love could fail you no matter how faithful you are, no matter how ready you are for it. 

I had read Murakami's Kafka on the shore before, but in my opinion it does not come anywhere near to Norwegian Wood. It's a wonderful book, which I think I will re-read it some day in my life again. 

Her (2013)

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson and Amy Adams
Director: Spike Jonze

Her is a story of a lonely man, Theodore Twombly (played by Phoenix), who comes to fall in love with his Operating System (OS) Samantha, voice given by Johansson. Theodore works for a letter writing company where (no prizes for guessing) he writes letters for people who have difficulty expressing feelings. He has increasingly become lonely and fears his impending divorce. One fine day on his way back from work he comes across this newly launched artificially intelligent Operating System that evolves as per the human it is assigned to. The OS who gives herself the name Samantha slowly becomes a confidant to Theodore, giving him company through the days and the OS itself evolving through its human interactions. What strikes you are the conversations that Samantha has about her feelings, her confusions about them as to whether they are unique to her or is it something that she was programmed to feel. As they start to fall in love with each other, Theo feels that he is now prepared to sign his divorce papers and decides to meet his wife for the same. What ensues at the end of the meeting predictably is a fight when he confesses that he is having a relationship with his OS. He starts doubting the realness of his feelings and as a result of which he finds himself distancing from Samantha, who also with the course of time is changing sooner by the day with her interactions with other Operating Systems. Now you may ask where does Amy Adams come in all of this? She plays the role of Theodore's neighbour who has recently separated from her husband and has become friends with an OS that was left behind by him (her husband). Theo finds in her somebody with whom he is able to discuss his relationship with Samantha without the fear of being judged.

Her' is avery unlikely romantic story. Scarlett Johansson is great as Samantha and her voice just seems apt for an OS a man could fall in love with. I loved the movie and the acting, the whole sepia toned screenplay, Joaquin's role as a man bearing his soul out to an OS as he would to a real life girl friend. His doubts, his loneliness, his despair at Samantha's parting. The idea of a human falling in love with an OS somehow becomes less incredulous and more believable after watching this movie.