Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala

Title: Wave
Author: Sonali Deraniyagala
Genre: Memoir
My Rating: 5 Stars
Summary review: An intensely painful book about losing an entire family to a natural calamity and learning to survive without them.

When I got married in the summer of 2005, Sri Lanka was the destination I picked for my honeymoon. After hearing so much about the beauty of the tiny teardrop shaped country not too far from the southern part of India where I lived, I wanted to spend my first vacation with my life partner there. However, there was a small hiccup in my travel planning. The beautiful beach resorts that I had wanted to visit in the southern part of the country were closed – “affected” by the tsunami, the huge tidal wave that had flung itself on an unsuspecting population early one Sunday morning (December 26, 2004). 

And that’s what the tsunami was to me – a geographical phenomenon (a huge tidal wave), a tragic event (a quarter of a million deaths), a minor inconvenience (I really wanted to go to the Galle beach) and a topic of discussion when we were actually in the country.

 It’s crazy how the true impact of that tsunami hit me, not when I was travelling in Sri Lanka 7 months after the tragic event, but 8 years later when I was sitting in front my computer in Atlanta, GA reading an excerpt from ‘Wave’ by Sonali Deraniyagala on NPR’s first reads section, tears streaming down my face. Sonali Deraniyagala lost her parents, husband and her two sons in that tsunami when they were all vacationing on the beach in southern Sri Lanka. And this book is her story.

It has taken her 8 years to come to terms with the tragedy and actually write not only about the tragic day, but also about living with her unimaginable loss. 

At first glance, “wave” deceives you. It is a smaller-than-average sized book with a very simple cover art and an even simpler title. You don’t have to read more than the first 5 pages to realize that this book nothing like the ones you’ve read before. Sonali Deraniyagala is blunt in her writing. She doesn’t sugar coat the impact of the tragedy or the intensity of her feelings. There’s no flowery language to distract you from the pain. And rightly so.

Well, if she writes 8 years after the actual incident then this must be a story of success, right? A story of surviving adversity and overcoming the pain that is associated with the loss. At least, that’s what the naïve me thought when I started the book. I was curious to see how she’s dealt with the pain and how she’d moved on. Oh! I really was naïve. What I learnt at the end of the book is the lesson so strong that I wouldn’t forget it for the rest of my life. It is a lesson on living in the present and enjoying what I have because there might be no tomorrow… or worse, there might be a tomorrow that is not what I expect it to be at all! 

As I sit here trying to write my views on this book, I feel strangely tight lipped. It feels as though a friend has opened her very painful world to me; as though the book was a very private moment between her and me. And all that I want to do is walk up to her and give her a tight hug and thank her for sharing so private a life with me. With everyone. So we can learn.

I cannot recommend a book more strongly than I recommend this one. 

 

The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society

Title - The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking society
Author - Darien Gee
Genre - Fiction
My rating - I'd give it somewhere between 3 and 4 stars
 Audience - Someone looking for a light, fun read about a group of women with a common passion, who find much more than just scrapbooking in their society.

Synopsis:

Welcome to Avalon, Illinois, Pop. 4,243
At Madeline’s Tea Salon, the cozy hub of the Avalon community, local residents scrapbook their memories and make new ones. But across town, other Avalonians are struggling to free themselves of the past: Isabel Kidd is fixing up her ramshackle house while sorting through the complications of her late husband’s affair. Ava Catalina is mourning the love of her life and helping her young son grow up without his father. Local plumber Yvonne Tate is smart, beautiful, and new to Avalon, but finds that despite a decade of living life on her own terms, the past has a way of catching up—no matter where she goes. And Frances Latham, mother to a boisterous brood of boys, eagerly anticipates the arrival of a little girl from China—unprepared for the emotional roller coaster of foreign adoption.
Enter Bettie Shelton, the irascible founder of the Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society. Under Bettie’s guidance, even the most reluctant of Avalon’s residents come to terms with their past and make bold decisions about their future. But when the group receives unexpected news about their steadfast leader, they must pull together to create something truly memorable.

Review

For anyone glancing at this blog, it is pretty obvious that I have been in a deep reading slump for the past few months years! It’s not like I haven’t made an attempt to read but nothing seemed to hold my interest all the way to the end! When I got an email from Ballantine books about reviewing “The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Socieity” (ALSS), I was going to turn it down the way I do most times now. But I happened to read through the synopsis and something told me that this might be a light and quick read – something that might be interesting enough to hold my attention the entire time. I am so glad I agreed to read and review this book because it was exactly what I wanted it to be. 

First and foremost, I love the concept of scrapbooking. If I was a stay at home mom, I’m guessing one hobby that I would have definitely pursued is scrapbooking. I am a big fan of the concept of preserving memories and scrapbooking combines that with creativity and art (another big passion of mine). There’s so much scope to do more than just save pictures. This was one of the primary reasons this book caught my eye. And I wasn’t disappointed. The entire book revolved around scrapbooking. Old women were scrapbooking memories, widowers were scrapbooking recipes, mothers were scrapbooking incidents, etc etc.. So much fun!

Secondly, the book was well written. The language was fun and easy. The characters were well developed and likeable. The incidents were realistic. It was a good book that kept you reading all the way from the beginning to the end! And the best part? Everything ties in beautifully together at the end and it is all one big happy community! Perfect:)

And as an added bonus, the back of the book has some scrapbooking tips and some recipes for your craft related parties! 

But all said and done, the book had a few negatives too.

The story formula was a little predictable. I have read the Friday night knitting club, the Guernsey literary and potato peel pie society, the school of essential ingredients, the jane austen book club, and many many more where a group of people (mostly women) get together to pursue a passion (cooking, reading, knitting, etc) and end up getting so much more support from the group. The main theme of this book is pretty similar. A bunch of women in a small town get together to pursue their passion of scrapbooking and end up supporting each other and making lasting friendships . 

And I felt that the book had way too many characters. So many people were introduced in the first 100 pages. Interesting little personal histories accompanied the introductions. And somehow a lot of them dropped off the radar or were not as significant as I thought they would be throughout the book. A few of those were developed well to become central characters in the book but I found myself going back to read up on them quickly because I was confused. 

Apart from those minor negatives, I have to say it was a good book. If you are looking for a light, fun read, this one is definitely for you.

The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay

Title - The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay
Author - Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi
Genre - Fiction
My rating - Between 3.5 and 4 Stars, I guess
Audience - Definitely not for young adults. A lot of sexual references, descriptions and language that's almost cringe-worthy at times.

Synopsis

When photographer Karan Seth comes to Bombay intent on immortalizing a city charged by celebrity and sensation, he is instantly drawn in by its allure and cruelty. Along the way, he discovers unlikely allies: Samar , an eccentric pianist; Zaira, the reclusive queen of Bollywood; and Rhea, a married woman who seduces Karan into a tender but twisted affair. But when an unexpected tragedy strikes, the four lives are irreparably torn apart. Flung into a Fitzgeraldian world of sex, crime and collusion, Karan learns that what the heart sees the mind’s eye may never behold. This razor sharp chronicle of four friends caught in modern India ’s tidal wave of uneven prosperity and political failure is also a profoundly moving meditation on love’s betrayal and the redemptive powers of friendship.

 Review

When I started the book, I had heard both strongly positive and strongly negative comments about the book so I knew my feelings for it could go either way. What I didn’t expect was to be torn down the middle! One glaring negative about the book is that the storyline is re-used. The main story of the book is based on a very notorious, highly publicized murder trial that happened in India in the late 1990s – the Jessica Lal murder case. Jessica Lal, a celebrity model, was shot dead in a bar by a well-connected Manu Sharma. A court trial ensued and he was acquitted due to lack of proper evidence while it was common knowledge that his politician father had a hand in reversal of testimonials of various witnesses. Eventually, the case was brought to the court again and this time, the judgement was overturned and Manu Sharma was found guilty.

 Siddharth Shanghvi’s book is based on this murder trial. In the book, however, there is no re-trial and the characters are left to deal with the injustice. Even though it was a known story, Siddharth’s writing was captivating enough to keep you glued to the book. He spends the first part of the book developing the 4 main characters and delving in to the intricacies of their interactions with each other. The remainder of the book follows the murder and how the incident changes their lives forever. I loved the fact that he gave the characters so much definition that they felt real. I started feeling like I knew the characters and I could almost predict their reactions to situations.

Throughout the book, I was torn between loving and hating the writing. At some parts, the writing comes across as pretentious and it feels like he’s trying too hard. Some unnecessary metaphors seem forced; the language seems crude; the constant references to all things sexual seem tiring; the writing, unpolished. And then suddenly, when you least expect it, you’re swept away by beautiful poetic writing and very insightful passages! I almost started enjoying the unpredictability of the writing. A point to The biggest character in the book, however, was not human. It was Bombay – a city as unpredictable as the author’s writing. Siddharth was raised “by” the city (as he’d like to say) and he writes as an insider. Not as someone watching the city, but as someone living the city. And that familiarity is endearing.

I would have to accept that, overall, I really enjoyed the book. I couldn’t put it down! I had mixed feelings throughout the book but I was sad to see the book end. I was sad to move on. And in my experience, that can only mean one thing – it was a good book!

 I also live tweeted as I read this book. My twitter handle is @ramyasbookshelf. Follow me as i live tweet books i read.

The Good Daughter by Jasmin Darznik

Title: The Good Daughter – A memoir of my mother’s hidden life

Author: Jasmin Darznik
Genre: Memoir
My Rating: 4 Stars

After her father’s death, Jasmin Darznik comes across an old photograph – it is a wedding day picture of her mom, Lili. But, with shock, Jasmin realizes that this picture is very different from the one that she’s seen hanging in the various houses she’s been in. For one, Lili is much younger and secondly, the man in the picture – not her dad!

Jasmin had not realized that her mom had a history that she was not aware of. And when she initially questioned her mom – all that she got in response was silence.

Later, however, Lili sent her a series of audio tapes in which she describes her childhood in Iran, her first wedding and her life before she immigrated to America. Darznik has transformed the story in those tapes in to a fabulous book – The Good Daughter.

Having an Iranian friend and listening to tidbits of her life in Iran before the Islamic Revolution made me thirsty to read more and gain more knowledge about Iran and its culture. I read a few Iranian-American memoirs like Funny in Farsi by Firozeh Dumas and Lipstick Jihad by Azadeh Moaveni. But, “The Good Daughter” stands out amidst other Iranian-American memoirs. For one, it is much richer in the details of life in Iran before and during the revolution. And while the others that I have read focus on dealing with being Iranian in America, Jasmin’s book focuses entirely on her mother’s life and life in Iran and her struggles of fitting in after moving to America.

The Iranian customs, traditions and lifestyles are woven seamlessly in to the story and without really realizing it, you get a complete Iran 101! Lili’s history is so interesting that the book almost feels like a fiction novel. I had to stop and remind myself that this was a true life story and that Lili was an actual person!

One thing that I expected from this book even before I started reading it was good writing. Jasmin is a professor of English and Creative Writing at Washington and Lee University and I knew that her novel had to been well written. I was not disappointed. The Good Daughter is very well written and a joy to read!

The only issue that I had with the book was the title and it’s relation to the book. The title “The Good Daughter” refers to the daughter that Lili left behind in Iran; her daughter from her first marriage; the daughter she was forced to abandon. Being the title character, I expected to read a lot more about Sara and Jasmin’s relationship with her. But that was not the case. Sara was a part of the book, but only a small part and I didn’t think she was “title-worthy”. That’s just my opinion.

And of course, I would have loved to see pictures – at least the photo of Lili’s first wedding; the discovery of which made this book possible.

But apart from that, all other aspects of this book are so fantastic that it definitely makes a wonderful read. After the beginning of each chapter, Jasmin includes a line or two from Lili’s tapes. Those lines were my favorite part of the book. Reading those lines, in Lili’s own words, made her more real to me.

I would definitely recommend this book. I totally enjoyed reading this book and I am sure everyone else will as well!

A Palace in the old village - Tahar Ben Jelloun

Title – A palace in the old village


Author – Tahar Ben Jelloun
Translator – Linda Coverdale
ISBN - 9780143118473
Pages – 192
Rating - 4 Stars

Tahar Ben Jelloun is considered “Morocco’s greatest living author”. Although his first language is Arabic, all his literary works are in French. This particular book of his is his latest and I read the translated version. “A palace in the old village” is the story of Mohammed. He is an immigrant in France. He has lived and worked in France for almost 40 years but never considers it home. Home, for him, will always be the village that he grew up in. However, as expected, this is not the case with his children. They consider France home and do not share their dad’s fascination for the old village in Morocco.

After leading a rather monotonous 40 odd years in France, Mohammad suddenly has to face his biggest fear – retirement. Work in the automobile factory has been the only constant thing in his life. He hardly speaks to his wife and barely understands his children, their modern views and their irritation with his old-world values. Retirement, according to him, is almost synonymous with death. It is the point where life stops.

However, to win the battle against his retirement, Mohammed decides to focus on a goal – building a house in the old village and settling there with his entire family. He moves back to Morocco and, almost obsessively, starts construction on what will be the biggest and most opulent house in the village. And once the construction of the house is over, he begins to wait – wait for the day when all his children will return to the village to live in the palace he has built for them.

The penguin website describes the book as follows:

A Palace in the Old Village is not a Zolaesque exposé of the failings of French society. Rather, it is an intimate and affecting portrait of an immigrant facing retirement and the concomitant problems of identity it brings with it.

I definitely couldn’t describe it better.

For me, the book is divided in to two sections. The first section covers approximately the first eight chapters that takes place in a single evening. Mohammed sits down to pray and through his thoughts we learn everything about his life until now and his views on religion, work, family, etc. The second part is the rest of the book – which suddenly becomes very fast paced. This is the part where Mohammad decides to do something about his retirement and moves back to Morocco. Chronology is the not the only factor separating the two sections. Retirement brings about a change in Mohammed as well and it almost feels like you are reading about two different people in the two different sections. The Mohammed before retirement is a confident and his thought process is clear. He is a devout Muslim and faith plays a big role in his life. He has made the trip to Mecca and follows the teachings of his religion. But, at the same time, his views are “moderate”. He criticizes the views of jihadist imams. He feels secure in his role as the provider for the family. He doesn’t interact too much with his children and though he knows that they don’t understand him and his values, this doesn’t perturb him.

However, with the arrival of his retirement, there is a sea change in Mohammed’s character. Without the security of his job, he suddenly begins to realize, and fret about, his relationship with his children. He sees that they have becomes citizens of France, while he hasn’t. and of course, they have no ties to his native land. The clarity in this thoughts and ideas begins to blur. His life, reflecting his thought process, becomes haphazard. His blindly convinces himself that building a house in his village is the magical solution to all his problems. His goal blinds him to everything going on around him. He doesn’t see that the villagers don’t accept him as one of them. He is an outsider to them – a wealthy tourist. He doesn’t realize that his children would never leave their lives and come to live with him in Morocco. And while it is clear to everyone around him (and to the reader) that his is only preparing for disappointment and failure, he refuses to acknowledge this.

The book is very well written (as expected by an author nominated for the Nobel Prize!). It appears to be a very quick read with just a 192 pages of very simple writing but only when you start reading it do you realize the depth of the book. You are drawn to Mohammed. You understand him, feel sorry for him and wish he’d see what everyone else around him is seeing..

I enjoyed reading this book. This is not a usual ‘me’ kinda book. I prefer the fast paced ones that you just can’t put down. But I liked reading this one and I’d definitely like to read more of Tahar Ben Jelloun’s books. I only wish I knew French well enough to read the original and not the translations..

Review: The Guide

Title - The Guide
Author - R. K. Narayan
Genre - Fiction
My Rating -5 Stars

R. K. Narayan is one of India’s beloved writers. He is one of the He wrote a series of novels and short stories about people in a fictitious town called Malgudi. The descriptions of the place and the characters are so real that it is hard to believe that a place called Malgudi never existed and the characters are just figments of imagination. Though I have read short stories written by him, The Guide was the first novel that I actually managed to get my hands on.


If you are not new to this blog, you’ll know that my favorite author is Salman Rushdie. I love his style of writing and I don’t minds spending days poring over the pages of his books and flipping back and forth to re-read what I just read, etc.
And I have to admit, I enjoyed reading R. K. Narayan almost as much as I enjoyed Rushdie. They are almost completely opposite in their styles of writing and I would never have thought I would enjoy both to almost the same extent.

The first thing that I found interesting about the book was the way Narayan delved right in to the life of Raju – the protagonist. I expected a few pages (or at least a few paragraphs) setting the stage for the book.
Narayan’s style of writing took me by complete surprise. There were no flowery descriptions, no superfluous words, no pretentious texts. The writing was simple and concise. And yet, somehow, you get everything you need to know about the people and the place! It is totally amazing! I have read books which are hundreds of pages long and finished them feeling like I didn’t know the characters well enough. But with The Guide, I was hardly three chapters in to the book and I already knew Raju!

The book revolves around Raju. In alternate chapters we see Raju in his present avatar – a spiritual guru and in the other chapters, we see the previous avatar – that of a tourist guide. The present story and the past story are slowly developed and finally merge in the final few pages of the book. There are very few main characters but they are all very well developed. Telling you anything more about the book will only take the fun out of the reading.. I enjoyed reading the book when I started out knowing nothing about it and I want you to have the same experience. I didn't like the cover art initially, but after reading the book, I appreciated the nuances in the depiction more.

And a review any longer threatens to be longer than the book itself;) obviously, I am no R. K. Narayan when it comes to brevity of writing..

Review: Unaccustomed Earth

Title: Unaccustomed Earth
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
My Rating: 4 Stars
Short Review: An interesting collection of short stories dealing with multicultural lives.

I read "The Interpreter of maladies" about 5 years ago and loved it. Then, I read Namesake, and though I found the theme repetitive, I still enjoyed the book. I hesitated before picking up The Unaccustomed Earth because I knew that Lahiri had again revisited the same theme - multicultural lives. Fresh-off-the-boat Indian parents, second generation kids that are caught between the values of the culture they are living in and values of the culture that their parents expect them to follow. How many different stories can you churn with the same theme?
Apparently, many! I was surprised when I picked up the book and realized that I was actually enjoying the book even though I had expected to find it repetitive. Lahiri manages to keep the stories interesting and the characters unique.
I usually prefer full length novels to short stories. Even before I understand the characters and get in to the feel, short stories are usually over and leave me feeling like something's lacking. But Lahiri somehow manages to keep the stories short and yet convey every little information that I require to "get into" the story.
At the end of the story, it feels like I've read a novel. I know the characters, I understand them well, I don't find the story incomplete.. I still yearn to read more about them but that happens with any good book, right? You don't want it to end.
The Unaccustomed Earth is a relatively quick read. The stories are longer than usual short stories but the language  flows beautifully and you are done with the book much before you actually want it to end.
I give it only 4 stars because I find the themes recurring. I wish Lahiri would explore new arenas. She is an amazing writer and I keep hoping she'd get out of her niche and experiment with a different subject.
What did you think of the Unaccustomed Earth?

Review: Moloka'i

Title: Moloka'i
Author: Alan Brennert
Genre: Fiction
My rating: 4.5 Stars
Description: A novel revolving around the fictitious life of Rachel Kalama who is "banished" to the leprosy settlement in the island of Molokai when she was 7 years old. 

On the island of Molokai in the Hawaiian archipelago is a little village called Kalaupapa. The first thought that comes to mind while thinking of a village in Hawaii is beauty. However, Kalaupapa is associated with a very "ugly" history. In the late 1800s, Hawaiians who had/were suspected of having lepsory were immediately isolated and kept in quarantine. If medical tests came back positive, the victims were immediately shipped away to Kalaupapa, which can been aptly described as "a prison fortified by nature". There was no escape from this settlement.Luckily, the colony soon attacted caretakers who were ready to take care of the patients in spite of the widespread belief that leprosy was a highly contagious disease.

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert is set in the village of Kalaupapa. 7 year old Rachel Kalama is diagnosed with the disease and is "banished" to the leprosy settlement.In this place where lives are supposed to end, Rachel's just begins. She leads as normal as life as possible in the village surrounded by victims in various stages of decline. Death is a common phenomenon and life is not taken for granted here. But amidst all the sickness and death, Rachel sees that the victims still live life to the fullest. She, like most others on the island, develops strong friendships, supports other in times of need, falls in love, indulges in favorite activities, and in general stays happy!

Molokai is an amazing book. It is really well written. I sobbed my way through the first part of the book - the cruel action of separating an innocent girl from her family was heart wrenching, the condition of the people on Molokai was appaling and I felt that things could only go downhill when Rachel was sent to Molokai. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was wrong. There was so much more to the place than just disease and death. Rachel grows up amidst people who love her.

The books ends in 1970 with the death of Rachel Kalama - but on a positive note. By this time, antibiotics have been developed to battle the bacteria and patients are no longer quarantined and sent to Kalaupapa.

I would definitely recommend this book. Even though this is a fiction, it is a well researched book and the facts about the leprosy settlement are accurate.

Have you already read this book? what are your thoughts? Did you like it as much as I did?

Review: Harry Potter

Title – Harry Potter – The Complete Collection (7 Books)
Author – J.K. Rowling
Genre – Fantasy

Well, this is not so much a review as a documentation of the fact that I have FINALLY gotten around to reading this much acclaimed set of books. I don't think anybody would need a introduction to the series.

I remember being a HP fanatic several years ago when the first few books came out. I read the first book as soon as it came out, loved it, couldn’t wait for the second book. When the second book came out, I re-read the first book (to get in to the HP mood all over again) and then read the second book. By the time the third book came out, I was beginning to lose interest in the series (more because of the wait involved between books than because of the actual content of the books). I wouldn’t have read the book if a dear friend had not convinced me to read it before dragging me to the theatre to watch the movie! And the rest of the books, I just didn’t read them! The world around raved and ranted about the books. Even those that weren’t too much in to books seemed to have read HP (or at least claimed to have done so!). I knew I’d eventually read them all. I wanted to wait until all the books in the series came out so I could read them all at once and not have to wait for a year or more to figure out what was going to happen next.

And finally, more than a decade after the first book came out, I accomplished what I wanted to. My husband gifted me the complete Harry Potter boxed set on my birthday last year ..:) And what better way to begin the New Years than this?? I started reading the books and just couldn’t put them down. I’d finish one book and pick the next one and continued reading it like one big giant HP book. Having a 9 month old to take care of, didn’t allow me to indulge in ways that I would have done earlier. My reading times were restricted to when I was either commuting or the precious minutes that I managed to sneak in before I slipped in to an unconscious state that only sleep deprived ones can achieve.. But I have no regrets. Reading the 7 books at a stretch (all 4,100 pages of it) was a very memorable experience.

What are your thoughts on the series?

Review: Luka and the Fire of Life

Title: Luka and the Fire of Life
Author: Salman Rushdie
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Knopf Canada
ISBN: 978-0-676-97756-1
Pages: 240
Short Reviews: Rushdie proves that he is a master storyteller in this charming little tale meant for a young audience.

I walked in to Barnes and Noble on Black Friday to pick up some holiday gifts for family. The first thing I saw after entering the store, on the "Latest Arrivals" rack, was a bright blue book written by Salman Rushdie. It immediately went in to my shopping bag and I started my holiday purchases with a gift for myself;) You know I can never resist a Rushdie!

Luka and the Fire of Life is almost like a sequel to Haroun and the Sea of Stories. They are both meant for a younger audience. I am yet to read Haroun and the Sea of Stories so I can't really compare the two books. I guess that is also a reason why I found Luka and the Fire of Life interesting and fresh.. Maybe if I had read Haroun, I wouldn't find the idea of this book very novel.

Rushdie brings a modern twist to the tale by making Luka's adventure a sort of a video game journey with many lives and different levels.

The alternate world that Rushdie creates demonstrates once again his power as a story teller. He has a vivid imagination and has the wonderful ability to put all this thoughts down in words - perfect words that help recreate the world in the minds of the readers. Though meant for a younger audience, there's so much in the book for adults as well - the wonderful word play that is a delightful part of all his works and an "almost-overdose" of mythological characters that demonstrates rushdie's strong hold in history makes up for a redundant storyline of a boy entering a magical world to save his father who created the world in his imagination..

I am a sucker for Rushdie books and so my review would definitely be biased. I don't think I could ever get myself to dislike a Rushdie novel - I am sure I'll read it over and over again until I find things in it that I like:) So don't trust me 100% when I say this is a very enjoyable book. I have read reviews that don't echo this emotion but I would leave it to you to read and decide what you feel about it. Unlike a few of his other works this is a very simple and quick read and you'd breeze through it in no time!

Review: The Writing on My Forehead

Book: The Writing on My Forehead
Author: Nafisa Haji
Genre: Fiction
My Rating - 3.5/5
Short Review - Interesting story line. Could have been written better.

After reading rave reviews for this book around the blogosphere, I had high hopes for this book when I picked it up and I wasn’t disappointed. I expected a lot more but I was satisfied with what I got.

Nafisa Haji takes us down a well travelled path – cultural differences between immigrant parents and their American born children. The plot of the book, The Writing on My Forehead, is nothing new. It revolves around Saira Qadar – a Muslim American of Indo-Pakistani descent. She’s the younger daughter in a strict muslim family where adherence to culture and tradition is given the highest priority. As expected, Saira’s the rebel – the complete opposite of her well behaved obedient older sister who does everything according to her parents. She breaks the rules of the house and puts her ambitions and dreams higher up on the priority list than tradition and culture. We’ve seen the cultural confusion that second generation kids go through. Bend it like Beckham, The Namesake and many other books and movies have explored this scenario and pretty much presented all that there is to it already. I found it clichéd that Saira was a rebel, had an obedient older sister, had a cousin who was gay and had parents that refused to see beyond the cultural curtain they had firmly drawn.

However, in spite of having such a predictable plot, Nafisa Haji manages to keep the book interesting and entertaining. The characters, for the most part, were well defined. Here again, I sometimes felt that the female characters were strong and well drawn whereas the male characters (Saira’s dad, her uncle, her brother in law, etc) somehow fell a little flat. While there were enough characters to demonstrate the close knit nature of the inner and outer circles of indo-pak families, there weren’t too many to confuse the readers. I’ve read some reviews of this book where the reviewer felt that there were too many characters in the book. I somehow feel that without introducing so many characters, it would have been tough for Haji to demonstrate the social circles of Indo-Pak families.

And as the book progresses, the concentration somehow shifts from the issues of a confused child of immigrants to deeper matters such as understanding and respecting the choice your parents make in their lives. Saira’s grandparents, now dead, and her Big Nanima (grandma’s older sister) play a major role in the book. The book slowly moves away from being dealing with Saira’s cultural struggles and reveals the issues that her mom and dad had with their fathers. I loved the fact that Nafisa Haji moves the book in this direction. And I also liked the fact that Saira is portrayed as a complex personality. She is a rebel but she also recognizes the importance of family ties.

The book picks up pace and almost becomes too rushed towards the end. I felt that some of the characters just fizzled out towards the end and some of them just disappeared.

But I guess we would have to keep in mind that this was Nafisa Haji’s debut novel. I would definitely be interested in reading more books by her. I felt that this story was gripping and there was an element of suspense that’s maintained throughout the novel. There were a few negatives but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the book. I would definitely recommend it especially to those interested in cross cultural fiction.

Review: The Sharper the knife, the less you cry

Book: The Sharper the Knife, the less you cry.
Author: Kathleen Flinn
Genre: Memoir/Cooking
My Rating: 3.5 stars
Short Review: Interesting and easy flowing. A quick read.

When Kathleen Flinn was laid off from her corporate job - she did something that she thought would just remain a dream. She moved to Paris to study at Le Cordon Bleu. Cooking was her passion ever since she was a kid  and her sister's love for all things French was addictive as well, I guess. The combination - Le Cordon Bleu! Nothing less.

Before she realized what was happening, Kathleen and her then boyfriend, Mike, moved to Paris and she enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu. The book describes (in detail) the two years that she spent in Paris. It is mainly about the school and what she learnt there but it is also sprinkled a little romance, a little humor and tons of tried and tested recipes!

"The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry" is an interesting story. It flows easily and Flinn manages to keep you entertained and engrossed throughout the book. It provides an interesting insight into the activities of the students. The language is simple. But I must mention that sometimes, it just feels like you are reading someone's journal. I would have prefered it to be more of a story- not just a description of day to day activities.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading the book and it was a good book to read after a long break. I don't think anything deeper could have held my attention.

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts?

Review: Valeria's Last Stand

Book: Valeria’s Last Stand


Author: Marc Fitten

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

My short review: A light and mildly entertaining read set in a fictional village in Hungary.

Marc Fitten’s ‘Valeria’s Last Stand’ is a geriatric fairy tale. Yes, you heard me right. Cupid strikes and hormones rage amongst the elderly population in an all-but-forgotten Hungarian village. In a typical rustic folk-lore fashion, the men are referred to by their professions. We have the potter at the center of the tale. A relatively silent widower who is used to minding his own business but manages to stay favorable in the villagers eyes thanks to his generous wedding gifts. The potter is involved with the boisterous owner of the tavern down the street from his workshop – Ibolya. Ibolya’s is the only tavern in the village and is the “hang-out” spot for most of the older men who spend their days there drooling over Ibolya’s raised skirts and open shirt buttons. Ibolya’s plan to maintain an “open relationship” with the potter backfires when an unexpected romance blooms between the potter and the village hag – Valeria.

Valeria was once a beauty – the village belle. But a romance gone bad and a lifetime of loneliness makes her mean, condescending and distrustful of everyone around her. She is the only one to even give the village locksmith his business in an otherwise trusting place. She locks up every door and even every drawer! She is a perfectionist – her house is spic and span and her vegetable garden bears the best vegetables. But since she expects the same degree of perfection from the others as well, her routine visits to the market are a nightmare to other vendors whose produce are not necessarily as perfect. She can spot a rotting vegetable from a mile and would make sure to point it out in her loud mouthed manner. She is universally hated and doesn’t really bother about it until one fine day, in the market, she suddenly and abruptly falls in love with the potter.


She rushes back home to clean up, wears a flowered skirt and a kerchief around her head and pedals away furiously towards the potter’s workshop to woo her man with a can of milk. This is the start of a romance that drives Ibolya mad with jealousy. The potter discovers that Valeria inspires him to create more than just utility pots and pans. Her inspiration makes him an artist!

The romantic triangle breaks the social balance of Zivatar. The villagers helplessly watch as the potter shuttles between Ibolya and Valeria. They are intrigued by Valeria’s distraction with the chimney sweep and even the mayor’s little indiscretion fails to divert their attention.


All this and more happens against the backdrop of Zivatar’s slow transformation. The greedy and ambitious mayor travels all over the world and there’s always talk of investors – there are plans to bring the railroads through Zivatar (the Mayor’s pet project), Korean investors are looking to open a television factory in Zivatar and the market suddenly sees bananas (a fruit new to the inhabitants of Zivatar).

Valeria’s Last Stand is different and entertaining. It will not make you drop everything else that you are doing and it fails to make a deep impression. It is a light read and the antics of the small village are entertaining. The language is simple and the author does a good job of creating a rural Hungarian atmosphere.


If you are looking for something light, this is a good book to consider. I definitely needed something completely different after “The Blue Notebook” and this was a perfect book for me to “recover” with.

Review: Friday Night Knitting Club

Book: Friday Night Knitting Club


Author: Kate Jacobs

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Short Review: A relatively light read with some unexpected turns.

The Friday Night Knitting Club is a story of friendship between some very different women who happen to visit the same yarn store in Manhattan’s upper west side.


When James breaks Georgia Walker’s heart and walks away from her life, she is completely shattered… and pregnant. With the help of close friend and mentor Anita, Georgia slowly builds her life around her daughter - Dakota and her passion – knitting. ‘Walker and Daughter’, the yarn store that she runs with Anita’s and Peri’s help, soon blossoms into a successful business. It attracts a wide range of customers. Some of the regulars start coming together at the same time and soon “The Friday Night Knitting Club” is formed.

There are a lot of characters in the book. Though they are unique people and completely different from each other, it took me a while to get them all in to my head. In the beginning, I had to constantly remind myself who each person was but slowly, I settled in to the rhythm of the book and the characters didn’t seem confusing anymore. I must accept that the characters are well developed. Kate has done a wonderful job of giving each one of the myriad of characters a unique personality and of course their own issues. Each woman is struggling with a different kind of a problem and somehow coming together as a group helps them all.

However, it is not just the regular customers that need support – the strong willed and successful Georgia Walker has issues of her own as well. James is suddenly back in town and wants to be an active part of Dakota’s (and Georgia’s?) life. To make matters worse, Georgia is suddenly forced to come face to face with Cat – a wealthy socialite who was once Georgia’s backstabbing best friend.


Unlikely friendships are formed in the club and the women support each other more than they expect. The Friday Night Knitting Club is more than just a collection of women with a single interest. It is a potpourri of cultures and relationship issues.


Though I enjoyed the book, I personally thought that it had so much more potential. Kate brings up so many cultural and relationship issues but lets them all fizzle out without giving it any definite shape. It was definitely a light and easy book to read and some unexpected turns do bring tears to your eyes but I kept feeling that she could have done so much more with the book!


Have you read this book? I am sure most of you must have already read it. There was a time in the middle when every blogger I knew was reading and raving about the Friday Night Knitting Club. I finally managed to get hold of a copy.

Anyways, do let me know what you thought of the book! And if you haven’t read it, you should give it a shot. Even if you are not a knitter.. yes! Don’t let the title and the front cover let you think this one is one only for the knitters!

Review: The Blue Notebook

Book: The Blue Notebook


Author: James Levine

My Rating: 4 Stars

My Review: A painful and disturbing book about child prostitution in India. Graphic descriptions and disturbing subject matter. Recommended only for adults.

I thought reading Lolita was hard. Reading about child predators and they way their mind worked scared me and it definitely wasn’t an enjoyable experience. Compared to the Blue Notebook, Lolita was a chick-lit!

The Blue Notebook is about Child Prostitution. James Levine, the author of the book is a doctor with the Mayo Clinic. As part of his work for the Clinic, he interviewed children in “The Street of Cages” – a famous prostitution street in Mumbai, India. While interviewing the kids, he was intrigued by a girl who sat outside her “cage” writing in a notebook. An in depth interview with the girl formed the basis of this novel.

Before I describe the book or my views of it, I have to mention that this book is only for adults. The descriptions are graphic and the subject matter is depressing (to say the least).

Batuk Ramsdeen was living with her family in a small village in Central India. When she was 9 years old, her father takes her Mumbai. Batuk is never warned about what she is getting in to. Her father takes her to meet someone and even before she realizes it, he leaves her never to return. And at that point, Batuk’s life changes forever. She is forced into prostitution. Her virginity is sold to the highest bidder; she is raped repeatedly until she breaks her defense; and she is beaten mercilessly by some of the customers. Her “nest” becomes her world. Batuk is an intelligent girl with a sense of imagination and that helps her get through her life. She imagines her “nest” to be a kingdom and her bed “the throne”. She uses euphemisms to describe what she has been forced to do. Even euphemisms cannot hide the sad state of affairs. When she finally gets her hand on a pencil, Batuk starts writing a journal. She writes about herself and her friend who lives in a nest two floors down – Puneet. Puneet is a pretty little boy who is eventually castrated to retain his “feminism” that he might have lost growing up. Batuk’s description of her life is somehow very detached. She writes about incidences, never about her feelings and emotions. I guess that was her way of dealing with her own. She never stopped to think about how she actually felt about the whole thing.

Batuk is not a character that you can identify yourself with. And she is not meant to be. At many parts in the book, she comes across as manipulative and cunning. Her character is in contrast to that of Puneet’s. Puneet is sweet and innocent and manages to retain a bit of the child in him despite everything that happens to him. Batuk on the other hand, is completely aware of her scenario. She is rational and uses almost “too adult” for her age. When she gets philosophical, it is hard to imagine that the words come from a teenager.


I must mention here that I found the ending of the book to be ambiguous. There is no explanation for the chain of events and you are left to form your own conclusions. I have to accept that I actually liked the way it ended. It just seemed very synchronous with the world that Levine was trying to introduce us to.


There is no pretty way to say Batuk’s story. As much as I found this extremely hard to read (I cried and had to put the book down several times because it was too unbearable!), I must accept that James Levine has done a fabulous job. The writing is beautiful. In spite of the heavy subject matter, Levine’s writing helps you get through the book easily. It is not distracting and lets you immerse yourself in a world that you wish didn’t exist.


I would definitely recommend this book. It is most definitely not an enjoyable read but it’ll definitely help you become more “aware” and I can assure you, you’ll be a changed person when you are done with this book.

Review: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

Book: The Boy who Harnessed the Wind


Author: William Kamkwamba with Bryan Mealer

Genre: Memoir

My Rating: 5 Stars

My Short Review: An amazing and very inspiring book about a boy who built his own wind mill! A must read for everyone – not just book lovers!

What severe drought conditions struck Malawi, 14 year old William Kamkwamba was forced to drop out of school because his father didn’t have enough money to pay his school fees. William helped his father in the Maize field. But farming is not a year round work and there were periods when there was nothing that he had to do. Instead of whiling away time like other school drop-outs, William went to the library to learn what he was missing out in school. William was always curious about science and was already taking radios and cycle dynamos apart to figure out their working by this time.

From the library books, he came across electricity concepts. He learnt how the mysterious dynamo in the cycles worked to light the bulb. Concepts that baffled engineers seemed simple to this high school drop out.

In Masitala, a small village in Malawi, there was no one that William could turn to help or advice. Better still, there was no one to tell him that 14 year old boys didn’t go around building windmills. So that is exactly what he did.

William was perturbed about the fact that there was no electricity in most houses in his village. It cost a lot to get a power line to supply electricity to your place and even then, the constant power cuts made the expense worthless. He saw pictures of windmills and read about how they were used to harness the wind energy and produce electricity. If there one thing that his village wasn’t lacking, it was wind. William scoured the local scrap yard for discarded stuff – motors, wires, nuts, bolts, etc and two months later, he had his very own working windmill! I am definitely not kidding! A 14 year old boy in the middle of nowhere in Africa built his own windmill just by reading about it in books and using scrap that he found around him! That is pure genius!!
Luckily, the genius was discovered and we now have a chance to get to know this super-brain! Thanks to all the aid he’s been getting, William went back to school to complete his education and is now working towards like life easier for his family and friends in Malawi.

“The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” is William’s story in his own words. The first half of the book describes the simple lifestyle of William and his family in rural Malawi – a land filled with poverty as much as it is filled with superstitions and blind beliefs. William describes the pitiful conditions caused by the famine and some of the descriptions brought tears to my eyes. Then he goes on to describe what he learnt and how he built the wind mill. William talks about AC/DC/Transformers/Voltage, etc like he was talking about chicken and maize plants! These complicated terms did not baffle him one bit! I remember all those sleepless nights I spent during my engineering days cursing my decision to learn stuff that didn’t seem relevant to me at all! All that I needed was electricity. Why did I have to care about how I got it? Reading this book has given me a new perspective. It has made me see my knowledge and education in a new light!

 

“The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” is one of the most inspiring books I have ever read. The achievements of William Kamkwamba are not small. He deserves all the recognition he’s getting and even more!

Willaim’s bok “The Boy who Harnessed the Wind” co-written with Bryan Mealer is coming out on September 29. I think you should pre-order this book right now and read it definitely!

 

You can read more about William in his blog here.

 

Review: The Street of a Thousand Blossoms

Set against the backdrop of World War II, Gail Tsukiyama’s “Street of Thousand Blossoms” delves deep into the lives of two brothers – Hiroshi and Kenji, who live in Tokyo.

Hiroshi and Kenji’s lives were touched by separation and sorrow even before the World War started. They lost their parents in a boating accident when they were very young and were now living with their old but loving grandparents. They have happy and content childhoods with dreams and aspirations. Hiroshi, always the protector of the family, aspires to become a successful sumo wrestler and his dedication and skill catches the eye of the most prestigious trainer - Tanaka. The shy and silent Kenji is fascinated by the masks he sees in a shop window and gravitates towards the art of mask making and Akira Yoshiwara, a famous mask maker for the Noh Theater. Kenji starts working for Akira as his apprentice in his mask shop. Unexpectedly, World War II interrupts their near-perfect lives and for the next few years, all that the boys and their grandparents can think of is surviving with what little they manage to have.


At the end of World War II, when Japan struggles to rebuild itself, Hiroshi and Kenji make a heroic attempt to redeem their childhood dreams and actually succeed in their attempt. The book is more than just about their professions, of course. You are drawn into the personal and professional struggles of both brothers and without realizing it, you smile at their joys and successes and cry with them at their losses and failures.


The book is an absolute joy to read. Tsukiyama gives us a good view of Japan’s two prized gems – Sumo Wrestling and the Noh Theater. We learn about the daily rituals and the lives of Sumo wrestlers in Japan. Until I read the book, I didn’t care much for Sumo wrestling. To me, it was just two fat men in their underwear trying to push each other out a teeny tiny circle. But as I read the book, I learnt to appreciate the dedication, the skill and the strength that is associated with Sumo wrestling. I started seeing it for the art it is. I actually started liking Japan’s most loved sport. The Noh masks are at the opposite end of the spectrum. It is a small, intricately carved mask where the face changes expression based on which angle you look at it. Thanks to google I found many videos and articles on both Sumo wrestling and the Noh Theater to satisfy my craving for more knowledge once I was done reading the book.

Both Hiroshi and Kenji are endearing and lovable in their own ways and the love and respect they have for each other is enviable. I enjoyed the way Tsukiyama seamlessly weaved the world war II and its after effects into the lives of Hiroshi and Kenji while describing their professional and personal lives completely.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I would definitely recommend it to everyone. It is a very enjoyable read and it has only one short coming – it is very addictive. There’s no way you are putting it down until you’ve turned the last page.

Have you already read this book? Did you enjoy it as much as I did??