In the Woods by Tana French

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This is the debut novel by Tana French, an Irish novelist. This is also the first book in her Dublin Murder Squad series.

Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox, two murder detectives in the Dublin Murder Squad, are assigned to investigate the murder of a twelve year old girl. But nobody except Cassie knows that Rob is actually the lone survivor of a missing case that happened in the same woods as the girl's body was found. Rob and his two best friends went missing in the woods twenty two years before and Rob was the only one to come back, but he had no memory of what happened. Rob fears that the two cases are related and it becomes inevitable that he remembers what happened 22 years before.

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

In the Woods is, without any doubt, a gripping novel. But the ending of the novel may disappoint you. Firstly, the real culprit gets off scot-free. Secondly, of the two mysteries in the novel, one remains unsolved. 

In the Woods shows Tana French as a promising novelist. I will definitely read the next book in the series. 3.5 out of 5.

Mrs. FunnyBones by Twinkle Khanna

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Twinkle Khanna, former Bollywood actress and star-wife, publishes her first book which is a compilation of her articles.

There are 26 articles in all, one for each English alphabet. Her writing surely is satirical and funny. She makes humorous observations about anything in life, from kids to karva chauth. There is not much to write in detail about  this book, other than it is what Vogue claims it to be- "Funny and Fashionable". Considering that former actresses usually write books(or bring out cd's) about staying in shape, Mrs. Khanna deserves to be applauded.

In short, this book is funny and will make a good airport-read. 3 out of 5.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

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Best sellers (like this and this) have disappointed me many times before. But this book was popping on my amazon page a lot, finally I ordered this.

The marriage of Nick and Amy are going through difficult times. They, after losing jobs in the recession, have recently moved to Nick's hometown, Missouri, to take care of Nick's dying mother. On the day of their fifth wedding anniversary, Amy disappears. 

The story is said in first person, alternately by Nick and Amy. The first part of the novel gives Nick's account of the initial days after Amy's missing and Amy's diary entries about how they met, fell in love, got married and how their marriage was. The two accounts seem to contradict each other and the reader might get into a dilemma of whom to believe. Now the second part offers you a "twist" in the story and it becomes difficult to put down the book after this.

Gone Girl touches a lot of themes like the invasion of media in life, the effect of a failing economy in a failing marriage and parenting with fame and perfection in the backdrop. However, the central theme of the novel is the psychology of a long term relationship and the deceptions involved therein.

A good read: 3.75 out of 5

Show Business by Shashi Tharoor

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I was very impressed by "The Great Indian Novel" by Shashi Tharoor that I couldn't resist another fiction from him.

The story,  set in the backdrop of Bollywood, is the story of Ashok Banjara, a Star, yes, with a capital S. The story unfolds in a series of flashbacks, with narratives by Ashok Banjara and people close to him. The story of Banjara is heavily influenced by the life of Amitabh Bachchan. From the initials to the near fatal accident in the film set,  the extra-marital affair with the co-star to entry in politics, everything in Banjara's story is inspired by Bachchan's life.

The novel stands out by its narrative structure and the clever satire used by Mr. Tharoor. This postmodern work without doubt establishes the craft the author possesses. I don't know about the politician, but Shashi Tharoor, the writer, is one of my favourites.


I recommend this. 4 out of 5.

Narmadipudava by Sara Thomas

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This is the first time I am reading Sara Thomas.

Narmadipudava is the story of Kanakam, a Tamil Brahmin widow. Widowed at a very young age, Kanakam was living only for her niece, Kanchana. When her niece also leaves her, Kanakam is looking back at her life.

Narmadipudava looks at the life of Tamil Brahmin community, especially the women in an "Agraharam". Women lived a subservient life tied to traditions and things are worse when you are a widow. Widows lived a colorless life away from all the pleasures of  the world. 

It is interesting to see how the shackles of the  tradition loses its grip, over the three generations seen in the novel. Kanakam's aunt, a widow, lived most of her life tied to tradition whereas Kanakam becomes ready to go out, study in college and also go for work, so that her family can survive. But she is still in some way tied to the community, Her niece, on the other hand, is brave enough to break all the shackles and go away to live her own life. In that way, Narmadipudava is a mirror to the evolution of free women, told in the backdrop of an agraharam.

3.5 out of 5.

Barsa by Khadeeja Mumtaaz

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Khadeeja Mumtaaz is a medical doctor by profession. Barsa is her second novel and has won many awards including Kerala Sahitya Academy award.

The book deals with the experiences of Dr. Sabitha in Saudi Arabia. Sabitha has recently converted to Islam after her marriage. She and her husband have reached the holy city of Mecca as doctors on contract. The rest of the book describes Sabitha's experiences in Saudi Arabia as a Muslim woman. Sabitha, whose familiarity with Islam before has only been in a more tolerant society of a Kerala village, is sometimes shocked by the extremely conservative way in which people, especially women, are treated in that country. She sees how the religion is misinterpreted by the more powerful to suit their needs.

Barsa is indeed a well-researched book which talks about a relevant issue. The novelist deserves much praise for treating a much sensitive issue with commendable control and concern.

I recommend it to everyone, 4 out of 5.

Those Pricey Thakur Girls by Anuja Chauhan

Anuja Chauhan had a very successful debut novel. Those Pricey Thakur Girls is her third novel.

The story is about five alphabetically named Thakur sisters, with the fourth of them, Debjani Thakur, being the central protagonist. The novel is set in 80's, the pre-liberalization era. Debjani has just landed a job as a news reader in DD. Soon she meets Dylan, the journalist. Well the rest of the book goes to this "He loves me, he loves me not,..." loop, with dollops of family drama, teenage perplexities,  (facts and fiction about) Sikh riots,etc. thrown in. No prizes for guessing what happens in the end...!!!

After reading the Zoya Factor, I didn't think much before buying this novel. But I may not buy another book by Ms. Chauhan, I may rent it though.

2.5 out of 5.

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Manushyanu oru aamukham by Subhash Chandran

And I am back!!!

This blog has been inactive for a long time now but I sincerely promise I will be regular in the future!

But I am happy that I am coming back with the best book that I have read this year. And that too a malayalam novel.

Subhash Chandran is a young Malayalam writer and Manushyanu oru Aamukham is his first novel. I don't follow modern Malayalam literature very keenly but I can confidently say that this is one of the best Malayalam novels that have come out in recent times.

The novel describes the life of three generations of a family, Ayyattumpilly, as a prelude to the life of the main protagonist, Jithendran. All the characters in the novel are realistic and well-carved. Any of them can be seen in a large joint family in Kerala. Through them, the novelist also describes the changes that happened in the Malayali society over the years.

Certainly, a near perfect novel and hence a near perfect score, 4.9 out of 5.


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The Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Man Booker Prize, made into a motion picture which went on to win many Oscars...There were enough reasons for this book to be in my "To Read " list. And when I picked this up finally to read, the expectation level was very high. Most probably that's what went wrong. When you pick up a book with high expectations, there is a high chance that you end up disappointed.

Having said that, I still don't know why I didn't like the book. The storyline is exceptionally good, narrative good enough, a shock factor present, what else was I looking for? May be I found the details of Pi's struggle for survival gross. Yeah, I sure did. And why shouldn't I? I am sitting in my cozy bed after a good dinner, reading a book. How would I understand the struggle of a boy, stranded in mid-ocean, with no food and no shelter and only a carnivorous tiger for company? How would I understand the loneliness that would force you to wait for the tiger to come back to the boat in the evening rather than leave him in a carnivorous island to die? I would rather believe such things don't exist.

The book sure has its "moments" but for me, it is like that sad movie that you don't want to watch again. Blame it on my high expectations. 

3 out of 5.

Inferno by Dan Brown

There are some authors who have this "one book" that bowled you over.  And you always pick up another book from the author thinking you are going to get another masterpiece. But often you end up disappointed. Even then, when you see another book from that author, you pick that thinking " may be this one is like the first masterpiece".

In case of Dan Brown, there are two books of him that bowled me over - Da vinci Code and Angels & Demons. When I got a copy of Inferno on the first day itself, I had this secret hope in my mind that may be this is going to be another Davinci code.

Like Davinci code and Angels&Demons, Inferno has Robert Langdon as the main protagonist. Like Davinci code and Angels&Demons, he has a smart, intelligent lady to help him. Like  Davinci code and Angels&Demons, they are running around in some picturesque locations in order to stop some loony murderers (In this case, they have to save the world too!).   So like Da Vinci code and Angels &Demons, is Inferno also a masterpiece from Dan Brown? Sadly the answer is NO. The reason? A simple one will be: Unlike Da Vinci code and Angels& Demons, Inferno is boring !

Dan Brown has put Prof.Langdon in many hard-to-believe situations before also and Langdon has come out heroically from all of those. But this is really the limit. Robert Langdon, running for his life and simultaneously trying to save the world and occasionally stopping to admire great works of art and architecture and also cracking mysterious codes and.....all this while he has amnesia!! The novel at many places look like a travellers guide and the end is highly disappointing.

A huge, huge disappointment! 1 out of 5.

The Broker by John Grisham

In his final hours in the office the outgoing president grants a controversial last minute pardon to Joel Backman, a notorious power broker.  It seems that Backman may have obtained secrets that compromise the world's most sophisticated satellite surveillance system. Backman is quietly smuggled out of the country, given a new name, a new identity and a new home, in Italy. 

(Excerpts from the blurb)

But Backman cannot afford to lead a quiet life in Italy. He has a lot of enemies from his past, ready to get him killed in order to extract  secrets from him. Furthermore, he is left in an unknown land without knowing whom to trust. How will Backman save himself from the Israelis, Russians, Saudis and the CIA?

This  is not a legal thriller or a court-room drama unlike many other Grisham novels. The plot is gripping generally, although in some places it drags and look more like a travelogue of Italy.

 Not going to be one of my favourite Grisham's, but still good. 3 out of 5.

Holmes of the Raj by Vithal Raj

A Pastiche is a work of art, literature etc which imitates a previous work by another artist. This work is a pastiche of  Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes and his dear friend, Dr. Watson visits India and the book is Watson's account of their travel.

The stories are narrated by Watson in true Conan Doyle style. But sadly the stories look like a travelogue rather than mysteries. The author's determination to make Holmes and Watson meet every distinguished Indian of that time become ridiculous after some time. Holmes and Watson , during their travel, meet Motilal Nehru, Swami Vivekananda, Rudyard Kipling , Srinivasa Ramanujan and many others. I almost laughed my head off when Holmes meet a cotton farmer Rhett Butler, who is using the alias Clark Gable. 

This surely seems to be a well-researched book, but not anywhere near the original. Read it only if you are a hard core Holmes fan and would like to collect anything related.

A disappointment, 1 out of 5.

The Sins of the Father by Jeffrey Archer

I started this book without knowing that this is a sequel to another book.  Apparently this is the second book in the Clifton chronicles by Archer which will contain five books. Trust me, reading this book before reading its prequel is not a good idea.

The book describes events in the backdrop of World War II and surely is fast-paced. But I cannot still appreciate writers writing three or five books as a series to tell a story. Why don't write a single complete book?

Sorry Archer, couldn't appreciate this one. 1 out of 5.

Delhi by M Mukundan

M Mukundan, the storyteller from Mayyazhi, has given many exceptional works to Malayalam. His novel, "Mayyazhipuzhayude  theerangalil", is a classic.

Delhi has been a backdrop of many works of Mukundan, who has spent a large part of his life in the capital city. This is the story of a youth who reaches Delhi dreaming of a better life. The novel describes the dilemmas faced by him in his journey to self discovery, the tug of war between being idealistic and practical, the indifference of the big city  and  the various faces he meet in his journey.

Another story about disappointments of youth from  Mukundan. 3.5 out of 5

The Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

The first one in the Shopaholic series. I was not disappointed by the book as I was not expecting much in the first place.

Rebecca(Becky) Bloomwood is a financial journalist with zero interest in finance and one hundred percent interest in shopping. She is in debt thanks to her addiction to shopping. But this does not stop her from shopping for more designer clothes, cosmetics and homeware. As her credit card bills amount to thousands of pounds she tries to cut back her spending but is not able to do so. For example when Becky tries to make her own curry to cut back her food expenses, she ends up buying a lot of new things like a recipe book, a spice grinder and lots of spices.

 Her attempt to make more money also does not work out as planned.  Now what will Becky do as her bills mount up and she has to somehow avoid a meeting with the bank manager?

This is a simple, humorous, well-written book. Do I want to read the sequels? I don't think so!  3 out of 5.

Trivia: This novel was initially published as The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic.

Chanakya's Chant by Ashwin Sanghi

I lost my interest in national best-sellers after reading a certain best-seller, so I was a liitle hesitant to start reading this novel. Surprisingly, this was a good read.

The novel tells the tales of two king-makers, one named Chanakya, who lived during 300 BC, the other one named Gangasagar Mishra living in the present day in Uttar Pradesh. Both of them are shrewd and cunning, and do not hesitate to deviate away from set moral standards to achieve their goal. Chanakya masterminded the ascent of Chandra Gupta Maurya as the emperor of Bharat whereas Gangasagar is set on making Chandni, a former slum kid, the prime minister of India. The narrative moves back and forth between the two timelines, drawing parallels between the plots used by the two king-makers who lived centuries apart. 

Sanghi mixes mythology, politics and history well in Chanakya's Chant to give us a fast-paced thriller. Chanakya's story is supposed to be based on historical facts with a little amount of fiction added to it. The author has used one-liners from many other sources but also has acknowledged them at the end of the book. Overall, Chanakya's Chant is a well researched and well written thriller.

A good read, 4 out of 5.

Trivia : Ashwin Sanghi originally published his first novel under the pseudonym Shawn Haigins.

In High Places by Arthur Hailey

This book by Arthur Hailey deals with politics in "high places".

The novel is set during the Cold War, in Canada. The story describes a fictional crisis and how different people in important and responsible positions react to it.  The plot mainly revolves around James Howden, the prime minister of Canada.  He is a man of values , but has a few secrets to hide. The story also follows the life of some of his political aides as well as some of his political adversaries. Hailey gives some instances of the games being played in politics, during the process of  forming a government, keeping it in power and some times pulling down a government.

As usual, Hailey has written a well-researched and  realistic book. Though the end is somewhat abrupt,the novel keeps you glued.

Not an Airport or Hotel, but still a good read from Arthur Hailey. 3.5 out of 5.

The Immortals of Meluha by Amish

My 50th blog entry..so bad that I didn't like this book!! Hope my 100th entry will be better...(and sooner!).

The story is about Shiva, the Tibetan immigrant to Meluha, an imaginary city in Indus Valley civilization. Meluha is a near- perfect country, now under terrorist attack from its neighbours. They soon start to believe that Shiva is indeed Neelkanth, their saviour. Shiva, though reluctant to accept himself as a saviour and a god, decides to help the people of Meluha in all ways that he can. His job is not going to be easy with the Chandravanshis trying to attack Meluha, supposedly with the help of Nagas.

This is the first book in Shiva trilogy by the debutant writer Amish Tripathi. The author is an alumnus of IIM and has used his selling skills very smartly. The hero, modelled after the well worshipped Hindu god, is portrayed in true "filmi" style. There is also the "filmier" love affair between Shiva and Sathi. Bruhaspathi is a scientist in Meluha, Somras, or Amruth,  imparts immortality to Meluhians because of its anti-oxidising properties and Shiva, an "ordinary" human being swears every now and then! Really, Immortals of Meluha is a mix of both worlds! And the new best-selling author of Indian English Writing should rather rethink his writing style (and do a carefull  proof-read next time).

Not recommended, 1.5 out of 5.

Trivia : More bad news... Karan Johar has brought the rights for making this into a movie.

 

Bharathaparyatanam by Kuttikrishnamarar

Yet another work related to the great epic, Mahabharatha.

This is a collection of essays based on Mahabharatha by Kuttikrishna Marar. This book is unique in the impartiality shown by the author in analyzing the different characters and situations in the epic story. Rather than reinforcing the black and white characterization that is promoted by majority of people, Marar  dares to bring out the gray shades of all the characters. He also challenges some of the common interpretations of the epic, quoting reliable sources.

The essays are typically based on different situations from Mahabharatha. The first one in the book is about Bhishma's pledge. You really get a taste of what lies ahead in the book when Marar contrasts that with Rama's pledge in Ramayana. Some of the other essays are about Amba, Krishna's attitude towards Pandavas and Kauravars, Duryodhana's sense of Dharma, the impartial Balarama, cowardice of Yudhishtira etc.

 One of the best books about Mahabharatha. 4 out of 5.

The Floating Admiral by Detection Club

Detection Club was formed in 1930 by a group of British mystery writers including Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, G. K. Chesterson etc. The club gave an opportunity for the members to meet over dinners and discuss plots and help each other. They even had an oath and agreed to adhere to a code of ethics so that the readers have a fair chance of guessing the culprit in their detective stories.

The Floating Admiral is a collaborative work done by many members of Detection Club including Chesterton, Whitechurch, Cole, Henry Wade, Christie, John Rhode, Milward Kennedy, Sayers, Ronald Knox, Freeman Wills Crofts, Edgar Jepson, Clemence Dane and Anthony Berkeley. 

This novel was written by the members of Detection Club as an answer to the critics who think the job of a mystery writer is very easy as they can always formulate the plot and the clues, the way that suits them. Each chapter was written by a member of the club, according to some rules.  Each writer even wrote a solution to the mystery, all of which are given at the end of the book. Among these, the one given by Agatha Christie is considered the best.

Now, the bad news. "The Floating Admiral" is a brilliant experiment carried out by many of the finest people in detective fiction but sadly it fails to impress as a fine work of mystery. The same reasons that make it stand apart also fails it. There are so many clues, so many people involved and add to it the different styles of writing, you get a sort of "semi-mess"! This book is indeed an intellectual exercise for the writers and readers alike and it remains only that.

A perfect book for a collector, read it only if you can appreciate the effort behind it...3 out of 5.