Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

The fact that this book is being made into a movie with Julia Roberts in it, was enough reason for me to buy this book. But by the time I started reading, the movie had come and gone and I had resisted my temptation to watch the movie.

The tag line of this memoirs read "A woman's search for everything". Can you search for everything you need in one year? Apparently, Elizabeth Gilbert thought so and started on an year-long journey across Italy, India and Indonesia, searching for pleasure, spirituality and love respectively. Her life before this journey was not going through a good phase, after a bitter divorce and a failed love affair.  So she considered these three aspects of her life to be those that will make her life balanced.

The journey,  started with Italy, where Liz ate a lot of pizza, learned Italian and watched soccer. What a way to unwind after a bitter divorce. Then she traveled to India to search her inner spiritual self. I felt this part of this book was a little dragging. Well, Liz did find inner peace. Next she reached Bali, in search of balance. Can she find love there? Even if she finds someone to love, is she ready for further complication in her now-peaceful life ?

The memoirs started great and engaging but later became dragging at places. Towards the end, there is a struggle to somehow make the journey eventful. There are many touching moments, like when Liz and her friends signing a petition to God. The book is worth reading for such tender moments. And who knows, may be this will be an inspiration to start your own soul-searching journey.

Worth reading once, 3 out of 5.

Trivia: Gilbert's travel was funded by the publishing house.

Sathyan Anthikadinte Grameenar by Thaha Madai

Sathyan Anthikad is one of my favourite directors in Malayalam cinema. The simplicity with which he tells stories is really wonderful. 

A village backdrop and some members of the cast who are always repeated in most of his movies is kind of a signature of Anthikad movies. In this book, he tells about those people (Oduvil, Nedumudi Venu, Srinivasan,  Innocent etc) who portrait the villagers in his movie, thus giving it the soul it needs.

I have observed that Malayalam movie industry has something which might be unique to it: a bunch of talented supporting actors who retain their identity even when the story revolves around the main actors. May be the absence of these talented lot is the reason our movies loses its charm when remade into other languages. It is sad that we don't have some of them amongst us any more, but it is of no doubt that they will stay in our memories by the roles they essayed on the silver screen.

This book was a perfect way to say good bye to 2011.  3.5 out of 5.

Mukesh Kathakal, Jeevithathile nerum narmavum by Mukesh

Seems like memoirs are the current best sellers in Malayalam. Everybody is writing memoirs now a days.

This book has memoirs of Mukesh, the famous Malayalam cine actor. This book proves that Mukesh, famous for his humorous  roles in Malayalam movies has a great sense of humour in real life also. The book mainly has incidents from his college days and some from his initial days as a cine artist. Mukesh has really combined truth and wit to form entertainment.

A light and easy read, recommended especially if you are travelling. 3.5 out of 5.