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

image courtesy : dcbooks

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.

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.


Image source:  www.dcbooks.com

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.

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 Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

This novel, initially written in Swedish and later translated to English, is the first in the "millennium trilogy". Sadly, the author, Larsson, passed away without seeing his books becoming international bestsellers.

The story has two main protagonists, Mikael Blomkvist - publisher of Swedish financial magazine Millennium and Lisbeth Salandar - the girl with the dragon tattoo.It is interesting to see how these two parallel lives gets entangled in a crime investigation when Blomkvist is given the job of investigating the disappearance of Harriet Vanger  by her uncle, Henrik Vanger. They soon realise that they are actually searching for a serial killer, who might have harmed Harriet also.The other track of the story is Blomkvist's fight with corruption through his magazine.

The central undertone of the book is violence inflicted on women in different strata of their life. It shows that women, be it a girl under legal protection by the government or a girl in a supposedly protected environment of her family, are always prone to abuse. The other major themes in the book are corruption in Swedish Finance and the inactivity in Swedish financial journalism against it. It also touches on matters like Nazi movement in Sweden. Most of these themes, it seems, were really close to the late author's heart who himself was a finance journalist.

The book is an excellent thriller; I felt that the mystery of Harriet could have been unravelled a little later only. Once the mystery was solved the rest of the story was a little dull.

Looking forward to the remaining books in the trilogy, 4 out of 5.

Aadujeevitham(Goat Life) by Benyamin

It had been a long time since I read Malayalam fiction. I heard great reviews about this book. But I could not get one copy in Bangalore. As I didn't get it I became more and more interested in reading it. Finally I got it and read it and ...it was really worth the wait!!!

Being from Kerala, many people I know work in Middle-East countries. I remember when I was a kid, many people I knew replied "Gulf" when asked about what work they were doing. For many, the word "Gulf" itself implied a career. What they actually "do" there was not relevant at all.  You are going to be happier and richer if you or somebody from your family is able to reach somewhere in Gulf countries. But for many,(or, maybe most of them) this was not true. Aadujeevitham says the story of one such man, Najeeb, who reaches there with lots of dreams which soon turn into nightmares. He is taken into the desert as a shepherd where he is treated inferior to the sheep. Enslaved and cut off from the rest of the world, his life gradually transforms into that of a goat. But somewhere deep in his mind, he still has hopes to return to his family.

No book I read recently has affected me as this one did. The  most shocking moment was when I heard that the book is based on a real story. As the tag line of the book goes "Lives that we haven't experienced are tall stories for us"!


One of the few books that have shaken me. 4.25 out of 5.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie.

This is the debut novel of Agatha Christie. The first Hercule Poirot mystery. How can I not read this?

The story is narrated by Hastings, who is going to appear in many more Poirot mysteries. After being wounded in the war, Hastings is in Styles staying with some of his friends. Emily Ingelthrop, who is the mistress of Styles, is murdered by poisoning. Enter Hercule Poirot, an old friend of Hastings, who happened to stay in the same village. As usual the husband, Mr. Ingelthrop, who is going to be most benefited by the lady's death is the prime suspect. But as you know, the prime suspect is never the actual culprit in detective novels. So once Mr. Ingelthrop's innocence is proven, what will Poirot do next?

This first novel of Christie was a best-seller and was rightfully so. It started this golden era of crime fiction and introduced, maybe, the most loved detective till date. Christie is very close to perfection in this one with the plot and methods. 

Don't miss this one if you like Christie. If you haven't read Christie before, this will be a perfect start. 4 out of 5.

The Zoya Factor by Anuja Chauhan

The tagline of the novel reads " a giddy, glorious mix of cricket, cola advertising and true love" and there isn't a more accurate description for this story. Anuja Chauhan has made sure that her debut novel has all the ingredients of a best seller.

Zoya Solanki, an executive in a leading advertising agency, is shooting an ad with the Indian Cricket Team for the Zing Cola campaign. The youngsters of the team, on knowing that she was born on the very same day India won the world cup in 1983 and noticing that the team wins the match if she breakfasts with them, start to consider her as a lucky charm. The belief is strengthened when the team starts losing when Zoya is not on the breakfast table with the team. Soon Zoya is pressurised to accompany the team for the world cup in Australia. Her work- to breakfast with the team before every match. When the team wins every match, Zoya finds herself catapulted into a goddess-like status and now it is important to her to stay grounded. And also there is Nikhil Khoda, the captain of Indian cricket team, trying to make the team believe in themselves rather than in lucky charms. What does the young and dashing captain feels about Zoya? Does he loathe her for playing with the morale of the team? Is he  pretending to like her as she is lucky? Or does he really love her?

The characters and situations are heavily inspired from real life, with the Zing cola which is nothing but Pepsi (Interestingly , Ms. Chauhan, a VP in a leading ad agency herself,  has worked on many Pepsi campaigns like "Oye bubbly", "Mera number kab aayega" etc), Nikhil Khoda-the brown skinned captain from a small town- reminds you of M S Dhoni and many characters in the Indian Cricket team are also inspired from real life people.  Anyway, the first time author has just got it right with thrilling cricket, M&B-esque romance and generous servings of humour.

A light read with the right mix of humour, romance and thrill. 4 out of 5.

Aunts aren't gentlemen by P G Wodehouse

I just came to know that this is the last book completely written by Wodehouse and the last one in which Wooster and Jeeves appear.

Bertie Wooster finds that he has spots on his chest and hops off to Doctor to see everything is fine. The doctor while assuring him that everything is fine, suggests a quiet stay away from the city. Thus Wooster finds himself in a village called Maiden Eggesford, where his aunt Dahlia is also staying. But what Wooster cannot expect in this "quiet" countryside is a peaceful stay.

First, there is Wooster's old collegemate Orlo Potter who arrives in Maiden Eggesford to see his lover, Vanessa Cook. Potter starts suspecting Wooster to be after Vanessa and immediately gives him the warning that if that is true he is going to tear him apart. To make matters worse, Vanessa's father accuses Wooster of trying to steal his cat. Now enters aunt Dahlia who proves that she is not a "gentleman" by plotting a plan to actually steal the cat so that Cook's horse will lose the race and she wins her bet.

Now Wooster finds himself amidst many undesirable situations when Vanessa asks him to marry her, Potter is all ready to tear him apart with bare hands, Cook comes to him accusing him of stealing his daughter and stealing his cat. In these unfortunate situations, Wooster  has no one but Jeeves to help him out. Will Jeeves save his master?

The novel carries the "Wodehouse signature" with hilarious situations and subtle humour. The story belongs more to Wooster as  Jeeves does not have a huge presence in the story. Will recommend this book to everyone, 4 out of 5.

Emma by Jane Austen

 I now know that Jane Austen has written six novels, two of them published posthumously. That means I have four more to go.

Emma Woodhouse is a rich girl, with nothing much to do with her life but thinks herself an important and intelligent person.When her governess gets married to a gentleman whom Emma had introduced to her, she starts to think of herself as a perfect match maker. So she introduces an orphan girl, Harriet, to the first class society she belongs to and tries to find an eligible match for her. Mr Knightly, Emma's friend and relative observes her and on understanding her intentions criticises her for the same. But Emma remains adamant and goes on with her mission. But her plans are to go wrong more than once.

It seems that each of Austen's characters are so well-sculpted that after some time you feel like you know them in and out and can easily predict what Mr. X will do at a given situation. But this does not make the story boring or predicable.

Another story of intricate man-woman relationships from Austen. 4.25 out of 5.

Fermat's last theorem by Simon Singh

When I read "The Code Book", I was profoundly impressed by the genius of Simon Singh, the pied piper who transformed a work of scientific non-fiction into a thriller. So I was ready to grab any other book of Simon Singh that  come my way. And eventually when I started this one I was not aware that I was about to meet many more geniuses.

Well, this book is about obsession. Being a research student, I have heard so much about being "obsessed with a problem". But Andrew Wiles' obsession with a problem that he first "met" as a ten year old was a little extra ordinary. It became the mission of his life.

The problem was "Fermat's last theorem". A small statement that was scribbled down in the margins of some manuscript, a problem that was simple enough for a school-going kid to understand yet challenged mathematicians over centuries, a challenge that changed many a lives-Fermat's last theorem was all these ..and much more.

Andrew Wiles' obsession with this problem was unmatchable. The perseverance shown and the secrecy maintained throughout his research was extra-ordinary. And may be that was the reason why he did the impossible!!

Hats off to all the geniuses that made this book. 4.5 out of 5.

Pride and Prejudice By Jane Austen

I took a lot of time to read this. Blame it on my hectic life or the old style of English. But I thought it was total worth of my time.

In short, this is the story of five sisters, Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty and Lydia Bennet. The narrartive is from Elizabeth's view point. Mrs. Bennet, the girl's mother, is on the lookout for rich husbands for her daughters and the girls are looking for love. So much interest has been generated in the Bennet household when a rich young gentleman, Mr Bingley comes to stay in the neighborhood. And with him, there is his friend, Mr. Darcy. Shortly, a guest arrives at Bennet house; cousin Collins, who is also looking for a wife. There is the military regimen also, which has charming officers like Mr. Wickham. So are the Bennet girls going to find love? Can Jane win Bingley's heart in spite of her inferior connections ? Is Lizzy going to find her man even if her pride is hurt by a certain Mr. Darcy ?

I found out from wiki that Jane Austen titled the novel as "First Impressions" initially, which was rather apt considering the characters of the main protagonists, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. The characterization done is very much robust. All the characters, let it be the annoying Mrs Bennet, or the arrogant Lady de Borough or the silly and selfish Lydia, all the characters stick to the identity given to them. The novel also has a tint of humour almost throughout the storyline.

A must read for sure, 4.25 out of 5.

Deception Point by Dan Brown

Now I have read all the published work of Dan Brown. And he did not disappoint me in this also.

The story revolves around literally in "high places", starting from White House then moving to NASA space station in Artic and finally coming back to white house. Intelligence agent Rachel Sexton, also the daughter of Presidential candidate who is expected to throw the present president out of the white house, is suddenly summoned by the President of United States himself. Within a short time she finds herself in the NASA space station. Her mission? To verify and endorse the latest NASA finding! And this might mean a lot to NASA, The President and many others. All is going well until suddenly Rachel senses something wrong. She and others start digging for the truth and it is not so long before they see danger. Their lives are in danger! Now it is time to struggle for their lives as well as for the truth....

I have been a fan of Dan Brown and his writing skills and this book convinced me into continuing to be so. Dan Brown always manage to reveal the unlikeliest person to be the real villain, but in this one I managed to guess him long before the revealation. May be I read so much by him! But still I remain loyal to him.

A true mystery thriller. 4 out of 5.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Dan Brown again takes Robert Langdon for an outing in this one. This time Langdon is in Washington D.C, trying to solve the mysteries of Freemasonry, the largest secret society in the world.

Robert Langdon arrives in Washington D.C to deliver a lecture as per a request which came apparently from his mentor, Peter Solomon. But on reaching The Capitol building, Langdon is greeted by a "Hand of the Mysteries" which symbolises an invitation to reveal the "ancient secrets". The invitation is sent by Mal'akh who has kidnapped Peter Solomon in order to know the ultimate truth of Freemasonry. There starts a cat and mouse game between the villain and Langdon. In this journey, Langdon is assisted by Katherine Solomon.

The book has all the ingredients  of  a Dan Brown best seller, but still it cannot be compared to Da Vinci Code in any way.Don't worry Mr. Brown, you can expect to deliver a book like Da Vinci Code only once in your lifetime.

The plot is not so exciting but carries the advantage of extensive research done for it. In some parts there is an overdose of violence and the last few chapters are pretty dragging. Still this makes an excellent read for those who loves puzzles, mysteries and thrillers.

In spite of an average plot and a boring last chapter, Lost Symbol gets my rating for good research and superb story telling. 4 out of 5.

Q & A ( Slumdog millionaire) by Vikas Swarup

I have been postponing watching the movie "Slumdog Millionaire"  for a long time now. The reason: I wanted to read the book first.I still haven't seen the movie . Neither I want to. I am highly satisfied with the book that now I don't want to see the complicated version in the celluloid.

First and foremost, the book is not about Mumbai slums. India is just a backdrop for the novel. This story could have happened any where. Seems like Hollywood has too much enforced the idea that India means slums, poverty and corruption.

The story is of Ram Mohammed Thomas , an eighteen year old waiter who wins two billion in a quiz show. Later he is taken into police custody having suspected of cheating, from where Smitha, a lawyer saves him.In the next twelve chapters Ram narrates to Smitha how he answered the twelve questions by linking each one of it to one of his life experiences. Thus the story of Ram is unfold from a juvenile home in Delhi  to a chawl in Mumbai to Taj Mahal in Agra and as he is with a catholic priest, a bollywood heroine, a diplomat and many more. The story touches all the issues that can be thought of, including homosexuality, Bollywood, corruption, espionage, domestic violence, illegal betting, contract killing etc. with many murders and suicides in between. Seems like Ram has lived through all the Dickens hardships. The story does not progress chronologically but still  Swarup is able to keep up the pace and the suspense throughout the book.

Highly unrealistic and highly entertaining. 4 out of 5.

Ring for Jeeves by P G Wodehouse

Jeeves- Wodehouse's most famous character . Wikipedia tells the following about Jeeves ".....The essential concept that drives the Jeeves stories is that the brilliant valet is firmly in control of his rich and foppish young employer's life. Much of the comic effect derives from the fact that the clueless Bertie Wooster, who narrates most of the stories, is for the most part blissfully unaware of how he is being manipulated. When Bertie gets into one of his scrapes, leading to an unwanted social obligation, legal trouble, or marriage engagement, Jeeves invariably comes up with a subtle plan to save the day, often without Bertie's knowledge." Jeeves has inspired many famous similar characters and even an Internet Search Engine.

In this novel Jeeves is not with Bertie Wooster. Bertie is attending a school for idle rich and in the meantime Jeeves is serving William Belfry, the Earl of Rowcester Abbey.Bill is in a poor fortune after the war and is working as a bookie in disguise. It is at this time, his sister and brother-in-law visit the abbey. They have a good news - Mrs Spottsworth, a wealthy widow , is considering buying the abbey and if the deal comes off, it will solve all the monetary problems of Bill. When Mrs. Spottsworth arrives , she turns out to be an old sweetheart of Bill, much to the annoyance of Jill, Bill's fiancee. Bill has to ignore Jill and play sweet to his beautiful guest and he is still more thrown when Captain Biggar, an old friend of Mrs. Spottsworth arrives and is invited to stay. Captain Biggar is in pursuit of a dishonest bookie who is none other than Bill itself. Now William Belfry has to save himself from Captain Biggar by somehow repaying his money, convince Mrs. Spottsworth to buy the abbey and at the same time, save his engagement. It is time to ring for Jeeves..........

A hilarious novel from Wodehouse. 4 out of 5.

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

The relationship between a mother and her daughter is a complex one which goes through many phases. For the mother, the daughter is "a bundle of joy" who needs to be protected. For the daughter, mother is the one who she can always cling for help. As time goes, mother continues to protect her child but ..., the daughter no more needs to be protected. She is independent and wise,or so she thinks. Mother has those pearls of wisdom still left with her which are to be passed on to her daughter but daughter is not willing to take those. She is not ready to accept a dictator as a mother and the mother cannot accept her daughter as a rebel. Time continues to fly and the dictator suddenly disappears, so does the rebel. The protector and the protected reappears but now, who is the one who protects and who is the one who wants to be protected? The mother,or the daughter? May be the answer is both.

Amy Tan's touching novel tells the story of four mothers and four daughters. All the mothers being Chinese immigrants of America, still try to remain Chinese and pass on the Chinese culture to their daughters. But the daughters, being daughters in addition to American citizens, cannot understand it. The book describes the journey of these eight individuals , their struggles and confusions.

The Joy Luck Club was started by Suyuan Woo along with her friends during the time of Second World War. They used this club as a means to get distracted from the hardships of war. Later when Suyuan Woo migrates to USA , she is restarting the club with three other Chinese friends. The book starts from the point when Suyuan's daughter Jing Mei joins the club when her mother dies. The book is organised into four parts ;each part with four stories, each told by one of the eight characters. The novel ends with the story where Jing Mei is united with her two half sisters whom her mother had lost during the war.

A touching book...4 out of 5.

The Diary of a Social Butterfly - Moni Mohsin

Moni Mohsin was writing a column by the same name in Friday Times, a Pakistani News Paper. Later some of these, which were published during the time period 2001 -2008 , were compiled to a book.

"Butterfly"- the no-brain , convent-educated socialite from Pakistan. The sole objective of her life is partying. She speaks English mixed with a heavy dose of Urdu and even a heavier dose of grammatical\ spelling mistakes.Her classic dialogues like "thanks god","celeries of servants", "what cheeks" and "thousand-thousand times" are hilarious. The book also mentions the important political events of the world , esp. Pakistan , during the time period like 9/11 attack, earthquake in Pakistan, US elections and Benazir Bhutto's assassination and how butterfly is affected or rather not affected by all these. Butterfly is sad after 9/11 that she cannot immediately go to US for shopping. After the earthquake she wants to call her friends to tell them how much they have donated. When her husband and friends are discussing politics and when somebody mentions "two-party system", butterfly is prompt to add that in that case you should have one party in the morning and the other in the evening. Later she tells the readers that everybody was so impressed by this remark that there was silence for a few minutes.

The other characters of the diary are Janoo - butterfly's husband, Kulchoo - their son, Old Bag - the mother-in law, gruesome twosome- Janoo's sisters, Mummy, Aunt Pussy , Jonkers etc.

A book not to be missed, 4 out of 5.