Reviews on books

[samranwa]

Read " Confessions of a Secular Fundamentalist" By Mani Shankar Aiyer, Found it interesting as, an analysis of Kashmir, Ayodhya, Kashi, Hubli and Gujarat highlights the difference between the Congress and the BJP. The author does not try to hide the failures of the Congress as in the case of December 6, 1992 when "a secular government dithered between secular principle and communal compulsion."

"Ayodya, 6th December 1992" By P.V. Narasimha Rao (Who happens to be my favorite after Insider!) through its chapter VII made it clear as to what all was done on that unfaitful day. The author takes you to through the annals of Ayodhya... And gives you a feel as if you were there!

On the contrary, please visit http://www.hvk.org/specialrepo/bjpwp/index.html to find the BJP view of it... Both mixed with the secular fundamentalism of MS Aiyer made it a reality for me to understand the TRUTH about Indian politics.

And though I have posted this on a different thread, I guess the right place for the matter would have been here....

The one I got is "Beauty and the contemporary sublime", by Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe, a faculty member (probably understating that) at Art Center. And the first thing I noticed in reading the introduction is his reference to Kant's distinction between Beauty and The Sublime. And his reference to how they are perceived as obsolete since Duchamp's use of ordinary objects out of context pronounced as art. Duchamp pretty much canceled the idea that beauty is a requirement of art, and also challenged the idea of an objective taste. As a result of his work, Kant's Critique of Judgment has lost much of it's authority. Gilbert-Rolfe is reaffirming Kant, but in doing so, instead of using seascapes to illustrate The Sublime and paintings to illustrate Beauty he's using fashion models and fashion photography. (I think I have this right. Haven't even really started the book yet.) The use of the model as Sublime while the photograph is Beauty provides a clear distinction between the picture of the beautiful girl and the beautiful picture of the girl - a distinction much lacking on most of the web.
The author also challenges the assumption that The Sublime is superior to Beauty. As the sublime is primarily a product of nature, and not made by humans, it's been attributed to God. Anything made by God must be superior to anything made by man, the thought process goes. If one takes God out of the equation, a humanist point of view would state the opposite. Beauty created by man is superior to an accident of nature, as it takes intent and effort. And one final point I'm looking forward to reading about is the question of sex and the assignment of Beauty and The Sublime to feminine and masculine realms. I don't understand what he's saying, but so far Gilbert-Rolfe has stated (reinforcing Schiller's definitions) that Beauty is feminine andThe Sublime is masculine. And he assigns much of today's sexual ambiguity to a male need for beauty. Keep in mind we're not talking about sexuality here, but abstract concepts.

Regards,

Sam.

 

[neels]

Inheritance of Loss .............Being Lost !!!

Lately read Kiran Desai's 'The Inheritance of Loss', was looking fwd to it more after the book won the Man Booker Prize . But Seriously being a reader,I was at a loss with this INHERITANCE of LOSS.... On literary front, the book has the hold on language, scenes descriptions etc etc. But not even a single character was able to generate interest, and the narrative and story goes no where. They all( all the characters) were at loss making the reader also lost. Till the last chapter, kept waiting,, but nothing happened as such like an ending of a story.The Inheritance of Loss" strikes as offering an unrelentingly bitter view, where nothing positive happens.

 

[kabir]

Inheritance of loss

Lost the plot after six chapters (me, not the writer i.e.). Couldn't endure the book beyond that. I would prefer Anita Desai over her daughter any day. (M talking abt their writings, filthy minds ). 'Fasting, Feasting' was such a powerful book!

By the way, any takers for Gabriel Garcia Marquez? The old chap writes simply superb!

 

[kabir]

5 . some 1

Juvenile Crap!

'Five Point Someone' ---uff how cud any1 term dis buk 'hilarious'???!!!
readin it was an EFFORT...
it was jus passable...complete wasteof time --goin by its reviews n d laurels earned by the author

'Inscrutable Americans' too...just fine-not much!

i wud still prefer 'Banke-laal' any given day- hehe

bt must say 'Eleven Minutes ' by Paulo Coelho waS good.

 

[kabir]

Life of Pi

If there ever was one unputdownable book, it's Life of Pi. It instills beliefs and then shatters them, without remorse. Though the entire book's gripping, the climax is one of the best I've ever come across with .

agreed...a different book...especially since its given the real-life account feeling...and the frank admission by the author of writing something drastically different...

 

[priti]

Read hundred years of solitude as suggested by my good friend vinod. I think he even has a very good review of this book written on his website somewhere...Its an enchanting book... I really really liked the unreal folksy tales and how they were intertwined with reality of eveyday life....loved 'ursula'........

Lost the plot after six chapters (me, not the writer i.e.). Couldn't endure the book beyond that. I would prefer Anita Desai over her daughter any day. (M talking abt their writings, filthy minds ). 'Fasting, Feasting' was such a powerful book!

By the way, any takers for Gabriel Garcia Marquez? The old chap writes simply superb!

 

[crsnadar]

Waise Chetan Bhaghat bhi achchha likh lete hain.
May I know more about Chetan Bhagat.

 

[vinodks]

Just happened to see this thread. Actually I have removed stuff from my site so I would put some reviews here. Am tied up in some work so am not that regular here these days. Some time back I planned to write reviews of all the books I liked and promised to myself to write 1 review per day but I lost that practice after few weeks. Anyway here are a few listed in random order. Lets start with motorcyles...

Zen and Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig

This is profound philosophical study on the relations between Eastern philosophy of subjectivity and western tradition of objectivity. You can read the book at two levels: as a travel book ("Chautauqua") written by a person traveling with his son on a bike through the steppes of the mid-west, and as a wonderful discussion on Ancient Greek philosophy. It also contains little bit of suspense and Buddhist philosophy of Zen, not to mention technical suggestions on how to maintain a bike. The book is based on travels done by Robert Pirsig after he came out of a mental breakdown. The writer identifies himself with an enigmatic character Phaedrus, unarguably from Plato' Dialogues. There are many themes in the book. I would have done better justice to them had I written the review just after reading the book but the main philosophical argument Pirsig makes is in favor of non-conceptualizing way of understanding. Phaedrus is anti-Aristotelian and somewhat argues in favor of Plato and ancient Greek's sophist teachings. It gives best definitions of "dialect" and "rhetoric". Phaedrus also tussles with authorities due to his unconventional way of teaching in the college. As with any philosophical book the question of "good" and "bad" is dealt with in various back and forth arguments. But discourse is not just on stale age-long objective versus subjective debate but fresh ideas are suggested on possible synergy of both in third attribute called "the Quality". In fact, the title of book say "An Inquiry into Values". Pirsig wrote another book, "Lila: An Enquiry into Morals" where he brings to conclusion many philosophical ideas initiated in Zen and Art. The minute description of the journey taken through steppes, forest and mountains of north western States is refreshing. The real story of Robert Pirsig's life is also as touching and inspiring as the book.


-vinod

Read hundred years of solitude as suggested by my good friend vinod. I think he even has a very good review of this book written on his website somewhere...Its an enchanting book... I really really liked the unreal folksy tales and how they were intertwined with reality of eveyday life....loved 'ursula'........

 

[vinodks]

1) "The Moon and Sixpences" by Somersaut Maugham

I had read Maugham's short stories but wanted to read a novel to get familiar with his writing in depth. "Of Human Bondage" is too long so I settled with "The Moon and Sixpences". It is story of a English broker, Charles Strickland who suddenly lives his family in England to start his career in painting in Paris. The narrator is sent by Strickland's wife to bring her husband back home. Narrator gets intrigued by the his character and starts writing about him. Strickland lives life of a pauper supported by generosities of his friends towards whom he remains strangely aloof and uncommunicative. His character is revealed as inarticulate and selfish person obsessed with morbid painting without any concern to financial success. His paintings are criticized severely and neglected by all except two people. He stays in Marseilles port for some time and then lives for Tahiti. There he draws in utter seclusion and takes in a native woman for wife. Narrator tells this part of the story after Strickland's death by interviewing his acquaintances when Strickland's work gets highly acclaimed. I liked Maugham's fluent and smooth style.

2) "Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, vol -1" by James Tod


This is the first book written on the history of the Rajputs by colonial scholar. While serving as political agent for more than 10 years, Lieutenant Col. James Tod familiarised himself with culture and customs of the Rajputs. He carefully sorted many native manuscripts written by Bhats (royal poets and historians) of medieval Rajasthan. This book is published in two volumes; the first volume deals with theories of the origin of the Rajput tribes in general and annals of Mewar, the second volume contains annals of Amber(Jaipur), Kota, Jesselmer and Marwar. The first volume scrupulously explores Puranas and other resources to trace the genealogies of Rajput tribes. Indo-scythian origin of Rajputs and Jats is proposed and many cultural parallels are highlighted between the ancient Hindu Kshatriyas and their contemporary Eurasian ruling classes. Tod agrees with his contemporary Indology scholars on the issue of Aryan Invasion and at times his arguments sound far-fetched. Being one of earliest scholar on this subject some of his misleading conclusions on the origin of the Jats and the Rajputs can be overlooked and should not be taken as uncontested truth. Regarding history of Rajputs during Islamic rule in India his work undoubtedly stands as the most significant one. He outlines the history of Mewar from Bappa Rawal to Ranga Sanga to Maharana Pratap up to his contemporary princes with fine mixture of truthfulness to indigenous manuscripts and skills of a story-teller. Long stay in Rajasthan and his dedication enabled him to successfully conveys the true spirit of Rajputs by overcoming the language barrier. It can also be seen as raw material for future historians to work on.

3) "Labyrinths" by J L Borges

Let me begin by saying that this is the best collection of post-modern stories I have ever read. Fantastic plots and imaginary events constitute the main elements in the stories with varieties of themes such as nature of space and time, infinity, recursions, mirrors and labyrinths. These unrealistic ideas are cleverly mixed with realistic plots. Apart from similarity in symbolism and writing style each story is a unique piece of art. In Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius leading intellectuals of the world conspire to create a imaginary world, Tlon, by writing a perfectly self-consistent encyclopedia. Slowly, the imaginary world starts to encroach upon public attention and earth begins to resemble Tlon. Library of Babel contains books made by all possible permutations of words in a 410 page text. Funes the Memorious can forget nothing at all. In A Secret Miracle, a man standing in front of a firing squad lives hundred years in the span of one second before bullet hits him. Garden of Forking Paths is another amazing adventure with labyrinths. In Circular Ruins a wizard creates a human being just by imagining him and then is shocked by the realization that he himself too is nothing but creation of an other's imagination. Another theme used by Borges is reviews and commentaries on non-existent books. The book also has articles but articles too use fantastic ideas and sometimes its hard to know what's reality and what's fantasy. A New Refutation of Time is a interesting discourse on nature of time. Heavy use of inter-textual references shows that Borges was very erudite author. Each story is brilliantly crafted and left me in state of elevated amazement.

4) "The Moviegoer" by Walker Percy

This story chronicles events of a week (during Mardi Gras) in the life of Binx Bolling, a stockbroker in New Orleans, living a pleasant life watching movies and sleeping with girls. But his mundane life-styles is regularly punctured by a strange idea of a "search". He is passive but keen observer of things and need to pay attention to smallest details in order to keep in touch with reality. His aunt Emily expects him to match the mark set by his noble ancestry which Binx fails to do. Binx and his distant cousin, Kate are two poles apart but only they are aware of the hypocrisy and falseness surrounding their everyday life. While Binx "looks for" entertaining delights to combat boredom Kate "creates" troubles to keep things going. Though nothing much in common their lives are paradoxically coupled with each other. After failing in a little adventure with his secretory Binx visits Chicago with Kate and they found themselves married after their return. After couple of years their personalities have undergone tremendous changes; Kate has become docile and carries out daily chores as "directed" by Binx and Binx has forsaken his habit philosophical musings. Reader is not sure if he found what he was looking for. It's innovative and refreshing book and makes a quick read.

5) "As I Laying Dying" by William Faulkner

Faulkner tells a story about a Mississippi family in which each character gives his/her version of events through interior monologues. Story revolves around death of Addie Bundren. Bundren family, a farming family in south, has to take her coffin to Jackson to bury as she wished before the death. Anse (Addie's husband), Darl, Cash, Jewel, Vardhman and Dewey (Bundrens' offspring) leave the home for this purpose and on the way face many tragic events. Slowly reader begins to notice other selfish motives behind their visit to Jackson. Anse has to get a new set of tooth, Cash has to buy gramophone, Dewey has to get secret abortion and while Vardhman dreams of eating bananas. Darl seems to be most articulate narrator until in the end. Faulkner's style of writing is impressive and the way he gets in each character's mind and tells the story after filtering the events through their minds is amazing. Story itself is compelling and it becomes more interesting than if it were told by a single narrator. Stream of consciousness technique is widely applied, though it is more exquisitely used in The Sound and the Fury. Faulkner claimed that he wrote whole novel without having to delete a single word (which is not true though). Certainly worth a read.

 

[vinodks]

6) Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

In my view this is the most brilliant English novel written by an Indian writer (not considering Naipaul an Indian), truly justified as the Booker of the Bookers. Saleem Sinai and thousand other children are born at the stroke of midnight when a country arose to freedom. The fate of these children is secretly and strangely coupled with the fate of the country. They make ensemble of all sorts of fantastic species but the allegorical meaning has something more real than fantasy. Starting from his grandfather Salim tells his family history to ever curious audience, his wife-to-be Padma. I wont give outline of plot here because it's too long and complex and it's not the plot that speaks volumes, it's the overall impression. Not only it's a deeply moving and fantastic story, it's also a historical insight on India's growth from Independence to Emergency. Rushdie gives magic realism a new dimension and narration is self-referential at times. The book is almost like an epic exploring politics, culture and history of a sub-continent. Language is readable and flexible with the mixture of Western writing style and peculiar symbolism of Indian languages. It's satirical, humorous, absurd, shocking and always interesting.

7) Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

His invisibility has nothing to do with H G Wells's imagination. His invisibility is much more complex and disturbing. He is invisible simply because people see 'through him', not 'at him'. It is a powerful story told by an Afro-American narrator. An optimistic young black boy get scholarship to study in a college. One fine day he is given responsibility of driving around a visiting trustee and of all places in the world he happens to take him to the cabin of infamous Trueblood, who had mistakenly impregnated his own daughter. Anyway a simple indiscretion makes the narrator leave the campus forever and he heads to Harlem suburbs for a job. His first day of work in a paint factory turns in to a disastrous accident. His gift of speech-making introduces him to the Brotherhood, a communist group. For a while he has found the purpose of his life but slowly he discovers that he has been nothing but a puppet. He struggles to make sense of reality amidst rioting crowd Harlem manipulated by the Brotherhood. He goes underground and lights 1369 bulbs in his secret rent-free hole to enlighten himself. Now he understands. He comes out to write about invisibility, blindness, freedom, equality, colors, music, riots, speeches, lies and truth. It's a fast moving and gripping story about racial conflicts and much more. Written is 1953 it's said to have greatly inspired Black literature of later age.

8) Sons and Lovers by D H Lawrence

I read this book long time back and beside the broad outline of the plot the only thing I remember is that I was deeply moved. This book strangely reminds me of the summer of 2001 when I was reading it. This autobiographical novel by D H Lawrence is about a poor miner's family in England. It deals with complex psychological relationship between a son, his mother and his lovers. Mrs Morel has discordant relation with her drunkard, cruel and intellectually uninspiring husband. She turns her attention towards her sons. After eldest son's death Paul, the central protagonist, becomes her mother's favorite son and their relation has clear hints of Oedipus complex, expressed in terms of subconscious motives and actions (Lawrence was aware of Freud's work in psychology). His mother severely disproves Paul's first love with Miriam. Miriam's platonic love makes Paul to passionately fall in love with an older lady, Clara, who had estranged from her husband. His emotions towards these two women sway back and forth and their relation is more confounded by his mother's interventions. I would save some part of the plot for not to spoil the surprise. The novel treats the subject of eroticism through vague and metaphorical language. Description of nature and flowers are recurrent themes. The ending is quite thought-provoking and sentimental.

9) 1984 by George Orwell

Orwell's famous dystopic novel about nightmarish world of totalitarian regime is a powerful satire. Orwell wrote this book just after WW II and imagined a totalitarian world divided in three regimes; Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia. The story is about a individual (Winston) in totalitarian state Oceania controlled by the (communist) Party. The Party control the state by dreadfully corrupt government in which everything is controlled and manipulated by the Party. There are different departments of government as Ministry of Love, Truth, Peace etc but their concept is quite the contrary. For example, Ministry of Truth looks after manipulation of information, especially the past. "Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past." Winston works in this department but he gets curious about the real past, the past before the revolution. Surveillance police is very powerful and there is no such concept as privacy (Big Brother is watching you!). Every household has a vigilant TV set and even thought-crimes are liable to execution. Anyway Winston falls in love with Julia and they both are captured and tortured. Torture methods are reminiscent of Darkness at Noon and their purpose is to re-educate the individuals to "think" the way the Party wants you to think. The Party used many innovative methods to manipulate; like doublethink (the idea which has two contrary meanings simultaneously), Newspeak (an artificial language invented in order to limit the creativity and thought process of citizens), keeping the fear alive (and patriotism too) in the public by keeping a perpetual war on neighboring countries and fictitious report on the prosperity of the State. The ending is tragic, don't worry I won't reveal it, and makes profound statements on the future of human condition if totalitarianism is allowed to grow powerful. Another popular satire on the subject by the same author is Animal Farm. Whereas Animal Farm is powerful and simple allegory, 1984 treats the subject with intellectually stimulating exposition of totalitarian principals using a realistic plot.

10) Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

This anti-war book was inspired from Dresden Bombing in WW II by Alias countries after Germany had surrendered (more people were killed in Dresden and Frankfurt bombing by conventional weapons than by nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki). Billy, a disoriented American soldier, is kidnapped by aliens for whom time is just another dimension like space. The past, present and future all exist at the same time. This makes Billy 'unstuck in time' and he lives and re-lives different segments of his life in random order without knowing which part he is going to experience next. Such fatalistic randomness suggests irrationality of war and of human behavior. He is captured as POW in Germany and has traumatic experiences. But nothing is tragic for Billy because everything has already happened and he just has to experience these incidents. Even death is just another experience and it's is not the end of his life but is experienced at some random time in between. Since he himself doesn't know what's coming next he is always in frightful condition. I think the plot is a chosen that way to depict the effect war has on an individual. This short and easily readable book has powerful imagery of ideas. If you liked Catch 22 you would definitely like this.

 

[vinodks]

11) Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Steinbeck tells story of a Oklahoma family during the Great Depression. It's about intense struggle of ordinary people facing economical desperation. To understand the background of the story it is helpful to read little bit about the condition of the south during the Great Depression. Economical depression existed in Oklahoma before it became a nationwide condition. Farmers of south were geared to produce heavily during WW I and they continued to do so even after the war. These factors combined with ecological factors like the Dust Bowl made condition of southern farmers very bad. When government started buying farm for mass production through big trackers and machines, farmers have to leave their home to try their luck elsewhere and one place that lured these homeless people was California. Thus began the journey of thousands of families including Joads. The plot revolves around harsh conditions faced by hordes of homeless during and their desperate struggle to survive through this ordeal. Their dreams of getting rich in valley full of grape vines may not have come true but the story ends with a positive note in very touching way.

12) Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler

If you appreciate George Orwell's writing on communism then let me tell you that this book is better than 1984 at least in one aspect. While 1984 contains both philosophical basis of totalitarian regime as well as personal lives of characters, Darkness at Noon gives more space to personal side of state-vs-individual paradox of communism. It was also written earlier than 1984. Theme is book is modeled on trials of 1930s undertaken by Stalin. Rubashov is put in the jail for the similar crime as Winston's. The story is told from jail except some flashbacks. It makes you really get in to Rubashov's place and see the reality as he sees it. Though Rubashov very well knows the impending inevitable, he makes it hard to come because he has "nothing to die for". Though Arthur Koestler was infamous figure owing to his personal drawbacks this book is a masterpiece.

13) Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson

This book is rather collection of short stories than a novel. Each chapter is a short story about a character in an imaginary town Winesberg in Ohio. These stories are loosely inter-connected with some common characters and events to give partial continuity to the plot. The central character is a reporter named George Willard. Inhabitants of Winesburg share their secret feelings and thoughts with George in hope that he would write about them. Most of the characters are portrayed grotesque human beings living their secret lives in loneliness and frustration. They are mostly inarticulate and strive for their smoldering passions and beliefs. Characters also struggle to break through social norms and value of American society of that time. Some characters leave memorable impression e.g. the first story named "Hands" is about a nervous and eager school teacher who can't control his hands. He is beaten and expelled from the town because awkwardness of his hands was mistaken for molestation of a boy. Another impressive series of stories titles under "Godliness". If you don't have time to read the whole book try an individual story.

14) The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler

Owing to its pungent attack on hypocrisy of English society of Victorian age it could be published only after Butler's death. Later it was called his masterpiece. It is one of those important books that heralded the transition from Victorian age literature to the Modern (other example, Wuthering Heights). The story involves four generations of Pontifex family starting from the late 18th century up to the late 19th century. The central character is Ernest Pontifex born in the fourth generation. His grandfather was brilliant person but his father was naive, dull and domineering. As a result Ernest is sent off to become a minister just like his father was forced to be one by his father. Ernest is also a gullible person and goes through many tribulations resulting from series of short-sighted judgements in his life. From Christian evangelists to Communists, from slums to jail, from social outcast to failed marriage Ernest experiences all sorts of different conditions. Still each time he is left without enough foresight to avoid the impending trial. But each time he break through such "condition" he feels more and more free and thus he moves on. It's not only about the struggle of an individual but also how dogmatic forces of society and hypocrisy of conventions affect an honest and open-minded individual. From this description this book might sound pessimistic, which it is up to some extent, but the redeeming factor is that each time Ernest is failed he becomes freer and happier in some sense. Each of us can relate to such situations based on past experiences in our lives. If you are avid reader of good literature (not necessarily the popular titles) then read it but I won't recommend it with emphasis. I heard Butler's Erewhon is also an excellent satire like Brave New World.

15) The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowls

Imagine a Victorian novel written in late 20th century. The idea sounds unpalatable but not quite so if you are ready to expect experimentation in post-modern prose. The book is actually inspired by a French novel from Victorian age. John Fowls imagined a perfectly Victorian setting somewhere southwest of England. The location may have been chosen by Fowls to prepare readers to expect something of his favorite writer, Thomas Hardy's subversive viewpoint on Victorian society. A haunting image throughout novel is of a queer woman, Sarah Woodruff, looking out at sea from outcropped rock and waiting for her French lover. Then imagine a well-to-do pair, Charles and Ernestina (ready to tie betrothal knot) with a couple of maids and butlers right from lets say Dicken's novels. Sarah's eccentricity and melancholy fascinates Charles greatly and this disturbing speck in perfect picture of Victorian happiness only grows with time until it blots the whole canvass. Characters are not cardboard Victorian characters, especially Charles and Sarah, they are indirectly given the benefits of hindsight of last one century. They develop along the story. There is another strange character in the story, John Fowls himself. In fact, his puppet characters refuse to obey him and decide to take their own course and author could do nothing more than record what really happens. Chapter 13 is magnificent example of meta-fiction. Character strive for existential freedom at the cost of Victorian values and this juxtaposition of ideas is quite captivating. There are interesting twists in the plots too. Fooled by the caption on the cover of the book, which says 'best-selling novel on Victorian sexuality', one of my friends borrowed it and then returned it after reading dozen of pages. She was disappointed for not finding anything in it supporting such a extravagant promise on the cover of the book. That would little too much too much to expect from Victorian characters but it contains is numerous romantic, not erotic, encounters. The author is daring in conceiving unexpected situations and reader is drawn more into characters' psyche than explicit and worldly descriptions (though there are exceptions to it too). Book has three different endings, you are free to assume whichever you like.

 

[vinodks]

16) Rabbit, Run by John Updike

I had heard about John Updike's famous Rabbit series, two of which won Pulitzer. So I wanted to read one book and first book in the series was a natural choice in case I like it and come back to read another. One thing you can't overlook in this book is the ingenuity of the prose. It is one of the first novel written in present tense. It is also scrupulously faithful to minute details and several scenes are described over lots of pages. The prose is easy flowing and John Updike is extraordinarily candor about description of erotic encounters. The main character, 'Rabbit' Angstrom, was brilliant basketball player in his school days but now he is stuck in a middle-class marriage. He craves for his past glory and attempts to come out of monotony of the life by running away. He moves in briefly with a part-time prostitute but he is mostly a taker whenever it transpires for him to give back he runs away. Beside basketball this is another thing that Rabbit is expert in, running away. He keeps running throughout the book. This is fast moving story and the ending is kept hanging in the air. Though some of the conflicts seem to be resolved in the book itself you will have to read sequels to follow Rabbit's complete life.

17) The Castle of Crossed Destinies by Italo Calvino

Where do I begin? This book is an unique experimentation in story telling. A number of travelers gather in an inn to rest after long day's travel through the forest. The passage through the forest has inexplicably caused them to loose their speech but they much tell each other about their eventful journeys. They find tarot cards sprawled on the table and they employ sequence of their images to tell their stories. Actual meaning of the cards remains open for different interpretations but author gives one possible interpretation (sometimes more than one too) of the cards in third person narration. Cards are provided with the stories and reader are free to have their own interpretations too. But that's not all. As more than more people use criss-cross lines of these cards to tell their stories these lines come in ways of each other. Now other story tellers have to use cards already sprawled on the table to tell their story and they choose patterns of cards that resemble closest to what they want to tell. When all stories are told the cards make a symmetric pattern. The book has two parts. The second part, The Tavern of Crossed Destinies, uses the same technique but different set of tarot cards, Marseilles cards. Also this time the stories don't follow in patterns of the cards in straight lines but zig-zag manner. There is more overlap among these patterns and narrator give many more possible interpretations to some of the patterns. Reader would be already familiar with some of the stories, like story of Oedipus, Hamlet etc but the way they are told is refreshing. Finally it is thought stimulating book. Don't miss it if you like creative writing.

18) Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellow

Three reasons I picked up this book to read are: it's listed as #21 in Modern Library list, Saul Bellow is Noble laureate and the title of the book is curious. Henderson, an American millionaire leaves behind his monotonous life for Africa to find something he himself doesn't quite know. There he encounters two fictitious tribes and because of his ability to bring rain to drought stricken region he gets anointed as the Rain God. That sounds pretty fantastic but it is made quite realistic. Saul Bellow uses inventive prose style and humor is subtle but unmistakable. Almost every other page has ability to force faint smile on your face. Anyway Henderson is very queer person, a deformation par excellence, a specimen of its own kind. He has rugged physical strength, bad memories, glorious family history, couple of ex-wives, a desire in the bosom that keeps saying 'I want I want' but never tells him what it wants and inheritance of 3 million dollars which he have little idea what to do with. It is this desire and his impatience that makes him try almost anything. Anyway, in an African village in the middle of nowhere he finds a very extraordinary person, the King, who impresses him greatly. Briefly he sees promise of fulfillment of 'I want I want' but things don't turn out quite as expected. Still it doesn't serious, in fact it never gets serious in the book. You can read this as an adventure book with lots of humor but there are underlying messages too.

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

If there is any novel that could be read (or should I say, that requires to be read?) more than once, offering increased illumination of the core message, multiplied insight in complexity of subject matter and deeper appreciation of exquisite style each time reader reads it, it is The Sound and the Fury. I have read it thrice; first time because of curiosity (ending up with not understanding half of it), second time to understand it and third time as a course requirement. It was William Faulkner's own favorite novel, primarily, he says, because it is his "most splendid failure." Novel is divided into four parts, each being a personal account of same story from a certain character’s point of view. Unlike usual stories, characters are not used as puppets by writer to play their roles in story but they are allowed to tell their stories as they see it.

The first section is told from the point of view of Benjy, a 33-old mentally challenged guy, and recounts via flashbacks the earliest events in the novel. His language is simple—sentences are short, vocabulary basic. But reading this section is profoundly difficult, because the idiot has no concept of time or place—sensory stimuli in the present bring him back to another time and place in his past, instantly and without warning; reader won’t even know how old Benjy is when he is describing certain event because his language doesn’t change much from childhood to adulthood. Most of his memories are about his sister Caddy, the only person who cared for him in the novel. Best deal is to just move on to the next section without worrying about understanding it. When you finish book you can read this section again and you will understand most of it.

The second section is written by Quentin Compson, Benjy’s brother and a Harvard student, on the day he commits suicide. His family had sold lot of land to provide this brilliant boy good education. He mostly talks about abstract ideas and is disturbed by many things like lost glory of their family, Caddy’s adolescence, his father’s philosophical views and mostly “time”. Story is told in stream of consciousness. Reader begins to understand the story.

The third part is narrated by another brother of Benjy, Jason. Jason is more practical, down to earth guy who on the surface looks mean, greedy and cruel. This part’s focus is on Caddy’s illegitimate daughter, Quentin (also the name of Caddy’s brother). Easy style of this encourages the reader and various things get cleared here.

The last part is written from omniscient view-point. This story of one day, Caddy’s daughter elopes with her lover after stealing 7000$ from Jason. Jason chases her and fails. Story ends with profound sense of tragedy of Compson family and reader feels immense urgency to read first section again to fill-in missing links and Benjy’s account becomes easy to understand because the reader already knows the whole story.

The central character of the story is Caddy, sister of Benjy, Quentin and Jason, who gets expelled from home because of her illegitimate relations. She doesn’t tell her story but she is central to all the account told by characters. She seems to be present or just around the corner even when characters are not talking about her.

Faulkner himself said:

I tried first to tell it with one brother, and that wasn't enough. That was Section One. I tried it with another brother, and that wasn't enough. That was Section Two. I tried the third brother, because Caddy was still to me too beautiful and too moving to reduce her to telling what was going on, that it would be more passionate to see her through somebody else's eyes, I thought. And that failed and I tried myself—the fourth section— to tell what happened, and I still failed.

Overall, the brief review might make this novel look morbid or gloomy but this is story of compassion, love and profound depth of human nature. Style of writing is a class-apart.

 

[vinodks]

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"One Hundred Years of Solitude is the first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human race. It takes up not long after Genesis left off and carries through to the air age, reporting on everything that happened in between with more lucidity, wit, wisdom, and poetry that is expected from 100 years of novelists, let alone one man...” William Kennedy, New York Times Book Review

Even if with little hyperbole this statement encapsulates feelings that readers get after reading this book which is an experience in itself. It doesn’t have a single theme or a single main character but tells story of both the history of Macondo, a small town in an unnamed region of South America, and the town's founders, the Buendia family through seven generations proving the point that history not only moves in cycles but also in circles. In this story of 100 years, reader gets zoomed-in view of almost every aspect of human life and human history, seen through eyes of “magical realism”. Marquez tells story with magical touch to every incident, exaggerating facts beyond belief with such a poetic beauty that it becomes far more convincing than dry facts, hence making the underlying point clear. Although every quite often, major theme ‘solitude’ emerges when each character ends in perpetual solitary confusion, the reader is not left without sense of inspiration. This masterpiece of a Nobel Laureate (1982) is certainly worth reading.


A Portrait of Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

As people say either you love James Joyce or you hate him. I heard people saying that Portrait is boring and difficult book to read, I can fully empathize with them. But if you put some effort to understand it’s very beautifully written book.

Joyce’s autobiographical novel is a story of a very sensitive and imaginative boy, Stephen Dedalus from childhood to adulthood and narration is focused on his interior thoughts than account of exterior events. Stream of Consciousness technique is used extensively where narrative style approximates to the real nature of human feelings and thoughts - flowing freely from one object of contemplation to other without apparent logical arguments and intricately woven free associations of multifarious thoughts. Though out the novel focus is never taken away from Stephan and his feelings are described as he would have felt them. For example, novel opens with a very simple story that Stephan’s father told him and initial pages of novel are written as a child would have narrated but as he begins to get mature his expression gets more and more sophisticated, reader begins to re-experience Stephan’s experiences and see events as they are filtered through his mind, ultimately producing poetic amalgamation of his own senses and outward world; he is overblown and melodramatic in teenage and has relentless passion of contemplation of art and beauty, near the end of novel develops quite sophisticated theory of aesthetics and finally leaves Ireland to pursue the life of a poet and writer as Joyce himself did.

Narration style is sometimes experimental, sometimes direct and sometimes complex and discouraging but it’s much easier to read than Joyce’s Ulysses and Finnegan’s Wake.


The Great Gatsby Scott F. Fitzgerald

This is one of the best books I have read. Written in conventional style, it tells story of an American dreamer, Jay Gatsby, during 1920s, in third person narration by Nick. Basically Gatsby had romantic relationship with Daisy before he goes to WW-I and in his absence Tom and Daisy get married. When he comes back he gets rich through illegal dealings in hope to win Daisy back. The main component of the fantasy world he had created for himself is resurrection of his past romance with Daisy. His drive to possess Daisy ruins him in the end. He gets killed by a crazy guy in a situation plotted by cunning Tom. Daisy and Tom leave the place next day and only three people show up on his funeral.

His character is unfolded rather slowly in the novel and through-out he is been portrayed as enigmatic character, ready to sacrifice everything for his passion. Jazz age, characterized by moral-bankruptcy, cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure is easily contrasted with true nature of Gatsby who finds himself out of place in opulent parties he throws every Saturday in Long Island inviting wealthy people. Frequent flashes of witty conversations and poetic words are very moving and reader at once identifies with Gatsby. Verdict: get a copy as soon as you can and read.


To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf’s masterpiece is very unique and ambitious book. It’s a bold experiment in literature; exhaustively using very distinct and subtle stream of consciousness style.

Novel is divided in three sections. First section, “The Window” describes events of one day in around hundred pages. Ramsay’s family comes to an Island in Scotland to spend holidays in their summerhouse with a large lighthouse in the view. Six year old James, youngest of eight children, desperately wants to go the lighthouse; his mother tells him they will go the next day but his father, enraging James, says it’s impossible because of the weather. Starting with this trivial incident the novel unfolds and reader realizes it doesn’t have a plot or story in usual sense though many trivial events and thoughts are narrativized. The action is all internal and position of narrator is mostly ambiguous, in certain passages you will never know who is speaking and narration is not subjective enough to be of the first person neither objective enough to be of the third person. Focus keeps shifting from interior monologues of one character to another and from mundane exterior events like stock-knitting, walking, painting etc. to dream-like realm of consciousness where current thoughts and memories mingle in realms of existence beyond reality. Another theme of novel is the fundamental difference in working of minds of opposite genders and incompleteness of each in isolation from other. Mrs. Ramsay is central figure in novel who holds family together and does chores. Mr. Ramsay’s stereotypically masculine forcefulness, rational and philosophic nature is contrasted with Mrs. Ramsay’s intellectual feebleness and caring attitude. But Mrs. Ramsay possesses stronger character and emotionally insecure Mr. Ramsay turns to her for support after his failure in intellectual endeavors. Mrs. Ramsay dies that night. Another interesting character is young unmarried Lily who aspires to be a painter, a vocation thought to be exclusively of men. Her attitude tends to reject the dichotomy between man and woman and in that sense theme of feminism also emerges.

Second section, “Time Passes” describes ten years of war in thirty pages. This is most argued about part of novel. Whole section is devoted to description of slow degradation of deserted summerhouse that no one visits for following ten years. Only major events reader gets to know are deaths of some of Ramsay family members (mentioned in parentheses). From “eyeless” point of view the effect of inhuman time, seasons, weather and other natural processes on empty house are described through personification and animism of inanimate objects with profound lyrical beauty.

In the last section, “The Lighthouse”, Ramsay family comes to summerhouse again and this time its Mr. Ramsay who wants to visit the lighthouse and James is still angry. Mrs. Ramsay, though dead, is still the central figure through memories. Finally they reach the lighthouse and James has somewhat reconciled feelings towards his father, and inspired by Mrs. Ramsay’s memories Lily completes her painting in one decisive stroke on canvas which is symbolic of triumph of her unconventional vision.

That was brief review of the book. Total number of conversations in the novel can be counted on fingers (passive narration, as criticized by some) and several paragraphs have complex grammatical construction. Suggested to those who like challenges in reading.

 

[vinodks]

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Welcome to the Brave New World. It is a “utopian world” envisaged by Aldous Huxley in 632AF (After Ford) where dream of universal human happiness has been materialized.

Huxley’s totalitarian world is similar to Orwell’s 1984 in the sense that an all-powerful state controls the behaviors and actions of its people in order to preserve its own stability and power. But whereas in 1984, control is maintained by constant government surveillance, secret police, intimidation and torture, power in Brave New World is maintained through technology and lives of people are intervened from before birth to death by biotechnology; control is maintained by making its citizens so happy and superficially fulfilled that they don’t care about their personal freedom. Various techniques are elaborated that are used to manufacture obedient citizens that are nothing but cog-wheels of big machinery. Society is divided into five genetically-predestined castes, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon; Alphas are most intelligent and uppermost crust of society, other do work in decreasing order of sophistication and purposely brain-damaged Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons toil away at the bottom. Correct numbers of humans in each caste are produced through machines (not womb) and they are genetically modified to fit the profession they are supposed to do in their pre-determined life, hence getting rid of natural selection that separates people in capitalistic system. Other methods like sub-conscious persuasion, mind-altering drugs and extensive conditioning enhance one’s capability to be content with work one is doing and hence generating sense of happiness. So the capitalistic evil, greed, is eliminated and people are saturated with “grey happiness” and contentment so nobody complains about his unnatural state of being. Promiscuous sex is free for all and commitments are discouraged; family, love and pregnancy are viewed as disgraceful. Scientific progress means technological developments aiming to make life more comfortable and to discover different ways to attains “happiness” rather than fundamental scientific exploration and experiments. Mass production of unnecessary sports goods and pleasure giving drugs also keeps consumer market stout and maintains the sense of robust economy. All attempts to gain scientific or empirical truths are throttled by government and knowledge of subjective human truths like love, friendship, personal experiences and intimacy are also suppressed. Mustapha Mond, the Controller, says that people are better off with happiness than truth. The biggest weapon that government uses to delude people about truth is a drug called “soma”. Everybody in this world consumes this ultimate elixir- soma. Following comment by a critic is a very precise description of soma.

"Soma is a very one-dimensional euphoriant. It gives rise to only a shallow, unempathetic and intellectually uninteresting well-being. But a regimen of soma doesn't deliver anything sublime or life-enriching. It doesn't catalyse any mystical epiphanies, intellectual breakthroughs or life-defining insights. It doesn't in any way promote personal growth. Instead, it provides a mindless, inauthentic "imbecile happiness" - a vacuous escapism which makes people comfortable with their lack of freedom. Soma is a narcotic that raises "a quite impenetrable wall between the actual universe and their minds."(Taken from somewhere)

Thus people indulge in willful self-delusion by experiencing state of happy-hallucinations produced by soma and world seems to run smoothly but a psychologist, Bernard (with faulty genetic program) questions the present state of world and secretly wishes to escape from it and plot begins to take shape. Various other characters are portrayed in tragic-comical personalities in logically developed extreme version of our society if technology is used the way it’s used in Brave New World. There is a Reservation where people (tribes) live with life-style of pre-Ford era. Someone from brave new world visits this reservation and accidentally his wife is left there with his son. This son, John the Savage was raised in reservation with all tribal customs but he was always considered to be “outsider”. Being outsider he defines his values from a 900-year old writer Shakespeare, reading these poetic works helps him in verbalizing his emotions and thoughts and gives a framework from which he would criticize the world outside the reservation- which being amazed by technology he optimistically termed as Brave New World. Bernard visits reservation and brings the interesting character Savage to the Brave New World to gain popularity. Thus, in Savage’s conscious the stark contrast between two opposite worlds ensues because he is outsider to the both worlds, the natural world he was raised in and unnatural world he visits. Bernard, although conditioned to accept his servitude, envies Savage for his freedom and capacity to experience the inner happiness. Tension builds up and long arguments between poetic Savage and rhetoric Mond (who also had read Shakespeare and Bible) explain basic philosophy of the Brave New World i.e. humankind’s ultimate goals are stability and happiness, as opposed to emotions, human relations, and individual expression. Unconvinced Savage is left on an island like outcaste and he becomes a kind of object of amusement for brave new worlders like an animal in zoo. Finally his struggle to make sense out of the whole affair makes him take his own life. The take-home message for readers is that happiness isn’t possible without pain. Happiness comes from sense of freedom, confidence of having values and self-appreciation born of having control of one’s own life rather than biological reactions in body. Finally, it’s very philosophical and touching book, insidious and invective satire. Definitely a must read.

 

[vinodks]

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

Catch 22 is unlike any other book. During WWII a US Air Force squadron is stationed on an island Pianosa, near Italy. Main plot revolves around bombardier Yossarian’s persistent attempts to escape the ridiculous, desperate, and tragic circumstances created by impersonal bureaucracy of war. Various other tragic-comical characters are portrayed in nightmarish and absurd existence defined by bureaucracy and violence; their stories constitute sub-plots of novel. Heller used technique of black-humor extensively to show the absurdity of war and the novel is narrated as a series of loosely connected tangential stories and recurring anecdotes in no particular chronological order.

To gain promotion, Colonel Cathcart keeps raising the number of missions that the men are required to fly before they can be discharged. So reader can keep track of chronology of stories by numbers of combat missions. The theme ‘catch 22’ is recurrent. Catch-22 is an Army law meaning to serve the authorities by using any paradoxical, circular reasoning that catches its victim in its illogic. Importance of language as communication tool is kind of subdued e.g. in a very touching incident Yossarian witnesses his friend Snowden die in the back of the plane, he tries to cure his wound on leg but after his death he realizes that he has been curing the wrong wound and Snowden dies of a much severe hidden wound on chest, so dumbfounded Yossarian is unable to say anything else but meaningless phrase “there, there” over and over; this incident makes Yossarian feel very guilty and he realizes futility of war. Language’s rhetoric aspect is used exhaustively to circumvent logic and trap the squadron in an inescapable prison of bureaucracy.

Catch 22 law is brilliantly used in various incidents. For example, Yossarian discovers that it is possible to be discharged from military service because of insanity. So Yossarian claims that he is insane, but Doc tells him that he has proved himself sane, because only a sane person would claim that he or she is insane in order to avoid flying bombing missions. In another incident, the chaplain is taken into a cellar by three men and accused of a crime, they are not sure of his crime but they hope to find out after interrogation. An old Italian woman says, “they have a right to do anything we can’t stop them from doing.” Major Major is timid character and orders his servant to let the men in to see him only when he is out. Inspired by Yossarian, Major Major starts signing censored letters of army men to their homes with imaginary name Irving so that they won’t come back to him. Another interesting character is mess officer Milo Minderbinder who turns his job into an international black-market food syndicate. He is funny but sinister character and can do anything for money. He sells chocolate-covered cotton to government and makes money by trading among the companies that he himself owns. He even trades with Germans and bombards his own squadron. Soldiers go to brothels in Rome when they are not on missions and Nately falls in love with a girl, when Yossarian informs her of Nately’s death she tries to kill him with animalistic rage. Later in novel, lots of characters start getting killed in tragic ways and this makes Yossarian very desperate to escape. He spends a great deal of his time in the hospital, faking various illnesses in order to avoid the war. Snowden’s death disturbed him so much that he stands naked in formation to receive his medal. Still Colonel keeps increasing number of mission everyone has to go through and ironically it’s more important for bombardier to capture good aerial photographs of explosions than to destroy their targets. In fact they keep flying combat missions even after they learn that the Allies have essentially won the war. This, essentially, highlights insanity of Colonel who will do anything in order to get promoted to general. When Yossarian’s roommate Orr successfully escaped by floating off in a raft, rowing with a tiny spoon, Yossarian realizes that there is no catch 22; it’s only in people’s mind. He runs away from army and in Rome’s streets encounters various kinds of human horrors. Finally, he is arrested and given two choices; either to go for more missions or go home with respectable retirement but only on the condition that he praises commanding officers back home. Yossarian doesn’t want to betray his fellow soldiers, so he refuses to sell-out and finally manages to escape to Sweden. This looks bleak but Yossarian’s story is that of hope and reader feels pity for each character. Story is so humorous that every alternate page makes reader laugh his stomach out but at the same time it gives the serious message it means to give.

 

[yudhvirmor]

Roads Less Travelled

Amazing book about Love, Discipline and Religion.

Great book about child psychology, Helps to understand the Neurois, Character Analysis n Character Disorder. We can take care of small things during the upbringing of our kids...

Author gave clear understanding about the affects on child Psychology and how these small things shape the personality and psche of our kids.

 

[deepshi]

Life Of Pi

a nice book 2 read,,bt at sum places,,very gruesome,gross,n gory!
else,,d style f writin n similes used were over d top..
good read

wot say Kabir~!?

 

[kabir]

I like gory things (gaon ki gory, sheher ki bhi chalegi). A very moving book. One which makes you believe, and then shatters your very belief. Leaves you stupfied in the end.

Wot else are you reading, Deeps? I am sure none of Sheldon's crap.

a nice book 2 read,,bt at sum places,,very gruesome,gross,n gory!
else,,d style f writin n similes used were over d top..
good read

wot say Kabir~!?

 

[deepshi]

Sheldon ki to borii bharr k maaykey me fenkk ayi--n believe me-its gettin tuff disposin dem off!
any f ur frns might b interested?

I like gory things (gaon ki gory, sheher ki bhi chalegi). A very moving book. One which makes you believe, and then shatters your very belief. Leaves you stupfied in the end.

Wot else are you reading, Deeps? I am sure none of Sheldon's crap.

 

[kabir]

City of Djinns

If White Mughals was good this one's even better! Dalrymple at his best.