An aftertaste of words...

An Atlas of Impossible Longing

2009-04-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

A debut novel by Anuradha Roy

Of late I've noticed 2 things. Debut novels are usually the best works of an author (in terms of my liking, not revenues). And especially with young Bengali authors, debut works are simply outstanding.

This is one such book that I thought was very, very well written. I usually like stories that bring in a flavor of culture, a glimpse into history, and a feeling that you were physically there when something important happened. This book was very warm in that sense...

When Amulya decides to build a house and settle down in Songarh, all he wants is a quiet life with no people to bother him. Unfortunately for him, his wife Kananbala is so used to the bustle and chatter of Calcutta that the isolation of Songarh soon drives her to insanity.

As the family grows, we see how Kamal and Nirmal, the two sons, grow to be two very different people. Kamal naturally takes over the business from daddy, while Nirmal devastated by his wife's death giving birth to their daughter, becomes a historian who wants to keep thoughts of home as far away as possible.

As Nirmal goes through his father's accounts he finds out about the orphan child that Amulya has been paying for, and is overcome by a desire to meet the boy. That meeting results in Mukunda coming to live with the family - a decision that is met with reluctance and makes for a very confused life for the little boy.

Mukunda and Bakul, Nirmal's daughter, become the best of friends as they grow up together in the otherwise boring and lonely house.

The story then follows Mukunda as he leaves the family, and grows up in Calcutta to quickly become the closest assistant to a smart but rather ruthless real estate broker of sorts. His job one day brings him back to Songarh after 13 years, where he is asked to evict Nirmal himself and take possession of the house for his boss.

The rest of the story is about how Nirmal battles with his life, his conscience, and his practicality to make the right decision.

A good read especially if you are reading it in a beautiful and quiet place, far away from civilization :)
The novel is set in a small town called Songarh in the Bengal of the early twentieth century, and tells the story of 3 generations of a family. Songarh is in the middle of nowhere, and the big and lonely house that Amulya brings his Calcutta wife to, soon unnerves her. Amulya being completely absorbed into his

The Better Man

2009-02-22T06:27:00.000-08:00

A first novel by Anita Nair

I've heard about this book a lot.. and somehow I read some of Anita's later works before laying hands on this one. Add to the fact that I went through a lot of Kerala-based books and decided to take a break for a while, this book came under my reading light only now.

The Better Man reveals itself only close to the end.. it's like one of those movies that seem to wind and meander on in a certain direction but you never know where it's going to take you. Mukundan, a 56-year old government officer decides to return to his native village that he hasn't visited in over thirty years for one simple reason. He has nowhere else to go. He never married, had no friends close enough and single enough to accommodate him, and wasn't much of a traveler. But the village, and his gargantuan ancestral home hold several secrets, suppressed by the years. What Mukundan wants is a slow life of rest and relaxation.. getting to know the village and its many people.. what happened after he left so long ago, and the regular musings of everyday languor. What he gets instead, is sleepless nights tormented by his mother's soul that accuses him of leaving her alone.. his eighty five year old father's still strong hold over him, and the villagers who don't trust him or understand what he is doing here.

The story weaves around how the house's caretaker Krishnan Nair, arranges for Mukundan to meet and know Bhasi. One screw loose Bhasi - painter by profession, healer and curer by reputation. Krishnan Nair wants to know if Bhasi can help Mukundan get rid of his nightmares. But eventually their friendship goes much deeper to the depths of Mukundan's souls and his darkest hidden fears.

The beauty of the book and its story hits you only towards the end.. till then it meanders slowly like a river that knows it has nowhere else to go, no route else to take every single day. But when it does, everything else falls in place. Mukundan's realization that for all that he hated his father, the two of them were not too different. His resolve that he now had a chance to prove to himself, more than the world, that he could be the better man of the two. And how he slowly but surely makes those changes forms the end.

But the story as it flows, is written very beautifully. The way Mukundan falls for Anjana, the memories of his past.. so different, yet as painful as hers. The bond that ties him to his girl cousin Meenakshi.. and the hate that he never has the courage to show for Power House Ramakrishnan.

A wonderful read, and a breath of freshness. Reaffirms my belief that debut novels from most writers are mostly their best pieces of work.

The Finger Puppet

2009-02-16T06:46:00.000-08:00

A debut novel by Anu Jayanth

I know I should have written this as soon as I finished reading the book, but as usual things came up.. the week started with all its expected madness, and I totally forgot about it!

Here's from what I remember :(

The Finger Puppet is a very unusual book. And I was intrigued by the synopsis on its back cover. So I thought I'd give it a try. After reading it, I'd say the book was a tard confusing. At times I thought Tara was suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder... other times delusions... either way the narrative was engrossing, but maybe a little over the top for someone like me.

The book is essentially the story of a family of 3 daughters and a mother, ruled in every sense of the word, by a violent and highly egoistic father. Growing up with Amma's stories from the Vedas and the Gita, and Appa's Cambridge rhetoric and stolen antiques, each of the girls become very different women in their own way. Padmini, the eldest, naturally becomes the embodiment of their mother. Protecting the younger ones, excelling in music and the veena. Cordelia, the youngest and the most bashful of the lot, takes to complete rebellion and pretends to live in her own world where all that matters is herself. Tara the second, is born mute, or rather with her tongue stuck to the bottom of her mouth. Humiliation and loneliness push her to fantasize about a best friend who loves her and is loyal to her at all times. And this is where the finger puppet - her thumb, is born.

Most of the story is told from the perspective of the thumb.. how things change around them... how they finally decide to escape their father, only to return when he is paralysed and unable to fend for himself.. how they cope with the arrogance and authority of a man, who even when he is immovable, manages to weild complete control over them. And then the culmination, when Tara finally lets go of her fantasy friend who almost takes control of her life, and becomes independent to decide things on her own.

A good read, sometimes going off track with ponderings on the Vedas and Hindu rites... the author holds a lot of promise.

As for me, I think I should stop picking up books with violent male characters subjucating the women in their life for a while ;)

Istanbul blues

2009-02-06T22:05:00.000-08:00

I picked up this book for 2 reasons... (A) I've never read a Turkish novel and (B) the story sounded rather interesting. And I have to update this blog faster... I've finished another book by the time I get the enthu to sit down to write about this one!

The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak

Aparently this book had a lot of media attention... being the ever ignorant person that I am.. I had no clue.

The Bastard of Istanbul is a book about family.. about attitudes, culture, perceived oppression, and friendship. The book starts with Zeliha, the last sister in a family whose men seem to have been cursed to die early. She is on her way to get an unwanted baby aborted, when something happens in the last minute for her to change her mind and keep it. That baby grows up to be Asya Kazanci, a fun, fearless, I give a rat's ass about the rest of the world girl. Half way around the world, the only brother of the family is pushed out to America in an attempt to keep him away from the mysterious curse in the hope that he will live and provide for the family for a bit longer than the rest of the male clan. Mustafa grows up to hate his Turkish family and the country for abandoning him, and forcefully pushes all that is Istanbul out of his mind. Mustafa meets and later gets married to Rose, whose biggest secret reason for marrying him is to anger her former husband's Armenian family. The daughter from that marriage - Armanoush Tchakhmakhchian, Amy for short, grows up to be a bright, beautiful, but confused girl who really doesn't understand the pain and anger her Armenian family feels. She decides to go to Istanbul and that's where she meets Asya and the beginning of a warm friendship filled with discovery.

Whew! Did I give out too much of the story? I loved the book... for its uniqueness, its style of writing, the complex thread of relationships, and the underlying emotions that were portrayed so well... so sorry if I got a bit too excited there!

Overall a good read... the other interesting part is that each chapter is named after a special ingredient in cooking... am not sure if all of them are in Turkish food... but I liked that... and once you finish that chapter, you will realize why the chapter was titled with that ingredient :)

House of Blue Mangoes

2009-01-03T08:25:00.000-08:00

A debut novel by David Davidar

This novel gets 5 points for a very simple but almost always ignored piece of information for the reader - a family tree on the second page. You never realize how useful it is especially when you have a story that transcends 3 generations of a family - in this case, the Dorai family.

The book is set in small town Chevathar, somewhere close to the border between Kerala and Tamilnadu in the beginning of the 20th century, and witnesses the travails of the Dorai family as they grapple with issues as disparate as caste and the rising nationalism. Book 1 maps out the life of Solomon Dorai - the classic patriarch bursting with leadership in both the brain and the brawn, who dies fighting for a cause that he himself does not believe in.

Book 2 I found most interesting, as it etches the life of Daniel Dorai, Solomon's despised first son, who veers away from the brawny Dorai cult to study and excel in the Siddha practice of medicine. It also talks about Aaron Dorai, Solomon's second son who seems to have inherited all of his father's courage, dare, and arrogance, and not the wisdom of a true leader. Aaron dabbles briefly with the nationalist movement that is slowly picking up steam in the country before dying from torture in jail. Daniel on the other hand, turns out to be a really talented doctor, who becomes hugely successful by inventing a fairness cream that actually works! With his wealth Daniel establishes Doraipuram in Chevathar, a fantasised vision of all members of the Dorai family living and prospering together as a community. Unfortunately communal harmony is rather hard to achieve - especially when you're getting your house, the land it's built on, and food almost free.

As Daniel struggles to keep this community together, we move into Book 3 where Daniel's son, Kannan is pushed to study in Madras. Between studying botany in college and trying to find his feet in the strange and overcrowded city, Kannan falls head over heels for Helen - an Anglo-Indian beauty without so much as an inkling of liking towards him. Unlike the first 2 books, Kannan returns to Chevathar only towards the end, spending most of his life as a tea planter in Pulimed, a beautiful and misty hill town. Kannan's realization dawns when he finds the same Englishmen he wines and dines with, discriminating against him at the first instance.

The reference to "blue mangoes" brings to memory the kind of unique and undisputed leadership this fruit holds in India. Book 2 had a great chapter on how Daniel travels across India tasting the different mangoes grown across India to decide for himself if the Chevathar one was the best. He is fascinated by a Nawab's mango tasting festival, and hosts one at his own Chevathar that turns out to be a huge hit.

Overall, I found the book to be very well written. The story weaved itself perfectly around the lives of each member of the family (thanks again to the family tree!) to make the reader understand and appreciate why someone did what they did. I think that's more important than dwelling on what they did alone.

The Inheritance of Loss

2008-12-22T05:59:00.000-08:00

A novel by Kiran Desai

This is one of those award winning books that I've been skeptical about.. you know.. like the Oscars, most of these grand slams end up being either very boring or way beyond the average reader's intellectual capabilities. Anyway, this book bordered close to the former.. I found it rather lukewarm in comparison with works from Jhumpa Lahiri or Amitav Ghosh which also dealt with themes like grappling with modernization or America meets India.

The book is set mostly in the Kalimpong and Darjeeling of the 80s when the Nepalese rebellion was in its infancy. This was maybe one of the reasons why I did not get bored... I'd just been to Darjeeling a couple of months back and this book had a lot of the same little lanes, eateries, and people habits that are still fresh in my mind :)

The story revolves around the lives of an old retired judge who still believes that India went rather sour after the British left; his orphaned granddaughter Sai, who has no place else to go; his cook whose only ambition is for his son to have a better life; and their neighbors who are a mix of anglophiles, Nepali, and Bengali.

Everyone lives in peace, going on about their everyday life with its own ups and downs, until the Nepali rebellion calling itself the GNLF decides to let the people of the region know just how serious they are. Suddenly everyone's lives are thrown out of gear with curfews, no basic supplies, and houses getting robbed and raided in the most audacious of ways.

On the other side of the planet is the cook's son, struggling to make ends meet as an illegal immigrant moving from kitchen to tables in New York. Interestingly the book never reveals the cook's name.

The story weaves through the patterns of these characters' lives, portraying their habits and the little things that they take for granted until the rebellion makes then realize just how easy a target they are for the looting and usurping.

The end is rather abrupt. Nothing really changes, except for the fact that everyone almost begins to accept that there is nothing that they can do to protect themselves, their houses, or whatever they have left - whether it is wealth, pets, or people.

Overall a lukewarm read. The language and style, I really liked. But like most reviewers have said, I wish there was a spark of hope somewhere in the book. It was a bit too dampening for me :(

The Silent Raga

2008-12-10T07:46:00.000-08:00

A debut novel by Ameen Merchant

I'm going to have to start with this... simply because I have been so starved for so long for a really good book. Did 2 mistakes last month - The three of us by Abha Dawesar - her other book, That summer in Paris, was readable.. this one was simply unbearable... didn't go beyond 80 pages; and then Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh - the story was loose, and the narrative went back n forth a little too much.. again, didn't go beyond a 100 pages. And then I got hold of this beautiful piece of writing thanks to Dream Vendor.

The silent raga is a book that anyone will find endearing.. but I found it tugging very close to my heart for 2 reasons - it's partially based in Madras, and the narrative and the story weaves around classical music. Loved the way the novel flowed from Alap to Varnam to Padam to Thillana... very well written from a prose and story point of view.

The book centers around the lives of 2 sisters and how their needs and desires shape them to make difficult choices for themselves and the people around them. No more of the story... just go pick up the book.. it's worth every minute of your time!

The Hungry Tide

2008-10-16T01:52:00.000-07:00

A novel by Amitav Ghosh

This is one of those books that holds you entranced between its pages and refuses to let go for days after you have closed the last page... the aftertaste a strong, sweet one that you refuse to let go.

The Hungry Tide is my second Amitav Ghosh book and I just love the author's style, language, and ability to capture the reader completely. Also since I've been fascinated with tales of history and charm for a while now, this book touched all the right chords to make it a beautiful symphony.

Piya is an unusual woman - at least by India's standards in the 80s. She's young, unmarried, and loves traveling to remote areas of the world doing her job - studying dolphins. It is this which brings her to the Sunderbans - known as the tide country, to understand the rare Irrawaddy river dolphin that is native to the Ganges in this part of India.

Kanai on the other hand, is one of those guys who think marriage is a waste of time and there is so much more fun in flitting from one relationship to another. He's constantly trying to ensnare Piya while maintaining his poise and pride, but things don't quite work out the way he wants it to.

It's a wonderful story filled with action and adventure as Piya sets out to do what she wants, but can never understand why people get so protective or reluctant to let her be that independent scientist she has always been; and Kanai and Fokir and the rest of the characters blend in seamlessly i a narrative that has you captivated and engrossed the whole nine yards :)

Bookless in Baghdad

2008-09-14T08:46:00.001-07:00

And other writings about reading - Shashi Tharoor

I must admit I have a rather swinging habit in reading. There are some authors I have read every single book of, and there are some amazing authors and brilliant one-time hits that I am yet to get my hands on (Gone with the wind, LOTR... let me stop before you get a heart attack!) This one kind of falls in the second category. For all I have heard, and read of Shashi Tharoor in his newspaper columns, this is only my second book - the first being "The Five Dollar Smile and other stories". Loved that one, but I wanted to get this one long before that :)

Bookless in Baghdad is about something that is very close to my heart - the joy of reading, and the love of writing. It's a collection of anecdotes, thoughts, and perspectives that Tharoor shares on reading, other writers, and writing some of his best books and columns.

I fell in love with the book with the very first piece - Growing up with books in India. I could see so much of myself in that! Starting with Enid Blyton, then progressing to Cooks and Grishams, and then getting into Indian novels.. the whole journey that Tharoor has gone through brought back a lot of memories :)

The book is divided into 4 parts in an attempt to bucket the different pieces of writing (I'd hate to call them "articles" or "topics") into something that can be logically seen as a theme. But am not sure all the pieces do, and it wouldn't be fair to expect a piece based on experiences to realy fall strictly into a certain category - it's like experiencing love. Would you put it under "love" or "passion" or "longing"? Some of it will be in every category.

So while the first part is mostly centered around what inspired him to start reading and later publish his first piece of writing, the second part is more about Tharoor's reflections on other writers. I loved his love for Wodehouse (who doesn't love Jeeves!) and his reflections on Churchill. But the best part was his tribute to Rushdie - one writer so amazing, it will be quite some time before India produces anyone remotely close to eclipsing him. The beauty of Rushdie's writing, the freedom of expression that his writing inspired other Indian writers to take, and the pain he went through during the years of the fatwa... it all comes beautifully together in the form of a loyal and admiring friend in Tharoor.

Part 3 was interesting because it had a lot of Tharoor's perpectives on the habit of reading and how it varies between the East and the West. While Indian reading and writing habits are still larglely influenced by the Britannica legacy, American reading is largely contemporary. I, for a fact, was shocked when his research revealed that most Americans have never heard of Asterix.. I mean, seriously.. how can that be possible..???

Part 4 seemed to drag... or maybe it was a bit over the top for me.. I found the piece on Globalization and the Human Imagination a bit too wandering, and I quite did not find it sticking to a logical sequence or thought flow. Bookless in Baghdad was enlightening. It's amazing how both Iraq and Afghanistan were so rich in art and culture, and are now so ravaged by war and hatred. It's sad to see the beautiful literary treasures of Arab and Persian poets being sold on the streets for a pittance to help feed the mouths home for one more day. Heartbreaking indeed.

Overall, I loved this book. For the language, the choice of pieces, and the string of episodes that not only is charming, but helped me fall in love with reading all over again :)

White Teeth

2008-09-04T22:10:00.000-07:00

A book by Zadie Smith

I just found out that there are several reviews of this book already posted on the web, including one from Wikipedia, and one from Anita Nair (although I don't completely agree with Anita that the book was "gripping" at any point)

This is one of those books that isn't about turning pages with bated breath, waiting expectantly to see what the next chapter will be about, and culminating in a nerve-tingling climax. It's one of those books that tries to make you understand how different people perceive things differently. And no matter how long they are forced into a different environment, they will still continue to think the same way.

I think the whole concept of first generation immigrants fighting to keep their original identity together, and resulting in producing a second generation that is both confused and angry at the parents, the society, and to a small part, even their own selves - this is something that's been beaten to death. Call me an optimist, or an oh-my-god-the-sky-is-so-blue-the-land-is-so-green sort of person, but why can't someone write about an immigrant who consciously made that choice to get out and is happy about it? Maybe someone did... I just haven't read it.

So getting back to the book... White Teeth is nicely written. It basically revolves around 2 families, with the men at the epicenter, and the wives and children creating their own identities around them. During the course of 20 years, the women and the children experience new things - love, loss, identity crisis, and more - but the men remain stoically unchanged. Archie, the English guy, is incapable of making even the simplest of decisions, and relies on the head or tail of a coin to do the job. He is married to Clara, a Jamaican girl half his age, and the end product Irie is an overweight and highly insecure girl. Samad Miah Iqbal, from Bangladesh, hates England, hates his wife for her inability to control his sons, and eventually his sons for growing up as English children when he wants them to be devout Muslims.

In the middle of all this family tension, comes the Chalfen family with its perfect English ways, and affectedly happy hubby and wife. When the Chalfens meet Millat Iqbal and Irie Jones, all hell breaks loose, and the perfect harmony of the family goes for a complete toss.

In a nutshell, I think White Teeth is brilliant for a debut from a 20-year old Zadie Smith, but sometimes it kind of drags, and at the end you're wondering if it was really worth reading through the whole thing.

There's lots of digression, and the author has gone to great lengths to give historical and anecdotal episodes from each character's life in an attempt to explain the reasons why such and such a person behaves in such and such a way. Which is sometimes good, and sometimes a digression that could have been left out.

I enjoyed the book, but then again, different people read from a different perspective. Taking into account your own experiences in life and in reading. So maybe you will like the book better than I did :)

Tokyo Cancelled

2008-08-16T06:34:00.000-07:00

Tokyo Cancelled by Rana Dasgupta

Since it's been over a year since I wrote here... I thought I'll do something different :)

I've just finished about half of this book and here are my thoughts so far. I will add to this post once I finish reading the book.. sounds good?

I liked the concept behind the book... don't we all love listening to stories? No matter how old we are, or how practical and "realistic" the world has made us... we still love listening to stories.. escaping to a different world.. where it is perfectly ok for a butterfly to jump out of the moon, or eating an Oreo cookie gives you magical powers.

That's basically what Tokyo Cancelled is all about... 300 odd passengers on a flight to Tokyo get stranded in the middle of nowhere as Tokyo shuts down due to a blizzard and the flight is forced to land in a small town somewhere on the map. After all reservations get full, 13 passengers are left with no choice but to sleep in the airport until the rescheduled flight leaves at 9 am the next day.

So 13 people... 13 strangers cast together by fate... what do they do? They sit together, each in their own world at first... and then someone starts talking... then another person comes up with an idea of telling stories... each one gets a chance to tell one story... and so the book begins.

I've read 7 stories so far... and each one is strange, different, and magical in a way that only a story can be. In some way it reminds me of Satyajit Ray stories... especially the one about the girl who makes trees sprout out and grow out of nothing overnight!

The writing style is also very different... there is no "he said, she said"... it's just a flow of dialogues with no first/second/third person.. very imaginatively written.

So far so good.. let's see how the rest of the book goes!

Update:

I did finish reading the book... and it was ok... I don't think my perspective changes too much... but the stories were interesting. Strange, and weird... but definitely interesting.

I guess the best part of the book is, it's not really a single sequence from cover to cover. You can pick up a fresh story if you didn't like the one you just started reading. And if your library is sending you gentle reminders and then more frantic reminders to return the book, you can just turn to the last few pages and call it an end.

A good read, but I don't know if I will recommend this seriously to everyone.

Marley and Me

2007-04-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

A book by John Grogan

Picked up this book from the library part because the title sounded familiarly new (think I saw it in the Literary section of The Hindu), and part because the Labrador pup photographed for the cover looked so darn adorable!

Marley and Me is a true story written in bits and pieces by John who, with his wife Jenny, discovers the joys and frustrations of bringing up a rather hyperactive and excited dog who always gets his way around by simply licking you (or anyone for that matter!).

The story starts with newly married John and Jen, who have all the characteristics of a new couple, very much in love, but also very anxious to have a baby. As with anyone who wants to have a baby but doesn't have a clue how to deal with it once it's there (add to it the fact that you don't know if you can handle one in the first place) they convince each other that getting a puppy and raising him would be good practice. Toilet training, poo cleaning, food feeding, chewing everything around, getting excited for no reason... Hey, come to think of it, dealing with dogs and babies are very similar...

So starts the life-long sojourn with a Labrador puppy that seems just a bit too hyperactive, a bit too energetic, and a bit too excited just about all the time. They name him Marley, after South Florida's favorite reggae hero - Bob Marley, and the name seems to suit him rather well!

Marley grows into an ebullient, always-in-your-way, excited dog... Weighing about a hundred pounds, crashing into everything in his way, but loving his master and mistress like nobody could ever do. The way he bolts across the living room - crashing into everything in his way, skidding the last part to collide with John and give him a big lick every day when he comes back home from work, is something nothing else can come close to.

The next twelve years see John and Jen have 2 boys and a girl, each calling Marley as their "funny, lovable uncle". Marley is there as Jen's most loyal friend as she goes through prenatal and postnatal depressions... he's there when John needs someone to rest his weight on, when the pressures of handling 3 kids, a family, and a challenging career take their toll on him.

As Marley grows old and finally is put to sleep, the whole family goes through a phase of emptiness, when every day is just not the same without a big oaf of a dog prancing around toppling things over, stealing food off the table, and rummaging the trash all the time. Marley even gets his secret fountain drink from the bath water when Jen's not looking!

This book is mostly about a man and a dog. But it's also about a family that loves the dog as an equal member of the group. It's about how, when nobody (even John and Jen, sometimes) think that Marley is just too much doggy to handle, they still accept him as part of the family - with his disgusting habits, bouts of excitement, terrors of thunderstorms, and pure, unbridled love.

It's about the everyday things that couples go through, but never realize how much tolerance, patience, and love goes into every decision that is made, how a woman's mood swings could have killed the relationship if it weren't for the patience and understanding of a man... and a dog.

A good weekend book to curl in with... but no dramatic stuff... just an honest, funny, and simple book.

Experiencing a Beautiful Mind

2006-05-25T23:15:00.000-07:00

The Life of Mathematical Genius and Nobel Laureate John Nash, by Sylvia Nasar

I haven't seen the movie... and I've heard a real lot about it... So when I saw the paperback on sale at Landmark some 2 months back, I jumped at it.

"Reads like a fine novel"

One of the comments on the back of the book. I couldn't agree better. Although the life of this genius could never be just-another-boring-biography. John Nash was a wonderful thing to happen to the world of mathematics. Even if fate dealt him and his family a cruel blow every now and then, the genius within him - the most beautiful mind - resurged back... to give to the world, something unforgettable.

The book details the life of John Nash, from the time he starts getting bored of regular math in school... The little town of Bluefield, with its limited teachers and conservative disciplinarians wondered why this bright boy was so difficult socially. Then it winds on to the haughty young man who wants Princeton to beg for him...

As you read through the pages of Nash when he was delusional, wanting to renounce his citizenship, and writing letters to the Pope, the President, and everyone whom he thought would listen to his warnings of an impending alien attack... You get a deep insight into how serious a problem schizophrenia is. The same man who challenged the mathematics community with unarguably the best proofs to the most complex problems... that brilliant mind that came up with astoundingly simple and elegant solutions... and the pioneer of game theory as applied to real world situations. You see how the disease cripples the one possession that he values the most - his mind.

The support from his family, his friends, and the math community in Princeton and MIT... It's simply commendable. To put up with someone who is cranky, is not too difficult. But to put up with someone who strongly believes that there is absolutely nothing wrong with him, and people have to believe his whimsical rants... that takes a lot of courage and belief in the person... and that all this patience and tolerance will some day bear fruit.

With Nash, it paid off. One of the few patients of schizophrenia who got his life back. After close to 20 years of being in and out of hospitals, no money, and no work... Nash bounced back, albeit with less fervor than the man he was when he was 25.

The Nobel Prize, when it finally came to Nash, was much more than an award for his contributions to the field of economics (by way of game theory). It changed his life... brought his friends and his loving wife back... and restored something he had lost for a very long time - his dignity.

This book is worth every page. It's not only a biography, but a tribute to one of the most beautiful minds created on this planet.

Afternotes:

The book won the 1998 National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography, and a Pulitzer Prize nomination for the same category. It made it to the New York Times bestseller list within a month of its release. It is particularly notable for its clarity and detail; and the accessibility of its treatment of Nash's mathematical accomplishments.

The movie should not be regarded as a biography of Nash, nor as a film version of Nasar's book. It is a drama inspired by the life of John Nash.

Aboard the Ladies Coupe

2006-01-09T05:05:00.000-08:00

A novel by Anita Nair

Now before you jump to any conclusions, let me tell you that this is not a book to be read just by women. It is about one woman’s world, and the story does revolve around other women, but it is a book that will leave you satiated, and the feeling that your time was well spent.

At the onset, Ladies Coupe seems to be about one woman – Akhila – a 45-year old spinster. As the story progresses, you think that it’s actually about five women and how different life has been for each one of them. Somewhere towards the end, you realize that the story really belongs to just Akhila, and the one decision she needs to make to be happy and free.

Ladies Coupe is so named because of a train journey from Bangalore to Kanyakumari, in which five women are planted together in a ladies coupe, a concept alive until the early 90’s. Akhila – 45 years old, unmarried, yearning to be independent, but still held back tightly by a selfish family. Prabha Devi – an old mother who has forgotten the sprightly young woman she once was, and finds freedom once again in swimming. Margaret – the head of the department of Chemistry at a well-known high school, the wife of a more than narcissist school principal, and for who love has slowly turned into hate. Sheela – the pretty girl. And finally Maragatham – the poor old woman, who has seen love, hate, pain, anger, and compassion from both sides of the coin.

Can a woman really survive all by herself in this world? Or does she need a man to love her, protect her, and care for her always?

This is the question that is haunting Akhila when she decides to spend a weekend away from her mother and her younger sister’s family who have slowly but completely intruded into her space, taking it for granted that Akhila would always need them, and never want to have a family of her own. Akhila’s sister is the typical housewife, whose world not only revolves around cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children, but also involves an adequate dose of how unfair and selfish working women were to their family and beyond. When she can’t bear the everyday rants and unnecessary squabbles any more, Akhila decides to find herself a single-bedroom apartment and begin to live her life for the one person who still cares about her – herself. It’s a shock for the family that staunchly believes that a woman can never survive in the world all by herself, and naturally, they don’t want her to go. After a lot of pleading, Akhila finally agrees to think things over on a weekend trip all by herself for the first time in her life.

What defines independence? And why does a woman need a man to complete her?

At different points of the journey, different women travel in the coupe. And as strangers who know that they are never going to see each other again, and who have nothing to lose by baring their souls out, they tell each other about their lives. Each woman talks about the men they loved, the men they hurt, the ones that they grew to be dependent on, and the ones they started to loathe. As each person shares the parts of their lives that they have grown to accept, Akhila realizes that there is so much more to life than the confines of her small bank cubicle, her grumpy family, and her lonely self. As each woman tells her about the moments they were the happiest and the moments they wished never happened, Akhila understands that what needs to be done, needs to be done now.

Ladies Coupe flows effortlessly from one woman to another. From third person to first person and back. In such a perfect harmony that you feel as if you are traveling in the same coupe, watching and listening to all these women talking about their lives. The novel is not just an amalgam of five stories, but a story of one woman’s search for independence and freedom in a world she wasn’t too sure of, before embarking on a train journey.

The confused class of doctors... and women

2005-07-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

The Hunter: Susan Cheever
The Weapon: Doctors & Women
The Hunted: Missed me!!

After a spate of famous books, I picked up this one - a rather unknown novel, from a writer who went famous for Note Found In A Bottle, and Home Before Dark.

Doctors & Women wasn't a very impressive book. It seemed to be as confused as its protagonist, Kate Loomis, a freelance journalist who falls in love with her mother's doctor. The novel revolves around Kate's twisted feelings about Mack Riley, the chemotherapist who wants to be compassionate and ends up getting too involved with his patients, her mother, who she's scared to lose, and her husband David, who's more of a friend than a romantic partner.

Meantime, there's also Ann Lacey, another woman who's mother is treated by Riley, and who also ends up quietly falling in love with Riley. The difference here, is while Riley is physically attracted to Kate, what he shares with Ann is a deep friendship - a fact that isn't brought out too well until the very end.

Initially as the chapters moved, I liked the way the characters fought to be the central one in each. The story was tossed from hand to hand - from Mack Riley's, to Kate's, to her husband's, to Ann's, back n forth. In the interim, there's also Peter Mallory, a doctor obsessed with his profession. Why Peter Mallory was even brought into focus, is a question as he's got nothing to do with any of the other characters, apart from being Riley's superior.

The novel ends as calmly as it began. No surprises, no shocks, and no big impact. Just a story that's so normal, it could've just happened next door.

But one thing that's done well, is the way Kate's character is drawn out. You neither sympathize with her for being so confused, nor do you get angry with her for cheating on her husband. You just accept her with all her mixed emotions. As far as the rest of it is concerned, I guess you can read it if you're really, really bored.

Do you see the omens?

2005-07-20T01:32:00.000-07:00

The Hunter: Paulo Coelho
The Weapon: The Alchemist
The Hunted: Me

Another "famous" book.. of late I seem to be wooed by society a lot more than usual.. hmm.. The Alchemist, supposed to be a magical tale of a boy following his dream..

A small book, I estimated one weekend's time to finish it. But as with most books that I start out with, it took over a week to finish this one. But the reason was different.

I was trying to read, and re-read the lines. Such profound truth, and such wise knowledge hidden behind those innocent lines of text.

"He wished he were like the sheep. They didn't worry about dreams. They woke up, wandered around to find something to eat, did that, and slept. All sheep did that. Why can't he do the same?"

"Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own."

And something that hit me hard,

" The world's greatest lie: At a certain point in out lives we lose control of what's happening to us and our lives become controlled by fate."

So many times the book seemed to evoke a sort of rare emotion.. it was as if Coelho was talking directly to the soul of the reader. And I guess he intended to do that.

Page 1 is the only place where you will find the boy's name - Santiago. Everywhere else he is referred to as "the boy". Why?? Simply because the focus of the book is not on it's central character, but rather his journey.

Coelho takes us through the life of a young Spanish shepherd, happy taking care of his sheep, until one night, a compelling dream tells him to find a treasure buried near the Pyramids of Egypt. Initially he dismisses it as just a wild dream, just like we all refuse to believe in our dreams. Then as the dream comes every night.. he reluctantly convinces himself to seek this treasure.

"It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting."

The rest of part one is about how this boy crosses Spain into Africa, gets robbed, overcomes despair, finds a job cleaning crystal, and works for a year to gather enough money to start off on his journey again. Through this difficult time, there are many moments when he wonders why he decided to start on this journey, and almost decides to stay put at the crystal shop - "People who follow their dreams are foolish." Don't we all do the same thing when it comes to believing in our own dreams, however big or small they are?

And then, he meets a king who convinces him to go on. As he begins the long journey across the Sahara, he meets the alchemist. The one person who guides him through literally everything, by simply teaching him to trust his heart, and go ahead with a brave mind. Together they brave the warring tribesmen, the disbelieving village in the oasis, and finally come to the edge of the desert after which the boy is on his own. Because it is his treasure he has to find.

"You've got to find the treasure, so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense."

It's so true.. when you decide to go in search of something that you truly desire, things happen and people come to your aid, when you most need it.

"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

When he almost reaches the pyramids, his heart tells him to start digging at the exact place where he starts weeping.

"Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because it came from the Soul of the World and it will one day return there."

Riding further, the boy goes up a hill, beyond which he suddenly comes into sight of the magnificent pyramids. At that place, he falls down to his knees and starts weeping. At the beauty of the pyramids, the end of a wonderful journey, and the sweetness of finally reaching the goal.

"No heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."

The book ends on a note that shakes every reader to his roots.

"A man travels the world in search of happiness, and returns home to find it."

"A philosophy of life: I'm an adventurer, looking for treasure."

Absolutely brilliant.

This book awakens you. It makes you search within yourself, and carefully hidden within its lines, are questions aimed at your own heart.

"What do you want?"

"Where is your treasure?"

"Have you started looking for it?"

I loved this book, more for the kind of emotion it evoked in me, and the aftertaste - a very distinct one, where you keep it rolling on your tongue, savoring it for as long as it takes to melt down into your throat.

On a scale of 1 to 5:

Am not going to rate this one on story or language because that was simply not the intention of this book.

Overall, it is definitely worth a read. And even keeping with you for occasional touches of inspiration and emotion.

It's a sin to kill a mocking bird...

2005-07-14T22:23:00.000-07:00

The Hunter: Harper Lee
The Weapon: To Kill A Mocking Bird
The Hunted: Me

I'd heard about this book often.. it's a classic.. been made into a movie.. and so on. When I picked it up, it was just curiosity. Nothing more, nothing less.

To Kill a Mocking Bird is Harper Lee's first book. It's about a sleepy Alabama town, set in the early 1960's. (Now this era is more well-known for "color prejudice" than anything else, even "hippies". I remember this was when John Grisham too, came out with that bestseller, A Time to Kill.) The story is told by a wide-eyed, 8-year old girl - Scout, whose world revolves around her older brother - Jem, the spooky house next door, and a school that tells her to stop learning to read at home.

It's a beautifully weaved story.. full of vivid descriptions of every emotion that the kids go through.. right from the fear in the children's eyes when affronted by an adult.. the excitement in knocking on the door of the Radley house.. the story they make up about Boo Radley and how he ate his parents.. up until the time their father defends a black man, and is ridiculed by the rest of the town.

There are two kinds of characters in this book - the ones that you see everyday.. curious kids, pesky neighbors, kind housemaids, dirty and poor families.. and then the ones that you want to see.. the kind that inspires you, and checks every now and then that things are going on fair and just. The one person on this side, is Atticus, the widower who raises Scout and Jem. Atticus' character is portrayed beautifully. The way he handles the children, refusing to lie to them to "make things sound better".. telling them to hold their heads high, and assuring them that he will defend the truth irrespective of it being a white/colored man.. he comes across as the rare single father who is confident of bringing his children up on his own, and instilling the right values in them.. Atticus was an inspiration for the entire town, not because he was spectacular, but simply because he belived in justice. Justice in the court, justice in life, and justice in his house.

This isn't a drama or an action-packed adventure like Sheldon's or even Robin Cook's (remember Coma?!) It's a slow-paced book that draws you in, and makes you a part of the sleepy town of Maycomb, its people, its prejudices, and its attitudes - good and bad.

Lee gives a compelling attention to detail, and at the same time, keeps it natural from an 8-year old's point of view. The result is a simple account of what happens, and you, the reader, just sit and listen, as the 8-year old talks and talks and talks.

An interesting tale, and an intensive look at the Southern states of America in the 1960's, coupled with the innocence and curiosity of a child.. To Kill a Mocking Bird is a classic that's worth reading and worth keeping.

On a scale of 1 to 5:

Story - 3
Contextual Language/Accent - 4
Ease of Reading - 4

Overall I would say, it's definitely worth one read.

A first taste of passion

2005-07-11T07:05:00.000-07:00

Hola! This is gonna be the place to talk about my other passion - reading. (the first one is of course Travel) :-)

Anything read/reading/to be read... Something written down, that's evoked a warm feeling... Words that may make no sense at all...

Just about everything to do with words.. is what this blog is gonna be about.

So welcome aboard... and I hope you enjoy the odyssey as much as I do :-)