Hello everyone! How's it going? So, here's me attempting to write frequently again after being MIA for sometime now. Last year, there were some important personal life changes (AKA "I met the love of my life and got married!"), so I couldn't continue the streak. This time I intend to, once a week at least.
Of late, I have been thinking about all my creative skills that I haven't honed in a while. For eg, blogging, writing a post on Linkedin, drawing/ painting/ art in general, playing the guitar, etc. Given that I just turned a year older, I now want to restart everything, think about where I really want to go in life and what I want to achieve. I want to try my hand again at all the above and see if that helps sort things. So, here I go.
I am starting with some book reviews. The past 7 months, I have tried new genres- sci-fi, war, Murakami, etc (Umm, yeah I know Murakami is a writer but his distinct way of writing can be a genre of its own!)
1) Dark Matter - Blake Crouch
I don't generally consume any content that is sci-fi because, it's not close to reality and it makes me uncomfortable. But I tried Dark Matter, a gift from my husband and boy did I love it! This is a brilliantly written book about parallel universe. The protagonist is kidnapped one fine day and is thrown into a science lab. The ensuing chaos leads him into a cube- a cube that can take you to parallel universes. There are different versions of him that go on to exist in parallel in each of those universes. In one of the worlds, he made a life choice 15 yrs ago which led him to create this cube himself!
Is he going to finally figure out a way back to his original world? Will his other versions let him get back to his wife and son? That's the story.
I give this book a 4 star rating. The story is interesting and creative, and the writing helps you visualise everything pretty clearly, which I think is hard to do in this genre. Esp, for a sci-fi noob like me, who felt that such content is hard to understand, this book was a breath of fresh air.
2) Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Heartbroken- this is how I felt once I finished reading this book. Taking place at the time of the Biafran War, this novel is a compelling story of how wars break humans and make them too! Three characters- Ugwu, Olanna and Richard narrate their perspectives.
Olanna is the beautiful daughter of Chief Ozobia of Lagos and one half of the twins, Kainene. She marries professor Odenigbo, an aspiring revolutionary. They have a life full of chaos and love that is tested further by the war. Ugwu is the houseboy who works for Odenigbo - a revolting character all in all.
Kainene, the most beautiful character I have ever read about- this woman is idealistic, she gets on the ground and does the hard work for the cause she believes in, has burning self-belief and is so stoic! I loved reading about her, how her character shaped up- such a strong woman. Her British boyfriend is Richard, through whose lens some of the chapters flow. I had an indescribable sad feeling because of Kainene's story arc. However, the story does leave the ending open to interpretation, so I guess there is a silver lining. (I am trying hard not to give spoilers here. So this is sounding vague I know. Go read the book, you need to experience a book like this in your lifetime!)
This book takes you through how a state goes from being non-existent to suddenly being a creation of victory and back again to vanishing in a chaotic war-stricken void. You see privileged , well to do people go from owning houses, entertaining guests, eating sumptuous food to losing everything they had and still have all the will to move forward. You catch a glimpse of the decisions they make influenced by their emotions and how they affect them. How even with that loss, they continue to go on with their lives with unbelievable strength and try to make a difference is really something.
I love stories where people keep going despite what life throws at them. This is one such book, it is very close to my heart and will stay so. I give this a 5 star
3) Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Ugh! I don't want to talk about this book! I have always hated men writing women characters. This one takes the cake for being the worst women characters written by a man in my opinion. Am I missing something? Why is this so celebrated? What's so special? Or do I need to read more books by Japanese authors to truly get it? I don't know!
For me, it was a mediocre story filled with some weird sexual escapades. There is nothing wrong with sex if it makes sense in a story but here, it's like the characters don't know what else to do with their lives and with everyone they have any kind of relationship with! Women behaving like they are in need of someone to save them! Just no!
I am going to give this book a 2 star.
4) The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan
This is only the second book by an Indian author that I was able to read completely. Unfortunately, my initial experience reading Indian authors wasn't great except for Arundhati Roy's God of Small Things. So, I swore off on them until The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan (Thanks for the recommendation, Pint). A nice love story between Mehrunnisa and Prince Jehangir and the power she and her beauty wield on him.
Yes, its a "nice" story. I tried adjectives like "heartwarming" but no, this is just a nice story because its a story from the past where men married several women. For me, it is hard to believe that those men ever loved any woman they were with. There are successors to this book about Mehrunnisa's raise to power in the Mughal kingdom. I am going to read them and let you know what I thought.
The writing is interesting, all the details of the Mughal era and its riches thrown in. It helps create good visuals in your head and experience the story well.
I would give this book a 4 star
5) Win by Harlan Coben
A my-kinda-book! Fast paced crime thriller with a flamboyant, boastful, privileged protagonist, Win. This character really drew me in. True to himself, having no hesitance acknowledging how blessed he is in all aspects, an honest character imo.
It's about Patricia, Win's cousin who was kidnapped as a young girl and tortured, and a group of 6 radicals, called Jane Street Six, whose plan to protest goes awry due to an unexpected situation. Are the two cases connected? Did the Jane Street Six kidnap Patricia or is there someone else?
My only issue with this book is that near the end, it drags on. Unnecessary twists here and there tend to get a tad boring.
A pretty decent book though, this receives a 4 star from me.
So, those are some of the stories that caught my attention these past 8 months. I feel like I should read more of the classics, the epics (like Lord of the Rings, or Game of Thrones), etc. Do you have any suggestions? Oh, I have changed the layout for the mobile site to make your reading experience better! It was a difficult decision because I was really in love with the old one but I knew it was not looking good. So I had to do it! Do tell me if you liked it in the comments :)
Also I found a nice little book shop at Ranga Shankara in Bangalore called Paperback Bookshop. This beautiful theater built by Arundhati Nag (who we saw and Pint was in awe of!) in memory of her superstar husband, Shankar Nag hosts a cafe as well that has some healthy options on its menu. I intend to see a play here soon. Definitely check it out!
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