The Books We Read

  Spoiler : No Recommend : yes, for the style of writing, and also to get a perspective into life in our own country. Each time I visit India I pick up random Indian authors. Generally without reading reviews in search for variety and something different. This is the second book from my Feb visit. The book left me feeling unsettled. The narration style was different and made it impossible to keep the book down. I ended up reading it in one sitting. But the book ended up being open ended. I don’t like open ended books. I like there to be a logical ending. However, it was a befitting ending. The other reason this left me unsettled was the shady portrayal of army. The story is based in Kashmir and takes you through the life of 4 characters who grew up together. Oubaid - the son of the shepherd related to the Puj and part Zaeldar, Tufail - son of the Zaeldar, Sabia - daughter of Puj, and Muzaffar - son of a journalist. The story reveals the deals people make that make them all accompli...

Recommend: Yes; Spoilers: No You know that feeling... that feeling when you go... "yes, I had read/felt this in a book...".... and you don't remember anything else. Just snippets of why a particular part of *some* book put its hooks in you. The Ten Thousand Doors of January, has been like that for me. There's been this tiny tug in my brain concerning a girl, a door, and the door leading to.... And I could not remember which book. I bumbled across Harrow's "Once and Future Witches" (in NPR's 2020 books' list and our local bookstore: Words ) and read it. And at the end of *that* book I saw another name: The Ten Thousand Doors of January. And I went Aaah.... is that the book which had the door. Or is that the book which lead to the feeling that we assume protagonists are white (even when they are not). It turns out the answer was the same for both those thoughts. But I could not chase it down. But flicking through pages of my Kindle, I actually saw ...

Recommended: Yes Spoiler : No  A widowed young woman from the village works as a live-in maid in a rich man’s house in Mumbai. She is professional, understands her employers need, and never takes advantage of their absence - an ideal servant. And she has dreams - of becoming a fashion designer. She works towards it. The employer, a US returned guy, cancels his marriage on the day of the wedding. He is super sad and finds no joy on life.  He is a good guy, never mistreats the help at home and regards people with respect , no matter their class. She explains to her that she is a widow from a village, widowed in 4 months because her in laws were selfish and parents we’re happy to not pay dowry. Her dreams to study and become a fashion designer did not matter. And being a widow in village equals to being dead. But here she was, working and earning. Trying to make something of her life. And supporting her younger sister for whom she wants a different life - a life she couldn’t have...

  If you could choose to be a creature of land, air or sea, what would you choose to be? I’d choose the air , said she Why would I not want to see the zillion glittering stars above me and below me What would give me the same adrenaline rush as free falling and the gravity pull  Or the peace when I view the zenith from a vantage point far above And I can be wherever I want to be. Land or sea can be here or there, but with air i can be anywhere, everywhere. Yes,    creature of the air is what l’d want to be, said she

  Recommended: Yes,   though it took me a long time to realise that the book was going back and forth and in parallel a bit with time - could be just my newness with reading in digital format . The book will make for an awesome movie - a visual treat, however, reading each word builds the anticipation which seeing the entire scene on a screen might not do justice. An awesome book to illustrate on - so many scenes to choose from! Spoiler: No The circus arrives without warning. The disagreement between a teacher and his student about the ways of the world, about permanence and endurance and time lead to a game to test whose methods were better.  Two students , unknown to each other , never having a choice on whether they’d want to play, are pitted against each other in a challenge of chaos and control to see which technique is strongest. One of them survives. The other has to die for the challenge to end.The teachers fail to realise that the challengers become dependen...

 Recommended: Yes, though may not be of your genre. The book could be more interesting. Spoiler : Yes. I will mention when to stop reading. The Dig is a 2021 British drama film directed by Simon Stone, based on the 2007 novel of the same name by John Preston, which reimagines the real events of the 1939 excavation of Sutton Hoo.  https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/death-and-memory/anglo-saxon-ship-burial-sutton-hoo The movie starts with excavator Basil Brown taking the boat to Edith Pretty’s land in Suffolk. It is 1939. Basil Brown is a self taught excavator discounted by his employer the Ipswich Museum for his lack of formal education. Basil Brown’s suggestion that the burial grounds at the site are older than the Viking era is ignored. What is buried there? What happens to the artefacts ? SPOILER ahead.  It’s the start of WW2. Mrs Pretty is a widow with a young son. She respects Mr Brown regardless of his lack of formal education and trust his educated instincts. ...