Its easy to not feel like putting down a thriller.To read it in one go.Its however,quite hard to feel the same,about a book of short stories.And not exactly Saki type stories.Short,open-ending type stories about failed marriages,lost love,painful divorces,the works.But Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Arranged Marriage does exactly that. Initially,I wasn’t all so impressed with her writing.But,as I finished story after story,I actually could not put the book down.Her style of writing actually brings so much life to the characters that you pretty much feel what they’re feeling.The book is not essentially about arranged marriages.Its about all kinds of marriages,divorces,love lost.Though it does make for a good read,most of the stories end on a very melancholy note.Most of the marriages are failed.And most seem to find love outside that one legally binding relationship.Though some of the stories do throw a faint ray of light at the end of the tunnel,I really wonder if anyone who reads this book would ever want to go through all the trouble of getting married just for that one ray of hope.
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It took A Thousand Splendid Suns to realize that what I have is priceless.The love,the freedom,the job,the good men.Not every woman has a chance at all these.
Liked this one.The Mahabharata has always fascinated me,unlike The Ramayana.It has all the elements that most of us would love in an out-an-out entertainment flick.Love,Action,Death-defying stunts,philosophy,revenge and what not.No matter how many times I read it,I always find that every other book seems to add on so many smaller anecdotes that I never knew,existed in this.Like how Krishna ,wisely,placed an iron statue in stead of Bhima when Dhritarashtra tried to hug Bhima after the war is over.And,how,the iron statue crumbled to pieces in his murderous grasp.So,thats how the term “Dhritarashtra premam” got coined .Fascinating,this epic is.And always will be.
Thought for sometime.
In a world of time,nothing can go back to the way it was.
So true.The line that made the most sense in Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami .
I’ve no single word to describe the book.It was interesting reading,as in a page-turner.Yes,I did ,at every point,want to know what happened next.Mainly,because at many points,the plot was totally bizarre to me,like men talking to cats and cats talking back (huh?) and spirits for people who are not yet dead. But,in all probability,I think I haven’t got the deeper meaning of the book.However,the one line that I totally understood was the one above.Perhaps thats why they say ,live the moment.You can never ever recreate it.Even with all the elements in place.
For all my efforts to graduate from “my usual mundane” reading [ so my Dad used to say everytime I used to bring countless Agatha Christies and Sydney Sheldons and various other thrillers]..Not bad for a start,I can say.
Someone give it a shot and please,pray ,tell me what the whole book is actually about.
Finally,restraining myself from skipping words,descriptions,trying to imagine every single line written,I managed to finish the Deathly Hallows.My verdict :a big big thumbs up to Rowling.She finished it in class,in style.Tied up the loose ends of the plot(or all the loose ends that I remember).Managed to keep the book at a racy pace,especially towards the last few chapters ,its almost difficult not to skip paras to race towards the end,to know what is going to happen.The Half blood prince didnt quite live upto my expectation ,so I was a little apprehensive initially if this one would turn out to be good.But Rowling has done more than justice.Immensely enjoyable.One of the first Potter books where I empathized when lives were lost,when terrible secrets were realised ,when I felt as lost as Harry wondering how the hell he is going to find the Horcruxes.Humor runs low in this book,but its sprinkled here and there in typical Rowling fashion,bringing half-smiles on your face.But,I didnt quite like the epilogue.Harry Potter should eternally have been left as the much adored teen Harry Potter.I wonder why she did that.But,on second thoughts,perhaps that was just added for Snape.If at all any man had been done grave injustice throughout the series,it was Snape.After all he had done,he wasn’t getting what he truly deserved.Perhaps,Rowling felt the same way and added the epilogue ,as an ode to Snape :-I
Overall,The Deathly Hallows -Deadly. 
Hell ? I’m not so sure if I would be going to heaven [ definitely not if small time grudges,little lies to parents,whacking sis with a badminton racquet right on her head during childhood , harsh words uttered etc.. are considered as big sins.Then I'm definitely going to the cauldron].Anyways,this post is not about the people I might meet.Its about this really beautiful book titled “The five people you meet in heaven’ by Mitch Albom. Philosophy has never been my forte.I tried reading “The Monk who sold his Ferrari” and still remember tossing the book away after reading just 15 pages.I just couldnt proceed and i still wonder what people were raving about.i just didnt connect to it.The same happened with Dear God,this is Anna and Sophie’s world.
But this book,really worked.Its a pretty small book (precisely,just 231 pages) that you could finish in 2-3 hours.It tries to give you a concept of heaven in a relatively simple,fictional and enjoyable way,yet at the same time making its point.I loved it right till the very last page.
Its been a while since I read some simple meaningful stuff like this -
“Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious,you’re not really losing it.You’re just passing it on to someone else.”
In 1972,an Uruguayan plane carrying 45 passengers crashed somewhere in the icy mountains of the Andes.Of the 45 passengers,most of them were members of the then Uruguayan rugby team which was on its way to play a match at Chile .And only 16 survived to tell their tale.The 72- day ordeal that the 16 survivors went through in those icy mountains may read to some as horrifying and revolting.But Nando Parrado ,in his book “Miracle in the Andes”,truly makes the tale one of the most inspiring ones I’ve read of late.
The author,who also turned out to be the leader of the pack ,later,describes,how they survived in sub zero conditions with barely any water or food.And,finally,when they ran out of the meager stock of food that they had,they had to resort to eating the flesh of their dead friends.
I don’t know if I would have had it in me to do that even if I were at the brink of death.After trying unsuccessfully to cross the Andes manytimes to find some help,finally ,the author and another member,Roberto decide to
cross the Andes.They trek the dangerous mountains for 10 days ,with barely any mountain gear ,food or water, to reach the nearest village and are finally rescued.
The book is an awe inspiring tale of the human will to survive against all odds. I realized,as I read the book ,that,Sometimes in life,you ‘ve to lose what you have to appreciate what you really had.A must read,in my opinion.
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