Topic suggested by Gokul on Fri Aug 14 17:21:48 .
Reviews of contemporary fiction, contemporary being anytime after WWII. :-).
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Topic suggested by Gokul on Fri Aug 14 17:21:48 .
Reviews of contemporary fiction, contemporary being anytime after WWII. :-).
THE FLOWER BOY
by Karen Roberts
Review,
"Sunset in Ceylon: A Long Goodbye"
at
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/style/columns/bookreport/A24097-2000Jun30.html
Has anyone read the latest collection of short stories by Jeffry Archer?
How is it?
>>>>>From: bb (@ inehou-pxy05.compaq.com) on: Tue Jul 6 18:49:28
mario puzo passed away. <<<<<<
The Last Don was not as good as his earlier books. It was rather disappointing.
Udaya, The review of Love @ the time of Cholera was extremely interesting. I am reading through the novel just now. BTW anybody can post a review on Marquez's 'One Hundred Years of Solitude'?
gunther grass: the call of the toad. if you have a taste for irony, outrageous plots and loads of i-am-not-going-to-write-this-because-this-is-going-to-make-me-sappy kind of sensibility, this is a great book to read. my suggestion: take it slow, one note at a time :-)
(oh! this is a real good book!)
Review of "Sophie's World : A Novel About the History of Philosophy" -- by Jostein Gaarder
This novel is a slick sales job of a philosophy text disguised as a novel. Out of the blue a 14-year old girl receives a letter that spurs her curiosity about the world and philosophy. From hereon goes the outlandish story about the secret letters with each revealing a chapter of philosophical thought in Western philosophy covering everyone from Socrates to Sartre.
I don’t want to give away the parallel structure that the reader becomes aware of midway through the novel as it’s one of the few literary surprises in the novel. Gaarder’s strength is philosophy and it shows through with the philosophical discussions being the best part of the novel. The segue from philosopher to philosopher, along with the historical background of each and their times is done effortlessly. The rest of the novel though, its plot, dialogues and characterizations belong in a book found in the Young Adult section of a library.
For what it's worth, Gaarder does deserve credit for pulling off this philosophy-novel hybrid. I can easily recommend this for anyone who wants a primer in Western philosophy.
Udhaya,
I read your review of Rushdie's Midnight's Children and I agree with all you say. But I dont know why you brought in Naipaul in the category of holier-than-thou expatriate writers. I have read 2 of Naipual's India travelogues. "An Area of darkness" and "India:A million..". In the first, Naipaul visits India for the first time and is confused more than anything else, by his experiences. He struggles to understand the country and his attempts for the most part take him only as far as the British rule. I didnt see much snickering in this, though you can argue that he did narrate the events, especially about some Indians he met and lived with, in a rather "snickery" fashion. In any case, I didnt see any malice or presumptousness. His second book was different. More mature, more insighful, more content.. and best of all, he found a lot to celebrate about the people he met and the country in large.
Vijay
I agree with Udhaya on his views about Naipaul. True, his earlier books on India tend to give you the impression that he puts himself up on a pedastel and judges us. As udhaya said, It was probably a result of his exposure to the complexities of the Indian existence. Quite a few preconceptions he came with would have been torn to shreds (diasporic Indians tned to recreate a homogenous simpler version of India in their adopted countries...which tend to be far removed from real India). You grow up with one idea of India and come here to find something vastly different...something like the foreigner who comes looking for snake charmers in every street corner.
Shard et al
>>You grow up with one idea of India and come here to find something vastly different... something like the foreigner who comes looking for snake charmers in every street corner<<
I have an australian born Indian niece whose first (when she was old enough)visit was when she was eighteen. She must have taken at least a dozen photos of me posing along with my office car driver and also of my wife with the old ayah woman. I was laughing for days afterward when she told me of how she would show off to her friends that her uncle back in India was a millionaire!!
Regarding her views about the lack of toilet paper habit in India the less said the better. I used to have tremendous if somewhat vicious fun arguing with my fuming child how paper could never, never, never, never work as well as water!!
Incidentally her parents (asian born) speak, according to her, "curry english".
There is more than mere geography separating my child and me, I guess.
Review of Michael Ondaatje's, “Anil’s Ghost”
Returning to his Sri Lankan roots, Michael Ondaatje explores the fate of the Sri Lankan public caught in the crossfire between the Fascist government’s oppression and the retaliation by the revolutionary guerillas. Mass killings, kidnappings and disappearances seem rampant, yet nobody seems willing to acknowledge the victim or the enemy. Anil, appointed by an international peace force, is in Sri Lanka on a fact-finding mission. Returning to a country that has grown wildly different from her memories of it as a teenager, Anil is forced to face her precariousness as a woman, a visiting expatriate, a foreigner with international clout and an object of unanimous contempt. Her supposed ally is Sarath an archaeologist she teams while suspicious of his alliances.
Those expecting the grand romance set against the war, as in “English Patient” will be disappointed by the relentless accounts of suffering, torture and doom. At one point in the story there’s an abandoned bungalow away from the war torn city with several disparate characters in it, but there ends all similarities to “English Patient.” Yet, the poetic Ondaatje touches are unmistakably there: the ease with which he traverses the intimate and the universal, his profound knowledge of the human psyche, and the personal mythology he invests in each character as they rummage through the rubble excavating their own existence in a place as pointless and hopeless as Sri Lanka in the 80s and 90s. Ondaatje’s purpose here isn’t to assign political blame by singling out anybody, he mourns ravaged souls and lost love as much as he mourns the loss of life.
Though the pacing is uneven and the narration occasionally episodic, I found “Anil’s Ghost” to be tremendously satisfying on a spiritual and aesthetic level.
Review of Pankaj Misra’s “The Romantics”
Misra, though not as overwhelmingly literate or wise as some of my esteemed favorites, is definitely one who delivers emotional integrity in his characters. By exploring the intimate with egoless sincerity, he probes the universal dreams and dread.
Samar, the narrator is a bookish young man who moves to Benares in the late 80s to prepare for his Civil Service exams. Samar’s exposure to the outside world begins with an English neighbor, Miss West, who further paves the way for his first pangs of love. With confessional intimacy and an eye for detail, the narration won me over early. The narrator being a focused-yet-passive, intelligent-yet-naïve, young man works handily into the novel’s machinations. The psychological insights the Misra gets for each character’s actions and hang-ups are so real and touching. And the object of his love, Catherine, haven’t we all pined for someone like her at least once in our life?
Though the narrator is a romantic to the core, the novel doesn’t spare the reality of the classes, politics, students, terrorists, the desperation of youth, and the gulf between the east and west. The transition in Samar seems natural and gradual. Misra sensitively fills every page with youthful longing that a sense of bittersweet melancholy resonated in me long after the novel was over.
Recently I read Disgrace by JM Coetzee. 1999's Booker Prize winner. The narration has an easy flow with a steady and single stream. Not much use of imagery or heavy allegory. Simple and straight in presentation. One cannot miss the contrast between the love life of Byron as sketched by the character David and the love life of the character himself.
It's a small piece of fiction and a very easy-to-read one at that.
Review of David Baldacci’s, “The Simple Truth”
I have a habit of going to a thriller or crime novel after every 3 or 4 literary novels just to change things up. Usually I read the likes of Walter Mosley, Jim Thompson or Elmore Leonard as my genre breakers. I became interested in Baldacci after watching his speech/interview on Book TV several months ago. Though I saw and hated the movie, “Absolute Power” based on his book, I decided to give Baldacci’s novels a try because he had mentioned in the interview that the movie had skipped key plot points and characters. I would like to add that I’ve only read Scott Turow from the lawyer-turned-writer genre (if there is such a genre).
The Simple Truth was a curious read. The novel races from page to page true to its genre, but there’s also more remorse and regret in its characters than found in most such novels. I found the parallels between Mike and John Fiske as well as the contrasts between the brothers Harms and the brothers Fiske very interesting. A character such as John Fiske could’ve been the narrator of the story, his back story is that rich and promising, but Baldacci never explores this beyond the surface perhaps to stay true to the plot which is the driving force in these novels.
Baldacci displays his strength when covering the legal arena, the politics of the Supreme Court, the Military, etc. But this is not a novel steeped in the legal proceedings either, I mean, this is not a legal thriller in the true sense of the term, there are no courtroom battles. There are scenes where the judges wrestle, lobby each other on challenging precedents about the law that were insightful but seemed part of a different novel altogether. Atleast, the way Baldacci introduces a key judicial debate seems intrusive to the story’s flow since the reader is set up to expect the next step in John and Sara’s investigative trail.
As far as characterization goes, much of it is done through backstory fed through conversations and the ones that benefit the most are the Harms brothers. The Harms come of as live, breathing characters because they experience the extremes of sin/redemption, punishment/reprieve, condemnation/celebration. They are also the characters that noticeably go through a transformation. John does too, but his is more inferred than shown. Maybe some key scenes could have had more emotional undertones or sharply written dialogues, something poignant to underscore John’s jealousy, his stoic resolve. While the novel concerns itself with Sara and John’s romance, their affection for each other seems more a plot conceit than reality. The novel loses emotional integrity from the way someone like Sara throws herself at John. This is not a judgement call, it just doesn’t seem palatable or normal for Sara to act the way she does around John from the start. That their relationship takes the course it does also plays out like a different kind of story than the one I’m reading. The arguments between John and his father and some of the tiffs between John and Sara seem forced.
The plot itself is very well conceived and pays of well at the end. The two or three twists towards the end were worth the wait. Especially, the one involving an FBI agent was a total surprise. The dyslexia anglewas also a nice touch. I wish Justice Knight’s reaction wasn’t given away earlier in the game, it undercut the surprise in the revelation of one of the bad guys. If you are a reader who loves twists and enjoys a fast pace, then this novel won’t disappoint.
Review of Jose Saramago’s, “All the Names”
Jose Saramago, a Portuguese writer, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998. After reading about his novels, I decided to try “All the Names” for it seemed the most peculiar of the lot. Let me start by saying that Saramago is probably an acquired taste for many; especially those who expect direction from their authors. Saramago must hate indentations and quotation marks and probably punctuations for the most part. He blends in dialogues, monologues, thoughts and narration together. Even though this seems ridiculous, when you read him you don’t notice the lack of said structure. Whether that is Saramago’s intention isn’t clear, but he succeeds with this aberration nonetheless.
The story follows a tremulous clerk who works at the Civil Registry, a bureaucratic monster, where he records the names of the newly born, the dead and updates the transitions of the living. As a hobby he secretly follows the lives of famous people of his own selection from the registry. One day he accidentally comes across the card for a normal citizen, an unknown lady. Inexplicably Jose’s drawn to the lady’s life and sets about gathering data about her whereabouts. His quest to find the lady’s identity is the novel’s story.
Senhor Jose, the main character, could easily be seen as a hybrid creation of Kafka and Borges. The same can be said about Saramago. The metaphysical imagery, tortured monologues, the wistful way chance and circumstance play with characters, the crushing machinery of life and the unforgiving exaction of the workplace are all part of the picture that Saramago paints with magnificent leaps in narration with concern for the absurdest feelings in man.
Penguin India CEO David Davidar writes his first novel 'The House of Blue Mangoes'.
http://www.the-week.com/20dec24/life7.htm
http://www.newstodaynet.com/21jan/ss1.htm
guys read the book 'the web of silk and gold'
penguin current best seller by south indian babe shakti niranjchana. acc to me fine novel by a young genius
hey read that book. enjoyed it. By author shakti niranjchana . The style was fantastic. nice story frank book
Jose Saramango's( Nobel for lit 1998) "Tale of the unknown island"
Written like a fable. It is so intriguing and mind boggling, I can only feel my reaction, can not articulate it. Remember Udhaya had reviewed his "All the names" recently?
It is a very small book and can be read within fortyfive minutes.
I also recently read the book Web of Silk and Gold. Mukesh and Shaila, what did you like most about the book? It was has good flow and I think the author has handled a tough subject with ease.
hi
read 'web of silk and gold" to me it was the feelings that were written which was good. i liked thta part. also very poetic. I wish it was longer though
where can i buy 'the web of silk and gold?
vipasa:
I picked it up from Higginbothams, Madras when I was last there, but you can buy it here http://www.indiaclub.com/shop/Search...ProdStock=8354
dhruva:
Yes, the emotions of a young girl, married off young, coming from a protected family are written so well. It is a touching novel and I am sure many Indian women might see themselves or part of themselves in Aradhna.
Hi I have read the book "web of silk and gold"Aradhana's plight early in her marriage brought tears in my eyes.
well friends, does anyone know what Shakti Niranjchana's next book is about? I read somewhere that she is writing a book on arts and craft and there's also buzz that she may be writing a historic novel?
BTW Has anyone read David Davidar's new book?
Review of Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance
Mistry has been lauded as a master storyteller who belongs among the 19th century greats. The American media is completely enamored with his writing calling it Dic*kensian (the forum censor thought I was swearing when I typed the author's last name, ha). Mistry does create endearing characters that gain an intimate resonance from the careful details of their longings, motives, actions and the circumstances surrounding their everyday struggles. The intertwining stories of a middle-aged Parsi widow, a college youth who’s the widow’s paying guest, and two tailors who work for the widow form the core of the novel. There are plenty of secondary characters that aid and obstruct the lives of the four main characters. The Emergency period under Indhira Gandhi’s reign and the fascist power wielded by the MISA act are the real villains in this novel. Mistry is best when personalizing the political or social edicts through his characters. This was the remarkable beauty of his earlier novel, “Such a Long Journey”.
But in “A Fine Balance”, Mistry elaborates the catastrophic reach of injustice in every corner that the reader feels like a participant in an ill-fated, masochistic video game. While the political and social corruptions are endemic to any Indian novel’s concerns, Mistry’s agenda of contempt is so unforgiving and deep-seated that his characters risk incredulity in their epic suffering. Other than catching the plague or being stoned to death, almost every other calamity is accounted for by the characters: fatal accidents, gruesome suicides, castration, forced vasectomies, hanging, lynching, slave labor, starvation, broken limbs, not to mention the lighter fare of bribes, extortion and forced abeyance on the victims. The narration barely lets up before delivering the next heartbreak. Every lucky break afforded a character is a harbinger of a future calamity that the title’s balance becomes ironic. There is no balance of joy and pain here, only a relentless parade of misery.
The Emergency period was a dark era in India’s history when the authorities were empowered with a fascist law. Historically the lower castes, and poor have suffered unthinkable atrocities under the hands of power in India. But these realities still need to be rendered in a way that doesn’t lean on melodrama which ultimately sells short the real suffering endured by many.
Tell me if any book can beat 'Silence of the Lamb' as the best contemporary psycological thriller. I doubt it.
But if you guys want comedy, violence rolled into one seamless mixture, then Cristopher Brookmyre should be your choice. I'll list some of his novels:
*Boling a frog;
*Not the end of the world;
*Quite ugly one morning
*One fine day in the middle of the night.
If any of you guys have read any of the above please feel free to contact me and comment on them.
Theena
Pls do not post any personal messages to Ms. shakti niranjchana here. The author does not like personal messages and we have removed all such posts on her request.
Dear S Niranjchana:
When will your next book be published?
Madam:
Happy Birthday! Wish you the best life can offer!
Urgent - Please contact me at roy*******@yahoo.com
Dear, You can add this in Your next novel.
Orru thai Thettuvathupol Yen NESAR thettuvar, Marboddu cherthu annaipar, manna kavalai yavum theerppar.----Orru thai
A sincere well wisher.
Please visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/roy*******family Replace ******* by my second name
Came across this online:
IF ONLY I COULD SEE
My eyes are clouded
They do not let me see
The love that awaits me
If only I could see!
Pillars of strength
Await my embrace
To give me comfort
If only I could see!
Hearts laid bare
Ready with love
To give me strength
If only I could see!
Love from home
Love that is strong
Love unconditional
Awaits me far away
If only I could see!
Oh veil of darkness
Set me free
Oh cloud screen
Let me see!
Check this link out http://www.kevinhogan.com/Finding.htm
don't forget april 16
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Vintage Jeffrey Archer, a web of plotting and subplotting, an eye for an eye, revenge is a dish best served cold.
While I have yet to find an unlikeable Archer tale, this one embodies his skills, his sense of humour, his development of even the minor characters, and his ability to force the reader to concentrate on every word, comma, and inflection.
Kane and Abel, and the two sequels, is, of course, a masterpiece in its own right, but too easy a choice for a favorite. As the Crow Flies was very human, detailed lives, and fun successes, but not so much intrique, and isn't that why we read the great Archer? To feel just that much more superior and intelligent for having spent that much more time in the 'Master's' mind?
The Sons of Fortune was not on par. It smacked of a Sidney Sheldon. Sheldon is a fun read, but rather like sitting down to an hour with Gone with the Wind, and finding you grabbed a Harlequin by mistake.
I have read a poem by Edgar Lee Masters.It starts like this.
I have known the silence of the stars and of the sea
And the silence of the city when it pauses
And the silence of the man and a maid
And the silence for which music alone finds the word
And the silence of the woods before the winds of spring begin
After a few lines an intersting stanza,
A curious boy asks an old soldier
Sitting in front of the grocery store,
"How did you loose your leg?,
And the old soldier is struck with silence
Or his mind flies away
Because he cannot concentrate it on Gettysburg.
It comes back jocosely
And he says "a bear bit off"
And the boy wonders. While the old soldier
Dumbly feebly lives over
The flashes of guns ,the thunder of cannon
The shrieks of the slain
And himself lying on the ground
And the hospital surgeons,the knives
And the Long days in bed.
But if he could describe it all
He would be an artist
But if he were an artist there would be deeper wounds
Which he could not describe.
Any one has read it?