The White Tiger

Simple, straightforward and different - Aravind Adigas The white tiger do warrants a read just for the fact that it is different from most of the other Indian novels - here you will hear the story of Balram Halwai and his journey from rags to riches.

 

Balram Halwai is an average Indian - born in a village and raised and conditioned to be servant - this is his story - the story of entrepreneurship and breaking free, the story of how he transformed himself to become one among the entrepreneurs who made their life - the story of Truth about India, as Balram says.

 

The story unfolds in a series of letters, written to Chinese premier, and follows the path he took to reach where he is today. There are lot of remarks in the book which will leave behind an impression - "In the old days there were one thousand castes and destinies in India. These days there are two castes: Men with Big Bellies, and Men with Small Bellies." - like this.

 

Adiga have succeeded in capturing the outlook of the poor man about the ways of modern world and the quest of the poor to make it to the rich, and as a side story, he puts light on the true condition of the politics and business - a place where money and power talks.

 

The author paints the difference between the 'darkness' and the modern world - the entrepreneurs paradise, the call center heaven, the IT city - places like Gurgaon and Bangalore, and he have done it with remarkable effect.

 

There is no boardroom drama, there is no cut throat business competition, there is no glamorous world of fashion, pubs and high society, but there is a stark naked world of truth - a world where pot bellies are made and cash and shrewdness rules the roost.

 

Give it a try - I liked it.

A date with books

Harini tagged me and man, this is a tag I love to do :-D

Do you remember how you developed a love for reading?

my parents encouraged me to read - they used to get me boks from Prabath book house - it was not a conventional book store, but a big red bus. they used to have stories translated from russian. I used to read a lot of them and then i joined the library at my dads village when i was in school. I always liked ot read, and i grew up listening tales of indian mythology from my grandma and reading russian flok tales from the books. 

It was my friends shyam who introduced me to English litereture. I started reading english books when i was doing 1st year Pre-University. And I started with Hardy boys :-D 

What are some books you read as a child?

Lot of flok tales from russia, malayalam novels and short stories. I used to look at Mirror and Misha - two russian magazines - Our library used to get them and my dad used to bring them home. Though I could not read and understand them, I used to look and imagine the life there. 

What is your favourite genre?

Anything other than sweet-sticky-mushy romance. 

Do you have a favourite novel?

A lot, and I have said about them many times in my blog. 

Where do you usually read?

I read at almost any place. If I am at home, I love lounging on my beanbag. I have the habit carrying the book I am currently reading with me when I go anywhere so that if I have to wait, I can read and pass time. 

When do you usually read?

Any free time I can get

Do you usually have more than one book you are reading at a time?

Nope. I kind of like to read one at a time. 

Do you read nonfiction in a different way or place than you read fiction?

Nope. I ain't a advocate of descrimination :P 

Do you buy most of the books you read, or borrow them, or check them out of the library?

Buy them most fo the time, borrow them once in a while - but I borrow from those who I am really comfortabel with, and I lend to those whom I am really comfy with.
 

Do you keep most of the books you buy? If not, what do you do with them?

Yes, I keep them. I want to ahve a library of my own :-D

If you have children, what are some of the favorite books you have shared with them? Were they some of the same ones you read as a child?

Yes, i think so. but only thing is, now I dont see much russian folk tales and the books I used ot read as kids.  I would suggest Kerala, Bengali and Russian children's Literature

What are you reading now?

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre

Do you keep a TBR (to be read) list?

Yes. I start doing it eitehr wehn I read some reviews and like the book, or when I am almost ready for next visit to book store. But I always not necesserily goes by that list. 

What books would you like to reread?

The list changes. Now on the top are - Kalam by MT Vasudevan Nair (Malayalam), My Childhood by Maxim Gorky and Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra.

Who are your favourite authors?

from Ayn rand to Grisham, From PG Wodehouse to Fritjof Capra, from Mt Vasudevan Nair to Shivarama Karanth, from Vijay Tendulkar to sadath Hasan manto, From Kafka to Khalid hosseini, the list goes on and on. 

i tag..

Preetz, Veenzie, Winnipoohi, Tia, Prats, Tys and Cess - u r always tagged. I would love to tag Busy_writer too, but she is alredy tagged. 

ps: If any of you read bengali literature, could you please ping me on my mail id? I am trying to get the name of some books I read during my school days, but i am not able to pinpoint them. Any help will be really appreciated. 

Never let me go - Kazuo Ishiguro

Imagine sitting besides a pond still and deep, nestled in the middle of a tranquil landscape, with a gentle wind to give you company - this is almost what i felt when i was reading 'Never let me go' by Kazuo Ishiguro. The novel was more of a poem than a novel. The style so subtle and masterful, that it overpowers the substance at many places.

When you travel with students of Hailsham from the innocent dorm days to their last days, you get a feeling of an urge to explode, to run down the street screaming, to reclaim the personal life from what is to what it could have been. The novel is simple and deceptively sad, and a journey from hopelessness to more hopelessness...and when you encounter the breaking point at last, you feel an emptiness... an emotion which cant be described using words...

the relation between Kath, Tommy and Ruth is strong and deep and the effect of it in the story is like a tide, which strikes you with full force when Ruth passes away... the mental agony each one goes through, the state numbness which tides over Kath when she have to do anything but break the silence... I am at loss of words...

The book is not about science, it is not a science fiction... it merely uses a concept to weave an intricate story - a story so beautifully intricate that the concept (or medium? ) on which the story is build is reduced to nothing but a spectator...

Man, I fail so miserably when I try to describe this work. I should have known my limitations before I set out to write a review to this fantastic piece of novel with an intriguing poetic beauty.

Go and read this book if you are in mood for something stirring, something pulling the strings of your heart... and don’t try to analyze this book with reason or science - that will be the worst thing you can do to this work of art. Not recommended for time pass reading or perk up reading... it may even bog down you mood a bit...

Witch of Portobello - a review

Finished reading witch of Portobello last Saturday.
My first impression - It is different. The book is different, and really didn’t left me with the feeling usually associated with books of Coelho, but if you discount that fact, this is a fantastic book. I have heard some of my friends saying that this book didn’t measure up to the usual Coelho standard, and I have only one thing to tell them – read it with a clear mind, not with a prejudiced mind, and you will enjoy it.

I like the way the narration goes - no dialogues, no letter, not even a straightforward narrative; but a series of first person accounts - like a collection of beautiful beads connect by a carefully woven silken thread. Only by the end of the book we realize the existence of a narrator, who decides to let unfold the rather unusual story of a rather unusual heroin - Athena, through events, impressions and memories of people who knew her. These showcases more than one Athena - each person paints a picture different from the other one, and we readers are left with liberty to paint the picture with the help of our own imagination.

Read it, for it is a different experience. And don’t read it with expectations or prejudices - open the book with a clean mind, and you will be rewarded.

The Witch of Portobello - for free

Courtsey to Harpercollins, you can now read The Witch of Portobello. Click here to read.

(Currently I am reading teh hardcopy of The Witch of Portobello)