Humanizing the Gods - Part 1

The Immortals of Meluha is a fast-paced story written in simple language; probably the reasons that made it a blockbuster in India. The story is quite straight-forward and almost known to most Indians. What makes the book to stand apart is the humanization aspect, much like Anand Neelkanthan's ASURA: Tale Of The Vanquished. The book also delves a bit on philosophy. Just when you expect the story to culminate in praising the hero, it throws open a basic question that whether the act that made a person hero was necessary in the first place? We often celebrate the triumph of good over evil, but then what is evil? Who is evil? Just like most Indian TV series, the first part concludes at a critical juncture and I, like a typical Indian TV series viewer, can't wait to read the 2nd part - The Secret of the Nagas.

Amish Tripathi on his part needs to be commended for rendering the story in an interesting manner. This work may not be a literary treatise, but then if such works puts the book back in the hands of Indian population; indulges the people to read more, I am all for it.

Riot – a time when ideologies, emotions and beliefs are set aside!

A disturbing scenario, an engaging story, a mysterious plot and an usual style of narration greets the readers of Riot. The back-cover of the paperback I read, promptly posed a question as the first line about this book: who killed 24-year-old Priscilla Hart? The answer is not a straight forward one. Mr. Tharoor lets the reader be the judge! There are many whose actions might have led to the unfortunate event. There were few, who had motivations for the same. But then, who really did it?? Think, think, draw your own conclusions, cajoles the author. But, don't expect your answer to be right / perfect because the scenario / story may have a flip side.

The story, as indicated earlier, is about the death Ms. Priscilla Hart and the events preceding and following this unfortunate incident. Ms. Hart is an idealistic American student who comes to India as a volunteer for women's health program and is due to return to New York after finishing the field work for her doctoral research. Having survived a disturbed childhood, Ms Hart's idealistic views take a tumble when hit with the reality that exists in the by-lanes of the 'ghettos' of Zalilgarh. Amidst these blossoms an illegal affair that turns to be true love for Ms Hart and her 'spineless lover'! The love that blossomed in that dilapidated 'sunset room' of the abandoned mansion - Kotli, eventually ends in the death of Ms Hart at the same place. It is almost prophetic when Ms. Hart, in her letter to Cindy Valeriani, writes "it's the only place I love in Zalilgarh, and I'll rather die than give it up.....”

As for setting up the background, the author uses the riots that exploded between the Hindus & Muslims over the Ram Janmabhoomi issue. The plot of Ms Hart's death and the reason(s) thereof is interleaved with the riots itself. The events also introduce and reveal the characteristics of the various protagonists involved. Mr. Tharoor uses a unique style of story-telling through the use of 'flashbacks' personal diary notes, scrapbook entries, personal correspondences, interview transcripts, newspaper clippings, etc. Through these mediums, the author provides his reader a view of American sensibilities, their paranoia, the 'classic Indian mentality', the way of 'Indian life' among its poor, the moral sensibilities and objectives of India's middle-class, the ideologies of 'the rare and very few existent' bureaucratic officers, a police-officer's real reason to be a cop and continue as a cop, the corrupt mindset of India's fanatical politician, the factual errors of the so-called spineless think-tanks, the personal views intermingled with personal agenda of academic scholars, to name a few.

Riot also illustrates malevolent tensions between Hindus and Muslims in India and events that eventually ends up in a riot. The book also paints a very graphic picture of the ensuing mayhem which gives the rioters a license to kill and avenge and the very little that a state-administrator and a top-cop can do in such situations. Riot also questions the Indian citizen for his/her sensibilities, responsibilities and priorities. It also questions the ‘common man’ as in where do his ideologies and beliefs truly lie. Although the back-cover of the paperback describes the book as fiction, it’s hard to believe it to be one. Mr. Tharoor in fact acknowledges the contributions of Mr. Harsh Mander, IAS for his accounts on riots in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh; Prof. Shahid Amin of Delhi University for his work on Ghazi Miyan and Mr. Kisan Mehta for his efforts on Coca Cola in India. But, as a reader I couldn’t stop myself from comparing the protagonist District Magistrate Mr. V. Lakshman and the author himself.

Riot displays a Rashomon-effect storytelling, but doesn’t entirely convince the approach. Certain diary entries and personal correspondences don’t seem to be entirely in a format that is expected to that form, but rather appears as an edited one. All things said, the book is a good-read and certainly one for the shelf; although not recommended for a reader who is on the look-out for a straight who-dun-it! On another note, being a Mumbaikar, the book brings out the disturbing memories of 1992, when my Mumbai burnt.

Finding peace............

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all.

—Emily Dickinson

Michelle Cohen Corasanti's debut novel, The Almond Tree is a story of courage, perseverance and hope. The story is about a Palestinian boy, his brother, his family and their tribunals; the boy being Ahmad Hamid (Ichmad) and his brother Abbas. The story takes us through the different paths taken by the brothers in response to the events that occur in their life. It is a journey of enlightenment.

The story begins in 1950s when Ichmad’s kid-sister, Amal is blown away by a land-mine while trying to catch a butterfly. This is just the beginning of the hardships, pain, humiliation and further deaths in Ichmad’s life. The only good things that Ichmad enjoys, in the midst of chaos, are his Baba’s (father’s) songs, winning backgammon board game and his love for numbers.

Amidst all this stands the almond tree in the backyard of their house / tent. The almond tree more than often becomes Ichmad’s sounding board. When his father is wrongly imprisoned for Ichmad’s deeds, he finds the guilt and pain unbearable. But it is father who insists Ichmad to follow his dreams and espouse peace rather than conflict. It is his father who believes that education alone can bring in prosperity and peace to the region, and thus urges Ichmad to carry on his love for numbers that ultimately lands him in Hebrew University.

From herein, Ichmad is pitted against intolerance at every turn – even from inside his own family, Ichmad’s staunchly traditional mother, his wronged brother Abbas, the construction worker-Avee, his Professor Menachem Sharon and several nameless soldiers. But Ichmad holds on to his beliefs and through his sincerity and genius brings around even his staunchest opposition.

The Almond Tree tells a story of a family, although divided by their personal beliefs, still stands united by love. The novel defies the fact that it is Corasanti’s debut work. Corasanti neither glorifies one side’s struggle nor justifies the other side’s atrocities. There are no traditional heroes or villains in this story. It’s rather the situation that makes the character a hero or a villain. The story rarely depicts itself as a work of fiction; instead it seems like a personal memoir of struggle, hope and the search for peace.

Corasanti depicts a wide range of emotions through her writing. Be it the depiction of the Amal’s death, or “the breeze pushing my back” egging Ichmad to carry on, Corasanti is able to emotionally connect to her readers. But, I feel dejected to some extent because I think the characters were not properly developed. The story is an account of the family members, but as a reader I hope for more depth to the characters. Perhaps the second book from Corasanti will do so.

The Almond Tree personifies the resilience of the human spirit. Corasanti brings out this sentiment beautifully in the lines “their strength lay in their roots, which were so deep that even if the trees were cut down, they survived and sent forth shoots to create new generations.” It also exemplifies the duty to one’s family, one’s sacrifices for his/her family and to honor what one strongly believes in.

The Almond Tree brings forth the utmost necessity of education and thus hopes to bring in prosperity and peace.

Disclosure: In compliance with FTC guidelines, I hereby state that I received this book for free through ‘Goodreads First Reads’.

"Thirteen Steps Down - the irrational fear of the number 13"

The genre of crime-fiction revolves around the crime, the criminal, his/her motives and law enforcement. Majority of the best-sellers are 'whodunnits' from a detective's point-of-view or a thriller which involves an investigating protagonist or a legal courtroom drama. Most of the crime-fiction, that I have read, involved murder mysteries that were solved by the likes of 'Sherlock Holmes', 'Poirot', 'Inspector Reubus' and even 'Jack Reacher'. But "Thirteen Steps Down" by Ruth Rendell is unlike anything that one associates with a crime-fiction bestseller often seen on stands at airports or train stations.

Ruth Rendell exhibits a totally different style of crime fiction writings and almost transforms the general expectations. “Thirteen Steps Down” is, of course, about murders and the murderer involved in occult, superstitions and ghosts. The reader explores the story through the eyes of the murderer himself. Mix Cellini is tenant who lives upstairs of an old Victorian house on Notting Hill, which has been modified to an apartment. Cellini is lonely and mostly treads on being a psychopath. He is strongly opinionated and is obsessed with the serial killer John Christie and a local model, Nerissa Nash.

The story takes you along the lives of various characters involved in the story through the eyes of Cellini. Cellini is so obsessed with John Christie that he almost visualizes Christie, who is long dead. Cellini's entire library contains books on Christie, his murders and his victims. He is also obsessed about Nerissa Nash and eventually stalks her. Gwendoline Chawcer, the old reclusive landlady of Cellini, who spends her time reading and pondering over her lost love - Dr Stephen Reeves, appears as lonely and weird as Cellini. The story takes you along the streets and lifestyles of England and English people. While Mrs Chawcer doesn't really consider Olive, Queenie and Hazel as her 'friends', they are, in reality, the only ones she's ever got! The lives of the characters are intervened in such as Nerrisa Nash is daughter of Hazel, who is the niece of Olive, who is a 'friend' of Mrs Chawcer, of whom Cellini is a tenant. The landlady and the tenant live in the world of their own and often detest the lifestyle of the other. The story progresses at its own sweet little pace, before the characters intrude into Cellini's 'space' and that's when violence explodes. While what happens of Cellini is predictable, the way it does forms the crux of the climax.

The book is depicted as a psychological thriller. Well it wasn't exactly a thriller for me but, did come well across the psychological part in way of its characters. The pace is slow and I felt the descriptions of locations to be much better in the writings of say Ian Ranklin or Kazuo Ishiguro. John Christie appears for most part of the novel and one feels him to be a character rather than an obsession for Cellini. Ruth Rendell does justice to the characters of Mix Cellini and Gwendoline Chawcer. The weirdness and behavioral inconsistencies of Cellini and Chawcer justifies their lifestyles. But their actions and thoughts seem too far-fetched. A twist towards the end / climax often should have fetched 'what on the earth' expression from the reader, but this is missing in case of "Thirteen Steps Down". The twist appeared quite lame, almost apologetically, as if the author wished to justify or provide a rational reasoning for the sequence of events that unfold. Thirteen is just a number; it’s what your mind does with the number, make it unlucky or dreadful! Overall the book does deserve a read once at least for presenting a 'different' outlook to the genre of crime-fiction writing.

With this I now move on to another book - another author - another genre!  :)

Enjoy your evening!

"The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro" 

"Register yourself on 'Goodreads' and take part in the 'Reading Challenge' contest" said an old friend. In the retrospect, he was the one who got me introduced into reading. By reading I mean the world of non-reference books. Till that time all I read was books concerned to my subject; what could be easily classified as 'hardcore' biology books. So coming back to the Goodreads reading challenge, I had managed to finish my target of 18 books last year (2012). Buoyed by this success, this year I upped the ante to 20 books. Whether I survive this one or not, one would definitely know by November this year ! :)

While I was wondering what should I start reading for this year's challenge, along came a suggestion - The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. I must say it was an excellent book to start this year's reading list. What potentially seemed to move in a direction of a travelogue, eventually opens up the world of a butler to the reader. The constant yearning to be a 'great' butler is so well captured that you almost feel yourself to be inside the head of Mr. Stevens. The accompanied description of the characters and locations allows a reader born in the late 20th century, the feel of war-era England.

I have often felt that many a great / good books start with great promise but falter in between. But Kazuo Ishiguro deserves special kudos for not letting the character falter even once in the entire narrative. Not only Mr. Stevens exhibits the 'propah' English essence, he also sustains it till the last page. One experiences the despair, the conflict of ethics, the need to uphold professional values at such close quarters that one feels sorry for Mr. Stevens in the end.

The book is all about subtlety. The humor is subtle and so is the sorrow. But make no mistake, the emotions hits the reader at the right amount. Julie, my cousin, described it as 'one of the most devastatingly sad books she has ever read. Brilliant, but tragic'. One just feels that, for once, Mr. Stevens should put aside his professional life and live for himself. Then again, would Mr. Stevens remain Mr. Stevens after that?

So I presume we should let Mr. Stevens be himself and absorb his story. As Ishiguro aptly puts it towards the end of the book: “The evening's the best part of the day. You've done your day's work. Now you can put your feet up and enjoy it”, and what better way to enjoy your day than reading 'The Remains of the Day'.

This book truly deserves all the honours that can come in its way, including the coveted Booker prize!