Monday, October 31, 2005
Interpreter Of Maladies – Jhumpa Lahiri (Fantastic)
The “Interpreter Of Maladies” is a collection of nine stories that concern snapshots of lives and characters that are unassuming. I really, really enjoyed this book. I was pleased that not all the stories had happy endings that wrapped up neatly; I found this really refreshing and realistic. The stories are varied and thoroughly enchanting but the ones that work best are those that capture the absurdity of ordinary situations. There are no heroes and villains in these stories, just people who are vaguely disgruntled in their relationships due to discord with their new surroundings.According to me, Lahiri did a wonderful job of describing her characters - I felt like I really knew them and could empathize. What I loved most of all, is that she did it in short story format. Therefore, you need not read this in one stretch (although I think you will, because you’ll find it very interesting). Lahiri writes about the Indian American experience from all angles in indelible, lifelike stories that are completely predictable, but only in retrospect. This is a great read and I highly recommend it.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom (Beautiful)
I had borrowed this book from a library about two years ago. I’ve been wanting to buy it since then. “The Five People You Meet In Heaven” gave me a nice, warm feeling. It would offer comfort to anyone who read it. The book gave me time to think about the people whose lives have touched me and whose lives in someway I have touched.The book is about an 83 year old man, Eddie, who dies in a tragic accident. With his final breath, he feels two small hands in his – and then nothing. He awakens in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a lush Garden of Eden, but a place where your earthly life is explained to you by five people who were in it. These people may have been loved ones or distant strangers. Yet each of them changed your path forever.
I could not help but think of whom I would meet (if I were to go to heaven :-)) when I died. It was a beautiful book and it somehow soothed me. This is a good read for anyone looking for some form of meditation. I plan on buying this book as a gift for my husband.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
The Shining - Stephen King (Spine - Chilling)
Warning! Read this book ONLY if you can handle it, if you enjoy getting s**t scared, AND if you have a loving and patient spouse who will not complain when dragged into the bathroom with you because you are scared :-). “The Shining” was the best horror book I have ever read. I could not sleep peacefully in the night and I could not go on my own to even the next room! No book has ever taken over my imagination like this, before or since.The story is about a father who is a recovered alcoholic, who loses his job due to this problem. So now, he's offered a job managing a resort/hotel.His son Danny, who has the ability to almost foretell what happens, is scared for some reason. He has an imaginary friend, Tony, who is telling him very clearly that something is wrong here at this hotel. His parents don't really believe him, and think he is being silly, until things REALLY do begin to happen.
This book is a MUST read for all “horror” book lovers. Reading the book was so much better than watching the movie.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Girl With A Pearl Earring - Tracy Chevalier (Extremely Engaging)
One of my close friends recommended this book to me. I read it two years ago and found the book very unusual and fascinating. “Girl With A Pearl Earring” follows the life-changing experiences of a 16-year old girl (Griet) who is a servant in the Vemeer household who becomes the subject of a well-known painting.The story is set in a time when the prosperous middle class were becoming art patrons. The story is so well described that I could really feel what it was to live in that time and place. The book describes many of Vermeer's works, adding a depth and mood to the story that captures the reader from the very beginning.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something different.
The Houdini Girl - Martyn Bedford (Absorbing)
I read this book four years ago. I remember that though the story dragged in a few places, overall the book was pretty intriguing. Red, a professional magician who's fallen madly in love with - and unexpectedly lost - a tough cookie named Rosa.This book is stylish and fast moving, but by the end it gets tediously overcomplicated. Red loses Rosa early, in a grisly and mysterious train accident, and spends the rest of the novel reflecting on their time together and searching for the key to what really happened, an inquiry that puts his own life in jeopardy.
“The Houdini Girl” is a well written and interesting novel.
The Bitch In The House - Cathi Hanauer (Lively & Thought-Provoking)
What can I say? Doesn’t the title of the book itself lure you (ONLY WOMEN PLEASE!) into reading this book? This book is a good compilation of stories by 26 women authors. They all write about a piece of their lives where the “bitch” comes out. The book is a collection of domestic rage experienced by many ambitious professional women who are struggling in this “half-changed” world. It feels almost like you are having a chat with one of your girl friends over a cup of coffee.Topics in “The Bitch In The House” range from the choice to not have children to the taboo of extra marital affairs to bisexuality. The beauty of the book is that it has no “ulterior motive”. It does not disperse any advice/intended messages on how women could improve their relationship with their partners/spouses and children.
Most of the stories are funny and I could relate to a few of them. A couple of the stories were a bit tedious and a couple of them were a bit too negative for me. Other than that, it is a good read. I would love to read the men’s answer to “The Bitch In The House” which was compiled by Cathi’s husband that came out last year – “The Bastard On The Couch” – I think I love it already :-) (Next on my book list).
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
The Nanny Diaries - Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus (Funny)
In real life both the authors have worked as nannies and in "The Nanny Diaries" they have written a caustic satire about nannies and the rich families they serve in Upper East Side New York. The nanny (main character) works for wealthy Mrs.X to care for her only son Grayer. Nanny's overwhelming need to nurture and protect Grayer is not part of Mrs. X's agenda. Her needs and whims are foremost in running a childproof luxury Manhattan apartment and maintaining a failing marriage.I enjoyed reading this book. I found it both amusing and poignant. Simply put, there is nothing more delectable than evidence that being very rich and very thin does not mean that one is happy, loved or wise :-) This is a just the kind of book I would take to the “beach” with me.
Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri (Very Interesting)
I read this book about a year ago and I loved it. This was probably because I could relate to the book in so many ways. I have seen so many friends and acquaintances go through what Ashima and Ashoke went through.In “Namesake”, Jhumpa Lahiri portrays the temperaments of the Calcutta-born parents, a pair tied to their Indian roots, customs and rituals. After the birth of their son, circumstances force them to forego custom and offer a name for the birth certificate. Flummoxed, Ashoke offers the “second” name, Gogol, never meant for use as the child’s public, or formal, name. Ashoke impulsively makes this choice based on the Russian writer Nikolai Gogol. As for their son, Gogol, he detests his name, although he is helpless to change it until he is an adult. The unfortunate Gogol is tethered to this dual Indian-American life, never quite fitting anywhere (“ABCD” as he is called – American Born Confused Desis).
This book is surely worth a buy. It is a lovely book and any multi-cultural citizen of America would especially appreciate it. Bollywood is coming out with a movie based on this novel.
Madras On Rainy Days - Samina Ali (Different)
This book was recommended by a dear friend. This novel was especially enchanting to me since a part of the story is based in a city that I hail from. "Madras On Rainy Days" is not a great novel, but it does offer readers an enlightening portrayal of one young woman's cultural crisis.Layla, the protagonist is Muslim, but she is also American, a child of divorce, a survivor of child abuse, and an exile who divides her time between Hyderabad in India and America, never quite belonging in either place. Despite her parents' attempt to shelter her, though, Layla still underwent many American rites of passage, often without her parents' knowledge. With the odds heavily stacked against her, Layla agrees to an arranged marriage to a handsome engineer, Sameer.
The symbolism in the story sometimes is explained in too much detail and not much is left to the readers to decipher symbolism on their own. I think this book would mainly interest women. The book was a good attempt by Samina Ali.
Tuesdays With Morrie - Mitch Albom (A Must Read)
I read this book about a year ago. "Tuesdays With Morrie" was on my book list for the longest time but somehow I never got around to reading it until a year ago. The book is an inspirational recount of a man's life - a man whose passion for the human spirit has continued to live long after his last breath. A sports writer looks up his old college professor after hearing of his illness and the relationship between the two that rekindles after years apart. This book should be read by people of all ages. These are the life lessons that Morrie passed down to Mitch Albom, and Mitch shared them with the world. This book touched me and made me think about the things that are really important in life. This book is a MUST read.
Monday, October 03, 2005
Good In Bed - Jennifer Weiner (Very Good)
A close friend recommended this book to me. This is a good pick-me-up book. I do not remember the details of the book since I read this book about four years ago. The main character - Cannie Shapiro - reminds you of Bridget Jones. Just like Bridget Jones, Cannie is funny and sassy and she's dieting. Cannie is considerably overweight. She is a realistic portrayal of a large woman in a size 4 world. Despite her girth, Cannie has her life fairly together - she is a successful writer, has close friends and a supportive (if offbeat) family. She has recently broken it off with her boyfriend of three years but she is comfortable with the break since it was her decision. But then he, Bruce, does the unthinkable, the unimaginable - he publishes an article called "Loving a Larger Woman" in a national magazine. And everyone who knows Cannie (and even some she has yet to meet) know the piece is about her and her Lewinski-esque physique.
According to me, this book holds an appeal to women. This is a book to read over tea and scones - so sit back, relax and enjoy the book.
The Red Tent - Anita Diamant (Magnificient)
I read this book about four years ago. It was suggested to me by my dearest friend and I knew I was going to love the book since we both share a similar taste (in books). "The Red Tent" is a biblical tale told in the voice of Jacob's daughter Dinah. Dinah narrates stories of her four mothers, Rachel, Leah, Zilpah and Bilhah (all wives to Jacob). The "Red Tent" of the title refers to the tent the women of the tribe remain in while experiencing their "time of the month" or while giving birth.
This is a novel written by a woman, about women, and for women. I don't think this book will have as much appeal to most men - but I may be wrong. It was a magnificient book and I recommend it to all women.
