Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews featuring the books I got this week, and I also mention blog news/happenings of the next week.
These are the books I received this week. This week I'll put up the reviews for
Sunday, 30 December 2012
Saturday, 22 December 2012
Book Review- Collected Stories, Anita Desai
Published by Random House India
Synopsis-
Buried resentments, unexpected disappointments, new friendships, small acts of cruelty, journeys that take you back to where you started. With trademark compassion and tender irony, Anita Desai’s short stories give us familiar worlds made unfamiliar, to wonderful effect. An ageing couple is stranded in a stultifying Delhi summer by the visit of a roguish old Oxford friend, who trades on his charm; an American woman turns to hippies living in the Indian hills, homesick for the farmlands of Vermont; a dog terrorizes the neighbourhood but is cherished by his stern master; a Delhi girl of slender means finds a new kind of freedom with her young friends, in her barsati home; a peaceful game of hide and seek turns into a nightmare; a businessman sees his own death. In one masterly volume, for the first time ever, here are Anita Desai’s collected stories —including Diamond Dust and Games at Twilight.
My Review-
This book is a volume of short stories by Anita Desai with a soulful
connection. Published by Random House this book is one of a gem. What basically
happens when you write short stories is that while you try to give it that
usual fast pace, you tend to ignore the detailing and the chances of capturing
those little intricacies goes down drastically. In Collected Stories, Desai
completely surprises me with her abilities to balance between the two. The
variation of plots, characters and emotions take me aback every time. When you
try finding a connection between all of them, what you get is an asymmetrical
pattern of tales that share a soul.
About The Author-
born- June 24, 1937 in India
gender- female
genre- Literature & Fiction, Children's Books
Book Review- The Artist Of Disappearance, Anita Desai
Paperback, 176 pages
Published 2012 by Vintage Books (first published August 1st 2011)
born- June 24, 1937 in India
gender- femalegenre- Literature & Fiction, Children's Books
Anita Desai was born in 1937. Her published works include adult novels, children's books and short stories. SHe is a member of the Advisory Board for English of the National Academy of Letters in Delhi and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in London. Anita Mazumdar Desai is an Indian novelist and Emeritus John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has been shortlisted for the Booker prize three times. Her daughter, the author Kiran Desai, is the winner of the 2006 Booker prize.
Book Review- Unaccustomed Earth, Jhumpa Lahiri
Paperback, 333 pages
Published 2009 by Random house india (first published January 1st 2008)
Synopsis-
These eight stories by beloved and bestselling author Jhumpa Lahiri take us from Cambridge and Seattle to India and Thailand, as they explore the secrets at the heart of family life. Here they enter the worlds of sisters and brothers, fathers and mothers, daughters and sons, friends and lovers. Rich with the signature gifts that have established Jhumpa Lahiri as one of our most essential writers, Unaccustomed Earth exquisitely renders the most intricate workings of the heart and mind.
My Review-
Jhumpa Lahiri reveals the plight of the Indians staying abroad with a
collection of short stories named Unaccustomed Earth. There have been
generations of Indians who have been living in the US. They have settled back
in there and embraced the culture beautiffully with time. The changes that have
come have been drastic. It is the transition and the aftermaths of the same
that Lahiri discusses through a set of short stories. The book has been divided
into two parts. The first part is a set of five short stories not related to
each other. There is a dignified diversity in the characters in which you
cannot just call a single, or a couple of characters to be the principal one.
Each one has a different life, different set of problems and a solution they’ve
sought out for, affecting the lives of the other characters. When they all
amalgamate, they give you a distinctive peek into the complex working of the
human minds. The major themes, or highlights are generation gap, drastic
changes that completely change a person, extra-marital relationships and love
after a certain age that in India is considered to be unsuitable.
The second set of stories, on the other hand are about the same people
who’ve gone through different phases and how differently their lives have
turned out. Ultimately, they discover love in the most unlikely place. The
second part is entitled Hema and Kaushik after the names of the characters
around which the stories revolve. Hema’s and Kaushik’s families are friends and
the first story is an account of their families from a similar background
trying to adjust themselves to the new environment. The family gradually drifts
apart due to various reasons. The second story encompasses Kaushik’s life after
the death of his mother, when his father marries someone else. The state of
mind of Kaushik and the complicated relationships have been given the priority.
In the third story, Kaushik meets Hema after twenty long years. Hema, a
professor by profession is getting over her affair with a married man. Kaushik,
now a photojournalist travelling the world is now set to settle down with a job
in Hong Kong. Their encounter in Italy sends huge sparks flying and they
realise they’ve met their soul mates.
Frankly, I’m not very much happy with Lahiri again restricting herself with
her characters only being Bengali. She has got oodles of talent. I understand
that being a Bengali, she feels she has ample knowledge about the mentalities.
If she can explore different cultures within India and get enough knowledge
about them she’d craft equally good characters, just not Bengali. The detailed
descriptions, and intricacies somehow slow down the pace of the story. She gets
a [+1] for the detailing and a [-1] for the slow pace, both however don’t
nullify each other. They render the story a whole different effect which is
nowhere else to be found.
About The Author-
born- July 11, 1967 in London (England), The United Kingdom
genre- Literature & Fiction
Book Review- Phantom, Jo Nesbo
Paperback, 464 pages
Published October 2nd 2012 by Vintage Canada (first published 2011)
ISBN
030736108X (ISBN13: 9780307361080)
edition language
English
original title
Gjenferd
series
Synopsis-
The murder has been solved. But has justice been done? Harry Hole is back in Oslo. He's been away for some time, but his ghosts have a way of catching up with him. The case that brings him back is already closed. There is no room for doubt: The young junkie was shot dead by a fellow addict. The police don't want him back....
Denied permission to reopen the investigation, Harry strikes out on his own. Beneath the city's eerie tranquillity, he discovers a trail of violence and mysterious disappearances seemingly unnoticed by the police. At every turn Harry is faced with a conspiracy of silence. The criminals don't want him back....
Harry is not the only one who is interested in the case. From the moment he steps off the plane, someone is watching his every move and tracing his every call. Someone wants him silenced.
Denied permission to reopen the investigation, Harry strikes out on his own. Beneath the city's eerie tranquillity, he discovers a trail of violence and mysterious disappearances seemingly unnoticed by the police. At every turn Harry is faced with a conspiracy of silence. The criminals don't want him back....
Harry is not the only one who is interested in the case. From the moment he steps off the plane, someone is watching his every move and tracing his every call. Someone wants him silenced.
My Review-
Having read all the books Sheldon has written, you feel no
other book, no other author can do justice to mystery, thriller or crime the
way he did. Having picked up The Phantom and now after reading the book, I know
how wrong I was. This man is a genius. This book is the ninth in what
essentially is the Harry Hole series. Now I had no idea that such a man existed
who is such a terrific writer.
In this book, Harry Hole returns to Norway after a three
year long vacation to Hong Kong. His ex-girlfriend’s son, Oleg has been charged
with the murder of his friend, Gutso Hanssen who is also a drug dealer. Years
of drugs and alcohol addiction have left him consumed and his memory has faded
too. He has forgotten his good times with Oleg but still agrees to help him. He
is determined to get to the root of the problem and find the real murderer.
My head reels with my last night’s encounter with the book.
There are too many characters and having read the ninth book at first, it
becomes a little confusing for me. Even though it wasn’t the best place to
begin with, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. The mystery and the thrill
sustains throughout the book and ends with a nail-biting finish. The narration
is smooth and makes the book difficult to put down. The credit has to go to Don
Barlett. He has done a commendable job bringing this Norwegian delight to bring
to so many of us who wouldn’t have gotten the chance to have access to something
that is such a wonderful read. The original title of the book is said to be
Gjenferd which is so not related to Phantom which makes me wonder what
triggered the English translation to be named Phantom.
The rugged unfinished
edges to Harry Hole’s character has already made me fall in love with him. I
think I must go back and finish reading all the other books in the series and
read this book again.
About The Author-
born- March 29, 1960 in Oslo, Norway
gender- male
website- http://jonesbo.com/
genre- Mystery & Thrillers, Children's Books
Tuesday, 18 December 2012
Book Review- One Amazing Thing.
Paperback, 240 pages
Published December 21st 2010 by Hyperion (first published February 2nd 2010)
edition language- English
original title- One Amazing Thing
Synopsis-
Late afternoon sun sneaks through the windows of a passport and visa office in an unnamed American city. Most customers and even most office workers have come and gone, but nine people remain. A punky teenager with an unexpected gift. An upper-class Caucasian couple whose relationship is disintegrating. A young Muslim-American man struggling with the fallout of 9/11. A graduate student haunted by a question about love. An African-American ex-soldier searching for redemption. A Chinese grandmother with a secret past. And two visa office workers on the verge of an adulterous affair.
When an earthquake rips through the afternoon lull, trapping these nine characters together, their focus first jolts to their collective struggle to survive. There's little food. The office begins to flood. Then, at a moment when the psychological and emotional stress seems nearly too much for them to bear, the young graduate student suggests that each tell a personal tale, "one amazing thing" from their lives, which they have never told anyone before. And as their surprising stories of romance, marriage, family, political upheaval, and self-discovery unfold against the urgency of their life-or-death circumstances, the novel proves the transcendent power of stories and the meaningfulness of human expression itself. From Chitra Divakaruni, author of such finely wrought, bestselling novels as Sister of My Heart, The Palace of Illusions, and The Mistress of Spices, comes her most compelling and transporting story to date. One Amazing Thing is a passionate creation about survival--and about the reasons to survive.
When an earthquake rips through the afternoon lull, trapping these nine characters together, their focus first jolts to their collective struggle to survive. There's little food. The office begins to flood. Then, at a moment when the psychological and emotional stress seems nearly too much for them to bear, the young graduate student suggests that each tell a personal tale, "one amazing thing" from their lives, which they have never told anyone before. And as their surprising stories of romance, marriage, family, political upheaval, and self-discovery unfold against the urgency of their life-or-death circumstances, the novel proves the transcendent power of stories and the meaningfulness of human expression itself. From Chitra Divakaruni, author of such finely wrought, bestselling novels as Sister of My Heart, The Palace of Illusions, and The Mistress of Spices, comes her most compelling and transporting story to date. One Amazing Thing is a passionate creation about survival--and about the reasons to survive.
My Review-
Nine different individuals, different origins, a visa office and an
unexpected earthquake that forces them to huddle there for hours together. The
charecters as mentioned in the synopsis are a punky teenager with an
unexpected gift. An upper-class Caucasian couple whose relationship is
disintegrating. A young Muslim-American man struggling with the fallout of
9/11. A graduate student haunted by a question about love. An African-American
ex-soldier searching for redemption. A Chinese grandmother with a secret past.
And two visa office workers on the verge of an adulterous affair.
The concept is pretty nice and it has to be since it’s
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. She is one of those creative people out there who
gets the craziest ideas regarding the concepts that make into fabulous reads.
This one however gave me a few minor glitches. The narration is outrageous and
the introductory part where Uma Sinha notices all the others around and those
little things is really good. What bothers me is, how she tends to make the
transitions from tale to tale. The introduction of the idea of sharing one
amazing thing from each one’s life could have been presented in a better way
though. The tales otherwise are inspiring in every way possible. After Palace
Of Illusions, no one needs to explain how good Divakaruni is at narration.
My Rating- 4 outta 5 stars.
About The Author-
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning author and poet. Her work has been published in over fifty magazines, including The Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker, and her writing has been included in over sixty anthologies. Her works have been translated into fourteen languages, including Dutch, Hebrew and Japanese. Her other children’s books are The Conch Bearer and The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming. Her novel The Mistress of Spices was made into a movie. She lives in Houston with her husband and two sons, and teaches at the University of Houston.
Book Review- River Of Smoke
Hardcover, 522 pages
Published June 1st 2011 by John Murray Publishers (first published January 1st 2010)
edition language- English
original title-River of Smoke
series- Ibis Trilogy #2
setting- Canton (China)
Singapore
Mauritius
literary awards- Man Asian Literary Prize Nominee (2011)
Synopsis-Singapore
Mauritius
literary awards- Man Asian Literary Prize Nominee (2011)
In September 1838, a storm blows up on the Indian Ocean and the Ibis, a ship carrying a consignment of convicts and indentured laborers from Calcutta to Mauritius, is caught up in the whirlwind. River of Smoke follows its storm-tossed characters to the crowded harbors of China. There, despite efforts of the emperor to stop them, ships from Europe and India exchange their cargoes of opium for boxes tea, silk, porcelain and silver. Among them are Bahram Modi, a wealthy Parsi opium merchant out of Bombay, his estranged half-Chinese son Ah Fatt, the orphaned Paulette and a motley collection of others whose pursuit of romance, riches and a legendary rare flower have thrown together. All struggle to cope with their losses—and for some, unimaginable freedoms—in the alleys and crowded waterways of 19th-century Canton.
My Review-
So, where were we? The Ibis landed in the island of Mareech orMauritius
right? In this installment of what will be called the Ibis trilogy, the voyage
of the charecters continue. After quite a few lives lost, and some bloodshed
the Ibis reaches it’s destination. Quite a few charecters are no more mentioned
and some are new additions. In all the following charecters take the center stage.
- Bahram Modi - Parsi Merchant from Bombay and father of Ah Fat
- Chi Mei - A
Cantonese Boat woman who is the lover of Bahram Modi
- Ah Fat - Son
of Bahram Modi and Chi Mei
- Neel - Munshi of
Bahram Modi
- Vico - Bahram
Modi’s purser
- Zadig Bey - Armenian
watch maker and friend of Bahram Modi
- Fitcher Penrose - A Scottish botanist on an expedition to collect rare plants in
China
- Paulette Lambert - Daughter of a French botanist who accompanies Mr. Fitcher on his
expedition.
- Robert Chinnery - Artist, Paulette’s friend and son of George Chinnery
- Commissioner Lin Zexu - The incorruptible Chinese mandarin who is appointed by the Emperor
of China to put an end to opium trading.
Now that we know who’s who lets get back to the story. Neel Rattan and Ah
Fatt have escaped the Ibis. Paulette has taken a step towards a fresh beginning
to her life and Deeti is mentioned only in the start and briefly towards the
end. The pace of the story is brisk in the start ( briskier than Sea Of
Poppies, i.e.) and slows down after a while. After that every page is sheer
disappointment. As I said, I wanted to hear more about Deeti. I wanted Zachary
Reid to be there and see the love between him and Paulette bloom. I wanted more
of Jodu too. I do not have problems with the language. I wanted a better story
and the elimination of the charecters were unecessary too. The language has to
be brilliant when Amitav Ghosh writes, but the storyline is the backbone. The
second one in the Ibis trilogy is disappointment.
But hey, the start was brilliant and the author is brilliant too. The end I
believe will be great too.He has to be back with a bang. I’m still looking
forward to the third book.
About The Author-
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