A Book and A Window

Happiness Purpose – Edward De Bono

2011-08-18T00:11:00.000-07:00

Being a reader with not many strong preferences towards genres, the closest genre I come to favour is self-help. I know…its sad. More so because many of the books in this category are junk, rather than the futility of the pursuit itself. After all nothing is more worthy than an effort put towards a better life, a better ‘me’. Anyway, these aforementioned books usually sell because of one concept or sometimes just a catchy phrase which gives you a temporary ‘Aha’ moment. Like the much used ‘imagine you are dead’ or ‘what if you die today’ concept to make you realize what your priorities in life should be. Or the ‘principle-centeredness’ of Covey, the NLP of Antony Robbins. You get the idea…

The credit of course goes to the magic of words – the same things said with different words have different impact on different people. Which is why so many self-help books and therefore Gurus click well enough to become best-sellers. It makes sense to someone somewhere. And this lengthy preamble is just to say I have found one book that makes sense to me.

Happiness Purpose by Edward De Bono claims to be a new religion, a meta-system, that helps you find happiness. He reasons that when your demand-space / life-space is closest to your cope-space / self-space you are likely to be happy. And when you look at it that way, all you need to do to be happy is

a) increase your self-space and / or

b) decrease your life-space

He lists out specific ways to do both which makes happiness more attainable. It does seem too simple to be true and sometimes it also seems to be fundamentally wrong to take such a thinking-based approach to being happy, considering its unpredictability and elusiveness. But all said and done this is the sanest thing I have ever heard about happiness, especially since I tend to agree with the many dimensions of happiness explained by De Bono.

Another concept that stayed with me from the book is that of a proto-truth, i.e., a truth we accept for the time being till a better truth is found. A lot of our conflicts are around what is true and what we expect to be true forever. So this tolerance of ‘truth-for-now’ which is not too feeble but not very rigid either, makes many things easier to deal with.

The book is highly structured – the chapters and sub-topics very clearly laid out so that there is no rambling anywhere. But hello, this is De Bono! What else does one expect? Thankfully he doesn’t call it the 10 secrets of everlasting happiness or 5 things you need to do to achieve inner peace. For that alone I love this book. It cannot be read just once if you seriously want to give it a shot. But it is also not something you can do 1 day at a time. So you need to read it fully once and then go back to specific areas where you think you can work on. All that if you are looking for a way to be happy of course…

This book is of not much use to you if you are one of those happy souls, except may be to understand why you are happy when others are not. Its also not useful to you at times of crisis or if your life tends to be a series of tragedies. That’s in fact one of the dimensions this framework doesn’t address effectively enough – it does not consider the extreme conditions – terrorism, poverty, ailments, loss or sheer bad luck. Perhaps, it is a proto-truth that some questions just don’t have answers. That point aside, this book and the concept deserve a reading if only to get a thinking mind’s approach to happiness. One can almost visualize De Bono sorting out things in his head, one step at a time, to decode happiness as if were a complex mathematical problem. Interesting!

p.s. The Book now comes with a cover image of a man jumping around with an umbrella. The one I read had the image I have used – a girl leisurely blowing bubbles in air – thought this looked more like happiness :-)

yet another year end

2010-12-24T19:34:00.001-08:00

Can you believe that I wrote this post a year ago? So many months, so few books, even fewer posts! Time for the window to get active i say! So here is my bit, so that 2010 doesn’t feel left out (wink!)

Just like last year, I have borrowed some books from Suki which has kind of revived my reading ritual. Completed ‘The Last Child’ by John Hart in 2 days (in snatches of course). A book on a young boy’s search for his lost twin sister, it’s written at a pace that makes you restless to know what’s coming next; its also disturbing, as every character has a predominantly dark nature (the only ones that are on the bright side are missing or dead). Every character also threatens to turn darker any time and you are always expecting something terrible to happen. While that makes the book a page turner, its also a disadvantage as no ending can live up to that kind of tension (unless may be its open to the reader to guess / think beyond the last page – like ‘Primal Fear’ for example). Anyway, worth a read though like Arth says in the previous post - once read, I will want my time back to read something else.

I also read Dork by Sidin Vadakut which reaffirms my belief that moving from a blog to a full-fledged book is no easy thing. I kept waiting for the Laugh-out-loud moments which are aplenty in his blog, but it never happened. I read it fully nevertheless and wasn’t bored at all. The style is something like Chetan Bagat meets Salinger; oh, and for once the setting, the characters and situations are what someone like me would have seen experience first-hand (MBA, campus placements, consulting, clients, etc.) – this I would say is the biggest plus for Dork. It is narrated in the form of someone’s diary and it feels just like that – unintentionally entertaining and not written keeping a reader in mind. gosh! feels awkward to review a blogger’s book (unlike established, distant or dead authors) its like reviewing your classmate or something…but i bought his book and reviewed it like any other. so there.

I still want to read Great Bong’s book except I don’t quite relate to Bollywood (nothing against movies of course, I LOVE movies – in languages I understand that is..) or Bong references (no Bengali friends) or cricket techniques (oh these females!) which I expect to find in his writing, naturally. That must make me sound anti-hindi, anti-everything not south Indian, anti-men and their games. Which I hope I am not. Just unfamiliar milieu. But his blog is the only place I like to read political / social topics and he does them so well. Not like you owe it to your existence to read such topics, but spontaneously readable. As if its only natural that one knows the role of Turkey in the middle-east political landscape… See what i mean?

All the other books read in 2010 are in some kind of distant memory and none of them un-put-down-able. I have not finished any of the books I had vowed to do justice to. Instead I have a new set of books I owe a full reading. The Kite Runner is happening at the moment. I have given up on Thomas Friedman (nothing fried the dietician says! i know - poor joke), wild swans (too much history in one book) and harry potter (i really cant handle fantasyland). Made in America, Diary of a young girl and Mein Kampf still have a chance. War and Peace and a few more classics will join the party. I am also desperately looking for some fun books seeing that FUN has become my new life theme. Inspirational will work too. Don’t they write life-changing books any more? I really do WANT to read. Suggestions are welcome. Here is to 2011, hoping it will be far better in book-reading terms and the rest of the terms too! :-)

"Wolf Hall' by Hilary Mantel

2010-06-17T06:01:00.000-07:00

It’s not a book I would have picked up on my own. It was a birthday gift and came much recommended and had the Booker prize tag and I’ve had good experiences with Booker prizes before. So why not? Sometimes it helps - the tags. It’s not like I run behind the New York Times Bestseller list but a Booker or a Nobel prize winner kind of guarantees you a certain standard - most of the time.

It’s a story we’ve known for a long time through history books, through movies. With ‘Wolf Hall’ Hilary Mantel attempts to bring alive the characters and details in the tumultuous life of Henry VIII through an unlikely protagonist - Thomas Cromwell. The story in brief - the deadly war between Henry VIII and the catholic church and the rise of a blacksmith’s son Thomas Cromwell in this context. Amidst all the historical references what makes the novel come alive is the depiction of Thomas Cromwell himself. Cromwell is a cruel lawyer, lawmaker and at the same time an understanding man, loving father and a fair master. I found myself supportive and at times even sympathetic of Cromwell in spite of his ensuing cruelties. It’s not uncommon to do that - considering Mantel’s depiction of Cromwell in the first place. While in actual history, Cromwell, in fact, meets the same end as the many others he subjected to - charged with treason and subsequent execution. Well, history also views Thomas Cromwell as the devil incarnate who fuelled the monstrous Henry VIII’s cruel and devastating regime.

What I like about Wolf Hall is not the history lesson it offers. In fact, just the opposite. Mantel chooses to look at the story from the perspective of the characters themselves - their emotions, a guesstimation of what prompted them to do whatever it is they did. She does not offer a lengthy debate on historical or spiritual consequences of the era. She distances herself from taking sides. If you are aware of the history of the period, it makes an interesting read. Especially as you know how it all culminates to the subsequent monarchs. But there are some obvious and as you will know if you look around a bit more, some oft repeated shortcomings to the book.

To start with, I suspect the whole context will be lost on you if you don’t understand medieval English history. That’s just to start with. I’ve long suspected that Booker prize winners are shortlisted based on their quaint sense of grammatical understanding and how complicated they make reading their books. Mantel fulfills the criteria hands down. The pronoun ‘he’ is used in plentiful throughout the book and often without reference to the subject itself. Most of the times it’s safe to assume that every ‘he’ refers to Cromwell, even if he’s not assumed to be in the context. But that takes some reorienting and at times rereading.

In summary, it was an enjoyable read but I’m tempted to ask Mantel to return my 4 weeks back - I could have read something more interesting.

So that April doesn't feel left out...

2010-04-30T07:46:00.001-07:00

The folks by the window never made it to the window in April as you would see. It has been an exceptionally busy time for all of us and what a start to the year I say! (oh, the financial year that is). But did you notice how its been a season of short stories at 'a book and a window'? Another side effect of not having enough time probably. In any case, since I have not read any new books and the one in hand is the Anton Chekov borrowed from Arth, this post is not going to be about 'a book'. Here is my two bit to end the dry spell of April.

I have to start with my complete agreement on Arth's views on Anton Chekov. That man puts his characters under the microscope and lets us know every thought and feeling behind a person, not just their actions and reactions. As much as I miss the presence of a plot and in some cases closure, he more than makes up for it with his uncanny sight into people's psyche. But I think the translator Constance Garnett, has to, has to get some credit for producing it in real English (as opposed to the fake English we see in most translations). Chekov's analysis of the human nature is so accurate, his presentation of it so profound, and none of it seems to be lost in translation. Well, I can never prove it but am somehow very sure of it.

For a while now, well, actually since I came to know he passed away, I have been wanting to write about 'Sujatha' (real name Rangarajan), who was one of the well-known Tamil writers, a versatile one at that. He specialized in short stories too. But his stories typically have a strong and sharp plot with the characters always a step ahead of the reader. His love of science and fascination for the English language often came through in his books. In fact he wrote a science and general knowledge series which ran for years in a Tamil weekly. He was intelligent but his was the type of intelligence that does not stay aloof from the masses or belittles others. He had the knack of explaining complex concepts in simple terms via his fiction as well as non-fiction works. I will never forget how a neighbour of mine who never went to college and used to cook for local goldsmiths for a living, spoke about computers and internet much before they became common in our little town. Thanks to one man's passion to learn everything and then pass it on to the layman who, given a chance at gaining knowledge, has the ability to put it to far better use than any ivy league pass-out. I wish it weren't true, but I feel there will never be another like him. And I hope to write about one or two of his books here sometime soon!

"Ward No 6" by Anton Chekhov

2010-03-23T04:13:00.000-07:00

Let me state this upfront - I'm not writing a review. How does one write a review of one of the greatest writers who ever walked on this earth? How does one review the master himself? Of all the great writers that Russia has periodically and flawlessly managed to produce - Anton Chekhov is a revolutionary in his own way. Still you will find comparisons between him and Tolstoy and Dostoevsky in abundance. But for a reader stretching to understand and make peace with the Russian masters, Chekhov will come as a much needed relief.

Chekhov does not moralize and philosophize at the drop of a hat and turn of a story like Tolstoy nor does he attempt to dig deeper and deeper into the soul till all that is left is the dark deep abyss like FD. Chekhov writes in an objective, simple and dispassionate fashion that one may have never heard of in Russian writing but yet displays the sensitivity and compassion required to draw the reader into the story.

Ward No 6 - Is less of a short story and more of a novella. Such is the way in which Chekhov writes - combining all elements that make a full blown book into a few pages of narration so rich and so full of experiences. It's story you should read in one sitting and right after that walk out into the open to let it sink in or as it did to me - let the pathos out. Ward No 6 is a heart rendering story of a psychiatric doctor (Andrey Ragin) who turns into a patient in his own asylum. Apart from the plot, it is Chekhov's classic rendering style that gets you hooked to the story.

When he talks about Andrey Ragin lying on the sofa, listening with his teeth clenched, disgust rising and mounting into his throat, you find it hard to swallow. When he wakes up, wipes his brow with his sleeve and felt that his whole face smelt of smoked fish, you get the smell too.

I'll leave you with one of Chekhov's quotes from 'The House of Mezzanine"
"My life is tedious, dull, monotonous, because I am a painter, a queer fish, and have been worried all my life with envy, discontent, disbelief in my work: I am always poor, I am a vagabond, but you are a wealthy, normal man, a landowner, a gentleman - why do you live so tamely and take so little from life?"

Life's Little Ironies - Thomas Hardy

2010-03-09T11:57:00.001-08:00

I read this book throughout February in snatches - partly because I was busy and partly because it is by no means a single read. In spite of it being a collection of short stories and the fact that I can read most fiction books in one go. So why?

a) the language - rich yes, but absolutely mind-numbing at times. Fine, call me an ignoramus but I really think the language does nothing to help the stories or the reader

b) talking of stories - Well, I know the theme is irony and all, but please, each character is a bigger loser than the other. Some situations are actually interesting - one can almost personally feel the if-only's and the could-have-been's, but what could a reader possibly gain by reading 1200 such situations? (alright! some 15 of them)

c) the publisher - a cheap popular classics version (disclaimer: not the one whose cover page I have used in this post) with terrible illustrations that just made the whole experience a highly forgettable one for me

I was very hesitant to write about this book at all, especially since its Thomas Hardy and its possibly text book material for English language or something; or that I may sound incredibly naive and shallow. But what the heck! I didn't like it at all. And the only use for this book I can think of is, as a part of the curriculum in Non-detail or English Paper II as we call it. You will find a treasure of words to be used for the synonyms and antonyms sections. One of the stories starts like this:

'Whether the utilitarian or the intuitive theory of moral sense be upheld it is beyond question that there are a few subtle-souled persons with whom the absolute gratuitousness of an act of reparation is an inducement to perform it; while exhortation as to its necessity would breed excuses for leaving it undone'.

Impressive but surely not my cup of tea! same goes for the book...

Ford County Stories - John Grisham

2010-02-21T12:09:00.000-08:00

A collection of 7 stories that form the collage depicting the setting, the characters, the lives, the beliefs and daily adventures of the people of Ford County. A blurb on the back of the book says “Take a journey into Ford County, the fictional setting of John Grisham’s first novel, A Time to Kill.” Fictional? The place is alive and thrumming with life.

The setting of most stories is Clanton, a small town in Ford County, which is part of the ‘south’. If you have read ‘Gone with the wind’ or ‘Roots’ and recall the ethos of the land, Ford County is what it has become in the 20th Century. Small, conservative towns with old families and new, away from the bustle of the glitzy cities, laid back, populated by the whites and the blacks who lead their separate yet intertwined lives, the local watering holes, the gossips, the waitresses, the bad boys, the mammas, the churches, the marriages and divorces and the kids, the crooks and of course, the lawyers.

Each story adds new threads to the tapestry, and by the time you are done you intuitively know the place, its people and their natures. Each story is rich in detail with a pace that is just right – you have time to take in the scenery yet you are eager to know where you are going. And before you reach your destination, you can be sure of a small twist. The beauty is that the twist in the tale is just a bonus. You hardly need that ‘hook’ to read these sumptuous tales – at 50 odd pages per story, they is just the right size between a ‘short’ story and a novel. I have trouble picking out a favourite from these seven. A total treat.

In ‘Blood Drive’ three young men Agnor, Calvin and Roger set out from Box Hill in Ford County, to the neighbouring big bad city of Memphis, with the express purpose of donating ‘blood’ to one of their own - young Bailey who has had an accident. Well, there is the drive, which is an odyssey in itself, running more on beer than gas, with a chase by a police car, gun shots, a couple of visits to a strip club, more alcohol, fisticuffs, arson, cracked skulls and some edge-of-the-seat escape-from-trouble sequences. And of course, there is blood - lots of it - but very little of it is ‘donated’ to save Bailey. Seems like these small town boys don’t even know they are living life on the edge!

‘Fetching Raymond’ also involves a long drive – this time the three travelers are Raymond Graney’s 2 older brothers and his 72 year old mother. They undertake an uneventful journey, the entire family puffing away on cigarettes and talking about Raymond, who is in the infamous Parchman prison and has had several unfulfilled illustrious careers – as a poet, a writer and a musician among others – all during his long stint in prison! His mother is his lone and long suffering audience, who remains clueless about the intent and content of her last born’s literary creations, which include his letters to his mother. These provide for some outrageously humorous interludes for the reader, as the three continue on their drive. They do end up meeting Raymond and ‘fetch’ him home to rest, but after an event that knocks your breath out.

‘Fish Files’, ‘Casino’, ‘Michael’s Room’ and ‘Quiet Haven’ are about crooks of various kinds.

‘Fish Files’ is a story about the lawyer who grabs an opportunity when it presents itself, rehauls his life, trades all that is for what could be – gambling on the legality of many of his actions. Does he pull it off?

‘Casino’ is about a career crook, the wealthy and extremely glitzy Bobby Carl Leach who runs, among many things, a rapidly growing casino. Or is it about the ‘uninspiring’ insurance company employee Sidney who avenges his broken heart and marriage, transforms into this whiz at playing the odds that he single handedly ‘breaks’ the casino and bankrupts it?

‘Michael’s Room’ is again about a lawyer Wade, who comes face-to-face with his own death when he is abducted and confronted by a family that has been grievously wronged – all because Wade is such a good lawyer that he has long forgotten the difference between law and justice. Michael’s room helps him see this difference, his follies and his imminent punishment.

You enter ‘Quiet Haven’, a retirement home, along with Gilbert, who applies for a job as a night-time attendant, taking up the job for a paltry pay. He can’t stand most of his colleagues, but has always liked the inmates – or does he really?

The last story is about a ‘Funny Boy’ – a young white homosexual man who contracts AIDS and has come back home to die, but his own family won’t have him back. He finds compassion and care ‘on the other side of the tracks’, with an old black spinster who ends up understanding herself better, as she sticks up for him right till the end.

Banker to the Poor - Muhammad Yunus

2010-01-27T01:19:00.000-08:00

This is the story of Grameen Bank and its founder Muhammad Yunus, also winner of Nobel Peace Prize 2006. He is truly the father of micro-credit, now a prevalent system across the world and especially in India. Since enough is being said about the concept these days, I will stick to the story around it rather than the underlying math, which is in fact equally important.

The story begins with an 'aha' moment of an economist who realizes that all the theories he teaches in the university do not answer the oldest and biggest economic problem - poverty. Not job losses or inflation or sub-prime crisis - the hard-core, seemingly hopeless cycle of poverty. And the real lesson here, which hits you at an emotional as well as logical level is that, when you look at the poor - one person at a time, it actually doesn't take much to lift him / her out of that abyss. Like the 22 US cents it took for Yunus to save one poor woman from merciless money-lenders.

Not to belittle the effort that goes behind setting up a whole system to address this problem, but the bottom line is - when compared to all the aid and charity that we see being announced everyday and the difficulties in making them reach the poor, micro-finance systems are much more doable and sustainable too! And I completely agree with Yunus' views on charity that robs the poor of their dignity and tells them in many ways that they are not capable of changing their destinies. Credit on the other hand tells them that someone believes in them enough to give them resources to build their own lives. What a world of difference it makes!

I have personally seen through some of my recent experiences that what really works is an approach which:
a) involves a study of the causes of poverty specific to the local population rather than depending on existing global theories, and
b) gives a large role for the poor to play in finding the answers instead of assuming that we the big people, know what needs to be done.

The book is otherwise filled with anecdotes of his personal life, frequently inter-twined with the political history of Bangladesh. I was surprised to see how closely involved he was in the creation of a separate state of Bangladesh, from what was East Pakistan. I was also amused to see how he doesn't even touch upon India's role in this or even later when he talks about replication of the Grameen model in other countries. India and Bangladesh are similar in many ways, so it was easy for me relate to the examples used across the book. Only when I read about children who didn't want to be a part of India or hated Gandhi, did I remember that it was not 'our story' so to speak. May be its a blind spot for Indians like me, how well-hated India as a people is. Here I must clarify. This is not about Yunus' opinion of India but just what I infer from the tone of our neighbours like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (our other 2 neighbours are screaming out their love for us anyway!) as well as not-quite-neighbours like the Aussies...

Coming back to the book, Yunus' writing style is very effective and hard-hitting. For example, he uses the phrase 'worm's eye view' as opposed to 'bird's eye view' when it comes to understanding poverty. It got the point across in a way that I can never forget. Though he goes back and forth in time for a while, one can follow the journey of a movement that has and still is changing lives of the poorest. What did strike me as odd was how he would go from one stage of Grameen to another in a broad stroke but suddenly talk about something as trivial as how a room looked or that there were mosquitoes around. May be its just me, but it was quite funny whenever he did that...

I shouldn't let this take away the focus from what this book is about though - an economic revolution. His ability to build an able and committed team, influence key people and organizations around the world, are all very inspiring. It makes you believe in his dream that this world can be free from poverty through a system, a planned approach - not just a few well-meaning but clueless men and women trying to do their bit; definitely not through charity. Finally, this book is a must-read even if you don't intend to fight poverty or start a micro-finance institution. Because it echoes something I once read in a friend's status message:

Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

- Margaret Mead

'Age of Kali' - William Dalrymple

2010-01-18T04:56:00.000-08:00

The book begins with a description of the Hindu concept of Kali Yug - A time of disintegration and moral depravity. It is said that in this age evil influence will become dominant and will influence all spheres of human existence without hindrance. It is said to be an age where all humans will become Godless. The book resonates of this evil disintegration throughout. It is a description of that India that every Indian abhors and scoffs at. One that pictures all Indians as those who travel on the backs of elephants and domesticate snakes in their backyards.

Given the time he has spent in India, one would expect William Dalrymple to write more about the real India than about the India that is still stuck in 1930s. The book attempts at being a travelogue set in the 90s and is anything but that. India in the 90s was an astonishing story of a rising star, a country that had started to shed its inhibitions to showcase the grit and sheen that it is actually made up of. The book has none of those positive stories that would have made it a wholesome read.

Instead, Dalrymple manages to find himself at the wrong time and the wrong place and hence a volume of essays about an India that is struggling to shed its past. For a reader with even a scantiest familiarity about life in India - the book simply feels wrong. Stories about Lucknow and its erstwhile glory or Hyderabad and its chronicled excesses don't strike any chord other than as a rant of old men. A coverage of people and events that range from Baba Segal to Shobha De, Laloo Prasad Yadav and Gayatri Devi too does not do justice to the abundance that is India.

Overall, a disappointing read.

Don’t lose your mind, lose your weight – Rujuta Diwekar

2010-01-17T07:22:00.000-08:00

Like many women, I get my quota of tips and theories on health, diet, cooking, exercise, grooming, personal care, yada yada from 3 main sources – friends / colleagues, internet and the magazines at the local beauty parlour. Left to myself, this is the kind of book I would never pay good money and buy. And if someone gifted it to me, I would have certainly treated that as a grievous error of judgement.

Anyway, I ended up buying this book last week because: (i) my colleague and boss have been quoting from this book one-too-many times and (ii) I had to buy something for the value of some items I returned at Landmark and (iii) I found this on the ‘Best Seller’ shelf!!!

I have to say that I’m rather happy I bought it. It is intriguing and engaging enough to be a single-sit read. And after that, it will still be useful as a reference book.

In this book, Rujuta talks about the dysfunctional, abusive relationship many of us have with our stomachs, our bodies and ourselves. She sets out unambiguously and with powerful reasoning, the pitfalls of the ‘short-term, quick-results, weight and dress-size’ oriented approach we have to food and exercise (the book is more about the former than the latter). She encourages us to count the ‘nutritive’ value of the food we eat and not the ‘calorific’ value. She also goes on to give a short course on the basic food groups and the importance of each in making us function well.

As expected, she takes a hard line with most of the popular contemporary approaches – crash diets, atkins, south beach, lime-juice & honey, olive oil cooking, low fat food, sugar-free food, ‘good’ food / ‘bad’ food, ….. – you name it.

Chapter 4 ‘The four principles of eating right’ is actually a quick summary of the book. (Not getting into that here – read the book! – it’s worth it). If I have to give you a short summary of the book it will be this – ‘Eat whatever you want, just change the order / sequence of your eating. Eat more often, about 3 main meals and 4 / 5 small meals a day. Think nutrition, not calories. Do not ‘punish’ yourself. Exercise at least 3 hours a week.’

The good part of the book is that it tells us ‘why’ and ‘how’, not just ‘what’. Rujuta’s tone is one of mild incredulity – as if she were saying – ‘you look intelligent, then why would you do this?’ The style is pleasantly conversational – you can almost imagine her sitting across the table smirking here, chiding there and doling out ‘gyaan’ after that. The arguments and explanations are extremely lucid. The analogies with non-food aspects like car, politics (!) etc. drive her point home.

This book is meant for the contemporary Indian reader, the food references are Indian and the examples / cases come alive – and that is very good. What is not so good, is that it has so much ‘Hinglish’ - It can ‘put-off’ a non-Hindi person sometimes, and that would sadly limit its reach.

The timing of the book and the writer have capitalized on the ‘Kareena Kapoor is size zero’ phenomenon – Rujuta being Kareena's dietician. There are many references to Kareena through the book in addition to a dedicated section in the appendix. Also, I do think the book deserved a better title. But I suppose all these are part of marketing - ‘eye-ball’ and ‘interest’ grabbing tactics. It may rankle some of us, but the content is good enough to make one overlook these.

2 Stories - Chetan Bhagat

2010-01-12T11:59:00.000-08:00

With '3 idiots' breaking all sorts of records and lot of controversy surrounding the extent of credit Chetan Bhagat got for the movie, its timely that I read 2 of his books last week. You have to give it to the guy - his writing style is engaging enough to make you read his books in one go. Beyond the fact that I read really fast and typically stay up till I finish a book, I surely feel that his narration is such that one just can’t put the book down. ‘One night at a call center’ was an exception though. It took me a week to read it in bits and pieces. But in general, this man can tell a story in relatively fewer pages, and it sells for INR 95 which is undoubtedly value for money. The only other books I see at that price range is from M&B (you can read all about 'em here) and that is not even a fair comparison. Thanks to Rupa & Co. for that. And hope other writers follow that route too! It gets them a wider audience and at this price point more people tend to buy a copy for themselves rather than borrow it from someone. Seems so simple, right? But you will be surprised how many people follow it in reality. Anyway, coming to the books…

It is the story of a businessman, set aptly in Gujarat for more than one reason. As usual there is a trio of characters, childhood friends in this case, led by the protagonist (I am not sure if he was meant to be, I usually assume that the narrator is, but you never know with this man!) who venture into a small business – a cricket store. The book takes us through the journey of three youngsters as they start their business and build it amidst a few serious setbacks. Somewhere the religious angle sneaks into the story and takes a turn into communal riots and finally comes to a tragic end. Oh no, that wasn’t the end – I almost forgot that there was something to salvage out of the situation after all. Apparently now, All is Well (LOL!!! Sorry… I really couldn’t resist that one). He manages to keep cricket alive in the storyline throughout and also has a love angle of sorts within the plot. That it has no element of humor is not surprising considering the seriousness of the issues he has taken up through this book; but I suppose funny comes to him a lot more easily and he must have found it a different experience to write without his best weapon.

The quintessential love story, the one we have seen in endless number of movies where parents are against the young lovers’ union for one reason or the other. As is obvious from the title in this case it is the states which the boy and girl belong to. In India, each state (and language and caste and community, etc) has a unique culture and a natural aversion and snobbishness towards people not belonging to that culture. That the boy and girl meet at IIM has no real significance but anyway the story starts there and moves to the respective families who as expected hate each other. The couple takes turns in trying to impress each other’s parents and extended family and after many, many attempts… manage to make it to the wedding stage. Applause! There is a father-son drama to add another dimension to the story but otherwise it’s a pretty smooth ride from beginning to end. Also as a South Indian, my verdict is that he keeps his promise of making fun of people from the South without being insulting. The tone is rather endearing and not so much looking down on them. And of course, here he has the liberty to use humor and he has made the most out of it, I think.

While both books were supposed to be based on real life stories, they still had the cinematic element of miracles – not the bullet-dodging sort but the ‘business does well right away’, ‘girl loves you already’ and ‘here is the key to their hearts’ sort. I would know because ironically both topics are relevant to me personally – convincing stubborn parents for a love marriage as well as running a business of my own someday. The kind of miracles that come by in these 2 stories haven’t happened in my life yet, not even close! But then to borrow and extend a quote – if ‘a book is a book; a film is a film’ then ‘life is life’ right?

p.s.: Since the author insists on having a number in all his titles, (like KJo's K fetish) I thought I will also humor the sentiment with my title :-)

Illusions by Richard Bach

2009-12-29T02:57:00.000-08:00

What if you were to meet someone who casually demolishes every one of the assumptions your world stands on? Who shows you that water is solid and soil is liquid and you can suffocate in air? Who nudges you to find your questions? Who then tells you that your question is your answer?

What if this someone who is a modern messiah and a reluctant one at that, becomes the one other human being you understand the most and the least – at the same time? What if this someone is a dear friend who, messiah or not, grapples with his own existential angst?

And…. What if you yourself are more evolved than you ever imagined, vested with knowledge from many lifetimes and across dimensions of time and space?

The premise of a reluctant modern messiah is sure to pique the interest of most people. And the completely ‘undaunting’ size of the book is a further lure. The look and feel of ‘Illusions’ reminded me of ‘Notes to Myself’ by Hugh Prather. Open any random page and you have a quote or two that jump out at you – even those that are just part of the text and not meant to be quotes. I love the style – it reads so simple that I wonder if the process of writing it was as simple. Hmm. Maybe not.

I read this book over a few days, although it looks very much like an airport read. Some books need ‘soaking’ time. The beginning was promising, easy, fun. Somewhere at the middle of the book, I started wondering if it was taking a turn towards oversimplification. Or was it getting so profound that I found it terribly simple?

Is this book autobiographical? – Yes and No.
Is this fiction or philosophy? – A bit of both.
Is this a personal diary – meant more for the writer than for the reader? – hmm… maybe!

This book has left me with some insights, and I’m sure a second read would mine more. At first pass, I have crystallized a few key messages – about learning, choices and the power of imagination.

It has also left me mildly bewildered and a bit sad. I’m happy to have read it. Will read it fully again sometime – this time in one go! But before that happens I know I will often pick this one up just to turn to a random page for a reticent insight previously unnoticed.

BiblioBlah! The year that was...

2009-12-23T01:10:00.000-08:00

My reading in the last year diversified a bit from my usual comfort zone of fiction, known authors and famous books. I also had a prejudice against English books by authors for whom English is a second language (including Indian ones). It always felt like reading a translation (which I am still not comfortable with), but this year I did read a few in that category as well. Changed our minds didn't we? In terms of number of books its been a pathetic year and there are so many I don’t remember either. They are probably not worth writing about then! So here is what I do remember...

My family and other animals by Gerald Durrell made it to the list of my all-time favorites and changed the way I look at animals, insects and plants forever. And the quaint island of Corfu made it to the list of places I want to see in this lifetime. I have always wished for a crazy family just like the author's, unfortunately my family is way too sane and sober but for minor lapses here and there. Loved it. Totally.

Half a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of those books I was telling you about. The author is Nigerian but her comfort with English language makes it an engaging read in the first half where we get familiar with the main characters and the many hues of life in Africa during the 60-70s. The second half plunges us into civil war and reveals the true nature of the characters we have just become accustomed to. The fall of the supposedly radical and rebellious is contrasted by the quiet strength of those who claim no such greatness. And though we are given ample warning right from the beginning of the book, it still doesn't make us ready to face the ugliness of war and poverty. Nothing will. Nothing should.

On the lighter side, the book still had traces of what Stephen Leacock calls 'foreign fiction'; a sample from the great Russian Novel (translated!): "Drink, little brother," he would say to Yob, and Yob would answer, "Little Uncle, I drink your health," and he would go down the road again, stamping his feet with the cold. What was that about?

Its probably callous of me to jump from a sensitive book to this but we had to move on, right? Moving on, the above lines are from Leacock's work aptly named 'Further Foolishness' - talking about which, I now know that if I were to pick one genre of books as my favorite, it has to be humour bordering on satire. This collection of stories and essays is available for free download or online reading (click on the title to read on) and is just right for those times when I want to read something mindlessly and laugh out loud.

Other mindless reading includes the Death Series by J.D.Robb (a romance writer's mystery avatar) which is just on the verge of getting repetitive simply because we are at 35+ stories and no one can possibly keep the interest alive for that long. But some of the stories in her first 20 or so are real entertainers. (I wrote about the protagonist here long time back if you are interested.) Great potential for being made into something like '24'

And finally there are these books that I started reading but didn't quite make it to the end for reasons I can't figure out. The World is Flat by Thomas Fried(?)man (which is probably dated now), Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang, Made in America by Sam Walton, Mein Kampf: Adolf Hitler, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl and gasp! The Harry Potter series (yes I ought to die for this cardinal sin)!!! I intend to finish them though. I owe that to every book I start. I also owe that to the many books I have bought / borrowed and left orphaned in my shelf. So here is hoping that 2010 is the year when I live up to the book-lovers' code of conduct which says... 'READ!'

A line is all it takes

2009-12-11T05:40:00.000-08:00

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there...... ~ Rumi
courtesy: facebook status message of a smart woman

Seeing this had me browsing for the author and more from him. And also made me wonder, if I can actually write about whole books, when a single line robbed me of all the words I knew!

"Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

2009-12-03T04:20:00.000-08:00

orrowing books from a friend is exciting in an unexplainable way. Somehow borrowing forces you to read a book quicker than if it was your own… oh that’s only if you feel guilty about having a borrowed book collecting dust on your book shelf :) A rain washed cloudy day and what better to do than pull out something from your bookshelf (or a friend’s in my case), get set with a cup of tea and be drawn into the world of imagination and emotions that Ishiguro has created.

The best way to enjoy ‘Never Let Me Go’ is to not know anything about the book just like Ishiguro intended it. The context of the story unveils itself as the book moves forward. An expensive school, guardians who are looked up to, friends to die for, a curriculum in creativity – at first the setting seems perfect for a story of snobbish school students who later come back for a reunion to recount how their lives have changed. Remember ‘The Class’ by Erich Segal? Not that I didn’t enjoy it. But seriously, ‘Never Let Me Go’ is far from such trivialities.

Somewhere midway through the book, you begin to sniff that Ishiguro is up to something. The author seems to revel in providing just sufficient information that fires up your curiosity. Once or twice I found myself turning back the pages to see if I’ve missed something. He writes as if you’re expected to know his world – the world that has just been conjured up for you.

The only thing that disturbs me about the book is the lack of anger or passion in a certain way. It constantly eats me that Kathy does not pursue Tommy sufficiently enough though she is so smitten by him. It worries me even more that she is not angry enough at Ruth for ruining her love life. But then that was the whole idea, I guess. I’m not going to give away the plot or even a sense of it… but if you absolutely need to know – it is a brilliant book.

Folks by the Window

2009-11-26T02:46:00.000-08:00

arth
Consultant, Artist, Wife. Her heart is in the reverse order, her actions keep everyone guessing and art is always stuck in the middle. She gets attached to genres and revels in them till they are either exhausted or if something interesting comes along the way. Expect to read reviews about a lot of classics – she’s bent on ticking off some from the ‘1001 Books to Read Before you Die’ list.

suki
A closet introvert, who can't help talking, reading, analysing and pursuing various seasonal pet projects - not necessarily in that order. Suffers serious withdrawal symptoms if no readable material is at hand. So, what gives her a bigger high than reading a book? Talking about it to a kindred soul! This window is 'home' to her in the best possible sense. Here she will tell you what she saw, felt, thought when reading a book. Genre no bar.

zid
A typical taurean who craves for all things beautiful and good, with books right at the top of the list. She has no discretion when it comes to choice of books though. For she believes, that every book presents a view of the world that one cannot otherwise fathom. And here you will see glimpses of that world she conjures along with the famous, the forgotten and perhaps the unheard of too!