Saturday, December 19, 2009

Love Marriage - V.V.Ganeshanathan




Why did I pick it up-  on a whim and the title.

Interest Zones - Almost lyrical writing,  beautifully etched out characters, and a very interesting narrative style.

But- There is a powerful emotionally  charged story but it didn't hold me. Not fully , not all the time. Maybe somebody who has read it can tell me why?
Pick it up- if you like the sound and feel of it.

© Maya

Sunday, December 13, 2009

A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder- Shamini Flint






Okay, I admit. I am having a run of bad luck. Another damp squib. I picked it up because it’s a murder mystery and I write murders too- so far short stories and flash fiction. So what? Murder is murder. The narrative is clichéd, plot convoluted and the reading – tiresome. I skip- read only to find a tame ending.


Verdict- not even on a loose- end day.

© Maya

Friday, December 11, 2009

Are You There,Vodka? It's me, Chelsea- Chelsea Handler





Why did I pick this up- Come on! How could I pass up a title like this?


Interest Zones- Chelsea Handler, Chelsea Handler, Chelsea Handler. Believe me, you don’t need anything else. Oh and did I mention it? The writing is funny too.


But- Well this one is not going to keep me awake in the nights pondering of life- truths. And be warned- the book gets a bit hairy in places.


Read - If you want a romp, want to chase away the blues, haven’t laughed in a while or want a mood- lift without the calories.

©Maya

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The Cambridge Curry Club- Saumya Balsari




Why did I pick it up- Undone by the blurb, alas. And a claim that it was like the 'No 1 Ladies Detective Agency' Either that Bookseller correspondent or I have to re- read that one.

Interest zones- Other than the blurb? Hmm Noddy the parrot and Roman Tempest.

But- Let's make it buts. Very uninspired writing. character sterotyped, plot- boring. I skip- read. Sorry ,but what could I do?. The story  does have bursts of interesting bits - like Durga's past and Durga and Tempest. But those are few and far in between.

Final Verdict- The curry has neither flavour nor fragrance. Just the odd dash of colour. Pass over if you care about what's on your plate.

©Maya

Monday, December 7, 2009

The Razor's Edge- W. Somerset Maugham



Why did I pick it up- Especially since it's a reread? Well, this is what my reading group is reading this month.


Interests zones- It is Maugham, after all. Great character insights- how gently he damns them with faint praise!, wonderful turn of phrases, tongue-in-cheek humor, wry wit.

I had forgotten about Kosti. No one does this better than Maugham. Paint a character, lull you into a mental picture and then turn the image on its head; only to make you slap your forehead and say- "of course. That is exactly who he /she ought to be. Miner Kosti is one of those. Even after 20 odd years, I find Maugham's one of the best when it comes to peeling off layers to reveal character. Yet he does it so skillfully that everybody, even Sophie and Isabel seems to fulfill their destiny. Even after the sword turns in your chest. You are rubbing away your pain long after you have closed the book.

But- There isn’t any. Even in the re-read. Except that Maugham has done it better in other places. But then, it's still Maugham.



© Maya

Sunday, November 29, 2009

The Mandala Of Sherlock Holmes- Jamyang Norbu










Why did I pick up the book- because I cut my milk teeth on Holmes and if someone somewhere is talking about his missing years, I want in.
 Interest zones- the various Holmisms, including ‘Elementary My Dear- replace Watson with his Desi counterpart, the seemingly wild observations that end being uncannily true which remain a little fuzzy to us even after the detailed observations, the few Holmsian incidents. The glimpses of the familiar landmarks of Bombay in early nineteenth century make me sit up and let out an ‘aaaahhh’ of curiosity.
And the book- has some good crimes. The narrative is not superb but does not grate that it takes away from the story. The Indian Watson is interesting.
But- the story has too many melodramatic moments, the villain is almost Bollywood like near the end- perhaps you can’t escape the Bollywood experience if you belong to the subcontinent and the interest wanes in the middle.
Pick it up- if you are Holmes fan or if you want a non-demanding reasonably well written crime read.


©Maya

Monday, November 23, 2009

Love Walked in - Marisa de Los Santos






Day 1 and I am hooked, from page one word one and I already love Cornelia, her realist friend and the way she lives her life in series of movie moments and ..er.. movies. and way she warned me not to get too attached to Hayes because he doesn't "figure too much in this story." Then I met Clare and her her mother and I am intrigued. Oh and in case I didn't mention it before Santos writes brilliantly.

Day 2- of the wriitng  The reading has been going for a day more perhaps. Anyway- here's how she writes brilliantly:
As we talked, lights flicked on inside my head; by the end of the night, I was a planetarium.
He laughed his molten laugh, and I felt like the kid at the party who whacks open the pinata. Victorious and with treasures raining down on me.
How come we never meet men like him? A thought which makes me wait for the 'but'.
Let me give you some Clare lines.
Clare lived inside the storm- the black, spinning hurricane of fear.
Such meaness served up in the sweetest of tones, and to someone whose need for love was terrible in its completeness.
No wonder I can't stay away from Love Walked In.

Day Next- Really. No point in numbering the days when they have no real chronological meaning-
Humour. It's there, subtle and making you smile. Not LOL kind, but whatever it is, it works and works very well. And the really deep soulful, soul- searching moments told with simplicity, all the more effective, therfore.
Okay, I caught the ‘but’. I am not going to tell you where I caught it, only that I caught it when it affected something that mattered to me- isn’t that always the case? You may catch earlier or later and if you want, we can discuss separately about where you caught it vis-a-vis where I did. But the fact is that Martin is not a very likeable guy. But you know that Cordelia is going to fall in love with him; that is inevitable. Nothing we can about that.

After that, the book just swept me along with it and I drowned so completely in it that I don’t know who was funny, what was sad and which bit poignant.  Only that Martin is not the hero and there is a hero, a good deserving one. I shut the book, completely shaken; but a good shaken. If you want to be shaken, pick up this book and read it.


© Maya