The Writing on My Forehead- Nafisa Haji



Alright, I admit- I like Pakistani writers. So sue me. Anyway-  Haji is of Indo- Pak descent , so there!

This book is diaspora writing but not about displacement angst or alienation. It is about rebellion, growing up and  family.

Saira is rebellious. But this is not a cultural rebellion but more of a generational battle, one which she discovers many others have fought in other times in other places. Saira travels through  many years and to many cities in different countries only to come full circle. You can never escape your inheritance or your destiny or your past or your family. Saira learns this as does her sister, her mother and others with  her.

The book is lyrically written without becoming cloying fulsome. It touches all the right  emotional chords. The characters come alive and we all can thing on at least one Ammena or Big Nanima or the mother or anybody else in the book.

Read it-  It may not be brilliant or intellectually challenging but it's emotionally very satisfying. A very  good read. And it's after all about people like us.

Maya

Alison Wonderland- Helen Smith

                                        (SORRY- NO IMAGE OF BOOK COVER)

This was an off beat quircky title and book that I met on whichbooks.com. The blurb said many things- cult status, deadpan humour, Thelma and Louis meets Agatha Christie adventure- all irresistable stuff. Then I made the mistake of believing it and I acctually bought the book

What can I see- I lost the plot almost as soon as the book began, the protaganiost a little while after that, the writing was too stylised and I  never got into it. I am sure it was funny, only I never reached the funny bits.

I lasted nearly hundred pages which is half the book if you think  about it and then I gave up. I don't know what happened to Alison> it didin't matter because I had no iidea what had happened to her till then anyway.

If some one has read it and has different view, I would love to know what I missed.
Maya

The Debt to Pleasure- John Lanchester



The challenge with this book is to write about it without repeating the things on the back cover. Or for that matter, the front cover. So here goes.


Tarquin Winot has freshly shaved his head and is on a journey, in disguise-telling why would be a spoiler, from Portsmouth to Provence. He describes his journey and his life through his menus. His is brilliant, highly –learned, darkly funny, deluded (or does he want us to think so?), ironic, super- snobbish and chilling.,

One review claimed he was one of the best characters to come out of England since Dickens put pen to paper and I am inclined to agree.

Brilliant, elegant pro se, steeped in irony. At the same time you can taste and smell the flavours of the food.

Caveat- Too much of the detail in the menu made my eyes glaze over. Perhaps t was just me- most of his dishes were about cooking succulent meat and I am a vegetarian. A word of caution- blink if this happens. Or you will miss something vital about the Sinister Tarquin, his life, his family and his emotions.

Read- This is lemon cheese cake. It’s tart, sweet and then after the lest forkful, you discover it was laced with arsenic.

©Maya

Jaya- An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata- Devdutt Pattanaik

This is yet another retelling of the Mahabharata. Or is? The answer is yes and no. Yes, the core story is the retelling of the epic written by Vyasa. But interest in the book comes from the fact that Pattanaik provides the variations to the incidents in the epic written in other languages, wherever they occur. What is more, he has dug an amazing amount of interesting spin offs and side stories that make the reading very rich. For example do you know Draupadi has five husbands? Do you know she was the super Sati-Savithri Nalayini in one of her previous births? Also that this Nalayini was a very lustful woman who , when granted a boon by her husband, requested that he take different forms and make love to her? Ah, darn. That was a spoiler!


Do you know what Shakuni’s dice were made of? No, don’t Google it- read the book. The story is much more interesting.

What is missing is Pattanaik’s delightful tongue- in-cheek, irreverence. Maybe the epic’s canvas was too large for him to keep to that narrative e style .Or perhaps the tale to sombre?




However, he does make it up by giving a social commentary or perspective on the incidents and places them within the context of the then society and draws out attention to their values, codes and mores.

Read- A must for mythology lovers and maybe even socio-historians.

©Maya

The Shape of Water- Andrea Camilleri



Of all the books, murder mysteries are the hardest to resist. More so if the blurb talks of ‘wit’,’ high-comedy of corruption’, ‘the landscapes of Sicily’, and ‘delicious meals’. I have set you up for the ‘but’; so now I can talk of other things.


The story- Crime- murder of the powerful Luparello, found in a disgraceful condition in a disgraceful part of the town.

The detective- The honest and street smart cop, Mountalbano.

Suspects- None as the corner’s verdict death from natural causes.

The detective smells something fouler than fish and sets on the trail of truth. There are the usual clutch of corrupt officials, false clues and true testimonies. The story is interesting but not great- this is the first but and the second one - final twist is not really a surprise.

The other buts are that the characters are just a shade above stereotypes and the motives are pedestrian. Oh and the book is a bit too, er, earthy for my palate.

Verdict- Definitely not Christie, read if you want a quick, not entirely boring , murder story.

© Maya,

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society- Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows



How could you resist a title like this? I couldn’t and I am glad I succumbed. It was delightful to read an epistolary novel after such a long time. There- that is the first and obvious thing about this reading experience but it needed to be said. Now I can move on.


The bonus is that it is written with wit, elegance and lightly worn erudition.

Briefly- It is 1946 and author Juliet Ashton is in search for a subject for her next book. A chance letter from Dawsey Adams of Guernsey leads her to the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and its members. Soon Juliet gets involved in the lives of its members and moves to Guernsey, where she finds not only the subject for her next book but also her destiny.

The characters are charming and original- there- I found a good substitute for the over used quirky- and the story is heart warming. This is perhaps one of the rare stories of the war which is about human beings in the war and their everyday life where even the darkness is treated with a light hand.

Read it- This is a book that is filled with hope and joy. It touches you without being maudlin. and you will go back to again and again. I already did.

© Maya

THE POISONWOOD BIBLE- Barbara Kingsolver

What can I say? Congo at the cusp of liberation comes heartbreakingly alive in the hands of the immensely talented Kingsolver. She does it with cleverness as it comes alive through the narrative of the self- centred Rachel, of Leah who years to be daddy’s darling, of Adah who refuses to speak and of the baby of the family Ruth May. Through the narrative it is not just Congo, its history and culture we discover but also the four sisters and their father who never speaks to us directly. The mother, Orleanna speaks to us later and when she does for the first time leaves a smear in our heart and questions in our mind that keep us going until the last page.


In a sentence- it’s a book of tragedies and triumphs, personal and national and a fitting ending. A final thought- Poisonwood Bible could not have been better named.

Read it- it’s brilliant, powerful and you wouldn’t want to miss something that’s definitely going to become a classic.

©Maya

The Monochrome Madonna – Kalpana Swaminathan

There comes a time when the writer you follow, arcs over the curves and rises to a new, higher level, delighting and greatly satisfying the faithful reader. That is what Kalpana Swaminathan does in her new book, the latest in the Lalli Mystery series.


Sita gets a call from her friend, Sitara declaring she is dying. Sita reaches her house to find a body, only it’s not Sitara but a strange man. Who is the man? What was he doing there? Why is Sita drugged? Why is there a Madonna hanging in the living room, that bears Sita’s face and is in monochrome? Why does Ramona turn nasty? And how did Sitara’s gleaming gold toe- nails become plain and grimy? Most importantly who really murdered him? Is Sitara’s husband who she claims he really is?

Swaminathan takes you on a journey that is highly readable; where the tale is well--plotted with a slice of psychology that will satisfy even the most stringent of the readers. The regular Lalli readers will find the characters more finely etched the crime more sophisticated and the narrative more assured. Swaminathan travels from humour to emotional to gritty with ease, keeping the interest hooked to the end.



Read it- one of the best detective books of Indian writing.



©Maya

Salt and Saffron- Kamila Shamsie

                                                                


Shamsie weaves magic with words. Here’s a sample:

“I could mention the spices, so perfectly balanced you could almost see the mustard seed leaning on the fenugreek, the cumin poised on the dried chillies”

And with this delicately poised, evocative prose that is laced with dry wit she weaves such a fine web- about Aliya, her family the Dard-e-Dils, and their family legend that you never notice that it is after all just a love story about falling in love with boys from the other of the tracks. The characters and their eccentricities, the aristocratic society they inhabit, the thin edge of class borders and the bigger boundaries between countries all come alive without burying you under their weight. You close the book with the feel of having had a sumptuous feast.

A fine blend of salt and saffron.

©Maya

The Bellini Madonna- Elizabeth Lowry

                                                               

Sigh. The blurb was so promising- a libidinous art historian, the search for an uncatalogued painting, a woman with possible sinister motives.


But within just a few pages, so many things went wrong. The art historian is just a little bit gristly and difficult to like, the book ends and you really are un clear as to who has hood winked the other, and the narrative drags. I had to skip read and after mid- way through the book, i really stopped caring what happened and to whom.

Read- why would you want to?

© Maya

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie- Alan Bradley

                                                                       

This one is going to be tough to write about because the book consumed me. And now I have to make sense of it. So I am going to do this the old- fashioned way- talk about the story a little bit and tell you what works and all that.


11 -year- old Flavia is obnoxious, precocious and a nightmare as a sibling. Her passion is chemistry and her specialty poisons. She lives her enigmatic father and two annoying sisters. Then there is the colourful odd jobs man, Dogger.

A stranger dies in their cucumber patch and no points for guessing who finds the body. The police arrest her father but Flavia is sure her dad is innocent. So she does some sleuthing on her own and we have a brush with poisons, prestidigitators, and philately and past- murders. And of course pie.

Tight plot, quirky characters, quiet humour and taut narrative. Original, fresh voice and characters you will fall love with. And an absolutely delicious murder

Read it- the pie’s crust is flaky, the stuffing perfectly tart and there is definitely a sweetness at the bottom. As perfect a murder novel as one can get post Christie.

©Maya

The Battersea Park Road to Enlightenment – Isabel Losada

Okay. The Big Thing- I am going to stop telling you why I picked up this or other books- the reasons are the same- recommendations, interesting title , captivating blurb. If there is a story behind the why, I promise to let you in on it.


This book- one of the books that may well have influenced my life, I admit. How? When I tell you about the book, you might get the answer.

The book is about, as the title tells you, the author’s search for enlightenment. She tries everything- Insight Seminars, Rolfing- yeah I wondered too what the heck that was and I am going to resist the temptation to tell, tantric sex- I can see that smirk and tai`-chi.

The account is funny, candid, honest, informative and sometimes even inspiring. What you notice is how she open-mindedly embraces every experience, is willing to give it a fair chance and fair-minded in talking about it while being truly humorous. She launches into each one with whole heartedness and her account of it reads like a dizzy ride. So ehilarating that after every workshop she describes, you have to catch yourself from rushing off to try it. Even the colonic irrigation. Didn't mention earlier, did I? oh there are more in that book.

Read it- even if you are not seized by inspiration you will be hugely entertained. and definitely be better informed.

© Maya

The Elegance of the Hedgehog- Muriel Barberry

First off, this one is a serious contender for the Best Read of 2010 and it’s only April. Think about the title, what a delicious image. Then later one of the characters talks about it but by then you have already caught on to the metaphor.


Moving on- the characters. Renee, the concierge who is not what she seems or pretends to be. Please, please don’t indulge in common –place thoughts like lurking evil or a double life. She is simply pretends to live up to the stereo-type the residents carry in their heads of a concierge- crass, illiterate and stupid. In reality she reads Kant and Tolstoy, listens to Mozart and can tell you why she prefers the Dutch painters to the Italians.

Then there is the off- the chart- intelligent school girl detests her shallow, empty family and is planning her death when the novel opens. The reflections of the two mirror each other in an almost expected manner. The other characters are exactly what you would expect to find in a posh building in a posh part of Paris. Except for Manuela, a cleaning lady and the only friend of Renee`, who is a closet aristocrat.

The delightful book throws up philosophies, reflections, ideas and erudition that leap off the page And wrap themselves around you and make you pause. All this while being a warm, delightful, engaging read.

Ah, what happens in the book? Well, one resident dies and new one moves in. His arrival throws the existing balance out of skelter. New relationships are formed, dormant issues are resolved and lives are changed forever.

Read- You won’t regret it. I promise.

©Maya

Valeria's Last Stand- Marc Fitten

Why did I pick this book up- Two reasons. One, because my daughter recommended it and she has a good nose for such things. Two, because the blurb had words like ‘harrumphed’, ‘spinster heart’, ‘roving chimney sweep’. Go on, resist this I dare you.


And- Valeria is irresistible. So is Ibolya. The potter is the artist in the mix. You can’t help liking him, even if he is the wimp. The chimney sweep, the red- haired beet farmer, the mayor, his wife- like them or not, you can’t ignore them. So Ibolya and the potter are lovers until he meets Valeria. Then the chimney sweep sweeps into the village and when he meets Valeria, is ready to marry and settle down for ever.

But- I did get impatient and ran off to read the last page- so maybe the narrative did drag just a bit?

Read – if you want a warm, sometimes funny story of a woman , make that two women, and a village.

©Maya

Water For Elephants

Why did I pick it up- Because every site that I visit for book lists recommended it very strongly. And because the blurb has words like atmospheric, gritty, Rosie the elephant and twisted animal trainer. And the last- not the hero, the bad guy.


And- I didn’t want to read it. I almost didn’t. Especially when the book opened with a ninety-year-old man’s voice. But Jacob; the old man- who else, was cantankerous and opinionated and as a young man vulnerable with an interesting story and I couldn’t stay away. Language here is purely functional and very effective. The characters are interesting and there is a plot, especially the murder is interesting. And you can smell the sawdust in the big top.

But- honestly? Not my cup of tea. In spite of the engrossing story and well –etched characters, nothing reached out and grabbed me by the throat. And the book left my mind soon after I closed it.

Read- For an engrossing tale about circus life, or for an original murder-romance.

©Maya

The Girl In THe Landing- Paul Torday

Why did I pick it up: because Torday’s Salmon Fishing was good, though not great and the blurb said psychological thriller. I am a sucker for those.




And: Firstly the language- Don’t expect those metaphors or turn of phrase that you bump into when you turn a corner that leave you breathless. Language here does exactly what it is supposed to do, tell you a story, show you a character and keep you glued to the book. But Torday leaves you breathless in the way he peels of the character, shows them in different lights, does a literary magic with mirror tricks till you don’t know what is really happening and whom to believe and he does it right up to the last page.



But: Only that some of the plot twists you know is coming, but perhaps Torday wanted just that. More of the mirror trick, maybe?



Read: If you love a well written literary thriller that haunts even after you turn the last page. There are very few of those anyway.



© Maya

Paro- Namita Gokhale & The Other Woman- An anthology; Ed- Monica Das

(Sorry, couldn't find the cover pix of the The Other Woman)

I am blogging these two book together not only because I read them back to back but also they are similar in theme- illicit relationships. And folks, the similarity ends there.


Paro is about illicit lust, which no body tries to fight. Everybody succumbs whenever they get the chance and walk away with just a dusting of their hands. The book reads like a cheap trashy novel that want to talk sex , beings to and then loses courage half- way through. The language is pedestrian and does nothing to pull thr novel out from the pit it rapidly falls into. Paro could have become another Nana but remains a crass slut.

The Other Woman, on the other hand plumbs emotional transgressions, trespasses, intrusions and betrayals. Most of the stories are in translation and the language is evocative . The sense of loss and grief lingers like a heady perfume long after you close the book. I am thinking as I write it – do I have a favourite? No. And the beauty of the stories? The language is lush and there are no graphic scenes. A must read. Especially as the originals are denied to most of us

© Maya

Theatre- Sommerset Maugham

Why did I pick it up: Well, it was a Maugham I had missed when I was in high school and I’m on a Maugham reading spree.
And: okay, let me just say it and get it out of the way. Nobody can do character, the subtler emotions, petty motivations and gray areas of the mind like Maugham can. And the endings always twist the heart. In such elegant prose too. All of that is here too.

But- Not Vintage Maugham. For that read his short stories or his plays. His other novels never quite captured the magic Moon and Sixpence created.



Read- fully aware that you are reading a below-par Maugham.



©Maya

Myth= Mithya- Dr Dwevdutt Pattanaik

 Why did I pick it up:  because myths fascinate me and I really enjoyed Pattanaik's 'The pregnant King' immensely.

And;: this book is very well written, in an easy reading style, with flashes, very faint and infrequent , of his tongue-in-cheek humour. The myths are well- known but what the big discovery was the meta-physical and philosophical meanings of the symbols and icons and figurative representation of the myths. it was a reading journey punctuated with - wow, never knew that, is that what this means moments.


But: the biggie was too much too soon. Will have to keep going  back to absorb it all.

Read: if you like myths or are seeking meaning into the Hindu dieites and prayer symbols.

My Name Is Red- Orhan Pamuk

Why did I pick it up- Because I like Pamuk, Literary crime, books about painting and Istanbul. Even though the book cover touts a prize- there is nothing like winning a prize to make a book mediocre.




And- Pamuk does it again- perhaps only Snow is better. Yeah, I have not read the new one.- for that one- watch this space. Amazing how he manages all those different perspectives in the first person, the murder speaks as himself and as the murderer, even the bits in the painting speak to you and bring alive a distant world from the past without thrusting in on your face and telling you – look ‘history’.

But- Pamuk- what else? He does digress and gives too much detail and my eyes glaze over. Then I have to put the book down and walk away but it is Pamuk after all - he pulls you back before you have gone too far off. All this after 326 pages.

Let’s see what the rest of the book brings

The rest of the book: is about issues bigger than deaths of two men. It is about philosophy, history of art, artistic styles, the grandiose of artists and human failings. When you eventually discover the murderer, you are not sure it even matters. There have been many losses and gains by then. Yes, Justice is done and yet there is nothing heroic about it. The book lingers like a memory that is odour – based- just a whiff and bits of it come back to you.


Final verdict- Pamuk is a demanding writer but the book will stay in many forms with you for a long time.