Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

I was too late in reading this one. And I almost did not read it. For the in the first page the narrator says ,’I am a carer’ and I was a bit repulsed, thinking- hospitals beds and lingering sickness. However I finished the page and then the book didn't let me go. I am glad I stayed till the end of the page. Otherwise I would've missed one of the best reading experiences of my biblio-life.

So , if this book is not about hospital and illness then what is it  about?  It’s about childhood and memories of childhood,  about friendships and betrayals,about moving on and about love. That’s what Ishiguro makes you think until he reveals what’s  beneath all this –a  horrific ,terrible truth that the characters know , yet do not and have to grow up to embrace it.

This is the story of Kathy, our narrator, Ruth and Tommy growing up in a  dystopian contemporary England. And through Kathy we  hear their stories and discover this terrible future that awaits them outside their school.

Ishiguro of course delivers his story beautifully, slipping in bits of the truth like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. You file them away impatiently- yes, yes , but tell me what happened the them? Then when the penny drops, you hiss with an in drawn breath and all of a sudden you have tumultuous reaction as you deal with this revelation, which you realize you kind of knew all along and with  the story of the lives of the people you had been steeped in.

In the end, I was not and still not sure what I am carrying around with me- the sorrow of the relationships or the import of this terrible truth.

Finally? Never let this book go. And that says it all.

Em and the big Hoom- Jerry Pinto

This was one of the books that I have had few starts and stops before actually getting down to talking about it.  Anyway, here is it.

First- the narrative- gripping. I couldn’t put the book down; I read it between moving houses between cities. That should  tell you.

What stands out- the language. It is so bright it shimmers off the page. I have yet to find another Indian writer  who has managed to use the language so effortlessly, so elegantly, so effectively. I savoured the words and the phrases.

Then there is Em- who is ‘mad’ and a ‘mudd-dha’. Her words. But thorough the words of her son, the narrator, we find a woman who is sharp, clever and witty . That Pinto shows us the woman behind the illness is this novel’s strength.

Hoom is the kind of man every woman is looking for . Solid, dependable, in love with his wife long after her mind is lost to her illness. Unlike Rochester.

Of the kids, we hear a little from the girl and everything from the boy. He is angry with his mother for denying him a normal family, fearful that he would fail when it will become his lot to care of her, fearing that his genes may betray him, sorrowful that he cannot protect her from the cruel mocking eyes of the world, suspicious that she might perhaps be using her illness, helpless that he cannot take away her pain and always loving her

This is a brilliantly written book about a hardly talked about illness; the story of the afflicted, of the family dealing with the afflicted and the toll it takes on their lives.

Icing of the top- In spite of the nature of the issue dealt in the book, a sudden startling bit of humour appears in a dark comedy kind of way.

But- yes, there is a but. This book reads like a memoir.  So , in the end it is just a telling of lives- and I want to ask- where’s the story you promised me? Why has nothing changed for the boy? The family? Where’s the ah-ha moment? What’s my take away?

Am I the only person asking this?

The Bastard of Istanbul - Eli Shafak

 It was the title that was the first draw. Eli Shafak was the second. The blurb was the ratification.
The first twenty or maybe even  thirty pages charmed me. I liked the characters , enjoyed the rebellion, the anarchy and  then- the book lost me.  Everything seemed pointless and the story seemed to go off and try and be many things and the whole thing keeping it together was this horrible secret in the family's past.

I don't know- all  I felt was a disappointment. Especially since I love Istanbul and I had liked the characters, at least in the beginning.

A Short History of the Tractors in Ukrainian - Marina Lewycka

Okay, I admit it. I was lured by the title. and the reviews on the title.
The book? I knew rather than felt that I was in the presence of good writing. That this part might be funny and that one poignant.

But first the story- sisters Vera and Nadezhda  have to save their octegenarian dad or rather his wealth from the scheming Valentino who has a son and impressive.. er.. personality. And to do that, the sisters have to bury their feud and face the secrets from their  brutal past.

Back to the book-The characters were definitely well- etched and idiosyncratic but I just couldn't get into the book. I rarely use this word but frankly I was just bored. This in spite of the good writing, some good tune of phrases and interesting twists.
You know what- I think I am trying too hard and I am going to stop.

Last word- The book had a lot going for it, but didn't work for me. I am sorry but there you are.