The Midnight Library

Author : Matt Haig 

A brilliant novel which makes us ponder over the choices we made in our lives , The Midnight Library urges it’s readers to introspect and rethink on certain decisions we made in our past .

Have you always made the right choices in your past? Are there few things you regret ? Have you ever wondered about the road not taken ? What if you get another chance to open up those long forgotten chapters ? Would you have made a different choice ? Perhaps a different career option, relocation to another city , studied abroad , try to mend a relationship? If you are transported to the setting of this book , you get a chance to work on your life again.

Between heaven and Earth there is a library , called The Midnight library , filled with stacks of books. Each book contains the story of your life, based on the choice you made at that given point of time . Based on your book of regrets, you can choose to pick a regret , mend your choice and open up a new chapter of your life and see where that path leads you . Sounds very fancy isn’t it ?

In the book , the protagonist Nora Seed ends up in the library because of a decision she makes . She comes face to face with her past , makes amends to her choices and this novel is her journey as she catches a glimpse of different variations of her life across parallel universes.

The book is undoubtedly a beautiful piece of literature , but it does come with a certain baggage.There are some books which start slow and light but get intense towards the end . But this book , on the contrary , is similar to a dystopian book . It is very gloomy and intense in the beginning , but as it progresses , we can feel the weight lifting off our head . It is as if the heaviness is taken away and we can feel ourselves flying in the air , like a butterfly which emerges from the cocoon.

This book would serve as a healing potion for those who suffer with mental health issues and depression. The author Matt Haig himself struggled with severe depression issues and his first hand experience in dealing with this matter is very prominent in certain chapters.

To summarize, this book is a beautiful ride but brace yourself for some depressing chapters in the beginning.

My Rating - 👍👍👍👍

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Before I go to sleep

 Author : S.J.Watson

Plot Review:

This was my third short book during the Thanksgiving Holidays. A fast paced, short, intense, psychological thriller, this book keeps you at the edge of your seat. This is an ideal pick up for a short flight travel or one late night sitting. You get so glued to the book that it is difficult to let go of it without knowing how it will end. The novel is centered around a woman, Christine, who suffers from a rare type of amnesia where she wakes up every day morning not knowing who she is . Even if someone told her all about her past today, she would wake up tomorrow morning again without any memory of the knowledge she gained the previous day. The novel follows her life as she tries to reconstruct her past with some help . But Will she be able to join the broken pieces of the puzzle eventually? What will happen the next day she wakes up?  

Psychological thrillers are not one of my favorite genre, I find them a little too dark and scary. But that does not take away any credit from this wonderful book, which kept me hooked on to it till the very last page. The movie, which boasts of a stellar cast with Nicole Kidman and Collin Firth in  the lead roles, is supposed to be equally good, though I have not watched it yet. I liked the book and would definitely recommend it.

A   brilliant thriller, do not miss it !

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Rating:👍👍👍👍

The Alchemist

Author : Paulo Coelho

 I began my audible journey with Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist”.

A story of a young shepherd who begins his travel seeking world treasure , instead treads on the path of self discovery and spiritual enlightenment, Paulo Coelho‘s masterpiece can be read and reread multiple times , a tale of pursuing one’s dreams and carving one’s own unique destiny. Simple and profound, this little book is full of wisdom. Jeremy Irons has narrated the book so well, his deep voice nicely complements the book which is rich and thoughtful in it's content. “When you want something, the whole universe conspires in order for you to achieve it” . Enough inspiration to last for a lifetime, don't you think !

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Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍

How I TAUGHT my GRANDMOTHER to READ and other stories

 Author : Sudha Murthy

There is no greater thrill than exploring a friend’s bookshelf and finding a gem of a book to read.

Sudha Murthy’s How I TAUGHT My GRANDMOTHER to READ and other stories is a collection of short and sweet stories, based on real life incidents and interactions in the author’s life. She talks about sojourners she meets on the train, teachers she interacted with in the rural areas, and car mechanics who are aspiring students. She weaves the stories with words of wisdom and addresses poverty, feminism and lack of education in the rural areas in a very gentle manner. There are few whose lives are blessed with abundance. Sudha Murthy is blessed with prosperity and she firmly believes that when life gives you so much, one must share it with others. This is the first book of hers which I read and I really enjoyed it. This is one of the three short books (including an audible) last week which I read during the Thanksgiving holidays. Do read it when you get a chance.

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Rating: 👍👍👍👍

All the Light we cannot see

 Author : Anthony Doerr

Much has been said about this book, laurels showered in abundance, praises heaped upon. My review could just be a repetition of what has already been stated by scores of readers before me. But yet, there is a certain delight in penning down a review in your own words, though it is the resonance of the same vibe, yet again.

Set in the time of the French resistance during WW II, All the lights we cannot see is centered around two unique teenagers, a blind French girl and a German Orphan, who stand up to the challenges posed to them during the war times.

The book is a parallel narrative for the most part, switching back and forth between the lives of the two protagonists and it overlaps towards the end when they cross paths with each other.

The author leaves no stone unturned in pointing out the atrocities which happened during the war. Prisoners are captured, punished, executed. Innocent people die like flies, succumbing to a fate they do not deserve.  Heart breaking, brutal, heart-wrenching, hard hitting, devastating are the words which should ideally come to the reader’s mind when reading such a serious book. But instead, I find myself using words like delicate, beautiful, fragile and poetic to describe this book. Simply put, it is a piece of art. The narration is rich with details, the language is smooth.  I find myself in a trance, with my heart on my sleeve, calling out to the two protagonists to retrace back their steps and come back to the picturesque town of Saint-Malo, and spend time with the readers, a little longer.

The story of a blind girl trying to live her everyday life with sheer grit despite loosing everything dear to her is truly inspiring. The story of a young boy who dreams of becoming a famous engineer or a scientist but gets caught up in a muddy war which he doesn’t want to fight, is saddening. The book clearly stands out for the brilliant portrayal of two beautiful souls who refuse to give up hope, despite the darkness surrounding them.

Coming to the plot itself, there were many loopholes and flaws, but the beautiful narration neutralizes the short comings. I am eagerly waiting for the Netflix limited series which has just begun production. This book is meant to be adapted on television. It will be a visual treat to watch.

My Rating: Anything less than 5 is a sacrilege. This book is a beauty.

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Trevor Noah : Born a Crime

 Author : Trevor Noah

A biographical Memoir of a world-famous personality, the current host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah, Born A Crime is a very insightful and inspiring read. Noah deftly covers both the political background of the post-Apartheid South Africa and his own personal experiences in this book. He delves into diverse issues like the Apartheid, Colonialism, Religion, education and gender, which were prevalent in his childhood days in South Africa. The book is a collection of short anecdotes, a narration of his painful experiences which happened in his childhood and adolescence with a comical twist. Few stories make you laugh out loud and few make you cringe in pain. In between the stories, he gives us a detailed account of the history and also the social, political and economic background of South Africa post- Apartheid.

Trevor’s unique identity and his troubled childhood could vastly be attributed to the bold choices made by both his mother and him, two very strong minded, independent individuals who refused to succumb to the dampening circumstances around them.  Despite being ostracized and subject to domestic violence and abuse, Trevor’s mother laid a solid foundation to Trevor’s future. Vowing to write his own destiny, Trevor embraced all the challenges thrown at him and launched himself to reach the stars.

Trevor’s mom tells him “Learn from your past and be better

because of your past, but don’t cry about your past. Life is full

of pain. Let the pain sharpen you, but don’t hold on to it”.

And he lives by those words. Trevor Noah’s story has to be told to the world, and it is told exactly the way it has to be told. My respect went up ten-fold to this man, who came out sane and balanced after going through so much trauma in his childhood. I love stories of such people, who go through so much suffering but come out unscathed with a mission to light up the world. They are the torch bearers of humanity, an emblem of hope and compassion, which the world needs badly.

Take a bow, Trevor Noah. Lead the Way. May the Force be with you.

My rating: 5/5.

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Ramayana Rendition - 2021

 This year the theme is the dialogue between Shri Hanuman and Ravana before the war.

लंका नगरी मेँ गंभीर समस्या , विचलित हो ऊठे राक्षस गण, सभा में व्यस्त है उनके राजा विध्वंस हो रहा अशोक वन ! एक वानर बैठा ऊँचा वृक्ष पर, मुख पर तेज है सूर्य समान, विशाल काया चंचल चक्षु , वायु से तीव्र है उसका उड़ान ! कोलाहल से रावण चिंतित, बंधी बनाने को दिए आदेश, वानर नहीं यह कोई मायावी सरल नहीं है लंका प्रवेश ! कौनसे वृक्ष पर छुपा है वानर, अति विशाल है अशोक वन, वानर जब किया खुद को समर्पित, आश्चर्य चकित हुए राक्षस जन ! बेड़ी लगाके बंधी बनाया, खींच ले चले भवन की ओर, कौन यह वानर कहा से आया, भरी सभा में मच गयी शोर ! "किसको चुनौती दे रहे वानर, लंका नगरी है मेरी शान, दशानन रावण नाम है मेरा, मर्कट तुम हो बड़े अज्ञान !" " क्षमा करो हे लंकापति रावण, सह नहीं पाया भूख और प्यास, बंधी बनाकर मांगे परिचय, विनम्रता की थी मुझको आस !" राजा बाली से आपका ठक्कर, आप का यश का है मुझको ज्ञान, अब परिचय मेरा सुनलो राजन, मेँ हूँ रामदूत पवनसुत हनुमान !" फिर मारुती ने दुम को हिलाया , बड़ता गया लम्बा वह पूँछ, देखे राक्षस हनुमत लीला , खड़ा हो गया आसान उंच "बात मेरी अब सुनो दशानन , देवी सीता नहीं है साधारण, प्रभु श्री राम है जग के रक्षक, पृथ्वी पधारे है लक्ष्मी नारायण !" "देवी सीता को लौटा दो राजन , श्री राम हृदय के बड़े निर्मल, उनके शरण मेँ ही आपका हित है, दिए वचन पर राम अटल !" "बस करो मर्कट मूर्ख प्रलाप, एक वानर करे मानव का जाप, तीनों लोक का मेँ अधिकारी, व्यर्थ है हमारा यह वार्तालाप !" "दो सन्यासी वन वन भटके , मिले न भिक्षा और न पानी, सुखी रहेगी राज भवन मेँ, बनेगी सीता लंका की रानी !" "मति भ्रष्ट हो गयी क्या रावण, श्री राम का तुम न करो अपमान, मानव दानव तो सामान्य प्राणी है, देव गण भी करे उन्हें सम्मान !" "अपने मृत्यु को न पुकारो दशानन, विभीषण बोले जोड़के हाथ, लंका की रक्षा असुर सुरक्षा, विनती मेरी तनिक सुनलो भ्रात !" " व्यर्थ हो रहा मेरा समय, मेरा कीर्ति और बल है अपार, इस वानर का अब प्राण चीन लो, युद्ध मेँ होगी राम की हार !" दूत का प्राण हरना पाप है, आपके नीति पर पड़ेगी दाग, भ्राता की विनती सुनके रावण , मारुती के पूँछ को लगा दी आग ! भस्म हो गयी लंका नगरी , भारी पड़ गयी रावण की भूल, बजरंग बली ने जब लगाई छलांग, स्वर्ण भवन की जगह रह गयी धूल ! मारुती रावण संवाद विफल, वानर दानव का हुआ संग्राम, दशानन रावण की हो गयी मृत्यु , विजयी हुए रघुनन्दन राम ! श्री हनुमान राम का स्नेह अपार, भक्त के हृदय मेँ स्वामी का धाम, देश मेँ हो परदेस मेँ बैठे, हम तो जपते जय श्री राम !

The Courier- 2021 Film

 

I picked this movie because of it's interesting storyline and stars Benedict Cumberwatch as the lead . Based on the life of "The spy who saved the world", the plot revolves around two main characters, a top Soviet official who went against his own government to diffuse a nuclear war and a British Salesman, "The Courier", who was instrumental in transporting this vital information to the west on time.

It is the year 1960 . Both America and the Soviet Union have equipped themselves with heavy nuclear arsenal. The leader of Soviet Union, Khrushchev has an ambitious plan to deploy nukes in Cuba to put US under the radar. Khrushchev's reckless attitude was disliked by many of his own countrymen. One top ranked official, Oleg Penkovsky decides to take matter in his own hands. In a daring attempt, he reaches out to CIA and MI6 saying he wants to establish peace in this world. When the CIA receives the message, they team up with MI6 and set up a channel of communication with Penkovsky through "The Courier".

"The Courier", is a British Salesman,  Greville Wynne, recruited by the MI6 to make contact with Penkovsky. Wynne is entrusted  to transport the classified information from Penkovsky to MI6 and CIA. With the"Big Brother" KGB watching them all the time, Penkovsky and Wynne are forced to come up with new tactics to choose their rendezvous point to exchange information. Over a period of time, the duo develop a steadfast friendship with each other and getaway with many escapades. 

But eventually, they get caught by KGB and are imprisoned in the deep pits of Tartarus. Before succumbing to the depths of despair, will the duo successfully avert the Cuban danger  forms the crux of  this brilliant thriller.

Benedict Cumberwatch and Merab Ninidze excel in their roles as Wynne and Penkovsky respectively. They sink deep into the skin of their characters. The screenplay is tight and the cinemetography is brilliant. Moscow is a treat to watch and the film subtly gives the audience a taste of the pleasures of the Russian elite.

The only glaring flaw in the movie is the portrayal of KGB. It is difficult to imagine KGB being lacklustre and incapable to catch the mole in their own system for such a long time. The real story upon research  states that KGB was aware about the dealings of Penkovsky but could not expose him earlier as they did not want to compromise their own mole on the other side. They were patiently waiting for an opportunity to catch Penkovsky unawares and catch him in action. Had the movie portrayed the  KGB chase in more detail, it would have been a much better thriller to watch.

Having said that ,it is true that Penkovsky did manage to keep KGB at bay for two whole years and was able to successfully transport a lot of classified information to the west. Thanks to his efforts, the Cuba threat was subdued. 

A traitor in his own land, a Hero who saved the world. His accomplice, The Courier,  lived on to narrate the story to the rest of the world. Aptly brought to the silver screen, such stories are meant to be told. The world has to be made aware of such unsung heroes. I am glad I watched a sensible film after a long long time.

My rating : 3.5/5 stars.

The Children of Men

 Author : P.D. James

Children of Men is a dystopian novel set in England, in the year 2021, in a fictional world full of suffering and pain, dealing with an issue of mass infertility. Human population has gone sterile and there are no children.

In short, with no scope of the future generation, the human race has given up hope. The devout look for a reason behind God’s curse and science is researching for a cure to end infertility. The premise is very depressing, where senior citizens are offered death by choice and the immigrants are treated as slaves. England is under ruthless dictatorial rule, where the mandate is to kill and crush any sort of rebellion.

The narration, happens both in first and third person, through the protagonist Theo Faron, an Oxford Historian, who is already resigned to gloom. So, when a group of rebels, called The Fishes, who do not share this disillusionment of the masses, approach him for help, Theo shows a lot of resistance before the reality shakes him up. The Fishes convince him that there is still hope and not all is lost. Now it is up to Theo, a pessimist himself, to stand up and take action in a society which is heading for its own doom.

This is one of the books where I took a complete U-turn from wanting to abandon it midway to finishing it in one stretch. To its advantage, it is a short book. But true to its dystopian nature, the first 100 pages of book are filled with misery and suffering. There are few horrific incidents which make you cringe.

It is the second half which picks up pace, it becomes more like an action-packed chase game. In the end, the book feels like a glorified trophy presented to you for the pain which you endured in the first half. The narration is more prosaic, so it does nothing to alleviate the suffering and pain. The brutality hits you on your face.

There are many reasons why one chooses to read a book. It depends on what you are looking for. I cannot think of anything which we can gain by reading so much suffering except the fact that it urges you to appreciate what you have and be grateful for your existence. The world of literature exposes you to many things and if you can filter the information well enough, it transforms you into a better person.

To summarize, If you like dystopian novels and books like 1984 and Animal Farm, pick this book. I cannot deny the fact that despite all the misery, I was impressed.  Any day if ever a discussion crops up, I will still bat for it and say “That was one good book”!

My rating: 👍👍👍👍

 

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Madeline

 Author : Ludwig Bemelmans

"In an old house in Paris

That was covered with vines

Lived twelve little girls

In two straight lines

They left the house at half past nine

In two straight lines in rain or shine

The smallest one was Madeline"

Madeline is another children's book series which was introduced to me by Paris By the Book. I read the first two books in the series to get an idea what the author was talking about and absolutely adored them. The series, started by Ludwig Bemelmans and later continued by his grand son, is about a brave seven year old girl, who lives in a catholic boarding school in Paris. It is about her adventures along with her teacher and her friends , set in the backdrop of Paris , and illustrates several landmarks of Paris including Eiffel Tower and the Seine. The series is later expanded to her visit to other European cities like London and Rome.

A very nice series to introduce children to Europe and it's landmarks, with an endearing young protagonist. Loved the books, though only few are available here.

👍👍👍👍👍

The Red Balloon

 Author/ Director : Albert Lamorisse

Watched this featurette, thanks to the elaborate description in Paris By the Book. The film follows a boy Pascal, who on his way to school finds a Red Balloon , which surprisingly has a mind of it's own. It follows him according to his own will. The challenges which Pascal and this magic balloon face forms the rest of this lovely featurette, just 35 min long. This was shot in Paris, few years after the world war II, so it shows Paris in a different light, the narrow alleys and the battered buildings . A beautiful film , children will love it !

Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍

Paris by the book

 Author: Liam Callanan

Review: A love letter to bohemian Paris, Paris By the Book by Liam Callanan is a book about an eccentric family which is driven into unconventional circumstances.

Leah, an aspiring film maker, meets Robert, a struggling writer when she is shoplifting a children’s book from a bookstore in Wisconsin. Sparks fly, interests match, their love of Paris superseding everything, they decide to marry, and have two daughters. As every family, they have their ups and downs, until one day Robert disappears, leaving a note referring to four flight tickets to Paris. Leah’s world falls apart. Here she is, with a ticket to her dreamland, on one hand her dream coming true, where as on the other, her life crumbling down. She still follows the lead, and travels to Paris, believing in Serendipity. There she gets a second sign in the form of her husband’s unfinished manuscript which he had submitted before he disappeared. The manuscript says that the family buys a bookstore in Paris. Again, considering it as a sign, she buys a bookstore in Paris. Leah and her daughters refuse to accept that Robert is dead and they firmly believe that he is in Paris. And thus begins the search for Robert and the tour of Paris. They search for him in places where the events in his favorite books unfold, places with his name on it, the bars, the bookstores, the bakeries, the metros and the parks, all the places which he had referred to or made a slightest mention, but to no avail.

They keep catching glimpses of his silhouette, here and there, but is it really him or is it just their hallucination? Will the family ever find Robert again? is Robert still alive? How long will they live in this limbo? This is the mystery which keeps the readers hooked on to the book.

The book is a beautiful piece of art, in short, a Bohemian Rhapsody. The author aims to describe Paris through the eyes of a grieving woman, a woman whose grief is so enormous that it can claim her happiness and purpose in life. Will such grief stop her from falling in love with the city? How long can she resist the magic of Paris, the cozy bars, the quaint book stores, the lively music, the culinary delicacies? How long before her heart swells with pride for owning a bookstore in Paris?

The narrative is very skillful and the language is lyrical. There are many times I have flipped the pages back and forth reading the lines over and over again. With each passing page, I found myself empathizing with Leah and falling in love with the magic of Paris more and more, without shedding a single tear.

On the flip side, there are multiple references to two children’s books “The Red Balloon” and “The Madeline” series, and their authors, which provide a tour to Paris to little children. The discussions and the descriptions run very deep that if you have not read these books or watched the films, you will not understand what the author is talking about. So there is a high chance the reader might get lost in the details. There are a lot of French words which are used in the book, which might also tip the reader off balance.

Also, keep in mind, that this is the story of a grieving woman. There is all forms of grief, sadness, anger, frustration and denial, running throughout the book. It is a myriad of emotions flowing into the pages on one track with the enchantment and budding love for Paris on the other.

From my end, I am going with full five stars for this book. I found myself spellbound, enlightened and fell head over heels in love with Paris, yet again.

As I said earlier, this book is a piece of Art, a tour of bohemian Paris. At the same time, it is an intense book flooded with emotions and in-depth references to certain books and authors. So, I cannot directly recommend this book. I am stating the facts, the choice is yours, take a call.

Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍

Published - Where the Crawdads sing

 My review of where the Crawdads sing published in Punekar News, a leading news portal of Pune.

Read the complete book review here

Coming Home

 Author : Rosamunde Pilcher

Plot:

Finally I decided to give up on this book . It is a story of a young girl , Judith who struggles her through the war , her parents relocated to the Eastern countries as part of East India Company . she is first entrusted to her aunt and later upon her untimely demise , is adopted by a wealthy aristocratic family . At first charmed by the riches , the comfort , glamor and teenage infatuation , it is only the loss which the war brings , which will pave the way for Judith to understand the meaning of true love and loss . It is a good story , old fashioned pleasures described in great detail, but I failed to connect with the plot. The book is too slow to start with . It is not that I haven’t read slow books before , but I felt that this book did not have anything new to offer , either in terms of historic background or characters . We know that WW II is one of the biggest tragedies in the history of the world .I felt the focus should have been more on the loss and Judith’s heartbreak rather than describing the English riches, the countryside and all other minute details . People rave about this author and I had heard only positive reviews about this book, so I was a little disappointed by my own experience . I know I am the odd one out , and I respectfully bail out !

Rating:👍👍

The Inheritance - Movie

A movie adaptation based on the first book of Louisa May Alcott , author of Little Women , the story follows the life of Edith Felon, a privileged Orphan who is a paid companion to the daughter of an aristocratic family . Her interaction with the elite social circle puts her in an enviable position and she encounters extreme jealousy and brutal back stabbing . Things get trickier when a handsome noble aristocrat falls in love with her . Time and again , they are reminded of their social circles and are constantly mocked and ridiculed. But the couple have lofty ideals , and make lot of sacrifices and selfless acts to cross the hurdles . Eventually things work out for them. It is an old fashioned fairy tale romance, the characters are way too idealistic. The story is no where comparable to Little Women . But considering that the author wrote it when she was 17 and this is the book which Jo is supposed to be writing in Little Women, it deserves it’s credits . Watch it for the sake of Jo March and Louisa May Alcott. It’s a simple romance! With a handsome lead pair , beautiful settings and lavish costumes. the movie is a visual treat !

Rating: 👍👍👍

The Guest List

 Author : Lucy Foley

Review:

I love mystery genre and was so happy to read a good mystery after a long time! On a remote island off the coast of Ireland, two celebrities are getting married, a handsome daring television star and a successful magazine publisher. It is a destination wedding with very few chosen people on the guest list, who are very close to the bride and the groom. The preparations are in full swing and everyone has started arriving to the island through boats. There is intermittent to nil internet connectivity on the island, and the weather is not very conducive. There appears to be a storm brewing in the horizon.

Not all faces which show up for the wedding are happy. Few have had a rocky past; some have deep regrets. But far more sinister, few of them have a motive, a motive strong enough to commit a grave crime, a murder.

The plot is presented from multiple perspectives, the narration switches from one character to another, the bride, the bridesmaid, the best man, an old friend’s wife and the wedding planner who oversees all events. The story progresses from the day before the wedding to the wedding night, and as we read the past of each and every character, we begin to understand the complexities of their emotions and the motives behind why someone went to such extremes to do what they did.

To summarize, a very fine mystery, I enjoyed every bit of it. The plot is gripping, I spent a couple of late nights to finish the book. The author is in no hurry and makes the readers spend a good amount of time flipping the pages before getting into the thick of the crime. It is not till the end that we connect the dots together, though our suspicions start brewing earlier on. The plot simmers, slowly builds up and the ending is explosive, worth a wait.

There are a couple of things I did find missing, but I cannot reveal it till you read the book. I might sound cryptic, but revealing anything more would mean giving a clue or an unintentional spoiler. Such is the mystery of this book. A brilliant read, don’t miss it.

Rating : 👍👍👍👍

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Where the Forest meets the Stars

 Author : Glendy Vanderah

Plot : There are books which reward you with a soul stirring experience and this is one of them. This book is a tale of two survivors, each fighting their own battles, drawn together by a beautiful little angel who believes in miracles. Set in rural Illinois, the setting boasts of a rich lavish country side nested deep in the cradle of nature. Filled with dense forests, the fertile farms, the nesting birds, the heavy rains, the vast green fields, the book has every element required to appease a nature lover.

Joanna Teale(Jo) is an Ornithologist who comes to the country side to study nesting birds for her graduate research. Her battle against cancer and loss of her mother has filled both her body and mind with physical and emotional scars.

She tries to find her peace immersing herself in her study. She lives in a solitary cabin with minimal facilities. Her only human connections are an Egg Man, Gabe, who sells eggs on the route she passes every day and a laundromat in the nearby town, which she visits occasionally on rainy days to wash her clothes.

One day a little girl knocks at her door, claiming she is an alien from a distant planet and calls herself Ursa Major. She refuses to reveal any further details about herself, except the fact that she is sent to Earth to complete her thesis to graduate from school in her planet, which involves seeing five miracles.

Jo seeks the help of Gabe, the reclusive Egg man and a beautiful soul, who is battling demons of his own to help her find more details about Ursa. The more they try to solve the mystery around this charming child, the more they find themselves drawn towards the power of love, positivity, compassion and the belief that however wounded you are, there are still ways to help others and affect other souls in this world in a positive way.

This book has all the elements required to charm the readers; romance, a beautiful countryside and the undercurrent of mystery throughout. The language is easy to read and as we flip each and every page, we yearn to know a little bit more about Ursa and her whereabouts.

As we travel with Ursa in her miracle solving journey, we start pondering about the miracles in our own lives.

To summarize, this book is a poignant and heartwarming story of souls searching for the meaning of their survival. It celebrates human relationships, deep rooted connections and reinstates our faith in compassion and love. Don’t miss this book. However, be ready to shed few tears.

Rating : 👍👍👍👍👍

The Saturday Evening girls club

 Author : Jane Healey

Set in early 1900s in Boston when there was an influx of huge Italian immigrants , this novel follows the story of four young Italian women raised in America and want to live life on their own terms . This goes against theIr family traditions and their conservative parents who believe women have to take care only of domestic household and marry men of their choice. These girls fall in love , stumble , make bad choices but they find comfort and support with each other and eventually get closer to their dream of living life their own way. It is a sweet simple book with a strong take on feminism. The language is fairly simple with lots of Italian phrases in between. Jane Healey’s books remind me of old Hindi television serials ( the late 1980s and early 1990s) . They are laid back and convey a very simple straightforward message . If you are looking for something light to read , go ahead and pick this book. Her books have been good stress busters .

Rating: 👍👍👍

Before She Disappeared

 Author : Lisa Gardener

Plot:

Before She disappeared is a brilliant mystery which keeps the reader hooked on till the very end. Lisa Gardner’s protagonist, Frankie Elkin who calls herself a middle-aged ordinary white woman is recovering alcoholic with a tumultuous past. Haunted by her past misdeeds and forever struggling to find inner tranquility, Frankie is now addicted to a new cause, finding missing people whom the cops have abandoned. The people who are trivial, their existence wiped off quietly from this world because the cops could not trace them or were too busy to pursue their case. Frankie looks for her own healing trying to help these missing people.

Frankie travels to different places chasing such missing people, usually she picks up cases in small town or country side, where a civilian can take law in her own hands and act like an amateur detective.

But one case brings her to Mattapan in Boston, a rather run-down neighborhood predominantly occupied by the Haitian population. A Haitian girl and a teenager, Angelique Bandeau, who lived in Mattapan with her aunt and brother, has been missing for eleven months. She was last seen exiting her high school and then disappeared miraculously, evading the intelligence of the surveillance cameras and the telephone logs, leaving the cops perplexed.

Frankie arrives in this largely Haitian and African American neighborhood and finds herself a foreigner in this land because of her skin color. She quickly finds a job in a local pub and makes good acquaintances. She teams up with the local Boston Police Detective, Lotham and begins her rigorous investigation, until one day she realizes that she has put her own life in danger and the next person to disappear from this world could be herself.

The intriguing element in this mystery is unveiling the nature of the crime itself rather than the people behind the crime. It takes a while for Frankie to figure out why the girl was kidnapped and what she was involved in. In the neighborhood filled with drug dealers, arm robbers and human traffickers, Frankie coerces through the complex network of the underground mafia and fraudsters to find the root cause of the crime.

On a parallel track runs Frankie’s battle with her inner demons seeking validation to her own existence is as intense as her combat with the criminals who are responsible for the disappearance of Angelique. The book presents various shades of characters, few faulty, few endearing. Mattapan houses a mixed bunch of residents, some who want to help, reach out and protect their community and others who are selfish and do not care an inch for goodness and welfare of this world. The plot starts slow but after first 50 pages, it is extremely gripping. I could easily finish it off in one sitting yesterday. Overall, a very fast paced thriller and a brilliant cozy mystery. Highly recommended.

Rating: 👍👍👍👍

Where the Crawdads sing

Author: Delia Owens

Plot: I finally got my hands on the book “Where the Crawdads sing”. The story revolves around a marsh girl “Kya”, whose battle for survival starts when she turns six. She lives in a shack on a marsh near a quiet town Barkley Cove on the North Carolina Coastal line. Domestic abuse in the house forces her mother, and later her siblings to leave the shack leaving Kya alone with her abusive father at a tender age of 6. After few days of feeble sunshine, things get gloomy when her drunkard father also abandons her at the age of ten.

Kya battles her loneliness and puts up a brave face when confronted with adversity. She grows up to be a beautiful maiden, men begin to take advantage of her. Scorned, humiliated and rejected by the town folks as the Marsh Girl, she is determined to make her identity in this world, which she eventually does, magnificently.
But troubles don’t seem to leave Kya when she gets caught up in a murder mystery. Everyone in the town suspects Kya and she has to face criticism and rejection, yet again, despite being an accomplished naturalist and an author.
There are two protagonists in this novel, Kya and the marsh itself. It took me a while to understand the setting and I struggled to get a clear picture of marsh in my head. I have never read a more vivid and beautiful description of a marsh before. By the end of the book, my head was filled with the inhabitants of the marsh, the birds, the shells and the different fauna which grows there. I understood the difference between a marsh and a swamp, how a lagoon opens up to a beach and how a beach narrows to a tunnel and how it opens up to the sea.
Then comes the heroine Kya. Her struggle for survival and her resilience is certainly commendable. But I did find her story a little unrealistic , she seems to have the right people walking in her life the right time. And considering that she was a Marsh girl who had been alone most of her life , some of her achievements seemed incredible .
Nevertheless, Survival stories are my favorite, and I am fortunate to read this story of the Marsh girl and her struggle against loneliness. This book is a brilliant piece of fiction. It is poetic, beautifully written. I am looking forward for the movie, which is supposed to be produced by Reese Witherspoon. I am looking forward to see Kya but more than that, the marsh. Don’t miss this book , it is a different experience all together.

Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍

The Vineyard

 Check out the complete review of The Vineyard at

https://theworldofmovies.com/the-vineyard-season-1-review/

The overdue life of Amy Byler

Author : Kelly Harms 

We got into a situation when as a group we decided to read comedy, voted on a book which looked comical based on reviews and figured out the book is anything but comedy . A complete bummer . But well , we did have fun discussing the pains we took to finish the book . But what was interesting was that the book had such rave reviews and was rated laugh out comedy . All the more reason to stress on the importance of genuine reviews !

Rating : 👎

The little Teashop in Tokyo

 Author : Julie Caplin

Plot: The little Teashop in Tokyo by Julie Caplin is a breezy romance between two photographers who happen to meet each other in Tokyo after an unpleasant encounter they had a decade ago . Fiona is a travel blogger and a photographer who wins an all expense trip to Tokyo , a photography mentor for two weeks and an opportunity to display her photos in an exhibition. What she doesn’t know is that her mentor is going to be someone with whom she got into an embarrassing situation ten years back , an ambitious, successful and handsome photographer Gabe . How the equations play out between them is the rest of the story. But the heart of this book lies in Tokyo itself . During her stay , Fiona stays with a Japanese family which owns a tea shop in Tokyo . She gets a chance to meet women of three generations in that family and through each of them , she gets to understand the little customs, food , attire , the traditions and also the bohemian practices of the Japanese people . Because her profession is photography, she travels with Gabe to all the prominent attractions in Tokyo and captures the soul and the beauty of those places on camera. The first half of the book is really enticing with lot of nitty gritty details about the streets , the houses and the local restaurants of Tokyo. There are vivid descriptions on importance of chopsticks , the broken pots , the Bonsai trees and the cherry blossoms . It is the second half which precipitates the whole book and fails to capitalize on the pace which is set in the first half . There should have been some twist or action, instead the plot drags with stereotypical romance and misunderstandings between the lead pair . I also felt that there should have been few photographs of the places and things in the Epilogue for the readers to appreciate the descriptions in the book a lot better .

But overall, I liked the book. It’s a fast read and for a while , I got lost into the world of cherry blossoms and appreciated the beauty of wabi-sabi and kintsugi once again . If you have a fascination towards Japanese culture , go for this book. Don’t expect too much on the plot , you will not be disappointed.

Rating: 👍👍👍

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News of the world(Movie)

I finally managed to watch the News of the World movie yesterday, renting the DVD from Redbox at a reasonable price. I have already reviewed the book before so I will not go into the details of the plot. My objective here is to compare the movie and the book and conclude which fares better.

To recap, the plot revolves around a 70-year-old retired veteran, Captain Jeffrey Kidd who earns his living travelling from place-to-place, reading news to the people in small towns in North Texas. In one of the towns, he meets a young German girl, who was captured by the Kiowa tribe, and raised as one of their own. The girl, who has lost touch with the civilization, has to be now returned back to her original family, her German uncle and aunt, and the job to escort her, falls on Captain Kidd.

Together they travel four hundred miles down south to the hill country during which they make several escapades. Their journey to the destination and the bond they forge enroute is a feast to watch.

The movie is very well crafted and the visuals are splendid. The aerial shots of the vast Texas Prairies are breathtaking. The unruly terrain, the rolling hills and the hardships of the locals are beautifully captured. I especially loved the enigmatic aura in which the Kiowa tribe is presented in the movie. The lead pair did an incredible job, Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel excel in their roles and get into the skin of their characters.

The movie captures the political atmosphere of Texas in 1870s very accurately. Texas was part of the Confederates during the Civil War, so some of the views presented in the movie may not be to the popular liking. But the screenplay is crisp, the arguments are stated and noted. The political opinions are just presented, they are neither advocated nor ridiculed.

The movie does deviate from the book at many instances. To start with, in the book, Captain Kidd agrees to escort Johanna because he is given a good coveted 50 dollars to do the job, Whereas in the movie, he is shown to be a kindhearted man who is doing the job to answer to his own clear conscience. In the book, Captain Kidd does not read the local news as he believes that information could be obtained easily to the local public. Instead, he entices the audiences with the news from lands, far far away across the globe. In the movie, though there is a glimpse of “The Times of India”, Captain Kidd is seen reading primarily from the Texas newspapers and the federal newspapers. Most of the supporting cast is given little screen time, and they disappear into oblivion once the Captain and Johanna leave the place and continue their journey. Whereas in the book, we learn about the lives of each of these characters in great detail. The captain’s children are not even mentioned in the movie, the chronological events summing up the life of the captain in the movie seems to be different from the book.

Albeit the glaring differences, my observation is that this is one of the rare instances where it is difficult to choose between the movie and the book. I loved them both equally. The movie excels on its own, but if you want to dig deeper, go for the book. The history of Texas is intriguing and indeed worth your time.

👍👍👍👍👍

News of the world

 Author : Paulette Jiles

We were asked to read this book for a book discussion and the theme was western. A movie based on this book was released last Christmas with Tom Hanks in the lead role. That set the expectations in the right course. Any movie which features Tom Hanks, cannot go wrong.

So, albeit the fact that the book started slow, and the dialogues were mixed up with the narration, without any quotation marks, I held on to the book in good faith, trusting Tom Hanks, and oh boy, after a while, it paid off so well. The book revolves around an unlikely bond between an ageing itinerant reader and a 10-year-old German girl who was captured by a native Kiowa tribe when she was 6.

The year is 1870, just after the civil war. Texas, like other states in US, is trying to stabilize post war and deal with the changed political and cultural landscape. There are colored men who are set free, the Republicans have got their foothold on Texas, but still there is rivalry with in the party upon the direction the state is heading to, the captives who were held long by the native tribes are being ransomed by the US Army and are set free to rejoin their families. Captain Kidd, a 71-year-old retired army officer and a widower, has seen it all, participated in three wars, run a printing press, raised his family, and has seen his daughters married and settled in far off places. He earns his living in a very interesting way, he collects information from the leading newspapers around the world, and then reads all the fascinating information across the globe to the people in the small towns in Northern Texas. People come in hoards for his reading sessions, they love hearing news on what is happening in far off places like Europe, India or Russia and pay him for the news.

When he is travelling to one such small town to read the news, he is asked to transport a captive back to her family near San Antonio, south of Texas for a good 50-dollar gold. The girl is 10-year-old, captured by the Kiowa tribe and is completely transformed as one of their own. She does not speak English nor does she remember any events of her past prior to her capture except the memories of her parents and her sister. Captain Kidd and the girl, Johanna, begin their journey in North, near Wichita, to travel down south, where few of her German relatives, are willing to adopt her.

Then the story follows the western style, the vast plains and wilderness of Texas, the raiders, thieves, bandits, chase and ambush. As they confront few perils, slowly they begin to warm up to each other, and Johanna starts trusting Captain Kidd and calls him grandfather. He tries to teach her the civilized way of living and she starts speaking broken English with him. Captain Kidd is initially under an illusion that he is saving her and reforming her, but Johanna loves the free native Indian way of living so much, that she finds civilization more binding. But despite their contradicting beliefs, they still bond with each other. In their journey, they meet some real interesting characters, a fiddler whose music transforms the world around him, a kind lady who makes the most delicious chocolates, and a farmer who has to let go of his chicken to satiate the hunger of Johanna. Johanna is looked upon with scorn at many places and is an object of interest to few. They meet soldiers, raiders, thieves along their way and also narrowly escape a chase. When they finally reach the destination, Captain Kidd is left with two choices, can he leave Johanna with her foster family, who are resolute on using her as a slave, or should he take her under his wing, which makes him a kidnapper in the face of law?

It is a beautiful tale of courage and affection, books like this reinforce empathy and kindness in each of our minds. The book does have a fairy tale ending, so it is difficult to categorize it as realistic fiction, but we all can use a dash of fairy dust in our lives, isn’t it?

On the flip side, the book is a slow read. It takes a while to get into the book and understand it’s rhythm. It covers a great deal of history about Texas, especially the social and political landscape post-civil war. It does get difficult to keep up with the facts.

But if you are ready to plunge into the vast Texas plains, encounter native Indians, thieves, raiders, the rolling hills of the hill country, and witness a very unconventional bonding between two interesting characters, do not miss this book. Trust Tom Hanks and delve deep. I just watched the trailer and looking forward to watch the movie as soon as it is available to rent.

A full five stars from me for this book, the true Texan style.

Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍

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