The Choice

 Author : Dr Edith Eva Edgar

The Choice is an autobiographical account of a Holocaust survivor , Dr. Edith Eva Eger who survives the Auschwitz and later the Death March . She articulates the horrific experiences very vividly .She holds onto hope and light within to get past some gruesome experiences .

I was prepared for this part of the book as I was aware that it is about the Holocaust .

The war is over , and she survives . But Is it a happily ever after ? No . She recovers , marries , bears children , life goes on . But the pain and the suffering lingers in the back of her mind . The trauma acts up in different ways and costs

her a lot . Then she starts questioning herself and the meaning of all her suffering . She starts studying , one degree after another and finally studies psychology. Now at 90, she is an active psychologist treating patients with depression . She talks about multiple clinical cases she has handled , and how she managed to overcome her own trauma and later helped heal others .

This book was a very heavy read , I was not prepared for the second half and it hit me hard .Huge respect to Dr Edith Eva Eger who survived the trauma , worked on healing herself and then put her life to good use healing others .

There are some books which demand your attention and your emotional energy . This is one such book , it is not for the faint hearted and you cannot take it lightly .

It teaches you a lot , I wouldn’t have picked it myself. But no doubt it is a very Informative read. The lady is a huge inspiration . The Choice is up to you , to read this book or not .

Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍

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Where the Crawdads sing : the movie

 “ A feral girl with rumors that she is part wolf, with eyes that glow in the dark “. A girl who is filled with dirt, consumed in loneliness . Struggling to make her living in the only world she knows - the Marsh . Her family , her friends are more like sojourners in her life for a brief period of time . They come into her life , stay with her for a short time and disappear. The only thing constant in her life is the Marsh . Despite all the odds , she evolves into an extraordinary butterfly. But will the society let her fly? The town people tag her as the Marsh girl , they alienate her , belittle her , use her . This is the story of Kya as she stands trail for a murder she is accused of in the extraordinary tale of courage and perseverance , “where the crawdads sing”.

I had read this book and Kya is like the fire within all of us . Our passion is re kindled with her spirit . That is how dear Kya is to anyone who has read the book.

Then I watched the movie yesterday and saw an introverted high school girl who loves to draw and write on the screen . To give the movie due credit , they were loyal to the book . The screenplay is gripping , the marsh ethereal. The whole movie is beautifully shot.

What made it underwhelming is the casting . Daisy Edgar Jones is not the right fit . She is too polished to play Kya . The supporting characters who played Tate and Andrews looked quite robotic. There were times when I doubted the plausibility of Kya’s personality and her capabilities on screen when I was so bowled out with the same Kya in the book . This could be a biased review from someone who loved the book so much . But I was forewarned before by a good friend to keep my expectations low . Despite that I ended up being disappointed. It’s an average movie , well taken , an honest effort but falls short because of its cast.

Rating: 👍👍👍

Enola Holmes 2

 A very fine movie , very very well made . Lot of action sequences , lot of creativity when it comes to evidence , deduction and the spy game . Excellent humor . The actors are wonderful . I love Sherlock Holmes and in the past few years , a few fine actors have portrayed the character very well. I have begun to like this Sherlock too . Henry Cavill is brilliant , just like Robert Downey Jr or Benedict cumberbatch . Millie Bobby Brown is perfect as Enola . In this particular case , the practical , analytical and detached Sherlock works with the spontaneous, vivacious and emotional Enola to solve a mystery. They form such a wonderful detective pair and the contrast in their personalities is evident and made a lot apparent . The supporting cast is also excellent.

The movie revolves around a true story , match girls who work for a match factory and either disappear or die , and is based on a woman who stood up for their rights and their well being . Feminism , brilliantly captured and within the context .

There are very subtle references to the friends and foes of Sherlock Holmes , his famous possessions . There is a lot of onus on his methodical deduction, his style of working . There are some sequences , especially at the climax where we could draw parallels to the action sequences in 2009/2011 Sherlock movies .

All in all , I thoroughly enjoyed this movie . My weekend ended quite well . What better way to conclude the review than this dialogue .

Watson : “You may be right.”

Holmes: “The probability lies in that direction.”

Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍