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 : 👍👍👍👍

But the book online at

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: 👍👍👍👍