Bombay Time: Thrity Umrigar

I had heard about Thrity Umrigar in a discussion about Indian writers during one of my hikes. Naturally, when I saw a book by this author at the book sale, I picked it up.

Bombay Time is a story based on the lives of a group of middle class Parsis in Wadia Baug, Bombay. During the wedding reception of one of the members' son, everyone gathers and the story unfolds in the form of memories and reflections about the past, their youth and the various incidents that lead to their present circumstances in life. It has several interesting characters like the once ambitious Rusi Bilimoria, Dosamai-the gossip, 'Killer Breath' Tehmi, unhappy Coomi, successful Jimmy Kanga and many others.

I was floored by the strong and powerful writing. Every emotion is portrayed with ease and effectively so. I was impressed particularly by the unique quirks of each character and their interesting back stories. My favorite of all the different stories was Soli Contractor's simultaneous falling in love with Mariam and classical music.

The only gripe I have with this novel is that it has way too much sadness for one book to handle. There is death and frustration in every character's life. A little bit of happiness and fun would have helped to ease out the negativity. That being said, I'm very keen to read other books by Thrity. 

Memories Of My Melancholy Whores-Book Review

Yet another brilliant book by the Novel prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I finished this novella in two hours straight.

The protagonist of this novella is a 90 year old journalist who decides to celebrate his ninetieth birthday with a virgin prostitute. The book showcases what happens when he falls in love with the girl. It is no ordinary love-a surreal, dream like love expressed in the darkness of the night in a small dingy room rented out for the night with the object of his affection sleeping peacefully. Novels are read, poetry recited, paintings exhibited, gifts showered-all while the girl sleeps and he relishes those precious hours at night.

It is the magic of his writing that brings the entire novel alive. The old man's hopes, desperation, desire, jealousy and passionate love are all portrayed beautifully. I don't have much more to say except that this is yet another literary gem that lingers in the heart long after you've finished reading it. 

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency-Review

This book was recommended by my doctor during my latest India trip.  'The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency' is a popular series written by Alexander McCall Smith. Based in Botswana, it is a story of a detective agency started by the protagonist Mme Precious Ramotswe.

Mme Ramotwe is a wise woman, proud to be an Africa and loves her country for all its natural beauty, history and traditions. She often comments on how things have changed compared to life during her childhood. Her remarks in the most simple words reflect profound truths and observations about life, living and love which touched my heart and made me wonder what magic the writer has weaved without using any flowery language!

The novel is a collection of the different cases Mme encounters and solves using her sharp mind and common sense. The cases vary from the common place to the sinister-missing husbands, abducted children, cheating doctors, fraud employees etc. It gives the readers an insight into life in Africa, the traditions, social structure, modernization and lifestyle in Botswana.

The novel paints a vivid picture of Mme's personal life starting from her father's experiences as a mine worker in South Africa, her childhood filled with nurture and care by her father's cousin, the unhappy wedding and the setting up and operation of the detective agency. This helps the readers to feel more connected to Mme Ramotswe as opposed to focusing on one single crime until its resolution-the usual style of most detective novels.

My most favorite line in the book is: He looked at her in the darkness, at this woman who was everything to him-mother, Africa, wisdom, understanding, good things to cat, pumpkins, chicken, the smell of sweet cattle breath, the white sky across the endless, endless bush, and the giraffe that cried, giving its tears for women to daub on their baskets; O Botswana, my country, my place.

I have bought a couple more books in the series and I'm very excited to enjoy the adventures of Mme Ramotswe.

Books-2014

In 2013, I read 13 books - that's almost one book a month. I want to continue tracking my reading habits so by I have a record of the different types of books I read and also know if I'm not reading enough and compare against the previous years. So, here goes the list for this year!

1. Fifty Shades of Grey- E.L.James
2. The no. 1 Ladies Detective Agency-Alexander Mccall Smith
3. Murder at the Vicarage-Agatha Christie
4. Inheritance of Loss-Kiran Desai
5. Memories of my melancholy whores-Gabriel Garcia Marquez
6. No Orchids for Miss Brandish-James Hadley Chase
7. The Wench is Dead-Colin Dexter
8. Bombay Time-Thrity Umrigar
9. Tears of the giraffe: Alexander Mccall Smith
10. Death is now my neighbour-Colin Dexter
11. Last Bus to Woodstock-Colin Dexter
12. The Winner Stands Alone-Paulo Coelho
13. The Sunday Philosophy Club-Alexander Mccall Smith
14. Norwegian Wood: Haruki Murakami
15. Space Between Us: Thrity Umrigar
16. Morality For Beautiful Girls-Alexander Mccall Smith
17. Lolita-Vladimir Nabokov

Message to the Modern World by Chief Si'ahl

During my recent trip to Seattle, I learnt about the city's history and our tour guide recommended we read a speech by Chief Si'ahl after whom the city is named. I was very impressed by the speech and so have shared the URLbelow:

 http://www.studiesincomparativereligion.com/public/articles/Message_to_the_Modern_World-by_Chief_Seattle.as

 

The Girl Who Played With Fire

After reading the poetic and literary beauty 'One hundred years of solitude,' I was looking for a quick read and so I picked 'The girl who played with fire'-the second novel in The Millennium series by Steig Larsson. I had read 'The girl with the dragon tattoo' a couple of months ago and was completely enamored by it.
 

The first book took me by complete surprise. The plot was intriguing and the characters unique. Especially Lisbeth Salander-the protagonist was so different from any of the novels I have read so far. The saga of the Vangar family was filled with drama and mystery. I liked the fact that it was a very fast paced novel with several twists and turns. It was a thoroughly enjoyable mystery novel.
 

Obviously, my expectations were quite high from the second novel. It is a great book but somehow lacks the same grip as the first one. On its own it is brilliant but in comparison to the first one and as a sequel, I was a little disappointed. The adventures of Lisbeth Salander and Michael Blomkvist continue and several characters from the first novel play important roles in this one. I finished the book in two days straight. That has to say something about how much the book can involve you but at the end of it something feels incomplete. Maybe I shouldn't have had such high expectations and I could have enjoyed the book a little better.
 

I am yet to read the last of the trilogy 'The girl who kicked the hornet's nest.' The unusual personality of Lisbeth is the biggest highlight of this series. Her background, talents and experiences are what make the books so popular and interesting.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

After falling in love with 'Love in the time of Cholera' and 'Chronicles of a death foretold', I got my hands on yet another Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel-One hundred years of solitude. I was prepared to have my mind blown away by the Nobel prize winning author. And I was not disappointed.

The novel is a saga of the rise and fall of a fictitious town Macondo through the story of several generations of the crazy Buendia family. There are so many characters and each one of them has a strong distinctive personality yet they all share a common fate because they are of Buendia blood. Much as I tried, I could not pick a favorite as each one of them is so real with their strength and flaws yet equally unreal with their own bizarre and almost supernatural traits.

Best known for its magic realism genre, this novel does not care or pass a judgement about moral or immoral. The characters simply behave according to their inherent nature. There are so many sub plots, themes and motifs in the character yet without overwhelming or confusing, it intrigues and evokes strong emotions in the reader's mind. The novel is an absolute treat for anyone who enjoys literature.The plot is linear with occasional flashbacks, language poetic and the plot fascinating. What I loved the most was the way the writer connects characters from the past with current events depicting the shared fate of the Buendias through generations. The hopes, dreams, fears, mistakes and quirkiness even though different have an underlying common point and that unites the entire novel through six generations.

After completing the novel, I feel an emptiness inside me which I think will be filled only by starting yet another of the master's novel.