Couple More...

Remnants of the India trip are still with us in the form of memories. The silly song that my littlest nephew had acted out keeps invading my kids’ heads, the bunny that her cousin gave my girl and of course the phone calls home that revives requests for a visit in summer. It was great to see the littlest nephew for the first time. On other news, my Mom now is a great-grandma 6th time over. Wish I could have seen the new little one too before I left but babies are not born according to our schedule. On the book front, here are a couple that caught my fancy.

The Violinist’s Thumb by Sam Kean

The book is all about DNAs laid out in layman’s terms. It unravels the magic of the DNA and the scientific studies that led to its unraveling in a fun and down to earth style. This author has successfully carried off similar daunting subjects before. I am thinking of buying his Disappearing Spoon for my Periodic Table lover of a son. We do have to take some of the things in the book as his personal opinions but that gets the book going in a personal narrative form for an entertaining read. Wonderful book. Got me excited about DNA!  I believe Sam Kean, son of Gene Kean and Jean Kean, can entertain us about any subject that interests him.

The Last Runaway by Tracy Cavalier

I watched ‘Girl With a Pearl Earring’ quite by accident while flipping channels late one night. Having no reference point I started watching it reluctantly but stayed glued on all through to the end. Having had that appreciative sigh one gets after watching something satisfying the movie had stayed in my mind for a long time. Scarlett Johansson played the lead but I wasn’t familiar with her name at that time. When I saw this book ‘The Last Runaway’ as written by the author of ‘Girl With the Pearl Earring’, two things hit me. One, this book’s got to be good; two how could I not know that movie was based on a book! The book proved to be all that and more. Tracy Cavalier surpassed herself! You will enjoy it even more if you have read ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ and aware of the Underground Railroad and the Quakers who helped the slaves fleeing from their bondage. Told from the point of view of a Quaker woman Honor Bright who came over from England, the story is woven gently through the settler/immigrant’s life in America amidst the strong undercurrent of slavery. I found myself looking for each of the characters in 'Uncle Tom’s Cabin' in the faces of the many runaways that Honor helped. It was a totally rewarding experience and I did not put down the book until I finished! Considering the grave subject and the general thread of the story this was surprising. Such is the prowess of Cavalier’s story telling. 

A Hundred Flowers by Gail Tsukiyama

A Hundred Flowers is yet another gently written story on a powerful subject and time in history. The time when China’s Mao Tse Tung declared a new openness with “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend.” Many feared this to be a trick but slowly were attracted enough to be open about their ideas and eventually fell right into the trap set for them. Tao is a young boy in China who enjoys life and brings much joy to his family. His life turns upside down when his Dad was arrested for writing an open letter critical of the existing regime. While looking out for his Dad’s return from a tall kapok tree he fell and broke his leg. The story revolves around this event and Tao’s Grandpa’s role in his dad’s fate mingled with his Mom’s struggles. Gail Tsukiyama's deft handling of this deeply affecting story shines throughout the book.

Two Books

The Art Forger by Barbara Shapiro

I sat straight up on the seat. Couldn't believe my ears! The car radio is indeed talking about the Gardner Museum heist. Such a coincidence! I had just about finished reading a book based on it. Barbara Shapiro’s book was finished in one sitting not just for the mystery element but for the wonderful foray into the world of art. It was about forgeries mostly but I find myself unable to resist anything that provides information on classics. Be it art, music or books for that matter! The story starts off with a mention of the famous and heretofore unsolved art heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 23 years ago. It adds an imaginary Degas painting to the original list of stolen artworks. The rest of the story is built upon this Degas painting. Such imagination can only lead to a good story. Shapiro has done well.

And it really was on NPR news on March 18, 2013, the 23^rd anniversary of the heist! The news was that the FBI now knows the criminals who did it but has no idea where the stolen paintings are. I do hope they will be returned to the museum where they belong. Isabella G is thought to be one of the first art collectors in the US and a pioneering woman at that. I would like her museum to get the paintings back.

Joseph Anton- A Memoir by Salman Rushdie

Any Salman Rushdie book is fair game one way or another. You might hate the man or love him but his writing genius is indisputable. I finished this hardbound book in one sitting! Reminded me of when I was reading Marquez's memoir. Engagingly written, great pain is taken to express his thought process while writing the book that started all the controversy. I have not read that book but I can see that perhaps most people who opposed it also never read it? To be honest I just didn't like the title and may not ever read it. But reading this book written about the life he lived in hiding under the name of Joseph Anton is worth it. It takes one into the writer's mind. Quite an intelligent and well read mind, mind you:-). It starts off with Rushdie's english education, the loss of his part of India during partition and the various phases of his career as a writer. The main focus however is on his life as Joseph Anton spent running away from place to place under police protection in England. I was surprised to find that he had to find, rent and pay for all the hiding places himself although his level of threat was second only to that of the Queen. He seems to have a keen memory based on how he explains each small incident so vividly. He also puts himself in the other person's shoe almost all the time in an effort to find the reasoning behind all the madness. I do hope to read his universally acclaimed novel  Midnight's Children one day.

Here are a few more....

About 5 years ago on that fateful day I created this blog. The first year went by, the third year went by. This is the beginning of the sixth year. This year could go by any time. After this, comes the seventh year…….

No I haven't gone bonkers. At least not yet! I hope instead you have caught on to the last book I read. Yup, the’ I Am Number Four’ series. All 3 of them in 3 nights! Not being a tween or a teen, I skipped generously on the war parts especially when pikens and krauls joined the Mogs. After 'The Hunger Games' there is only so much one can stomach! Despite the violence, the story is interesting and I did really want to know what happened to numbers four, five, six, seven etc. Eight being found in India was definitely fun. My son loves it when I read one of his current favorites. So he was overjoyed that I tried to read all three books. The author/authors appeared mysterious under the pseudonym 'Pittacus Lore' until I did some research (wikipedia). Pittaccus Lore is in fact the name of a founder of the nation type of character in the book! Turns out one of the two authors is James Frey who is not a stranger to bestselling books. The second author is a young adult named Jobie Hughes whom Frey apparently had fired in the midst of writing the book. Frey has some controversies to his name because his very first memoir was not so much of a memoir. But the guy is a great story teller. I guess he can't help it if his imagination catches fire even when writing about himself :-) The books are very entertaining and will hold the interest of its intended audience without doubt.

Now to the adult books. No! Not those kinds of adult books! I mean the regular stuff we all can get to. Ian McEwan's Sweet Tooth was an unexpected disappointment. I like this author so the disappointment was double fold. I just could not get through all that without getting sleepy. Despite having a secret service background it moves very slowly and I just couldn’t get interested in the details. Sorry McEwan. You know I am a fan. I will read your books again but with a little less expectation so I won't feel so let down. 

Ann Tyler's 'Beginner's Goodbye' on the other hand was a pleasant experience. The pace was just right for the story and characters were with me while reading. The subject is a little sad since it is about how someone gets over the death of a spouse. In this case Dorothy was indeed Aaron's true love. He runs a small Publishing house that specializes in books with titles that begin with 'The Beginner's..' and hence the title. Good book. I had read Tyler's 'Breathing Lessons' a long while ago and remember liking it much.

And now to assuage your curiosity I will tell you about the picture at the top. It showcases most of the book purchases I made in Kerala. From DCbooks to be exact.  While looking for some Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) comics I came across these three volumes each containing about 100 books. Couldn't buy all three but for about hundred bucks it was a good deal to get one volume. The son's already finished them and I am halfway through. Mine is a journey into memories rather than just a read. The pictures touched awake sweet old memories of a certain period in my life. I do see a lot of mistakes and discontinuities and imperfections now that I am looking with the cranky old eyes of a full-fledged adult. But they do feed the imagination, these awesome stories native only to India....

One thing I cannot find here to buy are Malayalam books. So I brought me some such books picked at random based on some names I'd remembered. Loved MT's 'Randamoozham' as expected. 'Prayanam' by Parappurathu was an eye opener and it sure will remain a classic. P Surendran's 'memoir' 'Ilanjipoomanamulla Nattuvazhikal' reminded me a  little of Chullikad and I am glad to know this writer. But there was one book that shone like a jewel among all 10 books. Sarah Joseph's 'Othappu'. It means scandal or something similar according to the author's own explanation for the word which is also her title. A world class book! Intelligently written with complete control of every single character. The central character of 'Margaleetha' is the crowning glory indeed. I can’t seem to say enough about this book. After 'Agnisakshi' no other Malayalam book has enthralled me as much. I realize now that the theme itself might have influenced me in addition to the powerful prose. Both books tell the stories of women brave enough to break out of binding religious orders/rules at a time when it was almost suicidal to do so. The courage of their convictions laid out so well by a writer who is absolutely in sync with them is an irresistible treat. I was so proud that this story was written in Malayalam. As with Antharjanam's book I wonder if this can be translated in its full beauty to another language..It will be great if that could happen as it has a definite place in world literature. Maybe it already is?

There was reason I reached for P Surendran’s book. It is the title. I have an insatiable weakness for ‘ilanji maram’ and the perfume of its beautiful flowers. I made time to click a piture of our 'ilanji maram' under which I had spent hours picking flowers, reading books or just day dreaming. Here it is:

Adieu my friends. See you at the next post.

Two Movies & Books Galore!

No matter what else is going on, book reading is the one thing that is constant here in Vaayanasaala. But let me briefly mention these two movies before I go on to the books. First is Sridevi's English Vinglish that I had watched with my 8 year old daughter. She loved it too and we both wanted to get our hands on some yummy ladoos afterwards. I should really say Gauri Shinde's 'English Vinglish' because the movie shined in the debutante director's hands. It is loosely based on her Mom I believe. Sridevi acted without fanfare and was a pleasure to watch. I'd always been a fan of Sridevi. The second movie, Life Of Pi was watched by the four of us. Thoroughly enjoyed it. For a short excited moment at the very beginning I thought the background song  (Pi's lullaby) was in Malayalam but soon realized it was in Tamil. My kannan took to heart the antics of the young Indian boy called Pi from Pondicherry. My molu couldn't sit through the tragic storm scenes without crying. Well made movie. I guess that is what we have come to expect from director Ang Lee.

Now to the books. For the sake of brevity I will try not to preach too much on each.

A Severed Wasp By Madeleine L'Engle
L'Engle is a household name esp in children's literature. Her books can be enjoyed by the young and old alike. My son had liked her "A Wrinkle In Time" as I had hoped. Naturally I wanted to read more of this author. This story takes place in an aged Episcopalian Cathedral in subrban New York. Retired pianist Katherine Forrester and the people she meet in her retirement are central to the story.All are connected to the dark Gothic styled cathedral in one way or another! Mystery, entertainment, lovable characters, engaging story line.. . It is all there. L'Engle did not disappointment. Reminded me of the 'Da Vinci Code' sans the controversy. Don't get me wrong, I read the Da Vinci Code without putting it down and have my inner scope turned on for any Merovingian bloodline sightings:-)

Here is a passage from the 'Wasp'  that creeped me out but kept me going: "He-George Orwell, not Dave- talks about a rather cruel trick I once played on a wasp. He was sucking jam on my plate and I cut him in half. He paid no attention, merely went on with his meal, while a tiny stream of jam trickled out of his severed esophagus. Only when he tried to fly away did he grasp the dreadful thing that had happened to him. It is the same with modern man, and there was a period-twenty years, perhaps-during which he did not notice it. It was absolutely necessary that the soul be cut away. Religious belief, in the form that we had known it, had to be abandoned".

Here is another: "For we glory in tribulation, knowing that from tribulation comes patience, and from patience comes experience, and from experience comes hope".

The genius of L'Engle brings it all together beautifully by the end of the book. Both the idea and the story.

Anna Quindlen's Lots Of Candles and Plenty Of Cake  
Anna Quindlen first came into my acquaintance through a movie. One True Thing starring Meryl Streep. I loved the movie and had taken note of the author whose book it was based on. It was with pleasure then that I took this memoir by Ms. Quindlen to read. I enjoyed it and finished it in two days! This first paragraph from her book sums it all up: "It is odd when I think of the arc of my life, from child to young woman to aging adult. First I was who I was. Then I didn't know who I was. Then I invented someone and became her. Then I began to like what I'd invented. And finally I was what I was again." Isn't that wonderful? This is a looking back into her life while she is still fully active but at a good place to write such a book. Many insights and observations are right on the money for me. Go Quindlen!

The End Of Your Life Book Club By Will Schwalbe
If ever a lover of books wanted a memoir by one of her kids, this has got to be it. Will Schwalbe shares the camaraderie that he enjoyed with his Mom over books. Especially how it helped them to keep the conversation going when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was undergoing treatments. Oh such a book! I loved every aspect of it... Knowing about all the books mother and son discussed and seeing how some of the books drew parallels from their lives or vice versa was a treat. It is a detailed tribute to a much admired mother from a son through books, books and books. If you love books you will love this book about books and families. A keeper of a book!

Geoffrey Eugenide's Marriage Plot
 This author is a proven storyteller and I knew with confidence that I will like this book as I had his Middlesex and Virgin Suicides. Just one more feather to this accomplished writer's cap.


Blood Of Flowers By Anita Amirrezvani
Amirrezvani's book tells the story of a girl around 14 who was partially orphaned when her father dies and her engagement fell through. This unnamed heroine's life is set in 17th century Iran and the medium of her redemption is through carpet making. Flowers became a part of it because the rug makers got the dye for yarns from flowers and plants. The girl and her mom left their village with empty hands to the city where her father's step brother lived. They were of course treated just a little above the level of servants. Her uncle was the chief rug maker to Shah Abbas and lived close to the palace. The author chose this period on purpose so that the story takes place in a less contentious time for this embattled nation. Shah Abbas's time in Iran was the golden age,  a time when there was peace and prosperity and arts and architecture flourished. 'The Image Of The World' was completed during this Shah's time and is an important focal point in the story while our heroine goes around it in pursuit of the life handed out to her. Through perseverance and her love and talent in carpet making she was able to survive. I wasn't quite satisfied with the ending but that will not be an excuse to put this down. I think I am getting into the habit of identifying too much with the characters and get disappointed when it all ends. Time to get some real world friends time. This is why I immediately responded to my friend's suggestion for a lunch the other day despite being busy at work.  Both  food and company were excellent. Guess what we talked about? Yup, books!

The Art Of Racing In The Rain By Garth Stein

Dogs are quite lovable creatures and I hope one day to get one here like I had at home. Our narrator is a dog. And what a dog he is! Enzo is old and feeble and is revisiting his entire life lived with his beloved master Denny. Every line is a tribute to this master who was the center of his life.

Denny was a race car driver when he met Enzo. This dog is a human wannabe. That's right. He wants to be a human and thinks some mistake was made when he was created. Not only that, he hopes to be reborn as a human if possible! He is frustrated when he cannot articulate and is reduced to barking especially when his head is swirling with things to say. He knows how to race just like his master from being in his car and from the hundreds of videos he watched on TV. For a race car driver one of the most difficult things to manage is to race when it rains. Enzo's Denny has mastered this and therefore has an advantage when it comes to racing in the rain. Enzo was with the family through thick and thin and as you read, you envy Denny for having this very human like dog in his life. There is a phrase that we see repeated often: "that which you manifest is before you". This has helped both master and dog overcome many setbacks in their respective lives. A very interesting book to read. I almost forgot to mention Garth Stein. Such is the force of his characters!

Yes Chef By Marcus Samuelsson
Members of our household are diehard fans of the food network. Chopped, Next Iron Chef, Next Food Network Star etc are only some of the shows that we watch. Kids joined rather reluctantly, but they have come to enjoy the various facets of cooking. The aspects of owning a restaurant, getting the right ingredients for good food, being disciplined etc are some things that come through all the hoopla around food. I do wonder about the abundance of food that makes this kind of network a reality. But many countries are catching up or are already  bringing the saga of food to the idiot box and it is a reality show I can stomach, pun intended:-) What I am trying to say with all this is how I heard about Chef Samuelsson. It happened when he came on as a judge in Chopped. His quite and confident demeanor and the broad knowledge of cooking were quite captivating. I read this autobiography to get to know the man more and I liked what I read. He was born in Ethiopia, brought up in Sweden along with his sister and cooked in a few countries before settling down as a chef/restaurant owner in the USA. Add TV personality to that and we get a decent idea of the man. Told in a simple and forthright manner, I was able to finish the book in a very short time. Lessons of hardwork, perseverance, obedience, focus etc. are found a plenty in this book. The man is driven and we see how being driven and working hard is important to achieve one's goals.

The Language Of Flowers By Vanessa Diffenbaugh
This book of flowers is a true beauty and tells the story of Victoria Jones who grew up in foster homes
and eventually released from the system at 18 years of age. I finished it in 1-2 sittings. This is Vanessa Diffenbaugh's first book. She carries the novel on her able shoulders to the very end with the control and ease of a veteran. Victoria had a chance to learn the language of flowers in one of her foster homes and carried it forward despite her slack circumstances. The practice of adding meaning to flowers apparently started in the Victorian era through romantic poems. Lovers interpreted what was in each other's hearts through the flowers being exchanged. I really loved the way in which Victoria and a young man she met at the flower market in San Francisco were able to express their feelings though the flowers they gave each other. How very romantic! Ah.... the hidden romantic in me surfaced there for a moment and went hiding again:-) The book in this link is given an accompaniment to Diffenbaugh's book. Ultimately this is the story of Victoria's resilience in the face of adversity despite having grown up in an impersonal system. Diffenbaugh puts her money where the mouth is and has co-founded a network for foster children called Camellia Network. Among all the meanings, the one that most surprised and disappointed was the meaning 'hatred' assigned to basil and the best was 'remembrance' for rosemary. Now I wish to leave you all with a bouquet of jonquils for 'affection' and a bouquet of cattails for 'peace and prosperity'.

Don't I mean it when I say books galore? These should keep you guys going till New Year. Ciao until then my buddies.

The Tools by Phil Stutz & Barry Michels

The Tools : Transform Your Problems into Courage Confidence and Creativity is the full name of this self-help book. It is rather interesting to read and can take the place of wisdom handed down through generations. Phil Stutz is a psychiatrist and Barry Michels is a psychotherapist and together they have created what they call 'the tools'. Reading through it, I felt like I was reading sound advice to handle any situation in life without the usual American indifference. Many times I have felt that when the doctors treat a patient here they only treat the body and leave the heart/soul out of it. If x equals y then z must be true is how it works here for patient treatment. Probably due to limitations imposed by the powerful Insurance companies and the fear of being sued. I can continue like this for a while but that will be forgetting all about the book. This book is for those suffering from depression or similar ailments as it describes how the two authors always wondered about helping the people who came to see them. I think it can be used by any one. What they speak are universal truths that can be applied in any situation. Essentially the authors dispense age-old wisdom through the use of new-age terms. Old wine in new bottle is still as good!

Here are the tools:
1. Reversal Of Desire : To avoid pain we don't do a lot things that could end up helping us or change our life. This tool is asking us to develop a healthy threshold for pain so we can face a problem full on. A mild example is gathering up the courage to ask for that long overdue raise to your manager.
2. Active Love : If we think that our problems are always due to something or someone, you know how that ends up just making us unhappy and does not change the situation in any way. We will will stuck in a maze of hatred and won't be able to come out. This tool asks you to focus and project a whole lot of love onto that person. Be mindful not to use this in abusive situations. That needs the other tools.
3. Inner Authority : Overcome insecurity. Didn't quite get how they described using the tool on this.
4.  The Grateful Flow : To overcome negative thinking.
5. Jeopardy : A way to come back to keep using the tools as needed even if you stopped them once you got some results and then things went down south.

Seems like generic self help gibberish? Not so fast! What differentiates this book from a myriad of others is the apparent genuine desire of the authors to help their patients outside of the usual steps of finding a clue in the past, writing prescriptions etc. They wanted to empower their patients to get over the difficulties they were facing. They advocate a belief in a higher force that needs to be brought out through the effective use of the tools. Read this book even if you don't need it. You will feel like you are listening to two grandfathers dispensing advise based on lives lived well. I am not sure if I fully get all the 'tools' but I liked reading many things in the book that appeared quite sensible. So if you sometimes want a reaffirmation for some of the things you think is right to do, this can help. I leave you with a passage from the book that gives an idea of what I am trying to say here: "We have been preconditioned to associate greatness with people who've achieved power or fame in the outside world, such as a Napoleon or a Thomas Edison. We place little value on an inner greatness that can be developed by anyone, regardless of his station in life (me - the boatman in Hesse's Sidhartha comes to mind here). But it is only this inner greatness that gives meaning to our lives, without it, our society becomes a meaningless shell."

A Three Dog Life : A Memoir by Abigail Thomas

So I was getting the Nora Ephron book from the non-fiction section when this book showed up right next to it. It is easy to assume that it is a generic dog book based on the front cover and the title but it is one of the most heartfelt memoirs I have read in recent times.The prose is honest, simple and down to earth and rather elegant.

"Australian Aborigines slept with their dogs on cold nights, the coldest being a three dog night". These lines in the preface made me curious to know more. A most beautiful memoir. I couldn't put it down even among the chaos of our kitchen remodeling! Interestingly enough a certain warm cozy feeling lingered with me even after I had finished. The author claims she dropped out of the first year of college and never thought she could read a book much less write one! She started writing seriously only after her husband got into an accident. The book is about all that happened in their lives afterwards. A superb and well grounded book rooted very much in the realities of everyday life. Yes, it is all sort of tragic but you will find the underlying warmth of this excellently written book quite inviting. Because it resonates so strongly with our thoughts I bet this book will continue to haul in readers for a long time to come.

The Snow Child By Eowyn Ivey

Just finished reading this magical book . More than two thirds of the book is pure unadulterated writing at its best. Felt like a combination of Pearl S Buck (Good Earth, to be specific) and  Hemingway (for the non-flowery but engaging style of writing) of all people! I can assure you with confidence that it will be difficult for you to put it down once you start. There is no starting trouble for this one. You are in from page one! Then, depending on what held your interest, you might feel a let down towards the end. As if the book's end compromised on the enormous promise it held at the beginning. Not a show stopper though.This is Eowyn Ivey's first book but the writing feels more like pure gold formed over burning hot coal. The book is populated by catchy stories and evolving characters, not to mention pure magic threaded through the story fabric. I love this book. I do. Ivey has a master hand in what she does which is obvious from early on. Magical realism has never been so real for me. Story revolves around Mabel and Jack moving up to remote Alaska to farm virgin land and the mystery child who enters their lives as if through a snow fall. Let me just quote a few lines here for the yet hesitant: "She could not fathom the hexagonal miracle of snowflakes formed from clouds, crystallized fern and feather that tumble down to light on a coat sleeve, white stars melting even as they strike. How did such force and beauty come to be in something so small and fleeting and unknowable?" I have only advise for you now. Please do not skip lines. Each line is imbibed with a beauty that should be devoured slowly. I have splattered superlatives all over this post which is not at all how Ivey handles her prose. In her hands words are like pliable mud formed so dexterously into what she wants. Ok, I'll stop babbling but I hope you got the point. And remember not to be too disappointed at the end. It is still enjoyable, just not as much as the majority of it. That is all.

On other news, see what my girl got on her hands with the henna kit we got from amazon? She saw it on a friend's hands who had gone to India, waited for summer to come since school won't allow it, reminded me promptly and went for it. It was fun. Took me back some days...

We then topped it off with a strawberry pattern on the nails that I had seen somewhere! My little customer was as happy as a butterfly!