Friday, July 3, 2009
Just checking in
I haven't gone AWOL guys. Just that my 'Luck' seemed to have run out finally. I know, couldn't have lasted that long. eh? The last few books from the Library were disappointments. Yup, nothing to write home about. But I do have some interesting reading going on and will update once I am done. Till then bear with me and Happy Reading!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Kamala Das- Madhavikkutti - Kamala Suraiya
I was away from the blog/net world and can't believe to have come back to this. This iconoclastic writer that I admire much has passed away. Any Malayali who likes books could hardly miss Madhavikkutti's books. Had to leave this quick but respectful note remembering this great author's life and contributions. I still have many books left to read. Her childhood memories are the ones that I love the most among her works. Read more here, here and here.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
The Soloist by Mark Salzman
Nope, it is not the movie based on the life of Juillard's alumni and homeless musician Nathaniel Ayers which indeed is a compelling story. This rather is the book by Mark Salzman about a child prodigy who failed to blossom into the great Cellist that he was to be. Renne Sundheimer's present life is sort of aimless. He rigidly practices everyday on his cello, yet doubts of ever being able to give a concert. At this time a young Korean boy, Kyung-hee enters his life who reminds him a little bit of himself. This gives his life a momentum that wasn't there before despite his own misgivings. The interesting part is how Salzman has managed to weave into this fabric, the a murder trial of a Buddhist (Zen) monk during which Renne sits on the jury. The background of the murderer's life unfolded through the trial makes Renne more aware of how his own life is lived. Salzman talks at length of Zen myths and facts without it getting too complicated or out of place. Looking into more of his other books I see that he does add an extra dimension like this to most of his books. A serious author and a successful story teller is a wonderful find and Salzman is one. Having lived in China, having played Cello etc. must play a part in his writing.
The whole music part reminded me of my own feeble attempts to learn Indian Classical Music during my post undergrad days while waiting to get word on higher studies. The teacher was kind but much as he tried he could not bring himself to encourage me beyond what courtesy dictated. I got the message but since I had a few cohorts in the same boat we kept with it till the master just couldn't take it anymore and got himself transferred:-) Don't get me wrong though, The Soloist is all about true talent and how one so endowed lives with the hand he's been dealt.
The whole music part reminded me of my own feeble attempts to learn Indian Classical Music during my post undergrad days while waiting to get word on higher studies. The teacher was kind but much as he tried he could not bring himself to encourage me beyond what courtesy dictated. I got the message but since I had a few cohorts in the same boat we kept with it till the master just couldn't take it anymore and got himself transferred:-) Don't get me wrong though, The Soloist is all about true talent and how one so endowed lives with the hand he's been dealt.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Joanne Dobbson - A Mystery Writer of Interest
Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle and in later college years, Robert Ludlum (The Bourne books) . There you have it. These are the authors I needed for my mystery fix. Even now I am perfectly happy reading these guys or watching related movies. Daphne Du Maurier can be mysterious but I love her for the style of writing rather. I believe I have read other mysteries but cannot bring them to memory at present. "The Hound of Baskervilles" can give me the chills even now. Of course any Hitchcock movies could do that too. Edgar Allan Poe has a vague place somewhere in there.
Hordes of 'Kottayam Pushpanath' stories brought home by my brothers from the local Malayalam Library is probably what started it all. Although his stories were populist with no credible storyline or a specific style to cry for, they served to instill a craving for the mystery in the young me. How can I ever forget the "woman who looked like a statue of Venus in the dim candle light and of Detective Pushparaj always suddenly needing to break his car while driving on the narrow and dangerous Carpathian Mountain Ranges to find a dead body blocking the road while wolves were howling in the distance?" My sister and I used to have lots of fun making up similar stories by mixing and matching many such lines from those books...
Like I mentioned before, the team that stocked up our Library seem to be kindred spirits. Encouraged by my many recent finds, I decided to stop by the Mystery section this time on a fast run in and out trip there. My eyes locked on author Joanne Dobbson's collection of books. Women writers of the 19th century and set in a college campus were enough to get me interested. Took two books and liked both for the simple mystery and romance and this most interesting way this author -who is also a University Professor - has found to introduce American women writers from the 19th century of whom very little is known to the general public. As she says here, the most popular of them - Emily Dickinson - couldn't have just been born into the literary world all on her own without any predecessors. It is this author's mission in life to use the medium of her books and other tools to make these unknown and brave group of writers better known to the world. I congratulate her on this and she has completely succeeded in getting me interested in these early pioneers.
The books I read and others are listed here. Since the characters seem to have continuance, it might be better to read them in chronological order. Either way these books are fast and easy reads with interesting nibbles of info on American women writers of .. you know... 19th century. This also brought back to memory the fictionalized book I have at home based on Emily Dickinson's life that I enjoyed immensely. "The Diary Of Emily Dickinson" by Jamie Fuller.
Hordes of 'Kottayam Pushpanath' stories brought home by my brothers from the local Malayalam Library is probably what started it all. Although his stories were populist with no credible storyline or a specific style to cry for, they served to instill a craving for the mystery in the young me. How can I ever forget the "woman who looked like a statue of Venus in the dim candle light and of Detective Pushparaj always suddenly needing to break his car while driving on the narrow and dangerous Carpathian Mountain Ranges to find a dead body blocking the road while wolves were howling in the distance?" My sister and I used to have lots of fun making up similar stories by mixing and matching many such lines from those books...
Like I mentioned before, the team that stocked up our Library seem to be kindred spirits. Encouraged by my many recent finds, I decided to stop by the Mystery section this time on a fast run in and out trip there. My eyes locked on author Joanne Dobbson's collection of books. Women writers of the 19th century and set in a college campus were enough to get me interested. Took two books and liked both for the simple mystery and romance and this most interesting way this author -who is also a University Professor - has found to introduce American women writers from the 19th century of whom very little is known to the general public. As she says here, the most popular of them - Emily Dickinson - couldn't have just been born into the literary world all on her own without any predecessors. It is this author's mission in life to use the medium of her books and other tools to make these unknown and brave group of writers better known to the world. I congratulate her on this and she has completely succeeded in getting me interested in these early pioneers.
The books I read and others are listed here. Since the characters seem to have continuance, it might be better to read them in chronological order. Either way these books are fast and easy reads with interesting nibbles of info on American women writers of .. you know... 19th century. This also brought back to memory the fictionalized book I have at home based on Emily Dickinson's life that I enjoyed immensely. "The Diary Of Emily Dickinson" by Jamie Fuller.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Life Of Pi by Yan Martel
An out of the blue e-mail brought back to life memories of this immensely readable book that I had read a year or two ago. It was the orange and white flash on the cover and the use of Pi in the title that first attracted me to it. Once I started I could not bring myself to put it down except of course when one had to be at work. I enjoyed it so much so that I took to updating my husband on each day's progress. Finally when I finished this incredible story of personal perseverance and full blown adventure I had no doubts that it was a true story. I divulge this here because it actually does not take much away from your reading experience. Might even augment it a little.
Martel has done a fantastic job in making Piscine Patel (shortened to Pi Patel) and his improbable story true to life. Only when I did a little web research post reading that I realized that it was all really fiction. Aptly categorized:-) It is an incredible - did I use that already?- sea adventure that makes you sit up and pay attention to every detail. When I went to a book group meeting at the local church this was brought by someone and was received very well as a book enjoyed by all who read it. Read here to delve deeper into this Man Booker Prize winning book and its author. At the end especially after finding out that this was not based on one specific real story, I had this strange feeling that this will forever remain the author's best work. Some authors are one time wonders where the book is usually drawn from their own life which is what made it alive. This is not based on Martel's life, yet he was able to write it as if. Not sure if he can be as passionate and come alive in another such book. He will definitely need to crossover to full fantasy in the next and might be able to make it attractive in that genre. 'Life Of Pi' is rather on the cusp of being a fantasy and yet so real as to make silly me fall for it hook line and sinker! But hey, I am certainly not complaining:-)
Added Later:
Check here for a wonderful one liner from this book.
Martel has done a fantastic job in making Piscine Patel (shortened to Pi Patel) and his improbable story true to life. Only when I did a little web research post reading that I realized that it was all really fiction. Aptly categorized:-) It is an incredible - did I use that already?- sea adventure that makes you sit up and pay attention to every detail. When I went to a book group meeting at the local church this was brought by someone and was received very well as a book enjoyed by all who read it. Read here to delve deeper into this Man Booker Prize winning book and its author. At the end especially after finding out that this was not based on one specific real story, I had this strange feeling that this will forever remain the author's best work. Some authors are one time wonders where the book is usually drawn from their own life which is what made it alive. This is not based on Martel's life, yet he was able to write it as if. Not sure if he can be as passionate and come alive in another such book. He will definitely need to crossover to full fantasy in the next and might be able to make it attractive in that genre. 'Life Of Pi' is rather on the cusp of being a fantasy and yet so real as to make silly me fall for it hook line and sinker! But hey, I am certainly not complaining:-)
Added Later:
Check here for a wonderful one liner from this book.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Stones From The River & Never Let Me Go
Whoever stocked up our Library this time has done a pretty good job. Most of my random picks are true blue reads. The two books that follow are just great and I will recommend them to anyone in a heartbeat.
Stones From The River By Ursula Hegi
German born Ursula Hegi has written a splendid book that is superb in content, character development and history. Hegi tells the story of Trudi Montag, a dwarf woman living in that time straddled between the two world wars in a small German town called Burgdorf. She is also a Catholic and the community is made up of Catholics and Jews alike. You know where that can lead to in Nazi Germany. I have read many books on the holocaust. This is the first from the point of view of the ordinary German from those times. Ursula Hegi has succeeded where many others have failed. To present all the sides of a particular story fairly and accurately. I can't even begin to describe the way her characters develop over the years. If you read Jodi Piccoult as an instant gratification tool for a good character, then Hegi is for when you want to indulge in a story and go deep into each character. Trudi Montag and her widowed Dad Leo Montag will feel like like family members by the time you finish the book. Together, they run a pay-library that is their main livelihood. As a Zwerg - German for dwarf - it is just humbling to know everything that goes through Trudi's mind and to feel for yourself almost what it is like to live that life. Hegi does this all with an efficient but poignant style that manages to bind you in its simple magic. A true literary achievement. Read here for more reviews on the book.
Never Let Me Go By Kazuo Ishiguro
I knew I will get all of Ishiguro's books available in the Library. This second one just stopped me in my tracks with the very haunting name. I cannot really say what the book is all about as that will take away some of the enjoyment from your eventual reading. But this is essentially the story of three friends who reminisces about Hailsham, the institution where they all had their schooling while growing up. Kathy is the main narrator and Ruth and Tommy make up the trio. Like a critic described, now one can portray the sense of loss like Ishiguro. There are some holes in the story when you look back on it but that does not take away anything from this awesome treatise on human relationships and how they evolve. A word of warning. Don't read it if you are not in a happy mood. As it is, I am still struggling to come out of the overwhelming sadness that the book evoked in me when I finally finished it. Read here for more on the book. Time picked it as one of the 100 best English-language books.
Stones From The River By Ursula Hegi
German born Ursula Hegi has written a splendid book that is superb in content, character development and history. Hegi tells the story of Trudi Montag, a dwarf woman living in that time straddled between the two world wars in a small German town called Burgdorf. She is also a Catholic and the community is made up of Catholics and Jews alike. You know where that can lead to in Nazi Germany. I have read many books on the holocaust. This is the first from the point of view of the ordinary German from those times. Ursula Hegi has succeeded where many others have failed. To present all the sides of a particular story fairly and accurately. I can't even begin to describe the way her characters develop over the years. If you read Jodi Piccoult as an instant gratification tool for a good character, then Hegi is for when you want to indulge in a story and go deep into each character. Trudi Montag and her widowed Dad Leo Montag will feel like like family members by the time you finish the book. Together, they run a pay-library that is their main livelihood. As a Zwerg - German for dwarf - it is just humbling to know everything that goes through Trudi's mind and to feel for yourself almost what it is like to live that life. Hegi does this all with an efficient but poignant style that manages to bind you in its simple magic. A true literary achievement. Read here for more reviews on the book.
Never Let Me Go By Kazuo Ishiguro
I knew I will get all of Ishiguro's books available in the Library. This second one just stopped me in my tracks with the very haunting name. I cannot really say what the book is all about as that will take away some of the enjoyment from your eventual reading. But this is essentially the story of three friends who reminisces about Hailsham, the institution where they all had their schooling while growing up. Kathy is the main narrator and Ruth and Tommy make up the trio. Like a critic described, now one can portray the sense of loss like Ishiguro. There are some holes in the story when you look back on it but that does not take away anything from this awesome treatise on human relationships and how they evolve. A word of warning. Don't read it if you are not in a happy mood. As it is, I am still struggling to come out of the overwhelming sadness that the book evoked in me when I finally finished it. Read here for more on the book. Time picked it as one of the 100 best English-language books.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Five Quarters Of The Orange
A completely satisfying read! The book is replete with war, childhood, mystery, scandal, love, hate and best of all, recipes and cooking. Set in the tiny french village of Les Laveuses on the banks of river Loire, the story is told by chief protagonist Framboise Dartigen. Boise for short. Nice name eh? I thought so. Wait till you hear the name of her Mom, the even more mysterious Mirabelle Dartigen.
Mirabelle is a widowed mother who went about the wrong way to bring up her kids but with the best intentions. She treated them the same as the trees in her small but plentiful farm. Cassis, Reinette and Framboise are the threesome. Paul, a neighbor makes up an occasional quartet. It was too late even for the favorite - Framboise- by the time she figures out the tenacity with which her mom had loved the kids. Mirabelle is afflicted with migraine and the onset this is always through an imagined smell of oranges. A fruit effectively banned in their home. Their father was killed in the war which made their mom into an all the more stringent disciplinarian. Boise the youngest and the most like her mom couldn't but exact her revenge by laying her hands on any orange she can find and surreptitiously bringing it home. Joanne Harris has succeeded in telling the ultimate story that felt so complete at the end. I read her 'Chocolat' just before this and it was just OK. Yet, I could feel a pull to the way this author did her story telling and so got my hands on 'Orange'. Totally worth it.
The book is permeated with various aspects of cooking. Mirabelle left her scrap book of recipes to Framboise in her will and the story unfolds once a much older Boise is able to decipher her mother's handwritten notes scattered all over the book. Fell in love with the the concept from the beginning. That and the fact that I am a sucker for quaint french countryside descriptions of any form ever since coming across them in a biography of the french impressionist painter Camille Pissaro. The two may not track together much but as an outsider it was enough of a connection. OK, that one is coming soon since I want to read it again. Hope the Library here has a copy...
Read more on the book here and here and on the author here and here. I shouldn't forget to mention 'Old Mother', a rather large pike that nine year old Boise finally managed to catch from the Loire. The fish is present throughout the book and adds another dimension to the whole story. I hope you will get a chance to read this wonderful book if not for the story, then at least for the green tomato jam recipe:-)
Mirabelle is a widowed mother who went about the wrong way to bring up her kids but with the best intentions. She treated them the same as the trees in her small but plentiful farm. Cassis, Reinette and Framboise are the threesome. Paul, a neighbor makes up an occasional quartet. It was too late even for the favorite - Framboise- by the time she figures out the tenacity with which her mom had loved the kids. Mirabelle is afflicted with migraine and the onset this is always through an imagined smell of oranges. A fruit effectively banned in their home. Their father was killed in the war which made their mom into an all the more stringent disciplinarian. Boise the youngest and the most like her mom couldn't but exact her revenge by laying her hands on any orange she can find and surreptitiously bringing it home. Joanne Harris has succeeded in telling the ultimate story that felt so complete at the end. I read her 'Chocolat' just before this and it was just OK. Yet, I could feel a pull to the way this author did her story telling and so got my hands on 'Orange'. Totally worth it.
The book is permeated with various aspects of cooking. Mirabelle left her scrap book of recipes to Framboise in her will and the story unfolds once a much older Boise is able to decipher her mother's handwritten notes scattered all over the book. Fell in love with the the concept from the beginning. That and the fact that I am a sucker for quaint french countryside descriptions of any form ever since coming across them in a biography of the french impressionist painter Camille Pissaro. The two may not track together much but as an outsider it was enough of a connection. OK, that one is coming soon since I want to read it again. Hope the Library here has a copy...
Read more on the book here and here and on the author here and here. I shouldn't forget to mention 'Old Mother', a rather large pike that nine year old Boise finally managed to catch from the Loire. The fish is present throughout the book and adds another dimension to the whole story. I hope you will get a chance to read this wonderful book if not for the story, then at least for the green tomato jam recipe:-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)