Well I get delirious in a book shop and like many who cant get out of a shoe shop without a shoe, I can’t get out of a book shop without a book. Often even without being in a hurry, I pick up books like the chocolate deprived child who has gained access to Charlie’s Magical Chocolate Factory, in a hurry never knowing when the alarm bell will go off putting an end to the escapade a little too soon. Often in this hurry I pick up books I can never read, books which are well boring.
I entered the Chennai Airport Book Store and hoped that I would find something read worthy (airport book stores are normally hopeless). I looked and looked and found an interesting title “Three Cups of Tea:, my friends will know I can never go past a book titled that. Picked it up and was intrigued enough by the jacket description. A book about a climber who goes back to the villages at the base of K2 to build schools. In a super exited state I picked that up along with Haruki Marukami (hopefully will review that by Tuesday!)
Anyway I got onto the plane, abandoned Darkness at Noon (what is with that book and me.. cant seem to get beyond the 100th page each time I pick it up). As I relaxed and began leafing through the book, an important detail caught my eye. This edition was the “Young Reader’s” edition. With my other books packed away in the luggage rack, I reckoned (was dying to use that word for some reason) no harm will be done if I read a few pages of this book.
And so I started a little curious, a little doubtful. But I was captivated. Goes to prove a good story, an inspiring hero and an honest account maybe meant for anyone but is loved by all. The story is about Greg Mortenson who vows to climb Mount K2 as a tribute to his sister Christa. He gets lost on his way up and ends up in the small small village of Korphe. The simple villagers and their chief Haji Ali take him in as an esteemed guest and play host to him with the best of their very limited resources. Moved by their hospitality and the fact that the young children had only an empty field and a teacher 3 days a week for a school. He saw the children diligently practice their multiplication tables in the dirt without a teacher and vowed to build a school for them. Many of us go through moments in life where a cause greater than us inspires us and most of us return back to our real worlds cherishing the memories of that inspiration but little else. What makes this story heroic is that he actually came back to build the school. Greg Mortenson was not one of your quintessential rich American boys who had a stash of cash piled away at home. He came back, was unemployed, homeless and wrote 250 letters to celebrities trying to enlist their support, nothing came around. He persevered and finally got the money to build the school, reached Khorpe only to discover he had to build a bridge first.
The book then takes the reader through the remarkable journey of Greg’s first school and then many more through the establishment of the Central Asian Institute. The tough terrain, lack of resources and even a kidnapping could not break Greg’s spirit as he trudged through North West Pakistan building schools for little girls and boys.
Greg endears himself to the local population and it is with their support, their land and their hard work he builds schools. He forms lasting friendships with the people often learning more from them than he could ever hope to teach.
In the end this book though meant for children left me feeling inspired and awed and recharged, a feat many books aimed for people my age fail to do. What makes this book special is the fact it makes an attempt to acquaint children with the reality of what is happening in the world. Often I read how parents are torn between exposing their kids to the cruel reality too soon and keeping their children protected too long. I think this book is the perfect medium to introduce children to the reality of war, refugee camps and unschooled children as it does not fill them with despair but equips them with hope and a tool to help. The book introduces the “Pennies for Peace” program run in schools across the US. On a completely unrelated note I know two very special girls who collected their pocket money to make stationary sets for children who need them. I hope this book will make more such kids come forward.
My two aha moments in this book, Greg is in the middle of a school opening in Pakistan when 9/11 happens. The old village chief on learning this gave an honest speech; he knew that terrorism is not because of evil but mostly because of poverty and no education. Greg after the speech says “I think all who think “muslim” is another way of saying terrorist could have been there that day. The core tenets of Islam are justice, tolerance and charity”. I wish we all could just open ourselves a little and get to know people before we label them.
The second one came pretty early on in the book, as Greg saw the children study on the frosty ground he wondered “Can you imagine a fourth grade class in America, alone, without a teacher sitting there quietly working on their lessons?” I know what he feels; I have seen too many bratty and whiny 8 year olds. Whatever little time I have spent with underprivileged kids I am yet to see anyone of them complain. Compare that to your average 8 year old.
Actually there was another aha moment in the book, Jahan a young girl says “ I could not take my eyes off the foreign ladies, they seemed so dignified…… one day Allah willing I shall be a great lady too”. It reminded me of what education means to a lot of people.
I will pick up the grown up version of the book very soon, and if you have a young reader at home I have a spare copy. This is one book I would not mind lending.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Summer Crossing: A Review
As I review Summer Crossing, I realise that this review cannot be a critique as much as it needs to be an appreciation of the evolution of the genius of Truman Capote. The fact that this was the debut novel of Capote was more than enough for me to pick this book up during my ten minute book buying spree at Blossoms a couple of months back. What made it even more interesting was the fact that the book was published by Truman's friends after his death post an accidental discovery of the unedited manuscript. I read the afterword to the novel before I read the story. The afterword makes it clear that publishing this novel was perhaps not Truman's wish as much as it was his friends desire.
I fell in love with Capote's work with Breakfast at Tiffanys and even as I read the first few pages of Summer Crossing I knew that this one was no where close to it in technique. The depth of insight and brevity of expression that endeared BAT was totally amiss in SC. The technique may be awry but there are traces of a brilliant story line. The novel written in the 1940s still finds a place with its universal theme of teenage angst and first love.
At the centre of the book is Grady, a stereotypical poor little rich girl. The daughter of wealthy New York parents, she is a rebel without a cause or a pause like teenagers are wont to be. Absorbed in her own world, for an inexplicable reason Grady resents her parents and the world they represent. The fact that Clyde is the antithesis of her parents is what seems to attract Grady to him. What follows is a somewhat predictable struggle of the heart vs. the head, compounded by the fact that neither Grady nor Clyde seem to know what is it about the other that makes the struggle worth it. The book uses New York and its diversity as a backdrop and at times the narrative becomes tedious with descriptors. However what could have potentially made this a novella worth its salt is how Capote captures the dilemma of a teenager caught between two worlds, two sensibilities and two completely opposite desires. Grady hopes for adventure as much as she yearns for the staid, she appreciates the sophistication of her friends and is infatuated by the raw Bronx. What touches the heart however is the depiction of isolation of a teenager, the loneliness that eats into a teenager's soul, childish to adults but intense for her. The despair and helplessness that Grady feels about the mess she seems to have got herself into is made worse by the impermeable cocoon she builds around herself, where even her partner in crime cannot be her confidante .
Will I recommend the book maybe yes for a quick read, definitely maybe for a Capote fan to understand his evolution as a writer.
Finally for my aha moment, there were two. The first one when the narrative shifts from Grady's vantage point to Clyde's. Till that point Clyde was a gold digging buffoon ridiculed by all but adored by Grady. As the narrative shifts gears Clyde emerges as a confused young man struggling between aspiration, expectations and reality.This crafty twist was an aha moment. The second is this line "....for the P-somethings, made innocent by the world's goodwill, could not feel a shadow. As always go figure.
I fell in love with Capote's work with Breakfast at Tiffanys and even as I read the first few pages of Summer Crossing I knew that this one was no where close to it in technique. The depth of insight and brevity of expression that endeared BAT was totally amiss in SC. The technique may be awry but there are traces of a brilliant story line. The novel written in the 1940s still finds a place with its universal theme of teenage angst and first love.
At the centre of the book is Grady, a stereotypical poor little rich girl. The daughter of wealthy New York parents, she is a rebel without a cause or a pause like teenagers are wont to be. Absorbed in her own world, for an inexplicable reason Grady resents her parents and the world they represent. The fact that Clyde is the antithesis of her parents is what seems to attract Grady to him. What follows is a somewhat predictable struggle of the heart vs. the head, compounded by the fact that neither Grady nor Clyde seem to know what is it about the other that makes the struggle worth it. The book uses New York and its diversity as a backdrop and at times the narrative becomes tedious with descriptors. However what could have potentially made this a novella worth its salt is how Capote captures the dilemma of a teenager caught between two worlds, two sensibilities and two completely opposite desires. Grady hopes for adventure as much as she yearns for the staid, she appreciates the sophistication of her friends and is infatuated by the raw Bronx. What touches the heart however is the depiction of isolation of a teenager, the loneliness that eats into a teenager's soul, childish to adults but intense for her. The despair and helplessness that Grady feels about the mess she seems to have got herself into is made worse by the impermeable cocoon she builds around herself, where even her partner in crime cannot be her confidante .
Will I recommend the book maybe yes for a quick read, definitely maybe for a Capote fan to understand his evolution as a writer.
Finally for my aha moment, there were two. The first one when the narrative shifts from Grady's vantage point to Clyde's. Till that point Clyde was a gold digging buffoon ridiculed by all but adored by Grady. As the narrative shifts gears Clyde emerges as a confused young man struggling between aspiration, expectations and reality.This crafty twist was an aha moment. The second is this line "....for the P-somethings, made innocent by the world's goodwill, could not feel a shadow. As always go figure.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Hindi Russi bhai - 2
Why this title, well I am reading short stories by Prem Chand and plan to re start Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler.
The stories by Prem Chand are sweet and short and are intriguing me because of the language, hindi is my mother tongue but the usage seems very alien (mind you prem Chand is supposed to be the simplest and most colloquial of all hindi writers). Also the setting is very charming early 1900s India. Will write more about it once I am finished with it. The next book on my list Darkness at Noon, gifted by my brother, his favorite and close to our hearts because of my dad's socialist leanings. Have never got around to reading it completely. Though Koestler was not russian he does write about the struggle of a man with the interpretation and execution of socialism in Russia. This time I shall complete it. Meanwhile it is avery very busy week at work and i still have to post the review of the book i read last week. So what are you reading??
The stories by Prem Chand are sweet and short and are intriguing me because of the language, hindi is my mother tongue but the usage seems very alien (mind you prem Chand is supposed to be the simplest and most colloquial of all hindi writers). Also the setting is very charming early 1900s India. Will write more about it once I am finished with it. The next book on my list Darkness at Noon, gifted by my brother, his favorite and close to our hearts because of my dad's socialist leanings. Have never got around to reading it completely. Though Koestler was not russian he does write about the struggle of a man with the interpretation and execution of socialism in Russia. This time I shall complete it. Meanwhile it is avery very busy week at work and i still have to post the review of the book i read last week. So what are you reading??
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Lady Chatterley's Lover
I can understand what the fuss must have been about. Lady Chatterley’s Lover must have created quite a stir when it was published in 1928. The furor was enough to prevent publishing of the book in England till 1960. The book is replete with fairly descriptive sexual encounters, usage of what must have been uncharitable language back then (folks in the 1930’s did not have the benefit of gansta rap to acclimatize them to words like bitch et al). But I don’t think the indignation was about the presence of sex in the story, neither was it about the fact that most perceived the central theme of the book to be sex, ignoring the many more themes and undercurrents that weaved this good story. To my mind the ado was about the unapologetic presence of sex in the lives of the protagonists, the unabashed acknowledgement and enjoyment of (female) sexuality, that sex was not a thought to be buried deep down in the crevices of one’s imagination but a sentiment worthy of appreciation, that sex was not the excuse of a delinquent, not means to a devious end but in a way the end itself.
Today I am glad that I live in 2010 (as I am most of the times, are you kidding me healthcare sucked in the 1930s) and not 1930. That hopefully liberates me enough to enjoy the book in its entirety and not just obsess about one of the many, many themes that this story dwells upon.
At its heart Lady Chatterley’s Lover is a story about love and how love transcends the boundaries of class, judgment, morality, righteousness and convenience. The backdrop of this love story is a concoction of industrialization, aristocracy, war, class conflict etc etc. But you know a classic from the rest when not only are the central theme and the sub contexts dealt with a studied authority but also every conversation and observation in the book is a valuable (and not easily available or manifested) insight. Each page in the book is to savor and never does any detail seem like an interruption to the story. By this standard, Lady Chatterley’s Lover is sure a classic and is a book that makes the journey of reaching the culmination as enjoyable as the culmination itself.
Lady Chatterley (or Connie) is married to Clifford, a minor aristocrat who has inherited coal mines from his family. Clifford is paralyzed in World War I and is rendered impotent post which he settles down in Wragby. In due course of time he becomes a successful writer. Connie remains married (though not faithful) to him during all this time, contributing significantly to his literary success. Clifford cannot imagine his life without Connie. However what is striking, is the lack of love in the marriage. Connie does not love Clifford, in fact does not even like Clifford in most parts. There is also no memory of love and the past that they share, that keeps Connie going on in this love less, lackluster marriage, and ironically there is no sense of duty that bounds Connie to Clifford . There is just habit and the fact that Connie has no idea what to leave Clifford for. On the other hand Clifford is neither in love with Connie nor is grateful to her for uncomplainingly being his companion, nurse, brainstorming partner and trophy wife. He holds on to Connie with a brute selfishness, tying her down by being totally dependant on her, clinging on to her as the only connection to normalcy, as the only antidote to his impotency. It is this selfishness that Connie tries to run away in her dalliances with other men however ends up with men (and consequently runs away from them) consumed by their own demands.
Connie makes the beginning of severing the stifling mess of entangled ties, by hiring Mrs. Bolton to take care of Clifford and his everyday needs. The ease and urgency with which Mrs. Bolton replaces Connie in her role as nurse and companion to Clifford is a testimony to the fact that for Clifford, Connie was no more than just a nurse and companion, a little more dignified and qualified albeit.
A chance encounter in the woods leads Connie to Mellors the game keeper on Clifford’s estate. And thus begins the saga of their clandestine and passionate love affair teeming with many descriptions of their uninhibited and unaffected sex. Connie is intrigued by the unique combination of provincial wisdom and sophistication that this man presents. The rigid class distinction of those times forces her to seek familiarity in Mellors through his background of an army lieutenant or the books he reads. Finally what draws Connie towards Mellors is the equality of their relationship, summed up when she says “I liked your body” and his response is “Well, then, we’re quits because I liked yours”. The serenity, peace and the candid earthiness that the venue of their rendezvous offers is in infact a metaphor to how Connie feels when she is with Mellors. For Mellors Connie is the perfect combination of intellect and allure, independence and compassion.
Like most love stories this one too has a villain, class conflict being the one here. Clifford has no trouble in having an heir for his estate through one of the frivolous love affairs of Connie, presumably with a noble man. But cannot deal with the idea of Connie wanting to have a child and stay with a man of the working classes. This to him it is an ultimate defeat to the serving class, a thoughtless mass of animals fated to be ruled by industrialists like him.
For me one of the most fascinating passages in the book is where Mellors carries Clifford in his wheelchair and Connie views the two choices she has in contrast with each other. Clifford fazed by his dependence on one of Mellors’ kind, brings out his brutish best while Mellors is patiently struggling to help Clifford out of humanity and not servitude. This act for me is the essence of the story, where love, hatred, tension and bondage all come into play.
Mellors also, to my mind is finally committed to Connie only after his long separated wife comes into the picture, the tawdry and loud Bertha Coutts. Both Bertha and Clifford oppose the union of Mellors and Connie not so much for the pain that it brings them, but because they cannot fathom the happiness that this alliance brings the two protagonists. The book ends with Mellors and Connie embarking a journey towards each other and away from their past. As I wistfully finish the book I know it is about how life is complete only when you have someone you love to come back home to.
As for my Aha moment, it came pretty early in the book when Connie wondered “What was the good of discontented people who fitted in nowhere?”.
Lady Chatterley’s Lover is a must read and I think its enough to say that it felt like I had read a “real” book after a long long time.
Author: D.H. Lawrence
Today I am glad that I live in 2010 (as I am most of the times, are you kidding me healthcare sucked in the 1930s) and not 1930. That hopefully liberates me enough to enjoy the book in its entirety and not just obsess about one of the many, many themes that this story dwells upon.
At its heart Lady Chatterley’s Lover is a story about love and how love transcends the boundaries of class, judgment, morality, righteousness and convenience. The backdrop of this love story is a concoction of industrialization, aristocracy, war, class conflict etc etc. But you know a classic from the rest when not only are the central theme and the sub contexts dealt with a studied authority but also every conversation and observation in the book is a valuable (and not easily available or manifested) insight. Each page in the book is to savor and never does any detail seem like an interruption to the story. By this standard, Lady Chatterley’s Lover is sure a classic and is a book that makes the journey of reaching the culmination as enjoyable as the culmination itself.
Lady Chatterley (or Connie) is married to Clifford, a minor aristocrat who has inherited coal mines from his family. Clifford is paralyzed in World War I and is rendered impotent post which he settles down in Wragby. In due course of time he becomes a successful writer. Connie remains married (though not faithful) to him during all this time, contributing significantly to his literary success. Clifford cannot imagine his life without Connie. However what is striking, is the lack of love in the marriage. Connie does not love Clifford, in fact does not even like Clifford in most parts. There is also no memory of love and the past that they share, that keeps Connie going on in this love less, lackluster marriage, and ironically there is no sense of duty that bounds Connie to Clifford . There is just habit and the fact that Connie has no idea what to leave Clifford for. On the other hand Clifford is neither in love with Connie nor is grateful to her for uncomplainingly being his companion, nurse, brainstorming partner and trophy wife. He holds on to Connie with a brute selfishness, tying her down by being totally dependant on her, clinging on to her as the only connection to normalcy, as the only antidote to his impotency. It is this selfishness that Connie tries to run away in her dalliances with other men however ends up with men (and consequently runs away from them) consumed by their own demands.
Connie makes the beginning of severing the stifling mess of entangled ties, by hiring Mrs. Bolton to take care of Clifford and his everyday needs. The ease and urgency with which Mrs. Bolton replaces Connie in her role as nurse and companion to Clifford is a testimony to the fact that for Clifford, Connie was no more than just a nurse and companion, a little more dignified and qualified albeit.
A chance encounter in the woods leads Connie to Mellors the game keeper on Clifford’s estate. And thus begins the saga of their clandestine and passionate love affair teeming with many descriptions of their uninhibited and unaffected sex. Connie is intrigued by the unique combination of provincial wisdom and sophistication that this man presents. The rigid class distinction of those times forces her to seek familiarity in Mellors through his background of an army lieutenant or the books he reads. Finally what draws Connie towards Mellors is the equality of their relationship, summed up when she says “I liked your body” and his response is “Well, then, we’re quits because I liked yours”. The serenity, peace and the candid earthiness that the venue of their rendezvous offers is in infact a metaphor to how Connie feels when she is with Mellors. For Mellors Connie is the perfect combination of intellect and allure, independence and compassion.
Like most love stories this one too has a villain, class conflict being the one here. Clifford has no trouble in having an heir for his estate through one of the frivolous love affairs of Connie, presumably with a noble man. But cannot deal with the idea of Connie wanting to have a child and stay with a man of the working classes. This to him it is an ultimate defeat to the serving class, a thoughtless mass of animals fated to be ruled by industrialists like him.
For me one of the most fascinating passages in the book is where Mellors carries Clifford in his wheelchair and Connie views the two choices she has in contrast with each other. Clifford fazed by his dependence on one of Mellors’ kind, brings out his brutish best while Mellors is patiently struggling to help Clifford out of humanity and not servitude. This act for me is the essence of the story, where love, hatred, tension and bondage all come into play.
Mellors also, to my mind is finally committed to Connie only after his long separated wife comes into the picture, the tawdry and loud Bertha Coutts. Both Bertha and Clifford oppose the union of Mellors and Connie not so much for the pain that it brings them, but because they cannot fathom the happiness that this alliance brings the two protagonists. The book ends with Mellors and Connie embarking a journey towards each other and away from their past. As I wistfully finish the book I know it is about how life is complete only when you have someone you love to come back home to.
As for my Aha moment, it came pretty early in the book when Connie wondered “What was the good of discontented people who fitted in nowhere?”.
Lady Chatterley’s Lover is a must read and I think its enough to say that it felt like I had read a “real” book after a long long time.
Author: D.H. Lawrence
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole
As I struggle to keep to my self declared and in all probability only self followed and self tracked challenge of 52 books in 52 weeks (yikes I am already lagging behind!), I decided to cruise through an immensely enjoyable book “The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole” (hence referred to as TGPAM) even as I was reading (and let me add enjoying) “Lady Chatterley’s Lover. I knew TGPAM would arm with enough material and inspiration to write a quick, short and hopefully funny review of the accurate, poignant and humorous account of Adrian Mole’s teenage existential angst.
I had read the first book of the Adrian Mole series and had instantly fallen in love with the protagonist Adrian Mole the serious, earnest and inadvertently hilarious British Teenager, who like teenagers all over the world is struggling to understand and “fit in” to this world that dysfunctional adults seem to be handing over to him.
I was looking for a breezy but not mindless, funny but not silly book and “The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole” did not disappoint me.
The book is a compilation of Adrian’s Mole diary as he painstakingly writes about the trivial and not so trivial incidents that seem to plague him in his 15th year. Action does not seem to be missing in his life and one cannot help but laugh out loud (no literally I did laugh out loud) as Adrian writes about the significant and scandalous changes in his household and parent’s marital relationship. What endears him is the fact that Adrian Mole writes from the vantage point of being a self occupied teenage, with dysfunctional parents being in charge he is mostly struggling to keep himself above board without pondering too much about the morality, righteousness or sometimes sheer injustice of his circumstances.
Adrian Mole displays true teenage schizophrenia as he plays the following roles extremely effectively:
(Frustrated) Intellectual: Adrian is disdainful of his fellow high schoolers who seem to not know or care too much about the Falkland War or Jack Kerouac. He writes poems (of course they don’t rhyme) and unfazed by rejection keeps sending them over to the BBC in hopes of a creating a program dedicated to his poems. He loves using words like “nihilistic” and pines for the day he becomes a famous author.
(Fatherly)Son: Adrian is undoubtedly the most responsible of all the Moles, he isn’t upto too many untowardly shenanigans and very valiantly takes care of his pregnant mother and baby sister while his father is forced to abandon the family. Even in the best of times his parents don’t seem to help his flailing self confidence, at the slightest provocation go to great lengths describing what they imagine their perfect son to be (believe me he is nothing like Adrian), don’t seem to notice his impending nervous breakdown and much to his chagrin don’t get hysterical when he runs away!
(Enthusiastic) Care Giver: Unlike selfish teenagers Adrian really cares about the nonagenarians Bert and Queenie and does his best to lend a helping hand, strike thoughtful conversations and take their smelly vicious dog Sabre out for walks, however in typical Mole style also finds it “funny to think that old, smelly, unattractive people can be sentimental”.
(Doting) Brother: Adrian Mole is completely adorable as the 15 year old brother who dreads his sister’s arrival but totally and nonchalantly falls in love with Rosie (who he claims has a “split personality; calm one minute screaming like a maniac the other”) so much so that the love of his life Pandora tells him that his “sister’s feeding pattern isn’t of great interest to her”.
(Unrequited) Lover: Pandora is the love of Mole’s life, the perfect combination of beauty and brains (strangely for a clever she can’t spell his name right even after a year of being together). Adrian’s raging teenage hormones come in the way of their relationship and his psychiatrist classifies Pandora as “insoluble problems”
(Surprised) Consistently Mediocre: He struggles and studies conscientiously and is sure that there is a mistake when yet again he is only somewhere in the middle of his class.
Poverty Stricken Teenager: Due to the marital and moral upheavals the Mole household finds itself in, there is a perpetual money crisis compounded by the inefficiencies of the Welfare Department. Adrian’s mom, Pauline in her inimitable style stages an abandoning and gets the government to work for her. Adrian watches and writes with bated breath about how he needs money desperately, notably to pay two month’s library fines.
Renegade Gangster: Adrian is charmed by the ignorant bliss that Barry Kent and his gang members seem to be living in, takes a fancy to being a part of the “gang” presumably been driven to it by his “existential nihilism” however soon bores out of it but isn’t sure he can get away from the gang alive.
(Eager to return) Runaway: In a last desperate bid to grab his parents attention (who are busy watching Rosie develop manual dexterity) Adrian plans to run away. Meticulously makes a list of all things he might need on his escapade, escapes and then leads the police to discover him.
What makes Adrian Mole and his Growing Pains a delightful read is the fact that Adrian is not emotionally constipated, deals with his not so ordinary circumstances with a wry English wit, writes about details that only interest and affect him, is wisely naive and while trying too hard to be an intellectual is thrilled by the number of Valentine cards he gets. The reader is forced to “guffaw” (out loud may I add) at his brilliant one liners and come backs. My AHA (or rather HA HA HA ) moment in this book was not just one but all of his liners (and the book has many).
The book is not just a casual read, not a mindless “chick lit” dealing in fantastical fantasies. This book is real and is rife with political and social innuendos. Adrian Mole and his escapades are highly highly recommended for this is Calvin and Hobbes, The Family Guy and Wonder Years all rolled into one sweet 200 hundred page 300 odd entries book.
I had read the first book of the Adrian Mole series and had instantly fallen in love with the protagonist Adrian Mole the serious, earnest and inadvertently hilarious British Teenager, who like teenagers all over the world is struggling to understand and “fit in” to this world that dysfunctional adults seem to be handing over to him.
I was looking for a breezy but not mindless, funny but not silly book and “The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole” did not disappoint me.
The book is a compilation of Adrian’s Mole diary as he painstakingly writes about the trivial and not so trivial incidents that seem to plague him in his 15th year. Action does not seem to be missing in his life and one cannot help but laugh out loud (no literally I did laugh out loud) as Adrian writes about the significant and scandalous changes in his household and parent’s marital relationship. What endears him is the fact that Adrian Mole writes from the vantage point of being a self occupied teenage, with dysfunctional parents being in charge he is mostly struggling to keep himself above board without pondering too much about the morality, righteousness or sometimes sheer injustice of his circumstances.
Adrian Mole displays true teenage schizophrenia as he plays the following roles extremely effectively:
(Frustrated) Intellectual: Adrian is disdainful of his fellow high schoolers who seem to not know or care too much about the Falkland War or Jack Kerouac. He writes poems (of course they don’t rhyme) and unfazed by rejection keeps sending them over to the BBC in hopes of a creating a program dedicated to his poems. He loves using words like “nihilistic” and pines for the day he becomes a famous author.
(Fatherly)Son: Adrian is undoubtedly the most responsible of all the Moles, he isn’t upto too many untowardly shenanigans and very valiantly takes care of his pregnant mother and baby sister while his father is forced to abandon the family. Even in the best of times his parents don’t seem to help his flailing self confidence, at the slightest provocation go to great lengths describing what they imagine their perfect son to be (believe me he is nothing like Adrian), don’t seem to notice his impending nervous breakdown and much to his chagrin don’t get hysterical when he runs away!
(Enthusiastic) Care Giver: Unlike selfish teenagers Adrian really cares about the nonagenarians Bert and Queenie and does his best to lend a helping hand, strike thoughtful conversations and take their smelly vicious dog Sabre out for walks, however in typical Mole style also finds it “funny to think that old, smelly, unattractive people can be sentimental”.
(Doting) Brother: Adrian Mole is completely adorable as the 15 year old brother who dreads his sister’s arrival but totally and nonchalantly falls in love with Rosie (who he claims has a “split personality; calm one minute screaming like a maniac the other”) so much so that the love of his life Pandora tells him that his “sister’s feeding pattern isn’t of great interest to her”.
(Unrequited) Lover: Pandora is the love of Mole’s life, the perfect combination of beauty and brains (strangely for a clever she can’t spell his name right even after a year of being together). Adrian’s raging teenage hormones come in the way of their relationship and his psychiatrist classifies Pandora as “insoluble problems”
(Surprised) Consistently Mediocre: He struggles and studies conscientiously and is sure that there is a mistake when yet again he is only somewhere in the middle of his class.
Poverty Stricken Teenager: Due to the marital and moral upheavals the Mole household finds itself in, there is a perpetual money crisis compounded by the inefficiencies of the Welfare Department. Adrian’s mom, Pauline in her inimitable style stages an abandoning and gets the government to work for her. Adrian watches and writes with bated breath about how he needs money desperately, notably to pay two month’s library fines.
Renegade Gangster: Adrian is charmed by the ignorant bliss that Barry Kent and his gang members seem to be living in, takes a fancy to being a part of the “gang” presumably been driven to it by his “existential nihilism” however soon bores out of it but isn’t sure he can get away from the gang alive.
(Eager to return) Runaway: In a last desperate bid to grab his parents attention (who are busy watching Rosie develop manual dexterity) Adrian plans to run away. Meticulously makes a list of all things he might need on his escapade, escapes and then leads the police to discover him.
What makes Adrian Mole and his Growing Pains a delightful read is the fact that Adrian is not emotionally constipated, deals with his not so ordinary circumstances with a wry English wit, writes about details that only interest and affect him, is wisely naive and while trying too hard to be an intellectual is thrilled by the number of Valentine cards he gets. The reader is forced to “guffaw” (out loud may I add) at his brilliant one liners and come backs. My AHA (or rather HA HA HA ) moment in this book was not just one but all of his liners (and the book has many).
The book is not just a casual read, not a mindless “chick lit” dealing in fantastical fantasies. This book is real and is rife with political and social innuendos. Adrian Mole and his escapades are highly highly recommended for this is Calvin and Hobbes, The Family Guy and Wonder Years all rolled into one sweet 200 hundred page 300 odd entries book.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Super Freakonomics
I had to read Super Freakonomics. Freakonomics had blown me over, shattering my belief that most management books are easy prescriptions for lazy people who refuse to think on their own. Freakonomics changed the way I think, forever edging me to seek causal relationships between freakishly unrelated things. It forced me to think. Sadly while writing Super Freakonomics Levitt and Dubner forgot to think. Super Freakonomics come across like a hurriedly put together Bollywood economic pot boiler. It is a pot pourri of ideas thought to be imperative to the success of any formula Bollywood film of the 80s. There is sex and violence, a touching story of man and his best friend, chimps in this case, medical marvels, the story of the underdog and for green peace good measure there is a global warming story piped in. And then you wonder why it failed to deliver. Precisely why all Bollywood formula films fail because it is not insightful, the authors were not inspired and it was not a story waiting to be told but a tale concocted to be published.
However I need to objectively review the book and I shall list down some of the thoughts in some chapters that interested me. The first chapter was for instance really about gender inequality however it was masquerading in the book as the hitch hikers guide to the prostitute galaxy. It doesn't really take a nuclear scientist or a freakonomist to know why prostitutes with pimps fare better and why being a madame in the 1910s paid better than being a prostitute in Kamathipura today. It really is just good ols common sense. However they did start an interesting train of thought on how women and men are not motivated by the same things and that is probably the real reason for the proverbial glass ceiling. Men, no surprises, are motivated by money but what women are motivated; by we never got to that in the book. The chapter on altruism and apathy seems to be totally off center. The economists undertake study after study to explain why no eye witness reported a gruesome murder, however the answer to that one was simply in understanding that the sample space for the research was not unbiased, a no go in any statistical study. I was particularly looking forward to the chapter on global warming hoping that Levitt and Dubner had actually found the solution to this impending disaster called irreversible climate change. No such luck, infact I could not fathom why the chapter was included in the book.
The one freakonomic tale worth mentioning is the one on simple fixes. A doctor finds the cure to puerperal fever, the number one cause of mortality amongst mothers and children in the 1800s. This story is classic freakonomics, the doctor peruses data after data but it is a freakish unrelated incident that leads him to the cure. A very simple cure: Handwashed and Scrubbed doctors! I really do enjoy simple stories especially the ones with happy endings. Or the chapter on chimps and humans, it was sufficiently edgy and tried answering questions that I had not thought of.
All in all, the book is a breezy read but not an inspiring one. Much like a Karan Johar film, it has the right actors and grandeur sufficient for many films, it touches topical subjects but just fails to inspire or even impress you. The formula helps you leaf through but fails to get you back.
If there was ever a hypothesis on how the second book of a best selling author is never as good as the first one Super Freakonomics would be a prime exhibit. Having said that I did find my “aha” moment in the book again in the last chapter but what stayed with me was this line “In economics, as in life, you'll never find the answer to a question unless you are willing to ask it, as silly as it may seem”. Well that is a thought.
However I need to objectively review the book and I shall list down some of the thoughts in some chapters that interested me. The first chapter was for instance really about gender inequality however it was masquerading in the book as the hitch hikers guide to the prostitute galaxy. It doesn't really take a nuclear scientist or a freakonomist to know why prostitutes with pimps fare better and why being a madame in the 1910s paid better than being a prostitute in Kamathipura today. It really is just good ols common sense. However they did start an interesting train of thought on how women and men are not motivated by the same things and that is probably the real reason for the proverbial glass ceiling. Men, no surprises, are motivated by money but what women are motivated; by we never got to that in the book. The chapter on altruism and apathy seems to be totally off center. The economists undertake study after study to explain why no eye witness reported a gruesome murder, however the answer to that one was simply in understanding that the sample space for the research was not unbiased, a no go in any statistical study. I was particularly looking forward to the chapter on global warming hoping that Levitt and Dubner had actually found the solution to this impending disaster called irreversible climate change. No such luck, infact I could not fathom why the chapter was included in the book.
The one freakonomic tale worth mentioning is the one on simple fixes. A doctor finds the cure to puerperal fever, the number one cause of mortality amongst mothers and children in the 1800s. This story is classic freakonomics, the doctor peruses data after data but it is a freakish unrelated incident that leads him to the cure. A very simple cure: Handwashed and Scrubbed doctors! I really do enjoy simple stories especially the ones with happy endings. Or the chapter on chimps and humans, it was sufficiently edgy and tried answering questions that I had not thought of.
All in all, the book is a breezy read but not an inspiring one. Much like a Karan Johar film, it has the right actors and grandeur sufficient for many films, it touches topical subjects but just fails to inspire or even impress you. The formula helps you leaf through but fails to get you back.
If there was ever a hypothesis on how the second book of a best selling author is never as good as the first one Super Freakonomics would be a prime exhibit. Having said that I did find my “aha” moment in the book again in the last chapter but what stayed with me was this line “In economics, as in life, you'll never find the answer to a question unless you are willing to ask it, as silly as it may seem”. Well that is a thought.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
The Hungry Tide
“The Hungry Tide” languished in my book shelf for four years before I picked it up again a couple of weeks back. Some years back my love for Indian authors writing in English turned into extreme aversion and all the books that I had bought overwhelmed by my amour at that point, were discarded unread (never uncared for). Two weeks back I faced an unusual problem.. not having anything to read. Picked up “The Hungry Tide” and am writing about it to sort out my feelings for Indian writers in general and Amitav Ghosh and “the Hungry Tide” in particular.
The setting is unusual, the Sunderbans, caught between the Bay Of Bengal and the plains of Bengal the novel traces the life of people who are also caught between fact and folklore, reality and idealism, hope and despair, marriage and infatuation, choice and compulsion. I do not know who the protagonist of the novel is, there is Kanai a suave business man linguist Casanova forced to visit Lusibari to visit an aging aunt. Nilima the aunt successfully manages to not box herself in the stereotype of the lonely, frail widowed aunt and is actually the most tenacious character who is at peace with herself and the life she has chosen to create in Lusibari. Piya, the young Indian American cetologist on her quest to explore the Gangetic dolphins of Sunderbans, unsure of herself away from water but erudite and confident around the marine mammals. Fokir the unlettered but wise fisherman, his wife Moyna struggling to better her life in the unforgiving Sunderbans. Horen is the boatman in the background who connects the present to the past. Finally Kanai’s uncle Nirmal the absent minded Rilke loving school teacher and the beautiful strong woman Kusum who enthralls all and who is amalgamation of the best that each character in the book has to offer. I will have to give credit to the author for having created distinct characters who if not complete are distinct.
Kanai comes to Lusibari in the Sunderbans after many many years to read some transcripts left behind by his late Uncle who harbored the dreams of being a writer in his youth but spent his life teaching the children in Lusibari. Nilima in the meanwhile created a life for herself centered around the hospital she built and the many lives she touched through it. She is rooted to reality doing more good than any of the ideologists could ever hope to do. Piya on her way to study the Irrawaday dolphin briefly meets Kanai. Intrigued and comforted by each other’s presence in unfamiliar rustic Bengal they move on their journey separately. A twist of fate brings Kanai and Piya together again, this time their meeting is saddled with the presence of Fokir. The three collaborate as they move on to understand the dolphins and their lives. Kanai also reads through his uncle’s transcripts on his journey on the Ganges. Nirmal writes about his brief passionate liaison with a movement of a group of displaced indigenous people to reclaim one of the islands as their habitat towards the end of his life. The impatient and restless passion that this chance encounter ignites in Nirmal is symbolic of the angst that each character in the book goes through as s/he tries to harmonize her aspirations with reality. His writings also add to the enigma of the Sunderbans explaining the mystique through folklore, science and a breathtakingly real portrait of the swamps.
However the narrative gets stalled midway as Piya discovers her Gangetic Dolphins a little soon for me quelling the anticipation that the first half of the book builds. Post the discovery, for me the book was a maze of conversations, events in the Sunderbans, dalliances with ones’ fear, encounters with the beasts of the Sunderbans and the chemistry of unlikely alliances all leading to something that was not quite obvious as I read through the second half. The pace of the book slows down, the narrative gets tedious and I quite miss my “aha” moment in the book, the insight around which the story seems to have been woven. As the book ends Piya and Horen actually start to find the peace of mind that has eluded them throughout the journey and maybe most of their adult life. As for me I also did find my “aha” moment (albeit a little late) in the last line of the book as Nilima says “.. For me home is wherever I can brew a pot of good tea”. See I liked Nilima from the beginning of it all.
As for my verdict on Indian writers, this one has left me little more confused. I am a very simple reader I read books for the stories they offer. This one had an average story in extraordinary settings and some interesting if half baked people in it. I was engaged enough to read through it (yes I do commit the ultimate reader's transgression of abandoning books half way through)but was not enthralled enough to say WOW. So for now, for my love of the "Shadow Lines" more than this one I will say that Amitav Ghosh is not half bad.
The setting is unusual, the Sunderbans, caught between the Bay Of Bengal and the plains of Bengal the novel traces the life of people who are also caught between fact and folklore, reality and idealism, hope and despair, marriage and infatuation, choice and compulsion. I do not know who the protagonist of the novel is, there is Kanai a suave business man linguist Casanova forced to visit Lusibari to visit an aging aunt. Nilima the aunt successfully manages to not box herself in the stereotype of the lonely, frail widowed aunt and is actually the most tenacious character who is at peace with herself and the life she has chosen to create in Lusibari. Piya, the young Indian American cetologist on her quest to explore the Gangetic dolphins of Sunderbans, unsure of herself away from water but erudite and confident around the marine mammals. Fokir the unlettered but wise fisherman, his wife Moyna struggling to better her life in the unforgiving Sunderbans. Horen is the boatman in the background who connects the present to the past. Finally Kanai’s uncle Nirmal the absent minded Rilke loving school teacher and the beautiful strong woman Kusum who enthralls all and who is amalgamation of the best that each character in the book has to offer. I will have to give credit to the author for having created distinct characters who if not complete are distinct.
Kanai comes to Lusibari in the Sunderbans after many many years to read some transcripts left behind by his late Uncle who harbored the dreams of being a writer in his youth but spent his life teaching the children in Lusibari. Nilima in the meanwhile created a life for herself centered around the hospital she built and the many lives she touched through it. She is rooted to reality doing more good than any of the ideologists could ever hope to do. Piya on her way to study the Irrawaday dolphin briefly meets Kanai. Intrigued and comforted by each other’s presence in unfamiliar rustic Bengal they move on their journey separately. A twist of fate brings Kanai and Piya together again, this time their meeting is saddled with the presence of Fokir. The three collaborate as they move on to understand the dolphins and their lives. Kanai also reads through his uncle’s transcripts on his journey on the Ganges. Nirmal writes about his brief passionate liaison with a movement of a group of displaced indigenous people to reclaim one of the islands as their habitat towards the end of his life. The impatient and restless passion that this chance encounter ignites in Nirmal is symbolic of the angst that each character in the book goes through as s/he tries to harmonize her aspirations with reality. His writings also add to the enigma of the Sunderbans explaining the mystique through folklore, science and a breathtakingly real portrait of the swamps.
However the narrative gets stalled midway as Piya discovers her Gangetic Dolphins a little soon for me quelling the anticipation that the first half of the book builds. Post the discovery, for me the book was a maze of conversations, events in the Sunderbans, dalliances with ones’ fear, encounters with the beasts of the Sunderbans and the chemistry of unlikely alliances all leading to something that was not quite obvious as I read through the second half. The pace of the book slows down, the narrative gets tedious and I quite miss my “aha” moment in the book, the insight around which the story seems to have been woven. As the book ends Piya and Horen actually start to find the peace of mind that has eluded them throughout the journey and maybe most of their adult life. As for me I also did find my “aha” moment (albeit a little late) in the last line of the book as Nilima says “.. For me home is wherever I can brew a pot of good tea”. See I liked Nilima from the beginning of it all.
As for my verdict on Indian writers, this one has left me little more confused. I am a very simple reader I read books for the stories they offer. This one had an average story in extraordinary settings and some interesting if half baked people in it. I was engaged enough to read through it (yes I do commit the ultimate reader's transgression of abandoning books half way through)but was not enthralled enough to say WOW. So for now, for my love of the "Shadow Lines" more than this one I will say that Amitav Ghosh is not half bad.
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