Review: Being Reshma: The Extraordinary Story of an Acid-Attack Survivor who Took the World by Storm

Being Reshma: The Extraordinary Story of an Acid-Attack Survivor who Took the World by Storm by Reshma Qureshi with Tania Singh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Reshma’s is an amazing story, of finding purpose in life after suffering cruelty of the kind one would not imagine for anyone. Somehow, I had not followed her story before, though now I can see it was widely known and circulated.

Reshma Qureshi is one of five children born to a family in Mumbai who just about are able to make ends meet and struggle to educate the children. Her father, was a taxi driver who owned two taxis, one of which he drove himself. He is keen that his children get educated and find good jobs – which gets them more respect, money and satisfaction.

The family’s troubles start when after marriage, Reshma’s sister Gulshan suffers terrible abuse from her husband. It reaches a point when she has to return to her parents – and her husband announces a divorce shortly after. It gets worse from this point on – Gulshan’s son is kidnapped. What follows is even more horrific – with an acid attack led by Gulshan’s ex husband on her and Reshma. Reshma bears the full brunt of the attack, with the gang pouring acid on her face and body. Subsequent events make for tragic reading – a family struggling financially now trying to get around insensitive law enforcement, a tottering healthcare system, other than general apathy (Efficient & fair law enforcement, timely justice and medical care for all are key issues which sadly do not see enough public visibility or discourse).

There are nevertheless shining examples of selflessness – a cloth retailer who gifts a dress without payment, a local political leader who comes to family’s aid, some relatives and friends who stand by Reshma for months after the episode. Reshma’s life changes once she comes into contact with Ria Sharma who is just setting up her NGO “Make Love Not Scars (MLNS)”. Ria and the MLNS team stand by Reshma - they crowdsource funding so that she gets good medical care. Reshma gets over periods of depression and hopelessness to emerge stronger than ever before, and becomes the voice for women who have suffered abuse. She walks the ramp at a fashion show at New York, and has been the face of MLNS since years.

This book is very inspiring – both for Reshma’s strength & resolve, as also for the people who stood by her (her family, friends and the team at MLNS). Many parts of the book make for painful reading, and yet – if the issues highlighted in the book gain prominence in discussions, hopefully change will come, even if gradually. The book is also very honest such as covering Reshma’s bitterness in the initial months at everyone – even her own family.

This is a book I strongly recommend for reading. I received a free ebook copy of this book from the co-author Tania Singh for providing an honest review.


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Review: Ganga: The Constant Goddess

Ganga: The Constant Goddess by Anuja Chandramouli
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ganga has a special place of reverence in Indian tradition, the Goddess expressed as the river. Anuja Chandramouli’s book brings Ganga to life – a very imaginative tale around the popular Goddess.

Goddess Ganga is the daughter of King Himavat and Mena, with Parvati being her younger sister. Parvati, as popular legend has it is Lord Shiva’s faithful consort. Ganga is the epitome of charm and energy – with the ability to soothe, cure or destroy. For the most part, she sustains Bhoomi Devi (Earth) with her grace. There are many incidents around popular folklore which are weaved expertly into the tale. She stops at nothing to avenge unfairness – be it with Lord Brahma or Indra. And yet, she is the constant Goddess – helping in sustaining Bhoomi Devi and life itself. It takes the persuasion, strength and love of Lord Shiva to bring balance back into her life. The tale progresses towards its culmination with Goddess Ganga being the wife of Shantanu (when he is reborn) and the mother of the heroic Bhishma grievously wounded in the Mahabharata war.

The writing is very expressive as in all of Anuja’s books. It is a little dense in parts though, with multiple instances of a similar nature. However, it brings to life Goddess Ganga like no book before it has to my knowledge. A book which I strongly recommend!

My rating: 4.5 / 5.

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Review: 2018 on Goodreads

2018 on Goodreads by Various
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had consciously lowered by bar (yearly target) for reading in the hope that I would also write more (blogs) and pick up a new hobby. However, that did not happen, and a good reading year (54 books read till 24 Dec '18 as against a plan of 24) I feel has come at a price of a balance with other activities.

Nevertheless, a very satisfying year for reading! Read some great books - both fiction & non-fiction, and also found some new good authors I should read more.

The stand-out books of the year for me were:

Fiction:
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
The Silent Sister by Shalini Boland
Beneath an Indian Sky by Renita D'Silva
The Rule Breakers by Preeti Shenoy
Karna's Wife by Kavita Kane

Non-Fiction:
Behave by Robert Sapolsky
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
Life After MH370: Journeying Through a Void by K.S. Narendran
Adi Shankaracharya by Pavan K. Varma
Mahatma Gandhi by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
The Molecule of More by Daniel Z. Lieberman, Michael E. Long

If I had to pick one stand-out book, it would be Behave by Robert Sapolsky for it's meticulous research and tremendous new insights on human behaviour.

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Review: Beneath an Indian Sky: A heartbreaking historical novel of family secrets, betrayal and love

Beneath an Indian Sky: A heartbreaking historical novel of family secrets, betrayal and love by Renita D'Silva
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book of Renita D’Silva that I have read. A great story, coupled with some excellent writing makes this a wonderful read!

The principal characters are – Sita, born to a conservative family like any other in the early 20th century and Mary, the daughter of English parents who are in India. Sita is determined to somehow make more of her life than simply getting married. She and Mary become friends, and Mary provides Sita freedom and change to the extent she can – such as loaning her books to read. Mary’s father also provides Sita with opportunities to participate in meetings with the local people. It is almost as if the girls are in the opposite families – Sita, constantly wanting to rebel among conservative parents, and Mary being hesitant & measured, among more unconventional parents. And there is Amin, a mutual friend with whom, both Sita and Mary hang around. Amin is balanced and content with a small ambition of becoming a boatman.

Sita meets the crown prince, who finds her charming and they are married after a painful waiting period. Very soon, Sita becomes the queen, wielding enormous influence, as she always aspired. The sequences around the time when Sita announces that she is pregnant are a little unnatural, in contrast to the rest of the story. On the other hand, Mary faces tragedy as her parents pass away in an accident. She then moves to England but is to return to India after a few years – but faces further heartbreak and tragedy, especially as the result of a chance encounter on her trip to India.

The story is told in 3 separate timelines, all of which merge beautifully. The first two timelines are about Sita and Mary, and only at about 1/3rd of the book, I had some sense for where this was heading. The third timeline in 2000 deals with the story of Priya who finds out that her husband of many years, Jacob is cheating on her. While a side of her wants things to be back to the way they were between her and Jacob, she also realizes it will probably never be and she will have to move on. Her father encourages that they make a trip to India and that is where it all comes together.

A beautifully written story, which I strongly recommend!

My rating: 4.5 / 5.

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Review: I am a home to butterflies

I am a home to butterflies by J. Alchem
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a short, cute book, and also different. In fact, its unusual format is what you should read it for.

A large section of the book is a series of short musings (some very short like quotes and some longer poetry) of Ayaan who misses his love Swathi. He is unable to forget her, worries how she is as she was in an earlier abusive relationship, and seems to have gotten back with her ex. He agonizes over why this break happened and hopes he can bridge the divide. But how – he is hesitant as Swathi has been categorical in moving away.

The later sections has a series of letters Ayaan writes to Swathi. There is no reply for most of the letters, and then finally…..It is at the end that you understand more of what transpired till then….
Well worth a read – short and sweet it is!

My rating: 3.5 / 5.


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Review: The Girl in Room 105

The Girl in Room 105 by Chetan Bhagat
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I read Chetan Bhagat's books as ones which are good to relax with - they move along easily and have a decent story. This book is a little different from his earlier ones as it has crime and suspense thrown in. However, the net result is a disappointment.

The setting is one of Keshav telling his story to the author. Keshav is an IITian who hates his job at a coaching class primarily due to the owner, but can find no better job. He continues to pine for his ex-girlfriend Zara Lone, a Kashmiri who he meets in college. She is his junior and stays in Room 105 in the hostel. One night one her birthday he receives text messages from her inviting him back to her life. Their relationship had ended quite some time back and Zara was now engaged to Raghu. He is puzzled but excited. He goes over to her room and soon becomes embroiled in a mystery.

There is some very amateurish and silly sleuthing engaged in by Keshav and his friend. It is almost as if the author has written it hoping it will be made into a movie, where a lot of silly stuff is considered acceptable. I am afraid though it makes for some poor reading.

The story itself did have potential - a Hindu boy falling in love with a Kashmiri Muslim girl, with crime, the situation in Kashmir and suspense as the backdrop. But the book does not go anywhere close to the potential the story offered..


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Review: The Rule Breakers

The Rule Breakers by Preeti Shenoy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The principal character of ‘The Rule Breakers’, Veda has great depth. And this is a story you should read for her strength in her turbulent life journey – aspirations, disappointments and hope.

Veda is the eldest of 5 children of a family based in Joshimath. She does very well in studies and hope to make a career for herself. However, her conservative middle class parents believe she should get married quickly and she bows to their wishes. This is a time when a friendship is developing with Suraj who is her classmate.

Veda moves to Pune after marriage, and finds life losing meaning. She struggles with coping with college, work at home and the attitude of her mother-in-law. There are a series of letters in the book between her, her sister Vidya and friend Suraj. These letter are very well written and a delight to read. I especially liked the exchanges between Veda and Vidya. Veda gets involved with ‘Sankalp’ – an organisation to promote learning among under-privileged children. Veda sees a sense of purpose creeping into her life finally, but there are more troubles to come.

Some aspects of the story could have been better, but Veda makes up for the book’s other shortcomings.

My rating: 4.5 / 5.


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Review: Yesterday's Tomorrow

Yesterday's Tomorrow by Suvika
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book of Suvika that I read. The story moves quickly and is a light read to relax with. The plot is quite interesting, though the unveiling of it is quite simplistic.

Samaira has been missing and is found with serious injuries. Her husband Dhruv finds her and she is admitted to hospital in a critical condition. Dhruv is a neurologist himself, and he and Samaira were in the cooling period for a divorce. This is as a result of DCP Prithvi’s growing closeness to Samaira. Samaira works in the Cyber Crime division of Pune police, and she and Prithvi are colleagues at work. There is a strange marking on Samaira, a pattern also visible in a few other crimes. It looks like Samaira is one of the victims of a series of crimes – some especially heinous.

Samaira has no memory of the last 6 years, and as a result does not even remember her marriage or subsequent troubles in the marriage. While this could be the opportunity for Dhruv to mend the relationship, Samaira is also key to cracking the case.

The story behind the crimes is quite interesting. At the same time, there is very little behind deciphering the crimes (investigation, forensics or otherwise) and it happens by chance. While there is nothing wrong with that, after all chance does play a big role many times, the story had far greater potential. Well worth a quick read.

My rating: 3.75 / 5.


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Review: Sniper's Eye

Sniper's Eye by Mainak Dhar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the second book of Mainak Dhar that I read after “03:02”. This one also has terrorism as the pivotal part of the story. The story is fast paced and it is a good book to relax with, though the story could have been better, especially towards the later part.

Aaditya Ghosh is out on a date with Zoya, and a person is shot right in front of their eyes. Aaditya has a prior military background and has some secrets from his earlier times. He gets involved quite accidentally and finds a major conspiracy in play. A number of people have been marked for death by a terror group and there is soon a sense of panic. Aaditya’s involvement carries very high risks including to Zoya.

The story progresses quite well, and all elements of the plot are unveiled at about the right moments. At the end, you do feel that the story had more potential than this though.

I do recommend this book for reading – as it is one of those which moves easily, and as I said at the start, a very good book to relax with.

My rating: 3.5 / 5.


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Review: Altered Carbon

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Altered Carbon is appealing as a science fiction story set 400 years in the future. What I liked about the book is that the scientific advancement is portrayed very naturally without glossing over it, or trying to explain how humanity got to where it is. The story remains the focus, and the science just flows with it quite naturally. There is a lot of action, in fact at times too much of it, and yet it is fast paced and mostly engrossing.

Takeshi Kovacs, is summoned from Harlan’s world to Earth to investigate an incident involving the influential Laurens Bancroft. Since it is possible to have memories uploaded and resleeved into new bodies, no real harm befalls Laurens. But was the incident one of attempt to murder or self-harm? And why?

As Takeshi investigates, he is drawn into a wide range of crimes with attempts to exterminate him. Has he been brought in as a fall guy? It gets difficult for Takeshi to know whom to trust as he finds his every move being monitored. There is Miriam Bancroft, Laurens’ wife who feels there is little for Takeshi to do and there are easier options he could take. Ortega is part of Bay City law enforcement who has reasons to deal cautiously with Takeshi. And there is the all-powerful Kawahara, who actually introduces Takeshi to the case. There are a number of secrets to be uncovered, and Takeshi has his hands full.

Altered Carbon is well worth a read – for its story, pace and the future scenarios it paints quite naturally.


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Review: The Committee of Sleep: How Artists, Scientists, and Athletes Use Dreams for Creative Problem-Solving-- and How You Can Too

The Committee of Sleep: How Artists, Scientists, and Athletes Use Dreams for Creative Problem-Solving-- and How You Can Too by Deirdre Barrett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was referred in 'Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams' by Matthew Walker. 'Why We Sleep' is an exceptional book which incorporates great advice referring to advances in sleep science. This gave me the impression that this book quite possibly also would refer interesting sleep science. However, that is not the case - this book does have many interesting stories on how creative work came about from dreams.

There are stories about artists, actors, writers, scientists and even Mahatma Gandhi. This book discusses how their dreams evolved into creative work such as paintings, movies, scientific theories etc.

For these stories, this book is still work a read - though it is too much of the same thing.


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Review: A Monday @ 40

A Monday @ 40 by Rahul Mehta
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a fairly small book aimed at driving home some life lessons in a work of fiction.

Arvind Jha is in a senior position in a IT services company. He has grown to be where he is by working hard, taking responsibility and being imaginative. As he enters mid-life he finds life entering a phase where meaning in work is difficult to find – what with an abusive boss and high demands at work. He dreads waking up on Mondays, and looks forward even less to team meetings chaired by his boss Vikrant. But to let life go on for his wife, and daughter, he seems to have no choice but to continue.

And then there is a wake-up call – what could have been a major tragedy. Is it too late to course correct? What are Arvind’s options now?

This is a cute little book which should make you think about your own life. Do you find meaning in the work you are doing? If not, just maybe, being a little brave can change the scenario considerably..

For the message it delivers, it’s direct, concise approach and it’s exploring the perils of a very typical work life of today – I recommend you read it..

Note: The author Rahul Mehta and me were colleagues at work, and he is very well known to me.


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Review: Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence

Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence by Jaswant Singh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When this book was published, it created a massive controversy for Jaswant Singh, when the BJP leadership immediately sidelined him for writing a book assumed to glorify Jinnah. Quite possibly this decision was before anyone bothered to read the book. The title of the book I suppose conveyed the impression it did. This book is well worth a read since it is largely objective, though it is also boring in parts and could have been much crisper and a lot more readable.

The book is actually quite balanced about Jinnah – certainly very sympathetic to him till about the late 1930s, but is critical of his ‘Muslims as a separate nation’ theory, vanity and inflexibility after that leading to the partition of India. The book is however, very critical of Nehru and the Congress (especially in the 1920s and 1930s and even after), and how it pushed Jinnah from being a votary of Hindu – Muslim unity to demand a separate homeland for Muslims, and emerge as the Quaid-e-Azam of Pakistan.

The book starts with exploring the entry of Islam into India and this part is largely academic with no new information. It then moves on to Jinnah, his early life, contrasting his approach with Mahatma Gandhi. While Jinnah was a constitutionalist, believing in being entirely legally correct in conduct, Gandhi took to non co-operation to protest unjust laws as well fight for freedom for the country. A major theme of the book is how the Congress made no attempts to be inclusive and brushed aside the Muslim league as a non-entity in the 1920s and 1930s. A hurt Jinnah gradually consolidated Muslim support and emerged as the primary spokesperson. There were windows of opportunities till quite late to reach a rapprochement between the Congress and the League, but only Mahatma Gandhi made a sincere attempt to do that almost right till the day of independence. Within the Congress too there were diverse opinions from people such as C Rajagopachari, Ram Manohar Lohia, Jayaprakash Narayan and Abul Kalam Azad.

His mistrust of the Congress, and the consolidation of Muslim support also leads Jinnah to become more inflexible and demanding in the later years (late 1930s and 1940s). For instance, he insisted on equal numerical representation for the League in the provincial government planned and also demanded that the Congress should not nominate any Muslim, as he was the primary spokesperson for Muslims in India. Right till the end, Jinnah leaves the definition of Pakistan open. The portions where Mahatma Gandhi questions him about what will happen to minorities in the new nation of Pakistan, leads Jinnah to claim that they will be taken care of. Beyond a point, it looks like Jinnah improvised his positioning based on circumstances. The part where he calls for a ‘Direct Action Day’ encouraging violence and communal rioting to prove his point is especially disturbing and so much out of character based on his earlier conduct and views. And yet, he seemed to return to a more broad minded approach once he got his Pakistan – assuring minorities of equal rights.

As Jaswant Singh points out, many disturbing aspects of the two nation theory and the event of partition remain with us today. Jinnah died too soon after the formation of Pakistan, leading to a nation devoid of a soul (which it was only just forming) where minorities face an uncertain future in the face of rising religious extremism. Just maybe, if he had lived longer, as also Mahatma Gandhi, our region could have been a different place.

My rating: 3.5 / 5.

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Review: Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble

Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble by Dan Lyons
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read Dan Lyon’s LinkedIn post about his book two years back, and have been curious to read his book – especially since some people in Hubspot actually tried to obtain a copy and indulged in coercion to stop the book. I also read co-founder Dharmesh Shah’s mature response (on behalf of him as well as Brian Halligan), also on LinkedIn, though he does not address all the issues in Dan’s book.

Somehow, got to reading it only now. This is an especially interesting read on Tech Startups and does offer lessons such companies would be better off considering. And yet, some of Dan’s criticism does also come across as whining and bitterness as a result of his personal experience.

At over 50 years of age, Dan decides to enter the world of Tech Startup by joining Hubspot – a Boston based company with a product for Inbound marketing. He has been in the media industry for long and realizes it will take some effort to fit in to a new industry. He has kids and his wife recently left her job, which adds to the pressure to get back to work as quickly as possible. His initial days and weeks are frustrating with no direction on what is expected of him, very little dialogue with seniors, and a frat house culture gone berserk. His work assignments are mostly around writing lame blogs. Most of the Hubspot employees are fresh out of college and have little or no real coaching. In order to keep them motivated, they are offered a fun place to work – bright colors, bean bags, beer on the job etc. At times such as Halloween and Freaky Fridays, employees can come in wearing costumes of their choice. Employees are told that they are actually making the world a better place. Employees who leave or are fired (which happens quite often) are announced as graduating with an informally worded mail doing the rounds. The culture code presentation with the “HEART” acronym comes across as full of fluff. Dan sticks out as an odd person – struggling to fit in and also makes detractors with his frankness. Here, Dan’s criticism is on solid ground and this is certainly a culture where older employees, as also many personality types, and those who value authenticity would struggle to fit in.

As part of his narrative Dan also suggests that Hubspot has a poor product, and has to spend a lot on marketing to sell it, as also to retain customers. While it is difficult to know if that is case, Hubspot has seen very strong growth and indicates that this cannot be entirely true. He also takes aim at startups in general and the trends they back. Eg: he takes aim at Software-as-a-Service companies, which is completely off the mark. Even going by his own account, there is an indication that Dan did not try very hard to fit in either, nor did he offer suggestions constructively. Brian Halligan was once quoted as saying that experience was largely overvalued, prompting a bitter Facebook post by Dan, which he acknowledges might not have been the best approach.

While he uses pseudo names for a few people in the book, he names Chief Marketing Officer Mike Volpe and Head of Content Joe Chernov (his supervisor for part of the duration) in the Epilogue who had to leave as a result of the FBI investigation (though no charges were pressed). After he gets another job, Dan resigns giving a 6 week notice but is asked to leave the very next day.

There are good lessons from the book on – the need for diversity, valuing experience, promoting time tested values of respect, openness, trust, transparency, authenticity, fairness rather than a cult-like behavior and make believe.

A book I certainly recommend reading.

My rating: 3.5 / 5.


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Review: Salvation of a Saint

Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read Keigo Higashino’s “The Devotion of Suspect X” on a recommendation from a friend sometime back and really liked. Since then, I read “Malice” and now “Salvation of a Saint”. The strength is in the depth of the story and the characters. They are all great crime novels with no fluff or unnecessary drama.

Salvation of a Saint is another great story if you like crime/mysteries. It is not as crisply written as the other two books mentioned above, but a very good read nevertheless.

Yoshitaka and his wife Ayane are about to separate from their marriage. As Ayane is visiting her parents, Yoshitaka dies mysteriously – as a result of drinking coffee laced with poison. Yoshitaka has not been exactly faithful, and based on that it seems that his wife has the strongest motive to kill him, but she is away during that period. Ayane’s work colleague Hiromi is the last to have seen Yoshitaka.

Police detective Kusanagi and his assistant Utsumi investigate the case. It is puzzling as it is unclear where the poison came from. Utsumi turns to Professor Yukawa for help. It seems to be the perfect crime – with no evidence to lead anywhere.

The reasoning of the police and Professor Yukawa is a delight to read, as they persevere with testing one hypothesis after the other. In many ways, I suppose this is how great mysteries are really solved – one step at a time.


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Review: Calling Sehmat

Calling Sehmat by Harinder Sikka
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of those very few instances where I saw the movie, based on the book, before reading the book. The movie “Raazi” is a very good adaptation of the book.

The story is excellent – and being based on a real story of a young lady who takes huge risks for her country, it is also inspiring. That said – the book slips up in its narrative in many instances – the pace is not tight enough, the characters other than Sehmat do not develop well and some critical portions needed further emphasis.

The story unfolds with the love story of Sehmat’s parents – Tej and Hidayat Khan. Tej visits Kashmir and is charmed by Hidayat. The story then picks up when Sehmat is in college and very gifted. Hidayat as part of his trade connections has contacts in Pakistan, and supplies crucial information to Indian Intelligence. He falls greviously ill, at the time when tensions between India and Pakistan are rising in 1971. The situation in East Pakistan is grim and troublesome for Pakistan, and they are keen to launch a pre-emptive attack on India. Hidayat comes to conclusion that there is no alternative except for Sehmat to take his place.

Sehmat has to sacrifice her love for Abhinav and instead marry Iqbal, son of an influential officer in the Pakistani armed forces. She runs into a number of stressful situations but emerges as a splendid source of information for Indian Intelligence.

The book adds more context to the college life of Sehmat, her love life, her hopes, as also what happens after she completes her assignment, as compared to the movie. If you have watched the movie “Raazi”, the book does not add too much which the movie does not cover.

My rating: 3.5 / 4.

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Review: Bombay Heights

Bombay Heights by Adite Banerjie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The story centres around Sanjana Kale who moves away from her family in Nagpur to Mumbai, and her work and relationships. This is a cute story, and yet entirely predictable & with no specific differentiating storyline.

Sanjana’s workplace is stressful with her immediate boss being intimidating and trying to put her down all the time. She has to team up with Ashwin Deo who is a video game designer and also her neighbour. She finds him brash initially and difficult to deal with, but gradually finds it difficult to resist his charm. She has just moved away from a relationship with Chethan who still hopes the relationship can be mended. And there is also pressure from the family – her parents & sisters.

How she faces the work pressures, and what on the relationship side is what the story is all about. If you would like to relax with a book which moves fast, this is a book you could read - you will not find much to remember it for though.


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Review: The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity—and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race

The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity—and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race by Daniel Z. Lieberman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a very interesting book on how just one chemical – Dopamine influences so much of our behaviour. The undue influence Dopamine exerts is amazing considering the fraction the Dopamine circuit occupies in our brains. This is a well written book and very informative as well.

The crux of our behaviour boils down to two outlooks we humans have – here & now matters (which the authors refer to as the H&N circuit) and the future (our desires and actions). Dopamine is largely what determines how we approach the future – high dopamine defining the drive. Dopamine circuits are in two categories – ones which determine our desires and the other which exerts control over our actions.

Responsible action is a delicate balance – excessive dopamine activity can become impractical and is speculated at times even lead to mental illnesses. The influence of Dopamine on politics, sex, relationships, emotions, political affiliations, religion and business is all discussed in a good amount of detail.

This is a book I certainly recommend, though it could have been crisper in the early and middle portions.

My rating: 4.5 / 5.

I got a free ecopy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review.


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Review: The Midnight Line

The Midnight Line by Lee Child
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jack Reacher novels are always great to relax with. He is character who keeps the book going quickly – however implausible some of the stuff he does is. This book follows the trend, though I personally found the story to be somewhat weak in comparison to many other Jack Reacher novels.

Jack Reacher is wandering around the country – with nothing except a toothbrush, as he always does. He comes a West Point ring with the initials S.R.S engraved. A ring obtained after much effort and achievement – why would anyone give it. Reacher aborts his journey and decides he will follow the trail – if the owner is ok, the search ends.

He follows the trail which leads him to suspected drug dealers. He runs into Arthur Scorpio who is already under observation by the local cops – one Gloria Nakamura. The trail then leads him to Mule Crossing, Wyoming – a place very sparsely populated. He discovers that the owner of the ring is one of twin sisters. Her twin is worried as well and has engaged a private investigator – Terrence Bramall, and all of them meet in Wyoming.

The story then moves to Reacher searching for the twin sister Rose Sanderson and finding out what has happened to her.

While I am a Jack Reacher fan, have to say that the story had far greater potential. It is still a good read - as all Jack Reacher novels are.

My rating: 3.5 / 5


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Review: Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams

Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sleep has been a big mystery for long, as it has been unclear what purpose it serves, and why natural selection did not weed it out. After all, in earlier times, the period of sleep must have been one of considerable danger for humans (and even now for many animals and birds). And yet, sleep is a common requirement across the animal kingdom as well. In fact, birds and some sea creatures have the remarkable ability to sleep half a brain at a time.

Matthew Walker is a sleep scientist and does an exceptional job in this book of explaining what sleep achieves for us. In fact, sleep deprivation is extremely dangerous and there is not enough awareness of this. Modern lifestyle has dealt a blow to both our duration and quality of sleep, and the effects are already quite apparent.

While sleep has not completely revealed all its mysteries to us, a lot is now known after painstaking research over several years. Our sleep shuffles between NREM, Light and REM sleep – and all of them have their purpose. NREM sleep fortifies our memory helping in longer term recall, while REM sleep & dreams lend emotional balance and help us get to the big picture. The book discusses a large number of experiments detailing what happens when we skip sleep. Depending on the sleep cycle and the quantum of deprivation, the ill effects are nothing short of disastrous – lower immunity, failing memory, loss of emotional balance, pre-disposition to serious diseases such as diabetes, dementia and even cancer. Getting adequate sleep (~8 hours) on the other hand makes people more creative & productive other than being healthy.

Somehow, our cultures today do not emphasise the importance of sleep, as much as we do exercise and diet. So much so, that sleeping less is mistakenly regarded as a confirmation of working hard and being more ambitious. The assumption that each of us can do with varying periods of sleep is largely a myth as well. While a genetic mutation allows a few to function effectively with around 6 hours of sleep, this is extremely rare. Almost all of us do need ~8 hours of sleep. There are tips on improving sleep quantity as well as quality all through the book, such as regulating caffeine in the later part of the day.

Most of us are guilty of not according sleep the importance it deserves, and this book is an eye opener. This is a book everyone should read. There are very important points of note for individuals, educational institutions, hospitals, organisations and even governments.


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Review: Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored

Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored by Rishi Kapoor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Khullam Khulla is the story of Rishi Kapoor. And it is fairly frank as the title suggests.

Rishi Kapoor admits he had an advantage – being from a film family, and the great Raj Kapoor’s son. There are warm accounts of the family and their relations making for very good reading.
After a role as a teenager in Mera Naam Joker, which did not do too well, Rishi was launched as a lover boy hero in Bobby. Bobby was a major hit – thanks to impressive performances by both Rishi and Dimple. Rishi then recounts the ups and downs, including a period shortly after his marriage when his films were not doing well, and he goes into depression suffering a crisis of confidence.

He makes his mark in love stories over time, and now in the second phase of his acting career has a wider variety of roles to choose from (such as in Agneepath, Kapoor & Sons and others). There is a bold revelation that he paid money to influence an award for Bobby, which quite possibly also played a role in his early frosty relation with Amitabh Bachchan.

While there is a lot of interesting material, the book is not that well organized – shuffling from this to that with a context. There are a lot of references to drinking – almost as if that is the primary bonding factor among family and friends! Neetu Singh’s afterword is actually pretty well written.

My rating: 3.25 / 5


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Review: Karna's Wife: The Outcast's Queen

Karna's Wife: The Outcast's Queen by Kavita Kané
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have been wanting to read Kavita Kane's books since long, and finally have started with Karna's Wife. Karna’s Wife represents imaginative Indian historical fiction writing.

Mahabharata is an epic of immense complexity. While the summary rendering is that of the fight of good vs bad/evil, the situations and moral dilemmas which the characters face is extremely complex. A situation and dilemma which the Mahabharata raises, has found no easy solutions even today - what if those at the highest seats of power do not have the right values / behaviour and lead the entire kingdom to disaster (as Duryodhana / Shakuni and the Kauravas did), dragging many upright and moral citizens (such as Dronacharya, Bhishma, Karna and others) in the flow.

Karna is a character who is one of the most fascinating in the epic. He fights an uphill battle right from birth – is given away and brought up by poor parents (his father being a charioteer) at a time when your parental heritage mattered a lot. He is up against a lot – his upbringing, devious friends and being bound by loyalty, blunders due to feeling mistreated since long, others seeking to disarm him by taking advantage of his generosity…..

The story is told from the eyes of Uruvi, who is Karna’s second wife. This is a character you do not encounter in mainstream narration of the Mahabharata. Though of royal heritage and also close to the Pandavas, she chooses to marry Karna – impressed by his personality and skills. This is not exactly an ideal situation – being a second wife (Karna’s first wife being Vrushali), and more importantly a man scorned as one not worthy of intermingling in the highest circles. While she loves him deeply, she watches helplessly as she sees their life entering turbulent times. Especially after Karna’s taunts Draupadi leading to Duhasana’s attempt to disrobe her. Uruvi is wild with Karna – how could a man for whom righteousness of conduct was important, do something like this, despite the fact that Draupadi insults him during her Swayamvar. Each person is the sum total of his experiences – Karna bears the brunt of discrimination right from his birth. Uruvi realizes, as does Karna, that war is certain to follow, which will almost certainly mean Karna’s death, standing by the one friend Duryodhana who gave him the respect almost everyone else denied.

There are portions which deviate from mainstream narration – Uruvi’s character & marriage to Karna itself, Kunti’s characterization, Bhishma’s motivation for keeping Karna away from the battlefield, and aspects of Draupadi’s character, and her relation with Karna. I was a little disappointed at some of the characterization – especially Kunti’s, and also Arjuna & Draupadi.
And yet, the book largely maintains the ethos of the epic. The writing is good, as is the strong buildup of Uruvi’s character. Some of the characterization on the Pandavas side could have been better. Krishna’s advice to Arjuna and his finding his balance could have found mention as well.

If Indian historical fiction interests you (specifically the Mahabharata), this is a great book to read.

My rating: 4.5 / 5.


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Review: The Friend

The Friend by Teresa Driscoll
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a story which packs great pace, as good thrillers should. Sophie is on a train and distraught as her son Ben is one of two boys in hospital. Her husband Mark is on the train as well.

The story alternates between the present and the past. The story in the past starts off when Emma moves into town with her son Theo. Sophie likes her immediately and they get along very well. A shocking murder follows unnerving the local residents. While it seems an open and shut case initially, there is a hint that there may be more to it than meets the eye.

As story progresses, it is clear that Emma has a past which Sophie and others do not entirely know about. But does any of it matter today to her friend Sophie?

There are some twists in the story, as one would expect towards the end. The book is a very easy and engrossing read, especially due to the fast pace and good characterization. And yet, the story in the later part of the book could have been much better.

My rating: 3.75 / 5


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Review: The Ape That Understood the Universe: How the Mind and Culture Evolve

The Ape That Understood the Universe: How the Mind and Culture Evolve by Steve Stewart-Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Behavior is an interesting field to explore – be it human or animal. I read Sapiens and Homo Deus sometime back and liked them for how the books traced the history of how we Sapiens got to where we are. I very recently read the brilliant ‘Behave’ by Robert Sapolsky, which is far more detailed science writing. “The Ape that understood the universe” was a good book to read shortly after. While Behave explores the genesis of individual motivation and behavior, this book in contrast looks at aggregate behavior based on evolutionary psychology and it does a great job at that.

The book starts off on an interesting note with an essay on how an alien species would look at us. There are a number of things which would come across as strange and difficult to explain. For instance, while many humans fear the dark, we are comfortable with fatty and junk food which is where the real danger to us lies! Steve makes some excellent points – if we studied animal behaviors, we would much better understand our own. Most psychologists however assume humans start as a blank slate and that all explanations for behavior are to be found in the learning from environments. The case for evolutionary psychology which the book builds is extremely strong and convincing. Nurture cannot explain a lot of the examples the author cites. While the simple rule of natural selection is propagation of genes, there is a lot more to this when studied in detail.

The book explores the subject in a lot of depth. The sex differences section is especially interesting as well as well written. Be it the animal kingdom or humans, there is a pattern to behavior between the sexes (in most species the relative sizes provide clues). There is a danger here – especially since this could be taken as a stepping stone to prejudice against women among humans. The book explores natural selection with examples of how traits got selected and passed on. At times, it is a struggle for our genes to catch up with the rapid changes in the environment. There are various examples of group selection, altruistic behavior and culture which are discussed at length. As it turns out, a lot of what humans are can be explained with evolutionary psychology. Humans are unique in many ways certainly, and yet the story of what we are is common with much of the animal kingdom.

The concept of memes (similar to the concept of stories in Sapiens) follows towards the end of the book. Humans behave so as to propagate memes to others in the species and to their descendants (eg: religious beliefs). Memes collide with other memes, and there are winners and losers.

There are parts where matter tends to repeat and slows down the pace of the book, Nevertheless, this is an excellent book on evolutionary psychology and definitely recommended reading.

My rating: 4.25 / 5.

I received a free electronic copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review.


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Review: The Truth About Animals: Stoned Sloths, Lovelorn Hippos, and Other Tales from the Wild Side of Wildlife

The Truth About Animals: Stoned Sloths, Lovelorn Hippos, and Other Tales from the Wild Side of Wildlife by Lucy Cooke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a book filled with very interesting information about a select set of animals including sloths, bats, penguins, hippos, frogs, eels, pandas, chimpanzees, hyenas and others. Lot of the information is lesser known, and makes for engrossing reading.

For instance, hippos genetic makeup shows a closer match with whales rather than any land animal. How do vultures promptly appear when animals die? And so many other interesting bits of information.

Lucy Cooke closes the book with some excellent passages about how in our thinking we have distanced ourselves so much from animals. We think of them as things which exist for our use, and have license to perform cruel experiments on. The passages in the book on the cruel experiments performed on bats to satisfy our curiosity on how they navigate and using frogs for pregnancy tests is sad to read. Pandas for their cute appearance have become a political industry where they are artificially birthed in captivity and don’t lead very satisfying lives.

While the book for the large part makes for excellent and very engrossing reading, it would have benefited from some more material on what motivates the behavior of each of these animals.

I received a free ecopy from NetGalley to provide an honest review.


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Review: For Better and Worse

For Better and Worse by Margot Hunt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Will and Natalie meet in law school, and later get married. After a few years, and a son Charlie, life seems to enter a phase where their relation seems to be losing its shine. Their life comes under severe strain when Charlie’s principal is accused of molesting a child. Will and Natalie have known him well and are not sure what the truth is. The student who has made the accusation has had problems in the past.

Very quickly Will and Natalie find themselves getting involved more deeply. They are concerned on the impact all this will have on Charlie. Natalie especially is determined that she will do anything to keep her son safe. Very soon Will and Natalie find themselves in a very complex situation and possibly on the wrong side of the law. Will has a few things to hide which complicates things further. It is tough to add anything more to the story without introducing spoilers, and hence I stop here.

This is an extremely well written book – a strong storyline, great characterization and very fast paced. Highly recommended!

I received a free ebook from Netgalley for an honest review.

My rating: 4.5 / 5

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Review: Sidney Sheldon’s The Silent Widow: A gripping new thriller for 2018 with killer twists and turns

Sidney Sheldon’s The Silent Widow: A gripping new thriller for 2018 with killer twists and turns by Sidney Sheldon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Tilly Bagshawe continues Sidney Sheldon’s legacy, and does a decent job of it. A strong woman character – this time in Nikki Roberts who is a psychologist. One of her patients is brutally murdered, and her assistant at work meets the same fate soon after. Nikki is just picking up the pieces of her life, being widowed less than a year back, with her husband passing away in a car accident.

It looks like she is the person a killer is after. Very unsure of whether the police are taking the threat seriously, she hires a private detective Derek Williams. The case takes Derek back to over a decade earlier when an American au-pair Charlotte Clancy disappears in Mexico. Just when Derek makes progress, he is forced to leave Mexico abruptly. He soon realises he is against a very powerful adversary – a cartel of drug dealers. Nikki is left confused on who she can trust, and there are some secrets associated with her ex-husband as well.

The story provides a good amount of twists and turns. However, there are far too many characters and incidents which need to be tied together at the end. While Tilly Bagshawe does do it – it comes across unnecessarily complicated. There is also very little real novelty in the story except for the connection to incidents in the past.

This is however, a good book to relax with – and an easy and fast moving read.


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Review: Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduism's Greatest Thinker

Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduism's Greatest Thinker by Pavan K. Varma
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

While exact details of the period Adi Shankaracharya lived are not entirely known, the impact of his philosophy and commentary is immense. He was certainly one of the greatest philosophers the world has seen. Joseph Campbell wrote many years later on how we need to see beyond the literal in religious traditions, myths and ancient texts. Adi Shankaracharya did just that – writing impactful commentaries and establishing traditions based on his deep knowledge, analysis and understanding of the Vedas, Upanishads and other ancient texts.

The most striking aspect of this was his unambiguous assertion that all is one – Brahman is the all-pervading connection between everything in the universe. He points out that if this is true, there is no basis for any discrimination (by caste / gender / other life forms or any other basis) which must have been a well-entrenched practice at that time.

Pavan Varma’s book has a very good flow. It starts with some context on what we known of Adi Shankaracharya’s life and work. It then follows with three broad sections:
- His travel to the places where Adi Shankara stayed or visited and current knowledge and practices of the local residents
- Impact of Adi Shankara’s philosophy and relevance in modern times, including alignment with scientific knowledge
- Excerpts from some of Adi Shankara’s work

As it turns out, Adi Shankaracharya’s commentary on Advaita Vedanta has stood the test of time including scientific scrutiny. While the section on latest scientific advances is a little too long, the point is made that this is a philosophy which is practical, fair and very meaningful. While he died very young in his early thirties, his achievements were staggering – traversing a large country largely by foot, engaging in debates, and establishing four mathas to preserve tradition and serve as source of knowledge to explain the philosophy. Just maybe, if he had lived longer, he could have turned around a lot of the discriminatory practices which caused pain to so many.

The book is backed by research and has good narration of the personal experiences of the author’s visit to many places across the country. As he points out, a far better job needs to be done to maintain many of the places and sites which are of great historical importance. The section on the advances in science, could have been compressed a little though.

This is a great book to read if the subject is of interest.


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Review: The Silent Sister

The Silent Sister by Shalini Boland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the second book I have read of Shalini Boland (after “The Child Next Door”). The Silent Sister keeps up an excellent pace right throughout (unlike “The Child Next Door” which slackened in the middle). There is good suspense and multiple twists/revelations in the end.

Lizzy Beresford works at a store and has what seems to be a contented life with a steady boyfriend since 5 years. However, she has not been on talking terms with her sister for many years now, and meetings at their mother’s place are painful. All of a sudden, Lizzy starts receiving short & terse threatening letters. The police are informed, but with very little to go on, do not make much headway. She confides in her neighbours, hoping someone will see something. The threats take a serious turn with an attempt on her life.

She cannot understand why anyone would do this. Is there a link to her sister, boyfriend or her neighbours?

There is a good buildup to the end with a series of events, and the story does not let up. There is a double twist & revelation at the end (quite unnecessary in my opinion as the story was great as it).

If psychological thriller novels interest you, this is a great book to read.

My rating: 4.5 / 5

I received a free uncorrected advanced review ecopy of this book from NetGalley for a review.


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Review: A Bride for Sunil

A Bride for Sunil by Joyce Mackenzie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The title aside, the central character of the book is Victoria Standford. She is a good looking Anglo-Indian girl who has seen very hard times. She gets taken in by a visiting Englishman who promises to marry her, but then disappears. She is now an unwed mother to a boy, struggling to meet ends meet. Her roommate grows to be very irate with her as well.

She then meets Sunil, who is visiting from England. He is very caring and once he learns of her difficulties, offer her a passage to England. Victoria takes up the offer without understanding fully what he has in mind for her. And her troubles continue even in England.....Will her relationship with Sunil sustain, or does she need to move on?

The book unfortunately lacks coherence. In a book which relies more on relationships and drama, more impactful incidents were called for to keep up the pace. However, as Victoria tumbles from one crisis to the next, you are left with an unsatisfying story and characterization.

I received a free ebook copy from Netgalley for an honest review.

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Review: Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst

Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert M. Sapolsky
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the shortest possible summary, let me start by saying that Behave is a stupendous book, and among the best science books I have read. While it is a book of science, and very detailed in parts at that – it is still highly recommended reading for everybody. After all, who is not curious about why we behave the way we do. This book is certainly a tribute to the remarkable progress science has made in understanding our brain and our behaviours. However, be warned that it is a big book, which has a lot of detail and you might be in for a slower read than many other books.

Robert Sapolsky invokes interest and curiosity right from the start - talking about how we are very conflicted in our beliefs – especially we condone many acts of violence, but do support others. I have to admit I have many conflicts I am unable to resolve myself – such as the fact that I find very impressive the progress that science has made as detailed in this book, and yet I am very pained that much of this has come with cruel experiments on animals.

The organisation of the book is very logical – it traces an action from when it happens, to moments before, months/years before and potentially several years earlier in cases. Experiments show that there are several markers in our brain which light up, before we take any action. So the big question (which the book Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari explores as well) – do we really have free will? Do we have the ability to stop when the natural instinct kicks in? As it turns out, much of how we act is a result of a multitude of factors – events which have happened at any time previously - sometimes well in the past, our genes, environment, and many others, some of it still to be determined. This has extremely important implications for law enforcement as well.

There are excellent examples: eg: when you compliment a child on good work, telling them they are clever vs telling them they are hardworking invokes very different responses. While we appreciate empathy – the ability to step into and feel the others experience, empathy stalls action. Compassion is more effective. The discussion around how the brain responds to meditation are alluded to – though I think it deserved far more coverage. There are also other interesting lessons around how judges and juries decide punishment based on a number of factors which logic says should have no bearing.

The issues of “Us” vs “Them” is discussed in detail, and deservedly so. Our brain instantly associates some faces as “Us” and some others as “Them”. We develop this categorisation over time and this association is very strong in adulthood and near impossible to get over. While this is true even in animals, our behaviours are more complex. The “Us” categorisation could be based on country, language, religion, colour, and others. The natural tendency is to think in terms of aggregate labels rather than as individuals, accounting for much of our biases.

This is a big book, and one for which I should have taken notes. But I did not. Since there is a wealth of important information, I expect I will have to revisit the book again – when I feel I am forgetting its contents.

The Appendix has information on Brain / Genes / Hormones which is worth taking a look at. This is an exceptional book, though certainly not light reading. Since it packs great amount of detail, it is a more difficult read than for instance “Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Harari. However, I very strongly recommend this – for reading at the earliest possible


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Review: The Devil's Star

The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbø
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A good murder mystery - would have been better if more concise and focused.

A serial killer seems to be on the loose. It appears to start with a young woman being murdered in her flat. More murders follow - and they are all cruel and brutal, with a finger being severed in each case.

Harry Hole is in a slump - his marriage is in trouble, he has a severe drinking problem and has no interest in the police force. He is assigned the case along with Tom Waaler, whom he has accused of being (at least partly) guilty of being an accomplice in certain crimes. But he has little choice in the matter.

Harry does spot a pattern, and with that, it seems the case is almost over. The police now know where the next crime could occur and lie in wait. But twists are in store.

Overall, this is a good murder mystery. However, it struggles over several pages to develop the story. And yet, the theme of the story is a positive, making the book worth a read.

My rating: 3.5 / 5.

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Review: Em and The Big Hoom

Em and The Big Hoom by Jerry Pinto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a very unusual story – that of Em (Imelda) and the Big Hoom (Augustine) and their children. The story is told by their son – part of a family who has struggled in life and has just about stays afloat all the time. The story shuffles between the present and the past starting from when Em and the Big Hoom met and decided to get married.

Em, now battles mental illness (bipolar / schizophrenia) and keeps trying to take her own life. She however retains much of her ready wit and sharp tongue. She is addicted to smoking beedis and sees conspiracies in the mundane, like, pits in the road as someone conspiring and digging mass graves. She lands up in hospital quite often, as the family struggles to cope.

The descriptions of the life of the middle class, their eating habits and the city of Bombay / Mumbai of many years back is a delight to read. The humour has brilliance, but unfortunately not in it’s entirety. While there is sophisticated and great dialogue with the humour you would read in a PG Wodehouse novel, there is also the very ordinary variety – which is a sad setback for the book.


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Review: Kaanan: A modern professional seeks answers to our eternal questions on life

Kaanan: A modern professional seeks answers to our eternal questions on life by Siddhartha Patnaik
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kaanan is a short book, but leaves an impact. The book can be considered an easy introduction to spirituality and values.

Kaanan is a working professional. On the face of it, he is doing well - with a good career and is well placed financially. And yet, he feels something is missing. He decides to take a break from work, and visits an ashram located near the Himalayan ranges. This turns out to be a period of deep learning in yoga, meditation as well provides him a new perspective on the deeper questions of life.

If spirituality interests you (especially the Indian Yoga & Vedanta traditions), you will like this book, and it will most likely invoke your curiosity to delve deeper.

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Review: Do We Not Bleed? Reflections of a 21-st Century Pakistani

Do We Not Bleed? Reflections of a 21-st Century Pakistani by Mehr Tarar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is difficult to name a theme for the book. It is a little of this and that - about life in Pakistan. While the nation obviously has attracted a lot of criticism for it's support for religious extremism and terrorism - it is also a place where people have their dreams and aspirations. And that is at times forgotten.

A good section of the book has commentaries on feudal practices which are blatantly unfair to women. There are several painful stories of discrimination and violence. While the setting is Pakistan, quite obviously the lessons hold for the region and beyond. There is some very good material on inspiring Pakistanis such as Muniba Mazari who despite all odds, is today an inspiration for many. There is also some discussion on the rise of extremism and the impact on ordinary citizens - especially minorities (who have reduced from 21% or so when the nation was born to less than 3% today) who live in fear and are sceptical on being dealt with fairly by the law.

What I liked about the book is that the discussion is mature and fair - be it about what is wrong in Pakistan and in it's relations with other nations (especially India). It is clear that Mehr Tarar certainly means well. The major drawback of the book though is that there is no coherent flow and larger theme to hold the narrative together. And there was also potential to delve deeper into the rise of religious extremism and what could be done to counter it.

I found her section of Pakistan's relation with India to be a balanced viewpoint. It was also nice to read the influence Indian culture and films have had on her. The viewpoints from diverse personalities on the way forward is weak however, and some of the people she quotes have little or no credibility or standing in their own countries. I did like the viewpoints expressed by Syed Akbaruddin, Hussain Haqqani and Shekhar Gupta which stood above the rest.

A well meaning and very readable book which would have benefited with a better flow, more new material, crisper narrative in places and more imaginative expert opinions.

My rating: 3.5 / 5.

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Review: The Help

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It somehow took me some time to get to reading this book, though I came across very positive reviews quite some time back. "The Help" is a wonderful book and the characters of Aibileen, Skeeter and Minny will stay with me for ever.

This book is placed in a town in Mississippi (in the 1960s) and is about the coloured helps of white families in the town. While the book is primarily around race relations/segregation and discrimination, there are lessons around status quo and how what is clearly wrong can appear normal. A story which has been believed and lived since years holds in a environment of fear and threat of subjugation and violence.

Aibileen has been a maid all her life, has accepted that segregation and discrimination is the norm. Skeeter, is a young lady who is quite different from most others. She has memories of the help at her place - Constantine who suddenly disappears. Skeeter develops a strong bond with Aibileen. Minny is another maid who is a close friend of Aibileen. She is frank and direct - as a result of which she struggles to hold on to a job.

Skeeter feels strongly that the voice of the maids should be heard, and she starts a project in secrecy in a hostile environment with a lot of risks. However, will her project help the maids or will it make life more difficult for them, as well as for herself?

This is one of the best books I have read in recent times, with strong characters who hold values ahead of their times and a strong sense of fairness. The conversational writing style adds to the charm of the book, and this is a book I strongly recommend.

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Review: Mohini

Mohini by Ramendra Kumar
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After reading the abstract, I knew fairly well what the book would be like. I was not expecting great literary merit, but a quick and relaxing read, and that is exactly what this was. This book, taps into the Indian people’s fascination with cinema. It has the standard mix of glamour, cunning, lust, revenge and all that.

Mohini is an aspiring actress – and extremely ambitious. She is willing to do down the crooked path if that will help her make it big as an actress. She is helped in this by her cunning manager Vicky and well-wisher Imran Bhai. She runs into a number of people on her career ascent – directors, managers, media managers and others, and learns how she can manipulate them all to help her. At one point, she feels she has found love and looks forward to settling down to marital bliss with a director she respects. A foolish mistake and there is a major setback.
Will she make it to the top or will her mistakes catch-up with her?

My rating: 2.5 / 5. I am rounding the rating upwards since despite her manipulative ways, the character of Mohini as a well-meaning woman with her failings leaves an impression.


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Review: A Lingering Crime

A Lingering Crime by Miller Caldwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is not a big book, and can be read quickly. I liked the fact that it brings focus to an important issue of abuse and it's long term implications.

Jack Watson is in the UK, working in his garden, when he is picked up by the police. He is extradited to the US to face trial for the murder of Gary McFaul. Gary's name rings a bell, he had sexually abused Jack when he was a teen, and in the same school. Since then Jack's life changed entirely - he was always watchful, took different routes, and did all he could to stay away from Gary. The possibility that Gary could still be an abuser gets Jack to think about doing something about it.

Gary's wife reports to the police that Jack has been hounding him, and so it seems to the police that Jack has the motive. He was also in the US at that time. Jack, however, denies the allegation and claims to have never entered Florida where the crime took place. And yet, the police claim to have circumstantial evidence of his involvement.

The story moves fast and is very readable. The suspense element of it is fairly basic & simplistic though.

The story of how Jack deals with the abuse is very enlightening on how abuse can have long term implications. There is an interview with the author at the end where he explains what he wrote the book for and how in modern times authorities have to gear up to spot and prevent abuse before it happens. Social media has made the situation far worse.

I recommend this book for its treatment of an important topic in a sensitive and mature manner. I received this book from NetGalley (my first) for providing a review.

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Review: The Child Next Door

The Child Next Door by Shalini Boland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My rating: 3.5 / 5

The child next door is a psychological thriller. And yes – you can be assured that there are twists, especially some good ones towards the end of the book.

Kirstie Rawlings hears some sounds on her baby monitor of two people talking of taking a baby and going away. She has a daughter who is near 6 months old, and she is terrified. She has had a daughter after a couple of miscarriages, and is extremely emotional at the thought of any danger to her. She rushes to check and finds that her child is safe however – so what is going on? While it seems like the voices she heard are from some other place, she does not know of any other baby in the vicinity. She remains tense for days after that, worried that either her daughter or some other baby is in danger.

In the absence of clear evidence, her husband Dom has his doubts if there is any real danger to their daughter. Kirstie’s friends and many others start feeling that she is losing control of herself.

The story and the writing is very good. The pace though is a letdown in parts. Though it starts very briskly, there is a section of the book in the middle where nothing much seems to be happening, and the book drags along with small incidents. While it serves the purpose of providing a deeper insight into the personalities of the principal characters, you would expect a thriller novel to move faster. It does pick up again towards the later part of the book, and the ending is interesting as well.

I hope to read more of her books shortly.


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Review: Life After MH370: Journeying Through a Void

Life After MH370: Journeying Through a Void by K.S. Narendran
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After 4 years, we do not yet know what happened to Malaysian airlines flight 370. The author Narendran’s wife Chandrika was on the flight (travelling to Mongolia for a FAO conference) and this is his story of coping with and moving on with life since the day the flight disappeared. I still remember the initial hours and days – there was a sense of bewilderment and shock – how can a plane possibly disappear. Narendran recounts those early hours and days – where the heart wanted to hold on to hope. And yet as time passed, it became clear that passengers were not coming back.

Adding to the tragedy was Malaysian Airlines confused and at times insensitive handling in the immediate few hours and days. The announcement that the airline had crashed, made by the Malaysian government was both abrupt and offered no reasoning on why they believed that to be the case. With the large majority of the passengers being Chinese and Malaysian, at least initially, there was support and interest among those nations. That was not quite the case in India, as there were only 5 Indian passengers on the flight, and the government was nearly the end of its term and battling other issues. Narendran gives credit to the support received from the Indian consulate in Malaysia. After a period of sustained search by Australia, the interest slowly ebbed. Inmarsat data was the basis for the entire search effort, raising the question on whether it was right to trust it as the sole source.

Narendran takes us into his personal life and innermost thoughts as he describes the struggle he and his daughter Meghna have faced to come to terms with the tragedy and move on. Questions on what actually happened continue to torment the families who are impacted, who serve as as source of support for each other. It is as if life had slowed down and it was an effort to bring focus and interest in anything (such as the holiday home in the hills they had planned to build). And yet, as he discovers, acceptance cannot be conditional on finding the plane and understanding the sequence of events. There should be lessons drawn for aviation safety and passenger communication, but it does seem to have happened.

This is an extremely sensitive, intensely reflective and well written account of what life has been for Narendran, his family and all others impacted, ever since the disappearance of MH370.

Priya Kumar’s book I Will Go With You: The Flight of a Lifetime uses a scenario similar to that of Malaysian Airlines to discuss philosophical questions of life and I reviewed that at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....


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Review: The Boy

The Boy by Nrupal Das
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a short story, and I really liked the simplicity of the story. A boy has not returned home till quite late and his mother is worried. She enquires with his friends and with their not knowing his whereabouts, she gets to be frantic. She calls her husband home and very soon the entire neighbourhood is on the lookout.

This is as far as I can go without adding spoilers.

What happened to the boy? Does he return?

As I said the honesty and simplicity of the story is very attractive. The passages towards the end are nice to read as well and add depth to the story. And yet, though the story had potential, it could have gone further and added more substance to make it a read you can remember for more attributes than it's simplicity.


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Review: 03:02

03:02 by Mainak Dhar
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I picked up this book on an impulse after reading an excerpt. The story talked about almost everything coming to a standstill at 03:02 one morning. No electricity, no cars working, no mobile signal, ……

I was right with respect to the story – it was certainly interesting, and also different. Aaditya is doing well on a job and has just recently been promoted. In that sense life could not better. While growing up, being from a family where many have served the armed forces, he has a touch of fascination for it but settles for a well-paying desk job. The scenario was the result of a massive terror attack. While the main character – Aaditya, is based in Mumbai, India, this was a global attack with many nations impacted.

However, that morning changes everything. The world as people had known it has changed. A lot of the action is around Powai, Mumbai, an area I am very familiar with and it was nice to read how the places I frequent often figure in the story. Aadi motivates the local residents to resist and fight back. The local residents taking the fight to the terrorists is what this book is all about.

While the story is good, there are a number of other aspects of the book which are not quite appealing. A lot of the scenarios are far fetched and many of the characters acquire and display amazing tactical and fighting skills all of a sudden. So much so that the armed forces at a later stage look to Aadi and team for advice. There are a number of incidents which come across as being deliberately introduced for political correctness. A movie was a better format for this narrative. While, the fight the civilian population takes to the terrorists is appealing, there is too much of the same thing across the story.

Sadly, the narrative does not quite carry through the novelty of the story. And yet, for it’s different story, it is worth taking a look at.

My rating: 3.4 / 5.

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Review: Ghachar Ghochar

Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While I had heard of Ghachar Ghochar quite some time back, I got around to reading it only now. As I had expected, I had a good time reading it.

The narrator of the story is unnamed – he lives in a joint family with his uncle, father, mother, elder sister Malati and wife Anita. The cultural setting is distinctly (South) Indian. This is a family which has come into riches from difficult times. The father loses his job. At this time, the uncle starts a spice trading enterprise called ‘Sona Masala’. This does well, and the family gradually grows to be rich. The changing fortunes bring about a change in attitudes and behaviours.

The author is a director in the firm but is not much of a contributor to it. There are sequences when he thinks about his past friendship with Chitra who vociferously champions for women’s rights. Both of them move on, and the narrator marries Anita. Anita is assertive and direct and has her own expectations from her husband. This places her in conflict with the family on and off. The narrator takes refuge many a times at a coffee shop, where he grows close to and respects the waiter there (Vincent).

There are many problems which crop up, including a bad episode involving someone who comes in search of the narrator’s uncle. A lot of things can be worked out with the money they now have, and yet not all. Many problems linger and take a toll.

The cultural setting is very realistic and one would say – even typical. The buildup of the characters is very quick, and yet detailed enough to understand their attitude and motivation. The translation is excellent as well.

“Ghachar Ghochar” is a cooked-up phrase which Anita tells the narrator as part of a story. A close meaning for this would be “messy” – based on how the characters use it.

Ghachar Ghochar understates a lot of things, and that in fact is one of it’s charms. However, when I reached the end of the book, I felt it left too many things unsaid, leaving too wide an area for speculation. Just maybe, it could have continued its charming narrative at least a little further…..


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