Review: Line of Control

Line of Control by Mainak Dhar
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the second book of Mainak Dhar that I have read, after 03:02. As with 03:02, this has a captivating story as well.

A despot in the middle east eggs on the Pakistani ruler to take some bold steps against India. An assassination attempt of India's Prime Minister and terror attacks at multiple places happen, setting the stage for a communal flareup. This is followed by a large scale influx of terrorists into Kashmir backed by the Pakistan army with an intent to capture and hold territory. Very soon, the conflict widens with the threat of nuclear weapons lurking in the background.

The story is sadly fairly plausible, bringing out the dangers of Pakistan pursuing support to terror groups as a state policy. The pace is very good and the book is engrossing. The drawback though is that a lot of space is devoted to elaborate descriptions of warfare, with very minimal character building.


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Review: Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life

Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Hector Garcia Puigcerver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book has a lot of things going for it - it is concise, packages best known & appreciated theories on a long life & happiness and provides examples from Japan on a fulfilling life.

Ikigai is the Japanese concept of a purposeful life where what you love, are good at intersects with what the world really needs and is willing to pay for making it a winning combination which you as an individual enjoy pursuing. The authors start with Logotherapy pioneered by Victor Frankl, who after a painful period of internment at a Nazi concentration camp, outlines this concept of finding purpose to life. In contrast to traditional psychotherapy which is concerned with finding a problem, Logotherapy offers a positive outlook.

The book later explores the concept of Ikigai with a narrative on how the longest living communities in Japan spend their lives. There is a common pattern among those who live long - they mostly eat plant based food, have strong community bonds, are physically very active (primarily with light exercises like walking) and pursue hobbies or careers they are passionate about. Most of them do not have a concept of retirement and continue these practices well into old age. There is material devoted to yoga, meditation, and other practices which help strengthen the mind and lend balance to life.

This is a book which summarizes important very well. Only, I did not find too much new information except for the descriptions and voices of a new communities in Japan.

A recommended read for the importance of the subject it covers.


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Review: The Gene: An Intimate History

The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

‘The Gene’ is a very informative book, and a book I believe which everyone should read, as it packs vital information on what we really are. That said, this is a big book, and is very dense in several sections.

Siddhartha Mukherjee traces the history of how we have gained better understanding of our genes since over a century. He starts with his family, many of his relatives on his father’s side suffering from mental illnesses. This is interspersed with some random musings on the impact of the partition of the country, which is largely incomplete, assuming the idea was to link it to mental health. The various experiments done by a variety of people (starting significantly with Mendel) allowing us to understand our genome & genes gradually makes for engrossing reading.

The ‘nature’ vs ‘nurture’ debate expectedly finds coverage and it was interesting to read how it is actually one reinforcing the other rather than a binary or a sum. The ethical considerations and some failed genetic treatment experiments insert a sobering caution, though the progress made has been stupendous.

The narrative could have flowed more easily - enhancing readability (also some random & sketchy non-subject references do not add much), and a possibly wider coverage of genes could have been included (the coverage is very much oriented towards disease causing genes).
This is a book of great value and certainly recommended reading!

My rating: 4.25 / 5.


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Review: Raise Your Innovation IQ: 21 Ways to Think Differently During Times of Change

Raise Your Innovation IQ: 21 Ways to Think Differently During Times of Change by Leena Patel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In the current economy, there is a race to innovate and it is not easy. Higher levels of productivity with current business models have been reached, and innovation is more important than ever.

Considering that, this book has the right imperatives and coverage. It covers the multi-faceted nature, behaviours and practices which people need to imbibe today to fuel innovation, with some fairly good examples. However, if you have been in the work environment for a few years there is not much new material. As a result, in a competitive environment, this content and the examples are still somewhat short.

This is a still decent book to read as the principles are all sound.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a free electronic copy of the book in order to provide a review.


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Review: Recursion

Recursion by Blake Crouch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After reading ‘Dark Matter’ last year, I was looking forward to reading ‘Recursion’. Quite clearly this was a much-awaited book, judging by all the reviews.

‘Recursion’ lives up to the expectations – a great & unique story built atop non-contradictory & even plausible time science. It sets a rollicking pace right from the start and keeps up the tempo right till the end. I read ‘The Order of Time’ by Carlo Rovelli a few months back, and that helped me appreciate the science behind the story better. I would certainly recommend reading that to get a more in-depth appreciation of the science in ‘Recursion’.

NYPD detective Barry Sutton receives a distress call and finds Ann Peters Voss set to jump off a building to end her life. She is plagued by False Memory Syndrome (FMS), a strange affliction which creates false memories of events which could not have happened and are torturous. The number of people afflicted seems to be growing, and the reasons are unclear. Barry is also coming to terms with a difficult personal life, being separated from his wife after their daughter passes away in a tragic accident. Helena Smith is a neuroscientist who has made remarkable progress in understanding memory, her mother being afflicted with dementia makes this a personal quest. Both Barry & Helena, in their own way, understand that there is more to FMS than meets the eye and they may have to intervene to avoid a human catastrophe.

The story is engrossing right from the start. Other than credible science, it is interspersed with important philosophical questions introduced in a subtle way as part of the narrative. I think there is just a little too much recursion towards the later parts of the book, but hey – maybe this story required it, and it does end nicely.

As it is, modern lifestyles deprive us of adequate sleep, and books like ‘Recursion’ don’t help! 😊.

If you liked ‘Dark Matter’, you will certainly enjoy this as well. As for me, I need to read all of Blake Crouch’s books!


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Review: Single

Single by K.L. Slater
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Darcy is looking to move on with life. Her two kids are at school, and her in-laws & sister in law are a source of support, though also a little intrusive. One day, Darcy’s son has a bad asthmatic attack and George, a good-looking doctor saves his life. Darcy very quickly finds herself getting to be close to George. There are, however, complications in both their lives as strains from their past relationships casts shadows.

Darcy has a feeling that someone is watching her and the boys all the time. During a holiday, a strange figure approaches her son. Very soon, she senses she and her boys may be in danger and she has to uncover the people involved and their motives.

Single is a fast-moving book. It teases you by leaving small incidents and clues, prompting you to speculate on what could come next.

A good suspense novel, which is fast paced.


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Review: Those Pricey Thakur Girls

Those Pricey Thakur Girls by Anuja Chauhan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read ‘The Zoya Factor’ sometime back and this week in pretty much the same writing style. It has a distinct Indian language construct and humour.

The book gets off to a bit of difficult start with a whole lot of characters introduced abruptly. The story centres around Debjani, who is one of five sisters and Dylan Singh Shekhawat. While Debjani is just making her career as a newsreader on DD, Dylan is a journalist. Their relationship shuffles between love and hate several times. Dylan is pursuing the untold story behind the riots in 1984 and makes many powerful enemies. The effort to club a serious track within this book however, does not quite come across as natural though. Debjani’s sisters have stories of their own adding to complications.

The story has its good moments – it is a light and easy read for the most part. And yet, it could have been more satisfying had the characters had more depth.


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