Monday 29 October 2012

A TWIST IN THE TALE by Jeffrey Archer, Book Review


A Twist in the TaleA Twist in the Tale by Jeffrey Archer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A twist in the tale.. too apt for the 12 stories in the book...

Very intriguing.. The suspense of the twist at the end of each story keeps you reading..

Very well written...

Above all, Archer's language is what interests me more than anything.. his selection and usage of simple words.. the way he describe things, simply... he is the best at it..

Twist at its limit...

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Thursday 25 October 2012

LOVE, LIFE AND LUST by Pritesh Bhosale, Book Review


Love, Life And LustLove, Life And Lust by Pritesh Bhosale
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I am in a big dilemma whether to give a 2 or a 3 star rating.

First of all, I want to thrash the author. Seriously. He is such a ****. My three year old nephew speaks the better English than him!

On the very first page - acknowledgement page (i never read this page,by the way) - I was turning the page but stopped when I noticed this word. I guess not even Jesus Christ - or someone, who found the English language - will ever find out the meaning of that word, 'off course'. I ignored as a mere typing mistake. But then, it started and didnt end. There were on a average of 3 mistakes a line till the last page.

I was so outraged that I was ready to shoot the author down, for wasting my bucks.

It was hell trying to complete this book. (And ya, I have this irritating habit of not giving up books in the middle).

In some ways this book reminded me of my childhood days. When I in my second standard, we, everyone in my school, used to mistake bought and brought. The same mistake was repeated throughout the book.

I still wonder, how people like this make into publishing their book. Personally, I aspire to be a write and even send the proposals to many publishers. There isnt a reply till now. I was depressed. My book cant be any worse than this.

And I still wonder, what the editorial staff of the publishers were doing. Come on, editors edit the manuscript before publishing it right?

But at the end, the story seemed good. Maybe it is the narration which ruined everyone. I live it for you people to decide whether to read it or not...

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Wednesday 24 October 2012

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Mark Haddon, Book Review


The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-TimeThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is unlike anything I have read, so far...

It had won many awards like WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR, GUARDIAN CHILDREN'S FICTION PRIZE, BOOK TRUST TEENAGE FICTION AWARD, etc. But the 'children' part troubled me a bit. I was not going to read a children's book. But there something, perhaps the name of the books, which provoked me to read it. So I started it and it was very hard to put the book down...

At first, this book gives the impression of a mystery story. But it is anything but mystery novel.

The novel doesn't follows a particular flow. The story is random and there is nothing particular to point out from the whole story, except for it is very informative. I mean to say it contains a lot of knowledge. The kid in the story is very weird, but the story is very interesting...

Dont mistake it to be a children's book. Entertains everyone, of every age group, equally...

Weird and interesting, at the same time...

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Tuesday 23 October 2012

THREE MEN IN A BOAT by Jerome K. Jerome, Book Review


Three Men in a BoatThree Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Extremely humourous...

Like the name of the book suggests - three men in a boat (to say nothing of the dog) - it is the story of three men - or rather, crazy men - with a dog on a boat, in Thames. They flow along the river and there are many interest bits of fact and history of the towns along the river. The travel is only just a part of the story. The best part of the story is the recollections of the funny incident author experienced in his life...

Jerome is the most ridiculous, I've read, so far....

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AMSTERDAM by Ian McEwan, Book Review


AmsterdamAmsterdam by Ian McEwan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Picked up the immediately, when I read, 'WINNER OF THE 1998 BOOKER PRIZE,' on the cover page... Lately, I am in man bookers'..

Frankly, I didnt get most of the story.. Maybe its because of the language or maybe, its always the confusing and the books which dont make much sense win the prizes...

But there were quite a few incidents in the story, which gave me goosebumps... it is the incidents I liked in this book - as I didnt understand the story..

I dont literally mean that I didnt understand the story... I understood the story, but after completely reading it there was a question still lingering in my brain - "then what?" When I said I didnt understand the book, I meant that it didnt make much sense. At least, to me. Maybe thats the point. MAybe thats the reason it won the award.

Actually, this is not the first time with me. There were many movies - Inception, for one - which wonmany awards, but didnt make much sense to me... Critics tend to award things which doesnt make sense.. I'm convinced...

And yeah, I am still wondering what has Amsterdam do with the whole story. The last, tiny part of the story ends in Amsterdam. Thats it...

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Monday 22 October 2012

MALGUDI STORIES by R.K. Narayan, Book Review


Malgudi StoriesMalgudi Stories by R.K. Narayan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A collectiong of 10, exquistive Malgudi stories...

After reading the first story, I was left in bewidlerment. It was short and, I felt like, it ended abruptly. You know, there are no morals, no lessons, just a story with an abrupt end. That's all...

But as I read the other stories, as I got used of the no-moral, abrupt-ended stories, I started to like them. In fact, I started to love them. They are good, interesting and 'just' stories....

Read it.. Don't expect anything and you will enjoy them...

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Saturday 20 October 2012

NO DEADLINE FOR LOVE by Manasi Vaidya, Book Review


No Deadline for LoveNo Deadline for Love by Manasi Vaidya
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

No deadline for love.... No deadline for my boredom, when reading this book...

Absolute waste of time...

damn boring...

Too much about her - the lead character's - profeisson... come on, I dont give a damn for her profession... I am reading a book on some professional course..!

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Friday 19 October 2012

ONE NIGHT @ THE CALL CENTER by Chetan Bhagat, Book Review


one night @ the call centerone night @ the call center by Chetan Bhagat
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

heard very bad comments about the book. read only because of the author and his works - which I love.

And let me tell this, it is not bad.. Not bad compared to the other novels by Indian authors..

Amazingly humorous...

The description says something about God making a call and all.. But it is all bullshit.. God making the call is the least part of the story..

btw, i love how Chetan Bhagat starts in his prologue...

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Thursday 18 October 2012

SIDDHARTHA by Hermann Hesse, Book Review


SiddharthaSiddhartha by Hermann Hesse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thought the book is about Buddha. But I was totally wrong.

It was the story of a boy, named Siddhartha - like the title of the book - and how he reached his final goal - Nirvana...

Note: Not recommended to everyone. The book has an higher meaning and it confuses and bores you to no end, if you dont understand the basic concept of Enlightenment...

Hermann Hesse is a genius writer...

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Wednesday 17 October 2012

THE WHITE TIGER by Aravind Adiga, Book Review


The White TigerThe White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Second of my Man Booker reads... But half as entertaining as the first one (Life of Pi).

The story was mostly about a guy named Balram, who belonges to the countryside of India- the Darkness, so called in the book. How he advanced in his life from a illiterate, dirty boy to a enterprenuer in Bangalore - the Light, so called in the book, too. But then, don't mistake it to be a guide on how to become an interprenuer in India. That part of the story is the least part. Mostly, the story is giving the vivid image of India. Or maybe, corrupt India to be precise...

It might be a great thing to read about corrupt India for the foreigner. Maybe, it could be true, too. But I, as an Indian, felt a bit uneasy when reading this. Is this what the real India? No! That is what the others like to believe it to be. Maybe, I could be wrong about it, but that is the real India...

No doubt, it made to the Man Booker. Everyone wants to read the dark side of India. Everyone wanted it and the author gave it.

And then, no offence. I too enjoyed reading it....

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Tuesday 16 October 2012

THE CAVANSITE CONSPIRACY by Manjri Prabhu, Book Review


The Cavansite ConspiracyThe Cavansite Conspiracy by Manjiri Prabhu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Long time since I read a thriller...

It was wonderful experience to read a thriller by an Indian author. It was a rare. But then, the writing was great and story was awesome...

The author didn't spare any nook and corner of thrilling. The tag line - 'A thrilling story of romance, suspense and betrayal' - couldn't be more apt.

The story starts with the theft of a rare cavansite, which was believed to, literally, enlighten its owner. Then the story turns thrillings. Then, again, the story turns exceptionally romantic. And then, it turns thrilling. The nail-biting finish could sweep anyone off their feet...

Good, thrilling and interesting read...

And by the way, I noticed a word, 'expecially', somewhere in the book........... :-D

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Monday 15 October 2012

A THING BEYOND FOREVER by Novoneel Chakraborthy, Book Review


A Thing Beyond ForeverA Thing Beyond Forever by novoneel chakraborty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I still read less acclaimed novels, so that I dont miss any gem like this one...

This guy, Novoneel, is a helluva guy. He has lot of things going on his minds. This book might even astound a saint.

For the writing, there were many grammatical flaws, but they hinder me in any way, not a single time. Mainly, it is the story of a girl, named Radhika Sharma, believe that, what the caption says, "The reward for every true love is not love". The story is damn touching.

After, when I was done reading the book, I felt like taking a stroll outside. And when I did it, I had this strange feelings. I dont know the root of the feeling but I felt a foot taller, when I was walking. Yeah, that was how I felt. It might sound weird - infact, very wierd. I have no clue what that feeling signifies, but that was how I trully felt.

Note: Before you read this book, I warn you, it might have a very moving effect on you. At least, it had such effect on me. And then, I dont prescribe the same effect on you because maybe its the situation I am in made me feel that effect. But it is not an ordinary novel for ordinary readers. It is well above many things. At the end, it might dump you in more confusion. As it has more questions than answers. The questions are above the existence. More enlightening.

Refreshing read. Or rather, enlightening read...

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