Life And Times Of Michael K- J.M. Coetzee

Author: J.M.Coetzee

ISBN No.:9780099479154

No. Of Pages: 184 Pages

My Rating: 4/5

Life And Times Of Michael K is a novel by South African writer J.M. Coetzee. The book was extolled in 1983 when it bagged the title of the prestigious Man Booker Prize. Another Jewel was brought to the book when Coetzee was awarded The Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003.

As the novel opens we learn about the protagonist’s (Michael k) deformity of a hare lip. His mother doesn’t allow him to play with the other boys of the society because of his aberrancy. Thus, we learn about his solitude life since childhood. In order to support his mother financially, he starts working as a Gardener. A war riot breaks out in the city and Michael decides to quit his job in order to fulfill his mother’s wish of taking her to her birth place: Prince Albert. On the way of their hard and tough journey, she dies in a hospital at Stellenbosch. She ironically dies without seeing her birthplace. Rest of the novel is all about the descriptions of the remaining journey of Michael without his mother and about all the endeavors he uses to gain supremacy over his calamitous fortune.

This is a novel which will compel you to ruminate hard about the price of human life on earth. I enjoyed reading the same as the theme on which the novel was written was entirely new for me and I always extol innovation in my reading life. I recommend it as the story will hammer you heart and will let you conceptualize the darkside of life. I rate it 4/5.

Here is the original review from the book. Hope it helps.

“In a South Africa torn by civil war, Michael K sets out to take his mother back to her rural home. On the way there she dies, leaving him alone in an anarchic world of brutal roving armies. Imprisoned, Michael is unable to bear confinement and escapes, determined to live with dignity. Life and Times of Michael K goes to the center of human experience – the need for an interior, spiritual life, for some connections to the world in which we live, and for purity of vision.”

Life Of Pi – Yann Martel

Author : Yann Martel

ISBN No : 9780857865533

No. Of Pages: 352

My Rating: 4/5

I had bought “Life Of Pi” way back in 2010 seeing that it has won the prestigious Man Booker Prize but the other books in my stock kept me swamped until I saw the movie posters of the same book which said, “One Boy, One Boat, One Tiger…” and it was that line and hype that compelled me give this book a priority.

“Life Of Pi” is a fable of a Tamil boy named ‘Pi”. His father owns a zoo in Pondicherry (India) but due to some happenstance their family decides to migrate to Canada. Many birds and animals of their zoo also travel with them on the same ship. During the voyage, a nocturnal hurricane gain supremacy over the ship and leave Pi as the only human survivor. He finds himself on a life boat with a hyena, a zebra (with one leg broken), a female Orang-utan and 450 Pound Bengal tiger named, Richard Parker. The rest of the pages of the book tells about the struggle and adventure, hunger and hope, loneliness and belief & defeat and determination. Pi, who explores the deep affairs of spirituality in his early age helps him in his exertion and endeavour.

I really loved the book as the book circumnavigates around elements like desire, belief, motivation, hope, expectation, determination, God, nature, invisible forces etc. Some people say that the ending was not good but according to my notion it was exquisite. I completed the book in 3 days. I rate it 4/5.

Some more Information about the book-The novel, which has sold over ten million copies worldwide was rejected by at least five London Publishing houses before being accepted by Knopf Canada, which published in September 2001. The UK edition won the Man Booker Prize the following year. It was also chosen for CBC Radio’s Canada Reads 2003 where it was championed by author Nancy Lee. The French translation was chosen in the French version of the contest, Le Combat Des Livres, where it was championed by Louise Forestier. The novel won 2003 the Man Booker Prize, a South African novel award. In 2004, it won the Asian/Pacific American award for literature in Best adult fiction for years 2001-2003. In 2012, it was adapted into a theatrical feature film directed by Anglee and Screen play by David Magee. (Source: Wikipedia)

Eleven Minutes – Paulo Coelho

Author: Paulo Coelho

ISBN: 9788172235635

No. Of Pages: 304 Pages

My Rating: 3.5/5

Eleven Minutes is the most contentious work by the Brazilian author Paulo Coelho. The story Circumnavigates around juvenile Brazilian girl, Maria who dwells with her parents in a remote hamlet. After a calamitous poignant episode in her life, she focuses her.

mind that she’ll never find a true mate in her life. Later in her life, she decides to explore the world and thus sojourn life in Switzerland. As a nightclub dancer she starts making earning money but ironically she starts running out of money after she gets fired from the bar. Initially told that she would be an actress she ends up is a profession of prostitution.

As a whore, she gains success. She masters her mind and body as how to gain supremacy over her clients. But one day her  success is scrutinized by a painter with whom she falls in love. He explains Maria about the taboo relationship between love and sex through various examples. Here, I specially admire Paulo Coelho who embellished the story with a statement ie. “Sex is like a glass of overflowing wine. It means that sex is just an expression of overflowing feelings of love and gratitude for  the other person. You are so full that you want to share with others and the most basic instrument for sharing these overwhelming feelings is your own body.” Another statement which I encountered while reading an interview of the author, “By accepting that sex is a physical manifestation of God, a love and that it is not a sin – its a blessing. And then by understanding that except for two things that I consider to be really sick – rape and pedophilia –  You are free to be creative. Its up to you how you do it. Sex was always surrounded by taboos, and I don’t see it necessarily as a manifestation of evil. I think sexuality is the first and foremost the way that God chooses for us to be here on earth, to enjoy this energy of love in the physical plane.” (The latter statement, you won’t find in the book as I encountered it while reading an interview of the author.)

Eleven minutes is all about taboo topics such as love, sex, prostitution and masturbation. What all I can say is that the book is an honest endeavour by the author. It is a book that will compel you to ruminate deep about these taboo cum sensitive topics. The only thing which I didn’t like was that it was over stretched, could have been some pages less but don’t worry you’ll enjoy, if you love reading.

Published in 2003 by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho the book gives many ways through which sex can be perceived. The book was originally published in Portuguese and was extolled highly by the world public. My edition had 275 pages and it took me 8 days to complete the work. I too praise it thus rate it 4/5.

I hope you enjoyed reading the recapitulation of Eleven Minutes. Moreover, below, I have also wrote the summary of the same, which was printed on the original book. Hope it helps. Take care. Lots Of love.

“Eleven Minutes tells the story of Maria, a young girl from a Brazilian village, whose first innocent brushes with love leave her heart-broken. At a tender age, she becomes convinced that she will never find true love, instead believing that ‘Love is a terrible thing that will make you suffer…’ A chance meeting in Rio takes her to Geneva, where she dreams of finding fame and fortune yet  ends up working as a prostitute. In Geneva, Maria drifts further and further away from love while at the same time developing a fascination with sex. Eventually, Maria’s despairing view of love is put to the test when she meets a handsome young painter. In the odyssey of self discovery, Maria has to choose between pursuing a path of darkness, sexual pleasure for its own sake, or risking everything to find her own “inner light” and the possibility of sacred sex, sex in context of  love. In this gripping and daring novel, Paulo Coelho sensitively explores the sacred nature of sex and love and invites us to confront our own prejudice and demons and embrace our own inner light.”

Last Man In Tower – Aravind Adiga

Author: Aravind Adiga

ISBN: 9789350295199

No. Of Pages: 419 Pages

My Rating: 3.5/5

Last Man In Tower is the second book (his first book, The White Tiger won Booker Prize in 2008) by Indian author Aravind Adiga. Vishram society consisting of two edifices; “Tower A” and “Tower B”. Tower A is narrated as an old dilapidated tower while Tower B is said occupied by professional people. The whole story circumnavigates around the protagonist, Yogesh Murthy, a retired school teacher who is commonly known as “Masterji” among the members of Tower B and Dharmen Shah, a builder. Masterji, who is described as an atheist and widower passes his days by bestowing free tuition to the children of the Vishram society.

The peace and lives of the residents of the society are tested when Dharmen Shah, a powerful and dangerous builder approaches them with his dream project. He offer to buy and vandalize a tower that will make every resident of the society rich but if all together agrees to the offer. The inception of the problem arises when some of the dwellers rejects the offer as many have lived there for a lifetime. But since the amount offered by the “Confidence Construction Group” owned by Dharmen Shah was zenith high and enough for a person to dissolve his memories for the sake of 1.5 crore, everyone agrees to the proposal of Mr. Shah except one man, the last man in tower; Masterji. All his friends in the society try to convince him but he shows his firmness which they fell can become dangerous and can even annihilate their future. As the day of acceptance shows proximity in the calender, Masterji increases his visit to his lawyer and even write letters to his ex- student, Noronha who works as a writer in The Times Of India but all his efforts prove futile and he achieves nothing but only squander his time, money& energy. So, here it is where I’ll leave and if you want to discover more about the story then you have to start leafing through the pages of The Last Man In Tower.

I enjoyed reading this book as it is written well and describes how man changes his mind when money comes in the scenario. How materialistic things gain more supremacy when money starts generating illusions. How relationships are ruined when money starts playing its pejorative role. This book is all bout Mumbai, Real State, Money and the darker side of mankind. I hope the review was fine but still, below I am posting the original recapitulation which the original paper back book has got. Here it is:

“Twenty-first-century Mumbai is a city of new money and soaring real estate, and property kingpin Dharmen Shah has grand plans for its future. His offer to buy and tear down a weathered tower block, making way for luxury apartments, will make each of its residents rich if all agree to sell. But not everyone wants to leave; many of the residents have lived there for a lifetime, many of them are no longer young. As tensions rise among the once civil neighbours, one by one those who oppose the offer give way to the majority, until only one man stands in Shahs way: Masterji, a retired schoolteacher, once the most respected man in the building. Shah is a dangerous man to refuse, but as the demolition deadline looms, Masterji’s neighbours friends who have become enemies, acquaintances turned conspirators may stop at nothing to score their payday…”

Heat And Dust – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Author: Ruth Prawer Jhabwala

ISBN No.: 9780349000138

No. Of Pages: 181 Pages.

My Rating: 4/5.

Heat and Dust is one of the best attempts of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala at English Literature. The content of the story is very limited but compellingly, two stories shows parallelism in the entire book. The story’s inception is when Olivia, newly married to Douglas, who is describes as a civil servant abscond England for India in 1923. Olivia there comes in contact with the Nawab at a dinner party and later she elopes with the Indian Prince ie. Nawab. Douglas gets married to Tessie and they become the grandparents of the first-person narrator in the story. Fifty years later, the narrator decides to land India to solve the puzzlement of Oliva’s elopement. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala wrote two stories simultaneously with splendid akiness between them though the time of both stories are different.

Rest of the book is fine and yes, I won’t expose the thrill by writing more. All I’ll do is provide you some more detail of the book so you can develop an inclination towards it. The summary of the story which the original book has: “to a civil servant, outrages society in the tiny, suffocating town of Satipur by eloping with an Indian Prince. Fifty years later, her step granddaughter goes back to the heat, the dust and the squalor of the bazaars to solve the enigma of Olivia’s scandal.”

Promulgated in 1975, the book won the prestigious Man Booker Prize in the very same year. The story in so intriguing that a drama film has been made with the screen play by the author herself. I completed the book in two days and both the story and narration is the Jewel of this book. Later, I came to know that the author is the only person in the world who has won an oscar and a Booker Prize. So, what an intellectual personality she was. I don’t think anybody reading this would like to dodge reading Heat and dust.

The Sense Of An Ending- Julian Barnes

Author : Julian Barnes

ISBN : 9780099570332

No. Of Pages: 150 Pages

My Rating: 4/5

The Sense Of An Ending is a 2011 fictitious work by British author Julian Barnes. The book, though very short is divided into two parts; entitled “One” & ‘Two”. The first part tells the story of four friends; Tony Webster, Alex, Colin which are later joined by Adrian. The first part is basically a re assemblage of the narrator, Tony Webster’s adolescence and college life. Adrian Finch is described more inclined and intelligent towards life, expected to win a scholarship and attain stability. The first part also informs us about Adrian love life with a girl named Veronica who was his (Tony) girlfriend when he was in college. The second part begins 40 years later when Tony receives a letter from Veronica’s mother’s lawyer. It informs Tony about Finch’s diary who committed suicide while he was in a relationship with his exgirlfriend Veronica.

After reading The Sense Of An Ending, I kept ruminating hard about the whole story and it really impressed me to the core. I felt like I need to share what treasure I have read. So, I posted a status on facebook which I would like to share here too. So here it is:

“Many books are good, some are appreciable but only few books are pulchritudinously sublime, and The Sense Of An Ending is among those exiguous works. The book won The Man Booker Prize in 2011 and is authored by Julian Barnes.
Here are some quotes from the book:

1. History is certainly produced at a point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation.

2. The thing Literature was all about: love, sex, morality, friendship, happiness, suffering, betrayal, adultery, good and evil, heroes and villains, guilt and innocence, ambition, power, justice, revolution, war, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, the individual against society, success and failure, murder, suicide, death, God. And barn owls. Of course there were other source of Literature; theoretical, self referential, lachrymosely autobiographical but they were just dry wanks. Real Literature was all about psychological, emotional and social truth as demonstrated by the actions and reflections of its protagonists.

3. We live in time, it holds us and moulds us but I have never felt I understood it very well.

4. What you end up remembering isn’t always the same as what you have witnessed.

5. Life will teach you reality and realism.

6. Marriage is long dull meal with pudding served first.

7. There was, apparently, some secret masculine code, handed down from suave twenty year old to tremulous eighteen year old.

8. Same old story,same old oscillation between tyranny and rebellion, war and peace, prosperity and impoverishment.

9. Is there anything more plausible than a second hand? And yet it takes only the smallest pleasure or pain to teach us time’s malleability”

“The narration of the story is the Jewel of the book”, is what all I can say and conclude about this splendid work.

I hope you enjoyed reading the recapitulation of The Sense Of An Ending. Moreover, below, I have also wrote the summary of the same, which was printed on the original book. Hope it helps. Take care. Lots Of love. Harshit Chauhan.

“Tony Webster and his clique first met Adrian Finn at school. Sex-hungry and book-hungry, they would navigate the girl-less sixth form together, trading in affectations, in-jokes, rumor and wit. Maybe Adrian was a little more serious than the others, certainly more intelligent, but they all swore to stay friends for life. Now Tony is in middle age. He’s had a career and a single marriage, a calm divorce. He’s certainly never tried to hurt anybody. Memory, though, is imperfect. It can always throw up surprises, as a lawyer’s letter is about to prove.”

Chronicle Of A Death Foretold – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Author: Gabriel Garcia Marquez

ISBN No. 9780140157543

No. of Pages: 122 Pages

My Rating: 4/5

In a very jolly stance Santiago Nasar leaves his bed 5:30 in the morning to greet the boat in which the bishop was about to arrive. Santiago, in order to control is headache approaches Placide Linero, his mother, to get an aspirin. Santiago who was killed on the very same day, is the only child of Ibrahim Nasar and Placide Linero. After Ibrahim’s death Santiago abandoned his studies to take over the inheritance profit in form of a Ranch. Victoria Guzman, the cook and her daughter, Divana Flor were at their relevance in their house as servants. Both of them had heard the rumours about his death but were not certain and for the very same reason they did not made the indispensable conversation rolling and moreover no one glimpsed the message in the form of an envelope under the door informing Santiago about his coming death. Santiago leaves the house when he hears the voice of a the bishop’s steamboat.

Two men or brothers, Pedro Vicario and Pablo Vicario, wearing their dark wedding suits with knives wrapped in newspaper are waiting at the local milk shop to kill Santiago Nasar. The crowd assembles and wait for the bishop with amassed roosters and firewood to give to Father Carmen Amador but he does not get off the boat and passes away standing on the deck of the boat. The narrtor’s sister, Margot invite Santiago to her house for breakfast and after accepting the invitation he prefers to go home first to change his outfit. Everone ruminates that Nasar is aware about the deadly warning and thus does not discuss it elaborately with each other and ironically with Santiago. Margot discovers the incident about the first wedding night of Angela Vicario and Bayardo San Roman and when she reaches her home she narrates the same to her mother and Luisa, her mother promptly makes a verdict to inform Placida but someone running by update her that he has already been killed.

Since Gabriel Garsia Marquez has embellished the story in non linear form, the second chapter of the book starts with the narration of 30 years old  Bayardo San Roman who appears in the story in the month of August to marry a girl and eventually finds Angela Vicario six months before their marriage and Santiago’s death. He starts to establish a good rapport with the Vicario family and specially with his desired spouse but Angela Vicario who is the youngest and prettiest member of Vicario family does not show any interest in him and their engagement lasts for only four months. Bayardo asks Angela what house she likes best, and she replies that she liked the farmhouse belonging to the widower Xius. The widower initially does not show any interest in the agreement but Bayardo keeps offering more and more money until Xius gives up. They get married and on the very first night of their wedding Bayardo discovers that his wife in no virgin and this gives a traumatic shock to him. He takes her spouse to Pura Vicario at eleven o’clock in the night to Pura Vicario and she beats her without any mercy to know the violator whom she names Santiago Nasar. The two Vicario brothers takes a prompt verdict to kill Nasar and leaves the house in their dark wedding suits itself.

The two brothers with two knives wrapped in newspaper goes to Clothilde Armenta’s milk shop, which was near Santiago’s house, to wait for him to come out. In the meat market, Faustino Santos, a butcher talks to them about the wedding and there Pablo proclaims that they are going to kill Santiago Nasar but since of their good image no one pays any  meticulous attention to them and considers it as the alcohol effect on the Vicario brothers. A police officer casually comes to the butcher’s shop after they depart and he then narrates the conversation to the officer. Bad destiny prevails for Santiago and he goes to sleep before the bishop arrives while everyone goes to fetch breakfast for them.

The Mayor orders Father Carmen Amador to perform the autopsy on Santiago since Doctor Dionisio Iguaran is absent and they do it at the public school with the bid of a druggist and a medical student. After anatomizing the dead body, Vicario brothers are placed behind bars and Pablo Vicario gets into a serious case. And thus, the complete Vicario family migrates the hamlet, they wrap the face of their youngest daughter so that the scars of beating on her skin does not become a sensation in the town. The Vicario brothers are to a prison in Riohacha. After three years, Pablo Vicario is released out of jail and gets married to Prudencia Cotes. Life do justice to him and he later becomes a goldsmith after learning the metal work while the other brother goes back to the armed force. The narrator’s family goes to Guarija to meet Angela where she died as an embroiderer. The narrator ask Angela about Santiago Nasar and is astonished that the whole town remained unaware of their love affair. Angela wrote to Bayardo a weekly letter for seventeen years and one day he arrives with a suitcase filled with all her love of letters that she had send to him. They were all sealed and unopened 😦   The mayor goes to check Bayardo San Roman a week after the murder and finds him lying in his bed in an unconscious state with liquor smell all around. Petronio San Roman with his wife later takes Bayardo in a boat. The narrator learns that Angela after she was carried to the new home starts loving Bayardo and also reveals that she was crying for him when her mother thrashed her and not because of any physical pain.

In the last and fifth chapter of the book, chronicle of a death foretold, twelve days after Santiago’s death, the investigating magistrate arrives and he remains astonished that there is not a clue that Santiago Nasar has taken Angela Vicario’s virginity. Angela herself never specified how and where but said that he was the violator. In the last chapter you’ll encounter many twist and turns of this non linear book. Santiago, finally get the news of his future killing by Nahir Miguel, father of his fiancée (Flora Miguel) but he fails to comprehend it and said, “I don’t understand a god-damned thing”.

Chronicle of a death foretold was first published in Spanish in 1981 and after two years it was translated in English language. The story was good but the way of writing the story amazed me more. The book is written in non linear form, you may find it difficult to comprehend the story initially but concentration is the key, I feel. I did not encountered with the problem of non linearity as I have already read such books, for example, The God Of Small Things, Heat And Dust etc. One more notable feature of the book was the number of pages, only 122 pages and thus, I completed it in eight hours.

The Valkyries – Paulo Coelho

Author: Paulo Coelho

ISBN No.: 9788172235406

No. Of Pages: 245 Pages

My Rating: 2.5/5

After reading The Alchemist and Eleven Minutes I developed an inclination towards Paulo Coelho’s cognitive speculation. The novel is very incommensurable from his other works. Paulo Coelho has himself revealed his utterance in the Author’s note at the cessation of the book: “Anyone who has read The Valkyries, will know that this book is very different from The Pilgrimage, The Alchemist and Brida”. And yes, Indeed it is indubitable.
The story mark the inception in 1988  when Paulo Coelho’s Master, J., gives him a task to “break the curse” by speaking with his angles. To triumph the mission he with his wife, Christina begin their journey of self discovery in the dangerous Mojave desert. The whole novel revolves in the vicinity of searching the networks of interacting with the Angles. Before making up my mind to read this one, I anatomized the recapitulations and the eye catching word, “Angles” caught my attention. Finally I placed the order of The Valkyries to fulfill my contentment.
The book started well but later I relinquished comprehending the central point of the story. It said that “Why do we destroy the things we love the most”. It became a dragging kind of thing for me to maintain my lingerness in the book. I was clueless, I had no notion, I could not generate the hypothesis about the author and his spouse’s sojourn in the vast desert. Still I kept my enthusiasm high and made the termination of the book in greed that I may encounter something stimulating the could increase the synaptic transmission in my brain.
But Yes, the thing which I consider worth extolling in the book is the magical lines and quotes akin to the quotes in The Alchemist and Eleven Minutes. Some of them are:

1. Angles remove the seals placed on prohibited books, and they sound the trumpets on the day of the Final Judgement. They bring light, as Michael did, or darkness, as Lucifer did.

2. We begin to create a kind of film in which we are the main character, and we are certain that someone is observing our actions . But then, as we grow older, we begin to think that such things are ridiculous. We think of it as having been just a child fantasy of being a movie actor. We forget that, at those moments in which we are presenting ourselves before an invisible audience, the sensation of being observed was very strong.

3. In order to penetrate the invisible world and develop your powers, you have to live in the present, the here and now. In order to live in the present, you have to control your second mind. And look at the horizon.

4. Human being my forget their origin, but nature, never.

5. I want to tell you a story my father told me, he said. A master and his disciple were walking together in the desert. The master was teaching his charge that he could always trust in God, since he was aware of everything. Night fell and they decided to pitch camp. The master raised the tent, and the disciple was given the assignment of tethering the horses to a rock. But, as he stood by the rock, he thought to himself: The master is testing me. He said that God is aware of everything, and then asked me to tie up the horse. He wants to see whether or not I believe in God. Instead of tethering the animals, he said a long prayer, and left the fate of the horse in God’s hands. Next day when they awoke, the horses were gone. Disappointed, the disciple complained to the master, saying that he no longer believed in him, since God had not taken care of everything, and had forgotten to watch over the horses. You are wrong, the master answered. God wanted to take care of the horses, But in order to do so, he needed to make use  of your hands to tether them to the stone.

6. That’s what infatuation is: the creation of an image of someone, with out advising that someone as to what the image is.

7. Don’t fight your thoughts. They are stronger than you are, Paulo said for the thousandth time. If you want to rid yourself from them , accept them. Think about what they want you to think about until they grow old.

8. Men had risked their lives in war for Gold and women.

9. Someone once said that the Earth produces enough to satisfy needs, but not enough to satisfy greed.

10. The desert had its laws, and killed those who did not respect them

11. Faith is a difficult conquest, and it requires daily combat in order to be maintained.

12. Channeling has generally been considered a superficial practice. Nothing of the kind! Since the beginning of the humanity, people have know that, if they wanted to enter into contact with God, they had to make room in their soul. They had to allow their spiritual energy to manifest itself, and to create a bridge between the visible and the invisible. How can one create such a bridge? Various mystical processes address the importance of “not being”. Relax, allow the mind to become empty, and surprise yourself with the great treasure that begins to follow from your soul. The word inspirations means exactly that: the bringing in of air, allowing oneself to drink from an unknown source. Channeling required no loss of awareness during the contacts with the spirits; it was a more natural process for a person to use in order to plunge into the unknown. It allowed for contact with the Holy Spirit, with the soul of the world, with the enlightened masters. No ritual was needed, no incorporation, nothing. Every human being knew, subconsciously, that there was a bridge available to the invisible, a bridge one could cross without fear.

Before terminating, I would like to present the summary which the original book have:

This is a modern-day adventure story featuring Paulo’s supernatural encounter with angels – who appear as warrior women and travel through the Mojave desert on their motorbikes. Haunted by a devastating curse, Paulo is instructed by his mysterious spiritual master to embark upon a journey – to find and speak to his guardian angel in an attempt to confront and overcome his dark past. The Valkyries is a compelling account of this forty day quest into the searing heat of the Mojave Desert, where Paulo and his wife, Chris, encounter the Valkyries – warrior women who travel the desert on motorcycles, spreading the word of angels. This exotic spiritual odyssey is a rare combination of truth, myth, imagination and inspiration. Ultimately it is a story about being able to forgive our past and believe in our future.

The Man Eater Of Malgudi- R.K. Narayan

Author: R.K. Narayan

No. Of Pages: 216 Pages

ISBN: 9780143414964

No. Of Pages: 240 Pages

The Man-Eater Of Malgudi is a story of a South Indian printer baptized Nataraj, who dwells in his ancestral house; in the fictitious hamlet, Malgudi. He enjoys his living with his bosom friend circle, such as a poet, a journalist and his employee, Shastri. Their lives are provoked by the astound and deliberate entry of an authoritarian taxidermist. They feel that their solitude and seclusion are sabotaged when Vasu, the taxidermist starts living with them by renting a roof on attic. And thus this give birth to a great story and many hilarious anecdotes.

The Man Eater Of Malgudi with 240 pages was published in 1961. I love reading R.K.Narayan’s efforts. Hilarity is maintained all along the book and the same will compel you leafing. But if someone ask me to vote for R.K. Narayan’s best two books, I’ll vote in favour of “The Bachelor Of Arts” and “Swami And Friends“. If you want to read Narayan, I’ll ask you to read these two books first. I rate it 3/5.

I hope you enjoyed reading the recapitulation of  the book. Moreover, below, I have also wrote the summary of “The Man Eater Of Malgudi”, which was printed on the original book. Hope it helps too. Take care. Lots Of love.

“This is a story of Nataraj, who earns his living as a printer in he enchanted world of Malgudi, that slumbering Sothern Indian Village whose peace has been so often amusingly and outrageously disturbed by Narayan. Nataraj and his close friends, a poet and a journalist, find their congenial days disturbed when Vasu, a powerful taxidermist; moves in with his stuffed hyenas and pythons, and brings his dancing women up the printer’s private stairs. When Vasu, in search of lager game, threatens the life of a temple elephant that Nataraj has befriended, complications ensue that are both comic and calamitous. A not unwelcome death occurs; murder is suspected and Nataraj and his friends point guilty fingers at each other and those around them. The suspense never slackens in the bizarre. yet moving tale”

A Tiger For Malgudi – R.K Narayan

Author: R.K Narayan

ISBN No: 9788185986111

No. Of Pages: 176 Pages

My Rating: 3/5

“A Tiger for Malgudi”, is a story of a tiger who dwells in a wild jungle of South India. One day he discovers that hunters have killed his entire family and in order to take revenge he attacks the goats and livestock of the nearby hamlet but ironically he gets captured by a circus owner. The trainer, known as “Captian” in the book teaches him tricks to impress general public. The Captain starves him and forces him do learn the tricks. But one day his anger gain supremacy over his hunger and he eventually kills the Captain. Later a drastic change take place in him and he passes the rest of his life with a monk guru.

The story was good but is was the narration by R.K Narayan that I admire the most. What all I can conclude is that the book is good but if you are reading R.K. Narayan for the first time then I”ll suggest you to read “Swami and Friends” or “The Bachelor Of Arts” or “Malgudi Days” as I think them far better than this one. Over all the book is good, I recommend and rate it 3/5.

Malgudi Days- R.K Narayan

Author: R.K. NARAYAN

ISBN: 9788185986173

No. Of Pages: 246

My Rating: 4/5

The efforts in the field of Indian English Literature by R.K. Narayan are always extolled by the humanity. Before reading Malgudi Days, I was well perceptive about its acclaimed conspicuousness and influential narrations. I remember, well, in no particular order, many people around me use to talk about the same book,including my mother. So, this book was always in my psyche that one day I’ll surely encounter with. I was glad when I started leafing it. Malgudi days is all about assortment of short stories of different types. You will find every story unique and entertaining. There were in total 32 short stories. “The Axe”, “The Missing Mail” and “Ishwaran” were the three stories I loved the most.

In crux, Malgudi days (246 Pages) is the most iconic work by R.K. Narayan. Some stories will give you a glimpse of post India Independence. I recommend it and rate it 4/5. As it is not possible to give the recapitulations of all short stories, I would like to at least empower you and my blog with the titles of each short stories.

FROM ASTROLOGER’S DAY

1. An Astrologer’s Day

2. The Missing Mail

3. The Doctor’s Word

4. Gateman’s Gift

5. The Blind Dog

6. Fellow Felling

7. The Tiger’s Claw

8. Ishwaran

9. Such Perfection

10. Father’s Help

11. The Snake Song

12. Engine Trouble

13. Forty Five A Month

14. Out Of Business

15. Attila

16. The Axe

FROM LAWLEY ROAD

17. Lawley Road

18. Trail Of The Green Blazer

19. The Martyr’s Corner

20. Wife’s Holiday

21. A Shadow

22. A Willing Slave

23. Leela’s Friend

24. Mother And Son

NEW STORIES

25. Naga

26. Selvi

27. Second Opinion

28. Cat Within

29. The Edge

30. God And The Cobbler

31. Hungry Child

32. Emden

Malgudi Schooldays- R.K. Narayan

Author: R.K. Narayan

ISBN No. : 9780143330981

No. Of Pages: 264 Pages

My Rating: 4.5/5

Malgudi school days is a story of Swami, his friend Rajam and Mani. The book is full of amazing anecdotes of Swami and his friends. The biggest anecdote of the book is the formation of M.C.C (Malgudi Cricket Club). Rajam come to Swaminathan’s home to grandly announce the axiom of M.C.C. (the Malgudi Cricket Club) and ask favour from him and when he see Swami’s bowling attack he consider him the big enchilada and his team members baptize him “Tait”, the paramount cardinal fast bowler of M.C.C. Rajam, Mani and their team members accredit a lot of time, patience, sweat and money in raising the M.C.C so that they take the chequered flag. But Swami, due to his school timings is not able to attend everyday’s dose of practice and for this reason Rajam remain on pins and needles. Rajam increases his insist for his indispensable presence and after many damp squibs he bunks the school which ironically marks the end of his school life, he gets banished from his second and the only last school in Malgudi. Fearing of his punctilious father he absconds in the vast jungle of Malgudi. And on the day of the match, M.C.C keenly feel the paucity of their Tait, the whole enchilada goes opposite to Rajam’s desire and they loose the match to Y.M.U (other cricket team). Rajam, completely traumatic circumvent Swami when he returns. But in the last chapter of the book, they patch up with Mani’s endeavour 🙂

Malgudi School Days is nothing but only the abridged version of R.K. Narayan’s Swami and Friends. You can read any one you wish to. It can also be said that only title of the two books are different, story is same. I had already read Swami and Friends before reading Malgudi School Days. So, I was little disappointed when I found the akiness. But believe me, the story is that much amazing that you can surely read it again as I did. But if you want me to be precise then, I’ll advise you to read Swami and Friends. I recommend and rate it 4.5/5.

Swami And Friends- R.K. Narayan

Author: R.K Narayan

ISBN: 9788185986005

No. Of Pages: 184 Pages

My Rating: 5/5

Swami and Friends is a story of a ten year old lad, Swaminathan or Swami, who plays the protagonist in the novel. He dwells in Malgudi, a small fictitious town in South India with his adoring mother, punctilious father and adulating grandmother and a new born minuscule sibling. He receives academic wisdom in Albert Mission school, a British decreed academy. The second episode of the book,”Rajam and Mani” introduces the reader to his bosom pals who are described as antagonistic to each other. Mani is a barbarous type brusque boy, and his amity is loved by Swami. While Rajam who wears a white fur cap and resplendent tweed coat, belongs to upper class of the society as his father is a police superintendent. After their exams, in the holidays R.K Narayan has embellished the novel with some astounding stupendous anecdotes with respect to childhood of the trio.

On 15 of August 1930, two thousand residents of the town protest against the arrest of Gauri shankar, a political leader. Swami join the resistance, saying with the crowd,”Bharat Mata ki Jai, Gandhi ki Jai, Gauri Shankar ki Jai” against the British rule. Engulfed with the essence of patriotism, Swami shatters the window panes of his school but to his misfortune the Principal of the British school glimpses him and on the very next day abolish him from the academy. After his father’s scoldings, he is again admitted to the High board school which eventually isolate him from his two bosom pals.

Some weeks later, Rajam come to Swaminathan’s home to grandly announce the axiom of M.C.C. (the Malgudi Cricket Club) and ask favour from him and when he see Swami’s bowling attack he consider him the big enchilada and his team members baptize him “Tait”, the paramount cardinal fast bowler of M.C.C. Rajam, Mani and their team members accredit a lot of time, patience, sweat and money in raising the M.C.C so that they take the chequered flag. But Swami, due to his school timings is not able to attend everyday’s dose of practice and for this reason Rajam remain on pins and needles. Rajam increases his insist for his indispensable presence and after many damp squibs he bunks the school which ironically marks the end of his school life, he gets banished from his second and the only last school in Malgudi. Fearing of his punctilious father he absconds in the vast jungle of Malgudi. And on the day of the match, M.C.C keenly feel the paucity of their Tait, the whole enchilada goes opposite to Rajam’s desire and they loose the match to Y.M.U (other cricket team). Rajam, completely traumatic circumvent Swami when he returns. But in the last chapter of the book, they patch up with Mani’s endeavour 🙂

Promulgated in 1935, Swami and Friends which has 19 chapters, was Narayan’s first novel. I completely the book in seven days and as the book is authored by R.K. Narayan, vocabulary was superb and you’ll encounter with several new words and phrases. I enjoyed reading it as it helps in comprehending the psychology of a child and also made me remember my childhood.  I, also do agree with Graham Greene (Narayan’s friend) verdict,” It is a book in ten thousand” and I rate it 5/5.

The Bachelor Of Arts- R.K. Narayan

 

Author: R.K Narayan

ISBN No: 9788185986012

No. Of Pages: 166

My Rating: 4/5

The bachelor of arts written by R.K Narayan, is a story which traverse the transmutation of an adolescent psyche into manhood. The novel opens when Chandran is in final year at college pursuing B.A. Maelstrom life, half planned is before him. He maintains a very ecstatic and cinch life with his creators_ younger brother; educators; friends and acquaintances like a typical Indian boy. In the starting pages of the book, the debate of ‘whether historians have to be slaughtered first’ is fantastically presented. Convincingly, progressing into difficult situations which every student faces he gets his graduate degree, B.A (History).

After graduation- whether to continue studies or not, you must go for civil services or what you’ll do next?, these types of question arises in his life. His life takes a sharp turn when he sees the captivating smile and alluring looks of a girl (Malathi) in fleeting green colour saree on the river bank and from that day (i dare not say from that day, its the matter of love :D) i must say, from that particular moment he turns exile from Malgudi (an imaginary town in South India where Chandran dwell), family, friends and from life itself. Unaware of the ramifications, he tries to develop optical communication with her, tries to gather more information about her and constantly ponders about her at home.(If you are in love, you will comprehend it better :D). It was a herculean task for him to inform his parents about his romance. Finally, one day he summon up the determination and explain his father about his future plan of marrying Malathi. They (Chandran’s parents) try to accomplish their son’s wish but due to superstitious belief of horoscope not matching he comes to know that he is a manglik, a condition in which a manglik can only marry a manglik and if not, the non manglik will die.His susceptibilities are badly hurt when the girl’s parents refuses to make him their son -in-law. After the damp squib, he gets completely tarumatic and marriage of Malathi to some other person adds fuel to fire.

He runs to Madras where at the railway station he slips away the ambiguity from his cousin’s eyes who was there to receive him.Frustrated by the traumatic experience he embarks on a journey as a sanyasi where some rural people misunderstand him as a noble sage as he was dressed up like a typical sanyasi in apricot dhoti with a shaven head. He becomes vagabond, from hamlet to hamlet and village to village. He experience the kaleidoscopic stance of life. And after squandering about eight months, thinking about his parents and other positive factors he returns home. His parents were amazed and worried to see their son so transformed. Even after returning, images and memories of Malathi haunts him for a long time.Then he tries to pace up with life and with the sand of time getting thicker day by day gets an edge to it. He starts up with a business of  Newspaper and emerge as a successful entrepreneur. At this particular point of time in the story, Narayan has embellished the story with a wonderful incident between father and son. Afterwards, his father comes to him with a proposal of marrying another girl, Sushila. He initially refuses but later decides to see the girl and when he goes to see the girl he finally fall in love with her.

Promulgated in 1937, the 166 pages novel gives a glimpse of the period of post independence India. I completed it within 5 days, and I must tell you that if you are leafing through the pages of books written by R.K Narayan then get ready to swim in the ocean of vocabulary. I love the book as it takes and informs us about the stunning realities of life and what it takes to erase the memories of the person you loved. Moreover it also tells that love sharpens the wits of a person(especially of boys :D)extraordinarily. I rate it 4/5. The last thing which i would like to share, when I completed the book the very first thought which penetrated in my mind was, “If in three words I were to sum up everything I have learned about life,”IT GOES ON”.

How I Braved Anu Aunty and Co- Founded A Million Dollar Company- Varun Aarwal

Author: Varun Agarwal

ISBN : 9788129119797

No. Of Pages: 256 Pages.

My Rating: 0/5.

I bought the book prior corroborating the reviews and in order to luxuriate the hilarious ingredients of the author’s bid. The title on the top of the book finally inclined me to capitulate on hold of my purse strings.  But ironical to my serendipity, all my toil squandered as I stroked the inception of the book. In the initial pages of the book, the author openly proclaimed not to have much positive probability with his book and yes that was there I  got miscomprehend and finally got lapsed. Here are ten Reason as why NOT to read “How I barved Anu aunty and Co-founded A Million Dollar Company” by Varun Agarwal.

1.  I was zenithly expecting it to a inspirational story but the author has narrated himself as a highly lethargic personality who keeps on consuming liquor and abusing is high in his stance.

2. The paucity of grip which the author has over English.

3. Poor Vocabulary.

4. Every Tom, Dick and Harry has a story akin like him but that does not mean you start writing a book 🙂

5. In the story, all the gossips and confabulation between the author and his friends are superfluously wretched.

6. While leafing the pages of the book you’ll fell as if reading a 4th grade lad school book, which I ruminate, is turpitude.

7. People say , it is a motivational entrepreneurship fable but I say, If we have biographies of people like Steve Jobs than why read Varun Agarwal.

8. This book is all about squandering money, energy and precious time.

9. Wretched Story.

10. Lastly, the narration is entwining, ie. the story is highly overstretching which generates lackadaisical ambiance in the reader’s mind.

I never recommend such crap work and thus rate it 0/5.

Anything For You,Ma’am – Tushar Raheja

Author: Tushar Raheja

ISBN: 9788188575862

No. Of Pages: 230 Pages

My Rating: 0/5

Anything for you, Ma’am tells the story of Tejas Narula, an IITian (IIT Delhi) who fall in love with a girl, Shreya. And for her sake, he with his friend’s moil manage to visit her home town in Chennai by skipping the mandatory Industrial tour. The book is all about the the college life in IIT, the journey of the protagonist, Tejas from Delhi to Chennai, his mental skirmishes with Mr. Fate and lastly, the Biobull, a revolutionary bus. Interestingly, all the above proved fruitless to me 😦

“Anything for you Ma’am” , was my second misinterpretation which I committed after ‘I too had a love story.” The second worst book which I read and was totally unsatisfied. At least, I too had a love story had some sense, the paucity was in its narration but Anything for you Ma’am lacked both, the narration and story line. After completing the book, I felt that I should ask Tushar Raheja to return my money 🙂 I am not a parsimonious or a stingy guy but am only showing my peevishness. Writers akin to him give Indian writers’s fraternity an abominable name. The sentence construction was again akin to “I too had a love story” ie. pathetic. If I talk about story, I’ll only say that the book hardly made me ruminate. People say that the book is hilarious but I fail to comprehend their stance. I also witnessed that the book was over stretched, and thus insipid. People like Raheja, Ravinder Singh, Chetan Bhagat are real threats to English Literature. I would also like to share a thought which penetrated my mind when I completed the book; “ENGINEERS CANNOT WRITE GOOD BOOKS”, my psyche thought. I never applaud such imbecilic endeavor and thus rate it 0/5.

I too had A Love Story – Ravinder Singh

Author: Ravinder Singh

ISBN: 9780143418764

No. Of Pages: 206 Pages

My Rating: 0/5

‘I too had a love story” is a love tale of both, the author and protagonist, Ravinder Singh. He registers himself on a matrimonial website and after four months he receives an SMS from a girl, Khushi. He eagerly check her profile on the same matrimonial website and likes her. They try to know each other and remain in touch by talking over the phone. Their telephonic conversations get converted into love, without then having personally met each other. They then eventually greet. Their love progress and after greeting each other’s parents their relationship takes a quantum leap; they decide to get engage. But their calamitous dark fortune does not approve of their relation and Khushi encounters with a massive and severe accident in which she dies, ironically.

Why I did not appreciated, “I Too Had A Love story”.

1. What disappoints me the most is the lack of grip the author has over English Literature.

2. Poor sentences. Their construction is ridiculous as Ravinder singh is NOT a professional writer, he only presumes to be.

3. While reading the book, you’ll fell like a fifth grade child is narrating the story. A childish endeavour I’ll say.

4. Poor Vocabulary. His vocabulary is akin to a school going kid.

5. Though people, including the author say, “It is a true love tale” but while reading the book I didn’t felt any glimpses of close association with the reality.

6. There are several sub and small plots added in the book which have ruined the book totally.

7. All the telephonic conversations between Ravinder Singh and Khushi are idiotically wretched.

8. The end of the book was trio, boring, predictable and pathetic.

9. When we have authors like Erich Sehgal than why read I too had a Love Story.

10. Thousands of book get published everyday and this book is one of them which only make money and burden the reader’s pocket.

Every Tom, Dick and Harry has a story like this. Ravinder Singh should have stopped with this book (he has published his second book too) and not let Idiots allow him to waddle in its fame and glory. I wonder, why he titled the book, “I Too had a Love Story”, it should be named, “I too had a wretched Love Story” 🙂 I do not recommend reading this book as it is all about squandering time, money, energy and sweat.

My Ex Fell In Love- Shubham Choudhary

Author: Shubham Choudhary

ISBN: 9789382473022

No. Of Pages: 204

My Rating: 3/5

My Ex fell in love is a hilarious love tale of Yatharth, the protagonist in the book. He collides with a girl, Sanchita when he is expelled from the class and from that anecdote he becomes inclined towards her. With the endeavour of his two sociable bosom pals; Sudeep and Vikalp and Samantha (Sanchita’s friend) he some how manages to date her after showing his unconscious accidental inclination through a facebook status, which said, “Dear Sanchita tum meri Zindagi mei khushiya le kar aayi ho, Meri life rasgulle ki duniya hai aur tum uski mithat ho!” in which he tagged her after alcohol consumption…and guess what? Sanchita proposes to him…. Unique na. From soda to hock, the narrator (Yatharth) is shown befuddled and unaware of the ramifications, he breaks up with his love to continue with his dream project of trajectory of electrons with Sudeep. Life continues and later he discovers that Sanchita starts loving Raunak, her family friend and he experiences the lowest ebb when they are blacklisted from the world of atomic theory.

Even after break up he takes utmost care of Sanchita and always desire to see her happy as a friend. His bleeding life gets a tourniquet when he and Sudeep are invited to Switzerland for their dream project and Vikalp takes the financial responsibility for the same. Vikalp, Sudeep and Samantha endeavours to stop Raunak when they ruminate he is going to propose Sanchita while, Yathartha and Sanchita are described obliviously inconversant of the same anecdote. So this was a brief recapitulation of the book and I recommend it to read it if you extol, admire and appreciate humor work.

Authored by Shubham Choudhary, I loved the book because of the character; Vikalp who took the responsibility to maintain humor in the entire book and was successful too. Though Yathartha is the protagonist in the story but I loved reading where Vikalp’s part appeared. One more reason to extol the work of Shubham was that the book was not boring when compared to books like; I too had a love story, Anything for you Ma’am and Trust me it’ll work etc. The two main elements of the book ie. humor and love story perpetuate and prolong a hilarious parallelism and Shubham Choudhary has never, I think, failed to cover each and every page of the book with hilarious work especially with Vikalp’s endeavour. Though love story of Yatharth and Sanchita was monotonous and colloquial like other hindi movie love stories but you won’t be able to succumb to your temptations when you’ll sojourn the hilarious territories of My Ex Fell In Love. Shubham Choudhary is a talent to follow.

The Alchemist- Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist

“When you really want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you achieve it”
The whole fable circumnavigate in the vicinity of the above adduce.”The Alchemist” is an audacious and cogitative story (written as fable) of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy,who like all of us, is in search for his destiny. Unaware of all the contingencies he takes the risk and travel in search of a treasure from his home in Spain to the alien markets of Tangiers and then into the Egyptian desert, where a fortunate encounter with the alchemist awaits him. Paulo Coelho has embellished the story with many provoking thoughts through minuscule incidents which Santiago encounters in his struggle. The book also lay emphasis on many variables such as positive invisible forces, wisdom of listening to our heart, dreams as languages of God, nocturnal cold, elixir of life, central role of every individual in history of earth, beauty as the greatest seducer of men etc.

Published in 67 different languages, highly extolled by the critics, the book was originally written in Portuguese in the year 1988 and has now sold 65 million copies!!! The alchemist has made it to the bestsellers list in 74 countries and thereby has attained the status of modern classic. What else you want? A book with such a brilliant record. I strongly recommend this book specially for people seeking their path in life. I completed the book in 3 days time, a cinch book, about 160 pages, with very less difficult words. The most notable feature of the book despite of OK type vocabulary was that it is highly inspirational and increases the motivation level from nadir to zenith, of the reader. Some sentences in the book will compel you to think how to go beyond the rock walls of perceptions, prejudice and conditioning to achieve splendid success and your true heart’s desire.