The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie: Book Review

"He pointed a dramatic forefinger.Everyone's head turned."

‘The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd’…sounds like a typical mystery read, doesn’t it? Well, well, if I say it is something quite out of bound the imagination of an ordinary mind, I hope I’m not giving any spoilers in there!!

Set entirely in King’s Abbot, a small ordinary village, the novel begins with the death of Ackroyd’s lover, and a few chapters later, Ackroyd is dead too but, the same village has been chosen by none other than our dear Hercule Poirot as his retirement place. With the case brought to him, Poirot gives retirement a pass and goes on the mystery’s scent.

Narrated by Dr.Sheppard, a friend of Ackroyd, the novel is beautifully planned, with the author even taking us through the “Who’s who in King’s Abbot”. A thing brought out differently in the book, is the relationship shared between Dr.Sheppard and his sister Caroline. Christie has beautifully managed to keep the focus on the murder yet give some time to the cute brother-sister duo.

Hercule Poirot, with his rather egg-shaped head, twinkling eyes, and wagging finger, with his moustaches and orderly style, is the star as always. From his esteemed opinion of himself, to him being “Papa Poirot” for someone who needs a bit of help confessing, the hot chocolate-loving detective is rather too cute to be one.

Laura Thompson’s introduction and concluding note provide many peppy facts about the book.

Christie’s style with its satire, its comic elements, and the beauty with which she uses figurative language to paint each character, and in turn, each scene, is something to be savoured.

‘And Then There Were None’, ‘The Murder on the Orient Express’ and now ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ (in order of the World’s Favourite Christies), Agatha Christie always manages to keep her readers hooked right from the start till the end. The solutions provided are always equally unexpected and enthralling. Not for once does Christie lose her charm!

As you reach to the story’s end, the ingenious revelation will leave you with no reaction except a baffled “Whaat!!”

 

Mr. Oliver's Diary by Ruskin Bond : Book Review

 

“Pure vindictiveness on the part of the headmaster, putting me in charge of the school party for the entire journey from Kalka to Simla. A day of sheer misery for me.”

Enough of serious reading! Let’s travel to the good old schooldays, carefree, full of giggles and fun, and of course, mischiefs through the diary of Mr. Oliver, a teacher in a junior boys' school in Shimla.

Starting from the beginning of the school term, the book captures the entire session and Mr. Oliver always has something interesting to report in his diary. With a pet parrot in his house, frogs on the loose, a phantom tiger on the prowl, or a somnambulator(sleep-walker) in the school, the days pass on, full of excitement and fun.

Written in a diary entry form, the book beautifully brings out the humane side of our dear teachers. Its blend of serious, irritated, sarcastic, and ruminative tones makes the diary an extremely hilarious read. Its quirky illustrations enliven the text even further.

Its immensely relatable characters are sure to remind you of some of your own classmates and teachers and will surely bring a smile to your face.

A short book, it can be easily read whenever you want to brighten up your mood, for, what’s better than reminiscing about the old carefree days when it was so easy to double up with laughter on the slightest pretext.

An endearing read, Mr. Oliver’s Diary will certainly revive some of your own old-school nostalgia.

Happy Reading!!

The Forest of Enchantments: Book Review

 

“I set my jaw defiantly. I didn’t know how I’d stand up against the enormous might of the asura king. But I knew this much; I was going to resist him with everything I had.”

Chitra Banerjee’s ‘The Forest of Enchantments’ completely succeeds in being the perfect ‘Sitayana’. Why, even Ramayana’s name has a patriarchal touch to it!! Didn’t the story belong as much to Sita as it did to Ram? But surely, they failed to see that!!

Divakaruni beautifully brings out Sita’s story in its truest form as we come to know, in Sita’s own voice, her story- her upbringing, her love for Ram, her trials, the story of her abduction, her fears, her fury and excruciating pain at being rejected by her beloved for no fault of her own, just because of what gossip-mongers had to say!!

We are shown that Sita was strong in her own way. Being strong does not necessarily mean acting masculine or being aggressive or even obstinate. Sita redefined strength. She believed in drawing on to her own inner strength, empowering herself to face and ace every situation, no matter what!!

In “the Forest of Enchantments”, although the focus remains on Sita, we are taken through other women’s lives as well: Sunaina, Urmila, Kaushalya, Kaikeyi, Ahalya, Mandodari , Sarama and Surpanakha, the way they all embodied strength, each in her own different way.

Love forms one of the integral themes of the Sitayana, as we discover the different forms of love, its different facets, the actions it forces people into, the courage that comes from love, and most importantly, the light it brings to life, cutting through the darkest gloom.

Sita has always been somewhat portrayed to be a meek, docile, unrevolting woman. But what if all her actions actually sprang from a courage. The courage to accept, the courage to be strong in the hardest of situations, the courage to let go, the courage to love even after your lover has hurt you the most, the courage to sacrifice all that you hold dearest and most importantly, the courage to forgive.

The Madhubani art cover of the book beautifully traces Sita’s Maithili roots and its gold embossings add on further to its charm. Its flowing style and wonderfully coherent narration are a feather added to the cap.

Lastly the novel succeeds in portraying that, perhaps Sita’s final act was not just a result of her exhaustion with the world and its ways, rather, she intended to give one final lesson to all the women out there. It is ok to forgive, to let go, but there must be a line which even your most loved one must not dare to cross, the time when it is essential to show, “Enough! No more!”

 

 

The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divkaruni:Book Review

 

“..Dhri’s tutor was of the opinion that virtuous women were sent directly into their next birth, where, if they were lucky, they reincarnated as men. But I thought that if lokas existed at all, good women would surely go to one where men were not allowed so that they could be finally free of male demands. However, I prudently kept this theory to myself.”

Mahabharata…isn’t it a story we all have enjoyed and we are quite sure we know?

But how far does our knowledge extend, when it comes to Panchaali, one of the protagonists?

About the Pandavas, our knowledge is quite vast, we know everything about their birth, childhood, and every single important moment of their life but when it comes to Panchaali, our knowledge comes to a full stop in a painfully shorter time. Why?

So, here we have Divakaruni presenting us with the same Mahabharata only now, we have Panchaali at the center of action.

We are taken from her fiery birth, to the pain she experienced at the initial rejection from her father, through her childhood, her fantasies, her view of her marriage with the five Pandava brothers, her relationship with the charming Krishna, her secret attraction for Karna, her expectations, her trials and tribulations in a world shaped by the desires and rules set by men.

Narrated entirely in first person, we have Panchaali herself, telling the epic. But this does not mean that she’s justifying herself, nor does it mean that the male characters are in shadows.

It’s just that Panchaali is brought out from the shadows.

Divakaruni entirely takes us by surprise as we find the numerous events we missed and helps us delve deeper into the intricate details as she beautifully unveils the different layers of such a strong woman as Panchaali.

Reading the book is just like holding an intimate conversation with Panchaali as we discover her questioning the innumerable male chauvinist rules of our society, detesting them, and protesting against them.

We discover Panchaali for who she was, a strong woman ready to challenge the world, to rebel against the boundaries society has prescribed for women, for Vyasa himself agreed,"I only tell people what they can stand………But you- I’ve always known you to be stronger than your husbands."

With its amazing dialogues, flowing style, and its precise narration, this book indeed, is a page-turner.

Its alluring cover, depicting the ‘Palace of Illusions’ Panchaali designed  herself (did you know that?), certainly adds to the charm.

I would strongly recommend reading the Palace of Illusions as it unravels a whole new perspective of the timeless tale we have always loved.

The Palace of Illusions, a book by a feminist, about a feminist, indeed deserves to be read by every feminist.

Happy Reading!!

Happiness Unlimited by B.K. Shivani: Book Review

 “…..rethink and reprogramme your mind to tune in to a happy frequency, pause and notice how life all around you improves in drastic ways.”-B.K.Shivani

Happiness unlimited….. isn’t it something we have all desired for all those years. And lo! Here it is presented in our hands in the form of a beautiful book by a wonderful soul.

Happiness unlimited is not about attaining happiness after an achievement. It is about happily working towards that achievement.

B.K.Shivani very lucidly and methodically explains how we miss out on happiness and the ways in which we can be happy, enjoying and actually living, each and every moment of our life. Along with her, is our favourite, Suresh Oberoi, always ready to ask all those questions which keep popping in our minds during the discussions.

This is a book to be read with a certain amount of peace. Do not read the book in one go. Go chapterwise, slowly, one chapter a day or two, for though the teachings are simple, they are not very easy. You have to work with yourself to reprogramme your thought process. At the end of each chapter there are some beautiful thoughts on which we can reflect on and some summarized points which contain the essence of the conversations in that chapter.

Take some time, sit with yourself, read the book, contemplate and try implementing the required changes and you’ll surely get Happiness Unlimited!!

B.K.Shivani’s talks open up a whole new perspective of the world leading to a deep realization that everything could be so different if only we remove our coloured glasses, coloured with our own point of view.

Inspiring, heartwarming and cheering, this book can be a beautiful start to a new year, a year in which we chose thoughts and feelings aligned with our true nature of peace, love and happiness, a year in which we have our state of mind on top, on the list of the perfections we seek.

Happy New Year :))

and

Happy Reading!!

Three Thousand Stitches by Sudha Murthy: Book Review

 

" Who says money is the ultimate goal of life? It isn’t. You will find out when the time is right.”

Three thousand stitches is a collection of 11 beautifully written memoirs told in a clear and simple manner. Be it her work for the Devdasi community ,her engineering journey as the only female student in her class, or the three handfuls of water that changed her life forever, Sudha Murthy talks about each anecdote in a touching manner.

Sweet, emotional, and funny, the stories show both- the beauty and the grey shades of human nature. From her discovery of the origin of various vegetables and dishes to her love for Indian cinema, the stories talk about the enjoyable instances in the life of an ordinary lady determined to make a difference.

Murthy writes in a simple heartwarming manner with the words coming right from her heart, the trademarks of a beautiful writer. Written in a lucid, calm, and reflective manner, each story makes you glance at a different dimension of life.

So, come on!! Let’s delve into the reminiscences of a graceful soul.

Happy Reading!!

 

Malgudi Days by R.K. Narayan; Book Review, Recommendation

 A man going to marry just to please his mother; another with a heartache, finding solace and joy with a lost child; an engine won in a lucky draw that proves to be great trouble; and a child’s forever changing views of his teacher; these are some of the many anecdotes in R.K. Narayan’s Malgudi Days.

Malgudi Days is a collection of 30 stories all set in Malgudi, a small town in South India in the 1940’s. Each story deals with one or the other aspect of the day-to-day life of the common man.

Narayan, in his introduction, says,” I have named this volume MALGUDI DAYS in order to give it a plausibly geographical status. I am often asked,’ Where is Malgudi?’ All I can say is that it is imaginary and not to be found anywhere on any map…If I can explain that Malgudi is a small town in South India I shall only be expressing a half-truth, for the characteristics of Malgudi seem to me universal.”

Narayan talks about the small problems and confusions that thrive in the lives of the innocent small-town residents.

The common man’s attitude of experiencing happiness in the smallest of things is indeed infectious. All the stories exhibit, with gentle irony, the small follies we commit, our small endeavors, and misendeavors just to see a smile on the face of someone.

The way Narayan has studied human character, and has woven stories around the commonest of men with the commonest of incidents is indeed artistic. The habits, way of talking, and being of the common people are brought out with intricate detail.

Narayan brings out quite wittily the many situations where the common man proves to be a blundering idiot but is lovable all the same. The vitality of our belief system and thought process is brought out to us, the stories remarkably depict how it can be both- our best friend and our greatest foe.

SO, what are you waiting for??

Find a cozy nook, pick up your copy of the book and delve into the lives of Malgudi people surprisingly very much like us.

Happy Reading!!