90 Packets of Instant Noodles

Yummy Looking cover, pulled from Fremantle Press Website

Book title- 90 Packets of Instant noodles

Author- Deb Fitzpatrick

Publisher- Fremantle Press, 2010

Synopsis

Joel’s been messing up for a while- he has been stealing and drinking with his best friend, Craggs, and it’s all cool, until one day, a theft goes wrong, and now they have to face consequences. Craggs is off to Juvenile detention, but Joel’s father makes a deal with the police, and manages to get Joel out of it- if he spends the next three months in a hut in the middle of nowhere, fending for himself. Between intense boredom, letters, and a lot of instant noodles, Joel begins to discover who he is, and why he might want to sort his life out. Then, suddenly, his past catches up with him when Craggs shows up at his door.

Review

I don’t remember exactly why I picked this book up- perhaps I was hungry and the cover looked appetizing. (Still does!) Anyway, I knew nothing about it, or about the writer, and it was such a pleasant surprise. First, the book is Australian, and is full of delightful words that make no sense to me at all. And it is funny! Joel’s is such a natural voice in the story; all his slang, his swearing, and everything he thinks is hilarious, and a little sad, too, at times. The book is full of great characters; Joel is great, but so is Craggs, or rather, Joel’s opinion of Craggs, and how it changes in the course of the book. Joel’s dad, old Neville, Bella, the lady who runs the store- all of them are pretty great characters, with surprising depth to them, given that we know them only through Joel.

It is a bit of an adventure story, living in a shack alone for days, befriending a fox out of boredom, and going crazy because there is no music…I loved how the story played out, especially when it got more serious. I don’t know if kids in trouble will ever pick this book up, but it’s a great read- relatable, I think. If I were a Juvenile Court Judge, I’d definitely make the kids read this.

Verdict

Plus for being set in Australia, for the lexicon of new (and awesome) words I have learnt, for the great humor, and a generally good story with great characters. Possible minus for too much swearing and the detailed description of marijuana use (making it sound like smoking pot is ok), but these are not MY minuses- I thought the swearing kept it real- that’s how kids talk, y’know? And the pot…well…let’s just say there are a lot worse things kids can do.

The Host

The Host, cover from Stephenie Meyer Official page

Book title- The Host

Author- Stephenie Meyer

Publisher- Little, Brown and co, 2008

Synopsis

Earth has been taken over by parasitic alien body snatchers that call themselves ‘Souls’. Wanderer is such a creature, who has been inserted into the body of one Melanie Stryder. But Melanie is a fighter, and while the human soul in the body is supposed to fade away after a soul claims it, Melanie stays put. Bombarding Wanderer with her strong emotions, Melanie gets the alien to sympathize with her, and to go looking for the two people she loved most on earth.

Review

Yes, I read another Stephenie Meyer. I was promised this is better than Twilight (it is!), so (shrugging) why not, right? I have to be careful I don’t let my prejudice over Twilight cloud this review. So let me just say that although it was really, really long, and a tad boring, and I admit to skipping parts of the more tedious descriptions, this book is not bad! It makes you think about several things, such as- ‘Who are we?’  The ‘Souls’ take over our bodies, and often, the human inside is wiped out when that happens. But memories of the human remain, along with their emotions. And in some cases, the human remains, helplessly unable to control their bodies, but present. SPOILERS When a soul is removed from a body, sometimes the old inhabitant is able to regain control of the body instantly, and sometimes it takes a while, but sometimes, the original inhabitant doesn’t return, and the body begins to atrophy. Nerds may argue on shoddy fictional science, but it’s actually quite interesting. The aliens feel what we feel, and have human instincts of love, and even violence.

Then there is the whole thing about aliens taking over. The funny thing is, the aliens believe that they are right in taking over, because humans are a corrupt species, who commit unspeakable crimes against their own, and cannot live in peace. So the aliens come, and take over life on earth, and create an ideal world free of crime and violence, apparently. Although I would have imagined that such a ‘peaceful’ people would have the wisdom to stay away from inter-species violence as well- clearly, it is okay to kill humans. And the wisdom to avoid generalization, or punish an entire species for the wrongs of a few. Anyway, I don’t really buy into the whole ‘souls are kind, peaceful, good beings’- it just sounds like an excuse they give themselves to justify occupying whole planets and wiping out entire species. (Is it bad that the book doesn’t expose them for the con artists that they are?)

That brings me to Wanderer, or Wanda, as she is called later. She is probably the most annoying character ever written. She is one of those saintly types I have seen, unfortunately, in the human species too. The type that is self-sacrificing to unbelievable degrees, and has super high superiority complex, because of imagined goodness in themselves. In this instance, because she is one of the ‘better, kinder, more-peaceful alien’. And my problem with the writer is that she doesn’t hate this character!!

The male characters are okay, not as creepy as Edward Cullen and co, but there’s a bit too much of hitting the lady going on, maybe it’s supposed to be fine because she’s an alien body snatcher. And there’s a lot of carrying her around to everyplace, too, so no points for the strong female character who doesn’t need at least two dudes around her constantly. Melanie, or the little we see of her, may be the best character in the book- she is strong, not weedy, fiercely protective of the people she loves, and generally not at all a Bella, thank goodness.

In all, a good enough story, although it could have been much shorter. I was in the middle of reading a long laborious explanation of just exactly how Wanda was washing herself with some stinging nettle soap (or some soap that stings, I forget) when I realized, I reading a long laborious explanation of just exactly how Wanda was washing herself with some stinging nettle soap! And it had nothing to do with the story, whatsoever. Because then she went to her room, and ate, and slept, and woke up, and….zzzzz!

Verdict

Enjoyable read, if a tad tedious. Body snatchers who believe they are the good guys, perhaps a metaphor for colonists? Twilight fans will definitely enjoy the love traingle/square mess. SciFi fans may or may not enjoy depending on how nerdy you are (the more nerdy you are the less you will enjoy it, imho) non SciFi fans will likely enjoy it- it’s not really science fiction.

When Loss is Gain

When Loss is Gain jacket from Rupa

Book title- When Loss is Gain

Author- Pavan K Varma

Publisher- Rupa, 2012

Synopsis

Anand is a Delhi lawyer working for his rather unpleasant best friend, who, it turns out, is having an affair with his wife, Tanu. When Anand is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, his wife leaves him for his friend, and he regrets his entire life. However, he gets a second chance when the doctors tell him they made a mistake- he didn’t really have cancer. He quits his job, and decides to live life to the fullest. Obviously, this takes him to Bhutan, where he is smitten by Tara, a woman who has come to Bhutan to become a nun.

Review

I am always a little skeptical to review books about Bhutan, I feel like I will be unfairly prejudiced. But this book doesn’t try to explain what Bhutan is all about, it is merely used as a setting for the story, so I’m sure my feelings about this book has nothing to do with it having a Bhutan connection.

Firstly, I have never read any of Pavan Varma’s books (he is a prolific non fiction writer) and I found that his writing is elegant. The flow of words are natural but thoughtful, and I find myself sympathizing with many of the sentiments Anand, the narrator, expresses- his resentment, his fear of confrontation, his new found zest for life- none of it sounds forced or sudden. The story is simple enough, and the book has a few lines here and there which are rather beautiful, in a Paulo Coelho-eque kind of way.

Another nice thing about the book was that it contained a lot of quotes and sonnets from traditional poets, singers, and writers. (I don’t know all of them, or understand the lines in Hindi, Urdu, or Punjabi, but the translations are also quite beautiful, all the better for not having the usual english language cliche phrasing.)

The characters in the book are pretty simply cut, and 2-D to annoying and unbelievable proportions, with no complexities at all. The  adulterous wife who learns her lesson in the end, the evil ‘so called’ friend, the avuncular doctor, the ‘fleeing from her past’ heroine, the long suffering hero, and the ‘good friend’ who helps realise the true meaning of your life, and seems like a reincarnation of Drukpa Kuenley. They are all pretty flat. Logic and attention to detail do not seem to matter too much in the book, either.

Verdict

Plus for beautiful prose, and all the timely verses, also beautiful. Plus for introspective quality of the story. Minus for all the annoying characters, minus for flawed logic and errors.

The world’s most snooze inducing tomes of all time (that I’ve tried reading)

Okay, I’ll admit it! There are some books that put me to sleep instantly, with simply a glimpse of their first pages.

Some of these are famous, Nobel Prize winning, Cult- creating, life changing books. But all it takes is for me to snuggle (not necessarily very comfortably) with one of them, and the words waft out like a breeze from the book, straight into my head, and my eyelids go ‘Ka-Blammmmm!’ and are tight shut. It’s like a drug, the very boring first pages of these books, and I am admitting, at great peril of being scoffed at by book snobs, of never having read the following due to the shut eye effect-

1. The Black Book, by Orhan Pamuk.

Probably a fantastic book, Image from here

The reason I picked up this book is entirely innocent. Having read ‘My name is Red’ and having loved it (interchanging narration between various characters in ancient Turkey, one of them a murderer, just fabulous) I decided to read another book by the Nobel Prize winner. I guess the Black Book is good, eh? It just put me to sleep every time I opened it for over two months, until I gave up.

2. Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand

Image from here

Actually I read this book. Sort of. If you count missing large chunks of the book. It’s not my fault! The book starts with the line, ‘Who is John Galt?’. The main character, Galt appears halfway into the book. Then you realise that the real question is ‘Why on earth doesn’t John Galt shut up?’ He sure talks a lot. A LOT. Like pages and pages and pages and pages of monologue. I’m human, and I read for pleasure, so I obviously skipped through his monologues, which is probably why I didn’t become a Randroid. That, and the book was annoying, but mostly because I missed the englightening speech. Or rather, S-p-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-c-h.

3. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy.

Image from here

Yes, I tried reading this. Don’t ask me why. I have read (and enjoyed) really big books, and this is out there in English, it’s a famous book, why not, right? Except, one chapter in and my head was buzzing with names of a million people, and it was hard to keep track of who is who, and I was yelling, when does the freaking story start??? Gave up, much to my great shame. (Hangs head)

4. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig

Image from here

Someone recommended this to me as the most brilliant book they had ever read. To each his own, I guess. It killed me though. I probably missed out on the philosophical talk, all it sounded to me like was how some people hate machines and the writer doesn’t. That’s how far I got, before I gave up out of sheer boredom.

5. The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner

Image from here

Faulkner is not so hard to read, even though I take some time to read through and a lot of effort. And I am usually happy I made the effort to finish a book, because it lingers on in your mind…..but there are limits to how much effort I can put in into reading for pleasure! And the Sound and the Fury is it. I know I’ll probably pick it up again, (please don’t pick it up again!) thinking, “it can’t be that hard to read a book, for crying out loud!” And then I’ll sleep at the first paragraph for the next three months and finally admit guilty defeat.

6. Ulysses, James Joyce

Image from here

Yes, I picked this up, too, once. I don’t know what to tell you, I’m not really a glutton for punishment. I just live in a place where people don’t discuss books that much, and I never really know which books you should never ever ever ever pick from the library if you hate giving up on reading them. So I picked up this book, and spent a good month and a half not reading it.

7. The Tale of Genji, Murasaki Shikibu

Image from here

This book is already taken me a month to not read and listlessly renew from the library. I have a feeling I will love it if I read it, and my stupid resolution to finish every book I start for this blog (yeah, that sprung out of guilt from returning a few of the above books) means I will have to! But it’s a Japanese version of ‘War and Peace’. A million people, mysteriously related, appear with no introduction in the first chapter and crack jokes that must have been hilarious in medieval Japan. It just makes me sleep. I’m going to read this book, though. I’m going to finish it if that’s the last thing I do. Aaaaah, how am I ever going to finish reading this monstrous book? Helllppp!!!!!

 

Ah well, book snobs, have a go at it, then, chastise me for reading easy children’s books and what they now call ‘Young Adult’ literature. At least I have ambition. The size of the book never scares me. I have read Lord of the Rings three times, and I know that’s not much to boast about, it’s just a point I’m making that it’s not the size. Motorcycle Maintenance, for instance, wasn’t so big at all. Neither is Atlas Shrugged. It’s some magic quality that makes my brain not decipher the words in these books and results in me falling asleep.

I’ll get it if you are mad at me for not reading your favourite book though, because I just got ‘Life of Pi’ for my sister and it’s having that sleepiness inducing effect on her, making me foam from my mouth in rage. How can she not read it in one sitting and rave about it, like I did that summer in 2007? That book is just Incredible!!!!

So how do you talk to yourself?

I’m sure people have given this some thought. I haven’t come across anyone discussing it, though, and for some strange reason, after all these years of sometimes intermittent and sometimes religious journal writing, I’ve never thought about it myself- How do you talk to yourself?

I’m a writer. I am able to express myself much better through writing than through speech. I have always envied great speakers, but alas, I am a writer. So when I say  I ‘talk to me’, I really mean, when I am writing something that I am addressing to myself. I do that. A lot. I constantly write in journals. I write small notes to myself for later, little reminders in planners. I write a letter to myself for a few years later on every birthday. I know, it’s kind of corny, but I started doing that when I was a kid, and now it’s really difficult to stop, and also, I really look forward to opening these letters that I had written so many years ago.

And as I write, I can feel ideas morph and take shape in my head. I have been able to form opinions after attempting to write them down. A lot of people find that when they begin to talk, they discover solutions to problems, or come to some realisation- that happens to me when I write. Because I don’t talk much. I write.

Anyway, most of my writing is not directed to me, although I have stated above that an awful lot is. Most of it is intended for other people’s eyes too, even if it turns out that no one else reads what I write. All my writing that I intend  for other people to see is self conscious, just as all the things I say to an audience is self conscious. I always knew that my writing was self conscious. But I never thought about how I wrote things I didn’t intend to allow anyone else to see.

It’s an interesting insight into yourself. How do you talk to yourself? I began thinking about this when I made part of this blog invisible to everyone but me. I intended to make it public after sorting out a few things in it, but it has certainly made me see how I write (and therefore talk) to just me. Here’s a few things I found

1. I am a stickler for grammar-  even when I KNOW no one else is going to see what I wrote. I found myself constantly checking suspicious sounding sentences on Google to see if they are right. I never write ‘u’ instead of you. The only place I do that in is Twitter, and it kills me there to have to shorten all my ‘you’s into ‘u’s for the sake of telling it all in 140 characters.

2. I know my writing is a little wild, just like everything else about me. It threatens to turn into a tangled mess that I fight hard to keep in order. When I write to myself, the wildness takes over and becomes a jungle of sentences that go on and on and perhaps make sense only to me.

3. I talk to myself with a certain amount of affection. All right, this sounds crazy, and needs explanation! Sometimes, without having added a single term of endearment, a letter can sound very affectionate. It’s not just polite. It is polite and kind and understanding and familiar and comforting. When I go back and read some of the things I have written to myself, it reads like a loving letter from a close friend. Uh, okay, we went back to being weird.

4. I am funny. My brand of humor isn’t very polished- not everyone I am acquainted with would say I am funny. Sometimes I can be wildly funny with certain people. Not so surprisingly, I suppose, one of the people I can be very funny with is me!

5. I am not very different from how I am otherwise, but again, I am different. And that is not an attempt at ‘something deep’.At first glance, I sound pretty much the same when I talk to myself and when I talk to other people. I thought I talked to myself in the same way. But I don’t. My writing requires greater skills of navigation through alphabet soup, but I am also a little more uninhibited.

6. I discover. I’m not exactly breaking new grounds here when I say writing to yourself (or just writing) is meditative. It always has been for me, and many many others ever since some guy (or girl, who knows) discovered writing. Writing to yourself is deeper- it is self reflective. It also takes on a kind of Buddhist quality (for lack of better expression). I write to me, but I am also outside the experience, observing myself write to me…you know?  It’s like being aware of being aware.

I definitely suggest writing to yourself- use something with heavy duty protection to make absolutely sure that no one else will EVER see what you are writing. You can delete what you wrote after you are done if you are so paranoid, but it’s a shame to just let your work disappear with a sad crunch of recycle bin sound effect. But make sure you are not self conscious at all- write only to yourself- it’s an experience, seeing how you talk to yourself. In black and white.

Top 10 crush worthy Literary (and comic book) dudes

In no particular order of preference, here is a list of Literary (and Comic Book) dudes I have crushed on-

1. Mr Darcy

The guy who played Darcy in the 2005 movie. Didn't really like him at first but he really grows on you. Image from here

He is every woman’s favorite fictional man. I mean, who doesn’t love a dark, brooding, handsome (and freaking rich) guy with a big attitude, who actually secretly loves the girl he once refused to dance with because she wasn’t ‘handsome’ enough. And makes a passionate confession of that love with words that are now famous! (proving that he is also eloquent). And actually steps up and is all nice and most helpful when the aforementioned girl has a load of family problems. Of course, I hear a lot of women say Mr Darcy is misogynistic. I don’t know, I think he just doesn’t know how to be gentle. He is an awkward, socially inept man. And besides, he doesn’t fall for the most prettiest girl around, but the sassy one with a brain!

2. Batman.

The Comic Book Dark Night kicks all movie Batmen's asses! Original Image here

Can I put that out already? I love Batman! Batman is so cool! And the only reason I added the ‘comic book’ in parenthesis to the title of this list. One of two reasons, actually. Anyway, Batman is a superhero who is, theoretically, possible. I mean, he has no superpowers, he is not an alien, he didn’t get bitten by a radioactive spider, and he doesn’t have mutant genes. He is just a man (a freaking rich man) who wants to use his power for good. Or punish bad guys, which is even cooler. Kicking the bad guy’s ass is way cooler than saving kittens from trees (cough- Superman- cough). But the thing that makes me crush on Batman is not his cool gadgets, his amazing costume, his bad-ass crime fighting, and not even his batmobile. It’s his sadness. Batman is this guilt ridden man who fights his demons by cleaning  Gotham City of crime, but the guilt that he could not save his parents stays, and makes him human, and in pain, and you know why he does what he does.

3. Wolverine

Hugh Jackman is pretty great as Wolverine, but I loved this guy way before Hugh Jackman. Image from here

Reason number two for deciding to include  comic book dudes! Wolverine!!! Wolverine has a foggy history ( we have come to know a lot of it over the years) and he remembers several things that may or may not be true, because he has undergone a few memory implants. He recalls being a Samurai (how cool is that!), a CIA operative, and a ‘wild man’ in the Canadian wilderness.  He is a mutant with several enhanced abilities, including enhanced sight, smell and hearing. Most significantly, he has great regenerative powers- he heals more completely and much more faster than ordinary human beings, and has an extended lifespan. He also has retractable bone claws that tear through his skin between the knuckles and can be used as weapons. For a while his bone claws were laced with Adamantium,  and could cut through practically everything. So this dude has lived a looooooooong life, all over the world (he speaks Japanese), is practically unkillable, has been tortured, does not remember a lot of stuff from his past, and is awesome. Also, I have a thing for sad guys, and Wolverine qualifies!!! He has been through a lot of stuff, and has to deal with the fact that he remembers very little from his past, AND he is the victim of unrequited love.

4. Rameses the Damned from Anne Rice’s The Mummy.

Can't find any illustration of Rameses the hot Mummy- I imagined him to look like Arnold Vosloo, but its not THAT mummy I'm talking about, so, the blue eyes will have to suffice. Image from here.

I don’t know if many people have read the book…..please don’t go imagining the museum mummy with the giant hooked schnoz. Rameses is handsome, and ancient, and has blue eyes, as a result of a potion he drank to become immortal (or something, I forgot what exactly he did to become immortal, it was ages ago that I read this book and I still love him!) He is graceful and wise, and he knows all the freaking history of the world!!! And he was a Pharaoh. How many guys can you say that about? Of course he falls in love with a young archaelogist (or the young daughter of an archaeologist, I forget) and calls her his ‘English Queen’. Because she is English, obviously. You should totally read that book to get what I’m talking about. And I kept imagining him as Arnold Vosloo in the Mummy….:D

5. Remus Lupin from Harry Potter

Okay, I never liked the guy who plays Lupin in the movies, I don't think that is Lupin at all, (sigh, not a fan of movies) so I found this drawing of him , by Mordred Pendragon (click here to find original) which I thought was pretty great.

I love Remus Lupiiiiin!!!!!!! Remus Lupin is the nice guy who became a prefect, and didn’t disappoint us in the end like all the other Marauders did a little bit. He was a werewolf, friendless until he found great friends, to whom he remained loyal for life. It feels a little wrong to crush on a teacher (don’t ask me why, it just does) but he is just the most amazing teacher ever, and if I was Hermione, I’d have been crushing on him big time instead of Lockhart. Except he probably wasn’t all that good looking, I mean, he is mostly described as ‘beat up’, which probably explains why all the girls weren’t crazy about him. But I would be!!! (SPOILERS!!!! If there is someone who STILL hasn’t read the book) And then he got married and cried the day he had a son, and he DIED!!! Ohh, I love Remus Lupin.

6. Atticus Finch

Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. Image from here

How many people love Atticus Finch? How many love Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch? The movies confuse me, sometimes, about whether I am crushing on the character or the guy who played the character. But I loved Atticus Finch way before I ever heard of Gregory Peck (and living in my country, I didn’t hear about Gregory Peck for a while after I read that book, which was ages ago). I did love Atticus, though, and all these years later, I still remember why he was so amazing. Apparently a lot of people became lawyers because of that guy. He is a hero! He is brave and has a great sense of justice. He is a great dad, with many lessons for his children, most importantly how wrong it is to kill a defenseless mockingbird (and not stand by watch injustice happen, of course). He is pretty badass too, he is a sharpshooter, and the mad dog scene makes me want to cry. In fact thinking about the book makes me want to cry, so I’m going to stop discussing it. Atticus Finch ROCKS! > sob <

7. Aragorn

Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn. Image from here

This one is pretty obvious. I do like Viggo Mortenson as Aragon, but the Ranger in the book is just beyond awesome. He is the long lost true king of a great city of men, he carries a sword that was once broken and is now renewed. He carries a SWORD! And he is King, but he still doesn’t think it is beneath him to act as a guard to four halflings. My favourite part of LOTR is when the hobbits meet the Ranger. We are so scared till then, the poor little things are practically helpless, chased by the Nazgul (scariest things in literature, ever, brrrr) and along comes the knight, in, well, grubby clothes, but still-  strong, powerful, and safe. He keeps getting better throughout the story-  the more we know about him, the more we love him. His personality shows in how he treats the King of Rohan and Eowyn with respect, even Boromir. And then he rides through the Paths of the Dead, and into my other favourite scene in the book.

8.Frederick Algernon Trotteville

Fatty- an illustration from the book. Image from here

Fatty from the Enid Blyton book series ‘Five Find Outers and Dog’ was incredible to my pre-teen mind. He could do anything! He was a master of disguises, and voices, and mannerisms. He had a hundred tricks up his sleeve, and I spent a good deal of my childhood trying to ‘throw’ my voice like he did, or get myself out of locked doors and bound ropes (which wasn’t easy, you won’t believe how hard it is to find someone who will tie you up or lock you in a room and wait for you to successfully escape). And of course Fatty was nice to Betsy, and annoyed the annoying Mr Goon. And they all kept eating amazing, mysterious stuff that sounded delicious.

9. Hatake Kakashi

Cool illustration of Kakashi, original image here

Ah, well, I forgot I intended to include Kakashi when I said Batman and Wolverine were the two comic book guys I love. There is Hatake Kakashi, the teacher to Naruto and his group in the Manga series. The series is full of really great characters, but I did, honestly, nurse a rather embarrassingly long crush on Kakashi. Kakashi is funny, always late, laid back, and mysterious when you first meet him. The mystery never goes away, by the way, because he always wears that mask, and you never get to see his whole face. But slowly you learn about him- how he is powerful, with a Sharingan eye which he can use to deadly effect in combat. He has a history that is sad, and of course I’m a sucker for the dude who hides a sad story. And in one chapter, (it was a filler in the anime, though, not the Manga) Kakashi removes his mask to eat some ramen (but we don’t see, of course) and the restaurant girl is starry eyed at how handsome he is. Bahahaha.

10. Hector of Troy

Eric Bana as Hector in 'Troy' . Image from here.

Last but not least, Hector of Troy! The true hero in the story! I always disliked Achilles, who is well represented by Brad Pitt in the movie ‘Troy’- Achilles has this star quality that projects him as a hero, he is the big name in the Trojan War.  But Hector, deeply in love with his wife, a loving father, a devoted son, an affectionate brother, a dutiful Trojan, and wise beyond his years, is cool in an understated way. He fights the Greeks because he has to, to defend his country, and he fights well, to the end, even though he wishes to end the war if it is possible. And in the end, he walks to his death, knowing he is doing so, bravely and with dignity. Hurrah for Hector!

Septimus Heap- Magyk

Book title- Septimus Heap Series book one- Magyk

Author- Angie Sage

Publisher- Harper Collins and Bloomsbury (2005)

Synopsis

Silas Heap is an Ordinary Wizard with six sons already, and expecting his seventh. But his seventh son is pronounced dead soon after birth, the same day that he finds a baby girl in the forest outside the castle. The Heap family discover that the baby girl is really the new born princess, born to the recently murdered Queen. They bring up Jenna as their own child, but the necromancer Dom Daniel, who had ordered the death of the queen, plots to return to the castle again, and the Heap family must flee with the help of the rather unlikable Extraordinary Wizard, Marcia Overstrand, and a quiet boy soldier, boy 412.

Review

I have heard that this book (this series, actually) has been compared to Harry Potter, which I think is rather unfair. Every book about magic is not the same.  Although the Heap family is rather reminiscent of the Weasley family, this book is entirely different, and pretty good. Definitely not Harry Potter, this, but I have read just one book in the whole series, and it’s a fun story. I cheered in the end. And it has funny parts. The characters are pretty good, so all in all it was a pretty good read. But-

Okay, there is a but. It’s not really crazy good, and I finished reading it ages ago, and kept putting off writing the review and I am not even that excited to get the second book in the series. I’m reading the Tale of the Genji now, and I’ve made it to the fifth page, after days of having to check in the index who’s who. It’s more confusing than ‘War and Peace’. At least in that one I could tell the male and female characters apart from the sound of their names…..my fault entirely, of course, I need to brush up my general knowledge on Japanese names. But that’s for the next review- except I don’t really know when I will ever finish reading that book! Now, why did I mention Genji? Oh, yeah, So I’m reading that and I’m looking forward to going back to reading it so much more than I am in continuing to write this review. So I’ll just end with the verdict-

Verdict

It was a pretty good story while it lasted, but also kind of Meh after all. Probably won’t get the next in the series. Unless Genji turns me into a gibbering idiot who can only read children’s books. It’s real confusing, people!

Kokoro

Book Title- Kokoro

Author- Sōseki Natsume

Publisher- Tuttle Publishing, English translation by Edwin McCellan in 1969 (originally appeared as a series in Japanese in Asahi Shimbun in 1914)

Synopsis

A young student meets an older man whom he begins to address as ‘Sensei’, and quickly begins to admire. He sees Sensei as an intelligent man, far superior than his lecturers or even his father. However, Sensei is an aloof man, and seems to carry a deep, unforgiving, and contemptous mistrust of people. This quality intrigues the student, who adopts Sensei as his mentor throughout his college years. He attempts in this time to try and understand why Sensei is the man he is, in response to which Sensei agrees to tell him his life story one day. Then, the student is called home after his father is taken ill, and during this time, he receives a letter from Sensei, which carries the story that made him who he was.

Review

I loved this book. Let’s put that out right away. There is always the intriguing mystery of Sensei’s past, but that didn’t make me flip through the first half of the story in a hurry. In fact, the first half, which mostly describes the student’s relationship with Sensei, Sensei’s  intriguing personality, and the student’s opinions of other people around him as a result of his friendship with Sensei is interesting and comes across as very real. We all have that person, I think, whom we want approval from, a person whose opinions of us matter to us far more than anyone else’s would- a person whose views affect our own. The relationship the student shares with Sensei rings true, and fills the reader (me, atleast) with a vague feeling of guilt (for admiring him over his own father) because I identify with him- I have, in my life, attached greater importance to people who intrigue me, rather than people whom I should conventionally adore. Kokoro is written in a slow, reflective manner that somehow fits with my idea of Japan during the Meiji era. The story gives the reader of the Japanese sense of honour, and the shame that sometimes results due to an attack to that honour. The book is also a snapshot of life in Japan in the Meiji period, reading it is rather like looking at a vintage photograph tinged with purple-y black. And in the end, the story revealed by Sensei satisfies, and leads us to see him in a new light, and understand also, why he may have chosen to reveal his story to the student, while leaving us confused in some ways.

Verdict

So I loved this book. The plus points are that the writing is not especially poetic, but still introspective, the few characters are well fleshed out- and I definitely identify with them. Also, the story itself, as revealed in the end, is good. The idea of a life spent in accepting responsibility for a tragedy, while also the guilt of keeping it a secret forever so that it may not besmirch someone else’s happiness- moves me. I can’t really think of a minus- perhaps that the narrator and the Sensei and several other characters are described to have some degree of ‘contempt’ for women. But it was the 1900′s, what do you expect?

Casino Royale

Book Title- Casino Royale (A James Bond Novel)

Author- Ian Fleming

Publisher- Penguin Group …(Original Publisher JOnathan Cape in 1953)

 

Synopsis

James Bond is a British Secret Agent who goes to a casino in France for an assignment- to beat a banker for the deadly Russian organisation, SMERSH- on the baccarat tables. He dodges a couple of death attempts, wins all the money from the enemy, gets captured, escapes alive, and in the meantime flirts with a hot lady, as usual.

 

Review

There is a movie version of Casino Royale, starring Daniel Craig, who I never thought suited James Bond’s character too well. And I would never ever say that any movie version of a book is better (ok, actually, sometimes I do), and I haven’t even watched the movie, but I have a feeling the movie is better. Not that fast action is better on screen, I have read action packed (sorry to use the phrase) books which were great- but something is missing in the telling of this story, full of action, yes, but I felt like I’d rather watch it than read. And the story itself- well, it looks like it was churned out pretty quick. The double O spy goes to a casino on a mission- to gamble and win! I mean, really? How do they ever know he will win without cheating (he doesn’t cheat, he just wins). Do secret agencies really spend millions of pounds (in this case) so that some suave spy can blow it off in a casino while ordering custom made Martinis, in an off chance that he might win, and thus defeat evil villains? Taxpayers should be worried. And really, that’s what a spy does? Drink martinis, wear expensive clothes and generally act like Hugh Hefner while occasionally dodging bombs? YEAH.  AND there was a line somewhere about Bond thinking that sex with his lissome secret agent assistant would ‘always have the thrill of rape because she is such a private person’. Yep. I do not kid. The whole book reeks with Bond’s sexist attitude towards women, but this here outright says it. James Bond is a D-bag. I am really not a feminist man beater type, but JB is a sexist (other names here). AND the story is lame. Not a fan. Want a thrilling spy story? Read the Bourne Identity.

Verdict

Plus- I managed to finish reading the book. It didn’t kill me. But again, the only reason I kept reading was because I promised to finish every book I start. This is really hard sometimes, I should really pick a better book in the library today. Minus- Spy= Young, English version of Hugh Hefner (even wears the knee length dressing gown) who doesn’t do anything much but still manages to kill/somehow defeat the Russians. And gets ANY girl. Uh-oh, my loathing is showing, lets just say it’s a crap book best used as fantasy fodder by adolescent boys. Oh did I mention the lady Spy is called ‘Vesper’. Yep, again, not kidding.

 

 

 

The Fiction Class

Book Title- The Fiction Class

Author- Susan Breen

Publisher- Penguin Group (Plume) 2008

 

Synopsis

Arabella Hicks (yes, really) teaches a weekly Fiction Class to aspiring writers. Her class seems to have a typical mix of ‘community’ type characters- The Pervert, the Closet Transsexual, the Beauty, Smouldering Dude, Nervous Wreck, Mean Old Hag. Arabella also has an awful mother who she hates and loves at the same time, and has to visit every painful Wednesday at a nursing home. So Arabella (apparently named after a ‘Georgette Heyer’ Novel…and I have no Idea who she might be..) flirts inexpertly with her smouldering dude in class while teaching some fiction writing, struggles with her weekly visit to her mother, and struggles more to finish writing a book.

Review

Maybe people like this book. I haven’t got the chance to check out internet reviews, so I don’t know if some people genuinely enjoyed reading this. I didn’t. I had to struggle through the book because it was SO BORING. The main character is mildly annoying, and everyone else seems rather irritating as well, especially the dude (whose name I forget) who Arabella inexplicably starts falling for. Also the writing is stilted and not so great, ironically, for a book about fiction writing. The book alternates between a fiction writing class and a painful scene with the mother at the nursing home.  After a while, excerpts from a book that the mother is writing appears, and this makes for some more tedious reading. The story is lame, and the book inside the book is equally bad.

 

Verdict

Minus- Most boring book I ever read. If I hadn’t promised to finish every single book I start, I would have tossed this book halfway through. I was tempted to toss it at least six times, at various points in the story. Plus- Wow this is hard….(after thinking for a while) ….Arabella gives her student writing exercises, some of which seem fun to do, and I had made a mental note to copy them and do them sometime. That is the only good thing about this book.