Title: Wrong Means Right End
Author: Varsha Dixit
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Rupa Publications (2012)
Genre: Chick-Lit
Read: Paperback
Stars: ***/5
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Summary: (FlipKart)
After a failed marriage, Sneha, a single working mom, has no time, or inclination, for love. She resists every matchmaking attempt made by the overzealous Nandini, married to industrialist Aditya. But then the past intrudes in the form of the gorgeous and rich, Nikhil, who brings along Gayatri to break-up her ex-fianc, Adityas marriage. Sneha enlists Nikhils help to salvage the situation. But how does she even talk to a man who clearly loathes her? As Nikhil and Sneha try to grapple with their egos and combustible chemistry, love blossoms.

My Review:

Note: Thanks to Varsha Dixit for offering me her book to review 🙂

Cover: Eye-ok! The cover has colours that are pleasing to the eye and there is even some texture in the print. I liked the cover however there was something in it that made me feel it could have been better.

Paper and font: Smell-Worthy! This book had good paper quality and font size.

Readability, language: Light, simple and quick to read, with language that is quite the modern India Metro.

This book is an out and out chick-lit. A modern Mills and Boons set in Mumbai. Nandini who has found true love with Aditya now wants the same for her best friend Sneha. While trying to evade Nandini’s constant setups Sneha meets Nikhil – a man from her past and gets to know that Gayathri, Aditya’s ex-fiancé is back in town with the intention of getting Aditya back. Sneha is forced into working along with Nikhil to stop Gayathri, where both of them can’t help but notice the chemistry. The story is about how Sneha and Nikhil find each other.

Sneha and Nandini’s friendship reminded of the closeness I share with my besties. They way they talked, understood, misunderstood and stood by each other was so real. Aditya, Nandini’s husband is the typical sweet best friends husband who becomes your friend too. And Nikhil is that man most of us women dream of – the chiseled face, killer looks and suave manner, and not to mention ‘rich’. 😀 Varsha Dixit has done a great job with relationships in ‘Wrong Means Right End’ and I could identify with almost all of them as I read the story.

I haven’t read a Mills and Boons in a while now but I do enjoy an occasional one. When I accepted ‘Wrong Means Right End’ I wasn’t expecting an M&B and the book surprised me; pleasantly. While reading I associated with so much in the book – the playful name calling, the closeness of friends, the protective instinct, the marital insecurities, the romance – Dixit describes the emotions and feelings of the characters well and you feel for them. The characters and relationships are believable and situations possible. I enjoyed most parts of this book.

I wish though that there had been more to the Gayathri plot as it felt too short and without punch. I would have like more action and drama there. I had picked up the book expecting an all out third woman drama but the book was more about Nikhil and Sneha’s romance. Not that I’m complaining but I would have liked the third woman plot to have lasted longer than halfway through the book.

All in all I enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it, I hope to read more of Varsha Dixit’s work in future.

Any one who likes chick-lit and M&B romances will enjoy this book. Its a quick and fun read that leaves you feeling all good and glowy inside. Almost every womans book but maybe not every mans 😉

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Title: Roll of Honour
Author: Amandeep Sandhu
Paperback: 252 pages
Publisher: Rupa Publications (October 16, 2012)
Genre: Historic Novel
Read: Paperback
Stars: ****/5
Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart
Summary: (Amazon)
An honest and moving story about life in a military school, in the days of the Khalistan movement.
1984. Operation Blue Star has just ended and the Indian Army is arresting and killing innocent Sikhs. Appu is back at military school in Jassabad, Punjab, for his final year. He looks forward to three things: being class in-charge, passing out, and securing a place in the National Defence Academy.
Then ex-student Balraj, now a Khalistani militant on the run, takes refuge on campus and the violence outside comes to school. Some of the seniors decide to help Balraj, the decision splits the school along sectarian lines, and students are forced to take sides. There is rampant bullying sodomy being the preferred tool of domination and long-time friends find themselves on opposing sides. As the situation spirals out of control, Appu, who wants nothing more than to live his dreams, is forced to make the impossible choice between community and nation.

My Review:

Note: Thanks to Amandeep Sandhu for offering me his book to review 🙂

Cover: Eye-Treat! I loved the cover. The colours are a treat to the eyes just like the texture is to the fingers.

Paper and font: Smell-Worthy! I don’t like most Indian prints these days. But this book had good paper quality and font size.

Readability, language: Easy on the eye and mind. Has strong language but fits the story.

My parents say as a toddler I called Indira Gandhi my mother. I ran around the house shouting ‘mummy is on TV’. As I grew up I got to know more about her; I admired the woman who stood out in a man’s world. She took on men and won. Then I got to know about Operation Blue Star and how it killed her. I read about it but reading can only tell you so much.

Then a few years ago I travelled to Amritsar and went to the Golden Temple. The marks of the destruction caused by Blue Star in 1984 are still there. I spoke to people who had lived through Operation Blue Star and its aftermath. I don’t say that I stopped admiring Indira Gandhi but I did start to think this was a mistake and a big one.

A couple of weeks ago when A. Sandhu got on touch with me about his book, I saw an opportunity to understand 1984 better and the book was just that. An insight into what the youth went through after 1984.

This is a story about life in the residential military schools of Punjab. Appu tells the story of how life changed after Blue Star. The clear sudden divide between Sikhs and Hindus. The animosity,  patriotism and religious zeal driving the people and friends apart.

Appu is a boy in the 12th standard aspiring to join the NDA. He is a teenager questioning authority, his sexuality, religion, relationships, patriotism, the army, humanity and everything else in his life. Then in 1984 new questions arise and answers change as Appu finds his way through school and life in the shadow of Operation Blue Star.

The story is narrated by Appu as he goes down memory lane and writes his story. In between the past we get glimpses of Appu’s current life as he writes the book. The to and fro isn’t tedious and fits together well to portray the whole picture. There is quite a lot of strong language and sexual material in the book but it adds to the story though I’m not sure if this book is a good read for young age groups. 🙂

Reading Roll of Honour gave me an insight into the lives of Sikhs after 1984. After partition this was the next big religious event that I was too young and too far geographically to remember, this book helped me understand the people of Punjab better. I’d definitely recommend this book if these kind of stories are your thing. 🙂

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Title: Asura – Tale of the Vanquished
Author: Anand Neelakantan
Paperback: 504 pages
Publisher: Leadstart Publishing Pvt Ltd (May 14, 2012)
Genre: Mythology
Read: Paperback
Stars: ****/5
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Summary: (Amazon)
The epic tale of victory and defeat… The story of the Ramayana had been told innumerable times. The enthralling story of Rama, the incarnation of God, who slew Ravana, the evil demon of darkness, is known to every Indian. And in the pages of history, as always, it is the version told by the victors, that lives on. The voice of the vanquished remains lost in silence. But what if Ravana and his people had a different story to tell? The story of the Ravanayana had never been told. Asura is the epic tale of the vanquished Asura people, a story that has been cherished by the oppressed outcastes of India for 3000 years. Until now, no Asura has dared to tell the tale. But perhaps the time has come for the dead and the defeated to speak.

My Review:

I was born a Muslim, that meant that my Grandmothers bedtime stories weren’t the traditional stories of Indian Kings and Queens. Hence my first taste of the Ramayana was Ramanand Sagar’s version on TV every Sunday morning. In our house Sunday was a big day. I have always loved stories and the Ramayana was beautiful especially after Mr. Sagar got his say in it. It was a rule at home that the TV was switched on only after bath and breakfast. So Sunday was the one day we woke up early without being constantly told to wake up, we got ready in record time and literally gulped our breakfast down.

I enjoyed the epic and didn’t miss it but even at that young age it left me feeling indignant about how women of all classes were treated. Even Sita the Queen didn’t escape the male dominated chauvinistic society. I had questions, so many questions that no one had answers to. Ravana and Lanka were depicted as evil yet Lanka was the city of gold, prosperous and the people were happy. How then was Ravana a bad King and evil?

As I grew up I learned about the different versions of the Ramayan. Versions where Rama was not the hero, he wasn’t a god but a man – that made sense considering the mistakes he made. Then while visiting a friend in Pune I came across Asura which was Ravana’s side of the story and I picked it up.

Asura was a good read, at some places I did wish it would move faster but I still enjoyed reading it. I finally had answers to some of my questions. The story is told by Ravana and Badra who is a common man playing various roles in Ravana life – he is a part of the army, Ravana’s servant and a lower class commoner.

The Ramayana from Ravana’s view point is refreshing. No man is good or evil, it is the situation that makes him so. This becomes clear through the book. Ravana considers himself a man, he doesn’t want to be god. That means that he has plus points to his character but he has the minuses too. He makes mistakes just like any man.

Neelakntan’s Asura finally answers and fills in the gaps in the Ramayana. This is a book to read to get a different perspective to the grand epic we all grew up with.

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Title: Tendrils of Life
Author: Owen Choi
Paperback: 426 pages
Publisher: Princeton Falcon Press (July 26, 2012)
Genre: Historic Novel
Read: eBook
Stars: ****/5
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Summary: (Amazon)
Acute food shortages and lawlessness plague communist occupied Seoul at the start of the Korean War in 1950, and Jimin, a 16-year-old boy, seeks a way to return to a remote island in the South Sea of Korea which he had left five years earlier. But only his father, who is absent from home, knows the way.
Meanwhile, tragedy strikes, brought on by his adversary Sinman, who belongs to a powerful clan hostile toward Jimin’s family. On his way south with his little sister to find his father, Jimin meets Sora and their relationship blooms. But Jimin is compelled to continue his journey, and the two separate.
The war sweeps across the country many times, first with a North Korean invasion, then with a counterattack by UN forces, then with Chinese interference. Through the turmoil, Jimin and Sora venture into war-ravaged and guerrilla-infested areas.
It is a story of love and hope, greed and revenge, strife between families, and the quest for survival in the turmoil of war. A depiction of resilience of the human spirit.
Tendrils of Life is a rich and intriguing novel, interwoven with personal narratives that are real and alive against the backdrop of the Korean War.

My Review:

Note: Thanks to Owen Choi for offering me his book to review 🙂

This is the story Jimin, a boy who is trying to survive the war in Korea. Jimin’s family used to live on a little island where they were content but his father brings them back to the mainland before going away to join the war. After he leaves, Jimin and his sister Misern lose their mother. As she is dying she tells them she will meet them again on the island and there starts their search for their father who is the only one who knows the way back to the island.

Tendrils of Life is about all those lives that touch ours and change it. Every person whether just passing or staying for a while in our lives makes an impact and it’s repercussions are felt forever.

The book has a lot of characters, each adding to the Jimin’s journey. His sister Misern who Jimin loves but sometimes finds a burden. Sora the girl he has loved for a long time from a distance. Sinman his half-brother and rival. His father with whom he has a love-hate relationship. And many others who become a part of his life as he travels across Korea growing up from a boy to a man. Their lives intertwine with his as he tries to make his way to Iodo, the utopian island.

I have always liked history after all I love stories and history is just that. But textbooks and the news are not great sources of stories so I don’t know much of recent history. I knew there was a war in Korea but nothing beyond that. This was was an insight into the war and what common people went though during it.

I enjoyed the book but considering the pain and trauma the war brings to Jimin and Misern I not sure if ‘enjoyed’ is the right word. I cheered the siblings along their journey, felt anxiety in their separation, pain when they got hurt, anger at those who brought so much trauma to a country of peaceful people. I felt for Korea, I felt for all those people who get stuck in wars they didn’t start or ever wanted.

This book is a must read if you want to experience the war in Korea and understand it’s people – how they think and feel, what they have experienced and been through. Choi explores ideas, questions beliefs, and brings out the strength of the human spirit in Tendrils of Life.

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Title: Delirious Delhi
Author: Dave Prager
Paperback: 390 pages
Publisher: Harper Collins India(December 15th 2011)
Genre: Travel
Read: Paperback
Stars: ****/5
Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart
Summary: (Amazon)
Delhi exists in a kind of quantum state: in Delhi, all things are true at once. When the Big Apple no longer felt big enough, Dave and Jenny moved to a city of sixteen million people and, seemingly, twice that many horns honking at once. Delirious Delhi depicts India s capital as the two experienced it, from office life in the rising tech hubs to the traffic jam philosophy that keeps people sane in the gridlock leading to them. With only their sense of humour as their guide, Dave and Jenny set out to explore a city in which ancient stone monuments compete with glass-clad shopping malls to define the landscape. What follows is a top-to-bottom snapshot of a city in the thick of loud and accelerating change. Anyone new to Delhi will have their understanding of it magnified by this book. And anyone who already knows Delhi will appreciate this candid tribute to a city that s everything to everyone at the same time.

My Review:

It’s very easy for a non-Indian to either pan or highly praise India. Most books I’ve read or even people I’ve met either love India or hate India. But India isn’t a country of extremes, its not black or white but many shades of grey. It is a love-hate relationship – you love some, you hate some.

Dave and Jenny spent 18 months working out of Delhi. While in Delhi they seem to have explored the city in its various hues and tastes. The book is filled with anecdotes of Dave and Jenny’s time in Delhi. Their experiences with auto-rickshaws, vegetable vendors, maids, shopping, eating, and much more made me nod and smile with understanding.

Dave starts his stay in India enamored but with time the rose tint descends and Jenny and Dave get to see India in its true colours. They get cheated and conned initially but with time they have the last laugh. The city layout makes no sense initially, but by the time they leave they know their way around. The country of chaos with time unfolds to reveal a pattern and method to the madness.

India is a country of many hues, of opposites existing together, of both extremes being possible. It is a country you both love and hate at the same time and here its possible to do that. And Dave understands this; his book is all the shades of grey. I enjoyed reading Delirious Delhi and smiling and nodding along-side it. It was refreshing to read a book by a non-Indian who actually experienced the ‘real’ India.

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Last week was a wonderful week. Sitting down to blog was just difficult with all that was happening around me. My Mom-In-Law was to visit and that had me up-in-arms initially with an entire plan to clean the house. Well, clean I did but not completely to plan. I let a lot slip through after the realisation hit that she was my Mom; I clean when my own Mom visits but I definitely don’t do a Monica so why now?

And she was Mom, oh so Mom; she didn’t point out all that was not done and even offered to help me clean the fans. I have a fear of ledges so ladders freak me out. My fear doesn’t stop me from climbing ladders but I do need a little help; someone has to stand down there and hold the ladder 😛

Spending time with parents has become important in my life lately. Life is too short to miss out on family and love. I don’t know if I’ll be around tomorrow or if they will so I want them in my today. Every moment with them is precious. There is so much I have to learn from them – making Sambar from one Mom and Biryani from the other. They have stories galore to tell; there are more stories than time available to us it seems.

Mom was here for four days and the days flew. When she left it felt as if she had just arrived. Saying good-bye was more about saying come back soon. Mom do you hear me? Please come back soon.

Other highlights of last week were book review requests. I’ve been reviewing the books I’ve read on the blog. I have a huge back log as of now and need to catch up fast. My goal this year was to read a 100 books. I’ve read 65 books until now but reviewed only 16 books. Shame on me! I need to bridge that gap soon. But anyway, here are the two books I have got review requests for –

Tendrils of Life by Owen Choi
Roll Of Honour by Amandeep Sandhu

And I’m excited! This was the first time an author wrote in asking for a review and I’m honoured. It takes a lot to write a book (I know I’ve been trying for a while now) and it takes even more to ask for a truthful review. Being critical of someone else’s work is easy, but accepting that criticism is difficult. Like Ego in Ratatouille says “In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.”
Both the books deal with some very painful subjects and I’m looking forward to reading them soon.

The other latest news is that BBMP in Bangalore has made garbage segregation compulsory. That means a lot of new learning. Until now everything went into trash from veggies to dog poop. Now I have a lot of questions – how do I dispose my fallen hair and dog hair for starters. I’ll do a post on my learning here soon 🙂

Do you have any tips on garbage segregation and disposal?

Title: The Cinderella Curse
Author: J.L. Penn
Paperback: 68 pages
Publisher: Kindle Edition(March 15th 2010)
Genre: Romance
Read: eBook
Stars: ****/5
Buy On: Amazon
Summary: (Amazon)
Cindy had a fairy tale life – well, not literally – but she was pretty and popular. Then one fateful autumn day, while picking apples, she encountered a real-life witch. After accidentally clocking the witch on the head with her basket of apples, the angry witch put a spell on her. As Cindy would soon find out, she was destined to live out her nights turning into a pumpkin at midnight. Talk about a crimp in your social life!

There is only one antidote for Cindy’s terrible curse – if only she knew what it was. Hilarity ensues as Cindy attempts to lead a normal life as a part-time pumpkin.

My Review:

Kindle Freebie: Thanks J.L. Penn 🙂

The blurb of the book says it’s a hilarious tale, so when I was looking for a new book to read and wanted something light and fun, this seemed like a good choice. And it was!

One day while picking apples Cindy drops her basket of apples on the head of a witch who promptly curses her. Poor Cindy now turns into a pumpkin every night at midnight. Now that’s a unique take on Cinderella!

The story is about how Cindy deals with life while turning into a pumpkin. She finds herself in a lot of awkward situations and has a lot of explaining to do – like when she turns into a pumpkin at the store and is found in the morning sleeping on a pile of pumpkins 🙂 Her friend Lexi helps her get out of a few sticky situations and together they try to find a cure. While all this is happening Cindy continues dating and of course this leads to more tight spots.

Will Cindy find a cure and the love of her life or will she have to end every date before midnight?

The Cinderella Curse is a quick read and it made me laugh – a lot. It’s a light non-serious book that’s great for a lazy afternoon.

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Title: One Dance with a Duke
Author: Tessa Dare
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books(May 13th 2010)
Genre: Historical Romance
Read: Paperback (Rouge Collection)
Stars: ****/5
Buy On: Amazon | Flipkart
Summary: (Amazon)
A handsome and reclusive horse breeder, Spencer Dumarque, the fourth Duke of Morland, is a member of the exclusive Stud Club, an organization so select it has only ten members—yet membership is attainable to anyone with luck. And Spencer has plenty of it, along with an obsession with a prize horse, a dark secret, and, now, a reputation as the dashing “Duke of Midnight.” Each evening he selects one lady for a breathtaking midnight waltz. But none of the women catch his interest, and nobody ever bests the duke—until Lady Amelia d’Orsay tries her luck.

In a moment of desperation, the unconventional beauty claims the duke’s dance and unwittingly steals his heart. When Amelia demands that Spencer forgive her scapegrace brother’s debts, she never imagines that her game of wits and words will lead to breathless passion and a steamy proposal. Still, Spencer is a man of mystery, perhaps connected to the shocking murder of the Stud Club’s founder. Will Amelia lose her heart in this reckless wager or win everlasting love?

My Review:

After 32 ebooks I read One Dance with a Duke on paper 😀

One Dance with a Duke is the first part of the Stud Club Trilogy by Tessa Dare. It’s a historical romance but with a modern touch. The language a lot of times feels modern rather than historic and there’s just an over all feel of being in the modern world while still being in the Victorian era. And that’s not a bad thing because I quite enjoyed reading it.

The book is filled with a good amount of the erotic and I usually don’t like that but in this case I enjoyed reading those steamy scenes too. Be prepared for a lot of locations and positions 😛

The characters are lovable. Spencer the Duke is not only tall, dark and handsome but also has his own failings that make him more human. Amelia is an older woman at 26 and her thought processes make for enjoyable reading. She has a lot of spunk and stands up for people. This makes for some skirmishes to look forward too.

The story revolves around a horse Osiris and a gentlemen’s club – The Stud Club. I like that name! Leo the founder of the club gets killed and there’s a mystery to the event. However this mystery isn’t resolved in the book. I’m hoping it’ll get solved over the next two books.

I just can’t seem to find the cover I read, so here it is. Like I said with Lady Sophia’s Rescue; I just can’t understand why authors agree to cut off the head of the heroine on the cover. It just looks weird!

This may not be an exceptional book but definitely makes for an enjoyable read. I’m going to look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy when I can get my hands on them.

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Title: The Troubled Man
Author: Henning Mankell
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: March 1st 2011 by Harvill Press (Mar. 1st 2009)
Genre: Mystery (Crime)
Read: eBook
Stars: ***/5
Buy On: Amazon | Flipkart
Summary: (Amazon)
On a winter day in 2008, Håkan von Enke, a retired high-ranking naval officer, vanishes during his daily walk in a forest near Stockholm. The investigation into his disappearance falls under the jurisdiction of the Stockholm police. It has nothing to do with Wallander—officially. But von Enke is his daughter’s future father-in-law. And so, with his inimitable disregard for normal procedure, Wallander is soon interfering in matters that are not his responsibility, making promises he won’t keep, telling lies when it suits him—and getting results.

But the results hint at elaborate Cold War espionage activities that seem inextricably confounding, even to Wallander, who, in any case, is troubled in more personal ways as well. Negligent of his health, he’s become convinced that, having turned sixty, he is on the threshold of senility. Desperate to live up to the hope that a new granddaughter represents, he is continually haunted by his past. And looking toward the future with profound uncertainty, he will have no choice but to come face-to-face with his most intractable adversary: himself.

My Review:

Its one of those weird things – I don’t know why I had this book on my Kindle but when a friend saw it he recommended it. Kurt Wallander books are supposed to be good mysteries to read. So I said what the hell and just read it. I should have checked because this book is the last in a series of 10.

That said it’s not a bad book. It’s just that the characters felt a bit unknown but that most probably is because I haven’t yet met them in the last nine books. Note to self: Read book 1: Faceless Killers.

The story revolves round the disappearance of Wallander’s daughter’s father-in-law and that draws Wallander into the case. As he investigates the case the mother-in-law disappears too. His findings point to a high level spy. But who is the spy and who is he/she spying for? These are the answers you’re looking for through the book.

The storyline has a lot of world politics and the political situation in Sweden over the years. I am not a great fan of politics and this bit of the book I didn’t enjoy so much even though I may have learned a thing or two.

Over all I’m glad I gave Henning Mankell a try and withhold hard judgment until I’ve read the first in the series – Faceless Killers. 🙂

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