Writer: Dan Brown
Genre: Fiction
Ok, Angels & Daemons and Da Vinci Code were great but that’s because it was the first time (at least for me) somebody ventured into the lost world of symbols, ambigrams, secret sects,etc. Too much of anything is definitely boring!
In the Lost Symbol, you have Robert Langdon again, trying to avert a national crisis and at the same time help his friend Peter Solomon, a very prominent freemason. The setting, however, is Washington D.C. The book then essentially is running around all of the US capitol uncovering hidden symbols and secret rooms with a lot of symbology thrown here and there. The freemasonry ideas are distributed all over and Noetic Science makes its presence felt. As with his many books he again tries to bridge the gap between religion and science saying they are essentially one but have lost their meaning as humans progressed.
The book is huge and someone who hasn’t read brown would lap it up because the chase around Washington with all the secrets is fun. The problem is - I have done all that already! His previous books were the same. To add to woes the climax is not so riveting either.
No harm in reading it but do not expect something spectacular. It is same in-line as his famous two books.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Anthem
Writer: Ayn Rand
Genre: Fiction
The efforts I took to buy an original copy of this book were fruitful. Ayn Rand with her individualistic philosophy yet again! This time however, the book is just 100 pages long. Yeah, considering her epics like Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged this one is way too small but it can still hold you perplexed till the last page. If you are a hopeless fan of Rand that is!
Set in some dark age where mankind exists with its irrationality and collectivism you can’t help but notice the plural pronouns used as the book begins. Equality 7-2521, the protagonist is asked to be street sweeper by the World Council although he himself is more inclined towards becoming a scholar because of his undying curiosity. He, however, accepts the council’s decision and does his job religiously before he stumbles upon a tunnel left over from what the author terms as 'Unmentionable Times'. The discovery changes his course of life as he takes out time everyday to get into the tunnel, read scripts left behind and eventually rediscover electricity. He is soon caught and imprisoned for his transgression. He escapes and decides to submit his findings to the Word Council of Scholars with the hope that they will understand its importance.
The council however rejects his findings saying that they disrupt the equilibrium of their world. Disillusioned Equality 7-2521 runs into a forest where no man has been before and stays there and devours the manuscripts and ideas that he comes across in a house left back from the ‘Unmentionable Times'. He is joined by Liberty 5-3000 who is his love interest and understands his ideas and principles. The book ends as the protagonist rechristens himself as ‘Prometheus’ and discovers the meaning and usage of singular pronouns.
It’s crisp and talks of the same philosophy that her other classics spoke. For Rand fans, you need it in your collection definitely!
The classic line from the book –
"I need no warrant for being and no word of sanction upon my being. I am the warrant and the sanction."
Genre: Fiction
The efforts I took to buy an original copy of this book were fruitful. Ayn Rand with her individualistic philosophy yet again! This time however, the book is just 100 pages long. Yeah, considering her epics like Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged this one is way too small but it can still hold you perplexed till the last page. If you are a hopeless fan of Rand that is!
Set in some dark age where mankind exists with its irrationality and collectivism you can’t help but notice the plural pronouns used as the book begins. Equality 7-2521, the protagonist is asked to be street sweeper by the World Council although he himself is more inclined towards becoming a scholar because of his undying curiosity. He, however, accepts the council’s decision and does his job religiously before he stumbles upon a tunnel left over from what the author terms as 'Unmentionable Times'. The discovery changes his course of life as he takes out time everyday to get into the tunnel, read scripts left behind and eventually rediscover electricity. He is soon caught and imprisoned for his transgression. He escapes and decides to submit his findings to the Word Council of Scholars with the hope that they will understand its importance.
The council however rejects his findings saying that they disrupt the equilibrium of their world. Disillusioned Equality 7-2521 runs into a forest where no man has been before and stays there and devours the manuscripts and ideas that he comes across in a house left back from the ‘Unmentionable Times'. He is joined by Liberty 5-3000 who is his love interest and understands his ideas and principles. The book ends as the protagonist rechristens himself as ‘Prometheus’ and discovers the meaning and usage of singular pronouns.
It’s crisp and talks of the same philosophy that her other classics spoke. For Rand fans, you need it in your collection definitely!
The classic line from the book –
"I need no warrant for being and no word of sanction upon my being. I am the warrant and the sanction."
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
2 States
Genre: Fiction
Writer: Chetan Bhagat
Finally the author has come up with something that will ring a bell with all Indians. The cultural differences in a our single country is so huge that we could write volumes about it. If you have a nice sense of humour you could put some laughter in those volumes too.
That's the USP of this book. Its witty and sarcastic, something that is very difficult to achieve when you are writing a book. The story about Krish Malhotra who falls for his IIMA classmate Ananya Swamintahan is probably the story that could be enacted anywhere. Punjabis vs Madrasis - there is no dearth of humour. How this couple finally get the two sides of the nation on a single platform is what the book is all about. That is all that exists to the story. The climax is too predictable and almost ruined my read but I will still recommend this book for the remaining part. The conversations are hilarious and more so because they are day-to-day conversations. We always hear those remarks around us. Some get offended, some take it with a pinch of salt.
Chetan Bhagat has got his statistics right, the book is a very small one and costs much less than most of the books in this genre. So people who don't usually read would lap it up too. I, personally, have never liked anything apart from 'Five Point Someone' but this one is good. Its an Indian writer showing us a mirror and teaching us to laugh at our idiosyncrasies......have a good laugh!
Writer: Chetan Bhagat
Finally the author has come up with something that will ring a bell with all Indians. The cultural differences in a our single country is so huge that we could write volumes about it. If you have a nice sense of humour you could put some laughter in those volumes too.
That's the USP of this book. Its witty and sarcastic, something that is very difficult to achieve when you are writing a book. The story about Krish Malhotra who falls for his IIMA classmate Ananya Swamintahan is probably the story that could be enacted anywhere. Punjabis vs Madrasis - there is no dearth of humour. How this couple finally get the two sides of the nation on a single platform is what the book is all about. That is all that exists to the story. The climax is too predictable and almost ruined my read but I will still recommend this book for the remaining part. The conversations are hilarious and more so because they are day-to-day conversations. We always hear those remarks around us. Some get offended, some take it with a pinch of salt.
Chetan Bhagat has got his statistics right, the book is a very small one and costs much less than most of the books in this genre. So people who don't usually read would lap it up too. I, personally, have never liked anything apart from 'Five Point Someone' but this one is good. Its an Indian writer showing us a mirror and teaching us to laugh at our idiosyncrasies......have a good laugh!
Maximum City
Genre: Non-Fiction / Narrative (tell me if there is better genre)
Writer: Suketu Mehta
A lovely book with some great narration. The writer talks to the set of people who essentially make up what we call the city of Mumbai.
One section of the book deals with the gangsters and mumbai police. Interviews and point of views is what makes up this section. The coldness with which people kill and the brutality of their everyday life perhaps numbs your senses so much that you wish they had a more personal aspect to the killings than just money. But that would be a filmy expectation I guess! There are some big shots names that aren't probably changed because we all know about them.
There is a section dedicated to the dance bars of Mumbai. The character of Monalisa, a bar dancer, is probably a very interesting one because of the various layers of her personality. The trans gender Honey is another well etched character.
The section where Mehta talks to the Shiv sainiks and its supremo is another one that probably had me hooked but yeah I would rather not go by a someone else's account of some person.
How can you talk about Mumbai without talking about Bollywood? There goes another section with some interesting anecdotes. Personally, I think this section is comparatively dry when compared with others because the personalities in this section are too predictable and already well dissected thru' the newspapers and media. I didn't want to know anything more about them ;)
Finally, spirituality comes into a picture as a very wealthy businessman decides to take Sanyas along with his family. This section is another good read.
If you think with so much information clubbed together this book would be boring, its not so! Somehow, the writer has captured Mumbai as she would have liked to be captured......lively! The first person narration, the characters being spoken to as if they were his everyday friends, anecdotes being shared - some of them what we have probably read in newspapers, all of these things make this book fabulous. The writer must have had the time of his life talking and interviewing all these people and getting to know their perspective on life, death, money and love.
Grab a copy, you should have it in your shelves....Its that good :)
Writer: Suketu Mehta
A lovely book with some great narration. The writer talks to the set of people who essentially make up what we call the city of Mumbai.
One section of the book deals with the gangsters and mumbai police. Interviews and point of views is what makes up this section. The coldness with which people kill and the brutality of their everyday life perhaps numbs your senses so much that you wish they had a more personal aspect to the killings than just money. But that would be a filmy expectation I guess! There are some big shots names that aren't probably changed because we all know about them.
There is a section dedicated to the dance bars of Mumbai. The character of Monalisa, a bar dancer, is probably a very interesting one because of the various layers of her personality. The trans gender Honey is another well etched character.
The section where Mehta talks to the Shiv sainiks and its supremo is another one that probably had me hooked but yeah I would rather not go by a someone else's account of some person.
How can you talk about Mumbai without talking about Bollywood? There goes another section with some interesting anecdotes. Personally, I think this section is comparatively dry when compared with others because the personalities in this section are too predictable and already well dissected thru' the newspapers and media. I didn't want to know anything more about them ;)
Finally, spirituality comes into a picture as a very wealthy businessman decides to take Sanyas along with his family. This section is another good read.
If you think with so much information clubbed together this book would be boring, its not so! Somehow, the writer has captured Mumbai as she would have liked to be captured......lively! The first person narration, the characters being spoken to as if they were his everyday friends, anecdotes being shared - some of them what we have probably read in newspapers, all of these things make this book fabulous. The writer must have had the time of his life talking and interviewing all these people and getting to know their perspective on life, death, money and love.
Grab a copy, you should have it in your shelves....Its that good :)
Monday, July 20, 2009
The God Delusion
Writer: Richard Dawkins
Genre: Non-Fiction
Anything that comes from Dawkins does not need an introduction, does it? The British biologist comes up with some hard-hitting questions for people with religious affinities. He focuses directly on a wider range of arguments used for and against belief in the existence of God(s).
If you are a religious fanatic skip it. You need an open mind to understand the rationale behind his non acceptance of god. I read the whole book, liked many parts in it but it did not turn me into an atheist. He has criticized religion only because it seems to be the major contributor to conflicts everywhere. All he asks for is people to be able to question beliefs that have been handed over to them by century old traditions. Come to see it have we all not chosen our religion because our parents made us do it. I mean nowhere in the world is a kids religion determined by his/her own beliefs. As I said there are many things that get you thinking.
But just reading an atheist does not make you an atheist. Atleast i feel so! If you believe your faith why are you so scared of people scrutinizing or questioning it? Humans cannot exist without faith..... Some believe in god, some in nature, some in human mind.....but the bottom line is you have to believe in something. Probably I would not be able to state arguments for my faith the way Dawkins does against it. But what the heck? Someday probably I will if not today!
It’s a great book with real good arguments. Read it if you know you can digest it, don’t run asking for the writer's head. Faith that runs scared on questioning is no faith at all :)
Genre: Non-Fiction
Anything that comes from Dawkins does not need an introduction, does it? The British biologist comes up with some hard-hitting questions for people with religious affinities. He focuses directly on a wider range of arguments used for and against belief in the existence of God(s).
If you are a religious fanatic skip it. You need an open mind to understand the rationale behind his non acceptance of god. I read the whole book, liked many parts in it but it did not turn me into an atheist. He has criticized religion only because it seems to be the major contributor to conflicts everywhere. All he asks for is people to be able to question beliefs that have been handed over to them by century old traditions. Come to see it have we all not chosen our religion because our parents made us do it. I mean nowhere in the world is a kids religion determined by his/her own beliefs. As I said there are many things that get you thinking.
But just reading an atheist does not make you an atheist. Atleast i feel so! If you believe your faith why are you so scared of people scrutinizing or questioning it? Humans cannot exist without faith..... Some believe in god, some in nature, some in human mind.....but the bottom line is you have to believe in something. Probably I would not be able to state arguments for my faith the way Dawkins does against it. But what the heck? Someday probably I will if not today!
It’s a great book with real good arguments. Read it if you know you can digest it, don’t run asking for the writer's head. Faith that runs scared on questioning is no faith at all :)
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
If tomorrow comes
Author: Sidney Sheldon
Genre: Fiction
My favourite Sidney book after Rage of Angels (I probably like only these two).Tracy Whitney, a character I love almost as much as I love Jennifer Parker. No feminism here....just some fantastic storytelling and ideologies that you identify with.
All set to marry her wealthy and famous boyfriend Tracy doesn’t have any issues in life. Just as she is thinking that life couldn’t get better there comes a phone call informing her of her mother's suicide. Before she knows Tracy is caught in a web of lies and betrayals and lands up in prison.
Probably her jail trauma is the best part of the book. She is broken and almost gives up but a momentary thought that it’s no fault of hers makes her accept life and she chooses to live it her way. That’s when the book turns around as she plans and executes an amazing revenge against those who betrayed her. That completes half of the book.
The final part takes you on a whirlwind tour of some daring and brilliant robberies committed by Tracy sometimes together with Jeff. Read the chess plot carefully and you will admire Sheldon's ingenuity :) That what started for survival now has Tracy hooked and she loves it. But there are people who must stop her before she makes a fool of the entire system. This is a predictable part but yet has amazing humour and probably the optimist in me likes the part and the climax too.
This one is a must for your collection. It’s just amazing story telling with well defined characterizations!
Update: There is another Sidney book that I love - Tell Me your dreams (This time I am sure I adore only 3 of his books ;) )
Genre: Fiction
My favourite Sidney book after Rage of Angels (I probably like only these two).Tracy Whitney, a character I love almost as much as I love Jennifer Parker. No feminism here....just some fantastic storytelling and ideologies that you identify with.
All set to marry her wealthy and famous boyfriend Tracy doesn’t have any issues in life. Just as she is thinking that life couldn’t get better there comes a phone call informing her of her mother's suicide. Before she knows Tracy is caught in a web of lies and betrayals and lands up in prison.
Probably her jail trauma is the best part of the book. She is broken and almost gives up but a momentary thought that it’s no fault of hers makes her accept life and she chooses to live it her way. That’s when the book turns around as she plans and executes an amazing revenge against those who betrayed her. That completes half of the book.
The final part takes you on a whirlwind tour of some daring and brilliant robberies committed by Tracy sometimes together with Jeff. Read the chess plot carefully and you will admire Sheldon's ingenuity :) That what started for survival now has Tracy hooked and she loves it. But there are people who must stop her before she makes a fool of the entire system. This is a predictable part but yet has amazing humour and probably the optimist in me likes the part and the climax too.
This one is a must for your collection. It’s just amazing story telling with well defined characterizations!
Update: There is another Sidney book that I love - Tell Me your dreams (This time I am sure I adore only 3 of his books ;) )
Saturday, May 30, 2009
The English August
Writer: Upamanyu Chatterjee
Genre: Fiction
Agastya Sen, a half Bengali, half Goan IAS is posted to a small hinterland called 'Madna' for his one year training. Coming from Delhi and Calcutta, the place turns out to be quite a shocker for our English thinking Agastya. The fact that Agastya is lost and wants to understand his purpose in life does not help and his life seems to be all about marijuana, Marcus Aurelius.
Thats the entire plot of the book. And if you think there is no story you are right! But this book has some great satire and sarcasm. The punches are many and you just need to be a connoisseur of words to appreciate them.
Recommended for some nicely written punches!
Genre: Fiction
Agastya Sen, a half Bengali, half Goan IAS is posted to a small hinterland called 'Madna' for his one year training. Coming from Delhi and Calcutta, the place turns out to be quite a shocker for our English thinking Agastya. The fact that Agastya is lost and wants to understand his purpose in life does not help and his life seems to be all about marijuana, Marcus Aurelius.
Thats the entire plot of the book. And if you think there is no story you are right! But this book has some great satire and sarcasm. The punches are many and you just need to be a connoisseur of words to appreciate them.
Recommended for some nicely written punches!
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