Book Review- The Suicide Diary

The Suicide Diary- Hari Prasad

                 When Tales Pensieve gave me the opportunity to review this book, I was completely unaware of what to expect. I have never read a book like this before. The author had sent me a signed copy, so as elated as I was, I started reading not knowing what a ride I was in for.

                  The protagonist is fatigued by his existence. He feels like an old man trapped in a young man’s body. He is hunting for ways and procedures to end his grieve. Every minute of his life, he feels is a waste. Every minute there is somebody to make him realize that his life is not worth living. But everytime he looks at ending his life, his inner voice thinks otherwise. On this journey, how he meets a few people and how he then decides and plans his cessation, is the story of The Suicide Diary.

                     I must confess that initially when I started reading I felt a little blasé. I felt that I had done a mistake by picking this book. Since I had taken it up for review so I had to under any circumstance finish reading it. I really thought that this book would be a drag. But I was proved wrong. The book picked up and how. Gradually I understood the style of the author and what he wants to infer.

                      The characters are developed strongly by verbalizing the entire novel superlatively. The cynical thoughts that go in the protagonist's mind scares the reader due to the way it is written. The horrendous encounters by the lead character leave you flummoxed. The entire storytelling is unexpected. The author weaves the entry and exit of each and every character so well that you are left gobsmacked and you wait for a moment, to let your grey cells  comprehend what has happened. Each and every word can be visualized and you feel that those things are happening right in front of your eyes. The sadism of the protagonist leaves you frozen. Mildred, Estella, his wife all have been drafted impeccably. Infact, even the short role of the inspectors have been drafted to perfection.

                     During the course of the reading the protagonist depicts his feelings a lot of times and 9 out of ten times it is the same but you don’t feel it to be repetitive even once. This is due to the magician Hari Prasad. His usage of words and metaphors are pertinent. They create such an impact on the readers mind that the visuals of the narrative leave you with goosebumps. Description of certain incidents are penned flawlessly. Couple of them stay with you forever. Like the lust which the lead character faces for a young girl at the beginning while travelling to the petrol pump. The feelings that he gets while uploading the pictures on the internet. Kudos to Hari Prasad for this. I am in awe of his writing.

                     The author had sent me a copy signed: “Let literature Inspire and enrich your life always”. I would like to request the author to continue writing and inspire amateurs like us with his wisdom because it is a rare gift and something worth sharing with the world. I would also like to thank Tales Pensieve for giving me this once in a lifetime opportunity to review such a piece of art. This is not a genre that can be read and re-read. But just for the writing style and the sheer vocabulary you would want to re-read it. It is a learning experience and I feel myself fortunate to own a copy of this masterpiece.

Stars-4.75/5 

Book Review- Killing Ashish Karve

KILLING ASHISH KARVE-SALIL DESAI

Crime fiction is a genre I have always enjoyed. Though I have marked that not many Indian Authors attempt this genre. Contrary to this,Salil Desai has penned down two murder mysteries. This one being his first. After reading a lot of rave reviews and being termed as “The Best murder mystery by an Indian Author so far”, I was itching to pick this one.

Sanjot Karve, the wife of Ashish Karve, goes to the police station to file a missing complaint of her husband. The Police not believing her at the very first instance,later find a dead body in a car. Identifying the body as Ashish Karve the police department then start their investigations. A Suicide  note is found alongwith the dead remains, but Senior Inspector Saralkar is of the opinion that it is a murder. Tracing one clue at a time, how he, alongwith PSI Motkar unveil the mystery is the crime fiction thriller by Salil Desai.

I have read murder mysteries before but this is first of a kind where they have given step by step procedure of how the police department works on a murder/suicide case. And I must say the author has done a good job with it. He has worked hard on the usage of words as well. The use of words have been pertinent and accurate, making it a simple as well as an enjoyable read. The biggest thing according to me for a novel to do well is the strength of the characters. The author wins your heart with strong characters of Sanjot Karve, Suchitra Chopra, Jaideep Karve,PSI Motkar and my favourite Senior Inspector Saralkar. His character is written to perfection. He is intuitive, smart,witty and fearless. A lot of different traits of his personality come through, throughout the narrative. Another ace of the book is the relationship depicted between Saralkar and Motkar. It is humorous, witty and make for a delightful read. The reader almost waits for their conversations to happen throughout the story-telling.

Alongwith the positives there are negatives as well. The characters of Saralkar and Motkar are penned so well that one yearns to read their discussions. I wish those conversations were crisper. Too much description sometimes makes you skim through it and read only their dialogues. ALso I wasn't very happy with the climax. First of all in the beginning itself I had a little inkling over who the killer was (Blame Sydney Sheldon and all his racy reads!!). Secondly I do not think the reason was justified. It is the 21st century. We are looking ahead in life. Looking at equality, then why would we consider this topic taboo. How can the murderer be so ruthless as to kill someone on this basis or have such a regressive opinion on this matter.

Inspite of this, this book has been drafted well and Kudos to Salil Desai for this. If nothing then this book should definitely be picked up to witness the sheer camaraderie between Senior Inspector Saralkar and PSI Motkar.

Stars- 2.5/5

Book Review- Death In Every Stride

                      

                       Death In Every Stride- Megha Agarwal

             Being a part of the reviewing team for Tales Pensieve, when I saw this book on their Reviewers list I called for a copy immediately. No, I am not a sadist and I do not enjoy reading about people who are in immense pain (this book is about domestic violence, assault, rape) but sometimes knowing about people who suffer such a great deal, helps you realise that we nitpick over such trivial matters in our life.

              This book is an Epistolary (novel written in the form of diary entries, letters). It is the story of Krisanne, who like many other Indian girls gets tied down with a groom of her parent’s choice. With dreams in her eyes about her new life, she embarks on this, so-called, "blissful" journey called Marriage. How her dreams get shattered by a "monster" (her husband - Paul) and his atrocious and merciless behaviour is the story of Death in Every Stride.

              I had developed a penchant for reading this style, after reading so many of Princess Diaries. Though, I never thought that I will end up reading, such a genre, in this style. Krisanne's diary depicts the brutal and pitiless behaviour she tolerated in the name of marriage. The story spans over 20 years. The character of Paul has been drafted well. The author has hit the bulls-eye in penning Paul like the perfect villain. It comes across very evidently. Two or Three incidents of his behaviour have been written by the author so well that your heart almost cringes for Krisanne. You just want to pull her out and comfort her. You can hear the silent screams and tears and that is a victory for such a young author. Out of their two kids, the character of Aarav remains questionable. His behaviour, his softness for his ruthless father, is very difficult to fathom. Emily,their daughter, becomes the most favoured character. Her fearless streak just wins your heart and reading about her is the only time the reader smiles in the entire novel.

               There were a few questions unanswered here. Inspite of having such a huge family and loving siblings why didn’t Krisanne ever confide in them? Why didn’t her family regularly check on their beloved daughter? Why did she not raise her voice when her kids were going through the same ordeal? A mother ceases to think as a wife or a daughter if a single tear also drops from her child’s eye.Then why didn’t Krisanne oppose what her children were facing?  Also I felt some places the authenticity of Krisanne’s feelings were camouflaged by the unnecessary usage of heavy and difficult words, thus losing the plot those times.

                  Other than these minor hiccups, Death In Every Stride is a hard-hitting read and leaves you with a very emotional and a melancholy feeling. A feeling which will definitely stay with you for long.

Stars-3.5/5

Book Review- Brutal

BRUTAL - UDAY SATPATHY

            A few months back, Rashmi Bansal came up with an innovative idea to discover and publish new writing talents - www.bloodygoodbook.com. First time authors get this opportunity to upload three chapters of their new book. Based on the reviews a decision is taken to publish the book on the website. Being one of the readers, I was eagerly looking forward for the book to be printed, as the three chapters were nothing less than amazing. As soon as I received a message that the e-book is available, I couldn’t stop myself from purchasing it through Amazon.

            This book starts with Nitin Tomar, a friendly teacher, massacring children in his own school. He is shot dead when he is taken for the trial. Finding some suspicion, in an otherwise open and shut case, are two reporters- Seema and Prakash. Both of them are working for rival channels but are very good friends. They start digging into the mystery of this case. Gradually each and every witness is found dead before they reach them. Inspite of the personal mishaps that both of them are facing, they get into the crux of the case and whether they emerge as winners is the story of Brutal.

            The author has written this book like a three book series (all in one). The entire book has been written with the intention of keeping you at the edge of your seat always. It is racy. Most of the times you are reading through hastily to know what is going to happen next. The reason why Brutal is an interesting read is the characters. All the characters are real and have an important role to play in the flow of the storyline. The characters of Seema and Prakash have been drafted immaculately. The way they begin the investigation at different points and how they meet midway and unravel the truth is the USP of this book. This has been drafted to perfection and leaves you stunned. But I have fallen in love with the boisterous nature of Mrinal. He keeps you entertained always.

            There are only a couple of hiccups that took me away from this nail biting narrative. The story on Khushwahas. I think that could have been edited a little. Too much family history was avoidable. Also, the part on Israel and Iran could have been written more interestingly. Those chapters were wearisome to read.

            Other than this, Brutal has been an exemplary experience. Uday, indeed, has done a commendable job. It does not feel as this book has been written by a first time author and that's a victory in itself for him.

            The book is available in the e-book form on Amazon, Google Playbooks and www.bloodygoodbook.com. The paperback is going to be out on 11^th September 2015. So do pick this book if you love this genre, Uday does not disappoint one bit.

STARS-4.5/5

                

Book Review- Twenties Girl

TWENTIES GIRL - SOPHIE KINSELLA

            Twenties girl was on my "To be Read" list ever since I had read "Confessions of a Shopaholic" by the same author. So this time when I went strolling in my library and caught a glimpse of this book on the desk, I picked it up immediately.

            Twenties girl is about Lara Lington and her great Aunt Sadie's ghost, who can converse only with Lara and is not visible to any human around. Lara is dealing with her own dilemmas when Sadie entrusts the responsibility of finding her treasured Dragonfly Necklace on her. Soon they start working together, sometimes agreeing to each other and other times working forcibly eventually helping each other in their messy situations. Initially wary of the other, gradually builds into an envious camaraderie. The search of the Dragon fly necklace takes Lara into deep family history and the manner in which the suspense unfolds before she finds it, is the story of Twenties Girl.

            The book starts of extremely slow and makes it a tedious read. But I would urge the readers to hang on and continue reading, as the book sequentially picks up. The character of Lara is quite predictable. A girl having a plethora of problems who eventually solves them all and emerges a winner (I secretly wish life was that easy). She has been penned well, but does not stay with you after you have finished reading. The character that imprints in your heart is Sadie. She has been drafted impeccably. She is fearless. She is full of life. She is everything any 23 year old would dream of being. The companionship of Sadie and Lara that augments over time is what makes this book an enchanting read. The manner in which Sadie rules Josh (Lara's ex boyfriend) is humorous. The character of Ed has also been drafted superbly and his equation with both Lara and Sadie is noteworthy. It flows immaculately with the storyline inspite of that primarily being about finding the dragonfly necklace.  All the characters have been composed well and are extremely pertinent to the narrative. But the creme de la creme is the suspense which is exhilarating to read and was completely unforeseen. The finale chapters are written to perfection and keep you at the edge of the seat always. One would instantly want to read the next section to know more.

            What I devour of Sophie Kinsella's writing is the effortless flow of words in enfolding the story. And I think this is the reason of her being so successful and numero uno in this genre.

            Do pick this book if you have the patience to survive the banal commencing chapters because it is then a friendship worth reading of.

STARS-3.5/5

Book Review- Mrs.Funnybones

Mrs.Funnybones - Twinkle Khanna

                                    

                                  Being an ardent admirer of Twinkle Khanna's columns in Dna After hrs and Times of India, it was natural that I was waiting with bated breath for her book. Twinkle Khanna is known for her satirical sense of humour. This book is a compilation of all her columns.

                                    When we think of someone writing a column, we think about it being preachy and also expect to read, four to five paragraphs put together. The author out here writes with timing. She gives the exact timing of the occurrence that somehow intrigued me and helped me connect better to her work. What encouraged me to start reading Twinkle Khanna's columns (obviously because I was not a fan of her acting prowess) was this different approach towards writing. Well, a lot of people have termed this book as funny, and it is rightly so, but the USP of her writing is that she explains the profundity of each subject in a very lucid manner. Her writing is effortless. Facts of life that everyone advises, simple things that everyone expects us to follow but we think otherwise, comes very naturally to her thus keeping the reader engaged. Explaining varied things by means of self deprecating humour and by being witty is the art the author has mastered.

                                    I love the fact that she has named the famous superstar Akshay Kumar, also her husband "the man of the house", her son as "the prodigal son". The book has a lot more other characters like the mother in law, her mother, her sister, the relatives and everyone's favourite Karan Johar. My favourite writing piece was the one on MOM and Mars. As mentioned earlier I have read her columns so a lot of the chapters were repetitive for me. But the magic of Twinkle Khanna's writing is that I have not felt like skipping even a single chapter and reading the next. In fact, I enjoyed reading it the second time even more than the first and I am sure any other reader would enjoy it too. Some stories will register in the reader's decaying brain cells (the way she would put it) for a long time and that for a first time author is a matter of immense achievement.

                                    There are so many lines that I have noted which immediately strike a chord and start exercising your brain cells. Following are my favourites:

1) "Life is full of contradictions. We crave security and independence in equal measures"

2) "Love is only about putting the other person's needs ahead of your own, that, my friend is just as simple and as complex as you make it"

3) "I want to be a child again, to climb up hills and roll down the other side, only because the hill exists and so do I"

                                    Apart from the fact that the book thrives on tongue in cheek humour, it is written straight from a mother's heart. Her equation with her children has been crafted fondly and honestly. The author gives us a peak of her celebrity life which makes us realise that the minuscule problems we face in our day to day life is what they face too and that takes the relatibility quotient of the book to an even higher scale.

                                     A must read for anyone who wants to forget the daily grind for a bit and gyrate to Twinkle Khanna's satirical world. I definitely see myself re-reading few parts for a long time.

STARS-4/5 

Short Story 1

It was the same coffee shop. It exuded the same warmth that had engulfed all their laughters, all their good times. But today the situation was peculiar. Her hand clutched his, longing for the same warm-heartedness. Her eyes were moist. Her heart was beating faster than normal. Her feet were trembling. He looked at her concerned.

 "I love you baby" was the only thing she could say till now. She was looking into his eyes waiting for an answer. But now his gaze had shifted somewhere else- her ring.