Manu Prasad

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Midnight's Children
by Salman Rushdie

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Manu Prasad rated a book 1 of 5 stars

The Oath of the Vayuputras by Amish Tripathi

The Oath of the Vayuputras (Shiva Trilogy, #3)
by Amish Tripathi

read in May, 2013

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"Lord Ram, have mercy!" on those who attempt to read the third installment. It was never the literary genius of the author that made me continue reading the trilogy after The Immortals of Meh. Like I'd mentioned in my review of the book, I thought th...more "Lord Ram, have mercy!" on those who attempt to read the third installment. It was never the literary genius of the author that made me continue reading the trilogy after The Immortals of Meh. Like I'd mentioned in my review of the book, I thought there was some imagination at work. The trend continued in The Secret Nag (yes, I'm irritated enough to play with the titles) and there was some effort in polishing the language. All of this meant that Book 3 had to be read, but what a horror it turned out to be!
That damn phrase I quoted in the beginning has appeared so many times in this book that it must have easily hiked the page count by at least 20! It is one of the many torture devices the author has skilfully used. It also partially explains why this book is about 560 pages when the earlier two gave up in their attempts to touch 400. Partially, because the rest is accounted for by Amish attempting to take himself seriously as a literary figure. Nothing else can explain the deluge of prose that fills the book. It easily lives up to the 'Vayu' in the title - full of gas!
In the non-existent plot, Shiva does his version of Around the Sub-Continent in 80 days but finds time to romance his wife and exhort his sons with phrases like "Give them hell". Oh yes, I have used exact words! If that weren't enough, most of the book is devoted to intricate war strategy that caused me to think whether Amish wants to be given military command in real life! I do think that's less dangerous than what he's doing now! In the last few pages of the book, Amish applies his final torture mechanism - making an attempt to retrofit (his) mythology with history - not just Indian, but Tibetan as well. The Dalai Lama would stop reincarnating if he read this section! The strengths (if any) of the first two books were the plot and the pace of the narrative. Both of them apparently died an untimely death at the end of book 2.
What makes me truly afraid is the possibility that this will be a reference point for Hindu mythology (fiction) in say, another 15 years! That's very scary! As per Amish, true evil creeps up on us slowly. Sometimes, it's in the form of books!(less)

Manu Prasad rated a book 3 of 5 stars

The Return of a King by William Dalrymple

The Return of a King: Shah Shuja and the First Battle for Afghanistan, 1839-42
by William Dalrymple

read in April, 2013

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"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" This book brings that quote to life! More than the book itself, kudos to Dalrymple for choosing a subject that has so much of relevance in the contemporary era! In fact, I wish it were w...more "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" This book brings that quote to life! More than the book itself, kudos to Dalrymple for choosing a subject that has so much of relevance in the contemporary era! In fact, I wish it were written a few years earlier. 'Return of a King' is the story of the British (East India Company) invasion of Khurasan (modern day Afghanistan) in 1839 in an effort to establish their man Shah Shuja ul-Mulk, (descendant of the Ahmad Shah Durrani, regarded to be the founder of the modern state of Afghanistan) on the Kabul throne in place of the incumbent Dost Mohammed. That was the easy part, but as one Afghan commented then, the British had gotten in, but how would they maintain this status quo, or even get out? In a couple of years, the Afghans, in an ever changing mixture of coalitions rebelled against the British, and massacred them on their way back to Hindustan. The British then created an Army of Retribution to avenge this, and ended up bringing things back to square one.
What set of this chain of events is something that I have read about in some Sherlock Holmes adventures and seen alluded to in other works like 'Kim' - The Great Game, an international milieu of intrigue that pitched the mighty powers of the time - Russia and Britain - against one another. Afghanistan, as per British intelligence, was where Russia was poised to strike next, to control Central Asia. This was supposed to be achieved with Dost Mohammed's help. The Russian plans were far less threatening than reported by the British and ended up creating a war that need not have been. There is some amazing parallel here with what the Russians (80s) and the Americans (now) tried to do in Afghanistan!
The central figure, through much of the book, is Shah Shuja, and it is difficult not to feel sorry for him. He never really had luck on his side, and after initially being forced into exile for 30 years, he came back to the throne in a way that was not appreciated by his citizens. Just when he looked ready to finally set things right, he was assassinated. Dalrymple makes it a point to clear his name. An intelligent, refined person who might have done better (at least in the time frame of the Afghan war) if he was left to his own devices, he gets none of this credit in Afghanistan, where he is seen as the one who brought in the firangis, or in British chronicles of the era.
In the current scenario as well as in the past, the invaders came in for their own selfish motives, with no real idea of the challenges they'd face and no coherent plans on how they'd stay or get out. What they have and do leave behind is a legacy of annihilation - of people, nature, culture and the psyche of an entire population. The last words in the book - attributed to an Afghan elder talking to the author, are chilling - "These are the last days of the Americans. Next it will be China."
Well researched, and written in a much crisper way than one normally associates the author with, this is a compelling read, especially if you're interested in history and the back stories of current geo-politics.(less)

Manu Prasad made a comment on his review of The Return of a King: Shah Shuja and the First Battle for Afghanistan, 1839-42

"I wish he gets a good editor though, might stop the rambling :)"

Manu Prasad rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Serious Men
by Manu Joseph (Goodreads Author)

read in April, 2013

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"All a man really wants is to be greater than his friends"- Ayyan Mani's belief is indeed the theme that runs through 'Serious Men' though it manifests in different ways across classes. The jacket pitches the plot as the ramifications of Mani's effor...more

Manu Prasad rated a book 3 of 5 stars

Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography
by Naman Ramachandran (Goodreads Author)

read in April, 2013

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The definitive biography of perhaps the biggest star that India has seen - THE superstar Rajinikanth - is quite a big thing to bite off. At 255 pages, I'm not too sure it does complete justice. This is not to say that the author hasn't tried, but to...more The definitive biography of perhaps the biggest star that India has seen - THE superstar Rajinikanth - is quite a big thing to bite off. At 255 pages, I'm not too sure it does complete justice. This is not to say that the author hasn't tried, but to me, the contents just didn't seem enough. In fact, it was in the second half that I felt he was warming up to the task at hand.
The first half includes the early years of Rajinikanth, his entry into movies, and the first decade and a half of his movies. The author does try hard to remain objective and not be in awe of the object of his attention, but that's obviously not an easy task. What results is a mix of two things - a kind of retrofit applied to his formative years which tries to show that he was always meant to be the Superstar, and an almost bare factual filmography. It's probably not the author's fault because he might have found it difficult to find anecdotal material from that era, or people might have altered their memory to fit the image of the superstar who exists now. Either way, the first half swings between these two, and does not really make a great read in terms of narrative. You'll love it if you're a Rajini facts junkie and it also shows the amount of research the author has done, as he tries to explain the milieu and the context of life, culture, movies and politics of the era, mostly in Tamil Nadu, but sometimes even beyond that. (this was really done well, I thought) We do get glimpses of Rajini the person, and his life outside cinema, but never really enough. It almost seems as though the author was in a hurry to start with the contemporary era. [To be noted that this part also manages to show how big a star and talented an actor Kamal Hassan was in that era]
The second half - from the 90s - is where the author really gets going, much like Rajini's own evolution from superstar to legend! Probably helped by the reduction in the number of movies he's done and availability of documented material, for example, Rajini's overt and covert political statements, in movies and real life. Beginning with Annamalai and ending with the making of "Kochadaiyaan - The Legend", the second half not only analyses the star's movies, but also traces Rajini's personal evolution very well. It has much better anecdotal perspectives from his co-stars, friends and gives us excellent insights into his personality. [To be noted that Kamal and Rajini are effusive in their praise and affection for each other, and the author manages to bring it out beautifully, and I thought Mani Ratnam was very grudging in his praise] This entire half feels much more like a biography and is a pleasure to read. In the last few pages, the author tries to get perspectives from an assortment of people - directors, co-actors, fans, Rajini's friends and mentors, journalists etc - on why the Superstar is the phenomenon he is. I specially liked Anurag Kashyap's take "..The same reason that Amitabh Bachchan became a phenomenon was the reason why Rajinikanth became a phenomenon. He's a man of the people... Amitabh Bachchan became synthetic afterwards, but Rajinikanth never became synthetic. He stayed what he was. The whole humility of Rajinikanth somehow translates not just on screen but off it too...." While no amount of analysis can answer the question completely, I think this comes close, and the book does manage to bring out Rajini's work ethic and ethics, especially the second half.
What I'd really like is for Naman Ramachandran to go back and release a second edition where the first half is not a hurried job, but meanwhile, do go ahead and read this one! Signing off with http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view3/2275... ;)(less)

Manu Prasad wants to read

The Interestings
by Meg Wolitzer

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Manu Prasad is now friends with Santosh
May 16, 2013 08:02pm · like
Manu Prasad made a comment on his review of Midnight's Children "nope, mostly a book guy :)"
May 07, 2013 03:17am · see review
Manu Prasad is currently reading Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 06, 2013 08:23am
Manu Prasad rated a book 1 of 5 stars The Oath of the Vayuputras (Shiva Trilogy, #3) by Amish Tripathi read in May, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
"Lord Ram, have mercy!" on those who attempt to read the third installment. It was never the literary genius of the author that made me continue reading the trilogy after The Immortals of Meh. Like I'd mentioned in my review of the book, I thought th...more
May 06, 2013 08:23am · see review
Manu Prasad rated a book 3 of 5 stars The Return of a King: Shah Shuja and the First Battle for Afghanistan, 1839-42 by William Dalrymple read in April, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" This book brings that quote to life! More than the book itself, kudos to Dalrymple for choosing a subject that has so much of relevance in the contemporary era! In fact, I wish it were w...more
Apr 27, 2013 11:27pm · see review
Manu Prasad made a comment on his review of The Return of a King: Shah Shuja and the First Battle for Afghanistan, 1839-42 "I wish he gets a good editor though, might stop the rambling :)"
Apr 14, 2013 08:01am · see review
Manu Prasad rated a book 4 of 5 stars Serious Men by Manu Joseph (Goodreads Author) read in April, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
"All a man really wants is to be greater than his friends"- Ayyan Mani's belief is indeed the theme that runs through 'Serious Men' though it manifests in different ways across classes. The jacket pitches the plot as the ramifications of Mani's effor...more
Apr 13, 2013 10:08pm · see review
Manu Prasad rated a book 3 of 5 stars Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography by Naman Ramachandran (Goodreads Author) read in April, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The definitive biography of perhaps the biggest star that India has seen - THE superstar Rajinikanth - is quite a big thing to bite off. At 255 pages, I'm not too sure it does complete justice. This is not to say that the author hasn't tried, but to...more
Apr 06, 2013 12:05am · see review
Manu Prasad wants to read The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 03, 2013 10:34pm

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