Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 233

What To Do When I’m Gone – Book Review

Dealing with death can be soul-crushing, or painfully awkward for those who don’t know what to do next. And haven’t we all at some point in our lives wondered how we’d react to losing someone close to us? Like a parent or partner? In the graphic novel ‘What To Do When I’m Gone – A Mother’s Wisdom To Her Daughter’, artist Hallie Bateman collaborates with her mom Suzy Hopkins, on a step-by-step guide to how she should cope with the latter’s death.

The thing about this book is… well, it’s interesting no doubt, quite poignant in parts, but all of it is meant for a very specific reader – Hallie Bateman, the illustrator. Throughout the graphic novel, Suzy Hopkins charts out how her daughter should carry on with her life, giving her advice, tips, family recipes and sometimes very generic wisdom. Like on ‘Day 1’, mom recommends making Fajitas, for ‘Day 5’ it’s cleaning the house, for ‘Day 12’ it’s watching a blockbuster film, stuff like that. Some of us watch a blockbuster film pretty much very second day, don’t need our mom suggesting that. Anyway…

Bateman’s illustrations are simple and flow fluidly with the text. While the book wasn’t relatable (for me), it did make me think about my relationship with my mother and how life might seem without her sunny concern over what I am up to. It made me glad that despite living miles apart, we talk every day, share common interests and don’t have a strained/awkward relationship. This then is a good book to pick up for those who still have their moms around; because buying this after losing a parent might just make someone more miserable if they don’t find the content relatable. It’s not advice from your mom and someone else’s words can never be able to comfort you when you are consumed by grief.

I wasn’t a fan of all the family recipes that were peppered throughout, they didn’t interest me at all. And while in the beginning it seemed like the novel will continue to be a day-by-day account of things to do, the author soon starts skipping days, then weeks, then years, so surprisingly, the ‘guide’ goes on till ‘Day 20,000’. So things come to a full circle, with death being a dominant theme, but there’s a lot of focus on the little joys of life. From handling a shitty job, relationships, marriage, kids, the mother tries to cover as much ground for her daughter, so there’s isn’t a complete void when she’s truly gone. I really liked the last few pages, they are tender and capture maternal love in a beautiful manner. For Hallie Bateman, this is a treasure, for other readers… well, it really depends on who is reading.

It’s a 3/5 from me.

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Ep 64 – 15 Random but Great Book Recommendations

Revisiting ‘My Experiments With Truth’ After Decades

By K Nehru Patnaik

It’s been decades since I first read Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography, so it was time for a revisit. Reviewing “My Experiments With Truth” is a very difficult task and is akin to showing candle light to the Sun! The language is so down to earth simple and the narration very absorbing.

The book shows how adamant Gandhi was in pursuing his convictions to the hilt sans minding the repercussions they may inflict on his near and dear. It’s voluminous and covers how he evolved during different stages of childhood, learning, schools and law in London.

One has to read him to get the essence of celibacy, depth of Godliness, service to humanity, doing everything with one’s own hands including cleaning toilets, washing clothes, cooking and what-not he used to perform to the utter disgust of his wife. I however didn’t like the way he up-brought his 3 sons in South Africa, where he had started his career as a barrister to serve under the colonial British rule there.

Eventually, he was drawn into emancipation of the Indian bonded labourers by deeply involving himself in the local administration. At the same time, he kept his head high in simplicity, truthfulness and above all maintained strict integrity despite highhanded behaviour of alien rulers of the day in SA and India to which he was drawn in early 19th century. By that time, Gandhi was already famous among the elite of Indian Freedom Fighters. That was the beginning of his involvement in the independence movement, carrying his convictions of satyagraha and ahimsa. So much so that it culminated into his assassination in cold blood at point blank range by Godse, who pumped 3 bullets in his chest.

It’s hard to make up one’s mind on how and what should one write about the great book, which is a sort of Encyclopaedia of piety in its true sense that had put him on the pedestal of Mahatma!

K Nehru Patnaik

Nehru Patnaik is a retired railway official, bibliophile, news junkie, with 100s of letters published in leading newspapers.

https://www.quora.com/profile/Nehru-Patnaik-K

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Ep 64 – 15 Random but Great Book Recommendations

The Golem’s Eye Review – Sequel Sees More Story

‘The Golem’s Eye’ is the second book in the ‘Bartimaeus’ series by Jonathan Stroud, where the human protagonist is older and nastier, while the titular demon is entertaining as ever. While book one was fun, it took me a few days to pick up book two, because it seemed a little bigger. But when the last few chapters arrived, I wished the novel had more pages!

Plot overview – Three years after his unpleasant adventures with Nathaniel, the Djinni Bartimaeus finds himself summoned by the same boy again, despite the two agreeing on never seeing each again. But Nathaniel is now a rising magician with the government, under pressure to crack a series of terrorist attacks in London and the task needs the services of a reliable demon. Again, the two of them are up against a formidable enemy and will need some solid strategy to survive without scratches.

This time around, there’s a lot more story and action, unlike the first book, which was basically about a bratty kid trying to get back at an adult for insulting him. In ‘The Golem’s Eye’, an unknown powerful monster is on rampage, tearing through the city of London, destroying places, eating up demons and leaving top magicians at the end of their wits. While most ministers blame a group called ‘The Resistance’ for the attacks, Nathaniel knows better.

Bartimaeus remains charmingly sarcastic, witty and hateful of humans, while Nathaniel is increasingly annoying as a self-centered teen who is full of himself. Stroud has given us a demon protagonist that is an absolute treat for readers, even though he doesn’t fall into an ‘ideal hero’ category. Not at all. He isn’t loyal, he always watches his own back, and is more than happy to leave his master in the jaws of death. But Bartimaeus has lived for thousands of years, earning the right to be a vary of everyone.

The girl called Kitty from the last book gains prominence in the sequel and has a significant role. She is part of the ‘Resistance’, a group run by non-magicians (or commoners as they are disdainfully referred to as why the ruling class) that wants to topple the government. A lot of readers would like Kitty more than Nat, she represents the aspirational working class, the ‘rebel’ who is no longer willing to be treated like second-class citizens by those in power. Her character growth and back-story is more vivid and likable than Nat’s.

‘Knowledge is power’, is a key theme in ‘The Golem’s Eye’, and more often than not, knowledge can only be found in the wisdom of books. The ‘commoners’ are kept in the dark about how magicians work, taught only propaganda in schools, while magicians get first class education and detailed lessons in history. Although, class/power-struggle is a bigger theme and peppered throughout the plot. On one hand you have the resistance trying to bring down the magicians, on the other hand, there’s a lot of internal politics dividing the ranks of the magicians running the government. Everybody is ready to find a sacrificial lamb for their mistakes, even if it means pinning the blame on a 14-year-old boy. Quite typical of real life political power-tussles really. With a lot of demons thrown in the mix.

Stroud actually begins the book with a very intriguing fictional prologue on how Prague fell into the hands of the British empire in the 1860s. And this flashback chapter’s significance is explained later in the novel as the plot progresses. As the climax begins to approach, I felt that maybe it’s going to have a hasty conclusion like ‘The Amulet of Samarkand’, but instead, it was surprisingly smoother and satisfactory. Some of climactic events do feel a little too easy and more like strokes of luck, but guess we’ll just have to make peace with it.

It’s a 4/5 from me.

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Ep 64 – 15 Random but Great Book Recommendations

The Atlas Six Review – Overhyped

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake – Review by @Arcana_Reads

DNF’d at 72%

I don’t get the hype. I really don’t. I picked this book because I noticed it in Goodreads listopia feature. Went to Amazon to buy it and it was listed as “The Atlas Six: TikTok made me buy it!” ..and frankly that should’ve been the first red flag.

I’m in India and TikTok is banned here so the social media platform definitely didn’t make me buy it. Nothing against TikTok or Booktok (hey I’m on bookstagram, BUT if you need to put it as the title on your Amazon page, it’s just weird.)

Atlas Six starts great. It’s building on a reliable premise – a magical story concentrated in study/libraries. The hook is there. Hell, even the characters’ powers are intriguing.

Where it went south for me was the way the story flowed. It was boring. I feel the author was aiming for angst-filled, sexually-devious, morally ambiguous-yet-powerful people but, for me, it came across as whiny, immature, dense, frustrating and just plain insensible folks trying to cover more stupidity with threesomes.

I usually liked books with grey characters – but this one didn’t feel grey as much as people aspiring to walk the line between good and bad but mostly coming across as utterly boring.

Also, there wasn’t anything dark about the academia. Ugh.

I thought I would rant quite a bit because this is one of the rare instances in which I have not joined the ranks of admirers of highly-rated books (I’m a sheep, guys and probably why I dragged it to 72% instead of quitting at 40%) – but it was Sunday and I was tired.

Rating: 2/5

This book review is by @arcana_reads (Click to follow on Instagram)

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Ep 64 – 15 Random but Great Book Recommendations

All Of Us Are Dead Review – Where Bullies Trump Zombies

On the surface, the 2022 Netflix Korean series “All of Us Are Dead” seems like your average zombie apocalypse survival story, but it’s really a scathing commentary on the insidious problem of bullying that pervades Korea. Just the very first scene will have viewers boiling with anger – a bunch of high-school bullies beat the shit out their classmate, to the point of almost killing him. WTF? And while the series heavily borrows from a lot of zombie creations, it still is less bloodier and grittier than what many horror fans would be hoping for.

Let’s talk plot first. Twelve-episodes long, season one starts off with the genesis of the virus and most of the drama unfolds in Hyosan High School, ground zero of the outbreak. It takes a while for the students to figure out what is happening, but by that time, most of them are dead. The story predominantly focuses on one group trying to survive the flesh-eating monsters. “This is like Train To Busan,” one of the primary character hilariously notes. In-fact, just like in the famous Korean horror film, the zombies in ‘All of Us Are Dead’ cannot see clearly and tend to follow sounds made by humans. So if you are noisy, you are fucked. But OMG, the main set of school-students are such dumb idiots sometimes, they keep wailing and making sounds, even after figuring out that the stupid zombies get attracted to noise.

That’s not to say the series is not entertaining, it’s definitely a fun watch for horror fans. However, all the side-stories are a lot more engaging than the core student group. Jo Yi Hyun who plays ‘class president’ Nam Ra, is the most annoying of the lot, let me give you an example – there’s a scene, where for some 10-15 minutes her classmates struggle to light a fire and when they almost give up, she asks them if they would like to have her lighter. It’s a miracle nobody attempts to strangle her to death right there. Then there’s Park Solomon, who plays athlete (and former bully) Lee Soo Hyuk and gets a lot of heroic scenes. Unfortunately, he is sort of reduced to a puppy-eyed teen in love in the second-half of the show. Park Ji-Hoo and Yoon Chan Young play cute-sy childhood friends Ohn Jo and Cheong San. Lim Jae Hyeok as their friend Dae Soo stands out in his hilarious bits, providing some good laughs – like a demonstration of how the trapped kids should pee & poop.

Some other members of the support cast that shine are Lee Eun Seam as the punkish Mi Jin, who claims being a high-school senior is more nightmarish than living through a zombie apocalypse. She is probably right, because most of her fellow-students/teachers/adults are evil creatures that can hurt you in a 1000 more ways than loser zombies who are just out for some human meat. Then there’s Jeon Bae Soo who plays hero firefighter/father Nam So Ju, who tries to get to Hyosan High School after doing his duty of saving a high-profile politician; Lee Hyu Kyung plays Song Jae Ik, a detective with the heart of gold, who gets stuck with cowardly cop Nam Yong Pi, but the pair’s sub-plot of trying to get some important information to the military is fun. Yoo In Soo as the antagonist Gwi Nam gets a meaty part – he is a bully, who turns into a zombie and yet manages to retain his wits and terrorizes the main group relentlessly throughout the show. “Why does this bastard never die?” asks one character, the viewers are made to wonder the same.

As far as the scary quotient is concerned, the bullying in the series is way more disturbing than all the death, mayhem and blood-fest caused by zombies. Be prepared for some gory scenes, but they aren’t likely to keep you up at night. Like the series ‘The Walking Dead’, here too, the makers try to show how conflict within a group can turn out to be more challenging than fighting zombies, but they are not able to make it as tense and gripping. But here’s where the makers of ‘All Of Us Are Dead’ gain brownie points – they have a sub-plot depicting the Korean military and Government’s efforts to systematically carry out rescue operations and contain/annihilate those infected. It’s brilliantly done. In most apocalypse-themed content, we get very superficial glimpses of how officials handle the situation, and in many cases – a zombie outbreak leads to the quick collapse of government machinery, but not in ‘All Of Us Are Dead’, at least not in season 1.

There’s an intriguing back story of how the virus came to be. A former pharmaceutical employee turned science teacher (Kim Byun Chul has just the right amount of madness for this role) is responsible for creating the unpredictable virus that quickly mutates and manifests in different ways. Some clever/comical scenes of how netizens react to the news of a zombie breakout in a Korean district are peppered throughout the show. Like a ‘influencer’ arriving in Hyosan to investigate if there’s any truth to the stories and getting cornered by a bunch of kindergarten kiddie zombies. All of this he live-streams (obviously), to hilarious live comments, most of whch applaud him for his ‘acting’. One just wishes there was a sub-plot with a pack that kicks some serious zombie-butt; especially since they do make space for 4-5 parallel stories.

Production-wise, this is a brilliantly made show, spread over multiple locations. One can see that Netflix did not hold back on the purse-strings. However, the makers fail to push the envelope in the Zombie genre and waste a lot of potential. Half the scenes lack a sense of emergency and when a question is posed to someone, they brood for 10 seconds before responding…. it’s a zombie outbreak you little shits, not some emo-romantic drama. And the last episode has the kind of climax that had me screaming “these dumb kids deserve to die!”. But it ends with a cliffhanger, so I guess I will be watching Season 2… if there is one.

It’s a 7/10 from me.

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Episode 40 – Interesting Zombie Tropes to Watch Out

Tinted With You Review – Generic AF

The trailer for the Korean mini-series ‘Tinted With You’ shows an art student transported to the past, the Joseon era to be precise, and falling in love with a good-looking royal. And that’s pretty much the story! Despite having two timelines, not much happens. It’s so generic that there isn’t much to say. If you read the synopsis of the drama on ‘My Drama List’, you’ll know the whole story and it actually makes series sound way more interesting than it actually is.

Like with most Korean series, the leads Ju and Yoo Hyun Woo look out of a K-pop band, but they somehow lack charm, or maybe it is just me. Although, in most K-Dramas, even with a boring script, the protagonist manage to hold your interest with their acting or their persona. Also, for a period drama, the sets looked very artificial and cosmetic.

Basically, ‘Tinted With You’ is probably fan-service for those who would like to see a simple, fluffy romantic series about two gorgeous people falling in love with each other. If that’s what you are looking for, stream it.

It’s 5/10 from me.

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Ep 64 – 15 Random but Great Book Recommendations

The Tender Bar Review – An Erratic Cocktail

A wide-eyed little boy gets off a car with his single mother and the two move into his grandfather’s place. For the mother, living in her father’s house is a daily reminder of personal failures, but for her young son, nothing feels more like home. Directed by George Clooney, the 2021 movie ‘The Tender Bar’ is the coming-of-age tale of a boy called JR, whose uncle inspires him to become a writer.

Daniel Ranieri plays the young JR, he is almost Bambi-like, an innocent deer learning to grow up in the forest. Ben Affleck plays his mentor, uncle Charlie, who runs a bar called “The Dickens”, and keeps handing down philosophical tips to his nephew. “Don’t look for your father to save you,” is one of his first pearls of wisdom. Affleck in this film is an interesting cross between Jim Carrey and Matthew McConaughey, with a distinct Southern accent and a love for literature. He gets to play the kind of uncle any kid would be happy to have. Uncle Charlie is intuitive, supportive and gives JR a shelf full of books to read and is always by his side in times of need.

While the ‘absent father’ is a strong theme, what this movie captures best is the working class aspiration of wanting to lead a better life and achieving that dream through sheer determination and hard-work. Actor Lily Rabe who plays JR’s mom is the underrated hero of the film. She has an indomitable spirit and is a constant cheerleader in her son’s life, always encouraging the boy, determined that he would get into one of the best universities in the world. More often than not, parents sub-consciously beat their children down, but not JR’s mom. Rabe gives a heartwarming performance, even though her screen-time is relatively small.

Things get slightly shaky towards the second-half, where an older college boy JR is played by Tye Sheridan. From an aspiring writer, JR turns into your regular Romeo, chasing after a girl he fancies like a lost pup. There’s a some class-clash that JR has to deal with, but his romantic life makes for a rather mundane watch on the screen. While the first half of the film focused on the theme of a little boy looking for father figures in men around him, the makers change the goal-post and make it about a lovelorn youth trying to (quite poorly) get a grip over his life.

It feels like director Clooney’s vision for the story gets a little clouded as the story progresses and things just don’t seem charming anymore. That said, ‘The Tender Bar’ still makes for a good one-time-watch, with some great performances. They should’ve probably given Daniel Ranieri more space, that little boy is the heart of this film, the one makes viewers invested in the tale in the first place.

It’s a 6.5/10 from me. The film is available to stream on Amazon Prime.

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Ep 64 – 15 Random but Great Book Recommendations

The Tea Dragon Festival – Book Review

Reading ‘The Tea Dragon Festival’ by K. O’Neill made me long for my ancestral village, which was filled with a rustic charm that you’d never find in a city. In parts, it also reminded me of the animated series Heidi (based on the book of the same name), which was about a girl living in the untainted Alps with her grandfather.

This book is (sort of) a sequel to “Tea Dragon Society” and was so much more immersive and engaging. K. O’Neill transports readers to a beautiful village cut away from the rest of the world. It’s only accessible by a train that halts at the base of the village once a week. One would have to hike their way up to the settlement. The story follows Rinn, who stumbles upon a dragon called Aedhan, who is supposed to be the ‘guardian’ of her village, but fell into an enchanted asleep for almost a century. Rinn’s uncle and his partner try to hunt the magical creature that can make being fall into a long sleep. Meanwhile, Aedhan tries to adapt to a new life in the village.

Not a lot happens in “Tea Dragon Society” and it essentially serves as an introduction to the concept of tea dragons and what they are. Here the focus is more on the Aedhan and Rinn’s village, which is inhabited by several tiny tea dragons. The author makes the story as inclusive as possible, so there’s a lot of gender fluidity and characters of all colors. There’s a strong sense of community in the village and everybody is always ready to aid each other. I especially loved how almost everybody in the village knows how to speak sign language.

The artwork is colorful and beautiful on most pages. O’Neill uses colors that exude a sense of leisure, peace and make you feel a sense of calm. But just like the first book, I feel like some panels could’ve used more details, some scenes are like a blurry blob; however, the illustrations are definitely more vivid this time around.

This is the kind of book you would want to read on a lazy Sunday with a hot cup of tea. It’s a 4/5 from me.

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Ep 64 – 15 Random but Great Book Recommendations

A Spindle Splintered – Book Review

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow – Review by @Arcana_Reads

After three back-to-back shitty books (may review them later or erase them from memory altogether), the universe decided to reward me. (thank you, fairy godmother!)

I’ve read a few fairy tale re-tellings over the years, and they are either extremely irritating or utterly magnificent (ps: do check out Naomi Novik’s Spinning Silver for a haunting take on Rumpelstiltskin).

Harrow has re-imagined Sleeping Beauty or as it is better known as, “..pretty much the worst fairy tale, any way you slice it.” That was the first sentence of the book btw. Hook, line and sinker right??

Twenty-one year old Zinnia Gray has a wickedly dry humour and a penchant for imminent death. Oh, and she’s obsessed with Sleeping Beauty. Because as she says it, “Romantic girls like Beauty and the Beast, vanilla girls like Cinderella; goth girls like Snow White. Only dying girls like Sleeping Beauty.”

If you think this book is a paean to the classic, hold on to your smelling salts. Harrow’s Gray tears apart the fable – ridiculing the notion of a princely rescue, harkening back to darker versions where the kiss wasn’t just a kiss and the evil witch being probably a case of bad branding.

Harrow gives power back to the women – those damsels in distress on whom the entire story hinges and yet don’t get to choose their happy endings. Those stories dressed up in glittery ball gowns, sparkling jewels, stately castles or anthropomorphized woodland creatures, in which the woman’s fate is determined by usually, an idiot. Agency, returned!

Think of it, if you’re cursed and can be rescued by the kiss — that’s all well and fine, but do you really “want” the kiss or “need” the kiss? I mean I gotta take meds when I’m sick but do I need to fall in love with my meds and marry it? Why would you inextricably link the two and create a picture that all that every woman craves is the touch of a prince?

My favourite part of the book is Gray and Charm’s friendship – a stubbornly acerbic love that digs its heels into fate willing to stop the inevitable. It’s the stuff dreams are made of! There are rare books in which brilliant authors manage to weave in complexity and depth – whether in character development or world-building – in a few sentences. Stuff others need pages to convey. Spindle Splintered is a short book but Harrow makes you root for every woman in it. A wonderfully sensitive tale for the modern woman. Definitely recommend.

Rating: 5/5

This book review is by @arcana_reads (Click to follow on Instagram).

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Ep 64 – 15 Random but Great Book Recommendations

A Thing Called Truth #4 Comic Review

Doctor Magdalene Traumer and Dorian head to Madrid after their ‘Roman Holiday’ style trip in Issue #4 of ‘A Thing Called Truth’ by Iolanda Zanfardino & Elisa Romboli.

Quick Plot Overview – Madgalene Traumer goes on a crazy road-trip with virtual stranger Dorian, right after she gets fired from her job at a lab where she was on the verge of a major breakthrough. So while Traumer loses the primary purpose of her life, Dorian is on a personal mission to fulfill her dead brother’s dreams of traveling around the world and re-creating his favorite movie scenes.

Also Read: A Thing Called Truth #3 Comic Review

By now the two protagonists are completely comfortable with each other and develop an easy friendship. The rather uptight Magdalene loosens up and starts to keep up with Dorian’s free-wheeling spirit, so the two of them practically paint the town red.

It feels like Elisa Romboli uses a lot more colors in this issue, because the comic panels feel a lot more vibrant this time around. As always, the art captures the joy of travel and infuses the pages with an extra dash of vitality. And while it had only been touristy stuff for a while in the story, Iolanda finally gives readers a glimpse of just what is happening back at Traumer’s work-place, since she pretty much went AWOL as far as everybody else is concerned. The colors and art style slightly differs during this sub-plot, and offer contrast to the travel bits. The juxtaposition of Traumer frolicking around Europe while her friends/colleagues worry about her whereabouts is cleverly done.

Overall, this issue was an interesting mix and was filled with warm moments towards the climax. Things are moving to an exciting crescendo and the mystery over how things are going to go between Magdalene and Dorian remains. At this point, they are two women, each trying to let go of the past in their own ways and live life in the moment.

It’s a 4/5 from me.

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Ep 64 – 15 Random but Great Book Recommendations