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My Books Hit List 2014
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My Rating: 5/5
Robin Cook's Fever is a dramatic thriller version of Heinz's Dilemma of the moral grey area. Add to it cancer cure and Environmental dumping and you have a heady concoction that has you hooked.
Charles Mantel is a father trying to save his daughter. He is also a researcher who values ethics. The book builds up tension over 4 days and at the end of every chapter (up to 80% of the book) things seem to deteriorate. The characters are real and one can feel the emotional turmoil of the characters through superhuman efforts. And yet, there are some warm moments snuck in effortlessly that makes them human.
Robin Cook is no Crichton when it comes to research and if you know a bit of basic chemistry, one can guess. But definitely an engaging story teller
Mod
My Rating: 4/4
Ghosh's Glass Palace is an achievement - no doubt! This is a Historical fiction pivoted around milestones with a few real characters spanning countries and 3 generations.
The first part of the King of Burma's exile and the subsequent life in India could easily be mistaken for work of fiction. Except they were real and the author has taken pains to weave them as the backdrop for the first generation of the Rajkumar family tree.
The next generation story unfolds like a mega serial up till the war with narration restricted to developments. At least, till the 2nd world war. The beauty of prose comes out in those parts that explore the dichotomy of the Indian soldier in the Empire's army. Definitely the strongest points of the book are these pages of the country in transition.
The book also underplays the traditional 'key moments' in a book. Characters marry, kill or die over one sentence on a page. Extremely well researched and no wonder it took 6 years of research for this book. Masterpiece for the author.
Complaints - Too many characters of equal importance, some subplots that stand out as loose threads and mega serial type handling of the 2nd generation.
Mod
My Rating: 3/5
I think this was one of the most dreaded books I've read - Fearing it might shatter the image you have of the hero the country worships. It did a bit of that, but then as Douglas Adam says - Mostly Harmless.
The fact that for Sachin, cricket was everything, is evident in every word and every page. Except for the enjoyable childhood chapters, the book pivots itself on cricket. Even his courtship period is described between tournaments. The book explores series after series, slowing down even to detail some specific delivery/shot and in this approach keeps moving.
It does make you re-watch a few Sachin innings on youtube. But that apart, it manages to show the 'human' side of a player who still has his own wishes and dreams. It does not suit Sachin to get embroiled in controversy and hence the passages about Chappell or Dravid seem out of place (maybe in comparison to the mental image I held). Politically very correct, it shies away from all the controversies.
For most part, It is a story he has every right to narrate. It's just not as graceful as his batting used to be nor as unorthodox as his bowling. It's for Sachin fans to relive the joy through different lenses.
Mod
Fever was one of the early Cook books that I'd read.
Mod
Hope the 2 facts are not co-related :P
Mod
Mod
My Rating: 4/5
The Siege could easily have been a human interest story. Except that it is not. It is a well researched, dramatic narrative of the horror that brought India to it's knees on 26/11.
The research has been extensive, to the extent that it talks about the emotions of the survivors and from their viewpoint, the psyche of the dead! Some extrapolations, a lot of 'versions' that have been accommodated and the details of the operation rebuilt from clues and accounts. It must have been no easy task.
It also takes a critical view on the inaction of the Police and the lack of preparation of the Taj for an emergency. Which is revealing, definitely, but also judgmental. And so you start accepting people's biases, 'expert' opinions and heroic narratives centered around every character. I'm not sure how they resolved conflict in narratives, but then that is beside the point.
Heart goes out to the victims of this hate attack and you feel uplifted by the heroics of the Taj hotel employees. It is a story worth chronicling and if someone is going to make money from the tragedy by making it a fast paced thriller narrative, it is just a small price to pay.
Mod
My Rating: 1/5
This is the equivalent of an "inspired" bollywood movie.
The possible discussion between the editor and the author could have been something like this
Au: Hey I have a lot of co-incidences and theories that I notice based on all the articles I read!
Ed: No, you publish it and you are going to be torn apart
Au: Ok, what if i make it into a novel? I've read the Da Vinci code too u know?
Ed: Hmmm.. Ya, you can try that. Just make sure it doesn't come to me for editing
The book is full of characters whose only purpose seems to be to give history lessons or theories out of 'studies'. The collective intelligence of the book's historians, scientists, lawyers, police and underworld dons can't figure out a pull door from a push door. The most intelligent character is a disillusioned murderer! Like a musical, everybody breaks into discourses on history and their back-stories are so cliched hare brained that you moan in disgust.
Feel free to give it a skip. Can be categorized alongside Chetan Bhagat as formulaic nonsense
Mod
It was a mixed year in terms of books. Some very good books, some I would bury deep so that noone can ever read it and some indifferent. Looking forward to 2015!
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- Cosmicomics
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- Invisible Cities
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Indian Readers
Books mentioned in this topic
The Krishna Key (other topics)The Siege: The Attack on the Taj Mumbai (other topics)
Playing It My Way: My Autobiography (other topics)
The Glass Palace (other topics)
Fever (other topics)
More...
My Rating: 4/5
Parthiban Kanavu is that book that you start reading as a classic and find a masala movie in it! My first tamil read in sometime and was suitably rewarded for sticking to my long pending list of authors i wanted to read.
The book narrates the story of the mighty Pallava king Narasimhavarman and the story of Vikraman, son of Parthiban the brave-hearted Chozha king. Reduced to a Vassal kingdom, the chozha king Parthiban refuses to pay tax to Pallavas and dies bravely. His dream of establishing an independent Chozha kingdom forms the core of the story.
Dealing with multiple themes from espionage to love story to valor to courage to human sacrifice, this book has explored the South India of past. Spruced with historical references that are almost tongue in cheek, the book is an ambitious effort and would have made an excellent read to follow in a weekly. The Tamil is flowing and words mesmerizing at places!
Personal achievement unlocked, not withstanding it happens to be the 2nd book in the Narasimhavarman chronicles which I found out after finishing the book (no impact)