Discordant Rhyme by Akanksha Chattopadhyay: Reading, Hoarding and Inconsequential Rambling of a Temperamental Bibliophile

[Akanksha]

In tune with my insufferable inability to keep things organised, I assure you, dear Reader, that this thread has neither intention nor expectation of being a well-grounded reading log. Do peep in here, however, if you don't mind a cesspool of literary craziness, and (un)planned wandering through realms of ideas and idiosyncrasies.
Here's to getting high on book-sniffing :D

[Akanksha]

Right, so i am already 3 months and 9 days late, that is losing over a quarter of the year!

[Ahtims]

A catchy title, and a first message too.
I will be visiting here as soon as the discordant writer updates the thread.
Good luck :)

[Gorab, TheGunman]

so happy to see this :)

[Akanksha]

Last book read: Laon and Cythna

Shelley's Laon and Cythna, alternatively titled The Revolt of Islam, is one heck of a book to read. Trust me when I say it is neither for the fainthearted, nor the one who is looking for an easy read.
Having got over the initial technical (and psychological) difficulty of tackling a poem in twelve cantos and 4800 lines, Laon and Cythna moves faster, no exaggerations intended, than your average thriller, yet never losing the sublime profundity of a 22-year-old Shelley's idealistic honesty.
According to Cian Duffy of Cambridge European Society, Laon and Cythna is Shelley's "attempt to revise the cultural records surrounding history's foremost political catastrophe, to relocate the apparent disaster of the [French] Revolution within a long-term, systematic, natural economy of hope".

[[deleted user]]

Good luck!

[Akanksha]

Present effort: A Short History of Nearly Everything

First things first, Mr Bryson, do you really need to describe what a light year is, or what 10-to-the-power-of-x connotes? That said, the book, as of now, is a marvellous joyride :)

[Kru]

Stunning title Aka! Eagerly looking forward to your posts :-)

[Akanksha]

Thank you so much, Shalini, Gorab, Arpit and Kru :) :)
Posts have started coming in :D I hope I can stick with it!

[Ahtims]

Short History in my TBR. Gives me hope. :)

[Akanksha]

It's fast and well-written, but sometimes too juvenile in its approach to science, I think.

[Akanksha]

A Study in Emerald
Read on April 17, 2017
Rating: 5 perfect stars

Read A Study in Emerald if interested in Neil Gaiman.
If not, read anyway.
It may be read here: http://www.neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/...
1) Like nearly every living, reading human being, I too have always liked the quintessential detective, Sherlock Holmes. It, however, took Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss’ marvellous retelling to have me completely Sherlocked. It did not just break the ice in my relationship with the medium of the television and become only the second or third agent to convince me that things not so bad might happen in pop culture as well, but also reinstated my faith in the art of retelling and re-producing. How very fitting it is that the second retelling to blow me off my feet should concern the same iconic figure!
2) If you asked me to sum up 2016 as my year in books, I would say, “Neil Gaiman”, before you could blink an eye.
One of the major drawbacks, and perhaps the all-sealing one, of literature as a line of inquisitive, or academic, for that matter, enquiry, is that nothing in this part of the world simply is. It is all about what you make out of things, how you imagine for them to be. In such a situation of technical impossibility for objective veracity to exist, the best you can do is to rave about what you love, second only, perhaps, to verbose criticism of things you hate. Amid such favourable prerequisites, A Study in Emerald, for me, is an occasion of celebration on dual fronts!
Lo and behold, A Study in Emerald=Sherlock (Holmes)+Neil Gaiman!
Gaiman has always had a way with language that few writers have mastered, and his execution to perfection of the late Victorian lingo, for the story like A Study in Scarlet, the first narrative in the Sherlock Holmes canon, is set in the Victorian era, albeit in an alternative reality, is worthy of a scarcely surprised, yet highly impressed, note. What calls on with more force at the reader’s attention, of course before delving into the real tale, is its catchy form. The narrative technique is like the traditional Sherlock Holmes story, which has later gone on to be the model for 8 of 10 detective narratives in the hundred and fifty years that have followed. What is interesting, however, is the newspaper-like formatting of the pages, reminiscent of Dr Watson’s stories in the Strand Magazine, and the advertisements that head every chapter, ranging along the likes of Jekyll and Frankenstein, amusing for the reader and adding to the symbolic cohesion of the larger fabric of the plot. (view spoiler)[Arch-villains being portrayed as entrepreneurs offering service, like the one here. (hide spoiler)]
The events of the tale unfold after the manner of A Study in Scarlet with minor variations and surprise begins to set in only when “Holmes and Watson” are deep into their case. I, personally, have not read Lovecraft’s enunciation on the Cthulhu Mythos and can assure you that such ignorance is not going to hinder your appreciation of the story, for as always, Gaiman handles the mythic material like the nitrogen in the air. I, for one however, was initially rather disgusted by this incorporation of the mythical into the Sherlock Holmes rhetoric. The two, plainly, act like oil and water. But trust me when I say, as you can already read from my rating, Gaiman has his emulsifier at the ready.
Not intending to give out the plot and as a result deny you a bit of the rare true beauty that the world, contemporary literary world, to be precise has to offer, I hold myself back with great personal effort, for the story creates worlds of opportunities for you to write playing the literary critic. Neil Gaiman has been reported stating that his story requires the reader to assume the role of the detective and deduce what actually happens in the narrative, taking for granted that they have read the entire canon. I, however, will now take a safe route and turn my attention to the title.
A Study in Emerald. The phrasing is very predictable, but the signature word is not. That was the very thought with which I started reading the story, and probably, anyone would. Why emerald, and say, not “ruby” which would better have been in tune with “scarlet”? Sifting through the whirlwind of substantiations that is doing the rounds in my brain, I choose to expound upon only a few here, confining my deductions to the part of the story that you HAVE read, no matter what—the title itself. I shall now now take the liberty of elucidating my theory through strictly delineated points of comprehension, merging them as and when deemed necessary.
1) Both “scarlet” and “emerald”, having been used as words to denote colours in the titles of the concerned narratives, strictly speaking, are not really colours. Emerald, of course, is the precious stone, while, scarlet, etymologically, traces its way back to “brightly coloured cloth” and farther on to “small villages”. Fusing this to the web of perception that is the plot, we might conclude, in complete disagreement to John’s piece of eternal wisdom that he comes up with in “The Lying Detective”, it is NOT what it is.
2) Emerald is the complementary shade to scarlet—diametrically its opposite.
3) Emerald, as a tone, is supposedly a symbol of love and steadfast bond, which is easy to decode as Gaiman’ self-professed love for the Holmes stories (trivia: he is a member of the Baker Street Irregulars), and that of his readers, for reading or writing a retelling is nonetheless the business of a fan. It also stands for reflection, an obvious Sherlock Holmes attribute; however, as argued by the previous point, this cannot be quite the same as in “scarlet”.
4) The emerald colour, green, is one of vitality—the fandom lives on in full blossom. However, as the narrator reports in the story, the splattered green that lends the story its title ranges from verdant (view spoiler)[phonetically similar to Vernet (hide spoiler)] to bile which is highly repulsive, and brings out the sick aspects of the world described. The question that follows is: what should be the role of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, “the last and highest court of appeal”?
Points 1 and 2 confirm that the reader should expect some major reversal, massive discontinuity from the usual strain of thought. 3 and 4 complicate the question further. But then again, are questions and complications not what we expect from all mysteries? What is so special about this occasion is that it is not just a mystery but a mystery of the text.
(view spoiler)[The striking ease of the resolution of the case makes the reader question, and in that moment of lilting doubt comes the massive revelation—Sherry Vernet (just in case you haven’t read the whole of the canon or memory fails you, Vernet is a reference to The Greek Interpreter where Sherlock claims to be a descendant of a Horace Vernet. Sherry! Really?!) the murderer and the rebel of the cause of human liberty, and his accomplice, the limping doctor. Any idea which doctor limped around the time of the first adventure? His name itself is shortly revealed.
This Vernet defies the detective! He who is over the horizon at this point swiftly settles himself as the man sitting in the Baker Street drawing room, as the author of The Dynamics of an Asteroid (think The Valley of Fear, please!), and Vernet as the man behind the alias, Sigerson(The Adventure of the Empty House). Moriarty’s accomplice is cryptically revealed to be Sebastian Moran. A lasting image from this would be that of the third connotation of RACHE, the hunting dog, John Watson’s blood-hound who finally goes over to the “criminal” classes.
This Sherlock Holmes-Moriarty role reversal in a misshapen unfair world is what steals the show for me. Who on Earth would have thought of this?! Another dose of Neil Gagman’s moralising postmodernity, the one thing I love him so much for!
(hide spoiler)]
Signing off, it has to be said that a hero is a hero, but a fandom hero is more than that. While Gaiman’s Holmes does not of course aspire to be an angel owing to the establishment connotations of the divine species, he cannot evade being a hero, despite everything Moffat and Gatiss makes him say 
#Sherlocked
#GaimanLove
#Fangirling

[Ahtims]

Have added it to my TBR after seeing your review a couple of days earlier.

[Akanksha]

Yes, do give it a go☺

[Gorab, TheGunman]

Assuming Sherlock Holmes is a prerequisite for picking this Gaiman book, have added Sherlock to tbr.

[Gorab, TheGunman]

What are you planning next? Tell me whenever you're doing Stardust series. I'll be lost reading it alone :P

[Akanksha]

Gorab wrote: "Assuming Sherlock Holmes is a prerequisite for picking this Gaiman book, have added Sherlock to tbr."

Yes, a thorough knowledge of the entire canon is necessary for complete appreciation of the story, but then again, you always have fanwikis to provide you with selected points of information :)

[Akanksha]

Gorab wrote: "What are you planning next? Tell me whenever you're doing Stardust series. I'll be lost reading it alone :P"

Nothing as of now. Exams :( Life to be kept suspended till early June.
Are there sequels of Stardust? I thought it was just one book.

[Gorab, TheGunman]

I thought these were graphic novels forming a series of 50+ editions we discussed the other day? Might have messed up the names....

And regarding Sherlock, I'll prefer a hands on over fanwikis :) Thx for the info.

[Akanksha]

Gorab wrote: "I thought these were graphic novels forming a series of 50+ editions we discussed the other day? Might have messed up the names....

And regarding Sherlock, I'll prefer a hands on over fanwikis :) ..."

That would be Sandman. I will start with them sometime in early June I think when my exams are done.
Yes, of course, nothing equals reading those amazing books :)

[Akanksha]

Prometheus Unbound
Finished on 23.4.17
Rating: 3/5

Something quite out of the ordinary happened as I read Prometheus Unbound. I am not really a person for classical plays, yet I liked Prometheus. Being a Shelleyan and a sucker for the radical cliché, Prometheus Unbound seemed naturally destined to be a hit. More often than not, I quite know how I am going to rate a book before I have read it. PU was supposed to be a 5-starrer.
Despite all favourable prerequisites, and Shelley's brilliant lyricism, the drama did not quite shine like it was supposed to. A paltry 3-star phenomenon. I do not really figure out what went so wrong. Is it the fact that I read for class with exams breathing upon my neck? Perhaps.
I hate myself for disliking Prometheus Unbound😥

[Akanksha]

Prometheus Unbound getting slighly better after class discussion, critical insight and consequent reread.😇

[Akanksha]

All right, just in case anyone ventured round here, this thread is quite dead, dead as a painted life against a painted city where the glimmer and the glow is caught only by the lens and the naked eye sees just the dust. Dusty, dusty death! (That's a quote, that last sentence. Only I do not remwmber by whom!)
Then again, this death is like Coleridge's Life-in-Death, apparently "not a drop to drink", but source of " strange power of speech" in the long run.
Stream-of-consciousness aside, all this means that I am busy as hell with exams, reading hundreds of pages, but none that would make much sense :( A strangely oxymorronic situation of frenzied hiatus.
I completely realise that none of this makes any sense, and take responsibility of causing you the trouble of reading this shit till the end. :(
This thread, I promise, would be superbly active, almost on the verge of pathological hyoeractivity in the months to come! Do watch out!
Then again, can the future ever be divined?!

[Gorab, TheGunman]

Ha ha ha ha LOL!
So its not only the stuff you read that's difficult.... your writing is award winning type as well :D

What all you are surely going to read this year? Any list in mind? Starting with Sapiens, Shesher Kobita.....

[Akanksha]

Ha ha! Only now I realise how full of typos my previous post is! But somehow they seem pretty endearing😀 Snd I am not going to correct them!
Well, there is something of a list, though random and disoriented, for the month of June. I cannot vouch for how much I would complete or how many I would want to read, for that matter😇
The List
1 Sesher Kobita, The Last Poem
2. Frankenstein
3. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
4. Finally finish A Short History of Nearly Everything
5. Second half of American Gods
This is what I am committed to at the moment. A hundred others are doing the rounds in my head.
Let's see how things turn out to be😊

[Sharadha]

Akanksha wrote: "Ha ha! Only now I realise how full of typos my previous post is! But somehow they seem pretty endearing😀 Snd I am not going to correct them!
Well, there is something of a list, though random and di..."

Good going, Aka. Will peek in for rantings and reviews :-) Especially interested in Tagore's Sesher Kobita. Are you going to be reading the Bengali version or a translation?

[Akanksha]

Sharadha wrote: "Akanksha wrote: "Ha ha! Only now I realise how full of typos my previous post is! But somehow they seem pretty endearing😀 Snd I am not going to correct them!
Well, there is something of a list, tho..."
Yes, please do!
It's supposed to be a BR with Indrani, Krubha and Gorab. Indrani (probably) and I will read the original, the other two in English.

[Ahtims]

Short history and American Gods are in my radar..

[Sharadha]

Akanksha wrote: "It's supposed to be a BR with Indrani, Krubha and Gorab. Indrani (probably) and I will read the original, the other two in English."

Ok, great :-)

[Gorab, TheGunman]

Shalini wrote: "Short history and American Gods are in my radar.."

1 and 3 are in my radar.
So that leaves only Frankenstein not claimed in any radars! Where's Kru?

[Gorab, TheGunman]

Let me see if I can get my hands on a Hindi translation - Virah Ki Saanjh.
If not, will do it in English.

[Akanksha]

Gorab wrote: "Shalini wrote: "Short history and American Gods are in my radar.."

1 and 3 are in my radar.
So that leaves only Frankenstein not claimed in any radars! Where's Kru?"

It's a BR Krubha and Indrani :)

[Akanksha]

Gorab wrote: "Let me see if I can get my hands on a Hindi translation - Virah Ki Saanjh.
If not, will do it in English."

Hindi or English, do post the poems please when you read them. Curious about the translation.

[Gorab, TheGunman]

Sure thing.

[Akanksha]

I am not one for commemorative posts but missing this one is irredeemable.

https://youtu.be/8m20LYu6b4c
কবির ১৫৬তম জন্মদিনের নিয়মমানা শ্রদ্ধার্ঘ্য। গানে থাকুন, ভালো থাকুন।

[Gorab, TheGunman]

Too bad I can't read Bengali :(
We're reading Shesher Kobita, alright. But I'll keep my eyes open to grab the Hindi translation "Virah Ki Saanjh". I want to take another chance at the translation.

[Gorab, TheGunman]

Exams done and dusted. What plans? Sure you'd have thought about them during exams. Didn't you? :P

[Akanksha]

Yes, a truckload of books to read :D No idea when I would get around doung all of them though!

[Akanksha]

It's time I started paying this thread some attention🙈

[Akanksha]

The worst and most neglected reading log in the history of reading logs:'( I only feel sorry for the thread title of which I was pretty proud initially.
Reading target had been set to a measly 80, and I am discreetly proud of having reached it. Well, I will, soon, once the devil of exams chooses to unshackle me.

[Ahtims]

Congratulations on achieving that despite your schedule.

[Sharadha]

Akanksha wrote: "The worst and most neglected reading log in the history of reading logs:'( I only feel sorry for the thread title of which I was pretty proud initially.
Reading target had been set to a measly 80, ..."

I'll nominate myself for this too as I updated mine even later that yours haha. Good luck on reaching your target. I have bleak hopes for reaching mine :P

Any upcoming reads?

[Akanksha]

Last read: Nightwood by Djuna Barnes.
Four stars as of now.
I have never had a more love-hate relationship with a book. Initially, I had DNF-ed it at 19%. culprit: the sheer impenetrable density of Barnes' prose. Ughh!
Trust me when I say that I had never been so so wrong. This very clingy devil of language that so insistently resists your entry into the text, unfolds and enraptures the you once you have been brave enough to show a little patience in a symbolic coherence of communication through meaning and not information, for not all can be said in language as it is at hand. The characters are a little weird, but they are people you will come to like.
I hope to read it again next year, and be able to give back the one star I have deducted.

[Akanksha]

Sharadha wrote: "Akanksha wrote: "The worst and most neglected reading log in the history of reading logs:'( I only feel sorry for the thread title of which I was pretty proud initially.
Reading target had been set..."
Some 50 or so books that I plan to read after exams! :P

[Gorab, TheGunman]

Akanksha wrote: "Some 50 or so books that I plan to read after exams! :P "

Wish I could give you a time machine to zoom past those exams ;)

[Akanksha]

How I wish I could get one :'(

[Akanksha]

I so need a light quiet comfort read. Counting on What They Always Tell Us.

[Akanksha]

I intend to complete Popsugar Challenge in 2018. I totally get how stupid that sounds!
But hey, watch out!

[Sharadha]

Haha, good luck, Aka. How many categories there this time (i.e., the regular 26 or more)?

[Akanksha]

40 categories, plus 10 for advanced.