The Candid Odyssey: Exploring India and the Philosophy of Life - B. Johny - Book Review

 

                    Many people around the world love travelling. They do it to seek pleasure, adventure, learning, self-realization or just for the fun of it. I am not that much of a keen travel enthusiast. But, I do enjoy my solo trips or trips with very select people. While most people look for adventure and exploring nature, my travels are majorly restricted to visiting historical sites, walking down unknown roads and checking out libraries and bookshops. I chanced upon this book recently and decided to check what this was all about.

                  This book is a journal of Johny who went on an All-India solo trip for 8 weeks. He explores the landscapes and cultures traversing across different states in buses and trains staying in dormitaries and hostels. More than being a journal, he talks about self-discovery and life philosophies thereby exploring his inner self. 

                   First of all, do not expect a travelogue or travel guide while reading this book. This is more of a journal by the author about the experiences he had. I am not a big fan of books that are too preachy when it comes to philosophy. But in this book, the author does not delve into that. He talks about life lessons based on experiences in a crisp way rather than lingering around to elaborate on them. The messages provided were clear and concise and the book was written in an enjoyable way. The language is simple and the read was fairly quick. I liked the way the philosophies were incorporated in the chapters. The author mentions taking us along for the journey at the start and addresses the full book as "We". I found it very irksome. This was sort of weird and confusing which could have been avoided. Also, the book cover does not look that appealing. I am a big fan of interesting book covers and the plain cover was not enticing for me.

                    In short, this is a quick one-time read. Those interested in travelling and reading about travel experiences will enjoy this short and sweet travel journal. 

பந்தயப் பாவை - பட்டுக்கோட்டை பிரபாகர் - புத்தக விமர்சனம்

 

                    சென்னையில் வேலை பார்க்கிற காலத்தில் புறநகர் ரயில் பயணங்கள் வாழ்வின் ஒரு முக்கியமான பாகமாக இருந்தது. புத்தகங்களின் தோழமை என் பயணங்களை சிறப்பாக்கியது. ரயில் நிலைய புத்தகக் கடைகளிலிருந்து அதிகமாக வாங்கி படித்தது பட்டுக்கோட்டை பிரபாகரின் புத்தகங்கள் தான். இப்போது சில வருடங்கள் கழித்து மீண்டும் ஒரு பட்டுக்கோட்டை புத்தகம்.

                    இந்த புத்தகம் இரண்டு மர்ம கதைகள் கொண்டது. முதல் கதை ஒரு ஓட்ட பந்தய வீராங்கனையைச் சார்ந்தது. ஒரு பிரபலமான விளையாட்டுப் போட்டியில் கலந்து கொள்ள வாய்ப்பு கிடைக்கும் கிரிஜா, மேற்கொண்டு பயிற்சிகளில் ஈடுபடுகிறார். இந்த நிலையில் போட்டிகளிலிருந்து விலகச் சொல்லி மர்மமான எச்சரிக்கையும் கொலை மிரட்டலும் வர காவல்துறை மற்றும் பரத்-சுசீலா-வின் உதவியை நாட, மேற்கொண்டு என்ன நடக்கிறது என்பது 'பந்தய பாவை'. பெங்களூரூவில் உலா தனது நண்பனின் வீட்டில் ரகசிய ஆராய்ச்சி மேற்கொள்ளும் தீபக் வெண்குஷ்டத்துக்கு மருந்து கண்டு பிடித்திருக்கிறார். அதை அரசாங்கத்திடம் ஒப்படைக்க தீபக் முடிவு செய்ய, நண்பன் கௌதம் அதைக் கைப்பற்ற அவனைக் கொல்ல நினைக்கிறார். இதை அறிந்த தீபக் பார்முலாவோட சென்னை தப்பிச் செல்ல அங்குக் கொலை செய்யப்படுகிறான். பார்முலாவை தேட கௌதம் ஒரு பக்கத்தில் முயற்சி எடுக்க தீபக்கின் காதலி வினிதா பரத்தின் உதவி நாடுகிறார். யார் கையில் அந்த பார்முலா அகப்படும், தீபக் யாரால் கொல்லப்பட்டார் என்று அறிவதே 'உன் கதை முற்றம்'.

                    இரண்டுமே பரத்-சுசீலா கதைகள் தான். இரண்டுமே விறுவிறுப்பான கதைக்களம் கொண்டது. முதல் கதையிலோ பக்கத்துக்குப் பக்கம் பரபரப்பு என்பது போல் பரத்துக்குப் போட்டியாகத் தனது தந்திரங்களை வகுக்கும் அந்த மர்ம ஆசாமி வேகமான பரபரப்பான வாசிப்பு அனுபவத்தைத் தருகிறார். எதிர் பாராத திருப்பு முனைகள் கொண்டது முதல் கதை. இரண்டாவது கதையில் கொலைகாரனை ஏவிவிட்டது யார் என்று தெரிந்தும் எப்படிக் கதை நகரும் என்று நினைத்தேன். என்றாலும் மிக மிகச் சுவாரஸ்யமாக எழுத்தாளர் கதையைக் கொண்டுசெல்கிறார். கதைக்குத் தேவையான பாத்திரங்கள் மட்டும் கொண்டது தான் இந்த இரண்டு கதைகளும். அதிலும் இரண்டிலுமே பரத்துக்குச் சரியான சவாலாக அமையும் பாத்திரங்களைத் துல்லியமாக எழுதியுள்ளார் பட்டுக்கோட்டை  பிரபாகர்.சில இடங்களில் லாஜிக் அடிபட்டாலும் தங்குதடையின்றி அமையும் வாசிப்பு அந்த தப்பை மறக்க வைக்கிறது. பரத்தின் இரட்டை அர்த்த நகைச்சுவைகள் தவிர்த்திருக்கலாம். சற்று முகம் சுளிக்க வைக்கிறது.

                    மொத்தத்தில், ஒரு வாட்டி வாசிக்கத் தகுந்த ஒன்று இந்த புத்தகம். விறுவிறுப்பான வேகமான வாசிப்பை எதிர்பார்ப்பார் கண்டிப்பாக வாசிக்கலாம்.

The Last Word - Taylor Adams - Book Review

 

                    When I browse unknown books and authors at the library or book fairs, I look for interesting covers with the one-liners on them When I am impressed by a cover, it feels like the book has chosen me. And believe me, most of the ones selected through book covers worked well for me. This was one such book that gave me the same vibe during my recent visit to the library. A simple book cover but I was genuinely interested enough to choose the one for reading. Plus I was smitten by the blurb as well.

                    Emma Carpenter is house-sitting in one of the private beachfront houses along the Strand Beach area with her dog, Laika. The only other contacts are the house owner Jules via phone and her neighbour Deek living half a mile away through telescopes in their houses. Emma has isolated herself due to something bad that happened in her life. She spends her days binge-reading on ebooks from Kindle Unlimited. One day, Deek recommends a book that she dislikes so much that she gives a one-star review on Amazon. Soon, the author contacts her over mail to take down the review which she does not. He warns her that this is not the end and soon after she starts realizing that someone is stalking the house. Does she survive? Is it the deranged writer or is it another of the serial killers targeting people in near-isolated areas? forms the remaining plot. 

                    To start with, a highly engaging read. A great and interesting premise. I have always considered the scenario in this novel each time I write a book review.  The novel gives us the vibe of a home invasion movie. I liked the way the author succeeds in getting us invested in the story. The writer has done a good job of maintaining the tempo of the story as well. Things are happening every few pages. Just when we think that the story is going to end or proceed one way, it goes the other way completely taking us by surprise. In some books, we get a feeling that things are happening in a forced way. The narration does feel like that towards the end but the way it is written does not give us time to mull over it. That's what made the read exciting enough for me. The language and style are simple enough to keep us reading. The few characters were nicely written and their emotions were well etched and the author succeeds in passing them over to the readers. Being a work of fiction, there are logical lapses that can be overlooked. Like I said earlier, there are moments where we feel that the story is getting dragged voluntarily. Even though we may overlook that in the flow of the story, the thought lingers once we complete the book.

                    In short, a very engaging book that keeps us rooted till the end. The book promises an exciting read that we can binge upon. I would like to see this being adapted into a movie in the future.

Murder in the Crooked House - Soji Shimada - Book Review

 

                    It's been quite a while since I took up a Japanese mystery book. What is better than a locked room mystery? 'The Tokyo Zodiac Murders' was a good read from Soji Shimada and I wanted to try this book. Plus the name was also interesting.

                   The Ice Floe Mansion sits over a cliff in one of the northernmost parts of Japan. The location is weird and the house itself is a very crooked and confusing structure - slopping floors, strange staircases, creepy masks and human-sized dolls. The owner of the house, Kozaburo Hamamoto and his daughter Eiko invite guests to spend Christmas at the House. The next day, a guest is found murdered inside a locked room within the house. Soon the police investigators from the region are trying to get to the bottom of this amidst the blizzard raging outside the house. Soon another locked room murder happens, and everyone is clueless. Tokyo police enlist the help of Kiyoshi Mitarai, the renewed sleuth. Will he be able to solve the locked room mystery and find the murderer forms the story.

                    First of all, yet another interesting locked room mystery for a master Japanese writer. The story also confines mostly within the house so there is more importance and interactions given to the characters. There was always something happening enough to keep me interested and invested in the plot. The layout map of the house and the rooms where the crimes happened were really helpful. As the name indicates, the house was so confusing that I had to go back and forth on the layout maps every time. Since there were guests allocated to each room, the reading was difficult at times. I had to pause and refer back half the time. The characters were well written and we get to know more details of each character as and when we go reading. The suspense was well maintained and the author was successful in maintaining the sombre mood throughout. I was able to guess the perpetrator midway but my reasoning was different. But the way it was executed could not be guessed at all. Kiyoshi enters the novel way past the halfway mark. But once he entered, the book seemed to catch up the speed. Some might find the slowness till then a bit dull. There may be logical flaws that you may notice here and there. Nevertheless, the book does keep you engaged. The writer has brought the landscape and the Japanese culture very well into the book. And I enjoyed how the whole thing unravelled. When it comes to translations, a big part needs to be played by the translator. Here also, I feel the translator has done full justice to keep us invested in the book. Pushkin Vertigo has been doing a wonderful job bringing out such classics to the front. I have read some amazing books from this publisher.

                    In short, this is a good locked-room mystery that can be a good read for mystery lovers. I have been a fan of Japanese mysteries and this adds one more significant addition to my "Read" list.

A Little History of Archaeology - Brian.M.Fagan - Book Review

 

                    Archaeology and History have always fascinated me from a young age. Even back in my school days, I enjoyed reading about history. For me, archaeologists were adventurous individuals who dug up the earth to uncover entire cities, explore unknown structures, and discover fascinating artefacts. I was the only one in my class who wanted to become one growing up. Well! Life had different plans; but to date, I enjoy both history and archaeology through the books, and documentaries I have come across. Recently I encountered this book and jumped right in to see what it had to offer. 

                    This book talks about the history and evolution of archaeology. The book follows how long ago, this was about robbing artefacts and how the study became systematic to the field of study we see now. Brian, an archaeologist himself takes us to various parts of the world and talks about the ancient discoveries: Egyptian pyramids, Angor Wat, Stonehenge, Jamestown, Mayans, Pompeii, Greater Zimbabwe, Mohandejaro and more. When archaeology seemed a predominantly male-dominated field, there were been few very remarkable females who brought change to the way we see things. The book also introduces them along with some of the world-famous archaeologists who were game-changers in this field and changed the way things were done. Brian also traces the progress of development from shovels to underwater archaeology to state-of-the-art LIDAR technology and satellite imaging.

                    First of all, I simply loved the book. True that this is not a book for everyone. For interested people like me, the book just caters perfectly. To be clear, this book does not talk in-depth about the history behind all those sites. This book is about how archaeology evolved over time and the reader needs to be clear of that. The language was simple enough and the style engaging enough with not much-complicated lingo to hinder the flow. The book is not a quick read and it took me 2 months to finish the book. One cannot maybe finish this in a single read or a couple of them. I am a slow reader when it comes to such topics and did take my sweet time finishing it parallelly taking time to do some further reading or check videos on related topics. At around 290 or 300 pages, you are getting ample facts from the read. But do not expect exhaustive information which this book does not provide. I liked how he set the chapters in chronological order as per the growth of technology in the field. Also, I liked the last chapter which was sort of a quick run-through of what all were told in the book and how archaeology is shaping up in the future.

                    In short, a good book for people interested in the topic of archaeology and history. The book may not be exhaustive but provides a base for a good factual read.