The Miracles of the Namiya General Store - Keigo Higashino - Book Review

 

                The author who kick-started me into reading Japanese books was Keigo Higashino. Japanese mysteries have been the most read by me over the last two years thanks to KH. Recently, I came across this book at the library. Reading the blurb, I noticed that the book was a different genre from his usual crime mysteries. This book looked like a feel-good type of read, was curious enough to try this out.

                Three guys hole up in an old general store while they are making an escape after a recent robbery. When their car stalls, they spend the night at the abandoned store. While holing up inside the store, they come across a letter being dropped into the store asking for advice. But they do not see anyone dropping the letter. Even though they are divided on whether to answer, the trio replies to the letter. The remaining story deals with how the letters are coming to the store, the mystery behind the store, and how people's lives are transformed over the conversation.

                I was impressed by the read. Since all my other reads of Keigo Higashino have been mysteries, this was surprising enough for me. Along the flow of the story, characters are introduced throughout the length of the story. Things were happening throughout and I loved the portions where each interconnected beautifully. There were quite a few characters and stories related to them. All these have been beautifully woven by the writer. I needed clarification initially as I did not expect the non-linear pattern. The same goes for the translators. I may have read some good Japanese mysteries and the reason I am a big fan; is not only due to the authors but also due to the translators. Complete justice was done by the person. The writing was simple enough. Namiya and the piano player stand out for me in this heartwarming tale.

               In short, a wonderfully sweet novel that can always bring a smile, wholesomeness, and a good vibe to anyone who reads the book. I read this book as a breather after a pretty heart-wrenching Tamil novel and this read lifted my mood. There is a Japanese and a Chinese movie based on the book that I will be checking out later. 

ராஜகேசரி - கோகுல் சேஷாத்திரி - புத்தக விமர்சனம்

 

               கதைகள் என்றுமே பல விதங்களில் சொல்ல படுகின்றன. இருந்தாலும் துப்பறியும் கதைகள் மீது எனக்கு உள்ள நாட்டம் வேறு எதிலும்  இல்லை. அதுவும் இந்த புத்தகத்தின் கருவை வசித்த பொது வித்தியாசமான ஒரு துப்பறியும் கதையாக பட்டது.

               ராஜ ராஜ சோழனின் பிறந்தநாள் ஐப்பசி மாதம் சதயம் நட்சத்திர நாளன்று வரவுள்ளது. தலைநகரில் அதற்கான விமரிசையான ஏற்பாடுகள் நடைபெறுகின்றன. ஆனால் அதே நேரத்தில் ராஜாவை கொலை செய்ய ஒரு சாதி திட்டம் தீத்தப்பட்டு வருகிறது என்று ஒரு ரகசிய தகவல் அமைச்சர்களுக்கு வருகின்றது. இதே வேலையில் தலைநகரத்தில் இருந்து சில காத டூரத்தில் உள்ள ஒரு கிராமத்தில் வீரன் ஒருவர் மர்மமான முறையில் கொள்ள படுகிறான். அந்த தகவலை அம்பலவாணர் தலைநகருக்கு கொண்டு செல்ல அங்க அவருடன் இணைந்து சேனாதிபதி பரமன் மழபாடியார் இந்த திட்டத்தின் வேர் வரை செல்ல யத்தனிக்கிறார். ஆனாலும் அது அவ்வ்வளவு எளிதல்ல. யார் இந்த சதிகாரர்கள் - பாண்டியர்களா இல்லை சேரர்களா?சதிகாரர்கள் ஆசை நிறைவேறுமா? சோழநாட்டு பிரமுகர்களால் இதனை முறியடிக்க இயலுமா? மழபாடியார் ராஜ ராஜனை காப்பாற்றுவாரா? இதுவே கதைக்களம்.

                இந்த புதினத்தில் என்னை மிகவும் கவர்ந்தது இதன் கதைக்களம் தான். ஏற்கனவே இந்த எழுத்தாளரின் பைசாசம் இது  போன்று தான். அதாவது பண்டைய காலத்தில் நடக்கும் ஒரு குற்றமும் அதனை துப்பு துலக்கி தீர்வை காணும் அந்த காலத்து நபர்களும். இந்த மாதிரி இரண்டையும் அருமையாக இணைத்துள்ளார் எழுத்தாளர். 'ஹிஸ்டாரிகல் பிக்ஷன்' என்ற ஒரு வகை புனைவை  மேற்கொண்டுள்ளார்.கற்பனையுடன் உண்மையும் கலந்து எழுதப்படும்பொழுது நம் வாசிப்புக்கு இன்னும் மெருகேறுகின்றது. கோகுல் அவர்களின் எழுத்து நடையும் கற்பனையும் நம்மை அந்த காலத்துக்கே கொண்டு சென்று அம்பலவாணர் மற்றும் மழபாடியார் இவர்களுடன் இணைந்து கதையின் முழு ஓட்டத்தையும் உடனிருந்து கண்டு கழிக்கிறோம். முக்கியமான கதைமாந்தர்கள் சிலவர்களே என்றாலும் நிறையவே சின்ன சின்ன பாத்திரங்கள் வந்து செல்கின்றன. வாசிப்பின் ரசனையை அது மேலும் யதார்த்தமாக்கிறது. அங்கு அங்கு வரும் சங்க காலத்து வட்டார வழக்கு அழகு.            

                எனக்கு இது வேகமான வாசிப்பிப்பாகவே அமைந்தது. அதே நேரத்தில் விறுவிறுப்பான ஒரு திரைப்படம் கண்ட நிறைவு. ஒரு வேகமான சுவாரஸ்யமான வாசிப்பை விரும்புகிறவர்கள் இதை கட்டாயம் படிக்கலாம்.

கோகுல் சேஷாத்திரியின் வேறு படைப்புகளின் விமர்சனங்களை காண கீழ் காணும் இணையதள இணைப்பில் செல்லவும்.

பைசாசம் - கோகுல் சேஷாத்திரி        

Let Me In : 30 Tales of Terror - Blair Daniels - Book Review

 

                It has been quite a while since I had read the horror genre. Recently, all I have been reading are mystery thrillers and whodunits. Well, I had been coming across some good ones; hence a long break from the horror genre. Recently, I decided to venture back to the genre and came across this book on the go. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

                The book is a set of 30 horror short stories. There are stories of a disturbing YouTube ad, a glitch in Minecraft, a postman supposedly having to deliver letters to the dead, the camera that shows your last photograph, a strange behaving dog, a headless jogger, a camera getting hacked, a garden hose that keeps growing, and creepy encounters in the motel, grocery store, mail, suburb, cursed house, etc.

                I would not say that all the stories are horror in nature. The right word would be creepy. While the stories were not scary, it was creepy. I liked the ideas that the writer had in these stories. The read was a quick one and the stories were very short, the longest being around 10 pages long. While some of the stories were just normal read; most others were interesting. Some of them did creep me out. I like how some stories involved technology being used as a medium for horror. The language was easy enough. I felt that a few stories were too short to wrap my head into it. Having said that, the good ones were crazy enough too. One of my favorite stories was what a security encountered in a grocery store during his night shift. I was able to complete the book in a few hours which was very quick enough. Even though the stories were good enough, most of them did not linger in my mind too much. It might be my fault as I am not accustomed to reading many short stories in English.

                To sum it up, a quick and creepy read that might interest horror seekers. This might not scare you, but might creep you out.

Someone We Know - Shari Lapena - Book Review

 

            Thrillers and mysteries have always been go-to books in between serious reads. In recent days, it has changed to more thrillers and mysteries all the time. The sheer variety of story tracks in these genres is astounding and no matter how many years pass; these genres will always be gold.

             A teenager has been sneaking into neighbors' houses just for the thrill. He accesses their computers and plays around with their data. He might have known their darkest secrets as well. His mother finds this out and sends out apology letters. Meanwhile, a woman from the locality is murdered. Also, dark secrets are slowly coming out to damage the neighboring families. Who murdered her? Do the letters cause any problems? Is everything as it seems in families?

            This book was a very interesting one. When it started out with the mother catching her son breaking into houses and confronting him, I thought the story would take a certain path. But then, things started tumbling out very fast that the story was going leading us on a wild goose chase. There were a couple of red herrings, and I should say, that did trick me. I liked how the suspense was maintained throughout, and the reveal was the least expected and impressed me so much. A couple of families were involved in the story, so there are a handful of characters. But I liked the way the author gave every character its due presence. The book did not drag me back but it would have been crispier if around twenty pages less. Every house hiding its own secrets and infidelities was a bit too much for me. Seriously there were a lot of things happening within the book. The language is simple enough though.

            In short, a quick thriller read with great suspense. For me, it was a suggestion from a friend of mine which was worth it. Thriller fans will definitely find this interesting enough.

The Final Scene - Steph Nelson - Book Review

                When I was searching around for some interesting blurbs, I came across some brilliant descriptions which make me jump right into the book. This was one such book that intrigued me with an interesting plot.

                Brooke was kidnapped on her way back from work and she is placed as a captive in a cabin in some unknown woods. It has been several years. But then, it is not just Brooke. Other people have also been kidnapped and all have been acting out a certain part that was designed for them. Escape from the cabin is impossible even though it is wide open as it could mean sure death. If you don't play your role as expected also you might end up dead. This all changes when a new person arrives as a captive. It might just be time to turn the tables around trying to escape the clutches of the perpetrators.

                The concept was interesting in the first place and different from other plots involving kidnapping and captivity. People are being held as open captives and cannot escape. This was very intriguing. The read was a pretty quick one, but some places seemed to drag me back. Maybe 30 - 35 pages less could have made it more crisp. The characters were interesting, and the backstories unfolded well. The author had done a nice job of keeping the story exciting even though most of the story was confined in the cabin. There was a parallel story running which did intrigue me, but the way it connected with the main plot and the action at the last was exciting enough.

                In short, a decent read for thriller fans which can be read within a day or two. But then the dullness mars the read at one or two spots.