The Ruins - Scott Smith - Book Review

 

        I have been in a reading slump in the horror genre. Nothing has interested me for some time. Then I came across this book, which Stephen King gave a positive note about. That was enough to make me try it.

        Four friends go on vacation to Mexico, during which they befriend a German and some Greeks. One day, the German sets out to find his brother, who had gone after an archaeologist girl he seemed to have a crush on. They follow a crude map, reach a Mayan village, and finally find the ruins. They proceed to the ruins despite the villagers' warnings. What starts as a search trip turns into something worse. The villagers won't let them return either. What awaits them in the ruins? Why did the villagers try to dissuade them initially? What happens to them forms the story.

        To start, I had expected a different storyline while reading the blurb. Once the story got going, it was different from what I expected. But the read was very interesting. The story takes its own sweet time to develop and is medium-paced. It is easy to get distracted, but the storyline kept me interested. As the story progresses, we get a solid idea of how the whole thing is going to end. But the author succeeds in keeping the engagement factor going. There are many squirmish moments with mentions of bodily fluids. This might discomfort some of the readers. The physical and mental breakdown of people with the passage of time is well portrayed. It tires us out at times, making me want the story to end. But the author takes his time in moving the story forward, and that was a clever move. The seven main characters were well written, and despite their shortcomings, we feel pity for them. The hill where they were stranded, along with the vines, set the perfect backdrop for this novel, and it shockingly breaks the grit and sanity of a human.

        In short, a good book that keeps us engaged even with a predictable storyline. It might not be everyone's cup of tea. Horror and thriller readers can surely give it a try. 

Note: There is a movie based on this book, which I have yet to watch. 

The Big Four - Agatha Christie - Book Review

 

        Recently, I was watching the 'Knives Out' movies when I realised that it had been a while since I had read a Hercule Poirot mystery. This book has been sitting on my Kindle for a long time, so why not!

        A stranger barges into Hercule's room and dies after giving ambiguous information scribbled on a piece of paper about an underworld organisation. From then on, it becomes a cat-and-mouse game as Hercule tries to uncover the organisation and risks his life to get the four top people arrested.

        This was an interesting book that was written in easy language. While I expected an outright murder investigation, the story quickly shifts into thriller mode. It combined the typical Poirot-style investigation along with his adventurous side. The Big Four was upping the game, making the read much more engaging. But the problem starts here. Suddenly, Poirot is fighting bad guys instead of finding clues to solve the crime. I would like Poirot to stick to his usual self. The book had a love-hate relationship with me due to this. The story seemed a toned-down version of the Sherlock-Moriarty relationship.

        In short, a fairly good book where the expectations play spoilt sport. If you read without a preset mindset, you might enjoy reading this.

The Trial - Franz Kafka - Book Review

 

        Roadside bookshops are an absolute treasure trove that a reader can come across. One that can surprise you. One such small shop had books by Kafka that I was looking for, and I went ahead and bought them. I had to read this after checking out the blurb.

        Joseph. K, a head clerk at a bank, is arrested for no reason. The constable, the court - no one is aware of the reason or what wrong he had committed. He is allowed to continue with his normal life and attend court on weekends. Joseph has a hard time trying to figure out what is happening to his life. What was he arrested for? Does he get convicted or acquitted?

        What piqued my interest in this read was the absurdity of the plot. This is my second read of Kafka after Metamorphosis. Every character in this book appears to have a say but is clueless at the same time. The mental state of Mr K is well reflected throughout, and it affected me in unspeakable ways. There are a couple of interesting characters: a businessman, a painter, a lady servant, and a church father who influences K's thinking and reasoning. Even though the book is under 200 pages, it was never an easy read for me. There were a lot of inner conversations that made me ponder several times and, at the same time, made me uncomfortable. An individual's struggle against the system is well brought out here. We can relate this to some of the systems that we see around us. 

        Kafka points out the web-like entanglement of the system wherein an individual can get tangled deeper and deeper, even as the person seems to find a way out. There is some tongue-in-cheek dry humour throughout the book. This book makes you snigger at the absurdity while becoming uncomfortable at the underlying reality. There was a particular scene where K compares himself to a fly stuck in flypaper. That stayed with me for a long time. The ending was very unexpected, and it shook me. 

        In short, an absurd yet powerful novel. This might not be everyone's cup of tea. But once you read this, you will have more thoughts to process and also wonder at how the author came up with such a powerful thought back then. No wonder Kafka is celebrated even now!

That Night - Nidhi Upadhyay - Book Review

 

        Some time back, I came across a YouTube video where the person talked about a book that scared her big time, and it caught my attention. How am I going to miss a scary book? So, on a rainy weekend, I curled up in my reading corner with this book. Let's see if it was worth it.

        Natasha, Riya, Anjali and Katherine were best friends in college, through thick and thin, until that fateful night. What was supposed to be a bottle of whisky and a prank with an Ouija board resulted in the death of their hostel mate, Sania. Twenty years later, four of them are scattered across the world, barely in touch with one another. The secret from the past that no one else knew is out to get them. Four of them convene to sort this out as darker secrets begin to bleed out. Is it the ghost of Sania? Or is someone out for revenge? 

        The plot of the book was interesting. It genuinely interested me. The messing up of electronic devices and the dark secrets all kept the tempo going. Also, it kept me guessing if this was a real ghost or someone out to get revenge. Since most of the book revolves around the four main characters, the author provided good characterisation for all of them. The language is simple, but some of the dialogue seems bland and plain. It can be quite a hiccup. Also, the second half of the book was unnecessarily stretched. The book would have been better if it were 20 to 30 pages shorter. This lag affected my reading seriously. I expect a thriller to keep me engaged and breathless until the very end. The book fails miserably at this. The interest in guessing whether it was a ghost or not wanes due to this. As a result, the ending felt flat for me.

        To sum it up, a book that had a promising plotline and engaging buildup, only to be let down by flat writing in the second half. Thriller fans can give it a one-time try.

Random Ramblings #16 - Pitter Patter Raindrops

                        

Rain! Such a beautiful thing. A real beauty of nature. What started as an on-and-off drizzle suddenly blew into a full-fledged downpour as I pen this article. Nature is putting on a full show with extreme lightning and thunder. Today, I did not feel like sitting on the verandah as usual and watching nature perform its feat. Instead, I decided to sit in my room and listen to the soothing rain, at times interrupted by the booming thunder that sets the glass windows reverberating.

Such rains can be dangerous. But you can never cease wondering at the magic nature creates. The trance that rain creates in me can never be contained in words. More than a lullaby, the pitter-patter creates a lasso that pulls my mind out of the abyss that I bury myself in. The rise and fall in tempo, along with the rustic smell of damp soil, creates a connection with nature. Like I always say, there are simple but wonderful things around us that make our lives complete.

As I reflect on my day and write this down, I can hear the rain subsiding outside. I step out to watch the drops that seem to linger on the building's corners and trees, dancing in the cool breeze before jumping off the ledges and branches to unite with the earth. I step out to feel the damp earth with my naked feet, rejuvenate myself, and take in the scent of the wet earth and cool breeze. Happiness brews inside me as I finish this write-up and plan to sit on my favourite chair, savouring the after-effects of rain.