Archive for book review

Chetan Bhagat’s ‘2 States ,The Story of My Marriage’-A Review

{ October 13, 2009 @ 7:03 am } · { QTB, book review, ramblings, review }
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Chetan Bhagat’s latest offering exactly takes off where he last left with 3 Mistakes of My Life.By now you as a reader would have settled into a familiar rhythm with this fellow. From the mandatory number in his title to his sense of humor you must have seen it all.But the reason why he clicks is also the reason why rom coms are a hit-its fun. His latest book is perhaps the best one after that much promising debut. Its tailor made for a movie and I want to see one by Imtiaz Ali.The story is about cross cultural differences and their significance in a love marriage.His sense of humor is at its easiest best.By now we know his books are always semi autobiographical and Hari,Shyam,Krish are all same at some level. He takes on the vibrant Punjabi culture and the more conservative tamil counterpart with a perfect sense of familiarity and alieness combined. His mockery as he says in the prologue is laced with liberal doses of affection.
cartoon couple rotated
So if you are a tam bram or a punjabi you would all the more enjoy this book if you have the ability to laugh at your own community Some of his one liners are just on the dot like the one where he says there is absolutely no love left between a couple by the time you convince both the families for an amicable marriage.Another one where he says what a marble is to a Punjabi is the same as a foreign degree to a Tamil.Or his poking fun at the quiet tamil households and fat punjabi aunties is equally fun.
He gets most of his facts right from the various tamil ceremonies involved to the lifestyle of the people. Thus he notes all that would be familiar to the people from the community-the idlis in the morning,quiet lunches,carnatic music,hindu,even Bay Area in US,obsession with IITs and IIMs and so on. The only place where he slips is when he confuses a nakshatram or a star with a jaatakam and the name manjunath is hardly a common tamil iyer name more likely to be a kandu one.

When you read a bhagat you read it because its entertaining not for literary value, so grab a hot mug of coffee,recline on a sofa or bean bag comfortably ,put on some good music and munch along a bag of chips as ypu read his latest book. Its fun,light hearted and entertaining!

Harry Potter still retains its streak of magic

{ August 28, 2009 @ 6:36 am } · { Harry Potter, book review, movies }
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Its been a long time since I have read HP, I used to be an addict once. It was a compulsion to read it every day over and over.I know so many people like me. In fact we must count in millions.Over a period of time HP seemed a bit childish.I grew out of it.HP works its charm best when you are in school simply because in your life you can pick people out of JKR’s famed collection.There’s always a teacher you dont like ,a teacher who is indulging,a phony and most of all you have your friends too, just like Harry does. And we all want to live in that world or at least delude that we do.Thats what makes us read it when we actually fall of the cliff like the one in the catcher in the rye. This is the same formula that makes movies like DCH,JTYJN or the umpteen teen age romantic flicks clickeven among adults.
The books have always been far better than the movies.Perhaps the best movie amongst them is the latest one.Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Its the first movie better than the book. The movie is dark,thrilling and even has an art house -cinema- like quality about it at times. Daniel Radcliffe comes off age.Its the only movie in which his presence overshadows the more talented watson and grint.It may also be because this book is Harry-centric more than the first five.Whatever be the reason he is the star of the movie. he is sensitive,funny,serious,melancholic and angry without going overboard even once.He manages to pull all the strings the right way.
The plot is gripping enough and simple enough for even the non-HP junta to follow but then no one really cares about the latter.Bonnie wright fits perfectly as the tongue in cheek yet so pretty Ginny.there is not much for Ron to do and hence for Rupert too.That brings us to Michael Gambon and Alan Rickman. Rickman as usual plays Snape the way we imagine the character to be.with a touch of arrogance,disgust and a quality of mystery around the character.I am not a fan of Gambon. Albus Dumbledore is not a character written as Gambon has played it.In fact he was painful to watch in the fourth installment.However,like Radcliffe he does a majestic work this time around.Horace Slughorn is alright,maybe a little less thin than you would have imagined.He plays the character well. Slughorn is one of the characters with a strong tragic quality about him and yet he evokes no pity from you.The young hero tiffin plays that brooding,dangerous kid well.You could sense the evil lurking beneath the ice like exterior. He plays it a bit gay. But then Voldemort is probably gay. He is pretty,smart and not shown to have any sexual interest in a woman. Perhaps the young Tiffin could have played the role a bit less sinister.Afterall young Tom Riddle was supposed to have been charmingly convincing that even Harry falls for him.
Tom Felton is looking so dashing these days that its difficult to hate the character.In fact Draco seems almost likable looking at Felton!

This is the best film yet.Visually appealing with very convincing performances.A plot that rises above what JKR provides. It teases and leaves you waiting for more.

the truth

A day in the life of a blogger-con&porn and a bit more.

{ December 20, 2008 @ 1:27 pm } · { PSBB, QTB, book review, musings, on and off, ramblings, review, the dividing line }
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Yesterday was one of those days when you had a lot to tell but was lazy enough  not to do so.Apart from the fact that i came down with a bad cold and sore throat  and my laptop is teetering over the edge with a con virus , it was a pretty uneventful day. The virus in my laptop is a porn watcher’s delight. It made me give 2 significant frustrated outbursts.One was about how i dont even watch porn and yet the virus , ppl found that funny. So funny that every person who has so far promised to set my laptop right has laughed at me, my comp or in the case of shiny ended up watching movies on it.This led to the other outburst- more a cry that went ‘ i dont want windows’…you see with Windows its like the ants in the basement story. There are ants all over the place in the room next to yours. yet you believe it wont be your room next.It takes a good few bites to realize and go and get a lakshman rekha.This moral holds ofcourse for the average laptotting ,non-open crazy ,non-geeky,non-Gates basher whose ultimete utilisation of the comp is watching movies,like me.

Then there was this speech in the afternoon organized by SPICMACAY. I dont even remember the guy’s name. He was ok, conservative,praising the media and believing in Utopian ideals .The worst part was that heair  gave the sppech in Kannada. Now thats discriminatory in a national institute of technology.

Back in school i used to have this wonderful long discussions on a lot of topics. We fought, badgered but always discussed. It mattered to argue whether reservations are right or not,about dvaita and advaita, open relationships,whats diff btw american girls and indian ones,that Scarlett O Haara was perfectly justifiable or the run of the mill Tamilnadu politics. It did nothing but to increase phone bills, reduce the concentration in class hours and lead to small phases of ‘i wont talk with you’.

It also strengthened bonds of friendship,made you understand people better,helped you to while your time in sanskrit classes and most importantly it molded me into a debator and a pretty successful one at that till i crash landed at NITK.The prob was a large number of ppl i met as a naive first year did not take such discussions in the right sense.  They called it giving fundae and still do .The thing with such discussions is that they are meant ultimately to be taken in the right sense,its not about who is better its about what you think. Of course opinions vary for some wierd reason and you need to live by that.

Lastly I read IWoz and realsized that Wozniac belongs to a rare breed of ppl.If its indeed the triumph of the nerds then its the triumph of this guy more than the other for Gates is like a poisonous ivy in your backyard and a shrewd bussisnessman(at some level they mean the same
) and Jobs ofcourse is this rockstar cum politician cum visionary cum streetfighter all rolled into one. My god there is no geekiness in him, he is the larger than life CEO whose charm is at best irresistible.As for Michael Dell,packard and others we will leave it for another day.

P.S: the answer to that question abt the girls is .. mind you i quote,” To an American girl its important that you always have a boyfriend and to an Indian girl its important that you ever had one”. I dont own anypart of that statement its been copyrighted elsewhere.

As for the guys by mutual consent we came to conclude not much of a difference . afterall after a certain drop it does not matter if its left or right.

The list- A year later

{ June 3, 2008 @ 11:00 am } · { Harry Potter, book review, hinduism, on and off }
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1.Freedom at midnight:the sheer depth of work gone into writing this book is amazing. the author is in love with mountbatten, but the other aspects of book more than make up for that folly.meticulously researched.

2.Great Indian Novel- Shashi Tharoor: read it in a hurry. not as great as expected. though a highly engrossing read.

3.Siddhartha-Hernan Hessie:alleviating.must read

4. Brave New world-Asimov: finally! in every sense of the word is an alpha class with soma in boot.

5.LesMiserables-Hugo:brilliantly portrayed

6.The Pakistani Bride- Bapsi Sidhwa: didnt like Ice Candy Man much, the same verdict.A waste of time.

7.The Argumentative Indian- Amartya Sen: a truly interesting read by a bengali first and an economist next.

8.The Hindu Way Of Life-Dr.Radhakrishnan: found it tedious in parts but nevertheless very well presented.

9.Freaknomics: must read.

10. Harry Potter and the deathly hallows: as magical as ever.

 

 

PONNIYIN SELVAN-THE TIMELESS CLASSIC

{ May 18, 2007 @ 4:29 pm } · { book review }
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Warning: the column will not interest those who have not read the book.

Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan is widely regarded as one of the best historical romances ever written. Set during the chola period the story is primarily about ponniyin selvan known to the world as Raja Raja cholan. The story has enthralled generation after generation of readers and remains as captivating as it always has been even today. While the hero of the story may have been Vandiyathevan or ponniyin selvan it is kalki’s heroines who come across as strongly portrayed.

All of them were credited with unsurpassable beauty and intelligence yet his three main heroines kundavai, nandini and poonkuzhali were as different from each other as they possibly could have been, they were strong willed woman who did not weep and merely pass as the hero’s love interest unlike the heroines of today. So those who are reading this column must have by now understood that it does not aim to present a review of the book but merely resketch these three great ladies.

Kundavai was the sister of raja rajan; extremely beautiful, diligent and intelligent she is considered even by historians as one of the most influential women to have been involved in state affairs. She was admired by one and all, respected by the prime minister and worshipped by ponniyin selvan and courted by Vandiyathevan. Nandini on the other hand was the most beautiful of the three, a beauty that rendered men senseless. The dark lining of the story, she was shrewd and scheming, her intention was to destroy the chola clan.
But it is the daughter of the sea, samudra kumari or Poonkuzhali who is my favourite. Shrewd, intelligent and possessed with a sharp instinct she was also brave and daring. Her arrogance and straight forwardness won admirers for her. Unlike nandini or kundavai she was neither liked for her beauty nor for her standing but merely for what she was.
Her dream of becoming a queen and indeed becoming one endears this simple girl to our heart!