Saraswati Park

Title:         Saraswati Park

Author:     Anjali Joseph

Price:        INR. 299/-
Publisher: Harper Collins India

Saraswati Park is the story of Mahesh. A letter writer by profession, his life is bound by a set routine which includes waking up early, making tea for him & wife, getting ready, taking the local for V.T. etc. He derives small pleasure by visiting the street vendors who sell 2nd hand books at Fountain area. He is passionate about collecting 2nd hand books, a habit which irritates his wife Lakshmi. He is shocked out his reverie when the street vendors are thrown out by the municipality but before he could mull over the loss there are much bigger changes waiting to happen in his life.

Mohan & Lakshmi are joined by his nephew. With his parents moving out to another city, Ashish moves in with his uncle & aunt to finish off his final year graduation. He comes with a package. Confused about his sexuality Ashish gets into a relationship with his class mate only to be dumped later. He gets into another relationship but doesn’t know what the future holds for him.

Amidst all the happenings Lakshmi loses her brother & before she could get over the mourning she gets the news of the illness of her other brother. She departs in a hurry only to not to return for months.

Will Mohan find his true calling?
Will Ashish find a way in his life?
What happened between Mohan & Lakshmi that made her stay away for a long time?
Will Lakshmi ever return?

Read the book to know more.

My Verdict

Now, this is a book which I will call “my kind of book”; a book which delves into relationships, people, emotions, day to day life, treats the city as a character and comes out to be something which is very relatable.

Written in subtle tone, the book moves with a gentle pace but never loses the grip on the reader. For me a good fiction is something with which one can relate to and I could relate to the book because the places were familiar and so was Mohan’s passion for books. The portions where the author describes the daily routine of Lakshmi, a housewife had something charming to it, charming because it made me yearn for a life like her. I wish I could quit, stay at home & just tend to the house. I wish!

Then there is Ashish who loses himself into a relationship only to come out as a survivor and a better person. The author handles the emotions very well, there is nothing over the top about the whole affair, and things are as they are in normal life without the useless loud drama. I fell in love with the portions where Ashish interacts with his uncle. The way he guides him into finding his true calling in life was beautiful.

I could go on & on about what works for the book but I would rather recommend it to you. Surely worth a read for people who love to read books which are rich in emotions.

My rating 4/5

The book has already brought two literary awards for the debutant author Anjali Joseph. She has won The Betty Trask Award  & The Desmond Elliot Prize and is nominated for the Vodafone Crossword Book Awards in the Best English Fiction Category.

The Vodafone Crossword Book Award is one of the most prestigious and a popular literary prize in India that not only recognizes and rewards the best of Indian writing but also actively promotes the authors and their books.

The awards are being held on 2nd September at NCPA, click here to read the invitee and here to know more about the awards.

This, That & All That!!!

So, the blog has been on a sleep mode for last one week. No book reviews, no updates nothing. Very unlike me no? Specially when I have so many things to talk about.

Well L'lle one's Birthday party went very well. Things started on IST because the guests arrived on IST but once enough people were there the Entertainer we had called in managed to pull in everybody on floor and it was fun after that. The best part was that L'lle one was awake the whole while and was enjoying the moment. He went to everybody and was smiling the whole time. I was actually very worried about him but thankfully everything went well. As far as I am concerned the whole thing went in a blur as was cold was knocking the door of my body.

The Cake

Too many hands ready to feed but no cake!

Next day went in a blur of activity, spent some time with Bro, Bhabi & their girls (they had come for the party & rakhi), L'lle one freaked out with his elder sisters. But life after they left has been kind of hellish. I caught severe cold, My FIL is suffering from severe cold and last but not the least L'lle one has also caught cold and had fever for last 3-4 days.

To top it all he is also sprouting two tooth's, he is not eating anything and I am unable to take off from work as my boss is out of station. There is some work which is of OUT MOST importance which has me in office but as I say my body is here but not my soul. Sigh!!!

But yes there are bright spots too, he has taken his first few independent steps and I can not tell you how amazing the feeling was to see him walking. People around me keep telling me that Kids always fall sick after their 1st birthday because they suffer from Nazar Lagna so I have been uttaoring his nazar almost every day but I know it is the ever changing weather of Mumbai which has resulted in all this bimari!

Besides these general updates life is quite slow. Been seeing the Anna movement, liking the way they have mobilised the Indian Middle Class out of there homes but I wish that the drive to end Corruption comes from within us and the corrections begin with self. Don't give bribe and don't expect people to take bribe and for people who have been arguing that the very people who are supporting the Anna movement have either given or take bribe in the past. Well, they are at least ready to change now? Are you ready to change yourself?

Also, have you been paying for the polythene bags at all major shops? I have been, apparently as per Government ruling plastic bags are banned and the big stores are now charging us for it. Such chors these idiots are I tell you. If they really want to discourage us from using plastics then please get paper bags why the hell are you making an earning from this opportunity also? DISCOURAGE PLASTIC BAGS BY DISCONTINUING THEM BUT NOT BY CHARGING US FOR THEM.

Coming up next

Book reviews of Last Man in Tower (Aravind Adiga) & Way to Go (Upmanyu Chatterjee)

L'lle One Is One Today! Time does Really Fly!

The L'lle one turned One today and I still can't believe that he is one. Where did the year go by?

Like every new mother I had decided that I will keep a record of all his milestone but the real me won over me. For someone like me who has never been able to maintain a diary in her whole life this was too big a task to handle :D but does that really matter? Not for me. All I know is that the toothy grin, the 1st step that he took today, the excitement that is visible on his face when I come back will forever be etched in my mind and these memories don't need a diary :D

We had a small katha today and are having a biiiig party on Saturday (which incidentally is Rakhi Day & am getting rakhi tied on my Hubby's wrist from all the girls coming to the party just for the heck of it ;)) and yes the shopping is done & the invitation card looks like this.

The only issue with the cards is that there are still more than half cards which need to be finished hehehehe..what to do am so short of time but my BIL & FIL are at the job and are helping me big time. So hopefully today all the cards should be ready.

BTW here is the L'lle one with his b'day gift.

His turning one reminded me of the promise that I made to myself. I had promised myself that after he completes a year I will get on with losing weight and not use the excuse of baby @ home.

Yes, I did make such a stupid promise. Sigh! And you know when & where I remembered the stupid promise? Well I had gone to this cake shop and saw this

Slurrp!!! Can you guess the flavor of the cake? No it isn't butterscotch. Guess Guess!!!

While you are at it look at this photo also.

Now tell me with this much temptation around should I be on diet??

Bolo Bolo Tell Tell!!!

And yes before I forget, Thanks to all the lovely people who have wished him on Twitter i.e. Kanu, Monika, Maddie & CB . And a special Thanks to R & R's Mom, lady your mail & SMS were very sweet. Thanks for remembering!

And last but not the least V!!! Thanks for remembering & for reminding some more people ;)

Lonely Gods

Title:           Lonely Gods

Author:       Shivani Singh

Price:          INR 299/-

Publication: Hachette India

When Uma receives a frantic call from her sister in Kolkatta, informing her that their Raj Mama is sinking, she drops everything to be at his side. What she sees in Kolkatta mystifies her to no end. She feels that her now comatose Raj Mama is trying to convey a message to her through his eyes, a message which is beyond her. Uma also knows that Indira, the daughter of Raj Mamu is up to something but is unable to pin point it.

Kamini is being pulled into the mysterious group called VNP. The purpose of this group is to save the world from disaster & to reunite a couple whose love is purer than any other relationship in the world. Though she becomes a part of the group but the proceedings are beyond her. What she doesn’t know is that she is central to what VNP is targeting.

Raj & Aparajita, neighbors, strangers, made for each other. A chance meeting and they feel a pull towards each other which is beyond understanding. They can communicate without speaking & know that they are meant for each other. Aparajita is already married & Raj gets married to someone else because he is too proud to accept that he can not live without her. Will they ever meet? Is their love beyond all relationships?

Read the book to know more.

My Take

I loved 75% of the book & didn’t like 25% of it. If we just keep the love story part & the part where Uma and her siblings try to unravel the mystery behind their Raj Mamu then I would say that it is an excellent book. But the portion of VNP where the author has mixed science & love is just beyond me. The scientific talk, earth planet and all that jargon makes this book a passable read.

I loved the way the author has handled the relationships, I loved the conversation between the siblings (there was some realness in it) & I loved the way the she describes the pull between the protagonists. If only she had concentrated on these portions. One thing is sure that the author writes very well if only she had not made a khicchdi out of the whole book. The other thing that I loved about the book was the old world feel to the romance & the charm of the city, Kolkatta where the book is set.

Do read it if you love a mix of romance & science.

My rating

2.5/5 for the whole book

And if I rate just the 75% of the book 3/5

Johnny Gone Down

Title:      Johnny Gone Down

Author:  Karan Bajaj

Price:          Rs. 99/-

Publisher:  Harper Collins

This book is shortlisted for the Vodafone Crossword Book Award in the Popluar Cateogry.

The Vodafone Crossword Book Award is one of the most prestigious and popular literary prizes in India that not only recognizes and rewards the best of Indian writing but also actively promotes the authors and their books.

Click here to know more about the awards

Nikhil aka Nik is attending his graduation ceremony at MIT USA and is looking ahead to a bright future with NASA when his close pal Sameer proposes a trip to war ridden Cambodia. Without much thought and after much persuasion the friends begin their randomly planned vacation only to be embroiled in the tensions of country reeling under revolution.

In a moment of selflessness Nik saves Sameer’s life only to be captured by the revolting group. Rest of the book is all about how he survives Genocide, becomes a Buddhist monk & then quits being one, saves a gangster, becomes his accountant, falls in love, gets entangled in mafia war, leaves everything to save his life, comes to the brink of becoming a software mogul only to leave everything to come back to India where a whole new life is waiting for him. And yes in the whole process he has lost his one arm though I don’t remember when & how.

The poor fellow has so much on his plate! He is an epitome of the Indian saying, “bhagwan jab deta hai to chappar phaad ke deta hai” in English, “when God gives you he decides to rip off the roof and bless you with everything”, which in the case of this book is a hell lot of bad & good times.

In this case our protagonist leads one of the most exciting lives. All that can happen happens to him and all that can not happen also happens to him. The author has used all bollywood tricks he had in his bag & borrowed some from all other bags as well! Our hero is a brave heart, a selfless soul & a winner in all circumstances.

You wanna call him Superhero??? Oh! I have no issues! But beware a movie might be made out the book and Nik might be rechristened as “Nik the Selfless Savior of the World”.

The book is a racy read but despite the turmoil’s/ escapades of Nik you don’t feel an iota of sympathy towards him. Why so? For an emotional connect with the hero/ characters there should be an amount of reality which is totally missing in the book.

Thrillers are meant to be page turners & are usually based in make belief world. Western authors specialize in writing them but they still retain certain things which are believable but when it comes to Indian authors the only inspiration they have is Bollywood and the end result is something which leaves you gawking with disbelief and the question, “who is the bigger fool here, the author or the reader?”

When I was narrating the story of the book with a colleague of mine her reaction after every twist in turn in Nik’s life was “what??” she still wonders how I managed to finish the book. I told her it was fun predicting the twist n turns. ;)

Ratings?

Readability ***

Pace ***

Newness of the plot??? Ha ha ha ha!!!!

Overall  2.25 minus .25 :D

P.S. This review has been republished in association with Vodafone Crossword Book Awards.