Himself by Jess Kidd

Okay, I have finished the book ‘Himself ‘ and I am disappointed. I had very high expectations because the other book by Jess Kidd( The horder) was excellent. But I felt that, this book had lot of beating around the bush and pointless supernatural activity.

Let me begin at the beginning :  Mahoney is an orphan. At the age of 26 ,he recieves an envelope that has photograph of his mother and a cryptic note informing him about his name,his place of birth and a veiled directive to find out more about his mammie. He arrives in the village to find that he has once again started seeing dead people, as he used to,many years back,in orphanage.

With the help of old,eccentric but sharp Mrs.Cauley,he decides to unravel the mystery of his mother.

So,why didnt I like this book ? Well, firstly, I felt cheated. I felt that a lot of answers were not provided for eg the killer’s motive. Secondly, there was a false alarm regarding the climax,where I waited with pounding heart for something to happen and it didn’t. So all that heart attack tension was wasted.Thirdly, the ghosts were not utilised properly. Fourth, there were some unnecessary threads of adultery amongst other things. Also, I didn’t like the form of narrative,I would have liked the entire solution at the end, not the shadowy figures committing murders in the first chapter.( I know ,this one is my personal preference but still … when I am listing grievances, I can list all.) My biggest problem was ,I didn't have a sense of completion at the end,when you get all the answers and even if you don’t ,there are at least hints about whys and hows. Some characters were not developed at all.I agree,that they were shadowy characters and probably they were meant to be like that , but I still felt cheated. Another problem was unnecessary delays due to descriptions, in getting to the point where something is happening. This is acceptable in literary fiction but not in a mystery. A mystery can be literary and slow moving but then ,when it is time for palpitations ,it should stay true to its form.

So,on the whole, not a great book. I still gave it 3 stars for the central idea of the plot but it was a probably a mismatch in expectations and reality on my part.

Ghostwritten

 These days, I am reading , finishing and enjoying many books ,that I have bought over last few years. I am also getting rid of books, that I don’t intend to read again. I can say that ,my reading is going rather well.....

I have read some very good books,but I find that, if I don’t write about them during my reading, the thoughts on the book simply evaporate , when I start the next book. Hence this series. Hopefully it will be a series.

Yesterday, I started ‘Ghostwritten ‘,by David Mitchell. I have heard a lot of good things about it , especially on book-tube. One of the book-tubers positively raved about it. But I have never liked the books that she loves. I find them too difficult to understand, too much literary and too less a story.

So,I don't expect to like this book very much. Or finish the book even.

David Mitchell is a genre defying author. His novels are supposedly beautiful and unique . It is recommended that you read David Mitchell books in the order that they are published. That is because his characters jump across his novels. Probably the space he provides for them in one book is not sufficient for them , they have to say a lot more than that was allowed in that particular book.

As a part of my research , I also listened to two videos on David Mitchell. One was an author spotlight video done by the booktuber mentioned in first paragraph . The other was interview of DM. Loved the way he spoke about his books.

I will say this- The first chapter of this book surprised me. It was easy to read and went really fast. Not at all what I expected. I still don't know where the book is going but that is expected.

This is a novel in 9 parts , each of the part is like a novella. The last chapter will bring all the narratives together.(supposedly)

The first story is narrated by a crackpot, a sort of Japanese jihadi , who is responsible for a terrorist attack in the underground tube. He runs away and hides while the terrorist organization has started crumbling. The first chapter ends without really ending. Though the chapter ended , the story continued , just beyond our vision. There was no conclusion.Just like our life.

The second story seems to be about a record seller, though I am not sure whether it’s a male or female. The reason I keep on going through the novel which isn’t making any sense , is the curiosity about how author is going to link all these together.

And yes , it is well written and not too literary for my taste ,( Literary meaning 40 pages full of descriptions of a man walking on the road.), There are things happening ,albeit very very slowly and there are dialogues , which always makes novels easy to read.

This makes me hope that I might like to read his other books one day,my library has a beautiful hardcover edition ‘Thousand autumns of Jacob de Zoet’. It is not only beautiful but also a big,fat one and it appears to be my favourite genre of historical fiction.

But first , I have to finish this one. And like it.

Ghachar Ghochar - Vivek Shanbhag

This is a small book, about 115 pages and which I almost didn't buy....

Last year , when I was totally into nonfiction , I came across this book on Amazon. It kept on popping in my recommendations. Mr. Shanbhag was called a mixture of Chekhov and R.K. Narayan and that piqued my curiosity. I downloaded a sample from this book and I was hooked . There is a character of a waiter called Vincent in the book which reminded me of Jeeves .

This book is translated from Kannada by Srinath Perur ( whose well written travelogue I purchased in the same order). The translation is very good , I never felt that this was not originally written in English. This may be called as a short novel or a longish short story.

This is a story of a family- our unknown , unnamed narrator , his parents, wife, uncle and a divorced sister. When they had no money , there was love and happiness. With sudden arrival of money , the whole family dynamic changes.The uncle , who is street-smart , slightly crooked and holds the purse-strings becomes the most important person of the family. With elevation of social status , the young man , our protagonist , loses a will to be somebody ,thus justifying his unnamed character in the book. Everything revolves around  money and honesty is now termed as insanity...nothing else matters but money ..

I loved the easy, conversational tone of the book.The entire book is actually a stream of thoughts passing through our narrator's mind one day . We know about his childhood , his upbringing , arrival of money and changing family dynamics, his marriage and his aimless -drifting personality.We know that 30 hours have passed since he left home, and we know the suggestive conversation that happened before he left home. We are not given a neat conclusion of the novel , we complete it in our mind - perhaps tame , perhaps sinister or may be perhaps a feminist ending...We only know one thing for sure - our narrator is so used to the money that he will never give up the comfort , he has accepted his spineless existence as the only possible one...

On the whole , a book definitely worth reading...

Her fearful symmetry- Audrey Niffenegger

Her fearful symmetry- Audrey Niffenegger

Reading fiction after many days… the last novel I got from the library was dry , boring ….or was it just my frame of mind ?

But I like this book ...it is alive,colourful,vibrant….I started reading it in the rickshaw that I took to work …. The attraction ?…. a ghost ...well , three ghosts to be exact…

(There is small unrelated ghost story in the book...I mention it because I loved the idea…. ghost of a tree...which doesn’t do anything...just exists ,probably because it longs to….)

This book is a story of two pairs of twins. The story of twins has lots of possibilities...especially when identical...if one believes Indian astrology,then these should have similar ,almost parallel life journeys…( I know a pair of non identical twins ,who have such  parallel life stories…) but then what would the writer’s imagination do ? Write same story twice ? ...boring….well...our twins do not have parallel or similar life stories...but they look remarkably alike….

An interesting factor...this story happens in the vicinity of Highgate cemetery in London...cemeteries are probably atmospheric….there was one next to my ancestral house in Goa...I remember its spooky presence ,though there were no scary stories associated with it …. I could never calmly on the road on which it was situated ….I ran as fast as I could…

Coming back to this book which happens in and around the cemetery ( symmetry and cemetery ...homophones ?) ….

Another interesting snippet ….all characters of this novel have uncommon professions...except may be RJ , but the RJ is an old lady...there is a crossword maker who suffers from OCD , an eternal student doing a doctorate since many years , friends of Highgate cemetery conducting  guided tours and a pair of twins having no interest in education or jobs….(but all I can think is how do they manage their finances…)

I think there is a little of everybody in me...there is Marijke(the RJ) who walks away to a new life , Martin(the crossword setter) who retreats in a shell , Robert who has loved and lost ,a pair of anxious parents Jack and Edie whose twin daughters are ready to move out of the house and of course the twins who don't want to do anything particularly….

Halfway through the book I realise that I have read this before ...but  I remember only a few snatches here and there...like the ghost who loves the cosy comfort of a small drawer and a kitten who unknowingly puts terrible ideas in the heads of both people and ghosts…

I will call this book good ,entertaining but not great. There were many unanswered whys, why did Edie and Elspeth ( the elder pair of twins , Edie being the mother of younger pair of Julia and Valentina) do what they did ? And it defies logic that they did not get caught...why did Elspeth become a ghost ? And why was she confined to that flat ?...

Well...the author did not get any solutions for these , so she has taken the next best alternative….she has made her ghost ponder over these questions….( with no conclusions of course….)

Books...and more books !

Though this blog is called  'About books and certain other things ' ,I have realised that this has become more ' about certain other things' rather than books ! It is not that I am not reading , but with a new job ,I have been preoccupied with work and writing about the books that I have read in 2016 ( around 16 till now..not a great number...I know!) has taken a backseat.

But whether I write about it or not , I have been buying books...especially second hand ones.Getting inspired by Mr. Ekbote ( You can find the link to his blog here ) , I thought ,I will at least document whatever books I have purchased ( This is the influence of ISO 15189 and NABH training which I am taking currently!)

These are the latest ones that I have bought-Of these ,I finished  'The Good luck of right now' yesterday. Now , I have started on ' The woman who fell from the sky.'

This is progress ! I am actually reading the books which I buy !

 " The Good luck of right now " - Matthew Quick -( An extremely short review!)

The title and the cover page both are interesting and quirky , those were the things that made me pick up this book. This is a story of Bartholomew Neil , who is probably not 100% normal. His mother has passed away recently and he is learning to cope with that situation.

What I loved the most , was the unusual format in which this book was written.The book is written in form of letters to Mr. Richard Gere. ( Now 'why' and 'why Mr.Gere' are the questions which I am not going to answer.)

I liked the book though I felt that the end was a bit too simplified.

The unlikely pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

A book about an ordinary person's simple yet extraordinary achievement....a book about love....lost and found...and finally a book about love and friendships.....

Harold Fry is retired ( about 6 months ago,from a brewery ) and living peacefully in a village. One day, out of blue, he receives a letter from an old acquaintance of his,Ms.Queenie. Startled ( Queenie is alive ?) and saddened ( she is battling with cancer ...), he decides to write a letter to her.He leaves home to post the letter ,but instead starts walking.....walking to meet her ....from one end of the country to the other....

This on-the-spur-of-the-moment decision finds Harold totally unequipped....no boots, no map ,no compass and no mobile ! But he has faith and hope....He decides that ,walking after all , is just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other.....

It is not a fast-paced book , just collection of small ,ordinary events and chance encounters ,but  when taken together induces a sense of well-being in the reader . Yes..there is a twist and a secret ,but on the whole,this book has to be read slowly and savoured.The beauty of the nature, the tranquil surroundings, sleeping under the stars , the  interesting people Harold meets on his pilgrimage makes him ponder over many things...his life and life in general....These also seep in your soul when you read it...you start believing in miracles....

Many a times , we find ourselves wondering..." What am I doing ? Is this going to make any difference ? " Harold faced even worse dilemma...." How my walking is going to save Queenie ? What am I trying to achieve ? " But it was not only about saving her....everybody has to die some time and cancer is not going to be cured by a simple thing such as walking  .....but the feeling that someone is doing something, something  impossible for us ...gives a person joy and happiness ....and... hope.... if one miracle can occur ,then why not others ?.... That is what happened with Queenie.....her remaining days were filled with peace and happiness......

And Harold ? This walk changed him,too....he could see his past and his actions clearly...spending time with himself , he finally exorcised the demons of his past and emerged as a new man....he rediscovered love.....

The bunch of followers Harold gathers and the undue publicity he receives was probably necessary for his understanding and evolution but even without them, the narrative would have been beautiful and serene....

Harold gave me a lot of hope and taught me to believe in miracles.....also something  about the material possessions.....that we don't own things but things own us....the real joy is away from all possessions.....

Hope he does that for you,too !!

Happy reading !!!