Recent books on my shelf
It is after three months I stepped into the literature section of my college library. The books I am quoting here are few among the long list of books that I was hunting for.
Ice-candy man by Bapsi Sidhwa.
Even after watching the movie '1947 Earth', I was not inclined to read the book based on which the movie was taken. It was only my unsatisfied need to watch the movie 'Water' by Deepa Mehta, got me acquainted with Bapsi Sidhwa's writing. I could see the characters performing in front of my eyes when I read her work. This made me to hunt for her books. The list continued with 'Crow Eaters' and now 'Ice Candy man', the book based on which the move '1947 Earth' was taken. According to me, this is a rambunctious novel that portrayed the partition of India and Pakistan along with a beautiful story line. The book unveils the characters, their opinions, conventional thinking etc through the eyes of the Polio attacked girl-Venny. A simple story line but beautifully blended with politics and violence. One of lines like; 'one day everybody is themselves - and the next day they are Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian' forces the minds of the readers to think beyond what is written. Though this book reminded me of many other books like Freedom at Midnight , Riot etc, but this touches the reality in a unique way. Genocide, Political clash between Hindu, Muslim & Sikh, etc that surround the partition were put in words in a flawless and a unfussy style. Kudos to Bapsi Sidhwa for creating her throng of characters which literally paints the microcosm of a Pakistani society for the readers. The naked human emotions that this book touched is quite adorable. And this book is a cherishable one...
In cold blood by Truman Capote
Capote is another legend who created a special audience for himself. Through very few works of his', he attracted the rational minds towards his work. This is my fifth book of Copote after 'Breakfast at Tiffany', 'Complete short stories of Capote', 'Music for Chameleons' and 'A Christmas memory'. In this non fiction 'In Cold Blood', Capote narrates the multiple murder of a family in Kansas in 1959. Though the finale of the case is made known in the very first page, the author has succeeded in making the flow with a gripping suspense. Astonishingly, this book creates a sympathy for the murderers even after giving the intricate details of the gruesome murders. The unique look at the crime and the convincing writing instigated me to pose various questions on Crime, Punishment, Good, Evil to myself. The intimacy that the author have attempted to create between the readers and the murderers Perry & Dick brings in sympathy. Furthermore, the interwoven themes like abandonment, homosexuality, loneliness and reversal of child / adult roles etc is a typical Capote's style. In short this book is slow but dense in reading.
The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer
This is the one of the very few compulsive reading of a contribution to the society. This book is a bold and a persuasive work that compels the readers towards various aspects of sexual life. The very beginning explanation the author gives for the 'Eunuch' word is not as 'castrated male' rather it is the women who is castrated. The terms like "Cherchez la femme", the expression used in the search for a female scapegoat, were put in an extremely striking way. The line like 'Sex for many has become a sorry business', is an audacious statement but a fact few will dispute. The aspects like sexual disabilities, monogamy, polygamy, homosexuality etc, that the author talks about are stimulating. Usually, books that are narrative like this talk only on ideologies but always lack gripping. But the author have attempted to make the same interesting in a cohesive and an uninterrupted way like a novel. Even in the mocking statements like 'Psychologists cannot fix the world so they fix women', the author invigorates the minds.
Though it took a hell lot of time to complete this book, I am extremely elated for the thoughts that it had invoked in my mind. No wonder when one the comments about the book read as "... brilliantly written, quirky and sensible, full of bile and insight".
Ice-candy man by Bapsi Sidhwa.
Even after watching the movie '1947 Earth', I was not inclined to read the book based on which the movie was taken. It was only my unsatisfied need to watch the movie 'Water' by Deepa Mehta, got me acquainted with Bapsi Sidhwa's writing. I could see the characters performing in front of my eyes when I read her work. This made me to hunt for her books. The list continued with 'Crow Eaters' and now 'Ice Candy man', the book based on which the move '1947 Earth' was taken. According to me, this is a rambunctious novel that portrayed the partition of India and Pakistan along with a beautiful story line. The book unveils the characters, their opinions, conventional thinking etc through the eyes of the Polio attacked girl-Venny. A simple story line but beautifully blended with politics and violence. One of lines like; 'one day everybody is themselves - and the next day they are Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian' forces the minds of the readers to think beyond what is written. Though this book reminded me of many other books like Freedom at Midnight , Riot etc, but this touches the reality in a unique way. Genocide, Political clash between Hindu, Muslim & Sikh, etc that surround the partition were put in words in a flawless and a unfussy style. Kudos to Bapsi Sidhwa for creating her throng of characters which literally paints the microcosm of a Pakistani society for the readers. The naked human emotions that this book touched is quite adorable. And this book is a cherishable one...
In cold blood by Truman Capote
Capote is another legend who created a special audience for himself. Through very few works of his', he attracted the rational minds towards his work. This is my fifth book of Copote after 'Breakfast at Tiffany', 'Complete short stories of Capote', 'Music for Chameleons' and 'A Christmas memory'. In this non fiction 'In Cold Blood', Capote narrates the multiple murder of a family in Kansas in 1959. Though the finale of the case is made known in the very first page, the author has succeeded in making the flow with a gripping suspense. Astonishingly, this book creates a sympathy for the murderers even after giving the intricate details of the gruesome murders. The unique look at the crime and the convincing writing instigated me to pose various questions on Crime, Punishment, Good, Evil to myself. The intimacy that the author have attempted to create between the readers and the murderers Perry & Dick brings in sympathy. Furthermore, the interwoven themes like abandonment, homosexuality, loneliness and reversal of child / adult roles etc is a typical Capote's style. In short this book is slow but dense in reading.
The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer
This is the one of the very few compulsive reading of a contribution to the society. This book is a bold and a persuasive work that compels the readers towards various aspects of sexual life. The very beginning explanation the author gives for the 'Eunuch' word is not as 'castrated male' rather it is the women who is castrated. The terms like "Cherchez la femme", the expression used in the search for a female scapegoat, were put in an extremely striking way. The line like 'Sex for many has become a sorry business', is an audacious statement but a fact few will dispute. The aspects like sexual disabilities, monogamy, polygamy, homosexuality etc, that the author talks about are stimulating. Usually, books that are narrative like this talk only on ideologies but always lack gripping. But the author have attempted to make the same interesting in a cohesive and an uninterrupted way like a novel. Even in the mocking statements like 'Psychologists cannot fix the world so they fix women', the author invigorates the minds.
Though it took a hell lot of time to complete this book, I am extremely elated for the thoughts that it had invoked in my mind. No wonder when one the comments about the book read as "... brilliantly written, quirky and sensible, full of bile and insight".
posted by Diwakar @ 11:17 am
4 Comments:
Your books remind me that I ve nt read a good one in long time now !
Hey ! That Shelfari ! I thought I can read those books online !@# Isnt it that way?
A good review..
@ dushti: try any one of these three books and i m sure u will not regret
@san: by shelf i never meant shelfari rather my book room shelf.. anyway shelfari is just place to have a virtual collection of your books. thanks for ur comment.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home